1 1 
 
 3* 
 
 :' . i\,f:; ; , i yi; , ' ;„: ■^.i.^zxz zsszsz; 
 
 U 
 
 j 
 
 Wmi < 
 
 j 
 
 4 
 
 "V 
 
 >M. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 
 m u m un ii n 
 
 MBm*
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 \
 
 
 Mr. Jonathan Johnson relating his adventures
 
 THE MIDSHIPMAN 
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 MY EARLY DAYS AT SEA. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM H. G. KINGSTON, Esq., 
 
 AUTHOE OP " PETEE THE WHALER," "SALT WATER," "MASK SEAWORTU," 
 "EOOND THE WORLD," ETC. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PHI LADELPIIIA 
 J. B. LIP PINCOTT & CO. 
 
 I8:r,.
 
 • 
 • • 
 
 • 
 
 • ** m 
 
 • 
 
 •. 
 
 - 
 
 « 
 
 » * * 
 
 •\ ' 
 
 • • 
 
 • 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 • • • • 
 
 • 
 * 
 
 • 
 
 
 • 
 
 • * ■ 
 
 • * * 
 
 
 • 
 
 *• • 
 
 > • 
 
 • 
 • 
 
 « 
 
 a * 
 
 
 
 a • v • • 
 
 * 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 • • • • * 
 • • « 
 
 
 • 
 
 * 
 
 j 
 
 « • 
 
 ■ 
 * * 
 
 1 
 
 * 1 
 
 
 
 • t » • w a 
 
 * 
 
 • 
 • 
 ■ 
 
 
 i 
 • 
 
 * 
 
 • • 
 
 * * 
 
 * * 
 
 « « 

 
 \m 
 
 THE MIDSHIPMAN 
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I belong to the family of the Merrys of Leicester- 
 shire. Our chief characteristic was well suited to our 
 patronymic. " Merry by name and merry by nature," 
 was a common saying among us. Indeed, a more good- 
 natured, laughing, happy set of people it would he diffi- 
 cult to find. Right jovial was the rattle of tongues and 
 the cachinnation which went forward whenever we were 
 assembled together either at breakfast or dinner or sup- 
 per ; our father and mother setting us the example, so 
 that we began the day with a hearty laugh, and finished 
 it with a heartier. " Laugh and grow fat " is an 
 apophthegm which all people cannot follow, but our 
 mother did in the most satisfactory manner. Her skin 
 was fair and most thoroughly comfortably filled out ; 
 her hair was light, and her contented spirit beamed out 
 from a pair of large laughing blue eyes, so that it was a 
 pleasure to look at her as she sat at the head of the 
 
 LIBRARY
 
 4 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 table, serving out the viands to her hungry progeny 
 Our sisters were very like her, and came fairly undei 
 the denomination of jolly girls ; and thoroughly jolly 
 they were ; — none of them ever had a headache or a 
 toothache, or any other ache that I know of. Our 
 father was a good specimen of a thorough English coun- 
 try gentleman ; he was thorough in every thing, honest- 
 faced, stout, and hearty, not over refined, perhaps, but 
 yet gentle in all his thoughts and acts ; a hater of a lie 
 and every thing dishonorable, hospitable and generous 
 to the utmost of his means ; a protector of the poor and 
 helpless, and a friend to all his neighbors. Yes, and 1 
 may say more, both he and my mother were humble, 
 sincere Christians, and made the law of the Bible their 
 rule of life. He told a good story and laughed at it 
 himself, and delighted to see our mother and us laugh 
 at it also. Had he been bred a lawyer, and lived in 
 London, he would have been looked upon as a first-rate 
 wit ; but I am certain that he was much happier with 
 the lot awarded to him. He had a good estate ; his 
 tenants paid their rents regularly ; and he had few or 
 no cares to disturb his digestion or to keep him awake 
 at night ; and I am very certain that he would far 
 rather have had us to hear his jokes, and laugh at them 
 with him, than all the wits London ever produced. He 
 delighted in joining in all our sports, either of the field 
 or flood, and we always looked forward to certain amuse- 
 ment when he was able to accompany us. He was our 
 companion and friend ; we had no secrets from him, — 
 why should we ? He was always our best adviser, and 
 if we got into scrapes, which one or the other of us waa
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 5 
 
 not unfrequently doing, we were very certain that no 
 one could extricate us as well as he could. I don't 
 mean to say that he forgot the proverb, " Spare the rod, 
 6poil the child ; " or that we were such pieces of perfec- 
 tion that we did not deserve punishment ; but we had 
 sense enough to see that he punished us for our good : 
 he did it calmly, never angrily, and without any unne- 
 cessarily severe remark, and we certainly did not love 
 him the less for the sharpest flogging he ever gave us. 
 Directly afterwards, he would meet the culprit in his 
 usual frank, hearty way, and seem to forget all about 
 the matter. 
 
 Our sisters were on the same happy intimate terms 
 with our mother, and we boys had no secrets with her, 
 or with them either. 
 
 Our father used to believe and assert that our family 
 had settled in Leicestershire before the Conquest, and, 
 in consequence of this notion, he gave us all old English 
 names or what he supposed to be such. His own name 
 was Joliffe, and he used to be called by his hunting 
 associates, the other gentlemen of the county, Jolly 
 Merry. He was not, I should say, par excellence a fox 
 hunter, though he subscribed to the county hunt, and 
 frequently followed the hounds ; and no one rode better, 
 nor did any one's voice sound more cheerily on copse or 
 hill-side than did his, as he greeted a friend, or sang out, 
 in the exuberance of his spirits, a loud tallyho-ho. My 
 name stood sixth in the Family Bible, and that of Mar- 
 maduke had fallen to my lot. We had a Cedric, an 
 Athelstane, an Egbert, and an Edwin among the boya, 
 and a Bertha, an Edith, and a Winnifred among the 
 
 1*
 
 6 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 girls. We all went to school in our turns, but though 
 it was a very good school, we did not like it so much as 
 home. When, however, we got to school, we used to 
 be very jolly, and if other boys pulled long faces we 
 made round ones and laughed away as usual. Our 
 school was in Northamptonshire, so that we had not far 
 to go, and we kept up a very frequent correspondence 
 with home, from which, in consequence of its vicinity, 
 we received more hampers laden with cakes and tongues, 
 and pots of jam, and similar comestible articles, than 
 most of our companions. I do not say that we should 
 not otherwise have been favorites, but it might have 
 been remarked that the attentions and willingness to 
 oblige us of our companions increased in proportion to 
 the size of our hampers, and our readiness to dispense 
 their contents. 
 
 However, I wiL not dwell on my school life. I 
 imbibed a certain amount of classical and elementary 
 knowledge of a somewhat miscellaneous description, 
 and received not a few canings, generally for laughing 
 in my class at something which tickled my fancy, when 
 I ought not to have allowed my fancy to be tickled ; 
 but altogether my conduct was such that I believe I 
 was considered to have brought no discredit on the 
 Merry name or fame. Such was my uneventful career 
 at school. 
 
 We were all at home for the summer holidays. We 
 were seated at breakfast. What a rattle of tongues, 
 and knives, and forks, and cups, and saucers there was 
 going on. What vast slices of bread and butter were 
 disappearing within our well-practised jaws. Various
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 7 
 
 cries proceeded from each side of the table. " Bertha, 
 another cup of tea." "Bertha, some more milk." 
 " Bertha, you haven't given me sugar enough by half." 
 " Bertha, I like strong tea ; no wish-wash for me." 
 
 Bertha was our oldest sister and tea-maker general. 
 She had no sinecure office of it ; but, in spite often of 
 the most unreasonable demands, she dispensed the bev- 
 erage with the most perfect justice and good-humor 
 Not unsatisfactory were the visits paid to the side-board, 
 covered as it was with brawn, and ham, and tongue, and 
 a piece of cold beef, and such like substantial fare. 
 
 Suddenly the tenor of our conversation was turned 
 by the entrance of the servant with the post-bag. The 
 elders were silent for a few minutes, — our father and 
 mother and Bertha, and Cedric, who was at home from 
 college. Our mother had a large circle of correspon- 
 dents, and seldom a post arrived without a letter for 
 her. Our father had fewer ; but this morning he re- 
 ceived one in a large official-looking cover, which 
 absorbed his attention. Still the clatter of tongues 
 went on among us younger ones. Our father and 
 mother had grown so accustomed to it, that, as the 
 miller awakes when his mill stops, so they would have 
 looked up to ascertain what was the matter had we been 
 silent. 
 
 " Which of you would like to become a midshipman ?" 
 asked our father looking up suddenly. 
 
 The question had an effect rarely produced in the 
 family. We were all silent. Our mother put down 
 her letters, and her fond eyes glanced round on our 
 faces. Her countenance was unusually grave.
 
 8 MARMADUKE MER11Y, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Again my father looked at the document in his hand 
 " Captain Collyer says he should not be more than four- 
 teen. Marmaduke, that is your age. What do you 
 say on the subject ?" said my father. 
 
 " Joliffe, what is it all about ? " asked my mother, 
 with a slight trepidation in her voice. 
 
 " I forgot that I had not read the letter. It is rather 
 long. It is from my old friend, Dick Collyer, and a 
 better fellow does not breathe. The tenor of it is that 
 he has got command of a fine frigate, The Doris, fitting 
 with all despatch for sea, and that he will take one of 
 our boys as a midshipman, if we like to send the young- 
 ster with him. There is no time to lose, as he expects 
 to be ready in a week or ten days ; so we must decide 
 at once." 
 
 The question was put indirectly to me, " Should I 
 like to go to sea ? " Now, I had never even seen the 
 sea, and had never realized what a man-of-war was 
 like. The larorest floating thins to which I was accus- 
 tomed was the miller's punt, in which my brothers and 
 I used occasionally to paddle about on the mill-pond ; 
 in which mill-pond, by the by, we had all learned to 
 swim. I had seen pictures of ships, though as to the 
 size of one, and the number of men she might carry, I 
 was profoundly ignorant. I was, therefore, not very 
 well qualified to come to a decision. Suddenly I recol- 
 lected a visit paid to us by Tom Welby, an old school- 
 fellow, after his first trip to sea, and what a jolly life I 
 thought he must lead as he described his adventures, 
 and how fine a fellow he looked as he strutted about 
 with his dirk at his side, the white patch on his collar,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 9 
 
 and the cockade in his hat. I decided at once. " If 
 you wish it, father, I'm ready to go," said I. 
 
 My father looked at me aifectionately. There was, I 
 am certain, a conflict going on in his mind whether or 
 not he should part with me ; but prudence conquered 
 love. 
 
 " Of course, you must all have professions, boys, and 
 the navy is a very fine one," he observed. " What do 
 you say, Mary ? " 
 
 My mother was too sensible a woman to make any 
 objections to so promising an offer if I did not ; and 
 therefore, before we rose from the breakfast table, it was 
 settled that I was to be a midshipman, and we were all 
 soon laughing away as heartily as ever. The news that 
 Master Marmaduke was going away to sea quickly 
 reached the servants' hall, and from thence spread over 
 the village. 
 
 Not a moment was lost by our mother in commencing 
 the preparations for my outfit. Stores of calico were 
 produced, and she and Bertha had cut out a set of shirts 
 and distributed them to be made before noon. While 
 they were thus employed, I went down to have a talk 
 with my father, and to have my ignorance on nautical 
 affairs somewhat enlightened, though he, I found, knew 
 very little more about them than I did. While I was 
 in the study the footman came to say that Widow Bluff 
 wished to see him. " Let her come in," was his reply. 
 " Well, dame, what is it you want this morning?" he 
 asked, in his cheery encouraging tone as she appeared. 
 
 " Why, sir, I hears how Master Marmaduke's going 
 away to sea. and I comes to a-k if hell take my hoy 
 Toby wi' him," answered the dame, promptly.
 
 10 MARMADUKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN 
 
 " What, Mrs. Bluff, do you wish him to be an officer ? " 
 said my father. 
 
 " Blessy no, sir. It's to be his servant like. I sup- 
 pose he'll want some one to clean his shoes and brush 
 his clothes, and such little things, and I'd be proud for 
 my Toby to do that," answered the dame. Now, I had 
 always thought Toby Bluff to be a remarkably dunder- 
 headed, loutish fellow, though strong as a lion, and with 
 plenty of pluck in his composition. I had helped him 
 out of a pond once, and done him some other little ser- 
 vice, I fancy ; but I had forgotten all about the matter. 
 
 " I will see about it, dame," said my father. " But I 
 doubt if Toby, though a good lad, will ever set the 
 Thames on fire." 
 
 " Blessy heart, I hopes not," exclaimed the dame, in 
 a tone of horror. " He'd be a hanged, if he did, like 
 them as burnt farmer Dobbs's corn stacks last year." 
 
 Toby, it appeared, was waiting outside. My father 
 sent for him, and found that he really had a very strong 
 desire to go to sea, or rather to follow me. Toby had 
 an honest round freckled countenance, with large hands 
 and broad shoulders, but a slouching awkward gait, 
 which made him look far less intelligent than he really 
 was. As he had always borne a good character, my 
 father promised to learn if Captain Collyer would take 
 him. The answer was in the affirmative. Behold, then, 
 Toby Bluff and I about to commence our career on the 
 briny ocean. 
 
 I tried to laugh to th 5 last ; but somehow or other it 
 was a harder job than I had ever found it ; and as to 
 my mother and sisters, though they said a number of
 
 MAUMADUK.E MEIIRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 11 
 
 funny things, there was a moisture in their eyes and a 
 treraulousness in their voices very unusual with them. 
 Toby Bluff, as he scrambled up on the box of the chaise, 
 which was to take us to meet the London coach, blub- 
 bered out with a vehemence which spoke more for the 
 sensitiveness of his feelings than for his sense of the 
 dignified ; but when his mother, equally overcome, ex- 
 claimed, " Get down, Toby ; I'll not have thee go, boy, 
 an thou takest on so," he answered sturdily, " Noa, noa, 
 mother ; I've said I'd stick to Measter Marmaduke, and 
 if he goes, I'll go to look after him." 
 
 My brothers cheered and shouted as we drove off, 
 and I did my best to shout and cheer in return, as did 
 Toby, in spite of his tears. My father accompanied us 
 as far as London. We spent but a few hours in that 
 big city. 
 
 " I don't see that it be so very grand like," observed 
 Toby as we drove through it. " There bees no streets 
 paved with gold, and no Lord Mayor in a gold coach, — • 
 only bricks and mortar and people running about in a 
 precious hurry." 
 
 Captain Collyer had desired that I should come down 
 by the coach to the George at Portsmouth, where he 
 would send his cockswain to meet me, and take me to 
 the tailor, who would make my uniform — a part of my 
 outfit which our country town had been unable to sup- 
 
 It was a bright summer morning when my father ac- 
 companied us to Piccadilly, whence the Portsmouth 
 coach started. 
 
 " Cheer up, and don t forget your name, Marmad-ike,"
 
 12 MAUMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 he said, wringing my hand as I was climbing on to the 
 front seat. He nodded kindly to Toby, who followed 
 me closely. " Don't you forget to look after the young 
 master, boy," he added. 
 
 " Noa, squire, while I's got fists at the end of my 
 arms, I won't, answered Toby. 
 
 " All right," shouted the guard, and the coach drove 
 off. 
 
 I found myself seated by a tall man with a huge red 
 rose, like the beak of an eagle, a copper complexion, 
 jet-black piercing eyes, and enormous black bushy 
 whiskers. He looked down at me, I thought, with in- 
 effable contempt. His clothes were of blue cloth, and 
 his hands, which were very large and hairy, were 
 marked on the back with strange devices, among which 
 I observed an anchor, a ship, and a fish, which made me 
 suspect that he must be a nautical character of some 
 sort. He addressed the coachman and the passenger on 
 the box-seat several times in a wonderfully loud gruff 
 voice, but as they showed by their answers that they 
 were not inclined to enter into conversation with him, 
 he at last turned his attention to me. 
 
 " Why are you going down to Portsmouth, little boy ? " 
 he asked, in a tone I did not like. 
 
 " I suppose because I want to get there," I answered. 
 
 " Ho ! ho ! ho ! " His laugh was like the bellowing 
 of a bull. " Going to sea, I fancy," he remarked. 
 
 " Yes, going to see Portsmouth," said I, quietly, " if I 
 keep my eyes open." 
 
 " Ho ! ho ! sharp as a needle, I see," observed the 
 big man.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 13 
 
 " Sharpness runs in the family," I replied. "We were 
 well up to this sort of repartee among each other at 
 home. 
 
 " Your name is Sharp, I suppose," said my friend. 
 
 " No, only my nature, like a currant or a sour goose- 
 berry." I replied, not able to help laughing myself. 
 
 " Take care, youngster, you don't get wounded with 
 your own weapon," said the big man. 
 
 " Thank you," I answered, " but I am not a tailor." 
 
 « No — ho, ho, ho, — perhaps not ; but you are little 
 more than the ninth part of a man," said the giant. 
 
 " The ninth part of you, you mean ; but I am half as 
 big as most men now, and hope to be a whole man some 
 day, and a captain into the bargain." 
 
 " Then I take it you are that important character, a 
 new fledged midshipman," observed my huge com- 
 panion. 
 
 "Judging of you by your size, I should suppose on 
 the same grounds that you are nothing less than an 
 admiral," I retorted. 
 
 " I should be, if I had my deserts, boy," he replied, 
 drawing himself up, and swelling out his chest. 
 
 " Then are you only a captain ? " I asked. 
 
 " I once was, boy," he replied, with a sigh which re- 
 sembled the rumbling of a volcano. 
 
 " Captain of the main-top," said the gentleman on the 
 box, without turning round. 
 
 " What are you now, then," I asked. 
 
 " A boatswain," uttered the gentleman on the box. 
 
 " Yes, young gentleman, as our friend there says, 1 
 am a boaUwain," he exclaimed in a voice of thunder; 
 
 2
 
 14 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIP-MAX. 
 
 and a very important person is a boatswain on board 
 ship, let me tell you, with his call at his mouth, and colt 
 in his hand, as your silent companion there will very 
 soon find out, for I presume, by the cut of his jib, that 
 he is not a midshipman." 
 
 " And what is a boatswain on board ship," I asked, 
 with unfeigned simplicity. 
 
 " Every thing from truck to kelson, I may say, is 
 under his charge," he replied consequentially. " He has 
 to look after masts, spars, rigging, sails, cables, anchors, 
 and stores ; to see that the men are kept under proper 
 discipline, and make them smart aloft. In my opinion 
 a man-of-war might do without her captain and lieuten- 
 ants, but would be no man-of-war without her boat- 
 swain." 
 
 The gentleman on the box laughed outright, but the 
 boatswain took no notice of it. I began to think, in 
 spite of his coarseness, that he must be a very important 
 personage, and probably I showed this in my manner, 
 for he went on enlarging on his own importance. 
 
 " I tell you, young gentleman, it's my belief that I 
 have been round the world oftener, and seen more 
 strange sights, than any man living." 
 
 " I should like to hear some of your adventures," I 
 said. 
 
 " I dare say you would, and if you like lo pay me a 
 visit on board the Doris frigate, and will inquire for Mr. 
 Jonathan Johnson, the boatswain, I shall be happy to 
 see you, and to enlighten your mind a little." 
 
 " Why, that is the ship I am going to join," T ex- 
 claimed ; " didn't Captain Collyer tell you ? "
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE .MIDSHIPMAN. 15 
 
 "No, he has not as yet communicated that important 
 matter to me," answered Mr. Jonathan Johnson, twist- 
 ing his huge nose in a comical way. " But give us 
 your flipper, my hearty, — we are to be shipmates it 
 seems. I like you for your dauntless tongue ; if you've 
 a spirit to match, you'll do, and I promise you that 
 you shall some day hear what you shall hear." 
 
 The coach stopped at the George. A seaman, who 
 announced himself as Sam Edkins, Captain Collyer's 
 cockswain, came up, and touching his hat respectfully to 
 Mr. Johnson, helped me off the coach. 
 
 " Well, Edkins, have all the officers joined yet ? " 
 asked the boatswain. 
 
 " All but the second lieutenant ; he's expected aboard 
 to-day, sir," was the answer. 
 
 " What's his name, Edkins ? I hope he's not a King's 
 hard bargain, fike some lieutenants I have fallen in 
 with, within the last hundred years," said Mr. John- 
 son. 
 
 " No, sir ; he's no hard bargain," answered Edkins. 
 " I heard the captain say his name is Bryan, the same 
 officer who, with twenty hands, cut out a French brig 
 of seven guns and ninety men the other day in the West 
 Indies." 
 
 " All right ; he'll do for us," observed Mr. Johnson, 
 with a patronizing air. " By the by, PZdkins, have you 
 received any directions about this boy?" 
 
 "No, sir; only that he was to go aboard at once." 
 
 "Very well, then, I'll take him. Come, youngster — 
 what's your name?" 
 
 "Please, sir, it be Tobias Bluff; but I be called
 
 16 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN 1 . 
 
 Toby most times," answered my young follower, evi- 
 dently awe-struck with the manner and appearance of 
 Mr. Johnson. Not an inch did he move, however, from 
 my side. 
 
 " Come along, boy," cried the boatswain in a thun- 
 dering tone which mijdit have been heard half down the 
 High Street. 
 
 '• Noa," said Toby, looking up undauntedly at him ; 
 •' I has a said I'd stick to the young squire, and I'll no 
 budge from his side, no, not if you bellows louder than 
 Farmer Dobb's big bull." 
 
 Never had the boatswain been thus bearded by a 
 ship's boy. His black eyes flashed fire — his nose grew 
 redder than ever, and seizing him by the collar of his 
 jacket, he would have carried him off in his talons, as 
 an eagle does a leveret, had not Edkins and I inter- 
 fered. 
 
 " You see, Mr. Johnson, the boy has the hay-seed in 
 his hair, and doesn't know who you are, or any thing 
 about naval discipline," observed the cockswain. " If 
 you'd let him stay with the young gentleman, I'll just 
 put him up to a thing or two, and bring him aboard by 
 and by." 
 
 Mr. Johnson, who was really not an ill-natured man, 
 agreed to this, remarking, " Mind, boy, the king is a 
 great man ashore, but I'm a greater afloat — ho, ho, 
 ho," and away he walked down the street to the Point. 
 
 The passenger who had had the box seat, was stand- 
 ing near all the time. " He'll find that there's a greater 
 man than he is on board, if he overstays his leave," I 
 heard him remark with a laugh, as he entered the inn
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TITE MIDSHIPMAN. 1? 
 
 He was a slight, active young man, with a pleasant 
 countenance. 
 
 " That's our second lieutenant, Mr. Bryan," said Ed- 
 kins to me. " I saw his name on his portmanteau. He 
 must have thought the boatswain a rum 'un." 
 
 Captain Collyer's tailor lived close at hand, so I went 
 there at once, and he promised to have a suit ready for 
 me by the following morning. 
 
 Edkins told me I was to dine with the captain at tht. 
 George, and to sleep there. He proposed that we 
 should walk about in the interval, and I employed part 
 of the time in comforting Toby, persuading him to ac- 
 company the cockswain on board the frigate without 
 me. 
 
 "We had just got outside the Southsea-gate, when 
 passing a fruit-stall, I saw a little boy, while the old 
 woman who kept the stall was looking another way, sur- 
 reptitiously abstract several apples and make off with 
 them. She turned at the moment, and observed the 
 deed. 
 
 " Come back, ye little thieving spalpeen," she cried 
 angrily, rising and making sail in cliase. She was very 
 stout, and filled out with petticoats on either side. The 
 wind was very strong from the south-west, and, knowing 
 that it is easier to sail with a fair wind than a foul, off 
 darted the little boy before it over Southsea common. 
 He, however, compared to the old lady, was like a brig 
 to a seventy-four, with the studding-sails set alow and 
 aloft, and she, witli her wide-expanded figure propelled 
 onward, was rapidly gaining on the apple-loving culprit. 
 She would have caught him to a certainty. Toby and 
 
 2*
 
 18 MAIvMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 I and Edkins ran on to see the result. An old admiral 
 (so Edkins told me he was), taking his constitutional, 
 stopped, highly enjoying the fun. He observed the 
 cause of old Molly's rapid progress. His sympathies 
 were excited for the urchin. 
 
 " Try her on a wind, boy ; try her on a wind," he 
 shouted, giving way to his feelings in loud laughter. 
 
 The boy took the hint, and coming about darted off 
 to the westward. Molly attempted to follow, but her 
 breath failed her ; the hitherto favoring gale blew her 
 back, and with anathemas on the head of the culprit, 
 she gave up the pursuit, and returned panting to her 
 stall. 
 
 " There's the price of your apples, Molly," said the 
 admiral, as he passed, handing her a sixpence. " You 
 have gained it for the fun you have afforded me." 
 
 '' That 'ere little chap will come to the gallows some 
 day, if he goes on like that," was the comment made by 
 Toby. 
 
 " That's true, boy," observed Edkins. " People are 
 apt to forget, if they are amused, whether a thing is 
 right or wrong ; white's white, and black's black, what- 
 ever you choose to call them." 
 
 I felt very sure, from what I saw of Edkins, that he 
 would take good care of Toby. He left me at the 
 George. The captain came at last. He was a broad- 
 shouldered, thick-set man, not very tall, but with fair 
 hair and a most pleasant expression of countenance. 
 Frank, honest, and kind-hearted I was certain he was 
 He reminded me of my father, except that the squire 
 had a fresh and he had a thoroughly salt-water look
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 19 
 
 about him. We were joined at dinner by several offi- 
 cers, and among others by my fellow-passenger, who 
 proved, as Edkins suspected, to be Mr. Bryan, the 
 second lieutenant of the Doris. He amused the com- 
 pany very much by an account of Mr. Johnson's con- 
 versation with me. 
 
 " He is a very extraordinary fellow, that," said the 
 captain. " He is a first-rate seaman, and thoroughly 
 trustworthy in all professional matters ; but I never 
 met his equal for drawing the long bow. I knew him 
 when I was a lieutenant, and could listen to his 
 yarns." 
 
 The party laughed heartily at my account of the old 
 apple-woman and the little boy, and I felt wonderfully 
 at my ease among so many big-wigs, and began to fancy 
 myself a personage of no small importance. After din- 
 ner, however, Mr. Bryan called me aside. " I must 
 give you a piece of advice, youngster. I overheard 
 your contest of wit with the boatswain, and I remarked 
 the way you spoke to your superior officers at dinner. 
 You are now in plain clothes, and the Captain's guest, 
 but do not presume on their present freedom. You 
 will find the drawing-room and the quarter-deck very 
 different places. Sharpness and wit are very well at 
 times, but modesty is never out of place." I thanked 
 Mr. Bryan, and promised to remember his advice. 
 
 The next day, with the assistance of the tailor, I got 
 into my uniform, and, after I had had a little time to 
 admire myself, and to wish that my mother and sisters 
 could see me, Edkins appeared to take me and my traps 
 on board. The frigate had gone out to Spithead, where
 
 20 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 one of England's proud fleets was collected. The gig 
 was waiting at the point. I stepped into her with as 
 much dignity as I could command and we pulled out of 
 the harbor. When we got into the tide-way the boat 
 began to bob about a good deal. I felt very queer. 
 " Edkins, is this what you call a storm ? " I asked, wish- 
 ing the boat would be quiet again. 
 
 " Yes, in a wash-tub, Mister Merry. As like a storm 
 as a tom-tit is to an albatross," he answered. 
 
 My astonishment at finding myself among the line-of- 
 battle ships at Spithead was very great. What huge 
 floating castles they appeared — what crowds of human 
 beings there were on board, swarming in every direc- 
 tion, like ants round their nest. In a few moments a 
 w r onderful expansion of my ideas took place. Even our 
 tight little frigate, as I had heard her called, looked an 
 enormous monster when we pulled alongside, and the 
 shrill whistle and stentorian voice of the boatswain 
 sounded in my ears as if the creature was warning us 
 to keep off, and I thought, if it began to move, that we 
 should, to a certainty, be crushed. However, I man- 
 aged to climb up the side, and as I saw Edkins touch 
 his hat to a tall thin gentleman in uniform, with a spy- 
 glass under his arm, and say, " Come aboard, sir ; " I 
 touched mine, and said, " Come aboard, sir." 
 
 " All right," said Edkins, as he passed me. " That 
 is the first lieutenant." 
 
 He did not take much notice of me ; but soon after- 
 wards Mr. Bryan appeared and shook hands with me, 
 and told him that I was a new midshipman, a friend of 
 the captain's, and was very kind ; and after a little tim*
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 21 
 
 he called another midshipman, and desired him to take 
 me down to the berth and to introduce me to our mess- 
 mates. My conductor was a gaunt, red-haired lad, who 
 had shoved his legs and arms too far into his trowsers 
 and jacket. He did not seem well pleased with the 
 duty imposed on him. I followed him down one flight 
 of steps, when I saw huge cannon on either side, and 
 then down another into almost total darkness ; and 
 though he seemed to find his way very well, I had no 
 little difficulty in seeing where he was going. He 
 stopped once and said, " What's your name, young- 
 ster? " I told him, and turning to the right he caught 
 me by the collar and shoved me through a door among 
 a number of young men and boys, exclaiming, in a 
 croaking voice, 
 
 " Here's Master Marmaduke Merry come to be one 
 of us ; treat him kindly for his mother's sake." 
 
 Having thus satisfactorily fulfilled his mission he dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 " Sit down, boy, and make yourself at home," said an 
 oldish man with gray hair, from the other end of the 
 table. 
 
 " Thank you, as soon as I can see where to sit," said 
 I ; " but you don't indulge in an over-abundance of 
 light down here." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! Make room for Marmaduke, some of 
 you youngsters there," exclaimed the old mate, for such 
 I found he was, and caterer of the mess. " Remember 
 your manners, will you, and be polite to strangers." 
 
 " But he is not a stranger," said a boy near me. 
 
 "Yes, he is, till he has broken biscuit with us," said
 
 22 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 old Perigal. " That reminds me that you are perhaps 
 hungry, youngster. We've done tea, but we shall have 
 the grog and the bread on the table shortly. We divide 
 them equally. You youngsters have as much to eat as 
 you like of the one, weevils and all, and we to drink of 
 the other. It's the rule of the mess, like the laws of 
 the Medes*and Persians, not to be broken. However, 
 we will allow Merry a small quantity to-night, as it is 
 his first on board ship, but after that, remember, no 
 infraction of the laws ; " and old Perigal held up a 
 weapon which he drew from his pocket, and with which, 
 I found, he was wont to enforce his commands in the 
 berth. 
 
 His system worked pretty well, and it kept the 
 youngsters from falling into that most pernicious of 
 practices, spirit drinking, and the oldsters were too well 
 seasoned to be injured by the double allowance they 
 thereby obtained. 
 
 Altogether I was well pleased with my reception, and 
 I fancy my new shipmates were pleased with me. My 
 great difficulty at first was finding my way about, for as 
 to which was the head or after part of the ship I had 
 not the slightest notion, and the direction I received to 
 go aft or go forward conveyed no idea to my mind. 
 
 As I was groping my way about the lower deck, I 
 saw what I took to be a glimmering light in a recess, 
 when a roaring voice said, " Ho, ho ! Mr. Merry, what 
 — have you come to see me ? Welcome aboard the 
 Doris." The light was the nose, and the voice that of 
 Jonathan Johnson the boatswain. 
 
 I thanked him, and, guessing it would please him, told
 
 MAKMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 23 
 
 him that I should hold him to his piomise of recounting 
 his adventures. 
 
 "Time enough when we get into hlue water, Mr. 
 Merry. Under present circumstances, with every thing 
 to do, and nobody fit to do it but myself; for you see, 
 Mr. Merry, the gunner and carpenter are little better 
 than nonentities, as you will find out some day ; I have 
 barely time to eat my necessary meals, much less to 
 talk." 
 
 I told him that I should anxiously look forward to a 
 fitting time for the expected treat, and asked him where 
 I could find Toby Bluff*. 
 
 " You shall see him in a jiffy," he answered ; and he 
 bellowed out, "Boy Bluff! Boy Bluff! send aft boy 
 Bluff!" 
 
 The same words were repeated in various hoarse 
 tones, and in less than a minute Toby came running up. 
 He had had the advantage of a day's experience on 
 board, and had wonderfully soon got into the ways of 
 the ship. 
 
 When he saw me he shouted with joy. 
 
 " I did think, Measter Marmaduke, you never would 
 a coome," he exclaimed. " But it's all right now, and 
 my — w hat a strange place this bees. Not a bit loike 
 the hall, though there's plenty o' beef here for dinner, 
 but it's main tough, and the bread for all the world's 
 like old tiles." 
 
 " Be thankful you haven't to live on grind-stones and 
 marlin-spikes, as I once had for a whole month, with 
 nothing but bilge-water to wash 'em down," growled out 
 the boatswain, who heard the observation.
 
 24 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 As he had told me that he had not time to talk, I did 
 not ask him how this had happened. 
 
 I might prolong indefinitely my account of my fir«t 
 days on board ship. I gradually found myself more and 
 more at home, till I began to fancy that I must be of some 
 use on board. No one could be kinder than was Cap- 
 tain Colly er, and he was constantly employing me in a 
 variety of ways in which he thought I could be trusted. 
 One day he sent for me, and giving me a letter, ordered 
 me to take it on board the flag-ship, and to deliver it in 
 person to Captain Bumpus, the flag-captain. I knew 
 Captain Bumpus, because he had been one of our dinner 
 party at the George, and I remembered that he had 
 laughed complacently at my stories. He was, however, 
 very pompous, not a little conceited, and a great dandy, 
 and I cannot say that I had felt any great respect for 
 him. 
 
 We had discussed him in the berth, and the opinion 
 was that he was sweet on one of the admiral's daughters. 
 At all events he was a bachelor, and having lately made 
 some prize money, he was supposed to be looking out 
 for a wife to help him spend it. Moreover it was 
 whispered that he wore a wig, but this he strenuously 
 denied. Being very fond of talking of the necessity he 
 was under of having to go and get his hair cut, till it 
 became a common remark that though Captain Bumpus 
 got his hair cut oftener than any one else, it never 
 appeared shorter. 
 
 I stepped into the second gig, and as Edkins went 
 with me to steer the boat, I had no difficulty in getting 
 alongside the flag-ship. As we pulled under the stern,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 25 
 
 I saw several ladies looking out from a stern gallery, 
 which Edkins told me belonged to the admiral's cabin. 
 I found my way on deck, and touching my hat to the 
 mate of the deck, announced my errand. 
 
 " Come, I'll show you," he said, seeing that I hesi- 
 tated which way to turn, and he led me up first to one 
 deck and then to another, and then he pointed to a door 
 at which a sentry was standing, and told me to go in 
 there. I found four or five officers in the after cabin 
 waiting to see Captain Bumpus, who was dressing, I 
 collected from their conversation. 
 
 Presently a frizzled out Frenchman, the very cut of 
 a stage barber (a refugee, I heard afterwards), entered 
 the cabin with a freshly-dressed wig on a block. 
 
 " Monsieur de Captain tell me to bring his vig and 
 put it in his cabin. I do so vid your permission, gentle- 
 men," he observed, as he placed it on the table, and 
 with a profound bow took his departure. 
 
 The story went that Captain Bumpus, who was fond 
 of good living, had only lately fallen in with poor Pierre 
 Grenouille, and had concluded a bargain on which he 
 prided himself exceedingly. Ostensibly Pierre was 
 engaged to dress his dinners, but privately to dress his 
 hair, or rather his wigs. 
 
 There was a general titter among the officers, in which 
 I heartily joined. 
 
 Suddenly, before we had time to compose our features, 
 a door on one side opened, and Captain Bumpus ap- 
 peared in full fig, with his sword under his arm, and his 
 cocked hat in hand, looking self-satisfied in the extreme. 
 
 3
 
 26 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 He started when he saw the wig-block and wig, the fac- 
 simile of the one he wore on his head. 
 
 " What's that ? " he exclaimed, in a voice hoarse with 
 rage. " Who put it there ? " 
 
 No one answered, and dashing down his hat, he seized 
 the wig-block and wig, and with an exclamation of anger 
 threw them overboard. 
 
 " Now gentlemen," he said, turning round and at- 
 tempting to be calm, " what is it you have to say ? 
 Really this incident may seem ridiculous," he added, 
 seeing that there was still a suppressed titter going on, 
 " but I detest the sight of a wig-block since — you know 
 that Highland tragedy — " 
 
 " A man overboard ! a man overboard ! " was heard 
 resounding in gruff voices from above. 
 
 " Oh, poor man, he will be drowned, he will be 
 drowned," came in a sharper treble from the admiral's 
 cabin. 
 
 I heard the shrill pipe of the boatswain's mate as 
 boats were being lowered, and at that instant into the 
 cabin rushed the French barber, wringing his hands in 
 a frantic state, and exclaiming, " Oh Captain, your 
 beautiful vig, your beautiful vig, it vill all be spoilt, it 
 vill all be spoilt." 
 
 " My wig ! " shouted Captain Bumpus, in a voice of 
 thunder. " My wig, you anatomy, you mendacious in- 
 ventor of outrageous impossibilities. Begone out of the 
 cabin, out of the ship, overboard with you, the instant 
 dinner is served ! " And he gave the unhappy barber a 
 kick which sent him flying across the after-cabin, through
 
 MAKMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 27 
 
 the door of the outer one, against the sentry, who was 
 knocked over, and soldier and barher lay floundering 
 and kicking, and bawling and swearing, in their native 
 dialects, amid the laughter of the officers, who ran to 
 see what had become of the little man, and the shouts 
 of the men who were outside. 
 
 Meantime the tide was running strong, and the wig- 
 block drifted past the other ships of the fleet, from all 
 of which boats instantly put off in chase. They were 
 all assembled round the fatal block, and the bowman of 
 one, more fortunate than the rest, had got hold of it, and 
 held it up amid shouts of laughter, when a boat from 
 the flag-ship arrived and claimed the prize. 
 
 As the boat returned and pulled up astern, the admi- 
 ral shouted out, " Have you got the poor fellow ? " 
 
 " It was'nt a man, sir ! it was only the captain's wig, 
 sir," was the answer. 
 
 " The captain's what ? " cried the admiral. 
 
 " Captain Bumpus's wig, sir," shouted the bowman, 
 as he held it up for inspection. 
 
 " Come aboard with it, then," answered the admiral, 
 roaring with laughter, for he richly enjoyed a joke. 
 
 I heard a merry giggle in the stern gallery. Captain 
 Bumpus turned pale with rage and mortified vanity. 1 
 delivered my despatch, to which he said he would send 
 an answer. The next day it was reported that he had 
 resigned his commission and gone on shore. He could 
 not bear the idea that the whole fleet should have dis- 
 covered he wore a wig.
 
 28 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Blue Peter had been for some hours flying aloft, 
 when Jonathan Johnson's pipe, sounding along the 
 decks with a shrillness which surpassed the keenest of 
 north-easterly gales, gave the expected order, which his 
 mates, in gruffest of gruff tones, bawled out, of "All 
 hands up anchor ! " In an instant the whole ship was 
 in an uproar, and seemed to me to be in the most dire 
 confusion. Boatswain's mates were shouting and bawl- 
 ing, the officers hurrying to their stations, the men fly- 
 ing here and there, some aloft to loose sails, and others to 
 halyards, sheets, and braces. I must own that I did not 
 feel myself of any great service in assisting at the opera- 
 tion going forward, but I ran and shouted with the rest, 
 and as the men passed me I told them to look sharp, 
 and to be smart, and to hurry along; but what they 
 were about to do, I was utterly enable to discover. I 
 met Toby Bluff hurrying along, looking very much 
 scared and half inclined to blubber. I asked him what 
 was the matter. 
 
 u It's the big man with the rattan (he alluded to the 
 ship's corporal), told me to go aft to the poop, and stand 
 by the mizen-topsail halyards," he exclaimed. " But, 
 
 Master Marmaduke, where they be it's more than 
 my seven senses can tell. What shall I do? what shall 
 
 1 do?" 
 
 I saw some other boys running aft, so I advised him
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 29 
 
 to go where they went, and to do whatever they did. I 
 soon afterwards saw him hauling away sturdily at a 
 rope, and though he tumbled down very often, he was 
 quickly again on his feet. The life and fiddle were 
 mean time sounding merrily, and, as with cheerful 
 tramp the men pressed round the capstan bars, the an- 
 chor was speedily run up to the bows. What the lieu- 
 tenant on the forecastle could mean when he shouted out, 
 " Man the cat-fall," I could not divine, till I saw that 
 some of the crew were securing the stock of the anchor by 
 means of a tackle to a stout beam, which projected over 
 the bows of the ship. " Over to the fish," next shouted 
 out the officer, an order at first equally inexplicable to 
 me, till I saw the flukes of the anchor hauled up close to 
 the bows, — fished, as it is called. 
 
 The sails were let fall and sheeted home, braces 
 hauled taut, and the Doris, with a rattling breeze, under 
 all sail, stood through the Needle Passage and down 
 Channel. Those were stirring times. The cruisers of 
 the various nations then at war with Old England, 
 swarmed in all directions ; and it was the ardent wish 
 of every one on board the frigate, from the captain 
 down to my small self, and to tin; youngest powder-mon- 
 key, that we should hefore long meet an enemy worthy 
 of our prowess. A sharp look-out was kept aloft night 
 and day, and it would have been difficult for any thing 
 under sail, passing within the circle seen from our main- 
 truck to have escaped notice. Captain Collyer also did 
 his best to prepare his crew for an encounter whenever 
 it might come, and the men were kept constantly exer- 
 cising at the great guns and small arms, and, for a 
 
 i -
 
 30 MABMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 change, at shortening and making sail, till they had all 
 learned to work well together. I was all this time rap- 
 idly picking up a fair amount of miscellaneous nautical 
 knowledge, partly by observation, but chiefly from my 
 messmates, and from Sam Edkins, the captain's cock- 
 swain, who had, as he said, taking a liking to me. 
 
 Mr. Johnson, the boatswain, at times condescended to 
 give me instruction. "At present, Mr. Merry, you'll 
 observe, and I say it with perfect respect," remarked my 
 friend, "you're like a sucking babe, an unfledged spar- 
 row, a squid on dry ground — you're of no use to no- 
 body, and rather want somebody to look after you, and 
 keep you out of harm. When you've been to sea as 
 many years as I have, if you keep your eyes open, you'll 
 besrin to find out what's what." 
 
 IT* 
 
 I confess that these observations of the boatswain were 
 calculated to make me feel rather small. However, I 
 was not offended, and I often managed to pay Mr. Jona- 
 than back in his own coin, which made him like me all 
 the more. A great contrast to him in character was 
 the captain's steward, Billy Wise. Billy had been to 
 sea all his life, but no training could make a sailor of 
 him. He was devoted to the captain, whom he had fol- 
 lowed from ship to ship, and who took him, I truly be- 
 lieve, from pure compassion, because no one else would 
 have had him. He was, however, a faithful fellow, and 
 I am certain would have done any thing to serve his 
 captain. 
 
 Captain Collyer used to have some of the youngsters 
 into his cabin to learn navigation. I liked this very 
 much, and studied hard ; for, as I had come to sea to be
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 31 
 
 a sailor, I wished to be a good one. Several of us were 
 seated round the table one day, when the steward madu 
 his appearance. 
 
 " How is the wind, Wise ? " asked the captain. 
 
 " Some says it's east, and some says it's west, Captain 
 Collyer," was the satisfactory answer. 
 
 " And which way do you say it is ? " inquired his 
 master. 
 
 " Whichever way you please, sir," replied the steward, 
 pulling a lock of his hair. 
 
 Even the presence of our captain could scarcely pre- 
 vent us youngsters from bursting into a roar of laughter. 
 This was surpassed, however, by an Irish midshipman, 
 an old shipmate of mine, who, when undergoing his 
 examination for navigation, and was asked, whether the 
 sun went round the earth, or the earth round the sun, 
 looked up with perfect confidence, and unhesitatingly 
 replied, — 
 
 " Faith, gentlemen, it's sometimes one and sometimes 
 the other." 
 
 He was very much surprised at being turned back. 
 He, however, afterwards managed to pass, but whether 
 it was because the examining olFieers were not quite 
 confident as to the exact state of the case themselves, 
 and therefore did not push the question, or that he had 
 in the mean time gained the required information, I do 
 not now remember. 
 
 Captain Collyer was accustomed to Billy's eccentric- 
 ities. They were sometimes inconvenient. One day. 
 we fell in with a line-of-battle ship, and our captain had 
 to go on board to pay his respects to his superior officer
 
 32 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 As he was hurriedly leaving his cabin he called for his 
 cocked hat. 
 
 " Your hat, Captain Collyer — your hat, sir," ejacu- 
 lated Billy Wise, in a state of great trepidation, — " it's 
 all safe, sir. It druve ashore at Hurst, as we was com- 
 ing through the Needle Passage, and some of the 
 sodgers at the castle picked it up." 
 
 Poor Billy had been brushing the hat at a port with 
 too great vehemence, and sent it flying overboard. He 
 might possibly have seen something dark floating toward 
 Hurst, and his shipmates, who were always practising 
 on his credulity, probably persuaded him that it was the 
 captain's hat. Many captains, in those days, would 
 have given him a couple of dozen, or put him on nine- 
 water grog for a month. Captain Collyer very soon 
 forgot all about the matter, except when he told the 
 story as a good joke. On the present occasion he had 
 to borrow a cocked hat ; and it was not till we had been 
 in action, and one of the officers was killed, that he 
 could get fitted with one of his own. 
 
 The captain had a goat, which was a source of much 
 amusement to us youngsters, and of annoyance to Mr. 
 Lukyn, the first lieutenant ; for, as if aware that she 
 did belong to the captain, she made no scruple of invad- 
 ing the quarter-deck, and soiling its purity. One day, 
 my first acquaintance on board — the tall, gaunt mid- 
 shipman with red hair, who, by the by, went by the 
 name of Miss Susan — with two or three other young- 
 sters and I, were standing on our side of the deck, when 
 Nancy, the goat, released from her pen, came prancing 
 up to us. We, as usual, made grabs at her horns and
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 33 
 
 tail, and somewhat excited her temper. Now, she 
 began to butt at us, and made us fly, right and left. 
 Miss Susan was capsized, and sent sprawling on the 
 deck ; and Nancy, highly delighted at her victory, 
 frisked off over to the starboard side, where Mr. Lukyn, 
 with all the dignity of a first lieutenant, was walking the 
 deck with his glass under his arms. Nancy, either mis- 
 taking his long legs for the stems of the trees and shrubs 
 of her native hills, or wishing to repeat the experiment 
 which had succeeded so well with regard to Miss Susan, 
 made a furious butt at his calves while he was walking 
 aft, unconscious of her approach. The effect must have 
 been beyond Nancy's utmost expectations, as it was 
 beyond ours. Our gallant first never appeared very 
 firm on his pins, and, the blow doubling his knees, down 
 he came, stern first, on the deck with his heels in the 
 air, while the goat, highly delighted at her performance, 
 and totally unconscious of her gross infraction of naval 
 discipline, frolicked off forward in search of fresh adven- 
 tures. 
 
 Just at that moment up came Billy Wise with a mes- 
 sage from the captain. 
 
 Now Mr. Lukyn rarely gave way to anger, but this 
 was an occasion to try his temper. Picking himself up 
 from his undignified posture, " Hang the goat," he ex- 
 claimed in a loud tone ; " who let the creature loose ? " 
 
 Billy did not know, but having delivered his message, 
 away he went forward ; while we endeavored to con- 
 ceal, as far as we could, the fits of laughter in which we 
 were iniluljjinjr. Miss Susan's real name was Jacot 
 Spellman.
 
 34 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Some short time after this, I was going along the 
 main-deck with him, when we found the captain's stew« 
 ard very busy splicing an eye in a rope, close to the 
 cattle-pen, where Nancy had her abode. We walked 
 on a little way, and then turned round to watch him. 
 Having formed a running noose, he put it round the 
 goat's neck, and dragged her out of the pen. He then 
 got a tub and made her stand upon it while he passed 
 the rope over a hook in the beam above. Hauling 
 away as hard as he could, he gave the tub a kick, and 
 there hung poor Nancy, in a most uncomfortable position, 
 very nearly with her neck dislocated ; but as he had not 
 calculated on her power of standing on her hind legs, the 
 result he expected was unaccomplished, and she was not 
 altogether deprived of life. She struggled, however, so 
 violently, that she would very soon have been strangled 
 had not old Perigal, who was mate of the main-deck, 
 come up and seen what was going forward. 
 
 " Why, man, what are you about ? " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Please, sir, I be hanging the goat," was Billy's re- 
 
 " Hanging the goat ! who told you to do that ? " in- 
 quired Perigal. 
 
 " It was the first lieutenant, sir. She knocked him 
 over right flat on the deck, and so he told me to go and 
 hang her." 
 
 " Well, you are a precious ," exclaimed the old 
 
 mate. " Let free the beast, and thank your stars that 
 you didn't hang her. The captain is a wonderfully 
 good-natured man, there can be no doubt of it ; but even 
 he wouldn't have stood having his goat hung."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHirjIAN. 35 
 
 Of owrse, I do not dress the language of my ship- 
 mates with the expletives in which many of them were 
 apt to indulge, when the use of strange oaths and swear- 
 ing of all descriptions was more common than even at 
 present, when the practice would be more honored in 
 the breach than in the observance. One thing I must 
 say, I never heard our gallant captain utter an oath or 
 abuse a man, during the whole time I had the happiness 
 of serving under him, and a braver, more spirited, or 
 more sensible man never trod the deck of a man-of-war 
 as her chief. His memory is dear, not only to all those 
 who served with him, but to all of high or low degree 
 who knew him during his long and glorious naval ca- 
 reer. His manners were mild and gentle, — though he 
 had an abundance of humor and spirit. He could, how- 
 ever, when he thought it necessary, speak with the 
 gravest severity to a delinquent. I never saw any man 
 more cool, and calm, and thoughtful in action. It may 
 truly be said of him that in battle he was as brave as a 
 lion, and in peace as gentle as a lamb. I could not 
 resist uttering this panegyric on our well-loved cap- 
 tain. 
 
 To return to Billy Wise and the goat. The poor ani- 
 mal's life was saved, though she had a strange way of 
 stretching out her neck for some weeks afterwards, and 
 always gave Billy a wide berth when she encountered 
 him in her rambles about the decks. 
 
 When the captain heard the account, instead of being 
 angry, he laughed heartily, and added the story to his 
 butch of anecdotes. 
 
 "I must do soi lething with that poor fellow," be re-
 
 86 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 marked. " He is not fit to be made Lord Chief Justice, 
 I fear." 
 
 It was not always plain sailing with me. Spellman 
 and I were pretty good friends, but he was somewhat 
 inclined to play the bully. He was called Miss Susan 
 simply because he was as unlike a girl as a great awk- 
 ward gawky fellow, with red hair and a freckled face, 
 could well be. 
 
 One day, as I was going along the lower-deck, with a 
 message to old Perigal, who was attending to some duty 
 forward, I came suddenly on Toby Bluff, whose ear 
 Spellman had seized, while with his heel, he was bestow- 
 ing sundry hard blows on the corpus of my sturdy fol- 
 lower, who already knew enough of naval discipline to 
 venture on retaliation. Toby, though short, was as 
 strong as a lion, and could have hurled him to the deck 
 if he had dared. This made Miss Susan's attack all the 
 more cowardly. What Toby had done to give offence 
 I did not stop to inquire. My anger was up in a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 " Let go the boy, Spellman ; " I exclaimed, u you shall 
 not strike him again." 
 
 Toby gained little by this, for Miss Susan only kicked 
 him the harder; whereon, up I rushed, and hit my tall 
 messmate a blow between the eyes, which made light- 
 ning flash from them, I suspect. Spellman instantly let 
 go Toby and sprang at me. I stood prepared for the 
 onslaught. Blinded by my first blow, my antagonist hit 
 out at random, and though double my weight, was far 
 from getting the best of it. While we were thus pleas- 
 antly occupied, Mr. Lukyn, with the sergeant-at-arms.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 37 
 
 was going his rounds. We were so earnestly engaged 
 in endeavoring to the utmost of our power to hurt each 
 other, that we did not perceive their approach. Toby- 
 knew too well the laws of British pugilism to interfere, 
 though had my opponent been an enemy of a different 
 nation, and had we been engaged in mortal combat, I 
 have no doubt that I should have found my young fol- 
 lower an able supporter. An exclamation from Toby 
 threw Spellman off his guard, when a full blow, which 
 I planted on his breast, sent him reeling back into the 
 no very tender clutches of old Krause, the master-at- 
 arms. 
 
 " What is this about, young gentlemen ? " exclaimed 
 Mr. Lukyn, in a severe tone. " Fighting is against the 
 articles of war." 
 
 « He hit me, sir ; " " He kicked the boy Bluff," we 
 both exclaimed in the same breath. 
 
 " I must have you both up before the captain, and 
 ascertain who is the culprit," said Mr. Lukyn. " Mas- 
 ter-at-arms, take these young gentlemen into custody." 
 
 I, on this, represented that I had been sent on a mes- 
 sage to Mr. Perigal, and was allowed to go and deliver 
 it. While I was absent, Spellman took care to put his 
 case in the best light, and mine in the worst. In about 
 an hour we were both taken before the captain, and Toby 
 was summoned as a witness. For fear of committing me, 
 he was only puzzled what to say. 
 
 " Speak the truth, and nothing but it," said I, boldly. 
 
 The captain cast a look of approbation on me. 
 
 Toby frankly confessed that, not seeing Mr. Spellman, 
 
 4
 
 58 MARMADTJKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 he had run against him, when he had been seized by the 
 ear, and that I, coming up, had taken his part. 
 
 Toby was dismissed. 
 
 " Now, young gentlemen, you are both in the wrong," 
 said the captain. " You, Mr. Spellman, should not have 
 struck the boy for his heedlessness ; and you, Mr. Merry, 
 should not have taken the law into your own hands. 
 You will both of you go to the mast-head, and remain 
 there till Mr. Lukyn calls you down ; Mr. Merry to the 
 foremast, Mr. Spellman to the mainmast." 
 
 We thought that we had got oif very easily ; and we 
 should, had not the first lieutenant gone below and for- 
 gotten all about us. Hour after hour passed by ; we 
 had had no dinner ; I was almost starved, and could 
 scarcely have held on longer, when my eye fell on a 
 sail to the southward. We were in the chops of the 
 channel, with the wind from the northward. " Sail, !" 
 I shouted out in a shrill tone. Fortunately Mr. Lukyn 
 was on deck, and when I had told him the direction in 
 which I had seen the stranger, he called me down, it 
 having probably occurred to him that I had been mast- 
 headed rather longer than he intended. 
 
 When I got on deck I went up to him, and, touching 
 my hat, said, " Please, sir, Spellman is still at the mast- 
 head." 
 
 " Oh, is he ? ah ! " he answered, taking a turn. 
 
 I guessed from this that he did not think I was much 
 to blame. Still I was anxious to get poor Miss Susan 
 out of his unpleasant predicament, for I knew he was 
 almost dead with hunger. I had resolved to go up to
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 39 
 
 Mr. Lukyn to tell him so, when he hailed my late an- 
 tagonist, and ordered him on deck. 
 
 *' You have to thank Mr. Merry that you are not up 
 there still," observed the first lieutenant, walking away. 
 
 Meantime the helm had been put up, and sail made 
 in chase of the stranger. All hands earnestly hoped 
 that she might prove an enemy. A sharp look-out was 
 kept on her. One thing soon became evident — that 
 we must have been seen, and that she was not inclined 
 to fly. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Merry, we'll show you what fighting is," 
 observed Mr. Johnson, the boatswain, as I stood near 
 him on the forecastle. " You'll soon see round-shot, and 
 langrage, and bullets rattling about us, thick as hail ; 
 and heads, and arms, and legs flying off like shuttle- 
 cocks. A man's head is off his shoulders before he 
 knows where he is. You'll not believe it, Mr. Merry, 
 perhaps ; but it's a fact. I once belonged to a frigate, 
 when we fell in with two of the enemy's line-of-battle 
 ships, and brought them to action. One, for a short 
 time, was on our starboard beam, and the other right 
 aft ; and we were exposed to a terrible cross and raking 
 fire; it's only a wonder one of us remained alive, or 
 that the ship did'nt go down. It happened that two 
 men were standing near me, looking the same way — 
 athwart ships, you'll understand. The name of one was 
 Bill Cox — the other, Tom Jay. Well, a round-shot 
 came from our enemy astern, and took off the head of 
 Bill Cox, who was on the larboard side ; while at that 
 identical moment a chain-shot from the ship abeam cut 
 off Tom Jay's head, who was nearest the starboard side,
 
 40 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 so cleanly — he happened to have a long neck — that it 
 was jerked on to the body of Bill Cox, who, very natu- 
 rally, putting up his hands to feel what had become of 
 his own head, kept it there so tightly that it stuck — ■ 
 positively stuck ; and, the surgeon afterwards plastering 
 it thickly round, it grew as firmly as if it had always 
 belonged to the body. The curious thing was, that the 
 man did not afterwards know what to call himself; 
 when he intended to do one thing he was constantly 
 doing another. There was Bill Cox's body, d'ye see, 
 and Tom Jay's head. Bill Cox was rather the shorter 
 of the two, and had had a very ugly mug of his own ; 
 while Tom Jay was a good-looking chap. Consequently 
 Bill used sometimes to blush when he heard his good 
 looks spoken of, and sometimes to get angry, thinking 
 people were making fun of him. At first, Bill never 
 knew who was hailed, and used to sing out, ' Which of 
 us do you want ? ' However, it was agreed that he was 
 and should be Bill Cox ; because the head belonged to 
 the body by right of capture ; for if Bill's arms hadn't 
 sprung up and caught it, the head would have gone 
 overboard, and been no use to nobody. So the matter 
 was settled, as far as the public was concerned. D was 
 put against Tom Jay's name, and his disconsolate widow 
 was written to, and told she might marry some one else 
 as soon as she liked. But Bill wasn't at all comfortable 
 about himself. He was fond of fat bacon, which Tom 
 Jay could never abide ; and when Bill put it into his 
 new mouth, why, you see, the mouth that was Tom's 
 spit it out again, and wouldn't let it, by no manner of 
 means, go down his throat. Then Tom was fond of a
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 4] 
 
 chaw, and seldom had had a quid out of his cheeks 
 Bill, for some reason, didn't like backy, and though hi? 
 mouth kept asking for it, nothing would ever tempt his 
 hands to put a quid inside. ' I'm very miserable, that 
 I be,' groaned poor Bill ; 4 1 sometimes almost wishes I 
 hadn't caught Tom's head — that I do.' 
 
 " You see, Mr. Merry, people seldom know when 
 they are well off, and that I used to tell him. More 
 came of it when Bill got back home. When poor Tom 
 Jay's widow caught sight of him there was a terrible to 
 do, seeing she was already married to another man ; but 
 I'll tell you all about that by and by. There's the cap- 
 tain about to speak." 
 
 The captain's speech was very brief: " Clear ship for 
 action," he exclaimed, as he placed himself on one of 
 the after guns; "and now, lads, let me see what you 
 are made of." 
 
 I had been about to ask the boatswain how he got 
 clear of the two line-of-battle ships, when this interrup- 
 tion occurred. Toby Bluff had been standing at a 
 respectful distance, taking it all in with open mouth and 
 astonishment. Each man went to his station — bulk- 
 heads were knocked away — the fires put out — the 
 magazine opened — powder and shot were carried on 
 deck — the guns were cast loose, and every preparation 
 was made in a wonderfully short space of time. As I 
 passed along the main-deck, I found Toby Bluff sitting 
 on his tub, the picture of a regular powder-monkey — 
 fat, sturdy, and unconcerned. He had become on very 
 familiar terms with the other boys, and had fought his 
 way into a satisfactory state of equality. He and those 
 
 4*
 
 42 MARMADUKE MEKRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 near him were firing off jokes at each other at a rapid 
 rate, the others trying to frighten him, and he in no 
 way inclined to take alarm. 
 
 " Never you mind," he answered to a remark made 
 by one of his companions ; " if some chaps have their 
 heads blown off, others gets new ones clapped on again ! 
 Ha, ha, ha ! That's more than some of you ever see'd 
 done." 
 
 I was glad to see that Toby was in such good heart, 
 and would not disgrace our county. When I reached 
 the upper deck, I found our bunting going up and 
 down. We were signalizing with the stranger, which, 
 after all, turned out to be no enemy, but his Majesty's 
 thirty-six gun frigate Uranius. There was a general 
 groan of disappointment when the order was given to 
 secure the guns and close the magazine. I believe 
 that, at that moment, most of the people, so worked up 
 were they for fighting, would rather have had a turn to 
 with their friend than have been baulked altogether. 
 We found, however, that we should soon have a good 
 opportunity of gratifying our pugnacious propensities. 
 Admiral Cornwallis was at that time the commander-in- 
 chief of the Channel fleet. He had directed Captain 
 Collyer to look out for the Uranius and another frigate, 
 the Emerald, and to proceed off Point St. Matthieu. to 
 watch the French and Spanish fleets then lying in Brest 
 harbor. After cruising for a couple of days, we fell in 
 with the other frigate, and thus altogether proceeded to 
 our destination. We soon reached it. On standing in 
 toward the land, we very clearly made out the enemy's 
 fleet at anchor in Brest harbor ; but few, if any, of th«
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIliuAN. 43 
 
 Bhips had their sails bent, and even if they had com© 
 out after us we could very easily have escaped. 
 
 " All hands shorten sail, and bring ship to an anchor," 
 was the order given, and all three frigates brought up 
 just as coolly as if we had been at Spithead. 
 
 " I wonder what they think of us ? " I observed to the 
 boatswain, as one day I was examining the enemy 
 through my glass. 
 
 " Think of us ! " he exclaimed. " That we are as im- 
 pudent as sparrows, and that they would willingly wring 
 our necks and eat us if they could. But it is nothing to 
 what I have seen done in the way of daring. I once 
 belonged to a frigate, commanded by Captain Longbow, 
 and, as he would tell you, if you were to ask him, we 
 one night sailed right into the middle of a Spanish fleet 
 — ran alongside one of their ships, boarded and carried 
 her, and took her out free without the Spanish admiral 
 discovering what we had been about. There's no end 
 to the wonderful things I have seen done, or, I may 
 say, without conceit, have done, Mr. Merry. But I 
 rather suspect that we shall have to lose sight of the 
 Dons and Monsieurs for a few days. There's bad 
 weather coming on, and we shall have to stand out to 
 sea ; but, never mind, they'll not make their escape with 
 a gale in their teeth." 
 
 Mr. Johnson prognosticated rightly. Before many 
 hours it was blowing great guns and small arms, and 
 the three frigates were endeavoring, under all the sail 
 they could carry, to obtain a good offintr from the land. 
 We tumbled about and pitched into the seas in a way 
 which prevented me from, as usual, pitching into my
 
 44 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 dinner. One thing was satisfactory ; the gale blockaded 
 the enemy as effectually as we could have done. They 
 were not inclined to come out and face either our suns 
 or the fury of the wind. I cannot say, however, that 
 just at that time any thing brought much consolation to 
 me. I had only one very strong wish ; it was, to be 
 thrown overboard, — not that I had the slightest inten- 
 tion of jumping into the sea of my own accord. I wa9 
 too far gone for any such energetic proceeding ; and had 
 anybody else taken me up for the purpose, I have no 
 doubt that I should have struggled and kicked myself 
 into perfect health again. I had coiled myself away on 
 the top of my chest, on the lower deck, in a dark recess, 
 where I thought no one would see me ; and there 1 
 hoped to remain all alone in my misery, till the ship 
 went down, or blew up, or something else dreadful hap- 
 pened, for as to my ever getting well again, that I felt 
 was physically impossible. I had lain thus for some 
 time, believing myself to be the most miserable small 
 piece of humanity in existence, when, the frigate ap- 
 pearing to be pitching and rolling more furiously than 
 ever, I heard a gruff voice exclaim, — 
 
 " What, youngster ! are you going to let the ship go 
 down, and you not try to save her ? On deck with you ; 
 be smart, now." 
 
 I felt a colt applied to a part of my body which, in the 
 position I lay, offered a tempting mark. The voice was 
 that of old Perigal ; his sharp eyes had found me out. 
 I sprang up, and rushed on deck with an involuntary yell 
 of pain, to find the ship under her three topsails closely 
 reefed, forcing her way bravely through the seas, and
 
 MARMADUKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 45 
 
 not at all inclined to go down, or to come to any other 
 damage. 
 
 " You're all the better for that trip, youngster," said 
 the old mate, with a grin, as I returned to the berth. 
 " Now, just take a lump of this fat bacon and a bit of 
 biscuit, — and here, as a treat, you shall have a nip of 
 old Jamaica, and you'll be all to rights in ten minutes, 
 and never be sea-sick again as long as you live." 
 
 I remonstrated, but out came the colt, and with an ar- 
 gument so cogent, I was fain to adopt my messmate's 
 remedy. It was a terrible trial. At first, I could 
 scarcely bring my teeth to meet ; but Perigal flourished 
 his weapon, and my jaws went faster and faster, till I 
 was not sorry to finish the whole of the biscuit and ba- 
 con placed before me, and could have taken twice as 
 much if I could have got it. Perigal was right. From 
 that day to this, I have never suffered from sea-sick- 
 ness. 
 
 Toby Bluff had undergone a similar ordeal, and when 
 I was well enough to go and look for him, I found him 
 6craping away at a beef bone, from which he had just 
 removed the last particle of meat. 
 
 The summer gale was soon over, and once more we 
 stood in for the land to look after the Frenchmen. As 
 we drew in, I saw the captain and officers eagerly scan- 
 ning the coast with their glasses, and it was soon known 
 that a ship had been discovered at anchor by herself in 
 a bay almost abreast of where we then were. She was 
 protected, however, by the guns of some strongish bat- 
 teries. 
 
 " We must have her out, though," observed Captain
 
 43 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Collyer; and forthwith the proposal was made to our 
 consorts by signal. 
 
 Neither of the captains were the sort of men to decline 
 engaging in the undertaking. Off we went, under every 
 stitch of canvas we could carry, to look for the admiral, 
 who, with a fleet sufficient to render a good account of 
 the enemy, should they venture out of harbor, was cruis- 
 ing in the neighborhood. 
 
 Admiral Cornwallis highly approved of the proposal. 
 " Go and do it," was his laconic reply. He was more 
 addicted to acts than words. He sent a lieutenant, in 
 whom he placed great confidence, to take command, and 
 a boat and boat's crew from the flag-ship to lead. This 
 was not quite as complimentary a proceeding as the 
 three captains would have liked ; but they were all too 
 zealous and too anxious to get the work done to stand 
 on ceremony. Away back we sailed, till we once more 
 made out the entrance to the bay, which was called 
 Cameret Bay. 
 
 The craft we were about to attack, and hoped to cap- 
 ture, was the Chevrette, a ship corvette, mounting 
 twenty guns, — a powerful vessel, and not likely to be 
 taken without a severe struggle. Notice was given that 
 volunteers would be required for the service, and im- 
 mediately, the greater part of the officers and crews of 
 the three frigates came forward. Among those who 
 volunteered from the Doris, was Mr. Bryan, the second 
 lieutenant; Mr. Johnson, the boatswain; and Edkins, 
 the captain's cockswain. All were allowed to go. The 
 captain had great confidence in Mr. Bryan ; and I sus- 
 pect that he had a fancy to ascertain what Mr. Johnson 
 really was made of.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 47 
 
 We brought up at our usual anchorage, and the re« 
 mainder of the day was occupied in making preparations 
 for the expedition. I saw Mr. Johnson very busily em- 
 ployed in his cabin in cleaning his pistols. 
 
 " Come in, Mr. Merry," he said, as he caught sight 
 of me. " These are old friends of mine ; they have 
 served me many a good turn before now. If it was 
 not for these pistols, I should not have been in the 
 land of the living ; some day I'll tell you how it hap- 
 pened. Well, we are likely to have some desperate 
 work to-night, and no one can tell whose lot it will be to 
 fall. That reminds me, Mr. Merry, I have written a 
 letter to my wife, and I will intrust it to you. That is 
 more than I would do to any other midshipman in the 
 ship. She is a charming person — every inch a lady, 
 and a lady of rank too. One thing I must charge you. 
 — do not speak of me as a boatswain. She has no idea 
 that I hold so subordinate a rank. She believes that I 
 am an officer, and so I am ; only I am a warrant, and 
 not a commissioned officer. Just tell her that I died 
 fighting bravely for my country. Her name — for she 
 is not called Mrs. Johnson — and address you will find 
 within that inclosure. If I come back, you will restore 
 it to me as it is ; if I fall, you will know what to do with 
 it." 
 
 I thanked Mr. Johnson very much for the confidence 
 he reposed in me, but told him that I had come for the 
 very purpose of asking him to let me go in his boat. 
 
 "You, Mr. Merry?" exclaimed the boatswain 
 "You'll be made into mince-meat — cut to atoms — an- 
 nihilated. It's no child's play, that cutting-out work we
 
 48 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 are going on, let me tell you. Time enough when you 
 are bigger." 
 
 " But I want to go, that I may know how to do it," I 
 argued ; " I have come to sea to learn to be a sailor and 
 an officer, and the captain says we should lose no oppor- 
 tunity of gaining knowledge ; and I could not find a 
 better occasion than the present for gaining an insight 
 into what, I fancy, is of very considerable importance." 
 
 I went on for some time arguing in this way, and 
 coaxing the boatswain. 
 
 " Well! well! I cannot give you leave, youngster — 
 you know that ; but I have heard of boys stowing them- 
 selves away under a sail in the bows of a boat, and 
 coming out to play their part right manfully when the 
 time for action had arrived. I am to have the pinnace, 
 you know." 
 
 " Thank you — thank you," I exclaimed, overwhelm- 
 ed with gratitude at the enormous favor done me by the 
 boatswain, of allowing me to run a considerable chance 
 of getting knocked on the head. 
 
 " Don't say any more about it, Mr. Merry," said Mr. 
 Johnson ; " I always liked you ; and I couldn't do for 
 my own son, if I had one, more than I would do for 
 you." 
 
 The boatswain forgot to ask for his letter back, so I 
 locked it up in my desk, after I had written a few lines 
 to inform my family that, if they received them, it would 
 be to convey the information that I had fallen, nobly 
 fighting for my country, on the field of fame — or some- 
 thing to that effect. I know I thought my epistle so 
 very fine and pathetic that I could not resist the temp-
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 49 
 
 talion of sending it home, and very nearly frightened 
 my mother and sisters into hysterics, under the belief 
 that I really was numbered among the killed and 
 wounded. It was only when they got to the postscript 
 that they discovered I was all right and well. Having 
 written this despatch, announcing my own demise — 
 which, by the by, I should certainly not have done had 
 not the boatswain put it into my head — I set to work 
 to make my other preparations. Having secured a 
 pistol, with some powder and bullets, and a cutlass, 
 which I fancied I could handle, I stowed them away in 
 the bows of the pinnace. 
 
 I never before played the hypocrite, but I was so 
 afraid that my messmates would discover my purpose, 
 that I pretended to take no interest in the proposed ex- 
 pedition, and spoke as if it was an affair in which I 
 should be very sorry to be engaged. I got, in conse- 
 quence, considerably sneered at ; Miss Susan, especially, 
 amused himself at my expense, and told me that I had 
 better go back to my sisters, and help them to sew and 
 nurse babies, if I was afraid of lighting. I bore all that 
 was said with wonderful equanimity, hoping that the 
 next morning would show I was a greater hero than any 
 of them. 
 
 At length the boats' crews were piped away ; it was 
 the signal for which I had long been listening. I rushed 
 on deck, and, unperceived, as I hoped, I jumped into 
 the pinnace, and stowed myself away under the thwarts. 
 Tim boats were lowered, the order was given to shove 
 off, and, with a hearty cheer from all on board the ships. 
 to which those in the boats responded, away we pulled 
 
 5
 
 5C MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 for the mouth of Camaret Bay. My position was any 
 thing but pleasant, especially as I got several kicks from 
 the feet of the men which nearly stove in my ribs ; and 
 I was therefore very glad when I thought it would bo 
 safe to crawl out and present myself to the boatswain. 
 The men, very naturally, were highly pleased, and I 
 rose considerably in their estimation by what I had 
 done ; but Mr. Johnson, of course, pretended to be very 
 angry when he saw me, and told me the captain would 
 never forgive me, or speak to me again, if I got killed. 
 At first, the men were allowed to laugh and talk as 
 much as they liked ; but as we approached the entrance 
 to the bay, silence was enjoined, and even the oars were 
 muffled, so that we should give no notice to the enemy 
 of our approach. 
 
 The night was very dark. Our boat had kept near 
 that of our leader, Mr. Bryan ; but after some time it 
 was discovered that the other division of boats had not 
 come up. We had pulled very fast, and probably out- 
 stripped them. We pulled on till we got within the 
 very mouth of the harbor, and then the order was passed 
 from boat to boat that we were to lay on our oars till 
 the rest of the boats came up. I found this rather a 
 trying time. While we were rapidly pulling on I could 
 not think, and I felt a powerful longing to be slashing 
 away at the enemy. Now I began to reflect that they 
 would be equally sloshing away at me ; and I remem- 
 bered my own pathetic letter, and what I fancied Jona- 
 than Johnson's anticipations of evil. Probably the men 
 were indulging in much the same sort of thoughts ; I 
 know that they did not appear to be in nearly such good
 
 MARMADLKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 51 
 
 spirits as at first. This showed me what I have ever 
 since remembered, that when dashing work is to be 
 done, it should be done off-hand, and that all pains 
 should be taken to avoid a halt or interruption. 
 
 Hour after hour passed by ; no boats appeared. At 
 length the day broke, and so rapidly did it come on 
 that, before we had time to get to a distance, the light 
 revealed us to the eyes of the enemy. The other boats 
 were nowhere to be seen ; they, for some reason, had 
 returned to the ships ; we had now no resource but to 
 do the same, in a very crestfallen condition. 
 
 I hid myself away, as before, and managed to get on 
 board without any one discovering where I had been. 
 I knew that Mr. Johnson would keep his counsel, and I 
 did my best to keep mine. Captain Collyer and the 
 other captains were very much annoyed at the failure 
 of the expedition, and it soon became known that they 
 had resolved to make another attempt to cut out the 
 Chevrette. 
 
 There was no time to be lost. Another expedition 
 was arranged for that night. Every one knew that it 
 would be far more dangerous than it would have been 
 on the previous night, because the enemy would now be 
 prepared for our reception. The corvette, indeed, was 
 seen to go further op the harbor, so as to be more com- 
 pletely under the protection of the batteries; and as 
 boats were continually passing between her and the 
 shore, there could be little doubt that she was augment- 
 ing the number of her crew. Notwithstanding the tor- 
 midable resistance they might thus expect to meet with 
 all were as eager as before to join in the expedition.
 
 52 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 I resolved not to be baulked of ray expected amuse- 
 ment, but how to accomplish my purpose was the diffi- 
 culty. I heard both the officers and men regretting the 
 failure of the previous night, and observing that they 
 should have much tougher work the next time, by 
 which I knew that the danger would be very greatly 
 increased ; but that only made me the more eager to go 
 on the expedition. The resistance to be expected was, 
 indeed, formidable. We could see with our glasses the 
 people busily employed in throwing up new batteries on 
 shore ; and then a large gun vessel came out and an- 
 chored at the mouth of the bay, to give notice of the 
 approach of boats. What, however, excited the rage 
 of all on board, and made us still more eager to capture 
 the French corvette, was to see her hoist a large French 
 ensign above the British flag. 
 
 "That insult seals her fate," observed Mr. Bryan, 
 loud enough for the men near to hear him. " Our 
 fellows will take very good care to reverse those two 
 flags before many hours are over." 
 
 I was in a very fidgety state all day. I was not ac- 
 customed to concealment, and I dared trust no one with 
 my plans. Even Toby Bluff, I suspected, would try to 
 prevent me going, unless he was allowed to go also ; 
 and that I did not wish, as it would, in the first place, 
 have increased the chances of ray being discovered, and 
 also, though I was ready enough to run the risk of 
 being knocked on the head myself, I did not wish to let 
 him get hurt if I could help it. I likewise very care- 
 fully kept out of the boatswain's way. I knew that, 
 as the danger was increased, he would be still less will-
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 53 
 
 ing to let me go, and I was in a great fright lest he 
 should have an opportunity of speaking to me alone, 
 and altogether prohibit me from going in his boat. At 
 last a bright idea occurred to me — I would sham ill, 
 and then no one would suspect me. I immediately 
 went to our long-headed Scotch assistant-surgeon, 
 Macquoid, and described my symptoms. 
 
 " You're vary ill, lad — vary ill," he answered, look- 
 ino- at me with a quizzical expression in his humorous 
 countenance. " I'll give you something which will do 
 for ye, and not make ye wish for any more physic for a 
 long time to come." 
 
 Macquoid was as good as his word. Terribly nauseous 
 was the draught he insisted on my swallowing; nor 
 would he leave me till every drop had gone down, and 
 then I rushed off to the berth and threw myself on a 
 locker to luxuriate in the flavor, which nothing I could 
 take would remove from my mouth. 
 
 It was the first and last time I ever made an attempt 
 at malingering. 
 
 6*
 
 54 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 After I had taken Macquoid's nauseous draught, 
 I went and lay down on my chest. I chose that spot 
 because, from the uncomfortable position in which I was 
 obliged to place myself, I was not likely to go to sleep, 
 and because I was there better able to hear when the 
 boats' crews were called away. I could not help now 
 and then giving way to a groan, which the sickness and 
 pain of the physic produced. 
 
 " Who's that ? " I heard old Perigal inquire, as he 
 was passing to the berth. 
 
 " Oh, it's only that little sneak, Merry," Spellman 
 answered. " He thinks that he may be ordered off in 
 the boat, and is shamming sick to escape, as if such a 
 hop-o'-my-thumb as he is could be of any use." 
 
 " That is not like him. I consider him a very plucky 
 little fellow," remarked Perigal. 
 
 " Thank you, old boy," I said mentally. " And you, 
 Miss Susan, I'll be even with you some day for your 
 obliging remarks." 
 
 I cannot say, however, that I felt any enmity toward 
 Spellman on that account. I had not respect enough 
 for him for that. I would rather, however, have parted 
 with more kindly feelings toward all my messmates on so 
 dangerous an expedition. I could not help thinking 
 over the matter while lying so long silent by myself, 
 but my resolution to accomplish my design was not
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 55 
 
 Bliaken. My messmates went into the berth, and just 
 then I heard the boats piped away. I ran quickly upon 
 deck, and, while the men were buckling on their cutlasses, 
 I slipped into the pinnace, and stowed myself, as before, 
 into so small a space that even the boatswain, who 
 looked into the boat, did not perceive me. I knew that 
 he looked for me, because I heard his gruff voice say, 
 " All right ; he's not there. He's thought better of it. r 
 At about half-past nine the final order to shove off was 
 given, and away we went. I got fewer kicks this time 
 for I took good care to keep my legs out of the way 
 The men, also, I suspect, guessed that I was there. ] 
 knew that I was perfectly safe with them. 
 
 The flotilla consisted of fifteen boats, containing nearly 
 three hundred officers and men, not counting myself. 
 After we had got, as I supposed, about a couple of miles 
 from the ship, and I knew that I could not be sent back, 
 I ventured to crawl out and look over the gunwale. The 
 inky sea around us was dotted with boats, all the party 
 keeping pretty close together. The night was so dark 
 that I could see little more than their outlines, as they 
 crept rapidly along, like many-footed monsters, over the 
 deep. I did not fancy that Mr. Johnson knew I was 
 there, but his sharp eyes made me out through the 
 gloom. 
 
 " Mr. Merry, step aft, if you please, sir," he bawled 
 out suddenly. 
 
 Stepping over the oars, I went and sat myself down 
 by him, but said nothing. 
 
 " Mr. Merry, this conduct is highly reprehensible ; I 
 must report it to the captain as soon as we get back,
 
 56 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 after we have carried and brought out that French 
 corvette, and covered ourselves with honor and glory ; 
 and I don't know what he'll say to you. And now, sir, 
 after, as in duty bound, from being your superior officer, 
 I have expressed my opinions, I should like to know 
 what you are going to do when we get alongside the 
 enemy ? " 
 
 " Climb up with the rest, and fight the Frenchmen," 
 I replied promptly. 
 
 " Very good, Mr. Merry ; but suppose one of the 
 Frenchmen was to give you a poke in the ribs with a 
 boarding pike, or a shot through the chest, or a slash 
 with a cutlass, what would you do then ? " 
 
 " Grin and bear it, I suppose, like anybody else," was 
 my answer. 
 
 " Very good, very good, indeed, Mr. Merry," said the 
 boatswain, well pleased ; " that's the spirit I like, and 
 expected to find in you. Now, my boy, whatever you 
 do, stick by me ; I'll do my best for you. If I get 
 knocked over, and there's no saying what will happen 
 in desperate work like this, then keep close to Edkins. 
 He's a good swordsman, and won't let you be hurt if he 
 can help it. I should be sorry if any harm came to 
 you. But, Mr. Merry, how are you going to fight? I 
 don't see that you have got a sword, and I fancy that 
 you'll not do much execution with one of the ship's 
 cutlasses." 
 
 I told him that I had got my dirk, and that I hoped 
 to make good use of that. 
 
 He laughed heartily. 
 
 " A tailor's bodkin would be of as much use in board-
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 57 
 
 ing," he answered ; " but you shall have one of my 
 pistols ; the chances are that I do not require either of 
 them. Cold steel suits me best." 
 
 I thanked Mr. Johnson warmly, and then asked him 
 what orders had been received about attacking. lie 
 told me that some of the boats were to board on the 
 bows, and others on the quarters of the corvette ; that a 
 quarter-master of the Beaulieu, with a party of men to 
 protect him, was to take charge of the helm ; that others 
 were to fight their way aloft, to let fall the topsails ; and 
 that he, with his men and another boat's crew, was to 
 hold possession of the forcastle, and to cut the cables. 
 All this was to be done in spite of any fighting which 
 might be taking place. Some were to sheet home the top- 
 sails, and the remainder were to do their best to over- 
 power the enemy. We had got some way, when we 
 caught sight of a strange boat inside of us. 
 
 The commander of the expedition, supposing that she 
 belonged to the Chevrette, summoning five other boats 
 to attend him, made chase to secure her, ordering his 
 second in command to pull slowly on till he rejoined the 
 expedition. On we went. As to pulling slow, that was 
 a very difficult thing to do just then. So eager were 
 the men, that they couldn't help putting more strength 
 into their strokes than they intended. All I know is 
 that the nine remaining boats got close up to the har- 
 bor's mouth, and that the others had not joined. We 
 lay on our oars, as ordered, tor a short time. 
 
 " What can have become of them ? " exclaimed a 
 lieutenant in one of the boats. 
 
 " Daylight will be upon us if we don't look sharp," 
 said another.
 
 58 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " It would be a disgrace to go back without attempting 
 something," cried a third. 
 
 u We will lose no more time, but try what we can do 
 without them," said the senior officer of the party. He 
 was undoubtedly very eager to lead on the occasion. 
 Certain necessary alterations were made. 
 
 " Gentlemen, you all know your respective duties," 
 he added. " Then give way ! " 
 
 Right cheerfully the men bent to their oars, and up 
 the harbor we dashed. I kept looking ahead for the 
 enemy. I knew that as soon as we saw her, she would 
 see us, and then the fun would begin. I felt rather 
 nervous, but very eager. 
 
 " There she is," cried the boatswain. 
 
 Suddenly through the gloom, I saw the tall masts and 
 spars of the ship we were to attack. A voice from her 
 hailed us in French. Of course our only reply was a 
 hearty cheer, and on we dashed faster than ever. Not 
 unmolested though. The next moment, sheets of flame 
 darted from the ports, from one end of the ship to the 
 other, and showers of grape and bullets rattled about 
 our heads. A groan, or a cry of anguish from some of 
 the boats, told that the emissaries of destruction had 
 taken effect. Thick fell the shot, and the next instant 
 a heavy fire opened on us from the shore ; but nothing 
 stopped our progress. On we dashed, and were quickly 
 alongside the enemy. The whole side bristled with 
 boarding pikes, and as we attempted to climb up, 
 muskets and pistols were discharged in our faces, and 
 tomahawks and sabres came slashing down on our 
 heads. Our men cheered and grasped hold of the
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 59 
 
 ship's sides, but again and again were thrust back, and 
 then the Frenchmen leaped into our boats, making a 
 dashing effort to drive us out of them. Tliey had better 
 have remained on their own deck, for very few got 
 back. Some did though, and formed shields to our 
 men, who climbed up after them. Meantime, our boat 
 had boarded, as directed, on the starboard bow, but 
 finding it hopeless so get up there, Mr. Johnson dropped 
 astern, and perceiving only one boat on the quarter, 
 and space for us to shove in, we hooked on, and the 
 next instant were scrambling up the side. I kept close 
 to the boatswain. I thought that we were about to gain 
 the deck, when the enemy made a rush toward us, and 
 over he went, and I was left clinging to the side, with a 
 dozen sabres flashing above my head. As to letting go, 
 I never thought of that. I kept Mr. Johnson's pistol in 
 my right hand, and was about to fire, when down came 
 a sword, which would have clove my head in two, had 
 not a lieutenant of marines in the next boat, interposed 
 his own weapon, and saved me. But the act was one 
 of self-devotion, for the Frenchman brought his sabre 
 down on my preserver's arm, while another thrust a 
 pike through his body, and hurled him back, mortally 
 wounded, to the bottom of the boat. I should, after all, 
 have shared the same fate, had not Mr. Johnson, at that 
 instant recovered himself, and with a shout, loud enough 
 to make our enemies quake, up he sprang, and, with one 
 whirl of his cutlass, drove the Frenchmen from the 
 side. Over the bulwarks he leaped ; I and most of the 
 men from the two boats followed. But though we had 
 •rained the deck, there seemed Imt little chance of our 
 forcing our way forward.
 
 t)0 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Our men, in the first desperate struggle alongside, had 
 lost their firearms, and for a few seconds the tall figure 
 of our boatswain, as he stood up facing the enemy, of- 
 fered a mark to a score of muskets aimed at him. The 
 Frenchman, expecting to see him fall, came on boldly. 
 I grasped his pistol, hoping to avenge him. 
 
 " The forecastle is our station, lads," he shouted, and 
 his stentorian voice was heard above the din of battle. 
 " Make a lane, there ; make a lane, there," he added, 
 dashing furiously among the enemy. I followed by his 
 side. His whirling cutlass flashed round, and sent the 
 Frenchmen flying on either side. On we went, intent 
 on our object, bearing down all opposition, to gain the 
 forecastle, while another party had got possession of the 
 helm. The deck was by this time covered with killed 
 and wounded. Many of our men had fallen. We strode 
 over friend and foe alike, alive or dead. The break of 
 the top-gallant forecastle was gained. It was desperately 
 defended, but the boatswain, clearing with a sweep of 
 his cutlass a spot to stand on, sprang up among the as- 
 tonished Frenchman. I felt myself lifted up after him ; 
 our men followed ; and though pikes were thrust at us, 
 and pistols were flashed in our faces for a few seconds, 
 our opponents either leaped overboard, or threw them- 
 selves on the deck, and sang out for quarter. Some of 
 our men, appointed for the purpose, went to the head 
 sails, while others instantly cut the cable. I glanced 
 my eye upwards ; the topmen who had fought their way 
 aloft, had cut loose the topsails with their cutlasses, and 
 they were now being sheeted home ; but the fighting was 
 not over ; a desperate attempt was being made by the
 
 One of hia mates rushed in. when raising my pistol I Bred nt the ni;m'« hoad
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 61 
 
 enemy to drive us out of the ship. The boatswain, 
 mean time, was uttering his war shouts, issuing orders 
 to the men, and dealing death and wounds around. 
 
 " Old England forever ! hoist the fore-staysail. Back, 
 ye Johnny Crapeaus ! Back, ye French scarecrow's ! 
 Haul away my lads, and belay all that. Hurra ! we've 
 gained the day ! " 
 
 In the latter assertion he was somewhat premature, 
 for the French crew, now rallying amidships, made a 
 desperate attack on the forecastle, but the boatswain's 
 flashing weapon literally cut them down like corn before 
 the reaper's scythe, as they came on. Still they pressed 
 round us. Most of our men were occupied in making 
 sail. 
 
 A big Frenchman, the boatswain of the ship, I fancy, 
 who was almost as big as Jonathan himself, now sprang 
 ahead of his comrades to measure his strength with our 
 champion. He was evidently a first-rate sword-man, 
 and in his progress forward had already cut down two 
 or three of our men. He shouted something to his com- 
 panions ; it was, as I suspected, to tell them to try and 
 wound Mr. Johnson while he was engaging him in front. 
 I had hitherto grasped the pistol he had given me. but 
 had not fired it. I felt for the lock. On came the 
 Frenchmen ; Mr. Johnson had need of all his skill to 
 keep his enemies at bay. The French boatswain pressed 
 him desperately hard. One of his mates rushed in, and 
 was bringing down his cutlass with a terrific sweep, 
 which would have half cut our boatswain in two. when, 
 raising my pistol, 1 fired ;it the man's head. The bullet 
 went through his brain, and his cutlass, though wound- 
 
 6
 
 b2 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN 
 
 ing Johnson slightly in the leg, fell to the deck. The 
 boatswain's weapon meantime was not idle, and at the 
 same moment, it descended with a sweep which cut the 
 Frenchman's head nearly in two, and he fell dead among 
 his comrades. It was at that instant the French discov- 
 ered that their ship was under weigh. " Sauve qui 
 pent ! " was the cry. Some jumped overboard and en- 
 deavored to swim on shore. Many leaped below, either 
 in fear or with determination still to carry on the fight, 
 and others threw down their arms and cried for mercy. 
 Not a cutlass was raised on them after that, but the fel- 
 lows who fled below had got possession of some muskets, 
 and began firing at all of us who appeared near the 
 hatchways. A party of our men, however, leaped down 
 among them, and quickly put a stop to their proceed- 
 
 ings. 
 
 The ship was now completely under our command ; 
 the sails filled, she felt the helm, and was standing down 
 the harbor. Though it appeared to me nearly an hour, 
 if not more, I found that not five minutes had passed 
 since the boats got alongside. But we were not quite 
 free. We were congratulating ourselves on our success, 
 when a shot whistled between our masts, followed by 
 another, and a heavy battery opened upon us. We 
 were too busy to reply to it, and the men went about 
 their work just as coolly as if nothing was occurring. 
 The wind was light, and we were a long time exposed 
 to the fire of the battery. Mr. Johnson, between 
 pulling and hauling, for he lent a hand to everybody, 
 apostrophized the masts, «nd urged them not to get 
 shot away. He evide itly thought more of them just
 
 MARMADTJKE MERRY, THE MIDSIIIPMAN. 63 
 
 then than of any thing else. They were in his depart- 
 ment. 
 
 " I wonder, Mr. Johnson, whether any of us will 
 have to change heads?" said I. 
 
 " If you and I did, you'd look rather funny with my 
 mug on your shoulders," he answered, with a loud 
 laugh. " Even your own mother would'nt know you, 
 I suspect." 
 
 Just then a shower of grape came rattling round us, 
 and though I could hear the shot whistling by, close to 
 my ears, not one of us was hit. I could not help wish- 
 ing that a breeze would spring up, and carry us clear 
 of the unpleasant neighborhood. Just then the missing 
 boats arrived, and rather surprised our friends were to 
 find that we had already secured the prize. Though 
 too late to help to take her, they were of great assist- 
 ance in towing her out of range of the enemy's batter- 
 ies, and I believe some of the poor fellows in them 
 were hit while so employed. At length a breeze sprang 
 up, and all sail being made, right merrily we glided out 
 of the enemy's harbor, much, undoubtedly, to their dis- 
 gust and to our very great satisfaction. 
 
 Now came the sad work of counting the killed and 
 wounded. We had lost twelve of the former, two be- 
 ing officers, and nearly five times that number wound- 
 ed ; while we found that the corvette had her captain, 
 three lieutenants, and three midshipmen, and eighty- 
 five seamen and soldiers killed, being ninety-two killed, 
 though only sixty-two were wounded. The deck was a 
 complete shambles : the wounded were carried below, 
 friends and foes alike, though the dead Frenchmen
 
 64 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 were hove overboard at once. Our own dead, being 
 not so numerous, were kept to be committed to the deep 
 with more ceremony in the morning. Among them 
 was a midshipman. I could not help lifting up the flag 
 which covered his face. Poor fellow, there he lay, 
 stiff' and stark ! A jovial laughing fellow he had been, 
 cracking his jokes but a few minutes before, just as we 
 were entering the harbor. Such might have been my 
 fate. He had fallen, though in the path of duty. He 
 had been ordered to come. I felt more sad, and was 
 more thoughtful, than I had ever been in my life be- 
 fore. How long I stood there I do not know. Mr. 
 Johnson's voice aroused me. 
 
 "I haven't had time to speak to you before, Mr. 
 Merry," said he. " You did very well, — very well 
 indeed. Jonathan Johnson thanks you from the bottom 
 of his heart ; that he does. If it had'nt been for your 
 steady aim, and the unfailing accuracy of my pistol 
 which you fired, I should now be among those lying 
 there, covered with glory; — a very fine thing in the- 
 ory to be covered with, but, practically, I would rather 
 be alive, and have less of it. However, I mustn't stop 
 talking here. By the by, there's Mr. Bryan has found 
 you out. I will tell him how you have behaved, and I 
 dare say that he'll not get you into trouble, if he can 
 help it." 
 
 I thought that would be very kind in Mr. Bryan. 
 It did not occur to me that I had done any thing to 
 be proud of; nor had I, indeed. I had done what I 
 ought not to have done. I wanted to see some fight- 
 ing; I had seen it, and just then I felt that I did not
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 65 
 
 want to see any more. The face of that dead midship- 
 man haunted me. I had had a sort of notion that mid- 
 shipmen could not be killed, and now I had had proof 
 positive to the contrary. I felt unusually grave and 
 sad. For a long time I could not get the face out of 
 my head. I believe that it contributed to sober me, 
 and to prevent me from being the reckless creature I 
 might otherwise have become. 
 
 Day broke as we hove in sight of the squadron, and 
 loud cheers saluted us as we brought up in triumph 
 among them. A prize crew was put in charge of the 
 captured ship, and I returned in the pinnace with the 
 boatswain to the Doris. I was in hopes of getting on 
 board without being observed, but too many eyes were 
 gazing down on us for me to do that. Spellman was, 
 of course, one of the first to discover me. 
 
 u What you there, ' hop o' me ? ' " he exclaimed ; 
 "how did you tumble into the boat?" 
 
 " Don't answer him," whispered the boatswain, as we 
 climbed up the side; "I'll let him know what I think 
 of you and him." 
 
 I ran down below as fast as I could to change my 
 clothes and wash, for I was dreadfully dirty, covered 
 from head to foot with powder and blood. The first 
 person I encountered was Toby Bluff. 
 
 "0 Muster Merry, Muster Merry! Be you really 
 and truly alive ? " he exclaimed, throwing his arms 
 round my neck, and bursting into tears. " They told 
 me you was gone away to be killed by the Frenchmen, 
 and I never expected to see you more ; that I didn't. 
 But is it yourself, squire? You looks awful smoky and
 
 66 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 bloody loike. Where are all the wounds ? You'll be 
 bleeding to death, sure. Let me run for the doctor." 
 
 He would have been off like a shot, but I assured 
 him that I was not hurt. After he was satisfied that 
 such was the case, I despatched him to the cook's galley 
 to procure some hot water, with which, and the aid of 
 soap, I managed speedily to get rid of the stains of the 
 fight. By the time I got to rights, breakfast was on the 
 table, and I went into the berth and sat myself down 
 as if nothing had happened. I flattered myself that 
 my messmates looked at me with considerable respect, 
 though they badgered me not a little. 
 
 " Where have been, youngster?" said one. " You'll 
 catch it, my boy ! " 
 
 " What have you been about, Merry? " asked old Peri- 
 gal, who was rather annoyed at not having been allowed 
 to go. " Getting most kicks or halfpence, I wonder ? 
 but 'duty is duty, and discipline is discipline,' as the 
 master remarks ; and you mustn't be playing these 
 pranks, my boy, or you'll get knocked on the head, or 
 turned out of the service. Over zeal is not approved 
 of at head-quarters." 
 
 I went on eating my breakfast with perfect equanim- 
 ity, and I very soon found that my messmates were 
 eager to have an account of the expedition, which I 
 was able to give them with tolerable clearness. I was 
 still somewhat uncomfortable as to what the captain 
 would say, and, before long, he sent for me. I went 
 trembling. He received me, however, very kindly, 
 mough he was somewhat grave. 
 
 " The boatswain speaks in the highest terms of your
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 67 
 
 coolness and courage, and says that you saved his life. 
 I am therefore willing to overlook your infraction of 
 the rules of discipline on this occasion, but remember 
 that, however well you may behave in other respects 
 you can never make wrong right. In consequence of 
 this, I cannot speak of your bravery in public as I 
 should have liked to do." 
 
 This was a good deal for the captain to say, and more, 
 1 felt conscious, than I deserved. The officers were 
 very civil to me, and I felt that I had certainly risen in 
 public estimation, and was no longer looked upon as a 
 little boy. 
 
 A few days after this, Spellman came into the berth 
 in a great rage, stating that he had overheard the boat- 
 swain say that Mr. Merry was worth his weight in 
 gold, and that he, Spellman, was not worth his in 
 paving-stones. 
 
 " Listeners never hear any good of themselves," ob- 
 served one. 
 
 " And if your are not worth your weight in paving- 
 stones, I should like to know what you are worth?" 
 asked old Perigal. 
 
 "I am much obliged to the boatswain for his good 
 opinion of me," said I. " But he probably was thinking 
 of the saying that London is paved with gold, and 
 meant to say that you were worth your weight in gold 
 paving-stones." 
 
 " That may be," answered Spellman, willing to be 
 pacified; " but I cannot say I liked his tone." 
 
 On this there was a general laugh. The boatswain'? 
 tone was well known. It was wonderful what withering
 
 68 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 contempt he could throw into it. The men dreaded it 
 more than they did even his rattan, and that, in his 
 hand, was a somewhat formidable weapon. I remem- 
 bered his promise when Spellman was quizzing me, on 
 our return from capturing the Chevrette, and I found 
 that he had fulfilled it. I thanked him the next time 
 we met off duty. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Merry ; I like to serve my friends, and 
 serve out my enemies. Not that poor Mr. Spellman 
 is an enemy of yours or mine; but — I say it with all 
 due respect — he is a goose, and I like to baste geese." 
 
 I did not repeat to Spellman what Mr. Johnson had 
 said of him. I had an intuitive feeling that it was 
 harmful to tell a person what another says of him, 
 except it happens to be something especially pleasant. 
 I believe more ill-blood and mischief is created in that 
 way than in any other. 
 
 Soon after this, we sailed on a cruise to the westward, 
 for the purpose of intercepting some of the enemy's 
 homeward-bound merchantmen. 
 
 Notwithstanding what I have said of Spellman, I 
 was in reality on very good terms with him. He was 
 continually playing me tricks ; but then I paid him off 
 in his own coin. I had, however, made the friendship 
 of another messmate, George Gray by name. He was 
 about my own age and size, and came from Leicester- 
 shire, but from a different part of the county to that 
 where my family lived. I liked him, because he was 
 such an honest, upright little fellow. No bullying or 
 persuasion could make him do what he thought wrong. 
 I do not mean to say that he never did any thing that
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 6 
 
 was wrong. "When he did, it was without reflection 
 I never knew him to do premeditated harm. We stuck 
 by each other on all occasions ; skylarked together, 
 studied navigation together ; and when we were 
 together, the biggest bully in the mess held us in 
 respect. Mr. Johnson liked George Gray as much as 
 he did me. 
 
 I had never yet got the boatswain to commence his 
 history. I told Gray that I was determined to get it 
 out of* him, as it was certain to be amusing, though we; 
 agreed that we were not bound to believe all he said. 
 He certainly was an extraordinary character. A boaster 
 and a man (I do not like to use a harsh term) who is 
 addicted to saying what is not true, is generally found 
 to be a coward, and often a bully ; whereas my worthy 
 friend was as brave as a lion, and, gruff as was his 
 voice, as gentle as a lamb, as he used to say of himself, 
 if people would but stroke him the right way ; and I 
 can assert a kinder-hearted monster never lived. Gray 
 and I, one afternoon when it was our watch below, 
 found him in his cabin. He was taking his after-dinner 
 potation of rum and water, yclept "grog," and reading 
 by the light of a purser's dip. 
 
 " Come in, young gentlemen, come in, and be seated," 
 he sung out ; and as we willingly obeyed, he added, 
 " This is what 1 call enjoyment — food for the mind and 
 moisture for the whistle. We have not many oppor- 
 tunities for mental improvement and the enjoyment of 
 light literature, as you may have discovered by this 
 time ; and to a man, like myself, of refined taste, that is 
 one of the greatest drawbacks to our noble profession."
 
 70 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Gray and I did not exactly understand what he 
 meant ; but, after letting him run on for a little time, 
 we told him why we had come, and begged him to 
 indulge us by commencing at once. 
 
 " There is, as you sagaciously observe, young gentle- 
 men, no time like the present for doing a thing which is 
 to be done ; and so " — and he cleared his throat with 
 a sound which rang along the decks — "I will begin. 
 But remember, now, I'll have no doubting — no cavilling. 
 If you don't choose to believe what I say, you need not 
 listen any more. I will not submit to have my word 
 called in question." 
 
 " Heave ahead ! " said a voice outside ; I suspected it 
 was Spellman's. I soon found that there were several 
 other listeners, and was afraid Jonathan would refuse 
 to go on ; but, in reality, he liked to have a large 
 audience, and seasoned his descriptions accordingly. 
 Again he cleared his throat, and said, — 
 
 " I'll begin — as I remarked. My mother was a 
 wonderful woman. I have a great respect for her 
 memory. Joan of Arc, Queen Dido, or the Roman 
 Daughter could not hold a candle to her. She was up 
 to any thing, and, had opportunities offered, would have 
 been the first woman of her age. As it was, she made 
 herself pretty well known in the world, as you shall 
 hear. When she was quite a young woman, she once 
 on a time became a first lieutenant of a dashing frigate. 
 When the captain was killed, she took the ship into 
 action, fought two line-of-battle ships broadside to 
 broadside, and then, when there was not a stick left 
 standing, carried them by boarding. She would have
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 71 
 
 brought both of them into port, but one went down from 
 the severe hammering she had given them. You doubt 
 what I am telling you, young gentlemen, do you ? Well, 
 then, I'll give you proof enough to satisfy any candid 
 mind that I am speaking the truth. You must know 
 that there is a song written about her ; and, of course, 
 if she hadn't done what I have been telling you it 
 wouldn't have been written. It runs thus : 
 
 " Billy Taylor was a smart young sailor, 
 Full of life and full of glee, 
 And he went a courting Molly Nailor, 
 A maiden fair of high degree." 
 
 " That maiden fair was my mother. Billy Taylor, 
 do you see, went a courting her, and swore that he 
 loved her better than the apple of his eye, or a ship load 
 of prize-money, and no end of glasses of grog, and fifty 
 other things, and that her cheeks were like roses from 
 Persia, and her breath sweeter than the essence of all 
 the gales of Araby that ever blew, and all that sort of 
 thing. She believed him, for she was young and 
 tender hearted, and did not know what horrible false- 
 hoods some men can till. I do hate a fellow who 
 doesn't speak the truth. Now, do you see, that scoundrel 
 Taylor was only bamboozling her all the time, for he 
 went away and fell in with another lady who had more 
 of the shiners, though less beauty, and he having brought 
 to bear the whole broadside of false oaths he had been 
 firing away at my respected mother, the other lady 
 struck her flag and became his wife. Like other wild 
 blades of his stamp, he soon ran through all the poor
 
 72 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 girl's money, so he wasn't a bit the better for it, and she 
 was very much the worse. When she had no more left 
 for him to lay his hand on, he had to go to sea again. 
 
 " My mother, who was not my mother then, you'll 
 understand, because I wasn't born till some years after 
 that, — and I'm proud to say that my father was a very 
 different man to Billy Taylor. He was an honest man ; 
 and when Miss Naylor found out all about Billy Taylor's 
 treachery, she resolved to be avenged on him. He had 
 entered on board the Thunder bomb, and she heard of 
 it. Accordingly she rigged herself out in a suit of sea- 
 man's clothes, and as her father was a seaman, — an 
 officer, of course (my parentage was respectable on both 
 sides), — and she knew all about seamen's ways and 
 sayings, she very easily passed for one. 
 
 " One fine morning, off she set in her new toggery 
 for Portsmouth, where the Thunder was fitting out. 
 She had provided herself with a loaded pistol, which 
 she kept in her pocket, vowing to revenge herself on 
 the traitor Taylor. 
 
 "As the Thunder was short of hands, the captain 
 was very glad to enter the smart young seaman she 
 seemed to be when she. presented herself before him. 
 
 " Billy Taylor was aboard, and when she caught sight 
 of his face she had some difficulty in keeping her fingers 
 off it, I believe you. Not that she was otherwise, I'll 
 have you understand, than a mild-tempered woman, 
 when she had her own way, but she had received a good 
 deal of provocation, you'll allow. The deceiver didn't 
 know her, and all went on smoothly for some time. She 
 proved herself so smart and active a seaman (or sea
 
 MARMADUKE MERKT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 73 
 
 woman, — I should say a mermaid, eh?) that she soon 
 got made captain of the main-top over the head of Billy 
 Taylor and many older hands. How they would have 
 fired up if they had known the truth ! 
 
 " At last the Thunder sailed down channel, and my 
 mother began to fancy that all the things that she had 
 heard about Taylor might be false, and all her old feel- 
 ing for him came back. However, as his ill luck would 
 have it, the ship put into Plymouth Sound, and as she 
 lay there a boat came off from Causand with a lady 
 in it. 
 
 " Billy Taylor watched the boat till she came alongside, 
 and when the lady stepped on deck he kissed her lips 
 and folded her in his arms. 
 
 " Miss Naylor was standing by. The scene was too 
 much for her. 
 
 " 'Oh, you foul traitor!' she exclaimed, drawing her 
 pistol just as the lady and the deceiver Billy were walk- 
 ing forward hand in hand. ' Take that ! ' 
 
 "Off went the pistol, and the false lover tumbled 
 over as dead as a herring. The lady, at first, was in- 
 clined to go into what the uneducated sailors call high- 
 strikes — you understand, young gentlemen; but she 
 was a strong-minded woman, and when she heard how 
 Billy had been deceiving another girl, she said it served 
 him right, and that she would have nothing more to say 
 to him, dead or alive ; and, stepping into her boat, away 
 she went ashore at Causand, where she had come from. 
 
 "The captain of the Thunder, when he found out 
 that my mother was a woman, and how she had been 
 treated by Billy Taylor, as the song says, « very much
 
 74 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 approved of what she'd done,' and declared that she waa 
 a fine-spirited girl (which she certainly had proved her- 
 self to be), and that he would make her his first lieuten- 
 ant as soon as there was a vacancy. You see they did 
 things differently in those days to what they do now. 
 No one ever hears now of a young woman being made 
 first lieutenant, though it is said there are many old 
 women higher up in the list ; but it wouldn't become 
 me, holding the subordinate situation of a boatswain, to 
 credit the fact. The captain very soon had an oppor- 
 tunity of fulfilling his word, for in a very short time the 
 ship went into action, and his next in command being 
 killed, he gave Miss Naylor the death vacancy, and 
 then she became first lieutenant of the gallant Thunder 
 bomb. However, young gentlemen, I must put a stop- 
 per on my jaw tackle just now. I have had uninvited 
 listeners to my veracious and authentic history, and I 
 hope they have benefited by it." 
 
 Mr. Johnson placed his finger on the side of his nose, 
 and winked one of his piercing eyes. 
 
 " The fact is, I like to indulge in my faculty of inven- 
 tion and amplification, and you may possibly have an 
 idea that I have done so in the account I have given 
 you of my female parent's early adventures. Ho ! ho ! 
 ho ! " and he heaved back, and indulged in a long, low, 
 hoarse laugh, such as a facetious hippopotamus might be 
 supposed to produce on hearing a good pun made by an 
 alligator. 
 
 Spellman, and the rest who had been listening out- 
 side, on this, beat a retreat, suspecting, probably, that 
 the boatswain had been laughing at them.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSniPMAN. 75 
 
 Our watch was called, and Gray and I had to go on 
 deck. I had by this time picked up a large amount of 
 miscellaneous nautical knowledge ; so had Toby in his 
 way. As to going aloft, or in feats of activity, few of 
 the other midshipmen could beat me. I said that I 
 could swim well. Our father had taught us all at an 
 early age, and I could accomplish the passage across 
 the mill-pond five times and back without resting. Toby, 
 too, after I had saved him from drowning, had learned 
 the art. It was fortunate for us that we had done so. 
 
 We had returned unsuccessful from our cruise, to the 
 westward, and were somewhere about the chops of the 
 channel. Night was coming on, and it was blowing very 
 fresh. 
 
 " A sail on the lee bow ! " shouted the look-out from 
 the mast-head. The wind was southwest, and the frig- 
 ate was close-hauled, heading toward Ushant. 
 
 " What do you make of her ? Which way is she 
 standing?" asked Captain Collyer, who was on deck. 
 
 " Looks like a lugger, standing up channel," was the 
 answer. 
 
 " Up with the helm, keep her away ! " exclaimed the 
 captain. 
 
 " All hands make sail." 
 
 In an instant the men were hauling on tacks and 
 sheets, braces and bowlines ; the yards were squared 
 away, studding sails were set, and off we flew before the 
 wind like an ragle at its prey. The cha-e kept on be- 
 fore the wind. I had gone up into the fore-top, though 
 I had no business to be there, but it happened to be the 
 station of my particular chum, Gray, and I could en-
 
 76 MARMADUKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 joy a better sight of the chase from thence, than else 
 where. 
 
 As the evening advanced, the wind increased, but we 
 were gaining rapidly on the chase, and of course the cap- 
 tain was unwilling to shorten sail. Stays and braces 
 grew tauter and tauter, studden sail-booms cracked, and 
 the topgallant masts bent like willow wands. 
 
 " We are going to get it," observed the captain of the 
 top. 
 
 He was right. Away flew the main-topgallant studden 
 sail ; the topmast studden sail followed. At the same mo- 
 ment, the foremost guns with a loud roar sent a couple 
 of shot after the chase. It was getting dark, but I felt 
 sure that one had struck her counter. Still she held 
 on, and we continued in chase, she carrying as much 
 sail as she could stagger under. 
 
 " We shall carry the masts out of the ship if we don't 
 look sharp," observed the captain of the top. 
 
 The yards cracked more than ever. 
 
 " All hands shorten sail," cried the captain from the 
 deck. "In with the studden sails." 
 
 When the men went out on the foreyard, I, to show 
 my activity and daring to my messmate Gray, went out 
 also. The frigate had begun to pitch and roll a little. 
 By some means I lost my hold, and should have fallen 
 on deck and been killed, had she not rolled at the mo- 
 ment to starboard, and sent me flying overboard. 
 
 " There goes poor Marmaduke Merry," shouted 
 Gray. 
 
 I was plunged under the water, but quickly rose to 
 aee the frigate flying by me. As she passr d, something
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 77 
 
 was thrown f-om the deck, and the next instant I ob- 
 served, I faniied, some one leap from the mizen chains. 
 1 did not for a moment suppose that I was going to be 
 drowned, but how I was to be saved I could not divine. 
 I swam on till I got hold of a grating which had been 
 thrown to me, and had not long seated myself on it when 
 I heard a voice sing out — 
 
 " All right, Master Marmaduke ; I said I'd go wher- 
 ever you did, but to my mind now it would have been 
 better to have stayed on board." 
 
 It was Toby, and after I had helped him up alongside 
 me, I assured him that I agreed with his remark, but 
 that I could not help it. I looked anxiously for the frig- 
 ate. Her mighty form could only just be distinguished 
 through the gloom, and the lugger could nowhere be 
 seen. 
 
 "This isn't pleasant," said I. "But keep up your 
 spirits, Toby. I suppose the frigate will turn to look 
 for us, and if not, we must hold on till the morning, when 
 I hope we may be picked up by some ship or other." 
 
 " Ne'er fear, Master Marmaduke," answered Toby. 
 "If you think it's all right, I'm happy." 
 
 I certainly did not think it all right, for in a short 
 time it became so dark that we could scarcely see our 
 hands held up before our eyes. As to seeing the frig- 
 age, that was out of the question, even if she passed 
 close to us. Happily the gale did not increase, ami we 
 were able to hold on to our frail raft. We couldn't talk 
 much. I felt any thing but merry. Suddenly the grat- 
 ing received a blow, and I saw a dark object rising up 
 above us. I was thrown against it. It was the -dde of 
 
 7 *
 
 78 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 a ve?.«el. I should have been knocked off the grating 
 had I not found a stout rope in my hand. I drew Toby 
 to me, we both clutched it ; the grating slipped from un 
 der our feet, and there we were hanging on to the side 
 of a strange craft. We shouted out, and were at once 
 drawn on board, and by the light of a lantern, which 
 was held up to examine us, I found that we were on 
 bourd a small vessel, and surrounded by Frenchmen.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 79 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The craft on board which Toby Bluff and I so un- 
 expectedly found ourselves, was a lugger, as I dis- 
 covered by perceiving her yards lying fore and aft 
 along the decks. It was evident that her sails had been 
 lowered when the squall came on, and so she had not 
 been observed as the frigate shot by in the darkness. 
 Owing to this circumstance our lives had in all prob- 
 ability been saved. Not that I thought about that at 
 the time ; on the contrary, from the fierce looks of our 
 captors, I fancied that they were going to knock us on 
 the head, and I wished that we were safe back on our 
 raft again. Toby seemed to feel much as I did. 
 
 " Oh, Muster Merry ! be these here fellows going to 
 eat us ? " he asked in a tone of alarm. 
 
 " I hope not, Toby," I answered. " If they take us, 
 buttons and all, we shall stick in their throats, that's 
 one comfort. However, we will try and put a good 
 face on the matter, and, whatever happens, we won't be 
 cast down ; only I hope they will not treat us as we 
 have often treated miller's-thumbs, and throw us into 
 the water again." 
 
 While Toby and I were exchanging remarks, the 
 Frenchmen were talking to each other and occasionally 
 asking us questions, I supposed ; but as we did not un- 
 derstand a word of each other's language, neither party 
 was much the wiser. I looked about me. The lug-
 
 80 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 ger's decks were crowded with men, and she had sev- 
 eral guns cast loose, ready for action. She was, there 
 could be nj doubt, a privateer. I knew that the crews 
 of such vessels were often composed of the worst and 
 most unscrupulous of characters, and I expected noth- 
 ing very pleasant at their hands. At last the captain, 
 who had been looking out forward at our ship, came 
 up to us. 
 
 " So you one little officer of dat frigate dere," he ob- 
 served. 
 
 " Yes," said I, rather proudly ; " I have that honor." 
 
 " Sa !" He gave forth a particularly unpleas- 
 ant sound from his throat, " You betes Anglish, you 
 send my wessel to bottom last cruise, and sixty of my 
 braves-garcons wid her. I vow I send every Anglish- 
 man I catch to look for them. S-a-a — ." 
 
 He looked so vicious that I thought he would execute 
 his threat forthwith. I did my best, however, to put on 
 a bold front. 
 
 " Whereabouts did this happen, Monsieur ? " I asked 
 quite coolly. 
 
 " Some twenty leagues to eastward dere," he an- 
 swered, looking hard at me. 
 
 ''And which way is the tide making?" I inquired. I 
 happened to have heard the Master observe just before 
 I went aloft, that the tide had only then made to the 
 westward. 
 
 " It is vat you call ebb," said the French captain. 
 
 "Then you see, Monsieur, that there is no use throw- 
 ing us overboard just now, because we should drift 
 away to the westward, and your late vessel and crew
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 81 
 
 must be somewhere to the eastward," said I, as boldly 
 as I could, though I had no little difficulty in getting 
 out the words. 
 
 "Ah! you von Jack-a-napes, you von poule — littel 
 fi^htin" coc, I see," he remarked in an altered tone. 
 " Veil, you stay aboard ; you sweep my cabin ; you like 
 dat better dan drown." 
 
 " Certainly, Monsieur, very much better," said I, con- 
 siderably relieved; "I shall be very happy to serve 
 you in any way I can, consistent with my honor, and 
 perhaps you'll let this boy here help me?" 
 
 " Bah, no!" answered the captain, giving a contemp- 
 tuous glance at poor Toby. " He only fit to sweep out 
 de fore hole." 
 
 I saw that it would not be wise to say any thing 
 more, so I held my tongue. 
 
 The captain said a few words to the men, and while 
 one led poor Toby forward, another conducted me to- 
 ward the companion hatch. Toby turned an imploring 
 look at me, and struggled violently. 
 
 " O Muster Merry ! Muster Merry, they be going 
 to cut our throats and heave us overboard. I know 
 they bees; but don't let them do it till I comes to be 
 with ee," he cried out. " Don't ee, now, Muster ; don't 
 ee.' 
 
 Poor Toby, finding that he could not get loose, began 
 kicking and struggling, and shouting out at the top of 
 his voice. This seemed to afford infinite amusement to 
 the Frenchmen, who imitated him ; but, in spite of all 
 his efforts, dragged him forward. I, in the mean time, 
 was taken aft, and had just reached the companion
 
 82 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 hatch, down which the men were going to thrust me, 
 when the captain came running along the deck, shout- 
 ing out to his crew. My captors let go of me. In an 
 instant, the halliard*, tacks, and sheets were manned ; 
 sail was rapidly made ; and, two or more reef's having 
 been taken in, away we stood, close hauled as near to 
 the north west as the wind would allow. I soon learned 
 the reason of this proceeding. To my great joy, on 
 looking eastward, I discovered the frigate looming 
 through the darkness, about half gun-shot distance from 
 us. Whether the lugger was seen by those on board 
 or not was a question. I rather suspected that Captain 
 Collyer had stood back to look for Toby and me, though 
 it was almost as hopeless as looking for a needle in a 
 bundle of hay. I felt very sure that he would search 
 for us, and that he would rather lose the chance of cap- 
 turing the schooner than lose us; indeed, I hope that 
 there are not many naval officers who would not have 
 done the same. I anxiously watched the Doris, to see 
 what she would do. The Frenchmen very naturally 
 believed that she was coming after them. While the 
 men were flattening in the sheets, Toby made his es- 
 cape, and came up to me. 
 
 " Muster Merry, who be these people ? Where be 
 they taking us to? What be they going to do to us?" 
 he asked in a subdued, frightened tone. 
 
 " Never mind," said I, " look there." 
 
 I pointed to the frigate, which, as far as I could judge, 
 feeing her through the darkness, had three reefs down 
 in her topsails, and was standing toward us, heeling 
 over to the gale.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 83 
 
 " Hurra ! " shouted Toby. " All right now ; she'll 
 soon be sending this here craft to the bottom. Hurra !" 
 
 " Very likely," said I. " But we, perhaps, shall have 
 to go with her, and, just now, the less noise we make 
 the better, or the Frenchmen may be sending us below." 
 
 Toby was silent. 
 
 No sooner were the lugger's sails hoisted than she 
 was perceived, and in half a minute, to set the matter 
 at rest, a shot from a thirty-nine pounder came flying 
 between the masts. Toby ducked his head. He saw, 
 however, that I did not move mine. I had had so many 
 flying about my ears the night we took the Chevrette 
 that I had got quite accustomed to them. Another shot 
 came, and Toby's head did not move, as far as I could 
 see. I dare say he blinked his eyes a little ; but, as it 
 was dark, I am not certain. It was a trial to our 
 nerves, for the shot whistled near our shoulders, ami, 
 though we could not help feeling proud of our ship- 
 mates' gunnery practice, we would rather that they had 
 not aimed so well. 
 
 " I say, Toby, if, like the boatswain's acquaintance, 
 you get my head on your shoulders, be honest ; don't 
 go and pass yourself off for me," I observed. 
 
 "Lor, Muster Merry, I wouldn't so for to go to for- 
 get myself," he answered, with an expression of horror 
 in his voice. 
 
 His tone, more than the words, made me burst into a 
 fit of laughter. 
 
 "You garcon not laugh long," observed the captain, 
 as he hurried aft to take a look at the compass. " You 
 merry now, you cry soon "
 
 84 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " I'll laugh while I can ; it's my nature to be merry, 
 captain," I answered, determined to appear as brave as 
 possible. " But I say, captain, what does that big ship 
 want you to do ? " 
 
 " Ah you von little rogue," he answered, less angrily 
 than I might have expected. "You go below, or you 
 get head knock off." 
 
 " Thank you," said I. " But I may have to go lower 
 than I like if I do, so I would rather stay on deck and 
 see what is going forward." 
 
 The captain merely answered, " Bah," as if he had 
 too much to think of just then, to trouble himself about 
 us, and issued some orders to his crew. Two long guns 
 were immediately cast loose and pointed at the frigate. 
 
 " They can't hope to contend with her," I observed to 
 Bluff. But they did though, and began blazing away 
 in right good earnest. They fired high, for their object 
 was to wing her. If they could have knocked some of 
 her spars away they would have had a better chance of 
 escaping. 
 
 The lugger was evidently a very fast craft, and held 
 her own wonderfully. This was soon perceived on 
 board the frigate, which began to fire more rapidly than 
 before. Captain Collyer had not spared powder and 
 shot, and, since we left port, the men had been every 
 day exercised at the guns. The result was now appar- 
 ent by the number of shot which passed through the 
 sails of the lugger, or struck her. Still the Frenchmen 
 seemed in no way inclined to yield. The captain stood 
 aft, issuing his orders with the greatest coolness. His 
 officers were much less collected, and kept running
 
 UIARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 85 
 
 about, with ropes in their hands, frequently striking the 
 men if they flinched from their guns. The lugger, 
 which was really a very powerful vessel, of some two 
 hundred and fifty tons, tore through the seas, which 
 came in cataracts over her bows, deluging her fore and 
 aft. 
 
 I was glad that Toby and I were near the companion- 
 hatch, that we might hold on tight to it. The scene 
 was stirring in the extreme ; rather more than was 
 pleasant indeed. I did not like the state of things, and 
 Toby's teeth began to chatter in his head. It was very 
 dark. The wind roared through the rigging ; the sails, 
 extended to the utmost, would, I thought, burst from the 
 bolt ropes, or carry the stout mast out of the vessel. 
 The lugger heeled over till the men at the guns were 
 up to their knees in water, and at last they could only 
 fire as she rolled to windward. It must be remembered 
 that the frigate was to leeward. Though she sailed 
 faster than the lugger, the latter was weathering on her. 
 My knowledge of seamanship scarcely enabled me to 
 form a correct judgment as to the Frenchman's chance 
 of escape, but still I did not fancy that any thing could 
 run away from the Doris, — our frigate, — which, I 
 was fully persuaded, was the perfection of naval archi- 
 tecture, and every thing a ship should be. The French- 
 men were all this time wonderfully silent, except when 
 a shot whistled past their ears or struck the vessel, and 
 then they gave way to volleys of oaths and execrations, 
 the meaning of which, however, I did not understand. 
 They appeared very resolute, and I thought fully ex 
 pected to escape. 
 
 8
 
 86 MAR3/A.DUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 On we tore through the raging sea, and often so 
 blinded were we with the showers of spray which fell 
 on board, that the flashes of the guns alone showed us 
 the position of the frigate. I was saying that 1 was sure 
 Captain Collyer would do his best to pick Toby and me 
 up, and now, when I saw him chasing the lugger, it 
 occurred to me that he must have either guessed that 
 we were on board her, or that he must have come to 
 the conclusion that we were lost. 
 
 " I wonder what they are saying about us ? " I re- 
 marked, partly to Toby and partly to myself. " Mr. 
 Johnson will be sorry for us, and so will Gray, and so, 
 I really believe, will old Perigal. I don't think Spell- 
 man will, though. I rather suspect he'll be for consti- 
 tuting himself my heir, and taking possession of my 
 books and things. However, I Jiope we may some day 
 get on board again, and make him disgorge." 
 
 There did not seem much chance of that though. 
 Every moment I expected, should a shot not send her 
 first to the bottom, to see the lugger run her bows right 
 under, as she tore on through the raging waters. The 
 frigate seemed to be gaining very little, if at all, on us. 
 The Frenchmen naturally calculated on the darkness 
 increasing, and when once out of her sight, on being 
 able to alter their course, and get clear away. I de- 
 voutly hoped that they would not. Hours, it seemed 
 to me, passed away ; still the lugger and the frigate 
 held their relative positions, the latter firing occasion- 
 ally, but the Frenchmen, after a time, ceased doing so ; 
 indeed, in the heavy sea running, they could scarcely 
 work their guns. The wind increased, but there wao
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSniPMAN. 87 
 
 no sign of shortening sail ; the sky sent down deluges 
 of rain ; it hecarae darker than ever. I had never, I 
 thought, taken my eyes off" the frigate, except when 
 the spray dashed over me, and compelled me to close 
 them for a moment. I was looking in the direction 
 where I had last seen her. 
 
 "Bluff, do you see her?" I exclaimed suddenly, 
 rubbing my eyes at the same time with all my might, 
 to hring hack the object I had lost. 
 
 " No, Muster Merry. To my mind she isn't there," 
 he answered positively. 
 
 The Frenchmen were of the same opinion, for I 
 heard them chatting away together, and laughing heart- 
 ily. Still we continued on the same tack. Indeed, to 
 go ahout would have been a dangerous operation, and 
 to wear would have lost ground, and very likely have 
 brought the lugger back in sight of the frigate. No 
 one had taken any notice of us for a long time. The 
 captain now came to the companion. 
 
 " Ah, you brave Garcon, come here," he said, as he 
 descended. 
 
 Giving Bluff a pull, as a sign to come after me, I 
 followed him below. A bright lamp swung from the 
 deck above, and exhibited a well-furnished, if not a 
 luxurious cabin, with a table in the centre, on which, 
 secured in the usual way, were bottles and glasses, and 
 deep dishes containing various sorts of viands. 
 
 " Come, you hungry; sit down." said the captain. — 
 an order which I very gladly obeyed, though it was far 
 from easy to stick on my chair, or to convey the food 
 to my mouth.
 
 88 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Pierre ! " shouted the captain, and a man, who seemed 
 to be his steward, got up from a corner of the cabki 
 where he had been asleep, and stood ready to wait on 
 us. The captain motioned him to give some bread and 
 sausage to Toby, who retired with it to the door, where 
 he sat down to eat it at his leisure. 
 
 Our host did not talk much. He put a few ques- 
 tions as to the number of the Doris's guns, and their 
 length and weight of metal, and whether she was reputed 
 a fast sailer; to all which questions I gave honest an- 
 swers, and he seemed satisfied. He rapidly devoured 
 his food, and was evidently in a hurry to be on deck 
 again. This made me fancy that he was not quite so 
 certain of having escaped the frigate as I had at first 
 supposed. A glass of hot wine and water raised my 
 spirits, for I had been so long in my wet clothes, that, 
 although the weather was warm, I had become very 
 chilly. Without asking his leave, I handed a glass to 
 Toby, who wanted it as much as I did. The captain 
 said nothing, but when he got up to go on deck, he 
 told me that we might take off our clothes, and turn 
 into one of the berths to get warm. At first I was 
 going to do so ; but I could not help fancying that some 
 accident might happen, and that I would rather be 
 dressed, so I sat down with Toby on the deck, holding 
 on by the legs of the table. 
 
 The steward, having stowed away the things, went 
 and lay down in his corner, and soon, by his loud snores, 
 showed that he was again fast asleep. Toby quickly 
 followed his example ; and I had been dozing for some 
 time, though I thought that I was awake, when I was
 
 MAR5IADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSniPMAN. 89 
 
 aroused by the report of a gun overhead. The lamp 
 had gone out, and left a strong odor of oil in the close 
 cabin. The gray light of dawn streamed down the 
 companion-hatch. Calling Toby, I jumped on deck. 
 There, away to leeward, was the frigate, within gunshot 
 distance, but this time the lugger had begun the fight. 
 and she had not yet fired. The wind had lessened, and 
 the sea had gone down considerably. The frigate was 
 on our lee quarter, and I saw that, as soon as she opened 
 her fire, our chance would be a very small one. 
 
 The French captain, and his officers and men, had 
 got two guns over the quarter, having cut away some 
 of the bulwarks, and were energetically working them, 
 with desperation stamped on their countenances. Toby 
 and I stood, as before, holding on to the companion- 
 hatch, and this time — I must confess it — my teeth, as 
 well as his, chattered with the cold, and damp, and agi- 
 tation. No one took any notice of us. The Frenchmen 
 were again aiming high, in the hope of knocking away 
 some of the frigate's spars. They were brave fellows ; 
 I could not help admiring them. Shot followed shot in 
 rapid succession. I wondered that Captain Collyer's 
 patience was not exhausted. 
 
 " There ! I know'd they'd do it," exclaimed Toby, 
 6uddenly. " And catch it if they did ! " he added. 
 
 As he spoke I saw a white splinter glance from the 
 fore top-mast of the frigate, while a rent appeared in 
 the sail. The Frenchmen shouted as if they had done 
 a clever thing, but they had little to shout for ; the next 
 instant a shower of round shot came whistling through 
 our sails, some just above our heads, two struck the 
 
 8*
 
 90 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 lugger's side, and one killed three men dead on the 
 decks. Though I knew how dangerous was our position 
 I was too eager to see what was taking place to go 
 below. Still the gallant French captain would not 
 strike, but stood as energetically as before, encouraging 
 his men to work the guns. I wished that he would 
 give in though, for my own and Toby's sake, nor did I 
 think that he had a chance of escaping. There he 
 stood full of life and energy, now hauling on a gun- 
 tackle, now looking along a gun. The next moment 
 there was a whistling and crash of shot, and I saw 
 several mangled forms sent flying along the deck. One 
 was that of the brave captain. I ran to assist him, but 
 though there was a convulsive movement of the limbs, 
 he was perfectly dead. At the same moment down 
 came the lugger's main-yard. I saw that it was com- 
 pletely up with her at all events. Some of the priva- 
 teer's men continued at the guns, but the greater num- 
 ber tumbled headlong down below, to avoid the frigate's 
 next broadside. My eye glancing up at that moment, 
 I saw the French flag still flying. Believing that the 
 only way to avoid the catastrophe was to haul it down, 
 followed by Toby, I ran aft to do so. I was too late. 
 The Frenchmen fired, and another crushing broadside 
 struck the lugger, and made her reel with the shock. 
 The companion-hatch was knocked to pieces. We 
 should have been killed had we remained at our former 
 post. 
 
 The next instant there was a fearful cry — the men 
 who had gone below sprang up again with pale faces 
 and cries of terror. The lugger rushed on, made one
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 91 
 
 fearful plunge, and I saw that she was sinking. I had 
 kept my eye on the wreck of the companion-hatch. 
 Dragging Toby with me, I sprang to it and clutched it 
 tightly, and as the sea washed along the deck, and the 
 sinking vessel disappeared, we found ourselves clinging 
 to it, and floating on the summit of a curling wave. As 
 soon as I had cleared my eyes from the water, I looked 
 round for the frigate. She was in the act of heaving to 
 in order to lower her boats. The sea around us was 
 sprinkled with struggling forms, but not half the lugger's 
 crew were to be seen. Numbers must have gone down 
 in her. Shrieks and cries for help reached our ears, 
 but we could assist no one. Some were clinging to 
 spars and planks, and pieces of the shattered bulwarks ; 
 a few were swimming, but the greater number were 
 floundering about ; and now I saw a hand disappear — 
 now two were thrown up to sink immediately beneath 
 the waves — now a shriek of agony reached our ears. 
 It was very terrible. The companion-hatch to which 
 Toby and I clung had been so knocked about that it 
 scarcely held together, and I expected every moment 
 that it would go to pieces, and that we should be sepa- 
 rated. I earnestly wished for the boats to come to us, 
 and it appeared to me that the frigate was far longer 
 than usual in heaving to and lowering them. At last, 
 as we rose to the top of a wave, I saw three boats 
 pulling toward us. The men were giving way with all 
 their might as British seamen always will when Uvea 
 are to be saved, even those of enemies. Several French- 
 men had been picked up, when I saw a boat making 
 towanl us. Mr. Johnson was steering, and Spellman
 
 92 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 was the midshipman in her. We were not recognized 
 when we were hauled into the boat, and might not have 
 been had I not said, — 
 
 " What, Spellman, don't you know me ? " 
 
 " You, Merry," he exclaimed, looking at me with an 
 astonished gaze. " What business have you here ? 
 Why, we left you drowning — up Channel some- 
 where — hours ago." 
 
 " Thank you, but we have taken a cruise since then," 
 said I. 
 
 " And rather a perilous one, young gentleman," 
 exclaimed the boatswain, now recognizing me. " You 
 had the shot rattling pretty thick about you, and I am 
 heartily glad to see you safe, that I am." And he 
 nearly wrung my hand off as he shook it. " I never 
 saw guns better aimed than ours were, except once, and 
 that was when I was attacking a Spanish line-of-battle 
 ship in a jolly boat. I'll tell you all about it some day, 
 but we'll just pick up some of these drowning French- 
 men first. Give way, my lads." 
 
 The other two boats rescued several of the lugger's 
 crew ; we got hold of six or seven more, who were 
 floating on spars or planks ; one of them was the second 
 officer of the privateer ; but out of a hundred and forty 
 men who were on her decks when she went down, not 
 more than thirty were rescued. Toby and I met with 
 a very pleasant reception when we got on board, and 
 as soon as I had got on some dry clothes and had had a 
 glass of grog to restore my circulation, Captain Collyer 
 sent for me into the cabin to hear an account of our 
 adventures. He seemed highly interested when I told
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 93 
 
 him of the gallantry of the French captain, and expressed 
 his regret at his death. A brave man always appre- 
 ciates the bravery of his opponent. When I got hack 
 to the berth I had to tell the story all over again, and 
 Toby, I have no doubt, was similarly employed among 
 his messmates. 
 
 " It is very evident, Merry, that you are reserved for 
 a more exalted fate," was the only comment Spellman 
 made, when I ceased. 
 
 " Thank you, Miss Susan," I answered ; " I owe you 
 one." 
 
 " It is a great pity that the lugger went down, 
 though," observed old Perigal ; " I should have had a 
 chance of taking a run home in her as prize-master, and 
 seeing my wife. Besides, she might have given us a 
 pinch of prize-money." 
 
 The regret generally expressed was rather for the 
 loss of the few pounds the lugger might have given them 
 than for that of the men who formed her crew. 
 
 " What ! I did not know that you were married," I 
 observed to Perigal when he said he was married. 
 
 " But I am, though ; and to a young and charming 
 wife who deserves a better husband," he answered in an 
 abrupt way. " If it wasn't for her I shouldn't be now 
 knocking about the ocean as I have been all my life ; 
 and yet, if it was not for her I should have very little 
 to keep me on shore. It's the prize-money, the booty, 
 keep, me afloat. I am an arrant buccanier at heart." 
 
 '* I should not have supposed you that," said I. 
 
 It was now evening, and old Perigal had his glass of 
 grog before him. On these occasions he was always 
 somewhat communicative
 
 94 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " I've* been married six years or more," he continued 
 in a half whisper. " My wife is the daughter of an old 
 shipmate who was killed in action by my side. His last 
 words were, ' Take care of my orphan child — my 
 Mary.' I promised him I would as long as I had life 
 and a shilling in my pocket. I expected to see a 
 little girl with a big bow at her waist, and a doll in her 
 arms — as he'd described her. He'd been five years 
 from home or more, poor fellow. Instead of that, I found 
 a handsome young woman, tall and graceful. What 
 could I do ? I was struck all of a heap, as the saying 
 is ; and I discovered at last, that though I was but a 
 mate in the service, and an old fellow to boot compared 
 to her, she liked me ; so we married. I'd saved some 
 little prize-money, and I thought myself rich ; but it 
 went wonderfully quick, and a rogue of a fellow who 
 borrowed some wouldn't even pay me ; and if it hadn't 
 been for the sake of Mary I wouldn't have said any 
 thing to him, but let the coin burn a hole in his pockets. 
 I went to law, and the upshot was that I lost all I had 
 remaining. Now came the tug of war. Was I to go 
 to sea again and leave Mary? I couldn't bear the 
 thought of it. Any thing would be better than 
 that. I would enter into some business. A bright 
 idea struck me. Three or four hundred pounds 
 would enable me to carry it out. Mary and I agreed 
 that I should have no difficulty in getting that, I had so 
 many friends. I would pay them a good interest. I 
 tried. You should have seen how they buttoned up 
 their pockets and pursed up their lips ; how many 
 similar applications they had, how many decayed 
 relations wanted their assistance ! They didn't say
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 95 
 
 however, that they had assisted them. I had no business 
 to complain ; I had made a mistake, and I felt ashamed 
 of myself. At first, though my heart swelled, I was 
 very angry ; but I got over that feeiing, and I resolved 
 to trust to myself alone. It was not till then that I 
 recovered my self-respect. I say, Merry ; if you fancy 
 that you have many friends, don't you ever attempt to 
 borrow money from them, or you'll find that you are 
 wofully mistaken. Mary and I talked the matter 
 over, and she settled to keep a school, and I to come to 
 sea again. 
 
 " It was a sore trial, youngster, and you may fancy 
 that a rich galleon wouldn't be an unacceptable prize, 
 to save the poor girl from the drudgery she has to go 
 through. It wasn't the way her poor father expected 
 me to treat her, but I have done my best ; what can a 
 man do more ? " 
 
 The old mate was going to help himself to another 
 glass, but he put the bottle away from him with resolu- 
 tion. I had observed that he often took more than any- 
 body else in the mess ; but after that, whenever I saw 
 him doing so, I had only to mention his wife, and he 
 instantly stopped. From this account he had given of 
 himself, I liked him much better than ever. 
 
 I one day asked Mr. Bryan, who knew his wife, 
 about her, and he told me that she was a very superior 
 young lady, and that he could not overpraise her. 
 
 Of all my shipmates, Gray seemed most pleased :it 
 having me back again, and he assured me that had he 
 b<cii able to swim he would have jumped after mi', ami 
 I believe ilmi he would have d<>ne so. I promised on 
 the first opportunity t<> tench him t<> swim. People are
 
 96 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 surprised that so many sailors cannot swim, but the truth 
 is, that when once they get to sea, they often have fewer 
 opportunities of learning than have people living on 
 shore. In southern climates some captains, when it is 
 calm, allow the men to go overboard ; but in northern 
 latitudes they cannot do this, and many captains do not 
 trouble themselves about the matter. My advice there- 
 fore is, that all boys should learn to swim before they 
 come to sea, and to swim in their clothes. 
 
 Next to Gray, I believe that Mr. Johnson was most 
 satisfied that I was not drowned. 
 
 " I had written an account of what had happened to 
 your disconsolate parents, and had taken an opportunity 
 of praising you as you deserved ; but as you are alive, 
 I'll put it by ; it will serve for another occasion," he ob- 
 served. 
 
 I thanked him, and begged him to give me the letter, 
 which, after some persuasion, he did. I enclosed it to 
 my sisters, assuring them that it was written under an 
 erroneous impression that I was no longer a denizen of 
 this world, and begged them not to be at all alarmed, as 
 I was well and merry as ever : 
 
 " Sir, — Your son and T, though he was only a mid- 
 shipman, — I am boatswain of this ship — were, I may 
 say, friends and companions ; and therefore I take up 
 my pen to tell you the sad news, that he and boy Blutf 
 went overboard together this evening, and were lost, 
 though we didn't fail to look for them. It may be a con 
 •lolation to you to know that they always did their duty, 
 which wasn't much, nor very well done, nor of any use
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHirMAN 97 
 
 to anybody, but that was no fault of theirs, seeing that 
 they didn't know better. Then you'll not fail to remem- 
 ber that there's no longer any chance of your son being 
 hung, which has been the fate of many a pretty man, 
 either by mistake or because he deserved it, and that 
 must be a comfort to you. I've nothing more to say at 
 present. 
 
 " From your obedient servant, 
 
 "Jonathan Johnson, 
 " Boatswain of His British Majesty's frigate Doris." 
 
 I had hopes that the letter would afford infinite satis- 
 faction to my home circle. 
 
 We ran back to Plymouth with our prisoners, and 
 then receiving sealed orders, sailed for the westward. 
 On the captain opening his orders, we found that we 
 were bound out for the North American and West India 
 station. 
 
 One day, as Mr. Johnson seemed in an especially 
 good-humor, I got Gray to come, and we begged hard 
 that he would go on with his history. 
 
 " Ah yes, my true and veracious narrative," he an- 
 swered. " Ho ! ho ! ho ! " 
 
 His ogre-like laugh sounded along the deck, and served 
 as a gong to summon an audience around him, though 
 only a favored few ventured into his cabin. 
 
 " I was telling you about my maternal parent, the es- 
 timable Mrs. Johnson. I was alluding to times before 
 she assumed that appellation, or became my parent. I 
 brought up my history to the period when she became 
 first lieutenant of the gallant Thunder bomb. She did
 
 08 MARMADDKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 not remain in that craft long, for the captain, officers, and 
 crew, were turned over to a dashing, slashing, thirty-six 
 gun frigate, the Firegobbler. It is extraordinary what 
 a number of actions that frigate fought, and what others 
 wonders she performed — all owing to my mother, I be- 
 lieve you. At last, one day, not far off from the chops 
 of the Channel, a large ship, under Spanish colors, was 
 sighted. The Firegobbler gave chase, and a running 
 fight ensued, during which a shot killed the captain, and 
 of course my mother, who took command, followed up 
 the enemy. 
 
 " Before day was over, another Spanish line-of-battle 
 ship hove in sight, and when the two closed each other, 
 they hove-to, and waited for the Firegobbler, which 
 wasn't long in getting into action. Then, I believe you, 
 she did give them a hammering, in such right good 
 earnest, that, before the sun set, they cried peccavi, and 
 struck their flags. As I told you, the other day, she 
 brought them both in triumph into Plymouth. Now, 
 by all the rules of the service, she ought to have been 
 promoted, you'll allow ; but, by some means or other, 
 the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty found out 
 that she was a woman, — perhaps some jealous fellow 
 peached on her, — and, think of their ingratitude, not 
 only wouldn't they give her a commander's rank, but 
 they superseded her, and would by no manner of means 
 allow her to remain in the ship. To my mind, those 
 bigwigs up in London have no consciences. What en- 
 couragement is there for a spirited young woman to go 
 and fight her country's battles ? None ! that's a fact ! 
 Miss Nailor had to go on shore. But she couldn't bear
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 99 
 
 a quiet life ; so, slipping on seaman's clothes again, she 
 shipped aboard another frigate, but, of course, she had 
 to no before the mast. That made little difference to 
 her ; she loved the sea for itself, and didn't care where 
 she was. For some time she got on very well ; but she 
 didn't always remember that she was no longer a first 
 lieutenant — which was natural, poor thing! Well, one 
 day, when off the coast of America, she quarrelled with 
 the man who was first lieutenant, and meeting him on 
 shore, she put a pistol into his hand, and told him he 
 must fight her. He was a spirited fellow, and said that 
 he never refused that sort of invitation, and as it was in 
 the chief street of a large city, they had plenty of sec- 
 onds. Well, they fought, and she had the misfortune to 
 shoot him through the heart. Most men would have 
 died immediately, but he lived long enough to forgive 
 her for what she'd done, and to say what a fine fellow 
 he thought her. Of course, as it's against the articles 
 of war to shoot a first lieutenant, she couldn't go aboard 
 the frigate again ; and when a file of marines came to 
 seize her, the people of the place carried her off, and 
 wouldn't give her up, and so the jollies had to return 
 without her. Two parties were formed in the place. 
 One said she ought to be given up, and the other, that 
 she ought'nt, and shouldn't, and that they wouldn't. It 
 was one of the secret causes of the American revo- 
 lution. 
 
 " Anion"- tho-e who sided with her was a Captain 
 Johnson, a very line man, master of a very line ship, 
 and as lie happened to want a mate, he asked my 
 mother if she would take the berth, not dreaming all
 
 lOO MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPM4.N. 
 
 the time that she was a woman. They had a good deal 
 of talk about the matter, and as she had taken a fancy 
 to him, she told him all her history. I have said that 
 my father was a fine man. He was the tallest and 
 smartest man I ever saw, and had the loudest voice, too, 
 I believe you, or he wouldn't have won the heart of 
 my mother. She wasn't a woman to knock under to an 
 ordinary, every -day sort of man. He was so tall, that the 
 barber had to stand on the table to shave him, and as 
 he walked along the streets, he could hand sugar-plums 
 to the children in the upper windows; and his voice was 
 so loud, that he once made a stone-deaf woman jump 
 off her chair, right up to the ceiling with fright, when 
 he raised it above the ordinary pitch to speak to her ; 
 and he was so strong, that he made nothing of lifting 
 an ale cask up to his lips, and drinking out of the bung- 
 hole. He was the man to command a ship's company ! 
 When he found any two of them quarrelling, he would 
 lift one up in each hand, with outstretched arms, and 
 he would then knock their two heads together, and go 
 on bumping harder and harder till they promised to be 
 friends. 
 
 " No two people could have been better matched than 
 my parents, and they had a sincere respect for each 
 other. They were above any thing like a namby-pam- 
 by, soft sighing, do-sweetest, kiss-me style of love. My 
 father made his offer from the deck of his ship, as she 
 was standing out of harbor, and my mother answered 
 him from the shore through a speaking-trumpet. The 
 truth was, that when the owners heard that she was a 
 woman, they didn't approve of her going as mate ; they 
 thought that it would invalidate the insurance.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 10 1 
 
 " The wind fell outside, so he dropped anchor and 
 pulled on shore, and was married, and, of course, off 
 6he went to sea with him. A very useful wife, too, she 
 made, for though she didn't wear the breeches, she 
 could take the command of the ship better than any 
 one else on board. Thus it was that I came to be born 
 at sea. There was a terrific gale blowing, and the ship 
 was running under bare poles during the time that ira 
 portant event in the world's history occurred. 
 
 " ' The wind it whistled, the porpoise roll'd, 
 The dolphins rear'd their backs of gold ; 
 And never was heard such an outcry wild 
 As welcomed to life the ocean-child.' 
 
 I believe you, my hearties, that was a gale! I don't 
 believe the sea ever ran so high before, nor has ever 
 run so high since. We were fully half an hour going 
 up the side of one sea, and nearly a quarter sliding 
 down into the trough on the other — so I have been 
 told: I cannot say that I remember the circumstance, 
 though I do recollect things which happened a long 
 time ago. 
 
 " I was a precocious child, let me tell you. I had 
 as fine a set of teeth as ever cracked biscuit by the 
 time I was six months old, and lived upon lobscouse 
 and porter. I was weaned by that time, and I wasn't 
 two years old when I could go aloft like a monkey. 
 It wouldn't have done for me to have been like any 
 every -day sort of baby." 
 
 I was almost inclined to believe Mr. Joln>>on'< as- 
 sertions, for, as I looked at the huge red-nosed man
 
 102 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN 
 
 before me, I could scarcely persuade myself that he 
 had ever been a baby in long clothes. 
 
 ''Speaking of monkeys," continued Mr. Johnson, 
 ."vinking his eye, " I once had a desperate fight with 
 >ne, when I wasn't much more than three years old. 
 I was sitting on the main-truck, with my legs dangling 
 3own, as was my custom when I wanted a good allow- 
 mce of fresh air. We had a monkey aboard, — a 
 mischievous chap, — and when he saw me, be swarmed 
 ip the mast, and, putting up his paw, snatched a biscuit 
 Hit of my jacket-pocket. I gave him a slap on the 
 Head, and in return he bit my leg, and tried to pull 
 me down. To be even with him, I jumped on his 
 shoulders, and down we slipped together, till we reached 
 the topmast crosstrees. There 1 got a rope, and lashing 
 him to the heel of the top-gallant-mast, sung out to the 
 hands in the top that they might see what I had done. 
 You may be sure that they were very much aston- 
 ished. 
 
 " I was a great favorite among the crew, and ran no 
 slight chance of being spoilt. I could dance a horn- 
 pipe with any man on board ; and as for singing a 
 rollicking sea-song, there were few who could match 
 me. I soon learned to hand reef, steer, and heave the 
 lead, as well as any man on board. My mother was 
 proud of me, and so was my father ; and they had reason 
 to be, and that's the truth. 
 
 " At last it struck them that they ought to give me 
 some education, to fit me to become an officer and a 
 gentleman. I, however, was not fond of books, but I 
 learned to read chiefly from the signboards over the
 
 MARMADUKE MERRV, THE MIDSHIPMAN. ]03 
 
 shop fronts along the quays at the different ports to 
 which we traded. Not that I required much instruc- 
 tion, for I picked up knowledge faster than most people 
 could serve it out to me. 
 
 " I was one morning sent on shore to school, but the 
 master thinking fit to cane me, I tucked him up under 
 my arm, and walked off with him on board the ship, 
 where I stowed him under hatches, and kept him there 
 till he promised to treat me in future with more re- 
 spect. After this little occurrence we were very good 
 friends ; but when the ship went to sea, he begged that 
 I might on no account be left behind. That was but 
 natural, for I hadn't got into shore ways exactly." 
 
 The cry, from the deck, of " All hands make sail ! " 
 interrupted Mr. Johnson's veracious narrative. 
 
 " A chase in sight," he exclaimed ; " and a prize 
 she'll prove, though we have to fight for her ! "
 
 1^4 MARMADUKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Every officer, man, and boy, not otherwise especially 
 engaged, had their eyes directed ahead, watching the 
 chase, as her sails gradually rose above the horizon. 
 What she was had not yet been ascertained. She might 
 be a man-of-war, or, perhaps, only a merchantman. If 
 the first, we hoped she would fight ; if the latter, that 
 she might carry a rich freight. After a time, I saw Mr. 
 Johnson rubbing his eyes, and, suddenly bringing his 
 hand down on his thigh with a loud smack, he ex- 
 claimed, — 
 
 " She's only a Yankee merchantman, after all." 
 
 The stranger was evidently making no attempt at 
 escape ; indeed, before long, she lost the wind altogether, 
 though we carried it on till we got within about a mile 
 of her. We then found that the boatswain was right ; 
 indeed, it is easy to know an American merchantman 
 by her light-colored hull, breadth of beam, low masts, 
 square yards, and white canvas. 
 
 As we lay rolling away, a boat was lowered from the 
 stranger, from whose peak the stars and stripes hung 
 down, so that none but a practical eye could have made 
 out the flag. 
 
 The boat came alongside, and a gentleman, in a broad- 
 brimmed straw hat and jean jacket, stepped on board, 
 with a cigar in his mouth, and walking aft with the 
 greatest coolness, put out his hand to Captain Collyer.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 105 
 
 tvho, looking true dignity itself, was standing on the 
 quarter-deck, with his officers round hiin. Not a little 
 electrified was he by the address now made him. 
 
 " How goes it with you, skipper? " quotli the stranger, 
 almost wringing his hand off. " You've a neat little 
 craft under your feet, I guess, but we've got some who'd 
 wallop her in pretty smart time. You'd like to know 
 who I am? I'm Captain Nathan Noakes ; I command 
 that ship there, the Hickory Stick, and I should like to 
 see her equal. She's the craft to go, let me tell you. 
 When the breeze comes, I'll soon show you the pair of 
 heels she's got We'll run away from you like greased 
 lightning, I guess." 
 
 " She looks like a fine vessel, sir," said Captain Coll- 
 yer, too polite to turn away, as some men I have known 
 might have done. 
 
 4> She is sir," said the American master with emphasis. 
 " I calculate she'd sail twice round the world while you 
 was going once ; but don't' rile, now, at what I say, — 
 you can't help it, you know. Come, take a cigar, — 
 they're real Havana." 
 
 " Thank you, sir, I do not smoke," said our captain 
 with naturally increasing stiffness, " nor is it customary, 
 I must observe, for any one to do so on the quarter- 
 deck of one of his Britannic Majesty's ships." 
 
 " Ah ! that's the difference between slavery and 
 freedom," answered the stranger, with most amusing 
 effrontery, lighting another cigar as he spoke. ''You 
 serve the tyrant King George. I serve myself, and no 
 one else, and I like my master best of the two ; but I 
 pity you, — you can't help it."
 
 106 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Some of the officers were very indignant at the im- 
 pudence of the Yankee captain ; others were highly 
 amused, and I believe Captain Collyer was, for he turned 
 away at last to hide his laughter. Nothing, however 
 seemed to abash the skipper. 
 
 " Well, you Britishers will be inclined to deal, I 
 gr uess," he observed ; and, without waiting for an an- 
 swer, ordered the people in his boat to send up some 
 oases of claret and boxes of oranges which he had 
 brought. A whip was sent down, and they were soon 
 had on deck, and I must say we were not sorry to make 
 if deal with him — that is to say, the captain and gun- 
 room officers took the claret, and the midshipmen the 
 oranges. 
 
 " Well, I guess you've got them dirt cheap," observed 
 the Yankee skipper, as he pocketed the money. " But 
 mind now I don't warrant them all sound." 
 
 Had he made the remark before we bought them, we 
 might have thanked him for his honesty. On opening 
 the cases we found that more than one half were rotten, 
 and that the rest would not keep many days. That, of 
 course, was the reason he had sold them. 
 
 He finished his cigar while he went on talking much 
 in the same strain as he had done at first, and then 
 coolly proposed inspecting the ship. As there was no 
 objection to his so doing, he was allowed to go round 
 the decks, when he might have counted thirty-six guns, 
 and as fine a looking crew as ever stepped the deck of 
 a man-of-war. At length Captain Nathan Noakes re- 
 turned on board the Hickory Stick. Afterwards, when 
 I repeated to the boatswain the remarks of Captain 
 Noakes, his observation was, —
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 10? 
 
 " I cannot stand those Yankees — they do exaggerate 
 so terribly. One cannot depend on a word they say." 
 
 I made no reply, for it struck me that Mr. Johnson 
 himself did at times, as he would have said, rather over- 
 state facts. I made the remark to Perigal. 
 
 " Well, boy, the boatswain is like most of us," he an- 
 swered ; " we don't uee our own faults. I suspect no 
 man would be more ready than he would to grow angry 
 should his veracity be called in question." 
 
 " But those stories of his own adventures are very 
 amusing," said I. 
 
 " Very," said Perigal. " And as long as he confines 
 himself to them no great harm is done ; but if a man 
 once gets into the habit of departing from the truth for 
 the sake of amusing his hearers, he may not stop there, 
 and will, very likely, tell a falsehood of a different char- 
 acter whenever it may suit his convenience to do so." 
 
 The sun when setting indicated fine weather. During 
 the night there was a light breeze, scarcely sufficient to 
 send our heavy frigate through the water. When day 
 dawned, however, our Yankee friend, we discovered, 
 had managed to slip away, and was hull down to the 
 southwest. 
 
 In the same direction another ship was seen, with 
 which it was considered probable that the Yankee had 
 communicated. The stranger looked suspicious — a 
 heavy ship — and certainly a man-of-war. All hands, 
 in consequence, set to work to whistle for a breeze, and 
 to our infinite satisfaction it came very soon, confirming 
 most on board in their belief as to the efficacy of the 
 operation. Sail was then made, and we steered for the
 
 108 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Btranger. She was soon pronounced to be a powerful 
 frigate, a worthy match for the Doris, and so with light 
 hearts we cleared for action, not doubting that we should 
 take her, whatever her size or the number of her guns. 
 Our only fear was that she might run away. To pre- 
 vent this, our captain, who was up to all sorts of tricks 
 to deceive an enemy, had arranged a mode of disguising 
 the ship. By means of some black painted canvas let 
 down over the main deck ports, she was made to look 
 like a corvette, or flush-decked vessel. Captain Collyer, 
 we heard, had before taken in and taken several vessels 
 in this way, and we hoped now to be as fortunate. 
 
 At an earlier hour than usual we piped to breakfast, 
 that we might not fight on empty stomachs, and I may 
 safely say that the prospect of a fierce contest damped 
 no one's appetite. For my own part I never made a 
 better meal in my life. I hurried, however, very soon 
 again on deck, spy-glass in hand. Looking through it, 
 there was no longer any doubt as to the character of the 
 stranger. There she lay, standing under easy sail, and 
 evidently waiting our approach. Just as I got on deck 
 she fired a gun to windward, and the French ensign flew 
 out from her peak. 
 
 As we drew nearer we could count twenty-two ports 
 on a side. She thus carried many more guns than we 
 did, and had probably a much larger^rew. These odds 
 were highly satisfactory. We had no fear about the 
 issue of the combat ; our only dread was that she might 
 escape us. Our captain determined to do his best to 
 prevent this. He was not a man given to make long 
 speeches, but as soon as every thing was ready for battle 
 he called the men on deck.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 10U 
 
 " My lads," he said, " there's a ship somewhat bigger 
 than we are, and may-be there are more men on board ; 
 but they're only Frenchmen. You can take her if you 
 try, and I know you will. I intend to engage her to 
 leeward, that she may not escape us. You'll do your 
 duty like British seamen, and that's all I want of yon." 
 
 This pithy speech was received with three hearty 
 cheers, a good prognostic of victory. 
 
 The determination of the captain to engage a more 
 powerful antagonist to leeward was very brave, for it 
 was the least advantageous position for fighting. The 
 reason of the Frenchman's boldness in waiting for us 
 was clearly that he supposed the Doris to be much 
 smaller than she really was. But then how was it 
 that the Yankee skipper should not have told him the 
 truth ? They had certainly communicated. We had 
 only just before seen his royals dipping beneath the 
 horizon. However, we hadn't time to think of that or 
 any thing else, before a shot from the enemy came 
 whistling through our sails. Several followed in rapid 
 succession. We were keeping away so as to cross her 
 stern, and rake her with a broadside, and then to haul 
 up again on her beam. To avoid this she also kept 
 way, and began to pepper us rather more than was 
 pleasant. Her captain had clearly determined that we 
 should not get to leeward. 
 
 " She must have it as she wishes," cried Captain 
 Collyer. " Give it her, my lads." 
 
 At that moment the canvas which which had con- 
 cealed our main deck guns was triced up, and in right 
 good earnest we poured our whole broadside into our 
 
 10
 
 110 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 opponent. The unexpected salute must have staggered 
 her, and now she too hauled up, and, discovering that 
 she had not got a baby to play with, applied herself in 
 earnest to the combat, and we ran on blazing away at 
 each other nearly yard-arm to yard-arm. 
 
 " This is what I like," exclaimed Mr. Johnson, rub- 
 bing his hands. " This is a good honest stand-up fight ; 
 we know what the enemy's about, and he knows what 
 we are about, and I shall be very much surprised if he 
 does not find out before long that we are giving him a 
 tremendous good licking." 
 
 I would not quite agree with the boatswain, for the 
 enemy's shot was crashing about us with terrific effect. 
 The French frigate also sailed much faster than we did, 
 and soon shot ahead of us ; and still further to prevent 
 us from attaining our object, she wore round and came 
 to on the other tack, giving us a fresh broadside as she 
 did so. The manoeuvre succeeded so well, that it was 
 repeated again and again. This enraged our crew, 
 several of whom were struck down ; the wounded were 
 at once carried below, the dead were drawn out of the 
 way ; they were not yet numerous enough to throw 
 overboard. I looked to see how my particular friends 
 were getting on. George Gray had a division of guns 
 under him, and was behaving like the young hero he 
 was. Toby Bluff was busily employed in bringing up 
 powder, and looking as totally unconcerned about every 
 thing else, as if his was the most important work to be 
 done. Having brought up his tub, he sat himself down 
 on it, determined that not a spark should get in if he 
 could help it. Tn like manner the captain was doing
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. Ill 
 
 bis duty to the best of his power, and so was every 
 officer and man in the ship. Mr. Lukyn, the first 
 lieutenant, had chosen me to act as his aide-de-camp, to 
 carry orders that he might have to send to any part of 
 the ship; in that way I was kept constantly moving 
 about, and it appeared to me that I escaped many shots 
 which might otherwise have hit me. Once a shot 
 knocked some hammocks out of the hammock nettings, 
 and grazed the mainmast just as I had passed it, and 
 another took off the head of the boatswain's mate, just 
 as he was raising his hand to signify that he under- 
 stood an order 1 had given him. I consequently walked 
 on till I met the boatswain, and delivered the order to 
 him that he might see it executed. 
 
 "This will never do, Lukyn," I heard the captain 
 say. " We must get alongside her again." The sails 
 were accordingly trimmed, and we ran right down on 
 the enemy, pouring into her as we did a fire of round 
 shot, grape, and musketry; but, I must own, getting as 
 much in return, and having our rigging terribly cut 
 about. The French ship had at the time little way on 
 her, and so we shot ahead ; both of us, after exchanging 
 a couple of broadsides, tailing off before the wind. We 
 had now separated considerably. The hands were sent 
 aloft to knot and splice the rigging, to enable us to 
 work the ship, which we otherwise could not do. 
 "While we were thus employed, the French frigate 
 hauled up, and, passing our stern diagonally, raked us, 
 but at too great a distance to do US much damage. 
 Every officer and man was exciting himself to renew 
 the light, when once more the French ship bore up,
 
 112 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 and showed that she was going again to pass under 
 our stern. 
 
 " Down with your faces on the deck all of you, my 
 lads," shouted the captain, the order being repeated by 
 the othe** officers. I observed, however, that both he 
 and Mr. Lukyn stood upright. The expected shower 
 came, the enemy passing within pistol shot. I looked 
 up anxiously to ascertain if either of my superiors was 
 hurt. There they stood as calm as before, but Mr. 
 Lukyn's hat had been knocked off, and two bullets 
 had passed through the sleeve of his coat. 
 
 " That was a narrow shave," observed the captain as 
 Mr. Lukyn stooped down and picked up his hat. Had 
 the men been standing up, great numbers, probably, 
 would have been killed or wounded. The enemy after 
 this hauled up on the larboard tack, and was about to 
 pour her starboard broadside into us, when, our crew 
 springing to their feet, our sails were thrown aback, and 
 the French frigate's larboard bow came directly on to 
 our starboard quarter. As she did so, the boatswain 
 with his mates sprang aft, and in a moment it seemed 
 that the enemy's bowsprit, or rather jib-boom, was 
 lashed to our mizen-rigging, in spite of a heavy rattling 
 fire of musketry, kept up on them by the French marines 
 on their forecastle. A body of our marines came aft 
 to reply to them, and numbers were dropping on both 
 sides. While this was going forward, I saw a French 
 officer walking along the bowsprit with a musket in his 
 hand. He rested it on the stay, and was taking a 
 deliberate aim at Captain Collyer, who stood, not observ- 
 ing tliis. encouraging the men to work the after guns-
 
 ' Thank you, Mr. Merry, you have saved my life," he said, turning a look of 
 
 approval on me
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 113 
 
 At that instant a marine who had just loaded his musket 
 was shot dead. I seized it as he fell, and in the impulse 
 of the moment, dropping on my knee, raised it to my 
 shoulder and fired at the Frenchman on the bowsprit 
 who at the same time fired. A ball passed through the 
 captain's hat — he turned his head and observed that 
 I had just fired, and saw also the Frenchman falling 
 headlong into the water. 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Merry, you have saved my life," 
 he said, turning a look of approval on me ; but there 
 was no time for more. Every thing I have described 
 passed like a flash of lightning. All was now smoke 
 and noise, the men straining at the gun tackles, spong- 
 ing and loading; the marines firing and stooping down, 
 as they had been ordered, to load, to avoid the bullets 
 of the French marines who were so much above them. 
 Meantime the Frenchmen had been mustering on deck, 
 and suddenly appearing on their forecastle, they rushed 
 along the bowsprit and were leaping down on our 
 hammock nettings, the headmost reaching the deck. 
 
 " Boarders repel boarders ! " shouted Mr. Bryan ; 
 and he with one or two mates, followed by Jonathan 
 Johnson, with his doughty cutlass, hurried aft to meet 
 them. What had become of the captain and Mr. Lukyn 
 I could not tell. Fierce was the encounter, for the 
 French seamen fought desperately, and their marines 
 kept blazing away faster than ever. Mr. Bryan and 
 the French officer leading the boarders met, — their 
 blades flashed rapidly for a few seconds, and tin- French- 
 man fell mortally wounded. Mr. Johnson was in his 
 glory : the first time he led on his followers, however 
 
 10*
 
 114 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 the Frenchmen withstood him for some seconds, and 
 more of them pouring down on the deck, he was driven 
 back a foot or two, but it was only for a moment. With 
 a loud shout, he made a furious dash at the boarders : 
 Mr. Bryan, with several mates and midshipmen, of 
 whom I was one, seconded by our gallant purser, who 
 with a brace of pistols in his belt and a sharp cutlass in 
 his hand, instead of remaining below, had come on deck 
 to share the danger and aid in the fight ; and of the 
 whole number of the enemy who had reached the deck 
 of the Doris, not one quarter escaped on board their 
 own ship unwounded, and very nearly half were killed 
 outright, or were taken prisoners. We, however, did 
 not get off scathless. The enemy still continued to 
 annoy us with their foremost guns ; while the shot from 
 their muskets rattled thickly round our heads, our main 
 royal-mast and main-topsail yard had been shot away, 
 and the gaff was so severely wounded, that when the 
 Frenchman fell aboard us, it dropped over his deck. 
 At this moment we saw some of the crew tear our 
 ensign from the gaff and carry it aft as a trophy : there 
 was not a man in our ship who would not have gladly 
 rushed aboard the enemy to recover it. 
 
 " It will never do to be without a flag," said I to 
 Gray. " I propose we go aloft and nail a couple to the 
 mast." 
 
 " With all my heart," he answered ; and he getting a 
 boat's ensign and I a union-jack from the signal locker 
 we ran aloft with them before any one saw what we 
 were about. We agreed, however, that they would look 
 best at each end of the cross-jack, and accordingly,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 115 
 
 quick as lightning, we lashed them there. The French- 
 men might certainly have picked us off*, but as many of 
 their nation have much chivalry in their competition, 
 when they saw that we were young midshipmen, and 
 what we were about, I suspect, refrained from tiring. At 
 all events, we accomplished our dangerous exploit, and 
 returned on deck. Scarcely had we reached it, and 
 stood amid the shower of bullets whistling along it, than 
 to my great sorrow, I saw Gray fall ; he uttered no 
 cry ; I ran toward him to lift him up; he said that he 
 was not badly hurt, but he fainted, and Mr. Bryan 
 ordered him at once to be carried below. Directly 
 afterwards Mr. Bryan fell ; he, however, raised himself 
 on his arm, and with the help of two seamen, in a short 
 time stood up, and refused to leave the deck. Mr. 
 Collman, our brave purser, tried to persuade him to go 
 below. 
 
 " Let the surgeon look to you, and if he thinks you 
 are fit you can return." 
 
 " No, no ; thank you, Collman," he answered. " I 
 don't know what may happen while I'm away. Time 
 enough to go to the doctor when we've thrashed the 
 Frenchman." 
 
 It was my duty, as I said, to stay by the first lieuten- 
 ant. I was inquiring for him, when I saw a number of 
 the French marines peppering away at the after ports 
 in the captain's cabin. I instantly bethought me that the 
 captain and Mr. Lukyn must be there, and accordingly 
 hurried to the main deck. 
 
 Our captain had, without asking leave of the dock 
 yard authorities, cut two ports in his cabin on each ^ido
 
 116 MARMADUK.E MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 next the quarter, in readiness for the very contingency 
 which had now occurred. Our carpenter had, however, 
 stupidly forgotten to drive in ring bolts to work the guns, 
 while the gunner had not prepared tackles of sufficient 
 length to haul the aftermost gun from the side to the 
 new ports. 
 
 When I reached the cabin, the captain and first and 
 third lieutenants, and the gunner and carpenter, and 
 other officers and men, were working away to find 
 means to train aft a gun. ' The marines, however, sta- 
 tioned along the larboard gangway of the enemy had 
 found them out, and as I reached the cabin it seemed 
 as if a hailstorm was playing into it, and the bulkheads 
 were literally riddled with bullets. Several men lay 
 dead about the decks, and every now and then another 
 sank down wounded, while many were laboring away 
 with the blood flowing from their sides or limbs. I 
 ran in and asked Mr. Lukyn if he wanted me. 
 
 " No, no, Merry ; go out of this, boy," he answered 
 kindly. 
 
 At that time it was certainly the part of the ship suf- 
 fering most. As I was going out I passed Mr. Down- 
 ton, our third lieutenant. He was reeving a rope 
 through a block to form a tackle, when a shot struck him 
 in the head. He fell forward in the way of the gun. 
 He was dragged unceremoniously out of it by the legs, 
 and the men cheered as they hauled it aft. I ran to help 
 poor Mr. Downton. I lifted him up. He gave a look so 
 full of pain and woe in my face that I would gladly have 
 shut it out, and then with a deep sigh breathed his last. I 
 never felt so sad before. He was a good kind officer, and
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 117 
 
 I liked him very much. I now, I own, begun to think 
 that we were getting the worst of it, and should have 
 to strike our colors, or go down with them flying. Just 
 then the gun, double-shotted, was run out aft, and fired 
 right into the enemy's bows. Our men's cheers scarcely 
 drowned the shrieks and cries which followed from the 
 French ship. Again the gun was loaded and fired with 
 the same terrific effect. The French marines contin- 
 ued blazing away at the people in the cabin, but were 
 at length driven from the gangway by the hot fire of our 
 jollies and small-armed men. The latter had also to di- 
 rect their attention to a carronade which the enemy had 
 got on his forecastle, and which might have done us a 
 vast deal of mishief, but such a shower of musket balls 
 whistled round it the instant a Frenchman got near, that 
 none would venture to work it. 
 
 As Mr. Lukyn had ordered me out of the cabin when 
 I found that I could be of no use to Mr. Downton, I 
 went on deck again. The bullets were whistling along 
 the deck as thick as hailstone. This sort of work would 
 have continued probably till we had treated each other 
 like the Kilkenny cats, or till the French ship had given 
 in, when her jib-boom gave way, and she forged ahead. 
 As she did so, Our next aftermost gun was manned and 
 fncd, cutting away her head-rails, and, what was of 
 greater consequence, the gammoning of her bowsprit. 
 
 "Hurrah, lads! the day's ours," shouted Mr. Coll 
 nun ; " over to the starboard guns." 
 
 The master was on the main-deck with the captain. 
 
 " Now the battle's going to begin in earnest, Mr 
 Merry," observed die boatswain, near whom 1 found 
 myself.
 
 118 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Thought I to myself, " It has been going on in pretty 
 6erious earnest for the last two hours or more." 
 
 Now both frigates, running on yard-arm to yard-arm, 
 fired their guns in succession as they could be brought 
 to bear ; but our people, from constant practice, tossed 
 our guns in and out twice as rapidly as the Frenchmen. 
 This soon told ; the enemy's main-topmast was shot 
 away, the foremast was badly wounded, several of her 
 ports were knocked into one, and instead of the cloud 
 of canvas which lately swelled proudly to the breeze, 
 her sails were riddled, and, with rope ends, hung useless 
 from every shattered yard. In some respects we were 
 not much better off, and our rigging was so cut about, 
 that the ship was no longer manageable. Taking ad- 
 vantage of her greater speed, our antagonist drew ahead 
 till she got out of gunshot, greatly to the rage and an- 
 noyance of the crew, who bestowed on her three loud 
 groans, and many an anathema on finding that she had 
 escaped them. 
 
 It now came on calm, and she could not get far otf. 
 Not a moment, however, was lost before all hands were 
 set to work to repair damages; never was rigging more 
 rapidly knotted and spliced. My eye was seldom off 
 our enemy. A slight breeze had again sprung up, when 
 suddenly I saw her foremast rock, it seemed, and over 
 'it went with a crash, carrying a number of her crew on 
 it into the water. A loud cheer burst from our men, as 
 they saw what had occurred, and they redoubled their 
 efforts to get the Doris ready to renew the action. By 
 noon we had knotted and spliced all the standing rig- 
 ging, rove new braces, and had got the ship under per-
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 119 
 
 feet command, while the freshening breeze carried u* 
 rapidly up toward our opponent. 
 
 The heat of the sun and our exertions made us feel 
 very hot, and now the Yankee's oranges came into requi- 
 sition. Both midshipmen and men might be seen suck- 
 ing them heartily, as we once more stood into action. 
 The enemy seemed still disposed to defend himself as 
 we stood across his stern, so that he could bring no 
 guns to bear on us. He, however, trusting to the effect 
 his large body of marines might produce, fired a rat- 
 tling volley as we were about to pour in our broadside* 
 Spellman and I were at the moment standing near the 
 boatswain. As the French marines fired, I felt a sharp 
 burning pang in my shoulder, which made me jump on 
 one side, while I saw Spellman's orange flying away, 
 and putting up both his hands as he cried out, " Oh, my 
 orange! my orange! and they have riddled my cheeks, 
 the blackguards." 
 
 I could not help laughing at his exclamation and face 
 of astonishment, in spite of the sickness which was 
 creeping over me. 
 
 "It's lucky it was not through your head, Mr. Spell- 
 man," observed the boatswain, picking up the orange 
 and handing it to him, but he was in no way inclined to 
 suck it, for his mouth was full of blood, which he began 
 vehemently spluttering out over the deck. 
 
 Now our frigate sent forth a roaring broadside; the 
 enemy's ship was for an instant shrouded in smoke. As 
 it cleared away, down came the French ensign, and an 
 officer was seen to spring on to the taffrail, and with the 
 polite.-t of bows, signified that they had struck Loud
 
 120 MAUMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 hearty cheers was the answer returned by our brave 
 fellows, who by sheer hard fighting and rapid working 
 of their guns, had achieved, in little more than three 
 hours, a victory over a foe so vastly superior. Those 
 cheers, though pleasant sounds to our ears, must have 
 been very much the contrary to our enemies. 
 
 Then, and not till then, did Mr. Bryan consent to be 
 carried below. I have no personal knowledge of what 
 happened after this, for even before the cheering had 
 ceased, I should have sunk fainting on the deck, had 
 not the boatswain caught me. "When I came to myself, 
 I was undressed in my hammock, and, except a pain 
 and stiffness in my shoulder, there was nothing, I 
 thought, very much the matter with me, though when I 
 tried to rise I found that to do so was out of the ques- 
 tion. Spellman and Gray were in their hammocks, 
 close to me. Though Spellman was least seriously 
 hurt of either of us, his appearance, from having ln3 
 head bound up with two huge plasters over his cheeks 
 was by far the most lugubrious, as he sat up and looked 
 Qrst at Gray, and then at me, and said, " Well, I hope 
 you like it." 
 
 " Thank you, Miss Susan," said I. " We might be 
 worse off, but we shan't have to go whistling through 
 the world in future as you will, and if ever you fall in- 
 to the hands of savages they'll put a rope through your 
 cheeks and drag you along like a tame bear." 
 
 " You don't think so, Merry, I'm sure," he answered, 
 \n a tone of alarm, which showed that he vividly pic- 
 tured the possibility of such an occurrence ; " do you, 
 Gray?"
 
 MARMAHUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 121 
 
 Poor Gray was too weak to say much, but he gave 
 Spellman very little encouragement to hope for the 
 best, and when Macquoid visited us, entering into the 
 joke, he said nothing to remove his apprehensions. 
 
 My chief anxiety was now about Toby Bluff", and I 
 was very glad to find that he had not been hurt. At 
 last, when he came to me, I had some difficulty in quiet- 
 ing his apprehensions, and in persuading him that it 
 was a very fine thing to be wounded, and that I should 
 have lots of honor and glory, and be made more of 
 when I got home than 1 had ever been before in my 
 'ife, and that he would share in it without having had 
 the disagreeable ceremony to go through of being 
 wounded. 
 
 " As to the glory, and all that sort of thing, I'd as 
 lief have let it alone, if it was to cost a bullet through 
 me, Muster Merry," he answered. " But I'd have been 
 main glad if the mounseers had just shot me instead of 
 you. It wouldn't have done me no harm to matter." 
 
 " He is a faithful fellow, certainly," I thought, "but 
 he has no chivalry in his composition." 
 
 From the jabbering we heard around us, we found 
 that the French prisoners had been brought on board, 
 and Macquoid told us that every man who could be 
 spared was employed in repairing the prize. Mr. Lukvn 
 had gone to take command of her, with Perigal as his 
 second in command, and I was very glad to find that 
 the old mate was unhurt. 
 
 Our prize was the Aigle. She carried six guns more 
 than we had, and they were of heavier calibre. She 
 was nearly three hundred tons larger, and her crew 
 
 11
 
 122 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 numbered a hundred men more than we had. We had 
 beaten her because our men were better gunners, and 
 had fired half as rapidly again as had her crew. We 
 had lost fourteen killed and thirty wounded, and she 
 thirty-four killed and sixty wounded. 
 
 " Ah ! young gentlemen," said Mr. Johnson, who in 
 the intervals of his labor paid us a visit, " it was as 
 pretty a stand-up fight and as well won a battle as I 
 ever heard of, or you'll ever see probably." 
 
 At length both frigates were refitted, and, as we un- 
 derstood, steering a course for old England. We three 
 midshipmen found it rather dull work staying in our 
 hammocks all day, as it was too dark to read, though 
 we managed to sleep, as only midshipmen can sleep, 
 and we agreed that we would get the boatswain, when 
 he had leisure, to come and sit by us to go on with his 
 history. We succeeded, and, seated on a bucket, he 
 began : 
 
 " Well, young gentlemen, flesh and blood wants some 
 rest, though I can do more than most men in the way 
 of work, and instead of taking a doze in my cabin I'll in- 
 dulge you, and the service shall not suffer. Ah, ah ! 
 let me see, — I was telling you of my childhood. I 
 very soon grew up. I didn't take long to do that. By 
 the time I was fifteen I knew a thing or two, and there 
 wasn't a seaman aboard my father's ship who could beat 
 me at any thing." 
 
 " At pulling the long bow especially," said a deep 
 voice from one of the hammocks. 
 
 " Who spoke?" inquired Mr. Johnson, turning round 
 sharply. " I'll tell you what, whoever you are, a man
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 123 
 
 may shoot with a long bow, or a man may shoot with a 
 short bow ; but for my part I say a man has a right to 
 use the weapon which suils him best; and so, Mr. Bow- 
 wo-wo, just bowse taut that jaw-tackle of yours, and 
 don't let's hear any more of your pertinent remarks, I'll 
 thank ye, my bo." Mr. Johnson then continued, — ' ; At 
 last, said my father one day to me, — ' Jonathan, you 
 are big enough and strong enough to go without leading 
 strings, and the sooner a lad does that the better.' 
 
 "' Yes, father, I am,' said I, and I was, for I was six 
 feet two inches high, and could knock over an ox with 
 my fist, as I'd done many a time to save the butcher 
 trouble. 
 
 " ' You must look out for a ship, my son,' said my 
 father. 
 
 " ' I will, said I, and I did. I shipped on board a 
 Greenland whaler, the Blazylight, and sailed the next 
 day for the North Pole. We had a fine run to our 
 fishing-ground, and soon began to kill our whales at a 
 great rate. It was the sort of sport which just suited 
 me. I never could stand angling for minnows ; but 
 whale-fishing is a very different sort of work, I guess. 
 
 " We had got a full ship, and were thinking of turn- 
 ing south, when we were becalmed near the land, and 
 a^ the ship could not move, I, with four or five more, 
 started on an expedition to shoot polar bears, which 
 were pretty common thereabouts. We had got a good 
 way from the ship, when a thick fog — not an unfre- 
 quent visitor to those parts — came on. I bad a pocket- 
 compass with me, and so I wasn't a hit alarmed. How- 
 ever, when we tried to find the old Blazylight asain. I
 
 124 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 must confess we could not. We wandered about till an 
 my companions died from sheer fright and fatigue ; and 
 I should have died, too, if I had given in ; but I wouldn't 
 do that; so I collected all my shipmates' ammunition, 
 and set to work to kill and pot bears. I lived like a 
 prince, as far as quantity was concerned, but I got 
 rather tired of bear's flesh at last. I rubbed myself 
 over with the grease, and was soon covered from head 
 to foot with a hide of the finest wool, so that I didn't 
 feel the cold a bit. It was cold, however, at times, 
 with a vengeance. Frequently the frost was so severe, 
 that it froze up even the very air, and if I had not 
 melted it every now and then, by firing off my gun, I 
 should have died for want of breath ; and often it wasn't 
 possible to move without cutting a way for myself 
 through the atmosphere with my axe. I suspected, as 
 I afterwards found to be the case, that what we had 
 taken to be land, was in reality an unusually large field 
 of ice, with icebergs imbedded in it, and that we had 
 been carried by some unknown current imperceptibly 
 toward the north for a considerable distance. Now, 
 when we had left the ship, we had kept to the west- 
 ward. When we wished to return, we had steered east 
 by the pocket-compass I told you of. On, and on, and 
 on, I kept on the same course. What do you think I 
 was doing? Why I was walking round and round the 
 north pole, and should have kept on walking till now, 
 for nothing would have made me give in — I promise 
 you that wasn't my way — had I not come upon the 
 print of my own footsteps in the snow. This made me 
 aware of my error ; so I sat down to consider how it
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 125 
 
 could have happened, and at last the truth flashed on 
 my mind. You see it was a very natural mistake I had 
 made, for the needle of my compass was all the time 
 pointing to the north pole, just as a capstan-bar does to 
 the capstan, while I was running round at the other end 
 of it. I was rather puzzled to know what to do, for 
 had I walked south, not having the means of ascertain- 
 ing my longitude, I might, I thought, find myself on the 
 other side of the globe, somewhere, perhaps, near 
 Behring's Straits, leading into the Sea of Kamtschatka, 
 where there would be little chance of my falling in with 
 a ship. 
 
 " I had sat cogitating for some time, and was begin- 
 ning to get rather chilly, when it occurred to me that I 
 might render a great service to science by going chock 
 up to the north pole, and ascertaining of what it is com- 
 posed. I instantly rose from my seat, put my compass 
 down to strike the course I was to take, fired off' ray gun 
 to clear myself a path through the frozen atmosphere, 
 secured my stock of bear's flesh on my back for provi 
 sions, and manfully set forward, with my face away from 
 all human being-." 
 
 " But bow could you see, Mr. Johnson ? " asked Gray. 
 " I always thought it was dark in those regions during 
 winter ! " 
 
 " See ! why perfectly well," answered the boatswain, 
 promptly. " If the stars and moon happened not to be 
 shining, there was always the aurora borealis blazing up, 
 like a great fire, right ahead of me. You have seen the 
 northern lights on a winter's night, but they are a very 
 different affair up there to what they appear so far 
 11*
 
 126 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 ecuth. If it wasn't for them, in my opinion, there would 
 be no living in those regions; but by their warmth they 
 keep the atmosphere round them in a very pleasant 
 state. Well, on I walked, sleeping at night in the huts 
 I made in the snow, leaving a small hole open to breathe 
 through ; and it was not disagreeably cold, owing to the 
 warm whiffs which came every now and then from the 
 pole. 
 
 " After progressing thus for several days, I observed 
 an extraordinary phenomenon. Whenever I took my 
 compass out in my hand, I felt that the instrument had 
 a tendency to move directly before me. This tendency 
 increased gradually as I proceeded, till, one morning, 
 when I put it down as usual to mark my course before 
 starting, to my infinite surprise, and I may say dismay, 
 away it glided over the snow, increasing in rapidity of 
 motion as it proceeded. 
 
 " Horrified at the reflection of what might be the 
 consequence should I lose it, I rushed forward, and, in 
 my eagerness to grasp my treasure, fell prostrate on my 
 face, just, happily, as my fingers clutched it. 
 
 " This wonderful occurrence (for I own that it did 
 surprise even me, and I could not have believed it had 
 another man told it me) brought me to a stand-still, and 
 compelled me to form a new plan for my future pro- 
 ceedings. I was unwilling to give up the enterprise, 
 though I saw the full risk I was running ; but dangers 
 never daunted me, — I should think not, — and I deter- 
 mined at e\sery hazard to proceed. I accordingly re- 
 traced my steps a day's journey, when I found the at 
 'ractive powers of the pole of less force ; and then
 
 MARMADUKE MERUV, THE MIDSniPMAN. 127 
 
 erecting a lofty pyramid of snow, I placed my compasa 
 on the summit, and carefully covered it over. On the 
 top of all I fastened a red pocket-handkerchief, secured 
 to a walking-stick, in order to make the object still more 
 conspicuous. Having performed this work, I lay down 
 in a snow-hut to rest, and the next morning again set 
 forward toward the pole." 
 
 The boatswain stopped to clear his throat. 
 
 " That is very interesting, Mr. Johnson," said Gray. 
 " Do go on." 
 
 "I'll indulge you, young gentlemen — I'll indulge 
 you ; and as 1 look upon what I'm going to tell you as 
 the most interesting part of my adventures, no one must 
 interrupt me. The king on his throne musn't and 
 sha'n't — till I have finished my authentic and veracious 
 narrative." 
 
 " Mr. Johnson ! Mr. Johnson ! the captain wants vou 
 - — sharp ! " shouted Toby Bluff" running along the deck. 
 Mr. Johnson gave a grunt, and, springing from his seat, 
 disappeared up the hatchway.
 
 128 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 I had a good constitution which had not heen 
 impaired by any excess, and as Mr. Perigal and the 
 other oldsters of the mess kept strictly to the law by 
 which they had awarded to themselves two-thirds of 
 the youngsters' grog, my blood was not inflamed by 
 having imbibed spirituous liquors. I, therefore, under 
 Macquoid's judicious care, very rapidly recovered from 
 the effects of my wound. In a few days I could have 
 got up and run about, but as poor Gray, who was much 
 more hurt than I had been, was too weak to leave his 
 hammock, I promised to remain in mine to keep him 
 company. When Macquoid came to me, therefore, one 
 day and told me that I might dress and go on deck, I 
 replied in a very faint voice, that I had not strength to 
 move, and groaned a great deal when he moved me to 
 dress my wound. 
 
 " Some internal injury, I fear," he observed, " 1 must 
 see to it." 
 
 He then turned to Spellman, to dress his cheeks. He 
 groaned exactly in the way I had done, and spoke in 
 the same faint tone, declaring his inability to rise. 
 
 "Ah, poor fellow, some internal injury, I fear; I 
 must see to it," remarked the assistant surgeon in the 
 same tone, asfhe left us. 
 
 Miss Susan, thinking that he had quitted the sick bay, 
 Bat up in his hammock, and made a well-known and
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 129 
 
 expressive signal to me with his thumb to his nose, 
 which Macquoid, who happened at that moment to turn 
 his head, could not have tailed to observe. 
 
 "Miss Susan, you donkey, you have spoilt all. We 
 are found out," I exclaimed. " Macquoid saw your 
 sign to me." 
 
 Spellman declared that did not signify ; that he would 
 explain how it happened to Macquoid, and assure him 
 that the gesture was one which he frequently made 
 when suffering from a paroxysm of pain. 
 
 I told him that he had better say nothing of the sort, 
 and that he would only make matters worse, but he per- 
 sisted that he knew better than I did, and told me to 
 hold my tongue. Of course it was very wrong to sham 
 to be worse than I was, but I persuaded myself that it 
 was not like actual malingering, as I had a foundation 
 for my assertion, and really did not feel as if I could 
 walk. Still, I may as well say here, that though I have 
 ever been through life merry by nature, as well as by 
 name, and have loved joking as much as any man, I 
 have learned to hate and detest falsehoods. It is un- 
 christian-like in the first place, and thoroughly low and 
 ungentlemanly in the second. I say this, lest in conse- 
 quence of my having introduced the wonderful adventures 
 of my shipmate, Mr. Johnson, it may be considered that 
 I think lightly of the importance of speaking the truth. 
 To do Jonathan justice he took ample care that his 
 yarns should never for a moment deceive the mosi 
 simple-minded or credulous of his hearers. At that 
 time, however, I did not Bee things as clearly as I di 1 
 when I grew older, and I was vexed at having tried to
 
 l30 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 deceive Macquoid, more from the fear of being found 
 out than from any refined sense of shame. He, how- 
 ever, when he came again in the evening, treated us 
 exactly as if we were still very weak, and when Spell- 
 man persisted in talking of the odd position into which 
 his hands twisted themselves when he was in pain, he 
 seemed to take it all in, and agreed with him, that such 
 was a very natural and common occurrence. I had my 
 doubts, however, of Macquoid's sincerity, and having had 
 some experience of his mode of treatment on a former 
 occasion, resolved to be very much better the next visit 
 he paid us. I said nothing to Spellman, whose spirits 
 rose immediately. 
 
 " I told you so," he exclaimed, when Macquoid was 
 gone. " I told you I should humbug Johnny Sawbones." 
 
 " Now if we could but get the boatswain to come to 
 us, and to go on with his yarns, we should be all right 
 and jolly," observed Gray. 
 
 I agreed with him, and soon afterwards Toby Bluff 
 coming to see me, which the faithful fellow did as often 
 as he could during the day, I sent him to invite Mr. 
 Johnson to pay us a visit, as he would have more leisure 
 then than at any other time of the day. Nothing loth, 
 the boatswain soon made his appearance. 
 
 " And so, young gentlemen, you want to hear more 
 of my wonderful, not to say veracious, narratives," he 
 observed, while a pleasant smile irradiated his features 
 " Well, I hold that the use of a man's legs is to move 
 about the world, the use of his eyes is to see all that is 
 to be seen, as he does move about, and the use of his 
 tongue to describe all that he has seen, and so I'll use
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 131 
 
 mine to good purpose, and indulge you, but, as I've said 
 before, I say again, I will have no one doubt my word. 
 If there's any cavilling, I'll shut up as close as an oyster 
 when he's had his dinner, and, having made this pre- 
 liminary observation, here goes. Let me recollect, where 
 had I got to?" Mr. Johnson said this while taking his 
 usual seat on a bucket, between our hammocks, his huge 
 legs stretched out along the deck, and his big head 
 sticking up, so that his eagle eyes could glance round 
 above them. 
 
 " I remember, — I was taking a walk up to the North 
 Pole. I did not think that I could be many days' 
 journey from it. But that did not matter. The air 
 was so bracing that I could take any amount of exercise 
 without fatigue, and was therefore able to walk all day, 
 sitting down merely for convenience' sake when I was 
 enjoying my dinner off the preserved bear. I of 
 course could not cut the flesh with my knife, as it was 
 frozen as hard as a rock. I was therefore obliged to 
 chop it into mouthfuls with my hatchet, and even when 
 between my teeth it was some time before it would 
 thaw, but then you see, as I had nobody to talk to, I 
 had plenty of time for mastication, and it was undoubt- 
 edly partly to this circumstance that I kept my health 
 all the time. There is nothing so bad as bolting one's 
 food, except going without it. By the way, I have had 
 to do that more than once for several weeks together. 
 Once for a whole month I had nothing to eat but some 
 round shot and bullet moulds, and an old jackass, which 
 was washed up on the beach, after being well pickled 
 by the -all water, but that has nothing to do with my
 
 132 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 present story. I wish that I had kept a diary of my 
 proceedings, during my northern ramble. It would 
 have proved highly interesting to Sir Joseph Banks, 
 and other scientific people, but, as it happens, I have 
 my memory alone to which I can trust, though that, 
 however, never deceives me. Well, after leaving my 
 flagstaff I travelled on, neither turning to the right 
 hand nor to the left, and it is wonderful what a straight 
 course I kept, considering the difficulty there is in find- 
 ing one's way over a trackless plain without a compass. 
 If I had had too much grog aboard, I could not have 
 done it, and it's a strong argument in favor of keeping 
 sober on all occasions, but more especially when any 
 work is to be done. I slept at night, as before, in a hole 
 in the snow, but never suffered from cold ; this was partly 
 on account of the quantity of bears' grease I swallowed, 
 which served to keep the lamp of life alive, and also be- 
 cause every mile I advanced I found the atmosphere 
 growing warmer and wanner, and the Northern Lights 
 brighter and brighter. There could be no doubt about 
 it ; those lights were the cause of the unexpected warmth 
 I encountered ; so warm, indeed, did the air become, 
 that I am certain many a man would have turned back 
 for fear of being roasted alive, but I was not to be 
 daunted. Onward I went till I got within less than a 
 mile of one of the biggest fires I ever saw. The effect 
 was grand and beautiful in the extreme. You might, 
 suppose yourself looking at a city fifty times as large 
 as London, and every house in it as big as St. Paul's, 
 and every part of it blazing away at the same time, and 
 even then you would have no conception of the mag-
 
 MAR3IADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 133 
 
 nificence of the scene which met my view, as I beheld 
 the source of those far-famed Northern Lights, the 
 Aurora Borealis, as the learned people call them. 
 
 "The flames, you must know, were not of that bright 
 hot color which issue from a furnace, but were of a 
 delicate pale red, flickering and playing about in the 
 most curious way imaginable, sometimes blazing up to 
 the height of a mile or so, and then sinking down to a 
 few hundred feet. The heat at the distance I was then 
 from it was rather pleasant than oppressive ; it had not 
 even melted the snow on the ground, but of course that 
 was so hard frozen, that it would have required a very 
 warm fire to have made any impression on it. Well, 
 as I advanced I began to lick my chops at the thoughts 
 of the hot dinner I intended to enjoy — for, after all, 
 however philosophical a man may be, his appetite, if he 
 is hungry, must be satisfied before he is fit for any thing 
 — when I beheld a number of moving objects, scarcely 
 distinguishable from the snow, encircling the fire. I 
 could not make out at first what they were, but on ap- 
 proaching still nearer, I discovered the truth, though I 
 could scarcely believe my eyes, for there, sitting up on 
 their hams, were countless thousands of polar bears, 
 warming their paws before the Aurora Borealis. It is 
 a fact as true as any thing I have been telling you, and 
 at once fully accounted to my mind for the disappearance 
 of bears from the Arctic regions during the winter 
 months, and fully refutes the popular idea, that they sit 
 moping by themselves in caverns, employing their time 
 in sucking their paws. 
 
 "Not liking the idea of losing my hot dinner, not to
 
 134 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Bpeak of the disappointment of not being able to say 
 that I had been chock up to the North Pole. I deter 
 mined to venture among them." 
 
 " It wouldn't give you much concern to say you had 
 been there, at all events, even if you hadn't," growled 
 out a voice from one of the hammocks. 
 
 " Sir ! " exclaimed the boatswain very sternly, " I 
 would have you to know that I scorn to exaggerate the 
 truth, or to make an assertion which is not in strict ac- 
 cordance with the facts. If you doubt my words, stop 
 your ears or go to sleep, or I'll shut up altogether." 
 
 " Oh no, no, do go on, Mr. Johnson," exclaimed sev- 
 eral voices at the same moment. " We don't doubt a 
 word you're saying." 
 
 " Well, that's right and proper," said the boatswain, 
 much appeased. " If I do draw on my imagination at 
 any time, it is because it is the only bank I know of 
 which would not dishonor my drafts, as many a gentle- 
 man who lives by his wits would have to confess, if he 
 spoke the truth. Well, I resolved to venture on, and 
 soon got up near enough to see that the bears were sit- 
 ting as close as they could pack, in a large circle round 
 the real veritable North Pole, and that those who were 
 moving were merely stragglers, who could not find room 
 to squat down with the rest. I was standing contem- 
 plating the strange scene, when an immense big fellow 
 catching sight of me, came waddling up on his hind 
 legs, and growling terrifically with anger. ' This is in- 
 hospitable conduct, Mr. Bruin, let me observe,' I shout 
 ed out, but he did not attend to me. I had my gu:. 
 loaded ia my hands, so, when he came within ten yardf
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 135 
 
 of me, I fired, and hit him on the eye. Over he rolled 
 as dead as mutton, so it appeared, and I had just time 
 to cut a steak out of his rump for dinner, when another 
 rushed toward me. I loaded calmly, fired, and knocked 
 him over, but this was a signal for fifty others to make 
 a charge at me. I felt that, ready for a fight as I was, 
 I could not hope to contend against such overwhelming 
 numbers, so I did what any person, however brave, sit- 
 uated as I was would have done — I took to my heels 
 and ran as hard as I could go. I never ran so fast in 
 my life before, and good reason I had to put my best 
 leg forward, for, in the course of a minute, there were a 
 thousand bears at my heels, every one of them licking 
 their jaws with the thoughts of dining off me. I must 
 own that I did not like it. On I ran straight for my 
 signal staff, never once looking behind me, for I could 
 hear the bears growling as they followed full tilt ; and 
 so clearly are sounds conveyed over those vast expanses 
 of snow, that they seemed close at my heels. 
 
 " By the time I had run for fully ten hours without 
 stopping, I began to get rather out of breath, and al- 
 most to fear that I should not hold out much longer, 
 when to my great satisfaction the growling grew less 
 and less distinct, as the bears, dead beat, dropped off 
 one after the other, till at last, turning my head, 1 found 
 that I was alone. I cannot express how comfortable 
 this made me feel, so I sat down for half an hour to re- 
 cover my breath, and to eat my dinner, which was a 
 cold instead of the hot one I expected to enjoy. 
 
 " When I got up again, what was my surprise to see 
 my flagstaff in the distance, not two miles ahead, and it
 
 136 MARMADUKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 was only then I discovered how very fast I must have 
 run, for I had come back in a few hours a distance 
 which it had before taken me a week to perform. I 
 have heard of fear giving wings to the feet, but though 
 I won't allow that I was afraid, I must have flown along 
 at a good pace. Well, I got up to my flagstaff, and 
 found my compass all right, though as soon as it was 
 clear of the snow it had a slight inclination to move 
 northward ; and so, to avoid risk, I stowed it away 
 carefully in my pocket. The handkerchief was frozen 
 as stiff as a board, and I had some difficulty in folding 
 it up for other purposes. I was glad also to get back 
 my walking stick, which helped me wonderfully over 
 the ground. Again I sat down. It was only now the 
 real difficulties of my position burst on me, but difficul- 
 ties never have and never shall daunt me. After a lit- 
 tle consideration I determined to discover the spot 
 where I had commenced making the circuit round the 
 pole. For several days I was unsuccessful ; till at last I 
 beheld a dark object on the snow. I ran toward it, 
 and it proved to be, as I expected, the body of one of 
 my ship-mates, the last who had given in — a Shet- 
 lander — Murdoc Dew by name, as good a seaman as 
 ever lived. I exchanged boots with him as mine were 
 worn out with so much walking, and then pushing on, 
 I came upon the bodies of my other companions and 
 Ihe bears we had killed, by which I knew that I was 
 steering a right course for the spot where I had left the 
 ship. I calculated that had I gone south when I first 
 thought of doing so, I should have got on shore some« 
 where to the eastward of Nova Zembla, and have had
 
 MARMADEKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 137 
 
 to travel right through Siberia and the whole of Europe 
 before I could have got back to old England, which, 
 considering that I had not a purse with me, nor a six- 
 pence to put into it. would not have been pleasant. 
 
 " On I went till I got into the latitudes where icebergs 
 are collected. They are, as is known, vast mountains 
 of ice and snow, so that when I once got among them it 
 was impossible to see any way ahead, and as the sum- 
 mer was coming on and their bases melted, they began 
 to tumble about in so awful a way, that 1 fully expected 
 to be crushed by them. My food, too, was almost ex- 
 pended, and Murdock Dew's boots gave symptoms of 
 over use, so that at last I began to think that there 
 might be a pleasanter situation than the one I was 
 placed in, when one day having climbed to the summit 
 of the highest iceberg in the neighborhood, I beheld a 
 light blue smoke ascending in the distance. Taking the 
 exact bearings of the spot, I slid down an almost per- 
 pendicular precipice of three hundred feet at least, at an 
 awful rate, and then ran on as fast as my legs would 
 carry me, for after a solitude of eight months I longed 
 to see my fellow-creatures, and bear again the human 
 voice. On I went, but still to my disappointment no 
 ship appeared in sight, till at last I saw in front of me a 
 low round hut, evidently the habitation of Esquimaux 
 — a people whose habits, manners, and appearance, I 
 was never much given to admire. I should observe that 
 what with my bear-skin cloak and my long beard and 
 hair (I say it without any unbecoming humility) I did, 
 probably, look rather an outlandish character. 
 
 "As I understood something of the Esquimaux lingo 
 12*
 
 138 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 » — indeed, there are few tongues I don't know something 
 about — I shouted loudly to attract their attention. On 
 this, two men, dressed in skins, came out of the hut, and 
 answered me in so extraordinary a dialect, that even I 
 did not comprehend what they said. I then hailed them 
 in Russian, but their answers were perfectly unintelligi- 
 ble. I next tried French, but they shook their heads, 
 as was, I thought, but natural for Esquimaux who were 
 not likely to have been sent to Paris for their education. 
 I then spoke a little Spanish to them, but I was equally 
 at a loss to understand their answers. Portuguese was 
 as great a failure ; even several of the languages of the 
 North American Indians did not assist us in communi- 
 cating our ideas to each other. I tried Hindostanee, 
 Arabic, and Chinese, with as little effect. This was, 
 indeed, provoking to a man who had not exchanged a 
 word with a fellow-creature for so many months, till at 
 last, losing temper, I exclaimed in English more to my- 
 self than to them, — 
 
 " ' Well, I wonder what language you do speak, 
 then ? " 
 
 " ' English, to be sure,' answered both the men in a 
 breath, ' and never spoke any other in our lives.' 
 
 " 'Are you indeed my countrymen ?' I cried, rushing 
 forward and throwing myself into their arms, for by the 
 tone of their voices I discovered that not only were they 
 Englishmen but my own former shipmates. 
 
 " They, of course, thinking that I had long been dead, 
 had not recognized me ; indeed I had some difficulty, as 
 it was, in convincing them of my identity, and of the 
 truth of the account I gave of my adventures .since I
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN., 139 
 
 left the ship. I was certainly an odd object, with a 
 beard of so prodigious a length, that it not only reached 
 the ground, but I had to tie it up as carters do their 
 horses' tails, to keep it out of the snow. My hair and 
 eyebrows had increased in the same proportion, so that 
 I was more like a wild beast than a man. This extra- 
 ordinary exuberance I attribute entirely to my having 
 lived so completely on bears' flesh. When cut off it 
 served to stuff a large-sized pillow, which I afterwards 
 gave to the President of the United States, who sleeps 
 every night on it to this day. 
 
 " My old shipmates told me that they were the only 
 survivors of the crew — that our ship had been nipped 
 by two floes of ice with such violence that she was sent 
 flying into the air full sixty feet, and that when she 
 came down again on the ice she split into a thousand 
 pieces, which went skating over the smooth surface for 
 miles, and that, of course, the bones of every one on 
 board were broken, but that they, having been sent 
 ahead in a boat at the time, escaped. 
 
 " Now I do not wish to throw any discredit on my 
 friends' narrative, but remember that I will not and 
 cannot vouch for the accuracy of any man's statements 
 except of my own. 
 
 " My friends, having got over their first surprise, in- 
 vited me to enter their hut, where I must say I enjoyed 
 a comfortable fire and a warm chop — though I burnt 
 my mouth when eating the hot meat, accustomed as I 
 had so long been to iced food. We washed down the 
 flesh with some excellent rum, a few casks-full of which 
 my shipmates had discovered near the scene of the
 
 140 . MARMADDKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 catastrophe, in frozen forms, like jellies tnrned out of a 
 tin, for the wood had been completely torn off when the 
 ship went to pieces. When our repast was concluded 
 we whiled away the time by narrating our adventures, 
 and though you may have observed that I am not much 
 given in general to talking, I confess I did feel a pleas- 
 ure in letting my tongue run on. It moved rather 
 stiffly at first for want of practice ; but the hot food and 
 spirits soon relaxed the muscles, and then it did move 
 certainly. My only fear was that I should never get it 
 to stop again. We talked on for twelve hours without 
 ceasing, and, after a little sleep, went on again the whole 
 of the next day." 
 
 A loud guffaw from the occupant of a distant ham- 
 mock made the boatswain stop short, and look round 
 with an indignant glance. 
 
 " I should like to know, Mr. Haugh ! Haugh ! Haugh ! 
 whether you are laughing at me, or at my veracious nar- 
 rative ? If at me, I have to remark that it is not over 
 well-bred, whoever you are, officer or man : if at my his- 
 tory, let me observe, all you have to do is to match it 
 before you venture to turn it into fun. It may have 
 been equalled. I don't wish to rob any man of his lau- 
 rels ; but it has not been surpassed, and so Mr. Haugh ! 
 Haugh ! I've shut you up, and intend to shut up myself, 
 too, for it's time for me to go on deck and see what's 
 became of the ship, and that no one has walked away 
 with her." 
 
 Saying this the boatswain rose from his tub, and with 
 his huge head and shoulders bent down as he passed 
 under the beams, he took his departure from among the
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 141 
 
 hammocks. He had not been gone long before Toby 
 Bluff made his appearance ; and as he came up to me 
 I fancied, from his countenance, that there must be some- 
 thing wrong with him. 
 
 " What is the matter, Bluff? " I asked. 
 
 " Why, sir, I thought Mr. Johnson was here," said he, 
 without giving an answer to my question. 
 
 " But what if he is not ? " said I. 
 
 " Why, Muster Merry, I wanted to see him very 
 much before he went on deck," he answered. 
 
 " On what account ? " I asked, convinced that Toby 
 had something to say which he, at all events, considered 
 of importance, and I thought he might just as well tell 
 me before he communicated it to the boatswain. lie 
 was Mr. Johnson's servant, it must be remembered. 
 
 " Why, sir, I don't know whether I am right or 
 wrong," he whispered, coming up close to my hammock. 
 " It's just this, sir. We have got, you know, some three 
 or four hundred French prisoners aboard, at all events 
 many more than our own crew now numbers, as so many 
 are away in the prize, and others wounded. Well, sir, 
 as I have been dodging in and out among them, I have ob- 
 served several of them in knots, talking and whispering 
 together as if there was something brewing among them. 
 Whenever I got near any of them they were silent, be- 
 cause they thought I might understand their lingo, though 
 I don't. I was sure there was something wrong. It 
 might be they didn't like their provisions or their grog, 
 and were going to ask for something else, but whatever 
 it was I made up my mind to find it out. At last I re- 
 membered that then; is a boy aboard, Billy Cuff, sir,
 
 142 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 who was taken prisoner by the French, and lived in 
 their country for ever so long, and he used to be very 
 fond of coming out with French words, though he is not 
 a bit fond of the French, for they killed his father and 
 his brother, poor fellow. Thinks I to myself, if Billy 
 has not got much wits he has got ears, and we'll see 
 what we two together can find out. So I told Billy, and 
 I got him to come and stow himself away near where I 
 knew the Frenchmen would soon collect, and sure 
 enough, sir, from what Billy heard, they have made up 
 their minds to try and take the ship. They caught 
 Billy and me stealing away, and from their looks they 
 would have pitched us overboard if they had dared, but 
 we tried to seem innocent like, as if we didn't think any 
 harm, and they still fancy it's all right. Now if any of 
 them saw me going up to speak to the boatswain, they 
 might suspect that something was wrong, and be on their 
 guard. I've done right, I hope, sir? " 
 
 " Indeed you have, Bluff," said I, highly pleased at 
 the intelligence and forethought he had shown. It 
 proved that his wits were sharpening at a great rate, 
 that in fact he had got the hay-seed out of his hair very 
 rapidly. 
 
 I agreed with him that it would not do to let any of 
 the Frenchmen see him talking to the boatswain, be- 
 cause, if they were really going to rise, they might do so 
 before preparations could be made to withstand them. 
 He might go at once to Mr. Bryan or to one of the other 
 officers, or to Captain Collyer himself but then I thought 
 it more than probable that they would not believe him, 
 so I told him to run up and to tell the boatswain that 1 
 wanted particularly to see him.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TOE MIDSHIPMAN. 143 
 
 In a short time Mr. Johnson's long-nosed ruddy vis- 
 age appeared above my hammock. I then told him, in 
 a low voice, all I had heard from Toby. 
 
 '•I should like to see them attempt it," he answered, 
 laughing. " It's a cock and a bull story, depend on that, 
 Mr. Merry, but still you did very right in sending for 
 me. It's possible that I may report the circumstance to 
 the captain, as it's right that he should know the zeal and 
 intelligence exhibited by boys Bluff and Cuff, though, as 
 I say, there's nothing in it, depend on that." 
 
 Notwithstanding Mr. Johnson's assertion I observed 
 that he immediately sent for boy Cuff to his cabin, and, 
 as Toby afterwards told me, interrogated him very 
 closely as to what he had heard. Nothing, however, 
 was said to me on the subject, and I began to fancy that 
 boys Bluff and Cuff had been deceived, or were making 
 a mountain out of a mole hill. This matter had not 
 made me forget Macquoid's promised visit to us. The 
 next morning, when we were all awake, I asked Spell- 
 man how he felt. 
 
 " Very jolly," he answered. " But I have no inten- 
 tion of getting up and bothering myself with duty for 
 some time to come. I've done enough for the good of 
 the service to last me for some time." 
 
 " I should think so," said I. " I hear Macquoid's 
 voice ; here he comes." I uttered a few groans which 
 Spellman repeated with considerably more vigor. I 
 let him go on, while I sat up with a pleased countenance 
 to welcome the assistant surgeon, who appeared with a 
 big bottle containing some black-looking stuff and a 
 glass. Spellman went on groaning.
 
 144 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " Poor fellow, I've got something which will do him 
 good," observed Macquoid with a twinkle in his eye. 
 a Here, take this, my lad, there is nothing like it for in- 
 ternal pains." 
 
 As he poured out the nauseous draught, the smell 
 alone was so horrible that I resolved to do any thing 
 rather than take it. Spellman, however, fearing that he 
 should be detected if he refused, held his nose with his 
 finger and thumb, and with many a wry face gulped it 
 down. 
 
 " Don't you think a little more would do him good ?" 
 said I, in a hurried tone. " I don't want any myself; 
 the fact is, Macquoid, that the plasters you put on 
 yesterday, did me so much good, and you have treated 
 me so well altogether, that I feel getting quite well and 
 strong, and have been waiting all the morning for your 
 coming, to ask if I might get up." 
 
 Macquoid shook his head at me. " We'll see how the 
 wound looks first," said he. " But you must take a little 
 of my elixir asafoetida; et licorice first. You evidently 
 properly appreciate its virtues by recommending that 
 Spellman should have more of it." 
 
 " Ah, but you know, as you often say, when you 
 drink up my grog, ' What's one man's meat, is another 
 man's poison,' " I answered promptly, for Macquoid was 
 very fond of making use of all sorts of proverbs, es- 
 pecially when he wished to show that he was right in 
 any thing he chose to do. " I have no doubt that it 
 will do Spellman a great deal of good, or of course you 
 would not give it him, it would be meat to him ; but as 
 I am perfectly free of pains it would be positively throw-
 
 MARMADUKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 145 
 
 ing it away on me, though I don't say it would be 
 poison, of course not." 
 
 " you humbug, you arrant humbug," exclaimed 
 Spellman, sitting up in his hammock and clenching his 
 fist at me. " Why, not five minutes ago, you were 
 groaning away worse than I was — that he was, Mac- 
 quoid. Give him some of your beastly stuff. It's not 
 fair that I should take it, and not him. He promised to 
 keep me company." 
 
 " When the pains return he shall have more of it, 
 depend on that," said Macquoid, scarcely able to dress 
 my wound for laughing. " He has tasted it already. 
 You shall have his allowance to-morrow if you are not 
 better." 
 
 Spellman having betrayed himself, had not only to 
 drink the mixture which was made as nasty as could 
 be, though probably perfectly harmless, but to get up 
 and be ready to make himself useful if required. My 
 neck was rather stiff, but the pain was so slight that I 
 felt almost able to return to my duty. I was glad to 
 get about the decks, because I wanted to find out if 
 Toby's information had been believed. I saw nothing 
 to indicate that any one apprehended an outbreak of 
 the prisoners. The officers walked the deck as usual, 
 singly or in couples, with a look of perfect unconcern, 
 and the marines were scattered about, employed in their 
 ordinary occupations. A Frenchman, who was, I 
 guessed, the French captain, was pacing the quarter- 
 deck with Captain Collyer, and his countenance looked 
 very sad and troubled ; but that arose, I concluded, be- 
 cause he had lost his ship and was a prisoner. Mr. 
 
 13
 
 146 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Bryan and some of the other gun room officers spoke to 
 me very kindly, and congratulated me on being about 
 again. At length Macquoid sent me below, suggesting 
 that it might be wiser to take a little more of his elixir 
 before I went to sleep, but I declined the favor, assur- 
 ing him that the very thought of it restored me to un- 
 wonted strength. He laughed, and wished me good 
 night, advising me to make the most of my time, as I 
 should soon have to keep watch again. " Such wide 
 awake fellows as you are cannot be spared," he ob- 
 served. I was soon asleep. I awoke with a start. 
 All was dark. I heard seven bells strike ; I knew it 
 must be toward the end of the first watch. The voice 
 of an officer hailing the look-out sounded peculiarly dis- 
 tinct, and served to show the quiet which reigned on 
 board. The sea was smooth, we were carrying a press 
 of sail, and I could hear the rush of the ship through 
 the water. Suddenly the silence was broken by the 
 heavy tramp of men along the deck, while loud shouts 
 and shrieks seemed to burst forth from every point. 
 The drum beat to quarters, and I heard the voices of 
 officers in loud distinct tones perfectly free from agita- 
 tion issuing orders. 
 
 " What is the matter? " I exclaimed, starting up. 
 
 " What can be the matter," exclaimed Spellman. 
 " Are we all going to be murdered ? " 
 
 " The matter is, that the Frenchmen have risen, and 
 are trying to take the ship," said I. u And though they 
 may murder us, who are unable to resist them, it's a 
 consolation to feel that they'll be knocked on the head 
 to a certainty themselves."
 
 MATIMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 147 
 
 " I can't say that I feel any consolation at all ; oh 
 dear ! " cried Spellman, jumping up and beginning to 
 dress, an example I followed, for I had no fancy to be 
 killed without resistance. 
 
 Gray at that moment awoke. I told him what was 
 occurring, and that I intended to stick by him, and was 
 groping about to get something to fight with, when I 
 heard a voice high above the shrieks and cries, which 
 I knew to be that of the Lieutenant of Marines, shout- 
 ing,— 
 
 " Charge them, lads." 
 
 Then came the steady tramp of the jollies along the 
 deck, lanterns were quickly lighted, and, looking out, I 
 could see the Frenchmen scampering off, tumbling down 
 the hatchways, or hiding under the guns. They dis- 
 covered that they had made a slight mistake. Not a 
 trigger was pulled, and except from a few prongs with 
 the points of bayonets, which caught the Frenchmen 
 in their nether ends, no blood was drawn. Captain 
 Collyer had not been quite so fast asleep, nor had 
 boys Bluff and Cuff been quite so stupid as the Johnny 
 Crapauds had fancied. The jollies had been warned 
 to be in readiness, and before the first roll of the drum 
 had sounded along the decks, they were at their posts, 
 ready, as they always are, for any thing. 
 
 The Frenchmen were soon put under hatches, and 
 their officers, who had not joined the conspiracy (though 
 they might if it had been successful, because then it 
 would have been a very gallant affair), going among 
 them, discovered the ring-leaders, and dragging them 
 out, they were put in irons.
 
 148 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 It was some time, however, before complete quiet 
 was restored. We, that is to say my messmates and I, 
 assembled in the berths, and having discussed the mat- 
 ter, concluded that all the culprits would be hung next 
 morning. 
 
 As our purser's dips did not allow us to enjoy any 
 extra amount of light, we soon had to retire to our 
 hammocks. What was our surprise next morning to 
 find that the Frenchmen were summoned aft, when 
 their captain appeared and addressed them. I learned 
 afterwards that he asked them whether they had been 
 well fed, comfortably berthed, civilly treated, and on 
 their owning that they were, he told them that they 
 were a set of ungrateful scoundrels, a disgrace to the 
 French nation, and that they all deserved to be hung. 
 
 Captain Collyer then stepped forward and said that, 
 though they might deserve hanging, as they had fought 
 their ship bravely, and as no lives had been lost, he 
 should overlook their fault, but he warned them that if 
 they made a similar attempt they would be severely 
 dealt with. The Frenchmen retired, looking consider- 
 ably ashamed of themselves. The French captain then 
 took otf his hat, and making the most polite bow to 
 Captain Collyer, thanked him for his humanity, observ- 
 ing that the truly brave were always humane. 
 
 I could not ascertain whether Captain Collyer had 
 heard what Toby had told me, but two days after- 
 wards, he and Cuff were together, not far from the 
 captain, when he turned round and said, — 
 
 " My eye is upon you, boys Bluff and Cuff, and if 
 you continue to behave as well as you have done, you' 
 interest will be cared for.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 149 
 
 Now I could not help thinking that they really had 
 6aved the ship, but it would have been inconvenient 
 to have acknowledged this at the time, and certainly 
 have done Bluff and Cuff no real good ; probably only 
 have set them up, and made them idle. I am con- 
 vinced that the captain acted in this matter, as he did 
 in all others, with true kindness and judgment. 
 
 Four or five days after this providential suppression 
 of the mutiny, as I was walking the deck, having volun- 
 teered to return to my duty, the look-out at the mast- 
 head hailed that a sail was in sight. The usual 
 questions were asked, and the master, going aloft to 
 examine her, pronounced her to be, without doubt, a 
 line-of-battle ship. It was not quite so easy to deter- 
 mine whether she was an enemy or a friend. If the 
 former, we might have another battle to fight, for Cap- 
 tain Collyer was not the man to yield without one. 
 Having the prize in tow, we were making all sail on our 
 homeward course. 
 
 On came the stranger. She was on our weather 
 quarter, and soon showed us that she sailed faster than 
 we did. 
 
 Captain Collyer now hailed Mr. Lukyn, who com- 
 manded the prize, to say that he intended to fight the 
 line of-battle ship to the last, and then explained to him 
 how he intended to manage. 
 
 " With all my heart, sir," answered Mr. Lukyn, and 
 the crew of the prize gave a loud cheer, to show that 
 they were ready. 
 
 The drum beat to quarters, and not only did all thai 
 were well assemble, but even all the sick and wounded 
 
 13*
 
 150 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 who could move crawled up on deck to help man 
 the guns. Though I should not have been sorry to 
 have got home without more fighting, I was as ready- 
 as any one, and hoped that I should not get another 
 wound, as I was quite content with the one I had to 
 exhibit. A guard was kept over the prisoners, who 
 were told that they would be shot down without mercy 
 if they made any disturbance, and then in grim silence 
 we stood ready for the fight. 
 
 The stranger came on, but at length she began to 
 make signals, and we signalized in return, and then we 
 soon found out that she was not an enemy, but a friend. 
 She proved to be the Hercules, 74, and as she was 
 homeward bound, her captain said that he would keep 
 us company, to help fight any enemy which might 
 appear. 
 
 We ran on for two days when the Hercules made the 
 signal of fleet to the south-east, and soon afterwards 
 that several ships had borne up in chase. We next 
 learned that they were enemies. We had still the prize 
 in tow. Every stitch of canvas alow and aloft which 
 the ship could carry was packed on her. It was an 
 anxious time. To lose our gallantly won prize, and 
 perhaps to be carried off to a French prison, were not 
 pleasant anticipations. 
 
 I asked Mr. Johnson what he thought about the 
 matter. 
 
 " Why, Mr. Merry, look you, I never anticipate 
 evil," he answered, with an expression of countenance 
 very different to what he put on when telling his won- 
 derful yarns. " Time enough when it comes. ' There V
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 151 
 
 many a slip between the cup anil the lip,' as you've 
 heard say, and you'll find it through life. The French- 
 men out there think that they are going to gulp us 
 down, but they may find that they are mistaken." 
 
 Fortunately the Aigle was a remarkably fast vessel, 
 and though she could not carry all the canvas we did, 
 we towed her along easily. The Hercules acted nobly, 
 and followed like a huge bull-dog at our heels, ready to 
 bear the brunt of the fight should the enemy come up 
 with us. Still, as we looked at the overpowering 
 numbers of the Frenchmen, there appeared but little 
 prospect of our escaping. There were many specula- 
 tions as to what we should do. One thing was certain, 
 that our captain would not allow the Hercules to be 
 taken without going to her assistance. I asked Mr. 
 Johnson what he thought about the matter. 
 
 " Why, just this, young gentleman," he answered. 
 " If the Frenchmen get near us, they'll blow us out of 
 the water, but they'll have reason to be very sorry that 
 they ever made the attempt. They may have our 
 bones, but they'll get no flesh on them." 
 
 The boatswain's reply made me meditate a good deal. 
 I wanted to enjoy, midshipman fashion, all the honor 
 and glory I had gained, and I did not at all like the 
 thoughts of being taken prisoner, and still less of being 
 sent to the bottom with our colors flying — a very fine 
 thing to do in theory, but practically excessively disa- 
 greeable. I hinted at my feelings to Mr. Johnson. 
 
 " Very natural, Mr. Merry," he answered. " Rut, 
 just think, if you were taken prisoner, how satisfactory 
 it would be to make your escape, and if the ship were
 
 l52 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 to go down or blow up, how pleasant it would be to find 
 yourself swimming away safely to land. Follow my 
 example. Draw nourishment from the toughest food. 
 Did I ever tell you how I was once blown up a hundred 
 fathoms at least, right into the air? When I came 
 down again I plunged as deep into the sea, but I struck 
 out and came to the surface, for I knew that I must help 
 myself, as there was nobody who could help me. I got 
 hold of six of my companions and towed them ashore, 
 a couple of miles or so. Very few others escaped. 
 Now, if I had given in, they and I would have been 
 lost, and His Majesty's service would have been deprived 
 of one of the best bo'suns to be found in it. I say this 
 without vanity — because it's a fact." 
 
 I found it difficult sometimes to ascertain whether Mr. 
 Johnson was really serious or joking. 
 
 The enemy were all this time chasing and coming up 
 rapidly with us. Even Captain Collyer looked anxious. 
 We, however, were all ready for the fight we anticipated. 
 
 " If we can keep well ahead of them till night comes 
 on, we may give them the slip," I heard the captain 
 observe to Mr. Bryan. " It may be more prudent on 
 the present occasion to fly than to fight, but I am sure 
 that every man will fight to the last if it comes to 
 fighting." 
 
 " That they will, sir. I never saw the people in 
 better spirit," answered the second lieutenant. " They 
 are like a bull-dog with a captured bone. They are 
 not inclined to yield it without a desperate tussle." 
 
 From all I heard I began to think whether I should 
 not go and write a letter home, to tell them that when
 
 MAKMADUKE MERRY, TIIK MIDSHIPMAN. 155 
 
 they received it I should have fallen fighting for my 
 king and country ; but then Spellman appeared on 
 deck. He looked so absurd with his lugubrious counte- 
 nance, and the plasters still on his cheeks, that I burst 
 into a fit of laughter ; anrl, all my apprehensions vanish- 
 ing, I was in a minute joking away with my messmates 
 as usual.
 
 154 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Doris under all sail, with our hard-won prize 
 in tow, kept standing to the northward, the gallant Her- 
 cules bringing up the rear, while the French fleet, like 
 a pack of yelping hounds, followed full chase at our 
 heels. 
 
 A stern chase is a long chase, and so we hoped this 
 might prove, without an end to it. 
 
 " Our glasses, as may be supposed, were constantly 
 turned toward the enemy. They had not gained much 
 on us when the sun went down, and darkness stole over 
 the surface of the ocean. Clouds were gathering in the 
 sky — there was no moon, and the stars were complete- 
 ly obscured. It was in a short time as dark a night as 
 we could desire. The Hercules, looking like some huge 
 monster stalking over the deep, now ranged up past us, 
 and a voice from her ordered us to tack to the west- 
 ward, and keep close to her. This we did, though we 
 had no little difficulty in keeping together without lights, 
 which we did not show, lest we might have been seen 
 by the enemy. 
 
 The next morning, when we looked round, not one 
 of the French squadron was in sight, greatly to the vex- 
 Rtion of our prisoners, who had hoped by this time to 
 have seen the scales turned on us. We were out of the 
 frying-pan, but before long we had reason to fear that 
 we had tumbled into the fire.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 155 
 
 Two days after this, when morning hroke, we found 
 ourselves enveloped by a thick fog. There was but lit- 
 tle wind, and the sea was perfectly smooth. Suddenly 
 the distant roar of a gun burst on our ears. It was an- 
 swered by another much nearer; a third boomed over 
 the waters on the other side of us. Others followed ; 
 then fog-bells began to ring — louder and more distinct 
 they sounded ; and more guns were fired. 
 
 " What's all that about ? " I asked of the boatswain, 
 who was looking out on the forecastle. 
 
 " Why, that we are in the middle of a big fleet of 
 men-of-war, and if, as I suspect, they are French, and 
 they catch sight of us, they'll make mincemeat of our 
 carcases in pretty quick time," he answered, squirting 
 a whole river of tobacco juice overboard, a proof to me 
 that he was not pleased with the state of affairs. 
 
 " Why, I thought it was a French fleet we escaped 
 from only two days ago," I remarked. 
 
 "So it was, and this is another," he answered. "In 
 my opinion we shall never get things to rights till we 
 send to the bottom every French ship there is afloat, 
 and we shall do that before long if we can but get a 
 good stand up fight — that's my opinion." 
 
 Mr. Johnson was right, as subsequent events proved. 
 The fog was so dense that we could not see a single 
 sail, close as we were to them, and we expected every 
 instant to run into one, or to be hailed and probably dis- 
 covered. The men were sent without noise to their 
 quarters, for of course it was resolved that Ave should 
 fight our way out from the midst of our enemies. 
 
 On wt glided. '1'lw' dim form of :i ship was seen on
 
 156 MARMADDKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 our starboard bow. Our course was slightly altered, 
 but it was only to get nearer to another. A French- 
 man hailed. Captain Collyer answered ; what he said 
 I do not know. It seemed to satisfy the stranger. No 
 shot was fired, and we stood on. Still there was some- 
 thing peculiarly solemn and awful in the feeling that 
 any moment we might be engaged in an encounter 
 against the most overwhelming odds. 
 
 Again the upper sails of another ship appeared. 
 From their height she was evidently a ship which might 
 have sunk us with a broadside. By seeing this second 
 ship, Captain Collyer was able to ascertain in what di- 
 rection the enemy's fleet was standing. As soon as he 
 had done this, our helm was put up, and away we noise- 
 lessly glided to the westward. The bells were soon no 
 longer heard — the boom of the guns became fainter and 
 fainter every minute, and at length we had the satisfac- 
 tion of feeling that we were well clear of them. 
 
 " Depend on it, you have never been nearer inside a 
 French prison or a watery grave than you have been 
 this morning," observed Mr. Johnson to me. 
 
 " I don't know that. When I was aboard the lugger, 
 and floating about in the channel, I was rather nearer 
 both one and the other," I answered. 
 
 " You thought you were, but, as the event proved, 
 you were not," said the boatswain. " Depend on it, I 
 am right, Mr. Merry. If the captain had not been 
 a srood French scholar our fate would have been sealed 
 long before this. We never know on what apparently 
 trivial circumstances our safety depends." 
 
 Mr. Johnson, it may have been remarked, was never at
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIPSIIIPMAN. 1.57 
 
 A loss for an argument or a remark of some sort. Ilia 
 pertinacity in that respect puts me in mind of a certain 
 kind-hearted Royal Duke with whom I once had the 
 honor of dining — a number of naval and military offi- 
 cers being present. 
 
 " Captain R ," said he, addressing one of them, 
 
 "how is your father?" 
 
 "Your Royal Highness, he is dead," was the answer. 
 
 " Oh ! is he ; poor fellow ! Then, how is your mo- 
 ther?" 
 
 " Your Royal Highness, she is dead also." 
 
 " Oh, is she ! Then which died first ? " asked the 
 Duke in a tone which made it very difficult even for 
 the best bred of the company to refrain from laugh- 
 ing. 
 
 Without further adventure the Doris and her prize 
 arrived safely in Plymouth Sound. 
 
 We waited anxiously for the report of the dock-yard 
 authorities, who at length gave it as their opinion that 
 the frigate had £ot so knocked about that she must jro 
 into dock to be repaired. Everybody was in a great 
 hurry to get leave. In consequence of our having been 
 wounded, Gray and Spellman and I obtained it at once, 
 and I invited them to pay my family a visit in Leices- 
 tershire on their way to their own homes. I got leave 
 also for Toby Bluff' to accompany us. 
 
 " I'll spare him to you, Mr. Merry," said Mr. John- 
 son. " Take care you bring him back, for he will one 
 day do credit to the service in his humble path, just as 
 I flatter myself I do credit to it in mine, ami I hope that 
 you, Mr. Merry, will one day in yours. You've made 
 
 14
 
 158 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHirMAN. 
 
 a very good beginning, and you may tell your friends 
 that the boatswain of the ship says so. Let them under- 
 stand that the boatswain is a very important personage, 
 and they will be satisfied that you are a rising young 
 officer." 
 
 We got a sufficient amount of prize-money advanced 
 to enable us to perform our journey, which we did partly 
 in a coach and partly in post-chaises. The latter mode 
 of travelling we agreed was by far the pleasantest. Af- 
 ter we left the coach we went along very steadily for a 
 stage or so. 
 
 " This is slow work," observed Spellman. " I vote 
 we make more sail." Looking out of the window he 
 sang out, " Heave ahead, my hearty. There's a crown 
 for you if you make the craft walk along." 
 
 Although the post-boy did not understand my mess- 
 mate's language he did our gestures and the mention ot 
 the crown, and on we went at a great rate, turning up 
 the dust as the gallant Doris was wont to do the brine, 
 and making the stones fly in every direction. 
 
 At last one of the postilions, who entered into our 
 humor, proposed getting a horn for us. We eagerly ac- 
 cepted the offer, and he said he would purchase one from 
 the guard of a coach, who lived near the road a little 
 way on. It was rather battered, and we paid a high 
 price, but when we found that Toby could blow it effec- 
 tually, we would have had it at any price. 
 
 Proud of his acquisition, Toby mounted the box, and 
 he blowing with might and main, highly delighted, on 
 we dashed. 
 
 I ought to have said that, before we left the ship,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 159 
 
 Gray and I had presented to us the two small flags we 
 had nailed to the crossjack yard in the action with the 
 Aigle. 
 
 At the last stage we agreed that we would do some- 
 thing to astonish the natives, so we ordered an open 
 barouche, which we saw in the yard, with four horses. 
 We got out our flags, and improvised another for Spell- 
 man ; these we secured to sticks, which we cut from the 
 roadside. Toby trumpeting like a young elephant, we 
 waving our flags and shouting at the top of our voices, 
 up we dashed in gallant style to the hall door, and I be- 
 lieve did astonish them most completely. 
 
 Never, indeed, had the family of Merrys been in a 
 greater commotion than we had the satisfaction of throw- 
 ing them into by our arrival. It was the holidays, and 
 all my brothers and sisters were at home. Out rushed 
 my father and mother, and Bertha and Edith and Wini- 
 fred, while my brothers Cedric and Athelstan, and Eg- 
 bert and Edwin, hurried up from various quarters, and 
 every servant in the house was speedily collected, and 
 everybody laughed and cried by turns, and the post-boys 
 grinned, and I was kissed and hugged by all in succes- 
 sion — Gray and Spellman coming in for their share — 
 till I bethought me that I would create a still greater 
 sensation ; so, when good Mrs. Potjam, the housekeeper, 
 was beginning to hug me, as was her wont in days gone 
 by, I shrieked out, — 
 
 " Oh, dear ! oh, my wound ! my wound ! " 
 
 My shipmates, seeing the effect produced, imitated my 
 example. 
 
 " What, wounded, my dear child ? What, have you
 
 160 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 been wounded ? " exclaimed my mother and sisters in 
 chorus. 
 
 " Of course I have ; and do you think those deep 
 dimples on Spellman's cheeks — I forgot to introduce 
 him, by the by. Mr. Spellman, midshipman of his 
 Britannic Majesty's frigate Doris — Mr., Mrs., and the 
 Miss and Master Merrys and their faithful domestics — 
 do you think that those deep dimples are natural ? No, 
 indeed a shot went through his cheeks — right through 
 — and those are the scars. See how Gray limps — I 
 forgot, I ought to have introduced him. Mr. George 
 Gray, also midshipman of his Britannic Majesty's frigate 
 Doris, and my esteemed friend and messmate ; and for 
 myself, I can scarcely yet use my arm. So you see 
 we are heroes who have fought and bled for our coun- 
 try." 
 
 In liiose days, as there were not so many newspapers 
 as at pie&ent, people were compelled to be their own 
 trumpeteis more than would now be considered correct. 
 Some, also, trumpeted overmuch, knowing that there was 
 not the probability that there is at present of their being 
 found out. 
 
 This statement of mine increased, as I thought it 
 would, the respect all were inclined to pay us. Dinner 
 was just going on the table, and when we had satisfied 
 our hunger, all our tongues were busily employed in our 
 peculiar styles in recounting our adventures. The butler 
 and footman often stopped to listen, and not a little forgot 
 their proper duties. 
 
 One placed an empty dish before my mother, into 
 which the cook had forgot to put the poultry ; the butler
 
 At th«' l:i-t st:iu"'. wi> at,'r 1 we would do something to astonish tin- native!
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 161 
 
 filled my father's glass with fish soy, and two of the men 
 bolted tilt against each other, and capsized the remains 
 of a sirloin of beef over the carpet with which one of 
 them was hurrying off after waiting to listen to the fag 
 end of one of my narratives. 
 
 Toby Bluff was as busily employed in the servants' 
 hall, and from the broad grins on the countenances of 
 the footmen as they returned to the dining-room, I have 
 no doubt that his narratives were of a facetious char- 
 acter. 
 
 I never have spent so jolly a time as I did during 
 that visit home. Our wounds did not incommode us ; 
 we had every thing our own way, and all my family and 
 friends made a vast deal of us. 
 
 At length a newspaper arrived giving an account of 
 the capture of the Aigle, and confirming all I had said ; 
 and when, two nights after, we appeared at a country 
 ball, and as we entered the room the band struck up 
 " See the conquering hero comes," we were in higher 
 feather than ever. 
 
 Gray and Spellman had, however, to go and see their 
 own friends, and they enjoyed the rather doubtful ad- 
 vantage of again undergoing the same treatment they 
 had received at our house. When they were gone, and 
 the nine days of wonder were over, I found myself 
 sinking into a rather more ordinary personage. In those 
 good old days, however, midshipmen who had been in an 
 engagement and got wounded were somebodies — at all 
 events, if their fathers had fine country-seats and saw a 
 number of guests. 
 
 Time sped on. I do not think my family were fired 
 
 14 *
 
 162 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 of me, but when the Doris was reported ready for sea, 
 they calmly acquiesced in the necessity of my rejoining 
 her without delay, and so Toby and I found ourselves 
 packed off in a yellow chaise, and directed to find our 
 way back to Plymouth as fast as we could. 
 
 We made the journey without any adventure, and on 
 our arrival on board found that Mr. Lukyn had been 
 promoted, and that Mr. Bryan was the first lieutenant. 
 As soon as we had reported ourselves we dived below 
 to the berth to hear the news. Two new lieutenants 
 had joined — the second was a Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald. 
 I need not say that he was an Irishman. He was pro- 
 nounced to be a most extraordinary fish, and he posi- 
 tively seemed to take a pleasure in being so considered. 
 He had a big head covered with reddish hair, which 
 stuck out straight as if he was always in a fright, his 
 complexion was richly freckled, his eyes small but 
 twinkling, and his nose, though not prominent, was of 
 ample dimensions as to width. This beautiful headpiece 
 was placed on the broadest of shoulders. His body was 
 somewhat short, but his legs were proportioned to bear 
 the frame of an elephant. He was, as he used to boast, 
 entirely Irish from truck to keelson, but certainly not 
 of a high class type. The third lieutenant was an 
 Englishman. This was fortunate. Mr. Haisleden was 
 a steady trustworthy man, and had a good deal of the 
 cut of a first lieutenant about him. It is said that, as a 
 rule, Irishmen make better soldiers than sailors, and 
 perhaps this is the case. If inclined to be wild they are 
 apt to out-Herod Herod. The strict rules of naval dis- 
 cipline do not suit their natural temperament. Paddy
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN, 163 
 
 Fitzgerald was a case in point, but a more amusing fel- 
 low and better messmate never lived. The ship was 
 again almost ready for sea. Perigal, who had got 
 leave, came on board, looking very sad at having had 
 again to part from his wife. Spellman and Gray joined 
 the next day. There had been no changes in our birth. 
 Perigal ought certainly to have been promoted, but he 
 was not. " When the ship is paid off, I suppose that I 
 shall be," he observed with a sigh. It was soon reported 
 that we were ordered out to the West Indies. Gray 
 and I took an opportunity of asking Mr. Johnson what 
 sort of a country we should find out there. 
 
 " One thing I will tell you, young gentlemen, you'll 
 find it hot enough to boil your blood up a bit," he an- 
 swered; "as to cooking a beefsteak on the capstan 
 head, that's nothing, but what do you say to finding all 
 the fowls in the hencoops roasted and fit for table? and 
 all you have to do, is to hold a burning glass over a 
 bucket of water with fish swimming about in it, and in 
 five minutes you'll have them all thoroughly boiled." 
 
 Gray and I laughed. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Johnson, it must be hot indeed," said I, 
 and, though I did not exactly put faith in his account, 1 
 began to wish that we had been bound elsewhere. The 
 boatswain saw Spellman listening with mouth agape. 
 
 " Hot, I believe you," he continued ; " did you ever 
 sit on a red-hot gridiron with your feet under the grate, 
 your head in the fire, and your fists in boiling water? 
 If you ever did, you'll have some notion of what you'll 
 have to go through in the dogdays out in those parts." 
 
 " Oh dear, oh dear," exclaimed Spellman : " why, wo 
 shall all be downright roasted."
 
 164 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 u I've a notion there's some one being roasted now," 
 observed Mr. Johnson, with a wink and a curl of his 
 nose. " Roasted ! Oh dear no : all we've to do, is to 
 sit up to our necks in casks of water, and bob our heads 
 under every now and then. To be sure, there is a fear 
 that we may all turn into Blackamoors, but that is noth- 
 ing when a man gets accustomed to it. I don't see why 
 a dark skin should not be as good as a white one. 
 Though they don't all talk the same lingo, they've as 
 much sense in their woolly heads as white men, that's 
 my opinion ; and so young gentlemen, when you get 
 among them out there, just treat them as if they were 
 of the same nature as yourselves, and you'll find that 
 they will behave well to you, and will be faithful and 
 true." 
 
 Mr. Johnson's remarks were interrupted by the ap- 
 pearance of Toby Bluff, who came to summon him on 
 deck. Blue Peter was flying from aloft. In ten min- 
 utes afterwards the capstan bars were manned, the mer- 
 ry pipe was heard, and a sturdy gang of our crew 
 tramping round, the anchor was hove up, the topsails 
 were let fall, and away the Doris once more glided over 
 the wide sea toward the far west. We had a rapid 
 passage without meeting with an enemy ; indeed, scarce 
 ly a sail hove in sight. We made St. Thomas's, and 
 stood across the Caribbean sea toward Jamaica. Hot 
 it was, but not so hot as Mr. Johnson had led us to 
 expect. 
 
 " Wait a bit," he remarked. " It's now winter ; just 
 let us see what the summer will be like." 
 
 We were not destined to enter Port Royal. We had
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 165 
 
 been making good progress toward it, when three sail 
 were seen from the masthead. As enemies of all na- 
 tions, just then swarmed in every direction, it was more 
 likely that we should have to fight, than that we should 
 meet with friends. The strangers approached. There 
 were three ships not smaller than frigates certainly, 
 perhaps larger. Still we knew that Captain Collyer 
 would not dream of running away while there was a 
 possibility of coming off victorious. If he did run, it 
 would only be to induce the enemy to follow. The 
 decks were cleared for action. Slowly we closed, when 
 at length the strangers began to signalize, and we dis- 
 covered that they formed the squadron of Captain 
 Brisbane, who directed Captain Collyer to join him ; 
 except that, in case of parting company, we were or- 
 dered to rendezvous at Aruba, a small island about 
 twenty leagues to the westward of Curacoa, we re- 
 mained in ignorance of what was about to be done, 
 though that there was something in the wind we had 
 little doubt. Various opinions were expressed ; some 
 thought that as the Dutch had chosen to follow Napole- 
 on's advice, and go to war with us, we should attack the 
 island of Curacoa itself, to show them that they had 
 better have remained at peace ; but the general idea 
 was, that, as it was strongly fortified, we should not 
 make such an attempt without large reinforcements. We 
 did not know then what sort of stuff the commodore 
 was made of. 
 
 On the evening of the 22nd of December, we anchored 
 at the west end of Aruba, and we soon learned that 
 Captain Brisbane had not only resolved to attack Cura-
 
 166 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 coa, but that he had a first-rate plan, all cut and dry, 
 just suited to the tastes of British seamen. He had 
 learned that the Dutch had a custom of finishing the 
 old year by getting very tipsy ; high and low, old and 
 young, men and women, all imbibed as large an amount 
 of schedam as they could manage to stow away. Even 
 ladies, young and fair, went about the streets offering 
 glasses of the attractive liquor to their acquaintance and 
 friends, and it would have been a positive insult to have 
 refused it from their hands. The consequence was that 
 the inhabitants, military and civil, had no inclination to 
 get up in the morning, and even guards and look-out 
 men were apt to go to sleep at their posts. Captain 
 Brisbane formed his plans accordingly, and fixed day- 
 break on January the 1st as the moment for attack. 
 We sailed again on the 24th, and had a long beat up 
 against the trades toward the east end of Curacoa. Our 
 time, however, was busily employed in making scaling 
 ladders, sharpening cutlasses, and manufacturing every 
 bit of red cloth or stuff we could find into soldiers' coats, 
 as also in arranging other badges, by which each ship's 
 company could be easily distinguished. Each crew 
 was thus divided into storming parties, under the lieu- 
 tenants and senior mates, the captain acting as leader. 
 The boatswains were ordered to place themselves at the 
 heads of parties with ladders to scale the walls, and 
 crowbars to break open the gates. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was in high glee. " We shall see what 
 we shall see, and I am very much mistaken if we don't 
 teach the Mynheers a lesson they will not easily for- 
 get," he exclaimed, as he reviewed the articles under 
 his directions.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 167 
 
 We made the high land of St. Barbary, at the east 
 end of Curacoa before the year was an hour old, and 
 we then had a fair wind, the regular south-east trade, to 
 run for the harbor of St. Ann's, situated on the south- 
 east of the island. Every one was in high spirits. We 
 knew full well that the enterprise was a difficult and 
 dangerous one, but we saw that it was planned with 
 consummate prudence and forethought, and we felt per- 
 fect confidence that it would succeed. It was no child's 
 play we were about to perform, as the gallant Arethusa 
 leading, we stood for the harbor, with our boats in tow, 
 ready at a moment's notice to disembark the storming 
 parties. We felt very proud, for we were going to 
 show what blue jackets could do when left to them- 
 selves. I was stationed on the forecastle, and so was 
 Gray, with our glasses constantly at our eyes. Before 
 us appeared the narrow entrance of the harbor, only 
 fifty fathoms wide ; indeed it nowhere exceeds a quar- 
 ter of a mile in width. On our right appeared Fort 
 Amsterdam, mounting no less than sixty guns in two 
 tiers, capable, it seemed, of blowing us all out of the 
 water, while there was a chain of forts on the opposite 
 side, and at the bottom of the harbor the fortress, said 
 to be impregnable, of Forte Re'publique enfilading the 
 whole, and almost within grape-shot distance. Athwart 
 the harbor was moored a Dutch thirty-six-gun frigate 
 and a twenty-gun corvette. The commodore had been 
 ordered t) diplomatize, and so he did in the most effectual 
 way, for we all sailed in with a flag of truce flying, but 
 with the guns run out and the men at their quarters. 
 The Mynheers, however, were not inclined to listen to
 
 168 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 reason, but, waking up, and seeing some strangers in 
 their harbor, they hurried to their guns, and began 
 firing away at us. Their aim was not very good, and 
 few shots hit us. On we steadily sailed. Suddenly then) 
 was a cry of disappointment ; the wind had shifted, and, 
 coming down the harbor, very nearly drove us on shore. 
 There seemed every prospect of our being compelled to 
 abandon the enterprise. The men in their enthusiasm 
 wished to tow the frigates up. Again it shifted. Our 
 sails filled ; the men cheered heartily. Once more up 
 along the harbor, we lay till we brought our broadsides 
 to bear on the forts and the two Dutch ships, the 
 Arethusa's jibboom being right over the town. It was 
 just dawn ; a boat was despatched by the commodore 
 for the shore ; she bore a summons to the Dutch 
 governor to surrender, promising to treat him and 
 everybody with the utmost civility if he would ; but 
 Mynheer von Tronk was in no humor to listen to any 
 of the more refined arguments Captain Brisbane had to 
 offer ; so the flag of truce was hauled down, and we had 
 recourse to the aryumentum ad hominem, or, in other 
 words, we began blazing away from all the guns we 
 could bring to bear. This fully roused up the sleepy 
 Dutchmen, and we could see them (Mr. Johnson de- 
 clared that many of them had their breeches in their 
 hands), rushing into the boats to get on boai'd their 
 ships, or hurrying to the batteries, which had hitherto 
 maintained a very ineffectual fire. We had given them 
 just three broadsides, when the commodore at the head 
 of a part of his crew put off from the Arethusa and 
 pulled for the Dutch frigate. Up her sides we saw
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN; 169 
 
 him and his gallant fellows climbing. We longed to be 
 with them. The Dutch fought bravely, as they always 
 do, but liquor had unnerved their arms. The conflict 
 though short was sharp. Down came the Dutch flag, 
 and up went that of England, but not till the Dutch 
 captain and several of his crew had been killed and 
 numbers wounded. The brave captain Lydiard of the 
 Anson captured the corvette in the same style. Still 
 close to us frowned the fort, capable it seemed of sink- 
 ing every one of our ships in a few minutes. 
 
 " We must take them, Bryan, without loss of time," I 
 heard our captain observe, as I was sent up witli a mes- 
 sage to him. Scarcely had he uttered the words, whim 
 the signal to land was made. In a wonderfully few 
 moments the boats were manned and crowded with 
 small-arm men, and with ladders and crowbar bearers. 
 I accompanied Mr. Johnson with the ladder-bearers' 
 party. While the crowbar-men proceeded to the gate-;, 
 we made the best of our way to the walls. Our chief 
 hope was to succeed by a dash. The Dutchmen num- 
 bered ten to one to us, and they were no cowards, only 
 slow. As yet they had not half opened their eyes, or 
 they might have counted our numbers, and discovered 
 that our idlers, dressed in red coats, were not really 
 soldiers. Mr. Johnson was in his glory; the exploit was 
 one exactly to suit his taste. 
 
 " That commodore of ours is a first-rate fellow, Mr. 
 Merry," he exclaimed, as we pulled on shore. " If he 
 was first Lord, and I was admiral of the fleet, we should 
 eoon drive every enemy's ship off the seas." 
 
 On shore we sprang, and under a pretty hot fire we 
 15
 
 170 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 ruslied toward the walls. The ladders were placed, in 
 spite of the efforts of the half-drunken Dutchmen, to 
 prevent this, many of them toppling over into the ditch 
 in their attempts to shove them off. Up our men 
 swarmed, their cutlasses in their teeth. Mr. Bryan led 
 one party, Mr. Fitzgerald another ; the latter with a 
 loud shriek, which he called his family war-cry, — it 
 sounded like " Wallop a hoo a boo, Erin go bragh," — 
 sprang on to the walls. A big Dutchman stood ready 
 with a long sword to meet him, and would certainly 
 have swept off his head, had he not nimbly dodged on 
 one side with so extraordinary a grimace, that he not 
 only escaped free, but, swinging round his own cutlass, 
 he cut off the head of the unfortunate Dutchman, who 
 was watching him with astonishment. Then on he 
 went, cutting right and left, and putting the wide- 
 breeched enemy to flight on every side. I followed 
 Mr. Johnson ; I knew that I was in good company 
 when 1 was near him, and, that though we should most 
 certainly be in the thick of the fight, so long as he 
 kept on his legs he would have an eye on me. We 
 did not gain the top of the walls without being op- 
 posed, but the Dutchmen literally could not see how to 
 strike. A fat bombadier, however, made a butt at me, 
 and would have sent me over again, had not the boat- 
 swain seized me by the collar, when the bombadier 
 went over himself, and lay sprawling under the feet 
 of our men at the bottom. Then on we went, firing 
 our pistols, and slashing right and left. A loud huzza 
 from the sea-gate announced to us that that had been 
 forced open, and the Dutchmen finding that the day
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 171 
 
 was ours, and persuaded that discretion was the best 
 part of valor, threw down their arms, and shouted out 
 lustily for quarter. It was gladly given them ; indeed, 
 there was no real animosity between us, and officers 
 and men were soon seen shaking hands together in 
 the most friendly way possible. We had taken just 
 ten minutes to do the work. However, we had some 
 more places to capture, so locking up our prisoners 
 with a guard over them, out we went again, and climbed 
 up the walls of several other minor forts in succession, 
 the same scenes taking place at each. There was a 
 great deal of shouting and running, but very little blood 
 shed. Mr. Fitzgerald shrieked and shouted, " Wallop 
 a hoo a boo," as before, and made terrific grimaces. Mr. 
 Johnson watched him with great admiration. 
 
 " Some men make their fortune by their good looks, 
 Mr. Merry," he observed. " But to my mind, that 
 second lieutenant of ours is more likely to make his 
 by his ugliness. It's a proof that the gifts bestowed 
 on man are very equally divided. He would be nothing 
 without that curious mug of his." 
 
 The Dutch flag still flew defiantly from Fort Repub- 
 lique, at the head of the harbor. Garrisons were left 
 in each of the forts, and with a large body of prisoners 
 as hostages we once more returned on board our ships. 
 We now opened a hot fire on the forts. I observed 
 to Mr. Johnson, that I heard some of the Dutch officers 
 whom we had as prisoners declare that it was impreg- 
 nable. 
 
 " Very likely," he answered coolly. " Hut you s»^e, 
 Mr. Merry, British seamen have a knack of getting
 
 172 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 into impregnable places, as we shall very soon show 
 thera." 
 
 Just then the order was received from the com- 
 modore to disembark the marines and a body of seamen 
 from each ship. I was delighted again to be allowed to 
 go. We landed under the protection of the guns of the 
 captured frigate, and made the best of our way round 
 toward the rear of the fort, while the ships kept hurling 
 their shot at it in front. 1 rather think the Dutchmen 
 in the fort did not see us, as we pushed on among sugar- 
 canes, coffee, and cotton plantations. We got into the 
 rear of the fort after nearly an hours' very hot march, 
 and then making a dash toward the walls, we were halt 
 way up them before the Dutchmen found out what we 
 were about. Many of the officers indeed were quietly 
 smoking their meerschaums, looking down the harbor, 
 while they directed the artillerymen at the guns. 
 
 When they discovered us, dashing down their pipes, 
 they hurried to oppose our progress, but it was too late. 
 Our footing was obtained in their impregnable fortress, 
 and, exulting in our success, we dashed on. Still the 
 Dutchmen fought very bravely. As I kept by Mr. John- 
 son's side, I observed the flutter of some white dresses 
 just before us. They were those of ladies, I guessed, 
 who had been sent to the fort for security, and who now, 
 taken by surprise, were endeavoring to make their es- 
 cape from us. Not knowing where they were going, 
 they ran right in among a party of our men, who, not 
 intending to hurt them, at all events began to treat thera 
 in a way which naturally caused them very considerable 
 annoyance and alarm. The truth is, when soldiers and
 
 MARMA.DUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 173 
 
 Bailors take a place by storm, they become more like 
 wild beasts than human beings, and I have witnessed 
 scenes in my career which makes me even now shudder 
 to think of. 
 
 The men into whose hands the ladies had fallen did 
 not belong to our ship. There was no officer with them ; 
 so, calling to Mr. Johnson, I ran on. Three of the 
 ladies were elderly, but there were five others, mostly 
 young — one especially was, at least so I thought, a 
 very pretty fair girl. She looked pale, and terribly 
 frightened. 
 
 " Let those women alone," shouted Mr. Johnson ; but 
 the men only looked defiantly at him, and seemed in no 
 way inclined to obey, which put him in a great rage. 
 
 A boatswain has but little authority except over the 
 men of his own ship. 
 
 " Mind your own business," cried some of the marines. 
 " What have you got to say to us?" 
 
 Just then the ladies got more frightened than ever. 
 The youngest lady screamed, and, I thought, looked to- 
 ward me. I sprang forward — I felt more like a man 
 than I had ever before done. 
 
 " Let go your hold," I exclaimed, in a tone of author- 
 ity to the fellow who had his hand on the fair girl's arm. 
 " If one of you dares to interfere with these ladies, I will 
 have him up before the commodore, and he'll make short 
 work with the matter." 
 
 The fellow still looked defiant. 
 
 " Let go," I again shouted, rushing at him with my 
 dirk. 
 
 What I might have done I do not know, but at that 
 
 15*
 
 174 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 moment a bullet struck him in the head, and knocked 
 him over. 
 
 It was supposed I had shot the man, and a good many, 
 even of his party, siding with me and Mr. Johnson, 
 the ladies were released. 
 
 I made signs to the ladies, and endeavored to assure 
 them in French that they were safe. 
 
 "I speak English," said the young lady. "Thank 
 you — thank you very much." 
 
 The Dutch soldiers had in the mean time thrown down 
 their arms and taken to flight. The shot which had 
 wounded the man was nearly the last fired. The Dutch 
 flag was hauled down, and the shouts of our men pro- 
 claimed that in about four hours we had captured, with 
 the loss of three killed and fourteen wounded, one of the 
 strongest fortresses in the West Indies. 
 
 I was determined not to lose sight of the ladies till I 
 had placed them in safety. I found that the youngest was 
 the niece of the governor, and that she had a sister and 
 her mother with her. The governor's daughter, a bux- 
 om-looking damsel, was also of the party. I conducted 
 them all to Captain Lydiard who commanded the expe- 
 dition, and their carriages and horses being found in the 
 fort, he ordered that they should be conveyed back into 
 the town under an escort. I was highly delighted when 
 I found that I might accompany it. Perigal had com- 
 mand. The British flag was flying from every fort and 
 ship in the harbor, and many of the worthy burghers, 
 when their schedam-steeped senses returned and they 
 opened their eyes, as they looked out of their windows, 
 could not make out what had occurred. We were
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 175 
 
 treated with the greatest respect by everybody we met, 
 and the ladies endeavored to show their gratitude by 
 every means in their power. As soon as we had seen 
 them to their own homes we were to return on board. 
 I found that the young lady's name was Essa von Frau- 
 lich. 
 
 " You will come and see us very often, Mr. Merry,'' 
 she exclaimed in a very foreign accent, though her 
 phraseology was pretty correct. u We want to show how 
 much we love you, and we make nice cake for you, and 
 many other good things." 
 
 The elder ladies were more demonstrative, and 
 wanted to kiss me, which I thought very derogatory to 
 my dignity. 
 
 I shook hands warmly with them all round, and as I 
 began with Miss Essa, I thought it incumbent on me 
 to finish off' with her. 
 
 The towns-people were very civil as we made our 
 way down to the boats. Indeed, they did not seem to 
 mind at all what had happened. It was all the same 
 to them which flag flew over the forts. The English 
 had gained a character for justice and honesty, and they 
 were inclined to look upon us as likely to prove good 
 customers, and were, in fact, very glad to see us. They, 
 indeed, probably thought that it was a pity any opposi- 
 tion whatever should have been offered to our entrance. 
 
 Our work was not entirely accomplished. There was 
 
 still a fort of so Btrength, a few miles from the town. 
 
 A party of marines and blue-jackets was marched out 
 to take it, which they very speedily did, as the com- 
 mandant offered no resistance, but, hearing that liii
 
 176 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 chief had capitulated, yielded on being summoned. 
 Thus, by noon, the whole of a rich and fertile island, 
 containing forty-five thousand inhabitants, and well 
 fortified, was in our possession, while the whole force 
 we could muster among the four frigates was twelve 
 hundred men. With these we had to man our prizes, 
 to garrison the forts, to protect the country, and to 
 keep the town in order. 
 
 Captain Brisbane was, I must say, a host in himself. 
 He was a fine tall man, with very popular manners ; 
 and though he showed that he would not allow tricks to 
 be played, he ingratiated himself wonderfully with all 
 classes. He took great pains to conceal from the Dutch 
 the paucity of our numbers, and hinted that as long as 
 the inhabitants behaved themselves he would keep his 
 troops on board instead of quartering them on the town. 
 These troops were represented by the idlers of the 
 different ships, and occasionally seamen, dressed up in 
 red coats and made to parade the deck. He formed also 
 a body-guard of all the marines who could ride, and 
 with them at his heels he made a point of galloping 
 about the country and visiting the outposts. He never 
 appeared abroad without being accompanied by them. 
 They were known as Captain Brisbane's horse-marines. 
 Though horse-marines are often spoken of, it was the 
 only time I ever saw such a body either on shore or 
 afloat. 
 
 We had a very active time of it, every one doing 
 double work, and endeavoring to make it appear as if 
 we had double our real numbers. The lieutenants used 
 to put on the marine officers' undress uniforms and all
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 177 
 
 would go on shore together. Fitzgerald unconsciously 
 very nearly betrayed the trick, for his remarkable 
 features were not easily forgotten, and on the first day 
 he appeared in his military character, we saw the 
 Dutchmen, as well as some ladies, eyeing him narrowly. 
 They could not conceive it possible two such ugly 
 fellows should be found in the same squadron. 
 
 Fortunately Mr. Bryan was with us, and having 
 plenty of presence of mind, he began to talk about 
 Fitzgerald's naval brother who remained on board. 
 
 Captain Collyer, however, thought it prudent to 
 prohibit him from again appearing in a military charac- 
 ter on shore. Mr. Fitzgerald could not understand 
 this, as he was not at all aware of the peculiarity of his 
 own physiognomy, and declared that In; was very hardly 
 treated. 
 
 I was very anxious to get on shore, that I might pay 
 my promised visit to Essa von Fraulich and her 
 relatives. As bigger men were wanted on shore, and as 
 the midshipmen were found capable of performing 
 various duties in the ship, Gray and I and others were 
 much to our disappointment, compelled to stay on board. 
 Mr. Johnson also remained on board. 
 
 " I take it as an especial compliment," he observed. 
 " The fact is, you see, Mr. Merry, that 1 am worth five 
 or six men at least in the ship, and, in appearance at 
 least, little more than one out of it, and so I am doomed 
 io remain, while others are enjoying themselves on terra 
 firma."
 
 J 78 MARMADDKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 In consequence of so many of the officers being on 
 ehore, the boatswain had charge of a watch. He trod 
 the deck with considerable dignity, and a stranger com- 
 ing on board would undoubtedly have taken him for the 
 captain. 
 
 I was in his watch, and as there was nothing to do 
 when it occurred at night, except to see that the sentries 
 were on the look-out, that the anchors were not drag- 
 ging, or the ship on fire, I always got him into conver- 
 sation ; and one evening, Gray and Spellman having 
 joined us, we begged him to go on with the account of 
 his adventures at the North Pole, of which for a long 
 time we had heard nothing. 
 
 " I would oblige you, with all my heart, young gen- 
 tlemen, if I could but recollect where I left off," he an- 
 swered, in a well-pleased tone. " Let me see. Was I 
 living on the top of an iceberg, or dancing reels with 
 Polar bears, or " 
 
 " No, Mr. Johnson, you had just found your old ship- 
 mates, and were living quietly with them in their winter 
 quarters, waiting for a ship to take you off." 
 
 " So I was — ah — well — " said the boatswain. " As 
 I was telling you, when I last broke off in my most 
 veracious narrative, after we had talked on for a week, 
 our tongues began to get somewhat tired, and we then 
 remembered that it would be necessary to make prepa
 
 MARMADUKF MERRY, TOE MIDSHIPMAN. 179 
 
 rations for our departure from this somewhat inhospita- 
 ble shore, for as to a vessel touching there to take us off, 
 that event was not likely to occur. I found that my 
 companions had commenced building a boat, but as they 
 did not understand carpentering as I did, it was fortunate 
 for them that I arrived in time to lend them a hand, or 
 they would infallibly have gone to the bottom as soon 
 as they had ventured out on the foaming waves of the 
 Polar sea. June was advancing, and the ice began to 
 move perceptibly at a distance from the shore ; and as 
 the icebergs knocked and fell against each other, the 
 crash was truly awful. I can only liken it to what we 
 might suppose produced by a set of monster nine-pins 
 tumbled about by a party of gigantic Dutchmen. I 
 must relate one more event, which served to convince 
 my companions of the perfect correctness of my state- 
 ments. One night, as I was retiring to rest, I heard 
 footsteps approaching our hut, and, looking out, I saw 
 an immense white bear, sniffing up the air as if he smell 
 something he fancied for supper. Rousing my com- 
 panions, who had already turned in, I seized my gun, 
 with the intention of knocking him on the head, when, 
 as he turned his face, I recognized an expression I had 
 met before. On his nearer approach I saw that he had 
 but one eye, and I felt convinced that he was the iden- 
 tical bear I had knocked over close to the Pole and left 
 for dead, with a steak out of his rump. lie made to- 
 ward me, grinding his teeth and flashing his one eve 
 terrifically, with thoughts of vengeance ; hut I retreated 
 backwards, and had just time to slain the door in his 
 face, jamming in one of his paws, before he could grasp
 
 180 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSniPMAN. 
 
 me in his deadly embrace. Thus lie was caught in a 
 trap, but his struggles to free himself were so tremen- 
 dous that I thought he would have carried away the 
 whole hut with him, but my friends coming to my aid, 
 we made fast a strong rope round the lower joint of his 
 paw, and secured it to a stout piece of timber which 
 formed part of the foundation of the structure. We 
 then opened the door a little, when he, of course, put in 
 the other paw, which we secured in the same way, and 
 thus had him fast. At first he was very furious and 
 growled tremendously, but by giving him a piece of 
 roasted meat to suck at the end of a ramrod, we tamed 
 him by degrees, and he must have seen that we had no 
 evil intentions toward him. By slacking the ropes we 
 were in a short time able to shut the door, keeping him 
 outside. We then went to sleep, and he only now and 
 then disturbed us by an angry growl as he felt the ropes 
 cutting his wrists. 
 
 " By a judicious system of starvation, and by gently 
 administering food, we so tamed him that we were able 
 to examine him for a further verification of my suspi- 
 cions. Had my companions before entertained any 
 doubts as to the truth of my story, all such vanished 
 when they discovered that, though the wound had per- 
 fectly closed where I had cut out the steak, the cicatrice 
 was there, and skin perfectly denuded of hair. By our 
 pursuing the system I have described for some time, 
 Bruin became so tame that he would follow us about 
 like a dog, while he exhibited his affection by every 
 possible means. I shall never forget the grief he exhib- 
 ited when he saw us working away at our boat, and
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, Tin: MIDSHIPMAN. 181 
 
 making preparations for our departure. Tears fell from 
 his eyes and trickled down his shaggy breast, his bosom 
 heaved with sighs, and he hung his paws as he stood 
 before us, watching our proceedings in the most senti- 
 mental manner. 
 
 " When at length all was ready to make sail, we had 
 to secure him, as we had before done, to the beam in 
 our hut, lest he should scramble into our boat and insist 
 on accompanying us. We knew that with his usual 
 sagacity he could very easily release himself after we 
 were gone. We then hurried on board, shoved off, and 
 stood out to sea. We soon found that we had number- 
 less dangers to encounter. Sometimes huge whales rose 
 up and nearly capsized us, and there was always a ter- 
 rible risk of running foul of icebergs. One day, indeed, 
 there was a thick fog, and we were standing on with a 
 fair breeze, when the bow of the boat came with such 
 terrifle impetus against one that she slid right up it for 
 thirty feet at least, and did not stop till she sunk into a 
 deep hollow, from which it seemed impossible to extri- 
 cate her. There we were, like three young birds in a 
 nest, floating about at the mercy of the winds and 
 waves. My companions were in despair, but I cheered 
 their spirits by assuring them that all would come right 
 at last, as I knew it would, though, as it turned out, not 
 in the way I expected. 
 
 " Leaving my companions to cut a channel in the ice 
 to launch our boat, 1 ascended to a higher part of the 
 berc to look out for a sail, hoping that some whaler 
 mi*dit be in the neighborhood. While there I heard 
 a cry of despair,. and i" my dismay I beheld <»ur boat
 
 182 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 rapidly gliding down the iceberg. She reached thfl 
 water in safety, and with canvas set, which it was, I 
 own, lubberly to have allowed, she sailed off before the 
 wind, leaving us on our treacherous island. 
 
 " Fortunately my companions had taken the fish- 
 hooks and other things out of the boat to lighten her, 
 or we might have perished ; but we managed with the 
 hooks to catch an abundance of fish to supply our 
 wants. We had to eat it raw, but that was nothing. 
 Why, once upon a time, I paid a visit to one of the 
 South Sea Islands, where the king, queen, and all the 
 court devour live fish ; and, what is more, they are 
 taught, when brought up to table, to jump down the 
 throats of their majesties of their own accord, so as to 
 give them as little trouble as possible. It is one of the 
 strongest marks of devotion with which I ever met. 
 
 " When my companions saw the boat sailing away, 
 they were in despair, and I had great difficulty in pre- 
 venting them from throwing themselves into the sea, 
 and in restoring their spirits. Certainly, an iceberg 
 is not the pleasantest spot for a location. At length, 
 one day, I saw something like a ship's long-boat in 
 the distance. It approached the iceberg in the most 
 mysterious manner. We watched it eagerly. It was 
 not a boat, after all, but a log of timber, and — you 
 need not believe me if you'd rather not, but it's a 
 fact — there was our pet bear Bruin towing the timber 
 at the rate of six knots an hour. I hurried down to 
 the bottom of the berg to receive him. Poor fellow ! 
 he was so tired with his exertions that he could scarcely 
 climb up out of the water, and when, to exhibit hia
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 183 
 
 affection, he attempted to embrace us, he fell forward 
 on all fours, and very nearly rolled over into the sea 
 a«-ain. As we sat by his side, all he had strength to 
 do was to lick our hands and moan mournfully. Talk of 
 the affection of a dog ! I should think that was as strong 
 a mark of affection and sagacity as any dog could give. 
 Let others beat it if they can. Having loosed Bruin 
 from the ropes and secured the log of timber, which 
 was the one, it must be understood, to which we had 
 secured him in the hut, and which he had dragged 
 out with main force, we set to work to catch him a 
 dinner of fish. This was the least we could do, and 
 we were so fortunate in our sport that we were ahle 
 to give him an abundant meal. He enjoyed it much, 
 and quickly revived. To show his gratitude, he soon 
 began to play off his usual extraordinary antics for our 
 amusement, such as dancing a jig, standing on his head, 
 or rolling himself up into a ball. Suddenly it struck 
 me that he had brought the log of timber to enable us 
 to escape from our perilous situation. I consulted with 
 my companions, and they agreed with me, that if we 
 harnessed Bruin to the log, he would undoubtedly tow 
 us to a place of safety. We made signs to him, and he 
 evidently understood our purpose, for he allowed the 
 ropes to be thrown over his shoulders and secured to 
 the log of timber, and when we had placed our stores 
 on it and taken our seats, he slipped gently into the 
 water, and I holding the reins, off he bravely swain 
 with his snout to the southward. It was far from 
 agreeable work, for our feet were wet, and we were 
 obliged to sit perfectly quiet ; but still it was better than
 
 184 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN". 
 
 remaining on the iceberg, and we contrived to pass our 
 time tolerably well with smoking, eating, and catching 
 fish. The seas in those latitudes abound in fish, so that 
 we were able to feed poor Bruin abundantly on them, 
 or he would never have performed the hard work he 
 had got through. 
 
 " At last a sail hove in sight, toward which I guided 
 Bruin. I believe otherwise he would have carried us 
 safely to some southern coast, toward which he was 
 steering. When the people in the vessel first saw us, 
 they would not believe that we were human beings, 
 though, after we had hailed pretty lustily in English, 
 they hove their craft to, and told us to come on board. 
 
 " Accordingly, securing the timber astern, we three 
 climbed up the side, followed by Bruin, and were not a 
 little amused by hearing the mate tell the captain, who 
 was ill in his cabin, that there were four men just 
 picked up. He had taken the bear for a human being, 
 — there was so little difference in appearance between 
 any of us. Ha, ha, ha ! It was some time, too, before 
 the mistake was discovered. The mate was disappointed, 
 for they were short-handed, and he fancied Bruin would 
 prove a fine heavy-sterned fellow for pulling and haul- 
 ing. So he did when I taught him, and he would fist 
 the end of a rope, and run the topsails up the masts 
 with as much ease as half-a-dozen of the crew could 
 together. The vessel was the Highland Lass, bound 
 from Halifax to Greenock, where we arrived in three 
 weeks in perfect health and spirits. One of my com- 
 panions, James Hoxton, took care of honest Bruin, who, 
 not being accustomed to a civilized country, would have
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. \8~) 
 
 been rather adrift by himself, and would scarcely have 
 been treated as a distinguished foreigner. Hoxton 
 carried him about the country as a sight, and used to 
 give an account of our adventures, which very much 
 astonished all the people who heard them. Bruin liked 
 the amusement, for he was fond of travelling ; but I was 
 very sorry to part with him, for he had become the most 
 ^amiable and civilized of bears, though on our first intro- 
 duction to each other, I should not have supposed that 
 such would ever have been the case." 
 
 " Is that all, every bit of it, true, Mr. Johnson ? " 
 asked Spellman, with mouth agape. 
 
 " Did you ever see a polar bear, Mr. Spellman ? " 
 demanded the boatswain in an offended tone. 
 
 " Yes," answered Spellman, " once at a show." 
 
 " Then let me ask, young gentleman, why you should 
 have any doubts as to the truth of my narrative ? " 
 said Mr. Johnson, drawing himself up and casting an 
 indignant glance at the midshipman. 
 
 " Let me tell you that a thousand things have occurred 
 to me, a hundred thousand times more wonderful than 
 that, during every part of my life; and some day, if you 
 catch me in the humor for talking, perhaps I will tell 
 you about them. I've only time just now to tell you of 
 another somewhat strange adventure which befell me. 
 
 " Not finding a ship at Glasgow to suit my fancy, I 
 went to Liverpool, where I shipped on board a South 
 Sea whaler, called the Diddleus. She was a fine craft, 
 measuring full six hundred tons. I won't tell you just 
 now some of the curious events which occurred before 
 we reached the South Seas. Our success was not very 
 
 16*
 
 186 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHirMAW. 
 
 satisfactory. We met with various accidents, and 
 among others we lost our first mate, who was killed by 
 a blow from a wjite whale's tail in a flurry, and as the 
 captain had the discernment to perceive that there was 
 not a man on board equal to me, he appointed me to the 
 vacant berth. I little thought how soon I should get a 
 step higher. The captain, poor fellow, was enormously 
 fat, and as he was one day looking into the copper to 
 watch how the blubber was boiling, his foot slipped on 
 the greasy deck, and in he fell head foremost. No one 
 missed him at the moment, and he was stirred up and 
 turned into oil before any one knew what had happened. 
 The accident indeed was only discovered by our finding 
 his buttons, and the nails of his shoes at the bottom of 
 the copper. In consequence of this sad catastrophe, I 
 became master of the good ship Diddleus. Either 
 through my judgment, or good luck, it does not become 
 me to say which, we very soon began to fill our casks 
 at a rapid rate. 
 
 " We had, of course, always our boats ready to go in 
 chase of a fish at a moment's notice. One day two of 
 them were away, and had killed, dead to windward of us, 
 a large whale, toward which I was endeavoring to beat 
 up, when the look-out man from the crow's nest, a sharp- 
 sighted fellow, Jerry Wilkins by name, hailed the deck 
 to say that there was land in sight on our lee bow. I 
 knew very well that there wasn't, and couldn't be, but 
 when I went aloft and looked out myself, I was dumb- 
 foundered, for there I saw a dark long island, with what 
 I took for a number of trees growing on it like weeping 
 willows. Presently the island began to grow larger and
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 187 
 
 larger, and to extend all round the horizon to leeward. 
 I immediately ordered the lead to be hove, expecting to 
 find that some current or other had been sweeping us 
 toward some unknown island not down in the charts, 
 but to the surprise of all of us there was no bottom. I 
 now cracked on all sail I could set, to beat out of the 
 bay, as it seemed to be, but the wind was so light that 
 we made but little way, and as I looked out I saw the 
 line gradually encircling us more and more, so that I 
 must own I was altogether puzzled to know what it 
 was. 
 
 " The whale and the boats were now about a mile off 
 when suddenly the island seemed to rise close to them, 
 forming a considerable elevation. While we were 
 watching what next would happen, the boats cast off 
 their tow lines, and pulled like mad toward us. They 
 had good reason to pull hard, I can assure you, for one 
 end of what we took to be the island rose right out of 
 the water, full fifty feet at least, and quickly approaching 
 the whale, the mighty fish disappeared under it, and 
 immediately the elevation sank to its former level. 
 Directly after this, one of the crew said he saw a large 
 fire at the end of the island, but when I took my glass, 
 I ascertained that it was nothing more nor less than an 
 immense eye. To give an idea of its size, I may state, 
 with due care not to exaggerate, that I saw fish of the 
 size of full grown cod, swimming about in the lower lid 
 A short examination convinced me that what I saw wan 
 the head of some mighty marine monster, nothing more 
 nor less than the great sea-serpent, and that the eleva- 
 tion I had seen was his upper jaw. The crews of the
 
 188 Mi».RMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 boats confirmed the opinion when they came on board, 
 for they stated that when they were close to what they 
 believed was the end of a coral island, they saw it open 
 slowly, while formidable rows of teeth, every one of the 
 size of a heavy gun, and a tongue twice as large as a 
 whale, appeared. When they saw this they thought it 
 time to cut and run ; nor could I blame them, for had 
 they not, they would have been swallowed with the 
 whale. 
 
 " Some slight idea may be formed of the size of the 
 monster from its having swallowed a white sperm whale 
 whole, with half a dozen harpoons in her, and yet it did 
 not even blink its eyes. I confess that I did not like the 
 position we were in, for, as I had no doubt that it must 
 possess a very considerable appetite, I thought it just 
 possible that it might take it into its head to swallow us 
 up also. To my great satisfaction, however, the monster 
 remained stationary — probably it found the harpoons 
 in the whale's back rather indigestible. 
 
 "I also considered that, without any vicious intention, 
 should it take it into its head to be frisky, it might do us 
 considerable damage. 
 
 " After consulting with my mates it was agreed that 
 at all events we should, if possible, avoid the jaws of the 
 monster. We accordingly steered for the point where 
 we believed its tail was to be found, but after standing 
 on for an hour or more we appeared to be no nearer it 
 than we were when we were within a mile of its head. 
 Not only was this the case, but there could be but little 
 doubt that it was curling its tail round so as to com- 
 pletely encircle us.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 189 
 
 "You, I dare say, have all heard of the dreadful 
 passage between Sicily and the coast of Italy. On one 
 side there are some frightful rocks, over which the sea 
 roars like thunder. They are called the rocks of Scylla, 
 and if a ship gets on them she is dashed to pieces in a 
 quarter less than no time. On the other side is the 
 awful whirlpool of Charybdis, which draws ships from 
 miles toward it, and sucks them under the water like 
 straws ; so I've heard say, but as I've not seen it done, 
 I can't vouch for the truth of the story. If you keep 
 on one side you've a chance of being cast away on the 
 rocks, if on the other, of being sucked down by the 
 whirlpool. We were now much in the same condition. 
 If we stood on too long on one tack, we ran a risk of 
 sailing down the serpent's mouth. ; if on the other, of 
 getting an ugly slap with his tail — supposing that he 
 had got a tail anywhere in the distance to slap us with. 
 
 "As I swept the horizon with my glass, his monstrous 
 body appeared on every side of us, except dead to 
 windward, where there was a clear opening, toward 
 which point we were doing our best to heat up. Even 
 that small space appeared to be narrowing. I watched 
 it with no little anxiety — so did the mate, and so did 
 Jerry Wilkins. Jerry was the first to discover that the 
 serpent had a tail. 
 
 " 4 I see it — I see it,' sung out Jerry. 'For all the 
 world like the Falls of Niagara (lancing a hornpipe.' 
 
 " It was a fact. There was no doubt of that ; and 
 what did the monster do hut finish by clapping his tail 
 into his mouth, and then he lay just like a big cod-fish 
 on a fishmonger's stall. It was a fashion we uncluded
 
 190 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE Mil SHIPMAN. 
 
 he had when he wished to bask in the sun, but a very 
 inconvenient one to us just then. 
 
 " We were, indeed, in a pretty fix, for we could not 
 tell how long he might take to sleep ; judging by his 
 size, a year or so would have sufficed merely for a 
 morning's nap, and we might all be starved before we 
 could hope to get free. We were in a complete lake, 
 do ye see, and the Diddleus was like a child's toy float- 
 ing in the middle of it. It made us feel very small, I 
 can assure you. I considered that the best thing we 
 could do, under the circumstances, would be to heave to 
 near his head, so that, should he in his sleep let his tail 
 slip from between his teeth, we might have time to beat 
 round his jaws. 
 
 " When, however, we got near his head, the crew 
 were so frightened with its terrific appearance, that I 
 saw that there would be a regular mutiny, or that in 
 their terror they would all be jumping overboard, if I 
 did not bear up again pretty quickly. 
 
 " We had an old fellow on board, Joe Hobson by 
 name, who was considered an oracle by the crew, and 
 he added to their fears by telling them that he had often 
 heard of these big sea-serpents before, and that, as they 
 usually slept a dozen years or so on a stretch, we should 
 be certainly starved before we could get out. I had, 
 however, no fear about starving, because I knew we 
 could catch fish enough for our support, and I had a 
 plan by which I hoped, if he did sleep on, we might 
 escape. To occupy the time I ran down alongside the 
 head and shoulders, and then beat up again round by 
 the tail end, and this survey, though we had a strong 
 breeze, occupied fully three days.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TI1K MIDSHIPMAN. 191 
 
 u I now resolved to put into execution my plan, which 
 was simply to cut a channel for the ship right through 
 the serpent's back. I considered that one deep enough 
 to float the ship would be like a mere scratch on the 
 skin to him, and would not wake him. I took, how- 
 ever, a precaution few would have thought off. The 
 surgeon had a cask of laudanum, so, lowering it into a 
 boat, with a few brave fellows as volunteers, we pulled 
 right up to the serpent's mouth. I had a line fast to 
 the bung. Watching our opportunity, when the serpent 
 lifted his jaws a little, we let the cask float into his 
 mouth. I then pulled the line — the bung came out, 
 and the laudanum, of course, ran down his throat. 
 
 " Now, I do not mean to say that under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances that quantity could have had any effect on 
 so large a beast, for there was only a hogshead of it ; 
 but the doctor observed he placed some hopes of the 
 opiate working from the creature being totally unac- 
 customed to such a dose. 
 
 " I had reason to think that it took immediate effect, 
 for before an hour had elapsed, he snored so loudly that 
 we could scarcely hear ourselves speak, though we were 
 fully a mile distant from his head. I now made sail 
 for the middle of his body, where I judged that there 
 would be more fat and less sense of feeling. It took us 
 a day to reach the spot; then heaving the ship to, we 
 lowered the boats to land on the serpent's hack. It 
 was, I as-ure you, nervous work at first, ami we had no 
 little difficulty in climbing up his sides, which were un- 
 commonly slippery; hut we succeeded at last, and forth- 
 with set to work with knives and saws to cut into his
 
 192 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 back. At first we made but little progress, in conse- 
 quence of the barnacles, which covered his skin to the 
 depth of some feet, but when we got fairly through the 
 skin we found to our great joy that there was as good 
 blubber as we had ever cut out of a fat whale. We, 
 therefore, made up our fires, and as we cut out the flesh 
 we sent it on board to be boiled. So hard did we work, 
 that in ten days we had cut a channel deep enough to 
 admit the ship, and had besides got a full cargo of the 
 finest oil that had ever been seen. 
 
 " We accordingly hoisted in the boats, made all sail, 
 and ran smack on to the very centre of the serpent's 
 back. We had, however, not got quite over when, our 
 keel tickling him, I suppose, he awoke partially, and let- 
 ting his tail slip out of his mouth, off he went in a north- 
 erly direction, at the rate of forty knots an hour, with 
 the good ship Diddleus on his back. 
 
 " We quickly clewed up the, sails, or our masts would 
 to a certainty have gone over the side. On he went in 
 this way for three days, when the opium again making 
 him drowsy, he put his tail into his mouth, as a little 
 child does its thumb, and once more went off to sleep. 
 The movement caused the ship to glide off into the sea, 
 outside the circle, and there being a strong southerly 
 wind, you may be sure we lost no time in making all 
 sail to get clear of so awkward a customer. The people 
 set up a shout of joy when they saw him like a large 
 island boating far astern of the ship. I ordered them 
 to be silent lest they should wake him up, and told them 
 not to be too sure that we were yet altogether clear of 
 him. As it turned out, I was right.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 193 
 
 " For two days we Bailed on without any thing unu- 
 sual happening, and the crew had begun to recover their 
 usual spirits, when, just as it had gone two bells in the 
 middle watch, the first mate called me up, in great 
 alarm, to say that there were two glaring lights right 
 astern of us, coming up fast with the ship. A strong hot 
 wind, and an almost overpowering smell of sulphur con- 
 vinced me of the dreadful truth ; — we were pursued by 
 tbe big sea-serpent. I saw that there was nothing to 
 be done but to run for it, so we made all sail, studden 
 sails alow and aloft, and as the Diddleus was a good one 
 to go, away we bowled with the monster in hot chase 
 after us. And now, young gentleman, as my watch is 
 up, and Mr. Fitzgerald will be on deck presently to re- 
 lieve me, I must bring my tale of the big sea-serpent to 
 an end for the present. What happened next I'll tell 
 you another night ; I think you'll agree that there are 
 not many men afloat who have seen stranger sights than 
 I have ; and yet I don't say, mind you, that the one I 
 have just told you about, is the strangest by very far — 
 ha! ha! ha! I should think not." 
 
 When the watch was relieved, we all turned in, and, 
 though I went to sleep quickly enough, I must own that 
 I was all night long dreaming that I was on board the 
 Diddleus, chased by the big sea-serpent. The next day 
 I got leave to go on shore to pay my respects to the 
 governor's family. I had never been made so much of 
 as I was by those Dutch ladies, even during my last 
 visit home, and Miss Essa and 1 became more and more 
 intimate. 1 thought her, indeed, the most charming 
 young lady I had ever seen, and I do not know how 
 
 17
 
 194 MARMADTJKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 affairs would have ended, had I not had cause to suspect 
 that, though she treated me with very sisterly regard, 
 she still looked upon me only as a young midshipman, 
 and a mere boy. At first I was very indignant, and 
 thought her very ungrateful ; but when I told my griefs 
 to Gray, he laughed, and assured me that when I went 
 home I should consider my own sisters very far superior. 
 I n ust own he was right, 
 
 We held the whole island of Curacoa in subjection for 
 six months without any reinforcements, and at length 
 were relieved by the arrival of troops from Jamaica. 
 We sailed shortly after for that island. Having refitted 
 at Port Royal, we were once more at sea on the look-out 
 for enemies. 
 
 I had read and heard of so many gallant things being 
 done, that I became very anxious also to do something 
 to distinguish myself. I talked the matter over with 
 Gray. He had the same feeling, and we agreed that 
 we would seize the first opportunity of doing something, 
 though what we would do would depend upon circum- 
 stances. Week after week passed away, and the oppor- 
 tunity we looked for did not occur. At last, one day, 
 when close in with one of the numerous small islands 
 of those seas, Mr. Bryan called me up, and ordered me 
 to take command of the second cutter, with six seamen 
 and a couple of marines, and to go on shore to collect 
 sand for the use of the ship. I asked if Gray might ac- 
 company me. 
 
 " To keep each other out of mischief, I suppose," he 
 observed. " Yes, he may go, but, remember there's an 
 order against taking arms with you. It is feared that
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSIIIPIIAN. 195 
 
 you youngsters will be running your heads into danger 
 if you have the means of fighting." 
 
 There was nothing very romantic or interesting in 
 prospect for us, but still it was something to get away 
 from the ship, and to feel that, in a certain sense, we were 
 to be our own masters for a few hours. Billy Wise, the 
 captain's steward, was also sent in the boat. I have not 
 mentioned Billy for some time. He had not, however, 
 improved in sense since he came to sea this time, but 
 was continually committing some extraordinary blunder 
 or other. Toby Bluff also accompanied us. The boat 
 was manned and ready to shove off, but Gray had not 
 appeared, so I ran up the side to call him, leaving Billy 
 in charge. I was not gone a minute, for Gray, who was 
 waiting for a basket to collect shells, at once joined me. 
 The wind was light, and while the frigate, under easy 
 sail, stood off shore, we pulled toward it. 
 
 We had not got far from the ship, when a piece of 
 sail-cloth being kicked aside, I saw under it several 
 ship's muskets. I counted five of them. I found also 
 that there was a supply of ammunition and half a dozen 
 cutlasses. How they came there was a mystery. No 
 one knew, at least no one would tell. Billy Wise said 
 that all sorts of things had been handed into the boat, 
 and that the men had told him that they were spades to 
 dig sand. Gray and I agreed that, though we could not 
 have ventured to disobey orders and take arms, since 
 the muskets were there, if we should meet with an en- 
 emy, it would of course be our duty to use them. The 
 chances, however, of our falling in with one seemed 
 very remote.
 
 196 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 The heat was considerable, but not quite so hot as 
 Mr. Johnson had declared we should find it. We had 
 a long pull, however, and as the men were somewhat 
 exhausted, I allowed them to take some rest and re- 
 freshment before they began to load the boat. Of 
 course it was not the sand close down to the sea which 
 was required, but that which, being constantly exposed 
 to the effects of the sun and wind, had become fine and 
 white. The operation of carrying it to the boat there- 
 fore took some time. Gray and I had brought some 
 cold beef and biscuit and rum and water, and so we sat 
 ourselves down in the shade of a clump of palm trees 
 to discuss our provisions, and try and get cool. Some 
 of the men then asked leave to bathe, and I told them 
 that they might do so, warning them to beware of sharks 
 and not to get out of their depth. 
 
 They had been frolicking about for some time, while 
 Billy Wise was sitting down at some little distance off 
 watching them. Suddenly the thought seized him that 
 he too would have a bathe, but he fancied some rocks 
 further away which might serve as a dressing-room. 
 The other men now began to go on with the duty we 
 had come on. Toby Bluff, meantime, was strolling 
 along the shore looking for shells for Gray and me. 
 Suddenly we heard him shouting. — 
 
 " Help ! help ! There's Billy Wise drowning. Some 
 beast has got hold of him ! " 
 
 We rushed toward the spot where poor Billy had last 
 been seen. There was a considerable commotion in the 
 water. Now a leg, now an arm appearing. We ran 
 »n. Two of the men who had accompanied us dashed
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 197 
 
 into the sea, as we also did, and we all made our way 
 up to the spot just as poor Billy had disappeared under 
 the water. We could see his limbs, however, and, seiz- 
 ing hold of him, we all dragged away and brought him 
 to the surface. The cause of his disappearance was 
 explained. Round his right leg and arm, and indeed 
 his neck, were entwined the. long tentaculae or arms of 
 what I fancy was a huge squid. To clear him of the 
 horrible mass seemed impossible. Indeed it appeared 
 as if the poor fellow was already dead. We shouted 
 for the rest of the men, and with their assistance we 
 dragged Billy and the creature into shallow water. The 
 monster would not let go, and we all set to work witli 
 our knives to cut it away arm by arm, and feeler by 
 feeler. Till this was done, there was evidently no 
 chance of our being able to restore animation. As it 
 was, there seemed to be very little prospect of reviving 
 the poor fellow. At length, however, we got him clear 
 of the horrible mass, which dropped into the sea, ami 
 none of us were inclined to stop and examine it. I never 
 have been quite certain what it really was. The sand 
 was hot enough to hatch a turtle's egg, so we laid Billy 
 down on it and set to work to rub him all over his 
 body. After a time an eyelid moved, and then his 
 limbs began to twitch, and that encouraged us to rub 
 harder and harder, till at length, to my infinite relief, he 
 breathed, and, ";ettin<r rid of some of the salt water he 
 had swallowed, he sat up and stared round him, exclaim- 
 ing, " Hallo, mates, have you caught the big fish ? I 
 thought as how I'd a gripe of him myself." Billy nev- 
 er heard the end of his big fish. When he attempted 
 17*
 
 198 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 to put on his cWhes, he complained that he was stung 
 all over, and so the men carried him just as he was to 
 the boat. Tbey had, however, no little difficulty in 
 keeping him there, for when his hitherto impeded cir- 
 culation was completely restored, the stinging sensation 
 increased, and made him feel that only a plunge in the 
 sea would cure him. This event had delayed us con- 
 siderably. We ought to have taken our departure from 
 the island even before Billy had begun to bathe, and so, 
 when I looked at my watch, I found that we were two 
 hours at least behind our time. At last we shoved off, 
 but where the frigate was we could not tell. Gray 
 thought that she must have drifted round to the other 
 side of the island. We had been directed to keep a 
 look out for her, but had neglected to do so. Then it 
 became a question to which side she had drifted. To 
 ascertain, we lay on our oars, and found a current run- 
 ning to the east, and so decided that she must have gone 
 in that direction. We now pulled merrily along, sure 
 of soon falling in with her. Billy Wise was the only 
 unhappy one of the party. He could not tell what was 
 going to happen to him, till the men told him he must 
 have fallen into a hedge of sea-nettles, and that he 
 would soon get well again. This comforted him consid- 
 erably, and so he consented to put on his clothes and 
 sit quiet. 
 
 It was now growing dusk, when, as we rounded a 
 point. Gray exclaimed that he saw a sail ahead. 1 
 jumped upon the seat, and made out that she wa9 a 
 schooner standing off the land. 
 
 " She hasn't much wind," Gray remarked.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 199 
 
 " We might overhaul her," said I. 
 
 " We ought to do so," remarked Gray ; " she may be 
 an enemy." 
 
 " We've got arms, sir," said one of the men. 
 
 " And ammunition," added another. 
 
 '* Many a rich prize has been taken by a boat's crew," 
 observed the cockswain, the oldest man in the boat. 
 
 '* Well, Gray, suppose we just pull up to her and 
 ascertain what she is," said I. 
 
 " With all my heart," he answered ; " it's a pity, now 
 we've got the muskets and ammunition, if we have the 
 chance, that we should not make use of them." 
 
 I fully agreed with him. My only fear was that the 
 schooner might, after all, not prove an enemy. The 
 wind was dropping gradually — there was little doubt 
 that we should get up to her. 
 
 " I suppose that the captain won't mind much if she 
 is an enemy and we attack her," continued Gray. 
 " He'll suspect, though, that we disobeyed orders, and 
 had arms in the boat." 
 
 " Not if we take her," I answered. " He'll not ask 
 questions. If we fail we shall get into a terrible row — 
 we may count on that ; but we must take her, and it will 
 stick a feather in our caps, and put some dollars in uir 
 pockets too." 
 
 We were pulling steadily on all this time. We got 
 the muskets up, and ascertained that they were dry, and 
 loading them, placed them on the thwarts ready for use. 
 The schooner held her course. There was just wind 
 enough to fill her sail.-, and no more. I frit convinced 
 that she was French. I asked the cockswain, Ned Daw-
 
 200 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 lish, his opinion. He agreed with me, and thought that 
 6he was a privateer. 
 
 " If so, she must he armed," said I. " We will keep 
 in her wake, and as in a short time she will not have 
 steerage-way, she will be unable to bring her guns to 
 bear on us." 
 
 The men were all highly delighted with our proposal. 
 They must have anticipated some such chance when 
 they smuggled the arms into the boat. 
 
 Ned Dawlish took another look at the chase. 
 
 " She's a French craft, and a privateer, I'll bet any 
 money," he exclaimed, sitting down again to his oar. 
 
 The crew now gave way with a will. The sooner we 
 were up to her the better, because, of course, we knew 
 that we must by this time be seen, and our intentions 
 suspected. 
 
 " She carries three, or may-be four guns on a side," 
 observed Ned, looking over his shoulder. " But that's 
 no odds, they can't reach us." 
 
 His eagerness and courage animated the rest of the 
 crew. How many men the chase carried we could not 
 tell ; indeed, we did not consider. Not one of us enter- 
 tained a doubt that we should take her. Our proposed 
 plan of proceeding was very simple. We were to pull 
 up alongside, jump on board, and, cutlass in hand, drive 
 the enemy down the hatches, or into the sea if they would 
 not yield. 
 
 There was still some light left, and as we drew neai 
 it appeared to me that the decks were somewhat crowd 
 ed. I asked Gray what he thought. He agreed with 
 me. Still it was too late to retreat. We had not got
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 201 
 
 much further when bright flashes of flame burst from 
 the stern, and, what we little expected, a shower of bul- 
 lets rattled about us. 
 
 " Give way, lads, give way ! " shouted Ned Dawlish. 
 " We'll lick the Johnny Crapeaus in spite of that." 
 
 The boat dashed on. We hoped to get alongside be- 
 fore another volley was fired. In vain. Again a leaden 
 shower rattled round our heads. Once more Ned Daw- 
 lish shouted loudly. There was a deep groan, and he 
 fell, with his face bent down, to the bottom of the boat. 
 Gray seized his oar, and took his place. He had been 
 shot in the back. Speed was every thing to us now. 
 There must be a considerable number of small-arm men 
 on board, I saw ; but even then it never occurred to me 
 that we ought to turn tail. 
 
 On we went. Still the enemy kept up a fire at us. 
 Toby Bluff gave a sharp cry. A bullet had hit him, 
 but he answered me when I spoke, and kept his seat. 
 We had the mudtets ready. I let go the tiller and 
 seized one. Gray and Billy Wise and two other men 
 did the same, and let fly among the enemy. 
 
 In another instant we were under the schooner's 
 quarter. The bowman hooked on. Without asking 
 leave, up we scrambled, and, cutlass in hand, in spite of 
 boarding-pikes thrust at us, and pistols flashed in our 
 faces, began to lay heartily about us among the very 
 much astonished Frenchmen.
 
 202 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 If the Frenchmen were very much astonished at 
 finding us among them, we were not the less so on dis- 
 covering the number of our opponents. Besides the 
 ci w, we found ourselves engaged with thirty or forty 
 soldiers ; but had there been more, it would have been 
 the better for us, for so crowded were the schooner's 
 decks, that they impeded each other's movements. By 
 the suddenness of our rush, we had gained the after 
 part of the vessel, and had killed or wounded half a 
 dozen of the enemy before they knew exactly what to 
 do. The bodies of these men served as a sort of ram- 
 part, while the bowman of our boat, having secured 
 her, climbed up the side to our support, thus allowing 
 us a few seconds to look about. In the centre of a 
 group of vociferating, gesticulating, grimace-making 
 Frenchmen, some armed with muskets, others with 
 Bwords and cutlasses, and others pistols and boarding- 
 pikes, stood a tall, gaunt, soldier officer, eyeing us very 
 •sternly, and tugging hard to get a sword out of a long 
 scabbard, while he kept screaming to his men, as I un- 
 derstood, to annihilate the dogs of Englishmen, and 
 to kick them into the sea. But though he kept shout- 
 ing louder and louder, till his cries resembled the 
 rabid howls of a wild beast, his soldiers found that 
 though it might be easy to order them to kick five stout 
 British seamen overboard, and two rather precocious
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 203 
 
 midshipmen, it was not quite as easy for them to obey. 
 I saw, too, that our only chance of success was to push 
 on without further delay. Had Mr. Johnson been with 
 us, I should have felt less doubt as to the result of our 
 exploit. 
 
 "On, my lads!" I shouted, "we must drive these 
 Frenchmen off the deck." 
 
 Gray echoed my words, as did another faint voice, 
 and I found that Toby Bluff, in spite of his wound, had 
 climbed on board the schooner, and was ready to do 
 battle by my side. On we all pushed. A sturdy 
 French seaman, on my left, raised his cutlass, while I 
 was engaged with another on my right. I could just 
 see, out of the corner of my left eye, his weapon de- 
 scending, and fully believed that my last moment had 
 come, for it was impossible to ward it off. Before, how- 
 ever, the cutlass reached my head, there was the report 
 of a pistol close to my ear, and my enemy tumbled 
 over dead on the deck. Toby had saved my life, just 
 as I had before saved the boatswain's. We continued 
 cutting and slashing away so furiously, that the French- 
 men no longer attempted to contend against us. Jumping 
 aside like a troop of monkeys, as we got among them, 
 they tumbled over each other down the hatchways, the 
 old officer with them; whether he went of his own ac- 
 cord, or could not help it, I Was unable to tell. All I 
 know is, that he disappeared with most of his army, the 
 remainder of whom lay sprawling on deck or clinging to 
 the bowsprit, while some of the crew had run up the 
 rigging, and others hud tumbled into the hold with the 
 roldiers. Over these latter we took the liberty of clap-
 
 204 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 ping the hatches, while Billy Wise did the wisest thing 
 he had been guilty of for a long time ; he pointed his 
 musket at the men aloft, and intimated that he would 
 shoot the first who attempted to descend. Some of 
 them had pistols, but they had fortunately already fired 
 them at us, and they were afraid of throwing them at 
 our heads, lest Billy should put his threat into execu- 
 tion. His adventure with the sea monster had evident- 
 ly roused his wits, for he had besides this done good 
 service in boarding, and several of the foe owed their 
 fall to his sturdy arm. In less than five minutes from 
 the time we sprang on board, Gray and I were shaking 
 hands, as we stood on the hatch, with the Frenchmen 
 below us. 
 
 " I hope, though, that the Monsieurs won't blow up 
 the ship," he observed ; " they must begin to feel heartily 
 ashamed of the way they have allowed us to take her 
 from them." 
 
 " No fear of it ; they are not the fellows for that," I an- 
 swered : " but it is just possible that they may attempt 
 to take her back again, so we must keep a very bright 
 look-out to prevent them." 
 
 Gray agreed with me. 
 
 " I wish that I could talk to them, though," he re- 
 marked ; " I don't suppose that one of our party knows 
 a word of French." 
 
 " No ; we must learn, however, on the first opportu- 
 nity," said I. " It would be very convenient, and very 
 likely useful. If the captain had not known it, we 
 should probably had been caught by the enemy's fleet 
 when we got among them."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TOE MIDSniPJIAN. 205 
 
 The puzzle was now to settle how to manage with 
 these prisoners. As we had only seven effectives, and 
 they had more than forty, it was no slight task. Billy 
 Wise, touching his hat, suggested that we should shoot 
 them, or send them overhoard with round shots at their 
 heels, to swim ashore if they could ; hut as that mode 
 of proceeding was somewhat contrary to the customs of 
 civilized warfare, we declined to adopt it, though un- 
 doubtedly it would have solved our difficulties. We 
 ultimately agreed that our best plan would be to get 
 hold of all those on deck, and to lash their hands behind 
 them, and then to summon a few at a time of those be- 
 low to be treated in the same way. We soon had all 
 those above deck secured. It seemed extraordinary 
 that men should submit in so abject a manner to a party 
 of men and boys. They appeared, indeed, entirely to 
 have lost their wits. It shows what boldness and au- 
 dacity will accomplish. However, it might have been 
 the other way, and we might all have been knocked on 
 the head, or tumbled down as prisoners into the French- 
 man's hold. Having accomplished this, we sent a hand 
 to the helm, trimmed sails, though there was not much 
 wind to fill them, and steered in the direction in which 
 we hoped to fall in with the frigate. I must own that 
 it was not till then that we thought of poor Ned Dawli-h. 
 We drew the boat along.-ide, and had him lifted on 
 deck. We had some faint hopes that, though he lav so 
 still, he might be alive, but his glazed ey^ and stiffened 
 limbs too plainly told us that his last fighl was over, 
 and that we should hear his cheery voice and hearty 
 laugh no more. We then turned our attention to Toby 
 
 L8
 
 206 MARMADEKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Bluff. He had shown himself a true hero, for though 
 his wound must have given him intense pain, he had 
 not given utterance to a complaint or a single groan, 
 but had endeavored to work away as if nothing was the 
 matter with him. I had observed a good deal of blood 
 about his dress, but it was not till I came to examine 
 him that I found it had flowed from his own veins, and 
 that his shirt and trowsers on one side were literally 
 saturated. He was looking deadly pale, and would in a 
 few seconds have fainted, had not. Gray and I set to 
 work to stanch the blood. We had not much experi- 
 ence as surgeons, but we succeeded after some time. 
 
 " Thank ye, sir ; thank ye," said Toby, his voice 
 growing weaker every moment ; " I'll be up and at 'em 
 again directly. I wants another pistol, please sir. I 
 don't know what tricks the Mounseers may be up to, 
 and they shan't hurt you if I can help it, that they 
 shan't. I shot one on 'em, and I'll shoot another." 
 
 By this time his voice grew indistinct, and we began 
 to be alarmed about him. We happily had some rum 
 and water left. We poured it down his throat, and it 
 evidently revived him. We then placed him under 
 charge of the helmsman, and continued our other duties. 
 
 " Now, Merry, what's to be done ? " asked Gray, 
 when we had got all who remained on deck in limbo. 
 " If those gentlemen down there find it's hot, which I 
 suspect they will very soon, they will begin to grow 
 obstreperous, and try to force their way out. When 
 men get desperate, they are somewhat difficult to man- 
 
 age. 
 
 " People cannot live without air, I fancy, and they
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 207 
 
 cannot have much of it in the hold of this craft, which 
 must naturally have a pretty strong smell of bilge- 
 water," I answered. " We must get them up somehow 
 or other, so that they don't overpower us. However, 
 we may as well first get the dead men overboard ; they 
 are only in the way where they are." 
 
 " We should see to the wounded first," remarked 
 Gray, more thoughtful and humane than I was. " If 
 we could get below, I dare say that we should find 
 spirits and wine, and other good things for them." 
 
 The first man we came to had received the stroke of 
 a British cutlass full on the top of his head, and did not 
 require our assistance, so he was pitched overboard. 
 The next was the man shot dead by Toby, so his body 
 was treated in the same way. A third still breathed, 
 but was bleeding profusely from a deep wound in his 
 shoulder and a shot through his side. His case seemed 
 hopeless, but we bound up his hurts and placed him 
 against the bulwarks, under the shade of the sail. Two 
 more we came to were dead, and two badly wounded. 
 When we had done what we could for them, and placed 
 them with their companions, we saw a fourth man, 
 whom we supposed to be dead, right forward. When 
 we lifted him up his limbs did not seem very stiff, nor 
 could we see any wound about him. Billy Wise was 
 assisting us. 
 
 " Why, sirs," he exclaimed, " the chap has got a big 
 knife in his clutch, and those eyes of his ain't dead 
 men's eyes, but may-be it will be just as well to pitch 
 him overboard ; he can't do no harm then, anyhow." 
 
 Billy was right, for as he spoke I saw the supposed
 
 208 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 dead man's eyes twinkle. Calling another of our people 
 to our assistance, we snatched the knife out of the man's 
 hand, and then lifting him up, we seemed as if about to 
 heave him overboard. Indeed, Billy thought that was 
 our object. The Frenchman, however, did not approve 
 of this, and gave strong evidence that he was alive, 
 by struggling violently, and uttering with extraordinary 
 volubility a variety of expletives on the matter. When 
 we had frightened him a little, we lashed his arms 
 behind him, and placed him with the rest of the prison- 
 ers on deck. There could be little doubt that he had 
 shammed dead, and kept a knife ready, with the hopes 
 of releasing his companions while we were off our 
 guard, and retaking the vessel. For this we could not 
 blame him, so we treated him with the same care as 
 the other prisoners — only, perhaps, we kept rather a 
 sharper watch over him, lest he might attempt to play 
 us some other trick. 
 
 There were some casks of water on the deck, so we 
 served some of it out to ourselves and our prisoners on 
 deck alike. Most of the Frenchmen looked as if they 
 were grateful, but the sulky countenances of some of 
 them did not alter. However, that made no difference in 
 our behavior, as Gray and I agreed it must have been 
 terribly annoying to their feelings to find themselves 
 thus hopelessly prisoners. 
 
 We had done thus much, when we heard thumping 
 and shouts from below. This was what we expected, 
 but we had hoped to have fallen in with the frigate 
 before it became absolutely necessary to open the 
 hatches. We looked round. From the deck she was
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPJIAX. 209 
 
 nowhere to be seen, so charging Gray and our men to 
 watch the hatches — the companion and fore-hatch, as 
 well as the main — I went aloft to obtain a wider 
 circle, in the expectation that I might thus discover 
 her. 
 
 1 Not a sail was in sight. The low island with its 
 groves of palm trees lay to the northward, and the wide 
 expanse of the Caribbean Sea to the south. I scarcely 
 knew what to do. I sat at the masthead to consider, 
 but was speedily aroused by a shout from Gray. 
 
 In a second, as the Yankees say, like greased light- 
 ning, I slid down the topmast backstay on deck. A 
 Frenchman's head was protruding through the fore- 
 hatchway, he having forced off the hatch, and Billy 
 Wise, who had been stationed there, was endeavoring 
 to drive him back — not an easy task, as others below 
 were showing a boarding-pike at him for the purpose 
 of compelling him to retreat. Billy, however, stood 
 his ground, and was working away with his elbow to 
 get at his cutlass, while he kept his musket pointed at 
 the man's head. 
 
 In the mean time others were thundering away at the 
 main hatch, and, what was still more dangerous, a party 
 had evidently cut their way aft, and were trying to 
 force back the companion hatch. We knew, too, that 
 they must have firearms, so that we were altogether 
 placed in a very difficult position. The fore hatch must 
 first be secured. I was running to help Billy, when I saw 
 him whip out his cutlass, and before I could stop him, 
 it flashed in the sun, and the unfortunate Frenchman's 
 
 head rolled on the deck. 
 
 18*
 
 210 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " There, you Johnny Crapeaus, if any of you likes 
 it, I'll do the same for you," he shouted, nourishing 
 his weapon. 
 
 The body of the man fell below, stopping his com- 
 panions from ascending, and though they might not 
 have understood the words in which Billy's liberal offer 
 was made, they must have caught sight of the glittering 
 cutlass sweeping over the hatchway, and hesitated about 
 placing their necks within its influence. 
 
 I sprang forward. So excited was Billy that he 
 did not see me, and very nearly treated me as he had 
 threatened to do the Frenchmen — taking me for one 
 of them. 
 
 " Lauk, Master Merry, if I had a done it," he ex- 
 claimed, when he discovered his mistake. 
 
 I did not speak, but popping on the hatch, secured 
 it before our captives could make a rush to get out. 
 It was breathless work, it may be believed — indeed, 
 I even to this day feel almost out of breath when I 
 think of it. Leaving Billy at the post he had guarded 
 so well, I ran back to the companion hatch, inside of 
 which we could hear the men working away with most 
 disagreeable vigor. 
 
 " Oh dear ! oh dear ! " exclaimed Gray over and over 
 again. " If we could but speak French, we could tell 
 the men what we would do if they would behave them- 
 selves." 
 
 " But, as we cannot, we must show them what we 
 will do if they don't," I rejoined. " We must get them 
 en deck somehow or other, for if we keep them much 
 longer below they will die, I am afraid. It is hot up 
 here — it must be ten times worse in that close hold."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 211 
 
 " I'll tell you then," he answered. " "We must keep 
 our loaded pistols in our hands, and get up one at a 
 time through the companion hatchway. If more than 
 one attempts to come, we must shoot him ; there's no 
 help for it. It will be a long process, but I suppose 
 those who first come will tell the others how we treat 
 them, and they will be content to wait." 
 
 " We must have some water, then, for they will be 
 terribly thirsty," said I. " And we must have a good 
 supply of lashings, ready to secure them." 
 
 We accordingly unrove all the running rigging that 
 could be spared, and cut it into lengths, and then leaving 
 Billy Wise as sentry at his former post, we rolled two 
 water-casks over the main hatch, adding a spare sail 
 and spars, so that there was little danger of its being 
 forced. We all then collected round the after hatch. 
 We slipped back the hatch sufficiently far to allow of 
 one man passing through at a time, then, holding our 
 pistols so that those below might see them, we beckoned 
 to the Frenchmen to come up. At first, from having 
 discovered probably the way that Billy Wise had 
 treated their countrymen, they were unwilling to take 
 advantage of our invitation, which was not to be won- 
 dered at. I ordered the men to take care lest they 
 might fire up at us, for I suspected some treachery. 
 
 " Come along, mounseers, come along; we won't hurt 
 ye," said Ned Bambrick, the best man with us ; indeed, 
 there was not a better in the ship, though certain wild 
 pranks in which he had indulged had prevented him 
 from becoming a petty officer. " Come along, now, we'll 
 treat ye as if ye was all sucking babies."
 
 212 MA.RMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Though the Frenchmen did not understand the words 
 addressed to them, the tone of his voice somewhat reas- 
 sured them, and at last one ventured up. We imme- 
 diately seized him by the arms, hauled him out, and shut 
 to the hatch, greatly to the disappointment of those who 
 were following. The Frenchman, who was a sailor, 
 looked dreadfully frightened, and began to struggle 
 violently, expecting probably that we were going to 
 throw him overboard. We had, however, his arms 
 very soon lashed behind him, and we then gave him 
 water, and pointed to his shipmates sitting quietly round 
 the side. He was once more satisfied, and we then 
 signed to him, as well as we could, that he was to tell 
 his companions below that no harm would happen to 
 them. We concluded that he did so, for after he had 
 shouted down the hatchway, another cautiously lifted 
 his head above the coaming. He gave a cry as we 
 seized hold of him, but we quickly had him up, and 
 treated like the other. In the same way we got up a 
 dozen, the last showing clear signs of having suffered 
 most. At length a nearly bald head appeared, with a 
 silver plate covering part of it, on which I read the 
 word " Arcole," and then the high narrow forehead, 
 gaunt cheeks, and thin body of the old colonel slowly 
 emerged from the cabin. He looked round with a con- 
 ftised expression on his countenance, as if not very 
 certain what had happened ; but before he had had 
 much time for consideration, Ned Bambrick politely 
 took him by the hand, and helped him to step out on 
 deck. When he found himself seized to be pinioned, he 
 looked very indignant, and struggled to get loose, but
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TOE MIDSHIPMAN. 213 
 
 we had the ropes round his arms in a moment. As a 
 compliment, however, we secured him to the mainmast, 
 with a heap of sail-cloth to sit on. He made so many 
 extraordinary grimaces, that even poor Toby, who was 
 sitting opposite to him, in spite of his suffering, burst into 
 a fit of laughter. Gray and I had, however, just then too 
 much to do to laugh. There was still nearly twenty 
 men below, enough to overpower us and to release their 
 countrymen, so it was necessary to be as cautious as at 
 first. From the horrible effluvium which came rushing 
 up the hatchway each time the hatch was slid off, we 
 might have known that the men who had to exist in it 
 long were not likely to be very difficult to manage. In 
 those days midshipmen, at all events, knew nothing of 
 hydrogen and oxygen, and that human beings could not 
 exist without a certain supply of the latter. A few 
 more climbed slowly up. We thought that they were 
 shamming, and treated them like the rest. At last no 
 more appeared. 
 
 " What can they be about ? " I asked of Gray. Then 
 we heard some groans. 
 
 " What shall we do ?" said Gray. 
 
 " I'll tell you, sir, I'll go below and find out," ex- 
 claimed Ned Bam brick. 
 
 It was the only way of solving the difficulty. We 
 pat on the companion, and lifted off the main hatch. 
 We were nearly knocked down with the abominable 
 odor which arose as we did so. Notwithstanding this, 
 Ned sprang down into the hold. He groped about for 
 half a minute, when he sang out, " Send a whip down 
 and get these fellows on deck, or they'll be dead 
 altogether."
 
 214 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 We lowered the end of a rope, and ran up the men 
 one after another, as he made them fast to it. They 
 were in a very exhausted condition ; but the fresh air, 
 though it was still very hot, and the water we poured 
 down their throats, soon revived them, and we had to 
 lash their arms behind them, as we had the others. 
 During this time Billy Wise volunteered to go down 
 and assist Ned. We had hoisted up ten or a dozen 
 when they both declared that they could find no more, 
 so we took all the hatches off to ventilate the vessel, not 
 forgetting to throw overboard the corpse of the poor 
 fellow whose head Billy's cutlass had cut off. Billy 
 wanted to keep the head as a trophy, but we did not 
 approve of that, and made him pitch it after the body. 
 
 " Well, now I hope you'll find each other," observed 
 Billy, with perfect gravity, as he did so. 
 
 It had certainly a very odd appearance to see our 
 forty prisoners arranged round the vessel, with the 
 colonel at the mainmast and the man we supposed to be 
 the master at the foremast. We had, however, to wait 
 on them, and to carry them water and food. Gray and 
 I agreed that, though it was a very honorable thing to 
 command a ship, we should be very glad to be relieved 
 of the honor. Since we captured the vessel we had not 
 had a moment to take any food. Hunger made us rather 
 inclined to despond. We, however found out what was 
 the matter with us, and sent Billy Wise down into the 
 cabin to forage. He soon returned with some biscuit 
 and white cheese, and dried plums and raisins, and a 
 few bottles of claret, but there was no honest cold beef 
 or rum.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 215 
 
 It's no wonder we licked the Johnny Crapeaus when 
 that's the stuff they feeds on," observed Ned Bambrick, 
 turning over the food with a look of contempt. 
 
 However, he and the rest stowed away no small 
 amount of the comestibles, notwithstanding his contempt 
 for them. When, however, he came to the liquid, toss- 
 ing off the contents of a bottle, he made a wof'ully wry 
 face, and exclaimed, — 
 
 " Billy, my boy, we must have a full cask of this on 
 deck — a chap must drink a bucket or two before he 
 finds out he has taken any thing. It's vinegar and water, 
 to my mind." 
 
 Gray and I took a few glasses of the wine. It did 
 not taste so bad, especially in that hot weather ; but we 
 fancied that there was but little strength in it. As the 
 men required refreshment, we did not object to their 
 taking as much as they fancied. Persuaded by Bam- 
 brick, Billy went below, and soon sung out that he had 
 found a cask of the same stuff as that in the bottles. A 
 whip was sent below. A cask was hoisted on deck, and 
 found to contain what was undoubtedly claret. When 
 the old colonel saw it, he shrieked out something about 
 " Monsieur le Gouverneur." 
 
 " Well, Mounzeer Governor ! here's to your health, 
 then," said Bambrick, draining off a mug-full of the 
 claret, which had been quickly tapped. "This is better 
 tipple than the other. Here, old boy, you shall have a 
 glass, to see if we can't put a smile into that ugly rung 
 of yours." 
 
 The old soldiei seemed not at all to object to the 
 wine which Neil poured down his throat, and he smacked
 
 216 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 his lips as if he would like some more. Fortunately, 
 Gray and I now tasted the claret, and though we were 
 no great judges of wine, we knew enough to ascertain 
 that it was remarkably fine and strong ; and, moreover, 
 we discovered, by the way Ned and Billy and the rest 
 began to talk, that they had had enough, if not too much 
 of it, already. 
 
 " It was unwise of us to let them have any at all," 
 observed Gray. " How we shall keep them from it I 
 do not know ; and if they get drunk, as they certainly 
 will if they have much more, the chances are the French- 
 men will take the vessel from us." 
 
 " We must knock the head in," I answered. " It is 
 our only security. I know from experience, that if sea- 
 men can by any means get hold of liquor, they will do 
 so at all risks, and that they are in no way particular 
 what it is." 
 
 " It will be better to serve it out to the prisoners," 
 said Gray. " If we appeal to these men's kind feelings 
 they will do it, and if there is more than enough we 
 must leave the spile out." 
 
 Bambrick and Billy, and the other men, were per- 
 fectly ready to do as we proposed. When the old 
 colonel saw what we were doing he again shrieked out 
 about the governor, but this did not prevent the men 
 from serving out the wine. It only made Bambrick 
 turn round and say, — 
 
 " All right, Mr. Governor, you shall have some more, 
 old boy." 
 
 He took care, at all events, that the old gentleman 
 should have enough, for he gave him the greater portion 
 of the contents of a jug.
 
 MAKMADUKE MERRY, TnE MIDSHIPMAN. 217 
 
 We waited till nearly all the men were served, and 
 llien Gray pulled out the spile, and a good deal ran out. 
 He had to put it in before the men returned for their 
 last supply. Still, for fear that too much might remain, 
 he kicked away the block of wood which kept it in its 
 pla.:e, and then rolling over the cask, it was emptied of 
 its remaining contents. I must do our fellows the justice 
 to say that they treated the prisoners as they would like 
 to have been treated themselves, and gave them as 
 much wine as they would drink. The only difference 
 was that they would have drunk five times as much as 
 the Frenchmen, and not have been the worse for it. 
 
 They were rather inclined to grumble when they 
 found that there was no more. I saw that it was time 
 to exert my authority. 
 
 " You've done very well, lads," I exclaimed. " But 
 suppose you were all to get drunk, what would the 
 Frenchmen do with us, I should like to know. Shall I 
 tell you ? They would manage to wriggle themselves 
 free, and heave us all overboard. If we don't want to 
 disgrace ourselves, let us keep what we've got. Not 
 another drop of liquor does any one have aboard here 
 till we fall in with the frigate." 
 
 My speech appeared to have some effect, and I took 
 care to give all hands ample employment, that they 
 might not think of the liquor. As it was, by the springy 
 way in which they moved about the deck, and the 
 harangues uttered by Ned Bambrick on every trivial 
 occasion, I saw that they had already had quite enough 
 for our safety. Night was now approaching, but still 
 
 19
 
 218 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 the frigate was nowhere to be seen. Gray went aloft, 
 and took an anxious look round. 
 
 " Not a sign of her," he said, as he returned on 
 deck. 
 
 Darkness came on. All hands were naturally feel- 
 ing very sleepy, hut with so many prisoners to guard, 
 even though their hands were lashed behind them, it 
 was necessary for us to keep awake. However, Gray 
 and I agreed that — if we were rested and brisk we 
 could do more than if we were worn out — it would be 
 best for us to take a little sleep at intervals, and allow 
 one or two of the men to sleep at the same time. One 
 man was at the helm, and two others kept walking up 
 and down the deck, with pistols in their hands and cut- 
 lasses ready for use. Gray lay down first. He slept 
 so soundly that I did not like to call him. The night 
 was dark, but the prisoners were quiet, and there was 
 but little wind ; even that little had died away. I did not 
 altogether like the look of the weather. The heat was 
 very great, and though it was calm then, I knew that 
 it was not far off the hurricane season, and I thought if 
 we were to be caught in a hurricane how greatly our 
 difficulties would be increased, even if we were not lost 
 altogether. After a time Gray started up of his own 
 accord. The instant I lay down on the after part of the 
 deck, I was asleep. It appeared to me that I had 
 scarcely closed my eyes, when I was aroused by shouts 
 and cries. I started up, fully persuaded that the French- 
 men were loose and upon us. The 60unds appeared to 
 come from the hold. As I ran to the main hatchway I
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 219 
 
 heard a noise of scuffling and struggling, and a voice 
 shouting, " Oh, Master Merry, Master Gray, the ghost- 
 eses have got hold of me, the ghosteses have got hold 
 of me." Looking into the hold, I saw, by the light of 
 a lanthorn, Billy Wise struggling with two Frenchmen, 
 while, forward, Gray and one of our men were, I dis- 
 covered rather by my ears than by sight, engaged with 
 another of the prisoners, who had apparently worked 
 himself loose. Ned Bambrick had started to his feet 
 at the moment that I did. Together we leaped down 
 below. We were not an instant too soon. Billy was 
 almost overpowered, and as there were some cutlasses at 
 hand, the Frenchmen might have armed themselves and 
 killed us while we were asleep. Bambrick knocked one 
 over with a blow of his fist, and the other was easily 
 managed. Where they had come from we could not 
 tell. They were none of those who had appeared on 
 deck, and must have been concealed very cleverly when 
 we sent down to search below. It was a lesson to Gray 
 and me ever after to go and look ourselves when a search 
 of importance was to be made. While Bambrick and 
 Billy held the men down, I ran for some rope, with 
 which we made them fast pretty tightly to some stan- 
 chions between decks. Gray and his companion had 
 in the mean time re-secured the prisoner who had man- 
 aged nearly to release himself, and we then made a 
 more careful search than before through every part of 
 l In- vessel. We had pretty well satisfied ourselves thai 
 no one else was stowed away below, when a loud civ. 
 and finding the vessel suddenly heeling over, made us 
 spring on deck. A squall had struck her. I did not
 
 220 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 expect to see her recover herself. Every thing was flying 
 away ; yards were cracking, the sails in shreds flutter- 
 ing in the gale ; the masts were bending as if about to 
 go over the side ; blocks were falling from aloft ; ropes 
 slashing and whipping furiously ; the water was rushing 
 in through the lee scuppers half up the deck, and near- 
 ly drowning the unfortunate Frenchmen sitting there, 
 who were shrieking out in dismay, believing that their 
 last moments had come. Ned Bambrick sprang aft and 
 put up the helm: the after canvas was chiefly off her; 
 she had gathered way, and now answering her helm, 
 she flew before it. Never had I been in such a scene 
 of confusion, increased by the roaring of the wind, the 
 shrieks of the prisoners, the rattling of the blocks and 
 ropes, the cracking of spars, and the loud slush of the 
 water as it rushed about the deck. What had become 
 of Gray I could not tell. It was too dark now to dis- 
 tinguish any one. I called: he did not answer. A 
 horrid feeling seized me. He must have been knocked 
 overboard. I called again in despair. At that moment 
 it would have been a matter of indifference to me if the 
 Frenchmen had risen and taken the vessel from us. A 
 faint voice answered me. It was that of Toby Bluff. 
 " He was there, sir, but just now." 
 
 I had been standing on the weather side. I slid 
 down to leeward, for I saw some one there. I grasped 
 hold of the person, and hauled him up. It was Gray. 
 When the vessel was first struck, he had been knocked 
 over by the tiller, which he must have just taken, be- 
 lieving that there was to be but a slight breeze. He 
 had been half stunned and half drowned. He speedily
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSDIPMAN. 221 
 
 however, to my great joy, recovered. I now mustered 
 all hands, most of whom had heen sent sprawling in 
 among the Frenchmen, who kicked and bit at tliem, 
 they declared, but which Gray and I did not believe to 
 be the fact. We now set to work to get the ship to 
 rights. We squared yards as well as we could, furled 
 the remnant of the canvas, and set a close-reefed fore- 
 topsail, under which the little vessel ran on very com- 
 fortably. Our chief concern was, that we were, as we 
 thought, running away from the frigate. None of us 
 felt disposed to go to sleep again, so we kept a bright 
 look-out, not knowing whether we might not be hurry- 
 ing directly on to a coral reef, or another island. The 
 wind, however, soon began to go down, and I was pro- 
 posing to Gray to haul up again, when Billy Wise, who 
 was stationed forward, sung out, — 
 
 "Starboard — starboard the helm — or we shall run 
 down the frigate ! " 
 
 Sure enough, in half a minute, we were gliding by 
 under her stern. A voice from the deck hailed us. 
 
 " What schooner is that?" 
 
 "The , I don't know her name — prize to the 
 
 second cutter of His Majesty's frigate Doris," I an- 
 swered. " We've a heap of prisoners, and I don't know 
 what to do with them ! " 
 
 " Heave to, and we will send a boat on board," was 
 shouted in return. 
 
 Day was just breaking, and the increasing light en- 
 abled us to manage better than we could otherwise have 
 done. We had now less fear of our enemies breaking 
 loose, so all hands were able to assist in getting some 
 19*
 
 222 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 after sail on the vessel, and bringing her up to the 
 wind. 
 
 " Now we shall catch it for all this," said Gray, as 
 we eaw the boat pulling toward us from the frigate. 
 
 " I hope not," said I. " At all events, we must make 
 the best of it. There's Mr. Fitzgerald in the boat. 
 We'll get him to stand our friend." 
 
 *' Well, boys, this is a nate piece of work you've 
 been alter doing now ! " remarked our handsome second 
 lieutenant, as he surveyed the deck. " You don't mean 
 to say that you captured all these heroes ? " 
 
 " Every one of them, sir," said Gray, with perfect 
 seriousness. " I hope the captain won't be angry." 
 
 "There's no saying. However, we'll see," he an- 
 swered with a smile. 
 
 We now made more sail, and ran in close under the 
 lee of the frigate. 
 
 Perigal was sent on board the schooner to take charge 
 of her, and the prisoners were transferred to the deck 
 of the frigate, where the captain and most of the officers 
 were assembled. Mr. Johnson met me. He had just 
 time to say, — 
 
 " I congratulate you, Mr. Merry. You've done well. 
 You are worthy of my teaching ! " when the prisoners 
 were summoned aft. 
 
 We had given the old colonel his sword, that he 
 might present it in due form. He marched aft at the 
 head of his men, and presented it to Captain Collyer 
 with a profound bow. 
 
 The captain then addressed him. I was afterwards 
 told what he said. It was, —
 
 (< Mais c'est ce terrible ma) J«' hut
 
 MAttMADUKE MERRY. THE MIDSHIPMAN. 223 
 
 " I am surprised, Monsieur, that you, an experienced 
 soldier, who have seen much service, should allow your- 
 self and your men to be captured by a single boat's 
 crew, and two midshipmen." 
 
 " Ma foi ! " exclaimed the colonel, with an inimitable 
 shrug of his shoulders, and an indescribable expression 
 of countenance, indicative of intense disgust. " I am 
 a brave man; I fear nothing — mais c'est ce terrible 
 mal de mer!" (this terrible sea-sickness.) 
 
 I do not know what Captain Collyer said in return, 
 but I fancy he did not pay the colonel any compliments 
 on his gallantry.* Gray and I were very agreeably 
 surprised when, instead of being reprimanded for what 
 we had done, the captain praised us very much for the 
 daring way in which we had taken the schooner. Mr. 
 Fitzgerald had told him all the particulars beforehand. 
 Somebody, however, was to blame for having taken the 
 arms in the boat. All the men, however, declared that 
 they knew nothing about it, but that the getting them 
 in had been entirely managed by Ned Dawlish, who, 
 being dead, could say nothing in his defence, and was 
 therefore found guilty. The truth was, that the captain 
 was very well pleased at what had been done, and was 
 ready to overlook the disobedience of orders of which 
 the men had been guilty. 
 
 Gray and I were in high feather. We dined that 
 day with the captain, wlio complimented us on our ex- 
 ploit, and made us give him all the particulars. He 
 
 * I only hope that Frenchmen, on other occasions, may have 
 their valor cooled down to zero by that terrible sea-sickness.
 
 224 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 told us that the carpenter, who had been sent on board 
 to survey the schooner, had reported favorably of her, 
 ana that he proposed to employ her as a tender, while 
 the frigate was refitting at Port Royal. 
 
 As it was necessary to get rid of our prisoners, a 
 course was steered at once for Jamaica, so that we 
 might land them there. We found, after a little time, 
 that the French Colonel was not a bad old fellow. I 
 really believe that he was as brave as most men, and 
 that he had spoken the truth when he said that " le mal 
 de mer had overcome him." Probably most of his men 
 were in the same condition. Gray and I did not forget 
 our resolution to try and learn French, and as one of 
 the mates, Duncan M'Allister, could speak a little, we 
 begged him to ask the old colonel if he would teach us. 
 He replied that he would do so gladly, and would teach 
 any one else who wished to learn. Indeed our proposal 
 was ultimately of great service to him, for when he got 
 on shore, and was admitted as a prisoner on his parole, 
 he gained a very comfortable livelihood by teaching 
 French. I afterwards heard that, when the war was 
 over, he declined going back to La Belle France, and 
 settled among his friends the English. It is just pos- 
 sible, that the way in which he had allowed himself and 
 his thirty men to be taken by us had something to do 
 with this decision. 
 
 The colonel's name was, I remember, Painchaud, 
 which is translated Hotbread, — a funny name, which I 
 never met elsewhere. We invited him into the berth 
 to give his lessons, but we had to clear away several 
 boxes and hampers to afford him space to stretch his
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 225 
 
 legs under the table. As he sat on the narrow locker 
 with his bald head touching the deck above, his elbows 
 resting on the table, and liis long legs stretched out to 
 the other side of the berth, while we youngsters in every 
 variety of attitude grouped ourselves round him, he 
 looked like some antiquated Gulliver among a party of 
 rather overgrown Liliputians. At first he had a con- 
 siderable number of pupils, but it was very evident that 
 they assembled more for the sake of trying if any fun 
 could be found, than with any serious intention of learn- 
 ing French. We had forgotten when he had made our 
 proposal that books would be necessary to enable us to 
 make any progress in the language, but not a French 
 work of any sort was to be procured on hoard, still less 
 a grammar. At length the colonel produced two from 
 his valise. They were, I have reason to believe, not 
 such as would have tended to our edification ; but hap- 
 pily, in the then state of our knowledge of the language 
 in which they were written, they were not likely to hurt 
 our morals. As we had no grammar, the colonel made 
 us understand that he wanted paper and pens and ink ; 
 and then he wrote out words, and intimated to us that 
 we were to repeat them after him. He would take the 
 hand of one of his pupils and exclaim "main" and 
 make each of us repeat it after him. Then he would 
 seize an ear and cry out "oreille" and pretty hard 
 he pinched too. If any of ih cried out, it evidently 
 afforded him infinite amusement. We, of course, gave 
 him the name which he always afterwards kept, of 
 Colonel Pinchhard. When any of hi< pupils pronounced 
 the word wrongly, it was highly amusing to watch the
 
 226 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 wonderful way in which his shoulders went up and his 
 head sunk down between them. No English pair of 
 shoulders could have behaved in the same way ; nor 
 could certainly any English mouth have rolled out the 
 extraordinary expletives with which he was wont to 
 give force to his sentiments. His great delight was, 
 however, pulling Gray's and my ears, which, we agreed, 
 was in revenge for taking him prisoner. One day he 
 wrote down nez, and asked me what it meant. I re- 
 plied by a loud neigh like a horse. The rest of the 
 party took the joke and laughed, as I intended they 
 should ; but he, not understanding the cause of this, and 
 thinking that they were laughing at him, seized my 
 nose and gave it a tweak, which made me fancy he was 
 pulling it off. In the impulse of the moment I sprang 
 on the table, and seizing his nasal promontory, hauled 
 away at it with hearty good-will, and there we sat, he 
 sending forth with unsurpassable rapidity a torrent of 
 sa-c-r-r-es, which almost overwhelmed me ; neither of 
 us willing to be the first to let go. At last, from sheer 
 exhaustion and pain, we both of us fell back. I might 
 have boasted of the victory, for, though I felt acute pain, 
 my nose did not alter its shape, while the Frenchman's 
 swelled up to twice its usual proportions. The contest, 
 however, very nearly put an end to our French lessons. 
 However, as our master was really a good-natured man, 
 he was soon pacified, and we set to work again as be- 
 fore.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 227 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 We made wonderful progress with our French, in 
 spite of our want of books. Indeed, I have reason to 
 believe, that information attained under difficulties, is not 
 only acquired more rapidly, but most certainly more 
 completely mastered, than with the aid of all the modern 
 appliances of education, which, like steam-engines at full 
 speed, haul us so fast along the royal road to knowledge, 
 that we have no time to take in half the freight pre- 
 pared for us. We found, too, that the old colonel knew 
 considerably more about English than we had at first 
 suspected, and at last we ascertained that he had before 
 been captured, and shut up in a prison in England. He 
 did not. seem to have any pleasing recollections of that 
 period of his existence. One day, after we had annoyed 
 him more than usual with our pranks, and stirred up his 
 bile, he gave vent to his feelings, — 
 
 " Ah, you betes, Anglaises," he exclaimed. " You 
 have no sympathy vid des miserables. Vous eat ros-beef 
 vous-memes, and vous starve vos prlsonniers." 
 
 He then went on gravely to assure as, that when the 
 inspector of prisons one day rode into the yard of the 
 prison, and left his horse there while lie entered the 
 building, the famished prisoners rushed out in a body 
 and surrounded the animal. Simultaneously they made 
 a rush at the poor beast, and stabbed it with their kni\ es. 
 In an instant it was skinned, cut up. and carried off
 
 228 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 piecemeal. When the inspecting officer came back, he 
 found only the stirrups and bit and hoofs. The prison- 
 ers were busily occupied cooking their dinners, and had 
 already produced most delicious fricassees, so that the 
 English officer could not believe that they were formed 
 out of the animal on whose back he had galloped up to 
 the prison not an hour before. 
 
 " That's pretty well up to one of Mr. Johnson's yarns," 
 observed Gray to me. " I wish the old fellow could 
 understand him ; the boatswain would take the shine 
 out of him, I suspect." 
 
 " Bah, dat is noting," said the colonel. " I vill tell 
 you many more curieuse tings. You talk much of de 
 Anglish ladies. Vel, des are passablement bien ; but 
 les all get dronk ven des can. Je sais bien, vy des go 
 up-stairs before de gentlehommes? — it is dat des may 
 drink at dere ease. Ha, ha, dat is vot des do ; you 
 drink down-stairs, des drink up-stairs." 
 
 " Come, come, Monsieur Colonel," exclaimed Duncan 
 McAllister, starting up and striking his fist on the table. 
 " Ye may tell what crammers ye like and welcome, but 
 if ye dare to utter your falsehoods about the ladies of 
 Scotland and England, matrons or maids, prisoner though 
 you be, I'll make your two eyes see brighter lightning 
 than has come out of them for many a day ; and if ye 
 want satisfaction, ye shall have as much as ye can get 
 out of a stout ash-stick. Vous comprennez, don't ye ?" 
 
 The colonel shrugged his shoulders, and wisely said 
 nothing. Though he did not understand all McAllister's 
 remarks, he saw that he had gone too far, and that it 
 would be wiser in future, whatever might have been his
 
 MARMADCKE MERRY, TIIR MIDSHIPMAN. 229 
 
 belief, not to utter any remarks disparaging to the 
 women of England among a party of English sailors. 
 
 "I dinna think that colonel ever did a holder thing 
 than brave a litter of young lions in their den," ex- 
 claimed McAllister, who, for some especial reason, held 
 France and Frenchmen in utter detestation and abhor- 
 rence, though he knew more of their language than 
 most of us. 
 
 We did not mind the poor old colonel's stories, for we 
 remembered that he was a prisoner suffering from sea- 
 sickness, and that he had no other way of venting his 
 spleen. 
 
 At length we reached Port Royal, and our prize un- 
 der charge of Peristal arrived at the same time. Colo- 
 nel Pinchard begged so hard that he might stay on 
 board while the frigate remained in harbor, that in con- 
 sideration of the instruction he was affording the young- 
 sters he was allowed to do so. 
 
 "Ah, I do like de ship ven she stay tranquil," he 
 exclaimed, spreading out his hands horizontally, and 
 making them slowly move round. " But ven she tumble 
 bout, den," he put his hands on his stomach, exhibiting 
 with such extraordinary contortions of countenance the 
 acuteness of his sensations, that we all burst into hearty 
 fits of laughter. 
 
 Indeed the colonel was a never-failing source of 
 amusement to us. From the wonderfully prolonged 
 cackles in which he indulged, he also evidently enjoyed 
 the jokes himself. The schooner, which required but 
 little refitting, was soon ready tin - sea. It was under- 
 stood tli.it Perigal was to have the command, and Gray 
 
 20
 
 230 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 and I hoped to be allowed to accompany him. The 
 captain had not as yet let us know his intentions. We 
 should have been ready enough, probably, to have spent 
 our time on shore; but as we should have but little 
 chance of that, we fancied that we should prefer sailing 
 in search of adventures on the ocean. There are few 
 more beautiful spots on the earth's surface than Jamaica, 
 with its exquisite verdure, its lofty hills known as the 
 Blue Mountains, its round-topped heights covered with 
 groves of pimento, its vast savannahs or plains, its ro- 
 mantic vales, its rivers, bays, and creeks, and its dense 
 and sombre forests, altogether forming one of the most 
 lovely of tropical pictures. 
 
 Entering the harbor, we had Port Royal on the star- 
 board hand, at the end of a long spit of land called the 
 Palisades. On the opposite side of the narrow entrance, 
 was Rock fort, just under a lofty hill, and as the batteries 
 of Fort Charles at Port Royal bristled with guns, while 
 those of Fort Augusta faced us with an equal number, 
 we agreed that an enemy would find it no easy task to 
 enter the harbor. 
 
 The dockyard was at Port Royal, opposite which we 
 brought up. The Palisades run parallel with the main- 
 land, thus forming a vast lagoon, not running inland, but 
 along the coast as it were. Toward the upper end, the 
 commercial town, called Kingston, with its commodious 
 harbor, is situated. Some way inland, again, is Spanish 
 town, the capital, where the residence of the Governor 
 and the House of Assembly are to be found. It is a 
 very hot place, and the yellow fever is more apt to pay 
 it a second visit than strangers who have once been 
 there, if they can help it.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 231 
 
 The Admiral on the Jamaica station lives on shore, 
 at a house called the Admiral's pen, on the Palisades, 
 whence he commands a view of the harbor, roadstead, 
 and the ocean. He is better off than the governor 
 because he does not get the sea-breeze, which is the 
 best preventive to the yellow fever. It takes an hour 
 or more pulling up from Port Royal to Kingston, the 
 distance being five or six miles, or more. Spellman 
 once induced me to ride round along the Palisades, but we 
 agreed that we would never do it again ; for, as it was 
 a calm day, and the rays of the sun beat down on the 
 white sands, we were very nearly roasted alive, and how 
 we escaped a sunstroke I do not know. From what I 
 have said, it will be understood that Port Royal harbor 
 is a very large sheet of water, and what with the ship- 
 ping, the towns and ports on its shores, and the lofty 
 mountains rising up in its neighborhood, is a very pic- 
 turesque place. 
 
 We had not been there long, when yellow jack, as the 
 yellow fever is called, made its appearance, both at 
 Kingston and Port Royal, and all visits to the shore 
 were prohibited. Gray and I, therefore, had to make 
 ourselves as happy on board as we could, till we received 
 our expected orders to join the schooner. We had not 
 had a yarn for some time from Mr. Johnson. One 
 evening, when work was over, we found him walking 
 the forecastle, taking what he called his sunset food 
 shaker, in a more than usually thoughtful mood. As 
 Gray, Spellman, and I, with one or two others, went up 
 to him, lie heaved a sigh, which sounded not altogether 
 unlike the roar of a young bull.
 
 232 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " "What is the matter, Mr. Johnson ? " I asked, ap« 
 proaching him. " You seera melancholy to-day." 
 
 " I have cause to be so, Mr. Merry ; I have indeed," 
 he answered, in a tone of deep pathos, again sighing. 
 " Whenever I look on the blue waters of this harbor, and 
 those whitewashed houses, and those lofty mountains, 
 I think of a strange and sad episode of my eventful 
 history." 
 
 Of course, we all exclaimed with one voice, " Do tell 
 it us, Mr. Johnson ! " To which I added, " If it would 
 not break your heart, we should so like to hear it." 
 
 " Break my heart, Mr. Merry ! " exclaimed the boat- 
 swain, striking his bosom with his open palm, and 
 making it sound like the big drum in a regimental band. 
 I could not help fancying that there was a considerable 
 amount of humor lurking in the corner of his eye. 
 
 " Break my heart ! Jonathan Johnson's heart is 
 formed of tougher stuff than to break with any grief it 
 may be doomed to bear. You shall hear. But it 
 strikes me forcibly, young gentlemen, that it may be as 
 well to finish one part of my history before I begin 
 another. Who can tell where I left off ? " 
 
 " You were just going to be swallowed by the big 
 sea-serpent, Mr. Johnson ; ship, and crew, and all," 
 said Gray. 
 
 " It would be more correct, Mr. Gray, to say that you 
 believed we were going to be swallowed up ; because 
 you will understand that had we been swallowed up, I 
 should not, in all human probability, be here, or ever 
 have attained the rank of boatswain of His Britannic 
 Majesty's frigate Doris," said Mr. Johnson, with a polite
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 233 
 
 bend of the head. " However, not to keep you longer 
 in suspense, I will continue my narrative : — 
 
 "The good ship Diddleus was howling away under 
 all sail, and the sea-serpent, with mouth agape, following 
 us. It's my opinion, and others agreed with me, that if 
 he'd kept his mouth shut he would have caught us; for 
 the hot wind coming out of his throat filled our sails, 
 just as if it had been blowing a heavy gale of wind, 
 and drove us ahead of him ; but he was too eager, do 
 you see, and thought every moment he was going to 
 grab us. We guessed that he had been aroused at find- 
 ing his back smart from the scratch we made in it. We 
 thus ran on till daybreak, keeping ahead, but not drop- 
 ping him as much as we could have wished. It was 
 very awful, let me tell you, young gentlemen, to see his 
 big rolling eyes, to feel his hot breath, to smell a smell 
 of sulphur, and to hear his loud roaring. It was pain- 
 fully evident that he was in a tremendous rage at the 
 liberty we had taken with his back ; and there was no 
 doubt that had he come up with us, he could have swal- 
 lowed the ship and crew, and his own fat into the bar- 
 gain, with as much ease as he swallowed the whale If 
 it was a terrific sight to see him at night, it was still 
 worse in the day-time. His immense jaws were wide 
 open, showing a dozen rows of teeth, while his large 
 eyes projected on either side; and I don't think I ex- 
 aggerate when I say that the tip of his upper jaw was 
 fully sixty feet above the surface of the water. As you 
 all well know, young gentlemen, I am not a man to be 
 daunted ; so I loaded our stem-chasers, and kept blaz- 
 ing away at the monster, to make him turn aside ; but 
 
 ofl*
 
 234 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 to no effect. I trained the guns myself, and every shot 
 went into his mouth ; but lie just rolled his eyes round, 
 and swallowed them as if they were so many pills. It 
 was a fine sight, though a terribly fearful one, I own, to 
 see him coming along so steadily and stately, with the 
 water curling and foaming under his bows, and flying 
 high up into the air as he cut through it. It was neck 
 or nothing with us ; so we kept blazing away as fast as 
 we could load. I confess that every moment I expect- 
 ed he would make a spring and grab us, just as an or- 
 dinary fish does the bait held over him ; but it was ne- 
 cessary that I should set an example of coolness to my 
 crew; and, under the circumstances, I believe that mortal 
 man could not have been cooler. I could not hide from 
 myself the consequences, should he catch us ; and yet I 
 scarcely dared to hope that we should escape. We had 
 expended, at last, all our round shot, and the greater 
 part of our powder, arid we had to load with bags of 
 nails and any langrage we could find. We had half 
 emptied the carpenter's chest, and, except some copper 
 bolts, there seemed to be nothing else we could fire off, 
 when, by my calculations, I found that we were ap- 
 proaching the line. Life is sweet ; and so, that we 
 might keep off the fatal moment as long as possible, we 
 determined to fire away as long as we had a tin tack 
 or a bradawl to put into our guns, when, on a sudden, 
 he uttered a fierce roar — it did make us jump — and 
 down went his head right under the water, and up went 
 his tail like a huge pillar, when flop it came down again, 
 sending the sea flying over us and very nearly pooping 
 the ship. We felt very uncomfortable, for we naturally
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 235 
 
 expected to see him come up alongside ; but he didn't, 
 and two minutes afterwards we made him out close to 
 the horizon, to the southward. It was my opinion at 
 the time — and I have held it ever since — that either 
 he did not like the mouthful of big nails and bradawls 
 he swallowed, or that he had some objection to crossing 
 the line from not knowing the navigation on the other 
 side. At all events, we were clear of him. We had a 
 quick run to Liverpool, where the oil sold at a very 
 high price, and I got a monstrous amount of credit from 
 all who believed my wonderful narrative. As is always 
 the case, some didn't, in spite of the oil I exhibited in 
 proof of the occurrence; but I treated the incredulous 
 fellows with the scorn they deserved, and from that day 
 to this, I'll answer for it, no one has ever caught sight 
 of so much as the tail of the real Sea-Serpent." 
 
 " Veil, Mistre Johnson, dat is von very vonderful, vot 
 you call it ! " exclaimed Colonel Pinchard, who had 
 joined us. 
 
 " A big, thundering bouncer ! " cried a voice from be- 
 hind the boatswain's back. He turned sharply round, 
 but did not discover the speaker. He shook his fist in 
 that direction, however, with a comic expression in his 
 eye, saying, — 
 
 "Bouncer or no bouncer, mister whoever you are, I 
 beg that you'll understand clearly, that I will allow no 
 man, whoever he may be, to labor under the misappre- 
 hension that I ever depart one tenth of a point from the 
 stricl line of truth ; and that reminds me that I prom- 
 ised you, Mr. Merry, and you, Mr. Gray, to narrate an 
 event which occurred during the next voyage I made.
 
 236 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 I wasn't long in finding a ship, for the certificates with 
 which the owners of the Diddleus had furnished me 
 were highly satisfactory ; in fact, merit like mine 
 couldn't, in those days, languish in obscurity; though, 
 by the by, I ought not exactly to sing my own praises ; 
 but when a man has a due consciousness of his own 
 superior talents, the feeling will ooze out now and then, 
 do all he can to conceal it. Things are altered now: 
 merit's claims are no longer allowed, or I should be liv- 
 ing on shore now." Mr. Johnson pointed significantly 
 at the Admiral's pen. 
 
 "Ah! Oui! I vonce read of von great man, Sinbad 
 de Sailor, and von oder man, Captain Lemuel Gulliver. 
 You vary like dem gentlemen, observed Colonel Pinch- 
 ard, with the politest of bows, to the boatswain. 
 
 " Sinbad ! and Gulliver ! " shouted the boatswain 
 
 indignantly. " If there are two fellows whose names I 
 hate more than others, they are those. Take them all 
 in all, I consider them, without exception, the biggest 
 liars who have ever lived ; and if there is a character I 
 detest more than another, it is that of a man who de- 
 parts in the slightest degree from the truth ; no one can 
 any longer have confidence in what he says : and, for my 
 own part, I'd rather lose my right hand, and my head 
 into the bargain, than have the shadow of a reason for 
 supposing that the words I was uttering would run the 
 remotest chance of not being implicitly believed." 
 
 The boatswain's eye kept rolling round on his audi- 
 tory with a self-satisfied glance, and a twinkle withal, 
 as much as to say, '' You I care about understand me 
 perfectly, and if there are any geese who don't, they are 
 welcome to swallow all they can digest."
 
 MARMAT>UKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 237 
 
 "Ah! I had just found a fresh ship. She was the 
 Lady Stiggins, a fine brig, well armed, and bound round 
 Cape Horn. We had a somewhat roving commission, 
 and were first to touch here at Jamaica, and one or two 
 others of these gems of the tropics — these islands, full 
 of sugarcandy and blackamoors. 
 
 " I was not at first a favorite with the crew, for not 
 having had an opportunity of testing my qualifications, 
 but having heard some of my veracious narratives, they 
 were inclined to look upon me as an empty bragga- 
 docio, a character they very naturally despised ; but I 
 soon gave them reason to alter their opinion, when I was 
 quickly raised to that position in their estimation which 
 I ever after enjoyed. 
 
 " We were about a day's sail from this same harbor 
 of Port Royal, and wen; expecting to make the land 
 next morning, when it fell calm. It was the hottest 
 time of the year. The sun sent his rays down on our 
 heads as if he were a furnace a few yards off, making 
 the pitch in the seams of our decks bubble and squeak, 
 like bacon in a frying-pan ; and I remember that a 
 basket of eggs in the cabin were hatched in a few 
 minutes, and looking up from a book I was reading, 
 I saw a whole brood of chickens and ducks squattering 
 about the deck, not knowing where they'd come from, 
 or what to do with themselves. The chickens, however, 
 soon went to roost in a corner, for it was too hot to 
 keep awake, and the ducks waddled up on deck, and 
 were making the best of their way over the vessel's 
 side into the element in which they delight, when we 
 turned them into a water-butt, which contented them 
 mightily.
 
 238 MARMADURE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " But this was not the story I was going to tell you. 
 Every one on hoard felt like the ducks and chickens, 
 overcome by the heat ; so at last, not considering the 
 risk they ran, many of the men stripped off their clothes 
 and jumped overboard. 
 
 " I, however, kept mine on, and so did several others. 
 The fact was, that we had only, in that hot weather, to 
 give ourselves a shake, and to turn once round in the 
 sun, and we were dry through and through. 
 
 " We had frolicking and swimming about for some 
 time, enjoying the comparatively cool water, though, for 
 the matter of that, it was pretty well hot enough to boil 
 a lobster, when suddenly our ears were assailed with a 
 terrific cry of ' A shark ! a shark ! ' 
 
 " The outside man was a fine young fellow, Tom 
 Harding by name. The poor fellow saw his danger, for 
 the shark was making directly for him. I sang out to him 
 not to be afraid, but to swim as fast as he could toward 
 the ship, and he didn't require to be told twice. Mean- 
 time I was making a circle round, so as to approach 
 the beast in the rear ; for, as you all know, I am a first- 
 rate swimmer, and I never yet heard of the man who 
 could keep up with me. Why, I once swam from 
 Dover to Calais, and back again, for a wager, and danced 
 a hornpipe on the top of Shakspeare's cliff", to the aston- 
 ishment of all who saw me — but that's neither here 
 nor there." 
 
 " Vel, I vonder de shark did not eat you," observed 
 the colonel, with a grin. 
 
 " Eat me, mounseer ! I should like to see the shark 
 who would venture to attempt it, unless he found me
 
 MARMADURE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN-. 239 
 
 snoozing on the top of a wave," exclaimed the boat- 
 swain, in a tone of pretended indignation. " If it hadn't 
 been for me, however, he would have bolted Tom 
 Harding, and no mistake. Well, Torn was swimming 
 for dear life, and all the rest of the crew were scram- 
 bling up the side of the vessel, thinking that it was all 
 over with both of us, when I saw the monster turn on 
 his back, his white belly shining in the sun, as he made 
 a grab at Tom's leg. It was now time for me to inter- 
 fere ; so, striking out with all my might, I seized the 
 shark by the tail, and slewing him round, just as he 
 expected to make a mouthful of Tom, he missed his 
 aim, and his jaws met with a crack which sounded like 
 the report of a hundred muskets. Torn gave a shriek, 
 for he thought — as well he might — that his last hour 
 had come ; but, still more from instinct than from any 
 hope of escape, he swam on, and was very much sur- 
 prised to find himself alongside the ship. In fact, when 
 he was hauled on deck, it was some time, I was told, 
 before he could be persuaded that he hadn't lost both 
 his legs, so firmly convinced was he that the shark had 
 got hold of them. 
 
 "I meantime kept a taut hold of the fish, who was 
 whisking about his tail, and snapping his jaws in his 
 disappointment; and hard work I had, you may depend 
 on't. As he went one way I pulled the other, and act- 
 ing like a rudder, brought him round again, till I worked 
 him near and nearer to the ship. At last I got him 
 alongside, and singing out for a rope, which was quickly 
 hove to me, I passed it dexterously over his tail, and 
 told the men on dock to haul it taut. He was thus
 
 ^40 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 partly secured, but the difficulty was to make his head 
 fast, for I had no fancy to get within the power of his 
 jaws. I should observe that he was the largest shark I 
 saw. I was almost despairing of securing him, when 
 one of the men, Bill Jones, I remember, was his name, 
 made fast a big hook with a lump of pork to the top- 
 gallant halyards, and hove it before him. The shark 
 grabbed it in a moment, and we had him fast. Those 
 on deck had just before been endeavoring to pass a rope 
 under his head, and this now slipped up and caught in 
 his jaws. No sooner did he feel the iron in his mouth, 
 than, darting forward, away he went ahead of the vessel. 
 As I sprang on deck the idea struck me that I would 
 make him of use. There was no great difficulty, for, 
 passing another line over his jaws, we had a regular 
 pair of reins on him. One end of the line was brought 
 in on the starboard and the other on the larboard bow 
 port, while the hook in the nose served to bring him 
 sharp up, when he ran too fast. No sooner were these 
 arrangements made than away he went at a rapid pace 
 ahead, towing us at the rate of at least six knots an 
 hour — I like always to be under, the mark, for fear of 
 being thought guilty of exaggeration. By hauling in, 
 now on one side now on the other, we managed to steer 
 him very well on our proper course. 
 
 " The calm continued, but on we glided through the 
 water, to the inexpressible astonishment of the crews of 
 several craft we passed, who, of course, thought the 
 Lady Stiggins must be the Flying Dutchman. As we 
 entered the harbor, the surprise of people on shore was 
 equally great ; and no sooner did we drop our anchor,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 241 
 
 than the brig was surrounded by boats full of people, 
 eager to hear an explanation of" the phenomenon. They 
 could scarcely credit our assertions when we told them 
 how we had got along, till we showed them the mon- 
 ster frisking about under the bows almost as tame and 
 docile as a dog. 
 
 " I had always a wonderful knack of managing pets 
 of all sorts, and by kindly treating Jack Shark he became 
 very fond of me, and whenever I went on shore, he 
 would swim after the boat, and remain frolicking about 
 near her till my return. At last I thought I would 
 make him of use; so, rigging a pair of short reins, I 
 slipped them over his jaws, and then jumped on bis 
 back. He understood in a moment what was expected 
 of him, and away he went with me at a rapid rate 
 through the water. After that, lighting my pipe quite 
 comfortably, I invariably went on shore on his back, 
 and throwing my reins over a post, I used to leave him 
 till my return. You may depend on it, none of the 
 ]i f tle blackamoors ever played tricks with him. 
 
 " There are many of the principal merchants and 
 Others at Kingston even now, who would, young gentle- 
 men, if you were to ask them, vouch for the truth of 
 the circumstance. Just ask them, and hear what they'll 
 say. The curious part of it was, that though so tame 
 with me, he would attack anybody else, and not a sea- 
 man from any of the ships dared to attempt swimming 
 on shore as they had frequently before done. In fact 
 he did swallow one or two; and I believe that he was 
 voted a perfect nuisance, so that every one was glad 
 when we and our pet left the harbor to prosecute our 
 
 •21
 
 242 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 voyage. Of course he followed us ; and I used every 
 morning to heave him a piece of pork for his breakfast, 
 a few casks of which I bought cheap of a Jew on pur 
 pose. It was measly, but he didn't mind that. And 
 now I'm coming to the melancholy part of the history 
 connected with my pet shark. But I have talked a 
 good deal, and in this warm weather it's an exertion 
 even to use one's jaws ; so young gentlemen, you must 
 excuse me from continuing my veracious narrative for 
 the present." 
 
 " Oh, do go on, Mr. Johnson — do go on," we all ex- 
 claimed ; but the boatswain was inexorable, and, as it 
 happened, it was some time before we heard the sequel 
 to his history of the shark. 
 
 The next day, Gray, and I, and Spellman, were or- 
 dered to join the schooner with twenty hands. Perigal 
 still kept command, and at the last moment McAllister 
 came on board to act as his first lieutenant, with the 
 assistant surgeon Macquoid, and a clerk, Bobus, as 
 purser. Of course the schooner did not require so many 
 officers and men to navigate her, but we hoped to take 
 many prizes, and hands, of course, would be wanted to 
 bring them home. We invited the old colonel to accom- 
 pany us. With a most amusing grimace, and an inimi- 
 table shake of the head and shrugs of the shoulders, he 
 answered, " Ah, mes jeunes gentlemens, I do love V0113 
 va-a mosh ; but de mer — de terrible mer. I do vish 
 de verld ver von big earth and no vater." So we had 
 to leave the colonel and our French lessons behind ; but 
 we assured him that we would study hard during our 
 absence. Good as were our intentions, it was not very
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 243 
 
 likely that we could adhere to them, and, by the expres- 
 sion of his countenance, the colonel showed that he was 
 strongly of that opinion. 
 
 We sailed at daybreak, and had the land breeze to 
 take us out of the harbor. Our course was to the 
 southward, toward the well-known Spanish Main. Our 
 schooner was the Espoir. She sailed well, and carried 
 two eighteen-pounders and six long eights, so that we 
 had every reason to hope that we should pick up some 
 prizes, if we did not get taken ourselves. That last 
 contingency did not occur to us. Though it was hut, 
 and we were rather crowded in the cabin, we had a 
 very pleasant time on board. We naturally messed to- 
 gether, and had secured all the good things from the 
 shore, in the shape of fruits and vegetables, and poultry 
 and liquor, which we could collect. It is very well for 
 poets and authors to make their heroes contented with 
 hard fare. I can only say that midshipmen are not, if 
 they know that better is to be got ; and I have observed, 
 whenever I have been in the society of poets and other 
 authors, that, practically, they have enjoyed a good 
 dinner as much as any class of people could do, and 
 been very much inclined to grumble if they did not get 
 it, too. We were out some days without sighting a 
 single sail, but we were not the less merry, living upon 
 hope, and the good fare our caterer, Macquoid, had col- 
 lected. At length a sail was seen, and chase made. It 
 was some time before we could make; out whether the 
 stranger was a man-of-war or merchantman, a friend or 
 foe. She was a brig, we soon discovered, and when we 
 saw her up helm and run oif before the wind, we had no
 
 244 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 doubt as to her pacific character. Still she might be 
 English, and, if so, we should have had our chase for 
 nothing. She was a slow sailer, for we came up with 
 her rapidly. We had showed no colors, and had got 
 her within range of our long guns, when up went, the 
 PVench ensign. A cheer hurst from our throats. It 
 would have been more hearty if we had thought she had 
 been armed. We showed our colors in return. On we 
 stood, firing a shot wide of her as a signal for her to 
 heave to. She obeyed, and we, heaving to near her, 
 McAllister, with Spellman and a boat's crew, were sent 
 to take possession. The boat was sent back with several 
 of the French crew. The prize was not a rich one, but 
 she was too valuable to be destroyed, so Perigal directed 
 Spellman to take her to Jamaica, allowing him four 
 hands. Miss Susan did not at all like having his cruise 
 cut so short, but we congratulated him on the honor of 
 having a separate command, being ourselves very well 
 contented to continue on board the Espoir. For two 
 days more we stood south, when, at daybreak, another 
 sail was descried from the masthead. She was a 
 schooner, and, from the squareness of her yards, her 
 taunt masts, and her white canvas, we suspected that, 
 should she be an enemy, she would prove a very differ- 
 ent sort of customer to the slow-sailing brig we had just 
 before captured. That she was not afraid of us was 
 very evident, for, throwing her head-sails aback, she 
 awaited our coming. In a short time we made out the 
 French ensign flying at her peak, and we concluded that 
 she was a privateer, probably with a large crew, and 
 well-armed. Perigal, on this, called all hands aft
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 245 
 
 " Now, my lads," said he, " that craft is an enemy ; very- 
 likely twice as many men dance on her decks as on 
 ours; but they are Frenchmen, and I want to show that 
 we are English, every one, to the backbone, and sec how 
 quickly we can take her. I have nothing more to say, 
 except to tell you not to throw your shot away, and, if 
 it comes to boarding, when you strike, strike home." 
 Three hearty cheers was the response to this address. 
 The old mate was not much given to oratory, but, when 
 he spoke, he never failed to speak to the purpose. 
 Arms were served out, and pistols were stuck in belts, 
 and cutlasses buckled on ; muskets were loaded, and 
 arranged in readiness for use ; powder and round shot 
 were brought on deck, and the men, stripped to the 
 waist, with handkerchiefs bound round their heads, stood 
 ready for action. They looked as grim and determined 
 a set as a commanding officer would wish to see ; but 
 still, jokes were bandied about one from the other, and 
 it did not seem to occur to any of them that, before 
 another hour of time had slipped by, in all probability 
 several might be numbered with the dead. Ned Bam- 
 brick was at the helm, with his eye cast ever and anon 
 at the canvas, and then at the Frenchman, as we glided 
 on rapidly toward him, just as cool and unconcerned as 
 if he was standing up to speak a friend. We had the 
 weather-gauge, and Perigal resolved to keep it. Sup- 
 posing the enemy superior to us in strength, it would 
 give us an important and necessary advantage. To a 
 sailor's eye it was a pretty sight to see the two schooners 
 approaching. The Espoir was a handsome craft, and sc 
 was her antagonist. We did not at first show our colors 
 
 20*
 
 246 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 No sooner, however, did we hoist them than the French- 
 man filled his sails and tacked, in the hope of weather- 
 ing on us, firing at the same time a gun of defiance. 
 We suspected that he had not till then known exactly 
 what to make of us, and possibly had taken us for a 
 friend. However, the Frenchmen were now in for it, 
 and, like brave men, were resolved to fight it out. We 
 were now near enough for our long-eights to tell, and 
 the very first shot, flying high, knocked away the jaws 
 of the enemy's main gaff, wounding at the same time 
 the head of the mainmast. At seeing this, a hearty 
 cheer rose from all on board. It was a prognostic of 
 success. 
 
 " If we'd tried to do that same we could not have 
 succeeded," observed M'Allister. " I say, Perigal, you 
 must let me take that craft to Jamaica." 
 
 " With all my heart, my boy, when she's ours ; but 
 it's ill luck to give away what doesn't belong to us," 
 answered our skipper. 
 
 " Never mind ; but she will be before many minutes 
 are over," persisted M'Allister. " Now, lads, just follow 
 suit to that shot, and we'll do for the mounseers in a 
 very short time." 
 
 By this fortunate shot we had the enemy almost in 
 our power. She ran off before the wind, and we soon 
 came up with her, and hung on her quarter, so that she 
 could rarely bring more than one gun at a time to bear 
 on us. She had fired several shots without effect, but 
 at last to make amends, one came flying diagonally 
 across our deck, taking off the head of one of our men, 
 and knocking over a second, who survived but a few
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 247 
 
 moments. A few more such fatal shots would sadly 
 have thinned our numbers. The enemy had a good 
 number of men on deck, but not so many as we expect- 
 ed. Some were sent aloft to try and repair the damage 
 to the gaff, and this, as we had got within musket range, 
 we did our best to prevent by keeping up a fire of small 
 arms at them. I had seized a musket, and with others 
 was blazing away, not very effectually, for the men con- 
 tinued their work, and no one appeared to be hurt, 
 when, just as I had fired, I saw a man drop stone dead 
 upon the deck. It was my shot had done the deed. A 
 sickening sensation came over me. I felt as if I had 
 oommitted a murder. It would have been different had 
 I hit one of the men at the guns, but the poor fellow 
 was performing, so it seemed, but an ordinary piece of a 
 seaman's duty ; my blood was cool, I did not feel that 
 he was my enemy. Perhaps the idea was foolish ; it 
 did not last long. The rest of the men aloft were soon 
 driven on deck, and shooting ahead, we ranged up along- 
 side, and poured in the whole of our broadside. The 
 enemy returned our fire, but our men worked their lmius 
 almost twice as quick as the Frenchmen did, aiming 
 much better, and the effect was soon apparent in their 
 shattered bulwarks, deck strewed with slain, and torn 
 sails. 
 
 " Blaze away, lads," shouted MAlister, as he went 
 from gun to gun, pointing one, lending a hand to run 
 out another, or to load a third. 
 
 Slill the gallant Frenchmen fought on. They were 
 very unlike old Pinchard and his men ; but there was this 
 difference, they were sailors, whereas the others were
 
 248 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 soldiers, and it was the mal de mer in that instance 
 deserved the credit of the victory more than we did. 
 This close firing soon got our blood up, and I now felt 
 anxious to run the enemy aboard, that we might be at 
 them with our cutlasses. I have not often found French- 
 men foolhardy : they know when they are beaten. En- 
 glishmen don't, and so sometimes stumble against all 
 rule into victory. Just as Perigal had ordered Bam- 
 brick to put the helm to starboard, to run the enemy 
 aboard, the French captain hauled down his flag, and, 
 coming to the gangway, made us a profound bow, as an 
 additional sign that he had struck. We immediately 
 ceased firing, and as our boats had escaped damage, one 
 was lowered, and M'Allister and I went on board to 
 take possession. "We had certainly contrived in a short 
 hour considerably to spoil the beauty of the French 
 schooner, and dreadfully to diminish the number of her 
 crew. Her brave captain and most of his officers were 
 wounded, and six men were killed and ten wounded. 
 Her captain received us on the quarter-deck, where he 
 stood ready to deliver his sword with the greatest polite- 
 ness, as if it was really a pleasant act he was perform- 
 ing, and assured us that it was the fortune de la guerre, 
 and that he had learned to yield to fortune without a 
 murmur. 
 
 " He really is one of the pleasantest Frenchmer I 
 have ever met," observed M'Allister. " We must treat 
 him with all consideration." 
 
 Curiously enough, this remark of my messmate kept 
 continually running in my head, and I could not help 
 repeating it. We had plenty to do to bury the dead.
 
 MARMADUK2 MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 249 
 
 wash the decks, repair the masts, and spars, and bul- 
 warks, and to splice the rigging, and bend fresh sails. 
 M'Allister was directed to go as prize-master, and I with 
 Bambrick, Foley, and four other hands accompanied 
 him; some of the French crew were removed on board 
 the Espoir, but the captain, two officers, and eight men 
 remained with us as prisoners. 
 
 Perigal had, in fact, already, more prisoners than his 
 own crew now mustered. Our new prize was the 
 Audacieuse, a larger vessel and better armed than the 
 Espoir. By nightfall we had made great progress in 
 getting the prize to rights, and as our own vessel had 
 suffered but little, we were able to bestow all our 
 strength upon her. Both Perigal and M'Allister woe 
 very anxious to continus the cruise together. The 
 objection to this was the number of our prisoners. Still, 
 as M'Allister argued, the commander of the prize, 
 Lieutenant Preville, was a very quiet sort of fellow, 
 and the men left on board were orderly and well- 
 behaved, so that he should have no difficulty in keeping 
 them under. 
 
 " But, remember, M'Allister, that crews have some- 
 times risen against their captors, and retaken their 
 vessels. It will be necessary to be very careful," 
 observed Perigal. 
 
 " Oh, never fear, my old fellow ; I should think that 
 we seven Englishmen could keep a dozen or more 
 Frenchmen in order," answered M'Allister, with a >ome- 
 what scornful laugh. " If we go into action, we will 
 clap them under hatches, and they will be quiet enough, 
 depend on that."
 
 250 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 At length Perigal yielded, and the Audacieuse's 
 masthead having been finished, and all other damages 
 made good, we continued our cruise together. Lieu- 
 tenant Preville was a gentleman, and really a very 
 pleasant fellow ; and, to show our appreciation of his 
 good qualities, we invited him to live in his own cabin, 
 and to partake of the delicacies which he had laid in for 
 his own special use, which was generous on our part ; 
 and which conduct he did not fail to acknowledge by 
 doing ample justice to the viands. He frequently, too, 
 would tack up his sleeves, and, going into the galley, 
 would cook dishes, which I doubt that any Parisian chef 
 could have surpassed. 
 
 " Ah, ma foi," he observed in French when we com- 
 plimented him on his success. " In my opinion a man 
 has no right to claim the character of a civilized being, 
 much less of a chef, unless he can produce a complete 
 dinner from an old tom-cat and a bundle of nettle-tops. 
 He should depend on the fire and the sources managed 
 by his own skill. The rest of the materials are nothing. 
 The fire brings every thing to the same condition." 
 Certainly Lieutenant Preville managed to give us an 
 infinite variety of dishes, to all appearance, the founda- 
 tion of which, to the best of my belief, was salt pork, and 
 beef of a very tough and dry nature. Of course, such 
 a man would soon win his way into the good graces of 
 far more stoical beings than English midshipmen are 
 apt to be at present, or were in those good old days.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 " Well, Marmaduke, my boy, we are having a jolly 
 cruise of it," observed M'Allister one afternoon, as we 
 walked the deck together, having just partaken of an 
 especially good dinner, dressed by our most polite and 
 obsequious prisoner, Lieutenant Preville. "If we 
 could but fall in with two or three more fat prizes we 
 should be able to set up as independent gentlemen when 
 we get back home again, and I should be able to regain 
 the lands of the M'Allisters from the southern churl 
 who has dared to take possession of them." 
 
 "They are not very extensive, then, I conclude," I 
 observed. " A midshipman's share of prize money, 
 even for the richest galleon of old Spain, would not go 
 far to purchase much of an estate." 
 
 "Extensive! my boy; I wish you could just come 
 north and have a look at them," exclaimed M'Allister. 
 "You can't see from one end to the other, and there is 
 the finest of fine old towers, which would he perfectly 
 habitable, if it were not for the want of windows, and 
 floors, and doors, and other woodwork ; and as to the 
 lands, to be sure there is a somewhat considerable pre- 
 ponderance of bog and moor, but oats and potatoes 
 grow finely on the hill-sides. Ah, my boy, I know well 
 enough what's what — the value of rich pastures and 
 corn-fields — hut there's nothing like the home of one's 
 ancestors — the heathery hills of old Scotland — for all 
 that."
 
 252 MARMADTTKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 My shipmate spoke with deep feeling, though he had 
 begun in a half-joking vein. Our prisoner joined us, 
 and put a stop to the conversation. He offered to go 
 down for his guitar, and, returning with it on deck, he 
 touched the strings, and sang a light French song with 
 much taste and with a fair voice. We complimented 
 him on his performance. 
 
 "Ah, you like singing; I will sing to you night and 
 day, ma foi." He observed, "It is a satisfaction to a 
 man of sentiment to give pleasure to his friends, and I 
 look upon you as my friends in spite of our relative 
 positions. They arise from the circumstances of war. 
 We are friends — true friends — why should we be 
 otherwise ? " Then he resumed his guitar and sang 
 again as gaily as before. 
 
 We and our consort kept close together, and as the 
 sailing powers of the two vessels were pretty equal, 
 there was little danger of our being separated. Two 
 days after this it fell a dead calm. There we lay, not 
 quite steady, but rolling gently from side to side, moved 
 by the scarcely perceptihle and glassy undulations which 
 rose under our keels. The sails went flap-flap against 
 the masts in the most senseless manner, till M'Allister 
 ordered them to be furled to prevent the wear and tear 
 they were undergoing. As to the heat, I had never be- 
 fore felt any thing like it in the tropics. We could have 
 baked a leg of mutton almost, much more fried a beef- 
 steak, on the capstan-head, while below a dish of apples 
 might easily have been stewed. I remembered Mr. 
 Johnson's account of the heat in the West Indies, and 
 began to fear that he had not exaggerated it. It
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 253 
 
 went on growing hotter and hotter, or we felt the heat 
 more and more. The smoke from the chimney of the 
 galley went right up in a thin column, and hung in 
 wreaths over our heads, while that from our cigars, be- 
 ing of a lighter character, ascended above our noses, 
 and finally disappeared in the blue quivering air. The 
 Espoir lay within hail of a speaking trumpet, and as 
 we had nothing else to do, we carried on an animated 
 conversation with each other, not very dignified, but 
 highly amusing to all concerned. We had better have 
 held our tongues I suspect. Any departure from dis- 
 cipline is bad. The Frenchmen who were on deck 
 soon began to imitate our example, and, as they mostly 
 spoke in a patois or jargon which we of course could 
 not understand, we did not know what they were say- 
 ing. I thought I saw a peculiar expression on the 
 faces of some of them, especially when now and then 
 they glanced round and looked at our men. At last, I 
 told M'Allister that I fancied the Frenchmen were plot- 
 ting treason, and that it would be wise to make them 
 hold their tongues. He laughed at the notion, and 
 asked if I supposed a set of frog-eating, grinning 
 Frenchmen would dare to lift a finder against such a 
 crew of bull-dog P^nglishmen as were our men. 
 
 " I cannot say they wouldn't," I answered ; ° they 
 fought pretty toughly before they gave in." 
 
 " Very true, but they had a chance of victory then. 
 Now the chances would be all against them, and they 
 might expect to be pitched overboard if they failed," 
 he replied, turning away as if he did not like the sug- 
 gestion. He, however, soon after hailed Perigal, to say 
 
 22
 
 254 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 that he thought we had had enough of that, and then, 
 turning to the French prisoners, told them to hold their 
 tongues. After a time a mist seemed to be rising over 
 the water, but the heat in no way decreased. 
 
 " There is something coming," I observed to M'Allis- 
 ter. " What do you think ? " 
 
 " Christmas, or perhaps a breeze," he answered jok- 
 ingly ; " both to all appearances equally far off. I see 
 one thins, though, which would make me rather un- 
 
 O 7 o * 
 
 willing to jump overboard." He pointed to a black 
 triangular object, below which was a long shadowy 
 form that was moving slowly round the ship. " What's 
 that?" 
 
 "The boatswain's pet shark, I suppose," said I, 
 laughing. " I should almost expect to see the Doris 
 coming up with a breeze from the nor'ard," 
 
 " Just jump on his back, Merry, and see if he doesn't 
 carry you off up to the frigate. It would astonish them 
 not a little to see you coming," said McAllister. 
 
 " Thank you, I leave such wonderful performances to 
 wonderful people like Mr. Johnson," said I. 
 
 Just then the monster, turning up the white of his 
 undersides, made a dart at a black bottle and a wisp 
 of hay which had been thrown overboard in the morn- 
 ing. Down they went into his capacious maw. 
 
 " Unpleasant sort of pill. I wonder if the glass will 
 cut him," observed M-Allister. 
 
 I shuddered, for I could not help thinking what would 
 have been the fate of any human being who might 
 have happened to be overboard. The seamen had 
 found out their enemy, and were talking about him, and
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 255 
 
 watching his proceedings with suspicious glances. They 
 have an idea that when a shark follows a vessel some 
 one is about to die on board, and that he is waiting for 
 the corpse. Sharks have been known to follow vessels 
 for days together, but undoubtedly it is simply that 
 they may feed on the offal thrown overboard. Of 
 course if any seaman happens to die during the time, 
 unless he is lashed up in a hammock with a shot at 
 his feet, they are likely to be the gainers. I have, 
 however, very often seen them following a ship when 
 nobody has died. One example in support of a super- 
 stitious idea does more to confirm it in the minds of the 
 ignorant, than a hundred examples on the opposite side 
 do to weaken the belief in it. 
 
 Not long after this, Perigal hailed M'Allister, and 
 pointing round to the sky, told him that he did not like 
 the look of things. He then signed to us to strike our 
 topmasts, and make every thing snug aloft. At the same 
 moment the crew of the Espoir were seen swarming 
 aloft to shorten sail. We had our sails lowered. Hands 
 were now sent aloft to furl them carefully, and to strike 
 upper yards and topmasts. While the hands were thus 
 engaged, as I was standing by the compass to ascertain 
 the direction of the schooner's head, I saw Perigal 
 point to the westward, and make a sign to the men 
 aloft to hurry with their work. I did the same, though 
 we, having less to do, were ahead in our proceedings 
 of our consort. I saw enough to convince me that 
 there was no time to be lost. The blackest of black 
 clouds had gathered with a rapidity scarcely credible, 
 and were ru.-hing on toward us with headlong speed
 
 256 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 It was not as is often the case when a storm is brewing, 
 a few light clouds come first, like the skirmishers in 
 advance of an army ; but the whole body came on in 
 one dense mass, the sea below it foaming, and hissing, 
 and curling with a noise which we could hear even 
 before the wind reached us. A hurricane was coming, 
 and one of no ordinary violence. 
 
 " Lie down ! lie down, off the yards, all of you," 
 shouted M'Allister. The men required no second 
 command. A glance at the quickly changing sky and 
 water told them what was approaching. They slid 
 down the rigging, and in silence awaited the bursting 
 of the tornado. The Frenchmen who were on deck 
 looked pale and anxious, as if they dreaded the conse- 
 quences of the hurricane. Bambrick and another good 
 hand went to the helm. A part of the fore-staysail 
 was hoisted, just to pay the vessel's head off. We 
 were not long kept in suspense. With a loud hiss 
 and a roar like thunder the hurricane struck us. The 
 6chooner heeled over to the gale ; I thought she was 
 going over altogether. Many fancied so likewise, and 
 cries of terror escaped from several of the Frenchmen. 
 Lieutenant Preville uttered an expression of annoyance 
 at the pusillanimity of his countrymen. 
 
 " They are brave garcons, though," he exclaimed, 
 " and fight like heroes with mortal foes of flesh and 
 blood ; but they are not like you bull-dog English, who 
 fear neither mortals nor spirits, and would do battle 
 with the prince of darkness himself, if you met him 
 in the open seas on board any craft he might be able 
 to charter."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 257 
 
 What more the lieutenant might have said I do not 
 know, for the howling of the tempest drowned his voice. 
 The foaming seas began to rush up the schooner's deck, 
 and dense masses of spray flew over her. I thought, 
 indeed, that she was gone; but, recovering from the 
 effects of the first blast, she rose a little when her stay- 
 sail felt the force of the wind. Round went her head : 
 another blast stronger than the first blew the canvas 
 from the bolt-ropes, but the desired effect had been 
 produced, and away she flew under bare poles through 
 the ocean of seething foam ; the wind howling and 
 shrieking, and the waters hissing and roaring as we 
 passed over them. 
 
 Till that moment, all my attention having been con- 
 centrated on our own craft, I had not thought of our 
 consort. I now looked out for her. She was not to be 
 found in the direction where I expected to see her. I 
 cast my eyes round anxiously on every side. The at- 
 mosphere was now so dense with spray torn up from 
 the surface of the ocean that the extent of our horizon 
 was much limited. Yet I fancied that we must still be 
 close to our consort. In vain I looked round. I called 
 out to M'Allister and told my fears. Certain it was 
 that the Espoir was nowhere to be seen. I felt very 
 sad. I could not help dreading that the Espoir had 
 been struck as we were, and being less prepared, had 
 capsized and gone over. I thought what had become 
 of poor Gray, my constant firm friend, and honest 
 Perigal, and I pictured to myself how his young wife 
 would mourn his loss, and whether, if I ever got home, 
 I should have to go and tell her how it had happened. 
 
 22*
 
 258 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 I remembered that huge monster of a shark, which had 
 been swimming round the vessels, and I bethought me 
 that he had come for them if not for us. I was not 
 singular, for when the Espoir was missed by others, as 
 was soon the case when they began to lose fear for 
 themselves, I heard Bambrick observe to his companion 
 at the helm, " I thought so ; I know'd that brute hadn't 
 come for nothing ; they always knows better nor we or 
 the port-admiral himself what's in the wind. He was 
 as sartain sure as cheese is cheese that this here Harry- 
 cane was a coming long before we'd even a notion that 
 it was a brewing." 
 
 The other seaman shook his head with a grave look, 
 as he answered, " I wonder how many of them poor 
 fellows he's got down his hungry maw by this time ! " 
 
 Such was the style of conversation among our men. 
 What the Frenchmen were saying I do not know. 
 They very soon recovered their spirits and courage, and 
 began laughing and chattering, and dancing about the 
 decks in higher spirits than ever. Perhaps they did 
 not always intend to move, but the now fast rising seas 
 gave the lively little vessel sudden and unexpected 
 jerks, which sent them jumping forward or aft, or from 
 side to side, whenever they happened not to be holding 
 on to any thing. Still I did not feel that we were al- 
 together free from danger. The hurricane blew fiercer 
 and fiercer, the sea got up also rapidly, and threw the 
 vessel about in a way which made it very difficult to 
 steer before it. Fortunately our topmasts were housed, 
 or they would have been jerked overboard. I asked 
 M'Allister what he proposed doing.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 259 
 
 " Doing ! Why, of course, scud on till the hurricane 
 has blown itself out," he answered. 
 
 " But doesn't the wind sometimes shift in a hurri- 
 cane, and blow more furiously from another quarter ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " Of course it does, and perhaps it will, and we shall 
 be blown back again as far as we have come," he said, 
 taking a look at the compass. 
 
 " But suppose it was to blow us back further than we 
 have come," I observed. 
 
 " Merry, just go and bring the chart to the companion 
 stair," was his answer. " It will be blown away if we 
 have it on deck, and I cannot go below just now." 
 
 I brought the chart, of which he took a rapid glance. 
 Eastward, as we were now driving, we had plenty of 
 sea-room, and in a wholesome craft like ours, there was 
 nothing to fear ; but westward there was the coast of 
 Central America, fringed by rocks and sandbanks, on 
 which many a noble ship has been stranded since Co- 
 lumbus discovered the western world. 
 
 " It is to be hoped that the wind will not shift," he 
 answered. " It does not always. Don't let us antici- 
 pate evil." 
 
 Lieutenant Preville inquired what we were talking 
 about. We told him. He shrugged his shoulders. 
 "Patience; the fortune of war; we seamen must al- 
 ways be subject to such reverses," he remarked. 
 
 " The Frenchman takes things easily," observed 
 M-AUister. "I wish that I could do so." 
 
 I had never before pictured to myself what a West 
 India hurricane really was. At times I thought that
 
 260 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 the schooner would be blown fairly out of the water. 
 How her masts remained in her was a puzzle, from the 
 way she jerked and rolled, and plunged madly onward, 
 struggling away from the seas which seemed every mo- 
 ment as if they would catch and overwhelm her. Even 
 though thus flying before the gale, we felt as if we 
 should be blown down, had we not kept a good grip of 
 the bulwarks, and those forward had hard work to make 
 their way aft. Suddenly there was a lull. The effect 
 was curious ; I can liken it to nothing but when, by 
 shutting a thick door, some loud hubbub of angry voices 
 is no longer heard. The schooner tumbled about just 
 as much as before, or even more, but, instead of being 
 driven onward, she was thrown madly from wave to 
 wave, backwards and forwards ; it seemed as if they 
 were playing a game of ball with her. McAllister or- 
 dered me to hurry forward and to get some head-sail on 
 the schooner. Some of the lower parts of the forestay- 
 sail remained. There was no time to bend a new one. 
 There had been a little wind before ; it now fell a dead 
 calm ; the smoke of a cigar would have ascended as it 
 had done a few hours before. It proved but treacher- 
 ous : I positively jumped from the suddenness with 
 which the hurricane again struck the vessel, and, as we 
 had apprehended, from the eastward. Happily the sail 
 this time produced the desired effect, turning her head 
 from the wind, and then away the canvas flew from the 
 bolt-ropes far off upon the gale. Onward we drove as 
 before, still more tossed and tumbled. Had our friend, 
 Colonel Pinchard, been with us, he would have had 
 Eome reason to complain of the mal de mer. The Auda*
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 261 
 
 cieuse was a strong tight vessel, or she would have 
 sprung a dozen leaks and gone down, with all the knock- 
 ing about she got. She, however, remained as dry as a 
 bottle. Still, as we rushed on, every instant approach- 
 ing nearer and nearer the rocks and sandbanks of the 
 coast of Central America, our anxiety increased. It 
 was vain to hope that we could heave to, or in any way 
 stop our mad career. We had done all that could be 
 done, and had now only calmly to wait our fate, what- 
 ever Providence had designed that should be. It is 
 under such circumstances as this, that the courage and 
 resignation of men are most severely tried. All action 
 has of necessity ceased, the body is at rest, the mind 
 has now full time for thought. Numberless acts of the 
 past life rise up to the recollection, many a deed, and 
 thought, and word, which must bring either pain or fear \ 
 principles undergo a test which the wrong and baseless 
 cannot bear. Death looks terribly near. What can 
 stand a man in good stead on an occasion like this ? 
 One thing, and one thing alone — sound Bible religion ; 
 a firm faith in Him who took our nature upon Him, and 
 died for our sins, and rose again, that He might present 
 us, rising with Him, faultless before the throne of Grace. 
 I say that is the only thing that can make a man feel 
 perfectly happy under such circumstances. I have seen 
 many men stand boldly up to meet expected death, who 
 have no such hope, no such confidence ; but their cheeks 
 have been pah;, their lips have quivered, and oh, the 
 agony depicted in their eyes. The soul was speaking 
 through them, and told of its secret dread. Let no one 
 be deceived by the outward show, the gallant bearing
 
 262 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 of a man. Too often, all within is terror, horror un- 
 speakable, of the near-approaching, unknown future. 
 
 We had still a long way to drive before we could 
 reach the neighborhood of the dreadful shoals and reefs. 
 Most of the men, probably, were ignorant of the risks 
 we were about to encounter. Happily, perhaps, for sea- 
 men, they seldom realize danger till it presents itself 
 palpably before them. The Frenchmen, after a time 
 gaining confidence, began to laugh and joke as before. 
 Our men stood calm and grave at their posts. Not that 
 they saw danger or felt fear, but that they were engaged 
 in their duty, and knew that much depended on their 
 steadiness and courage. Night came on ; it was far 
 more trying than the day. I felt very tired ; but as to 
 turning in, that was out of the question. Hours after 
 hours we flew on, plunging headlong through the dark- 
 ness, and often, to my excited imagination, strange 
 shrieks and cries seemed to come out of the obscurity. 
 Once, as we flew on, as I stood watching black masses 
 of water rising on our quarter and rolling on abeam of 
 us, I fancied that I saw a large ship, her hull with her 
 lofty masts towering up to the skies close to us. It ap- 
 peared as if another send of the sea would have driven 
 us aboard her. I thought that I could distinguish people 
 leaning over her bulwarks watching us with longing 
 eyes. There was a gush of waters from her scuppers. 
 I could hear the clang of the pumps; she was already 
 deep in the water, rolling heavily ; cries arose from her 
 decks ; lower and lower she sank. I watched her with 
 straining eyes. A dark sea rose up between her and 
 the schooner. She was no longer where she had been :
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 2G3 
 
 the tracery of hei masts and rigging appeared for an 
 instant above the water, and then sank forever. I 
 uttered a cry of regret. McAllister shouted to me, and 
 asked me why I had gone to sleep. I declared that I 
 had been wide awake, and told him what I had seen. 
 
 " You've sharper eyes than any one else," he an- 
 swered. " You must have been asleep ; we passed no 
 ship, depend on that." 
 
 I insisted on it that we had, and that he had not been 
 looking out as I had ; and from that day to this day I 
 am uncertain which was right. I must, however, own 
 that none of the men had seen the sinking ship ; but 
 then I hold that neither were they looking out ; and it 
 was but a few moments that she was in sight. 
 
 " Had all on board seen her, we could have rendered 
 her hapless crew no assistance," I thought to myself: 
 " so it does not signify." 
 
 On we drove. I never spent a more trying night at 
 sea. I thought the morning never would come, or the 
 gale end. The morning, however, did come, as it always 
 does for those who wait for it. We were still driving on 
 furiously, and as the cold gray light of the early dawn 
 broke on the world of waters, the tossing ocean seemed 
 more foam-covered and agitated than even on the pre- 
 vious day. I could see no signs of the cessation of the 
 hurricane, nor did M'AUister. Bambrick, however, 
 observed that he thought there was less wind, and that 
 it blew with more steadiness than before. The French- 
 men gave no opinion ; indeed, most of them were below 
 asleep. I worked my way forward to look out ahead 
 I stood by the side of the man stationed there for some 
 minutes.
 
 264 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " The sea is terribly broken away on the starboard 
 bow there," I said. 
 
 " Yes, sir, I don't like the looks of it," was the answer 
 as we continued gazing. We did not speak again for 
 some minutes. It was as I feared though. 
 
 " Breakers ! breakers ahead ! " we both simultane- 
 ously shouted. " Breakers ! breakers on the starboard 
 bow ! " 
 
 " Starboard the helm," cried M'Allister, in a deep 
 tone, without the slightest sign of agitation. It was 
 doubtful if the vessel would feel the effect of the helm 
 sufficiently to prevent her drifting bodily to leeward. 
 On we drove. Another moment might see the vessel 
 and all on board hurled to destruction. The stoutest 
 vessel ever built could not hold together for two minutes 
 should she strike on rock or sandbank with the awful 
 sea then running dashing over her. I drew my breath 
 short and clenched my teeth as we approached the 
 broken water. The spray flew over our mast heads. 
 Still we did not strike ; the dreaded breakers appeared 
 abeam. We had passed the head of a bank or reef. 
 I saw some rocks and sand with a few trees in the dis- 
 tance, probably part of an island, easily discerned under 
 ordinary circumstances above water. The danger for 
 the moment was past, but there was no doubt that we 
 had reached that portion of the Caribbean sea most 
 studded with danger. Any moment we might again be 
 among reefs. All we could do was to look out ahead, 
 and pray and hope that we might escape them, as we 
 had done the first. Half an hour or twenty minutes 
 passed ; some tall palm-trees amid the misty atmosphere
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 265 
 
 appeared bending to the breeze on the larboard bow. It 
 was doubtful whether reef's might not run out to the 
 northward, and if so we could scarcely escape striking 
 on them. The helm was, however, put to port, that we 
 might pass as far as we could from the inland. McAllis- 
 ter hurried forward, and, taking a steady look, declared 
 his conviction that there was a reef to the northward of 
 the island, and that if we could get a little sail on the 
 schooner, we might run under its lee and ride in safety 
 till the tempest was over. The very thought of the 
 possibility of this renewed our spirits. The wind had 
 certainly lessened. Rousing up the Frenchmen to lend 
 a hand, we got a main-trysail and fore-staysail hoisted. 
 The little craft heeled over as, once more putting the 
 helm to starboard, we brought her closer to the wind, in 
 a way which made it seem probable that she would 
 never recover herself; but she did, though ; and now we 
 flew on, plunging through the seas which broke on our 
 larboard quarter toward the island. We drove, of course, 
 to leeward very fast, but still we had hopes that we might 
 round its northern end before we drove past it altogether. 
 Everybody on board stood clustered on deck, watching 
 the island, and ever and anon casting anxious glances 
 at the canvas. It stood now, though an hour before it 
 would not have done so. We approached the island. 
 
 " Breakers ! breakers on the starboard bow ! breakers 
 on the larboard bow ! " shouted the men forward. I 
 caught si<dit of some less broken water ahead. We 
 steered toward it. In another moment our fate would 
 be decided. We flew on; the sea broke terrifically on 
 either hand, but the schooner did not strike. The 
 
 23
 
 266 MARMADUKE MEKRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 water became calmer — the island grew more and 
 more abeam. We flattened in the canvas, and, standing 
 toward the land, in another ten minutes found ourselves 
 in a sheltered bay, where, though our mastheads still 
 felt the force of the gale, the wind scarcely reached us on 
 deck. Our anchor was dropped and we rode in safety. 
 I could have fallen on my knees and thanked Heaven 
 for our merciful preservation from so many dangers, but 
 such an act was not in accordance with our usual habits, 
 and I was kept back from fear of what my companions 
 would say. How miserable and contemptible is such 
 a feeling ! We are not afraid of displeasing our all- 
 beneficent Creator, or appearing ungrateful for His 
 mercies, and we are afraid of the ridicule of our fellow- 
 men, or even of a sneer from the lips of those we despise 
 the most. I dare say, if the truth were known, that 
 M'Allister, Bambrick, and others felt exactly as I did, 
 and yet we were positively afraid of showing our feel- 
 ings to each other. What a contrast did our present 
 position exhibit to the wild tossing to and fro, and the 
 strife of elements we had just passed through. Here 
 (for the wind dropped rapidly) all was calm and quiet ; 
 the mist dissipated, the sun shone forth, and the blue 
 waters of the bay sparkled as they rippled gently on the 
 light yellow sand, strewed with numberless beautifully- 
 colored shells ; while numerous tall palm-trees and 
 shrubs of lower growth formed a bright fringe of green 
 round the shores of the bay. 
 
 As we wanted water, and all agreed that some fresh 
 cocoa-nuts would be very pleasant, I took a boat with 
 four hands, two Englishmen and two Frenchmen, and,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 267 
 
 accompanied by Lieutenant Preville, pulled on shore. 
 I also took a fowling-piece, in the hopes of getting a 
 shot at some birds. There was no lack of cocoa-nuts, 
 which the hurricane had blown off on the ground, many 
 of the trees themselves being laid prostrate. We had to 
 hunt about some time before we found a spring. At 
 length we came on one overshadowed by trees, where, by 
 clearing away the ground with our spades, we could fill 
 our casks. 1 with the two Englishmen were still at the 
 spring, when the French lieutenant and his two coun- 
 trymen were rolling down a cask to the boat. I fol- 
 lowed, and when yet at some distance, I saw the 
 Frenchman step into the boat and begin shoving off. I 
 ran on, and having some bullets in my waistcoat pocket, 
 I dropped one down the barrel of my fowling-piece, 
 which I presented at the lieutenant's head, ordering him 
 to come back. He did not at first pay any attention to 
 my threats ; I hailed again, and told him that I had 
 loaded with a bullet, and that I did not approve of the 
 joke he was playing. I at the same time saw some of 
 the Frenchmen on board the schooner making signs to 
 him. Suddenly, he turned round, as if he had only just 
 seen me, and the boat pulled back to the shore. 
 
 " I demand a thousand pardons, monsieur," he ex- 
 claimed, with the blandest of smiles. " I was only 
 joking, but I am afraid from your countenance, that my 
 vivacity carried me too far." He went on for a consid- 
 erable time in this style, till my two men came down 
 with their cask, and then, shoving off, we returned on 
 board. I asked M'Allister if he had observed any 
 thing peculiar in the behavior of the prisoners while I 
 was on shore.
 
 268 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " I was below for a short time, and when I came on 
 deck I found them clustering on the rigging forward," 
 he answered carelessly. " I called them down, as it is 
 against orders, and they immediately obeyed." 
 
 I told him of the odd conduct of Lieutenant Preville ; 
 but he observed that he thought it was only the French- 
 man's joke, though it might be wise to keep a stricter 
 look-out on the prisoners than we had lately done. We 
 had little time, however, for, pretty well worn out with 
 the fatigues we had endured for the last four-and-twen- 
 ty hours, we were glad to take the opportunity of being 
 in a snug harbor to turn in and go to sleep. Before 
 doing so, however, I told Bambrick, who had charge of 
 the deck, to direct the sentry placed over the prisoners, 
 to keep his weather eye open, lest they should play us 
 any trick. Tops are said to sleep soundly ; I know from 
 experience that midshipmen do. From the moment I 
 put my head on the pillow it seemed but a moment that 
 I was roused up to keep the morning watch. I found 
 a light breeze blowing from the southward. It would 
 not do to lose this opportunity of getting clear out to 
 sea agai.i : so I went down to M'Allister, who soon 
 joined me, and agreed that I was right. The anchor 
 was weighed, and under easy sail we ran out through 
 the passage by which we had entered this harbor of 
 refuge. As I lc ked on the rocks on either side, now 
 showing their dark heads above water, it seemed won- 
 derful how, with so terrific a hurricane blowing, we had 
 safely entered. How often thus through life are we 
 steered safely by a merciful Providence, amidst hosts 
 of dangers which we do not at the time see, and for
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 26$ 
 
 protection against which we are but too often most mis- 
 erably unthankful. We were soon clear of the island, 
 out it was necessary to keep a very bright look-out to 
 avoid running on the reefs which we had before escaped. 
 Several times we saw rocks on either hand, and break- 
 ers still dashing wildly up, showing that reefs or banks 
 were there, and more and more astonished were we 
 that we had passed between them in safety. Lieuten- 
 ant PreVille shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "It would need a good pilot to carry a vessel in safe- 
 ty between those reefs as we came yesterday," he ob- 
 served. " But, after all, the best pilot is the Goddess 
 Chance, who guided us." 
 
 " Chance, monsieur ! Chance ! " exclaimed M'Allis- 
 ter, with a vehemence in which he seldom indulged. 
 " I do not believe that there is such a thing as chance, 
 much less a goddess. I am not going to discuss the 
 subject, only don't talk to me of chance." 
 
 The Frenchman again shrugged his shoulders, hoped 
 that he had not given offence, and walked away, hum- 
 ming a tune. He continued, however, as polite and 
 obliging as at first. He declared that we wanted a good 
 dinner after our labors, and insisted on cooking it. Ho 
 outshone himself, and with some shell-fish we had picked 
 up, and two birds I had shot, produced some wonderful- 
 ly delicious dishes. The wind held fair, but it was 
 light, and it required us constantly to be on the look-out 
 to thread our way among the dangers which surrounded 
 us. Our anxiety, too, was very great for the fate of 
 cur consort. She was nowhere to be seen, and our 
 fears were increased that she had gone down when 
 23*
 
 270 MARMADUKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 first struck by the hurricane. We did not breathe 
 freely till we were well out at sea, clear of all reefs and 
 shoals. Lieutenant Preville especially complimented us 
 on the seamanship we had displayed, and assured us that 
 it was a great satisfaction to him to have been our ship- 
 mate through so trying an event. M'AUister and I 
 now agreed that if we did not fall in with the Espoir, it 
 was undouhtedly our duty to return to Jamaica. We 
 accordingly cruised about for two days, and then shaped 
 a course for that island. The next night it was my 
 middle watch on deck. It had struck seven bells, and I 
 was contemplating the satisfaction I should feel in turn- 
 ing in and going to sleep, when I suddenly found the 
 French lieutenant walking by my side. This was 
 against rule, as none of the prisoners were allowed to 
 come on deck at night without the permission of the 
 officer of the watch. He apologized, saying that he 
 was oppressed with the heat, and knew that I would 
 allow him to come. In a little time he professed to 
 6ee a light ahead, and induced me to walk forward to 
 look at it. Just as I was abreast of the foremast I 
 found my arms seized, a gag thrust into my mouth, and 
 a handkerchief bound over my eyes, so that I could 
 neither struggle, cry out, nor see what was going for- 
 ward. The horrible conviction came on me that the 
 Frenchmen were attempting to recapture the vessel. 
 I hoped that M'AUister might be awake, as he was 
 so soon to relieve me. The suspense, however, was 
 terrible. I found myself secured to the bulwarks, and 
 left to my cogitations. I argued the worst, because 
 ♦here was no cry ; no shots fired. There I sat, it
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSFIIPMAN. 271 
 
 seemed an age, listening for some sounds. I was almost 
 sure that the Frenchman had mastered all our people 
 on deck, even Ned Bambrick. At length I heard one 
 French seaman speaking; he was making a report to 
 Lieutenant Preville. A loud cheer was the response, 
 " Vive 1'Empereur, vive la France ! " I knew full well 
 hy this, that they were in entire possession of the vessel. 
 My heart sank within me. It was bad enough to lose 
 our prize; it would be worse to be thrown overboard, 
 or to have our throats cut. I did not, however, think 
 that the Frenchmen would do that. They would take 
 very good care, though, that we did not regain the 
 vessel. Such being the case, I really felt almost indif- 
 ferent as to what became of us. After all the civility we 
 had shown Lieutenant Preville, I thought that he might 
 as well have released me from my uncomfortable posi- 
 tion, with my arms lashed tightly behind me, and a gag 
 in my mouth. I heard some orders issued in French, 
 and the blocks rattling, and yards creaking, as if the 
 sails were being trimmed, and the schooner's course 
 altered. Hour after hour passed by, at last I fell asleep 
 with a crick in my neck, and the sound of a Frenchman's 
 voice in my ear. 
 
 "Oh pauvre miserable!" said the voice; " why we 
 forgot him." 
 
 Such was the fact, not very complimentary to my 
 importance. I had been overlooked. The speaker 
 to' 117 the handkerchief off my eyes. It was daylight, 
 and the schooner was running under all sail before a 
 fair breeze. 
 
 Lieutenant Preville soon appeared, and, telling th«
 
 272 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 men to cast me loose, invited me, in a tone of irony, 
 I fancied, to join my brother officer at breakfast with 
 him. 
 
 Poor M'Allister looked dreadfully cast down. We 
 took our seats in silence. Our host, who had yesterday 
 been our guest, was in high spirits. 
 
 " It is the fortune of war, you well know, Monsieur 
 Merry," he observed with a provoking smile. " Brave 
 garcons like you know how to bear such reverses with 
 equanimity. I can feel for you, though, believe me. 
 Monsieur M'Allister, I drink to your health, though I 
 fear that you will not be a lieutenant as soon as you 
 expected. Here, take some of this claret, it will revive 
 your spirits." 
 
 My messmate seized the decanter of wine, which it 
 is the custom of the French to have on the table at 
 breakfast, and drank off a large tumbler. He drew a 
 long breath after he had done so. 
 
 " You have the advantage of us this time undoubt- 
 edly, Monsieur Preville," he exclaimed bitterly ; " but 
 a day will come when we shall meet together on equal 
 terms, and then, I hope, as brave men we shall fight it 
 out to the death." 
 
 " With pleasure, assuredly," answered the French- 
 man, with the politest of bows and smiles. " But in 
 the mean time you must endeavor to restrain your 
 impetuosity. At present it would be impossible to give 
 you the satisfaction you require." 
 
 " Poor M'Allister ground his teeth ; the words were 
 taunting, but the expression of the Frenchman's coun- 
 tenance was more so. He would have sprung up and
 
 MARMADUKE MEItRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 273 
 
 fought him then and there, with carving-knives or any 
 weapons at hand ; hut he restrained himself for a good 
 reason. The lieutenant had a brace of loaded pistols 
 by his side on the table, and two seamen stood on 
 either side of us with loaded muskets, ready to blow 
 out our brains, had we exhibited any signs of insubor- 
 dination. M'Allister went on eating his breakfast in 
 silence. 
 
 The lieutenant pointed to the men and to his pistols. 
 
 " These are to do you honor," he observed. " They 
 are the greatest compliment we can pay to your bravery. 
 Unless you were handcuffed, I should not think myself 
 safe a moment." 
 
 " We did not treat you so," I remarked. 
 
 "No my friend," he replied, smiling; "but you are 
 prisoners, and I have regained command of my schooner." 
 
 I had not a word to say, but I resolved to profit by 
 the lesson in my future career. 
 
 We were not allowed to communicate with any of 
 our men, who were kept under strict watch forward, 
 and only permitted to come on deck one at a time, in 
 charge of a sentry. M'Allister and I even had no op- 
 portunity of communicating with each other. When we 
 went on deck, an armed man walked up and down by 
 our side, and when we approached the compass, we 
 were ordered away, so that we could not tell what 
 course we were steering, except by guessing from the 
 position of the sun. 
 
 Of course, with all the care the Frenchmen took, we 
 had very little hopes of being able to retake the sclioon 
 er. Neither could we tell what was to be done with us,
 
 2/4 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 nor did Lieutenant Preville think fit to inform us. 
 After all our anticipations of prize money and pleasure 
 on shore, to have the inside of a French prison alone in 
 view, was very galling to our feelings. M'Allister could 
 do nothing but mourn his hard fate, and mutter threat- 
 ening^ against France and Frenchmen should he ever 
 regain his liberty. Our only hope was that one of our 
 own cruisers might fall in with the Audacieuse, and 
 that we might thus be set at liberty. Consequently, 
 whenever we were on deck we scanned the horizon 
 anxiously, resolved, if we caught sight of a sail, not to 
 give the Frenchmen too early a notice of the fact. At 
 last one day we lay becalmed while a thick mist had 
 settled down over the ocean. I began to fear that we 
 were going to have another hurricane. The French- 
 men did not think so, but took things very easily. The 
 look-out came down from aloft, and, except the man 
 who was placed as sentry over us, all hands employed 
 themselves in mending their clothes and in other similar 
 occupations. The man at the helm stood leaning on 
 the tiller, lazily watching his companion. Suddenly to 
 the westward I saw the mist lift, and, directly under the 
 canopy thus formed, I distinctly saw a large ship stand- 
 ing down under all sail toward us. I was afraid by 
 word or sign to point her out to M'Allister, and dreaded 
 lest the expression of my countenance might draw the 
 attention of any of the crew toward her. She could 
 not fail to pass close to us if she continued on the course 
 she was steering. I only hoped that the mist would 
 lift again, in time to show the Audacieuse to those on 
 board her. The mist seemed much to my satisfaction
 
 MARMADUKE MEKRY, THE MIDSniPMAN. 275 
 
 to be settling down again, when at that instant Lieuten- 
 ant PreVille came on deck. His quick eye instantly 
 detected the stranger. Having uttered some forcible 
 expletives as to his opinion of his crew's conduct in not 
 keeping a better look-out, he ordered the sails to be 
 trimmed, and every stitch of canvas the schooner could 
 carry to be set in readiness for the coming breeze. 
 M'AUister's and my eagerness may be easily conceived. 
 We both had an idea that the ship was English, and 
 that she would bring up the breeze. What was our 
 disappointment, then, when we saw the schooner's sails 
 tilling out. Away she glided before the breeze. The 
 mist soon afterwards entirely cleared away, and ex- 
 hibited the stranger about two miles off. By her build 
 and the cut of her sails she was English. When she 
 saw us, all sail was made on board her ; but the Auda- 
 cieuse had a fast pair of heels, and it was soon evident 
 that she was leaving her pursuer far astern. Our hopes 
 sank and sank, and by nightfall we had run her out of 
 sight. When morning returned the stranger was no- 
 where to be seen. 
 
 Four days thus passed by. They were far from 
 agreeable ones. Early on the sixth we found a sub- 
 stantial breakfast on the table, and after we had par- 
 taken of it with a suspicion that it was to be our last on 
 board, we were ordered on deck. Here we found the 
 schooner hove to, and all our people assembled, while 
 alongside lay one of the schooner's boats, with oars and 
 masts and sails, a water cask, and some hampers and 
 cases of provisions. There was a tarpaulin, and tho 
 boat was fitted in other respects as far as she could be 
 to perform a long voyage.
 
 276 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " There, my friends," observed the lieutenant ; u 1 
 wish to part with you on friendly terms. I do not 
 desire to keep you as prisoners, as I am bound on a long 
 cruise, and I hope that you may regain your own ship 
 in safety. I will give you your course for Jamaica, 
 which you may reach in a week ; farewell." 
 
 We had not a word to say against this arrangement, 
 so, thanking the Frenchman for his courtesy, we fol- 
 lowed our men, who had before been ordered into the 
 boats. Even M'Allister could not help putting out his 
 hand and exclaiming, "You are brave, as are most 
 Frenchmen, but you are honest and kind-hearted, and 
 that is more than I, for one, will say of some of your 
 countrymen. 
 
 The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders and laughed 
 as he shook our hands. He was in high good spirits, 
 as well he might be. We stepped into the boat, and he 
 waved his hand ; we shoved off, and bowing as politely 
 as we could force ourselves to do, we hoisted our sails 
 and shaped a course for Jamaica. The Audacieuse 
 611ed, and then, hauling her wind, stood away to the 
 eastward.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 277 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 It was satisfactory to be once more at liberty, but a 
 voyage in an open boat across the Caribbean sea, when 
 it was possible that we might have to encounter another 
 hurricane, was not altogether an exploit we should have 
 undertaken if we had had our choice. However, as we 
 had plenty of provisions and enough water, we had no 
 reason to complain. We found, indeed, on looking over 
 our stores to select some food for our dinner, that there 
 were a dozen of claret and six bottles of brandy. 
 
 " Really, that fellow Preville is a trump," I exclaimed, 
 as I poured out a glass of the former, and handed it to 
 McAllister. " We'll drink his health, for he deserves it. 
 Come, rouse up, my boy. It's good liquor ; you'll not 
 deny that." 
 
 " I'll drink his health and long life to him, that we 
 may have a better chance of meeting together in mortal 
 combat," answered my messmate, gloomily. " To have 
 our hard-won prize stolen out of our hands in this way 
 — it's more than I can bear. And to have to make our 
 appearance on board the frigate without our vessel, and 
 to report the loss of poor Perigal and the others, is even 
 worse." 
 
 I did my best to rouse up McAllister, and to make 
 him see matters in a more cheerful light, hut it was no 
 easy matter. lie was ever dwelling on the fact that the 
 prize had been placed under his charge, and that he had 
 
 24
 
 278 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 lost her. I was sometimes almost afraid that, if not 
 watched at night, he would he jumping overboard, so 
 gloomy did he become. Bambrick entertained the same 
 idea also, I suspected, and I was glad to see that he 
 watched him narrowly. We also did our best to amuse 
 him, and I got the men to sing songs and spin yarns 
 from morning till night. Only one story told by Ned 
 Bambrick seemed to afford him much amusement. 
 
 " You must know, sir, when I was paid off during the 
 last peace, I joined a South Sea whaler. You've heard 
 tell of Botany Bay. Well, that's nowhere, or that's to 
 say, it is not the place where they send prisoners. But 
 there's a fine harbor near it, which they call Port Jack- 
 son, and up it there's a town which they call the Camp, 
 but which has now got the name of Sydney. It's what 
 they call a colony ; that's to say, a good number of peo- 
 ple of all sorts, besides convicts, goes out there, and 
 they've a governor set over them, who rules the land 
 just like any king. He's a right, real sort of a gover- 
 nor, to my mind, for he makes the laws and sees that 
 they are obeyed too. He won't stand no nonsense, and 
 though he doesn't wear a wig and gown, like the judges 
 at home, he sits in a court and tries all them who doesn't 
 do what they ought. He hears both parties, and when 
 they've done, he sings out, ' Haul in the slack of your 
 jaw tackle, and belay all that,' and then he goes for to 
 say what each party must do, and he won't hear a word 
 more from either of them. Well, as I was a saying, I 
 joined a South Sea whaler. I can't say as how I had 
 a pleasant time aboard, but it was better than others 
 had. Our captain was one of them chaps as always
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TriE MIDSHIPMAN. 279 
 
 does what they choose, and he pretty often chose to do 
 what was very bad. He had a quarrel with the doctor 
 of the ship, who was a very decent, well-behaved young 
 man, and not wanting in spirit. Their disputes went 
 on from bad to worse, so what does he do one day, 
 but call four or five hands aft, fellows always ready to 
 do any dirty work for a glass of grog, and getting hold 
 of the poor doctor, clap him into one of the hen-coops. 
 ' Now,' says he, ' you'll stay there till you beg my 
 pardon.' ' I'll never beg your pardon,' says the doctor. 
 ' I'll see if I can't make you,' says the captain. Well, 
 would you believe it? the captain kept the poor doctor 
 in there, day after day, and always took his meals to 
 him himself, cut up into little bits, so that he could 
 eat them with a spoon. When he put in the plate, he 
 always used to sing out, ' Coopity ! coopity ! coopity ! ' 
 just as he would have done if he was feeding the fowls. 
 It aggravated the poor doctor, but he couldn't help 
 himself. No one dared speak to the captain, who 
 always walked about with a brace of pistols in his belt, 
 and swore he'd shoot any one who interfered with him. 
 You may be sure I and others felt for the doctor when 
 the savage used to go to him, with a grin on his face, 
 and sing out, ' Coopity ! coopity ! coopity ! ' The doctor 
 would have been starved if he hadn't taken the food 
 when the captain brought it him, with his ' Coopity ! 
 coopity ! coopity ! ' 
 
 " At last, one day, the doctor wouldn't stand it any 
 longer; so Baya he, ' If you don't let me out of this, 
 I'll make you sing out " Coopity, coopity " from the 
 other side of your mouth ; so look out.' The captain
 
 380 MARMADTIKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 laughed at him, and went on as before. However, we 
 had to put into Port Jackson to refit, and it came to 
 the ears of the governor that our skipper had a man 
 shut up in a hen-coop ; so he sent some soldiers aboard, 
 and had the doctor taken out and brought ashore. 
 Then there was a regular trial, and the governor heard 
 what the doctor had to say, and the skipper and we 
 had to say, and then he says, ' I decide that you, 
 Captain Crowfoot, shall pay Dr. M'Grath two hundred 
 golden guineas before you leave this court.' The cap- 
 tain, with many wry faces, began to make all sorts of 
 excuses, but the governor wouldn't listen to one of them, 
 and Captain Crowfoot had to get a merchant to hand 
 him out two bags of guineas. ' Count them, captain, 
 count them,' says the governor; and as the skipper 
 counted them out on the table, the doctor stood by with 
 another bag, and as he swept them in with his hand, he 
 kept singing out ' Coopity, coopity, coopity.' Really it 
 was pleasant to hear the doctor go on with his ' Coopity, 
 coopity, coopity.' Everybody in the court laughed, and, 
 I believe you, the skipper was glad enough to get away 
 when he had counted out all his money, and there was 
 a regular cheer of ' Coopity, coopity, coopity,' as he 
 rushed out of the court." I had not seen M'Allister 
 laugh since we had lost the prize. He now gave way 
 to a hearty peal, exclaiming, " Ha ! ha ! ha ! I'll make 
 the French lieutenant sing out ' Coopity, coopity, coopity,' 
 before the world is many years older." 
 
 I need not describe all that occurred in the boat. 
 We made fair way while the wind continued fair, and 
 the weather favorable, but Jamaica still seemed a long
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 281 
 
 distance off. It is a large island, however, so that 
 there was not much chance of our missing it. Four 
 days had passed since we left the Audacieuse, when 
 about midnight the wind suddenly shifted to the north- 
 ward, and what was worse, it came on to blow very hard. 
 We closely reefed our sail, and hove to, but the seas 
 constantly broke over us, and we were obliged to keep 
 two hands baling, or we should have been swamped. 
 It was bad enough as it was, but it might come on worse, 
 and then, would the boat swim? That was a question. 
 That was a dreary night. The rain came down too — 
 as it knows well how to do in the tropics. We had no 
 want of water, but we unwisely neglected to fill our 
 casks. Expecting to make a quick run, we had not 
 stinted ourselves in the use of water. Of course the 
 boat all this time was drifting to leeward, and we 
 were losing all the distance we had made good during 
 the last day or so ; if the gale continued, we should 
 lose still more. At last daylight came, but the wind 
 blew as hard as ever — half a gale at all events. Two 
 whole days more it blew. At last it ceased, but it left 
 us a hundred miles nearly further from our destination 
 than when it commenced. This was bad enough, but 
 though there was little of it remaining, that little was 
 in our teeth. We, however, hauled our wind, and 
 tried to beat up. When the sea went down we got the 
 oars out, and lowering the sails, pulled head to wind. 
 It was greatly trying to the men, to know that after 
 toiling away for hours, the entire distance gained might 
 be lost in a quarter of the time. Still, as British .-:i- 
 men always do, they persevered. M'Allister and I 
 
 24*
 
 282 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAW. 
 
 took our turn at the oars with the rest. For several 
 days we labored thus. The prospect of a quick run 
 to Jamaica was over. Our provisions were running 
 short — our water was almost expended. Hunger and 
 thirst began to stare us in the face — things apt not 
 only to stare people out of countenance, but out of their 
 good looks. We at once went on short allowance, 
 which grew shorter and shorter. As we gazed on each 
 other's faces, we saw how haggard our shipmates had 
 become, each person scarcely aware of his own ema- 
 ciated appearance. At last we had not a drop of water 
 remaining. Jamaica might still be a week's sail off, 
 under favorable circumstances. The thirst we now en- 
 dured was far worse than hunger, in that climate, with 
 a hot sun burning down on our heads all day. Our 
 throats got hotter and more parched every hour ; we 
 drew in our belts, and that silenced the cravings of 
 hunger for a time, and we had some few bits of biscuit, 
 and ham, and chocolate, but nothing we could do could 
 allay our thirst. We dipped our faces in water, and 
 kept applying our wet handkerchiefs to our mouths 
 and eyes. We got most relief from breathing through 
 our wet handkerchiefs ; but it was only transient ; the 
 fever within burned as fiercely as ever. We had to 
 work at the oars, when we could not keep our hand- 
 kerchiefs wet. M'Allister, like a brave fellow as he 
 was, aroused himself, and endeavored to encourage U3 
 to persevere. He especially warned the men against 
 drinking salt-water, telling them that it would be down- 
 right suicide, and that they might as well jump over- 
 board and be drowned at once. We were certainly
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 283 
 
 making way, and every hour lessening our distance to 
 Jamaica. Again our hopes were raised. We had a 
 few scraps of food to support life for two days more ; 
 but it was the water we wanted. I felt that I could not 
 hold out another twenty-four hours. I must have water 
 or die. The wind, however, came fair ; we made sail, 
 and ran merrily over the water — at least the boat 
 did. Our feelings were heavy enough. Still I must say 
 that we did our best to keep up each other's courage. 
 Again the wind fell. It shifted. We might be driven 
 back, and lose all the way we had gained. Dark clouds 
 gathered — the feeling of the air changed. "Get the 
 sail spread out flat, and the buckets, and cask, and 
 mugs ready, boys," cried M'Allister. " Open your 
 mouths." 
 
 Scarcely had he spoken, when down came the rain. 
 Oh, how delicious, were the cool streams which flowed 
 down our parched throats, and washed the salt from our 
 faces. As the sail caught it, we let it run off into the 
 receptacles we had prepared. Mugfull after mugfull 
 we drained. We filled our cask and buckets. The rain 
 ceased just as we had done so, and then it fell a dead 
 calm. But we all felt refreshed and invigorated. New 
 lite seemed put into us, and the dry morsels of biscuit 
 and ham which we before could not swallow, were eaten 
 with a relish. This deliverance from immediate death 
 gave us hope; but still we might have again to encoun- 
 ter all the difficulties we had before gone through, be- 
 fore reaching land. Could we possibly survive them ? 
 I had often read of similar adventures and sufferings, 
 and had been so much interested and amused, that I
 
 284 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 had felt considerably obliged to those who had gone 
 through them, and really felt that I should like to have 
 been with them ; but I found the reality very different 
 indeed. The terrible reality was presented to me with 
 the gilding off — the romance vanished. My great wish 
 was to escape from my present position. I have no 
 doubt that all my companions felt with me. 
 
 The oars were again got out, and slowly we pulled to 
 the northward. It was soon evident, however, that our 
 strength was totally unequal to the task. One after 
 the other the oars dropped from the men's feeble grasp. 
 It was terrible to see strong men thus reduced to weak- 
 ness. The calm continued. Even I began to despair. 
 A dizziness came over me. I was nearly sinking to 
 the bottom of the boat, but I resisted the impulse by a 
 strong effort. " I'll not give in while life and sense re- 
 main." I fancied that I felt a puff of air on my cheek. 
 I wetted my finger and held it up. There was no doubt 
 about it. A breeze was coming from the southward. I 
 stood up as well as I was able, and looked astern for 
 the expected blue line in the horizon. My heart leaped 
 within me when my eye fell on the white sails of a 
 vessel coming fast up with us. I shouted out the joyous 
 news. My companions lifted up their heads, some 
 scarcely understanding what I said. MAllister, who 
 had been asleep, started up, and, with his hand over his 
 eyes, gazed anxiously at the stranger. Bambrick, with 
 a strength which surprised me, leaped upon the thwart, 
 holding on by the mast, and after looking for some time, 
 he exclaimed, " She's the Espoir, as sure as my name is 
 Ned Bambrick."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSFIIPMAN. 285 
 
 "The Espoir went down in the hurricane, and this 
 craft is only some phantom come to delude and mock 
 us," muttered M'Allister, gloomily. 
 
 " Nonsense ! you don't believe in such stuff," I ex- 
 claimed. "If yonder craft is the Espoir, it's plain the 
 Espoir did not go down in the hurricane; and if the 
 Espoir did go down in the hurricane, it is equally plain 
 that the vessel in sight is not she." 
 
 " No, no, yonder craft is but a mocking phantom. 
 I'm destined never to see my bonnie home and fair 
 Scotland again," he answered, in a low voice, speaking 
 mori to himself than to me. 
 
 There was no use then contradicting him. Half an 
 hour or less would, I hoped, show that the stranger 
 astern was a real palpable vessel, with human beings on 
 board, who would relieve our distress, and no phantom 
 craft. Poor M'Allister sank down in the stern-sheets 
 again through weakness, but continued to gaze at the 
 stranger, as we all did, with our eyeballs almost start- 
 ing, in our eagerness, from their sockets. 
 
 The stranger proved to be a schooner ; and, as she 
 approached, she appeared to be more and more like the 
 Espoir. There was at length no doubt about it, but 
 M'Allister still shook his head, muttering, "A phantom — 
 a phantom — but very like the craft — there's na doubt 
 about that." I do not know what he might have thought 
 when the schooner shortened sail, and glided up slowiy 
 alongside our boat. There were Perigal, and Cray, and 
 Macquoid, and Bobus, and other-. Looking at us over the 
 bulwarks. They must have known us by our uniforms 
 to be English, but they had no idea we were their own
 
 286 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Bhipmates. I guessed this by hearing Macquoid say tc 
 Bob us, — 
 
 " Who can they be ? Some poor fellows whose vessel 
 must have gone down in the hurricane." 
 
 " Hand them up carefully, now," said Perigal to the 
 men who descended into the boat. 
 
 We were all soon lifted on deck, for we were utterly 
 unable to help ourselves, and we had positively to say 
 who we were before we were recognized. 
 
 The foremost to rush forward and welcome me was 
 Toby Bluff; and, forgetful of all the proprieties of the 
 quarter-deck, he was very nearly throwing his arms 
 round me and giving me a hearty hug, so overcome was 
 he with joy at having the young squire restored to him. 
 
 " Oh ! Measter Merry, they will be main glad at the 
 Hall when they learns that after all you didn't go down 
 in that mighty terrible hurricane we had t'other day," 
 he exclaimed. " I'd never have gone back to see them 
 — that I wouldn't — I could never have faced them 
 without the young measter ! " 
 
 Warm and sincere, indeed, were the congratulations 
 of all our friends. Macquoid at once took charge of us — 
 ordered us all into our hammocks, and would not allow 
 us to swallow more than the most moderate quantity of 
 food, nor to listen nor talk. Owing to his judicious 
 management, we all speedily got round, with the excep- 
 tion of M'Allister, who had been the last to give in. 
 His spirit and moral courage had supported him, till af 
 length his physical powers yielded to his sufferings. 
 
 We carried on the breeze till we sighted Jamaica. 
 Of course Perigal was very much vexed at hearing of
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN 287 
 
 the loss of the prize, but he did not blame M'Allister 
 though, as he observed, it would have been wiser had 
 we not placed so much confidence in our agreeable and 
 plausible prisoner. The Espoir had lost sight of us in 
 the hurricane from the first, and apprehensions for our 
 safety had till now been entertained, and so our friends 
 looked upon us as happily restored to them from the 
 dead, and were not inclined to find undue fault with us. 
 We found that they had been placed in even greater 
 danger than we had, and had suffered more damage, but 
 finally they were enabled to take shelter under an island 
 more to the south than the one we gained. Here they 
 remained for some time to refit, and thus were brought 
 to our rescue just in time to preserve us from destruc- 
 tion. We were all tolerably recovered and presentable 
 by the time we entered Port Royal harbor. Here we 
 found the frigate almost ready for sea, and, to our satis- 
 fation, Spellman with our first prize had arrived safely. 
 Among those who most cordially welcomed me was Mr. 
 Johnson, the boatswain. 
 
 " We felt that hurricane even here, Mr. Merry ; and 
 thinking you might feel it too, I was any thing but 
 happy about you," he observed, shaking me by the 
 hand. " I was once out in just such another — only it blew 
 a precious deal harder. Some of our hands had their 
 pigtails carried away, and two or three fellows who kept 
 their mouths open had their teeth blown down their 
 throats. It was the gale when the Thunderer, and so 
 many other of His Majesty's ships went down. You've 
 heard of it. I dare >ay ?" 
 
 I told him that I had read about it in a naval history
 
 288 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 We had on board, but that the account of the pigtails and 
 teeth was not given. 
 
 " No, I dare say not ; historians seldom enter as they 
 ought into particulars," he answered, laughing. 
 
 Gray received an equally friendly welcome from Mr. 
 Johnson, with whom he was as great a favorite as I was. 
 He made us give him an account of all our adventures, 
 and amused himself with quizzing me, without ceasing, 
 at having been so tricked by the French lieutenant. I 
 believed, and do to this day, that Preville was civil and 
 light-hearted from nature, and that it was only when he 
 found us off our guard that the idea of seizing the vessel 
 occurred to him. 
 
 M'Allister did not get off as easily as I did. Wher- 
 ever he went he was quizzed for having been tricked 
 by the Frenchman and losing his prize. He unfortu- 
 nately could not stand quizzing, and taking what was 
 said too seriously, he became at times quite sulky and 
 morose. 
 
 As the Doris had no hands to spare, the tender was 
 laid up, and once more the frigate put to sea in search 
 of the enemies of our country. We knew that several 
 of their frigates were at sea, and we hoped to fall in 
 with one of them. If we missed them, we were not 
 likely to object to pick up a few rich merchantmen. 
 
 Soon after I rejoined, I was invited to the gun-room 
 to give an account of my adventures on board the 
 Audacieuse. Thinking he was going to be quizzed, 
 McAllister would not say a word on the subject. I was 
 not so particular, and amused the officers very much 
 with an account of the way in which the polite lieuten-
 
 MARMADTTKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 289 
 
 ant used to dress our dinners for us, and used to sing 
 and play for our amusement. Mr. Fitzgerald seemed 
 highly entertained. 
 
 " He must be a broth of a boy, indeed ! If we ever 
 catch him, we'll make him dress our dinners," he ex- 
 claimed, laughing. 
 
 He was himself stranger than ever, and, with his 
 curious performances, I used to wonder how he managed 
 not to get into more scrapes than he did. Our captain 
 was much of* the same opinion, for I heard him remark 
 that he really was glad to get to sea, for fear Mr. Fitz- 
 gerald should do something to bring himself into diffi- 
 culty on shore. The words were reported to Mr. Fitz- 
 gerald, who remarked, — 
 
 " Och ! where there's a will there's a way. "We'll 
 see what we can do, even out here on the big salt 
 sea ! " 
 
 Not long after this, during a light breeze, we chased 
 a vessel to the southward. We came up with her hand 
 over hand. When, however, we were five miles off, it 
 fell a dead calm. What she was we could not ascertain, 
 though she did not look like an armed vessel. It was 
 necessary to overhaul her, so Mr. Fitzgerald volunteered 
 to take the gig and six hands to board her, and Gray 
 and I got leave to accompany him. We had a hot pull, 
 the sun coming down full on our heads; and as we had 
 come away without any water, the men were anxious to 
 get on board the stranger, that they might quench their 
 thirst. She wa< riLTir*-"! 89 a barque, ami she proved as 
 we guessed; -lie was a Yankee ami a neutral. Thougu 
 undoubtedly laden witli stores for our enemies ^e could 
 
 25
 
 290 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 not touch her. Her skipper was very civil, and invited 
 us into the cabin, where a fine display of decanters and 
 tumblers gave promise of good cheer, in which we were 
 not disappointed. Mr. Fitzgerald was soon deep in the 
 mysteries of cocktail and similar mixtures. He seemed 
 to enjoy them amazingly, for he quaffed tumbler after 
 tumbler, till I began to fear that he was getting rather 
 too deep into the subject. Gray and I took our share, 
 but we both of us were from inclination very temperate. 
 Independent of other considerations, I have always held 
 that a splitting headache, and the risk of getting into 
 trouble, was a high price to pay for the pleasure of 
 tickling one's palate, or artificially raising one's spirits 
 for a short time. The men were hospitably entertained 
 forward, one or two of them finding old messmates ; in- 
 deed American vessels at that period were manned prin- 
 cipally with English seamen. We remained on board 
 altogether much longer than we ought to have done, but 
 at last Mr. Fitzgerald, looking at his watch, jumped up, 
 exclaiming that he must be off. We thanked the skip- 
 per for his civility, and, not without difficulty, getting 
 the men into the boat, away we pulled toward the 
 frigate. The men were all high in praise of the Yan- 
 kees, and I have no doubt that they were all put up to 
 run from the ship at the first American port at which 
 they might touch. 
 
 The calm still continued, and from the lazy way in 
 which the men pulled, it was clear that they were in no 
 hurry to get on board. Gray and I, of course, were 
 not ; indeed Mr. Fitzgerald, who was in great spirits, 
 kept us highly amused by his stories, so full of racy
 
 'QItb way, lads, give mj " be shouted Blond
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 291 
 
 humor. Our movements were, however, considerably 
 expedited by the report of a gun from the frigate, as a 
 signal for us immediately to return. The men now 
 bent to their oars, and gave way in earnest. We had 
 not pulled far, however, when another puff of smoke 
 was seen to burst forth from the frigate's side, followed 
 by the report of the gun, which came booming over the 
 smooth ocean. 
 
 " Och ! the skipper's in a mighty hurry," muttered 
 the lieutenant to himself. " We are making all the 
 haste flesh and blood is capable of, with the sun broiling 
 up our marrow at this rate." 
 
 " Give way, lads, give way," he shouted aloud. " The 
 captain is in a hurry, for there's something in the wind, 
 depend on that." 
 
 We were, I suspect, so completely in a position under 
 the sun, as observed from the frigate, that we could not 
 be seen. Presently the report of another gun struck 
 our ears. On this Mr. Fitzgerald seemed to lose all 
 patience. 
 
 " Hand me an oar and a boat-hook," he exclaimed, 
 " and some rope-yarn." 
 
 What was our surprise to see him strip off his brow- 
 sers, and make the waistband fast to the boat-hook, 
 which he secured for a yard across the blade of an oar 
 stepped upright as a mast. Having secured some pieces 
 of rope-yarn to the legs of his unmentionables, he stood 
 up, and began blowing away with might and main into 
 the upper portions, stopping every now and then to gain 
 breath, and to shout, "Give way, lads, with a will— « 
 give way like troopers — give way, ye hardy sons of
 
 292 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Neptune, or of sea-cooks, if you prefer the appellation. 
 Give way like Tritons. We are doing all that men can 
 do. Who dare say we can do more ? But we must 
 not stop to talk." Then once more filling out his 
 cheeks, Ire began to blow and puff with might and main 
 as before. 
 
 Gray and I, though not a little shocked, were con- 
 vulsed with laughter; so of course were the men, whose 
 countenances, as they bent to their oars, were wreathed 
 in the broadest of broad grins, while shouts of scarce 
 suppressed laughter burst ever and anon from their 
 throats. 
 
 " Faith, the captain can't say it's my fault if we don't 
 get aboard in time. I've done all that any officer in 
 His Majesty's service could do to expedite matters, at 
 all events," he observed at length, stopping to draw 
 breath. 
 
 " And more than most officers would dream of doing, 
 Mr. Fitzgerald," I answered, quietly, really fearing that 
 he had gone mad. 
 
 " Och, yes, I was always celebrated for my zeal," he 
 answered. " There's nothing like zeal, Mr. Merry. 
 When my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty think 
 fit to promote one of their own nephews over the heads 
 of any lot of us poor fellows who don't happen to have 
 any interest in high quarters, it's always on account of 
 zt-al — they are such very zealous and promising young 
 men. They don't say what they promise. I could 
 never learn that. I once posed the First Lord by 
 simply asking the question. I went up just to ask for 
 my promotion —for there's nothing like asking, yo«
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSIHPMAN. 293 
 
 know, youngsters. The first Lord received me with 
 wonderful civility. He took me for another Fitzgerald, 
 and I was fool enough to tell him which I really was, 
 or I believe he would have handed me out my commis- 
 sion and appointment to a fine brig I had in my eye, 
 there and then. I saw by his change of countenance 
 that I had made a mistake, and, as I was in for it, I de- 
 termined not to be abashed. With the blandest of 
 smiles he remarked, ' Undoubtedly, Mr. Fitzgerald, I 
 will keep you in sight, but I have on my list so many 
 zealous and promising young officers, that I fear you 
 will have some time to wait.' His cold eye told me 
 he'd do nothing for me, so says I, ' My Lord, I should 
 just like to have an example of this zeal, that I may 
 learn to imitate it ; but as to promises, faith, my Lord, I 
 should like to see any man who can beat me at making 
 them.' I put on a face as I spoke, and he couldn't 
 help laughing, but he told me, when I made my bow, 
 that I might be sure he wouldn't forget me. Whether 
 he has or has not, I can't say ; but here am I, a descend- 
 ant of Brian Boroo, and I don't know how many kings 
 and queens of ould Ireland besides, nothing but a hum- 
 ble lieutenant, standing with my breeches off, and en- 
 deavoring to fill this epitome of a boat's sail with all the 
 wind in my mortal body. I must stop talking, though, 
 young-tiT- ; it's setting you a bad example," and he 
 in to puff away again. 
 We were now drawing so near tin' frigate that I felt 
 sure, if any glasses win- turned toward us, his extraordi« 
 nary condition could be Been. I was anxious to prevent 
 his getting into disgrace, bo I asked, — 
 
 2a •
 
 294 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " "Wouldn't it be better, sir, if you were to put on 
 your breeches, and let the men pull up alongside in 
 proper style ?" 
 
 " What, youngster, and \o<e this magnificent oppor- 
 tunity of exhibiting my zeal?" he exclaimed, indig- 
 nantly. " I shall request the captain to write an official 
 letter to the Admiralty, that a proper record may be 
 made of it." 
 
 " But Gray and I will bear witness to the truth of 
 your statement, if you think fit, to-morrow, to make a 
 report of the proceeding," I observed. " You must 
 allow, sir, that officers do not generally come alongside 
 a ship with their breeches off, though of course it is very 
 laudable to make use of them as a boat's sail, or in any 
 other way, for the good of the service ; but, if you 
 have any enemies, a wrong construction may be put on 
 the matter." 
 
 He did not appear to be listening to what I was say- 
 ing, but continued puffing out his cheeks and blowing as 
 before. As I was steering, I told Gray to look through 
 the telescope we had with us at the ship. 
 
 " I see several glasses turned this way," he answered, 
 " and there are numbers of men in the rigging." 
 
 I made no remark, but Mr. Fitzgerald soon after- 
 wards lowered the oar, and, without saying any thing, 
 quietly put on his breeches. We were soon alongside ; 
 the boat was hoisted in, and a light breeze having 
 sprung up, which had long been seen coming, all sail 
 was made in chase of a vessel to the eastward. 
 
 Mr. Fitzgerald then made his report. 
 
 " You seemed to be carrying some sail," observed the
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSniPMAN. 295 
 
 captain. '• You had but little wind, though, to make it 
 of use." 
 
 "There was all the wind I could make," blurted out 
 the lieutenant, who had now got sober, and was as 
 much ashamed of himself as it was in his nature to be 
 " However, Captain Collyer, you know my zeal for the 
 service, and there isn't a thing I wouldn't do for its 
 good." 
 
 " Even to making use of your breeches as a sail, and 
 compelling your mouth to do duty as jEolus," said the 
 captain, gravely. " However, Mr. Fitzgerald, though I 
 never like making mountains of molehills, don't let your 
 zeal, or your love of a joke, carry you so far again. Disci- 
 pline would quickly vanish if the officers were to forget 
 their dignity, as you did just now. No officer should 
 ever appear in public without his breeches." 
 
 " I'll make a note of that, Captain Collyer, and take 
 care that it never again occurs," answered Mr. Fitz- 
 gerald, with inimitable gravity, but with an expression 
 in his comical features which made our good-natured 
 skipper almost burst into a fit of laughter. 
 
 Two or three nights after this, while it was Mr. Fitz- 
 gerald's watch, in which I was placed, it being very 
 dark, the frigate, without any warning, was struck by a 
 heavy squall, which threw her in an instant on her 
 beam ends. I thought that she was going down. There 
 was a loud crash — the fore-topmast had gone over the 
 Bide. Lightning flashed from the sky ; the thunder 
 roared. A loud clap was heard overhead — the main- 
 topsail had split, and. rent in fragments, was carried out 
 of the bolt-rope-, ladling itself in fury round the yard.
 
 296 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN 
 
 All seemed confusion. Everybody on the first crash 
 had rushed on deck, mostly in very scanty costume. 
 The captain had slipped on his coat, which, with his 
 shirt and slippers, formed his costume. There he stood, 
 his shirt tails fluttering in the breeze, while with his 
 deep-toned voice he was bringing order out of seeming 
 chaos. When the main-topsail went the frigate righted. 
 We had work enough to do to clear the wreck of the 
 fore-topmast and all its hamper, and it was broad day- 
 light before the captain could leave the deck. When 
 the ship was put a little to rights, and those officers who 
 had appeared in limited costume had gone below to don 
 the usual amount of dress, Mr. Fitzgerald walked up 
 to Mr. Bryan, the first lieutenant, and said, — 
 
 " I wish, Bryan, that you would ascertain what are 
 and what are not the regulations of this ship. Two 
 days ago the captain told me that it was against his 
 express orders that any officers should appear on the 
 quarter-deck without their breeches, and now he ap- 
 pears himself without his, and so do Haisleden and the 
 master, and some other fellows besides." 
 
 "There are some occasions when it does not do to 
 stick at trifles," answered Mr. Bryan, who found it very 
 necessaiy to humor his eccentric brother officer. 
 
 " Well, at all events, the captain cannot find fault 
 with me after that," said the second lieutenant ; " I am 
 always saying the same — I never stick at trifles." 
 
 " No, indeed you do not ; but sometimes it is just as 
 well to look at them, and ascertain if they are trifles," 
 observed Mr. Bryan. 
 
 It was found that the frigate had received so mucb
 
 MARMADUICE MEI1RY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 297 
 
 damage that it was necessary to put back to Port 
 Royal. It was a matter of very little consequence to 
 us midshipmen. We were chiefly interested because we 
 knew that we should get a supply of fresh meat and 
 vegetables, which we preferred to the salt pork and 
 weevilly biscuits served out to the navy in those days, 
 and for very many days later ; indeed, where is the 
 naval officer, under the rank of a commander, or I 
 may say a lieutenant, who does not tap every bit of bis- 
 cuit on the table before he puts it into his mouth? lie 
 taps mechanically now, but he learned the habit when 
 it was necessary to knock out the weevils. 
 
 We soon had the ship as much to rights as circum- 
 stances would allow. In the evening Gray and I went 
 below, and found the boatswain seated on a stool in his 
 cabin, with bis legs stretched out at full length before 
 him, resting after the fatigues of the day. 
 
 "Ah, young gentlemen, I know what you've come 
 for," he exclaimed when he saw us. " You're curious 
 to hear some more of my yarns. It's natural, and I'll 
 not baulk you. There's one thing you may depend on, 
 it will be a long time before I shall spin them all out. 
 You needn't tell me where I left off. I was telling you 
 about my pet shark and the dreadful event connected 
 with it. It's a warning to people not to have pet sharks, 
 as you'll say when you hear more. But come in, young 
 gentlemen, and make yourselves comfortable. Ah, Mr. 
 Gogles, I'm glad to see yon here; you've not heard 
 any of my veracious narrative, but now you shall hear 
 something to astonish yon, I guess." 
 
 Gogles was a jl'oung midshipman, the son of a planter
 
 298 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 at Jamaica, who had joined us when we were last there. 
 His countenance exhibited a large capacity for imbibing 
 the wonderful and improbable, a fact which had not es- 
 caped Mr. Johnson's acute observation. 
 ' By the time Toby Bluff had brought the boatswain 
 his usual evening glass of grog, and he had cleared his 
 throat, and, as he remarked, brought up his thoughts 
 from the storelockers of memory, a large audience was 
 collected in and outside the cabin. 
 
 " Listen, then, and let no one doubt me," continued 
 Mr. Johnson. " I told you the Lady Stiggins was 
 bound round Cape Horn. We were running down the 
 coast of America, when somewhere to the southward of 
 the latitude of Demarara it came on to blow very hard 
 from the north and west. The clouds came rushing 
 along the sky like a mass of people all hurrying to see 
 the king open parliament, or a clown throw a somer- 
 sault at a fair, or any thing of that sort, while the wind 
 howled and screeched in the rigging as I have heard 
 wild beasts in the woods in Africa, and the sea got up 
 and tumbled and rolled as if the waves were dancing 
 for their very lives. You need not believe it, but the 
 foam flew from them so thick that it actually lifted the 
 ship at times out of the water. We had sent down our 
 top-gallant yards, and had just furled the courses, and 
 were in the act of lowering our main-topsail to reef it 
 close, when a squall, more heavy than before, came 
 right down upon us. I was at the helm at the time, 
 and heard it roaring up astern. The main-topsail yard 
 had just reached the cap, and the fore-topsail was the 
 only sail showing to the breeze. The blast struck us ;
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 299 
 
 a clap, as if of thunder, was heard, and away flew our 
 fore-topsail clean out of the bolt-ropes, and clear of 
 every thing. Off it flew, right away to leeward, down 
 upon the breeze. I kept my eye on it, and observed 
 that instead of sinking, from the strength and buoyant 
 power of the wind, it retained precisely the same eleva- 
 tion above the sea that it had done when spread to the 
 yard. I did not mention the circumstance to any one, 
 but took care not to lose sight of the sail. This was a 
 hint to us not to set more canvas, so the main-topsail 
 was furled, and away we scudded, under bare poles, 
 right in the wake of the fore-topsail. Instead of abat- 
 ing, the wind increased till it blew a perfect hurricane. 
 I, however, kept at the helm, and explaining to the cap- 
 tain the occurrence I had observed, begged to be allowed 
 to remain there. At first he would scarcely believe me, 
 and declared that it was a white cloud ahead of us, but 
 I was so positive, that at last he let me have my way. 
 Well, we steered straight on all that day, and when 
 night approached I took the bearings of the sail that 
 we might follow it as before. The wind did not vary, 
 and in the morning there it was, exactly in its former 
 position, only 1 think we had gained a little on it. On, 
 on we ran, tearing rather over than through the foaming 
 ocean, but still we did not come up with the sail. At 
 last I was obliged, from very weariness, to let a careful 
 hand relieve me at the helm, and, desiring to be called 
 if we neared the sail, I turned in and went to sleep. 
 Now you will want to know, young gentlemen, why I 
 WftS so anxious to come up with the sail ? The fact is 
 that I had tak.-n a notion into my In ad, which 1 will tell
 
 600 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 you presently. Well, I was so weary that I slept for 
 five-and-tvventy hours without turning, and I could 
 scarcely believe that I had been in my hammock more 
 than an hour, for when I came on deck every thing was 
 exactly as I had left it. Feeling much refreshed, and 
 naving swallowed two dozen of biscuits, a leg of pork, 
 and a gallon of rum and water, I took the helm, re- 
 solved to carry out my inteutions. It wasn't, however, 
 till the next morning, when the sun broke out from be- 
 hind the clouds, that it shone directly on our fore-topsail, 
 now not the eighth of a mile ahead of us. For some 
 reason or other, which I have never been able satisfac- 
 torily to explain, we were coming rapidly up with it. I 
 now saw that the moment was approaching for carrying 
 my plan into execution. Accordingly I sent the people 
 3n to the fore-yard, and also on the fore-topsail yard, 
 which was hoisted right up, some with palm-needles and 
 others with earings and lashings. It was a moment of 
 intense interest. I kept the brig's head directly for the 
 sail. We approached it rapidly ; it was over the bow- 
 sprit end. My eye did not fail me, and, to my inex- 
 pressible satisfaction, we shot directly up to the sail. 
 The men on the yards instantly secured it, and in five 
 minutes it was again spread aloft as if it had never left 
 Jts place. There, young gentlemen, if you ever see 
 any thing done like that, you may open your eyes with 
 astonishment. I gained some credit for my performance, 
 though there are people, I own, who do not believe in 
 the fact, which is not surprising, as it isn't every day in 
 the week that a ship recovers a topsail which lias been 
 blown away in a gale of wind."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TOE MIDSHIPMAN. 301 
 
 There was a considerable amount of cachinnations 
 along the deck outside, while a gruff voice grunted out, 
 " Well, bo'sun, that is a jolly crammer ;" at which Mr. 
 Johnson looked highly indignant, and we were afraid 
 that he would not continue his narrative ; but a glance 
 at Gogles's deliciously credulous and yet astonished 
 countenance, as he sat with his eyes and mouth wide 
 open, staring with all his might, seemed fully to pacify 
 him. I never met a man who enjoyed his own jokes, 
 though certainly they were of the broadest kind, more 
 thoroughly than did Mr. Johnson.
 
 302 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 On the evening of which I was speaking in my last 
 chapter, Mr. Johnson was evidently in the vein for 
 narrating his veracious history. I saw this by the 
 twinkle of his eye, by the peculiar curls round his 
 mouth — which poets speak of when describing Euphro- 
 syne, or any charming young lady of mortal mould, 
 as " wreathed smiles," but which, in the boatswain's 
 case, could not possibly be so called — by the gusto 
 with which he smacked his lips, after each sip of grog, 
 and the quiet cachinnations in which he indulged, that 
 there was no fear of his breaking off for some time, 
 unless compelled by his duties to do so. I was right. 
 After stretching out his legs, folding his arms, and bend- 
 ing down his head, as if to meditate for a few minutes, 
 he looked up with his usual humorous expression, and 
 taking a fresh sip of grog, recommenced : 
 
 " Some of you young gentlemen have been in a gale 
 of wind, and a pretty stiff one too, but except the little 
 blow we had the other day, you, Mr. Gogles, have no 
 practical experience of what a real downright hurri- 
 cane is," he continued. " Why, I once was in a ship 
 where, after we had carried away our masts, we were 
 obliged to run under a marlinspike stuck up in the 
 bows, but even that was too much for her, and we were 
 obliged to send the carpenter forward with a sledge
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 303 
 
 hammer to take a reef in it by driving it further into 
 the deck. It must blow hard, you'll allow, when it 
 becomes necessary to take a reef in a marlinspike. In 
 the same gale, the man at the helm had all his hair 
 blown clean off his head ; the cook, as he looked out 
 of his caboose, had his teeth driven down his throat, 
 and one of the boys, who was sent on deck to see 
 how the wind was (for we were obliged to batten down 
 and get below), had his eyelids blown so far back, that 
 it took all the ship's company to haul them down again. 
 You don't know what a gale of wind is till you have 
 seen it." 
 
 Some loud shouts of laughter were heard outside 
 the berth, but Mr. Johnson, without heeding them, con- 
 tinued : 
 
 " But, by the by, I was describing my voyage round 
 the Horn in the Lady Stiggins, and now I am coming 
 to the melancholy part of my history. No sooner had 
 we recovered our topsail than the gale abated, and 
 nothinf of moment occurred till we hauled up to the 
 westward to round the Horn. For some days we had 
 li<dit winds and fine weather, but those who have 
 doubled that Cape know well that it blows there pretty 
 hard at times, and we soon had to learn this to our 
 cost. Soon after noonday it came on to blow, and such a 
 sea got up as I bad never seen before. That was a sea 
 Sometimes we were at the top of one wave, while mj 
 pet Bhark, who had faithfully followed us, would be in 
 the trough below, looking no larger than a minnow in 
 a mill-stream, and sometimes when we were at tho 
 bottom we could see him looking lovingly down upon
 
 804 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 us, high above our top-gallant-mast head. At last we 
 were driven back right in upon the coast of Patagonia, 
 and had we not found a harbor in which to take shelter, 
 we should have lost the ship and our lives. 
 
 " The land of Patagonia is bleak and barren, and, as 
 you all know, the few scattered inhabitants make up for 
 the scarcity of their numbers by their personal stature, 
 for they are, without exception, the tallest people I 
 have ever met. I felt quite a pigmy alongside them. 
 They have large rolling eyes, long shaggy hair, and 
 thick snub noses ; indeed, they are as ugly a race as I 
 ever set eyes on. Perhaps, for certain reasons, I might 
 have been prejudiced, but of that you shall judge. 
 
 " We anchored the brig in a snug cove, where she 
 lay completely sheltered from the tempest which raged 
 without, and we were thus enabled to go ashore to pro- 
 cure wood and water, of which we stood much in need. 
 For two days we saw no signs of inhabitants, and thus 
 we incautiously strolled about without arms in our 
 hands to stretch our legs. I was always of an inquisitive 
 turn, fond of exploring strange countries; so one day, 
 having parted from my companions, I walked on into 
 the interior. I was thinking of turning back, for the 
 day was far advanced, when my attention was attracted 
 by a column of smoke ascending from among a grove 
 of trees in a valley at no great distance from me, and 
 being curious to ascertain the cause of it, I proceeded 
 in that direction. 
 
 " On reaching a hill which overlooked the spot, I 
 perceived several human beings seated round a large 
 fire in front of a rude hut, and busily employed in
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN 305 
 
 cutting slices from an ox, which was roasting whole 
 before it, and which they transferred to their mouths, 
 smacking their lips to signify their high relish for the 
 feast. 
 
 " I was very hungry, and certainly felt an inclination 
 for a piece of the savory morsels, the odor of which 
 ascended to where I stood, but prudence advised me to 
 retire, for I could not tell what the disposition of the 
 savages might be. For what I knew to the contrary, 
 they might spit and roast me as their dessert. 
 
 " There appeared to be a family group. There was 
 an old man and woman, whom I took to be the father 
 and mother, three younger females, whom I judged to 
 be daughters, and two sons. All of them were dressed 
 in skins, and I was enabled to distinguish the females 
 by their having petticoats, and their hair braided in long 
 plaits, which reached to the ground. Their personal 
 appearance was not prepossessing, and their voices were 
 so loud that I could hear every word they uttered, 
 though of course I could not understand their language. 
 I was on the point of retreating, when one of the young 
 ladies, turning her head, perceived me watching them, 
 and. with a loud cry, rising from her seat, she ran 
 toward me. I had not before remarked the height of 
 the savages, but as they all stood up, I now perceived 
 that she was full ten feet high, and yet the shortest of 
 the party. Although not afraid, for fear was a stranger 
 to my bosom, I yet did not relish the thoughts of having 
 to encounter such formidable-looking personages, and 
 therefore set off toward the shore as fast as my legs 
 would cany me, but I soon found, by the shouts astern, 
 26*
 
 306 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 that the young giantess had made chase, and, turning 
 my head over my shoulders, I saw that she was coming 
 up hand over hand with me. I was on the top of the 
 hill and she was at the hottom, but that made little dif- 
 ference to her, for on she bounded, like a kangaroo or a 
 tiger, and I felt convinced that on flat ground I should 
 have no chance of escape ; I therefore suddenly brought 
 up, tacked about, and faced her with my arms expanded, 
 to make me look of more considerable size. She was 
 coming on full tilt. I did not think she was so near, 
 and the consequence was, as she was stooping down, I 
 found my arms round her neck, with my feet off the 
 ground, while I clung to her in a very affectionate em- 
 brace. She uttered some words which I could not 
 understand, and, covering my face with kisses, ran back 
 with me toward her companions, just as a young lady 
 does a little child she has run after, laughing with 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Here I was fairly caught, but I argued from the be- 
 havior of the young lady that I was not likely to be 
 very severely treated by the rest. When she got back 
 to her family with me in her arms, she introduced me 
 in form to them, and made me sit down by her side, 
 while the rest examined me minutely from head to foot. 
 After they had gratified their curiosity, and satisfied 
 themselves that I was a human being, she, observing my 
 eyes turned toward the roasted ox, cut off a slice and 
 handed it to me. The animal was of prodigious size, 
 and would beat a London prize ox hollow. The meat 
 was of delicious flavor, though rather too fat for my 
 taste, but in cold climates such is generally preferred.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 307 
 
 I found, however, that that is not the usual food of these 
 people, but is considered a great delicacy, as they 
 live for most part of the year on whales and seals 
 which they catch with much ingenuity with a rod 
 and line. A whale, however, requires, they told 
 me, great skill and patience to kill, as it is apt 
 to break the tackle. The savages, with my slight 
 assistance, having picked the bones of the ox al- 
 most clean, washed down this repast with huge flagons 
 full of a licpjor which smacked of a taste remarkably 
 like the best schiedam. It was, however, far more po- 
 tent, as I found to my cost, for the effect was such that I 
 fell fast asleep. In fact, I was dead drunk ; I don't say 
 that I didn't take a good swig of it, but still it must be 
 strong stufF to capsize me. How long I slept, or what 
 happened during that time, I'm sure I don't know : 
 when I awoke the scene was completely changed. I 
 found myself at the mouth of a cavern, lying on the 
 ground and wrapped up in bears' skins, with wild 
 rugged rocks rising on every side around me. I tried 
 to rise, but to my dismay I discovered that my limbs 
 were bound, and as I gazed on every side I saw not the 
 sign of an outlet by which I might make my escape. 
 In my rage I bawled out lustily, when I heard a step 
 approaching, which might, by its sound, have been the 
 foot of a young elephant. It was, however, that of the 
 young lady who hail made me prisoner. When she saw 
 that I was awake she sat herself down by my side, ami 
 taking my hand slobbered it over with ki-ses, and when 
 I rated her pretty roundly for what she'd done, >he al- 
 most drowned me with her tears. They came down in
 
 308 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 whole buckets full, like a heavy shower in the tropics : 
 it wasn't pleasant, I can assure you. What was the 
 matter with the woman I could not tell ; in fact, I've 
 found very little difference in 'em from one end of the 
 world to the other; they are complete mystifications; 
 when you wants 'em to love you they won't, and when 
 you don't want 'em they will. What I now wanted was 
 to get my legs and arms loose to be able to run away. 
 After making a number of signs to the lady, she com- 
 prehended my wishes, and to my great satisfaction cast 
 off the thongs of hide with which I found she had 
 bound me to prevent me escaping, should I awake 
 during her absence. She then asked me my name, 
 when she let me understand that hers was Oilyblubbina, 
 which, I afterwards learned, means, in the Patagonian 
 tongue, softener of the soul. I heard her pronouncing 
 my name over and over again to herself, so I repeated 
 hers, Oilyblubbina, Oilyblubbina, Oilyblubbina, several 
 times, which pleased her mightily. She then produced 
 from a basket a few rounds of beef and some loaves a 
 yard long, of which she pressed me to partake. I did 
 so gratefully, for I was in want of my breakfast. She 
 next pulled out a bottle of schiedam, but I remembered 
 the effects of what I took the day before, and was cau- 
 tious. Having satisfied my hunger, I made signs to her 
 that I was anxious to wish her a very good morning, 
 and to return to my ship, but not one of my hints would 
 she take. I shook her warmly by the hand, told her 
 that I was much obliged to her for her hospitality, and 
 then walked away, but wherever I went she dodged my 
 steps and would not let me out of her sight for a min-
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 309 
 
 ute. I did my best in every way to escape, but it was 
 no go ; in tact, young gentlemen, I found myself the 
 slave of this monster of fat and ugliness, for I am sorry 
 to say that I cannot speak in more flattering terms of 
 the fair Oilyblubbina. Seeing that for the present it 
 was hopeless to attempt to escape, I pretended to he 
 reconciled to my lot, and offering my arm in the po- 
 litest way possible, walked quietly by her side, though I 
 confess, that I had to put my best foot foremost to keep 
 up with her. She was evidently pleased with my al- 
 tered behavior, and smiled and ogled me most lovingly. 
 How her eyes did roll ! 
 
 " The effect, however, was very different to what she 
 intended. I dare say her heart was as tender as that 
 of women of more moderate dimensions, but I cannot 
 say that I liked those ogles of hers. Well, on we 
 walked, talking a great deal all the time, though I don't 
 pretend I understood a word she uttered, nor do I sup- 
 pose she did what I said. She told me, however, a very 
 long story, which by her actions I judged intimated 
 that she had lost some one, and that I was to supply his 
 place. All I know is that, after weeping a great dial, 
 she finished by taking me in her arms and covering me 
 with kisses. I had before suspected, from the absence 
 of any of that bashful timidity found in a young girl, 
 that she was a widow, and such I learned from her 
 father was the case. 
 
 •• We were now close to the hut where T had first 
 
 a the Bavages, ami there her father ami two brothers 
 
 appeared before us while I found the old mother and 
 
 two sisters had been stowed away in the brushwood.
 
 810 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 watching our proceedings. Instead of appearing angry, 
 the father took me by the hand, and warmly pressing it, 
 placed it in that of his daughter, and then he rubbed 
 our noses together, which I found was a sign of be- 
 trothal, and then all the family came and hugged me, 
 one after the, other. In fact, I found that I was become 
 one of the domestic circle, and to supply the place of a 
 lost husband to the young widow. It was by no means 
 pleasant, let me tell you, that hugging and kissing, for 
 the oil and fat those people consume give them a very 
 unpleasant odor, and it was some time before I could get 
 it out of my nostrils. These considerations, with my 
 anxiety to proceed on my voyage, determined me not 
 to yield tamely to my fate, for, as to having to spend the 
 rest of my days in the society of Oilyblubbina, that was 
 out of the question. I had, however, no reason to com- 
 plain of my treatment by them, for they would not allow 
 me to do any work, but brought me the best food, and 
 did every thing for me. Yet, notwithstanding all her 
 tenderness, the charms of the loving Oilyblubbina could 
 not move my flinty heart ; but I was obliged to hide my 
 real sentiments, for I had no fancy, unarmed as I was, 
 to fight the father and two brothers, not to speak of 
 having to contend against the rage of the disappointed 
 lady and her female relatives. 
 
 " Three not over agreeable days had thus passed, and 
 I was beginning to fear lest my shipmates, giving me up 
 for lost, might have sailed away without me, though I 
 knew that they valued me too much to desert me till all 
 hopes were gone. That day the family dinner was 
 composed of a large mess of whale's flesh and blubber,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSIIIPMAN. 311 
 
 boiled in a cauldron, and washed down as usual with 
 huge beakers of schiedam ; but I watched my opportu- 
 nity, and each time the cup was passed to me I emptied 
 it by my side unperceived by the rest. I all the time 
 made them suppose that I was drinking more than usual, 
 and appearing to be perfectly drunk, pretended to fall 
 off into a sound sleep. When it grew dark the young 
 lady, as was her custom, carried me into the cavern, and 
 bound my hands and feet to prevent my running away, 
 but as she was fastening the thongs I contrived to slip 
 my hands out of them. While I thus lay I looked out 
 carefully through my half-opened eyelids, and observed 
 all the family retiring to their different roosting-places. It 
 was an anxious time ; one after the other they dropped 
 a-leep, and then, to my great satisfaction, commenced a 
 chorus of snorinpr which sounded more like the roarins 
 of a hundred bulls than any thing I had ever before 
 heard. The moon was fortunately high in the heavens, 
 and there was light enough for me to see my way, which 
 I had been careful to note well. Crawling therefore 
 out of my skins, I put a block of wood where my head 
 bad been and rolled them again up to make it appear 
 that I was still there, and then cautiously crept away in 
 the direction of the cove where I had left my ship. As 
 soon as I was out of hearing I set off and ran as fast 
 as my legs would carry me, up hill and down dale, 
 through woods and across moors, without stopping to 
 look behind me, for I knew thai when a man is run- 
 ning away from an angry lady lie must put his besl font 
 foremost. 
 
 "I had just readied the top of r hill, whence, to my
 
 J12 MAJItMADUKE merry, the midshipman. 
 
 great joy, I beheld my ship floating calmly in the bay 
 below me, when I heard a loud cry in the rear. 1 
 looked round — it was the loving Oilyblubbina. She 
 came on at a furious pace, tearing up the young trees as 
 she passed, in her eagerness to catch me. I dashed 
 down the hill — I flew rather than ran — I rushed 
 through rivulets, I jumped down precipices, nothing 
 stopped me — I made light of a leap of a hundred feet. 
 I have run very fast at times, but I never ran so fast 
 before nor since ; she, however, was gaining on me ; 
 In a few minutes more she would be up with me. It 
 vas very awful. A high cliff was before me ; without 
 jesitation I threw myself over it ; death was preferable 
 to slavery — and such slavery. I reached the shore in 
 safety, but, horror of horrors ! she came after me, and 
 alighted unhurt on the shore. The ship was at some 
 distance, but I plunged into the sea to swim on board. 
 I now thought myself safe, for I had no idea that she 
 could swim, but she could, and after me she came, 
 blowing like a grampus. It takes my breath away even 
 now to think of it. I struck out boldly ; the water 
 bubbled and hissed as I threw it aside. I told you I 
 was a good swimmer, but so was she. On she came, 
 and every instant I expected to feel my foot in her 
 grasp. If a man can have any reason for being afraid, 
 I surely then had one. We had swam a mile, and the 
 brig was some way off. I hallooed to my shipmates, 
 but they did not hear me. Louder and louder grew 
 the blowing of the lady as she spluttered the salt-water 
 from her mouth ; she was within a few yards of me, 
 and in another minute I should have been captured,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSTIIPMAN. 313 
 
 when a dark object passed close to me — it was my 
 pet shark. There was a loud scream and a gurgling 
 noise. A dreadful thought occurred to me — it was 
 too true ! I was safe, but the loving Oilyblubbina had 
 been swallowed by the monster. She must have been 
 a tough morsel, for after his performance he lay some 
 time on his back utterly unable to move. A revolution 
 had taken place in my feelings : I did not wish her 
 death, I only wanted to run away from her, and I 
 mourned her untimely fate. I, however, considered 
 that my lamentations could not restore her to her 
 afflicted family, so, as soon as the shark had recovered, 
 I placed myself on his back, and made him convey 
 me alongside my ship. It was time for me to be off, 
 for, as I was throwing my legs across him, I saw by 
 the light of the moon the whole family rushing down 
 the hill to plunge into the sea after me, and I doubt 
 if he could have swallowed any more of them. 
 
 " Thus was I delivered from one of the greatest 
 dangers it has ever been my lot to encounter. When 
 I got on board, my shipmates welcomed me warmly, 
 and sincerely congratulated me on my escape. The 
 gale had abated, and as old Blowhard had bfen only 
 waiting for my return to put to sea, we instantly made 
 sail, and stood out of the harbor with our faithful shark 
 in company. I dare say to this day the Patagonian 
 chief fully believes that we carried off his daughter; 
 so, in a certain sense, we did, but not exactly in the 
 way he supposes. Poor man, it was better that he 
 should not. It was very dreadful." 
 
 Jonathan was silent ; he took a long pull at his turn' 
 27
 
 814 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 bier, and gave a deep sigh, which sounded not unlike a 
 peal of thunder along the decks. Gogles' eyes had 
 been growing larger and larger, and rounder and 
 rounder, and his mouth had been gaping more and 
 more. 
 
 " What a dreadful thing ! " he exclaimed, drawing his 
 breath. " I wonder you could bring yourself to sit on 
 the shark's back after what he'd done." 
 
 Mr. Johnson did not answer ; he only sighed. He 
 was meditating on the tragic fate of his loving Oily- 
 blubbina. 
 
 We again began to be afraid that, overcome by the 
 recollections which he had been conjuring up, he might 
 not continue his narrative. 
 
 " That was, indeed, a dreadful way to lose your in- 
 tended wife," observed Gray, wishing to rouse him up. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's eyes twinkled. 
 
 " It was — it was," he answered emphatically. " Poor 
 Oilyblubbina ! I would rather have found a pleasanter 
 for her sake, but it was sure. There was little chance 
 of her coming to life again. Dreadful ! I believe you, 
 it was dreadful. I was not sorry when we lost sight 
 of the high land of Patagonia, so full of painful recol- 
 lections to me. For two or three days the weather 
 was fine, but our ill-luck had not deserted us, for 
 another gale sprang up, and drove us back again very 
 nearly into the very harbor near which the family of 
 Oilyblubbina resided. I never felt so uncomfortable 
 in my life lest I should fall into their hands, and they 
 might insist on my marrying another daughter. To 
 do her justice, my poor lost Oilyblubbina was by far
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 3 15 
 
 the best looking of the female members of the family. 
 However, we managed to keep the sea, and at length 
 recovered our lost ground. Once well round the Cape, 
 we steered north, putting into several ports, but nothing 
 extraordinary happened. Our pet shark followed us, 
 and always kept watch round the ship. I invariably 
 used to ride on him about the harbors, just as if he had 
 been a sea-horse, and astonished the Dons not a little, 
 I calculate. In fact, I bad some thoughts of having a 
 high saddle made to fit his back, so as to keep my 
 feet out of the water. In calms he was very useful in 
 towing the ship in and out of harbor. By the by, I 
 omitted to tell you of an occurrence which took place 
 while we were on the eastern coast. One night when 
 I had charge of the deck, feeling that there was no 
 use keeping the men out of their hammocks, as they 
 had been hard worked lately, and I could do as much 
 any day as half the ship's company, I told them to turn 
 in. You've all heard, of course, of the Pampeiros of 
 South America. They are heavy squalls which come 
 off the Pampas of that extraordinary country. For an 
 hour or more I had stood at the helm, admiring the 
 stars, and thinking of the number of strange things 
 which had happened to me, when on a sudden, without 
 the slightest warning, I found my teeth almost blown 
 down my throat, and, before I could sing out to shorten 
 sail, over went the vessel on her beam ends with such 
 force, that even the ->h didn't stop her; but while I 
 hung on to the wheel for dear lite, down went her masts 
 perpendicularly, and up Bhe came «>n the other side, and 
 to my infinite satisfaction righted herself with a jerk.
 
 316 MA.RMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSITJPMAN. 
 
 which sent every thing into its place again. So rapid 
 was the movement, that nothing was washed away, nor 
 were any of the people awakened. Indeed, they would 
 not believe what had happened even when I told them, 
 till they found a turn in the clews of their hammocks, 
 for which they could not otherwise account. Many of 
 my old shipmates in the Lady Stiggins are still alive, 
 and will vouch for the truth of my statement." 
 
 " Are you certain, bo'sun, that you did not take the 
 turns yourself while the people were on deck, and then 
 get them all to go to sleep that you might make them 
 believe your story ? " asked some one outside, in a 
 feigned voice. 
 
 " Wouldn't it be easier, stupid, to invent the story 
 from beginning to end, if I wanted to impose on any 
 one ? " asked Mr. Johnson, with pretended indignation. 
 " However, as I have more than once before observed, 
 I have an especial objection to be interrupted by cavil- 
 lers and doubters ; so I'll thank you, Mr. Dubersome, 
 to keep your notions bottled up in the empty skull which 
 holds all the wits you've got. Ho ! ho ! ho ! I generally 
 contrive to give as much as I get. But I must, I see, 
 proceed with my veracious narrative. 
 
 " We at last left the coast to visit some of the islands 
 in the South Pacific. The first place we touched at 
 was the island of Pomparee. It was then governed 
 by a king and queen, who had an only daughter, the 
 Princess Chickchick. The ship wanted some repairs, 
 and as we hove her down here, I had plenty of time to 
 become acquainted with the people. Every thing in 
 that island was made of coral. In the first place it was
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 317 
 
 coral itself, then the reefs which surrounded it were 
 coral, and the rocks were coral, and the sand was com- 
 posed of hits of coral. The palace of the king was 
 built of coral, and so were the houses of the people, 
 only his was red, which is scarce, and theirs of plebeian 
 white. It had a very pretty effect, I can assure you. The 
 chairs and tables would, I doubt not, have been made 
 of coral, only they did not use them ; in fact, their no- 
 tion of furnishing a house is very different to ours. A 
 few mats, and baskets, and pipkins, is all they require, 
 f heir garments are somewhat scanty too, but the wea- 
 ther is all the year round so warm that it would be ab- 
 surd for them to dress up as we do. The king's dress 
 on grand occasions was a crown of gay-colored feathers, 
 and a sort of Scotch kilt of the same material, with a 
 cloak over his shoulder. The queen also wore a petti- 
 coat, and so did little Chickehick, but not a rap else, 
 nor did they seem to think it was necessary. The 
 king's name was Rumfiz, and her majesty was called 
 Pillow. They were an amiable couple, and remarkably 
 fond of each other. When I observed that every thing 
 in the island was made of coral, I did not mean to say 
 that there were no trees, for there were a great many 
 very beautiful ones, bread-fruit trees, and cocoa-nuts, 
 and palms, and many others. I made the acquaintance 
 of his august majesty after I had been on the island a 
 few days. I was one evening walking by myself some 
 little way inland, when I found myself almost in from 
 
 of the king's palace. lie had 1 n snoozing after eating 
 
 his dinner to get an appetite for supper, when he was 
 awoke by hearing his courtiers cry ouf that a white man 
 
 27*
 
 818 MARMADUKE MEKRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 was come among them. He jumped up, rubbed his 
 eyes, and addressed me in the following harangue : 
 
 " ' You Englishman, why you come now ? — come 
 by-by, eat supper plenty.' 
 
 " By this I understood that his majesty was inviting 
 me to supper, which was the fact. I accordingly lighted 
 my pipe, and sat down under a tree to smoke, while the 
 king got into his hammock again and went to sleep. 
 Presently a number of courtiers came and spread mats 
 in the shade near where I was sitting, and others 
 brought baskets filled with bread-fruit, and cocoa-nuts, 
 and grapes ; and the King Rumfiz got up, and came and 
 sat down with Queen Pillow and the Princess Chick- 
 chick, and several other lords and ladies. They all 
 looked as if they were waiting for something, and pre- 
 sently they set up a loud shout as a number of slaves 
 appeared with large baskets on their heads, dripping 
 with water. I watched what was to be done, when I saw 
 the king lean back, and a slave pull out a live fish from 
 the basket, which he clapped into his majesty's mouth. 
 The fish wriggled his tail about a little, and the king 
 rolled his eyes with delight till it slipped down his 
 throat, and then he rubbed the region to which it had 
 descended, as if it had afforded him the highest satis- 
 faction. 
 
 " The queen's turn came next, and I thought she 
 would have been choked with the size of the fish, which 
 went wriggling all alive down her throat. The cour- 
 tiers were next allowed to enjoy the same luxury, while 
 little Chickchick and the ladies-in-waiting amused them- 
 selves by letting handfuls of prawns playfully skip down
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 319 
 
 their throats. After a little time the king made signs 
 that he was ready for another fish, which in like manner 
 was let down his throat, and in this way he consumed 
 two or three dozen live fish (I like to be under the 
 mark), and the queen and courtiers nearly the same 
 number each. In that country it is tbe royal preroga- 
 tive of the king to eat more than any of his subjects. 
 They were all much surprised to find that I could not 
 eat the live fish, for as they thought me a superior being 
 to any of themselves, they fancied that I could do more 
 than they could. I did try to swallow a few prawns, 
 but they stuck in my throat, and made me terribly husky 
 for all the rest of the evening. I, however, soon learned 
 to eat live fish as well as the best of them, and before I 
 left the island I could swallow one as large as a tolerable- 
 sized salmon ; but then, of course, they had no spikes 
 on their backs. I once saw the king swallow a conger ; 
 — I don't think I could have managed one myself, but 
 you never know what you can do till you try. 
 
 "After supper the maids of honor and the courtiers 
 got up to have a dance, and I toed-it and heeled-it witli 
 the princess to her heart's content. Didn't I come the 
 double-shuffle in fine style ! No man could ever beat me 
 in dancing, and when I had got a princess for my 
 partner it was the time to show off. The king was de- 
 lighted, and asked me at once to come and put up at his 
 palace, and to bring a few bottles of rum, and some 
 pipes and baccy with me. This I did as SOOH as the 
 duties of the ship would allow me. Well, I soon he- 
 came great friends with the king and queen, ami I u>cd 
 to go up to the palace every day and sit and smoke a
 
 S20 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 pipe with his majesty in a cosy way, and frequently the 
 queen would come and take a whiff out of my pipe, till 
 she learnt to smoke too, and I then taught her to chaw 
 baccy. She was very fond of a quid, let me tell ye, 
 and' we became as friendly as two mice. All the time 
 little Chickchick used to sit up in a corner by herself, 
 making a mat or a straw hat, or some such sort of thing, 
 looking up at me with her beautiful eyes, and listening 
 to all I was saying- though, for the matter of that, she 
 could not understand much of my lingo. At last I 
 caught the dear little thing at it, and I thought she 
 would like to learn to smoke also, so I taught her, and 
 I was not long in finding out that she had fallen desper- 
 ately in love with me. Of course, I could not do less 
 than return the compliment, and told her so, which 
 pleased her mightily. In fact, the king and queen and I, 
 with the princess, had a pleasant life of it, with nothing 
 to do and plenty to eat and drink. 
 
 " ' Now,' said the king one day to me, as we were 
 sitting over our pipes and grog, ' you won't go away in 
 big ship — you no go — you stay marry Chickchick — 
 be my son — moch better. Enemy come, you fight ; 
 friend come, you talk.' 
 
 " By this I concluded he wanted me to become his 
 prime minister — a sort of first-lieutenant kings have to 
 do all the work for them. 
 
 " ' I'll think the matter over, your majesty,' I an 
 swered, ' and if I can manage it, I'll stay.' 
 
 " This answer seemed to please him mightily, and 
 little Chickchick came up laughing and singing to me 
 60on afterwards, and told me she was so glad of that ;
 
 MARMADOKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 321 
 
 she should like to be my wife above all things. It wag 
 a little bit of unsophisticated nature which pleased me 
 amazingly. I then arranged with the captain to remain 
 there while he went cruising among the other islands, 
 and he was then to come back and take me to the South 
 Polar Sea, where we were bound on a whaling cruise. 
 The ship sailed away, and so did my pet shark, whom 
 I afterwards heard pined and grew thin, and wouldn't 
 even take his food when he found I was not on board. 
 It was a mark of affection which touched me sensibly. 
 
 " I thus became, by my own intrinsic merits, a prime 
 minister and son-in-law to a king. I had not an un- 
 pleasant life of it altogether ; the princess was very 
 fond of me, and the people were easily governed. The 
 secret was to let them do exactly what they liked. I 
 used, also, to make them huge promises, which, though 
 I never kept, served to amuse them for the time, and I 
 always had the knack of wriggling out of a scrape, 
 which is the secret of all government. The first thing 
 I did was to tell them that I would advise the kins to 
 abolish all taxes which were made on bread-fruit, and 
 when by this means I became very popular as a liberal 
 minister, I published an edict, ordaining that every man 
 should send twice as many cocoa-nuts to the imperial 
 treasury as before. The people had enjoyed a long 
 peace, and had become unwarlike, so when they cried 
 out that it was useless trouble making spears and 
 bows and arrows and in building war canoes, I let them 
 have their own way, which made me still more popular. 
 I took the precaution, however, of keeping my own 
 musket ready in my house in case of accidents, as it
 
 322 MARMADTJKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 was the only fire-arm in the kingdom. There were 
 numerous islands in the neighborhood, and on some of 
 them King Rutnfiz had in his youth inflicted a signal 
 chastisement, which they had never forgotten nor for- 
 given. 
 
 " They had, in the mean time, knocked over two or 
 three of their own kings, and had established what they 
 called a republic. From what I could make out, one 
 half of the people were trying to become governors, and 
 the other half trying not to be governed. They had for 
 some time past been eating each other up, but having 
 got tired of that fun, and wanting a change of diet, they 
 thought it would be pleasanter to attack some other 
 people. I discovered that they had already a large ex- 
 pedition on foot, and numerous canoes ready to transport 
 them, though it was pretended that these forces were to 
 attack another island to the eastward of them. A spy, 
 however^ brought me the intelligence of what they were 
 about, co I endeavored to make preparations to give 
 them a warm reception ; but the people would not hear 
 of it, and fcaid it was a great deal too much trouble to 
 make bows and arrows, and build canoes to guard 
 against a danger which might never arrive. 
 
 " There were several fellows among them, some of 
 whom, I verily believe, had been bribed by the enemy, 
 who persuaded them that it was much wiser to make 
 mats and hats and cloths to sell to the merchantmen 
 than to think of fighting. 
 
 " Such was the condition of the country, when one 
 morning, as I w T as walking on the sea-shore meditating 
 on the affairs of state, I observed a large fleet of eanoea
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 323 
 
 pulling toward the island ; I ran back to the palace to 
 tell the king, and sent messengers in every direction to 
 warn the people. All was now hurry, and confusion, 
 and dismay. The first thing they did was to tumble the 
 peace-councillors into the sea with lumps of coral round 
 their necks, and they then set to work to string their 
 bows and to point their arrows and their spears. All 
 the generals had plans of their own ; some proposed let- 
 ting the enemy land while they defended the king's 
 palace ; some to meet him half way, others to capitulate, 
 while I collected as many men as I could and marched 
 them down to the beach. I had my musket and 
 ammunition concealed in a bush for a last effort, should 
 the day be against us. The king came out in his 
 best dress, and harangued his army to the following 
 effect : 
 
 " ' We much fine fellows — much brave — much 
 good; de enemy great blackguard — much coward — 
 much bad — much beast ; shoot arrow, kill plenty.' 
 
 " On this the army cheered and waved their spears 
 and bows. We reached the beach but just in time to 
 receive the enemy, who were mightily disappointed, ex- 
 pecting to land without any trouble, and to make a fine 
 feast of our carcases. On seeing us they set up a ter- 
 rific shout, in the hopes of frightening us away, but it 
 was no go, and then they began to pepper us with their 
 arrows, which came as thick as hail about our ears. 
 Under cover of this shower they pulled into the beach 
 Our warriors were brave, but they were long unaccus 
 tomed to fighting, and many were killed and driven 
 back by the enemy. I trembled for my father-in-law's
 
 824 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 throne, when I considered that the time had arrived to 
 bring ray musket into play. The first fire astonished 
 them not a little, but when they found that this patent 
 thunder-maker (as they called it) knocked over two or 
 three fellows every time it spoke, they thought it was 
 high time to turn tail and be off. As soon as the enemy 
 began to retreat, the mob came forward in crowds to 
 attack them, shrieking and swearing, and abusing them 
 like pickpockets, though they had, while there was any 
 danger, kept carefully out of the way. I continued 
 firing on the retreating foe as long as they continued in 
 sight, for my gun could carry further than any other in 
 existence. It was made under my own directions, and 
 was a very extraordinary weapon. If it had not been 
 for that gun, I believe King Rumfiz would have lost his 
 kingdom. He was very grateful to me, as, to do them 
 justice, were all his subjects ; and I found that I was 
 unanimously elected as the heir to the throne. My 
 honors did not make me proud, for I felt that I deserved 
 them, and I became, for some time, more popular than 
 ever. A neighboring island, however, which had been 
 for centuries attached to the dominions of King Rumfiz, 
 gave me much trouble, for though many of the inhabi- 
 tants were descended from his own people, they insisted 
 on making themselves independent (as they called it) and 
 having a king of their own. They were great cannibals, 
 and used to eat each other up without ceremony, and as 
 for hissing, hooting, and swearing, few people could 
 match them. The name of the island was Blarney 
 Botherum. When I first visited them, I thought, from 
 their own account, that they were a nation of heroes
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 32rt 
 
 kept in chains by King Rumfiz for his own especial 
 pleasure and amusement, and that if I could make them 
 free they would set a bright example to the rest of the 
 world of intelligence, civilization, and all the virtues which 
 adorn human nature. I soon, however, discovered that 
 the people of Blarney Botherum were the greatest hum- 
 bugs under the sun. They had got a set of people 
 among them whom they called medicine men, who told 
 them that there was a big medicine man in a distant 
 part of the world, whom they were to obey instead of 
 King Rumfiz, and that, provided they told him the 
 truth, and gave them cocoa-nuts and bread-fruits, they 
 might tell as many lies as they liked to the king, and 
 might rob and cheat him as much as they pleased. 
 Whenever, therefore, the little medicine men wanted 
 cocoa-nuts and bread-fruits, they used to tell the people 
 the big one required food, and their whole occupation 
 was to throw dust in the eyes of King Rumfiz (as the 
 Turks say), so that he might not find out their knavery.'
 
 326 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Mr. Johnson leaned back in his seat, when, slowly 
 stooping down for his tumbler, he brought it deliberate- 
 ly to his mouth, and took a prolonged sip. Then shak- 
 ing his head, he observed, " Politics are awful things to 
 meddle with — the very thought of what I endured, 
 turns my throat into a dust-hole." Again he sipped, 
 and again he shook his head. " Young gentlemen," he 
 said solemnly, " if ever any of you rise to the top of the 
 profession, and I hope you may — and should his Majes- 
 ty, King George, send for you, and offer to make you a 
 Prime Minister, take an old man's advice, and respect- 
 fully decline the honor. Say, that standing at the helm 
 of one of his ships, and fighting her as long as there is 
 a shot in the locker, is one thing, and standing at the 
 helm of State, and being badgered by friends and foes 
 alike, is another. You may quote me as an authority. 
 Well, I was telling you how I managed when I was 
 Prime Minister to King Rumfiz, and of the trouble 
 caused me by certain personages in the island of Blar- 
 ney Botherum. 
 
 " I was not long in discovering the tricks of these 
 medicine men, and of their friends who lived on a trade 
 they called patriotism, but the difficulty was to catch 
 them. I at last, however, found a few tripping, and 
 having hung them up, the rest were very soon brought 
 into a state of implicit obedience to my commands.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 327 
 
 " As soon as I had restored peace to the country, I 
 thought that it would he advisahle to reform the consti- 
 tution. I had some slight difficulty in comprehending 
 its principles, especially as I only as yet imperfectly un- 
 derstood the language. My notions were, however, so 
 opposed by the sages of the country, and so great was 
 the commotion created, that it was with no slight satis- 
 faction I saw the Lady Stiggins approaching the island 
 under full sail, as I was one morning sitting on the 
 beach cutting ducks and drakes with oyster shells over 
 the calm blue water of the bay. 
 
 u I have a good strong voice of my own even now, 
 but then I could make myself heard three or four miles 
 off at least, and sometimes, when I was in tone, much 
 further. The only other man I ever met at all equal to 
 me was a Frenchman, the master of a privateer ; and 
 we once carried on a conversation together, he sitting 
 on the shores of Calais, I on the cliffs of Dover. Well, 
 I stood up, and hailing the Lady Stiggins, waved my 
 hat over my head. My former shipmates heard me, 
 though for a long time they could not tell where the 
 voice came from. Another old friend, however, was 
 more quick of hearing, and sight too. I saw a commo- 
 tion in the water, as if an arrow was passing through 
 it, so fast did it draw near. Presently a black fin ap- 
 peared, and then there was a tremendous rush, and then 
 who should pop his head out of the water till he ran 
 himself almost high and dry on the beach, but my pet 
 shark ? In his delight at seeing me he almost got hold 
 of my leg, which, in a fit of joyful forget fulness, I be- 
 lieve he would have bitten off", had I not jumped out of 
 the way.
 
 328 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " Well, as I was saying, the shark did not bite off my 
 leg; the delay, would, at all events, have been inconve- 
 nient had he done so. I stroked his cheeks, and he 
 looked up most lovingly into my face with his piercing 
 eyes, and then, after he had floundered back into the 
 water, I got on his back and away we went out to sea 
 toward my ship. My companions were delighted to see 
 me ; the wonder was how they got on without me. 
 When we dropped our anchor, King Rumfiz and Queen 
 Pillow, with my wife the Princess Chickchick, came off 
 in a canoe to the ship, and very much surprised they 
 were to see me on board, not knowing that my pet 
 shark was in company. My little wife, indeed, thought 
 I was a ghost, and in her fright jumped overboard, when 
 she was as near as possible sharing the fate of poor 
 Oilyblubbina, and would have done so had I not leaped 
 after her and saved her. Not to disappoint my pet, we 
 gave him afterwards half a dozen fat hogs, which he in- 
 finitely preferred. The captain was so generous with 
 his liquor, that he sent my royal father and mother-in- 
 law on shore roaring drunk. They were so happy that 
 they insisted on having a ball at the palace, for which 
 purpose I issued a decree summoning all the principal 
 people of the island ; and a jolly night we had of it too, 
 the old king toeing it and heeling it away right merrily 
 in the centre of a circle of his admiring subjects. Every 
 thing must have an end, so had my residence in the 
 island. As I had begun to get rather tired of the mo- 
 notony of my life on shore, I determined to make a 
 voyage for the benefit of my health." 
 
 " Did you take your wife with you ? " asked Gogles,
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 329 
 
 who had swallowed every word uttered by the boat- 
 swain. 
 
 " My wife ? Oh no ; I left her on shore for the ben 
 efit of hers. Poor thing, she cried very much when I 
 went away ; it was the last time I saw her." 
 
 " How was that, Mr. Johnson ? " inquired Gray, " you 
 seem to have been unfortunate with your wives." 
 
 " Yes, indeed, I was," replied the unhappy widower ; 
 " I have had ten of them too. When I came back, 
 I found that the island had been attacked by the sav- 
 ages, who had carried off my wife and eaten her. It's 
 a fact. If they had had a reform, and kept me and my 
 gun among them, it wouldn't have happened — of that 
 I'm certain. Having taken in a supply of wood, water, 
 and provisions, the Lady Stiggins once more made sail 
 for the southward." 
 
 " I wonder you survived all your misfortunes, Mr. 
 Johnson," observed Spellman, who, next to Gogles and 
 Toby Bluff, seemed to place the most perfect belief in 
 the boatswain's veracious narratives, as he was pleased 
 to designate his amusing inventions. 
 
 " Why, do you see, Mr. Spellman, I'm tough — very 
 
 tough ! " he answered, with a hoarse laugh. " I doubt 
 
 if even the head cook of the monarch of the cannibal 
 
 islands — King Iloki Poki — could ever make me 
 
 tender. So you see I've held out through them all ; 
 
 and there's one thing I may say, trying as they may 
 
 have been, they have never taken away my appetite. 
 
 Now, young gentlemen, you've had a good long } f arn, 
 
 and my throat feels like a dusthole with talking, so I 
 
 must knock off." 
 
 28*
 
 830 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " But you'll tell us the end of your adventures some 
 day, Mr. Johnson ; won't you now ? " said Gogles, im- 
 ploringly. 
 
 " I'll continue them, perhaps, young gentleman," an- 
 swered the boatswain, laughing. " But let me tell you 
 it will take a mighty long time before I ever get to the 
 end of them. They're inexhaustible — something like 
 the mint, young gentlemen, where the king has his 
 guineas struck which he pays to us seamen for fighting 
 for him. We should be in a bad way if his shiners 
 were to come to an end ; and one thing I may promise 
 you, as long as I've got a brain to think and a tongue 
 to wag, I shall be able to continue my wonderful and 
 veracious history." 
 
 Gogles and Spellman, and even Gray, looked puzzled. 
 I had long suspected that the origin of Mr. Johnson's 
 history was derived from a source considerably removed 
 from fact; and from the peculiar way in which he 
 screwed up his mouth, and the merry twinkle of his 
 one eye — for the other he shut with the comic twist 
 of his nose — I now had not the slightest doubt of the 
 matter. I cannot say that his narratives were exactly 
 instructive, but they were at all events highly amusing 
 to us youngsters. The watch being just then called, 
 an interruption was put to his narrative. Toby Bluff, 
 and some of the other boys, who had been listening 
 outside, were scuttling along the deck, spluttering out 
 their laughter, while the young gentlemen whose watch 
 it was hurried on deck, and the rest retired to the berth. 
 We left Mr. Johnson chuckling complacently at his own 
 conceits.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 331 
 
 I went to the berth, now magnificently lighted by two 
 purser's dips, which stood on the table, dropping fatness, 
 in company with a bread-barge of biscuit, some tum- 
 blers, earthenware, and tin mugs, a bottle of rum and 
 a can of water, and surrounded by most of the members 
 of the mess not on duty. Gogles followed me, and took 
 his seat. The can of water and the biscuit was shoved 
 over to him. He eyed the black bottle wistfully. 
 
 " No, no ; that isn't good stuff for babies," said Peri- 
 gal, shaking his head ; " if we had some milk you 
 should have it, Gogles." 
 
 " I wish we had ; why don't we keep some cows on 
 board ? " whispered Gogles. 
 
 " What would you feed them on ? " asked Gray. 
 
 " Grass and hay, when we could get them, of course," 
 answered Gogles, sagaciously. 
 
 " Not at all," remarked Bobus. " Carpenters' shav- 
 ings are the things. On board a ship to which I 
 belonged, we had two goats and a cow to feed our cap- 
 tain's baby, and whenever we ran short of hay or grass, 
 what do you think the captain did? Cut their throats, 
 and eat them ? No, not he. Why, he was a very 
 ingenious man, and so he had some pairs of green 
 spectacles made, which he used to clap over their eyes, 
 and then when the shavings were chopped up fine, they 
 used to eat them greedily, believing they were grass. 
 He first gave them all the old straw hats he could col- 
 lect, but that was an expensive way of feeding them." 
 
 "I should think so, Bobus," observed M'Allister, 
 who did not like joking himself, and had an especial 
 antipathy to Bobus's jukes or stories, or to Bobus him- 
 self. " May I ask what ,-liip that was in?"
 
 332 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 " What ship? why, the old Thunderer, to the best of 
 my recollection," answered Bobus, seriously. 
 
 " Every thing wonderful hapDened on board the old 
 Thunderer," observed M'Allister. " Bobus having 
 been left drunk on shore, is the only survivor of her 
 crew, and there is no one to contradict him." 
 
 " I wasn't drunk ; I was sick, and you know that 
 perfectly well," exclaimed Bobus, getting angry. " I 
 won't have my veracity called in question. I've the 
 feelings of a gentleman, and my honor to support, as 
 well as others." 
 
 " But you shouldn't support it by telling crammers," 
 said M'Allister, who took a pleasure in irritating poor 
 Bobus. 
 
 " Order ! " cried Perigal, who was always a peace- 
 maker. " Come, Mac, let Bobus spin his yarns, and do 
 you spin yours ; and now just go on with that story 
 about the Highlands which you had begun the other 
 evening, when the squall struck the ship." 
 
 M'Allister was soon in the midst of some wouderful 
 Highland legend, while attempting to listen to which I 
 fell fast asleep. 
 
 We were once more at anchor in Port Royal harbor. 
 Several other ships of war were there. On one occa- 
 sion I had the honor of dining with Captain Collyer, 
 when two or three captains and several lieutenants and 
 midshipmin were present. Among the captains was 
 rather a fine-looking man, a Captain Staghorn, com- 
 manding the Daring firigate. He was an Irishman, and 
 though I thought our boatswain could beat any man at 
 pulling the long-bow, I must say Captain Staghorn
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 333 
 
 equalled him. He poured forth the most astounding 
 stories with wonderful rapidity and self-assurance. I 
 observed that all the other officers bowed politely at the 
 end of each, no one questioning any of his statements. 
 Even Captain Collyer let him run on without differing 
 from him in the slightest degree. I took a dislike to 
 him from the first from his overbearing manner at times. 
 Still he was certainly amusing, and everybody present 
 laughed very much at his jokes. He talked incessantly, 
 and did not scruple to interrupt anybody speaking. 
 Among his stories was an account he gave of his own 
 prowess, when a lieutenant in command of a schooner. 
 He was sent in search of a piratical craft. He came 
 up with her, and running alongside, sprang on board, 
 expecting his men to follow. The vessels, he declared, 
 separated, but he laid about him with such good will 
 that he not only kept the pirates at bay, but drove them 
 below before his own schooner again got alongside. Cap- 
 tain Collyer, politely bowing, observed that he had often 
 heard of his having taken a piratical craft in a very 
 gallant way, which, in fact, he had, but not, as he assert- 
 ed, alone ; he had a dozen stout hands to back him, 
 which makes all the difference. The name of a cousin 
 of mine, Captain Ceaton, was mentioned. I had just 
 before received the news from home that he had been ap- 
 pointed to the command of a corvette which would very 
 probably be sent out to the West Indies. He was only 
 a lieutenant when I came to sea, and had not long beeu 
 a commander. I had seen but little of him, but I knew 
 him to be a thoroughly brave honest fellow. What, 
 therefore, was my surprise and annoyance to hear
 
 834 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. ' 
 
 Captain Staghorn open out roundly on him, and abase 
 him in no measured terms. One of the other captains 
 asked why he did so. 
 
 " Why ? " exclaimed Captain Staghorn, " five years 
 ago or more he was a lieutenant of a ship I commanded. 
 On his being superseded, at length, the lieutenant who 
 succeeded him asked him what sort of a person I was, 
 and he had the impudence to say that I was a very good 
 sort of fellow, but used the long-bow pretty frequently. 
 I won't say how this came to my ears, but I made a vow, 
 and I'll keep it, that I'll force him to go out with me, 
 and I'll shoot him." 
 
 The other captains tried to convince Captain Staghorn 
 that Ceaton could not have intended to offend him, as he 
 was a man who would never offend any one. Captain 
 Staghorn muttered within his teeth, " I will, though." 
 I was very much induced to say, " But you do draw 
 with the long-bow, and Ceaton only spoke the truth." I 
 restrained myself, however, wisely ; for though the other 
 captains might be convinced that I only said what was 
 the case, they would very much disapprove of a mid- 
 shipman expressing himself freely about a post-captain. 
 Coffee was soon handed round, and we midshipmen, 
 according to wont, retired. We repaired to the quarter- 
 deck, where the master, as he occasionally did in harbor, 
 had taken charge of the watch, the rest of the lieuten- 
 ants not dining in the cabin being on shore. He was a 
 very worthy man, but we had no great respect for him, 
 and we took liberties on which we should not have 
 ventured with Mr. Bryan or the third lieutenant, or 
 even with Mr. Fitzgerald. For some time the influ*
 
 MARMADTTKE MERRY, THE MIDSIIIPMAN. 335 
 
 ence of the cabin was on us, and we behaved with 
 sufficient dignity. One of the midshipmen of the Daring 
 walked the deck with me, and opened out confidentially 
 with regard to his captain, whom, however, he held in 
 great awe. He told me that he was very brave, and 
 had done all sorts of wonderful things ; that he did not 
 seem to set value on his own life or on that of any one 
 else ; that he was very quarrelsome, and a dead shot ; 
 that he had killed three men in duels, and wounded 
 half a dozen more ; and that he never forgot or forgave 
 what he considered an insult or an injury. My friend 
 continued, " When we dine with him, he tells us the 
 most extraordinary stories, and if we do not laugh at 
 the right place and pretend to believe them, we are sure 
 to get mastheaded, or punished in some other way, be- 
 fore many hours are over." 
 
 " A very unpleasant character," I observed, though 
 its hideousness did not strike me so forcibly in those 
 days as it does now. " I shouldn't like to serve with 
 him." 
 
 " Nor did T at first," said my friend, "but I have got 
 accustomed to his style ; and some of our fellows have 
 taken a leaf out of his book, and boast and quarrel as 
 much as he does." 
 
 I thought to myself of the old saying, " Like master, 
 like men," and adapted it, " Like captain, like midship- 
 men." 
 
 " I would rather serve under Captain Collyer," I re- 
 marked. " lie does not quarrel with or shoot his com- 
 panions, and I do not believe that there is a braver man 
 in the service."
 
 336 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 Our conversation was interrupted by a chase after 
 poor Gogles, whom Spellman and others had started up 
 the mizzen rigging, giving him a minute's start. If they 
 caught him he was to receive a cobbing ; if he escaped 
 he was to give them one, if he could. Poor Gogles had 
 certainly made but a bad bargain. All the rest of the 
 youngsters, including the Daring's midshipman and I, 
 soon joined in the chase — not all, however, to catch 
 Gogles, but rather to impede his pursuers, and to give 
 him a better chance of escape. Although he had not 
 an over-allowance of wits, he was very active, and had 
 great tenacity of gripe — qualities more valuable to sky- 
 larking midshipmen, rope-dancers, and monkeys, than 
 brains. 
 
 Up went Gogles very valiantly to the topgallant mast- 
 head, and, waiting till Spellman had got close up to him, 
 under pretence of being tired, he slid down the lift on to 
 the yard-arm, and running in on the yard, had descend- 
 ed to the cross-trees, leaving all his pursuers above him. 
 In similar ways he contrived to evade his pursuers, I 
 and others helping him by pulling at their legs, or getting 
 above them and stopping their way up. He had, I con- 
 sidered, fairly won the right to cob all the party ; but, 
 grown bold by his success, he descended by the lift to 
 the topsail yard-arm, and was about to stoop down to 
 traverse the brace to the mainmast, when, from hearing 
 Spellman's shout, he looked up, and, missing his grasp, 
 over he went headlong into the water. 
 
 I was at the time on the cross-jack yard. I ran ta 
 the end. Though Gogles could swim, he was, I at once 
 saw, stunned by the fall. I did not stop to consider
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 337 
 
 whether there, was danger or not, but, slipping off my 
 jacket, which I threw in board, and kicking off my 
 shoes, I plunged in after him, fortunately not losing my 
 breath in my fall. I looked about for Gogles. He was 
 just sinking. I swam toward him, for there was a cur- 
 rent running which had drifted him already to some 
 distance. No sooner did I reach him, however, than 
 like a squid he threw his arms about me, and made it 
 impossible for me to strike out. I entreated him to free 
 me, but he evidently did not understand what I said. 
 The dread that we should both be drowned came over 
 me. I kicked my legs about as much as I could, but I 
 could not shout out for fear of filling my mouth with 
 water. I thought of sharks — indeed of all sorts of 
 horrible things. We appeared to be drifting further and 
 further from the ship. 
 
 Preparations were being made to lower a boat, but I 
 felt that before it could reach me I must sink. Just 
 then I caught sight of the boatswain's long nose over 
 the hammock nettings, and the next instant he had slid 
 down a rope overboard, and was striking out toward 
 me. 
 
 " Shout, boy! shout, my son ! and kick away — kick 
 away," he kept exclaiming, as with sturdy strokes he 
 clave the water, in his progress making himself all the 
 time as much noise as possible. 
 
 I guessed the reason of his cries, for I saw a black 
 fin in the distance. Had 1 been alone when I saw that 
 ill-omened fin, I believe that I should have quickly 
 sunk ; hut the feeling that I had my messmate to sup- 
 port, and that the honest boatswain was coming to my 
 
 29
 
 338 MARMADUKE 3IERRY, THE M rDSHIPMAN. 
 
 help, kept me up. I did as Mr. Johnson directed me, 
 and kept kicking with all my might, and shouting too, 
 whenever I could get my mouth clear of the water. 
 Still I got more down it than was pleasant. I saw 
 something gleaming in Mr. Johnson's hand. It was a 
 long Spanish knife. 
 
 Gogles had been quiet for some time, but just then he 
 began to struggle, and again clasped me round the neck. 
 I felt as if I was sinking, and was earnestly wishing 
 that Mr. Johnson was a few yards nearer, when I saw 
 him suddenly turn aside and strike off to the left. My 
 eye followed him with an intensity of interest such as I 
 cannot describe. It caught the gleam of his knife, and 
 then what was my horror to find that he had disap- 
 peared. It was but for a moment. Directly afterward 
 he rose again, surrounded by a circle of crimson, and a 
 huge black body floated up near him, lashing the water. 
 He darted forward, and, seizing Gogles, released me 
 from his grasp. 
 
 " Swim on, Mr. Merry, swim on," he shouted, shoving 
 me before him. " Here comes the boat." 
 
 The men bent to their oars, and the brave boatswain 
 swam on with all his might. With a jerk he threw 
 Gogles into the boat, and gave me a shove up as I was 
 climbing in, which very nearly sent me over on the 
 other side ; he then sprang after us with surprising 
 agility, turning as soon as he had got his feet out of the 
 water, and striking with all his might at a huge creature 
 which followed close at our heels. I saw the flash of 
 the monster's white throat. 
 
 " Habet," shouted our third lieutenant, who was — a
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 339 
 
 rare thing in those days in the navy — somewhat of a 
 scholar. Mr. Johnson had inflicted a mortal wound on 
 another shark, who was immediately surrounded by his 
 amiable brethren, eager to devour him as they had 
 missed us. It is not difficult to conceive what would 
 have been our fate had we remained another minute in 
 the water, after the boatswain had killed the first shark. 
 
 "You indeed did that bravely, Mr. Johnson," said 
 Mr. Haisleden, as we returned to the frigate. u I 
 never saw any thing like it. Where did you learn that 
 trick ? " 
 
 " In the south seas, sir," answered the boatswain in a 
 quiet tone, very different from his usual boastful manner. 
 " I was once wrecked on an island, where I saw the 
 natives swim off and attack sharks with their common 
 knives; and I said to myself, what a savage does an 
 Englishman can do, if he takes time and practises. So 
 as I had little chance of getting away tor many months, 
 or it might be years, I set to and learned to swim like 
 the natives, and then to fight the sharks. It was no 
 easy matter, and at first it was trying work to see one 
 of the monsters making toward me and the native who 
 accompanied me ; but, after I had seen the way in 
 which he managed, I was no longer afraid, and soon 
 became as expert as any of them. No man knows' 
 what he can do till he tries. I've been the means of 
 saving the life of more than one shipmate by thus know- 
 ing how to manage the brutes." 
 
 <k Why, you've ridden on a shark, Mr. Johnson," said 
 Gogles, opening his eyes. 
 
 " Gammon ! " answered the boatswain, twisting his 
 nose. " I am speaking the truth now."
 
 840 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 By this time we had reached the side of the frigate. 
 Captain Collyer was on deck. He warmly thanked 
 Mr. Johnson for his gallantry in jumping over to save 
 us, and we received the congratulations of our friends 
 at our escape, but I found that it was generally sup- 
 posed I had fallen overboard as well as Gogles; nor 
 did I feel inclined to explain matters. 
 
 " I should have mastheaded the youngsters for sky- 
 larking on board the Daring," observed Captain Stag- 
 horn to one of our officers, as he took a sharp and 
 hurried turn on the quarter-deck. 
 
 " I'm glad I don't belong to your ship, my jewel," 
 thought I, as I overheard him. 
 
 Gogles and I were sent below to our hammocks, and 
 Mr. Johnson followed us to put on dry clothes. 
 
 "I'll set all to rights, Mr. Merry," he observed, in a 
 kind tone ; " I saw how it all happened, and the brave 
 way in which you jumped after the other youngster; 
 but I wouldn't say any thing before that strange captain. 
 I know him well. He's a pest in the service, and 
 always was. Had it not been for him I should have 
 been on the quarter-deck. However, I must go and 
 shift myself. Turn in and take a glass of grog ; you'll 
 be all to rights to-morrow morning." 
 
 Now the excitement was over, I felt very weary and 
 uncomfortable, and was not sorry to follow his advice. 
 As Mr. Johnson had predicted, the next day I was not 
 a bit the worse for my adventure ; but poor Gogles took 
 several days to recover from his fright, and the quantity 
 of salt water he had imbibed. 
 
 I found that Captain Collyer treated me with even
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE JIIDSniPMAN. 341 
 
 more than his usual kindness, nor was I long in dis- 
 covering that this arose from the account the boatswain 
 took care should be conveyed to him of my conduct. I 
 felt, however, that I was far more indebted to Mr. 
 Johnson than Gogles was to me. I had jumped over- 
 board from impulse, he with forethought and deliberate 
 coolness. The circumstance cemented our friendship 
 more closely than ever, and I am certain that he loved 
 me as a son. With his rough exterior, loud voice, and 
 bravery, his heart was as gentle as a woman's. I have 
 seen tears trickle down his rough cheeks at a tale of 
 sorrow, while with purse and sympathy he was ever 
 ready to relieve distress, and I am convinced that he 
 never wronged man, woman, or child in his life. 
 
 Two days after this, the signal was made that the 
 Pearl corvette was in the offing. As soon as she en- 
 tered the harbor, I got leave to pay my cousin Ceaton 
 a visit. He was an admirer of my sister Bertha, if not 
 actually engaged to her, which I thought he might be 
 by this time, and I was anxious to get news from home, 
 as well as to see him. A kinder, better fellow never 
 breathed. His manners were most gentlemanly, and 
 gentle, too, and, though brave as a lion, he had never 
 been known to quarrel with a shipmate or any other 
 person. He received me as a brother, and very soon 
 told me that, on his return to England, he hoped to as- 
 sume that character. He had a great deal to tell me 
 about home, and said that I must stay on board and 
 dine with him. 
 
 Our pleasant conversation was interrupted by the 
 announcement of Major 0' Grady. The name made me 
 
 '29*
 
 342 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 feel uncomfortable, for he was one of the soldier officers 
 who had dined on board the Doris, and appeared to be 
 on \ery intimate terms with Captain Staghorn. He 
 was just that stiff, punctilious-mannered, gray-eyed per- 
 son, for whom I have had always a peculiar antipathy. 
 He hummed and hawed, and looked sternly at me, as 
 if he could have eaten me up, and thought my presence 
 especially impertinent ; but budge for him I would not, 
 till desired by my cousin to do so. . At last he had to 
 say, " I beg your pardon, Commander Ceaton, but the 
 business I have come on cannot be discussed in the 
 presence of a youngster." 
 
 " Go on deck, Marmaduke," said my cousin. 
 
 Unwillingly I obeyed. My worst apprehensions 
 were confirmed. Captain Staghorn was resolved to 
 carry out his diabolical intentions. What could be done ? 
 I felt certain that Charles Ceaton had never fired a pis- 
 tol except in open warfare, and as to practising for the 
 sake of being the better able to kill a fellow-creature, I 
 knew that was abhorrent to his nature. 
 
 I hurried on deck as ordered, but as the skylight was 
 off, and Major O' Grady spoke in a loud, and it seemed 
 a bullying voice, I could hear nearly every word he 
 said, nor did I consider myself wrong in drawing near 
 to listen. 
 
 " I am not at all aware of ever having made use of 
 the words imputed to me," said my cousin, calmly. 
 
 "That is as much as to say, Commander Ceaton, that 
 you consider my friend capable of uttering a falsehood," 
 answered the Major, in a deliberate tone. 
 
 " Not at all, sir. I am simply stating the fact, that I
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 343 
 
 cannot clearly recall having uttered the expressions you 
 mention," said my cousin. 
 
 " Then you do not deny that you said something of 
 the sort ; indeed something to afford my friend Captain 
 Staghorn sufficient ground for demanding an ample and 
 perfect apology ?" said the Major, in his former slow 
 way. 
 
 " I shall deny nothing," said my cousin, at length 
 nettled heyond endurance. He must be, too, I was cer- 
 tain, well aware of Captain Staghorn's reputation as a 
 dead shot, and on that account resolved to go out and 
 fight him. In those days, for an officer of the army or 
 navy to refuse to fight a duel, however thrust on him, 
 was to be disgraced in the eyes of his professional 
 brethren, poor weak mortals like themselves. They 
 forgot that the code of honor by which they chose to 
 act, was not the code by which they were to be tried in 
 another world. 
 
 " Then, Commander Ceaton, you cannot, of course, 
 refuse to give Captain Staghorn the satisfaction he de- 
 mands ? " said the Major. 
 
 " Certainly not," answered my cousin. 
 
 " You, of course, have a friend with whom I may set- 
 tle preliminaries," said the Major. " The sooner these 
 affairs are got over the better." 
 
 " Undoubtedly," said my cousin, with unusual bitterness 
 in his tone. " My first lieutenant will act for me. He 
 is a man of honor and a friend. I have perfect con- 
 fidence in him. I will send him to you." 
 
 I moved away from the skylight. My cousin came 
 on deck, where he was joined by Mr. Sandford, who.
 
 544 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 after a minute's conversation, went into the cabin. He 
 and the major very quickly came on deck, the latter 
 bowing stiffly as he descended to his boat alongside. I 
 felt very much inclined to walk up to him, and to say, 
 " If your friend shoots my cousin, and brother that is 
 to be, I'll shoot you;" but I did not. I, however, 
 watched with no friendly eyes the soldier officer, as he 
 sat in his boat stiff as a ramrod, while he returned to 
 the Daring. I pondered how I could prevent this duel. 
 I felt that it was not fair that one man who had never 
 held a duelling-pistol in his hand, should be compelled 
 to fight another who could snuff a candle at twelve 
 paces without putting it out. I wanted to find out when 
 and where they were to meet. 
 
 My cousin returned to the cabin with Mr. Sandford. 
 The latter remained with him for some time, and when 
 he returned on deck he looked very grave and sad. 
 Never more clearly were the evils of duelling brought 
 home to me. Here was a man in the prime of life, who 
 might long be useful to his country and mankind, about 
 to be murdered, simply because he would not apologize 
 for expressions which he could not recollect having ut- 
 tered. My poor sister Bertha, too — how miserable his 
 untimely death would make her. 
 
 I walked the deck feeling more unhappy than I had 
 ever before done. The midshipmen of the corvette 
 kept aloof from me, fancying that my cousin had com- 
 municated some ill news, or perhaps that I was in dis- 
 grace. I don't know. I was glad that no one came 
 and spoke to me. The dinner hour at last arrived, and 
 I went into the cabin. Of course I was supposed not
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 345 
 
 to know any thing about the contemplated duel, and I 
 tried to appear as cheerful as before. Besides Mr. 
 Sandford, the purser dined in the cabin, and no allusion 
 even was made to the major's visit. My cousin endeav- 
 ored to keep up the conversation, and smiled at the pur- 
 ser's bad puns, which he had probably heard a hundred 
 times before. I talked whenever I could about home — > 
 the dear old hall — my sisters and brothers, and my 
 father and mother. I observed that a shade of 
 pain passed over his countenance whenever I men- 
 tioned my sisters. I was unwise in doing so, unless 
 it could have had the effect of shaking his reso- 
 lution, and inducing him to send to Captain Stag- 
 horn, and to tell him that men of the world might say 
 what they chose, but that he would not go forth to 
 break the law of God, to take his life or to lose his 
 own. But why do I say that ? I now know that noth- 
 ing but the love of God, and of God's law implanted in 
 his heart, would have induced him thus to act. Ab- 
 stractedly he knew that he was about to do a wrong 
 thing, but had he been really making God's law the rule 
 of his life, he would not have hesitated one moment, but 
 the moment Major O' Grady had opened the subject, he 
 would have told him plainly that he feared God more 
 than man ; that if he had wronged Captain Staghorn, 
 even though unintentionally, he would make him all the 
 amends in his power, but that fight he would not. His 
 conduct, however, very clearly showed — that brave, 
 and honest, and generous, and kind-hearted as he was. 
 a man to be esteemed and loved — that he feared man, 
 and what man might say, more than God, and how God
 
 846 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 would judge. Numbers act thus ; but numbers perish 
 of a plague. That there are many, does not save them. 
 
 It must be understood that I did not think thus at the 
 time. I was only a little less careless and thoughtless 
 than those around me. I was very sorry, though, that 
 my cousin was going out to fight with a man who was a 
 dead shot, because I was afraid he would be killed, and 
 that my sister Bertha, whom I loved dearly, would be 
 made miserable. It did not occur to me, as I looked at 
 his open and intelligent countenance, his broad chest 
 and manly form, how sad it was that, by that time the 
 next day, he might be laid in the cold grave. 
 
 Dinner progressed slowly. Under other circumstances 
 he would have thought me especially stupid, for there 
 was a feeling in my throat and a weight at my heart 
 which effectually stopped me from being lively. After 
 coffee had been taken, I mechanically rose with the 
 rest, and went on deck. I had not been there long, 
 before it occurred to me that I ought to have wished 
 him good-by, as a boat was alongside to carry some 
 liberty-men on board the Doris. I desired the sentry to 
 ask if I might see him, and was immediately admitted. 
 
 "I am glad that you are come, Marmaduke," he 
 observed. " We cannot tell what may happen to us iu 
 this climate. Yellow Jack may lay his fist on us, or a 
 hurricane may send our craft to the bottom ; so, you see, 
 I have thought it better to do up a little packet, which, 
 in case of any thing happening to me, I wish you would 
 give to Bertha from me. I don't wish to die, but in 
 case I should, tell her that my last thoughts were about 
 her, and my prayers for her welfare. Oh ! Marmaduke,
 
 MAKMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 347 
 
 she is one in a thousand. Cherish her as the apple of 
 your eye. You do not know her excellences.'* 
 
 He went on very justly praising Bertha for some 
 time, till there was a tremulousness came into his voice 
 which compelled him to stop, and I very nearly blub- 
 bered outright. At last he told me to return to the 
 Doris, and come and dine with him the next day. 
 
 " That is to say," he added, " if Yellow Jack has not 
 got a gripe of me in the mean time." 
 
 With a heavy heart I went back to the frigate. I 
 took two or three turns on deck, considering if I could 
 do any thing, when it occurred to me that I would con- 
 fide the matter to Mr. Johnson, and get his advice, and, 
 it might be, assistance. I found him as usual, when the 
 duties of the day were over, seated in his cabin, reading 
 a book by the light of a ship's lantern. He put down 
 his book when I entered, and seeing by my countenance 
 that something was wrong, said, — 
 
 " What is the matter now, Mr. Merry ? I'll do what 
 I can, depend on that." 
 
 I told him all I knew, and asked him if there was any 
 way of preventing my cousin being shot. He looked 
 grave and thoughtful. 
 
 " And these men pretend to have sense in their 
 heads ! " he muttered. " Sense ! they haven't ten grains 
 of it. Haven't they a chance, every day of their lives, 
 of having their brains knocked out all in the way of 
 duty, and they must needs try and kill each other very 
 contrary to the way of duty. I never really wished to 
 be a Lord of the Admiralty, but if I was, and had my 
 way, I would break every officer who called out another, 
 or accepted a challenge, or acted as second."
 
 348 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 "Then you'd have those hung who killed their men?" 
 1 exclaimed, entering into his views. 
 
 " No, I would not. I would leave them to the just 
 punishment their own consciences would inflict ere 
 long," he answered gravely. " But I would not allow 
 men like Captain Staghorn to retain His Majesty's com- 
 mission, and to ride roughshod over his brother officers, 
 just because he fears God's wrath less than they do. But 
 you ask me how this duel is to be prevented ? If you 
 were to let the admiral himself know, he would not 
 interfere. The only way 1 can think of, would be to 
 shoot Captain Staghorn first, and that wouldn't be quite 
 the thing. Even if we could give him a settler, we must 
 never do evil that good may come of it ; I know that. 
 The fact is, I am at fault, Mr. Merry. If either of them 
 were living on shore, something might be done ; but it's 
 no easy matter, and that you'll allow, to get hold of two 
 captains of men-of-war living on board their own ships." 
 
 I agreed with him with a heavy heart. We twisted 
 and turned the matter over in every way, but did not 
 succeed in seeing daylight through it. Perhaps if we 
 had known how and where to seek for assistance, we 
 might have found it. It was my first watch. After 
 our supper of biscuits and rum and water, I went on 
 deck, and when my watch was over, turned into my 
 hammock with cruel apprehensions as to the news I 
 should hear in the morning. 
 
 I was somewhat surprised to find myself sent for, as 
 soon as I was dressed, into the captain's cabin. I felt 
 anxious, for I thought that it must be something about my 
 cousin. The captain, however, wanted simply to tell
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 349 
 
 me to take a note on board the Daring, and to return 
 with an answer. 
 
 It was a lovely morning ; the water was as smooth as 
 glass, the sky pure and bright, and the distant landscape 
 which I have before described, looking romantic and 
 lovely in the extreme. As I shoved off from the frigate 
 I saw a boat from the Pearl — the captain's gig, I 
 guessed — cross our bows and pull toward the shore of 
 the Palisades some little way up the harbor. I was 
 soon alongside the Daring, and as I crossed the quarter- 
 deck with the note in my hand, I saw that Captain 
 Staghorn, who was in full uniform, was about to go on 
 shore. The officers on duty were ranged on either side 
 of the gangway in the usual manner. Major O'Grady, 
 stiff and sour, was by his side. There was a terrible 
 savage look, I thought, in Captain Staghorn's gray evil 
 eye. I stepped across the deck to deliver my note. 
 Before I gave it, I heard him say, as he walked along 
 the deck, " I only intend to wing the fellow, major. I 
 swore long ago I'd punish him, and I will keep my 
 word." 
 
 The major made a grim face, and muttered, " The 
 brain is the best billet." 
 
 I handed my note. 
 
 " Wait, youngster," he said, sharply, " I shall be back 
 presently, I'll send an answer then ;" and crumpling up 
 the note, he put it in his pocket. 
 
 As he was just stepping down the gangway ladder, 
 he turned, and said aloud to his first lieutenant, " Should 
 the admiral and captain so-and-so arrive before I ret urn, 
 give my compliments and say that I was compelled to 
 
 30
 
 350 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 go on shore, but shall be back immediately." I found 
 that Captain Staghorn had invited a large party to 
 breakfast with him on that morning, and that their 
 arrival on board was every minute expected. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," answered the first lieutenant ; and Cap- 
 tain Staghorn and Major O'Grady took their seats. 
 
 The oars fell with a splash into the water, and the gig 
 darted away in the direction taken by the Pearl's boat. 
 I watched the two boats pulling up the harbor as long 
 as they continued in sight. I had never in my life felt 
 so anxious and grieved. From what I had been told of 
 Captain Staghorn, and of his wonderful skill as a shot, 
 I did not for a moment doubt that my poor cousin's life 
 was completely in his power, and from the words uttered 
 by that evil-visaged major, I had a dreadful apprehen- 
 sion that he would exercise his skill to my relative's 
 destruction. My grief was not only on his account, but 
 on that of my dear sister Bertha. I thought of the 
 bitter sorrow she would suffer when she heard how he 
 had died. Had he been killed in action with the enemies 
 of his country, she would have mourned his loss long 
 and deeply ; for time, I knew, would soften such sorrow ; 
 but to hear that, weakly yielding to an abominable cus- 
 tom, he had died infringing the laws of God and man, 
 would prove to a person with a mind and opinions such 
 as hers, almost insupportable. " It will kill her, it will 
 kill her ! " I kept exclaiming to myself, and I could 
 scarcely help wringing my hands and giving way to 
 tears. I have often since thought, that if boys and men 
 did but reflect more than they are apt to do of the sor- 
 row and suffering which their acts may cause to those
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 851 
 
 they leave at home, whom they love dearly, and on 
 whom they would be really unwilling to inHiet the 
 slightest pain, they would often pause before they 
 plunged into sin and folly. I fancied that no one would 
 know what the two captains had gone about, and was 
 walking the deck in solitude meditating, as I have said, 
 on the cruel event about to occur, when I was accosted 
 by the midshipman who had paid the Doris a visit a few 
 days before, and invited down to breakfast.
 
 S52 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 I was ushered with due form into the midshipman's 
 berth of the Daring. A large party were assembled, 
 discussing an ample supply of food prepared for break- 
 fast. They seemed a very free and easy set, and it 
 
 vas no fault of theirs if I did not find myself at home ; 
 
 mt I was far too anxious to do justice to the good things 
 placed before me, nor could I keep my mind from 
 dwelling on the sad work I believed then going forward. 
 I soon found that the object of the captain's visit to the 
 shore was no secret. He had been boasting the evening 
 before of what he had done in the duelling way, and 
 congratulating himself on at length being able to reap 
 the revenge he had so long sought, swearing at the 
 time that he would shoot Captain Ceaton through the 
 head, as he would any man who dared to impugn his 
 veracity. Was, then, his remark, that he would only 
 wing him, the result of some momentary compunction 
 of conscience, to be banished by the counsels of that 
 Mephistophiles-like major? I feared so. The mid- 
 shipmen did not know that Captain Ceaton was my 
 relative, and though some seemed to feel for my anx- 
 iety, others only laughed, and told me that I might as 
 well begin to pipe my eye, for by that time my cousin 
 would have a hole drilled through him, I might depend 
 on it. They seemed, indeed, to be proud of their 
 captain's performances in that way, and anxious to imi
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSniPHAN. 353 
 
 tate him. Two or three of them boasted of bavin** 
 fought duels with midshipmen of other ships, though, 
 as they used not over sharp cutlasses, there had been 
 no fatal results. I was very glad that I did not belong 
 to the ship, for a more boastful, quarrelsome set of 
 fellows I never fell among. The sort of things Mr. 
 Johnson said in joke, they uttered in grave earnest, and 
 they were excessively angry if they were not believed. 
 However, I managed to keep my temper, and at last to 
 eat some breakfast, in spite of my anxiety about my 
 cousin. As soon as I could, I returned on deck, where 
 I was joined by my former acquaintance. He begged 
 that I would not mind what had been said. 
 
 " You see," he observed, " the captain sets the fashion 
 and the greater number follow it. If we had had a 
 different captain, these same fellows would have had 
 very different ideas." 
 
 I have often since then had occasion to make the re- 
 mark, that, as a rule, drinking, swearing, profligate cap- 
 tains turn out officers of the same character. A brave, 
 virtuous, and good commander cannot make all those 
 under him like himself; but his example will induce 
 imitation among some, and act as a curb to vice among 
 others. Great, indeed, is the responsibility of a captain 
 of a man-of-war ; indeed, of any ship where there are 
 officers and men looking up to him. We had not been 
 on deck long when the admiral came off in his barge 
 from the shore, and three or four captains arrived in 
 their gigs, as well as some military men in shore boats. 
 The first lieutenant made Captain Staghorn's apologies, 
 
 30*
 
 354 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSIIIPMAN. 
 
 saying that affairs of importance had taken him early 
 on shore, but that he would be off immediately. 
 
 The admiral walked up and down the deck rather 
 impatiently, and looked annoyed, as if Captain Staghorn 
 was not treating him with proper respect. He was also 
 very hungry, probably, and he kept continually pulling 
 out his watch and replacing it hurriedly in his fob. 
 The captains and other officers, aware, probably, of 
 Captain Staghorn's eccentricities, were less annoyed ; 
 but even they at times gave signs of impatience. At 
 length the signal midshipman announced that the cap- 
 tain's gig was coming off down the harbor. My heart 
 beat quick. I never felt so anxious. Some midship- 
 men were in the main chains. I joined them, eager to 
 ascertain if my cousin's boat was also coming down the 
 harbor. I borrowed a glass. After a time I thought 
 that I could distinguish my cousin's boat coming down. 
 Had he escaped ; or had the duel been prevented ? I 
 made out two officers seated in the stern, but the boat 
 passed at a distance from the Daring, and I was un- 
 certain who they were. I had been so eagerly watch- 
 ing the Pearl's gig, that I had not observed the Daring's, 
 which now approached. A murmur ran through the 
 ship — there was something solemn in the sound. I 
 looked down with an indefinite feeling of dread. Still, 
 I expected to see Captain Staghorn sitting upright, with 
 his disagreeable companion by his side. The major 
 was there, but a human form lay in the stern-sheets, 
 with a boat's flag thrown over the face, to keep off the 
 
 uzzing flies which were clustering above it. The
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 355 
 
 murmur increased into unmistakable accents ; the cap- 
 tain was dead — shot through the heart. I hurried to 
 the gangway, round which the admiral and officers and 
 men were assembling. The captain had returned at 
 the hour he promised ; but how differently ! The Hag 
 fell from his face as the corpse was being lifted on deck. 
 The eyes were open and staring horribly ; the teeth 
 were clenched, and the mouth wore that same bad, dis- 
 agreeable expression it had worn two short hours before, 
 when, full of life and strength, and confiding in the 
 firmness of his nerve and his correct eye, he had stepped 
 carelessly down the companion-ladder, determined griev- 
 ously to wound or to take the life of a fellow-creature. 
 The doctor went through the form of examining him to 
 ascertain that he was dead. He lifted up a hand, it fell 
 heavily on the deck. 
 
 "There's no doubt about it," observed the major, 
 coolly. " You never saw a man alive with a hole 
 drilled through him like that;" and he scientifically 
 pointed out the course the bullet had taken. 
 
 The admiral and other officers collected round, 
 and he continued, " I never saw any thing more unex- 
 pected. He walked to the ground with the air of a man 
 going to a ball, laughing and joking the whole way. Not 
 a muscle shook as he took the pistol and placed himself 
 in position directly I had measured off the ground. I 
 must say that commander Ceaton behaved with courage 
 and as a gentleman ; but it was evident that neither he 
 nor his second had the slightest notion of how to con- 
 duct affairs of tin; sort. Commander Ceaton placed 
 himself with his full front facing his antagonist; and
 
 356 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 when I remonstrated with his second, as he was not thus 
 giving himself a fair chance, he said that his captain 
 chose to stand in that way, and that he would not 
 change his position. I then returned to my principal. 
 I naturally asked where he intended to hit his oppo- 
 nent. 'In the head,' he replied; 'his very look annoys 
 me.' I retired to give the signal. Which pistol went 
 off first I do not know ; but instead of seeing comman- 
 der Ceaton drop, as I expected, I saw my principal leap 
 into the air and fall flat on his face to the ground ; 
 while commander Ceaton stood unmoved. I never saw 
 a man so cut up about a thing. I should have supposed 
 that he had killed a friend, instead of a deadly enemy. 
 We had positively to send the doctor to him to prevent 
 his fainting. And poor Staghorn here, he never ex- 
 pected such an ending." 
 
 " But never was one more richly deserved," muttered 
 the admiral, turning away with a look of thorough dis- 
 gust at the major's cold-blooded indifference to his 
 friend's awful death. 
 
 However, the admiral and other officers retired into 
 the cabin to discuss the breakfast prepared for them, 
 though their host was not present, with what appetite 
 I cannot say. As I could not now get an answer to the 
 note I had brought, I returned to the Doris to report 
 what had occurred. 
 
 " He has met his deserts ; and yet how awful," said 
 Captain Collyer half aloud, as I told him of Captain 
 Staghorn's death. 
 
 All in our berth were eager to hear what I had to 
 tell them about the duel, and I could not help observing
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 357 
 
 how different the remarks of my messmates were from 
 those which had been uttered in the Daring's berth. 
 Hearty satisfaction was also expressed that my cousin 
 had escaped. I was eager to go on board the Pearl to 
 congratulate him and to take him back Bertha's pack- 
 age, as I now knew why he had given it to me. I could 
 not, however, go till the evening, when Mr. Bryan gave 
 me leave to take the dingy. I sent down my name, 
 and was told to go into the cabin. I found Captain 
 Ceaton seated at a table, with a book before him. He 
 lifted up his head from his hand, on which it had been 
 resting, when I entered. I had never seen so great a 
 change in any person in so short a time. His counte- 
 nance was pale and haggard, his eyes sunk, and his 
 whole look would have made me suppose that he had 
 undergone a year of the most severe mental suffering, 
 or some painful illness of still longer duration. I was 
 going to congratulate him on having come off the victor, 
 but I could not bring out the words I had intended to 
 use. I merely murmured out, " I am so very glad you 
 are alive. I have brought back the package for Bertha. 
 I know now why you gave it to me." 
 
 " Keep it still, Marmaduke," he answered gloomily. 
 "I feel that I shall soon be summoned hence. God's 
 wrath rests on the willing homicide, and I have sent 
 that man without an evil deed repented of into the 
 presence of his Maker. I was too eager to fire. 
 Almost before the word was given I had lilted 
 my hand to do the accursed deed. I would far, far 
 rather have been shot myself. Let my misery be a 
 warning to you. Never on any account lift your hand
 
 858 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 against the life of a fellow-creature, unless you are 
 fighting for your country or attacked by assassins. The 
 world may gloss over the deed as it will ; the conscience 
 cannot gild a crime." 
 
 He said a good deal more in the same style. I tried 
 to comfort him as well as I could, and talked about my 
 sister and the future. 
 
 " What, unite a spotless hand to that of one stained 
 with the blood of a fellow-creature ! " he exclaimed. 
 " No, Marmaduke, when she knows the truth, she will 
 shudder at the thought." 
 
 I now saw that he was altogether unnerved, and I 
 hoped that, if his surgeon was a sensible man, he might 
 do him more good than I could with any arguments at 
 my command. After a time I went on deck, and find- 
 ing the surgeon walking by himself, I went up to him 
 and told him what I thought. 
 
 « Very sensible, youngster. Some soothing draught 
 is what he wants. I'll get him to take it," he answered. 
 " Your relative, let me tell you, had a narrow escape. 
 Did he show you where the bullet grazed his head and 
 took off the hair ? " 
 
 " No, indeed. I did not know even that Captain 
 Staghorn had fired," said I. 
 
 " Ay, but he did though, and he aimed at your cousin's 
 brain," said the surgeon. " Mr. Sandford tells me that, 
 as he looked at his antagonist's evil eye, he never ex- 
 pected to hear the captain speak again. He's unhappy 
 now, and shocked ; very natural for a man of fine feel- 
 ing ; but he'll get over it, don't be afraid." 
 
 " Then the wretched man took the advice of his evil
 
 MARMADTIKE MERRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 359 
 
 counsellor, and resolved to kill my poor cousin," I 
 thought to myself. I was afraid, however, that the fact 
 would be no comfort to him, but would rather aggravate 
 his suffering when he thought that the last feeling which 
 had animated the bosom of the man who had been so 
 suddenly sent to his dread account, was that of bitter 
 animosity and revenge. I instinctively felt this; and so, 
 when I returned to the cabin before leaving the ship, I 
 refrained from touching on the subject. I did not know 
 at the time, nor did any one else on board, I am afraid, 
 in a position to speak to him. where alone he could seek 
 for comfort and consolation in his wretchedness, for 
 wretched he was, and almost hopeless. 
 
 However, I must not longer dwell on the subject. I 
 returned to the Doris, but I got leave on most days to 
 visit my cousin. I did not see any great change in him 
 for the better. An inquiry took place with regard to 
 the duel, but the evidence in his favor was so strong, 
 and Captain Staghorn's character was so notorious, that 
 he was acquitted of all blame in the matter. I was 
 truly glad to find that we and the Pearl were to sail 
 together and cruise in company for some time, in search 
 of some of the enemy's privateers, which had been com- 
 mitting havock among our merchantmen. The day 
 before we sailed we received a visit from old Coloml 
 Pinchard, and we invited him down to dinner. He 
 seemed in high feather, having got as many pupils as he 
 could manage to instruct in French ; and, moreover, as 
 he told us, he had hopes that he had softened the heart 
 of a Creole lady, who, though somewhat weighty her- 
 self, was outweighed by the bags of doubloons of w hich
 
 iGO MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 she was the owner, not to speak of a number of male 
 and female slaves, who acknowledged her as their mis 
 tress. " Ah, you see, vary good, vary good," he added. 
 " You see, moch obliged to you for take me prisoner. I 
 drink to de sante of all de young gentlemans of de 
 Doris." The old colonel certainly contrived to make 
 himself very happy, and we sent him on shore singing 
 alternately the Marseillaise hymn, some Royalist tunes, 
 and God save the King, while he kept occasionally 
 shouting out " Vive Napoleon ! " " Vive l'Angleterre ! " 
 " Vive la France ! " exhibiting in his cups the real cos- 
 mopolitan feelings which inspired him — the feelings of 
 most old soldiers of fortune. They start probably with 
 some vague notions of seeking honor and glory, but, 
 finding the objects at which they aim thoroughly unsatis- 
 fying, they in most cases become intensely selfish, and 
 think only how they can make themselves most comfort- 
 able under any circumstances in which they are placed, 
 or how they can secure the largest amount of plunder. 
 This was the last time I saw Colonel Pinchard, but I 
 heard that he married the Creole widow, foreswore 
 France, and settled in Jamaica. 
 
 We were all glad to get to sea again, as we had little 
 pleasure from being in harbor ; for, though the West 
 Indies has many charms, and at some seasons no fault 
 can be found with the climate, yet Yellow Jack is an 
 unpleasant customer, whose visits we were happy to 
 avoid. I have not named any of my messmates for 
 some time. Poor M'Allister was the only one much 
 changed ; the climate certainly affected him, but he got 
 a great deal of badgering from the officers of his own
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THK MIDSHIPMAN. 361 
 
 etanding in the service, and especially from the mates 
 of other ships, for having been outwitted by the French 
 man, and for losing his prize. He took this bantering 
 ill in public, and brooded over the subject in private, till 
 he began to believe that his courage was doubted, and 
 that he must do some very daring deed to retrieve it. 
 But I must do old Perigal the credit to say that he 
 never bantered him, though Spellman did whenever he 
 thought he could give a sly hit with impunity. I did 
 what I could to comfort him, and the liking for me 
 which he had always entertained evidently increased. 
 I was in his watch, and, as we walked the deck together, 
 he would talk to me by the hour of Scotland, and the 
 estate of his ancestors, which he hoped one day to re- 
 cover. Suddenly he would break off, and in a tone of 
 deep melancholy, exclaim, " Ah, but those are dreams 
 — all dreams — never to be realized. I am never to 
 see bonnie Scotland again ; her heathery hills, and blue, 
 blue lochs, and my own Mary ; but I've never told you 
 of her. She's been the pole-star to me since I came to 
 sea. She was but a young girl then, but when I had 
 returned from my first voyage, she'd grown into the 
 fairest maiden for many a mile round, and soon she 
 promised to be mine, when I should get my promotion. 
 I won't talk more of her, though ; but you'll undertake, 
 Mr. Merry, when you go home, should I lose the num- 
 ber of my mess, to go and find out the poor girl, and tell 
 In t all about me." And so he ran on. Of course. I 
 promised to do all he wished. Midshipmen always do 
 promise each other all sorts of things of a similar nature, 
 
 31
 
 362 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 and intend to fulfil their promises faithfully, though I 
 am not prepared to assert that they always do so. 
 
 By the by, it is rather curious that at least half my 
 messmates who confided their attachments to me were 
 in love with young ladies of the name of Mary. Some- 
 times, I suspect, they were myths, but they did equally 
 well to talk about. To a sailor's ear there is something 
 very attractive in the name ; certainly I have known 
 several most charming Marys, and one especially — but 
 I am not going to make confessions. 
 
 The Pearl sailed well, and kept easily in company 
 with us. After getting clear of Jamaica we stood to 
 the eastward, to run down among the French islands, 
 where we might have a chance of falling in with some 
 of the privateers starting on their cruises. We had 
 before long done a good deal of mischief among them ; 
 we captured three, sunk one, burnt another, and drove 
 two on shore. At last, one morning at daybreak, a large 
 schooner was reported in sight, standing to the south- 
 ward. Both we and the corvette made all sail in chase. 
 There was no doubt that she was an enemy, as she 
 spread all the canvas she could set for the purpose of 
 escaping. The wind was light, which was to her advan- 
 tage, and from the first it seemed very doubtful that we 
 should overtake the chase. Still, while there was a 
 chance, Captain Collyer was not the man to give it up. 
 The wind was about abeam. The corvette was ordered 
 to keep well to windward, to prevent the schooner 
 from hauling up, and thus escaping ; while there was no 
 doubt that, should she attempt to escape before the 
 wind, fast as she might sail we should come up with her.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 3C3 
 
 Our aim was to jam her down on the land, as we had 
 done other vessels, when we should drive her on shore 
 or capture her. 
 
 During the morning I was several times on the fore- 
 castle, where I found M'Allister with his glass eagerly- 
 fixed on the chase. 
 
 " I am certain of it," he exclaimed. " As true as I 
 am a Highland gentleman, and my name is M'Allister, 
 that craft ahead of us is the Audacieuse. I know her 
 by second sight, or, if you don't believe in it, by the cut 
 of her canvas, even at this distance. I'm certain of it. 
 I would give my patrimony, and more wealth than I am 
 ever likely to possess, to come up with her. I'll make 
 Lieut. Preville pay dearly for the trick he played us." 
 
 Though I thought very likely that the schooner in 
 sight was our former prize, I could not be certain 
 Neither were the men who had been with us, nor were 
 the crew of the Espoir at all certain as to the vessel in 
 sight. As Ned Bambrick observed, " She might be her, 
 or she might not be her ; but one French schooner, at 
 the distance of seven or eight miles, looked very like 
 another, and that's all I can say, do ye see, sir, for cer- 
 tain. The only way is to overhaul her, and then we 
 shall know." 
 
 Perigal was inclined to side with M'Allister, from the 
 satisfaction which the so-doing afforded him ; indeed, he 
 now appeared in far better spirits than he had done since 
 our mishap. 
 
 At lasi i lie breeze freshened, and we rose the land, 
 the coast of Cuba, beyond the chase. Her chance of 
 escape was consequently much lessened, unless she could
 
 g64 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 haul up along shore, or there was any harbor up which 
 she might run for shelter. We were now clearly gain- 
 in» on her, and as we drew nearer M'Allister became 
 more and more certain that she was the Audacieuse, 
 while others also agreed with him. I, of course, hoped 
 that he was right. 
 
 " We will make PreVille cook for us. He shall be 
 employed in dressing ragouts all day long," he exclaimed, 
 rubbing his hands. " But I hope he won't yield without 
 n>htin<*. I wish it would fall calm, and I may be sent 
 in command of the boats to take him. That would be 
 the most satisfactory thing." 
 
 I agreed with him in the latter point, but argued that 
 the Frenchmen had only treated us as we should have 
 attempted to treat them under similar circumstances, so 
 that we had no reason to complain, while they had also 
 behaved most liberally to us when giving us a boat to 
 reach Jamaica. My poor messmate was, however, far 
 too excited to listen to reason. 
 
 The day wore on. Nothing would induce M'Allister 
 to leave the deck. We sent him up some cold meat 
 and biscuit for dinner, but he would scarcely touch the 
 food, continually keeping his eye on the chase. The 
 day was advancing, and we were drawing in with the 
 land. It was still uncertain whether we should catch 
 her, as she might more easily escape us during darkness. 
 We were about two miles from the land, against the 
 dark outline of which her sails appeared shining 
 brightly in the rays of the sun, just sinking into the 
 ocean. The wind was dropping. If the land breeze 
 came off, we might not be able to work up to hex, though
 
 MAHMADUKE MERKY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 365 
 
 she might anchor, and then M'Allister's wish would he 
 gratified. 
 
 I had returned to the forecastle, where a good many 
 of the officers were assembled, watching the chase. The 
 sun had sunk below the horizon. The gloom came 
 down with a rapidity unknown in northern latitudes. 
 There was the schooner. Our eyes were on her. Sud- 
 denly she disappeared. M'Allister stamped with his 
 foot, and I thought would have dashed his glass on the 
 deck, when he could no longer discover her. So unex- 
 pectedly had the chase vanished that some began to pro- 
 nounce her the Flying Dutchman, or a phantom craft 
 of that description. The master, however, very soon 
 appeared, and announced the fact that inside of us was 
 a strongly fortified harbor, and that of course the cause 
 of the chase being no longer seen was that she had run 
 up it, and rapidly furled her sails. 
 
 "We now hauled off the land, and hove to, and Cap- 
 tain Ceaton coming on board, it was agreed that an at- 
 tempt should be made to cut out the schooner, and any 
 other vessels which might be in the harbor. The plan 
 was very simple. The marines, with a party of sea- 
 men, were to land and attack the forts in the rear, while 
 the ships' boats, manned by all the blue jackets who 
 could be spared, were to take possession of the vessels 
 in the harbor, if they could. 
 
 The harbor was reported as strongly fortified, and it 
 was important, therefore, if possible, to take the enemy 
 by surprise. The captains consequently resolved to put 
 off the attack till another night. This did not suit poor 
 
 31 *
 
 JG6 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 M'Allister's impatience. He was eager to commence 
 the undertaking without delay. 
 
 The two ships now stood off to such a distance that 
 they could not be seen from the shore, and we then 
 hove to. All those to be employed were busily prepar- 
 ing for the work in hand. It was understood that it 
 would be far more severe than any thing in which we 
 had yet engaged. Captain Ceaton begged leave to lead 
 the expedition, and, Mr. Bryan being ill, Mr. Fitzgerald 
 was to be second in command. The land forces were 
 led by Lieutenant Fig of the marines. Though his 
 name was short, he was not; and he was, moreover, a 
 very gallant fellow. The second lieutenant of the cor- 
 vette had charge of the boats for landing the soldiers. 
 In such exploits it is seldom that the senior captain 
 himself commands ; indeed, they are generally confided 
 to the lieutenants who have their commissions to win. 
 M'Allister, to his great satisfaction, got command of one 
 boat, with Gray as his companion ; and Mr. Johnson, 
 whom I accompanied, took charge of another. We 
 were to have three boats from the frigate, and two from 
 the corvette, the rest being employed in landing the 
 soldiers. My cousin was unwell, and in the evening his 
 surgeon sent on board to say that he was utterly unfit 
 to accompany the proposed expedition, the command of 
 which was therefore claimed by Mr. Fitzgerald. 
 
 " If it was daylight, his phiz would go far to secure 
 us the victory," observed Perigal, who did not hold ouf 
 eccentric second lieutenant in high estimation. " How 
 ever, he can shriek, and that is something."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 367 
 
 As soon as it was dark, we once more stood toward 
 the land, but the night wind came off, and we worked up 
 at a slow rate, which sorely tried our patience. The 
 hours of darkness passed by ; still, we had night enough 
 left to do the work. The ships hove to, and the boats 
 were piped away. My heart beat high. I longed al- 
 most as much as M'Allister to regain possession of the 
 Audacieuse, should the schooner prove to be her. There 
 was no time to be lost, lest daylight might surprise us. 
 We shoved off, and away we went right merrily, with 
 muffled oars, the men bending their backs to them with 
 a will. 
 
 There was supposed to be a little cove outside the 
 chief harbor, and here the soldiers were to land and 
 form. A rocket sent up by our part of the expedition, 
 as soon as we were alongside the schooner or discov- 
 ered by the enemy, was to be the signal for the soldiers 
 to advance and storm the works. At some little dis- 
 tance from the harbor's mouth we parted from the land 
 forces, and now still more rapidly we advanced. On a 
 hill overlooking the harbor we could distinguish the 
 outline of a formidable-looking fort, or rather castle ; 
 while close under its guns lay, not only the schooner, 
 but rising up, with the tracery of their spars and rig- 
 ging pencilled against the sky, appeared a large three- 
 masted ship, either a heavy corvette or a frigate, with 
 three or four more vessels moored head and stern of 
 her, while the schooner lay more out, with her guns 
 pointing down the harbor — so that, to get at her, we 
 should have to pass under the fire of all the rest, while
 
 868 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSIIIPMAN. 
 
 the guns from the fort above could plunge their fire right 
 down upon us. 
 
 The tide was running strong out of the harbor, and 
 the gray streaks of dawn were already appearing in the 
 east. These circumstances might be to our advantage, 
 if we were once in possession of the schooner, but were 
 at present very much against us. What other officers 
 might have done in a similar case I am not prepared to 
 say ; but Paddy Fitzgerald was not the man to turn his 
 back on an enemy till he had crossed blades with him. 
 So on we pulled, rather slowly though, against the cur- 
 rent. I hoped that the enemy had not discovered us, 
 for it seemed as if no watch even was kept on board 
 the vessels, and that all their crews were wrapped in 
 sleep. 
 
 " Don't to be too sure of that," whispered Mr. John- 
 son. " They are not like heavy-sterned Dutchmen or 
 Russians ; these Frenchmen always sleep with one eye 
 open." 
 
 Whether he was right or not I do not know, but just 
 as the boats, all keeping close together in beautiful 
 order, had got abreast of the lowest vessel, our eccentric 
 leader, either by accident or on purpose, for the sake of 
 giving the enemy a better chance of knocking us to 
 pieces, sent up the rocket right over their heads. The 
 first whiz must have startled the sleeping watch, and in 
 a few seconds drums were heard beating to quarters, 
 and officers bawling and shouting, and lights gleaming 
 about in all directions. The crew of the schooner, too, 
 gave evidence that they were on the alert, for several
 
 MAKMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 369 
 
 shot came flying down the harbor over our heads. 
 They had not got the range, but they would soon. Mr. 
 Fitzgerald's voice was heard shouting, 
 
 " We've awoke them up. Erin go bragh ! Hurra, 
 lads ! push on ! " 
 
 A deep voice was heard joining the shout, " For the 
 schooner ! The schooner's our aim ! " It was that of 
 McAllister. 
 
 On shore, too, and in the fort, there was a great com- 
 motion ; drums there also were beating, and officers 
 calling the garrison to the ramparts, while bright flashes 
 and the rattle of musketry showed that those of the 
 land expedition was well performing their part of the 
 undertaking. 
 
 We dashed on as fast as we could urge the boats 
 against the current, right under the broadsides of the 
 corvette and other vessels, which began pouring in on 
 us a terrific fire of great guns and small arms, which 
 soon made fearful havoc among our crews. Still we 
 pulled on. Three men in the boatswain's boat had 
 been struck, one of whom was killed, when a shower of 
 grape-shot came plunging down directly into her, killing 
 another man, and tearing right through her sides. She 
 filled rapidly. A cry arose from our poor fellows, as 
 they found themselves sinking. We were close to an- 
 other boat. Mr. Johnson, seizing one of the wounded 
 men, and telling me to follow him, and the coxswain 
 grasping the other, we all leaped into her. We found 
 she was McAllister's. Two men in her were killed, and 
 poor Gray lay in the stern-sheets badly hurt. McAllis- 
 ter was all excitement, utterly regardless of the shot
 
 370 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 like hail flying round him, and urging the men to pull 
 toward the schooner. We had nearly reached her, 
 when Mr. Fitzgerald, who had hitherto been cheering 
 on the men, fell back wounded, giving the order, as he 
 did so, to retreat. It was too evident that success was 
 no longer possible ; one quarter of the party were either 
 killed or wounded, and many more must be lost before 
 we could even gain the deck of the schooner. M'Allis- 
 ter thought differently ; the object for which he had so 
 long been wishing seemed within his grasp. He sprang 
 forward, and in the gray light of morning I could see 
 his figure as he stood up, and waving his hand, shouted, 
 
 " My name is M'Allister, of ancient lineage, and the 
 rightful owner of a broad estate in the Highlands, and 
 it shall never be said that I turned my back to the foe. 
 On, lads, and the Audacieuse will be ours ! " 
 
 Scarcely had he uttered the words, when a round 
 shot struck him on the breast and knocked him over- 
 board, before any one could grasp him. Instantly Mr. 
 Johnson sprang up, and shouted, 
 
 " My name is not M'Allister, and I haven't an acre 
 of land in Scotland or elsewhere, and so give way, my 
 lads, with the starboard oars, and back with the lar- 
 board ones, and let us get out of this as fast as we can, 
 or not one of us will have a whole skin to cover his 
 bones." 
 
 The men obeyed. I was very glad they did, for I 
 had had quite enough of the work, and getting the boat 
 round, the current soon carried us out of the hottest 
 part of the fire. Still the shot came whistling after us, 
 and when I considered the terrific fire to which we had
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 371 
 
 been so long exposed, I could only feel thankful at find- 
 ing myself and any of my companions still in the land 
 of the living. As it was, two of our bcate v ere knocked 
 to pieces and sunk, and fully half those who had formed 
 the expedition were either killed or wounded. 
 
 My attention was now turned towaid my friend Gray, 
 who lay in the stern-sheets groaning with pain. I was 
 stooping forward to bind my handkerchief over his arm, 
 when a round shot flew by, which Mr. Johnson told me 
 would have taken off my head had I been sitting up- 
 right. For his sake, and that of the wounded men, I 
 was very anxious to return on board, but I found that 
 we had first to go in and cover the embarkation of the 
 soldiers, in case they had been defeated and followed, or 
 to give them notice of our failure should they still be 
 persevering in the attack. On getting into the little 
 harbor, no one was found on the beach, and I was 
 therefore despatched to direct Lieutenant Fig to retire. 
 It was an undertaking of no little hazard, for I might 
 be made a prisoner by the enemy, or lose my way and 
 be unable to return to the harbor. 
 
 Toby Bluff, who had stowed himself away in one of 
 the other boats, entreated that he might be allowed to 
 accompany me. I was very glad to have a companion 
 Two people can often carry out an object in which one 
 may fail. 
 
 Off we set, having taken the supposed bearings of the 
 fort, as fast as we could manage to get along through 
 the gloom. The first part of our path was through 
 sand, with rocks sticking up here and there, over which 
 we stumbled several times and broke our .-bins, but we
 
 372 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 picked ourselves up as well as we could, and not having 
 time to give them a rub hurried on. We were soon 
 among maize fields, and then some coffee or other plan- 
 tations, but fortunately there were no tall trees near yet 
 further to darken the road. The path was somewhat 
 rough, but I believed that it was the only one leading 
 to the fort. The firing had entirely ceased. I could 
 not, however, tell whether this was a good or a bad 
 sign ; whether our marines had entered the fort, or had 
 been driven back. Eager to ascertain and to deliver 
 my orders, we continued to push on. Suddenly, as we 
 were passing a narrow place, with thick bushes on either 
 side, some large hands were laid on my shoulders, and 
 a rough negro voice said, — 
 
 " Qui etes-vous, jeunes gens ? " 
 
 " Amis, j'espere," I replied readily, summoning to my 
 aid a large proportion of the French I had learned from 
 Colonel Pinchard. 
 
 " Ou allez-vous done ?" was next asked. 
 
 This was a puzzler, for I could not remember the 
 name of the fort, or, indeed, of a castle in French. 
 Another big negro had caught Toby Bluff, and, of 
 course, could elicit no information from him. They 
 both laughed, as I fancied, at my attempts to speak 
 French. I wanted to escape, if possible, without fight- 
 ing ; but when I found that we were discovered, I put 
 my hand to my belt to draw a pistol. It was imme- 
 diately grasped by my captors, and wrenched out of my 
 hand, exploding at the moment, though fortunately 
 without injuring me. The negro was lightly clad, and 
 possessed of three times my strength, so that I in vain
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 373 
 
 struggled to free myself from him. Toby also was com- 
 pletely overpowered, and they now began dragging us 
 along up the hill. 
 
 I felt very uncomfortable. We had failed in the 
 object of our expedition, and I thought we should either 
 be knocked on the head by our captors, or perhaps be 
 shot for spies by the French, while, at all events, if 
 allowed to live, we should be kept as prisoners for 
 months or years to come. Worked up to desperation 
 by these ideas, I struggled violently to get free, calling 
 to Toby to do the same. In my struggles I fortunately 
 gave my captor a severe kick on the shins, when he, in- 
 stinctively stooping down to rub them, let go his hold. 
 At the same moment, on my telling Toby what I had 
 done, he imitated my example, and also getting free, off 
 we set at full speed, pursued by the negroes. Where 
 we were going I could not tell, except that we were not 
 running toward the shore. The negroes, having stopped 
 for a few moments to rub their shins, came along almost 
 as fast as we did, shrieking and shouting out to us all 
 the time to stop. The louder they shouted the faster we 
 ran, till we were brought up with the point of a bayonet, 
 and the challenge of, — 
 
 " Who goes there ? " 
 
 "Friends — Doris!" I answered, recognizing the 
 voice of one of our marines. 
 
 The negroes, hearing an Englishman speak, bolted 
 off through a plantation to the right, tumbling over each 
 other, and had we been quirk about it, we might have 
 made them both prisoners. The marine told us that 
 his party was a little further in advance, that they had 
 
 32
 
 374 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 been defeated in the attempt to storm the fort, and that 
 Lieutenant Fig was waiting for further orders. We 
 hurried on. Daylight was making rapid strides, and as 
 the French would soon discover the smallness of our 
 numbers, we should have their whole force down upon 
 us, and we should be cut to pieces or taken prisoners. 
 
 As soon as I had delivered the order to the marine 
 officer, he gave the word, " March — double-quick," and 
 off we set at a pretty smart run. Drums and fifes were 
 sounding in the fort, and as we crossed a ridge, I saw 
 from the top of it a large body of troops coming out of 
 the gate in pursuit of us. We could not proceed faster 
 than we were marching, on account of the wounded, 
 who were carried by the blue-jackets in the centre of 
 the party. As it was, I perceived that many of the 
 poor fellows, from the groans to which they gave vent, 
 were suffering dreadfully. Still, it was impossible to 
 leave them behind, for though the French might have 
 treated them with humanity, the negroes would probably 
 have murdered them, had they fallen into their hands. 
 Daylight was increasing, of course, exposing us more 
 clearly to the enemy. I never before had had to run 
 away, and I cannot say that I liked the feeling, still 
 there can be no doubt that in this instance discretion was 
 the best part of valor. It would have been folly to stop 
 and fight, as at any moment parties might appear, landed 
 from the vessels we had attacked, and who might cut us 
 off. The lieutenant of the Pearl, who commanded the 
 seamen, had been killed in the attack, so that the entire 
 command devolved on Lieutenant Fig, and, to do him 
 justice, he behaved with great judgment.
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 375 
 
 The enemy, in strong force, were now rapidly ap- 
 proaching us. At length we came in sight of the boats : 
 the wounded were sent on, while the rest of the party 
 faced about to encounter our foes. On they came, but 
 the steady front exhibited by the marines made them 
 halt. Once more they advanced. We received them 
 with a hot fire, and stood our ground, driving them back 
 to some distance, but only for a few minutes,~for as we 
 were about to continue our retreat, again they came on, 
 expecting by their greatly superior numbers to over- 
 whelm us. Again and again they charged us. Several 
 of our men had fallen, and it was too evident that they 
 would soon cut us to pieces. Should we be once thrown 
 into disorder, we should be destroyed before we could 
 reach the boats. I found, too, that our ammunition was 
 almost expended. Again the enemy came on, when, at 
 the same moment, a loud huzza was heard in the rear, 
 led by a voice which I recognized as that of Jonathan 
 Johnson, and on he came at the head of some twenty 
 blue-jackets, flourishing their cutlasses like a body of 
 Highlanders, and shouting at the top of their voices. 
 This timely support encouraged our men, and charging at 
 the same moment, we drove the enemy headlong before us. 
 
 I had picked up a musket, and charged with the rest, 
 and was carried by my ardor, or from not knowing ex- 
 actly what I was about, ahead of my companions. I felt 
 excited and highly delighted. The Frenchmen, how- 
 ever, as they retreated, faced about every now and then, 
 and fired. As I was cheering lustily, a shot struck me, 
 and I fell. I thought no one had noticed me, as I 
 heard Lieutenant Fig give the order to retreat. The
 
 376 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 enemy at the same moment halted, and encouraged by 
 the arrival of another officer, they again came on. It 
 seemed all up with me, but my faithful follower, Toby 
 Bluff, had seen me fall, and, springing forward, he 
 threw himself in front of me, shouting — 
 
 " If any on you Johnny Crapeaus dares to hurt the 
 young measter, now he's down, I'll have the life out 
 of you ! " 
 
 Struck by Toby's bravery, the Frenchmen for a mo- 
 ment hung back, but they were again coming on, and 
 would soon have overpowered him, when, on looking up, 
 I saw Mr. Johnson stooping over me. In a moment he 
 had lifted me, as if I had been a baby, on his left arm, 
 and telling Toby to run, with his cutlass in his right 
 hand, he kept the Frenchmen who pressed on him at 
 bay. 
 
 Thus fighting and retreating we reached the boats, 
 and one of them having brought her bow-gun to bear on 
 the enemy, loaded with grape, kept them at a re- 
 spectable distance, while the rest of us embarked. 
 They did not, indeed, approach the shore till we were 
 fairly off, and though they peppered us with musketry, 
 only one or two men were slightly hurt. However, 
 altogether our expedition had been more disastrous than 
 any in which I had ever been engaged. 
 
 With heavy hearts we pulled on board. Mr. John- 
 son, with the gentleness of a woman, bound up my 
 wound. Poor Gray lifted up his head as he saw me 
 placed by his side in the stern-sheets, and said, — 
 
 " What, Merry, are you hurt too ? There will be no 
 need of shamming this time, to deceive Macquoid."
 
 MAIOIADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSIIIPMAN. 377 
 
 u I am afraid not," I answered faintly. " But still I 
 hope we may live to fight the Frenchmen another day." 
 
 " No fear of that, young gentlemen," said Mr. John- 
 son, who had overheard us. " Keep up your spirits ; 
 young flesh and sinews soon grow together, and there 
 are no bones broken in either of you, I hope." 
 
 We all got at length safely on board, when the 
 wounded were without delay carried below, and placed 
 under the surgeon's care. He repeated the boatswain's 
 advice to Gray and me, and told us that if we followed 
 it we should soon be well. Two or three of the poor 
 fellows brought on board alive, died of their wounds 
 that night. We heard that Captain Collyer and Com- 
 mander Ceaton were very much cut up at the failure of 
 the expedition, and the loss of so many officers and men. 
 I was especially sorry for M'Allister's death. Though 
 eccentric in some of his notions, he was every inch an 
 officer and a gentleman. 
 
 We at once made sail, I understood, from the fatal 
 spot, but the general wish was that we might fall in 
 with the schooner elsewhere, or return and take her. 
 
 Before many days had passed, I received a visit from 
 my cousin. Sorrow had worked a sad change in him, 
 and I felt grieved as I looked up at his countenance, of 
 the bad report I should have to give of him to poor 
 Bertha. 
 
 It was fortunate for Gray and me that we kept at 
 sea, for the weather was tolerably cool, and our hurts 
 rapidly healed. 
 
 The Doris had now been nearly four years in com 
 mission, so that we expected, as soon as the cruise waj 
 
 32*
 
 378 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 up, to be sent home. We had all had enough of the 
 West Indies, and we looked forward with eager satisfac- 
 tion to the time when the white cliffs of Old England 
 should once more greet our eyes. One sorrow only- 
 broke in on our anticipations of pleasure. It was when 
 we thought of our gallant shipmates who had been cut 
 off, who had hoped, as we were doing, once more to be 
 united to those they loved so dearly at home. I should 
 have been more sorry for Perigal than anybody else, 
 had he been killed, but happily neither bullet nor fever 
 seemed to hurt him, and I hoped that he might once 
 more be united to his wife. I thought, too, of poor 
 M'Allister's Mary, and of the sad news I should have 
 to convey to her. However, I cannot say that I in- 
 dulged in these, or other mournful reflections, for any 
 length of time. I was more thoughtful than I had been 
 when I came to sea four years ago, but that was only at 
 times when some occurrence made me think. Generally 
 I spoke of myself as Merry by name and merry by na- 
 ture, and was, I fear, still but a harum-scarum fellow 
 after all. 
 
 As may be supposed, the general subject of conver- 
 sation in the berth, or during the night-watches, was 
 home. Those who have never been from home, can 
 scarcely understand the pleasure seamen experience, 
 who have been long absent, in simply talking about re- 
 turning home. There they expect to find peace, and 
 quiet, and rest, those who love them, and can sympa- 
 thize with them, and listen to their accounts of all their 
 exploits and dangers and hardships. Such at that time 
 were my feelings, and those of my friend Gray, but I
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 379 
 
 am very certain that they cannot be the feelings of those 
 who have given way to vicious habits, and whose only 
 expectation is to enjoy their more unbridled indulgence. 
 The thought of a pure and quiet home can aiford no 
 joy to them ; they lose, I may say, one of the chief 
 recompenses which those obtain whose duty calls them 
 away from home, and all the loved ones there. 
 
 Still our hope was deferred. "We were, however, the 
 gainers, in one respect, by this, for we took some of the 
 richest prizes captured on the station, so that even we 
 midshipmen began to feel that we were persons of 
 boundless wealth. At length our orders arrived, and 
 the shout ran along the decks, — 
 
 " Hurra, we are homeward bound I "
 
 380 MARMADTJKE MERKY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 To England we with favoring gale, 
 Our gallant ship up channel steer; 
 
 When running under easy sail, 
 
 The light hlue western cliffs appear. 
 
 How often and often have those cheerful lines been 
 sung by young, and light, and happy hearts, beating 
 high with anticipations of happiness, and thoughts of 
 the homes they are about to revisit after long years of 
 absence. Such was the song sung in the midshipman's 
 berth of the Doris, as once more our gallant frigate en- 
 tered the chops of the channel, and we were looking 
 forward to seeing again those Western cliffs which often 
 and often we had pictured to ourselves awake, and seen 
 in our dreams asleep. 
 
 I will not dwell on the feeling with which " Sweet- 
 hearts and wives " was drunk on the last Saturday eve- 
 ning in the midshipmen's berth as well as in every mess 
 in the ship ; not that the young gentlemen themselves 
 had any one who could properly be designated as one 
 or the other, but they might hope to have, and that 
 was the next thing to it. 
 
 I thought of poor M'Allister, cut down in his early 
 manhood, and of his poor Mary, and I resolved if pos- 
 sible to fulfil his request, and to go and tell her about 
 him. It was a task I would gladly have avoided. Then 
 again, what an unsatisfactory account I must give to
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 381 
 
 Bertha of poor Ceaton. His expectation of dying soon 
 might be mere fancy, but it was very evident that his 
 spirits had never recovered the shock he had received 
 when he killed Captain Staghorn, and he felt himself 
 branded with the mark of Cain. 
 
 I was far from recovered from my last wound, and 
 altogether, my anticipations of pleasure were tempered 
 with many causes for sorrow. However, I do not wish 
 to appear sentimental, though I do wish to hint that 
 midshipmen, even when returning home, must not ex- 
 pect to find unclouded happiness. 
 
 We had still some leagues to traverse, and it was 
 possible that we might fall in with an enemy and have 
 another battle to fight, before we could reach home. 
 Not that any one bad any objection to so doing ; on the 
 contrary, no one expected for a moment that we could 
 meet an enemy without coming off the victor, and be- 
 ing able to sail into Portsmouth harbor with our prize. 
 A sharp look-out was accordingly kept on every side, 
 as we sailed up channel, but by that time few French 
 cruisers remained daring enough to show themselves 
 near the British coasts, and the Needle rocks at length 
 hove in sight, and with a leading breeze we ran up in- 
 side the Isle of Wight, and anchored at Spithead, among 
 a large fleet there assembled. 
 
 After waiting two days, uncertain as to our fate, we 
 received orders to go into harbor to be paid off. I 
 need not describe the operation, nor the scenes which 
 took place after it. Each man received a considerable 
 sum, and I believe that before many days were over, 
 balf the number had spent, in the most childish way,
 
 i582 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 the larger portion, and some, every shilling of their 
 hard-earned gains, and were ready again to go afloat. 
 
 Most of the officers had gone on shore, and Spellman, 
 and Gray, and I, and other midshipmen, were prepar- 
 ing to take our departure, when we went to bid farewell 
 to Mr. Johnson. 
 
 " Mr. Merry, I hope that we shall not part just yet," 
 he said with great feeling, taking my hand. " The ship 
 is to be left in charge of the gunner, and I have ob- 
 tained leave to go up to London to visit my wife, and 
 for other reasons. Now it will afford me great pleasure 
 if you and Mr. Gray will make my house your resting- 
 place on your way home, or rather I should say my 
 wife's house, for as I told you, she is a lady of inde- 
 pendent fortune. Indeed, Mr. Merry, friends as we are 
 afloat, I know the customs of the service too well to ask 
 you, a quarter-deck officer, to my house, under other 
 circumstances. 
 
 " Don't speak of that, Mr. Johnson," said I, feeling 
 sure that he would be pleased if I accepted his invita- 
 tion, and wishing perhaps a little to gratify my own 
 curiosity. " I shall be delighted to go to your house. 
 You forget how much I am indebted to you for having 
 several times saved my life, and that puts us on an 
 equality on shore, if not on board ; besides, remember I 
 know all about your wife, and I do not think that I ever 
 returned you the letter you gave me for her when you 
 thought you might be killed." 
 
 " All right, Mr. Merry ; don't let's have any protes- 
 tations : we're brother seamen and shipmates, and 
 thoroughly appreciate each other, though some of the
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 383 
 
 incidents I mentioned in my wonderful narrative might 
 shake some people's confidence in my veracity," he re- 
 marked, again grasping my hand. 
 
 " However, that is neither here nor there. You un- 
 derstand me, and that's enough. If you and Mr. Gray 
 like, we will take a post-chaise between us, and post up 
 to town. I am impatient to be at home, and you will 
 have no objection, I dare say, to whisk as fast along the 
 road as four posters can make the wheels go round." 
 
 Gray and I willingly agreed to Mr. Johnson's prop- 
 osition. Spellman was not asked, and had he been, we 
 concluded that he would not have accepted the invita- 
 tion, so we said nothing about it to him. We had a 
 jolly paying-ofF dinner, with the usual speeches, and 
 compliments, and toasts. After the health of the King 
 was drunk and all the Royal family, and other important 
 personages, Mr. Bryan got up and said, 
 
 " Now, gentlemen, I have to propose the health of a 
 shipmate, of, I may say, a brother officer of mine, Lieu- 
 tenant Perigal, with three times three." Saying this, 
 he pulled out of his pocket one of those long official 
 documents, such as are well known to emanate from my 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 
 
 " Come at last ! hurrah ! — well, it will make my dear 
 wife happy," were the first words the delighted Perigal 
 could utter. 
 
 I honored him for them. Faithful and honest, he 
 was a true sailor. I afterwards had the pleasure of 
 meeting his young wife, and she was worthy of all the 
 eulogiums he had delighted when absent to pass on her. 
 He had picked up a fail share of prize money, other*
 
 384 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 wise his half-pay of ninety pounds a year was not much 
 on which to support a wife and to keep up the appear- 
 ance of a gentleman. I was in hopes that Mr. Bryan 
 would himself have been promoted, but he was not. 
 Mr. Fitzgerald, however, very shortly afterwards re- 
 ceived his commission as a commander. Bobus de- 
 clared that it was because he had stood on his head 
 before the king and made him laugh, or because he had 
 amused some other great person by one of his wonder- 
 ful stories. I met him one day, and congratulated him. 
 
 " Ah, merit, merit does every thing, Mr. Merry, next 
 to zeal," he exclaimed, with a chuckle. 
 
 " You always were a zealous officer ; and now I think 
 of it, you are the very midshipman who took off his 
 trousers and blew into them, when no other sail or wind 
 was to be had for love or money, and the captain was 
 in a hurry to get your boat back. I've often told the 
 6tory since of you, and set it all down to your zeal." 
 
 " Well, let this be your consolation, if others do not 
 recognize your services, I will, when I am one of the 
 Lords of the Admiralty." 
 
 " Well, sir," said I, " I hope that you will make haste 
 to climb up into that honorable position, or the war will 
 be over, and I shall not have secured my commission." 
 I did not think that it would have been polite to have 
 replied, I thank you for nothing, but certainly I did not 
 expect ever to benefit much by his patronage. 
 
 To return to the paying-off dinner. I wish that I 
 could say that all present retired quietly to their respec- 
 tive inns and lodgings as sober as judges ; but, with the 
 exception of Gray and me, I believe that not one could
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE ftJIDSHIPMAN. 385 
 
 have managed to toe a plank, had they been suddenly 
 ordered to make the attempt. I speak of things as tliey 
 were in those days, not as they now are. Happily, at 
 the present day it is considered highly disgraceful for 
 an officer to be drunk ; and not only is it disgraceful but 
 subversive of discipline, whether he is on or off duty, 
 and thus injurious to the interests of the service, and 
 prejudicial to his own health and morals. Taking the 
 matter up only in a personal point of view, how can a 
 man tell how he will behave when he has allowed liquor 
 to steal away his wits? what mischief he may do him- 
 self, what injury he may inflict on others ? In the 
 course of my career I have seen hundreds of young 
 men ruined in health and prospects, and many, very 
 many, brought to a premature grave by this pernicious 
 habit of drinking. 
 
 " But what is the harm of getting drunk once in a 
 way?" I have heard many a shipmate ask. 
 
 I say, a vast deal of harm. How can you tell what 
 you will do, while you are thus once-in-a-way drunk ? 
 1, an old sailor, and not an over straiglit-laced one either, 
 do warn most solemnly you young midshipmen, and 
 others, who may read my memoirs, that numbers have 
 had to rue most bitterly, all their after lives, that once- 
 in-a-way getting drunk, or, I may say, taking more than 
 a moderate allowance of liquor. Many fine promising 
 young fellows, who have at first shown no signs of caring 
 for liquor, have ultimately become addicted to drinking, 
 from that most dangerous habit of taking a nip when- 
 ever they have an opportunity. 
 
 "But why call that a dangerous habit?" shipmates 
 
 33
 
 386 A1A.KMADUKK MERRY, THE MIDSHirMA>. 
 
 have asked me. " A nip is only just a taste of spirits, 
 raw it may be, or perhaps even watered. It's a capital 
 thing for the stomach, and keeps out cold, and saves 
 many a fellow from illness." 
 
 So it may, say I. But it is the nip extra, I dread, 
 with good reason ; the nip when no such necessity exists, 
 or rather excuse, for a man may pass years without 
 positively requiring spirits to preserve his health. How- 
 ever, not to weary my readers with the subject, I will 
 conclude it by urging them to be most watchful, lest 
 they take the first step in this or any other vice. How 
 many fall because they think that vice is manly. Which 
 is the most manly person, he who yields to his foes, or 
 he who, with his back to a tree, boldly keeps them at 
 bay ? No greater foes to a man's happiness and pros- 
 perity than his vices — or sin. No man can expect to 
 escape being attacked by sin, and those who are its 
 slaves already cry out, " Yield to it ; yield to it. It's a 
 pleasant master. Just try its yoke ; you can get free, 
 you know, whenever you like." 
 
 Never was a greater falsehood uttered, or one more 
 evidently invented by the father of lies. The yoke of 
 sin is most galling ; it is the hardest of task-masters. 
 The people who talk thus do their utmost to hide their 
 chains, to conceal their sufferings, which giving way to 
 sin has brought upon them. Do not trust to them, what- 
 ever their rank or character in the world. I would 
 urge you from the highest of motives, from love for the 
 Saviour who died for you, not to give way to sin ; and 
 I would point out to you how utterly low, and degrading, 
 and unmanly it is to yield to such a foe — a foe so base
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY. THE MIDSHIPMAN. 387 
 
 and cowardly, that if you make any real effort to with- 
 stand him, he will fly before you. Don't be ashamed 
 to pray for help through Him, and you are not on equal 
 terms unless you do. That is not unmanly. Sin has 
 got countless allies ever ready to come to its support. 
 By prayer you will obtain one — but that One is all- 
 powerful, all-sufficient. It is my firm belief that He, 
 and He alone, is the only ally in whom you can place 
 implicit reliance. Others may fall away at the times of 
 greatest need. He, and He alone, will never desert 
 you ; will remain firm and constant till the battle of life 
 is over. 
 
 Now some of my readers, perhaps, will exclaim, 
 " Hillo, Mr. Midshipman Marmaduke Merry, have you 
 taken to preaching ? You, who have been describing 
 that extraordinary old fellow, Jonathan Johnson, with 
 his veracious narratives, and wonderful deeds. You've 
 made a mistake. You've taken it into your head to 
 write some sermons for sailors, and you've got hold by 
 mistake of the manuscript of your own adventures." 
 
 Pardon me, I have made no mistake, I reply. When 
 I was Midshipman Marmaduke Merry, I did not preach ; 
 I did not often give good advice as I do now. I wish 
 that I had, and I wish that I had taken it oftener than 
 I did. What I do now is to afford the result of my ex- 
 perience at the close of a long life ; and it is that expe- 
 rience by which I wish you to benefit. I quote the 
 Scriptures, and I believe in the Scriptures for many 
 reasons. One of them is — that I have ever seen 
 Scripture promises fulfilled, and Scripture threats exe- 
 cuted. Now let me ask you what would you say to a
 
 388 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 man whose father, or some other relative, had been 
 storing up gold or other articles of value, and which, 
 when offered to him, he should refuse to accept, on the 
 plea that they cost much trouble, and occupied so many 
 years to collect, that they must be useless ? You would 
 say that such a man is an idiot. Yet is not experience, 
 or rather the good advice which results from experience, 
 treated over and over again by worldly idiots exactly 
 in that way ? Do not you, dear readers, join that 
 throng of idiots ? Take an old man's advice, and pon- 
 der over the matters of which I have just now been 
 speaking. This exhortation has arisen out of our paying- 
 off dinner. I might have given you a very amusing 
 account of that same feast — though it was not "a feast 
 of reason," albeit it might have been a " a flow of soul," 
 but I am not in the vein, the fact being, that paying-off 
 dinners are melancholy affairs to look back at. How 
 few of those assembled round the festive board, who 
 have been our companions for the previous three, or 
 four, or perhaps five years, through storm and battles 
 and hardships, ever meet again ! 
 
 Some have grown in honor, some have sunk in dis- 
 honor ; some have struggled on with services unrequit- 
 ed, and have become soured and discontented ; others, 
 again, in spite of their humble wordly position, have 
 retained good spirits and kindly feelings, and though 
 now old lieutenants with gray hairs, appear to be the same 
 warm happy-hearted beings they were when midship- 
 men. Should any of my readers not meet with the 
 success they desire, I hope that they will belong to the 
 last class ; but I am very certain that they will not, un-
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 389 
 
 less, as midshipmen, they avoid evil courses, and fall 
 not into the paths of sin. 
 
 The morning after that paying-off dinner, Gray and I 
 were up early, and had breakfasted, when a yellow 
 chaise drew up at the door of the Blue Posts, and in the 
 interior appeared seated a very dignified-looking gentle- 
 man in plain clothes, whom we had no difficulty in dis- 
 tinguishing as Mr. Jonathan Johnson. Toby Bluff, who 
 was on the box, got down and opened the door, when 
 Mr. Johnson, getting out, inquired with a paternal air, 
 whether we were ready to start. 
 
 Our portmanteaus, flattened and wrinkled, containing 
 the remainder of those articles which on starting could 
 with difficulty be stowed in our bulky chests, being 
 strapped on, we jumped in, followed by Mr. Johnson, 
 and Toby remounting the box, up High Street we rat- 
 tled at a tremendous pace, exactly suited to our feelings. 
 
 " This is pleasant, isn't it, young gentlemen ? " ex- 
 claimed Mr. Johnson, rubbing his hands. "I never like 
 to let the grass grow under my feet either ashore or 
 afloat. Sometimes, to be sure, one has to sit still, and 
 wait to do nothing, the most trying thing in the world 
 to do. However, when you do keep moving, take care 
 to move forward. Some people move backward, remem- 
 ber. I have from time to time given you bits of good 
 advice, and I dare say that you have been surprised to 
 hear them from an old fellow who could spin such an 
 outrageous yarn as my veracious narrative, but I hope 
 that its very extravagance will have prevented you from 
 supposing for a moment that I am capable of falsehood 
 myself, or would encourage it in others ; still 1 must 
 
 33 *
 
 390 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 own that I have been guilty of a piece of deceit, though 
 I did not at the first intend to deceive. I will tell you the 
 circumstances of the case, and then condemn me as I 
 deserve. I told you that my wife was a lady of rank 
 and education. My father was really very well connected, 
 and when I was a young man staying with him, I met the 
 daughter of a country gentleman of property, with whom 
 I fell in love, and she had no objection to me. Her 
 parents, however, would not hear of the match, and I 
 was sent off to sea. Though only a warrant officer, I 
 always liked good society when I could enter it, and on 
 one occasion some few years back, having gone for that 
 purpose to Bath, I was introduced to a lady who was, I 
 was informed, the Baroness Strogonoff. Before long I 
 discovered that she was the widow of a Russian baron, 
 and that she was no other than my old flame. I found 
 that she had always felt an interest for me, and in fact 
 that she would have married me had she been allowed. 
 I naturally asked her if she would now, and she said 
 Yes. I told her that I was now in the navy, and an 
 officer, and though this was true, I felt that I committed 
 a great fault in not telling her that I was only a warrant 
 officer. I was flush of prize money at the time, and 
 could make a very good appearance, which, as you may 
 suppose, I did not fail to do. The result was that all 
 her old affection for me returned, and that, to cut the 
 matter short, we married. 
 
 " Here was I, a poor boatswain, the husband of a rich 
 baroness, she, of course, you'll understand, not knowing 
 that I was a poor boatswain, or rather, what a boat- 
 swain is. Now, if there's one thing more than another
 
 MAUMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 391 
 
 sticks in my throat, it is the thought of a man being de- 
 pendent on a woman, let her be who she may, for his 
 support, if he can support himself. Now I had the 
 greatest affection and respect for my wife, but this feeling 
 always came between me and my happiness. While 
 living with her I only spent my own prize money on 
 myself; and though I would gladly have remained with 
 her, as soon as I was appointed to a ship I resolved to go 
 to sea. I was not worse off than any post-captain or other 
 otfieer in the service in this respect. I told her that duty 
 called me to sea, and, though evidently with great unwil- 
 lingness, she would not stop me in the path of duty. Ah, 
 young gentlemen, my baroness is a true woman, and I 
 only wish for her sake that I was a post-captain, and in 
 the fair way of becoming an Admiral. She deserves 
 it, anyhow. I have, I believe, a distant cousin a bar- 
 onet, and as I believe that it gives me some importance 
 in the eyes of her friends, I talk about him occasionally 
 in their presence. Not that I care a fig for rank my- 
 self, except so far as it might gratify her. So packing 
 up my traps I joined my ship, not allowing any one on 
 board to know even that I was married. I felt very 
 sad, but I kept my affairs to myself, and tried to do my 
 duty to the best of my power. I went to India, and 
 you may be sure I collected all the most beautiful pres- 
 ents I could think of for my dear wife. I picked up, 
 too, a good share of prize money, so that I felt I might 
 return home with a clear conscience, and the prospect 
 of being well received. I was not mistaken, for my 
 wife was overjoyed at ray return, and would. I believe, 
 have been so had I come back withoul a single jewel or
 
 392 MAUMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 shawl for her, and without a guinea in my pocket. Thia 
 time I was able to leave a handsome sum of money with 
 her, of which I begged her acceptance, for you see I 
 knew that if she died before me, I had always my pen- 
 sion to fall back on, or Greenwich, and that I should 
 have ample for all my wants ; and I felt a proud satis- 
 faction in adding to her comfort and enjoyment by every 
 means in my power, for I doubt if any other boatswain 
 in the service can boast of having a baroness for his 
 wife." 
 
 " I should think not, Mr. Johnson," said I. " But 
 then, I do not think that any other boatswain in the 
 service deserves one so much as you." He pulled up 
 his shirt collars and looked highly pleased at this re- 
 mark. 
 
 " You think so, Mr. Merry ? You are a young gen- 
 tleman of discernment in most matters, and I hope are 
 so in this respect," he answered. " However, when you 
 see the Baroness, I think that you will confess that a 
 man must be worth something to be worthy of her." 
 
 Thus we talked on, and I fancy that our tongues 
 were not silent for a minute together during the whole 
 journey. 
 
 The last stage we had four horses. 
 
 " I like to go home in style," observed Mr. Johnson. 
 " Not on my own account, you'll understand, but because 
 it pleases the Baroness, and makes her neighbors sup- 
 pose that her husband is a person of consequence." 
 
 We darted along at a fine rate, and at length drew 
 up at the door of a very pretty villa in the neighbor- 
 hood of London, without having had to drive through
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, TriE MIDSHIPMAN. 393 
 
 the city itself. We sat still, while Mr. Johnson sprang 
 out, and we saw him through the windows cordially 
 welcomed by a really very handsome-looking lady of 
 somewhat large proportions, whom we had no doubt 
 was the Baroness herself. In this conjecture we were 
 right, and Mr. Johnson soon returning, introduced us in 
 due form to her. She received us most graciously and 
 kindly, indeed in the most good-natured manner, and 
 told us that we were welcome to stay at her house as 
 long as we pleased. She seemed a warm-hearted un- 
 sophisticated person, and I should have said not over- 
 refined or highly educated. Had she been so, I confess 
 that I do not think she would have married my worthy 
 friend Jonathan Johnson. A room was quickly pre- 
 pared for us, and we found ourselves in five minutes 
 perfectly at home. We were shortly discussing a cap- 
 ital dinner, and as I looked at our well-dressed host at 
 the foot of the table, I could scarcely believe that he 
 was the same person who, a few days before, was carry- 
 ing on duty with chain and whistle round his neck as 
 boatswain of the Doris. During dinner the Baroness 
 announced that she had fixed on the following evening 
 before she knew of her husband's intended return, to 
 give a rout, and she pressed us so warmly to stay for it, 
 that we, nothing loath, consented to do so. We were 
 able to do this, as we had not mentioned any day posi- 
 tively for our appearance at our own homes. We spent 
 tli" next morning in visiting with Mr. Johnson the 
 Bights of London, but we returned early, as he was un- 
 willing to be long absent from his wife. After dinner 
 a host of servants came in, and in a rapid space of time
 
 394 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 prepared the house for the reception of the expected 
 guests. It was well lighted up, and I was quite dazzled 
 with its appearance. Still more so was I, when the 
 Baroness came down glittering with jewels, and the 
 guests began to assemble, and, as far as I could judge, 
 there appeared to be a number of people of some rank 
 and consequence among them. There was a conserva- 
 tory and a tent full of flowers at the end of a broad pas- 
 sage, all gaily lighted up, and several rooms thrown 
 open for dancing, and a band soon struck up, and the 
 Baroness introduced Gray and me to some capital part- 
 ners, and we were soon toeing and heeling it away to 
 our hearts' content. We had plenty to say to the young 
 ladies about our battles and other adventures, and of 
 course we took care not to speak of Mr. Johnson, though 
 more than one, I thought, pointedly asked what his rank 
 was in the navy. I replied, carelessly, that he was a 
 very brave officer, who had greatly distinguished him- 
 self, and that he had more than once saved my life, so 
 that there was no man in existence for whom I had a 
 greater regard. I believe that my remarks, without 
 departing in the slightest degree from the truth, were 
 calculated to raise the gallant boatswain in the estima- 
 tion of his wife's friends. Scarcely had I sat down, than 
 I was again on my legs, prancing with my partners up 
 and down the room. I was standing quiet for a moment, 
 having reached the foot of the dance, and placed my 
 partner in a seat, when I felt a tap on my shoulder, and 
 looking round, who should I see but Captain Collyer. 
 
 " What, you here, Merry ! " he exclaimed. " How 
 had you the good fortune to be introduced to the 
 baroness ? "
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 395 
 
 " Mr. Johnson brought us here, sir," said I, very nat- 
 urally, without a moment's reflection. 
 
 " Mr. Johnson ! " muttered the captain, in u tone of 
 surprise. " Who is he ? " 
 
 I was about to reply, when on looking up, there I saw 
 him across the room, standing looking at us with a com- 
 ical expression of vexation on his countenance. His 
 eye catching that of the captain, he immediately ad- 
 vanced, and said quietly, 
 
 " I was not aware, Captain Collyer, that you were 
 coming here, or I should have let you know beforehand 
 my position in this house. I know, as you are aware, 
 the difference between a post-captain and a boatswain, 
 and I should not have presumed to invite you, though, 
 as master here, I am honored by receiving you ; but 
 you see, sir, that you may do me much harm in my 
 social position, or render me considerable service, in the 
 way you treat me. I am in your hands." 
 
 " I wish to treat you as one of the bravest and most 
 dashing officers in His Majesty's service deserves to be 
 treated," answered the captain, warmly. " How you 
 became the husband of a lady of title, I will not stop to 
 inquire, but I cannot help thinking that you will be 
 wise to give up the sea, and to remain by her side 
 The service will lose one of the best boatswains who 
 ever served His Majesty, but the baroness will gain a 
 good husband ; and I shall be happy to associate with 
 one I esteem as a friend and equal, which the etiquette 
 of the service would prevent under present circum- 
 stances from doing." 
 
 "I thank you most cordially, Captain Collyer —
 
 S?G MARMADUKE MERKT, THE MIDSH1I\UA>. 
 
 from my heart, I do," exclaimed Mr. Johnson. " But 
 you see, sir, I love the service dearly, and should be 
 loath to quit it ; and I love my independence, and should 
 be unwilling to lose that. I mean that I should be sorry 
 to become dependent even on my wife for support, while 
 I am able to work for it myself. I have explained my 
 feelings and motives, and 1 hope that you will consider 
 them right." 
 
 " Indeed I do, and honor you for them," answered the 
 captain. " But still, Mr. Johnson, I think that you 
 tdiould take the lady's opinion on the subject. I sus- 
 pect that when she knows the true state of the case, she 
 would far rather you remained at home than have to 
 go knocking about the salt ocean, without the prospect 
 of bettering yourself." 
 
 •' That's the only fault I have to find with the ser- 
 vice," said Mr. Johnson. " Perhaps I have been 
 dreaming, when living on in hopes that some change 
 might be made whereby I might benefit myself, that is, 
 l-ise in the service, which has ever been my ambition. 
 Why should not a warrant be a stepping-stone to a 
 commission through extraordinary good conduct in the 
 navy, just as a sergeant may hope to rise in the army ? 
 I don't mean, sir, that I wish to see the present class of 
 boatswains obtain commissions, but with that reward in 
 view, a better class of men would enter the service, and 
 it would improve the character of the warrant officers." 
 
 " So it might, but a large proportion would fail in 
 obtaining their ends, and then we should have a num- 
 ber of discontented warrant officers, instead of being 
 as at present, the best satisfied men in the service."
 
 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 397 
 
 " There's force in that objection, Captain Collyer ; 
 the matter requires consideration," answered our host. 
 " You must not rank me, however, among the discon 
 tented ones. I have long made up my mind to take things 
 as they are, though I hope that I should not have been 
 found wanting, had I attained a far higher rank than I 
 now hold." 
 
 While we were talking, I had observed a dapper 
 little well-dressed man come into the room, and look 
 eagerly around. He soon discovered the baroness, 
 and having talked to her for some time in an animated 
 style, he advanced with her toward us. He then ran 
 forward, and taking Mr. Johnson's huge paw in his 
 hand, he wrung it warmly, exclaiming, 
 
 " I congratulate you, Sir Jonathan Johnson, and your 
 amiable and charming lady — indeed I do, from the 
 bottom of my heart — on your accession to title and 
 property. As you never saw, or indeed, I fancy, never 
 beard of, your relative the late baronet, your grief need 
 not be very poignant on that account, so we'll say nothing 
 about it just now. I have been working away like a 
 mouse in a cheese ever since I got an inkling that you 
 were the rightful heir, and have only just discovered 
 the last link in the chain of evidence ; and then, having 
 rigged myself out, as you nautical gentlemen would say, 
 in a presentable evening suit, I hurried off here ; and 
 so there's no doubt about it, and I should like to give 
 way to an honest hearty cheer to prove my satisfac- 
 tion." 
 
 Our friend's countenance was worthy of the pencil 
 of a painter, wliile the little lawyer was thus running 
 
 84
 
 398 MARMADUKE MERRY, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 on. His astonishment for a time overpowered his satis- 
 faction. 
 
 " I Sir Jonathan Johnson ! " he at length slowly ex- 
 claimed, "la baronet — I the possessor of a title and 
 fortune — I no longer a rattan-using, call-blowing, grog- 
 drinking, pipe-smoking, yarn-spinning boatswain, but a 
 right real English baronet — my dear Baroness! I am 
 proud, I am happy, I am * * * and he threw his arms 
 round his wife's neck, in spite of all the company pre- 
 sent, and bestowing on her a hearty kiss, gave way to a 
 jovial cheer, in which Gray and I and the lawyer, and 
 even Captain Collyer, could not help joining. 
 
 The new Sir Jonathan, however, very soon recover- 
 ing himself, became aware of the absurdity of his con- 
 duct, and the guests, collected by the cheer, coming 
 round to congratulate him, he apologized in a fitting 
 way for his unwonted ebullition of feeling. In a won- 
 derfully short time he was himself again, and no man 
 could have borne his honors with a better grace. 
 
 When the captain and Gray and I again congratu- 
 lated him, he replied, " I am much obliged to all my 
 kind friends here, but I know that your good wishes are 
 sincere." 
 
 Numberless speeches on the subject were made at 
 supper, and when Captain Collyer shook his late boat- 
 swain by the hand at parting, he assured Sir Jonathan 
 that nothing had given him greater pleasure than so 
 doing. 
 
 " All I'll ask, Captain Collyer, is, that when you get 
 a ship, you'll give me a cruise some day. I don't think 
 that I could go to sleep happily if I was to fancy that I
 
 MAIWIADUKE MKBRT, THE MIDSHIPMAN. 399 
 
 should never have the salt spray again dashing into mv 
 face, or feel the deck lifting under my feet." 
 
 The promise asked was really given, and Sir Tona 
 than Johnson was afterwards engaged in one of the mos' 
 gallant actions during the war, when, as a volunteer, hf 
 led the boarders in his old style, and was mainly instru 
 mental in capturing the enemy. 
 
 After peace was established he bought a yacht, and 
 many a plea-ant cruise I took with him during those 
 piping times, our old shipmate Perigal, to whom he had 
 thus an opportunity of offering a handsome salary, acting 
 as his captain. 
 
 Toby Bluff, by his steady behavior and sturdy bravery, 
 became a boatswain, and has now charge of a line-of- 
 battle ship in ordinary at Portsmouth. 
 
 The captain's old servant at last came on shore, and 
 took to gardening ; but as he usually pulled up the 
 flowers instead of the weeds, he was directed to confine 
 himself to sweeping the walks, which he did effectually, 
 with delightful slowness and precision. He was one 
 day in summer found sprinkling the housemaid's tea- 
 leaves over them, as he remarked, to lick up the dust. 
 
 I have said nothing about my own family. It is a 
 sad subject. Poor Bertha ! The gallant Ceaton never 
 came home. His health gave way, but he did not die 
 of disease. He fell on the deck of his own ship in 
 action, at the moment the enemy's flag was seen to come 
 down, the cheers of his victorious crew ringing in his 
 ears. 
 
 Now, dear readers, old and young, farewell. I must 
 bring these recollections of my early career as a Mid-
 
 400 MARMADUKE MERRY, TIIE MIDSHIPMAN. 
 
 shipman to a conclusion. I wish that I had reason to 
 believe they were as edifying as I hope they may have 
 proved amusing. All I ask is, that you will deal lightly 
 with the faults of the work. Take whatever good ad- 
 vice you may have found scattered through the previous 
 pages, and do not, by imitating the bad example of any 
 of my old shipmates, give me cause to regret that I un- 
 dertook to write this veracious history, as Mr. Jonathan 
 Johnson would say, of the early days of 
 
 Marmaduke Merry, the Midshipman.
 
 Popular Works 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 J. B. LlPPINCOTT & Co. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Will be sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of the price. 
 
 Gideon's Rock. A Novel. By Kathcrine Saun- 
 
 ders, author of " The High Mills," etc. With a Frontis- 
 piece. 161110. Extra cloth. $i. 
 
 " A simple, touching story, that goes 
 itraight to the heart of the reader." — 
 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. 
 
 " It is a masterpiece." — London 
 Times. 
 
 The High Mills. A Novel. By Katherine Saun- 
 
 ders, author of •' Gideon's Rock." Illustrated. 8vo. Pa- 
 per. 75 cents. Extra cloth. $1.25. 
 
 " In all the portraiture, description, as George Eliot" — New York Even- 
 dialogue and incio«...t of the book 
 there is a fresh originality, a vivid dra- 
 matic power, a knowledge of the mys- 
 tery of life, that few possess. Here is 
 A writer who will be, perhaps, as great 
 
 ing Mail. 
 
 "In many respects one of the best 
 and most powerful works of fiction that 
 have been lately issued." — Boston 
 Journal. 
 
 Hester Kirton. A Novel. By Katherine S. Mac- 
 
 Quoid, author of " Rookstone," " A Bad Beginning," 
 " Chesterford," etc. A new edition. i6mo. Ornamented 
 cloth. $\ 25. 
 
 " It is altogether one of the best 
 pablications of the day." — Philadel- 
 phia Age. 
 
 " By far one of the best novels that 
 have been sent to us this season."— 
 Neiu Orleans Times. 
 
 Rookstcne. A Novel. By Katherine S. Mac 
 
 Quoid, author of " Forgotten l>y the World," " Hester Kir 
 ton," " Patty," etc. Illustrated. 8vo. Paper cover. 75 
 cents. Extra cloth. $1.25. 
 
 "Well constructed and t'eariy told. 
 We recommend it to uovel -eaders." — 
 PmUadelfhia Prett. 
 
 " It is admirably written and excel- 
 lent in tone." — New York Evenmg 
 Mail
 
 PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT cV CO. 
 
 Seed-Time and Haw est ; or, During my Appren- 
 ticeship. From the Platt-Deutsch of Fritz Reuter. 8vo 
 
 Paper cover. $i, Extra cloth. $1.50. 
 
 No German author of '.he present 
 time is more popular in bis own coun- 
 try th.au Reuter. He is pronounced 
 by a competent German critic to be 
 deservedly " the most popular German 
 writer of the last half century." 
 
 Reuter is especially noted as the 
 tare humorist, the genuine poet and 
 the fascinating delineator of the lives 
 of his Platt-Deutsch neighbors, and 
 as ixxh is probably more beloved than 
 any other German author of the day. 
 The tale in question is one of his best 
 and most important works, giving its 
 readers, with its other entertainment 
 and profit, a charming acquaintance 
 with the quaint, interesting Platt- 
 Deutsch people. 
 
 " Fritz Reuter is one of the most 
 
 popular writers in Germany. . . . Tha 
 charm of his stories lies in their sim- 
 plicity and exquisite truth to Nature, 
 He has ' the loving heart' which Car- 
 lyle tells us is the secret of writing; 
 and Reuter is not graphic merely, ha 
 is photographic. His characters im- 
 press one so forcibly with their reality 
 that one need not to be told they arc 
 portraits from life. Even the villain! 
 must have been old acquaintances. . . . 
 It (' During my Apprenticeship) is one 
 of the best of Reuter's stories, exhibit- 
 ing his turn for the pathetic as well as 
 for the humorous." — New York Eve- 
 ning Post. 
 
 " It has a freshness and novelty that 
 are rare in these times." — Philadel- 
 phia Evening Bulletin. 
 
 The Sylvestres ; or, The Outcasts. A Novel. By 
 M. de Betham-Edwards, author of " Kitty," " Dr. 
 Jacob," etc. Illustrated. 8vo. Paper. 75 cents. Extra 
 cloth. $1.25. 
 
 " It is an exceptionally vigorous and 
 healthy as well as happy tale." — Phil- 
 adelphia North A tnerican. 
 
 " It is one of the author's best." — 
 Neiu York Home Journal. 
 
 "A capital novel." — Pittsburg Ga- 
 tette. 
 
 "The story is well constructed, and 
 the descriptive passages with which 
 the work abounds are worthy of tha 
 highest praise. The sketches of scen- 
 ery are painted with the touch of an 
 artist."— Philadelphia Ev. Bulletin. 
 
 Myself. A Romance of New England Life. 
 
 l2mo. Extra cloth. $2. 
 
 and the plot quite unhackneyed.' 
 Boston Courier. 
 
 " This is really a capital story. The 
 characters are drawn with a free and 
 ■harp pen, the style is fresh and lively 
 
 Hcnv will it End? A Romance. By jf. C. Hey* 
 
 wood, author of " Herodias," " Antonius," etc. l2mo. 
 
 Extra cloth. $1.50. 
 
 •'It is a fascinating novel, which I that should be widely read." — Wilketi 
 •tut exert a good influence, and on«. | Spirit 0/ the Timet. 
 
 Doings in Maryland ; or, Matilda Douglas. 
 " Truth stranger than Fiction." i2mo. Extra cloth. 
 
 $i-75- 
 
 ' 1: is a very perfect story — simple, 
 •oble and without that straining for 
 ite-aiy effect which ccjstitutes the 
 
 best attainable definition of the sensa 
 tionaL" — New York Home Journal.
 
 PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. 1IPPINC0TT &> CO. 
 
 a- 
 
 Dorothy Fox. A novel. By Louisa Parr, authct 
 
 of " How it all Happened, 
 tions. 8vo. Paper cover. 
 
 "The Quaker character, though its 
 quaintness and simplicity may seem 
 easy enough to catch, requires a deli- 
 cate workman to do it justice. Such 
 •D artist is the author of ' Dorothy 
 Fox,' and we must thank her for a 
 charming novel. The story is dramat- 
 ically interesting, and the characters 
 t/e drawn with a firm and graceful 
 hand The style is fresh and natural, 
 vigorous without vulgarity, simple 
 without mawkishness. Dorothy her- 
 self is represented as charming all 
 
 ' etc. With numerous Illusti 
 
 75 cents. Extra cloth. $1.25. 
 
 hearts, and she will chaim all read- 
 ers. . . We wish ' Dorothy Fox ' many 
 editions" — London Times. 
 
 " One of the best novels of the sea- 
 son."— Philadelphia Press. 
 
 " The characters are brought out in 
 life-like style, and cannot fail to attract 
 the closest attention." — Pittsburg Ga- 
 zette. 
 
 " It is admirably told, and will estab- 
 lish the reputation of the author among 
 novelists." — Albany Argus. 
 
 How it all Happened. By Louisa Parr, author of 
 
 " Dorothy Fox," etc. i2mo. Paper cover. 25 cents. 
 
 " It is not often that one finds so 
 much pleasure in reading a love story, 
 charmingly told in a few pages." — 
 Charleston Courier. 
 
 " Is a well-written little love story, 
 
 in which a great deal is said in a very 
 few words." — Philade'phia Evening 
 Telegraph. 
 
 " A remarkably clever story." — Bos- 
 ton Saturday Evening 'raze tie. 
 
 jfohn Thompson, Blockhead, and Companion Por- 
 traits. By Louisa Parr, author of " Dorothy Fox." 
 l2mo. With Frontispiece. Extra cloth. $1.75. 
 
 " Extremely well-told stories, inter- 
 esting in characters and incidents, and 
 pure and wholesome in sentiment." — 
 Boston Watchman and Reflector. 
 
 " These are racy sketches, and be- 
 long to that delightful class in which 
 the end comes before the reader is 
 ready for it. 
 
 " The style throughout is very sim- 
 
 ple and fresh, abounding in strong, 
 vivid, idiomatic English " — Horns 
 Journal. 
 
 "They are quite brilliant narrative 
 sketches, worthy of the reputation es- 
 tablished by the writer."— Phitadel- 
 phia Inquirer. 
 
 " Very presentable, very r-adable." 
 — New York Times. 
 
 The Quiet Miss Godolphin, by Ruth Garrett; and 
 
 A CHANCE CHILD, by Edward Garrett, joint author* 
 
 of" Occupations of a Retired Life" and " White ay Snow." 
 
 With Six Illustrations by Townley Green. i6mo Cloth. 
 
 75 cents. Paper cover. 50 cents. 
 
 influence will not fail to improve an*" 
 delight,"— Philadelphia A t t. 
 
 "These stories are characterized by 
 peat strength and beauty of thought, 
 with a singularly attractive style. Their 
 
 St. Cecilia. A Modem Tale from Real Ldfe. 
 Part I. — Adversity. l2mo. Extra cloth. $1.50. 
 
 commend as fr <sh, entcrl»-n>r.g and 
 well written."- Louisville Co 
 Journal. 
 
 " It is carefully and beautifully writ- 
 Be," — Washington Chronicle. 
 " K tale that we can cheerfully re-
 
 PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 
 Blanche Gilroy. A Girl's Story. A Novel. By 
 
 Margak et Hosmer, author of " The Morrisons," " Ten 
 
 Years of a Lifetime," etc. i2mo. Extra cloth. $1.50. 
 
 whirl of cross-purposes with deccyinf 
 fascination. It must be said, too, thai 
 the secret of the interest is in tht 
 characters and then- destinies, sine* 
 the language of the narrative is neither 
 florid nor exaggerated." — Boston Ad- 
 vertiser. 
 
 "Its tone is excellent." — Philadel- 
 phia Age. 
 
 " It is a love-story of the intense and 
 tragical sort, with a deep plot and any 
 ■mount of stirring incident. The 
 characters are drawn with much dis- 
 tinctness and vigor, and the story 
 •weeps on to its end amid a rushing 
 
 The Holcombes. A Story of Virginia Home-Life, 
 By Mary Tucker Magill. i2mo. Extra cloth. $1.50. 
 
 " The subject is a charming one." — 
 Winchester Times. 
 
 " This book is written from an ele- 
 vated point of view, both as to its 
 Society and scenery. . . . We find 
 
 it an interesting story. . . . The 
 tone of this work is admirable, and wa 
 shall be glad io hear again from tht 
 author." — Philadelphia Age. 
 
 Left to Herself A Novel. By Jennie Woodville. 
 
 l2mo. Extra cloth. $1.50, 
 
 " Such a spicy mixture of ingredi- 
 ents as this book contains cannot fail 
 to make an exciting story ; and as the 
 plot is well conceived, the characters 
 well drawn and the interest well sus- 
 tained to the end, without degenerating 
 into the melo-dramatic, we are dis- 
 posed to recommend to others a book 
 which we ourselves have found capti- 
 vating enough to burn the midnight 
 jas over." — Philadelphia Evening 
 Bulletin. 
 
 " Amid the flood of mediocrity and 
 trash that is poured upon the public in 
 the shape of novels, it is the pleasant- 
 est duty of the critic to discern real 
 merit, and this we recognize in ' Left 
 to Herself.' "—The Philadelphia Age. 
 
 " We predict for it a large sale in 
 this section, and anticipate that it will 
 be favorably received by the reading 
 public of the whole country." — Lynch- 
 burg Republican. 
 
 Was She Engaged? 
 
 l2mo. Extra cloth. $1.50. 
 
 " A pleasant, bright and sparkling 
 story. " — Baltimore Gazette. 
 
 " This entertaining love story comes 
 to us fresh from the pen and the press, 
 in clear, readable type that would 
 make a far lees enticing work pleasur- 
 able. We fee', assured that those who 
 are fond of the purely emotional in 
 character or literature will find ample 
 entertainment from its pages. The 
 itory is written in the first person, and 
 is a nanative vastly superior to a great 
 mass of so-called novels. There is not 
 a oarti;le of rant from cover to cover. 
 
 A Novel. By " Jonquil?' 
 
 No passion is 'torn to tatters.' N« 
 impossible incidents are introduced, 
 and yet the interest is maintained 
 throughout. The pure, sweet charac- 
 ter of Lucy, so well displayed against 
 the more energetic but less poetical 
 Rosamond ; the sunlight and shadow 
 of these two, enhanced by the dark 
 and designing character of Sarah, 
 combine to produce prominent impres- 
 sions." — Philadelphia Press. 
 
 '' Every one seems to be going fof 
 ' Was She Engaged.' " — Boston Satur* 
 day Evening Gazette. 
 
 Lost and Saved. A Novel. By Hon. Mrs. Norton. 
 
 New Edition. i2mo. Cloth. $1.25. 
 
 " Remarkably well written ; . . . I " The be=? novel that Mrs. Norton 
 aary readable." — Philadelphia Press. \ has written " — Baltimore Gazette.
 
 rUbLlCATIONS OF J. B. LIPP1NC0TT 6* CO. 
 
 Thrown 
 
 Together. 
 
 A Story. By Florence Mont- 
 
 gomery, author of " Misunderstood," " A Very Simple 
 Story," etc. l2mo, Fine cloth. $1.50. 
 
 "The author of Misunderstood* 
 has given us another charming story 
 of child-life. This, however, is not a 
 book for children. Adult readers of 
 Miss Montgomery's book will find 
 much that will lead them to profitable 
 leflectioi. of childish character and 
 many graphically touched terms of 
 childish thought and expression which 
 will come home to their own experi- 
 ence." — London Athentrum. 
 
 " A delightful story, founded upon 
 the lives of children. There is a 
 thread of gold in it upon which are 
 strung many lovely sentiments. There 
 
 is a deep and strong current of religioui 
 feeling throughout the story, not a 
 prosy, unattracti\e lecturing upca re- 
 ligious subjects. A good, true and 
 earnest life is depicted, full of hop* 
 and longing, and of happy fruition. 
 One cannot read this book without 
 being better for it, or without a more 
 tender charity being stirred up in hit 
 heart." — Washington Daily Chron- 
 icle. 
 
 "The characters are drawn with a 
 delicacy that lends a charm to the 
 book." — Boston Saturday Evening 
 Gazette. 
 
 Why Did He Not Die ? or, The Child from the 
 
 Ebraergang. From the German of Ad. von Volckhausei*. 
 By Mrs. A. L. Wister, translator of " Old Mam'selle's Se- 
 cret," " Gold Elsie," etc. i2mo. Fine cloth. $1.75. 
 
 " Mrs. Wister's admirable transla- 
 tions are among the books that every- 
 Dody reads. She certainly may be 
 said to possess unusual ability in re- 
 taining the peculiar weird flavor of a 
 German story, while rendering it with 
 
 f>erfect ease and grace into our own 
 anguage. Few recently published 
 novels have received more general 
 
 Aytoun. A Romance. 
 
 Paper cover. 40 cents. 
 
 "The fabric is thoroughly wrought 
 and truly dramatic." — Philailelphia 
 North A merican. 
 
 perusal and approval than ' Only 4 
 Girl ;' and ' Whv Did He No* Die ■* 
 possesses in at least an equal degree 
 all the elements of popularity. From 
 the beginning to the end the interest 
 never flags, and the characters and 
 scenes are drawn with great warmth 
 and power." — New York Herald. 
 
 By Emily T. Read. Svo. 
 
 " There are elements of power ii 
 the novel, and some exciting scenes.' 
 — New York Evening Mail. 
 
 Old Song and Nezv. A Volume of Poems. By 
 Margaret J. Preston, author of" Beechenbrook." i2mo, 
 Tinted paper. Extra cloth. $2. 
 
 " In point of variety and general 
 (race of diction. 'Old Song and New' 
 is the best volume of poems that has 
 /et been written by an American 
 woman, whether North or Souib -the 
 best, because on the whole the best 
 It stained and the most thoughtful." — 
 Baltimore Gazette. 
 
 "In this volume there is workman- 
 
 ship of which none need be ashamed, 
 while much vies with our best livim) 
 writers. Strength and beauty, scholar- 
 ship and fine intuition are manifested 
 throughout so as to charm the rcadw 
 and assure honorable distinction *i 
 the writer. Such poetry is in no d.mg.i 
 of becoming too abundant." — Phil ■ 
 delphia North American. 
 
 Margarce. A Poem. By Hampden Afasso' 
 l6mo. Extra cloth. 75 cents.
 
 PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT &• CO. 
 
 By His Own Might. A Romance. TranslateJ 
 
 from the German of WlLHELMlNE VON HlLLERN, author oi 
 " Only a Girl," etc. i2mo. Fine cloth. $1.75. 
 
 " Some of the scenes are power- 
 fnlly wrought out, and are highly 
 dramatic in their construction." — 
 Barton Saturday Evening Gazette. 
 
 " The story is well constructed. It 
 
 is vivacious, intricate and well sus- 
 tained. ... It is one of the best of 
 the many excellent novels from the 
 German issued by this house." — Phil*. 
 Evening Bulletin. 
 
 The Daughter of an Egyptian King. An Historic 
 
 cal Romance. Translated from the German of Georgb 
 Ebers by Henry Reed. 121110. Extra cloth. $1.75. 
 
 accurate insight into the social and 
 political life of the Egyptians of that 
 time." — Boston Evening Traveller. 
 
 " It is a valuable contribution to 
 science as well as a highly-wrought 
 novel." — Cincinnati Gazette. 
 
 " 1 1 is a wonderful production . There 
 have been ancient novels before now, 
 but none, according to our recollec- 
 tions, so antique as this." — New York 
 World. 
 
 "The plot is a most interesting one, 
 and in its development we are given an 
 
 Sergeant Atkins. A Tale of Adventure. Founded 
 
 on Fact. By an Officer of the United States Army. With 
 Illustrations. l2mo. Extra cloth. J 1. 75. 
 
 Indian warfare, ' Sergeant Atkins 
 really gives us all the facts of the 
 Florida war which are necessary to a 
 
 " It is the best Indian story, be- 
 cause the truest to life, that we have 
 lately seen." — Boston Post. 
 
 " Apart from its mere literary merits 
 as a graphic, well-told and spirited 
 narrative of border experience and 
 
 clear understanding of its origin, prog- 
 ress and character." — Army and 
 Navy Journal. 
 
 The Warden. A Novel. By Anthony Trollope t 
 
 author of " The Vicar of Bullhampton," " Orley Farm," 
 etc. l2mo. Fine cloth. $1. 
 
 Barchester Towers. A Novel. By Anthony Trol- 
 
 lope, author of " Phineas Finn," " He Knew he was Right," 
 etc. i2mo. Fine cloth. $1.25. 
 
 "These two novels belong to the 
 admirable Barchester series, in which 
 Certain phases of clerical life are de- 
 
 77«* Scapegoat. A Novel. By Leo. \21no. Pa- 
 
 per cover. $1. Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 veloped with much realism and 
 humor." — A^. Y. Tribune. 
 
 "The book has a good deal of life 
 and spirit in it." — Philadelphia Age. 
 " It is bold and vigorous in delinea- 
 
 tion, and equally pronounced and ef- 
 fective in it3 moral." — St. Louit 
 Times. 
 
 Who Would Have Thought it? 
 
 A Novel. \2mo. 
 
 Fine cloth. $1.75. 
 A bright and attractive romance, with an interesting plot, well stutained 
 
 throughout
 
 - PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT &• CO. 
 Tricotrin. The Story of a Waif and Stray. By 
 
 "OuiDA," author of " Under Two Flags," etc. With Por- 
 trait of the Author from an Engraving on Steel. l2mo. 
 Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 " The story is full of vivacity and I " The book abounds in beautiful 
 •f thrilling interest." — Pittsburgh Ga- \ sentiment, expressed in a conren* 
 teite. trated, compact style which cannot fail 
 
 "Tricotrin is a work of absolute to be attractive and will be read witb 
 power, some truth and deep interes'." pleasure in every household." — San 
 — N. Y. Day Book, \ Francisco Times. 
 
 Granville de Vigne; or, Held in Bondage. A 
 Tale of the Day. By " Ouida," author of " Idalia," " Tri- 
 cotrin," etc. i2mo. Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 "This is one of the most powerful I present century, so prolific in light 
 «nd spicy works of fiction winch the | literature, has produced." 
 
 Stra tli more ; or. Wrought by His Own Hand. A 
 Novel. By "Ouida," author of "Granville de Vigne," 
 etc. i2mo. Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 "It is a romance of the intense 
 school, but it is written with more 
 power, fluency and brilliancy than the 
 works of Miss Braddon and Mrs. 
 
 Wood, while its scenes and characters 
 are taken from high life." — Boston 
 Transcript. 
 
 Chandos. A Novel. By " Ouida" author of 
 
 " Strathmore," " Idalia," etc. i2mo. Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 "Those who have read these two I coloring of style and somewhat exag- 
 last named brilliant works of fiction gerated portraiture of scenes and cha- 
 (Granville de Vigne and Strathmore) racters, but it is a story of surprising 
 will be sure to read Chandos. It is | power and interest." — Pittsburgh Eve- 
 characterized by the same gorgeous j ning Chronicle. 
 
 Under Tivo Flags. A Story of the Household and 
 the Desert. By " OuiDA," author of " Tricotrin," " Gran- 
 ville de Vigne," etc. l2mo. Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 to establish her fame as one of the 
 most eloquent and graphic writers of 
 fiction now living." — Chicago /"oum/iJ 
 0/ Commerce. 
 
 " No one will be able to resist its 
 fcfe.;nation who once begins its peru- 
 m] " — Phila. Evening Bulletin. 
 
 " This is probably the most popular 
 work ot Ouida. It is enough of itself | 
 
 Puck. His Vicissitudes, Adventures, Observations, 
 
 Conclusions, Friendship and Philosophies. By"OuiDA," 
 author of "Strathmore," "Idalia," "Tricotrin," etc. 
 laniii. Fine cloth. Si. 50. 
 
 " Its quailltneM will provoke laugh " It sustains the widely spread Pop«»- 
 
 tcr, while the interest in the central bnt\ of the author." — Pittsburgh OV 
 
 character is k.;pt up unabated "~Ai nslte. 
 iany Jmtrnai.
 
 PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 The Old Mam'selle's Secret. From the German of 
 
 E. Marlitt, author of " Gold Elsie," etc. By Mrs. A. L. 
 Wister. Sixth edition. i2mo. Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 " A more charming story, and one 
 which, having once commenced, it 
 ieemed more difficult to leave, we 
 have, not met with for many a day." — 
 The Round Table. 
 
 " Is one of the most intense, con- 
 
 centrated, compact novels of the day. 
 . . . And the work has the minutt 
 fidelity of the author of 'The Initials, 
 the dramatic unity of Reade and thi 
 graphic power of George Eliot." 
 Columbus (O.) Journal. 
 
 Gold Elsie. From the German of F. Marlitt, authot 
 
 of " The Old Mam'selle's Secret," etc. By Mrs. A. L 
 Wister. Fifth edition. i2mo. Cloth. $1.50. 
 
 "A charming book. It absorbs 
 four attention from the title-page to 
 the «nd.'' — The Home Circle. 
 
 "A charming story charminglj 
 told." — Baltimore Gazette. 
 
 Countess Gisela. From the German of F. Marlitt, 
 
 author of "Gold Elsie," etc. By Mrs. A. L. Wister. 
 Third edition. l2mo. Cloth. #1.50. 
 
 est of the reader from the outset."— 
 Pittsburgh Gazette. 
 
 " The best work by this author."— 
 Philadelphia Telegraph. 
 
 "There is more dramatic power in 
 this than in any of the stories by the 
 lame author that we have read." — N. 
 O Times. 
 
 " It is a story that arouses the inter- 
 
 Ovcr Yonder. From the German of E. Marlitt, 
 author of " Countess Gisela," etc. Third edition. With 
 a full-page Illustration. 8vo. Paper cover. 30 cents. 
 
 "'Over Yonder' is a charming ! ant of the merits of this author will 
 ntvelette. The admirers of ' Old , find in it a pleasant introduction to th* 
 Mam'selle's Secret ' will give it a glad j works of a gifted writer." — Daily Sen- 
 reception, while those who are ignor- | tinel. 
 
 The Little Moorland Princess. From the German 
 
 of E. Marlitt, author of " The Old Mam'selle's Secret," 
 "Gold Elsie," etc. By Mrs. A. L. Wister. Fourth edi- 
 tion. l2mo. Fine cloth. $1.75. 
 
 " By far the best foreign romance of I up to its balmy influence." — ChUmgt 
 the season." — Philadelphia Press. Evening Journal. 
 
 " It is a great luxury to give one's self | 
 
 Magdalena. From the German of F. Marlitt, 
 
 author of" Countess Gisela," etc. And The Lonely Ones 
 
 ("The Solitaries"). From the German of Paul Heyse. 
 
 With two Illustrations. 8vo. Paper cover. 35 cents. 
 
 "We know of no way in which a | either of these tales." — Indiamapoii» 
 'eisme hour may be more pleasantly Sentinel. 
 whiled awav than by a perusal ol I
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 a »2 
 
 ■P! 
 
 JUL 13 1987 
 
 5 
 
 Form L9-25wi-8,'46 (9852)444
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 III 
 
 AA 000 378 236 4