Frank Mildmay Part 14

In half an hour we found ourselves on sh.o.r.e on Cornwallis Island, as I afterwards learned, and the sea made a fair breach over us. This sobered the lieutenant and his officers; and as the tide fell, we found ourselves high and dry. The vessel fell over on her side, and I walked on sh.o.r.e, determined to trust myself no more with such a set of beasts.

Boats came down from the dockyard at daylight, and took me and some others who had followed my example, together with our luggage, to the flag-s.h.i.+p. After two days' hard labour, the vessel was got off, and brought into the harbour. The admiral was informed of the whole transaction, and one of the captains advised him to try the lieutenant by a court-martial, or, at least, to turn him out of the vessel, and send him home. Unfortunately, he would not follow this advice, but sent him to sea again, with despatches. It was known that all hands were drunk on quitting the port; and the vessel ran upon a reef of rocks called the Sisters, where she sank, and every soul perished. Her mast-heads were seen just above water the next morning.

The frigate I was to join came into harbour soon after I reached Halifax. This I was sorry for, as I found myself in very good quarters.

I had letters of introduction to the best families. The place is proverbial for hospitality; and the society of the young ladies, who are both virtuous and lovely, tended in some degree to reform and polish the rough and libertine manners which I had contracted in my career. I had many sweethearts; but they were more like Emily than Eugenia. I was a great flirt among them, and would willingly have spent more time in their company; but my fate or fortune was to be accomplished, and I went on board the frigate, where I presented my introductory letters to the n.o.bleman who commanded her. I expected to have seen an effeminate young man, much too refined to learn his business; but I was mistaken. Lord Edward was a sailor every inch of him, he knew a s.h.i.+p from stem to stern, understood the characters of seamen, and gained their confidence.

He was, besides, a good mechanic--a carpenter, rope-maker, sail-maker, and cooper. He could hand, reef, and steer, knot and splice; but he was no orator--he read little, and spoke less. He was a man of no show. He was good-tempered, honest, and unsophisticated, with a large proportion of common sense. He was good-humoured and free with his officers; though if offended he was violent, but soon calm again; nor could you ever perceive any a.s.sumption of consequence from his t.i.tle of n.o.bility.

He was pleased with my expertness in practical seamans.h.i.+p; and before we left the harbour, I became a great favourite. This I took care to improve, as I liked him both for himself and his good qualities, independently of the advantages of being on good terms with the captain.

We were not allowed to remain long in this paradise of sailors, being ordered suddenly to Quebec. I ran round to say adieu to all my dear Arcadian friends. A tearful eye, a lock of hair, a hearty shake of a fair hand, were all the spoils with which I was loaded when I quitted the sh.o.r.e, and I cast many a longing, lingering look behind, as the s.h.i.+p glided out of the harbour; white handkerchiefs were waved from the beach, and many a silent prayer for our safe return was put up from snowy bosoms and from aching hearts. I dispensed my usual quantum of vows of eternal love and fidelity, before I left them, and my departure was marked in the calendar of Halifax as a black day, by at least seven or eight pairs of blue eyes.

We had not been long at sea before we spoke an Irish Guinea-man from Belfast, loaded with emigrants for the United States: I think about seventeen families. These were contraband. Our captain had some twenty thousand acres on the island of St. John's, or Prince Edward's, as it is now called, a grant to some of his ancestors, which had been bequeathed to him, and from which he had never received one s.h.i.+lling of rent, for the very best reason in the world--because there were no tenants to cultivate the soil. It occurred to our n.o.ble captain that this was the very sort of cargo he wanted, and that these Irish people would make good clearers of his land, and improve his estate. He made the proposal to them, and as they saw no chance of getting to the United States, and, provided they could procure nourishment for their families, it was a matter of indifference to them where they colonised, the proposal was accepted, and the captain obtained permission of the admiral to accompany them to the island to see them housed and settled. Indeed, nothing could have been more advantageous for all parties; they increased the scanty population of our own colony, instead of adding to the number of our enemies. We sailed again from Halifax a few hours after we had obtained the sanction of the admiral, and, pa.s.sing through the beautiful pa.s.sage between Nova Scotia and the island of Cape Breton, known by the name of the Gut of Canso, we soon reached Prince Edward's Island.

We anch.o.r.ed in a small harbour near the estate, on which we found a man residing with his wife and family; this fellow called himself the steward, and from all I could see of him during our three weeks' stay, he appeared to me to be rascal enough for the stewards.h.i.+p of any n.o.bleman's estate in England. The captain landed, and took me as his aide-de-camp. A bed was prepared for his lords.h.i.+p in the steward's house, but he preferred sleeping on clean hay in the barn. This n.o.ble lord was a man whose thoughts seldom gave much labour to his tongue; he always preferred hearing others to talking himself; and whoever was his companion, he must always be at the expense of the conversation. Nor was it by the usual mode of simple narrative that his mind was completely impressed with the image intended to be presented to him; he required three different versions, or paraphrases, of the same story or observation, and to these he had three different expletives or e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns. These were "hum!" "eh!" and "ah!" The first denoted attention; the second, part comprehension; and the third, a.s.sent and entire approval; to mark which more distinctly, the last syllable was drawn out to an immoderate length, and accompanied by a sort of half laugh.

I shall give one instance of our colloquial pastime. His lords.h.i.+p, after we had each taken up our quarters for the night, on the soft dry hay, thus began:--

"I say,"--a pause.

"My lord?"

"What would they say in England, at our taking up such quarters?"

"I think, my lord, that as far as regards myself, they would say nothing; but as far as regards your lords.h.i.+p, they would say it was very indifferent accommodation for a n.o.bleman."

"Hum!"

This I knew was the signal for a new version. "I was observing, my lord, that a person of your rank, taking up his quarters in a barn, would excite suspicion among your friends in England."

"Eh?" says his lords.h.i.+p.

That did not do--either your lords.h.i.+p's head or mine is very thick, thinks I. I'll try again, though dying to go to sleep. "I say, my lord, if the people in England knew what a good sailor you are, they would be surprised at nothing you did; but those who know nothing, would think it odd that you should be contented with such quarters."

"Ah!" said his lords.h.i.+p, triumphantly.

What further observations he was pleased to make that night I know not, for I fell fast asleep, and did not awake till the c.o.c.ks and hens began to fly down from their roosts, and make a confounded clamour for their breakfasts, when his lords.h.i.+p jumped up, gave himself a good shake, and then gave me another of a different sort: it answered the purpose, however, of restoring me to that reason, of which the cackling of the poultry had only produced the incipient signs.

"Come, rouse out, you d.a.m.ned lazy chap," said my captain. "Do you mean to sleep all day? We have got plenty to do."

"Ay, ay, my lord," said I. So up I jumped, and my toilet was completed in the same time, and by the same operation, as that of a Newfoundland dog, namely a good shake.

A large party of the s.h.i.+p's company came on sh.o.r.e with the carpenter, bringing with them every implement useful in cutting down trees and building log-houses. Such was to be our occupation, in order to house these poor emigrants. Our men began to clear a patch of land, by cutting down a number of pine-trees, the almost exclusive natives of the wood; and having selected a spot for the foundation, we placed four stems of trees in a parallelogram, having a deep notch in each end, mutually to fit and embrace each other. When the walls, by this repeated operation, were high enough, we laid on the rafters, and covered the roof with boughs of the fir and the bark of the birch-tree, filling the interstices with moss and mud. By practice, I became, a very expert engineer, and with the a.s.sistance of thirty or forty men, I could build a very good house in a day.

We next cleared, by burning and rooting up, as much land as would serve to sustain the little colony for the ensuing season; and having planted a crop of corn and potatoes, and giving the settlers many articles useful in their new abode, we left them, agreeably to our orders, and to my great joy returned to dear Halifax, where I again was blessed with the sight of my innocent harem. I remember well that I received a severe rebuke from the captain for inattention to signals. One was addressed to us from the flag-s.h.i.+p; I was signal mids.h.i.+pman, but instead of directing my gla.s.s towards the old _Centurion_, it was levelled at a certain young Calypso, whose fair form I discovered wandering along the "_gazon fleuri_:" how long would I not have dwelt in this happy Arcadia, had not another Mentor pushed me off the rocks, and sent me once more to buffet the briny waves.

Contrary to the opinion of any rational being, the President of the United States was planning a war against England, and every s.h.i.+p in Halifax harbour was preparing to fight the Yankees. The squadron sailed in September. I bade adieu to the nymphs of Nova Scotia with more indifference than became me, or than the reception I had met with from them seemed to deserve; but I was the same selfish and ungrateful being as ever. I cared for no one but my own dear self, and as long as I was gratified, it mattered little to me how many broken hearts I left behind.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

At once the winds arise, The thunders roll, the forky lightning flies; In vain the master issues out commands, In vain the trembling sailors ply their hands: The tempest unforeseen prevents their care, And from the first they labour in despair.

DRYDEN'S FABLES.

Halifax is a charming, hospitable place: its name is a.s.sociated with so many pleasing recollections, that it never fails to extort another gla.s.s from the bottle which, having been gagged, was going to pa.s.s the night in the cellaret. But only say "Halifax!" and it is like "Open sesame!"--out flies the cork, and down goes a b.u.mper to the "health of all good la.s.ses!"

I related, in the last chapter, an adventure with an Irish Guinea-man, whose cargo my right honourable captain converted to the profitable uses of himself and his country. Another of these vessels had been fallen in with by one of our cruisers, and the commander of His Majesty's sloop _Humming Bird_ made a selection of some thirty or forty stout Hibernians to fill up his own complement, and hand over the surplus to the admiral.

Short-sighted mortals we all are, and captains of men-of-war are not exempted from this human imperfection! How much, also, drops between the cup and the lip! There chanced to be on board of the same trader two very pretty Irish girls of the better sort of _bourgeoisie_; they were going to join their friends at Philadelphia: the name of the one was Judy, and of the other Maria. No sooner were the poor Irishmen informed of their change of destination, than they set up a howl loud enough to make the scaly monsters of the deep seek their dark caverns.

They rent the hearts of the poor tender-hearted girls; and when the thorough ba.s.s of the males was joined by the sopranos and trebles of the women and children, it would have made Orpheus himself turn round and gaze.

"Oh, Miss Judy! Oh, Miss Maria! would ye be so cruel as to see us poor craturs dragged away to a man-of-war, and not for to go and spake a word for us? A word to the captain wid your own pretty mouths, no doubt he would let us off."

The young ladies, though doubting the powers of their own fascinations, resolved to make the experiment; so, begging the lieutenant of the sloop to give them a pa.s.sage on board, to speak with his captain, they added a small matter of finery to their dress, and skipped into the boat like a couple of mountain kids, caring neither for the exposure of legs nor the spray of the salt water, which, though it took the curls out of their hair, added a bloom to the cheeks which, perhaps, contributed in no small degree to the success of their project.

There is something in the sight of a petticoat at sea that never fails to put a man into a good humour, provided he be rightly constructed.

When they got on board the _Humming Bird_, they were received by the captain, and handed down into the cabin, where some refreshments were immediately prepared for them, and every kind attention shown which their s.e.x and beauty could demand. The captain was one of the best natured fellows that ever lived, with a pair of little sparkling black eyes that laughed in your face.

"And pray, young ladies," said he, "what may have procured me the honour of this visit?"

"It was to beg a favour of your honour," said Judy.

"And his honour will grant it, too," said Maria; "for I like the look of him."

Flattered by this little shot of Maria's, the captain said that nothing ever gave him more pleasure than to oblige the ladies; and if the favour they intended to ask was not utterly incompatible with his duty, that he would grant it.

"Well then," said Maria, "will your honour give me back Pat Flannagan, that you have pressed just now?"

The captain shook his head.

"He's no sailor, your honour; but a poor bog-trotter: and he will never do you any good."

The captain again shook his head.

"Ask me anything else," said he, "and I will give it you."

"Well then," said Maria, "give us Phelim O'Shaugnessy?"

The captain was equally inflexible.

"Come, come, your honour," said Judy, "we must not stand upon trifles nowadays. I'll give you a kiss, if you'll give me Pat Flannagan."

"And I another," said Maria, "for Phelim."

The captain had one seated on each side of him; his head turned like a dog-vane in a gale of wind; he did not know which to begin with; the most ineffable good humour danced in his eyes, and the ladies saw at once that the day was their own. Such is the power of beauty, that this lord of the ocean was fain to strike to it. Judy laid a kiss on his right cheek; Maria matched it on his left; the captain was the happiest of mortals.

"Well, then," said he, "you have your wish; take your two men, for I am in a hurry to make sail."

"Is it sail ye are after making; and do ye mane to take all those pretty craturs away wid ye? No, faith! another kiss, and another man."