Hurricane Hurry Part 35

"That man is one of the bravest officers I ever encountered," observed Captain Symonds, pointing to the captain of the French s.h.i.+p, whom we could see moving about, encouraging his people.

"I wonder whether he intends to give in at all!" said Mr Edwards as we prepared to pour another broadside into him.

"Not a bit of it; he has as much pluck as at the first left in him,"

exclaimed O'Driscoll, as the thunder of our artillery once more ceased.

I could not help longing that, for the sake of the lives of his people, the French captain would give in. The action had now lasted from a quarter to eight to half-past eight. Of course the time appeared very much longer. The Bienfaisant was about to pour in another of her broadsides which had already produced such fearful effects. The deck of the Frenchman was truly a shamble; not a spot appeared free from some dead or wounded occupant. Just then the crew, fearful of encountering another iron shower, fled from their guns. Down came the Fleur-de-lys of France. Shouts arose from the deck of the Bienfaisant, which were loudly and joyfully echoed from ours. All three s.h.i.+ps were now hove-to.

On hailing our prize we found that we had captured "Le Compte D'Artois," a private s.h.i.+p of war of sixty-four guns and seven hundred and fifty men, commanded by Monsieur Clenard.

A boat from each s.h.i.+p was sent on board. I went in the Charon's. The brave captain of the Compte D'Artois came forward and delivered his sword to the lieutenant of the Bienfaisant. He was desperately wounded in the mouth, and he looked very sad; he had reason so to be, for his brother, a colonel of the Legion of Artois, lay dead on the deck, having been wounded early in the action, while he had lost no less than one hundred and nineteen killed and wounded of his brave crew. All his property, too, had probably been embarked in the enterprise. Many other people in the same way lost their fortunes during the war. They thought that they had only to fit out a s.h.i.+p of war and that they were certain to gain great wealth. They forgot that two might play at the same game, and that they were just as likely to fall into the hands of their enemies as to capture them. Poor monsieur had another brother on board.

I did not exaggerate when I said that the deck of his s.h.i.+p was like a perfect shamble. So quickly had the poor Frenchmen been struck down that the survivors had not had time to carry them below, and there they lay, some stark and stiff, others writhing in their agony. It was enough to move the compa.s.sion even of their greatest enemies. We at once set to work to do all we could to help them and to relieve the wounded from their sufferings. Every one felt also much for poor Monsieur Clenard, for a braver man never commanded a s.h.i.+p or fought her longer, till not a prospect of escape remained for him. Strange as it may appear, we had only one man wounded, while the Bienfaisant had only two killed and two wounded. This extraordinary difference in the Frenchman's loss and ours arose from two causes. He wished to escape, and fired high to try and destroy our spars and rigging; and also his crew, collected chiefly from the merchant service, and from boatmen and fishermen who had never till lately handled a gun, and having also a considerable proportion of landsmen among them, were in no way a match for our well-trained and hardy seamen. The s.h.i.+p was handled as well as she could be, while nothing could exceed the gallantry of her officers; her crew also fought with the greatest bravery, as indeed Frenchmen generally will fight, though perhaps not with the same bull-dog determination as the English. We agreed that when the French had had more practice, and had learned a few lessons from us, they would prove much tougher customers than they had hitherto been.

There was great cheering and congratulation on board the s.h.i.+ps of the convoy as they came up, and in a short time the rest of them joined us with the Licorne and Hussar. In the interval the crew of the Compte D'Artois were transferred to the Bienfaisant, and she and her prize stood away for Crookhaven in Ireland. We, meantime, with the other two s.h.i.+ps and the convoy, made sail for the westward. We had generally on the pa.s.sage moderate gales and fine pleasant weather.

On the 12th a strange sail was seen to leeward, beating up towards us.

She was after a time made out to be a s.h.i.+p of some size, probably watching her opportunity to pick off any stragglers in the fleet. To prevent this Captain Symonds ordered the Hussar to chase her away, we making as if we were about to follow. Seeing this, the stranger put up her helm and ran off before the wind, while the Hussar crowded all sail in chase. We watched her with no little interest, for the stranger was evidently a big s.h.i.+p, and, if the Hussar brought her to action, would very likely prove a powerful antagonist--not that odds, however great, were much thought of in those days, and I will take upon myself to say that there was scarcely an officer in the service in command of a fifty-gun frigate who would not have considered himself fortunate in having an opportunity of engaging an enemy's s.h.i.+p of sixty guns or more.

In a short time the sails of the chase and her pursuer disappeared below the horizon. The night closed in and pa.s.sed away; the next day drew on and we saw nothing of the Hussar. Another day pa.s.sed away and she did not make her appearance. Conjectures as to what had become of her now formed the general subject of conversation on board, but, like all conjectures, when there is no data on which to build up a conclusion, we always left off where we began, and waited till she came back, if ever she should do so, to tell her own tale.

O'Driscoll and I had now become great friends. I own that I wanted some one to whom I could talk to about my love for Madeline. With all his fun and humour and harum-scarum manner, he was a thoroughly honourable right-minded fellow, and I knew that I could trust him. He was delighted with the romance of the affair.

"If you can but point our where she is, by hook or by crook, I'll help you to win her," said he, in his full rich irish brogue. "You've already a pretty lot of prize-money, and please the pigs you'll pick up not a little more before long. Where there's a will there's a way, that's one comfort; and, by my faith, what I've seen of some of those little rebel colonists, they are well worth winning."

It may amuse my sober-minded readers, when they reflect on all the difficulties, not to say impossibilities, which existed in my way, to think that O'Driscoll and I should ever dream of overcoming them. But they must remember that we were both very young, and that in the navy such things as impossibilities are not allowed to exist. During how many a midnight watch did my love serve me as a subject for contemplation, and, when I was occasionally joined by O'Driscoll, for conversation also! Although I was on excellent terms with the rest of my brother-officers, I never felt inclined to open out to any of them.

Perhaps it was a weakness in me to do so even to O'Driscoll, and, as a general rule, I think a man is wise to keep such thoughts to himself.

Day after day pa.s.sed by and our missing consort did not make her appearance. A whole week elapsed, and we began to entertain serious apprehensions about her, and to fear that she had been captured. Our course had been so direct, and the weather so fine, that she would have had no difficulty, we considered, in rejoining us. At length a sail appeared standing towards the fleet. She was not one of the convoy, for all were together. Every gla.s.s on board was turned towards her. As the stranger drew nearer and nearer we were more and more puzzled to make out what she was.

"I see, I see!" exclaimed O'Driscoll at last. "She is a frigate and under jury-top-masts. She has been in a smart action. I see the shot-holes through her canvas. There can be no mistake about the matter. She is the 'Hussar,' I believe, after all."

On she came towards us, and the Hussar she proved to be; but the trim little frigate which she had been when she left us a week before was now sadly shorn of her beauty. As soon as she came up with the fleet Captain Symonds sent me on board to inquire what had happened. The story was soon told. She had fought a very desperate and gallant action, which, by-the-bye, I have never seen recorded in any naval history. She, it must be remembered, was only an eight-and-twenty gun frigate. The stranger after which she had been sent in chase, when she had drawn her completely away from the squadron, backed his main-topsail to the mast and waited, prepared for battle, till she came up. The enemy was soon made out to be a French forty-gun frigate, but that disparity of fores did not deter her gallant captain from proceeding to the attack. Ranging up within pistol-shot she opened her broadside, to which the Frenchman quickly replied in the same way with equal spirit.

As was the case in our action with the Compte D'Artois, the Frenchmen fired high, evidently with the idea that, by crippling their opponent, they might have her at their mercy. This system might under some instances be very good, but, unfortunately for them, they frequently themselves got so completely thrashed before they had succeeded in accomplis.h.i.+ng their purpose, that they had to cry peccavi and haul down their flags. The gallant little Hussar had no intention of running away, and therefore poured her broadsides into the hull of the Frenchman, committing great havoc along his decks. The action was continued for some time with great guns and musketry, every man in the English frigate striving his utmost to gain the victory. Numbers of the gallant fellows were struck down--some never to rise again, others desperately wounded. Each attempt of the Frenchman was bravely repulsed, and every shot fired was responded to with still greater vigour. Still the captain of the Hussar could not help watching the progress of the fight with the greatest anxiety. Already two of her top-masts had been shot away, her lower-masts were wounded, and five or six of her crew lay dead, while as many more were hurt. Still he had determined not to give in as long as his s.h.i.+p would float. The Frenchmen had already suffered severely, but it was impossible to say how long their endurance might last. He had no doubt that they had lost far more in killed and wounded than he had, and he saw that they had some shot between wind and water, and that their rigging was much cut up. All this gave him hopes that he might yet come off victorious.

Again he ranged up alongside his big antagonist and received her fire while he delivered his own. Down came his mizen-top-mast by the run-- several more of his crew fell to the deck--his rigging hung in festoons--his canvas was full of shot-holes. He thought to himself, "Ought I to sacrifice the lives of my people in a hopeless contest? But is it hopeless? No, it is not. Hurrah, my brave fellows! One broadside more, and we shall do for the enemy!" he shouted loudly. The combatants were standing on a bow-line alongside each other. Once more the Hussar fired. The Frenchman returned her broadside, and then, before the smoke cleared off and the English had time to reload to rake her, put up her helm and ran off before the wind. The Hussar was not in a condition to follow. She, however, kept firing at the Frenchman as long as her shot could reach him, and then hauled her wind and stood away to the westward after us. She had seven killed and six badly wounded, besides other hurts. She had lost her three top-masts, while her lower-masts were disabled. Fortunately the weather was fine, for had she encountered a gale of wind her condition would have been bad indeed. I have never, as I have said, seen an account of this very gallant action in any naval history, and I therefore give it as it was described to me by the officers of the Hussar.

On the 14th of October we arrived off Charleston, South Carolina, with our whole convoy, after a favourable pa.s.sage of nine weeks, and we were congratulating ourselves on its successful termination, little thinking what was to be the fate of many of the s.h.i.+ps of the fleet. Charleston stands on a broad neck of land, with Cooper's river on one side and Ashley river on the other. They flow into a wide sheet of water, which forms the harbour of Charleston, but which is shallow, and has a bar at its mouth, on which there is very little water.

This, on our arrival, we could not cross, and the convoy had consequently to anchor outside. Charleston had, after a brave defence on the 12th of May, been captured from the Americans under General Lincoln by Sir Henry Howe and Lord Cornwallis. The latter on our arrival commanded the army which held it. Sir Henry, with part of his forces, had gone to New York. The capture of Charleston was considered a very fortunate circ.u.mstance, and it was believed that in consequence the whole of the Carolinas would yield to our arms. Never perhaps were people more mistaken. The day of our arrival at Charleston I accompanied Captain Symonds on sh.o.r.e. We went to the house where a friend of his, Colonel Balfour, had taken up his quarters. He most kindly received us, and invited us to his table whenever we were on sh.o.r.e. We slept, however, at one of the largest houses in the place, occupied by Lord Cornwallis. His lords.h.i.+p had just returned from an unsuccessful expedition to North Carolina, where a force of nearly a thousand men, regulars and royalists, under Colonel Ferguson, who was killed, had been taken prisoners by the Americans; many also lost their lives with their leader. Colonel Ferguson had made a foray into North Carolina, and in his retreat had been surprised among the fastnesses of the mountains by an overwhelming force of the most hardy and brave of the irregular troops of the neighbouring districts, especially accustomed to the sort of warfare in which they were called on to engage. Colonel Ferguson was a very brave and good officer, and Lord Cornwallis took his defeat and death very much to heart. As we had executed some of the rebels who, after receiving royal pa.s.ses, were taken in arms against us, so now the Americans in retaliation hung several of the royalists who were captured on this occasion. In consequence of this there was, we found, a great deal of bitter feeling in the town against the rebels, and in no time had the contest been carried on in so sanguinary a way as at present.

We were aroused at daybreak by the sound of a terrifically heavy gale which had sprung up, and in going down to the harbour we found that the bar was perfectly impa.s.sable, while the s.h.i.+ps at anchor off it were in a great state of confusion. Some were striking top-masts and letting go fresh anchors, in the hopes of riding out the gale, while others were slipping or cutting their cables, and running out to sea, several of them getting foul of each other and committing all sorts of damage. It was not till the 20th that the weather moderated sufficiently to enable us to get off to rejoin our s.h.i.+p. By degrees some of the s.h.i.+ps of the convoy which had run to sea came back, but several never returned, having been captured by the enemy or lost.

On the 22nd we again sailed from Charleston with a convoy of fifty sail of transports, bound for New York. On our pa.s.sage we captured a rebel privateer of eight guns and fifty men, and took a merchant brig bound from London to Charleston with bale goods. We found at Sandy Hook, where we arrived on the 4th of November, Sir George Rodney, with eight sail of the line and several frigates, waiting for a wind to sail for the West Indies. The following day we proceeded through the Narrows up to New York, where we set to work to refit the s.h.i.+p for sea,--an operation she very much required. I need not say that I employed my time on sh.o.r.e in endeavouring to gain intelligence of Miss Carlyon and her family. In making my inquiries I had, however, to exert great caution, for I knew that I might very easily bring upon myself the suspicion of corresponding with the enemy for treasonable purposes.

When I slept on sh.o.r.e I went to the house of a worthy Dutch widow, where I had before lodged. I did my utmost to ingratiate myself with her, for I knew that if any one could obtain the information I required she would do so. Old women, I have found, nearly always are ready to listen with complacency and attention to the love tales of young men or young women, and so my kind hostess not only listened to as much of mine as I thought it necessary to tell her, but gladly promised to a.s.sist me to the best of her ability.

"And now, my dear Mrs Von Tromp, what news have you for me?" I asked eagerly one day as I walked into her little back parlour where she received her select visitors. Considering her origin, she spoke excellent English.

"Listen!" she replied; "I have not learned much for you, but what I have learned you may believe is the truth. I lately had a talk with a Virginian gentleman. Do not be afraid, sir, for he is a neutral; no rebel I ever talk with. He knows the family of the lady you want to hear about. He heard them speaking of her not long ago; she is unmarried, and they thought she would remain so. She was then in Virginia with her father, who is a very active rebel, you know."

Not listening to her last remark, the thought at once struck me that I would write to her to a.s.sure her of my constancy, and would try to send my letter by means of the gentleman Mrs Von Tromp mentioned. My good hostess was, however, terrified when I made the proposal.

"Oh, dear--no, no, it would never do!" she explained. "It would be a great deal too dangerous to attempt. The letter would be intercepted, and we should be accused of corresponding with the enemy, and some of us would be hung to a certainty. Just think, how should you like to suffer the fate of poor Major Andre? Ah, poor young gentleman! he was, indeed, a fine, handsome man--or almost a boy, I might say--he looked so young; he was so civil and polite and kind. I can't think of his cruel death without crying, that I can't."

Major Andre had been captured by the Americans, having crossed into their territory for the purpose of communicating with General Arnold, who succeeded in escaping from them and joining the British forces. He was considered as a spy, and as such, tried, condemned, and had just before this been executed--his hard fate creating much commiseration even in the bosoms of his enemies. He was fully as brave, talented, polite, and accomplished in every way as the widow described him. I a.s.sured her that I had no wish to share his lamentable fate, but that, as I was not holding any treasonable correspondence with the enemy, I could not be found guilty of so doing. I argued the subject with her for some time.

"Ah, you know the way to an old woman's heart as well as to that of a young one!" at last exclaimed the good-natured dame. "I cannot refuse you. Write the letter, and I will do my best to forward it. But be careful what you say. Nothing but love, remember, nothing but love-- don't forget that."

"No fear, no fear," I answered, laughing. "I'll stick to my text, depend on it."

"I don't doubt you, and a pretty long one it will be, I suspect," she remarked, as I got up to go off to my room. "When it is ready, bring it to me. I will do my best, and if it does not reach its destination, that is no fault of mine."

I hurried up-stairs to the room I slept in, and was soon deeply immersed in the occupation of writing a letter to Madeline. I had no fears how it would be received, so I seized my pen, and, after a few moments'

thought, wrote on. Once having begun, my pen flew rapidly over the paper, but not so rapidly as my thoughts. When I had covered the sheet I had not said one quarter of what I wished to say. I took another and another. At last I finished and folded them up.

"Umph!" said the widow, when I took the package to her. "You will want a special courier and a pack-horse to carry this doc.u.ment--but don't frown now, I am only joking. I am sure that the young lady is well worthy of the letter, and that you have not said a word more than she will be glad to hear."

I was not in a humour to quarrel with Madame Von Tromp for anything she might say. Leaving my precious letter with her, I hurried away to attend to my duties on board my s.h.i.+p. At this time Admiral Arbuthnot's squadron was lying in Gardner's Bay, at the other end of Long Island.

On the 9th, Sir Henry Howe having some important despatches to send to the admiral, the gallant little Hussar was directed to get under weigh to convey them.

Little did I think at the time that, after all she had gone through, we should see her no more. I have already described the dangerous pa.s.sage of h.e.l.l Gate, where already, in consequence of the fearful rapidity of the currents, so many vessels had been lost. I watched the Hussar get under weigh. I had hoped to take the trip in her, for I had some old friends on board different s.h.i.+ps in the squadron whom I wished to see, and I was rather annoyed at not being able to get leave to go. That was one of the numberless instances where I have discovered how little we mortals know what is good for us. To make a long story short, for I cannot now stop to give a full description of the accident, in going through that justly-dreaded pa.s.sage the Hussar met with baffling winds, and, the currents catching her, sent her bodily on the rocks. Thus she became utterly helpless. No seamans.h.i.+p could avail her. The short, chopping, boiling sea dashed over her and beat her to pieces. Before hawsers could be got to the sh.o.r.e, by which her crew could make their escape, several of the poor fellows had been drowned. In the boisterous and bitterly cold weather of that season many of them suffered much before they got back to New York.

Once more we were ready for sea, and on the 2nd of December we hoisted Admiral Arbuthnot's flag, and, proceeding to Statten Island, we were joined by HMS Thames, Charlestown, Medea, Amphitrite, Fowey, Hope, Bonetta, Swift, and several armed vessels.

I was just now speaking of the death of Major Andre, who was captured by the Americans when communicating with General Arnold. That officer had deserted the liberal cause, and, having succeeded in reaching the British lines in safety, had now been appointed a brigadier-general in our army. On the 3rd we received him on board with two troops distributed among the s.h.i.+ps of the squadron. All we knew was, that some expedition of importance was to be undertaken, but on what part of the coast the descent was to be made did not transpire. I do not believe that the commanders on our side put much confidence in General Arnold, and of course the Americans, whose cause he had so basely betrayed, perfectly detested him. Had he, by the chances of war, fallen into their hands, they would have treated him as they had done poor Andre.

We sailed from New York on the 12th of December. In order to deceive the enemy, and to make them believe that an expedition of very great importance was about to be undertaken, we kept the admiral's flag flying till we were out of sight of land. A course was steered to the southward; it was then understood that we were bound for the Chesapeake, and it was supposed that a landing would be made somewhere on the sh.o.r.es of Virginia. I scarcely knew whether to grieve or to rejoice at the prospect thus held out to me. Of course, I could not but regret that my countrymen were about to carry the war into the very part of the country where Madeline, I believed, was residing; at the same time, under the supposition that such would be done, I rejoiced at the thoughts that I might meet her, or might render her or her family a.s.sistance. Still I would not venture to reckon much on the prospect of our meeting.

Numberless circ.u.mstances might intervene to prevent it. I might not even be sent on sh.o.r.e. I might not go near where she might be residing, or, what was probable, her friends might gain tidings of the expedition, when she would, with other ladies, move away more into the interior.

Still, notwithstanding these considerations, I could not help indulging myself in the belief that, by some means or other, we should meet once again, or, at all events, that I should gain tidings of her, and be able to communicate with her. The very idea gave buoyancy to my step and manner, and made many of my companions inquire what had put me in such unusual spirits.

O'Driscoll had returned on board, having again joined the s.h.i.+p as a supernumerary, and as an old tried friend he entered, and, I believe, heartily, into all my hopes and fears. Some of his plans and proposals, however, though very much in accordance with the notions of Irishmen in those days, were not such, even with all my harum-scarum habits, which I could by any possibility adopt.

"Hurry, my boy, I have been thinking over this affair of yours," said he, as we were walking the deck together. "I don't like s.h.i.+lly-shallying in matters of this sort--I never did. The lady loves you, and you love the lady--well, then, to my mind, the first difficulty is got over, because, according to my notion, where there's a will there's a way. You'll find her out, that's certain. Then the next thing to be done is to get her to run away with you. She'll go, depend on that. You take her prisoner, you know! Bring her aboard; we'll get a chaplain to splice you. You can take her up to New York; she'll be safe there. And then we come to another little matter; I've arranged that in a satisfactory way. You've some prize-money. I've saved a good mint one way and another, and, old fellow, I don't want it--my purse is yours. Old messmates don't stand on ceremony about such matters. My own dear little Kathleen, the only creature I wanted it for, went to glory while I was last at sea. When I got home I was desolate. I've no kith nor kin I care for, and if you don't take the money it's likely enough I'll heave it into the sea one of these days, or pitch it where it won't do any one any good, so don't think that I am doing you any wonderful favour if you take it. The truth is, Hurry, I'd be more than paid ten times over in having the pleasure of helping you to run off with the lady. I'm in my element in an affair of this sort--there's nothing I like better, barring a good stand-up scrimmage, and that's generally too soon over. Now, Hurry, just do as I say. Promise me!"

I was struck dumb; so rapidly did he pour out his proposals that I could not answer him. He took my silence for consent, and ran on. At first I was somewhat inclined to resent his remarks, but his generosity and evident unconsciousness that he was proposing anything in any way incorrect completely disarmed my anger, and, when he ceased speaking, greatly to his surprise, I burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"I am most thankful, my dear O'Driscoll, for your kind sympathy, and for the a.s.sistance you so liberally offer me," I exclaimed, as soon as I could recover myself. "But supposing I could or would persuade her to leave her home, and the protection of her family, just consider all the hards.h.i.+ps, inconveniences, and danger she would be exposed to on board s.h.i.+p before I could place her in safety; and then, how could she, delicately brought up, live on a lieutenant's pay, even with such prize-money as I might save, and your aid, my kind fellow!" I added.

"No, no! the thing is out of the question."

"Faith, I hadn't thought all about those little obstructions to matrimonial felicity," he answered. "Still I can't give up the idea, in case the chance should offer, of your running away with the young lady.

It seems such a natural thing to do. There's a fine fellow, be prepared, that's all--and only just let me help you."

"Well, well! I have no friend on whom I can more fully rely than you,"

I replied. "I promise you that I will not fail to apply to you if I see that you can in any way help me."

"That's all right," said he, fully satisfied. "I knew that you would, before long, come into my views."

Our pa.s.sage to the south was very tedious, for we had light winds, sad were also constantly compelled to heave-to for the laggards.

Soon after the conversation I have mentioned, on the 23rd of December, it being still calm, one of the leading s.h.i.+ps signalled that a s.h.i.+p and four small sail were in sight to the southward, and that they had all the appearance of enemies. We, accordingly, crowded all sail in chase, but scarcely had we got beyond the van of the fleet when it became evident that, at the rate we were progressing, we should not come up with the chase before dark. We had, in company, a small privateer schooner fitted with long sweeps, and which rowed remarkably well.

Captain Symonds directed her by signal to come within hail, and then ordered me to take thirty men and go on board her and to proceed in chase of the strangers.