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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lieutenant and Commander, by Basil Hall
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Lieutenant and Commander
+       Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from
+       Fragments of Voyages and Travels
+
+Author: Basil Hall
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2005 [EBook #17032]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIEUTENANT AND COMMANDER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+THE LIEUTENANT AND COMMANDER;
+
+BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
+OF HIS OWN CAREER,
+
+FROM
+
+FRAGMENTS OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
+BY CAPTAIN BASIL HALL, R.N., F.R.S.
+
+
+LONDON:
+BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STREET,
+AND SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND CO.
+47, LUDGATE HILL.
+1862.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The present volume is rather a condensation than an abridgment of the
+later volumes of Captain Hall's "Fragments of Voyages and Travels,"
+inasmuch as it comprises all the chapters of the second and third
+series, only slightly abbreviated, in which the author describes the
+various duties of the naval lieutenant and commander, the personal
+narrative being the framework, and his own experience in both
+capacities providing the details.
+
+The editor has no hesitation in stating, after the careful perusal and
+analysis he has necessarily made of this work, and that, with a
+tolerably extensive knowledge of books, he knows of none which may,
+with more propriety, be placed in the hands of young men, whatever
+may be their destination in life; but more especially are they adapted
+for the use of young officers and all aspirants to a seaman's life.
+The personal narrative, slight though it is, renders it very amusing,
+and every point the author makes inculcates a rigorous attention to
+"duty" duly tempered with discretion and humanity in commanding
+officers.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+    Taking a line in the service--Duty of officers--The dashing
+    boys--Dashing boys ashore--Philosophers afloat--Naval
+    statesmen--Scientific officers--Hard-working officers--Poetical
+    aspirants--Taking a line
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+    A sailor on shore--Irish hospitality--A sailor ashore--Irish
+    factions--Irish scenery--Land-locked bay--Reflections and
+    plans--An awkward dilemma--A retreat--A country party--A medical
+    experiment--My reception
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+    Tricks upon travellers--Irish refinement--A wise resolve--After
+    dinner--The second bottle--One bottle more--Second thoughts
+    best--The game of humbug--The climax--You're off, are you?--A
+    practical bull--Irish hospitality
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+    The Admiralty List--Chances of promotion--The Admiral's list--My
+    own disappointment--A good start--Homeward bound--A spell of bad
+    weather
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+    The tropical regions at sea--Sir Nathaniel Dance--The old Indian
+    ships--Social life at sea--Details of the voyage--The Canary
+    Islands--The Trade-winds--Changes of climate--The variable
+    winds--North-east Trades--Our limited knowledge--The great
+    monsoons
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+    The Trade-winds--The monsoons--Theory of the
+    Trade-winds--Explanations--Tropical winds--Motion of cold
+    air--Direction of clouds--Equatorial Trades--Calms and
+    variables--South-east Trades--Application of theories--Atlantic
+    winds--Monsoons of India--Trade-winds of the pacific--Monsoons
+    of Indian seas--Velocity of equatorial air--Obstructions of the
+    land--Horsburg's remarks--Dampier's essay
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+    Progress of the voyage--Cape of Good Hope--Ships' decks in the
+    tropics--Sweeping the decks--Marine shower-bath--Flying-fish--A
+    calm--Ships in a calm--A tropical shower--Washing-day--Comforts
+    of fresh water
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+    Aquatic sports--Weather wisdom--An equatorial
+    squall--Flying-fish--A chase--The
+    dolphin--Capture--Porpoises--Harpooning--The bonito--Dolphin
+    steaks--Porpoise steaks--The albatross--Shark-fishing--A
+    shark-hook--Habits of sharks--Seizing its prey--Flying at the
+    bait--The shark captured--Killing the shark--The buffalo skin--A
+    narrow escape
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+    A man overboard--Crossing the line--Duty of officers--Rival
+    Neptunes--A boy overboard--Affecting incident--A true-hearted
+    sailor--Bathing at sea--A well-timed action--Swimming--A
+    necessary acquisition--A man overboard--What should be done, and
+    how to do it--Effects of precipitancy--Life-buoy--Regulations
+    for emergencies--Managing the ship with a man
+    overboard--Stationing the crew--Directing the boats
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+    Sunday on board a man-of-war--Mustering by divisions--The fourth
+    commandment--Short services recommended--Order for
+    rigging--Scrubbing and sweeping--Sunday muster--Jack's
+    dandyism--Jack brought up with a round turn--Mustering at
+    divisions--Inspection--The marines--Round the decks--The
+    sick-bay--Lower deck--Below--Cockpit--The gun-room--Quarter deck
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+    The ship church--Rigging the church--Short services
+    recommended--Short sermons recommended--Religious duties
+    necessary to discipline--Church service interrupted--The day of
+    rest
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+    Naval ratings and sea pay--Mustering clothes--Between decks on
+    Sunday--Piping to supper--Mustering by lists--A seaman disrated
+    and rerated--Ratings of seamen--Tendency to do right--Examining
+    stores--Captain's duties--Clothes' muster--Responsibility--A
+    sailor's kit--A sailor's habits--Mizen-top
+    dandies--Hammocks--Piping the bags down--Pressing emigrants--A
+    Scotchman's kit--Improved clothes' muster
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+    Sailors' pets--Purchasing a monkey--Jacko's attractions--Gets
+    monkey's allowance--Jacko and the marines--Jacko's
+    revenge--Jacko turns on his friend--Spills the grog--Is
+    pursued, but is pardoned--Condemned to die--Commuted to
+    teeth-drawing--Surgeon's assistant appealed to--He can't
+    bite--The travelled monkey--Trick on the marines--Its
+    consequences--A potent dose--Its operations--Jack's
+    superstitions--The grunter pet--Jean's advocate--Her good
+    qualities--Jean's obesity, and its attractions--Her death and
+    burial--Well ballasted
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+    Doubling the Cape--Southern constellations--Intelligent chief
+    officer--Sailors and their friends--Parting company--The
+    cape--Simon's town--A fresh breeze--Rising to a gale--All hands
+    shorten sail--Value of experience to an officer--Taking in
+    reefs--Taking in mainsail--Heaving the log--Before the
+    gale--Effects of a gale--Value of a chronometer proved by the
+    want of one--Awful catastrophe
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+    Suggestions towards diminishing the number and severity of Naval
+    punishments--Corporal punishment--The author's own case--An old
+    shipmate--Admiralty regulations--Appeal to officers to avoid
+    precipitation--Dangers of precipitation--Instance of its
+    dangers--A considerate captain--A case for pardon--An obdurate
+    officer--Pardon granted--Retrieving of character
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+    Bombay--First glimpse of India--Bombay and its scenery
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+    Sir Samuel Hood--Naval promotion--Hopes and their
+    disappointment--An ant-hunt--The Admiral's triumph over the
+    engineers
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+    Excursion to Candelay lake in Ceylon--Starting of the
+    expedition--Pearl-divers--A strange tunnel--Hindoo bathing--An
+    amusing exhibition--A tropical forest--A night scene--An
+    alarm--A supper--A midnight burial--Cingalese game--Lake
+    Candelay and its embankment
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+    Griffins in India--Sinbad's valley of diamonds--A
+    mosquito-hunt--Deep anchorage--Local names--Valley of
+    diamonds--Ceylon gems
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+    Ceylonese canoes--Peruvian balsas--The floating windlass of the
+    Coromandel fishermen--American pilot-boats--Balsas of
+    Peru--Man-of-war boats--Ceylonese canoes--Canoe mast and
+    sails--Local contrivances--Construction of the balsa--Management
+    of the sail--Indian method of weighing anchor--A floating
+    windlass--Failure of the attempt--The Admiral's remarks--An
+    interesting feat of mechanical ingenuity
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+    The surf at Madras--Sound of the waves--Masullah
+    boats--Construction of the boats--Crossing the surf--Steering
+    the boat--How a capsize in the surf occurs--Catamarans of the
+    surf--Perseverance of the messenger
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+    Visit to the Sultan of Pontiana, in Borneo--Sir Samuel
+    Hood--Borneo--A floating grove--Pontiana--Chinese in Borneo--The
+    sultan and his audience room--Interior of the palace--The
+    autograph--Anecdote of Sir S. Hood--Getting out of the trap--Sir
+    S. Hood at the Nile--The Zealous and Goliath--Captain Walcott's
+    disinterestedness--Sir S. Hood's kindness
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+    Commissioning a ship--Receiving-hulk--Marines and
+    gunners--Choice of sailors--The ship's company--Choice of
+    officers--Stowing the ballast--Importance of
+    obedience--Complement of men in ships of war--Shipping the
+    crews--A Christmas feast afloat--A Christmas feast in Canton
+    River--Self-devotion
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+    Fitting out--Progress of rigging--The figure-head--Progressive
+    rigging--The boats--Fitting out--Stowage of ships'
+    stores--System requisite--Painting the ship--Policy of a good
+    chief--Anecdote of Lord Nelson--Scrubbing the hulk--Leaving the
+    harbour--Sailing
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+TAKING A LINE IN THE SERVICE.
+
+
+That there is a tide in the affairs of men, has very naturally become
+a figure of frequent and almost hackneyed use in the cockpits,
+gun-rooms, and even the captains' cabins of our ships and vessels of
+war. Like its numerous brethren of common-places, it will be found,
+perhaps, but of small application to the real business of life; though
+it answers capitally to wind up a regular grumble at the unexpected
+success of some junior messmate possessed of higher interest or
+abilities, and helps to contrast the growler's own hard fate with the
+good luck of those about him. Still, the metaphor may have its
+grateful use; for certainly in the Navy, and I suppose elsewhere,
+there is a period in the early stages of every man's professional life
+at which it is necessary that he should, more or less decidedly, "take
+his line," in order best to profit by the tide when the flood begins
+to make. It is difficult to say exactly at what stage of a young
+officer's career the determination to adopt any one of the numerous
+lines before him should be taken: but there can be little doubt as to
+the utility of that determination being made early in life. In most
+cases, it is clearly beyond the reach of artificial systems of
+discipline, to place, on a pair of young shoulders, the reflecting
+head-piece of age and experience; neither, perhaps, would such an
+incongruity be desirable. But it seems quite within the compass of a
+conscientious and diligent commanding officer's power by every means
+to cultivate the taste, and strengthen the principles and the
+understanding of the persons committed to his charge. His endeavour
+should be, to train their thoughts in such a manner that, when the
+time for independent reflection and action arrives, their judgment and
+feelings may be ready to carry them forward in the right path; to
+teach them the habit, for instance, of discovering that, in practice,
+there is a positive, and generally a speedy pleasure and reward
+attendant on almost every exercise of self-denial. When that point is
+once firmly established in the minds of young men, it becomes less
+difficult to persuade them to relinquish whatever is merely agreeable
+at the moment, if it stand in the way of the sterner claims of duty.
+
+Although the period must vary a good deal, I should be disposed to
+say, that, in general, a year or two after an officer is promoted to
+the rank of lieutenant, may be about the time when he ought fairly and
+finally to brace himself up to follow a particular line, and resolve,
+ever afterwards, manfully to persevere in it. His abilities being
+concentrated on some definite set of objects; his friends, both on
+shore and afloat, will be furnished with some tangible means of
+judging of his capacity. Without such knowledge, their patronage is
+likely to do themselves no credit, and their _protégé_ very little, if
+any, real service.
+
+Some young fellows set out in their professional life by making
+themselves thorough-bred sailors; their hands are familiar with the
+tar-bucket; their fingers are cut across with the marks of the ropes
+they have been pulling and hauling; and their whole soul is wrapped up
+in the intricate science of cutting out sails, and of rigging masts
+and yards. Their dreams are of cringles and reef-tackles, of knots,
+splices, grummets, and dead-eyes. They can tell the length, to a
+fathom, of every rope in the boatswain's warrant, from the flying jib
+down-haul to the spanker-sheet; and the height of every spar, from the
+main-top-gallant truck to the heel of the lower mast. Their delight
+is in stowing the hold; dragging about kentlage is their joy; they are
+the very souls of the ship's company. In harbour they are eternally
+paddling in the boats, rowing, or sculling, or sailing about; they are
+always the first in fishing or bathing parties; in short, they are for
+ever at some sailor-kind of work. At sea, their darling music is the
+loud whistle of the hardest storm-stay-sail breeze, with an occasional
+accompaniment of a split main-topsail. "The harder it blows, and the
+faster she goes," the merrier are they; "strong gales and squally" is
+the item they love best to chalk on the log-board; and even when the
+oldest top-men begin to hesitate about lying out on the yard to gather
+in the flapping remnants of the torn canvas, these gallant youngsters
+glory in the opportunity of setting an example of what a gentleman
+sailor can perform. So at it they go, utterly reckless of
+consequences; and by sliding down the lift, or scrambling out, monkey
+fashion, to the yard-arm, where they sit laughing, though the spar be
+more than half sprung through, they accomplish their purpose of
+shaming the others into greater exertions. It is well known that one
+of the ablest, if not the very ablest, of the distinguished men whom
+the penetrating sagacity of Nelson discovered and brought forward,
+owed his first introduction to the notice of that wonderful commander
+by an exploit of this very description.
+
+These are the dashing boys who cut out privateers, jump overboard
+after men who cannot swim, and who, when the ship is on fire, care not
+a farthing for the smoke and heat, but dive below with the engine-pipe
+in their hands, and either do good service, or perish in the flames
+with a jolly huzza on their lips. Such may fairly be called the
+muscular parts of our body nautical, for there is no gummy flesh about
+them; and when handled with skill, they form the stout instruments
+which help essentially to win such battles as the Nile and Trafalgar.
+
+The young persons I have just been describing are, however, by no
+means servile imitators of the sailors; they possess much useful
+technical knowledge, as well as mere energy of character; and often
+both think and act with originality; yet they are docile to the last
+degree, and delight in nothing more than fulfilling, to the very
+letter, the orders of their superiors. They may amuse themselves, as
+youngsters, by affecting the gait, the dress, and the lingo of the
+man before the mast; and are at times supposed to be a little too
+familiar with these models, on whom they pretend to shape their
+manners; but still they never carry the joke so far as to become what
+is called "Jack and Tom," even with the leading men in the ship. They
+can sing, upon occasion, snatches of forecastle ditties, or fling off
+a hornpipe worthy of the merriest cracked fiddle that ever sounded
+under the bow of a drunken musician amongst a company, half-seas over,
+at the back of Point Beach. Not content with
+
+    "Their long-quartered shoes, check shirt, and blue jacket,"
+
+they will even thrust a quid into their cheek, merely to gain the
+credit, such as it is, of "chewing backy like a sailor."
+
+But there must be a limit to the indulgence of these fancies; and if
+even an elder midshipman or mate of the decks were permanently to
+distinguish himself after this masquerade fashion, he would speedily
+lose caste even with the crew. When a mid, for example, is promoted to
+lieutenant, he must speedily decide whether he shall follow up in
+earnest a course of strictly seaman-like objects, of which the mere
+outward show had previously captivated his young fancy; or he must
+enter into some compromise with himself, and relinquish a part of his
+exclusive regard for these pursuits, in consideration of others less
+fascinating, to be sure, but more likely to bear on his advancement;
+for, without some knowledge of many other things, his chance must be
+very small in the race of professional life.
+
+In tolerably wide opposition of habits to these tarpaulin men follow
+the less dashing and showy race sometimes called "star-gazers,"
+sometimes "dictionary-men," who are also occasionally taunted or
+dignified by their messmates with the title of "philosophers." The
+object of most of these young philosophisers is to get at the reason
+of all things, and to be able not only to work by the rules laid down
+for them in printed books, or in the written orders of their
+superiors; but to investigate the foundation of these rules and
+regulations so thoroughly, that when new cases occur, they may have it
+in their power to meet them by fresh resources of their own: according
+in spirit, with those which experience has shown to be conducive to
+the happiness of the crew and the efficiency of the service. Out of
+the class of officers now alluded to, the growth of which it has been
+the wise policy of late years to encourage, there have sprung up the
+numberless voyagers, surveyors, and other strictly nautical men, who
+are always to be found when the public service requires a practical
+question to be settled, or a professional office of responsibility and
+trust to be filled up. If the arctic circle is to be investigated by
+sea or by land, or the deserts of Africa traversed, or the world
+circumnavigated afresh, under the guidance of the modern improvements
+in navigation, the government at once calls upon such men as Parry,
+Franklin, Clapperton, Beechey,[1] to whom they can safely entrust the
+task.
+
+From the same class, also, a valuable race of naval statesmen have
+been drawn. For a considerable number of years, the whole of the
+diplomatic duties of South America, as far as concerned the interests
+of England, were carried on by the naval commanders-in-chief. Who can
+forget how important a share of Lord Nelson's command, or, after him,
+of Lord Collingwood's in the Mediterranean, consisted of duties of a
+purely civil description? And it may be questioned if diplomatic
+history offers a more masterly specimen of address and statesman-like
+decision, as well as forethought, than was displayed by Captain
+Maitland, in securing the person of Buonaparte, not only without
+committing himself or his government, but without wounding the
+feelings of the fallen emperor. The case was, and ever must remain,
+unique; and yet the most deliberate reflection, even after the event,
+has not suggested anything to wish changed. Fortunate, indeed, was it
+for the reputation of this country that the delicate task fell to the
+lot of an officer possessed of such inherent vigour of character, and
+one so familiar with the practical exercise of his own resources, that
+difficulties which might have staggered ordinary minds vanished before
+his.
+
+In so extensive a service as the Navy, accident might perhaps
+occasionally produce such men as have been named above; but it is very
+material to observe, that unless there existed, as a permanent body, a
+large class in the Navy, who follow the pursuits alluded to from taste
+as well as from motives of public spirit, and from whose ranks
+selections can be made with confidence at moments of need, such
+opportunities as those above alluded to might often be allowed to pass
+unprofitably. It is, moreover, important to recollect, that it is in
+these matters as in everything else where there is a great demand, and
+consequently a great supply, there will from time to time start up a
+master spirit, such as that of my lamented friend, the late Captain
+Henry Foster, to claim, even in the very outset of his career, the
+cheerful homage of all the rest. So far from the profession envying
+his early success, or being disturbed at his pre-eminent renown, they
+felt that his well-earned honours only shed lustre on themselves.
+
+It is also very pleasing to observe the reciprocal feeling which
+belongs on such occasions to all rightly constituted minds. When
+Captain Foster, in 1828, then only lieutenant, received the Copley
+medal, the highest scientific honour in the gift of the Royal Society,
+it never occurred to him merely to hang it at his breast in solitary
+dignity, or to chuckle presumptuously at his own particular good
+fortune. So far from this, he thought only of the service; and
+proceeding straight to the Admiralty, he showed the medal, and
+declared modestly, but firmly, to their lordships, that he considered
+the honour only nominally bestowed upon himself, but essentially
+conferred upon the naval profession at large. This generous and manly
+appeal could not fail to make its due impression; and within the same
+hour, his commission, as commander, was signed, his appointment to a
+ship ordered, and a voyage of scientific research carved out for him.
+But I need not add how bitter a grief it is to those who were
+personally acquainted with this rising young officer, to think that so
+much knowledge--such useful talents--such unmatched zeal and
+industry--and such true love for science--all so fertile in promises
+of future service and renown--should have been lamentably quenched in
+a moment.
+
+Besides the regular-built sailors, and the saltwater statesmen and
+philosophers, there is yet another set which greatly outnumbers both,
+and which, if comparisons must be made, equals, if it does not far
+exceed them in utility. I allude to that large and very important body
+of strictly professional persons who are not remarkable for anything
+in particular, unless it be for a hearty and uncompromising devotion
+to the service. Captains, it is to be feared, are generally too apt to
+consider these meritorious persons as less entitled to attention than
+their more showy companions; just as schoolmasters are, not
+unnaturally, disposed to devote most of their time to the cleverest
+boys, to the comparative neglect of those who cluster round the point
+of mediocrity. It may, however, be easily conceived that the persons
+least attended to, afloat as well as on shore, often stand more in
+need of notice and assistance than their gifted brethren, who are
+better able to make their own consequence felt and acknowledged; for
+it must not be forgotten that these honest, hard-working men actually
+perform the greater part of all the routine drudgery of the service,
+and perhaps execute it better than men of higher talents could do in
+their place.
+
+The class amongst us who devote themselves to sober literary pursuits
+is necessarily very small; but that of the happy youths, who dream the
+gods have made them poetical, has many members, who "rave, recite, and
+madden round the ship," to their own (exclusive) satisfaction. Others
+there are who deal desperately in the fine arts of painting and
+music,--that is, who draw out of perspective, and play out of tune:
+not that the ability to sketch the scenes and phenomena continually
+passing before them is objectionable; I allude here to the pretenders
+to art. Their poor messmates can have little respect for these
+pretending Rembrandts and Paganinis; and the happiness of the mess
+would be considerably improved if authority were given to pitch every
+such sketch-book and every flute out at the stern-port.
+
+Finally come the raking, good-looking, shore-going, company-hunting,
+gallivanting, riff-raff set of reckless youths, who, having got rid of
+the entanglement of parents and guardians, and having no great
+restraint of principle or anything else to check them, seem to hold
+that his Majesty's service is merely a convenience for their especial
+use, and his Majesty's ships a sort of packet-boats to carry their
+elegant persons from port to port, in search of fresh conquests, and,
+as they suppose, fresh laurels to their country.
+
+Few men do anything well which they do not like; for the same reason,
+if an officer be capable of performing services really valuable, his
+success must arise from turning his chief attention to those branches
+of the profession which he feels are the most congenial to his
+peculiar tastes, and which experience has shown lie within the range
+of his capacity. Some officers deliberately act upon this, while the
+greater number, as may be supposed, adopt their line unconsciously.
+Still, it is the bounden duty of every well-wisher to the service to
+use the influence he possesses to lead the young persons about him to
+follow the true bent of their genius, and to select as a principal
+object of study the particular branch of the profession in which they
+are most likely to benefit themselves permanently.
+
+I well remember, in my own case, the day, and almost the very hour,
+when these convictions flashed upon my mind. I then saw, for the first
+time, that unless I speedily roused myself, and "took my line"
+vigorously, the proper occasion might swiftly pass away. I was quite
+astonished how, up to that moment, I had seen so little of what now
+appeared so very palpable; every other consideration was instantly
+dismissed, and all minor vanities being shaken off like dew-drops to
+the air, I set resolutely about the attainment of my promotion, the
+grand object of every officer's ambition. But before describing how
+this important affair was put in train, I shall attempt a sketch of
+the kind of life I was leading about this period. In looking back to
+those days, and glancing the mind's eye along the intermediate years,
+I sometimes ask myself whether or not I should act very differently if
+permitted to make the voyage over again, under the guidance of
+experience bought by the practice of life. The retrospect, of course,
+offers some unavailing regrets; but still I can hardly believe that
+the result would, on the whole, have proved materially happier for
+myself.
+
+Such being the case, I trust there is no unpardonable egotism in
+mentioning, in a work intended for young people, that one of my chief
+motives for bringing these Fragments of my life and adventures before
+them, is the hope of imparting to others, similarly circumstanced, a
+portion of that spirit of cheerfulness, and that resolute
+determination to make the most of things, which, after thirty years of
+activity and enjoyment in foreign climes, have landed me in perfect
+contentment at home.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] All gone since our author wrote. Now it looks for Osbornes,
+Maclures, and other names as trustworthy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A SAILOR ON SHORE.
+
+
+It is a far easier thing to get into a house in Ireland than to get
+out of it again; for there is an attractive and retentive witchery
+about the hospitality of the natives of that country, which has no
+match, as far as I have seen, in the wide world. In other places the
+people are hospitable or kind to a stranger; but in Ireland the affair
+is reduced to a sort of science, and a web of attentions is flung
+round the visitor before he well knows where he is: so that if he be
+not a very cold-blooded or a very temperate man, it will cost him
+sundry headaches--and mayhap some touches of the heartache--before he
+wins his way back again to his wonted tranquillity.
+
+I had not a single acquaintance in Ireland when first I visited that
+most interesting of countries: before leaving it, however, after about
+a year and a-half's cruising off and on their coasts, I was on pretty
+intimate terms with one family at least for every dozen miles, from
+Downpatrick on the east, to the Bloody Foreland on the west, a range
+of more than a hundred and twenty miles.
+
+The way in which this was brought about is sufficiently
+characteristic of the country. I had inherited a taste for geology;
+and as the north of Ireland affords a fine field for the exercise of
+the hammer, I soon made myself acquainted with the Giant's Causeway,
+and the other wonders of that singular district. While engaged in
+these pursuits, I fell in with an eminent medical practitioner
+resident in that part of the country, a gentleman well known to the
+scientific world: he was still better known on the spot as the most
+benevolent and kindest of men. In no part of the globe have I made a
+more agreeable or useful acquaintance. During a residence of a week
+under the roof of this delightful person, he frequently urged me to
+make acquaintance with some friends of his, living also in the north
+of Ireland, but at the opposite angle. He was, in particular, desirous
+that I should see a family with whom he described himself as being
+very intimate, and who were then on a visit far in the west.
+
+Influenced by the extreme earnestness of my worthy friend, who,
+indeed, would hardly let me stir from his house until I had promised
+to deliver, with my own hands, a letter of introduction to a lady
+alluded to, who, he assured me, would introduce me to the family with
+whom she was then living as a guest. I thought it rather an odd
+arrangement that a mere guest should introduce a stranger to another
+person's house: but I had already seen enough of the hearty
+hospitality of Ireland not to wonder at anything having a kind purpose
+in view. I therefore promised that, if at any time I could obtain
+leave of absence for a few days, the introductory letter should be
+delivered.
+
+I did not discover, until long afterwards, the secret motive of my
+friend's anxiety that I should pay the visit in question, though, at
+the time alluded to, I was quite coxcomb enough to suppose that it all
+arose from personal consideration. It mattered little to me, however,
+to what the kindness was due; and, my leave having expired, I set off
+to the Endymion, of which I was then second lieutenant, with a firm
+resolution to avail myself of the first opportunity of visiting the
+persons to whom my excellent friend the doctor had given me an
+introduction. I had been so frequently absent before, that I expected
+to be fixed on board for a long time to come, and was therefore
+agreeably disappointed to discover that my brother-officers had formed
+so many pleasant acquaintances at Burncrana, a town on the banks of
+the magnificent Lough Swilly, that they were quite willing to remain
+on the spot, and to take upon their shoulders the extra duty which my
+renewed absence imposed upon them. I had only, therefore, to obtain
+the captain's permission for a fresh run. This was easily gained, for
+he was the most indulgent of mortals; and his only caution was, "Now,
+mind, don't you be falling in love with any of these Irish girls. It
+will be quite time enough for that when you are a post captain."
+
+I promised to attend to his advice, and set out in the highest glee,
+wishing for no better sport than to try the firmness of my resolutions
+on this head, though, it must be confessed, I was fully more inclined
+to follow the precept enjoined upon me by another friend, who, by way
+of improving the captain's instruction, said,--
+
+"Do take care what you are about when you mix with those fair and
+fascinating witches, and never hold yourself as heart-safe, unless you
+are in love with at least two of them at once!"
+
+Off I went; but it matters not whether the course steered was to the
+east or to the west after leaving Londonderry: a letter of
+introduction in my pocket naturally determined my route; and, having
+hired a good stout horse, I strapped my valise behind, and set out on
+a fine summer's evening in quest of adventures. Yet I was in no
+respect prepared to find myself so soon in what appeared very like a
+field of battle. I had not proceeded twenty miles before I came to a
+village surrounded by troops, and guarded at the ends of its few
+streets by loaded cannon, with lighted matches smoking by their sides.
+A considerable encampment was formed on a slightly rising eminence
+near the village; and on the neighbouring ground, still farther off,
+might be seen large irregular groups of people, who, I learned, upon
+inquiry, were chiefly Orangemen, preparing for a grand ceremonial
+procession on this the 12th of July, the well-known anniversary of the
+battle of the Boyne. In order to resist this proceeding on the part of
+the Protestants, an immense multitude on the Roman Catholic side of
+the question were likewise assembled, and all the roads converging
+towards that quarter were lined with parties of men carrying sticks in
+their hands, flocking to the expected scene of action. The military
+had been called in to keep the peace, but the angry passions of the
+respective factions were so much roused, that even the precautions
+above described seemed hardly sufficient to prevent the threatened
+conflict.
+
+As a matter of curiosity, I could have no great objection to seeing
+another such battle as the one I had witnessed near Corunna between
+those long-established fighting-cocks, the French and English; but to
+look on while honest Pat and Tim were breaking one another's heads
+upon abstract political grounds, and English soldiery interposing with
+grapeshot and fixed bayonets to make them friends again, was what I
+had no mind for. I tried, therefore, to extricate myself forthwith
+from this unhappy struggle; but my horse being tired, I was forced to
+sleep in a village which, for aught I knew, might be sacked and burned
+before morning; nothing occurred, however: nevertheless, I felt far
+from easy till out of reach of the furious factions; the strangest
+thing of all being that some quiet folks, a few miles distant, with
+whom I took breakfast, seemed scarcely to mind it, although the
+country round them was all on fire. From thence the course lay across
+a wild range of mountains, one of them having on its top a sheet of
+fresh water called Loch Salt. Nothing can be conceived more desolate
+or dreary than this part of the country; and as there were few
+inhabitants upon it at any time, and none at all at this moment, I had
+no small difficulty in making good my way. On coming nearer to the
+noble bay or lough, on the banks of which the country-seat of my
+unknown friends was to be found, the aspect of things changed as if by
+magic. A slight inequality in the ground concealed this "jewel in the
+desert," as it was often called, till the whole of its rare beauties
+could be seen to the greatest advantage. Even without the contrast of
+wild moors, the singular beauties of the spot claimed the highest
+admiration; but after such a preparative they appeared doubly grateful
+to the senses, and I put spurs to my horse, anxious to come nearer to
+such a delicious scene.
+
+The mansion of my future friend, of which only partial glimpses could
+be caught now and then, was well guarded on every side by fine old
+trees, rising from the surface of carefully-dressed grounds, richly
+stocked flower-gardens, long and wide avenues, and graceful terraces,
+some of which reached to the very water's edge, along a delicate beach
+on which the ripple scarcely broke. This charming domain occupied a
+narrow spit of land, or promontory, jutting forwards into a landlocked
+bay, or arm of the sea, in which the water appeared to lie always
+asleep, and as smooth as if, instead of being a mere branch uniting
+with the stormy Atlantic, it had been some artificial lake. Nothing,
+indeed, which the most fertile imagination could suggest seemed to be
+wanting.
+
+There was one extremely well-conceived device at this delightful spot,
+which I never remember to have seen anywhere else, though, there must
+often occur in other places similar situations in which it might be
+imitated. Not far from the house, but quite hid under a thickly-wooded
+cliff, overhanging a quiet bight or cove, about ten or fifteen yards
+across, lay a perfectly secluded pool, with a bottom of snow-white
+sand. It was deep in the middle, but shelved gradually to its margin,
+which rested on a narrow strip, or beach, of small round polished
+pebbles. This fringe, encircling the cove, was surmounted by a dry
+grassy bank, or natural terrace, reaching to the foot of the rock, the
+face of which was not merely perpendicular, but projecting so much
+that the top more than plumbed the edge of the basin. Along the
+sky-line there was drawn a fence or veil of briars, honeysuckles, and
+other impervious bushes, interspersed with myrtles, wild roses, and
+foxgloves, so thickly woven together, that all external view of this
+_beau ideal_ of a bath was rendered impossible. The only access was by
+a narrow, steep, and winding path; and at the upper end was placed a
+high, locked gate, the key of which was in the exclusive charge of the
+ladies.
+
+As I rode on, ignorant as yet of these and many other rich and rare
+beauties of this singular spot, and only admiring the general aspect
+of things, I began, for the first time, to reflect on the extreme
+awkwardness of my situation.
+
+Here was I merely the bearer of an introductory letter to a lady,
+herself a guest in the house; and although it might have been
+allowable enough to have called to deliver such an introduction, had
+business or accident brought me to the neighbourhood, now it seemed
+rather a strong measure to travel fifty or sixty miles across a wild
+and disturbed country merely to pay a morning call. The inference that
+my intention was to make a visit of some duration, became inevitable;
+and I pictured to myself the string of explanations I had to give,
+which might, after all, not be followed by any invitation to remain.
+After long cogitations, I resolved to steal up to the house, if
+possible, unperceived; have my horse turned over to the groom, and my
+portmanteau stowed out of sight, and then to walk boldly up to the
+door, with a visiting-card in one hand, and my credentials in the
+other, to be delivered to the servant for the lady to whom the letter
+was addressed. I next proposed to stroll about the woods, to give
+time for any good things said of the bearer to work their way,
+hoping, by this rather clumsy manoeuvre, that by the time I returned
+to the house its inmates might be prepared to receive the stranger;
+and then, if their invitation to remain should happen not to be very
+pressing, I might pretend to be collecting specimens for my geological
+friends, and so make my escape; though, to own the truth, nothing was
+farther from my thoughts than geology.
+
+In spite of these ingenious plans, I felt myself rather absurdly
+situated, and half wished I had not engaged at all in such an
+unpromising adventure. It seemed, however, too late to retreat, and
+therefore I jogged on, as earnestly hoping not to be detected as ever
+did any troops in advancing to the attack of a besieged fort.
+
+What, then, was my speechless horror, on riding up the approach, to
+discover a cavalcade of not fewer than a dozen ladies and gentlemen
+bearing right down upon me from the house. Had it been a troop of
+French cuirassiers charging across the ground, and threatening
+annihilation to the unfortunate hack and his rider, I could not have
+been much more astounded. The master of the house was probably of the
+number; he would stop to inquire the business of the
+suspicious-looking stranger invading his territories. The person for
+whom I brought a letter, being an elderly lady, was not likely to be
+on horseback amidst a party of young folks. There would be a general
+halt ordered; while the poor new-comer, with his draggled horse and
+swollen valise indicative of anything but a hasty departure, would
+become the subject of a pleasant criticism to the quizzical dandies
+and young ladies of the party. Even when this scrutiny was over, what
+were they to do with their unexpected, self-elected companion? His
+horse was now too tired, and much too ugly at any time to accompany
+such gay palfreys as were prancing over the lawn; yet they could not,
+in common civility, leave a stranger adrift; nor could they accompany
+him back to the house, without breaking up their expedition for the
+day.
+
+All this flashed through my mind in a moment, and left me in a dire
+dilemma. I pulled up my jaded nag, however, with such a jerk, that I
+well-nigh threw him on his haunches. Fortunately, a little unevenness
+in the ground hid me from the view of the advancing cavalry; and at
+the same critical instant I discovered an opening in the fence on one
+side. Without considering or caring whither it might lead, I turned my
+charger round, urged him forwards with whip and spur, and dashed into
+the gap as if I had been flying from the arm of justice, instead of
+making my escape from as companionable a set of people as ever
+breathed. Had any of the party detected the bashful fugitive, and
+given chase, he must have been caught; for the path into which I had
+fled terminated in a road leading to some farm offices, but with no
+opening beyond.
+
+The awkwardness of my situation, which was already considerable,
+became greatly augmented by this ridiculous proceeding; and I heard
+the riders pass within twenty yards of my hiding-place, with the most
+unspeakable alarm lest any one of them should catch a glimpse of me
+nestling behind a cart of hay. I breathed freer when the last
+servant's horse crossed the ridge; and then, creeping from my hole,
+soon gained the stables adjoining the house, gave up my horse,
+secured the well-stuffed valise out of sight, and repaired, according
+to the original precious scheme, to the front door with my letter. I
+stood for five minutes with the knob of the bell in my hand,
+irresolute whether to go on with the adventure, or fairly to cut and
+run from it. At length, when the fatal pull was given, I listened to
+the sound, and felt myself what statesmen call "fully committed."
+There was now nothing left but to screw up my courage, as I best
+might, to meet the dangers and difficulties of the crisis.
+
+There happened to be no one at home except the old lady, to whom my
+introduction was addressed, so that the plan succeeded very well; I
+forget now the details of the introduction, but I can never cease to
+remember the unbounded cordiality of the reception, not only from this
+excellent person, but from the master and mistress of the house, and
+all their assembled friends, showing how totally I had miscalculated
+the nature and extent of Irish hospitality. There were several elderly
+persons, then in the autumn of life, and several were very young
+folks, scarcely able to walk, who now count many "daughters and sons
+of beauty." There was a pretty equal admixture of Irish and English,
+amongst them several persons of rank; also one or two foreigners;
+besides much native wit, worth, and beauty, of the highest order, and
+all most delightfully set off by the graces and nameless enchantments
+of refined manners, and tasteful as well as useful accomplishments. I
+have rarely, if ever, seen in any part of the world so fascinating an
+assemblage of all that would render a country party agreeable as was
+here collected in one of the most out-of-the-way corners of Ireland.
+My worthy captain's advice was now thrown to the winds; and indeed any
+heart, aged twenty-two, must have been made of cast-iron to have
+resisted the rides and walks, the picnic dinners, the dances, and the
+music parties, and suppers, besides the infinitely varied round of
+other amusements, grave and gay, which contributed to render, and will
+for ever preserve, this nook of Ireland the true terrestrial paradise
+of my early days.
+
+How the deuce I ever contrived to get out of the magic circle, I
+hardly know; but if I could only feel myself at liberty, without a
+breach of confidence, to give a few details of those hours, I would
+stake great odds on the side of the effect which the description of
+such a reality might produce, against the interest of the imaginary
+scenes in almost any romance.
+
+I have already mentioned that the gentleman whose introduction I
+carried was most urgent for me to deliver the letter in person; but he
+gave no reasons for this anxiety; nor indeed was I then aware, that,
+besides his being an intimate friend, he was their family physician.
+While acting in this capacity, he had seen with regret how ineffectual
+his art had proved to alleviate the mother's sorrow caused by the
+recent loss of her favourite son. The young man had been in the Navy,
+and would have been about my own age and standing in the service.
+These accidental coincidences suggested to her judicious and
+kind-hearted friend, that as I, in some degree, resembled him in
+appearance and in manners, the poor mother's thoughts and feelings
+might possibly be diverted into a new channel, by the society of a
+person in so many respects similarly circumstanced to the child she
+had lost.
+
+It so happened, fortunately for me, that the experiment completely
+succeeded--I hope and believe, to the mother's consolation. To me, of
+course, the reception I met with was matter of delight and
+astonishment; so much so, indeed, that I occasionally felt somewhat
+startled, and almost oppressed, with the sense of obligation imposed
+by such unusual and unmerited attentions.
+
+The first explanation of the mystery is really so touching in itself,
+that I give it without reserve as I received it in a letter from this
+most excellent old lady, about six months after my first acquaintance
+with her, and just before I quitted England for the East Indies:--
+
+"Once more adieu!" She concludes, "I must hope you will write to me
+often; let me constantly know how you proceed, and how I can address
+you; and recollect, you have received the freedom of this house. I
+believe I told you I had lost a son, a lieutenant in the Navy, and of
+superior talents. I therefore consider that Heaven has given you to my
+care in his place--and may the Almighty protect you!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+TRICKS UPON TRAVELLERS.
+
+
+A curious and vastly pleasing fashion prevails in that part of Ireland
+where I was so nearly bewitched as almost to forget my ship, my
+duties, and everything else, but beauty! When a party, such as I have
+been describing, had passed a certain time together, they seldom broke
+up entirely, but generally shifted, or emigrated in a body (flitted, I
+think they used to call it) to the house of some one of their number.
+Now and then various members of the group dropped off by the way, but
+their places were presently filled up by others, who soon found their
+way to the new hive when the well-known sounds of festivity were heard
+in the neighbourhood.
+
+In this manner the party, into which I had been so kindly admitted,
+made several moves, with sundry losses and accessions to its numbers;
+and as every day rendered this life more and more grateful, I could
+scarcely bear to think of returning to the tame occupations and rugged
+society of the frigate, the duties of which had so recently been my
+greatest and most sincere delight. Meanwhile, since my good-natured
+captain, and still better-natured messmates, made no difficulties
+about this protracted absenteeism, I continued to involve myself
+deeper and deeper at every step. I failed not to perceive at times
+that I was getting into rather a dangerous scrape for a younger son
+and a young officer, who had yet to work his own way in the world. But
+as these reflections interfered rather impertinently with the
+enjoyments of the hour, they were crushed down, and kept out of sight
+as much as possible at that gay period.
+
+What surprised me most, all this time, was the air of refinement and
+high polish in the Irish society amongst which I was thus casually
+thrown. I had previously entertained an idea that their hospitality,
+proverbial in all parts of the world, was of a rude and rather
+troublesome description. I found it, on the contrary, marked not only
+by the strongest lines of sincerity and kindness, but by many of those
+delicate touches of consideration for the feelings of others which
+form the most indubitable symptoms of genuine good-breeding.
+
+Instead of discovering that the stories were true about the sort of
+compulsion used in matters of drinking, I can safely say that, during
+the course of experience in joviality I went through in the north of
+Ireland, I seldom met with anything at a gentleman's table approaching
+even to exigence on this score. I do not deny that our friends the
+Irish have a wonderfully winning way of insinuating their good cheer
+upon us, and sometimes of inducing us to swallow more claret than is
+perhaps good for us.
+
+I landed once at Burncrana, a pretty quiet little village, with a
+watering-place look, on the eastern banks of that great and beautiful
+bay Lough Swilly. One side of this fine harbour is formed by the bold
+promontory of Inishowen, celebrated in every land for its noble
+whiskey, second only (which, as a Scotchman, I am bound to assert) to
+Ferntosh or Glenlivet. I was accompanied by an English gentleman, on
+the first day of his landing in Ireland. As he then seriously imagined
+the inhabitants to belong to a sort of wild and uncouth race, I could
+see he was rather surprised at the gentleman-like deportment of an
+acquaintance of mine resident on the spot, for whom he had brought a
+letter. We had walked together to his house, or rather cottage, for he
+was not a fixed resident, but came there for summer quarters. The
+neatness, and even elegance, of the domestic arrangements of his
+temporary establishment, both without and within the dwelling, gave
+token of a taste many degrees removed from the state of people far
+back in civilization. Presently the ladies came; and their national
+frankness, modified by the most entire and unaffected simplicity,
+puzzled my friend completely. In due season the dressing-bell sent us
+off to prepare for dinner; and while we were getting ready, my
+companion said, "I see what this fellow is at: he means to sew you and
+me up. You may do as you please; but I'll be shot if he plays off his
+Irish pranks on me. I will eat his dinner, take a couple of glasses of
+his wine, make my bow to the ladies, go on board by eight or nine
+o'clock, and, having given them a dinner in return, shall have done my
+duty in the way of attention; after which I shall totally cut the
+connection. I have no idea of their abominable fashion of forcing
+strangers to drink."
+
+"We shall see," said I; and having knocked the dust off our shoes,
+down we went to dinner.
+
+Everything was plain, and suitable to the pretensions of a cottage.
+There was no pressing to eat or drink during dinner; and in process of
+time the cloth was removed, the Ladies sipped a little sweet wine, and
+disappeared.
+
+"Now for it," whispered my friend; "he has sent the women out of the
+way, that he may ply us the better."
+
+And I must own things looked rather suspicious; for our host, instead
+of sitting down again at the dinner-table, walked to a bow-window
+overlooking the anchorage, and exactly facing the setting sun, at that
+hour illuminating the whole landscape in the gorgeous style peculiar
+to combined mountain and lake scenery. "Why should we not enjoy this
+pleasant prospect while we are discussing our wine?" said the master
+of the house. At that instant the door opened, and in walked the
+servant, as if he knew by intuition what was passing in his master's
+head.
+
+"Tim," said our host, "put the card-table here in the bow-window, and
+give us some other glasses; also, if you have such a thing, bring up a
+bottle of claret."
+
+Tim nodded, smiled, and made the fitting adjustments. The table was
+barely large enough to hold a noble long-corked bottle, for the
+fashion of claret decanters had not as yet reached that remote
+district of the empire. Round the margin was placed the necessary
+accompaniment of capacious glasses--famous tall fellows, with such
+slender stalks that they seemed scarcely equal to the weight of their
+generous load.
+
+My friend and I exchanged glances, and I could see his shoulders
+slightly raised, as if he was saying internally, "Now we are in for
+it! but I will not drink a drop more than I choose." The claret, which
+in itself was most delicious, was cooled in perfect style. The party
+consisted, I think, of four or five persons, and this one bottle, I
+remember, just passed round the group twice. As the flavour of the
+beverage appeared to have become more exquisite at the second turn
+than at the first, though but a short interval had been allowed to
+elapse, it seemed odd that another bottle was not instantly called
+for. Instead of this our landlord went on expatiating on the beauties
+of the Lough, and the fineness of the season in general, and the
+sunset in particular, for full five minutes after the wine had
+disappeared; when he suddenly said, with a half-hesitating tone,
+towards my English friend, who sat at his elbow----
+
+"I beg your pardon! perhaps you would take some more wine?"
+
+As no one made any objection, the bell was rung, and Tim re-appeared,
+bearing with him another bottle. This likewise vanished in a trice,
+and Tim was again summoned. "Bring some more claret," said the master
+to the man, or rather boy, as he was called, though twice as old as
+any of the party.
+
+At this instant I caught my companion's eye; and I could see he was
+becoming alive to the plot against him, so much so, indeed, that he
+seemed to be preparing to rise. The following conversation, however,
+attracted his attention, and fixed him to his seat. "Well, Tim, what
+are you gaping at? Why don't you run for the clar't?"
+
+"I didn't know," replied the other, "whether you'd like to use the
+whole of it."
+
+"Use the whole of it!" exclaimed his master--"what does the boy mean?
+Why, Tim, what are you at?"
+
+"Oh, sir," quoth the well-instructed rogue, "as the wine you brought
+was but little, I thought you might not wish to use it all entirely
+to-day." And then he whispered something in his master's ear, the words
+of which we could not distinguish. The reply, however, showed, or
+seemed to show, what had been said. "Nonsense, Tim, nonsense! you're
+an ass, man; bring it up."
+
+Tim accordingly disappeared, but soon returned with a basket
+apparently full of straw; at the bottom of which, however, after some
+considerable show of hunting, a couple of bottles were said to be
+found. "Confound you, Tim, is this all?" said the host.
+
+"It is, sir," lied Tim; "and in faith, sir," added he, still lying,
+"it's one more bottle than I thought; for there was but a dozen when
+we started from Derry a week ago; and you know, sir, you and the
+collector on last Tuesday"
+
+But the catalogue of circumstances which were intended to act as
+buttresses to Master Tim's inventions was cut short by a peremptory
+order to leave the room. This he did so soon as he had made a
+circumbendibus to escape notice, and deposited the basket behind his
+master's chair, muttering, as he put it down with a thump, "There's a
+couple of bottles of as good wine as ever was uncorked."
+
+The fresh broach was indeed so delicious that we could hardly believe
+it was of the same vintage as that of the previous bin, though our
+host assured us it was "the identical." Tim's basket well merited a
+higher eulogium than he had given it; but while his reputation as a
+judge of wine rose, his character for veracity fell in about the same
+proportion, since we beheld, in due season, not merely two, but three,
+and at last a fourth long-necked gentleman from Bordeaux emerge from
+under the straw!
+
+The trick played upon us by these confederates was now apparent
+enough; but the wine, fortunately, was of that light and pure kind
+which does not produce much effect on strong heads, and that of my
+companion was proof against far greater trials than this. He was
+indeed perfectly aware of what was passing; and though dearly loving
+the wine, which was superior to any he had ever before tasted, yet he
+had no notion of being made tipsy by means of a common-place concert
+between host and butler. He therefore rose to leave the room,
+expecting, of course, to be forcibly detained, or, at all events,
+being begged and entreated to sit down again. Not a whit! The wily
+native merely observed to him that "if he had a mind to admire the
+prospect, there was still daylight enough to command a view down the
+bay from the little knoll on the right." The Englishman was sorely
+puzzled by all this. There was none of the detention he expected would
+be practised upon him, and yet he had a strong consciousness that he
+was undergoing the operation well known afloat and ashore by the title
+of "the game of humbug." At the same time, he felt the most eager
+desire to take another good pull at the claret.
+
+There was no wine before us at this critical juncture of the evening,
+and our landlord, who, most unaccountably, seemed indifferent to this
+material circumstance, went on prosing for a quarter-of-an-hour about
+Protestant ascendancy, the eternal siege of Derry, the battle of the
+Boyne, and such like stale topics. At length one of the company became
+somewhat impatient, and, watching for a pause, asked his host if it
+were the custom in Ireland to discuss Orange politics with empty
+glasses?
+
+"God bless me," cried the other, with well-feigned surprise, "is there
+no wine on the table?" and ringing the bell furiously, scolded poor
+Tim so naturally that the confederate was almost thrown out. "Well!
+you numskull, why don't you make off with you, and bring something for
+the gentlemen to drink?" Tim stood fast till interrogated a second
+time, and then replied with perfect gravity that "there wasn't another
+drop of wine in the house." Upon this the master got up in a rage, and
+brushing past the servant, declared his intention of searching the
+cellar himself. He was absent some time, and we had just prevailed on
+our hesitating companion to sit down again, when, as if there had been
+some electrical communication between his chair and the handle of the
+door, it opened, and in walked our generous entertainer, exulting in
+his success, crowing like chanticleer, and bearing in each hand a
+couple of bottles, clicking against each other; while Tim, with a
+degree of impudence equalled only by that of his master, substituted
+clean glasses, of a still more capacious swallow than the first. To
+these were added two pair of candles which towered high above the
+jolly crew, and promised to last till another dawn should look in upon
+our revels. By this time the twilight had almost entirely ebbed away,
+and was succeeded by that cheerful, aurora-kind of brilliancy in the
+sky, which points out the place of the sun during the whole of his
+summer night's journey in those high latitudes. Politics dropped, for
+the joyous juice of the grape soon melted us all into one mind; and a
+hundred topics of more pleasing interest were started, in which the
+strangers could join without fear of any angry discussion. The mirth
+and animation of the company rose very pleasantly as each fresh bottle
+found its way by some magical process to the table. But it became
+rather difficult to tell who were the listeners amongst us, or to say
+who was guest and who landlord, for the party seemed like a circle of
+brothers, all equally at home.
+
+This went on for an indefinite length of time, but I should be the
+veriest conjuror on earth to say how long. Through the hazy atmosphere
+of my recollection of that jolly evening, I remember that about eleven
+o'clock, more or less, our host was enchanted almost beyond the power
+of words by seeing his wine so much relished, and tickled also with
+the success of his joke, in making his suspicious guest drink just as
+much wine as he thought fit to impose. On this occasion, however, he
+inverted the proverb, and reckoned without his guest; for, by one
+imprudent remark, he had well-nigh torn the laurels from his brow.
+
+"Well, sir!" he exclaimed, "although this is the first day you ever
+set foot on the island, you have seen enough, I hope, to satisfy you
+that we are not quite such savages as you supposed; liberty hall, you
+see, is the true title of every Irish gentleman's dining-room: there's
+no compulsion here, you must see very clearly." It was little that my
+English friend could now see very clearly of anything; but the above
+premature announcement of victory brought back all the stranger's
+suspicions. Fired with this idea, he started on his feet, and eyeing
+the door for a long time before he ventured on the voyage, with a bold
+determination, and taking a good departure from his chair, he gained
+his port. He had undoubtedly expected to be lugged back again; for he
+whisked the tails of his coat out of reach, while, with his other hand
+on the lock of the door, and swaying himself about from side to side,
+like a ship in a calm, he stood the very image of tottering
+equilibrium, as the mathematicians call it. Our adroit landlord, who
+was not a man to shrink from difficulties, mustered to his aid all the
+resources of a long well-practised hospitality, and gallantly met this
+great occasion. His devices were, probably, exhausted; so he took
+another line, and called out, "Oh, you're off, are you? Very
+well--you'll find the ladies in the drawing-room. I think I hear the
+tinkle of the piano: I prefer the tinkle of the glass. Pray tell the
+damsels we are coming by-and-bye: mind you say 'by-and-bye.' I don't
+like to be too particular, for fear of seeming rude: don't you see?"
+
+This speech was wound up by a telegraphic flourish of the hand towards
+Tim, who stood near, with a bottle between his feet, the screw buried
+in the cork, and his body bent to the effort, which he only delayed to
+exercise till ordered by his master to pull. "Out with him, man! out
+with the cork!" cried the host. The loud report which succeeded rang
+over the apartment like the sweetest music to the souls of the ever
+thirsty company. Tim's thunder was echoed back by a truly
+bacchanalian shout, such as nothing on earth can give proper emphasis
+to, except a double allowance of claret. The Englishman, fairly
+subdued by the sound, glided again to the table; then seizing his
+brimming glass in one hand, and grasping the fist of his merry host in
+the other, he roared out,--
+
+"You really are an uncommon good fellow; and hang me if ever I
+distrust an Irishman again as long as I live!"
+
+But within three minutes afterwards this promise was broken; for as
+soon as we had discussed the bottle which the incomparable Tim had so
+opportunely introduced, the master of the house, seeing us at length
+quite at his mercy, and eager to go on, rose, and said, to our great
+amaze,--
+
+"Come! we've had wine enough; let's join the ladies in the next room."
+
+The disappointed company stared at one another, and loudly proclaimed
+that it was not fair to limit them in this way. The Englishman, in
+particular, wished to remain; but our host was inexorable. Meanwhile,
+Timothy grinned from ear to ear; familiar with his master's tricks
+upon travellers; and the landlord deliberately opening the door,
+marched off the field of battle with flying colours.
+
+As we moved along to the drawing-room, my companion whispered to me,--
+
+"I must own I have been rightly served for my suspicions. I made quite
+certain of being bullied into drinking more than was agreeable to me;
+but it turns out," added he, laughing, "quite the reverse; for I
+cannot get a drop of wine, now that I want it."
+
+"Well! well!" cried our hospitable friend, who overheard the
+conclusion of this remark, "you shall do as you please ever after this
+evening."
+
+He then showed us to a couple of snug rooms, which he said were ours,
+as long as we chose to occupy them.
+
+For myself, I went off to the Giant's Causeway in the course of next
+day; and on returning, at the end of a week, found that my friend,
+instead of cutting the connection, according to promise, had not been
+once out of sight of the house, and had never been asked to drink a
+bottle, or even a glass, more than he liked. He declared, indeed, that
+he had rarely met, in any country, with persons so truly hospitable,
+or more gentleman-like, in the truest sense of these words.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE ADMIRALTY LIST.
+
+
+In the midst of these gay doings, which were all very well for a time,
+but rather profitless on the whole, an extremely favourable opening
+for promotion suddenly occurred. The late Sir Samuel Hood, on being
+appointed commander-in-chief of the East India station, was applied to
+by my friends, and agreed to take me with him as one of his
+lieutenants. His list of _protégés_, he said, was a long one, and I
+must come in last; after his old followers were provided for, but
+there could not be a moment's doubt on the occasion. In his letters,
+the Admiral dwelt very strongly on the importance of having the name
+of his young friend, as he was good enough to call me, placed likewise
+on the Admiralty List.
+
+The purpose of this advice is easily explained. The Admiral on a
+foreign station is allowed actually to appoint, or promote, to certain
+vacancies only, any officer whom he pleases, while on the occurrence
+of all other vacancies, except those which are thus specifically
+placed at his disposal, he is furnished with what is called an
+Admiralty List. In former times, whatever it be now, the Admirals
+abroad were allowed to appoint officers of their own selection to
+vacancies occasioned by death, or by the sentence of a court-martial;
+while they were instructed to nominate those persons only who stood on
+the Admiralty List to such vacancies as arose from officers falling
+sick and invaliding; from the accession of ships captured and
+purchased into the service; from officers deserting (which strange
+event has sometimes happened); or from the squadron being increased by
+ships built and launched on the station. But as these last enumerated
+are, generally speaking, of much more frequent occurrence than those
+which fall to the Admiral's peculiar share, an officer on the
+Admiralty List has a proportionately better chance of promotion than
+one who stands merely on that of the commander-in-chief.
+
+These two lists differ essentially in one material feature. As a
+matter of course, the Admiral's List possesses some degree of
+stability; since a place upon it is generally won by long service
+under his flag, and retained there by personal esteem or family
+connection. An Admiral's follower, indeed, far from being a term of
+reproach, is always one of honour, as it implies the confidence and
+regard of the flag-officer. To get placed therefore, however near the
+end, on the good books of a rising Admiral is almost a certain road to
+promotion.
+
+On the other hand, the Admiralty List is kept a profound secret, or,
+what comes nearly to the same thing, is kept strictly out of sight of
+those it most concerns. It is well known to be formidably intricate in
+its arrangements, and very slippery in its promises; indeed, from the
+circumstance of its depending on the fluctuating interests of party
+politics, it must be essentially pie-crusty in its texture. For it is
+sometimes thought in the political world that as much may be done by
+propitiating antagonists as by rewarding friends. How all this may be
+in sound principle I cannot tell; but nothing in practice can be more
+unsteady, or less to be relied upon, as I too well know, than this
+said Admiralty List. Still, the advantages of getting his name on this
+precious little slip of paper are very great, though it be a most
+unofficial-looking note sheet, as I can testify, from having once
+incidentally been afforded a glimpse of one, on which, to my horror,
+my own name was not! If the admiral of the station be also a personal
+friend, that source of favour, of course, always adds another string
+to the young man's bow. Circumstances likewise occasionally arise
+which enable an admiral, who has an officer's interest really at
+heart, to give him an extra lift at the right moment, and in the right
+direction, provided his name actually stands on the Admiralty List,
+even though it be ever so low down.
+
+Before sailing for India, accordingly, I took a world of pains to make
+out this grand point, tormented my friends and relations most wofully,
+and, as I conceived, with eventual success. A distinct assurance was
+given to a near connection of my own, and a member of parliament, that
+my name would certainly stand on the First Lord's list, to be sent out
+to India in his Majesty's ship Volage, of which I had the farther good
+fortune to be appointed junior lieutenant. A change at the Admiralty
+was then confidently expected; and I took every care, as I thought, to
+have it arranged that my name should not be omitted when the new
+First Lord came into power. Little dreamed I that, in the _męlée_ of
+official patronage and personal favour which shortly afterwards took
+place at headquarters, my poor name would be dropped out altogether.
+The provoking consequence was, however, that I had the mortification
+of seeing sundry capital vacancies in India pass by, one after
+another, which, had I occupied even the very low place on the fresh
+list which I had filled on the old one, might have secured my
+promotion several years sooner than it came.
+
+The old Volage, in which we sailed for India, I am forced to confess,
+was one of the least good-looking of all his Majesty's ships and
+vessels then afloat. But by this time I cared not one fig for the
+looks of my ship, though, a month or two before, I should have
+considered it a point of honour to maintain its beauty. I was
+delighted beyond measure to think that, at length, I was on the right
+road to promotion; and this satisfaction was more than doubled by
+finding the East was the region in which that great prize was to be
+sought for.
+
+Although the men-of-war and their convoy sailed from Spithead on the
+25th of March, they did not reach Madeira till the 19th of April. It
+is always more teasing to be delayed at the outset of a voyage than at
+any other stage of its course, just as it is mortifying and hurtful to
+be checked in the commencement of a profession. Upon this occasion we
+had a fine rattling easterly breeze for eight-and-forty hours after
+starting, which swept us all, dull sailers and good ones, merrily out
+of the British Channel. This fair start is always a grand affair,
+whatever succeeds; for if the prevalent westerly wind catches a ship
+before the channel is left well behind, she may be driven back to
+Plymouth or Falmouth, and all the agony of bills, news, leave-taking,
+and letters, has to be endured over again. Whereas, if she once gets
+the Lizard Light some fifty leagues astern of her, all these worrying
+distractions may be considered at an end. A totally new world--the
+"world of waters"--is now entered upon, far beyond the reach even of
+those long-armed persons, the "gentlemen of the press," or the
+startling sound of the postman's knock; that call which so often sets
+off the steadiest-going pulse at a gallop!
+
+Oh, the joy! the relief unspeakable! of feeling oneself fairly under
+weigh, and of seeing the white cliffs of Old England sinking in the
+north-eastern horizon right to windward! Let the concocters of
+romances and other imaginary tales say what they please of the joys of
+returning home; give me the happiness of a good departure, and a
+boundless world of untried enjoyments ahead. If a man be out of debt
+and out of love, or only moderately involved in either of these
+delicate predicaments; if he have youth and health and tolerable
+prospects, a good ship under his foot, good officers over him, and
+good messmates to serve with, why need he wear and tear his feelings
+about those he leaves behind? Or rather, why need he grieve to part
+from those who are better pleased to see him vigorously doing his duty
+rather than idling in other people's way at home? Or wherefore should
+he sigh to quit those enjoyments in which he cannot honourably
+participate till he has earned his title to them by hardy service?
+
+On the other hand, who is there so insensible as not to feel the
+deepest apprehension, on returning from a long and distant voyage?
+Busy fancy will conjure up images of death and sickness, of losses and
+sorrows. And when the accumulated pile of letters is first placed in
+our hands after a long voyage, with what sickening eagerness do we not
+turn from the superscription to discover the colour of the seal?
+
+It happened once to me to be nearly fifteen months without receiving a
+single line from home, or seeing an English newspaper. On reaching the
+port of rendezvous, I found that as the ship I commanded was the only
+man-of-war in the harbour, there devolved upon me an immense load of
+official business requiring immediate and careful attention. All this
+I learned on my way to the consul's office, where a huge budget of
+letters was delivered to me. My first impulse, naturally, was to tear
+away the envelopes, and dive into the secrets of these domestic
+dispatches; but I paused on detecting several ominous-looking patches
+of black wax, and, thrusting them all into a drawer, did not open one
+till next day. Officially considered, it was well I imposed this
+restraint upon my curiosity; for the fatal news these letters
+contained must have seriously interfered with the exclusive
+professional attention which the nature of the service required me to
+bestow upon various public matters admitting of no delay; whereas, in
+regard to the private intelligence, a single day, added to so many
+months, signified nothing.
+
+After leaving Spithead, our two days of fair wind were enough to take
+us clear of the channel, and well off the bank of soundings, far
+beyond the danger of return. A tolerable spell of bad weather then
+came on, which in one sense was of essential service, by contributing
+greatly to assist the first lieutenant's arrangements, though it
+discomfited most grievously the apple-pie order of those disturbers of
+his peace, the shore-going, long-coated gentry, our passengers, whom
+the sailors, in their coarse but graphic vocabulary, call "dog
+robbers," from their intercepting the broken meat on its way to the
+kennel from their master's table. Our gale of wind, indeed, was no
+gale to speak of; but as the sea rose, and a heavy press of canvas
+laid the creaking old barky well over on her broadside, many of the
+beautifully piled boxes, the well-packed portmanteaus, the polished
+dressing cases and writing-desks, the frail glass, crockery, and other
+finery, fetched way, and went rattling, smash! dash! right into the
+lee scuppers. In the next instant, the great bulk of these materials
+were jerked back again to their original situation, by that peculiar
+movement, so trying to unpractised nerves, called a lurch to windward.
+To unaccustomed ears, the sounds on this occasion lead one to suppose
+the ship is going to pieces; while the cries for help from the
+broken-shinned, sea-sick landsmen, the bawling for cleats and lashings
+from the mate of the decks, the thumping of hammers, and the loud
+laugh of the light-hearted middies, enchanted with the uproar, make a
+fine concert. The sedative effect of two or three hours of this work
+exceeds fresh-water belief; so that in a day or two, Messrs. Neptune,
+Boreas, First Lieutenant, and Co., have re-established their
+legitimate authority so completely, that neither servants, nor any
+other passengers, ever afterwards venture to indulge in those
+liberties which, at first coming on board, they fancied might be taken
+with impunity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE TROPICAL REGIONS AT SEA.
+
+
+There sailed along with us in the Volage, from Spithead, the Princess
+Caroline, 74, and the Theban frigate, to aid in protecting a fleet of
+East India Company's ships, all for China direct.[2] As these ships
+were of the largest class, well manned, well commanded, and were
+likewise pretty well armed, and got up to look like men-of war, our
+force had not only an imposing appearance, but was capable of baffling
+an enemy, even in considerable strength. There is, indeed, one signal
+instance on record in which a fleet of East India Company's ships
+actually beat off, unassisted, a French squadron of very powerful
+vessels. These striking incidents, peeping out from time to time, show
+what is called the true blood, and are extremely valuable, proving how
+essential it is that an officer in command should "Never say die while
+there is a shot in the locker!" a pithy old phrase, which will apply
+to many situations in life, civil as well as military. Had the gallant
+commander alluded to, Sir Nathaniel Dance, yielded when the French
+Admiral Linois, and his squadron, consisting of the Marengo, a
+line-of-battle ship of 84 guns, and the Belle Poule and Semillante
+frigates, each of 44, bore down on the China fleet, not less than six
+millions of English property, and some of the noblest trading ships
+that float on the ocean, must have been carried into the Isle of
+France.
+
+This memorable affair took place near Pulo Aor, in the China seas, and
+by a very interesting, and no doubt useful coincidence, on the 14th of
+February, 1804, the seventh anniversary of the glorious action off
+Cape St. Vincent. Had the enemy only known the real force of his
+opponents, which he most certainly ought to have found out before he
+quitted them, the bold front these ships put forward might indeed have
+served them nothing. A less resolute man than Captain Dance might have
+said this good fortune was hardly to be calculated upon; but it is the
+duty of a commander, at all times and under all circumstances, to
+afford himself every possible chance, and never to give up while there
+is one of these chances left.
+
+A useful chapter in naval history and tactics could be written on the
+defence of convoys, by which it might perhaps be made manifest that a
+determined bearing, accompanied by a certain degree of force, and a
+vigorous resolution to exert that force to the utmost, would, in most
+cases, save the greater part of the convoy, even against powerful
+odds. In the well-known instance, in which Captain Richard Budd
+Vincent sacrificed his ship, in a contest where he was from the first
+sure to be overpowered, he gained sufficient time for most of his
+flock of merchant-ships to escape.
+
+In February, 1805, this gallant officer, in the Arrow, of 18
+twenty-four pounders, ably supported by Captain Arthur Farquhar, in
+the Acheron bomb, carrying not half that number, actually engaged two
+large French frigates, mounting in all 90 guns and 1300 men, while the
+English force was only 26 guns and 90 men. The damage and delay caused
+to the enemy by this spirited resistance enabled the convoy to
+disperse, and all get off but three, out of thirty-two. The English
+ships did not strike till they were so much cut up that one sunk
+immediately afterwards, and the other was burned by the captors as
+useless.
+
+On the occasion of our voyage in 1812, however, the fortitude and
+skill of our East India ships were put to no such proof, as our most
+interesting evolutions were confined to the interchange of good
+dinners; for your Indiamen know as well how to eat, drink, and be
+merry, as to fight, if need be. Their chief business is to trade; but
+their trading is a widely different thing from that of the ordinary
+merchant service. The East India Company's officers are bred in many
+respects like naval men, and they feel in the same manner. Being
+sprung from as good a stock as the officers of the Navy, they possess
+a kindred gentleman-like spirit, and are in every respect suitable
+allies in battle.
+
+In fine weather, during our whole voyage, there scarcely occurred a
+day on which, in the course of the morning, if the sea were tolerably
+smooth, and the wind not too strong, the dinner invitation signal was
+not displayed from the commodore, or from some of his flock. When
+there was a breeze, and the ships were making way through the water,
+some technical address was necessary to avoid delay. This will easily
+be understood, without going into minute details, when it is
+remembered, that there must always in a convoy be found certain ships
+which sail worse than others, and that, although these tubs, as they
+are most deservedly called, crowd all their canvas, the rest are
+obliged to shorten sail in order to keep them company; as Lightfoot,
+in the fairy tale, was obliged to tie his feet in the race. If it be
+the commodore who gives the dinner, he either heaves to, while the
+boats of the several captains come on board, or he edges down to the
+different ships in succession, passes them at the distance of a
+quarter of a cable's length, picks up his guests, and resumes his
+station ahead, or to windward, or wherever it may suit him to place
+himself so as best to guard his charge. If any of the fast sailers
+have occasion to heave to, either before or after dinner, to lower
+down or to hoist up the boat which carries the captain backwards and
+forwards to the ship in which the entertainment is given, and in
+consequence of this detention any way has been lost, that ship has
+only to set a little more sail that she may shoot ahead, and regain
+her position in the line.
+
+The bad sailers of all fleets or convoys are daily and hourly
+execrated in every note of the gamut; and it must be owned that the
+detention they cause, when a fine fresh breeze is blowing, is
+excessively provoking to all the rest, and mortifying to themselves.
+Sometimes the progress of one haystack of a vessel is so slow that a
+fast-sailing ship is directed to take her in tow, and fairly lug her
+along. As this troublesome operation requires for its proper execution
+no small degree of nautical knowledge, as well as dexterity, and must
+be performed in the face of the whole squadron, it is always exposed
+to much sharp criticism. The celerity with which sail is set, or taken
+in, by the respective ships, or the skill with which broken spars are
+shifted, likewise furnish such abundant scope for technical
+table-talk, that there is seldom any want of topic in the convoy.
+Sailors, indeed, are about as restless as the element on which they
+float; and their hands are generally kept pretty full by the necessity
+of studying the fluctuating circumstances of wind and weather,
+together with due attention to the navigation.
+
+These occupations served to give a high degree of interest to this
+Indian voyage, which, to most of us, was the first; the mere
+circumstance of having to pass successively and quickly through a
+number of different climates, first in the order of increasing warmth,
+and then in the reverse order of increasing cold, was of itself most
+striking. The change of latitude being the chief cause of these
+phenomena, a succession of astronomical variations were necessarily
+attendant upon the progress of the voyage; easily explained by
+reasonings, and the actual, practical exhibition, as it may be termed,
+of the truths of astronomical science failed not to strike the
+unfamiliarised imagination as both wonderful and beautiful.
+
+When we sailed from England the weather was very cold, raw, and
+uncomfortable; and although we had a couple of days' fair wind at
+starting, we were met in the very chops of the channel by hard-hearted
+southerly and south-westerly winds, which tried our patience sorely.
+On the evening of the tenth day we caught a glimpse of the north coast
+of Spain; and the rugged shore of Galicia was the last which most of
+us saw of Europe for many years. It was not till after a fortnight's
+hard struggling against these tiresome south-westers that we anchored
+in Funchal Roads, having by the way dropped several of our convoy.
+These stray sheep came in during the few days we remained to refresh
+ourselves at this most charming of resting-places. After nearly a
+week's enjoyment, we proceeded on our course to the southward; within
+three days we came in sight of Palma, the most northern of the Canary
+Island group. It was thirty miles distant in the south-east quarter;
+and Teneriffe, the sea "monarch of mountains," lay too far off for us
+to perceive even his "diadem of snow," which at that season (April), I
+presume, he always wears. Some years after the period in question,
+when I paid him a visit, in the month of August, the very tip-top was
+bare, and the thermometer at 70°.
+
+Under more favourable circumstances, we might possibly have seen
+Teneriffe from the Volage, for our distance was not above a hundred
+miles. This, however, it must be owned, is a long way to see the land,
+unless it form a continuous ridge of great elevation, like the Andes;
+and even then, to be distinguished well, it requires to be interposed
+between a bright sky and the ship. At day-break, and for about half an
+hour before sunrise, if the weather be clear, even sharp peaks, like
+the cone of Teneriffe, may be seen with a degree of distinctness which
+is very remarkable, when viewed from the distance of a hundred miles
+and upwards, as I have several times experienced when navigating in
+the Pacific. But when the full splendour of the sun's light begins to
+fill the air, these gigantic forms gradually fade away amongst the
+clouds, or melt into the sky, even when no clouds are visible. I have
+likewise been told, that, in sailing directly away from Teneriffe (or
+other high insulated peaks), and keeping the eye pretty constantly
+fixed in the proper direction, it may be retained in sight at much
+greater distance than it can be discovered on approaching. I am
+disposed to consider this very probable, but have never had a good
+opportunity of trying the experiment.
+
+It was late in April, as we were stealing slowly past these distant
+Canary Islands, when the first real puff of the Trade-wind caught our
+sleeping sails, and made the braces, haulyards, and all the other
+ropes connected with the yards, crack again. This breeze served more
+effectually to detach our thoughts from European interests than
+anything which had occurred since our leaving England. At the very
+moment, however, when we were chuckling at this disentanglement of our
+feelings from domestic anxieties, and all the varied agitation of home
+concerns, we observed a ship crossing our path at some distance.
+Signal being made to chase, we instantly darted off from the convoy to
+examine the stranger, which proved to be an English ship from Lisbon.
+We hailed, and asked, "What news?"
+
+"Badajoz has fallen," replied the other, "after a terrible siege."
+
+This was received with a general buzz of joyous congratulation along
+the decks. In answer to further questions, we were told of some three
+or four thousand men killed and wounded in the trenches and breach.
+Then, indeed, the glorious intelligence was greeted by three jolly
+huzzas from every ship in the convoy!
+
+Nothing so startling as this occurred to us again; but the serenity of
+our thoughts was in some degree interrupted, a few days afterwards, by
+the north-easterly Trade-wind dying away, and a gentle south-wester
+springing up in its place. This occurred in latitude 25-1/2° N.,
+where, according to our inexperienced conception of these singular
+winds, we ought to have found a regular breeze from the very opposite
+quarter! Nor was it till long afterwards that I learned how much the
+force and direction of the Trade-winds are liable to modification by
+the particular position which the sun occupies in the heavens; or how
+far the rotatory motion of the earth, combined with the power which
+the sun possesses of heating certain portions of the circumambient
+air, are the regulating causes of the Trades, Monsoons, and, indeed,
+of all the other winds by which we are driven about. It is by no means
+an easy problem in meteorology to show how these causes act in every
+case; and perhaps it is one which will never be so fully solved as to
+admit of very popular enunciation applicable to all climates. In the
+most important and useful class of these aërial currents, called, _par
+excellence_, and with so much picturesque truth, "the Trade-winds,"
+the explanation is not difficult. But before entering on this curious
+and copious theme, I feel anxious to carry our convoy fairly across
+the tropical regions; after which an account of the Trades will be
+better understood.
+
+I have just mentioned that the changes of temperature, on a voyage to
+India, are most remarkable. We set sail, for instance, in the month
+of March, when it was bitterly cold in England; then we came off the
+coast of Spain, where it was a little more moderate; next to Madeira,
+which is always agreeable. Then we passed the Canaries; after which we
+sailed over the tropic of Cancer, and got well toasted in the torrid
+zone; steered down upon the equinoctial line, passed the tropic of
+Capricorn, and again became conscious of the weakened influence of the
+sun; till, at length, off the Cape of Good Hope, we were once more
+nipped with the cold. Anon, having rounded the south point of Africa,
+we put our heads towards the line, and a second time, within a few
+weeks, emerged from the depth of winter into the height of summer.
+
+The proximate cause of all these vicissitudes was, of course, our
+approach towards and removal from the direct influence of the great
+source of light and heat. At one time, the sun, even at noon, was seen
+creeping stealthily along, low down in the horizon, at another his
+jolly countenance was blazing away right overhead. On the 5th of May,
+when our latitude was 17-1/2° N., the sun's declination was 16-1/4°
+N., his centre being only one degree from our zenith: shadows we had
+none. On that day we saw St. Antonio, the north-westernmost of the
+Cape de Verde Islands, the summit of which is about seven thousand
+feet above the sea.
+
+On the next day I well remember going on deck with a certain flutter
+of spirits, to see, for the first time in my life, the sun to the
+northward, and moving through the heavens from right to left, instead
+of from left to right. No one doubts that the earth is round; yet
+these conspicuous and actual proofs of its rotundity always amuse the
+fancy, and frequently interest the judgment, almost as much as if they
+were unexpected. The gradual rise, night after night, of new stars and
+new constellations, belongs to a still higher order of curiosity; for
+it not merely places well-known objects in strange positions, but
+brings totally new subjects of contemplation before our eyes, and
+leads us to feel, perhaps more strongly than upon any other occasion,
+the full gratification which novelty on the grandest scale is capable
+of producing. I shall never forget the impatience with which I have
+often watched the approach of darkness after a long day's run to the
+south, knowing that, in a few moments, I was to discover celestial
+phenomena heretofore concealed from my view.
+
+After slanting through the north-east Trade-wind, we reached that
+well-known but troublesome stage in the voyage, so difficult to get
+over, called the Variables. This region has acquired its title from
+the regular Trades not being found there, but in their place unsteady
+breezes, long calms, heavy squalls, and sometimes smart winds from the
+south and south-westward. These Variables, which sorely perplex all
+mariners, even those of most experience, while they drive young ones
+almost out of their senses, are not less under the dominion of the
+causes which regulate those great perennial breezes the Trades,
+blowing to the northward and southward of them. Their laws, however,
+are not quite so readily understood, and consequently are not so
+easily allowed for in the practice of navigation.
+
+When we actually encounter, on the spot, and for the first time, a
+crowd of new circumstances, of which, previously, we have only known
+the names, or have merely heard them described by others, we feel so
+much confused and bewildered, that we fly eagerly to the nearest
+authority to help us out of the scrape. It generally happens, in these
+cases, that the reference does not prove very satisfactory, because
+the actual circumstances with which we are engaged are rarely similar
+in all their bearings to those with which we compare them; and when
+this is not the case, the blindfold method of proceeding in the beaten
+path is very apt to mislead.
+
+As an illustration of this kind of deception, it may be stated that
+navigators, whose actual experience has not extended to the tropical
+regions, are very apt, in poring over the voyages of others, to
+acquire, insensibly, a very confident notion that each of the great
+Trade-winds blowing on different sides of the Line (the North-east and
+the South-east by name), are quite steady in their direction; and
+that, in the equatorial interval which lies between them, only calms
+and light winds are to be found. Moreover, inexperienced persons
+generally believe this interval to be equally divided by the equator,
+and that both the breadth and the position of this calm region
+continue unchanged throughout the whole year. Now, here are four
+important mistakes,--important both in a scientific and in a practical
+point of view. For, 1st, Not calms and squalls alone, but occasionally
+fresh and steady winds, are found between the Trades; 2ndly, The belt
+called the Variables is by no means equally divided by the equator;
+neither, 3rdly, is that belt stationary in its position; nor, 4thly,
+is it uniform in its breadth. It will thence be easily understood,
+even by a person who has never quitted one of the midland counties in
+England, and to whom the ocean is an unseen wonder, that a new-comer
+to the tropical regions, his head loaded with these false views, will
+be very apt to mistake his own ignorance for the caprice of Nature,
+and perhaps call out, as I once heard a man do, in all the agony of
+impatience caused by a protracted head-wind,--"Now, this is really
+scandalous usage of the clerk of the weather-office!" The scandal,
+however, lay not so much with the clerk's usage as with his own
+limited knowledge; for if, at the very time of his imprecation,
+instead of abusing the foul wind, and keeping his yards braced sharp
+up, and making his sails stand like a board, the grumbler had known
+how to take advantage of it, and had kept away two or three points,
+set his fore-topmast studding-sail, and flanked across or through the
+breeze which he had in vain tried to beat against, he might not only
+have saved his temper, but have made his passage in half the time.
+
+I am not sure that, in the whole range of this extensive subject,
+there could be picked out an instance more in point to what has just
+been said, than these interesting phenomena of the Trade-winds. To
+sailors of every age and rank, and especially to naval officers, an
+acquaintance with the laws which regulate these extraordinary aërial
+currents must be of great importance. For a commander may be ordered,
+at a moment's warning, either to carry his own ship, or to lead a
+squadron, or to guard a convoy, from the northern to the southern
+hemisphere, or perhaps from the West to the East Indies. If, however,
+he have not previously made a tropical voyage or two, or have not
+studied the subject in its genuine theoretical spirit, as well as in
+the log-books of his predecessors, he may expect to find himself most
+wofully embarrassed, both on entering and on leaving the Trades.
+
+Independently of all such public objects concerned in these inquiries,
+there appears to exist a very general interest in the Trade-winds,
+sufficiently strong to engage the attention even of unprofessional
+persons. These vast currents of air, which sweep round and round the
+globe, in huge strips of more than twelve hundred miles in width, are
+in a manner forced on every one's notice, from contributing to that
+boundless interchange of the productions of distant regions by which
+modern times are so agreeably distinguished from the old.
+
+The great Monsoons, again, of the Indian and China oceans play almost
+as important a part in this grand nautical drama along the coasts of
+those remote countries. These great phenomena will be found to obey
+precisely the same laws as their less fluctuating brethren the mighty
+Trades; and hence springs one of the chief delights of science when
+its study is conducted in a proper spirit. If the pursuit of truth be
+engaged in with sincerity, phenomena apparently the most opposite in
+character, for example, winds in different parts of the earth, but in
+the same latitude, blowing in totally different directions at the same
+season of the year, will always prove in the end illustrative of one
+another, and of their common theory.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] On the renewal of their Charter, in 1833, the East India Company
+ceased to be traders, and these noble ships no longer sail under the
+Company's flag.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE TRADE WINDS.
+
+
+There are few things more curious in the history of human knowledge
+than the establishment of extensive errors as to matters of fact, and
+the perverse tenacity with which they retain their hold on the public
+mind. In some cases it would almost seem that the pleasure which
+springs from genuine philosophical inquiry is subordinate to that
+which arises from the indolent process of taking things for granted.
+This applies peculiarly to the phenomena of the Trade-winds,
+respecting which many erroneous ideas are generally entertained. To
+professional men these fallacies are calculated to prove extremely
+mischievous; while even to persons not directly connected with the
+sea, the existence of error may often be injurious: and, although it
+is not very easy to explain these things in a popular way, I shall
+attempt to give a description of the facts as they really exist.
+
+The main characteristics may easily be described.
+
+The great belt of the earth's surface, nearly three thousand miles in
+width, lying between the tropics (from 23-1/2° north to 23-1/2° south
+latitude), is the chief region of the Trade-winds; though in some
+parts of the world they extend to the latitude of 28° both north and
+south of the equator; while at other places well within the tropics,
+and even close to the line, totally different winds prevail. It is
+only in the open parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that the
+true Trade-winds blow. In the Indian and China seas, and in many other
+portions of the great tropical belt, periodical winds, called
+Monsoons, are found. These shifting Trades exact the closest study
+from the practical navigator, in consequence of their extensive
+variety and seeming complication. But they are not less deserving the
+attention of merely curious inquirers, from the beautiful manner in
+which these modifications of the regular breezes obey the same general
+laws which direct the grand phenomena of the Trades. Indeed, the most
+extensive observation serves only to link the whole into one
+harmonious chain or series of explanations, exhibiting the uniformity
+as well as the exquisite adaptability of Nature, even in those
+departments called "inconstant," where she is supposed to be most
+capricious.
+
+The only general assertion that can safely be made with respect to the
+Trade-winds is, that they blow more or less from the eastern half of
+the compass towards the western. On the north side of the equator, the
+north-east Trade-winds blow; and on the south side, the south-east
+Trade-winds. These two names have undoubtedly contributed to mystify
+the subject by naturally suggesting to the imagination currents of air
+blowing respectively from the north-east and the south-east, or at an
+angle of 45° with the meridian. And I have even seen sailors (old
+sailors too) quite surprised, and rather provoked, when they have
+encountered very different winds in those parts of their voyage,
+where, being misled by the force of names alone, they had taught
+themselves to expect a regular breeze from a particular quarter. But,
+in point of fact, the Trade-winds do very seldom blow directly from
+north-east and south-east; neither are they uniform in their direction
+on the same spot at different seasons of the year, nor is their
+strength uniform from month to month. I may add, that the equatorial
+limits, or bounding lines, of the trades, are not steadily confined to
+the same latitude. In short, so far from these winds being perfectly
+fixed in direction, force, and position, they are subject to very
+considerable mutations, dependent on the position of the sun. Their
+vast nautical value, in fact, as well as philosophical curiosity,
+turns mainly on their uniformity, which, in spite of all the
+fluctuations alluded to, gives them a very distinctive character.
+
+Dr. Young and Hadley, the great authorities on the subject, are both
+wrong in their conclusions.[3] Where Hadley obtains his "experience"
+he does not tell; but certain it is, that no sailor who ever crossed
+the equinoctial line could possibly have furnished him with two of his
+principal statements. The Trades are not strongest near the equator,
+as he states, nor when they reach that district do they blow along it,
+or in a parallel direction, but almost always at right angles to it.
+
+If the earth had no motion on its axis, but were surrounded as at
+present with an atmosphere, and if the sun moved round and round it
+exactly above the equator, without varying his declination, the
+following effects would ensue: That portion of the earth lying, say
+thirty degrees, on each side of the equator, being more exposed to the
+action of the sun than those further from it, would become much
+warmer; while the superincumbent air, being greatly heated by the
+contact, would expand, or become specifically lighter, and would
+consequently rise. The adjacent air, both on the north and south,
+being cooler, and, of course, heavier, would rush in to supply the
+place of the heated air. This air coming from the regions beyond the
+tropics would, in its turn, be heated, and rise on reaching the warmer
+equatorial regions, giving place to a fresh supply, which, it is easy
+to see, must be furnished by the descent of that portion of air
+formerly heated at the equator, raised into the cold regions of the
+sky, and forced into a regular circuit by fresh elevations of heated
+air. All these and many other interesting results are clearly
+developed in Daniell's Meteorological Essays, a book which every one
+at all interested in such inquiries will find it advantageous to
+study. The first edition of this work was published in 1823, some
+years after these speculations had been forced upon my notice by a
+long course of service between the tropics.
+
+It will be understood, that, as long as we imagine the globe at rest
+while this circulation is going on, the course of the lower air along
+the surface would be directly towards the equator, from due north in
+one hemisphere, and from due south in the other; while in the upper
+regions the currents would follow the opposite directions, and stream
+towards the poles. But the instant we conceive the earth put into
+rotatory motion from west to east, a change would take place in the
+course of these aërial currents, both above and below. It must be
+recollected that a volume of air, when once put in motion, will move
+on, like any other body, by the mere force of its own momentum, till
+that motion is destroyed by its friction against the substances along
+or through which it is impelled. Any one who has observed the ring of
+smoke sometimes projected from the mouth of a cannon will be sensible
+that this is true.
+
+It may likewise be of use, before going further, to consider, that, if
+the globe, instead of being unequally heated; were equally heated at
+all parts, from pole to pole, and being surrounded by an atmosphere,
+were then made to revolve on its axis, it would carry the atmosphere
+round with it exactly at the rate at which it was itself going. That
+portion of the air in contact with the equator would move about 1000
+miles in one hour, while that in latitude 90° would be as motionless
+as the poles themselves.
+
+From this it will be seen, that, while the equator moves at the rate
+of 1000 miles an hour, the district about the latitude 30° moves only
+860, or 140 miles slower. The average whirling velocity of the earth's
+easterly motion, in the space between the equator and latitude 30°,
+may be stated at 950 miles an hour; and that of the belt lying between
+30° and 40°, at about 800 miles.
+
+In the hypothetical case, above suggested, of the whole surface being
+equally heated, and consequently the whole atmosphere at the same
+temperature, there would be a universal calm, whatever might be the
+rotatory motion impressed upon the earth. If, however, we next
+suppose, what really is the case, that the air over the tropical
+region is more heated than that which is farther from the equator,
+this rarefied air will instantly ascend, and occupy a place above the
+colder and denser air, which will flow in from the belts lying beyond
+the tropics.
+
+When the comparatively slow-moving air of the temperate zone, lying
+beyond the tropics, first comes in contact with those quicker-moving
+parts of the earth forming the tropical edges of the torrid zone, the
+apparent motion of the air from the east, caused by the relative
+difference of the rotatory velocity between the air and earth, is
+great, compared to the other motion of the air, caused by its being
+drawn directly towards the equator, to supply the place of the heated
+portions raised into the sky. Consequently, at the tropical borders of
+both Trades the wind is found to blow very nearly from the east point.
+
+Since the cool air of the temperate and comparatively slow-moving
+zones beyond the tropics is thus drawn towards the equator, and comes
+successively in contact with parallels of latitude moving faster and
+faster towards the east, there must be gradually imparted to it, by
+the increased friction, a considerable degree of the increased
+rotatory velocity belonging to the low latitudes it has now reached;
+that is to say, there will be less and less difference of velocity
+between the easterly motion of this temperate air and the easterly
+motion of the earth; and, consequently, the wind, as it approaches the
+equator, will appear to blow less and less directly from the
+eastward. But, while the earth's rotation within the tropics is thus
+acting on the slower-moving air which has travelled to it from beyond
+the tropics, with increased friction at every successive moment, there
+has been no such powerful counteracting influence in operation to
+diminish the meridional motion impressed on the air in question; for,
+although in proceeding from the tropics towards the equator, the wind
+might, at first sight, be supposed to have its speed somewhat lessened
+by friction along the earth's surface, the retardation due to this
+cause, if there be any at all, must be inconsiderable, compared to
+that which affects the motion caused by the difference in the rotatory
+velocity of the earth at the different parallels. It must be
+recollected, also, that there is a constant demand for fresh air from
+the north and south, to occupy the place of the heated and rarefied
+air which is raised up in the torrid zone; and this demand being
+pretty equal, the motion it produces on the air in the direction of
+the meridian must likewise be uniform.
+
+If it be admitted that all the easterly character of the Trade-winds
+is due to the difference of velocity between the rotation of the
+torrid zone of the earth from west to east, and that of the air
+impressed only with the slower rotatory motion to the east of the
+temperate zone, it will follow, that, if this difference of velocities
+between the earth and the air in contact with it be diminished or
+annihilated, the easterly character of these winds will be diminished
+or annihilated likewise. At the same time, there is no cause in
+operation, that I can discover, to alter the direction of the
+meridional motion, as it may be called, of the Trade-winds, or that
+by which they are impelled directly towards the equator.
+
+At first starting from the temperate zone, on its voyage to the
+equator, the cold air of that slow-moving region is impressed with a
+rotatory velocity of only 800 miles per hour to the eastward, but it
+soon comes over parts of the earth moving more than 100 miles per hour
+faster to the eastward than itself. The difference of velocity in the
+earth's rotation between latitudes 30° and 20° is 74 miles an hour,
+while between 20° and 10° it is only 45 miles, and in the next ten
+degrees the difference in rate per hour is reduced to 15 miles.
+
+The velocity with which the air drawn from beyond the tropics travels
+along the sea towards the equator is probably not above twenty miles
+an hour, a rate slow enough to allow time for the
+constantly-increasing friction of the earth's rotation to act upon it,
+and draw it more and more entirely to the east. By the time it has
+reached the equatorial regions, the friction of the earth's surface
+has operated long enough to carry the air completely along with it;
+and, of course, all relative motion being done away with, everything
+easterly in the character of the Trade-winds will be at an end.
+
+But, although this constantly-increasing friction of the earth's
+rotation has thus annihilated all relative easterly motion between the
+air and earth, that air still retains its motion towards the equator;
+and accordingly we do find the Trade-winds, at their equatorial
+limits, blowing, not from the east, as Hadley, Dr. Young, and others,
+conceived, but directly from the north and from the south
+respectively. The strength and velocity of the Trades at these places
+is, in general, considerably diminished, chiefly, perhaps, by the air
+becoming heated, and rising up rather than flowing along; and also, no
+doubt, by the meeting of the two opposite currents of air--one from
+the north, the other from the south--which produces the intermediate
+space called the Calms, or the Variables.
+
+In strict conformity with these theoretical views, the clouds above
+the Trades are almost invariably observed to proceed in the contrary
+direction to the winds below. On the top of the Peak of Teneriffe I
+found a gentle breeze blowing from the south-westward, directly
+opposite to the course of the Trade-wind.
+
+The more detailed circumstances usually met with in that part of a
+voyage to India which lies between 30° north and 30° south, and which
+I am about to describe, will now, I imagine, be readily understood.
+Before setting out, however, I must strongly recommend any one wishing
+to see these matters clearly, to have them fixed in his mind to useful
+purpose, to follow both the theoretical and the practical parts of
+this explanation with the assistance of a terrestrial globe.
+
+Most ships touch at Madeira, either to take in a stock of wine, to get
+fruit and vegetables, or to form a pleasant break in the early and
+most disagreeable part of the voyage. Some ships pass barely in sight
+of the high mountain which rises above the town of Funchal, and
+satisfy themselves with taking sights for verifying the rates of their
+chronometers when on the meridian of the island; while others
+tantalise their passengers still more by sweeping through the roads,
+without anchoring, or communicating with the shore. The captains by
+such ships are pretty deeply, if not very loudly, abused by all hands,
+passengers especially, who are perhaps the most dissatisfied, because
+the most idle, of mortals. Shortly after leaving Madeira, which is in
+32-1/2° north latitude, a ship may expect to meet the Trades; but she
+cannot calculate with any certainty upon catching them till she
+arrives at the parallel of 28°. On first reaching the Trade-wind it
+will be found to blow very nearly from due east, and with this a
+course is easily steered past or amongst the Canaries, and thence for
+the Cape de Verdes. Some navigators pass within this group, others
+keep so far out as barely to make San Antonio; and this, I think, is
+considered the best route. As the ship proceeds to the southward, the
+wind draws gradually round from the east to north-east, and eventually
+to north-north-east, and even to north, at the southern margin of the
+north-east Trade-wind.
+
+The position of this margin or southern edge, which in technical
+language is called the equatorial limit of the Trade, varies
+considerably with the season of the year. From December to May
+inclusive it frequently reaches as far as the 3rd degree of north
+latitude, though it ranges about 5° and 6° north. From June to
+November it is shifted back as far, sometimes, as 13° north, but it
+seldom extends as far south as 8° north. Subjects which are treated of
+in a series of tables showing the equatorial limits of both
+Trade-winds, deduced by the late Captain James Horsburgh, hydrographer
+of the East India Company, from the observations of 238 ships. These
+tables show very clearly the effect of the absence or presence of the
+sun in shifting the limits of the Trades, drawing them after him, as
+it were. The presence of the sun in either hemisphere obstructs
+considerably the regularity and strength of the Trade-winds in that
+hemisphere, and _vice versâ_.
+
+The great difficulty experienced in making the outward-bound voyage
+commences after the ship has been deserted by the north-east Trade,
+for she has then to fight her way to the southward across the region
+of Calms and Variables. But as these Variables blow generally from the
+southward and westward, from a cause afterwards to be explained, it is
+obvious enough why this part of the homeward voyage is always more
+easily made than the outward passage. These southerly breezes, which
+are met with in the Variables, blow at times with considerable force,
+and greatly perplex the young navigator, who, trusting perhaps to some
+of the erroneous published accounts, not unnaturally reckons upon
+meeting the regular Trade-wind, blowing, as he supposes, from the east
+near the equator, not from the south; still less is he prepared or
+pleased to find it blowing from the south-westward.
+
+This troublesome range, intervening between the two Trades, varies in
+width from 150 to more than 500 miles. It is widest in September, and
+narrowest in December or January. I now speak more particularly of
+what happens in the Atlantic. In the wide Pacific, far from land,
+fewer modifying circumstances interfere with the regular course of the
+phenomena, than in the comparatively narrow sea formed by the opposite
+shoulders of Africa and South America.
+
+Calms, also, are met with in this intermediate region, or purgatory of
+the outward-bound voyage, and occasionally violent tornados or
+squalls, which in a moment tear away every rag of canvas from a ship's
+yards. For several hours at a time, also, rain falls down in absolute
+torrents. Even when the weather clears up, and a fresh breeze comes,
+it is generally from the southward, directly in the outward-bound
+navigator's teeth. He must have patience, however, and strive to make
+the most of it by keeping on that tack by which most southing is to be
+gained. It is now, I believe, generally held to be the best practice
+to place the ship between 18° and 23° of west longitude on losing the
+north-east Trade; and likewise to endeavour, if possible, to cross the
+equator somewhere between these two longitudes. Before reaching the
+line, however, the navigator will almost always be met by the
+south-east Trade-wind. From January to May he may expect to meet it in
+1° or 2° north latitude; but in summer and autumn he will find the
+northern or equatorial limit of the south-east Trade a degree or two
+still further to the northwards of the lines.
+
+On first encountering the south-east Trade an outward-bound ship is
+obliged to steer much more to the westward than she wishes to do, in
+consequence of the wind blowing so directly towards the equator, and
+not along it, as some of the books will insist on, in spite of Nature.
+So that if she be a dull sailer she may have some difficulty in
+weathering the coast of Brazil about Cape St. Roque. As she proceeds
+onwards, however, and makes a little more southing, the wind will haul
+more and more round from the south to the south-east, then
+east-south-east, and eventually to east at the southern limit of the
+Trade-wind. An inexperienced sailor, on first entering the south-east
+Trade, is very apt to be too solicitous about making southing, and
+hugs the wind much too close; whereas he ought rather to keep his ship
+off a little, give her a fathom or two of the fore and main sheets,
+and take a small pull of the weather topsail and top-gallant braces,
+to ensure making good way through the water. Indeed, many officers go
+so far as to recommend flanking across the south-east Trade with a
+fore-topmast studding-sail set. Although, I think, there can be no
+doubt of the soundness of this advice, I confess that it does require
+no inconsiderable degree of faith to adopt a course, which,
+apparently, takes the ship not directly away from her object, but very
+much out of the straight road. In this respect, it may be remarked
+that the scale of navigation on every Indian voyage is so great, and
+the importance of getting into those parallels where favourable
+breezes are certain to be met with, of so much more consequence than
+the gain of mere distance, that two or three hundred miles to the
+right or left, or even twice that space, is often not to be regarded.
+Accordingly, in cutting or flanking across the south-east Trade-wind,
+the object, it should be remembered, is not to shorten the distance,
+but to reach those latitudes where strong westerly gales are to be met
+with, by help of which five hundred or a thousand miles of lost
+distance are speedily made up, and the rest of the passage secured.
+
+In those regions lying beyond the southern tropic westerly winds
+prevail during the greater part of the year, exactly as we find on
+this side of the northern tropic. In the southern hemisphere, and far
+from the land, the wind may be said to blow from the westward almost
+as steadily as the Trades do from the eastward. The great object,
+therefore, for an outward-bound ship is to get far enough south to
+ensure this fair wind. Beyond the latitude of 30°, and as far as 40°,
+this purpose will generally be answered.
+
+We are sufficiently familiar in England with the fact of westerly
+winds prevailing in the Atlantic. From a list of the passages made by
+the New York sailing packets across the Atlantic, during a period of
+six years, it is shown that the average length of the voyage from
+Liverpool to America, that is, towards the west, was forty days; while
+the average length of the homeward passage, or that from west to east,
+was only twenty-three days. And it may fix these facts more strongly
+in the recollection, to mention that the passage-money from England to
+America (in the days of sailing packets) was five guineas more than
+that paid on the return voyage.
+
+This prevalence of westerly winds beyond the tropics is readily
+explained by the same reasoning which has been applied to the Trades
+blowing within them. The swift moving air of the torrid zone, on being
+rarefied and raised up, flows along towards the poles, and in a
+direction from the equator, above the cooler and slower-moving air,
+which, as I have already described, is drawn along the surface of the
+earth from the temperate regions beyond the tropics. When the rarefied
+equatorial air has travelled some thirty or forty degrees of latitude
+along the upper regions of the atmosphere towards the poles it becomes
+cooled, and is ready to descend again, between the latitudes of 30°
+and 60°, to supply the place of the lower air, drawn off towards the
+equator by the Trade-winds. But this partially-cooled air falls on a
+part of the earth's surface which is moving much more slowly towards
+the east, in its diurnal rotation, than the air which has descended
+upon it, and which is still impressed with a great proportion of its
+eastern velocity due to the equatorial parallels of latitude, where it
+was heated and raised up. The necessary consequence of this is, to
+produce a rapid motion in the air from the west over the earth's
+surface; and this, combined with the other motion of the same portion
+of air, or that which has driven it from the equatorial regions,
+produces this remarkable prevalence of south-westerly winds in the
+northern hemisphere, and north-westerly winds in the southern
+hemisphere, in those districts lying between the latitudes of 30° and
+60°.
+
+In all that has been said above it has been assumed that the
+quickest-moving or equatorial belt of the earth is also the hottest,
+and consequently that over which the air has the greatest tendency to
+rise. But, although this is generally true, it is not, by any means,
+universally so. The variations, however, which are observed to occur
+in those places where the circumstances form an exception to the
+general rule, tend strongly to confirm the theory of Hadley. The
+monsoons of India, as I shall presently show, are examples of this;
+but the most striking instance with which I am personally acquainted
+occurs in the Pacific Ocean, between the Bay of Panama and the
+Peninsula of California, from latitude 8° to 22° north. If the huge
+continent of Mexico were taken away, and only sea left in its place,
+there can be no doubt but the ordinary phenomena of the Trade-winds
+would be observable in that part of the Pacific above mentioned. Cool
+air would then be drawn from the slow moving parallels lying to the
+northward, towards the swift moving latitudes, near the equator, in
+order to supply the place of the rarefied air removed to the higher
+regions of the atmosphere, and, of course, north-easterly breezes
+would be produced. But when the sun comes over Mexico, that vast
+district of country is made to act the part of an enormous heater, and
+becomes a far more powerful cause of rarefaction to the superincumbent
+air than the ocean which lies between it and the equator. Accordingly,
+the air over Mexico, between the latitudes of 10° and 30°, is more
+heated than that which lies over the sea between the line and latitude
+20°; and as the coolest, or least heated, that is, the most dense
+fluid, always rushes towards the place lately occupied by the hottest
+and most buoyant, the air from the equator will be drawn towards the
+coast of Mexico, the great local source of heat and rarefaction.
+
+But as this equatorial air is of course impressed with a more rapid
+eastern velocity than those parts of the earth which form the southern
+shores of Mexico, a westerly wind must be produced by the relative
+difference in these two motions. At that particular season of the year
+when the sun is in high southern declination, Mexico is not exposed to
+his perpendicular rays. The equatorial regions are then more heated
+than Mexico, and accordingly we actually find north-easterly breezes
+nearly as they would be if Mexico were out of the way, and quite in
+accordance with our theory.
+
+In like manner, in the Atlantic, when the sun is far to the north,
+the great deserts of the western angle, or shoulder of Africa, become
+as vehemently heated, or more so, perhaps, than Mexico, and this draws
+the air from the equator, so as to produce the south-westerly winds I
+have already spoken of in the troublesome range called the Variables.
+
+Finally, the great monsoons of the Indian ocean and China sea
+contribute to establish this theory of Hadley, though I am not aware
+that he ever brought it to bear on these very interesting phenomena.
+They are eminently deserving of such notice, however, from being
+periodical Trade-winds of the highest order of utility in one of the
+busiest commercial regions of the world. Their periodical or shifting
+character is the circumstance upon which their extensive utility in a
+great measure depends, amongst nations where the complicated science
+of navigation is but in a rude state. Myriads of vessels sail from
+their homes during one monsoon before the wind, or so nearly before
+it, that there is no great skill required in reaching all the ports at
+which they wish to touch; and when the wind shifts to the opposite
+quarter, they steer back again, in like manner, with a flowing sheet.
+Thus, with an exceedingly small portion of nautical skill, they
+contrive to make their passages by means of what we blue-jackets call
+"a soldier's wind, there and back again." It will sometimes happen
+that these rude navigators miscalculate their time, or meet with
+accidents to retard them till the period of change has gone past, and
+then they have no resource but to wait for half-a-year till the
+monsoon shifts.
+
+Experienced sailors, in like circumstances, acquainted with the
+varieties of winds prevailing in those seas, would speedily get their
+vessels out of this scrape, into which the lubberly Chinese junks
+sometimes fall. They might, and certainly would, lose time in making a
+roundabout of some two or three hundred miles in searching for a wind;
+but, if they really knew what they were about, they would be sure to
+catch it at last, and to turn it to their purpose.
+
+From April to October, when the sun's rays fall with greatest effect
+on Arabia, India, and China, and the several interjacent seas to which
+these immense countries give their name, the air in contact with them,
+becoming heated, rises, and gives place to fresh supplies drawn from
+the equator. But this equatorial mass of air has had imparted to it by
+the earth's rotation a greater degree of velocity in the direction
+from west to east than belongs to the countries and seas just
+mentioned; and this additional velocity, combined with its motion from
+the equator, in rushing to fill up the vacuum caused by the
+rarefaction of the air over those regions intersected by the tropic,
+causes the south-west monsoon. "This wind," says Horsburgh, "prevails
+from April to October, between the equator and the tropic of Cancer,
+and it reaches from the east coast of Africa to the coasts of India,
+China, and the Philippine Islands; its influence extends sometimes
+into the Pacific Ocean as far as the Marian Islands, on to longitude
+about 145° east, and it reaches as far north as the Japan Islands."
+
+The late Captain Horsburgh thus describes what takes place in the
+winter months:--"The north-east monsoon," he says, "prevails from
+October to May, throughout nearly the same space that the south-west
+monsoon prevails in the opposite season mentioned above. But the
+monsoons are subject to great obstructions by land; and in contracted
+places, such as Malacca Strait, they are changed into variable winds.
+Their limits are not everywhere the same, nor do they always shift
+exactly at the same period."
+
+During this last named period, when the north-east monsoon is blowing,
+viz. from October to May, the sun is acting with its greatest energy
+on the regions about the equator, and the seas lying between it and
+the southern tropic, while the countries formerly mentioned (Arabia,
+India, and China), lying under the northern tropic, become
+comparatively cool. The air over these regions becomes relatively more
+dense than the rarefied air near the line; consequently the cool air
+rushes to the southward to interchange places with that which has been
+heated; and as the cool air comes from slower-moving to quicker-moving
+parallels of latitude, that is, from the tropical to the equatorial
+regions, the north-easterly monsoon is produced, very much resembling
+in its effect, as it strictly does in its cause, the ordinary
+trade-wind of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
+
+This is a very general view of what may be called the great monsoons
+of India; but there are many variations in different places, all of
+which are so readily explained by the foregoing theory, that they form
+by no means the least interesting branch of the subject, or the least
+satisfactory of its illustrations.
+
+One of the most extensive of these varieties, though of a less general
+and sweeping character than those which blow in the Arabian sea and
+bay of Bengal, is found in a very remote part of the world. "From
+October to April this north-west monsoon prevails between the
+north-east part of Madagascar and the west coast of New Holland; and
+it is generally confined between the equator and 10° or 11° south
+latitude, but subject to irregularities." This westerly wind is
+evidently produced by the air drawn actually from the equator towards
+the slower moving latitudes of the earth, by the rarefaction of the
+air to the southward when the sun is near the tropic of Capricorn.
+"The south-east monsoon predominates from April to October in the
+space last mentioned, and in some places reaches to the equator." In
+this case, the slow moving air near the southern tropic is brought, as
+in the ordinary case of the south-east Trade wind, to the quick-moving
+parts of the earth's surface.
+
+The following remark of Horsburgh's, in describing the monsoons, is
+extremely valuable, and assists to explain Hadley's theory of these
+matters:--"The parts where the north-west and the south-east monsoons
+prevail with greatest strength and regularity are in the Java sea, and
+from thence eastward to Timor, amongst the Molucca and Banda islands,
+and onward to New Guinea;" for it will be obvious to any one who
+inspects the globe, on reading this passage, that there occurs in the
+neighbourhood of the spots alluded to a powerful cause for the
+strength and regularity of the monsoons. The enormous island, or
+continent, as it might almost be called, of Australia, may well be
+supposed to act the part of a heater from October to April, when the
+sun is so nearly over it. During that period the equatorial air is
+drawn to the south, along the intermediate seas, amongst the Moluccas
+and other Spice islands, so as to produce a strong and steady
+north-westerly monsoon. Of course, the opposite effect will be
+produced when the sun retreats to the north, and leaves Australia to
+cool.
+
+These instances are quite enough, I should imagine, to satisfy
+ordinary curiosity on this point; but professional men ought not to be
+contented till they have investigated all branches of this important
+topic; including that elegant and very useful episode, the land and
+sea breezes of all hot climates, and Horsburgh's East India Directory,
+which I have quoted above so frequently, is by far the best authority
+with which I am acquainted on these subjects. At the same time, I must
+not omit to do justice to a beautifully-written and accurate Essay on
+Winds and Currents, by that Prince of all Voyagers, Old Dampier; who,
+with means far more circumscribed than most of his successors, has
+contrived to arrange and condense his information in such a way as not
+only to render it available to practical men, but to make it
+intelligible and interesting to every class of readers.[4]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] It is necessary to note here that these questions have been
+examined since Captain Hall wrote, by Commander Maury, late secretary
+to the American navy, in the true analytical spirit, and immense
+progress made in our knowledge of these winds by the mass of practical
+observations on the subject made by practical navigators, and
+published under his directions.--ED.
+
+[4] The principle of "Great Circle Sailing," which now guides the
+navigator to the Indian Ocean, must be studied in connection with this
+chapter. "For every degree the ship changes her longitude south of the
+Line she sails a shorter distance along the great circle than on any
+other curve; for on the parallel of 60° thirty miles corresponds to a
+distance of sixty at the equator."--ROBERTSON'S _Theory of Great
+Circle Sailing_: Bell and Daldy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+PROGRESS OF THE VOYAGE.
+
+
+Let people say what they please of the fine bracing weather of a cold
+climate, I have never seen any truth-speaking persons who, on coming
+fairly to the trial, did not complain of a cold frosty morning as a
+very great nuisance, or who did not cling eagerly to the fire to
+unbrace themselves again. For my own part, I have always delighted in
+the relaxation caused by hot weather; and, accordingly, I have very
+seldom, if ever, felt the weather disagreeably warm, even in India,
+especially when sailing on the open sea, or enjoying the free range of
+a wide country, under awnings and bungaloes, or stretched in a
+palanquin, or shaded by an umbrella on the back of an elephant.
+Soldiers and sailors, whose duty exposes them at all hours, either on
+a march or in boats, are often struck down by the heat, and sigh with
+all their hearts for the bracing frosts of higher latitudes. But those
+who have the means of bringing to bear on their comforts the
+innumerable contrivances which the ingenuity of wealth has devised in
+the East, indeed, make its climate not only bearable, but one of the
+most enjoyable in the world.
+
+As we sailed along on our voyage to India, gradually slipping down
+from the high to the low latitudes, the sun crept up higher and higher
+every day towards the zenith, while the thermometer, of course, rose
+likewise. What was most agreeable in this change from cold to warmth
+was the little difference between the temperature of the day and that
+of the night. As we approached the equator, the thermometer fell only
+from 82° in the day-time to 79° or 80° at night, which, on deck, was
+delightful. We did not, of course, come to this high temperature all
+at once; for on the 6th of May, the day after we passed directly under
+the sun, the average of the twenty-four hours was 73°, and at night
+69° and 70°.
+
+It is not to be imagined that everyone was pleased with these changes;
+for on board ship, as on shore, there exist discontented spirits,
+whose acquired habit it is to find fault with the existing state of
+things, be these what they may. To such cantankerous folks a growl of
+misery would really seem to be the great paradoxical happiness of
+their lives, and, in the absence of real hardship, it is part of your
+thorough-bred growler to prophesy. I have seen a middy of this stamp
+glad to find, on coming below, that some insignificant portion of his
+dinner really had been devoured by his hungry messmates, while he
+himself was keeping his watch on deck.
+
+"I am used worse than a dog!" he would cry, secretly delighted to have
+gained the luxury of a grievance, "I can't even get a basin of
+pease-soup put by for me; it's an infernal shame, I'll cut the
+service!"
+
+The diversity of climate on an Indian voyage furnishes capital nuts
+for these perturbed spirits. It is first too cold, then too hot; then
+there is not wind enough; then it blows too fresh in the squalls:
+by-and-bye the nights are discovered to be abominably close and
+sultry, and in the day the fierce flaming downright heat of the sun is
+still worse; then the calms are never to be over; or the lying trades,
+as they call them, have got capsized, and blow from the west instead
+of the east! After the line has been crossed, and the south-east wind
+is met with, the weather soon becomes what these ingenious fellows
+call too temperate, then it grows too cold again; and next off the
+Cape the latitude is too stormy. In this alone they have some reason;
+and I have often regretted that, by a royal ordinance of the King of
+Portugal, the name of this mighty promontory was changed from Cabo de
+Tormentos, the headland of storms, to its present spoony title. In
+short, this grand voyage is merely a peristrephic panorama of
+miseries, which if they survive, say they, it will be happy for
+them.--Happy! Not a whit. It is out of their nature to be happy. To
+find fault, to fling away the good the gods provide them, and to
+aggravate the pain of every real wound by the impatience of idle
+complaints, is their diseased joy. "Evil, be thou my good!" they might
+well exclaim; for, instead of heightening the pleasures of life by
+full participation, or subduing its inevitable evils, or, at all
+events, softening their asperity by enduring with fortitude and
+cheerfulness what cannot be helped, these self-tormentors reject what
+is substantially pleasing, and cling with habitual but morbid relish
+to whatever is disagreeable.
+
+As we glided along, through the Trade-winds, towards the neck of sea
+which divides Africa from South America, the symptoms of a change in
+climate became daily more manifest. Every skylight and stern window
+was thrown wide open, and every cabin scuttle driven out, that a free
+draught of air might sweep through the ship all night long. In the
+day-time, the pitch in the seams of the upper-deck began to melt, and,
+by sticking to the soles of our shoes, plastered the planks, to the
+great discomfiture of the captain of the after-guard. The tar, oozing
+from the cordage aloft, dropped on our heads, speckled the snow white
+boat covers, and obliged us to spread the hammock-cloths, to prevent
+the bedding being ruined by the spots. On the larboard or eastern side
+of the ship, which, of course, is always presented to the sun when
+crossing the Trades on the outward-bound voyage, the pitch and rosin
+with which the seams had been payed ran down in little streams across
+the lines of paint. To prevent, as far as we could, some of these
+annoyances, we spread the awnings over the decks, and triced up the
+curtains, fore and aft, while every art was used to introduce air to
+all parts of the ship. The half-ports were removed from the main-deck
+guns, the gratings put on one side, and as many windsails sent down
+the hatchways as could be made to catch a puff of air. Blue trousers
+and beaver scrapers soon gave way before the elements, and were
+succeeded by nankeens, straw hats, and canvas caps. In the captain's
+cabin, where the presence of the governor, our passenger, still kept
+up the strait-laced etiquette of the service, coats and epaulettes
+appeared at dinner; but in the gun-room, the officers, the instant
+they came below, slipped on their light white jackets, and, disdaining
+waistcoat, seized their flutes and books, and drew their chairs as
+near as possible to the mouth of the windsail. In the midshipmen's
+berth, outside in the steerage, the shirt without neckcloth or stock,
+and sometimes with its sleeves rolled up to the elbows, was the most
+fashionable rig. The seamen and marines, of course, dined on the
+main-deck, not only that they might enjoy the fresh air breathing
+gently in upon them through the ports on the weather side, and
+sweeping out again by those to leeward, but that the lower deck might
+be kept as cool and airy as possible against the sultry feverish night
+season.
+
+On such occasions the men leave their tables and stools below, and
+either seat themselves tailor-fashion, or recline Roman-fashion. Nor
+is this in the least degree unpleasant; for the deck of a man-of-war
+is made as clean every morning as any table, and is kept so during the
+day by being swept at least once an hour. Of all the tunes played by
+the boatswain's pipe, that which calls the sweepers is the most
+frequently heard. When the order is given for dining on deck, the
+different messes into which the crew are divided occupy the spots
+immediately above their usual mess-places below, as far as the guns
+allow of their doing so. It has always struck me as very pleasing, to
+see the main-deck covered, from the after hatchway to the cook's
+coppers, with the people's messes, enjoying their noon-day repast;
+while the celestial grog, with which their hard, dry, salt junk is
+washed down, out-matches twenty-fold in Jack's estimation all the thin
+potations of those who, in no very courteous language, are called
+their betters.
+
+Until we had crossed the North-east Trade, and reached the Calms, the
+ship's way through the water was too great to allow of bathing
+alongside; but we easily contrived a shower-bath, which answered very
+well. This consisted of a packing-box, the bottom of which was
+perforated with holes, triced up between two of the skids, near the
+gangway, and under the quarter of one of the boats on the booms. A
+couple of the top-men with draw-buckets supplied the water from above,
+while the bather stood on the main-deck, enjoying the shower. The time
+selected for this delightful bath was usually about four o'clock in
+the morning, after the middle watch was out, and before the exhausted
+officer tumbled into bed. A four hours' walk, indeed, in a sultry
+night, be it managed ever so gently, has a tendency to produce a
+degree of heat approaching to feverishness; and I have no words to
+describe the luxury of standing under a cool shower when the long task
+is ended. We were generally just enough fatigued to be sure of a
+sound, light, happy sleep, and just enough heated to revel in the
+coolest water that was to be had. In fact, we found that of the sea
+much too warm, being only two or three degrees below the temperature
+of the air. To remedy this, our plan was, to expose a dozen
+buckets-full on the gangway at eight or nine o'clock in the evening;
+and these, being allowed to stand till morning, became so much cooler
+by the evaporation in the night, that the shock was unspeakably
+grateful.
+
+Perhaps there is not any more characteristic evidence of our being
+within the tropical regions than the company of those picturesque
+little animals, the flying-fish. It is true, that a stray one or two
+may sometimes be met with far north, making a few short skips out of
+the water, and I even remember seeing several close to the edge of the
+banks of Newfoundland, in latitude 45°; but it is not until the
+voyager has fairly reached the heart of the torrid zone that he sees
+the flying-fish in perfection. I have hardly ever observed a person so
+dull or unimaginative that his eye did not glisten as he watched a
+shoal of flying-fish rise from the sea, and skim along for several
+hundred yards. There is something in it so totally dissimilar to
+everything else in other parts of the world, that our wonder goes on
+increasing every time we see even a single one take its flight. The
+incredulity of the old Scotch woman on this head is sufficiently
+excusable. "You may hae seen rivers o' milk, and mountains o' sugar,"
+said she to her son, returned from a voyage; "but you'll ne'er gar me
+believe you have seen a fish that could flee!"
+
+The pleasant Trade, which had wafted us with different degrees of
+velocity, over a distance of more than a thousand miles, at last
+gradually failed. The sails began to flap gently against the masts, so
+gently, indeed, that we half hoped it was caused, not so much by the
+diminished force of the breeze, with which we wore very unwilling to
+part, as by that long and peculiar swell which,
+
+        "In the torrid clime
+        Dark heaving,"
+
+is productive of oscillating motion on the ship; but the faint
+zephyrs, which had coquetted with our languid sails for an hour or
+two, at length took their leave, first of the courses, then of the
+topsails, and lastly of the royals and the smaller flying kites
+aloft. In vain we looked round and round the horizon for some traces
+of a return of our old friend the Trade, but could distinguish nothing
+save one polished, dark-heaving sheet of glass, reflecting the
+unbroken disc of the sun, and the bright clear sky in the moving
+mirror beneath. From the heat, which soon became intense, there was no
+escape, either on deck or below, aloft in the tops, or still higher on
+the cross-trees; neither could we find relief down in the hold; for it
+was all the same, except that in the exposed situations we were
+scorched or roasted, in the others suffocated. The useless helm was
+lashed amidships, the yards were lowered on the cap, and the boats
+were dropped into the water, to fill up the cracks and rents caused by
+the fierce heat. The occasion was taken advantage of to shift some of
+the sails, and to mend others; most of the running-ropes also were
+turned end for end. A listless feeling stole over us all, and we lay
+about the decks gasping for breath, seeking in vain some alleviation
+to our thirst by drink! drink! drink! Alas, the transient indulgence
+only made the matter worse!
+
+Meanwhile, our convoy of huge China ships, rolling very slowly on the
+top of the long, smooth, and scarcely perceptible ridges, or sinking
+as gently between their summits, were scattered in all directions,
+with their heads in different ways, some looking homeward again, and
+some, as if by instinct, keeping still for the south. How it happens I
+do not know, but on occasions of perfect calm, or such as appear to be
+perfectly calm, the ships of a fleet generally drift away from one
+another; so that, at the end of a few hours, the whole circle bounded
+by the horizon is speckled over with these unmanageable hulks, as they
+may for the time be considered. It will occasionally happen, indeed,
+that two ships draw so near in a calm as to incur some risk of falling
+on board one another. I need scarcely mention, that, even in the
+smoothest water ever found in the open sea, two large ships coming
+into actual contact must prove a formidable encounter. As long as they
+are apart their gentle and rather graceful movements are fit subjects
+of admiration; and I have often seen people gazing, for an hour at a
+time, at the ships of a becalmed fleet, slowly twisting round,
+changing their position, and rolling from side to side, as silently as
+if they had been in harbour, or accompanied only by the faint,
+rippling sound tripping along the water-line, as the copper below the
+bends alternately sunk into the sea, or rose out of it, dripping wet,
+and shining as bright and clean as a new coin, from the constant
+friction of the ocean during the previous rapid passage across the
+Trade-winds.
+
+But all this picturesque admiration changes to alarm when ships come
+so close as to risk a contact; for these motions, which appear so slow
+and gentle to the eye, are irresistible in their force; and as the
+chances are against the two vessels moving exactly in the same
+direction at the same moment, they must speedily grind or tear one
+another to pieces. Supposing them to come in contact side by side, the
+first roll would probably tear away the fore and main channels of both
+ships; the next roll, by interlacing the lower yards, and entangling
+the spars of one ship with the shrouds and backstays of the other,
+would in all likelihood bring down all three masts of both ships, not
+piecemeal, as the poet hath it, but in one furious crash. Beneath the
+ruins of the spars, the coils of rigging, and the enormous folds of
+canvas, might lie crushed many of the best hands, who, from being
+always the foremost to spring forward in such seasons of danger, are
+surest to be sacrificed. After this first catastrophe, the ships would
+probably drift away from one another for a little while, only to
+tumble together again and again, till they had ground one another to
+the water's edge, and one or both of them would fill and go down. In
+such encounters it is impossible to stop the mischief, and oak and
+iron break, and crumble in pieces, like sealing-wax and pie-crust.
+Many instances of such accidents are on record, but I never witnessed
+one.
+
+To prevent these frightful _rencontres_ care is always taken to hoist
+out the boats in good time, if need be, to tow the ships apart, or,
+what is generally sufficient, to tow the ships' heads in opposite
+directions. I scarcely know why this should have the effect, but
+certainly it appears that, be the calm ever so complete, or dead, as
+the term is, a vessel generally forges ahead, or steals along
+imperceptibly in the direction she is looking to; possibly from the
+conformation of the hull.
+
+Shortly after the Trade-wind left us, a cloud rose in the south, which
+soon filled the whole air, and discharged upon us the most furious
+shower I ever beheld. The rain fell down in perpendicular lines of
+drops, or spouts, without a breath of wind, unaccompanied by thunder
+or any other noise, and in one great gush or splash, as if some
+prodigious reservoir had been upset over the fleet from the edge of
+the cloud.
+
+Our noble commander, delighted with the opportunity of replenishing
+his stock of water, called out, "Put shot on each side, and slack all
+the stops down, so that the awnings may slope inwards. Get buckets and
+empty casks to hand instantly!"
+
+In a few minutes the awnings were half full of water, and a hole
+connected with a hose having been prepared beforehand near the lowest
+point, where the canvas was weighed down by the shot, a stream
+descended as if a cock had been turned. Not a drop of this was lost;
+but being carried off, it was poured into a starting-tub at the
+hatchway, and so conveyed by a pipe to the casks in the hold. By the
+time the squall was over we had filled six or eight butts; and
+although not good to drink, from being contaminated by the tar from
+the ropes and sails, the water answered admirably for washing, which
+was our object in catching it.
+
+Ever since the days of Captain Cook it has been the practice to allow
+the crew two washing days per week, on the details of which proceeding
+we all know the misery of putting on wet clothes, or sleeping in damp
+sheets. Now, a shirt washed in salt water is really a great deal worse
+than either; putting on linen washed in salt water, you first dry your
+unhappy shirt by exposing it to the sun or the fire till it seems as
+free from moisture as any bone; you then put it on, in hopes of
+enjoying the benefit of clean linen. Alas, not a whit of enjoyment
+follows! For if the air be in a humid state, or you are exposed to
+exercise, the treacherous salt, which, when crystallised, has hidden
+itself in the fibres of the cloth, speedily melts, and you have all
+the tortures of being once more wrapped in moist drapery. In your
+agony, you pull it off, run to the galley-range, and toast it over
+again; or you hang it up in the fiery heat of the southern sun, and
+when not a particle of wet seems to remain, you draw it on a second
+time, fancying your job at last complete. But, miserable man that you
+are! the insidious enemy still lurks there, and no art we yet know of
+will expel him, save and except that of a good sound rinsing in fresh
+water.
+
+I need scarcely add, then, that there are few favours of the minor
+kind which a considerate captain may bestow on his crew more
+appreciated than giving them as much fresh water as will serve to
+carry off the abominable salt from their clothes, after they have
+first been well scoured in the water of the ocean; it is a great
+comfort, and an officer of any activity, by a judicious management of
+the ship's regular stock, and, above all, by losing no opportunity of
+catching rain water, need seldom be without the means of giving to
+each man of his crew a gallon twice a-week during the longest voyage.
+
+It was from an old and excellent officer I first learned, that, by
+proper and constant care, this indulgence might almost always be
+granted. It is not easy, I freely admit, at all times, and in all
+climates, to keep a supply Of washing-water on board. But a captain
+ought to do what is right and kind, simply because it is right and
+kind, regardless of trouble; and his conduct in this respect should
+not be uninfluenced by the manner in which it is received; at all
+events, he may be certain that if his favours be not well received,
+the fault lies in his manner of giving them. Sailors have the most
+acute penetration possible on these occasions; and if the captain be
+actuated by any wish except that of doing his duty uniformly and
+kindly, the Johnnies will see through it all, and either laugh at him
+or hate him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+AQUATIC SPORTS.
+
+
+One day, after we had lost the north-east Trade wind, a furious
+squall, unperceived till it reached us, swept through the fleet. These
+violent tornadoes are generally called white squalls, from being
+unattended by those black heavy rain clouds. On the occasion of
+ordinary squalls, even with the advantage of the warning given by
+rising clouds, it is not always easy to escape their force unhurt. If
+the wind be fair, a natural reluctance is felt to shorten sail, at all
+events, until the squall is so near that there is an absolute
+necessity for doing so, and inexperienced officers are often deceived
+by the unexpected velocity with which the gust comes down upon them.
+Even the oldest sailors are apt to miscalculate the time likely to
+elapse before the wind can touch them. In these cases, unless the men
+be very active, the sails are torn, and sometimes a mast or a yard is
+carried away. It is, besides, often doubtful whether there is wind or
+merely a plump of rain in the squall; there are, therefore, few points
+of distinction more remarkable between the seamanship of an old and a
+young officer, than their power of judging of this matter. To a man
+quite inexperienced, a squall may look in the highest degree
+threatening; he will order the top-gallant clew-lines to be manned,
+place hands by the topsail haulyards, and lay along the main
+clew-garnets. His more experienced captain, however, being apprised of
+the squall's approach, steps on deck, takes a hasty look to windward,
+and says quietly to the officer of the watch, "Never mind, there's
+nothing in it, it's only rain; keep the sails on her."
+
+But although the older authority nine times in ten proves correct in
+his judgment, even he might find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+tell exactly upon what his confidence rested. Sailors boast, indeed,
+of having an infallible test by which the point in question may be
+ascertained, their secret being clothed in the following rhymes so to
+call them:--
+
+    "If the rain's before the wind,
+    'Tis time to take the topsails in;
+    If the wind's before the rain,
+    Hoist your topsails up again."
+
+The practical knowledge alluded to, however, comes not by rhymes, but
+by experience alone, with a kind of intuitive confidence. Many long
+and hard years of study, and myriads of forgotten trials must have
+been gone through to give this enviable knowledge.
+
+No experience, however, can altogether guard against these sudden
+gusts or white squalls, since they make no show, except, sometimes, by
+a rippling of the water along which they are sweeping. On the occasion
+above alluded to there was not even this faint warning. The first
+ships of the convoy touched by the blast were laid over almost on
+their beam-ends, but in the next instant righted again, on the whole
+of their sails being blown clean out of the bolt-ropes. The Theban
+frigate and the Volage, then lying nearly in the centre of the fleet,
+were the only ships which saved an inch of canvas, owing chiefly to
+our having so many more hands on board, but partly to our having
+caught sight of the ruin brought on the vessels near us, just in time
+to let fly the sheets and haulyards and get the yards down. But even
+then, with the utmost exertion of every man and boy on board, we
+barely succeeded in clewing all up.
+
+When this hurricane of a moment had passed, and we had time to look
+round, not a rag was to be seen in the whole fleet; while the Wexford,
+a ship near us, had lost her three top-gallant masts and jib-boom,
+and, what was a much more serious misfortune, her fore-topmast was
+dangling over the bows. Part of the fore-topsail was wrapped like a
+shawl round the lee cat-head, while the rest hung down in festoons
+from the collar of the fore-stay to the spritsail yard-arm. A stout
+party of seamen from each of the men-of-war were sent to assist in
+clearing the wreck, and getting up fresh spars; and a light fair wind
+having succeeded to the calm in which we had been lolling about for
+many days, we took our wounded bird in tow, and made all sail towards
+the equator. By this time, also, the China ships had bent a new set of
+sails, and were resuming their old stations in the appointed order of
+bearing, which it was our policy to keep up strictly, together with as
+many other of the formalities of a fleet in line of battle and on a
+cruise as we could possibly maintain.
+
+While we were thus stealing along pleasantly enough under the genial
+influence of this newly-found air, which as yet was confined to the
+upper sails, and every one was looking open-mouthed to the eastward to
+catch a gulp of cool air, or was congratulating his neighbour on
+getting rid of the tiresome calm in which we had been so long
+half-roasted, half-suffocated, about a dozen flying-fish rose out of
+the water, just under the fore-chains, and skimmed away to windward at
+the height of ten or twelve feet above the surface. But sometimes the
+flying-fish merely skims the surface, so as to touch the tops of the
+successive waves, without rising and falling to follow the undulations
+of the sea; that they also rise as high as twenty feet out of the
+water is certain, being sometimes found in the channels of a
+line-of-battle ship; and they frequently fly into a 74 gun-ship's
+main-deck ports. On a frigate's forecastle and gangways, also
+elevations which may be taken at eighteen or twenty feet, they are
+often found. I remember seeing one, about nine inches in length, and
+weighing not less, I should suppose, than half-a-pound, skim into the
+Volage's main-deck port just abreast of the gangway. One of the
+main-topmen was coming up the quarter-deck ladder at the moment, when
+the flying-fish, entering the port, struck the astonished mariner on
+the temple, knocked him off the step, and very nearly laid him
+sprawling.
+
+I was once in a prize, a low Spanish schooner, not above two feet and
+a-half out of the water, when we used to pick up flying-fish enough
+about the decks in the morning to give us a capital breakfast. They
+are not unlike whitings to the taste, though rather firmer, and very
+dry. They form, I am told, a considerable article of food for the
+negroes in the harbours of the West Indies. The method of catching
+them at night is thus described:--In the middle of the canoe a light
+is placed on the top of a pole, towards which object it is believed
+these fish always dart, while on both sides of the canoe a net is
+spread to a considerable distance, supported by out-riggers above the
+surface of the water; the fish dash at the light, pass it, and fall
+into the net on the other side.
+
+Shortly after observing the cluster of flying-fish rise out of the
+water, we discovered two or three dolphins ranging past the ship, in
+all their beauty, and watched with some anxiety to see one of those
+aquatic chases of which our friends of the Indiamen had been telling
+us such wonderful stories. We had not long to wait; for the ship, in
+her progress through the water, soon put up another shoal of these
+little things, which, as the others had done, took their flight
+directly to windward. A large dolphin, which had been keeping company
+with us abreast of the weather gangway at the depth of two or three
+fathoms, and, as usual, glistening most beautifully in the sun, no
+sooner detected our poor dear little friends take wing, than he turned
+his head towards them, and, darting to the surface, leaped from the
+water with a velocity little short, as it seemed, of a cannon-ball.
+But although the impetus with which he shot himself into the air gave
+him an initial velocity greatly exceeding that of the flying-fish, the
+start which his fated prey had got enabled them to keep ahead of him
+for a considerable time.
+
+The length of the dolphin's first spring could not be less than ten
+yards; and after he fell we could see him gliding like lightning
+through the water for a moment, when he again rose, and shot forwards
+with considerably greater velocity than at first, and, of course, to a
+still greater distance. In this manner the merciless pursuer seemed to
+stride along the sea with fearful rapidity, while his brilliant coat
+sparkled and flashed in the sun quite splendidly. As he fell headlong
+on the water at the end of each huge leap, a series of circles were
+sent far over the still surface, which lay as smooth as a mirror; for
+the breeze, although enough to keep the royals and top-gallant
+studding sails extended, was hardly as yet felt below.
+
+The group of wretched flying-fish, thus hotly pursued, at length
+dropped into the sea; but we were rejoiced to observe that they merely
+touched the top of the swell, and scarcely sunk in it, at least they
+instantly set off again in a fresh and even more vigorous flight. It
+was particularly interesting to observe that the direction they now
+took was quite different from the one in which they had set out,
+implying but too obviously that they had detected their fierce enemy,
+who was following them with giant steps along the waves, and now
+gaining rapidly upon them. His terrific pace, indeed, was two or three
+times as swift as theirs, poor little things! and the greedy dolphin
+was fully as quick-sighted as the flying-fish which were trying to
+elude him; for whenever they varied their flight in the smallest
+degree, he lost not the tenth part of a second in shaping a new
+course, so as to cut off the chase; while they, in a manner really not
+unlike that of the hare, doubled more than once upon their pursuer.
+But it was soon too plainly to be seen that the strength and
+confidence of the flying-fish were fast ebbing. Their flights became
+shorter and shorter, and their course more fluttering and uncertain,
+while the enormous leaps of the dolphin appeared to grow only more
+vigorous at each bound. Eventually, indeed, we could see, or fancied
+we could see, that this skilful sea sportsman arranged all his springs
+with such an assurance of success, that he contrived to fall, at the
+end of each, just under the very spot on which the exhausted
+flying-fish were about to drop! Sometimes this catastrophe took place
+at too great a distance for us to see from the deck exactly what
+happened; but on our mounting high into the rigging, we may be said to
+have been in at the death; for then we could discover that the
+unfortunate little creatures, one after another, either popped right
+into the dolphin's jaws as they lighted on the water, or were snapped
+up instantly afterwards.
+
+It was impossible not to take an active part with our pretty little
+friends of the weaker side, and accordingly we very speedily had our
+revenge. The middies and the sailors, delighted with the chance,
+rigged out a dozen or twenty lines from the jib-boom end, and
+spritsail yard-arms, with hooks baited merely with bits of tin, the
+glitter of which resembles so much that of the body and wings of the
+flying-fish, that many a proud dolphin, making sure of a delicious
+morsel, leaped in rapture at the deceitful prize.
+
+It may be well to mention that the dolphin of sailors is not the fish
+so called by the ancient poets. Ours, which I learn from the
+Encyclopćdia, is the _Coryphoena hippurus_ of naturalists, is
+totally different from their _Delphinus phocoena_, termed by us the
+porpoise, respecting which there exists a popular belief amongst
+seamen that the wind may be expected from the quarter to which a shoal
+of porpoises are observed to steer. So far, however, from our
+respecting the speculations of these submarine philosophers, every art
+is used to drag them out of their native element, and to pass them
+through the fire to the insatiable Molochs of the lower decks and
+cockpits of his Majesty's ships, a race amongst whom the constant
+supply of the best provisions appears to produce only an increase of
+appetite.
+
+One harpoon, at least, is always kept in readiness for action in the
+fore part of the ship. The sharpest and strongest of these deadly
+weapons is generally stopped or fastened to the fore-tack bumpkin, a
+spar some ten or twelve feet long, projecting from the bows of a ship
+on each side like the horns of a snail, to which the tack or lower
+corner of the foresail is drawn down when the ship is on a wind. This
+spar, which affords good footing, not being raised many feet above the
+water, while it is clear of the bow, and very nearly over the spot
+where the porpoises glide past, when shooting across the ship's
+forefoot, is eagerly occupied by the most active and expert harpooner
+on board, as soon as the report has been spread that a shoal, or, as
+the sailors call it, a "school" of porpoises, are round the ship.
+There is another favourite station which is speedily filled on these
+occasions; I mean, alongside of the slight-looking apparatus
+projecting perpendicularly downwards from the end of the bowsprit.
+This spar is not inaptly called the dolphin-striker, from its
+appearing to dash into the waves as the ship pitches; perhaps it may
+have acquired its name on account of its being so capital a position
+from which to strike that fish. The lower end of the spar is connected
+with the outer end of the jib-boom, by means of a stout rope, which,
+after passing through its extremity, extends to the ship; and it is
+upon this guy that the fortunate wielder of the harpoon fixes himself.
+The harpoon is a triangular, or rather a heart-shaped barbed weapon,
+somewhat larger than a man's head, and in the centre about as thick as
+his knuckles. Its point and edges are made of iron so soft that they
+can easily be brought to a rough edge by means of a file. This
+javelin-head, or, as it is technically called by whalers, the "mouth,"
+is connected by a slender arm or shank, terminating in a socket. The
+barbed head or mouth is eight inches long, and six broad; the shank,
+with its socket, two feet and a-half long. The shank is not quite half
+an inch in diameter; and as this part is liable to be forcibly
+extended, twisted, and bent, it requires to be made of the toughest
+and most pliable iron.
+
+A piece of small, but stout line, called, I think, the foreganger, is
+spliced securely to the shank of the harpoon. To the end of this line
+is attached any small rope that lies handiest on the forecastle,
+probably the top-gallant clew-line, or the jib down-haul. The rope,
+before being made fast to the foreganger, is rove through a block
+attached to some part of the bowsprit, or to the foremost swifter of
+the fore-rigging; a gang of hands are always ready to take hold of the
+end, and run the fish right out of the water when pierced by the iron.
+
+The harpooner has nothing to attend to but the mere act of striking
+his object; and there are few exploits in which the dexterity of one
+person is more conspicuous over that of another than in delivering the
+harpoon. I have heard Captain Scoresby say, that, when a whale is
+struck, it is an object of importance to drive the weapon socket-deep
+into the blubber, or outer rind, of the floating monster; but in the
+case of the porpoise the true point of skill appears to lie in the aim
+alone: for the mere weight of the instrument, with its loaded staff,
+is sufficient to lodge the barbs in the body of the fish, and in many
+cases to carry it right through to the other side.
+
+The strength of the porpoise must be very great, for I have seen him
+twist a whale harpoon several times round, and eventually tear himself
+off by main force. On this account, it is of consequence to get the
+floundering gentleman on board with the least possible delay after the
+fish is struck. Accordingly, the harpooner, the instant he has made a
+good hit, bawls out, "Haul away! haul away!" upon which the men
+stationed at the line run away with it, and the struggling wretch is
+raised high into the air. Two or three of the smartest hands have in
+the mean time prepared what is called a running bowline knot, or
+noose, the nature of which may be readily described by saying that
+although it slips up, or renders, very easily, it is perfectly secure,
+without being subject to jamming. This running bowline, of which
+several are always previously made ready, is placed by hand round the
+body of the porpoise, or it may be cast, like the lasso, over its
+tail, and then, but not till then, can the capture be considered quite
+secure. I have seen many a gallant prize of this kind fairly
+transfixed with the harpoon, and rattled like a shot up to the block,
+where it was hailed by the shouts of the victors as the source of a
+certain feast, and yet lost after all, either by the line breaking, or
+the dart coming out during the vehement struggles of the fish.
+
+I remember once seeing a porpoise accidentally struck by a minor
+description of fish-spear called a grains, a weapon quite inadequate
+for such a service. The cord by which it was held, being much too
+weak, soon broke, and off dashed the wounded fish, right in the wind's
+eye, at a prodigious rate, with the staff erect on its back, like a
+signal-post. The poor wretch was instantly accompanied, or pursued, by
+myriads of his own species, whose instinct, it is said, teaches them
+to follow any track of blood, and even to devour their unfortunate
+fellow-fish. I rather doubt the fact of their cannibalism, but am
+certain that, whenever a porpoise is struck and escapes, he is
+followed by all the others, and the ship is deserted by the shoal in a
+few seconds. In the instance just mentioned, the grains with which the
+porpoise was struck had been got ready for spearing a dolphin; but the
+man in whose hands it happened to be, not being an experienced
+harpooneer, could not resist the opportunity of darting his weapon
+into the first fish that offered a fair mark.
+
+The dolphin, the bonito, and the albacore, are sometimes caught with
+the grains, but generally by means of lines baited either with bits of
+tin, or with pieces of the flying-fish, when any are to be had. In
+fine weather, especially between the tropics, when the whole surface
+of the sea is often covered with them, a dozen lines are hung from the
+jib-boom end and spritsail yard, all so arranged, that when the ship
+sends forward, the hook, with its glittering bait, barely touches the
+water, but rises from it when the ship is raised up by the swell. The
+grains, spoken of above, resembles nothing so much that I know of as
+the trident which painters thrust into the hands of Daddy Neptune. If
+my nautical recollections, however, serve me correctly, this spear has
+five prongs, not three, and sometimes there are two sets, placed in
+lines at right angles to one another. The upper end of the staff being
+loaded with lead, it falls down and turns over the fish, which is then
+drawn on board on the top of the grains, as a potato or a herring
+might be presented on the point of a fork.
+
+The dolphin is eaten and generally relished by every one, though
+certainly a plaguy dry fish. It is often cut into slices and fried
+like salmon, or boiled and soused in vinegar, to be eaten cold. The
+bonito is a coarser fish, and only becomes tolerable eating by the
+copious use of port-wine.
+
+It happened in a ship I commanded that a porpoise was struck about
+half-an-hour before the cabin dinner; and I gave directions, as a
+matter of course, to my steward to dress a dish of steaks, cut well
+clear of the thick coating of blubber. It so chanced that none of the
+crew had ever before seen a fish of this kind taken, and in
+consequence there arose doubts amongst them whether or not it was
+good, or even safe eating. The word, however, being soon passed along
+the decks that orders had been given for some slices of the porpoise
+to be cooked for the captain's table, a deputation from forward was
+appointed to proceed as near to the cabin door as the etiquette of the
+service allowed, in order to establish the important fact of the
+porpoise being eatable. The dish was carried in, its contents
+speedily discussed, and a fresh supply having been sent for, the
+steward was, of course, intercepted in his way to the cook. "I say,
+Capewell," cried one of the hungry delegates, "did the captain really
+eat any of the porpoise?"
+
+"Eat it!" exclaimed the steward, "look at that!" at the same time
+lifting off the cover, and showing a dish as well cleared as if it had
+previously been freighted with veal cutlets, and was now on its return
+from the midshipmen's berth.
+
+"Ho! ho!" sung out Jack, running back to the forecastle; "if the
+skipper eats porpoise, I don't see why we should be nice; so here
+goes!" Then pulling forth the great clasp-knife which always hangs by
+a cord round the neck of a seaman, he plunged it into the sides of the
+fish, and, after separating the outside rind of blubber, detached
+half-a-dozen pounds of the red meat, which, in texture and taste, and
+in the heat of its blood, resembles beef, though very coarse. His
+example was so speedily followed by the rest of the ship's company,
+that when I walked forward, after dinner, in company with the doctor,
+to take the post-mortem view of the porpoise more critically than
+before, we found the whole had been broiled and eaten within
+half-an-hour after I had unconsciously given, by my example, an
+official sanction to the feast.
+
+On the 24th of May, the day before crossing the equator, I saw the
+grandest display of all these different kinds of fish which it has
+ever been my fortune to meet with. In my journal, written on that day,
+I find some things related of which I have scarcely any recollection,
+and certainly have never witnessed since. A bonito, it appears,
+darted out of the water after a flying-fish, open-mouthed, and so true
+was the direction of his leap that he actually closed with the chase
+in the air, and sought to snap it up; but, owing to some error in his
+calculation, the top of his head striking the object of pursuit, sent
+it spinning off in a direction quite different from that which his own
+momentum obliged him to follow. A number of those huge birds, the
+albatrosses, were soaring over the face of the waters, and the
+flying-fish, when rising into the air to avoid the dolphins and
+bonitos, were frequently caught by these poaching birds, to the very
+reasonable disappointment of the sporting fish below. These intruders
+proceeded not altogether with impunity, however; for we hooked several
+of them, who, confident in their own sagacity and strength of wing,
+swooped eagerly at the baited hooks towed far astern of the ship, and
+were thus drawn on board, screaming and flapping their wings in a very
+ridiculous plight. To render this curious circle of mutual destruction
+quite complete, though it may diminish our sympathy for the persecuted
+flying-fish, I ought to mention that on the same day one dropped on
+board in the middle of its flight, and in its throat another small
+fish was found half swallowed, but still alive!
+
+All this may be considered, more or less, as mere sport; but in the
+capture of the shark, a less amiable, or, I may say, a more ferocious
+spirit is sure to prevail. There would seem, indeed, to be a sort of
+perpetual and hereditary war waged between sailors and sharks, like
+that said to exist between the Esquimaux and the Indians of North
+America, where, as each of the belligerents is under the full belief
+that every death, whether natural or violent, is caused by the
+machinations of the other side, there is no hope of peace between
+them, as long as the high conflicting parties shall be subject to the
+laws of mortality.
+
+In like manner, I fear, that in all future times, as in all times
+past, when poor Jack falls overboard in Madras roads, or in Port Royal
+harbour, he will be crunched between the shark's quadruple or
+quintuple rows of serrated teeth, with as merciless a spirit of
+enjoyment as Jack himself can display. Certainly, I nave never seen
+the savage part of our nature peep out more clearly than upon these
+occasions, when a whole ship's company, captain, officers, and young
+gentlemen inclusive, shout in triumphant exultation over the body of a
+captive shark, floundering in impotent rage on the poop or forecastle.
+The capture always affords high and peculiar sport, for it is one in
+which every person on board sympathises, and, to a certain extent,
+takes a share. Like a fox-chase, it is ever new, and draws within its
+vortex every description of person. Even the monkey, if there be one
+on board, takes a vehement interest in the whole progress of this wild
+scene. I remember once observing Jacko running backwards and forwards
+along the after-part of the poop hammock-netting, grinning, screaming,
+and chattering at such a rate, that, as it was nearly calm, he was
+heard all over the decks.
+
+"What's the matter with you, Master Mona?" said the quarter-master;
+for the animal came from Teneriffe, and preserved his Spanish
+cognomen. Jacko replied not, but merely stretching his head over the
+railing, stared with his eyes almost bursting from his head, and by
+the intensity of his grin bared his teeth and gums nearly from ear to
+ear.
+
+The sharp curved dorsal fin of a huge shark was now seen, rising
+about six inches above the water, and cutting the glazed surface of
+the sea by as fine a line as if a sickle had been drawn along.
+
+"Messenger! run to the cook for a piece of pork," cried the captain,
+taking command with as much glee as if it had been an enemy's cruiser.
+
+"Where's your hook, quarter-master?"
+
+"Here, sir, here!" cried the fellow, feeling the point, and declaring
+it as sharp as any lady's needle, and in the next instant piercing
+with it a huge junk of rusty pork, weighing four or five pounds; for
+nothing, scarcely, is too large or too high in flavour for the stomach
+of a shark.
+
+The hook, which is as thick as one's little finger, has a curvature
+about as large as that of a man's hand when half closed, and is from
+six to eight inches in length, with a formidable barb. This
+fierce-looking grappling-iron is furnished with three or four feet of
+chain, a precaution which is absolutely necessary; for a voracious
+shark will sometimes gobble the bait so deep into his stomach, that he
+would snap through the rope as easily as if he were nipping the head
+off an asparagus.
+
+A good strong line, generally the end of the mizen-topsail-haulyards,
+being made fast to the chain, the bait is cast into the ship's wake;
+for it is very seldom so dead a calm that a vessel has not some small
+motion through the water. I think I have remarked that at sea the
+sharks are most apt to make their appearance when the ship is going
+along at a rate of somewhat less than a mile an hour, a speed which
+barely brings her under command of the rudder, or gives her what is
+technically called steerage-way.
+
+A shark, like a midshipman, is generally very hungry; but in the rare
+cases when he is not in good appetite he sails slowly up to the bait,
+smells at it, and gives it a poke with his shovel-nose, turning it
+over and over. He then edges off to the right or left, as if he
+apprehended mischief, but soon returns again, to enjoy the delicious
+_haut goűt_ of the damaged pork, of which a piece is always selected,
+if it can be found.
+
+While this coquetry or shyness is exhibited by John Shark, the whole
+after-part of the ship is so clustered with heads that not an inch of
+spare room is to be had for love or money. The rigging, the mizen-top,
+and even the gaff, out to the very peak, the hammock-nettings and the
+quarters, almost down to the counter, are stuck over with breathless
+spectators, speaking in whispers, if they venture to speak at all, or
+can find leisure for anything but fixing their gaze on the monster,
+who as yet is free to roam the ocean, but who, they trust, will soon
+be in their power. I have seen this go on for an hour together; after
+which the shark has made up his mind to have nothing to say to us, and
+either swerved away to windward, if there be any breeze at all, or
+dived so deep that his place could be detected only by a faint touch
+or flash of white many fathoms down. The loss of a Spanish galleon in
+chase, I am persuaded, could hardly cause more bitter regret, or call
+forth more intemperate expressions of anger and impatience than the
+failure in hooking a shark is always sure to produce on board a ship
+at sea.
+
+On the other hand, I suppose the first symptom of an enemy's flag
+coming down in the fight was never hailed with greater joy than is
+felt by a ship's crew on the shark turning round to seize the bait.
+The preparatory symptoms of this intention are so well known to every
+one on board, that, the instant they begin to appear, a greedy whisper
+of delight passes from mouth to mouth amongst the assembled multitude;
+every eye is lighted up, and such as have not bronzed their cheeks by
+too long exposure to sun and wind to betray any change of colour may
+be seen to alter their hue from pale to red, and back to pale again,
+like the tints on the sides of the dying dolphin.
+
+It is supposed by seamen that the shark must of necessity turn on his
+back before he can bite anything, and, generally speaking, he
+certainly does so turn himself before he takes the bait; but this
+arises from two circumstances--one of them accidental and belonging to
+the particular occasion, the other arising out of the peculiar
+conformation and position of his mouth. When a bait is towed astern of
+a ship that has any motion through the water at all, it is necessarily
+brought to the surface, or nearly so. This, of course, obliges the
+shark to bite at it from below; and as his mouth is placed under his
+chin, not over it, he must turn nearly on his back before he can seize
+the floating piece of meat in which the hook is concealed. Even if he
+does not turn completely round, he is forced to slue himself, as it is
+called, so far as to show some portion of his white belly. The instant
+the white skin flashes on the sight of the expectant crew, a subdued
+cry, or murmur of satisfaction, is heard amongst the crowd; but no one
+speaks, for fear of alarming the shark.
+
+Sometimes, the very instant the bait is cast over the stern, the
+shark flies at it with such eagerness that he actually springs
+partially out of the water. This, however, is rare. On these occasions
+he gorges the bait, the hook, and a foot or two of the chain, without
+any mastication or delay, and darts off with his treacherous prize
+with such prodigious velocity and force that it makes the rope crack
+again as soon as the whole coil is drawn out; but in general he goes
+more leisurely to work, and seems rather to suck in the bait than to
+bite at it. Much dexterity is required in the hand which holds the
+line at this moment; for a bungler is apt to be too precipitate, and
+to jerk away the hook before it has got far enough down the shark's
+maw. Our greedy friend, indeed, is never disposed to relinquish what
+may once have passed his formidable batteries of teeth; but the hook,
+by a premature tug of the line, may fix itself in a part of the jaw so
+weak that it gives way in the fierce struggle which always follows.
+The secret of the sport is, to let the voracious monster gulp down the
+huge mess of pork, and then to give the rope a violent pull, by which
+the barbed point, quitting the edge of the bait, buries itself in the
+coats of the victim's throat or stomach. As the shark is not a
+personage to submit patiently to such treatment, it will not be well
+for any one whose foot happens to be accidentally on the coil of the
+rope, for, when the hook is first fixed, it spins out like the
+log-line of a ship going twelve knots.
+
+The suddenness of the jerk with which the poor devil is brought up,
+when he has reached the length of his tether, often turns him quite
+over on the surface of the water. Then commence the loud cheers,
+taunts, and other sounds of rage and triumph, so long suppressed. A
+steady pull is insufficient to carry away the line; but it sometimes
+happens that the violent struggles of the shark, when too speedily
+drawn up, snap either the rope or the hook, and so he gets off, to
+digest the remainder as he best can. It is, accordingly, held the best
+practice to play him a little, with his mouth at the surface, till he
+becomes somewhat exhausted. No sailor, therefore, ought ever to think
+of hauling a shark on board merely by the rope fastened to the hook;
+for, however impotent his struggles may generally be in the water,
+they are rarely unattended with risk when the rogue is drawn half-way
+up. To prevent the line breaking, or the hook snapping, or the jaw
+being torn away, the device formerly described, of a running bowline
+knot, is always adopted. This noose, being slipped down the rope, and
+passed over the monster's head, is made to jam at the point of
+junction of the tail with the body. When this is once fixed, the first
+act of the piece is held to be complete, and the vanquished enemy is
+afterwards easily drawn over the taffrail and flung on the deck, to
+the unspeakable delight of all hands. But, although the shark is out
+of his element, he has by no means lost his power of doing mischief;
+and I would advise no one to come within range of the tail, or thrust
+his toes too near the animal's mouth. The blow of a tolerably
+large-sized shark's tail might break a man's leg; and I have seen a
+three-inch hide tiller-rope bitten more than half-through full ten
+minutes after the wretch had been dragged about the quarter-deck, and
+had made all his victors keep at the most respectful distance. I
+remember hearing the late Dr. Wollaston, with his wonted ingenuity,
+suggest a method for measuring the strength of a shark's bite. If a
+smooth plate of lead, he thought, were thrust into the fish's mouth,
+the depth which his teeth should pierce the lead would furnish a sort
+of scale of the force exerted.
+
+I need scarcely mention, that, when a shark is floundering about, the
+quarter-deck becomes a scene of pretty considerable confusion; and if
+there be blood on the occasion, as there generally is, from all this
+rough usage, the stains are not to be got rid of without a week's
+scrubbing, and many a growl from the captain of the after-guard. For
+the time, however, all such considerations are superseded; that is to
+say, if the commander himself takes an interest in the sport, and he
+must be rather a spoony skipper that does not. If he be indifferent
+about the fate of the shark, it is speedily dragged forward to the
+forecastle, amidst the kicks, thumps, and execrations of the
+conquerors, who very soon terminate his miserable career by stabbing
+him with their knives, boarding-pikes, and tomahawks, like so many
+wild Indians.
+
+The first operation is always to deprive him of his tail, which is
+seldom an easy matter, it not being at all safe to come too near; but
+some dextrous hand, familiar with the use of the broad axe, watches
+for a quiet moment, and at a single blow severs it from the body. He
+is then closed with by another, who leaps across the prostrate foe,
+and with an adroit cut rips him open from snout to tail, and the
+tragedy is over, so far as the struggles and sufferings of the
+principal actor are concerned. There always follows, however, the most
+lively curiosity on the part of the sailors to learn what the shark
+has got stowed away in his inside; but they are often disappointed,
+for the stomach is generally empty. I remember one famous exception,
+indeed, when a very large fellow was caught on board the Alceste, in
+Anjeer Roads at Java, when we were proceeding to China with the
+embassy under Lord Amherst. A number of ducks and hens which had died
+in the night were, as usual, thrown overboard in the morning, besides
+several baskets, and many other minor things, such as bundles of
+shavings and bits of cordage: all of which were found in this huge
+sea-monster's inside. But what excited most surprise and admiration
+was the hide of a buffalo, killed on board that day for the ship's
+company's dinner. The old sailor who had cut open the shark stood with
+a foot on each side, and removed the articles one by one from the huge
+cavern into which they had been indiscriminately drawn. When the
+operator came at last to the buffalo's skin, he held it up before him
+like a curtain, and exclaimed, "There, my lads! d'ye see that? He has
+swallowed a buffalo; but he could not disgest the hide!"
+
+I have never been so unfortunate as to see a man bitten by a shark,
+though, in calm weather, it is usual to allow the people to swim about
+the ship. It would seem that they are disturbed by the splashing and
+other noises of so many persons, and keep at a distance; for although
+they are often observed near the ship both before and after the men
+have been bathing, they very rarely come near the swimmers. I remember
+once, indeed, at Bermuda, seeing a shark make a grab at a midshipman's
+heel, just as he was getting into the boat alongside. This youngster,
+who, with one or two others, had been swimming about for an hour, was
+the last of the party in the water. No shark had been seen during the
+whole morning; but just as he was drawing his foot into the boat the
+fish darted from the bottom. Fortunately for my old messmate, there
+was no time for the shark to make the half-turn of the body necessary
+to bring his mouth to bear; and he escaped, by half an inch, a fate
+which, besides its making one shudder to think of, would have deprived
+the service of an officer now deservedly in the higher ranks of his
+profession.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+A MAN OVERBOARD!
+
+
+The strange and almost savage ceremonies used at sea on crossing the
+equator have been so often described that a voyager, at this time of
+day, may be well excused for omitting any minute account of such wild
+proceedings. The whole affair, indeed, is preposterous in its
+conception, and, I must say, brutal in its execution. Notwithstanding
+all this, however, I have not only permitted it to go on in ships
+which I commanded, but have even encouraged it, and set it agoing,
+when the men themselves were in doubt. Its evil is transient if any
+evil there be, while it certainly affords Jack a topic for a month
+beforehand and a fortnight afterwards; and if so ordered as to keep
+its monstrosities within the limits of strict discipline, which is
+easy enough, it may even be made to add to the authority of the
+officers, instead of weakening their influence.
+
+In a well-regulated ship, within one hour from the time when these
+scenes of riot are at their height, order is restored, the decks are
+washed and swabbed up, the wet things are hung on the clothes' lines
+between the masts to dry; and the men, dressed in clean trousers and
+duck frocks, are assembled at their guns for muster, as soberly and
+sedately as if nothing had happened to discompose the decorous
+propriety of the ship's discipline. The middies, in like manner, may
+safely be allowed to have their own share of this rough fun, provided
+they keep as clear of their immediate superiors as the ship's company
+keep clear of the young gentlemen. And I must do the population of the
+cockpit the justice to say, that, when they fairly set about it,
+maugre their gentleman-like habits, aristocratical sprinklings, and
+the march of intellect to boot, they do contrive to come pretty near
+to the honest folks before the mast in the article of ingenious
+ferocity. The captain, of course, and, generally speaking, all the
+officers keep quite aloof, pocketing up their dignity with vast care,
+and ready, at a moment's warning, to repress any undue familiarity. As
+things proceed, however, one or two of the officers may possibly
+become so much interested in the skylarking scenes going forward as to
+approach a little too near, and laugh a little too loud, consistently
+with the preservation of the dignity of which they were so uncommonly
+chary at first starting. It cannot be expected, and indeed is not
+required, that the chief actors in these wild gambols, stripped to the
+buff, and shying buckets of water at one another, should be confined
+within very narrow limits in their game. Accordingly, some mount the
+rigging to shower down their cascades, while others squirt the
+fire-engine from unseen corners upon the head of the unsuspecting
+passer-by. And if it so chances (I say chances) that any one of the
+"commissioned nobs" of the ship shall come in the way of these
+explosions, it is served out to him like a thunder-storm, "all
+accidentally," of course. Well; what is he to do? He feels that he has
+indiscreetly trusted himself too far; and even if he has not actually
+passed the prescribed line, still he was much too near it, and the
+offence is perhaps unintentional. At all events, it is of too trifling
+a nature; and, under the peculiar circumstances of the moment, to make
+a complaint to the captain would be ridiculous. Having, therefore, got
+his jacket well wet, and seeing the ready means of revenging himself
+in kind, he snatches up a bucket, and, forgetting his dignity, hurls
+the contents in the face of the mid who has given him a sousing but
+two seconds before! From that moment his commission goes for nothing,
+and he becomes, for the time being, one of the biggest Billy-boys
+amongst them. The captain observing him in this mess, shrugs his
+shoulders, walks aft, muttering, "It's all your own fault, Mr.
+Hailtop; you've put yourself amongst these mad younkers; now see how
+they'll handle you!"
+
+Nothing, I confess, now looks to me more completely out of character
+with our well-starched discipline than a "staid lieutenant" romping
+about the booms, skulling up the rigging, blowing the grampus, and
+having it blown upon him by a parcel of rattle-pated reefers. But I
+remember well in the Volage being myself so gradually seduced by this
+animating spectacle of fun, that, before I knew where I was, I had
+crossed the rope laid on the deck as a boundary between order and
+disorder, and received a bucket of cold water in each ear, while the
+spout of a fire-engine, at the distance of two feet, was playing full
+in my eyes. On turning my head round to escape these cataracts, and
+to draw breath, a tar-brush was rammed half-way down my throat!
+
+Far different was the scene, and very different, of course, my
+deportment, four or five years afterwards on the same spot, when,
+instead of being the junior lieutenant, I was the great gun of all,
+the mighty master-nob of the whole party, that is to say, the captain
+himself. I was then in command of the Lyra, a ten-gun sloop-of-war;
+and after the shaving operations were over, and all things put once
+more in order, I went on board the Alceste frigate to dine with my
+excellent friend and commanding officer, the late Sir Murray Maxwell.
+Lord Amherst, the ambassador to China, was on board, and in great glee
+with the sight of what had been enacted before him; for although, as I
+have always said, these scenes are not of a nature to bear agreeable
+description, they certainly are amusing enough to see--for once.
+
+We soon sat down to dinner; and there was, of course, a great deal of
+amusement in telling the anecdotes of the day, and describing Father
+Neptune's strange aspect, and his still stranger-looking family and
+attendants. I ventured to back one of my figures against all or any of
+theirs, if not for monstrosity, at least for interest of another kind.
+Our dripping Neptune in the Lyra was accompanied, as usual, by a huge
+she-monster representing Amphitrite, being no other than one of the
+boatswain's mates dressed up with the main-hatchway tarpaulin for a
+cloak, the jolly-boat's mizen for a petticoat, while two half-wet
+swabs furnished her lubberly head with ringlets. By her side sat a
+youth, her only son Triton, a morsel of submarine domestic history
+ascertained by reference previously made to Lempriere's Dictionary.
+This poor little fellow was a great pet amongst the crew of the brig,
+and was indeed suspected to be entitled by birth to a rank above his
+present station, so gentle and gentleman-like he always appeared. Even
+on this occasion, when disfigured by paint, pitch, and tar, copiously
+daubed over his delicate person, to render him fit company for his
+papa old Neptune, he still looked as if his ill-favoured parents had
+stolen him, and were trying in vain to disguise their roguery by
+rigging him up in their own gipsy apparel.
+
+It was very nearly dark when I rowed back to the Lyra, which had been
+hanging for the last half hour on the frigate's weather-quarter, at
+the distance of a cable's length, watching for my return. The wind was
+so light, and the brig so close, that no signal was made to heave to;
+indeed I had scarcely rowed under the Alceste's stern, on my way back,
+before it was necessary to call out, "In bow!" The rattle of the oar
+on the thwarts gave the earliest notice of my approach to the people
+on board the little vessel, and I could hear the first lieutenant
+exclaim in haste, "Attend the side! Where are the sides-men?"
+
+Scarcely had these words been spoken, when I heard a splash in the
+water, followed by a faint cry of distress and despair. In the next
+instant the brig was hove about, and the stern-boat lowered down,
+accompanied by all the hurried symptoms of a man having fallen
+overboard. I made the people in the boat tug at their oars towards the
+spot; but though we pulled over and over the ship's wake twenty times,
+the water was everywhere unruffled and unmarked by any speck. At
+length I rowed on board, turned the hands up to muster, to ascertain
+who was gone, and found all present but our poor little Triton! It
+appeared that the lad, who was one of the sides-men, fatigued with the
+day's amusement, had stretched himself in the fore-part of the
+quarter-deck hammock-netting, and gone to sleep. The sharp voice of
+the officer, on seeing the gig almost alongside, had roused the
+unhappy boy too suddenly; he quite forgot where he was, and, instead
+of jumping in-board, plunged into the sea, never to rise again!
+
+There are few accidents more frequent at sea than that of a man
+falling overboard; and yet, strange to say, whenever it happens, it
+takes every one as completely by surprise as if such a thing had never
+occurred before. What is still more unaccountable, and, I must say,
+altogether inexcusable, is the fact of such an incident invariably
+exciting a certain degree of confusion, even in well-regulated ships.
+Whenever I have witnessed the tumultuous rush of the people from
+below, their eagerness to crowd into the boats, and the reckless
+devotion with which they fling themselves into the water to save their
+companions, I could not help thinking that it was no small disgrace to
+us, to whose hands the whole arrangements of discipline are confided,
+that we had not yet fallen upon any method of availing ourselves to
+good purpose of so much generous activity.
+
+Sailors are men of rough habits, but their feelings are not by any
+means coarse; and, generally speaking, they are much attached to one
+another, and will make great sacrifices to their messmates or
+shipmates when opportunities occur. A very little address on the part
+of the officers, as I have before hinted, will secure an extension of
+these kindly sentiments to the quarter-deck. But what I was alluding
+to just now was the cordiality of the friendships which spring up
+between the sailors themselves, who, it must be recollected, have no
+other society, and all, or almost all, whose ordinary social ties have
+been broken either by the chances of war, or by the very nature of
+their roving and desultory life, which carries them they really know
+not where, and care not wherefore.
+
+I remember once, when cruising off Terceira in the Endymion, that a
+man fell overboard and was drowned. After the usual confusion, and a
+long search in vain, the boats were hoisted up, and the hands called
+to make sail. I was officer of the forecastle, and on looking about to
+see if all the men were at their stations, missed one of the
+foretop-men. Just at that moment I observed some one curled up, and
+apparently hiding himself under the bow of the barge, between the boat
+and the booms. "Hillo!" I said, "who are you? What are you doing here,
+you skulker? Why are you not at your station?"
+
+"I am not skulking, sir," said the poor fellow, the furrows in whose
+bronzed and weather-beaten cheek were running down with tears. The man
+we had just lost had been his messmate and friend, he told me, for ten
+years. I begged his pardon in full sincerity, for having used such
+harsh words to him at such a moment, and bid him go below to his berth
+for the rest of the day.
+
+"Never mind, sir, never mind," said the kind-hearted seaman, "it can't
+be helped. You meant no harm, sir. I am as well on deck as below.
+Bill's gone, sir, but I must do my duty."
+
+So saying he drew the sleeve of his jacket twice or thrice across his
+eyes, and mastering his grief within his breast, walked to his station
+as if nothing had happened.
+
+In the same ship, and nearly about the same time, some of the people
+were bathing alongside in a calm sea. It is customary on such
+occasions to spread a studding sail on the water, by means of lines
+from the fore and main yard-arms, for the use of those who either
+cannot swim, or who are not expert in this art, so very important to
+all seafaring people. Half-a-dozen of the ship's boys, youngsters sent
+on board by that admirable and most patriotic of naval institutions,
+the Marine Society, were floundering about in the sail, and sometimes
+even venturing beyond the leech rope. One of the least of these
+urchins, but not the least courageous of their number, when taunted by
+his more skilful companions with being afraid, struck out boldly
+beyond the prescribed bounds. He had not gone much further than his
+own length, however, along the surface of the fathomless sea, when his
+heart failed him, poor little man! and along with his confidence away
+also went his power of keeping his head above water. So down he sank
+rapidly, to the speechless horror of the other boys, who, of course,
+could lend the drowning child no help.
+
+The captain of the forecastle, a tall, fine-looking, hard-a-weather
+fellow, was standing on the shank of the sheet anchor, with his arms
+across, and his well-varnished canvas bat drawn so much over his eyes
+that it was difficult to tell whether he was awake, or merely dozing
+in the sun, as he leaned his back against the fore-topmast backstay.
+The seaman, however, had been attentively watching the young party
+all the time, and, rather fearing that mischief might ensue from their
+rashness, he had grunted out a warning to them from time to time, to
+which they paid no sort of attention. At last he desisted, saying they
+might drown themselves if they had a mind, for never a bit would he
+help them; but no sooner did the sinking figure of the adventurous
+little boy catch his eye, than, diver-fashion, joining the palms of
+his hands over his head, he shot head-foremost into the water. The
+poor lad sunk so rapidly that he was at least a couple of fathoms
+under the surface before he was arrested by the grip of the sailor,
+who soon rose again, bearing the bewildered boy in his hand, and,
+calling to the other youngsters to take better care of their
+companion, chucked him right into the belly of the sail in the midst
+of the party. The fore-sheet was hanging in the calm, nearly into the
+water, and by it the dripping seaman scrambled up again to his old
+berth on the anchor, shook himself like a great Newfoundland dog, and
+then, jumping on the deck, proceeded across the forecastle to shift
+his clothes.
+
+At the top of the ladder he was stopped by the marine officer, who had
+witnessed the whole transaction, as he sat across the gangway
+hammocks, watching the swimmers, and trying to get his own consent to
+undergo the labour of undressing and dressing. Said the soldier to the
+sailor, "That was very well done of you, my man, and right well
+deserves a glass of grog. Say so to the gun-room steward as you pass;
+and tell him it is my orders to fill you out a stiff norwester."
+
+The soldier's offer was kindly meant, but rather clumsily timed, at
+least so thought Jack; for though he inclined his head in
+acknowledgment of the attention, and instinctively touched his hat,
+when spoken to by an officer, he made no reply, till out of the
+marine's hearing, when he laughed, or rather chuckled out to the
+people near him, "Does the good gentleman suppose I'll take a glass of
+grog for saving a boy's life?"
+
+It is surely very odd that there should ever be such a thing as a
+sailor who cannot swim. And it is still more marvellous that there
+should be found people who actually maintain that a sailor who cannot
+swim has a better chance than one who can.
+
+This strange doctrine, as may well be supposed, derives but slender
+support from any well-established facts. It is merely asserted that,
+on some occasions of shipwreck, the boldest swimmers have been lost in
+trying to reach the shore, when they might have been saved had they
+stayed by the ship. This may be true enough in particular cases, and
+yet the general position grounded upon it utterly absurd. The most
+skilful horsemen sometimes break their necks, but this is hardly
+adduced as an argument against learning to ride. I suppose there is
+not an officer in the service, certainly not one who has reached the
+rank of captain, who has not seen many men drowned solely from not
+being able to swim; that is, because they had not learned a very
+simple art, of which, under his official injunctions, and aided by due
+encouragement, they might readily have acquired a sufficient
+knowledge. My own conscience is not quite clear on this score,
+whatever that of my brother officers may be; and certainly, should I
+again take the command of a ship, I shall use every exertion, and
+take advantage of every opportunity, to encourage the men and officers
+to acquire this invaluable accomplishment. Would it be unreasonable to
+refuse the rating of A.B. (able seaman) on the ship's books to any man
+who could not swim? If it be our duty to ascertain that a sailor can
+"hand, reef, and steer," before we place against his name these
+mystical letters, might we not well superadd, as a qualification, that
+he should also be able to keep his head above water, in the event of
+falling overboard, or that he should have it in his power to save
+another's life, if required to leap into the sea for that purpose by
+the orders of his superior? At present, in such an emergency, an
+officer has to ask amongst a dozen persons, "Which of you can swim?"
+instead of saying to the one nearest him, "Jump overboard after that
+man who is sinking!"
+
+This, then, seems the first material step in the establishment of an
+improved system in that branch of seamanship which relates to picking
+up men who fall overboard. There can be no doubt that highly-excited
+feelings always stand in the way of exact discipline, and especially
+of that prompt, hearty, and thoroughly confiding obedience to the
+officer under whose orders we are serving. Such obedience is necessary
+on this occasion, above all others, and is essentially required, in
+order to accomplish the purpose in view.
+
+Different officers will, of course, devise different plans for the
+accomplishment of the same end. Every one who has been exposed to the
+misery of seeing a man fall overboard must remember that by far the
+greatest difficulty was to keep people back, there being always ten
+times as many persons as are required, not only ready, but eager to
+place themselves in the situations of greatest risk. In executing the
+duties of a ship-of-war, there should be no volunteering allowed.
+Every man ought to have a specific duty, or a set of duties, to
+perform at all times. But these duties, in the case of a man falling
+overboard, must, of course, vary with the hour of the day or night,
+with the circumstance of its being the starboard or the larboard watch
+on deck, with the weather being fine or tempestuous, or with the
+course the ship is steering relatively to the wind, the quantity of
+sail, and so on. The crew of every ship should be exercised or
+drilled, if not as frequently, at least specifically, in the methods
+of picking up a man, as they are trained in the exercise of the great
+guns and small arms, or in that of reefing topsails.
+
+Every one who has been much at sea must remember the peculiar sounds
+which pervade a ship when a man is known to have fallen overboard. The
+course steered is so suddenly altered, that as she rounds to the
+effect of the sails is doubled; the creaking of the tiller-ropes and
+rudder next strike the ear; then follows the pitter-patter of several
+hundred feet in rapid motion, producing a singular tremor, fore and
+aft. In the midst of these ominous noises may be heard, over all, the
+shrill startling voice of the officer of the watch, generally
+betraying in its tone more or less uncertainty of purpose. Then the
+violent flapping of the sails, and the mingled cries of "Clear away
+the boats!" "Is the life-buoy gone?" "Heave that grating after him!"
+"Throw that hen-coop over the stern!" "Who is it, do you know?"
+"Where did he fall from?" "Can he swim?" "Silence!" An impetuous, and
+too often an ill-regulated rush now succeeds to gain the boats, which
+are generally so crowded that it becomes dangerous to lower them down,
+and more time is lost in getting the people out again than would have
+manned them twice over, if any regular system had been prepared, and
+rendered familiar and easy by practice beforehand.
+
+I could give a pretty long list of cases which I have myself seen, or
+have heard others relate, where men have been drowned while their
+shipmates were thus struggling on board who should be first to save
+them, but who, instead of aiding, were actually impeding one another
+by their hurry-skurry and general ignorance of what really ought to be
+done. I remember, for example, hearing of a line-of-battle-ship, in
+the Baltic, from which two men fell one evening, when the ship's
+company were at quarters. The weather was fine, the water smooth, and
+the ship going about seven knots. The two lads in question, who were
+furling the fore-royal at the time, lost their hold, and were jerked
+far in the sea. At least a dozen men, leaving their guns, leaped
+overboard from different parts of the ship, some dressed as they were,
+and others stripped. Of course, the ship was in a wretched state of
+discipline where such frantic proceedings could take place. The
+confusion soon became worse confounded; but the ship was hove aback,
+and several boats lowered down. Had it not been smooth water,
+daylight, and fine weather, many of these absurd volunteers must have
+perished. I call them absurd, because there is no sense in merely
+incurring a great hazard, without some useful purpose to guide the
+exercise of courage. These intrepid fellows merely knew that a man had
+fallen overboard, and that was all; so away they leaped out of the
+ports and over the hammock-nettings, without knowing whereabouts the
+object of their Quixotic heroism might be. The boats were obliged to
+pick up the first that presented themselves, for they were all in a
+drowning condition; but the two unhappy men who had been flung from
+aloft, being furthest off, went to the bottom before their turn came.
+Whereas, had not their undisciplined shipmates gone into the water,
+the boats would have been at liberty to row towards them, and they
+might have been saved. I am quite sure, therefore, that there can be
+no offence more deserving of punishment, as a matter of discipline,
+and in order to prevent such accidents as this, than the practice of
+leaping overboard after a man who has fallen into the water. There are
+cases, no doubt, in which it would be a positive crime in a swimmer
+not to spring, without waiting for orders, to the rescue of a
+fellow-creature whom he sees sinking in the waves, at whatever hazard
+to himself or to others; but I speak of that senseless, blindfold
+style in which I have very often witnessed men pitch themselves into
+the water, without knowing whether the person who had fallen overboard
+was within their reach or not. Even in highly-disciplined ships this
+will sometimes take place; and the circumstances which increase the
+danger seem only to stimulate the boldest spirits to brave the risk. I
+conceive there is no method of putting a stop to the practice but by
+positively enjoining the people not to go overboard, unless expressly
+ordered; and by explaining to them on every occasion when the ship's
+company are exercised for this purpose, that the difficulty of picking
+a man up is generally much augmented by such indiscreet zeal.
+
+The following incidents occurred in a frigate off Cape Horn, in a gale
+of wind, under close-reefed main-topsail and storm-staysails. At
+half-past twelve at noon, when the people were at dinner, a young lad
+was washed out of the lee fore-channels. The life-buoy was immediately
+let go, and the main-topsail laid to the mast. Before the jolly-boat
+could be lowered down, a man jumped overboard, as he said,
+"promiscuously," for he never saw the boy at all, nor was he ever
+within half-a-cable's length of the spot where he was floundering
+about. Although the youth could not swim, he contrived to keep his
+head above water till the boat reached him, just as he was beginning
+to sink. The man who had jumped into the sea was right glad to give up
+his "promiscuous" search, and to make for the life-buoy, upon which he
+perched himself, and stood shivering for half-an-hour, like a shag on
+the Mewstone, till the boat came to his relief.
+
+At four o'clock of the same day a man fell from the rigging; the usual
+alarm and rush took place; the lee-quarter boat was so crowded that
+one of the topping lifts gave way, the davit broke, and the cutter,
+now suspended by one tackle, soon knocked herself to pieces against
+the ship's side. Of course, the people in her were jerked out very
+quickly, so that, instead of there being only one man in the water,
+there were nearly a dozen swimming about. More care was taken in
+hoisting out another boat, and, strange to say, all the people were
+picked up, except the original unfortunate man, who, but for the
+accident, which ought to have been prevented, would in all probability
+have been saved. Neither he nor the life-buoy, however, could be
+discovered before the night closed.
+
+The life-buoy at present in use on board his Majesty's ships, and, I
+trust, in most merchant ships, has an admirable contrivance connected
+with it, which has saved many lives, when otherwise there would hardly
+have been a chance of the men being rescued from a watery grave.
+
+This life-buoy, which is the invention of Lieutenant Cook of the Navy,
+consists of two hollow copper vessels connected together, each about
+as large as an ordinary-sized pillow, and of buoyancy and capacity
+sufficient to support one man standing upon them. Should there be more
+than one person requiring support, they can lay hold of rope beckets
+fitted to the buoy, and so sustain themselves. Between the two copper
+vessels there stands up a hollow pole, or mast, into which is
+inserted, from below, an iron rod, whose lower extremity is loaded
+with lead, in such a manner, that when the buoy is let go the iron rod
+slips down to a certain extent, lengthens the lever, and enables the
+lead at the end to act as ballast. By this means the mast is kept
+upright, and the buoy prevented from upsetting. The weight at the end
+of the rod is arranged so as to afford secure footing for two persons,
+should that number reach it; and there are also, as I said before,
+large rope beckets, through which others can thrust their head and
+shoulders, till assistance is rendered.
+
+On the top of the mast is fixed a port-fire, calculated to burn, I
+think, twenty minutes, or half-anhour; this is ignited most
+ingeniously by the same process which lets the buoy down into the
+water. So that a man falling overboard at night is directed to the
+buoy by the blaze on the top of its pole or mast, and the boat sent to
+rescue him also knows in what direction to pull. Even supposing,
+however, the man not to have gained the life-buoy, it is clear that,
+if above the surface at all, he must be somewhere in that
+neighbourhood; and if he shall have gone down, it is still some
+satisfaction, by recovering the buoy, to ascertain that the poor
+wretch is not left to perish by inches.
+
+The method by which this excellent invention is attached to the ship,
+and dropped into the water in a single instant, is perhaps not the
+least ingenious part of the contrivance. The buoy is generally fixed
+amidships over the stern, where it is held securely in its place by
+being strung, or threaded, as it were, on two strong perpendicular
+iron rods fixed to the taffrail, and inserted in holes piercing the
+framework of the buoy. The apparatus is kept in its place by what is
+called a slip-stopper, a sort of catch-bolt or detent, which can be
+unlocked at pleasure, by merely pulling a trigger. Upon withdrawing
+the stopper, the whole machine slips along the rods, and falls at once
+into the ship's wake. The trigger which unlocks the slip-stopper is
+furnished with a lanyard, passing through a hole in the stern, and
+having at its inner end a large knob, marked "Life-Buoy;" this alone
+is used in the day-time. Close at hand is another wooden knob, marked
+"Lock," fastened to the end of a line fixed to the trigger of a
+gunlock primed with powder: and so arranged, that, when the line is
+pulled, the port-fire is instantly ignited, while, at the same
+moment, the life-buoy descends, and floats merrily away, blazing like
+a lighthouse. It would surely be an improvement to have both these
+operations always performed simultaneously, that is, by one pull of
+the string. The port-fire would thus be lighted in every case of
+letting go the buoy; and I suspect the smoke in the day-time would
+often be as useful in guiding the boat, as the blaze always is at
+night.
+
+The gunner who has charge of the life-buoy lock sees it freshly and
+carefully primed every evening at quarters, of which he makes a report
+to the captain. In the morning the priming is taken out, and the lock
+uncocked. During the night a man is always stationed at this part of
+the ship, and every half-hour, when the bell strikes, he calls out
+"Life-buoy!" to show that he is awake and at his post, exactly in the
+same manner as the look-out-men abaft, on the beam, and forward, call
+out "Starboard quarter!" "Starboard gangway!" "Starboard bow!" and so
+on, completely round the ship, to prove that they are not napping.
+
+After all, however, it must be owned, that some of the most important
+considerations, when a man falls overboard, have as yet scarcely been
+mentioned. These are,--
+
+First, the quickest and most effectual method of arresting the ship's
+progress, and how to keep her as near the spot where the man fell as
+possible.
+
+Secondly, to preserve entire, during these evolutions, the general
+discipline of the ship, to maintain silence, and to enforce the most
+prompt obedience, without permitting foolhardy volunteering of any
+kind.
+
+Thirdly, to see that the boat appointed to be employed on these
+occasions is secured in such a manner that she may be cast loose in a
+moment, and, when ready for lowering down, that she is properly
+manned, and fitted, so as to be efficient in all respects when she
+reaches the water.
+
+Fourthly, to take care in lowering the boat neither to stave nor to
+swamp her, nor to pitch the men out.
+
+And, lastly, to have a sufficient number of the sharpest-sighted men
+in the ship stationed aloft in such a manner as to give them the best
+chance, not only of discovering the person who is overboard, but of
+pointing him out to the people in the boat, who may not otherwise know
+in what direction to pull.
+
+It is conceived that all these objects may be accomplished with very
+little, if any, additional trouble, in all tolerably well-disciplined
+ships.
+
+Various opinions prevail amongst officers as to the first point; but,
+I think, the best authorities recommend that, if possible, the ship
+should not merely be hove aback when a man falls overboard, but that
+she ought to be brought completely round on the other tack. Of course,
+sail should be shortened in stays, and the main-yard left square. This
+plan implies the ship being on a wind, or from that position to having
+the wind not above two points abaft the beam. But, on one tack or the
+other, this will include a large portion of the sailing of every ship.
+
+The great merit of such a method of proceeding is, that, if the
+evolution succeeds, the ship, when round, will drift right down
+towards the man; and, although there may be some small risk in
+lowering the boat in stays, from the ship having at one period
+stern-way, there will, in fact, be little time lost if the boat be
+not lowered till the ship be well round, and the stern-way at an end.
+There is more mischief done, generally, by lowering the boat too soon,
+than by waiting till the fittest moment arrives for doing it coolly;
+and it cannot be too often repeated, that almost the whole depends
+upon the self-possession of the officer of the watch. This important
+quality is best taught by experience, that is to say, by a thorough
+and familiar practical knowledge of what should be done under all
+circumstances. The officer in command of the deck ought to let it be
+seen and felt, by his tone of voice, and by the judicious promptness
+of his orders, that he, at least, is perfectly master of himself, and
+knows distinctly what course it is best to adopt.
+
+If the ship be running before the wind, or be sailing large, and under
+a press of sail, the officer must exercise his judgment in rounding
+to, and take care in his anxiety to save the man, not to let the masts
+go over the side, which will not advance, but defeat his object. If
+the top-gallant-sheets, the topsail, and top-gallant-haulyards, be let
+fly, and the head-yards braced quickly up, the ship when brought to
+the wind will be nearly in the situation of reefing topsails. Under
+these circumstances, it will hardly be possible to bring her about,
+for, long before she can have come head to wind, her way will be so
+much deadened that the rudder may have ceased to act. Still, however,
+I am so strong an advocate for the principle of tacking, instead of
+merely lying-to, when a man is overboard, that, even under the
+circumstances above described, as soon as the boat is lowered down and
+sent off, and the extra sail gathered in, I would fill, stand on till
+the ship had gained head-way enough to render the evolution certain,
+and then go about, so as to bring her head towards the boat. It must
+be recollected, that when a ship is going well off the wind, in the
+manner here supposed, it is impossible to round her so quickly as to
+replace her on the spot where the man fell; to reach which a great
+sweep must always be made. But there seems to me no doubt, that, in
+every possible case, even when going right before it, the ship will
+always drift nearer and nearer to that spot, if eventually brought to
+the wind on the opposite tack from that on which she was luffed up.
+
+It will conduce greatly to the success of these measures, if it be an
+established rule, that, whenever the alarm is given of a man being
+overboard, the people, without further orders, fly to their appointed
+stations for tacking ship; and that only those persons who shall be
+specifically selected to man and lower down the boats, and for other
+duties, shall presume to quit the places assigned to them on going
+about. It so happens that when the men are in their stations for
+tacking, they are almost equally in their stations for shortening
+sail, or for performing most other evolutions likely to become
+necessary at such moments.
+
+The excepted men should consist of at least two boats' crews in each
+watch, and of others whose sole duty it should be to attend to the
+operation of lowering the boats, into which no men but those expressly
+appointed should ever be allowed to enter. These persons, selected for
+their activity, strength, and coolness, should belong to the
+after-guard, main and mizen-top, and gunner's crew, men whose duties
+lie chiefly abaft or about the mainmast. Midshipmen in each watch
+should also be named to the different boats; and their orders ought to
+be positive never to allow more than the proper crew to enter, nor on
+any account to permit the boat to be lowered till fully and properly
+manned. I grant that it requires no small nerve to sanction the delays
+which an attention to these minute particulars demands; but the
+adequate degree of faith in their utility will bring with it the
+requisite share of decision, to possess which, under all
+circumstances, is, perhaps, one of the most characteristic
+distinctions of a good commanding officer.
+
+There ought, in every ship, to be selected a certain number of the
+sharpest-sighted persons, who should be instructed, the instant the
+alarm is given, to repair to stations appointed for them aloft.
+Several of these ought to plant themselves in the lower rigging, some
+in the topmast shrouds, and one, if not two, might advantageously be
+perched on each of the cross-trees. Those persons, whose exclusive
+duty is to discover the man who is overboard, should be directed to
+look out, some in the ship's wake, some on either side of it, and to
+be particularly careful to mark the spot near which the ship must have
+been when he fell, in order that when she comes about, and drifts near
+the place, they may know where to direct their attention, and also to
+take care that the ship does not forge directly upon the object they
+are seeking for. The chief advantage of having look-out-men stationed
+aloft in this manner consists in their commanding a far better
+position compared to that of persons on deck, and still better when
+compared to the people in the boat; besides which, having this object
+alone to attend to, they are less likely to be unsuccessful.
+Moreover, from their being in considerable numbers, and scattered at
+different elevations, their chances are, of course, much increased of
+discovering so small an object as a man on the surface.
+
+The people in the boat possess no such advantages, for they are
+occupied with their oars, and lose between the seas all sight of the
+surrounding objects near them, while they can always see the ship's
+masts; and as soon as they detect that any one of the look-out-men
+sees the person who is overboard, and points in the proper direction
+for them to pull, they can shape their course accordingly. Presently
+another look-out, instructed by the first where to direct his eyes,
+also discovers the man; then another sees him, then another, and so
+on, till all who are aloft obtain sight of the desired object, and
+join in pointing with their hands to where it is to be found. The
+officer in the boat, thus instructed by innumerable pointers, rows at
+once, and with confidence, in the proper direction, and the drowning
+man is often rescued from his deep-sea grave, when, had there been no
+such look-outs, or had they been fewer in number or lower down, he
+must have perished.
+
+It is curious to observe the electric sort of style in which the
+perception of an object, when once pointed out, flashes along from man
+to man. As each in succession catches sight of his shipmate, he
+exclaims, "There he is! there he is!" and holds out his hand in the
+proper direction for the guidance of the boat. Indeed, I have seldom
+witnessed a more interesting sight than that of eighty or a hundred
+persons stationed aloft, straining their eyes to keep sight of a poor
+fellow who is struggling for his life, and all eagerly extending
+their hands towards him, as if they could clutch him from the waves.
+To see these hands drop again is inexpressibly painful, from its
+indicating that the unfortunate man is no longer distinguishable. One
+by one the arms fall down, reluctantly, as if it were a signal that
+all hope was over. Presently the boat is observed to range about at
+random; the look-out-men aloft, when repeatedly hailed and asked, "if
+they see anything like him?" are all silent. Finally, the boat's
+recall-flag is hoisted, sail is again made on the ship, the people are
+piped down, and this tragical little episode in the voyage being
+concluded, everything goes on as before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+SUNDAY ON BOARD A MAN-OF-WAR.--MUSTERING BY DIVISIONS.
+
+
+The first article of war runs as follows:--"All commanders, captains,
+and officers, in or belonging to any of His Majesty's ships or vessels
+of war, shall cause the public worship of Almighty God, according to
+the Liturgy of the Church of England established by law, to be
+solemnly, orderly, and reverently performed in their respective ships;
+and shall take care that prayers and preaching, by the chaplains in
+holy orders of the respective ships, be performed diligently, and that
+the Lord's day be observed according to law."
+
+The precision with which these injunctions are attended to will depend
+chiefly on three things:--The personal disposition of the captain; the
+nature of the service upon which the ship is employed; and the state
+of the weather. It is nearly always in the captain's power to make the
+Sunday a day of rest to the people committed to his charge. Sooner or
+later he is sure to reap the fruits of his conduct in this matter, and
+is made to feel, that, to command the respect or to win the regard of
+his crew, he must show them, on all ordinary occasions, that he is
+himself under the guidance of right principles. In the same spirit,
+his authority will be strengthened by every touch of consideration
+with which the inevitable sternness of his rule is softened; and the
+more he manages to impart to all such indulgences the character of
+routine, or matters of course and constant usage, so much the better.
+We feel obliged to a person who confers almost any favour upon us; but
+if this favour be one of daily or weekly occurrence, and, at each time
+of its concession, we are reminded of the weight of our obligation,
+all kindliness is in danger of being removed from it, and we would
+sometimes rather go without than hold the advantage by a tenure thus
+avowedly capricious.
+
+A captain of sense and feeling, therefore, makes it his business, in
+the first place, to find out what is right and proper, consistently
+with the rules of the service, and then to ascertain how far the
+peculiar nature of the employment upon which the ship is engaged will
+admit of indulgences. Having settled with himself what is possible to
+be done with propriety, he should grant it not as a matter of personal
+favour, but simply because it is fitting in itself.
+
+It is not possible, at sea, to comply to the letter with the fourth
+commandment; but we have no right on that account to dispense with its
+spirit, which is at all times and in all places within every man's
+reach. The absolute necessity, however, of performing some work,
+appears a sufficient reason with many people for doing away with the
+ordinance of Sunday altogether, and converting it into a day of hard
+and irksome toil, instead of a season of at least comparative rest. On
+the other hand, some officers either allow essential public interests
+to be neglected which ought to be attended to, or they harass their
+people by exacting more attention to religious observances than the
+poor sailors can bestow with any chance of profit. Which of these
+courses is the worst, I really cannot say. If Sunday be made a working
+day, and no attention is paid to its appropriate duties, the crew are
+by no means satisfied, and but too readily contract, by degrees, the
+habit of neglecting their obligations both to God and man. On the
+contrary, if the day be entirely taken up with devotional exercises,
+to the fatigue of their minds and bodies, they are exceedingly apt,
+after a time, to vote the "whole concern," as they call it, a bore,
+and to make up for this forced attention by the most scandalous
+indecencies, when out of sight of their "psalm-singing captain."
+
+I would accordingly recommend every officer in command of a ship to
+bring as many of the arrangements of his Sunday as possible into a
+jog-trot order, not to be departed from unless there should arise an
+absolute necessity for such deviation. Nineteen Sundays might, indeed,
+pass over without any apparent advantage being gained from this
+uniformity, but on the twentieth some opportunity might occur, of
+infinite value to all concerned, which opportunity might, in all
+probability, prove unavailing but for the previous preparation. To
+borrow a professional illustration of the most familiar kind; it may
+be asked, how many hundred times do we exercise the great guns and
+small arms, for once that we fire them in real action? And why should
+it be supposed that, for the useful application of our mental
+energies to the most important of all warfare, habitual training is
+less necessary?
+
+Without going needlessly deep into these speculations, I may observe
+that, even in the least regularly disciplined ships, there is now a
+marked difference between Sunday and any other day in the week.
+Although the grand object seems to be to have everything as clean as
+possible, and in its most apple-pie order, great part of the labour
+employed to produce this result is over before Sunday arrives. The
+decks, for instance, receive such a thorough allowance of holy-stoning
+and scrubbing on Saturday, that a mere washing, with perhaps a slight
+touch of the brushes and sand, brings them into the milk-white
+condition which is the delight of every genuine first lieutenant's
+heart. All this is got over early in the morning, in order that the
+decks may be swabbed up and the ropes nicely flemished down before
+seven bells, at which time it is generally thought expedient to go to
+breakfast, though half-an-hour sooner than usual, in order to make the
+forenoon as long as possible. I should have mentioned that the
+hammocks are always piped up at seven o'clock. If they have been slung
+overnight, they are as white as any laundress could have made them;
+and, of course, the hammock-stowers take more than ordinary care to
+place them neatly in the nettings, with their bright numbers turned
+inwards, all nicely lashed up with the regulated proportion of turns,
+each hammock being of a uniform size from end to end.
+
+While the people are at breakfast, the word is passed to "clean for
+muster," in any dress the commanding officer may think most suitable
+to the climate or weather. Between the tropics, the order for rigging
+in frocks and trousers is generally delivered in these words:--
+
+"Do you hear, there! fore and aft! Clean for muster at five
+bells--duck frocks and white trousers!"
+
+In colder regions, it is "Blue jackets and trousers;" and in rainy,
+cold, or blowing weather, the following order is sung out along the
+lower deck, first by the husky-throated boatswain, and then in a still
+rougher enunciation by his gruff satellites, the boatswain's mates:--
+
+"D'ye hear, there! Clean shirt and a shave for muster at five bells!"
+
+Twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, the operation of shaving is
+held to be necessary. These are called "clean-shirt days." Mondays and
+Fridays are the days appointed for washing the clothes.
+
+It is usual to give the men three quarters, instead of half-an-hour to
+breakfast on Sundays, that they may have time to rig themselves in
+proper trim before coming on deck. The watch, therefore, is called at
+a quarter-past eight, or it may be one bell, which is half-past. The
+forenoon watch bring their clothes-bags up with them, in order that
+they may not be again required to leave the deck before muster. The
+bags are piled in neat pyramids, or in other forms, sometimes on the
+booms before the boats, and sometimes in a square mass on the after
+part of the quarter-deck of a frigate. It strikes my recollection that
+in most ships there is a sort of difficulty in finding a good place on
+which to stow the bags.
+
+As soon as the forenoon watch is called, the between decks, on which
+the men live, is carefully cleaned, generally by what is called dry
+holy-stoning. This is done by rubbing the deck with small smooth
+pieces of freestone, after a layer of well-dried sand has been
+sprinkled over it. This operation throws up a good deal of dust; but
+it makes the deck white, which is the grand point aimed at. The wings,
+the store-rooms, and the cockpits, undergo a similar dose of rubbing
+and scrubbing; in short, every hole and corner of the decks, both
+above and below stairs, as folks on shore would say, is swept, and
+swept, and swept again, on a Sunday morning, till the panting sweepers
+are half dead; indeed, the rest of the ship's company are worried out
+of all patience, from eight o'clock to half-past ten, with the eternal
+cry of "Pipe the sweepers!" followed by a sharp, interrupted whistle,
+not unlike the note of a pet canary.
+
+What with cleaning the decks and cleaning themselves, the watch below
+have fully enough to do to get all ready by five bells. It must be
+remembered, too, that they have had the morning watch to keep, since
+four o'clock, and the whole trouble of washing the upper decks,
+shaking out the reefs, stowing the hammocks, and coiling down the
+ropes; all easy matters of routine, it is true, but still sufficiently
+tiresome when multiplied so often.
+
+At the appointed hour of half-past ten, to a single stroke of the
+bell, the mate of the watch, directed by the officer on deck, who
+again acts in obedience to the captain's orders, conveyed to him by
+the first lieutenant, calls out,--
+
+"Beat to divisions!"
+
+It should have been stated, that, before this period arrives, the
+mate of the decks and the mate of the hold, the boatswain, gunner, and
+carpenter, have all severally received reports from their subordinates
+that their different departments are in proper order for inspection.
+Reports to the same effect being then finally made to the first
+lieutenant by the mates and warrant-officers, he himself goes round
+the ship to see that all is right and tight, preparatory to the grand
+inspection. I ought also to have mentioned that the bags of the watch
+below are piped up at ten o'clock, so that nothing remains between
+decks but the mess-tables, stools, and the soup and grog kids. Long
+before this hour, the greater number of the whole ship's company have
+dressed themselves and are ready for muster; but the never-ending
+sweepers, the fussy warrant-officers' yeomen, the exact purser's
+steward, the slovenly midshipmen's boy, the learned loblolly boy, and
+the interminable host of officers' servants, who have always fifty
+extra things to do, are often so sorely pressed for time, that at the
+first tap of the drum beating to divisions, these idlers, as they are
+technically much miscalled, may often be seen only then lugging their
+shirts over their heads, or hitching up their trousers in all the
+hurry-scurry of a lower-deck toilet. I should have recorded that in
+the ship's head, as well as on the fore-part of the main-deck, and
+likewise between the guns, chiefly those abreast of the fore-hatchway,
+there have been groups assembled to scrape and polish themselves ever
+since breakfast-time, and even before it. Some are washing themselves;
+others cutting, and combing, and trimming their hair; for, now-a-days,
+there are none of those huge long tails, or club ties, which descended
+along the back of the sailors who fought with Benbow and Rodney. The
+dandyism of Jack has now taken another turn, and the knowing thing at
+present is to have a parcel of ringlets hanging from the temples
+almost to the collar-bone. Some of the youngest and best-looking of
+the foretop-men would also very fain indulge in the feminine foppery
+of ear-rings; but in the British Navy this is absolutely forbidden.
+
+I remember once, on the beach of Madras, witnessing an amusing scene
+between Sir Samuel Hood, then commander-in-chief in India, and the
+newly-promoted boatswain of a sloop-of-war belonging to the squadron.
+The Admiral, who was one of the bravest, and kindest, and
+truest-hearted seamen that ever trod a ship's decks, was a sworn foe
+to all trickery in dress. The eye of the veteran officer was directed
+earnestly towards the yeast of waves, which in immense double rows of
+surf, fringe and guard the whole of that flat coast. He was watching
+the progress of a Massullah boat, alternately lost in the foam, and
+raised in very uncertain balance across the swell, which, though just
+on the break, brought her swiftly towards the shore. He felt more
+anxious than usual about the fate of this particular boat, from having
+ordered on shore the person alluded to, with whom he wished to have
+some conversation previous to their parting company. This boatswain
+was a young man, who had been for some years a follower of the Admiral
+in different ships, and to whom he had just given a warrant. The poor
+fellow, unexpectedly promoted from before the mast to the rank of a
+warrant-officer, was trigged out in his newly-bought, but marvellously
+ill-cut uniform, shining like a new dollar, and making its wearer,
+who for the first time in his life had put on a long coat, feel not a
+little awkward.
+
+As soon as the boat was partly driven up the beach by the surf, and
+partly dragged beyond the dash of the breakers by the crowd on shore,
+this happiest of warrant-officers leaped out on the sand, and seeing
+the Admiral above him, standing on the crest of the natural glacis
+which lines the shore, he took off his hat, smoothed down the hair on
+his forehead, sailor fashion, and stood uncovered, in spite of the
+roasting sun flaming in the zenith.
+
+The Admiral, of course, made a motion with his hand for the boatswain
+to put his hat on; but the other, not perceiving the signal, stood
+stock-still.
+
+"I say, put on your hat!" called the commander-in-chief, in a tone
+which made the newly-created warrant start. In his agitation he shook
+a bunch of well-trimmed ringlets a little on one side, and betrayed to
+the flashing eyes of the Admiral a pair of small round silver
+ear-rings, the parting gift, doubtless, of some favoured and favouring
+"Poll or Bess" of dear, old, blackguard Point Beach. Be this as it
+may, the Admiral, first stepping on one side, and then holding his
+head forward, as if to re-establish the doubting evidence of his
+horrified senses, and forcibly keeping down the astonished seaman's
+hat with his hand, roared out,--
+
+"Who the devil are you?"
+
+"John Marline, sir!" replied the bewildered boatswain, beginning to
+suspect the scrape he had got himself into.
+
+"Oh!" cried the flag-officer, with a scornful laugh. "Oh! I beg your
+pardon; I took you for a Portuguese."
+
+"No, sir!" instinctively faltered out the other, seeing the Admiral
+expected some reply.
+
+"No! Then, if you are not a foreigner, why do you hoist false colours?
+What business has an English sailor with these d----d machines in his
+ears?"
+
+"I don't know, sir," said poor Marline. "I put them in only this
+morning, when I rigged myself in my new togs to answer the signal on
+shore."
+
+"Then," said Sir Samuel, softened by the contrite look of his old
+shipmate, and having got rid of the greater portion of his bile by the
+first explosion, "you will now proceed to unrig yourself of this top
+hamper as fast as you can; pitch them into the surf if you like; but
+never, as you respect the warrant in your pocket, let me see you in
+that disguise again."
+
+When the drum beats the well-known "_Générale_," the ship's company
+range themselves in a single line along both sides of the
+quarter-deck, the gangways, and all round the forecastle. In a
+frigate, the whole crew may be thus spread out on the upper deck
+alone; but in line-of-battle ships the numbers are so great that
+similar ranges, each consisting of a division, are likewise formed on
+the opposite sides of the main-deck. The marines, under arms, and in
+full uniform, fall in at the after-part of the quarter-deck; while the
+ship's boys, under the master-at-arms, with his ratan in hand, muster
+on the forecastle.
+
+In some ships the men are sized, as it is called, the tallest being
+placed at the after-end, and so on down to the most diminutive, who is
+fixed at the extremity. But this arrangement, being more of a
+military than of a naval cast, is rarely adopted now-a-days. It will
+seldom happen, indeed, that the biggest and burliest fellows in a
+ship's company are the leading men. They may chance, indeed, to be
+poulterers, cook's mates, or fit only to make sweepers of; personages
+who after a three years' station barely know the stem from the stern,
+and could no more steer the ship than they could take a lunar
+distance. Officers, however, on first joining a ship, are very apt to
+be guilty of some injustice towards the people by judging of them too
+hastily from appearance alone. We are insensibly so much prepossessed
+in favour of a fine, tall, good-looking sailor-lad, and prejudiced
+against a grizzled, crooked, little wretch, that if both happen to be
+brought before us for the same offence, we almost instinctively commit
+the injustice of condemning the ugly fellow, and acquitting the
+smart-looking one, before a tithe of the evidence has reached our
+ears.
+
+Leaving these speculative questions, however, for the present, let us
+return to the divisions, which are arranged along the deck, not, as
+formerly, by sizes, but, in the proper way, by the watch-bill. The
+forecastle-men, of course, come first, as they stand so in the lists
+by which they are mustered at night by the mate of the watch; then the
+foretop men, and so on to the gunners, after-guard, and waisters.
+Each division is under charge of a lieutenant, who, as well as the
+midshipmen of his division, appears in full uniform. The people are
+first mustered by the young gentlemen, and then carefully inspected by
+the officer of the division, who sees that every man is dressed
+according to order, and that he is otherwise in proper trim. It is
+also usual in hot climates for the surgeon and his assistants to pass
+along the lines, to ascertain, partly by the men's looks, and partly
+by an examination of their limbs, that no traces of scurvy have begun
+to show themselves.
+
+While the mustering and inspecting of the divisions is going on, the
+captain paces the quarter-deck, in company with the first lieutenant.
+No other voices are heard except theirs, and that of the midshipmen
+calling over the names of the men, or the officers putting some
+interrogatory about a spot of tar on a pair of duck trousers, or an
+ill-mended hole in the sleeve of a shirt. In a few minutes even these
+sounds are hushed, and nothing is distinguishable fore and aft but the
+tread of the respective officers, on their way aft to report to the
+captain on the quarter-deck that all are present, properly dressed,
+and clean, at their different divisions. The marine officer likewise
+makes a report of his party and their equipments. The first lieutenant
+now turns to the captain, takes off his hat, and says,--
+
+"All the officers have reported, sir."
+
+To which the other replies,--
+
+"We'll go round the ship, then, if you please;" and off they trudge,
+after leaving the deck in charge of the second lieutenant, or the
+master, as may be determined upon at the moment.
+
+As the captain approaches the first division, he is received by the
+officer commanding it, who touches his hat, and then falls into the
+train behind. Of course, the moment the skipper appears, the men along
+the whole line take off their hats, smooth down their locks, make many
+clumsy efforts to stand erect, fumble interminably with the waistband
+of their trousers, and shuffle, to more or less purpose, according to
+the motion of the ship, to maintain their toes exactly at the line or
+seam in the deck along which they have been cautioned twenty times
+they are to stand. The captain, as he moves slowly past, eyes each man
+from head to foot, and lets nothing pass of which he disapproves. The
+officer of the division is ready to explain, or to take a note of what
+alteration is required; but supposing all to be right, not a syllable
+is spoken, and at the end of the division the captain again touches
+his hat to the officer, who returns the salute, and remains with his
+people.
+
+He then proceeds to the forecastle, at the break of which he is
+received by the three warrant-officers, the boatswain, gunner, and
+carpenter, in their best coats, cut after the fashion of the year one,
+broad-tailed, musty, and full of creases from bad packing and little
+use, and blazing from top to bottom with a double-tiered battery of
+buttons of huge dimensions. Behind these worthy personages, who seldom
+look much at home in their finery, stands the master-at-arms, in front
+of his troop of troublesome small fry, known by the name of the ship's
+boys, destined in good time to be sailors, and perhaps amongst the
+best and truest that we ever number in our crews.
+
+In this way, in short, it is a most important, and almost an
+imperative duty, on the officers of every man-of-war, to ascertain, by
+actual investigation, how far their people are entitled to the ratings
+they claim. If we do not see to this, we are perpetually misapplying
+the resources of the nation, by mistaking their true quality.
+
+I should have mentioned, that before leaving the upper deck the
+captain proceeds to inspect the marines, who are drawn up across or
+along the quarter-deck abaft. Most captains think it both judicious
+and kind to visit the marines first, and I have never seen this
+practice adopted without manifest advantage. The marines are excellent
+fellows, well-trained, hardy, cheerful, duly respecting themselves,
+and proud of their service: while, from belonging to a fixed corps,
+and from not being liable to be perpetually disbanded and scattered,
+they acquire a permanent interest, or an inherent _esprit de corps_,
+as well as a permanent footing in the Navy. In like manner, the marine
+officers constitute one of the most gentleman-like bodies of men in
+the King's service. They are thoroughly imbued with all the high
+sentiments of honour belonging to the military character; and they
+possess, moreover, in a very pleasant degree, the freedom of manner
+and versatility of habits peculiar to those who go down to the sea in
+ships.
+
+The utility of this important body of men on board a man-of-war is so
+great, that it becomes the duty of every lover of the profession to
+support all its ranks and classes, and to render their situation when
+afloat one of respectability, happiness, and contentment. In speaking
+of the utility of the jolly marines, as they are kindly enough called
+by the sailors, who, in spite of all their quizzing, really esteem
+their pipe-clayed shipmates, I refer less to their services in action,
+than to their inestimable value in sustaining the internal discipline
+of the service. The manner in which this is brought about forms one of
+the most interesting peculiarities in the whole range of naval
+affairs; but it deserves to be treated of separately, and at length.
+
+The two divisions ranged along the main-deck, supposing the ship's
+company so distributed, next engage the captain's attention. I think
+it is usual to take that first which stands on the starboard side of
+the deck, with the after-end, or its left, as military men would say,
+close against the bulkhead of the captain's cabin, while the foremost
+men of the division extend under the forecastle. On arriving at the
+galley or kitchen, the captain is received by the cook (or as much as
+may be left of him, according to the Greenwich Hospital joke), behind
+whom stands his mate, generally a tall, glossy, powerful negro, who,
+unlike his chief, has always a full allowance of limbs, with a round
+and shining face, about as moist as one of the tubful of huge suet
+puddings, tied up in bags alongside of him. The cook, aided by
+"Quamino," lifts the lids off the coppers, that the captain may peer
+into them, and ascertain whether or not all is clean and nice. With
+the end of his wooden leg the cook then gives a twist to the cock of
+the coppers, to let some of the pease-soup in preparation run off and
+show itself to the noble commander's inspection. The oven-doors are
+next opened, the range or large fire stirred up, and every hole and
+corner exposed to view; the object of the grand visitation being to
+see that this essential department of the ship is in the most perfect
+state of cleanliness and good order.
+
+Still further forward, before the galley, in the very nose of her, as
+the foremost nook or angle of the ship is called, and a little on one
+side, lies the sick-bay, or hospital; at the door of which the
+surgeon, backed by his assistants, receives the captain and his double
+the first lieutenant, and his double the mate of the main-deck. In
+they march, all in a row. The captain takes care not to pass any
+invalid's hammock without dropping a word of encouragement to its pale
+inmate, or begging to be informed if anything further can be done to
+make him comfortable. Only those men who are very unwell, however, are
+found in their beds; the rest being generally seated on the chests and
+boxes placed round the bay, a part of the ship which, I need scarcely
+mention, is kept, if possible, more clean, airy, and tidy than any
+other. If a speck of dirt be found on the deck, or a gallipot or phial
+out of its place, woe betide the loblolly-boy, the assistant-surgeon's
+assistant, and the constant attendant upon the hospital. This
+personage is usually a fellow of some small knowledge of reading and
+writing, who, by overhearing the daily clinical lectures of the
+doctor, contrives to pick up a smattering of medical terms, which he
+loses no opportunity of palming off upon his messmates below as
+sublime wisdom sucked in at Alma Mater.
+
+Just before leaving the sick-bay, the captain generally turns to the
+surgeon, and says, as a matter of course, "Doctor, mind you always
+send aft at dinner-time for anything and everything you require for
+the sick;" and I have frequently remarked that his whole tone and
+manner are greatly softened during this part of the rounds, perhaps
+without his being conscious of any difference. A very small share of
+attention on the part of a commanding-officer on such occasions, if
+kindly and unaffectedly exercised, leaves a wonderfully favourable
+impression, not only among the invalids to whom it is more
+particularly addressed, but seldom fails to extend its salutary
+influence over the rest of the ship's company, and thus, of course,
+contributes materially to strengthen and to maintain his authority.
+Such expressions of sympathy never fail to act like drops of oil on
+the machinery of discipline, making all its wheels work smoothly and
+sweetly.
+
+The lower deck is next examined. The bags have been carried on deck,
+so that, as I mentioned before, nothing remains but the people's
+mess-tables and mess things, their kids, and crockery. As Jack is
+mighty fond of a bit of show in his way, many of the berths or
+mess-places exhibit goodly ranges of tea-cups and regiments of plates
+worthy of the celebrated Blue Posts Tavern, occasionally flanked by a
+huge tea-pot, famously emblazoned with yellow dragons and imitation
+Chinese. The intervals between the shelves are generally ornamented
+with a set of pictures of rural innocence, where shepherds are seen
+wooing shepherdesses, balanced by representations of not quite such
+innocent Didos weeping at the Sally Port, and waving their lily hands
+to departing sailor-boys. On the topmost-shelf stands, or is tied to
+the side, a triangular piece of a mirror, three inches perhaps by
+three, extremely useful in adjusting the curls of our nautical
+coxcombs, of whom one at least is to be found in every berth.
+
+The mess-tables, which are kept so bright you would suppose them
+whitewashed, are hooked to the ship's side at one end, while the other
+is suspended by small ropes covered with white canvas. Against these
+lines rest the soup and grog kids, shining in a double row along the
+deck, which is lighted up, fore and aft, for the captain's visit, by a
+candle in each berth. In frigates it is usual, I believe, to let the
+people have a certain number of chests, besides their bags. These not
+only form convenient seats for the men at meals, and couches on which
+to stretch their worn-out limbs during the watch below, but they
+afford a place in which the sailors may stow away some part of their
+best attire, deposit their little knick-knacks, and here and there a
+book, or mayhap a love-letter, or some cherished love-token. A chest,
+in short, or the share of a chest, even though it be only a quarter,
+or a sixth part, is always so great a comfort that this indulgence
+ought to be granted when it can possibly be allowed. In single-decked
+ships, I conceive it may generally be permitted: in a line-of-battle
+ship hardly ever. In a frigate, as there are no guns on the lower
+deck, where the people mess and sleep, there is nothing to clear away
+on coming into action; but in a ship of the line the men pass their
+whole lives amongst the guns, by night as well as by day, and as it is
+absolutely necessary to keep every part ready for action at an
+instant's warning, nothing can be allowed to remain between the guns
+but such articles as may be carried out of the way in a moment. It is
+sometimes nonsensical, and even cruel, to carry this system into a
+frigate, where the same necessity for keeping the space unencumbered
+does not exist. Doubtless the mate of the lower deck, and often enough
+the first lieutenant, and sometimes even the captain, will be anxious
+to break up all the men's chests, in order to have a clear-looking,
+open, airy, between-decks, to make a show of; but with proper care it
+may be kept almost as clear and quite as clean with a couple of chests
+in each berth as without. Even were it otherwise, we ought, I think,
+rather to give up a little appearance to secure so great a share of
+comfort to those who, at best, are not overburdened with luxuries.
+
+As the captain walks aft, along the lower deck, he comes to the
+midshipmen's berth, or room, in which the youngsters mess. It is the
+foremost and largest of a range of cabins built up on each side, and
+reaching as far aft as the gun-room, or mess-place of the commissioned
+officers. It is only in line-of-battle ships that the mids mess in the
+cockpit; while in frigates they not merely mess but sleep in the part
+of the lower deck called, I know not why, the steerage. I ought to
+have mentioned that before the cabins of the officers, and abaft those
+of the sailors, lie the berths of the marines; but, of course, those
+mess-places of the men are not partitioned off, being merely denoted
+by the tables and shelves. The boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, have
+their cabins in the steerage.
+
+The captain peeps into each of these dens as he moves along. In that
+of the midshipmen he may probably find a youth with the
+quarantine-flag up; that is, in the sick-list. His cue, we may
+suppose, is always to look as miserable and woe-begone as possible. If
+he have had a tussle with a messmate, and one or both his eyes are
+bunged up in consequence, it costs him no small trouble to conceal his
+disorderly misdeeds. It would be just as easy, in fact, to stop the
+winds as to stop the use of fisty-cuffs amongst a parcel of
+hot-blooded lads between thirteen and nineteen, although, of course,
+such _rencontres_ are held to be contrary to the laws and customs used
+at sea, and are punishable accordingly. The captain, pretending
+ignorance, however, merely grins; and, without exposing the boy to
+the necessity of getting up a story, remarks:--
+
+"I suppose, Master Peppercorn, you fell down the after-hatchway
+ladder, and struck your eye against the corner of a chest? Didn't you?
+And, what is odd enough, I dare say, when I cross to the starboard
+berth, I shall find Mr. Mustardseed, who has met with exactly the same
+accident about the same time. What do yo think? Eh?"
+
+"I don't know, sir," answers the badgered youngster; "Mr. Mustardseed
+and I are not on speaking terms."
+
+"Very likely not," chuckles the skipper, as he proceeds to thrust his
+nose curiously into the warrant officers' little boxes. On arriving at
+the gun-room, he merely glances, with a well-bred air of assumed
+indifference, at the apartment of the officers, with whose habits and
+arrangements he scarcely ever ventures to meddle. He next dives into
+the cockpit, which in a frigate is used only for the purser's
+store-room, leading to the bread-room, both of which he examines
+carefully. The spirit-room hatchway, too, is lifted up for his
+inspection, as well as that of the after-hold. He then takes a survey
+of the cable tiers, which are lighted up for the occasion; as also
+different store-rooms of the boatswain, gunner, and carpenter; all of
+which ought to be objects of his particular care, for it is of great
+consequence that every article they contain should not only have an
+assigned and well-known place, but that it should actually be kept in
+that place. It is, indeed, quite wonderful how much may be done in the
+way of stowage by dint of good management. In a well-regulated ship,
+there is not a bolt or a bar, nor any kind of tool belonging to the
+carpenter, nor a single rope great or small; canvas fine as duck, or
+coarse as No. 1, belonging to the boatswain; nor any description of
+warlike store in charge of the gunner, which cannot instantly be laid
+hold of, and conveyed in half-a-minute to any part of the ship, alow
+or aloft.
+
+At length, when every square inch of the holds, tiers, sail-rooms, and
+all the cabins and berths below, have been examined, the visitation
+party return to the quarter-deck, after a full half-hour's ramble. As
+the captain re-ascends to the different decks in succession, the men,
+who have never budged from their divisions, again pluck off their
+hats, the marines carry arms the moment his head shows above the
+coamings, and all the officers stop instantaneously in the middle of
+their walk to salute their commander, as he once more treads the
+quarter-deck.
+
+"And now, sir," says the captain, turning to the first lieutenant, "if
+you please we will rig the church."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE SHIP CHURCH.
+
+
+The carpenters and the watch on deck soon carry aft their benches and
+mess-stools; but these not being sufficient to afford accommodation
+for all hands, as many capstan-bars as may be required are likewise
+brought up and placed athwart the quarter-deck, with their ends
+resting on match-tubs and fire-buckets, or on the carronade-slides.
+These seats occupy the whole of the space from the break of the
+quarter-deck and the belaying bits round the mainmast, as far as the
+companion-hatchway. Chairs from the cabin and gun-room are also placed
+abaft all, for the captain and officers, and on the lee side for the
+warrant-officers and mids; for it need scarcely be mentioned that due
+subordination is made to keep its place even in our church.
+
+The pulpit stands amidships, either on the after-gratings, or on the
+deck immediately before the hatchway. In some ships, this part of the
+nautical church establishment consists of a moveable reading-desk,
+made expressly for the occasion, but brought up from the carpenter's
+store-room only when wanted; sometimes one of the binnacles is used
+for this purpose; and I remember a ship in which the prayer-book was
+regularly laid on a sword-rack, or stand, holding six dozen naked
+cutlasses. The desk is covered over with a signal-flag, as well as the
+hassock for the chaplain to kneel upon, which is usually a grape or
+canister shot-box, surmounted by a cheese of great-gun wads, to make
+it soft.
+
+All this implies that the weather is fine, the awnings spread
+overhead, and the curtains stretched fore and aft, to keep out the
+heat and glare. In rainy or blustering weather the church is rigged
+under the half-deck, much in the same way, except that the pulpit is
+placed between two of the guns, and generally on the larboard side, as
+nearly abreast of the quarter-deck ladder as may be.
+
+When all is ready, the bell is tolled by one of the quarter-masters;
+and the crew, quietly clustering aft, occupy the bars, stools, planks,
+and gun-slides, prepared for their accommodation. The marines range
+themselves on the front seats; while the officers take their places,
+of course not avowedly in the order of date in their commissions, but,
+more or less, they do fall into their respective stations according to
+seniority. The chaplain is now informed that every one is assembled;
+or, if there be no clergyman on board, the report is made to the
+captain, who generally officiates in that case. When the service
+begins, if there be any other ship in company, a pendant, such as
+men-of-war carry at their mast-head to distinguish them from
+merchant-ships, is hoisted at the mizen peak, to show that the ship's
+company are at prayers. This signal, which is kept flying during the
+performance of divine service, is respected by every other ship,
+whether commanded by a superior officer or not.
+
+Besides the prayers, which, as I have already mentioned, are
+"according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, established by
+law," the chaplain gives a short discourse, not exceeding at most
+twenty or twenty-five minutes in length. Some captains are in the
+habit of reading a sermon; but more commonly, when there is no
+clergyman on board, the prayers are deemed sufficient. These points,
+as may be supposed, become frequent matters of discussion in the
+fleet. I shall not enter into them further just now than by observing
+that the majority of right-thinking officers appear to agree, that, if
+the church service on board ship be not "solemnly, orderly, and
+reverently performed," according to the terms and in the spirit of the
+first article of war, it is either useless or worse than useless. It
+ought therefore to take place as regularly and habitually as the
+nature of the ship's duties will allow of. In the next place, it seems
+clear, that if the service be rendered so long, or be otherwise so
+conducted, as not to arrest the attention of the crew, or not to
+maintain it alive when once fixed, it is too long.
+
+I will venture to say, there is rarely to be met with anywhere a more
+orderly or a more attentive congregation, in all respects, than on
+board a man-of-war.
+
+But, notwithstanding all Jack's decorum and his discipline, to say
+nothing of his natural inclination, when duly encouraged, to reflect
+seriously and properly on any subject, as he is made of ordinary flesh
+and bones, his eyes will sometimes refuse to keep open under the
+infliction of a dull or ill-delivered discourse; so that if the
+person who officiates happens not to read very well, his best chance
+for securing any useful attention consists in the brevity of his
+prelections. If the quality, rather than the quantity, of instruction
+be his object, he should be exceedingly careful not to fatigue his
+hearers. The inverse rule of proportion obtains here with such
+mortifying regularity, that the longer he makes the church service
+beyond the mark of agreeable and easy attention, the more certain will
+he be of missing his point.
+
+The analogy, not to speak it profanely, between overloading a gun and
+overloading a discourse applies especially to ship-preaching. Sailors
+are such odd fellows that they are nowise moved by noise and smoke;
+but they well know how to value a good aim, and always love and honour
+a commanding-officer who truly respects their feelings, nor by means
+of long-winded and ill-timed discourses, or what they irreverently
+call psalm-singing, interferes too much with their religious concerns.
+
+It would be easy, though perhaps rather invidious, to point out in
+what other respects many officers are apt, besides the protracted
+length of the church service on Sunday, to err in excess in these
+matters. I am very sorry to say it would be still easier to show in
+what respects all of us err in defect. I should rejoice much more in
+being able to make officers who have not sufficiently reflected on
+these things, duly sensible that it is quite as much to their
+immediate professional advantage that the religious duties of their
+ship should form an essential part of the discipline of the crew, and
+be considered not less useful in a moral point of view, than rigging
+the masts properly is to the nautical department of their command.
+
+If, indeed, religion, when applied to the ordinary business of life,
+should be found inconsistent with those moral obligations which are
+dictated to us by conscience; or even were we to discover that the
+ablest, most virtuous, and most successful person, amongst us were
+uniformly despisers of religion, then there would certainly be some
+explanation, not to say excuse, for young and inexperienced men
+venturing to dispute on such subjects, and claiming the bold privilege
+of absolutely independent thought and action. But surely there is
+neither excuse nor explanation, nor indeed any sound justification
+whatsoever, for the presumption of those who, in the teeth of all
+experience and authority, not only trust themselves with the open
+expression of these cavils, but, having settled the whole question in
+their own way, take the hazardous line of recommending their daring
+example to those around them. It is also material to recollect that
+there is not a single point of duty in the whole range of the naval
+profession, which, when well understood, may not be enforced with
+greater efficiency by a strict adherence to the sanctions of religion,
+than if it were attempted single-handed; so that most of the
+objections which one hears made to the due performance of the church
+service on board ship, on the score of its interfering with the
+discipline, are quite absurd, and inapplicable to the circumstances of
+the case.
+
+The captain of a man-of-war, therefore, if his influence be as
+well-founded as it ought, may, in this most material of all respects,
+essentially supply the place of a parent to young persons, who must be
+considered for the time virtually as orphans. He may very possibly
+not be learned enough to lay before his large nautical family the
+historical and other external evidences of Christianity, and, perhaps,
+may have it still less in his power to make them fully aware of the
+just force of its internal evidences; but he can seldom have any doubt
+as to his duty in this case more than in any other department of the
+weighty obligations with which he is charged; and if he cannot here,
+as elsewhere, make the lads under his care see distinctly, in the
+main, what course it best becomes them to follow, he is hardly fit for
+his station. I freely own that it is far beyond his power to make them
+pursue that line, if they choose to be perverse; but he will neglect
+an important, I might add, a sacred and solemn part of his business,
+if he leaves their minds more adrift on the score of religion than he
+can possibly help. Their steering in this ticklish navigation, it is
+true, depends upon their own prudence; but it is his bounden duty to
+provide them with both a rudder and a compass, and also, as far as he
+is able, to instruct them, like a good pilot, in the course they ought
+to shape. The eventual success of the great voyage of life lies with
+themselves; the captain's duty, as a moral commander-in-chief, is done
+if he sets his juvenile squadron fairly under weigh. It is in vain to
+conceal from ourselves, that, unless both officers and men can be
+embodied more or less as a permanent corps, every ship that is
+commissioned merely furnishes a sort of fresh experiment in naval
+discipline. The officers are brought together without any previous
+acquaintance with one another; and many of them, after a long
+residence on shore, have lost most of their naval habits. The
+sailors, being collected how and where we can get hold of them, are
+too frequently the off-scourings and scum of society. With such a
+heterogeneous crew, the first year is employed in teaching them habits
+of cleanliness and common decency; and it is only in the third year of
+their service that the ship becomes really efficient. Just as that
+point has been reached, all hands are turned off, to make room for
+another experiment. If a few active men of the crew have become better
+sailors, they generally go into the merchant-service for higher wages;
+while the officers are again laid on the shelf. Something has been
+done lately to retain the petty officers in the navy, but perhaps not
+enough. It has been suggested that, instead of giving men pensions for
+long servitude, it might be more useful to allow their wages to
+increase gradually year by year, at some small rate, and at the end of
+fourteen years give them half-pay of the rating to which they had
+reached, if they chose to retire.[5]
+
+In returning to the subject of the church, it must be remembered that
+the circumstances of wind and weather will often interfere with the
+regularity of our Sunday service. In some parts of an Indian voyage,
+for instance, it may be safely calculated that no interruption will
+take place; while there occur other stages of the passage when Divine
+service must of necessity be stopped, to shorten sail or trim the
+yards. In peace-time, or in harbour, or in fine weather at sea, no
+such teasing interference is likely to arise; but in war, and on board
+a cruising ship, the public service frequently calls a ship's company
+to exchange their Bibles and Prayer-books for the sponges and rammers.
+The collect in which they have petitioned to be defended from the fear
+of their enemies, and that their time might be passed in rest and
+quietness, may hardly have passed their lips, before they are eagerly
+and joyfully scampering up the rigging to shake the reefs out in chase
+of an enemy, with whom, in the next hour, they will perhaps be engaged
+in hot fight!
+
+I remember once in a frigate, cruising deep in the Bay of Biscay, just
+as the captain had finished the Litany, and the purser, whose greatest
+pleasure it was to officiate as clerk, had said Amen, that the man at
+the main royal-mast head screamed out,--
+
+"A strange sail, broad on the lee bow!"
+
+The first effect of this announcement was to make the commander turn
+round involuntarily to the man at the wheel and exclaim, "Put the helm
+up!" He then closed the book, with a degree of energy of which he was
+made somewhat ashamed when the sound was echoed back by that of the
+rapidly closing volumes all around him.
+
+"My lads," said he quickly, but not without solemnity, "our duty to
+our King is our duty to God; and if, as I hope, this sail turn out to
+be the ship we have been so long looking after, you will not give a
+worse account of her to the country, I am sure, for having applied in
+good earnest for assistance from aloft." After which, suddenly
+changing his tone and manner, he sung out loudly and clearly,--
+
+"Hands, make sail! Let go the bow-lines! Round in the weather braces!
+Mast-head, there! let me know when the strange sail is right ahead!"
+
+Then leaping on the hammocks, and resting his glass against the
+after-swifter of the main-rigging, he swept the horizon impatiently
+for the stranger. Meanwhile, the rattling of the chairs, capstan-bars,
+match-tubs, and shot-boxes, gave token of the rapid demolition of our
+nautical church. The studding-sail booms shot out like spears from the
+yard-arms, and the sails which these spars were to expand hung
+dangling and flapping in the air, as if the canvas had been alive, and
+joined in the eagerness of the chase; while the ship herself,
+trembling fore and aft under these fresh and spirit-stirring impulses,
+dashed away at the rate of ten and a-half knots.
+
+Such are the incidents which happen on board single frigates; those
+rattling, joyous, fly-along, Salee-rover sort of cruisers, which range
+at large over the wide ocean, scour every coast, and keep the war
+famously alive. A much more stately ceremonial is observed on board
+fleets, whether at sea, blockading a port, or lying in harbour. The
+ships of the different divisions, or squadrons, wait till the admiral
+hoists at his mizen-peak the signal indicating that Divine service has
+commenced, the bell is then tolled in each of the other ships, the
+usual pendant is displayed, and the first article of war is complied
+with, not only to the letter, but often, we may hope and trust, fully
+up to the spirit. I have heard many clergymen declare that they never
+beheld any congregation in which more attention and decorum prevailed
+than in our ship churches.
+
+At sea, both in fleets and on board single ships, the afternoon of
+Sunday is generally a season of rest and quietness; but in harbour it
+is frequently the most annoying period of the whole week. There is
+nothing for the men to do, and the time hangs terribly heavy on their
+hands; to which it must be added, that our ships are too often
+infested by some of the vilest contaminations of the shore. Bad as
+these influences are, at any time or place, I believe they may he
+considered at their worst when they come afloat; so that whenever it
+can possibly be done without injury to the service, portions of the
+ship's company should be allowed to go on shore in turn, albeit their
+proceedings when "on liberty," as they call it, are none of the most
+commendable. But we must let that pass. In foreign ports, however,
+this indulgence is frequently impossible; and in cases when the people
+cannot be permitted to land, the different men-of-war in company are
+sure to send boat-loads of visitors, or what are called "liberty men,"
+on board one another's ships, to pass the afternoon of Sunday. This
+practice is the very bane of good discipline, and ought at all times
+to be discouraged in every way; for it almost inevitably leads to
+drunkenness, rioting, and bitter heart-burnings. It has, moreover, the
+effect of making the men discontented with their own ship and their
+own officers. The sailors are sufficiently sharp criticisers of the
+conduct of their superiors, even when they have all the facts before
+them, and the power of observing closely, and from day to day. But
+when they pass on board other vessels, and interchange exaggerations
+over an extra pot of grog, the mischievous consequence is certain;
+for each of the parties is likely enough to break up the visit
+miserably discontented, and to return under a thorough conviction
+that, while everything done in their own ship is wrong, all the
+officers are either foolish or tyrannical, or both. If there must be
+ship-visiting, let it be on week days, and in the morning; but,
+clearly, the less the better; and most assuredly it ought never to be
+allowed on Sunday evening.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] It would have gratified Captain Hall if he had lived to see that
+some of the changes for which he pleads so earnestly are being
+adopted, and that the best hands in the navy are now retained as
+continuous service men.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+NAVAL RATINGS AND SEA PAY.
+
+MUSTERING CLOTHES.
+
+
+The dinner-hour on Sunday is noon, the same as on other days; but
+there is this distinction, which ought to mark the afternoon in every
+well-regulated ship, the people are never disturbed between twelve
+o'clock and four, unless some particular service occurs which cannot
+without impropriety be deferred. It is customary during the rest of
+the week to turn the watch up at one o'clock, but on Sunday, if
+possible, the people should be left alone: to be idle if they choose
+it, or to read, or otherwise to employ themselves according to their
+own fancy. This, after all, is but a trifling indulgence, which hardly
+ever puts the captain or officers to any inconvenience. Even if it
+did, what would it matter? The interests of the country will not be
+worse attended to in the long-run for an occasional relaxation of
+strict etiquettes and formal observances. Even if the ship be making a
+passage, and that, in strictness, all sail ought to be carried, no
+eventual loss will ever attend such very trivial abatement of speed;
+for the men will probably be far more active in making and shortening
+sail at other times, when their minor comforts are thus regarded, than
+when treated as if they had no feelings to be considered.
+
+The circumstance which most distinctly marks the afternoon of Sunday
+on board a man-of-war, even more than on land, is the absence of all
+the usual stir caused by the multifarious occupations of the
+artificers and crew. Indeed, the lower deck of a man-of-war on Sunday
+afternoon, between dinner time and the hour of tea, or evening grog, a
+cast of idleness is the most characteristic feature. Groups of men may
+be seen sitting on the deck chatting over very old stories, a few are
+reading, and many are stretched out flat on their backs fast asleep,
+or dosing with their heads laid on their arms on the mess-table. But
+the habit of locomotion amongst sailors is so strong, that there are
+always numerous parties walking on the main deck in pairs, or in
+threes and fours, along a short space, backwards and forwards,
+although there seems no reason why their walk should not be twice or
+thrice as long. Both sides of the forecastle, too, and the
+lee-gangway, are generally filled with these walking philosophers, as
+they may in truth be called; for they enjoy the hour that passes, and
+are ready to take whatever comes in good part. The weather-gangway is
+usually left for the occasional transits of that most restless of
+mortals, the officer of the watch, who, as in duty bound, is eternally
+fidgeting about the trim of the sails, and must often step forward to
+the chestree, from whence, while resting his foot on the tack-block of
+the mainsail, he may cast his eye aloft to detect something to alter
+in the position of the head-yards. Or if he hears any noise in the
+galley, or even on the lower deck, he can walk forward till he is able
+to peer down the fore-hatchway, by stooping under the bows of the boat
+on the booms. Most of this fidget probably arises, not so much from
+any wish to find fault with what is wrong, as to maintain what is
+right. The true preventive service of an officer is to interpose his
+superintending vigilance between the temptation, on the part of the
+men, to err, and their first motion towards offence. Were this
+principle fully acted up to in all ships, how rapidly might not our
+punishments subside!
+
+At four, or half-past four in the afternoon, the merry pipe to supper
+awakes the sleepers, arrests the peripatetics, and once more clusters
+young and old round the mess-table. At sunset the drum beats to
+quarters, when the men's names are carefully called over, and the
+sobriety of each ascertained. Other duties may be intermitted on the
+day of rest, but not that of the guns, which are minutely examined,
+and all their appendages got ready every evening with as much earnest
+care as if the ship were that instant sailing into action. A moment's
+reflection, indeed, will show that there can, of course, be no
+difference in this respect between Sunday and any other evening. Then
+come in succession the following routine orders, and their
+correspondent evolutions:--"Reef topsails!" "Stand by the hammocks!"
+"Pipe down!" "Roll up the cloths!" "Call the watch!" "Pipe the
+sweepers!" And thus, at last, the first day of the week at sea, in a
+man-of-war, is at an end.
+
+In old times, I recollect, the fashion was for the men to press aft
+in a disorganised crowd; but of late years the following more
+appropriate and orderly arrangement has been universally adopted. The
+men are distributed in a close double row round the quarter-deck
+gangways and forecastle, each standing in his place according to the
+order of his name on the Open List. A small table is then brought up,
+on which are spread the muster-books; and the captain's clerk, who is
+the only person seated, begins calling over the names. Each man, as
+his turn comes, pulls off his hat, smooths down his hair, and passes
+over from the lee side of the deck to the weather side, stepping
+across the gratings just before the binnacle. The captain stands to
+windward, so that the men advance directly up towards him, and then
+pass forward in review. By this means, not only the captain, but the
+officers, who, of course, are all present, become better acquainted
+with the men, learn their names, and ascertain their respective
+ratings and merits. The first lieutenant plants himself at the
+captain's elbow to furnish such general information as may be
+required, or to appeal for more minute details to the other
+lieutenants, warrant-officers, mates, or midshipmen, as the case may
+be.
+
+The captain avails himself of this public opportunity of telling any
+of the men that they have been advanced a step on the books since the
+last muster; and if these intimations be given without parade, and in
+good taste, they afford great satisfaction to the people, though it
+may often happen that the changes of rating are almost nominal. It is
+a great point gained in all discipline, if the persons we wish to
+influence can be made duly sensible that their merits and exertions
+are not neglected. It is obvious, too, that if giving a man a higher
+rating be a source of encouragement, to disrate him may readily be
+used as a means of punishment. I remember, in the Lyra, on my way home
+from China, in 1817, that the captain of the foretop, a fine active
+lad from North Shields, got into some scrape, not quite bad enough to
+bring him within the reach of the terrible gangway, but close to it,
+and I was rather perplexed how to chastise the offender. The first
+Sunday in the month was close at hand, so I waited till this man's
+name was called, and then, after a suitable lecture, desired the
+clerk, in the hearing of the whole ship's company, to change his
+rating to that of able seaman from captain of the top. The poor fellow
+looked bewildered, and, instead of passing on when another name was
+called, stood stock-still half-way across the deck.
+
+"Don't you hear?" I said; "you are no longer captain of the foretop,
+you are disrated on the ship's books."
+
+I then turned to the clerk to see the entry properly made; but on
+looking again at the disrated seaman, I observed, to my astonishment,
+that he was in tears!
+
+I certainly had not reckoned upon such a scene; but it at once flashed
+upon me that here was an opportunity of gaining two important points.
+The first and most obvious of which was to secure this particular
+man's future good services by enlisting all that was hearty in his
+nature at the instant of its strongest expression; and the next, to
+avail myself of the circumstance to stamp a still higher degree of
+importance in the eyes of the men than before upon the value of these
+ratings. I therefore instantly called out to the clerk to stop his
+pen; and then addressing the man, in a voice loud enough to be heard
+by all the crew, said, I was quite sure any one who felt so sensibly
+the degradation implied in the loss of rank which he had just incurred
+was never likely to expose himself again to such a risk. I should
+therefore not only give him back his former rating, and replace him in
+his station as captain of the top, but assure him that all trace both
+of his offence and its punishment should from that moment be entirely
+forgotten.
+
+It is hardly within the range of popular explanation to show in what
+particulars the different shades of technical merit consist, by which
+many of these ratings are awarded. The letters A.B., which mean Able
+Seaman, are placed against the names of those only who are
+thorough-bred sailors, or who, in sea phrase, can not only "hand,
+reef, and steer," but are likewise capable of heaving the lead in the
+darkest night, as well as in the day-time; who can use the palm and
+needle of a sail-maker; and who are versed in every part of a ship's
+rigging, in the stowage of the hold, and in the exercise of the great
+guns. Of course, an A.B. must be able to pull an oar, as well as use
+it in sculling, understand the management of a boat under sail, and
+know how to cross a surf. He must also learn the art of placing an
+anchor in a boat, in order to its being laid out; and how to get it in
+again when weighed. In these, and twenty other things which might be
+pointed out, he ought to be examined by the boatswain and other
+officers before his rating of A.B. is fully established on the books.
+
+The higher ratings of quarter-master, gunner's mate, captain of the
+forecastle and of the tops, and so on, are given chiefly to men who
+may not, in fact, know more than every Able Seaman is supposed to be
+acquainted with, but who have recommended themselves by their superior
+activity and vigilance, and have not only shown themselves fit to
+command others by their decision of character, but evinced a sincere
+anxiety to see the work of their department well performed. It is of
+great consequence to assist in every way the authority of these
+leading hands over the other men stationed in the same part of the
+ship; and judicious officers will generally be able to avail
+themselves to great purpose, in moments of trial, of the energetic
+co-operation of these persons. Much of the internal, or what may be
+called domestic, discipline of the crew, depends upon the conduct of
+these men; for each mess has one of them at its head, who is held more
+or less responsible for the behaviour of the people in that knot or
+party. I have, however, known some officers exact a great deal too
+much from these captains of the messes, and expect them to become
+spies and informers against their companions; or, which is just as
+unreasonable, hold them fully answerable for all delinquencies
+committed in their part of the ship. This is cruel; because, although
+they undoubtedly may contribute materially towards the maintenance of
+good order, they cannot, by possibility, do more than act as
+assistants to the first lieutenant, and chiefly by explaining to the
+rest of the people what is required of them. Most men in the long-run,
+and perhaps in all ranks of society, but certainly on board a
+manof-war, find it so much more agreeable in every respect to do what
+is right than what is wrong, that when they come distinctly to know
+what is wanted, they almost invariably set about executing it
+cheerfully. The first grand point, therefore, in the ship's
+discipline, after a system has been adopted which shall be consistent
+in all its parts, is, to let the details of this system be thoroughly
+understood by every one on board. When a good plan has been once fixed
+upon, and the officers are vigilant, patient, and exact in their own
+personal conduct, and the leading men have been made fully acquainted
+with what is required, the rest of the crew will be but too happy to
+do their duty manfully and well, without the instrumentality of the
+lash, except in extreme cases.
+
+In former times, the distinctions amongst ratings of the seamen on the
+ship's books were so few that it was impossible to discriminate
+correctly, or to assign to each man, with any justice, the exact
+rating which his knowledge of seamanship, his experience in the
+exercise of that knowledge, his general good conduct, and his
+abilities, might entitle him to. An Order in Council, dated November,
+1816, established a new system of Ratings; and by another Order, dated
+the 23rd of June, 1824, "the net sea pay of the flag-officers of His
+Majesty's fleet" was established, "together with the net sea pay and
+number of their retinue; the number of commissioned, warrant, petty,
+and non-commissioned officers, and the ratings of every description
+both of seamen and marines, allowed to each class of His Majesty's
+ships, with their rates of net sea pay respectively; and
+distinguishing the several classes for sharing the produce of
+seizures."[6]
+
+As soon as the ship's company have been mustered, the captain takes
+off his hat and reads the Articles of War, to which, out of respect to
+this important act of parliament, the people listen in like manner
+uncovered. Between breakfast and divisions, some captains occupy
+themselves in examining the weekly reports of the expenditure of
+boatswain's, gunner's, and carpenter's stores; and in going over with
+the purser the account of the remains of provisions, fuel, and
+slop-clothing on board. After which he may overhaul the midshipmen's
+log-books, watch, station, and quarter bills, or take a look at their
+school-books. If the ship be in harbour, he also glances his eye at
+their accounts; and he generally takes occasion to indulge in a little
+kindly gossip about their mess, their love of the sea, and the last
+letters they received from home.
+
+Thus the gallant skipper, as well as his gallant crew, has seldom much
+spare time on his hands during the forenoon of Sunday. I should be
+right glad, indeed, to be informed what day, or hour, or even what
+half-hour, in the whole week, from end to end, the captain can fairly
+call his own. Not one! Every other person on board has his hour, or
+his four hours, or his eight hours of rest, and of relief from all
+anxiety; but the poor captain has not a minute. He is the chief over
+all, it is true; but he pays dearly and deeply for this distinction in
+the shape of heavy responsibilities, and perpetual trials of various
+kinds. Our poet says, "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"--I am
+quite sure that unburdened never lie the shoulders that wear two
+epaulettes. The captain is at all calls, and must be ready at all
+seasons with resources, good or bad, to supply the failures or
+indolence of others; while his own fate, fortunes, and character, as
+well as the credit of the service, and sometimes that of the country,
+are made to hang upon the instantaneous nature of his decisions, and
+upon the vigour and efficiency of his exertions, at moments perhaps
+when his powers are nearly exhausted, and his spirit all but crushed
+by sheer fatigue. The simple enumeration of a captain of a
+man-of-war's ordinary responsibilities, I have often thought, would
+win for his class a degree of considerate forbearance, and candid
+allowance for his difficulties, which, perhaps, it has never yet
+fairly received from the public. If, to such enumeration, a notice
+respecting the duties of each were appended, an interesting peep
+might be afforded to the curious of the internal government of our
+singular community, and information supplied on not a few points,
+respecting which most people are entirely ignorant.
+
+It is frequently the practice in the navy on Sundays to muster clothes
+at divisions, and to take a list of what slops are required by the men
+to complete their kit, or stock of worldly goods. This overhaul or
+inspection happens once a month; and when such is the intention, the
+word is passed along the lower deck at breakfast-time, that the ship's
+company are to "muster clothes at divisions." When the drum beats,
+each man brings his bag to the place where he stands in his division,
+and proceeds to arrange his things in order on the deck before him,
+each article being placed separately, that the officer may count, and,
+if he pleases, examine them, after the mates and mids have first
+called over the names, to ascertain that every man has the proper
+complement of articles, in good order, and well washed. A note is then
+taken of what things are wanted, in the way of slops, to supply
+worn-out and condemned clothes. "Slops" is the technical name for
+jackets, trousers, shirts, and other articles of a sailor's wardrobe,
+before they have been used. They are sent on board in bales and boxes
+by government, and placed in charge of the purser.
+
+All this is reported in detail to the lieutenant of the division, who
+continues walking backwards and forwards while the inspection is going
+on, ready to answer appeals in the event of any difficulties or doubts
+arising. He carries in his hand a complete list of his division, and
+of each man's clothes; and when the young gentlemen under his orders
+have finished their work, and taken down what is wanted, the
+lieutenant goes along the line to investigate the whole anew. He then
+collects the different memorandums of slops wanted, and proceeds to
+make his report to the captain, who either sanctions or disapproves of
+the decision of the officer, as he pleases. Frequently the captain
+himself goes along the divisions, to look at the men's clothing; but
+the glance which he takes is necessarily of a more cursory nature; his
+object is, to let the men feel that he is ready to interfere, if need
+be, but also to show, that, unless there is any special call for the
+interposition of his authority, he confides in those under him.
+
+A commander should recollect, that, whether it be he himself, or
+chiefly his officers and crew, who perform any useful public service,
+he invariably reaps at least his full share of the credit. His real
+interest, therefore, must always be, not merely to draw about him the
+ablest men he can induce to follow him, but to allow them the utmost
+latitude of independent action and responsibility, and as much of the
+merit of success as possible. If he persevere sincerely in this
+course, he will soon discover that the more he endeavours to remove
+the credit from himself, or, rather, to divide it handsomely with
+those who are acting with him, the more will he generally find the
+merit given back to himself.
+
+I suspect few people have the smallest notion of what a sailor's
+wardrobe consists. Every one has, indeed, a vague idea that he must
+have a blue jacket and trousers, and a low, canvas, shining sort of
+affair, stuck on one side of his head, and called by him a hat. But of
+any further particulars, the shore-going world really knows about as
+little as they do respecting the dresses of the Emperor of China.
+Honest Jack, it is very true, is not much encumbered with clothes;
+and too often his wardrobe sadly resembles that of the Honourable Mr.
+Dowlas, which was so easily transportable in the Honourable Mr.
+Dowlas's pocket-handkerchief. Yet if he have the opportunity, poor
+fellow, and be duly encouraged, he is not a little of a dandy in his
+way.
+
+In a well-regulated ship, a sailor's kit consists generally of at
+least two blue jackets, and one pea jacket, which is a sort of
+lumbering shaggy surtout, or curtailed great-coat, capable of being
+wrapped round the body, so as to cover the thighs. Why it is called a
+pea jacket I should be glad to be informed by any knowing person; and
+I beg leave accordingly to refer the question to that corner of the
+United Service Journal reserved for technical queries, a valuable
+niche in that ably conducted periodical. A seaman must also have two
+pairs of blue trousers, two pairs of shoes, six shirts, four pairs of
+stockings, two Guernsey frocks, made of a sort of worsted
+stocking-work, without any opening in front; two hats, two black
+handkerchiefs, and a comforter to wrap round the throat; together with
+several pairs of flannel drawers and waistcoats; for in hot, as well
+as in cold climates, and at all times of the year, the men are now
+encouraged, as much as possible, to wear flannel next the skin.
+
+The above forms the kit of a sailor in a ship stationed in high
+latitudes. On the Mediterranean station, or on that of North America,
+there is such a mixture of severe and mild weather, that a larger
+stock is necessary than when the ship is employed exclusively in a
+cold, or in a hot climate. On the Indian, South American, and West
+Indian stations, which lie almost entirely between the tropics,
+woollen clothing gradually disappears, and the men are apt to suffer a
+good deal on returning to colder regions; it being hardly to be
+expected that folks of such improvident habits as sailors will be able
+to take care of articles of dress, for several years together, for
+which they have no immediate use.
+
+I remember a captain, whose ship had been often exposed to these
+alternations, amusing his people very much on entering the tropics, by
+directing them to roll up all their blue clothes, worsted stockings,
+and so on, in neat bundles, each having the name and number of the
+person it belonged to written on a wooden tally, and fastened to it.
+These being all collected, and packed carefully in well-dried,
+watertight casks, were stowed away in the hold, and forgotten, till
+the pinching blasts off Cape Horn made the unpacking of the casks a
+scene of as great joy as ever attended the opening of a box of finery
+at a boarding-school gala.
+
+In warm climates, the stock of a man-of-war sailor consists of four
+duck frocks, which are more like shirts than anything else, with
+sundry strings, and touches of blue binding about the breast and
+collar, which is generally lined with blue, and allowed to fall over
+the shoulders. It is totally contrary to Jack's habits to have
+anything tight about his throat; and one of the chief causes of his
+invincible estrangement from the royal marine corps is their
+stiff-necked custom of wearing polished leather stocks. I hardly
+suppose there could be found any motive strong enough to induce a
+genuine sailor to buckle a permanent collar round his neck with any
+tolerable grace; the alternative of the yard-arm would almost be
+preferable! His delight is to place a black or coloured silk
+handkerchief lightly over his neck, and to confine its ends across his
+breast by means of one of the small bones or vertebrć of a shark,
+which forms a neat, white, perforated cylinder. Some very prime
+dandies of the mizen-top fold a part of their handkerchief over the
+shoulders and back; but it requires the aid of a handsome person, and
+a good deal of modest assurance, to make this tolerable.
+
+They must also provide themselves with four pairs of duck trousers, a
+straw hat for fine weather, and a canvas or beaver one for squalls,
+though this need not be insisted on. Shoes are not much used, except
+by those whose work lies aloft; and prudent hands generally keep a
+blue jacket by them, in case of rain or night-work. It is not a bad
+rule to muster the crew occasionally with blue jackets, even in hot
+weather, to see that such things are really in existence. Each man
+has, of course, a bed, a pillow, and two blankets; sheets are never
+heard of. He has also two hammocks, one of which is slung and in use,
+the other scrubbed, dry, and stowed away, ready to be exchanged for
+the dirty one. The hammocks, at the time I first went to sea (1802),
+were made of a coarse brown stuff, which it was difficult, if not
+impossible, to make white by any amount of scrubbing; and, what was
+worse, so thick that it was by no means easily dried. Now-a-days, they
+are generally made either of canvas, or of a twilled sacking, and,
+when spread out, measure 4-1/2 feet by 3-1/2; but when lashed up, and
+ready for stowing away in the netting, they form long sacks, about as
+big as a man's body, but not tapering to the ends.
+
+In ships where much pains is taken to have the hammocks stowed
+properly, they are lashed up, so as to preserve the same width all
+along, and with neither more nor fewer than seven turns with a
+well-blacked small lashing, carefully passed round at equal intervals.
+When the hammocks are prepared in this way, and all made of the same
+size, (which condition may be secured by putting them through a ring
+of given dimensions,) they are laid in symmetrical order all round the
+ship, above the bulwark, on the quarter-deck and forecastle, and in
+the waist nettings along the gangways. Each hammock, it may be
+mentioned, has a separate number painted neatly upon it on a small,
+white, oval patch, near one of the corners; so that, when they are all
+stowed in the nettings, a uniform line of numbers extends round the
+ship, and the hammock of any man who may be taken ill can be found by
+his messmates in a moment. The bags, in like manner, of which each
+person has two, are numbered separately. In rainy weather the hammocks
+are securely covered by painted cloths.
+
+As a seaman's kit generally forms his whole property, it ought to be
+carefully preserved, and every possible facility given that the
+service will allow of for his keeping it in good order. A captain of
+any consideration will naturally bear in mind, that, as the comfort
+and health of the men under his command depend most materially upon
+the manner in which they are clad, and especially upon the damp or dry
+state of their dress, it becomes an important branch of his duty to
+see that their things are taken care of with as much exactness as the
+spare sails, cordage, or provisions. It much too frequently happens,
+however, that the unfortunate sailors' clothes are more torment to
+them than advantage, and they may think themselves lucky if they can
+catch hold of a jacket or trousers to shift withal, so eternally are
+they interfered with by some inconsiderate officers. "Pipe the bags
+up!" "Pipe the bags down!" "Stow the bags afresh!" "Pipe to scrub the
+bags!" and twenty such orders are given in a day in some ships, to the
+endless misery of the people. It is, no doubt, necessary that the bags
+should be scrubbed and stowed properly, and be piped up and down at
+the proper times and seasons. But there are two ways of doing these
+things: one, which gives the men no more trouble than is absolutely
+unavoidable; the other, which harasses and justly provokes them. It is
+not enough to say that they must submit, whether they like it or not.
+They will submit, it is true; but in what temper? and how will these
+men work when called upon to exert themselves, if they are habitually
+treated with disrespect, and exposed to needless, and even impertinent
+worry? I have even heard of some crack ships, as they are termed,
+where the poor devils are obliged to pipe-clay their bags, to make
+them look white, forsooth! Why, the very idea of pipe-clay is gall and
+wormwood to the taste of the Johnnies. Of late years I understand
+there have been introduced black painted water-proof bags, which are a
+great comfort to the men. Besides keeping out wet, they require no
+trouble to scrub and dry, and, after all, are fully as clean, and far
+more useful in every respect.
+
+To show the various sorts of outfit which the men composing a
+man-of-war's crew may be furnished with on first coming on board, I
+shall describe a scene which took place on the Leander's
+quarter-deck, off the Port of New York, in 1804. We were rather
+short-handed in those days; and being in the presence of a blockaded
+enemy, and liable, at half-an-hour's warning, to be in action, we
+could not afford to be very scrupulous as to the ways and means by
+which our numbers were completed, so that able-bodied men were secured
+to handle the gun-tackle falls. It chanced one day that we fell in
+with a ship filled with emigrants; a description of vessel called, in
+the classical dictionary of the cockpit, an "Irish guinea man." Out of
+her we pressed twenty Irishmen, besides two strapping fellows from
+Yorkshire, and one canny Scot.
+
+Each of this score of Pats was rigged merely in a great coat, and a
+pair of something which might be called an apology for inexpressibles;
+while the rest of their united wardrobe could have been stowed away in
+the crown of any one of their hats. Their motives for emigrating to a
+country where mere health and strength of body are sure to gain an
+independent provision were obvious enough; and I must say, that to
+this hour I have not been able to forget the melancholy cry or howl
+with which the separation of these hardy settlers from their families
+was effected by the strong arm of power. It was a case of necessity,
+it is true; but still it was a cruel case, and one for the exercise of
+which the officer who put it in force deserves almost as much pity as
+the poor wretches whose feelings and interests it became his bounden
+duty to disregard.
+
+In most admired contrast to this bewildered drove of half-starved
+Paddies stood the two immense, broad-shouldered, high-fed
+Yorkshiremen, dressed in long-tailed coats, corduroy breeches, and
+yellow-topped boots, each accompanied by a chest of clothes not much
+less than a pianoforte, and a huge pile of spades, pick-axes, and
+other implements of husbandry. They possessed money also, and letters
+of credit, and described themselves as being persons of some substance
+at home. Why they emigrated they would not tell; but such were their
+prospects, that it was difficult to say whether they or the wild
+Irishers were the most to be commiserated for so untoward an
+interruption. Be this as it may, it cost the clerk half-an-hour to
+write down a list of their multifarious goods and chattels, while a
+single scratch of the pen sufficed for that of all the Irishmen.
+
+At last honest Saunders came under review. He was a tall, raw-boned,
+grave-looking personage, much pitted with the smallpox, and wearing a
+good deal of that harassed and melancholy air, which, sooner or later,
+settles on the brow of an assistant to a village pedagogue. He was
+startled, but not abashed, when drawn to the middle of the deck, and
+asked, in the presence of fifty persons, what clothes and other things
+he possessed? Not choosing at first to betray his poverty, he made no
+answer, but looked round, as if to discover where his chest had been
+placed. He then glanced at his thread-bare sleeve and tattered shoon,
+with a slight touch of dry and bitter humour playing about the corners
+of his mouth, and a faint sparkle lighting up his grey and sunken eye,
+as he returned the impatient official stare of the clerk, who stood,
+pen in hand, ready to note down the items.
+
+"Don't be frightened, man," said the captain; "no one is going to
+hurt you, your things are quite safe. What does your property consist
+of?"
+
+"A trifle, sir, a trifle," quoth poor Sawney; "fourpence ha'penny and
+an auld knife!"
+
+Before concluding this subject, it may perhaps be useful to remark,
+that, unless in those cases where such a measure is absolutely
+necessary, the actual examination and minute recording of the men's
+clothes might, in general, be advantageously dispensed with. I have,
+indeed, occasionally fancied I saw traces of irritation and wounded
+pride amongst the men, when all their little knick-knacks, every hat,
+hose, and handkerchief, or old shoe, was examined into and noted down,
+to be reproduced that day month, or its absence accounted for. I tried
+a middle course in my own ship, which appeared to answer all the
+purposes required. From time to time the men were ordered to bring
+their bags to divisions, and to spread out their clothes to air on the
+deck, over the guns, along the hammock-nettings, or in the rigging. In
+this way the officers and mids, who passed repeatedly up and down the
+line, had opportunities enough, if they did their duty, to see that
+all the clothes were clean, dry, and in good order. When any man's
+things were observed not to be in the condition demanded by the
+regulations of the ship, or he was found ragged in his clothes, or not
+properly dressed, then such delinquent was no longer indulged with the
+exemption, but had his kit subjected to a daily, or weekly, or monthly
+scrutiny, as the case might be. As long as he was in this predicament,
+he was obliged to exhibit every article in proper condition, and was
+not at liberty, without asking leave, to destroy even such worn-out
+things as an old Jew clothesman would turn up his beard at. I took
+care that no part of this surveillance should be talked of as a
+punishment, although, unquestionably, it was intended and felt as
+such; but studied rather to give it the character of a necessary duty
+in the instance of individuals who, if not so watched, would, by their
+misconduct, hurt the general discipline of the ship. It was very
+seldom that any one exposed to such drilling for a month or six weeks
+ever brought himself within the range of its humiliation a second
+time.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] CLASSES AND DENOMINATIONS OF HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS.
+
+1. Rated Ships, viz.:--
+
+_First Rate_.--All Three-decked Ships.
+
+_Second Rate_.--One of Her Majesty's Yachts, and all Two-decked Ships
+whose war complements consist of 700 men and upwards.
+
+_Third Rate_.--Her Majesty's other Yachts, and all such Yachts as may
+bear the Flag or Pendant of an Admiral or Captain Superintending one
+of Her Majesty's Dock-yards; and all Ships whose complements are under
+700 and not less than 600.
+
+_Fourth Rate_.--Ships whose complements are under 600 and not less
+than 400.
+
+_Fifth Rate_.--Ships whose complements are under 400 and not less than
+250.
+
+_Sixth Rate_.--Ships under 250.
+
+2. Sloops and Bomb-Vessels; all such as are commanded by Commanders.
+
+3. All other smaller Vessels; such as are commanded by Lieutenants or
+inferior officers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+SAILORS' PETS.
+
+
+A dog is the most obvious and natural pet for a gentleman; but still,
+a dog, with all his familiarity, is a selfish sort of companion, for
+he generally bestows his whole sociability either upon his master, or
+his master's servant who feeds him, or upon his master's friend who
+accompanies him to the fields. To all others he is not only cold, but
+often surly and impertinent. This, indeed, would matter little, if
+there were not unfortunately a proverb extant, which has led perhaps
+to more squabbles, duels, and other uncharitableness, than most other
+causes of dispute. This pugnacious proverb, "Love me, love my dog,"
+being interpreted, signifies, "If you kick my dog, I kick you." Then
+follows, if not the kick, words which hurt honour quite as much, and
+in the end too often draw away the life-blood of warriors who, but
+for some mangy cur, might have fought themselves into companionship in
+public usefulness and fame with "Duncan, Howe, or Jarvis."
+
+No dog, therefore, can ever become a very general favourite of the
+crew; for it is so completely his nature to be exclusive in his
+regards, that were a whole pack of hounds on board, they would not be
+enough, nor afford a tenth part of the amusement which a single monkey
+serves out to a ship's company. I take good care, accordingly, never
+to be without one in any ship I command, on the sheer principle of
+keeping the men employed, in a good humoured way, when they chance to
+have no specific duty to attend to. It must be recollected that we are
+often exposed to long periods of inaction, during which mischief is
+very apt to be brewed amongst the people.
+
+But if a good monkey be allowed to run about the ship, I defy any one
+to continue long in a bad humour. Jacko is an overmatch for the demon
+of idleness, at least if light hearts and innocent diversions be
+weapons against which he cannot long contend. Be this as it may, I
+make a rule of entering a monkey as speedily as possible after
+hoisting my pendant; and if a reform takes place in the table of
+ratings, I would recommend a corner for the "ship's monkey," which
+should be borne on the books for "full allowance of victuals,"
+excepting only the grog; for I have observed that a small quantity of
+tipple very soon upsets him; and although there are few things in
+nature more ridiculous than a monkey half-seas over, yet the reasons
+against permitting such pranks are obvious and numerous.
+
+When Lord Melville, then First Lord of the Admiralty, to my great
+surprise and delight, put into my hands a commission for a ship going
+to the South American station, a quarter of the world I had long
+desired to visit, my first thought was, "Where now shall I manage to
+find a merry rascal of a monkey?" Of course, I did not give audible
+expression to this thought in the First Lord's room; but, on coming
+down-stairs, I had a talk about it in the hall with my friend, the
+late Mr. Nutland, the porter, who laughed, and said,--
+
+"Why, sir, you may buy a wilderness of monkeys at Exeter 'Change."
+
+"True! true!" and off I hurried in a Hackney coach. Mr. Cross, not
+only agreed to spare me one of his choicest and funniest animals, but
+readily offered his help to convey him to the ship. "Lord, sir!" said
+he, "there is not an animal in the whole world so wild or fierce that
+we can't carry about as innocent as a lamb; only trust to me, sir, and
+your monkey shall be delivered on board your ship in Portsmouth
+Harbour as safely as if he were your best chronometer going down by
+mail in charge of the master." Accordingly he was in a famous
+condition for his breakfast next morning, when the waterman ferried
+him off from Common Hard to the hulk, on board which the officers had
+just assembled. As the ship had been only two or three days in
+commission, few seamen had as yet entered; but shortly afterwards they
+came on board in sufficient numbers; and I have sometimes ascribed the
+facility with which we got the ship manned, not a little to the
+attractive agency of the diverting vagabond, recently come from town,
+the fame of whose tricks soon extended over Portsea; such as catching
+hold of the end of the sail-maker's ball of twine, and paying the
+whole overboard, hand over hand, from a secure station in the rigging;
+or stealing the boatswain's silver call, and letting it drop from the
+end of the cat-head; or his getting into one of the cabin ports and
+tearing up the captain's letters, a trick at which even the stately
+skipper can only laugh.
+
+One of our monkey's grand amusements was to watch some one arranging
+his clothes bag. After the stowage was completed, and everything put
+carefully away, he would steal round, untie the strings, and having
+opened the mouth of the bag draw forth in succession every article of
+dress, first smell it, then turn it over and over, and lastly fling it
+away on the wet deck. It was amusing enough to observe, that all the
+while he was committing any piece of mischief he appeared not only to
+be under the fullest consciousness of guilt, but living in the perfect
+certainty that he was earning a good sound drubbing for his pains.
+Still the pleasure of doing wrong was so strong and habitual within
+him, that he seemed utterly incapable of resisting the temptation.
+While thus occupied, and alternately chattering with terror, and
+screaming with delight, till the enraged owner of the property burst
+in upon him, hardly more angry with Jacko than with his malicious
+messmates, who, instead of preventing, had rather encouraged the
+pillage.
+
+All this was innocent, however, compared to the tricks which the
+blue-jackets taught him to play upon the jolly marines. How they set
+about this laudable piece of instruction, I know not; but the
+antipathy which they established in Jacko's breast against the red
+coats was something far beyond ordinary prejudice, and in its
+consequences partook more of the interminable war between cat and dog.
+At first he merely chattered, or grinned contemptuously at them; or,
+at worst, snapped at their heels, soiled their fine pipe-clayed
+trousers, or pulled the cartridges out of their cartouch-boxes, and
+scattered the powder over the decks; feats for which his rump was
+sure to smart under the ratan of the indignant sergeant, to whom the
+"party" made their complaint. Upon these occasions the sailors laughed
+so heartily at their friend Jacko, as he placed his hands behind him,
+and, in an agony of rage and pain, rubbed the seat of honour tingling
+under the sergeant's chastisement, that if he could only have reasoned
+the matter, he would soon have distrusted this offensive but not
+defensive alliance with the Johnnies against the Jollies. Sometimes,
+indeed, he appeared to be quite sensible of his absurd position, caned
+by his enemy, and ridiculed by his friends, in whose cause he was
+suffering. On these occasions, he often made a run, open-mouthed, at
+the sailors; in return for which mutinous proceeding he was sure to
+get a smart rap over the nose from his own party, which more than
+counterpoised the anguish at the other extremity of his person, giving
+ludicrous occupation to both his hands, and redoubling the shouts of
+laughter at his expense. In short, poor St. Jago literally got what is
+currently called monkey's allowance, viz. "more kicks than halfpence."
+
+In process of time, as Mr. Monkey, by dint of that bitter monitor,
+experience, gained higher knowledge in the art of marine warfare and
+ship diplomacy, he became much more formidable in his attacks on the
+"corps," and generally contrived to keep himself well beyond the reach
+of the sergeant's merciless ratan. One of the favourite pranks of the
+sailors was to place him near the break of the forecastle, with a
+handspike, taken from the bow-chaser gun, in his paws. It was quite as
+much as he could carry, and far more than he could use as a missile
+against the royals; but he was soon instructed in a method of
+employing it, which always grievously annoyed the enemy.
+Theoretically, I presume poor Jacko knew no more of the laws of
+gravitation, than his friends, the seamen, did of centrifugal action,
+when swinging round the hand-lead to gain soundings, by pitching it
+far forward into the water; but both the monkey and his wicked
+associates knew very well, that if a handspike were held across the
+top of the forecastle ladder, and let go when a person was about
+half-way down it, the heels of the said individual would be sure to
+bring up, or stop the bar. The unhappy marine, therefore, who happened
+to be descending the steps when Jacko let his handspike fall,
+generally got the skin taken off his heels, or his instep, according
+as his rear or his front was turned towards the foe. The instant Jacko
+let go his hold, and the law of gravitation began to act, so that the
+handspike was heard to rattle down the ladder, off he jumped to the
+bow of the barge, overlooking the spot, and there sat, with his neck
+stretched out, his eyes starting from his head, and his lips drawn
+back, till his teeth, displayed from ear to ear, rapped against one
+another like a pair of castanets in a bolero, under the influence of
+the most ecstatic alarm, curiously mixed up with the joy of complete
+success. The poor wounded Gulpin, in the mean time, rubbed his ankles
+as he fired off a volley of imprecations, the only effect of which was
+to increase the number of his audience, grinning and laughing in
+chorus with the terrified mischief-monger.
+
+I remember seeing a marine, of more than usual activity, and who had
+before been served this trick, catch hold of the end of the weather
+middle stay-sail sheet, hanging from the booms, and, before Jacko
+knew what he was about, succeed in giving him such a cut across his
+sconce as the animal never forgot or forgave. Next morning the monkey
+stowed himself away behind the pumps, till the same marine passed; he
+then sprung out, and laid hold of him by the calf of the leg; and, in
+spite of sundry kicks and cuffs, never once relaxed his jaws till the
+teeth met amongst what the loblolly boy, in the pride of his
+anatomical knowledge, called the "gastrocnemii muscles" of his enemy's
+leg. The cries of "murder!" from the soldier, brought the marines and
+many of the sailors under the half-deck to the poor fellow's rescue;
+while the author of the mischief scuttled off among the men's feet,
+chattering and screaming all the way. He was not again seen during two
+or three days; at the end of which, as the wounded "troop" was not
+much hurt, a sort of truce was proclaimed between the red and the blue
+factions of the ship. Doubtless the armistice was all the better kept
+in consequence of some tolerably intelligible hints from the higher
+powers, that the peace of the ship was no longer to be invaded to make
+sport for those who were evidently more idle than they ought to be,
+and for whom, therefore, a little additional work might possibly be
+found.
+
+Old Jacko, however, like one of the weaker states of Europe, whose
+fate and fortunes are settled by the protocols of the surrounding
+political giants, was no party to these treaties; and having once
+tasted the joys of revenge, he could not keep his teeth quiet, but
+must needs have another bite. Upon this occasion, however, he kept
+clear of the corps, and attacked one of his oldest and dearest
+friends, no less a personage than the captain of the foretop. It was
+in warm weather, and the men, as usual, were dining on the main-deck;
+the grog had been served out, and the happy Johnnies were just
+beginning to sip their darling beverage, when Mr. Mischief,
+incessantly occupied in his vocation of wrong doing, and utterly
+incapable of resisting any good opening to get himself into a scrape,
+saw the grog-kid of the captain of the top's mess standing by the
+fore-hatchway. So he paced round, as if seeking for a bit of bread,
+but all the while keeping his face turned just so far from the fated
+grog-vessel that no one suspected his design. On reaching the spot his
+heart began to fail him, but not his wickedness; indeed, his was the
+very beau ideal of that character described in the satire of Junius,
+which, "without courage enough to resist doing a bad action, has yet
+virtue enough to be ashamed of it." Whether or not these mixed motives
+influenced old Jacko, I cannot pretend to say; but there he sat
+chattering, screaming, and trembling, as if the sergeant's cane had
+been within an inch of his hide.
+
+"What ails you, my dear Mr. St. James?" said the captain of the top,
+playfully addressing the monkey. "What are you afraid of? Nobody is
+going to hurt you; we are all sailors and friends here, man. Not a
+marine within hail of you!"
+
+At this stage of the colloquy the sly rogue having mustered all his
+energies, fairly grasped the grog-kid in his arms, and, making a clean
+spring from the deck, placed himself, at the first bound, beyond the
+reach of the horror-stricken seaman. This exploit was not so adroitly
+performed as it might have been if Jacko had been less agitated, and
+one-half of the delicious nectar in the sailor's cup was jerked out.
+
+"You bloody thundering rascal of a monkey!" bellowed the astounded
+topman; "let go the kid, or I'll shy this knife at your head!"
+
+The threat was no sooner uttered than executed; for the sailor,
+without waiting to see the effect of his summons, threw the knife; and
+had not his saintship ducked his head, there would have been an end of
+monkey tricks for that cruise. As the glittering steel passed before
+the wicked scamp's eyes, the flash deprived him of all recollection of
+the mischief in hand: with a loud yell he leaped on the booms, and in
+his terror let the prize slip from his grasp. It fell on the cooming
+of the hatchway, hung for one instant, and then dashed right down into
+the fore-cockpit, to the infinite astonishment of the boatswain's
+yeoman, a thirsty soul, and familiar with drink in all its shapes, but
+who declared he never before had tried grog in a shower-bath.
+
+Up started the enraged party of seamen on their feet. "All hands catch
+monkey!" was the cry; and in ten seconds the whole crew, including the
+cook with his ladle, and his mate with the tormentors in his hand,
+were seen scrambling on deck. Jacko scampered like lightning up the
+main-stay, and reached the top before any of the men, who had mounted
+the rigging, were half-a-dozen ratlines above the hammocks. The
+officers rushed to the quarter-deck, naturally fancying from the
+bustling sounds that a man was overboard; but they were soon
+undeceived by the shouts of laughter which resounded from every part
+of the ship, low and aloft.
+
+For a few moments Jacko sat on the main-cap, chattering at such a rate
+that, had it been dark, one of the men said, you could have seen the
+sparks of fire from his teeth. I do not quite believe this; but
+certainly I never witnessed such an expression of fear. A dozen men
+were soon pouring into the top, while two others were stealing up the
+stay, and four or five had got into the topmast-shrouds, to cut off
+his retreat in that direction; finally, an active fellow leaped from
+the rigging to the topmast, and sliding down the well-greased spar,
+almost plumped on the devoted head of this master of the revels. It
+was now absolutely necessary for Jacko to do something; so he made a
+clear run down the main lift to the lower yard-arm. The gunner's mate
+foreseeing this manoeuvre, had sprung to guard his department, and had
+already lain out as far as the inner boom iron, with a gasket in his
+hand, and quite certain of catching the chase. Not a bit! "A gunner's
+mate catch a monkey!" The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare affords
+but a feeble simile to characterize such a match; and before old
+Hard-a-weather and his gasket had reached the yard-arm, our nimble
+Mona had trotted half-way up the leach of the topsail, and was seated
+as familiarly on the bridle of the maintop-bowline, as if he had been
+perched on the feathery branch of a cocoa-nut tree, enjoying the sea
+breeze, in his native island, amongst the beautiful Cape de Verdes.
+
+The sailors were now fairly baffled, and still more so when the expert
+rogue chose to climb a little higher, and then to walk deliberately
+along the standing part of the main-topsail brace to the mizen-topmast
+head; whence, as if to divert himself, or force his pursuers to mingle
+admiration with their rage, he made a flying leap downwards to the
+peak haulyards, scampering along the single part till he reached the
+end of the gaff. There he sat laughing at a hundred and fifty men and
+boys, employed in the vain attempt to catch one monkey!
+
+Sailors are certainly not men to give up a pursuit lightly; but after
+an hour of as hard labour as I ever witnessed, they were all obliged
+to relinquish the chase from sheer fatigue, and poor Jacko was
+pardoned by acclamation. The captain of the foretop, however, a couple
+of days afterwards, more out of fun than from any ill-will on the old
+grog score, gave the monkey's ear a pinch, upon which the animal
+snapped at his thumb, and bit it so seriously that the man was obliged
+to apply to the doctor. When this was reported to me by the surgeon, I
+began to think my four-footed friend was either getting rather too
+much licence, or that too many liberties were taken with him, so I
+gave orders that in future he should be let alone. Nevertheless, Jacko
+contrived to bite two more of the people, one of whom was the
+sergeant, the other the midshipmen's boy. These were all wounded in
+one day; and when the surgeon came to me next morning, as usual, with
+the sick-list in his hand, he was rather in dudgeon.
+
+"Really, sir," said he, "this does seem rather too much of the monkey.
+Here are no fewer than three persons in my list from bites of this
+infernal beast."
+
+"Three!" I exclaimed, and straightway got angry, partly at my own
+folly, partly at the perversity of my pet, and also somewhat nettled
+by the tone not very unreasonably assumed by the doctor. "Send Black,
+the quarter-master, here directly." He soon came.
+
+"Don't you take care of the monkey?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, sir, I do. You gave me charge of him."
+
+"Well! and why don't you prevent his biting the people?"
+
+"I can't prevent him, sir."
+
+"No! Then throw him overboard!" I cried--"over with him at once! There
+he stands, in charge of the corporal and two marines; pitch him right
+over the lee-gangway. I will not have the ship's company killed and
+wounded at this rate. Over with him, I say!"
+
+The quarter-master moved off to the lee-gangway, and took the
+terrified animal in his arms; while, on its part, the poor creature
+seemed conscious of its approaching fate, and spread out its arms over
+the seaman's bare breast, as if to supplicate his mercy. The old
+sailor, who looked mightily as if he were going to melt upon the
+occasion, cast a petitioning glance to windward every now and then
+from under the edge of his straw hat, as I paced up and down the deck,
+still fuming away at the doctor's demi-official reproach. As I saw the
+fellow wished to say something, I at length asked him whether he had
+any proposal to make respecting his wicked and troublesome pet. The
+old man's face brightened up with this prospect of a respite for his
+favourite; and, after humming and hawing for a minute, he said,--
+
+"It is all owing to these two great teeth, sir; if they were out, he
+would be as harmless as any lamb."
+
+"I tell you what it is," I replied, catching at this suggestion, "I
+positively will not have the whole ship's company driven one after
+another into the sick list by your confounded monkey; but if you
+choose to draw those wild-boar tusks of his, you may let him live."
+
+Few reprieves were ever hailed at the foot of the gallows with more
+joy by the friends of a felon than this announcement of a commutation
+of Mr. St. Jago's sentence was received by his affectionate
+companions. Even the marines, though constitutionally predisposed
+against him, were glad of the change; and I heard the sentry at the
+cabin door say, "I knew the captain had too much regard for the animal
+to do him an injury."
+
+Injury, indeed! I question whether poor Jacko thought the alternative
+any favour. At all events, his friends seemed grievously puzzled how
+to fulfil the conditions of his exemption from a watery grave; for I
+could perceive a council of war going on upon the lee side of the main
+deck, as to the best method of proceeding in the affair of the tusks.
+
+"Who'll hold the monkey?" said one.
+
+No answer was made to this. It was like the old story of belling the
+cat; but there was no Douglas so bold as to try the experiment on
+Master Jacko, who at any time was a powerful animal, and would, it was
+naturally inferred, make a tenfold effort when his teeth were the
+objects of attack.
+
+"Even suppose we could tie the poor unfortunate victim," said the
+quarter-master, "who knows how to pull out these great big teeth? We
+might break his jaw in the operation."
+
+There was a long pause.
+
+"I dare say," at length cried one of the party, "that the doctor's
+mate, who is a good-natured gentleman, would be so kind as to tell us
+how we can manage this affair."
+
+A deputation of the monkey's friends was accordingly despatched to
+present a humble petition to the surgeon's assistant, praying that he
+would be graciously pleased to lend his professional aid in saving the
+jaw, and perhaps the life, of one of the most diverting vagabonds in
+his Majesty's service.
+
+Fortunately, the assistant medico was not one of those priggish
+puppies who, having little professional knowledge to balance their own
+inherent stupidity, fancy it necessary to support their dignity by the
+agency of etiquettes alone. He was, on the contrary, a young man of
+skill, good sense, and right feelings, who cared nothing at all about
+his dignity when he could be of any use; or rather, who left it to
+take care of itself, without thinking of anything but his business. To
+tell the truth, he was so much a lover of his art that he felt
+secretly tickled with the idea of a new operation, and experienced on
+the occasion that peculiar pleasure, known, it is said, only to the
+faculty, when a complicated and difficult case falls into their hands.
+He had just mixed a glass of grog, after the day's work was done, and
+was eyeing the beverage with that sort of serene anticipation which
+the sober certainty of waking bliss is sure to produce, when the
+deputation made their appearance, having first sent in the boy, whose
+arm was still in a sling from the bite of the monkey.
+
+"Are you in a hurry?" said the doctor, on hearing the novel petition;
+for he had nestled himself into the corner of the berth, with one foot
+on the bench, the other on the table, and his glass of "half-and-half"
+glowing like amber between his eye and the solitary glim of those
+profound regions, those diamond mines from which the Hoods and the
+Hardys of times past and times present have been drawn up to the very
+tip-top of their profession.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied the spokesman of the party. "There is no time to
+be lost, for the captain, who is in a great rage, says, if we don't
+extricate the monkey's grinders, overboard he goes to a certainty."
+
+"Extricate is not the word, you blockhead; extract, I suppose you
+mean. Besides, I fancy it is not his grinders which the captain has
+ordered to be removed, but his eye-teeth, or tusks, as they may fairly
+be called."
+
+"Well, sir," said the impatient seaman, "just as you please, tushes or
+high teeth, if you'll only be kind enough to come and help us out of
+this plaguy mess, and save the poor dumb animal's life."
+
+The quick clatter of feet up the ladders gave the signal that the
+successful deputation were returning to the anxious party assembled
+between the two guns just abaft the gangway-ladder, and nearly abreast
+the after-hatchway, and immediate preparations were made for the
+operation.
+
+While these preparations were going on, the learned doctor had leisure
+to consider the case more attentively; and it occurred to him that it
+would be needless cruelty to draw the poor beast's tusks, and
+therefore he exchanged that too well-known instrument, the dentist's
+key, for a pair of bone-nippers, with which he proposed merely to
+break off the points.
+
+"I don't know exactly about that," said the perplexed quarter-master,
+when the assistant surgeon explained his views of the matter. "The
+captain said to me, 'Draw those wild bear's tushes out of him;' and I
+am afraid, if they are only broken, the monkey may still have a chance
+for going astern."
+
+"Nonsense, nonsense!" interrupted the judicious doctor. "Can you
+suppose the captain wished that anything should he done to the animal
+but just enough to prevent his biting the people?"
+
+And, suiting the action to the word, he closed the fatal pincers, and
+nipped away the ends of the offending tusks, it is to be hoped without
+causing him any great pain. But although poor Jacko probably did not
+suffer much, his rage knew no bounds; and no sooner was the canvas
+unfolded, than he sprang towards the after-hatchway, and catching the
+sergeant's hand in his mouth, closed his jaws with all his force.
+Instinctively the soldier's cane was in the air, but a dozen voices
+roared out, "He can't bite! He has got no tushes left! Don't hit him!"
+And, sure enough, although Mr. St. Jago gnawed and struggled, he could
+make no impression on the well-tanned fist of the veteran, but, at
+length, slunk off quite abashed, amidst the shouts and laughter of the
+crew.
+
+When the ship came to England, and was paid off, I turned over the
+monkey to the boatswain, who always remains in the ship, whence he
+found his way back to his old haunts in Exeter 'Change, after an
+absence of nearly three years; for happening one day, not long after
+the ship was paid off, to be in attendance upon a party seeing the
+wild beasts, one of the monkeys set up such a chattering in his cage,
+that he attracted the attention of the keeper of the establishment.
+"That animal seems to know you, sir," said he to me; and upon going
+nearer, I discovered my old and mischievous friend grinning with
+delight. I must own, indeed, that my heart smote me a little as I
+looked at the broken teeth, while the poor fellow held out his paw to
+catch my hand, in the spirit of perfect kindness and forgiveness.
+
+A far different fate, I am sorry to record, befell another monkey of
+mine, in another ship, and in a very different quarter of the globe. I
+was then in command of the Lyra, on the homeward voyage from China,
+after the embassy under Lord Amherst had been concluded. We touched on
+our way to Calcutta at the Philippine Islands, and, amongst other live
+stock, laid in a monkey which had seen the world. He was born, they
+assured us, at Teneriffe, bred at Cadiz, and had afterwards made the
+voyage across the Pacific Ocean, _viá_ Lima and Acapulco, to Manilla.
+Our extensive traveller had made good use of his time and
+opportunities, and was destined to see a good deal more of men and
+manners, indeed almost to make out the circuit of the globe. This
+distinguished monkey had a particular liking for the marines, who
+caressed and fed him, and sometimes even ventured to teach him to play
+off tricks on Jack, which the sailors promised one day to pay back
+with interest on the soldiers. In so diminutive a vessel as a ten-gun
+brig, there is but a small party of marines, merely a sergeant's
+guard, and no commissioned officer, otherwise I hardly think the
+following trick would have been attempted.
+
+One Sunday, while going the formal division rounds, I came to a figure
+which at first sight puzzled me not a little. This was no other than
+our great traveller, the monkey, rigged out as a marine, and planted
+like a sentry on the middle step of the short ladder, which, in
+deep-waisted vessels, is placed at the gangway, and reaches from the
+deck to the top of the bulwark. The animal was dressed up in a
+complete suit of miniature uniform, made chiefly of the coloured
+buntin used for flags with sundry bits of red baize purloined from the
+carpenters. His regimental cap was constructed out of painted canvas;
+and under his lower jaw had been forced a stock of pump-leather, so
+stiff in itself, and so tightly drawn back, that his head was rendered
+totally immoveable. His chin, and great part of the cheeks, had been
+shaved with so much care, that only two small curled mustachios and a
+respectable pair of whiskers remained. His hair behind being tied back
+tightly into a queue, the poor devil's eyes were almost starting from
+his head; while the corners of his mouth being likewise tugged towards
+the ears by the hair-dresser's operations, the expression of his
+countenance became irresistibly ludicrous. The astonished recruit's
+elbows were then brought in contact and fastened behind by a lashing,
+passed round and secured to the middle step of the ladder, so that he
+could not budge an inch from his position. One of the ship's pistols,
+fashioned like a musket, and strapped to his shoulder, was tied to his
+left hand, which again had been sewed by the sail-maker to the
+waistband of his beautifully pipe-clayed trousers; in short, he was
+rigged up as a complete sea-soldier in full uniform.
+
+As the captain and his train approached, the monkey began to tremble
+and chatter; but the men, not knowing how their chief might relish the
+joke, looked rather grave, while, I own, it cost me no small official
+struggle to keep down a laugh. I did succeed, however, and merely
+said, in passing, "You should not play these tricks upon travellers;
+cast him loose immediately." One of the men pulled his knife from his
+breast, and cutting the cord which fastened the poor Spaniard to the
+ladder, let him scamper off. Unluckily for the gravity of the
+officers, however, and that of the crew, Jacko did not run below, or
+jump into one of the boats out of sight, but made straight for his
+dear friends the marines, drawn up in line across our little
+hurricane-house of a poop. Unconscious of the ridicule he was bringing
+on his military patrons, he took up a position in front of the corps,
+not unlike a fugleman; and I need hardly say, that even the royals
+themselves, provoked though they were, now joined in the laugh which
+soon passed along the decks, and was with difficulty suppressed during
+the remainder of the muster.
+
+A day or two afterwards, and while the monkey was still puzzled to
+think what was the matter with his chin, he happened to observe the
+doctor engaged in some chemical process. As his curiosity and desire
+for information were just such as ought to characterize a traveller of
+his intelligence, he crept gradually from chest to chest, and from bag
+to bag, till he arrived within about a yard of Apothecaries' Hall, as
+that part of the steerage was named by the midshipmen. Poor Mono's
+delight was very great as he observed the process of pill-making,
+which he watched attentively while the ingredients were successively
+weighed, pounded, and formed into a long roll of paste. All these
+proceedings excited his deepest interest. The doctor then took his
+spreader, and cut the roll into five pieces, each of which he intended
+to divide into a dozen pills. At this stage of the process, some one
+called the pharmacopoeist's attention to the hatchway. The instant his
+back was turned, the monkey darted on the top of the medicine-chest,
+snapped up all the five masses of pill stuff, stowed them hastily
+away in his pouch, or bag, at the side of his mouth, scampered on
+deck, and leaped into the main rigging, preparatory to a leisurely
+feast upon his pilfered treasures.
+
+The doctor's first feeling was that of anger at the abstraction of his
+medicines; but in the next instant, recollecting that unless immediate
+steps were taken, the poor animal must inevitably be poisoned, he
+rushed on deck, without coat or hat, and knife in hand, to the great
+surprise and scandal of the officer of the watch.
+
+"Lay hold of the monkey, some of you!" roared the doctor to the
+people. "Jump up in the rigging, and try to get out of his pouch a
+whole mess of my stuff he has run off with!"
+
+The men only laughed, as they fancied the doctor must be cracked.
+
+"For any sake," cried the good-natured physician, "don't make a joke
+of this matter. The monkey has now in his jaws more than a hundred
+grains of calomel, and unless you get it from him, he will die to a
+certainty!"
+
+Literally, the quantity Jacko had purloined, had it been prescribed,
+would have been ordered in these terms:--
+
+Rx Hydrargyri submuriatis, 3ij. (Take of calomel 120 grains!)
+
+This appeal, which was quite intelligible, caused an immediate rush of
+the men aloft; but the monkey, after gulping down one of the lumps, or
+twenty-four grains, shot upwards to the top, over the rail of which he
+displayed his shaven countenance, and, as if in scorn of their
+impotent efforts to catch him, plucked another lump from his cheek,
+and swallowed it likewise, making four dozen grains to begin with. The
+news spread over the ship; and all hands, marines inclusive, most of
+whom had never been farther in the rigging than was necessary to hang
+up a wet shirt to dry, were seen struggling aloft to rescue the poor
+monkey from his sad fate. All their exertions were fruitless; for just
+as the captain of the maintop seized him by the tail, at the starboard
+royal yard-arm, he was cramming the last batch of calomel down his
+throat!
+
+It would give needless pain to describe the effects of swallowing the
+whole of this enormous prescription. Every art was resorted to within
+our reach in the shape of antidotes, but all in vain. The stomach-pump
+was then, unfortunately, not invented. Poor Jacko's sufferings, of
+course, were great: first, he lost the use of his limbs, then he
+became blind, next paralytic; and, in short, he presented, at the end
+of the week, such a dreadful spectacle of pain, distortion, and
+rigidity of limb, that I felt absolutely obliged to desire that he
+might be released from his misery, by being thrown into the sea. This
+was accordingly done when the ship was going along, for the British
+Channel, at the rate of seven or eight knots, with a fine fair wind.
+Very shortly afterwards it fell calm, and next day the wind drew round
+to the eastward. It continued at that point till we were blown fifty
+leagues back, and kept at sea so much longer than we had reckoned
+upon, that we were obliged to reduce our daily allowance of provisions
+and water to a most painfully small quantity. The sailors unanimously
+ascribed the whole of our bad luck to the circumstance of the monkey
+being thrown overboard.
+
+I had all my nautical life been well aware that a cat ought never to
+be so treated; but never knew, till the fate of this poor animal
+acquainted me with the fact, that a monkey is included in Jack's
+superstition.
+
+In the same vessel, and on the same voyage to China, the sailors had
+another pet, of a very singular description; viz. a pig--literally a
+grunter: nor do I believe there ever was a favourite more deeply
+cherished, or more sincerely lamented after her singular exit. On our
+sailing from England, six little sows, of a peculiarly fine breed, had
+been laid in by my steward. In the course of the voyage, five of these
+fell under the relentless hands of the butcher; but one of the six,
+being possessed of a more graceful form than belonged to her sister
+swine, and kept as clean as any lap-dog, was permitted to run about
+the decks, amongst the goats, sheep, dogs, and monkeys of our little
+ark. The occurrence of two or three smart gales of wind off the Cape
+of Good Hope, and the unceremonious entrance of sundry large seas,
+swept the decks of most of our live stock, excepting only this one
+pig, known amongst the crew by the pet name of Jean. During the bad
+weather off the Bank of Aguilhas, her sowship was stowed in the launch
+on the booms, and never seen, though often enough heard; but when we
+hauled up to the northward, and once more entered the trade-winds, on
+our course to the Straits of Sunda, by which entrance we proposed to
+gain the Java Sea, Miss Jean was again allowed to range about the
+decks at large, and right happy she seemed, poor lady, to exchange the
+odious confinement of the longboat for the freedom of the open waist.
+
+In warm latitudes, the men, as I have mentioned before, generally
+take their meals on deck, and it was Jean's grand amusement, as well
+as business, to cruise along amongst the messes, poking her snout into
+every bread-bag, and very often she scalded her tongue in the
+soup-kids. Occasionally, the sailors, to show the extent of their
+regard, amused themselves by pouring a drop of grog down her throat. I
+never saw her fairly drunk, however, but twice; upon which occasions,
+as was to be expected, she acted pretty much like a human being in the
+same hoggish predicament. Whether it was owing to this high feeding,
+or to the constant scrubbing which her hide received from sand,
+brushes, and holystones, I know not, but she certainly grew and
+flourished at a most astonishing rate, and every day waxed more and
+more impudent and importunate at the dinner-hour. I saw a good deal of
+this familiarity going on, but had no idea of the estimation Jean was
+held in, till one day, when we were about half-way across the China
+Sea, and all our stock of sheep, fowls, and ducks, was expended, I
+said to the steward, "You had better kill the pig, which, if properly
+managed, will last till we reach Macao."
+
+The servant stood for some time fumbling with his hair, and shuffling
+with his feet, muttering something to himself.
+
+"Don't you hear?" I asked. "Kill the pig; and let us have the fry
+to-day; the head with plenty of port wine, as mock-turtle soup,
+to-morrow; and get one of the legs roasted for dinner on Saturday."
+
+Off he went; but in half-an-hour returned, on some pretence or other,
+when he took occasion to ask,--
+
+"Did you say Jean was to be killed, sir?"
+
+"Jean! Who is Jean?--Oh, now I remember; the pig. Yes, certainly. Why
+do you bother and boggle so about killing a pig?"
+
+"The ship's company, sir--"
+
+"Well; what have the ship's company to say to my pig?"
+
+"They are very fond of Jean, sir."
+
+"The devil they are! Well; what then?"
+
+"Why, sir, they would take it as a great kindness if you would not
+order her to be killed. She is a great pet, sir, and comes to them
+when they call her by name, like a dog. They have taught her not to
+venture abaft the mainmast; but if you only call her, you'll see that
+what I say is true."
+
+"Indeed! I'll soon try that experiment;" and seized my hat to go on
+deck.
+
+"Shall I tell the butcher to hold fast?" asked Capewell.
+
+"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Of course!"
+
+Off shot the steward like an arrow; and I could soon distinguish the
+effect of the announcement, by the intermission of those horrible
+screams which ever attend the execution of the pig tribe, all which
+sounds were instantly terminated on the seizings being cut that tied
+poor Jean's legs.
+
+On reaching the quarter-deck, I told what had passed to the officer of
+the watch, who questioned its propriety a little, I thought, by the
+tone of his answer. I, however, called out "Jean! Jean!" and in a
+moment the delighted pig came prancing along. So great, in fact, was
+her anxiety to answer the call, as if to show her sense of the
+trifling favour I had just conferred upon her, that she dashed towards
+us, tripped up the officer's heels, and had I not caught him, he
+would have come souse on the deck. Even as it was, he indulged in a
+growl, and muttered out,--
+
+"You see, sir, what your yielding to such whims brings upon us."
+
+I said nothing, and only took care in future to caution my friends to
+mind their footing when Jean was summoned aft, which, I allow, was
+very often; for there was no resisting the exhibition to all strangers
+of such a patent pet as this. To the Chinese in particular our comical
+favourite became an object of the highest admiration, for the natives
+of the celestial empire soon recognized in this happiest of swine the
+celebrated breed of their own country. Many a broad hint I got as to
+the acceptable nature of such a present, but I was deaf to them all;
+for I felt that Jean now belonged more to the ship's company than to
+myself, and that there was a sort of obligation upon me neither to eat
+her nor to give her away.
+
+Under this tacit guarantee she gained so rapidly in size, fat, and
+other accomplishments, that, on our return to China, after visiting
+Loo Choo and other islands of the Japan Sea, the gentlemen of the
+factory would hardly credit me that this huge monster was the same
+animal. In talking of Jean's accomplishments, I must not be understood
+to describe her as a learned pig; for she could neither play cards,
+solve quadratic equations, nor perform any of those feats which
+enchant and astonish the eyes of the citizens of London and elsewhere,
+where many dogs and hogs are devoutly believed to be vested with a
+degree of intelligence rather above than below the average range of
+human intellect. Far from this, honest Jean could do little or nothing
+more than eat, drink, sleep, and grunt; in which respects she was
+totally unrivalled, and the effect of her proficiency in these
+characteristic qualities became daily more manifest. At first, as I
+have mentioned, when her name was called from any part of the ship,
+she would caper along, and dash impetuously up to the group by whom
+she was summoned. But after a time she became so excessively fat and
+lazy that it required many a call to get her to move, and the offer of
+a slice of pine-apple, or a handful of lychees, or even the delicious
+mangosteen, was now hardly enough to make her open her eyes, though in
+the early stages of the voyage she had been but too thankful for a
+potato, or the skin of an apple. As she advanced in fatness, she lost
+altogether the power of walking, and expected the men to bring the
+good things of their table to her, instead of allowing her to come for
+them.
+
+At the time of Sir Murray Maxwell's attack on the batteries of Canton,
+the Lyra, under my command, was lying at Macao, and during our stay
+the brig was visited by many of the Chinese authorities. We were also
+watched by a fleet of men-of-war junks, and had some reason to suppose
+that we might have a brush with them. In that event, I think our worst
+chance would have consisted in the enthusiasm with which the Chinese
+admiral, captains, and crews, would have fought to have put themselves
+in possession of such a prize as Jean.
+
+While things were in this interesting position, I received orders to
+get under weigh, and run up the Canton river to Wampoa. Off we set,
+escorted by the Chinese fleet of a dozen sail of junks. The wind was
+against us, but we soon beat up to the Bogue, and passed, unharmed,
+the batteries, which, to use Lord Nelson's expression, Captain
+Maxwell had made to look very like a plum-pudding. We had scarcely
+anchored at Second Bar, in the midst of the grand fleet of tea ships,
+when we were boarded by a host of Chinese mandarins and Hong
+merchants, wearing all the variety of buttons by which ranks are
+distinguished in that well-classified land. This was not to compliment
+us, or to offer us assistance, or even to inquire our business. One
+single object seemed to engage all their thoughts and animate the
+curiosity of half the province of Quantung. The fame of our fat sow
+Jean, in short, had far outrun the speed of the Lyra, and nothing was
+heard on every hand but the wondering exclamations of the natives,
+screaming out in admiration, "High-yaw! High-yaw!"
+
+We had enough to do to clear the ship at night of these our visitors,
+but we were by no means left in solitude; for the Lyra's anchorage was
+completely crowded with native boats. The motive of all this attention
+on the part of the Chinese was not merely pure admiration of Jean; the
+fact is, the acute Chinese, skilled especially in hog's flesh, saw
+very well that our pet pig was not long for this world, and knowing
+that if she died a natural death, we should no more think of eating
+her than one of our own crew; and having guessed also that we had no
+intention of "killing her to save her life," they very reasonably
+inferred that ere long this glorious _bonne bouche_ would be at their
+disposal.
+
+Our men, who soon got wind of this design on the part of the Chinese,
+became quite outrageous against Fukee, as the natives are called, and
+would hardly permit any visitors to come near their favourite, lest
+they should accelerate her inevitable fate by poison. At length poor
+dear Jean gave token of approaching dissolution; she could neither
+eat, nor drink, nor even grunt; and her breathing was like that of a
+broken bellows: in short, she died! Every art was taken to conceal the
+melancholy event from the Chinese; but somehow or other it got abroad,
+for the other English ships were deserted, and long before sunset a
+dense mass of boats, like a floating town, was formed astern and on
+both quarters of the Lyra.
+
+The sailors now held a grand consultation as to what was to be done;
+and after much discussion, and many neat and appropriate speeches, it
+was unanimously resolved that the mortal remains of the great sow now
+no more should be deposited in the mud of the river of Canton, in such
+a way that the most dexterous and hungry inhabitant of the celestial
+empire should not be able to fish her up again.
+
+As soon as it was quite dark, and all the Chinese boats sent, as
+usual, beyond the circle limited by the ship's buoys, the defunct
+pig's friends set to work to prepare for her obsequies. The chief
+object was to guard against the ravenous natives hearing the splash,
+as she went overboard; and next, that she should not afterwards float
+to the surface. The first point was easily accomplished, as will be
+seen presently; but there was a long debate, in whispers, amongst the
+men, as to the most expedient plan of keeping the body of their late
+pet from once more showing her snout above the stream. At length, it
+was suggested by the coxswain of one of the boats which had been sent
+during the morning to sound the passage, that as the bed of the river
+where the brig lay consisted of a deep layer of mud, it would be a
+good thing if Jean's remains could be driven so far into this soft
+stratum as to lie below the drags and hooks of the Chinese.
+
+This advice was much applauded, and at once acted upon with that happy
+facility of resource which it is the pride of the profession to have
+always in store for small as well as for great occasions. The dead sow
+was first laid on its back, and then two masses of iron ballast, being
+placed one on each side of the cheek, were lashed securely to the neck
+and shoulders in such a manner that the ends of the kentlage met
+across her nose, and formed, as it was very properly called, an extra
+snout for piercing the mud.
+
+When all was ready, the midship carronade was silently dismounted, the
+slide unbolted, and the whole removed out of the way. Jean's enormous
+corporation being then elevated, by means of capstan bars and
+handspikes, was brought on a level with the port-sill. A slip-rope was
+next passed between her hind legs, which had been tied together at the
+feet; and poor Miss Piggy, being gradually pushed over the ship's
+side, was lowered slowly into the water. When fairly under the
+surface, and there were no fears of any splash being caused by letting
+her go, one end of the rope was cast off, upon which the well-loaded
+carcass shot down perpendicularly at such a rate that there could be
+no question of its being immersed a fathom deep, at least, in the mud,
+and, of course, far beyond the reach of the disappointed Chinese!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+DOUBLING THE CAPE.
+
+
+As our merry little ship approached the far-famed Cape of Good Hope, I
+often remained on deck after the watch was out, feasting my eyes on
+the sight of constellations known to me before only by name, and as
+yet scarcely anchored in my imagination. Each succeeding night, as the
+various clusters rose, crossed the meridian, and sunk again into the
+western waves, we came more and more into the way, not only of
+speaking, but thinking of them, under their conventional titles of
+hydras, doves, toucans, phoenixes, and flying-fish, not forgetting the
+enormous southern whale, whose beautiful eye, called Fomalhaut, while
+it flames in the zenith of the Cape, is hardly known to the
+astronomers of this country, from its greatest altitude, as seen by
+them, not being ten degrees.
+
+But of all the Antarctic constellations, the celebrated Southern Cross
+is by far the most remarkable, and must, in every age, continue to
+arrest the attention of all voyagers and travellers who are fortunate
+enough to see it. I think it would strike the imagination even of a
+person who had never heard of the Christian religion; but of this it
+is difficult to judge, seeing how inextricably our own ideas are
+mingled up with associations linking this sacred symbol with almost
+every thought, word, and deed of our lives. The three great stars
+which form the Cross, one at the top, one at the left arm, and one,
+which is the chief star, called Alpha, at the foot, are so placed as
+to suggest the idea of a crucifix, even without the help of a small
+star, which completes the horizontal beam. When on the meridian, it
+stands nearly upright; and as it sets, we observe it lean over to the
+westward. I am not sure whether, upon the whole, this is not more
+striking than its gradually becoming more and more erect as it rises
+from the east. In every position, however, it is beautiful to look at,
+and well calculated, with a little prompting from the fancy, to stir
+up our thoughts to solemn purpose. I know not how others are affected
+by such things; but, for myself, I can say with truth, that, during
+the many nights I have watched the Southern Cross, I remember no two
+occasions when the spectacle interested me exactly in the same way,
+nor any one upon which I did not discover the result to be somewhat
+different, and always more impressive, than what I had looked for.
+
+This constellation being about thirty degrees from the south pole, is
+seen in its whole revolution, and, accordingly, when off the Cape, I
+have observed it in every stage, from its triumphant erect position,
+between sixty and seventy degrees above the horizon, to that of
+complete inversion, with the top beneath, and almost touching the
+water. This position, by the way, always reminded me of the death of
+St. Peter, who is said to have deemed it too great an honour to be
+crucified with his head upwards. In short, I defy the stupidest mortal
+that ever lived to watch these changes in the aspect of this splendid
+constellation, and not to be in some degree struck by them.
+
+These airy visions are sometimes curiously broken in upon by the most
+common-place incidents, which force us back upon ordinary life. On the
+28th of May we overtook a packet on her way to the Brazils from
+England, which had sailed more than a month after us, but she had not
+a single newspaper, army list, navy list, or review on board. The mate
+was totally ignorant of all the interesting topics of that most
+interesting moment of the war (1812); and in reply to all our
+questions, merely observed that everything was just the same as when
+we left England. The captain was ill in bed, and could not be spoken
+to, so that this intelligent gentleman, his chief officer, had been
+lugged on deck to tell the news. He honestly confessed, after being
+sufficiently baited and badgered by our interrogatories, that even
+when in England he had no time to look at the newspapers, but that he
+left public affairs to the management of those whose business it was
+to look after them, while he found enough to do in looking after the
+packet.
+
+"I dare say," added the fellow, with rather more dryness of humour
+than we had imagined was in his doughy composition, "I dare say the
+whole story you are asking about, of Buonaparte and the Russians, is
+told very exactly in these bags (pointing to the mail), and if I
+deliver them safe at Rio, it will be wrong to say I bring no news."
+
+On the 4th of June we had a jollification in honour of good old King
+George the Third's birthday. In how many different parts of the world,
+and with what deep and affectionate sincerity, were cups quaffed and
+cheers rung out in the same loyal cause! If sailors would tell the
+truth, we should find that when abroad and far away, they generally
+use their distant friends as the captain, mentioned some time ago, did
+his ship's company's European clothing--stow them away for a future
+occasion. I do not say that they forget or neglect their friends; they
+merely put them by in safety for a time. In fact, as the song says, a
+sailor's heart and soul have plenty to do "in every port," to keep
+fully up to the companionships which are present, without moping and
+moaning over the remembrance of friends at a distance, who, in like
+manner no doubt, unship us also, more or less, from their thoughts, if
+not from their memory, for the time being; and it is all right and
+proper that it should be so.
+
+On the 5th of June we parted from our convoy, the China ships; and,
+alas! many a good dinner we lost by that separation. Our course lay
+more to the left, or eastward, as we wished to look in at the Cape of
+Good Hope, while those great towering castles, the tea ships, could
+not afford time for play, but struck right down to the southward, in
+search of the westerly winds which were to sweep them half round the
+globe, and enable them to fetch the entrance of the China seas in time
+to save the monsoon to Canton. Each ship sent a boat to us with
+letters for England, to be forwarded from the Cape. This was probably
+their last chance for writing home; so that, after the accounts
+contained in these dispatches reached England, their friends would
+hear nothing of them till they presented themselves eighteen months
+afterwards. Neither did they expect to know what was passing at home
+till they should touch at St. Helena, on the return voyage, in the
+latter end of the following year.
+
+I remember looking over the lee-gangway next day, at the first blush
+of the dawn, during the morning watch, and I could barely distinguish
+the fleet far to leeward, with their royals just showing above the
+horizon. On taking leave of our convoy, we were reminded that there is
+always something about the last, the very last look of any object,
+which brings with it a feeling of melancholy. On this occasion,
+however, we had nothing more serious to reproach ourselves with than
+sundry impatient execrations with which we had honoured some of our
+slow-moving, heavy-sterned friends, when we were compelled to shorten
+sail in a fair wind, in order to keep them company. A smart frigate
+making a voyage with a dull-sailing convoy reminds one of the child's
+story of the provoking journey made by the hare with a drove of oxen.
+
+Our merry attendants, the flying-fish, and others which swarmed about
+us in the torrid zone, refused to see us across the tropic, and the
+only aquatics we fell in with afterwards were clumsy whales and
+grampuses, and occasionally a shoal of white porpoises. Of birds there
+were plenty, especially albatrosses. The captain, being a good shot
+with a ball, brought down one of these, which measured seven feet
+between the tips of the wings. I have several times seen them twelve
+feet; and I heard a well-authenticated account of one measuring
+sixteen feet from tip to tip. On the 22nd of June we came in sight of
+the high land on the northern part of the peninsula of the Cape of
+Good Hope, the far-famed Table Mountain, which looked its character
+very well, and really did not disappoint us, though, in general, its
+height, like that of most high lands, is most outrageously exaggerated
+in pictures. The wind failed us during the day, and left us rolling
+about till the evening, when the breeze came too late to be of much
+use. Next day we rounded the pitch of the Cape, but it blew so strong
+from the northward, right out of False Bay, accompanied by rain and a
+high sea, that we found it no easy job to hold our own, much less to
+gain the anchorage. But on the 24th of June, the day after, the wind
+moderated and became fair, the weather cleared up, and we sailed
+almost into Simon's Bay, a snug little nook at the north-western angle
+of False Bay. It then fell calm, but the boats of the men-of-war at
+anchor, his Majesty's ships Lion, Nisus, and Galatea, soon towed us
+into our berth. During the winter of that hemisphere, which
+corresponds to our northern summer, the only safe quarters for ships
+is in Simon's Bay, on the south side of the Cape peninsula.
+
+I have a perfect recollection of the feelings with which I leaped out
+of the boat, and first set foot on the continent of Africa, but am
+prevented from describing these poetical emotions by the remembrance,
+equally distinct, of the more engrossing anxiety which both my
+companion and myself experienced about our linen, then on its way to
+the laundress in two goodly bundles. For the life of me, I cannot
+separate the grand ideas suitable to the occasion, from the base
+interests connected with cotton shirts and duck trousers. And such is
+the tormenting effect of association, that when I wish to dwell upon
+the strange feelings, partly professional and partly historical,
+caused by actually gazing on the identical Cape of Good Hope, a spot
+completely hammered into the memory of all sailors, straightway I
+remember the bitter battling with the washer-folks of Simon's Town
+touching the rate of bleaching shirts: and both the sublime and the
+beautiful are lost in the useful and ridiculous.
+
+The 3rd of July was named for sailing; but the wind, which first came
+foul, soon lulled into a calm, then breezed up again; and so on
+alternately, baffling us in all our attempts to get to sea. Nor was it
+till the 5th that we succeeded in forcing our way out against a smart
+south-easter, with a couple of reefs in the topsails, and as much as
+we could do to carry the mainsail. A westerly current sweeps at all
+seasons of the year round the Cape of Good Hope, and sometimes proves
+troublesome enough to outward-bound ships. This stream is evidently
+caused by the trade-wind in the southern parts of the Indian ocean.
+For three days we were bamboozled with light south-easterly airs and
+calms, but on the 8th of July, which is the depth of winter in that
+hemisphere, there came on a spanking snuffler from the north-west,
+before which we spun two hundred and forty miles, clean off the reel,
+in twenty-four hours.
+
+Nothing is more delightful than the commencement of such a fair wind.
+The sea is then smooth, and the ship seems literally to fly along; the
+masts and yards bend forwards, as if they would drop over the bows,
+while the studding-sail booms crack and twist, and, unless great care
+be taken, sometimes break across; but still, so long as the surface of
+the sea is plane it is astonishing what a vast expanse of canvas may
+be spread to the rising gale. By-and-bye, however, it becomes prudent
+to take in the royals, flying-jib, and top-gallant studding-sails. The
+boatswain takes a look at the gripes and other fastenings of the boats
+and booms; the carpenter instinctively examines the port-lashings, and
+draws up the pump-boxes to look at the leathers; while the gunner sees
+that all the breechings and tackles of the guns are well secured
+before the ship begins to roll. The different minor heads of
+departments, also, to use their own phrase, smell the gale coming on,
+and each in his respective walk gets things ready to meet it. The
+captain's and gun-room steward beg the carpenter's mate to drive down
+a few more cleats and staples, and, having got a cod-line or two from
+the boatswain's yeoman, or a hank of marline stuff, they commence
+double lashing all the tables and chairs. The marines' muskets are
+more securely packed in the arm-chest. The rolling tackles are got
+ready for the lower yards, and the master, accompanied by the gunner's
+mate, inspects the lanyards of the lower rigging. All these, and
+twenty other precautions are taken in a manner so slow and deliberate
+that they would hardly catch the observation of a passenger. It might
+also seem as if the different parties were afraid to let out the
+secret of their own lurking apprehension, but yet were resolved not to
+be caught unprepared.
+
+Of these forerunners of a gale none is more striking than the repeated
+looks of anxiety which the captain casts to windward, as if his
+glance could penetrate the black sky lowering in the north-west, in
+order to discover what was behind, and how long with safety he might
+carry sail. Ever and anon he shifts his look from the wind's eye, and
+rests it on the writhing spars aloft, viewing with much uneasiness the
+stretching canvas all but torn from the yards. He then steps below,
+and for the fortieth time reads off the barometer. On returning to the
+deck he finds that, during the few minutes he has been below, the
+breeze has freshened considerably, or, it may be, that, coming
+suddenly upon it again, he views it differently. At all events, he
+feels the necessity of getting the sails in while he yet can, or
+before "God Almighty takes them in for him," as the sailors say when
+matters have been so long deferred, that not only canvas and yards,
+but even masts, are at times suddenly wrenched out of the ship, and
+sent in one confused mass far off to leeward, whirling in the gale!
+
+The men, who are generally well aware of the necessity of shortening
+sail long before the captain has made up his mind to call the hands
+for that purpose, have probably been collected in groups for some time
+in different parts of the upper deck, talking low to one another, and
+looking aloft with a start, every now and then, as the masts or yards
+give an extra crack.
+
+"Well! this is packing on her," says one, laying an emphasis on the
+word "is."
+
+"Yes!" replies another; "and if our skipper don't mind, it will be
+packing off her presently," with an emphasis on the word "off." "Right
+well do I know these Cape gales," adds an ancient mariner of the
+South Seas; "they snuffle up in a minute; and, I'll answer for it, the
+captain will not carry sail so long off Cape Aguilhas, when he has
+gone round that breezy point as often as old Bill has."
+
+At this moment the tardy voice of the commander, long unwilling to
+lose any part of the fair wind, is at length heard, giving the
+reluctant order, "Turn the hands up, shorten sail!" The ready clatter
+of feet, and the show of many heads at all the hatchways, and
+perhaps the sound of a suppressed laugh amongst the men who have been
+gossiping and wagering about the gale, give sufficient indication that
+this evolution has been expected for some time.
+
+"All hands shorten sail!" calls out the boatswain, after a louder and
+sharper note than usual from his pipe, winded not half the ordinary
+length of time, though twice as shrilly; for his object is to mark on
+the ears of the people the necessity of unusual expedition and
+exertion. A clever and experienced person filling this important
+situation will soon teach the men to distinguish between the various
+notes of his call, though to unpractised ears the sounds might appear
+unvaried.
+
+"Shorten sail! that's easier said than done," growls forth some
+hard-up old cock.
+
+"No! not a bit easier said than done," unexpectedly observes the
+captain, but quite good-humouredly, having accidentally heard the
+seaman's remark. "Not a bit, old fellow, if you and the young hands
+only work as smartly and cheerfully as I know you can do when you have
+a mind. Come, my lads, are you all ready forward?"
+
+It is a trying moment both for the sails and yards, when the order is
+actually given to commence shortening sail; if the pressure from the
+wind be considerable, it is necessary to have men stationed to lower
+away the haulyards and ease off the tacks at the proper moment, while
+others gather in the sails as they come down, fluttering a little
+perhaps, if not carefully managed, but still quietly and easily, as
+well as quickly. When, however, the wind has risen to a pitch beyond
+its due proportion to the canvas spread, and the captain's anxiety to
+make the most of a fair wind has tempted him to carry on too long, the
+case becomes very difficult, the ropes which keep the sails in their
+places contributing also an important share to the support of those
+spars to which the sails are bent, or to which they may be hauled out.
+Consequently, the moment the ropes alluded to, which are technically
+named the haulyards and tacks, are slackened, the yards and booms,
+being suddenly deprived of these material supports, are very apt to be
+sprung, that is, cracked across, or even carried away, which means
+being snapped right in two as short as a carrot, to use Jack's very
+appropriate simile.
+
+It is quite true, that lowering away the sail and easing off the tack
+of a studding-sail does diminish the pressure of the sail on the spar,
+and, of course, both the yard and the boom have less duty to perform.
+Still, the moment which succeeds the order to "Lower away!" is
+especially trying to the nerves of the officer who is carrying on the
+duty. I have not unfrequently seen comparatively young officers handle
+the sails and yards of a ship with perfect ease, from their superior
+mechanical knowledge, at times when the oldest sailors on board were
+puzzled how to get things right. One officer, for instance, may
+direct the preparations for shortening sail to be made according to
+the most orthodox rules laid down in Hamilton Moor's "Examination of a
+Young Sea Officer," and yet when he comes to give the fatal word,
+"Lower away! haul down!" everything shall go wrong. The tack being
+eased off too soon, the spar breaks in the middle, and the poor
+topmast studding-sail is spitted like a lark on the broken stump of
+the boom, while the lower studding-sail, driven furiously forward by
+the squall, is pierced by the spritsail yard-arm, the cat-head, and
+the bumpkin; or it may be wrapped round the bowsprit, like so much wet
+drapery in the inimitable Chantrey's studio over the clay figure of an
+Indian bishop.
+
+"What the blue blazes shall I do next?" moans the poor puzzled officer
+of the watch, who sees this confusion caused entirely by his own bad
+management. On such an occasion, a kind and considerate captain will
+perhaps fairly walk below, and so leave the mortified youth to get
+himself out of the scrape as he best can, and rather lose a small
+spar, or a bolt of canvas, than expose his officer to the humiliation
+of having the task transferred to another; or he will edge himself
+near the embarrassed officer, and, without the action being detected
+by any one else, whisper a few magical words of instruction in the
+young man's ear, by which the proper train of directions are set
+agoing, and the whole confusion of ropes, sails, and yards, speedily
+brought into order. If this fails, the hands are called, upon which
+the captain himself, or more generally the first lieutenant, takes the
+trumpet; and the men, hearing the well-known, confident voice of
+skill, fly to the proper points, "monkey paw" the split sails, clear
+the ropes, which an instant before seemed inextricably foul, and in a
+very few minutes reduce the whole disaster to the dimensions of a
+common occurrence. "Now, you may call the watch," says the captain;
+and the reproved officer again takes charge of the deck. I need hardly
+say, that any young man of spirit ought rather to wear his hands to
+the bone in learning his duty, than to expose himself to such
+mortification as this.
+
+Let us, however, suppose all the extra sails taken in without
+accident, and rolled up with as much haste as may be consistent with
+that good order which ought never to be relaxed under any degree of
+urgency. In fine weather, it is usual to place the studding-sails in
+the rigging, with all their gear bent, in readiness to be whipped up
+to the yard-arm at a moment's warning; but when a breeze such as we
+are now considering is on the rise, it is thought best to unbend the
+tacks and haulyards, and to stow the sails in some convenient place,
+either on the booms, between the boats, or in the hammock-nettings.
+For the same reason, the small sails are sent on deck, together with
+as much top hamper as can readily be moved. These things are scarcely
+bundled up and lifted out of the way before the long-expected order to
+reef topsails is smartly given out, and crowds of men are seen
+skipping up the tight weather-rigging, with a merry kind of alacrity,
+which always makes a captain feel grateful to the fellows--I do not
+well know why; for, as there is then no real danger, there seems
+nothing particularly praiseworthy in this common-place exertion.
+Perhaps the consciousness that a storm is coming on, during which
+every nerve on board may be strained, makes the captain see with
+pleasure a show of activity which, under other circumstances, may be
+turned to trials of the utmost hardihood and daring.
+
+Be this as it may, the yards come sliding down the well-greased masts;
+the men lie out to the right and left, grasp the tumultuous canvas,
+drag out the earings, and tie the points, with as perfect deliberation
+as if it were a calm, only taking double pains to see that all is
+right and tight, and the reef-band straight along the yard. The order
+has been given to take in the second and third reefs only; but the men
+linger at their posts, expecting the further work which they know is
+necessary. The captain of the top, instead of moving in, continues to
+sit astride the spar, dangling his legs under the weather yard-arm
+with the end of the close reef-earing in his hand, quite as much at
+his ease as any well-washed sea-bird that ever screamed defiance to a
+pitiless south-wester.
+
+Johnny's anticipations prove right, for the anxious commander, after
+gazing twice or thrice to windward, again consulting his barometer,
+looking six or eight times at his watch in as many minutes, to learn
+how many hours of daylight are yet above the horizon, and perhaps also
+stealing a professional opinion from his first lieutenant, an officer
+probably of much more technical experience than himself, decides upon
+close-reefing. If he be a man of sense, and wishes the work to be done
+quickly and well, he must not now hesitate about starting the topsail
+sheets, and it will certainly be all the better if one or both the
+clew-lines be likewise hauled close up.
+
+The mainsail is now to be taken in; and as the method of performing
+this evolution has long been a subject of hot controversy at sea, I
+take the opportunity of saying, that Falconer's couplet,--
+
+    "For he who strives the tempest to disarm
+    Will never first embrail the lee yard-arm,"
+
+has, in my opinion, done a world of mischief, and split many thousands
+of sails.
+
+I, at least, plead guilty to having been sadly misled by this
+authority for many years, since it was only in the last ship I
+commanded that I learned the true way to take in the mainsail when it
+blows hard. The best practice certainly is, to man both buntlines and
+the lee leechline well, and then to haul the LEE clew-garnet close up,
+before starting the tack or slacking the bowline. By attending to
+these directions, the spar is not only instantaneously relieved, but
+the leeward half of the sail walks sweetly and quietly up to the yard,
+without giving a single flap. After which the weather-clew comes up
+almost of itself, and without risk or trouble.
+
+Meanwhile the ship is spinning along very nearly at the same rate as
+at first, though two-thirds of the canvas have been taken off her.
+These variations in speed are odd enough, and, at times, not easily
+accounted for. When the breeze first comes on, all sail set, and the
+water quite smooth, the ship can be steered on a straight course
+without any difficulty, and she really seems to fly. When the log is
+hove, it is discovered, we shall suppose, that she is going eleven
+knots. Well, the wind increases, and in come the studding-sails; but
+as the water is still smooth, the single-reefed topsails and
+top-gallant-sails may be carried, though it is evident the ship is
+rather over-pressed, or, at all events, not another stitch of sail
+could be set.
+
+"Heave the log again, and see what she goes now!" says the officer.
+"How much?"
+
+"Eleven knots and a-half, sir," replies the middy of the watch.
+
+Presently the sea rises, the masts bend, the ship begins to stagger
+along, groaning and creaking in every joint, under the severe
+pressure. The topsails are close-reefed to meet the increased wind;
+but still, as before, she is under quite as much canvas as she can
+possibly bear.
+
+"Heave the log now!" again says the officer. "Ten knots!" reports the
+middy.
+
+By-and-bye the courses are reefed, and before dark the mainsail is
+rolled up, the fore and mizen topsails handed, and the top-gallant
+yards sent on deck. The sea has now risen to a disagreeable height,
+and the steering, in spite of every care, becomes wilder and much more
+difficult; and as the ship forges into the breast of the waves, or
+rises with a surge not much less startling, her way seems deadened for
+the moment, till she bounds up again on the top of the sea, to woo, as
+it were, the embraces of the rattling gale. The storm is not slow to
+meet this rude invitation; while, if the ropes, sails, and masts, be
+all wet, as they generally are in such a breeze, it is difficult to
+conceive any tones more gruff and unsentimental than the sounds of
+this boisterous courtship.
+
+In line-of-battle ships, and even in frigates, the close-reefed
+main-topsail and foresail may be carried, for a very long time, when
+going nearly before the wind; and indeed it is the best seamanship to
+crack on her; for when the gale rises to its highest pitch, and the
+seas follow in great height, they are apt to curl fairly on board, and
+play fine pranks along the decks, even if the violence of the blow on
+the quarter do not broach the ship to, that is, twist her head round
+towards the wind in such a way that the next sea shall break over her
+gangway, and in all probability sweep away the masts. In small vessels
+it becomes a most anxious period of the gale when the sea has got up
+so much that it is difficult to steer steadily, and when the wind
+blows so strong that enough sail cannot be carried to keep the ship
+sufficiently ahead of the waves, except at the risk of tearing the
+masts away. When the requisite degree of speed cannot be secured, the
+inevitable consequence, sooner or later, is, that a monstrous
+pea-green solid sea walks most unceremoniously on board, over the
+taffrail, and dashes along the decks like those huge debacles, of
+which some geologists so confidently point out the traces on the
+earth's surface.
+
+I never happened actually to witness a catastrophe of this kind on the
+great scale, though I have seen one or two smartish gales in my time.
+Indeed the most serious evils I recollect to have been present at
+occurred on board the Volage, on the very passage to India which I am
+now describing. The following are the words in which these incidents
+are noticed in my journal:--
+
+"On the 13th of July, off the Cape of Good Hope, in the midst of a
+heavy winter's gale, our worthy passenger, Sir Evan Nepean, governor
+of Bombay, was thrown down the ladder, by the violent rolling of the
+ship; and another gentleman, the Baron Tuyll, the best-natured and
+deservedly popular passenger I ever saw afloat, was very nearly
+washed out of his cot by a sea which broke into the stern windows of
+the captain's cabin."
+
+I have often enough been close to wars and rumours of wars, but was
+never in a regular sea-fight; and though I have also witnessed a few
+shipwrecks and disasters, I never was myself in much danger of what
+might be honestly called a lee shore; neither is it my good fortune to
+be able to recount, from personal knowledge, any scenes of hardship or
+suffering from hunger, cold, or any other misery. My whole
+professional life, in short, has been one of such comparative ease and
+security, that I cannot now remember ever going far beyond twenty-four
+hours without a good bellyful. Still I have often been forced to take
+a high degree of interest in formidable adventures of this kind, from
+their happening in fleets of which my own ship formed a part, or from
+these incidents including among the sufferers persons to whom I was
+attached.
+
+In the year 1815, I accompanied a convoy of homeward-bound Indiamen
+from Ceylon, and a right merry part of the voyage it was while we ran
+down a couple of thousand miles of the south-east trade-wind; for
+these hospitable floating nabobs, the East India captains, seldom let
+a day pass without feasting one another; and we, their naval
+protectors, came in for no small share of the good things, for which
+we could make but a poor return. Along with our fleet, there sailed
+from Ceylon a large ship, hired as a transport by Government to bring
+home invalid soldiers. There were about 500 souls in her; of these a
+hundred were women, and more than a hundred children. I was
+accidentally led to take a particular interest in this ill-fated
+vessel, from the circumstance of there being four fine boys on board,
+sons of a military friend of mine at Point de Galle. I had become so
+well acquainted with the parents of these poor little fellows during
+my frequent visits to Ceylon, that one day, before sailing, I
+playfully offered to take a couple of the boys in my brig, the Victor,
+an eighteen-gun sloop of war; but as I could not accommodate the whole
+family, the parents, who were obliged to remain abroad, felt unwilling
+to separate the children, alas! and my offer was declined.
+
+Off we all sailed, and reached the neighbourhood of the Cape without
+encountering anything in the way of an adventure; there, however,
+commenced the disasters of the unfortunate Arniston, as this transport
+was called. She had no chronometer on board; a most culpable and
+preposterous omission in the outfit of a ship destined for such a
+voyage. The master told me that he himself was not in circumstances to
+purchase so expensive an instrument, the cost of a good chronometer
+being at least fifty or sixty guineas, and that the owners considered
+the expense needless. He also stated that on his remonstrating still
+more, and urging upon these gentlemen that their property would be ten
+times more secure if he were furnished with the most approved means of
+taking good care of it, he was given to understand, that, if he did
+not choose to take the ship to sea without a chronometer, another
+captain could easily be found who would make no such new-fangled
+scruples. The poor master shrugged his shoulders, and said he would do
+his best; but having often rounded the Cape, he knew the difficulties
+of the navigation, when there was nothing but the dead reckoning to
+trust to.
+
+During our passage from Ceylon, it was the practice every day, at one
+o'clock, for the Indiamen, as well as the men-of-war, to make signals
+showing the longitude of each ship by chronometer. Thus we had all an
+opportunity of comparing the going of our respective time-keepers, and
+thus, too, the master of the Arniston was enabled to learn his place
+so accurately, that if he had only kept company with his friends the
+Indiamen, each of whom was provided with at least four or five
+chronometers, the deficiency in his equipment might never have led to
+the dreadful catastrophe which speedily followed the loss of this
+assistance.
+
+It was late in the month of May when we reached the tempestuous
+regions of the Cape; and we were not long there before a furious gale
+of wind from the westward dispersed the fleet, and set every one
+adrift upon his own resources. The poor Arniston was seen at sunset,
+on the day the gale commenced, with most of her sails split, but not
+otherwise in danger, for she had a good offing, and the wind was not
+blowing on shore. Three heavy gales followed in such quick succession
+during the next week, that not only the ordinary course, but the
+velocity of the current was changed, and instead of running, as it
+almost always does, to the westward, it set, on the days in question,
+to the south-eastward. According to the most moderate allowance for
+the current, all circumstances being taken into consideration, any
+navigator might fairly have supposed that, in the five days which
+elapsed from the 24th of May to the 28th inclusive, his ship would
+have been drifted to the westward by the current at least a hundred
+miles. Our chronometers, however, distinctly showed us that we had
+been carried, not, as usual, to the westward, but actually to the
+eastward, a distance of more than a hundred miles; so that, in less
+than a week, there occurred upwards of two hundred miles of error in
+the dead reckoning.
+
+The master of the Arniston, doubtless, after making every allowance,
+according to the best authorities, and working by the most exact rules
+of navigation of which he could avail himself, naturally inferred that
+his ship was more than a hundred miles to the westward of the Cape,
+and he probably considered himself justified in bearing up before a
+south-easterly gale, and steering, as he had so much reason to suppose
+he was doing, straight for St. Helena.
+
+It is very important to remark, in passing, to professional men, that
+no ship off the Cape, and under any circumstances, ought ever to bear
+up, without first heaving the deep sea-lead. If soundings are obtained
+on the Bank, it is a sure symptom that the ship is not sufficiently
+advanced to the westward to enable her to steer with safety to the
+north-north-westward for St. Helena. It is clear the ship in question
+must have omitted this precaution.
+
+All that is known of this fatal shipwreck is simply that the Arniston,
+with a flowing sheet, and going nine knots, ran among the breakers in
+Struy's Bay, nearly a hundred miles to the eastward of the Cape. The
+masts went instantly by the board, and the sea, which broke completely
+over all, tore the ship to pieces in a few minutes; and out of her
+whole crew, passengers, women, and children, only half-a-dozen seamen
+reached the coast alive. All these could tell was, that they bore up
+and made all sail for St. Helena, judging themselves well round the
+Cape. This scanty information, however, was quite enough to establish
+the important fact that this valuable ship, and all the lives on board
+of her, were actually sacrificed to a piece of short-sighted economy.
+That they might have been saved, had she been supplied with the worst
+chronometer that was ever sent to sea, is also quite obvious. I am
+sure practical men will agree with me, that, in assuming sixty seconds
+a-day as the limit of the uncertainty of a watch's rate, I have taken
+a quantity four or five times greater than there was need for. Surely
+no time-keeper that was ever sold as such by any respectable
+watchmaker for more than thirty or forty guineas, has been found to
+go so outrageously ill as not to be depended upon for one week, within
+less than ten or fifteen seconds a-day. And as I have shown that a
+chronometer whose rate was uncertain, even to an extent five or six
+times as great as this, would have saved the Arniston, any further
+comment on such precious economy is needless.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+SUGGESTIONS TOWARDS DIMINISHING THE NUMBER AND SEVERITY OF NAVAL
+PUNISHMENTS.
+
+
+I trust that most of my brother-officers who have commanded ships can
+lay their hands upon their hearts and conscientiously declare they
+have never inflicted an unjust punishment. I can only confess with
+much sorrow, that I, unfortunately, am not of that number. But as mere
+regret on such occasions contributes nothing towards remedying the
+evils committed, I have long employed my thoughts in devising some
+plan which might lessen the number of punishments at sea, and thus,
+perhaps, save others from the remorse I have felt, while it might tend
+to relieve the service from the discredit of an improper degree of
+severity in its penal administration.
+
+Before proceeding to the main point under consideration, the
+diminution of the number and the degree of punishments on board ship,
+I must entreat officers not to allow themselves to be misled by the
+very mischievous fallacy of supposing that any of the various
+substitutes which have yet been proposed for corporal punishment are
+one whit less severe than those so long established. It is well known
+to officers of experience that this powerful engine of discipline may
+be rendered not only the most effective, but essentially the most
+lenient, and when duly reported and checked, far more likely to
+contribute to the peace and comfort of the men themselves, than any of
+the specious but flimsy substitutes alluded to. Solitary confinement,
+for example, I take to be one of the most cruel, and, generally
+speaking, one of the most unjust of all punishments; for it is
+incapable of being correctly measured, and it almost always renders
+the offender worse. It prompts him, and gives him time to brood over
+revengeful purposes; it irritates him against his officers, and if
+long continued almost inevitably leads to insanity and suicide. All
+the beneficial effects of example, likewise, are necessarily lost;
+because the solitary culprit's sufferings, horrible though they no
+doubt are, never meet the eye of the rest of the crew, nor, indeed,
+can they ever be truly made known to them, while he himself, when he
+quits his cell, makes light of his punishment. But not one man in a
+thousand, even of our hardiest spirits, can maintain this air of
+indifference at the gangway. And although it must be admitted that a
+man, at such moments, can feel no great kindness to his officer, the
+transient nature of the punishment, compared to the prolonged misery
+of solitary confinement, leaves no time for discontent to rankle. I
+never once knew, nor ever heard of an instance in which a corporal
+punishment, administered calmly and with strict regard to justice and
+established usage, was followed by any permanent ill-will resting on
+the mind of a sailor, either towards his captain or towards the
+service.
+
+It happened to me once, when in command of a ship in the Pacific
+Ocean, to have occasion to punish a very good seaman. The offence was
+in some degree a doubtful one, but, upon the whole, I felt it my duty
+to correct it rather sharply. On mature reflection, however, I began
+to suspect I had done wrong; and on joining the commander-in-chief,
+some weeks afterwards, I laid all the circumstances of the case before
+him, and begged him to tell me fairly what he thought. He examined the
+details minutely, cross-questioned me about them, and, after some
+deliberation, said, that although I had the letter of the law with me,
+I had acted hastily, which in this instance was acting unjustly; for
+had I waited a little, the true bearings of the case must, he thought,
+have made themselves apparent. This judgment of Sir Thomas Hardy
+squared but too well with my own feelings upon the matter, and doubled
+the shame I was already suffering under. From that hour to this, I
+have never ceased to catch with eagerness at any suggestion which I
+thought might contribute to save deserving men from a similar
+misfortune, and well-disposed officers from the fatal errors of
+precipitancy. A little incident has perhaps had its effect in
+quickening these speculative ideas into a practical shape.
+
+Several years after the period alluded to, I happened to be sailing
+about Spithead in a gentleman's yacht, when a man-of-war's cutter came
+alongside. As no officer had been sent in the boat, the message was
+delivered by the coxswain, whom I did not recognize as an old shipmate
+till he came to me aft, took off his hat, and held out his hand. I
+then recollected the face of the seaman I had unjustly punished! To
+all appearance he had entirely forgotten the circumstance: but the
+commodore's words, "You ought to have let that man off," rang in my
+ears, and my heart smote me as I felt the honest fellow's grasp. "I
+shall never rest," I afterwards vowed to myself, "till I have
+succeeded in suggesting some regulations which, as far as possible,
+shall prevent other officers from falling into the same error."
+
+It seems to be now generally admitted, by all who have attended to the
+subject, that ever since the period when it became the duty of
+captains to make periodical reports to the Admiralty of the corporal
+punishments inflicted, those punishments have gradually decreased.
+Meanwhile the discipline has gone on improving; and therefore it
+becomes a matter of much practical importance to investigate the true
+bearings of a measure by which such invaluable results have been
+brought about. It should never be forgotten, that there is an absolute
+necessity for maintaining the present strictness of our discipline,
+which is one of the most essential sources of naval success; and, next
+to the spirit of honour and patriotism which pervades the profession,
+it may be considered the very life-blood of that branch of our
+national strength. But there are two very different methods by which
+this vital object of exact discipline may be accomplished: one is the
+prevention, the other the punishment, of offences. Some officers have
+endeavoured to do away with corporal punishment altogether; and some,
+on the other hand, have had recourse to hardly anything else. The just
+union of the two systems will, I believe, in the end, perform the
+greatest public service, at the least cost of human suffering.[7]
+
+Antecedent to June 1811, the date of the order by which officers in
+command of ships were required to send quarterly returns of
+punishments to the Admiralty, there was little or no restraint upon
+the despotic authority of the captain, as far as corporal punishments
+were concerned. And it must be in the recollection of every one who
+served in those days, that captains, not really cruel by nature, nor
+more intemperate than the ordinary run of men, were sometimes led, by
+the mere indulgence of unlimited and unscrutinised authority, to use a
+degree of severity not only out of proper measure with the crime, but,
+by reason of its questionable justice, hurtful to the discipline of
+the ships, and to the general character of the service. Such things
+may also possibly have happened even of late years; but certainly,
+they have been much less frequent; for although no Admiralty
+regulations can convert a hot-headed captain into a cool,
+experienced, or reflecting person, nevertheless, it does seem to be
+quite within the legitimate range of official power, to compel all
+intemperate officers, whether young or old, to behave, as far as their
+nature will allow, in the same manner as men of sense, feeling, and
+thorough knowledge of the service would act in like circumstances.
+
+It is a rule, now very generally observed by the best authorities in
+the Navy, never to punish a man on the day the offence has been
+committed. And experience having shown the wisdom of this delay, there
+seems no reason why so simple a rule should not be established
+imperatively upon every captain without exception.
+
+It is important, in discussing the subject of naval discipline, to
+recollect under what peculiar and trying circumstances the captain of
+a man-of-war is placed, and how much he stands in need not only of
+every assistance that can possibly be afforded to guide his judgment,
+but of every artificial check that can be devised to control his
+temper. As he is charged with the sole executive government of the
+community over which he presides, he is called upon to exercise many
+of the legislative, as well as the judicial functions of his little
+kingdom. Having made laws in the first instance, he has to act the
+part of a judge in the interpretation of those laws; while, in the
+very next instant, he may stand in the place of a jury to determine
+the facts of the case, and of a counsel to cross-question the
+witnesses. To this strange jumble of offices is finally added the
+fearful task of allotting the punishment, and seeing it carried into
+effect! If ever there was a situation in the world, therefore,
+requiring all the aids of deliberation, and especially of that
+sobriety of thought which a night's rest can alone bestow, it is
+surely in the case of a captain of a man-of-war. And if this rule has
+been found a good one, even by prudent and experienced officers, who,
+it appears, never trust themselves to punish a man without twenty-four
+hours' delay at least, how much more important might not such a
+regulation prove, if less discreet persons were compelled to adopt
+invariably a similar course of deliberation? Nor does it appear
+probable that, in the whole complicated range of the service, cases
+will often occur when its true interests may not be better answered by
+punishments inflicted after such delay, than if the reality or the
+semblance of passion, or even the slightest suspicion of anger, were
+allowed to interfere with the purity of naval justice. It is so
+difficult, indeed, to detach the appearance of vindictive warmth from
+punishments which are made to follow quickly after the offence, that
+in all such cases there is great danger incurred of inflicting much
+pain to little or no purpose.
+
+In the first place, therefore, I consider it might be very
+advantageously established, by a positive order from the Admiralty,
+that one whole day, or twenty-four hours complete, should, in every
+instance, be allowed to elapse between the investigation of an
+offence, and the infliction of the punishment which it may be thought
+to deserve. The interval in question, to be of use, should take its
+date from the time the circumstances of the case have been inquired
+into by the captain himself. The reason of this limitation will be
+apparent, if it be recollected that the moment at which the officer's
+anger is likely to be the greatest, is when he first becomes
+acquainted with the details of the offender's misconduct.
+
+In order still further to circumscribe the chances of passion
+interfering with the judgment, not only of the captain, but of the
+officer who makes the complaint, as well as the witnesses and other
+parties concerned, I think it should be directed, that all offences
+whatsoever are to be inquired into between nine o'clock in the morning
+and noon. This is perhaps the only period in the whole day perfectly
+free from suspicion as to the influence of those exciting causes which
+tend materially to warp the judgment, even of the wisest and best men.
+The ship's company take their dinner and grog at mid-day, and the
+officers dine soon after. To those who have witnessed in old times the
+investigation and punishment of offences immediately after the cabin
+dinner, the importance of this regulation will require no further
+argument. At any other period of the day, except that above specified,
+the irritation caused by fatigue, hunger, or repletion, is so apt to
+interfere with the temper, and consequently with the judgment, that it
+should never be chosen for so delicate an affair as an inquiry into
+details which may be followed by so dreadful a consequence as corporal
+punishment.
+
+It is undoubtedly true, that the essential characteristics of naval
+discipline are, and ought to be, promptitude of action, and that
+vigorous kind of decision which leads to certainty of purpose at all
+times, and under all circumstances. But these very qualities are
+valueless, unless they are regulated by justice. Without this, a
+man-of-war would very soon become worse than useless to the country,
+besides being what a "slack ship" has been emphatically termed, "a
+perfect hell afloat!"
+
+Independently of every other consideration, it is assuredly most
+desirable to establish throughout the fleet the conviction, that,
+although the punishment of flogging, which has prevailed for so long a
+time, cannot possibly be discontinued, it shall be exercised with a
+due regard to the offence, and without any added severity on personal
+grounds. It is difficult to estimate how essentially this conviction,
+if once fixed in the minds of the seamen, and guaranteed, as I think
+it might be, in a great measure, by a very simple Admiralty
+regulation, would contribute to extend the popularity of the naval
+service throughout the country.
+
+There are some minor details, in addition to the above suggestions,
+which it may be useful to consider in connection with them. All
+punishments should take place between the hours of nine in the morning
+and noon, for the reasons hinted at above. If possible, also, not more
+than one day should be allowed to elapse after the inquiry; for,
+although there is always something like passion in a punishment which
+is too prompt, there may, on the other hand, frequently appear
+something akin to vindictiveness in one which has been delayed until
+the details of the offence are well-nigh forgotten. The captain should
+avoid pronouncing, either during or immediately after the
+investigation of an offence, any opinion on the case; much of its
+influence would be destroyed if the captain were to commit himself by
+threats made in the moment of greatest irritation; he might be apt to
+follow up, when cool, a threat made in anger, to show his consistency.
+
+I could relate many instances of injustice arising from precipitancy
+in awarding punishment; but the following anecdotes, for the accuracy
+of which I can vouch, seem sufficient to arrest the attention to good
+purpose.
+
+Two men-of-war happened to be cruising in company: one of them a
+line-of-battle ship, bearing an admiral's flag; the other a small
+frigate. One day, when they were sailing quite close to each other,
+the signal was made from the large to the small ship to chase in a
+particular direction, implying that a strange sail was seen in that
+quarter. The look-out man at the maintop mast-head of the frigate was
+instantly called down by the captain, and severely punished on the
+spot, for not having discovered and reported the stranger before the
+flag ship had made the signal to chase.
+
+The unhappy sufferer, who was a very young hand, unaccustomed to be
+aloft, had merely taken his turn at the mast head with the rest of the
+ship's company, and could give no explanation of his apparent neglect.
+Before it was too late, however, the officer of the watch ventured to
+suggest to the captain, that possibly the difference of height between
+the masts of the two ships might have enabled the look-out man on
+board the admiral to discover the stranger, when it was physically
+impossible, owing to the curvature of the earth, that she could have
+been seen on board the frigate. No attention, however, was paid to
+this remark, and a punishment due only to crime, or to a manifest
+breach of discipline, was inflicted.
+
+The very next day, the same officer, whose remonstrance had proved so
+ineffectual, saw the look-out man at the flag ship's mast-head again
+pointing out at a strange sail. The frigate chanced to be placed
+nearly in the direction indicated; consequently she must have been
+somewhat nearer to the stranger than the line-of-battle ship was. But
+the man stationed at the frigate's mast-head declared he could
+distinguish nothing of any stranger. Upon this the officer of the
+watch sent up the captain of the maintop, an experienced and
+quick-sighted seaman, who, having for some minutes looked in vain in
+every direction, asserted positively that there was nothing in sight
+from that elevation. It was thus rendered certain, or at all events
+highly probable, that the precipitate sentence of the day before had
+been unjust; for, under circumstances even less favourable, it
+appeared that the poor fellow could not by possibility have seen the
+stranger, for not first detecting which he was punished!
+
+I must give the conclusion of this painful story in the words of my
+informant, the officer of the deck:--"I reported all this to the
+captain of the ship, and watched the effect. He seemed on the point of
+acknowledging that his heart smote him; but pride prevailed, and it
+was barely an ejaculation that escaped. So much for angry feelings
+getting the better of judgment!"
+
+The following anecdote will help to relieve the disagreeable
+impression caused by the incident just related, without obliterating
+the salutary reflections which it seems calculated to trace on the
+mind of every well-disposed officer.
+
+Three sailors, belonging to the watering-party of a man-of-war on a
+foreign station, were discovered by their officer to have strayed from
+the well at which the casks had been filled. These men, it appears,
+instead of assisting in rolling the heavy butts and puncheons across
+the sand, preferred indulging themselves in a glass of a most
+insidious tipple, called Mistela in Spanish, but very naturally
+"transmogrified" by the Jacks into Miss Taylor. The offenders being
+dragged out of the pulperia, were consigned, without inquiry, to the
+launch, though they had been absent only a few minutes, and were still
+fit enough for work. The officer of the boat, however, happening to
+be an iron-hearted disciplinarian, who overlooked nothing, and forgave
+no one, would not permit the men to rejoin the working party, or to
+touch a single cask; but when the boat returned to the ship, had the
+three offenders put in irons.
+
+When these circumstances were reported to the captain in the course of
+the day, so much acrimony was imparted to his account by the officer,
+that the captain merely said, "I shall be glad if you will defer
+stating this matter more fully till to-morrow morning, after breakfast;
+take the night to think of it." Tomorrow came, and the particulars
+being again detailed, even more strongly and pointedly, by the
+officer, the captain likewise became irritated, and under the
+influence of feelings highly excited had almost ordered the men up for
+immediate punishment. Acting, however, upon a rule which he had for
+sometime laid down, never to chastise any one against whom he felt
+particularly displeased without at least twenty-four hours' delay, he
+desired the matter to stand over till the following morning.
+
+In the meantime, the men in confinement, knowing that their offence
+was a very slight one, laid their heads together, and contrived, by
+the aid of the purser's steward, to pen a supplicatory epistle to the
+captain. This document was conveyed to its destination by his servant,
+a judicious fellow. Though it proved no easy matter to decipher the
+hieroglyphics, it appeared evident that there were extenuating
+circumstances which had not been brought forward. The only remark,
+however, which the captain made was, that the letter ought not to have
+been brought to him; and that his servant was quite out of order, in
+being accessory to any proceeding so irregular.
+
+The steward took the hint, and recommended the prisoners to appeal to
+the complaining officer. Accordingly, next day, when the captain went
+on deck, that person came up and said,--
+
+"I have received a strange letter, sir, from these three fellows whom
+I complained of yesterday; but what they say does not alter my opinion
+in the least."
+
+"It does mine, however," observed the captain, after he had spelled
+through it, as if for the first time.
+
+"Indeed, sir!" exclaimed the other; adding, "I hope you won't let them
+off."
+
+"I tell you what it is," quietly remarked the captain, "I would much
+rather you let them off than that I should; for it strikes me, that
+all the useful ends of discipline will be much better served, and your
+hands, as well as mine, essentially strengthened, by your taking the
+initiative in this business instead of me. My advice to you,
+therefore, is, that when I go below you send for the men, and say to
+them you have read their statement, and that, although it does by no
+means excuse, it certainly explains, and so far extenuates, their
+offence, that you feel disposed to try what your influence with the
+captain can do to get them off altogether."
+
+"I do not see the force of your reasoning," answered the offended
+officer; "nor can I conscientiously trifle with the service in the
+manner proposed. I thought at first, and I still think, that these men
+ought to be punished; and, as far as I am concerned, they certainly
+shall not escape."
+
+"Well, well," cried the captain, "you will not, I hope, deny that I am
+the best judge of what is right and fitting to be done on board this
+ship; and I tell you again, that I consider the discipline will be
+better served by your being the mover in this case, than by my taking
+the affair, as you wish me to do, entirely out of your hands. Will you
+do as I suggest?"
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir, but really I cannot, consistently with my
+sense of duty, adopt the course you propose. I think it right to
+insist, as far as I can with propriety, on these men being punished."
+
+"Turn the hands up for punishment, then!" said the captain to the
+first lieutenant, who had been walking on the other side of the deck
+during this colloquy; "and let the three prisoners be brought on
+deck."
+
+The gratings were soon rigged under the mizen-stay--the
+quarter-masters placed with their seizings on either side--the
+boatswain and his mates (with the terrible weapons of naval law barely
+concealed under their jackets) arranged themselves in a group round
+the mast--while the marines, with fixed bayonets and shoulder arms,
+formed across the quarter-deck; and the ship's company, standing in
+two double rows, lined the sides of the deck. Not the slightest sound
+could be heard; and a person coming on deck blindfolded might have
+thought the ship lay in dock, without a soul on board.
+
+In the middle of the open space before the hatchway stood the three
+culprits, with their hats off, and their eyes cast down in hopeless
+despair; but, to all outward appearance, firm and unmoved.
+
+When all was declared ready, the first lieutenant descended to the
+cabin, but returned again almost immediately, followed closely by the
+captain, in his cocked hat and sword, grasping in one hand the
+well-known roll of paper containing the articles of war, and in the
+other the master-at-arms' report of prisoners. Every head was
+uncovered at his appearance; and as he lifted his hat in answer to
+this salute, he laid it on the capstan, against which he leaned while
+reading the article under which the delinquents had fallen.
+
+"Now," said he, addressing the three prisoners, "you have been found
+guilty of an offence against the good order and discipline of this
+ship, which cannot be permitted, and which must positively be put a
+stop to. Heretofore it has not occurred, and I trust this will be the
+last case. Do you admit that you deserve punishment?"
+
+No answer.
+
+"Have you anything to advance why you should not be punished?"
+
+The fellows nodged one another, scraped the deck with their feet,
+fumbled with their hats and waist-bands, and muttered something about
+"a letter they had written to the officer what reported them."
+
+"Letter!" exclaimed the captain; "let me see it."
+
+The epistle being handed to the captain, he read it aloud to the
+assembled ship's company, who listened with all their ears. At the
+conclusion, he folded it up, and, turning to the officer, asked,--
+
+"What have you to say to this?"
+
+"Nothing, sir--nothing," was the obdurate reply.
+
+"Well now, my lads," observed the captain to the crew, after a pause
+of several minutes, "I shall give you a chance. These fellows appear,
+by their own confession, to have done what they knew to be wrong; and
+accordingly, as you perceive, they have brought themselves close
+aboard of the gangway. It would serve them all perfectly right to give
+each of them a good sound punishment. But I am willing to hope, that
+if I forgive them on your account--that is to say, if I let them off
+in consideration of the good conduct of the ship's company, and in
+confidence of your all behaving well in future--they will be quite as
+much disposed to exert themselves to recover their characters, as if
+they had tasted the bitterness of the gangway: at all events, I'll try
+them and you for once. Pipe down!"
+
+It is only necessary to state further, that for nearly a year
+afterwards there occurred no instance of drunkenness or neglect at the
+watering parties.
+
+There is one other point of importance in this discussion, and as it
+seems to possess a considerable analogy in its bearing to the
+suggestions already thrown out, it may possibly have greater weight in
+conjunction with them than if it were brought forward alone. In every
+system of penal jurisprudence it seems to be of the first importance
+to let it be felt that the true degradation lies more in the crime
+itself, than in the expiatory punishment by which it is followed.
+Whenever this principle is not duly understood, punishments lose half
+their value, while they are often virtually augmented in severity. The
+object of all punishments is evidently to prevent the recurrence of
+offences, either by others or by the offender himself. But it is not,
+by any means, intended that he should not have a full and fair chance
+allowed him for a return to virtue. The very instant punishment is
+over, he should be allowed to start afresh for his character. If a man
+is never to have his offence or his chastisement forgotten, he can
+hardly be expected to set seriously about the re-establishment of his
+damaged reputation.
+
+Neither ought it to be forgotten, that a man so circumstanced has
+really stronger claims on our sympathy, and is more entitled to our
+protection, than if he had never fallen under censure. He has, in some
+sort, if not entirely, expiated his offence by the severity of its
+consequences; and every generous-minded officer must feel that a poor
+seaman whom he has been compelled, by a sense of duty, to punish at
+the gangway, instead of being kept down, has need of some extra
+assistance to place him even on the footing he occupied before he
+committed any offence. If this be not granted him, it is a mere
+mockery to say that he has any fair chance for virtue.
+
+It might, therefore, I think, be very usefully made imperative upon
+the captain, at some short period after a punishment has taken place
+(say on the next muster-day), and when the immediate irritation shall
+have gone off, to call the offender publicly forward, and in the
+presence of the whole ship's company give him to understand that, as
+he had now received the punishment which, according to the rules of
+the service, his offence merited, both the one and the other were,
+from that time forward, to be entirely forgotten; and that he was now
+fully at liberty to begin his course anew. I can assert, from ample
+experience, that the beneficial effects of this practice are very
+great.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] The recent instructions issued by the Board of Admiralty would
+have gratified Captain Hall had he lived to read them; harmonizing as
+they do with the system he so earnestly advocates.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+BOMBAY.
+
+
+Early on the morning of the 11th of August, 1812, we first made the
+coast of Asia; and, on steering towards the shore, discovered, close
+under the land, a single sail, as white as snow, of a cut quite new to
+our seamanship, and swelled out with the last faint airs of the
+land-breeze, which, in the night, had carried us briskly along shore.
+As we came nearer, we observed that the boat, with her head directed
+to the northward, was piled half-mast high with fruits and vegetables,
+cocoa-nuts, yams, plantains, intended evidently for the market of
+Bombay. The water lay as smooth as that of a lake; so we sheered close
+alongside, and hailed, to ask the distance we still were from our
+port. None of the officers of the Volage could speak a word of
+Hindustanee; and I well remember our feeling of humiliation when a
+poor scullion, one of the cook's assistants, belonging to the
+governor's suite, was dragged on deck, with all his grease and other
+imperfections on his head, to act as interpreter. Sad work he made of
+it; for, though the fellow had been in the East on some ten or twelve
+former voyages, the languages of the countries he visited had not
+formed so important a part of his studies as the quality of the arrack
+and toddy which they produced. The word Bombaya, however, struck the
+ear of the native boatmen, who pointed in the direction which they
+themselves were steering, and called out "Mombay! Mombay!" This word,
+I am told by an oriental scholar, is a corruption of Moomba-devy, or
+the Goddess of Moomba, from an idol to which a temple is still
+dedicated on the island. Others, less fanciful in their etymology, say
+that the Portuguese gave it the name of Bom-Bahia, on account of the
+excellence of its Port. That nation held possession of Bombay from the
+year 1530 to 1661, when it was ceded by the crown of Portugal in full
+sovereignty to Charles II.
+
+It was not long before we came in sight of several headlands. When the
+next day broke, and the sun rose upon us over the flat topped Gauts or
+mountains of the Mahratta country, I remember feeling almost at a loss
+whether I had been sleeping and dreaming during the night. But the
+actual sight of the coast gave reality to pictures which, for many a
+long year before, I had busied my fancy with painting, in colours
+drawn partly from the Arabian Nights and Persian Tales, and partly, if
+not chiefly, from those brilliant clusters of oriental images which
+crowd and adorn the pages of Scripture.
+
+Captain Cook asserts somewhere, speaking of the delights of voyaging
+and travelling, that to such rovers as he and his companions nothing
+came amiss; and I can safely venture to boast, that, as far as this
+goes, I may claim a corner of my great brother officer's mantle. At
+all events, in sailing over the Indian seas, or travelling in those
+countries by land, I hardly ever met anything which did not so much
+exceed in interest what I had looked for, that the grand perplexity
+became, how to record what I felt, or in any adequate terms to
+describe even the simplest facts which struck the eye at every turn in
+that "wide realm of wild reality."
+
+Of all places in the noble range of countries so happily called the
+Eastern world, from the pitch of the Cape to the islands of Japan,
+from Bengal to Batavia, there are few which can compare with Bombay.
+If, indeed, I were consulted by any one who wished as expeditiously
+and economically as possible to see all that was essentially
+characteristic of the Oriental world, I would say, without hesitation,
+"Take a run to Bombay; remain there a week or two; and having also
+visited the scenes in the immediate neighbourhood, Eliphanta, Carli,
+and Poonah, you will have examined good specimens of most things that
+are curious or interesting in the East."
+
+For this remarkable distinction, peculiar, as far as I know, to that
+one spot on the earth's surface, this presidency is indebted to a
+variety of interesting circumstances. Bombay is an island, and by no
+means a large one, being only between six and seven miles long by one
+or two broad. It is not, however, by geographical dimensions that the
+wealth of towns, any more than the power and wealth of nations, is
+determined. The harbour unites every possible desideratum of a great
+sea port; it is easy of access and egress; affords excellent anchoring
+ground; is capacious beyond the utmost probable demands of commerce;
+and, owing to the great rise and fall of the tides, is admirably
+adapted for docks of every description. The climate is healthy; and
+the country, being diversified by numerous small ridges and hills,
+furnishes an endless choice of situations for forts, towns, bazaars,
+and villages, not to say bungalows or villas, and all sorts of
+country-houses, and some very splendid retreats from the bustle of
+business. The roads which intersect this charming island were
+beautifully Macadamised, as I well remember, long before that grand
+improvement was heard of in England; and as the soil of the island is
+made up of that rich kind of mould resulting from decomposed basalt or
+lava, the whole surface affords a good sample of the perennial verdure
+of tropical scenery, which dazzles and surprises the new-comer, while
+its interest seldom fails to rise still higher upon a more prolonged
+and intimate acquaintance.
+
+Such are among the eminent physical advantages enjoyed by Bombay; but
+even these, had they been many times greater, would have been light in
+the balance compared to those of a moral, or rather of a political
+nature, which conspired in 1812 to render it one of the most important
+spots in that quarter of the globe. At the time I speak of, it was
+almost the only possession exclusively British within several hundred
+miles in any direction. The enormous territory of the Mahrattas lay
+close to Bombay on the east.
+
+On the morning after my arrival at Bombay, I got up with the first
+blush of the dawn, and hastily drawing on my clothes, proceeded along
+greedily in search of adventures. I had not gone far, before I saw a
+native sleeping on a mat spread in the little verandah extending
+along the front of his house, which was made of basket-work plastered
+over with mud. He was wrapped up in a long web of white linen, or
+cotton cloth, called, I think, his cummer-bund, or waist-cloth. As
+soon as the first rays of the sun peeped into his rude
+sleeping-chamber, he "arose, took up his bed, and went into his
+house." I saw immediately an explanation of this expression, which,
+with slight variations, occurs frequently in the Bible, in connection
+with several of the most striking and impressive of Christ's miracles,
+particularly with that of the man sick of the palsy. My honest friend
+the Hindoo got on his feet, cast the long folds of his wrapper over
+his shoulder, stooped down, and having rolled up his mat, which was
+all the bed he required, he walked into the house with it, and then
+proceeded to the nearest tank to perform his morning ablutions.
+
+I remember mentioning this, amongst many other illustrations of the
+incidents recorded in Scripture, to a worthy old Scotch lady, upon
+whom I expected it to produce the same pleasing and satisfactory
+effect which it had wrought on me. I made, however, a great mistake;
+for so far from raising myself in her estimation, on the score of
+correct observation, I sunk, I fear, irrecoverably, in her good
+graces, by presuming, as she alleged, to interfere with the wonder of
+the miracle, the essence of which, according to her, I discovered to
+consist, not in the recovery of "the man, who was made whole," but in
+his being able to shoulder a four-post bed, and carry it off without
+inconvenience!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+SIR SAMUEL HOOD.
+
+
+As soon as the Volage was refitted, and her crew refreshed, after our
+voyage from England of four months and a half, we sailed from Bombay
+to the southward along the western coast of India; and having rounded
+Ceylon, at Point de Galle, on the extreme south-western corner, where
+we merely touched to land the governor's dispatches, before we hauled
+up to the northward, and, after twelve days' passage, sailed into the
+beautiful harbour of Trincomalee. There, to my great joy, we found the
+commander-in-chief, Sir Samuel Hood; who, to my still greater joy,
+informed me that a vacancy had been kept open for me in his flag ship,
+the Illustrious. In a few minutes my traps were packed up, my
+commission made out, and I had the honour of hailing myself a
+professional follower of one of the first officers in his Majesty's
+service. It is true, I was only fifth lieutenant, and not even fifth
+on the Admiral's list for promotion; for I came after a number of old
+officers who had served under Sir Samuel for many long years of
+patient, or rather impatient, expectation: but my first and grand
+purpose was attained, although my chance of advancement was very
+small, and very remote.
+
+In capstans, and other machines, there is a mechanical device, with
+which every person is acquainted, termed a pall or catch, by which the
+work gained in the effort last made shall be secured, and the machine
+prevented from turning back again. Something of this kind takes place
+in life, particularly in naval life; and happy is the officer who
+hears the pall of his fortunes play "click! click!" as he spins
+upwards in his profession. Proportionately deep is the despair of the
+poor wretch who, after struggling and tugging with all his might at
+the weary windlass of his hopes, can never bring it quite far enough
+round to hear the joyous sound of the pall dropping into its berth! I
+well remember most of these important moments of my own life; and I
+could readily describe the different sensations to which their
+successive occurrence gave rise, from the startling hour when my
+father first told me that my own request was now to be granted, for on
+the very next day I was to go to sea--up to that instant when the
+still more important announcement met my ear, "Those whom God hath
+joined together let no man put asunder!"
+
+"It is easy to be cheerful when one is successful," says a high
+authority; and there are "few people who are not good-natured when
+they have nothing to cross them," says another equally profound
+recorder of common-places; but the secret of good fortune seems to lie
+far less in making the most of favourable incidents, or in submitting
+manfully to disastrous ones, than in studying how to fill up to
+advantage the long intervals between these great epochs in our lives.
+So that there is, perhaps, no point of duty which affords more scope
+for the talents of a superior than the useful and cheerful employment
+of the heads and hands of his officers and people during those trying
+periods of inaction which occur in every service. Sir Samuel Hood
+possessed this faculty in a wonderful degree, as he not only kept us
+all busy when there was nothing to be done, but contrived to make us
+happy and contented, though some of our prospects were poor enough in
+all conscience. My own, for example, since I was placed at the tip of
+the tail of his long string of private followers; and when the
+Admiralty List came out, on which I had built so many beautiful
+castles in the air, my poor name was not upon it at all. I had not
+expected to be first or second, or even third; fourth I had reckoned
+upon as possible; fifth as probable; sixth as certain; so that my
+horror and disappointment were excessive when this kindest of
+commanders-in-chief broke to me the fatal news, in the following
+characteristic manner.
+
+A telegraphic signal had been made from the flagstaff at the
+Admiral's house to the ship, in these words:--
+
+"Send Mr. Hall on shore, with a crow-bar, two pick-axes, and two
+spades."
+
+All the way to the landing-place I puzzled myself with thinking what
+on earth could be the object of these tools; little dreaming, good
+easy lieutenant! that I was so soon to dig the grave of my own hopes.
+The Admiral received me at the door with his coat off; and holding out
+his remaining hand (his right arm was shot away in action), he
+squeezed mine with even more than his wonted kindness.
+
+"I have been waiting for you with some impatience;" he said, "to be
+present at the hunt after a white ant's nest, a sort of thing I know
+you like. These rogues, the _Termites bellicosi_, as I find the
+naturalists call them, have made their way into the house! and having
+carried their galleries up the walls and along the roof, have come
+down in great force upon a trunk of clothes, which they would have
+destroyed entirely before night, had I not caught sight of them. Now
+let us to work; for I propose to rip up the floor of the verandah, in
+order to follow their passages and galleries till I reach their nest,
+if it be a mile off; won't this he a glorious piece of service?"
+exclaimed the Admiral, as he warmed himself by anticipating the chase.
+He could hardly have been more delighted, I am persuaded, had he been
+giving orders for a fleet under his command to bear down upon the
+enemy's line. I could not venture to do more than bow, and say I was
+much obliged to him for having so considerately thought of me at such
+a moment.
+
+"Oh!" cried he, apparently recollecting himself, "but I have something
+else to show you; or rather to tell you, for I must not show it;
+though I fear it will not please you quite so much as the prospect of
+a white ant-hunt. Here, Gigna," called the Admiral to his steward, who
+stood by with a tea-kettle of hot water, ready to pour over the ants,
+"put away that affair, which we shall not require this half-hour yet;
+and hold this crow-bar while I step into the office with Mr. Hall."
+
+"It is of no use to mince the matter," said the veteran, shutting the
+door, and turning to me with somewhat of the air which he might be
+supposed to have put on, had he been instructed from home to tell me
+that one or both my parents were dead; "it is no use to conceal the
+fact from you; but here is the Admiralty List, just come to my hands,
+and your name, in spite of all you tell me of promises, verbal and
+written, is NOT ON IT!"
+
+Had the Admiral fired one of the flag-ship's thirty-two pounders,
+double-shotted, down my throat, he could not have demolished more
+completely my bodily framework than this fatal announcement shattered
+to pieces the gilded crockeryware of my fondest hopes. All the gay
+visions of command, and power, and independence, in which I had
+indulged my fancy during the voyage, vanished like the shadows of a
+dream I fain would recall, but could not. I was at first quite
+stupified, and can remember nothing that passed for some minutes. As I
+recovered my scattered senses, however, I recollect gazing at the
+anchorage from the open window of the Admiralty House, near which we
+stood. The flag-ship then lay just off Osnaburg Point, with her
+ensign, or, as it used to be called in old books, her Ancient, the
+"meteor flag of England," dropped, in the calm, so perpendicularly
+from the gaff-end, that it looked like a rope more than a flag; while
+its reflection, as well as that of the ship herself, with every mast,
+yard, and line of the rigging, seemed, as it were, engraved on the
+surface of the tranquil pool, as distinctly as if another vessel had
+actually been inverted and placed beneath. I have seldom witnessed so
+complete a calm. The sea-breeze, with which the shore had been
+refreshed for twenty minutes, had not as yet found its way into the
+recesses of the inner harbour, which, take it all in all, is one of
+the snuggest and most beautiful coves in the world. And such is the
+commodious nature of this admirable port, that even the Illustrious,
+though a large 74-gun ship, rode at anchor in perfect security, within
+a very few yards of the beach, which at that spot is quite steep to,
+and is wooded down to, the very edge of the water. I gazed for some
+moments, almost unconsciously, at this quiet scene, so different from
+that which was boiling and bubbling in my own distracted breast, and
+swelling up with indignation against some of my friends at home, who I
+had such good reason to believe had either betrayed or neglected me,
+maugre all sorts of promises.
+
+In the midst of my reverie, which the kind-hearted Admiral did not
+interrupt, I observed the wind just touch the drooping flag; but the
+air was so light and transient, that it merely produced on it a gentle
+motion from side to side, like that of a pendulum, imitated in the
+mirror beneath, which lay as yet totally unbroken by the sea-breeze.
+Presently the whole mighty flag, after a faint struggle or two,
+gradually unfolded itself, and, buoyed up by the new born gale, spread
+far beyond the gallant line-of-battle ship's stern, and waved
+gracefully over the harbour. It is well known to nice observers of the
+human mind, that the strangest fancies often come into the thoughts at
+a moment when we might least expect them; and though, assuredly, I was
+not then in a very poetical or imaginative humour, I contrived to
+shape out of the inspiring scene I was looking upon a figure to soothe
+my disappointed spirit. As I saw the ensign uncurl itself to the wind
+I said internally, "If I have but life, and health, and opportunity, I
+trust, notwithstanding the bitterness of this disappointment, I shall
+yet contrive to unfold, in like manner, the flag of my own fortunes
+to the world."
+
+Just as this magnanimous thought crossed my mind's eye, the Admiral
+placed his hand so gently on my shoulder that the pressure would not
+have hurt a fly, and said, in a cheerful tone, "Never mind this
+mishap, master Hall; everything will come right in time; and if you
+only resolve to take it in the proper and manly temper, it may even
+prove all the better that this has happened. Nothing is without a
+remedy in this world; and I'll do what I can to make good this maxim
+in your case. In the mean time, however, come along, and help me to
+rout out these rascally white ants. Off coat, however, if you please;
+for we shall have a tough job of it."
+
+It cost us an hour's hard work; for we had to rip up the planks along
+the whole of the verandah, then to shape a course across two cellars,
+or _godongs_, as they are called in the East, and finally the
+traverses of these singular insects obliged us to cut a trench to the
+huge hillock or nest, which rose to the height of five or six feet
+from the ground, in numberless shoots, like pinnacles round the roof
+of a Gothic church. We might have attacked them at headquarters in
+the first instance, had we wished it; but the Admiral chose to go more
+technically to work, and to sap up to his enemy by regular approaches.
+In this way we had the means of seeing the principles upon which these
+ants proceed in securing themselves, at every step of their progress,
+by galleries or covered ways, which, though extremely feeble, are
+sufficiently strong to keep off the attacks of every other kind of
+ant. It is curious enough, that, although the white ant be the most
+destructive of its species, it is said to be, individually, by far
+the weakest, and cannot move a step without the artificial protection
+of the galleries it constructs as it goes along; just as the besiegers
+of a fortification secure themselves in their trenches and zigzags.
+
+We now brought our spades into play; and having cut the hill across,
+laid open the secrets of these most curious of all the ant tribe. At
+last we reached the great queen ant, the mother of millions of her
+race, a most enormous personage to be sure, nearly four inches long,
+and as thick as a man's finger, with a head not larger than that of a
+bee, but a body such as I have described, filled with eggs, which
+continually rolled out like a fluid from a reservoir. Never shall I
+forget the shout of rapture which the gallant Admiral sent over half
+the harbour, as he succeeded in gaining the object of his labour.
+
+There are some men who go about everything they undertake with all
+their hearts and souls, and this great officer was one of those. He
+did nothing by halves and quarters, like so many other people. The
+greatest deeds of arms, or the most trivial objects of passing
+amusement, engrossed his whole concentrated attention for the time. He
+was equally in earnest when holding out examples of private
+generosity, or lending the heartiest and kindest encouragement even to
+the least distinguished of his followers, as when performing acts of
+the highest public spirit, or making the greatest sacrifices to what
+he considered his duty. Everything, in short, that he did, or thought,
+or uttered, bore the stamp of the same peculiar impress of genuine
+zeal. So eminently exciting, and even fascinating, was this truly
+officer-like conduct, that even those who had served under him the
+longest often wondered at the extent of their own exertions when
+roused by his example, and were led almost to believe that his very
+look had something stimulating in it which actually gave fresh vigour
+to their arms as well as to their thoughts. With all this, he was the
+gentlest of the gentle, and accomplished whatever he undertook without
+apparent effort, or the least consciousness that what he was doing was
+remarkable.
+
+I remember an instance of his skill in the small way. One morning,
+near the spot where he had headed the storming party against the white
+ants, a working party of the crew of the Illustrious had commenced
+constructing a wharf before the dockyard. The stones of which this
+platform or landing-place was to be built were, by Sir Samuel Hood's
+orders, selected of very large dimensions, so much so, that the
+sailors came at last to deal with a mass of rock so heavy, that their
+combined strength proved unequal to moving it beyond a few inches
+towards its final position at the top of one corner. The Admiral sat
+on his horse looking at the workmen for some time, occasionally
+laughing, and occasionally calling out directions, which the baffled
+engineers could by no means apply. At length, his Excellency the
+Commander-in-chief became fidgety, and having dismounted, he tried to
+direct them in detail; but never a bit would the stone budge. Finally,
+losing all patience, he leaped from the top of the bank, and roared
+out, in a voice of reproach and provocation, "Give me the crow-bar!"
+Thus armed, he pushed the officers and men to the right and left,
+while he insisted upon having the whole job to himself, literally,
+single-handed. He first drove the claws of the instrument well under
+the edge of the stone, then placed with his toe a small iron pin on
+the ground under the bar, and across its length, to act as a fulcrum,
+or shoulder. When all things were carefully adjusted to his mind, he
+slipped his hand to the upper end of the lever, and weighing it down,
+gave what he called "life" to the huge stone, which, just before,
+half-a-dozen strong men had not been able to disturb. Sure enough,
+however, it now moved, though only about half-an-inch, towards its
+intended resting-place. At each prize or hitch of the bar, the rock
+appeared to advance farther, till, after five or six similar shifts,
+it was finally lodged in the station prepared for it, where, I doubt
+not, it rests to this day, and may occupy for centuries to come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+EXCURSION TO CANDELAY LAKE IN CEYLON.
+
+
+The fervid activity of our excellent admiral, Sir Samuel Hood, in
+whose flag-ship I served as lieutenant, from 1812 to 1815, was
+unceasing. There was a boyish hilarity about this great officer, which
+made it equally delightful to serve officially under him, and to enjoy
+his friendly companionship. An alligator-hunt, a sport in which the
+Malays take great delight, was shared in by the Admiral, who made the
+place ring with his exclamation of boyish delight. Scarcely had we
+returned from the alligator-hunt, near Trincomalee, when Sir Samuel
+applied himself to the collector of the district, who was chief
+civilian of the place, and begged to know what he would recommend us
+to see next.
+
+"Do you care about antiquities?" said the collector.
+
+"Of course," replied the Admiral, "provided they be genuine and worth
+seeing. What have you got to show us in that way? I thought this part
+of the country had been a wild jungle from all time, and that the
+English were only now bringing it into cultivation."
+
+"On the contrary," observed our intelligent friend, "there are
+manifest traces, not very far off, of a dense and wealthy population.
+At all events, the inhabitants appear to have understood some of the
+arts of life, for they formed a huge tank or pond for the purpose of
+irrigation; so large, indeed, that there still exists, in one corner
+of it, a sheet of water extensive enough to deserve the name of a
+lake."
+
+"Let us go and see it," exclaimed the admiral. "Can we ride? Order the
+horses; who minds the heat of the sun?"--for, like almost all
+new-comers, Sir Samuel cared nothing for exposure, and laughed at the
+precautions of more experienced residents.
+
+The collector of Trincomalee soon satisfied the Admiral that an
+expedition to Candelay Lake, as the ancient tank of the natives was
+called, could not be undertaken quite so speedily. Boats and horses
+indeed were all ready, and tents could easily be procured; but it was
+likewise necessary to prepare provisions, to pack up clothes, and to
+send forward a set of native pioneers to clear the way through
+brushwood, otherwise impenetrable. The Admiral was in such ecstacies
+at the prospect of an adventure which was to cost some trouble, that
+he allowed nobody rest till everything had been put in train. Early in
+the morning of the next day but one, we accordingly set out in several
+of the flag-ship's boats, accompanied by a mosquito fleet of native
+canoes to pilot and assist us; Lady Hood, whom no difficulties could
+daunt, accompanied Sir Samuel; the captain of his ship, and his
+flag-lieutenant, with the collector as pilot, and one or two others,
+made up the party; and our excursion, though nearly destitute of
+adventures vulgarly so called, proved one of the most interesting
+possible.
+
+The early part of our course lay over the smooth and beautiful
+harbour of Trincomalee, after which we passed through a series of
+coves, forming what is called the Lake of Tamblegam, a connecting bay
+or arm of the sea, though far out of sight of the main ocean. We soon
+lost ourselves amid innumerable little islands clad thickly in the
+richest mantles of tropical foliage down to the water's edge, and at
+many places even into the water; so that, as not a stone or the least
+bit of ground could be seen, these fairy islets appeared actually to
+float on the surface. We had to row our boats through a dense aquatic
+forest of mangroves for nearly a mile, along a narrow lane cut through
+the wood expressly for us the day before by the natives. These
+fantastical trees, which grow actually in the water, often recall to
+the imagination those villages one sees in countries liable to
+frequent inundation, where each house is perched on the top of piles.
+We saw with astonishment clusters of oysters and other shell-fish
+clinging to the trunk and branches, as well as to the roots of these
+trees, which proves that the early voyagers were not such inventors of
+facts as folks suppose them, nor far wrong in reporting that they had
+seen fish growing like fruit on trees!
+
+Shortly before entering this watery wilderness, we encountered a party
+of native pearl-divers; and the Admiral, who was at all times most
+provokingly sceptical as to reported wonderful exploits, pulled out
+his watch, and insisted on timing the best diver amongst them, to see
+how long he could remain under water. In no case did the poor fellow
+make out a minute complete; upon which, the Admiral held up his watch
+exultingly in his triumph, and laughing to scorn the assurances that
+at other parts of the island divers might be found who could remain
+five minutes at the bottom. "Show me them! show me them!" cried he,
+"and then, but not till then--begging you pardon--I shall believe it."
+The challenge remained unanswered.
+
+The method used by these divers is to place between their feet a
+basket loaded with one or two large lumps of coral, the weight of
+which carries them rapidly to the bottom. The oysters being then
+substituted for the stones, the diver disengages his feet, and shoots
+up to the surface again, either bringing the full basket with him, or
+leaving it to be drawn up by a line.
+
+Nothing could be imagined more wild than the mangrove avenue through
+which we rowed, or rather paddled, for the strait was so narrow that
+there was no room for the oars when pushed out to their full length.
+The sailors, therefore, were often obliged to catch hold of the
+branches and roots of the trees, to draw the boats along. The foliage,
+as may be supposed, where perennial heat and moisture occur in
+abundance, spread overhead in such extraordinary luxuriance that few
+of the sun's rays could penetrate the massy net-work of leaves and
+branches forming the roof of our fairy passage. Not a single bird
+could be seen, either seated or on the wing; nor was even a chirp
+distinguishable above the dreamy hum of millions of mosquitoes
+floating about, in a calm so profound, that it seemed as if the
+surface of the water had never been disturbed since the Creation. The
+air, though cool, felt so heavy and choky, that, by the time we had
+scrambled to the end of this strange tunnel or watery lane, we could
+scarcely breathe, and were rejoiced to enter the open air
+again,--although, when we came out, the sun "flamed in the forehead of
+the morning sky," and beat fiercely and hotly upon the parched ground,
+from which every blade of grass had been scorched away.
+
+The village of Tamblegam, to which we soon came, is inhabited by a
+colony of Hindoo emigrants from the coast of Malabar. It is a neat
+little place, of which the huts, formed chiefly of branches of the
+tamarind-tree and leaves of the plantain, standing under prodigiously
+high cocoa-nuts, are so very diminutive, that the whole looks more
+like a child's toy-box village than the residence of grown people. The
+principal edifice is a pagoda built of stone, exactly ten feet square.
+Not fancying there could be any harm in taking such a liberty, we
+entered the pagoda unceremoniously, and one of our artists set to work
+sketching the bronze image which the natives worship as a deity, a
+figure not quite three inches in height; but the Hindoos were shocked
+at our impiety, and soon ousted the Admiral and his party. Close by
+was a little tank or pool of water, beautifully spangled over with the
+leaves and flowers of the water-lily. Here several groups of Indian
+girls had assembled to enjoy the coolness of the water in a style
+which we envied not a little. Instead of plunging in and swimming
+about as with us, one person sits down, while others pour pitchers of
+water over the head. We took notice also of one particularly
+interesting party of young damsels, who waded in till the water
+reached nearly to their breasts. Each of these girls held in her hand
+a chatty, or water-pot, shaped somewhat like an Etruscan vase, the
+top of which barely showed itself above the level of the pool. Upon a
+signal being given by one of the party, all the girls ducked out of
+sight, and at the same time raised their water-jars high in the air.
+In the next instant, just as their heads began to re-appear above the
+surface, the vessels were simultaneously inclined so that the water
+might pour out gradually, and in such measure that by the time the
+bathers again stood erect, the inverted jars might be quite empty.
+Nothing could be more graceful than the whole proceedings; and we sat
+in the shade of the pagoda looking at these water-nymphs for
+half-an-hour in great admiration.
+
+In the mean time a slender pole, forty feet in height, had been
+erected by a set of native tumblers, who presently exhibited before us
+various feats of extraordinary agility and strength--some of these are
+almost too curious to be believed by those who are not aware of the
+flexibility and dexterity of the Hindoos. We were most surprised and
+amused by the exploits of a lady of forty, which is considered a very
+old age in that climate, who ran up the pole more like a monkey than a
+human being, and then sticking herself on the top horizontally like a
+weathercock, whirled herself round, to the great astonishment of the
+European beholders. What tickled us particularly on this occasion was
+the good lady accompanying her strange movements with a noise so
+exactly like that of our old and respected friend Punch, when drubbed
+by his faithful wife Judy, that we all burst out a-laughing.
+
+The sun had now fallen past that particular angle in the sky above
+which it is considered by the bearers inexpedient to travel, we
+nestled ourselves into our respective palankeens, and proceeded on
+the journey through what seemed to us a very respectable forest,
+growing on lands which had once been under the plough, but apparently
+very long ago. To our inexperienced eyes and European associations, it
+seemed as if a century at least must have elapsed from the time such a
+matting of wood first supplanted the labours of the husbandman; but
+our friend the collector soon explained to us, that, if any spot of
+ground in that rich district were neglected for a very few years,
+natural trees, as tall as those we now admired so much, would soon
+shoot up spontaneously, and occupy all the soil. We shook our heads at
+this with the confident scepticism of ignorance, and exchanged glances
+amongst ourselves at the expense of our official companion; but in the
+course of an hour we were compelled, by the evidence of our own
+senses, to alter our note of disbelief. On coming to the real
+untouched virgin forest of the climate, we beheld a most noble
+spectacle indeed, in the way of scenery, such as I at least had never
+seen before, and have but rarely met with since. I do not recollect
+the names of the principal trees, though they were mentioned to us
+over and over again. The grand Banyan, however, with which European
+eyes have become so correctly familiar through the pencil of Daniell,
+rose on every side, and made us feel, even more decidedly than the
+cocoa-nut trees had done in the morning, that we were indeed in
+another world.
+
+Shortly after we had left the Indian village, the night fell, and,
+while we were threading the gigantic forest by the light of torches,
+the only thing at all like an adventure promised to occur to us; but
+it ended in nothing. The party consisted of six palankeens, each
+attended by eight bearers, though only four at a time, or at most six,
+supported the poles; these trotted along by the side of the bearers,
+between two and three dozen coolies or porters carrying provisions and
+torches.
+
+With a mixture of vague alarm and curiosity we now listened to the
+accounts of wild elephants in these woods, though in the morning we
+had heard the same stories with indifference and incredulity; while
+the old hands of the party, who had felt rather piqued at our distrust
+of their marvellous narrations, pointed out with malicious
+satisfaction the recent foot-marks of these undisputed and formidable
+lords of the soil.
+
+Sir Samuel and Lady Hood, with some of his staff, had left their
+palankeens and walked forward on the path, which barely admitted two
+people abreast, in order to enjoy the exceeding beauty of the Indian
+jungle, lighted up with the blaze of our torches. Suddenly the
+headmost musalgee or torch-bearer paused, listened, and then
+retreated precipitately, upon the hinder ranks. Nothing was said by
+them, and nothing could we hear in the woods to explain the cause of
+this panic, which, however, soon became general amongst the natives.
+The bearers set down the palankeens, and in an instant they, as well
+as all the coolies, took to their heels, while the torches flitted
+about in the forest in a style which, had there been no apprehension,
+might have been acknowledged as very picturesque. Sir Samuel not
+only stood fast himself, but ordered all of us to do so
+likewise--remarking, that, until we knew what to fly from, we might
+only be making matters worse by moving. Presently the loud crashing of
+the underwood of the forest, and a heavy thumping on the ground, gave
+abundant evidence that a wild elephant was close to us.
+
+Some of the natives told us afterwards that they had seen the monster;
+but, although we peered into the forest with all our eyes, none of us
+could honestly take upon us to say we actually saw him--though
+assuredly we heard his footsteps as he broke his way through the
+jungle. Robinson Crusoe and his wolves in Tartary came to our
+recollection; and upon our asking the natives what effect fires really
+had on wild beasts, they all assured us that hardly any animal,
+however ferocious, would come up to a light, and that we were safe so
+long as we kept near a torch. This might be consolatory reasoning for
+the musalgees, each of whom carried a light, but it afforded little
+security to us, who, it was evident, would again be left in the dark
+should an elephant cross our path a second time. The Admiral,
+therefore, and by his desire all of us, made an attempt to carry the
+torches ourselves. But we were soon so plaguily smoked and scorched
+for our pains, that we rested contented with the risk, and the bearers
+having gradually crept back to the palankeens, we once more moved on.
+In spite of all that had passed, some of the party remained so
+doggedly sceptical, from being habitually distrustful of all things
+wonderful, that they declared the whole affair a mere matter of panic,
+and dared to swear there could not be found an elephant within fifty
+miles of us. Scarcely had this opinion, so injurious to the honours
+and glories of our late adventure, been uttered, when the
+commander-in-chief, who, as usual, was leading the way, snatched a
+light from one of the men's hands, and waved it over what the
+geologists call a "recent deposit," half the size of a wheelbarrow,
+and out-rivalling in its column of smoke the muggiest torch in the
+line.
+
+"There!" exclaimed the Admiral, better pleased than if he had found a
+pile of rupees, instead of so much recent Album Grćcum. "Will that
+evidence satisfy you? How many hundred yards off do you think can the
+fellow be who left this trace of his proximity?"
+
+It was past ten o'clock when we reached our tents, which had been
+pitched in the morning on the borders of the celebrated lake we came
+to visit. All the party were well fagged, and so ravenously hungry,
+that we shouted for joy on seeing supper enter just as we came to the
+ground.
+
+"This," said our excellent caterer the collector, "is the dish upon
+which we pride ourselves most at Trincomalee. It is the true Malay
+curry--rich, as you perceive, in flavour, and more than half of it
+gravy--which gravy, I beg you particularly to take notice, is full of
+minced vegetables, while the whole is softened with some of the
+youngest kind of cocoa-nut, plucked this very evening since the sun
+went down."
+
+These praises really fell far short of the merits of this glorious
+supper; nor can I remember anything in the way of gourmandise in any
+part of the world comparable to this exquisite midnight feast.
+
+At the door and windows of our supper tent were hung up by the neck
+sundry well-bedewed goglets of spring water, cheek by jowl with a
+jolly string of long-necked bottles of Lafitte and Château Margaux,
+joyously fanning themselves in the thorough draught of the cool
+night-breeze, breathing so gently along, that we could just hear it
+whispering through the leaves of the damp forest, and sweeping towards
+the lake past the tents, the curtains of which it scarcely stirred.
+
+The wine perhaps was almost more chilled than a fastidious
+wine-fancier might have directed; nevertheless, it flowed over our
+parched palates with an intensity of zest which I do not believe it is
+in mortals to be conscious of enjoying till they have toiled a whole
+day in the sun within half-a-dozen degrees of the equator. Bottle
+after bottle--each one more rich and racy than its valued and lamented
+predecessor--vanished so fast, that, ere an hour had elapsed, we felt
+as if a hundred mad elephants would have stood no chance with us!
+
+As we straggled off to our respective beds, made up in the palankeens,
+according to the custom of the country, we became sensible of a
+serious annoyance, of which we had taken but little notice while
+baling in the hot curries and cool clarets within the tent. A most
+potent and offensive smell was brought to us by the land-wind; and the
+Admiral, who was not a man to submit to any evil capable of remedy,
+insisted on an immediate investigation into the cause of this
+annoyance.
+
+After hunting about in the wind's eye for a short time in the jungle,
+with torches in our hands, we came upon a huge dead buffalo, swollen
+almost to double his natural size. Upon seeing this, the bearers and
+servants shrugged their shoulders, as if the case had been hopeless.
+Not so the gallant Admiral, who, in his usual style of prompt
+resource, called out, "Let us bury this monster before we go to bed."
+And, sure enough, under his directions, and by his assistance, we
+contrived, in a quarter of an hour, to throw sand, earth, and leaves
+enough over the huge carcase to cover it completely. "There's a cairn
+for you!" exclaimed the Admiral, throwing down his spade, which he had
+been using with his only hand; "and now let us turn in; for by the
+first peep of the morning we must have a touch at the wild ducks and
+peacocks on the sides of the lake, and perhaps we may contrive to have
+a shot at a buffalo or a stray elephant."
+
+Accordingly, next morning, actually before it was light, I felt the
+indefatigable Admiral tugging at my ear, and bidding me get up, to
+accompany him on a shooting excursion, and as he said, "Mayhap we
+shall get sight of some of those elephants, the existence of which you
+presumed to doubt last night. Come, Mr. Officer, show a leg! I know
+you are a bit of a philosopher, and curious in natural history; so
+rouse up and come along with me."
+
+Most cordially did I then anathematise all philosophy, and wish I had
+never expressed any curiosity on the score of wild beasts, peacocks,
+or ancient tanks; but as the Admiral was not a person to be trifled
+with, I made a most reluctant move, and exchanged the delightful dream
+of hot curries and cool sherbet for the raw reality of a
+shooting-match, up to the knees in water, at five in the morning. At
+one place, such was his Excellency's anxiety to secure a good shot at
+some ducks, that he literally crawled for a couple of hundred yards
+among the muddy shore of the lake on his knees, and at the end
+expressing himself fully repaid by getting a single capital shot at a
+wild peacock! He was also gratified by bringing down a magnificent
+jungle-cock--a bird which resembles our barn-door fowl in form, but
+its plumage is vastly more brilliant, and its flight more lofty and
+sustained, than any of which the bird can boast in its tame state. Our
+scramble in the mud brought us within sight of a drove of several
+hundred buffaloes. We saw also several troops of wild deer; but, to
+our great disappointment, not a single elephant could we catch even a
+glimpse of. We counted, at one time, several dozens of peacocks--some
+perched on the trees, some high in the air; we fired at them
+repeatedly, but I do not believe any came within shot. Their plumage
+exceeded that of our tame peacocks less in the brilliancy of the
+colour than in the wonderful fineness of the gloss--a characteristic
+of animals of all kinds in their native state. We scarcely saw one
+small bird during our whole excursion, or heard a single note but the
+hideous screams of the peacock and parrot--tones which dame Nature, in
+her even-handed style of doing things, has probably bestowed upon
+these dandies of the woods, to counterbalance the magnificence of
+their apparel.
+
+While discussing this point, the collector took occasion to point out
+to us the great importance of such artificial means of irrigating a
+country as the ancient lake of Candelay, by the side of which we were
+now encamped, must have furnished to agriculturists of former days,
+when its precious waters were husbanded and drawn off to fertilise the
+surrounding country.
+
+This stupendous monument of the wealth and industry of some former
+race is placed on ground slightly elevated above the districts lying
+between it and the sea, which, in a direct line, may be distant about
+twelve or fourteen miles. We could not ascertain exactly what was the
+precise elevation, but, from the remains of trenches, sluices, and
+other contrivances for drawing off and distributing the water, it
+appeared that the fall in the ground must have been sufficient to
+enable the husbandmen to irrigate the fields at pleasure; though, to
+our eyes, no inclination could be perceived. The lake itself is now
+greatly diminished in extent, from the dilapidations in its "bund," or
+retaining embankment, but still it stretches over many square miles of
+area. On three sides it is confined by the swelling nature of the
+ground, and it is only on the fourth that any extensive artificial
+means have been resorted to for confining the water. At this place,
+across a flat broad valley, there has been thrown a huge embankment,
+constructed chiefly of oblong stones, many of them as big as a sofa,
+extending in a zig-zag line for several miles. At some places it rises
+to the height of thirty or forty feet, and the courses of stone being
+laid above one another with considerable regularity, this great
+retaining wall assumes the appearance of a gigantic flight of steps,
+and being crowned at top by an irregular line of tall trees, it breaks
+the sky-line beyond the lake in a manner extremely picturesque. Here
+and there lateral gaps between the hills occur in the other sides, all
+of which are filled up with similar embankments.
+
+Near one end of the principal wall we could distinctly trace the ruins
+of a considerable tower, beneath which the great tunnel or outlet used
+for tapping the lake most probably passed. It is said that some early
+European settlers, a century or two ago, impressed with an idea that
+treasure was hid in this building, had torn it down to get at the gold
+beneath.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+GRIFFINS IN INDIA--SINBAD'S VALLEY OF DIAMONDS--A MOSQUITO-HUNT.
+
+
+On the evening of the 18th of November, 1812, we sailed, in his
+Majesty's ship Illustrious, from the magnificent harbour of
+Trincomalee. In attempting to get out we were sadly baffled by light
+shifting winds, which knocked us about from side to side of the
+entrance, in which, unfortunately, no good anchorage is to be found,
+owing to the great depth of water and the rocky nature of the ground.
+This serious evil of a rocky bottom is now almost entirely obviated by
+the admirable invention of iron cables, when the water is not too
+deep. The links of the chain merely acquire a polish by their friction
+against the coral reefs and other sharp ledges, by which the best
+hempen cables of past times would be cut through in ten minutes.
+
+The chain-cable, however, is difficult of management in deep water,
+that is to say, when the soundings are more than twenty or twenty-five
+fathoms. Nothing is so easy as getting the anchor to the bottom in
+such cases; it is the "facilis descensus," with a vengeance! But when
+the anchor is to be pulled up again, then comes the tug. I once let
+go my anchor with a chain-cable bent to it in forty-five fathoms,
+without having calculated on the probable effects of the momentum.
+Though the cable was bitted, all the stoppers snapped like packthread;
+and the anchor, not content with shooting to the bottom with an
+accelerated velocity, drew after it more than a hundred fathoms of
+chain, in such fearful style that we thought the poor ship must have
+been shaken to pieces. The noise was like that of rattling thunder,
+and so loud that it was impossible to hear a word; indeed it was even
+difficult to speak, from the excessive tremour caused by the rapid and
+violent passage of the links, as the chain leaped, or rather flew, up
+the hatchway, flashing round the bits, and giving out sparks like a
+firework. Finally, it tore its way out at the hause-hole, till the
+whole cable had probably piled itself on the anchor in a pyramid of
+iron at the bottom of the sea. The inner end of the cable had of
+course been securely shackled round the heel of the mainmast; but the
+jerk with which it was brought up, made the ship shake from stem to
+stern, as if she had bumped on a rock, and every one fully expected to
+see the links fly in pieces about the deck, like chain-shot fired from
+a cannon. It cost not many seconds of time for the cable to run out,
+but it occupied several hours of hard labour to heave it in again. The
+ordinary power of the capstan, full manned, scarcely stirred it; and
+at the last, when to the weight of chain hanging from the bows there
+came to be added that of the anchor, it was necessary to apply
+purchase upon purchase, in order to drag the ponderous mass once more
+to the bows.
+
+When we got fairly clear of the harbour of Trincomalee, and caught
+the monsoon, we dashed along-shore briskly enough; and having rounded
+the south point of Ceylon, well named Dondra Head, or thunder cape, we
+paid a visit to Point de Galle, celebrated for its bread-fruit and
+cocoa-nuts. We then passed on to Columbo, the capital of the island.
+Ceylon, I may take occasion to mention, is not considered by our
+countrymen of the East to be in India. We stared with all our eyes
+when this unexpected information was first given us, and fancied our
+merry friends were quizzing us. But we soon learned that, in the
+technical language of that country, Ceylon does not form a part of
+India; still less does Sumatra, Java, or any indeed of the islands in
+the great tropical Archipelago. New-comers are, of course, a good deal
+perplexed by these and sundry other local peculiarities in language
+and manners, which they at first laugh at as a good joke, then
+ridicule as affected, and lastly conform to as quite natural and
+proper. Among Anglo-Indians the straits of Malacca, Sunda, and so on,
+together with the China sea, and those magnificent groups of islands
+the Philippines and Moluccas, are all included in the sweeping
+term--"To the eastward."
+
+At almost every part of this immense range I found further local
+distinctions, of greater or less peculiarity and extent according to
+circumstances. At one place I was puzzled by hearing the name of a
+whole country appropriated to a single spot. At Bombay, for example, I
+remember it was the custom, at a certain season of the year, to talk
+of going to the Deccan, which word properly includes an immense region
+consisting of many provinces; whereas those who used this expression
+meant, and were understood to express, only one point in it--a little
+watering-place. Mere local words, in like manner, come to have a much
+more expanded signification. The word Ghaut, I believe, means, in
+strictness, a pass between hills; and hence, some bold etymologists
+pretend, comes our word gate! The term, however, is now applied to the
+whole range of mountains which fringe the western coast of India, just
+as the more gigantic Cordilleras of the Andes guard the shores of the
+Pacific.
+
+But whether Ceylon be in India or not, this island is celebrated for
+its precious stones; indeed, there are writers who believe that Mount
+Ophir of the Scripture is Adam's Peak of Ceylon. Be this also as it
+may, our ever-enterprising and active-minded Admiral determined to
+bring this reputation to the proof; and, one day at dinner at the
+governor's table, actually announced his intention of having a hunt
+for the sapphires, rubies, tourmalines, chrysoberyls, and corundums,
+for which the island has been long celebrated. His Excellency smiled,
+and the company at large scarcely knew whether to treat the proposal
+as a joke or as a serious affair. Sir Samuel, however, was not a man
+to be quizzed out of his purposes; he begged to have a party of
+workmen sent to him next morning, and that each of the men might be
+furnished with a basket, a request which naturally produced a titter;
+for it was made in such a tone as led us to fancy the worthy Admiral
+expected to collect the rubies and garnets in as great profusion as
+his far-famed predecessor, Sinbad the sailor, found them in the Valley
+of Diamonds.
+
+His precise plan he kept to himself till he reached the river, in
+which the finest stones are said to be found, the alluvial strip of
+ground bordering which was formed chiefly of fine gravel mixed with
+sand, leaves, and mud. Here he desired the men to fill their baskets,
+and to carry the whole mass, just as they picked it up, to one of the
+ship's boats, which he had directed to meet him at the landing-place.
+
+Not a word more was said on the subject at Government-house, nor on
+board the ship, till a couple of days after we had left Columbo, when
+the Admiral ordered the bag of gravel into his cabin, along with a
+great tub of water and half-a-dozen wash-deck buckets. The whole stuff
+collected on shore was now thoroughly cleaned, and when only the
+gravel remained, it was divided into a number of small portions, and
+laid on plates and dishes on the table of the fore-cabin. As soon as
+all was arranged, the Admiral, who superintended the operation, called
+out, "Send all the young gentlemen in the ship, and let every one take
+a plateful of gravel before him, to catch what jewels he can."
+
+Before the party had time to assemble, the delighted Admiral had
+himself discovered in his own dish three or four small garnets, one
+ruby, and several small crystals of corundum. By-and-bye, to the
+astonishment of every one, a collection was made, which not only
+furnished the promised ring to the governor's lady, but half-a-dozen
+others of equal beauty. These precious stones were certainly not of
+the largest dimensions; but, for all that, the Admiral established his
+point.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+CEYLONESE CANOES--PERUVIAN BALSAS--THE FLOATING WINDLASS OF THE
+COROMANDEL FISHERMEN.
+
+
+The canoes of Ceylon, as far as I remember, are not described by any
+writer, nor have I met with any professional men who are aware of
+their peculiar construction, and of the advantages of the extremely
+elegant principle upon which they are contrived, though capable, I am
+persuaded, of being applied to various purposes of navigation.
+
+Among the lesser circumstances which appear to form characteristic
+points of distinction between country and country may be mentioned the
+head-dress of the men, and the form and rig of their boats. An
+endless variety of turbans, sheep-skin caps, and conical bonnets,
+distinguish the Asiatics from the "Toppee Wallas" or hat-wearers of
+Europe; and a still greater variety exists amongst the boats of
+different nations. My purpose, just now, however, is to speak of boats
+and canoes alone; and it is really most curious to observe, that their
+size, form, cut of sails, description of oar and rudder, length of
+mast and so on, are not always entirely regulated by the peculiar
+climate of the locality, but made to depend on a caprice which it is
+difficult to account for. The boats of some countries are so extremely
+unstable, and altogether without bearings, that the smallest weight on
+one side more than on the other upsets them. This applies to the
+canoes of the North American Indian, which require considerable
+practice, even in the smoothest water, to keep them upright; and yet
+the Indians cross immense lakes in them, although the surface of those
+vast sheets of fresh water is often as rough as that of any salt sea.
+The waves, it is true, are not so long and high; but they are very
+awkward to deal with, from their abruptness, and the rapidity with
+which they get up when a breeze sets in.
+
+On those parts of the coast of the United States where the seasons are
+alternately very fine and very rough, our ingenious friends, the
+Americans, have contrived a set of pilot-boats, which are the delight
+of every sailor. This description of vessel, as the name implies, must
+always be at sea, as it is impossible to tell when her services may be
+required by ships steering in for the harbour's mouth. Accordingly,
+the Baltimore clippers and the New York pilots defy the elements in a
+style which it requires a long apprenticeship to the difficulties and
+discomforts of a wintry navigation, in a stormy latitude, duly to
+appreciate. In the fine weather, smooth water, and light winds of
+summer, these pilot-boats skim over the surface with the ease and
+swiftness of a swallow, apparently just touching the water with their
+prettily formed hulls, which seem too small to bear the immense load
+of snow-white canvas swelling above them, and shooting them along as
+if by magic, when every other vessel is lost in the calm, and when
+even taunt-masted ships can barely catch a breath of air to fill their
+sky-sails and royal studding-sails. They are truly "water-witches;"
+for, while they look so delicate and fragile that one feels at first
+as if the most moderate breeze must brush them from the face of the
+ocean, and scatter to the winds all their gay drapery, they can and do
+defy, as a matter of habit and choice, the most furious gales with
+which the rugged "sea-board" of America is visited in February and
+March.
+
+I have seen a pilot-boat off New York, in the morning, in a calm, with
+all her sails set, lying asleep on the water, which had subsided into
+such perfect stillness that we could count the seam of each cloth in
+the mirror beneath her, and it became difficult to tell which was the
+reflected image, which the true vessel. And yet, within a few hours, I
+have observed the same boat, with only her close-reefed foresail
+set--no one visible on her decks--and the sea running mountains high,
+threatening to swallow her up. Nevertheless, the beautiful craft rose
+as buoyantly on the back of the waves as any duck, and, moreover,
+glanced along their surface, and kept so good a wind, that, ere long,
+she shot ahead, and weathered our ship. Before the day was done, she
+could scarcely be distinguished from the mast-head to windward, though
+we had been labouring in the interval under every sail we could safely
+carry.
+
+The balsas of Peru, the catamarans and masullah boats of the
+Coromandel coast, and the flying proas of the South Sea Islands, have
+all been described before, and their respective merits dwelt upon, by
+Cook, Vancouver, Ulloa, and others. Each in its way, and on its
+proper spot, seems to possess qualities which it is difficult to
+communicate to vessels similarly constructed at a distance. The boats
+of each country, indeed, may be said to possess a peculiar language,
+understood only by the natives of the countries to which they belong;
+and truly, the manner in which the vessels of some regions behave,
+under the guidance of their respective masters, seems almost to imply
+that the boats themselves are gifted with animal intelligence. At all
+events, their performance never fails to excite the highest
+professional admiration of those whom experience has rendered familiar
+with the difficulties to be overcome.
+
+Long acquaintance with the local tides, winds, currents, and other
+circumstances of the pilotage, and the constant pressure of necessity,
+enable the inhabitants of each particular spot to acquire such
+masterly command over their machinery, that no new-comer, however well
+provided, or however skilful generally, can expect to cope with them.
+Hence it arises, that boats of a man-of-war are found almost
+invariably inferior, in some respects, to those of the port at which
+she touches. The effect of seeking to adapt our boats to any one
+particular place would be to render them less serviceable upon the
+whole. After remaining some time at a place, we might succeed in
+occasionally outsailing or outrowing the natives; but what sort of a
+figure would our boats cut at the next point to which the ship might
+be ordered--say a thousand miles farther from, or nearer to, the
+equator, where all the circumstances would be totally different. We
+should have to change again and again, losing time at each place, and
+probably not gaining, after all, any of the real advantages which the
+natives long resident on the spot alone know the art of applying to
+practice.
+
+The hull or body of the Ceylonese canoe is formed, like that of
+Robinson Crusoe's, out of the trunk of a single tree, wrought in its
+middle part into a perfectly smooth cylinder, but slightly flattened
+and turned up at both ends, which are made exactly alike. It is
+hollowed out in the usual way, but not cut so much open at top as we
+see in other canoes, for considerably more than half of the outside
+part of the cylinder or barrel is left entire, with only a narrow
+slit, eight or ten inches wide, above. If such a vessel were placed in
+the water, it would possess very little stability, even when not
+loaded with any weight on its upper edges. But there is built upon it
+a set of wooden upper works, in the shape of a long trough, extending
+from end to end; and the top-heaviness of this addition to the hull
+would instantly overturn the vessel, unless some device were applied
+to preserve its upright position. This purpose is accomplished by
+means of an out-rigger on one side, consisting of two curved poles, or
+slender but tough spars, laid across the canoe at right-angles to its
+length, and extending to the distance of twelve, fifteen, or even
+twenty feet, where they join a small log of buoyant wood, about half
+as long as the canoe, and lying parallel to it, with both its ends
+turned up like the toe of a slipper, to prevent its dipping into the
+waves. The inner ends of these transverse poles are securely bound by
+thongs to the raised gunwales of the canoe. The out-rigger, which is
+always kept to windward, acting by its weight at the end of so long a
+lever, prevents the vessel from turning over by the pressure of the
+sail; or, should the wind shift suddenly, so as to bring the sail
+aback, the buoyancy of the floating log would prevent the canoe from
+upsetting on that side by retaining the out-rigger horizontal. The
+mast, which is very taunt, or lofty, supports a lug-sail of immense
+size, and is stepped exactly in midships, that is, at the same
+distance from both ends of the canoe. The yard, also, is slung
+precisely in the middle; and while the tack of the sail is made fast
+at one extremity of the hull, the opposite corner, or clew, to which
+the sheet is attached, hauls aft to the other end. Shrouds extend from
+the mast-head to the gunwale of the canoe; besides which, slender
+backstays are carried to the extremity of the out-rigger; and these
+ropes, by reason of their great spread, give such powerful support to
+the mast, though loaded with a prodigious sail, that a very slender
+spar is sufficient.
+
+The method of working the sails of these canoes is as follows. They
+proceed in one direction as far as may be deemed convenient, and then,
+without going about, or turning completely round as we do, they merely
+change the stern of the canoe into the head, by shifting the tack of
+the sail over to leeward, and so converting it into the sheet--while
+the other clew, being shifted up to windward, becomes the tack. As
+soon as these changes have been made, away spins the little fairy bark
+on her new course, but always keeping the same side, or that on which
+the out-rigger is placed to windward. It will be easily understood
+that the pressure of the sail has a tendency to lift the weight at the
+extremity of the out-rigger above the surface of the water. In sailing
+along, therefore, the log just skims the tops of the waves, but
+scarcely ever buries itself in them, so that little or no interruption
+to the velocity of the canoe is caused by the out-rigger. When the
+breeze freshens so much as to lift the weight higher than the natives
+like, one, and sometimes two of them, walk out on the horizontal
+spars, so as to add their weight to that of the out-rigger. In order
+to enable them to accomplish this purpose in safety, a "man rope,"
+about breast high, extends over each of the spars from the mast to the
+backstays.
+
+But of all the ingenious native contrivances for turning small means
+to good account, one of the most curious, and, under certain
+circumstances, perhaps the most useful, is the balsa, or raft of South
+America, or, as it is called on some part of the coast, the catamaran.
+The simplest form of the raft, or balsa, is that of five, seven, or
+nine large beams of very light wood, from fifty to sixty feet long,
+arranged side by side, with the longest spar placed in the centre.
+These logs are firmly held together by cross-bars, lashings, and stout
+planking near the ends. They vary from fifteen to twenty, and even
+thirty feet in width. I have seen some at Guayaquil of an immense
+size, formed of logs as large as a frigate's foremast. These are
+intended for conveying goods to Paita, and other places along-shore.
+The balsa generally carries only one large sail, which is hoisted to
+what we call a pair of shears, formed by two poles crossing at the
+top, where they are lashed together. It is obvious that it would be
+difficult to step a mast securely to a raft in the manner it is done
+in a ship. It is truly astonishing to see how fast these singular
+vessels go through the water; but it is still more curious to observe
+how accurately they can be steered, and how effectively they may be
+handled in all respects like any ordinary vessel.
+
+The method by which the balsas are directed in their course is
+extremely ingenious, and is that to which I should wish to call the
+attention of sailors, not merely as a matter of curiosity, but from
+its practical utility in seamanship. No officer can tell how soon he
+may be called upon to place his crew on a raft, should his ship be
+wrecked; and yet, unless he has been previously made aware of some
+method of steering it, no purpose may be answered but that of
+protracting the misery of the people under his charge. Nothing can be
+more simple, or more easy of application, than the South American
+contrivance. Near both ends of the centre spar there is cut a
+perpendicular slit, about a couple of inches wide by one or two feet
+in length. Into each of these holes a broad plank, called guaras by
+the natives, is inserted in such a way that it may be thrust down to
+the depth of ten or twelve feet, or it may be drawn up entirely. The
+slits are so cut, that, when the raft is in motion, the edges of these
+planks shall meet the water. It is clear, that if both the guaras be
+thrust quite down, and held fast in a perpendicular direction, they
+will offer a broad surface towards the side, and thus, by acting like
+the leeboards of a river-barge, or the keel of a ship, prevent the
+balsa from drifting sidewise or dead to leeward. But while these
+guaras serve the purpose of a keel, they also perform the important
+duty of a rudder, the rationale of which every sailor will understand,
+upon considering the effect which must follow upon pulling either up
+the guara in the bow or that in the stern. Suppose, when the wind is
+on the beam, the foremost one drawn up; that end of the raft will
+instantly have a tendency to drift to leeward, from the absence of
+the lateral support it previously received from its guara or keel at
+the bow; or, in sea language, the balsa will immediately "fall off,"
+and in time she will come right before the wind. On the other hand, if
+the foremost guara be kept down while the sternmost one is drawn up,
+the balsa's head, or bow, will gradually come up towards the wind, in
+consequence of that end retaining its hold of the water by reason of
+its guara, while the stern end, being relieved from its lateral
+support, drifts to leeward. Thus, by judiciously raising or lowering
+one or both the guaras, the raft may not only be steered with the
+greatest nicety, but may be tacked or wore, or otherwise directed,
+with precision.
+
+I never shall forget the sensation produced in a ship I commanded one
+evening on the coast of Peru, as we steered towards the roadstead of
+Payta. An immense balsa was dashing out before the land-wind, and
+sending a snowy wreath of foam before her like that which curls up
+before the bow of a frigate in chase. As long as she was kept before
+the wind, we could understand this in some degree; but when she hauled
+up in order to round the point, and having made a stretch along-shore,
+proceeded to tack, we could scarcely believe our eyes. Had the
+celebrated Flying Dutchman sailed past us, our wonder could hardly
+have been more excited.
+
+It will generally be found well worth an officer's attention to remark
+in what manner the natives of any coast, however rude they may be,
+contrive to perform difficult tasks. Such things may be very simple
+and easy for us to execute, when we have all the appliances and means
+of our full equipment at command; but, as circumstances may often
+occur to deprive us of many of those means, and thus, virtually, to
+reduce us to the condition of the natives, it becomes of consequence
+to ascertain how necessity, the venerable mother of invention, has
+taught people so situated to do the required work. For example, it is
+generally easy for a ship of war to pick up her anchor with her own
+boats; but it will sometimes happen that the launch and other large
+boats may be stove, and then it may prove of consequence to know how a
+heavy anchor can be weighed without a boat at all.
+
+We happened, in his Majesty's ship Minden, to run upon the Coleroon
+shoal, off the mouth of the great river of that name, about a hundred
+miles south of Madras. After laying out a bower anchor, and hauling
+the ship off, we set about preparing the boats to weigh it in the
+usual way. But the master-attendant of Porto Novo, who had come off to
+our assistance with a fleet of canoes and rafts, suggested to Sir
+Samuel Hood that it might he a good opportunity to try the skill of
+the natives, who were celebrated for their expertness in raising great
+weights from the bottom. The proposal was one which delighted the
+Admiral, who enjoyed everything that was new. He posted himself
+accordingly in his barge near the spot, but he allowed the task to be
+turned over entirely to the black fellows, whom he ordered to be
+supplied with ropes, spars, and anything else they required from the
+ship. The officers and sailors, in imitation of their chief, clustered
+themselves in wondering groups in the rigging, in the chains, and in
+the boats, to witness the strange spectacle of a huge bower anchor,
+weighing nearly four tons, raised off the ground by a set of native
+fishermen, possessed of no canoe larger than the smallest gig on
+board.
+
+The master-attendant stood interpreter, and passed backwards and
+forwards between the ship and the scene of operations--not to direct,
+but merely to signify what things the natives required for their
+purpose. They first begged us to have a couple of spare topmasts and
+topsail-yards, with a number of smaller spars, such as top-gallant
+masts and studding-sail booms. Out of these they formed, with
+wonderful speed, an exceedingly neat cylindrical raft, between two and
+three feet in diameter. They next bound the whole closely together by
+lashings, and filled up all its inequalities with capstan-bars,
+handspikes, and other small spars, so as to make it a compact, smooth,
+and uniform cylinder from end to end. Nothing could be more dexterous
+or seaman-like than the style in which these fellows swam about and
+passed the lashings; in fact, they appeared to be as much at home in
+the water as our sailors were in the boats or in the rigging.
+
+A stout seven-inch hawser was now sent down by the buoy-rope, and the
+running clinch or noose formed on its end, placed over the fluke of
+the anchor in the usual way. A couple of round turns were then taken
+with the hawser at the middle part of the cylindrical raft, after it
+had been drawn up as tight as possible from the anchor. A number of
+slew-ropes, I think about sixty or seventy in all, were next passed
+round the cylinder several times, in the opposite direction to the
+round turns taken with the hawser.
+
+Upwards of a hundred of the natives now mounted the raft, and, after
+dividing themselves into pairs, and taking hold of the slew-ropes in
+their hands, pulled them up as tight as they could. By this effort
+they caused the cylinder to turn round till its further revolutions
+were stopped by the increasing tightness of the hawser, which was
+wound on the cylinder as fast as the slew-ropes were wound off it.
+When all the ropes had been drawn equally tight, and the whole party
+of men had been ranged along the top in an erect posture, with their
+faces all turned one way, a signal was given by one of the principal
+natives. At this moment the men, one and all, still grasping their
+respective slew-ropes firmly in their hands, and without bending a
+joint in their whole bodies, fell simultaneously on their backs, flat
+on the water! The effect of this sudden movement was to turn the
+cylinder a full quadrant, or one quarter of a revolution. This, of
+course, brought a considerable strain on the hawser fixed to the
+anchor. On a second signal being given, every alternate pair of men
+gradually crept up the spars by means of their slew-ropes, till
+one-half of the number stood once more along the top of the cylinder,
+while the other half of the party still lay flat on the water, and by
+their weight prevented the cylinder rolling back again.
+
+When the next signal was given, those natives who had regained their
+original position on the top of the cylinder threw themselves down
+once more, while those who already lay prostrate gathered in the slack
+of their slew-ropes with the utmost eagerness as the cylinder revolved
+another quarter of a turn. It soon became evident that the anchor had
+fairly begun to rise off the ground, for the buoy-rope, which at first
+had been bowsed taught over the stern of our launch, became
+quite slack.
+
+I forget how many successive efforts were made by the natives before
+the anchor was lifted; but, in the end, it certainly was raised
+completely off the ground by their exertions alone. The natives,
+however, complained of the difficulty being much greater than they had
+expected in consequence of the great size of our anchor. In fact, when
+at length they had wound the hawser on the cylinder so far that it
+carried the full weight, the whole number of the natives lay stretched
+on the water in a horizontal position, apparently afraid to move, lest
+the weight, if not uniformly distributed amongst them, might prove too
+great, and the anchor drop again to the bottom, by the returning
+revolutions of the cylinder. When this was explained to Sir Samuel
+Hood, he ordered the people in the launch to bowse away at the
+buoy-rope. This proved a most seasonable relief to the poor natives,
+who, however, declared, that, if it were required, they would go on,
+and bring up the anchor fairly to the water's edge. As the
+good-natured Admiral would not permit this, the huge anchor, cylinder,
+natives, launch, and all, were drawn into deep water were the ship
+lay. The master-attendant now explained to the natives that they had
+nothing more to do than to continue lying flat and still on the water,
+till the people on board the ship, by heaving in the cable, should
+bring the anchor to the bows, and thus relieve them of their burden.
+The officer of the launch was also instructed not to slack the
+buoy-rope till the cable had got the full weight of the anchor, and
+the natives required no farther help.
+
+Nothing could be more distinctly given than those orders, so that I
+cannot account for the panic which seized some of the natives when
+close to the ship. Whatever was the cause, its effect was such that
+many of them let go their slew-ropes, and thus cast a disproportionate
+share of burden on the others, whose strength, or rather weight,
+proving unequal to counterpoise the load, the cylinder began to turn
+back again. This soon brought the whole strain, or nearly the whole,
+on the stern of the launch, and had not the tackle been smartly let
+go, she must have been drawn under water and swamped. The terrified
+natives now lost all self-possession, as the mighty anchor shot
+rapidly to the bottom. The cylinder of course whirled round with
+prodigious velocity as the hawser unwound itself; and so suddenly had
+the catastrophe occurred, that many of the natives, not having
+presence of mind to let go their slew-ropes, held fast and were
+whisked round and round several times alternately under water beneath
+the cylinder and on the top of it, not unlike the spokes of a
+coach-wheel wanting the rim.
+
+The Admiral was in the greatest alarm, lest some of these poor fellows
+should get entangled with the ropes and be drowned, or be dashed
+against one another, and beaten to pieces against the cylinder. It was
+a great relief, therefore, to find that no one was in the least degree
+hurt, though some of the natives had been soused most soundly, or, as
+the Jacks said, who grinned at the whole affair, "keel-hauled in
+proper style."
+
+In a certain sense, then, this experiment may be said to have failed;
+but enough was done to show that it might be rendered exceedingly
+effective on many occasions. The Admiral, one of the best practical
+sailors of his day, thus explained it:--
+
+"In the first place," said Sir Samuel, "you must observe, youngsters,
+that this device of the natives is neither more nor less than a
+floating windlass, where the buoyant power of the timber serves the
+purpose of a support to the axis. The men fixed by the slew-ropes to
+the cylinder, represent the handspikes or bars by which the windlass
+is turned round, and the hawser takes the place of the cable. But,"
+continued he, "there appears to be no reason why the cylinder should
+be made equally large along its whole length; and were I to repeat
+this experiment, I would make the middle part, round which the hawser
+was to be passed, of a single topmast, while I would swell out the
+ends of my cylinder or raft to three or four feet in diameter. In this
+way a great increase of power would evidently be gained by those who
+worked the slew-ropes. In the next place," said the Admiral, "it is
+clear that either the buoy-rope, or another hawser also fastened to
+the anchor, as a 'preventer,' ought to be carried round the middle
+part of the cylinder, but in the opposite direction to that of the
+weighing hawser. This second hawser should be hauled tight round at
+the end of each successive quarter-turn gained by the men. If this
+were done, all tendency in the cylinder to turn one way more than the
+other would be prevented; for each of the hawsers would bear an equal
+share of the weight of the anchor, and being wound upon the raft in
+opposite directions, would of course counteract each other's tendency
+to slew it round. The whole party of men, instead of only one-half of
+them, might then mount the spars; and thus their united strength could
+be exerted at each effort, and in perfect security, against the
+formidable danger of the cylinder whirling back by the anchor gaining
+the mastery over them, and dropping again to the bottom. But without
+using their clumsy, though certainly very ingenious, machinery of
+turning men into handspikes, I think," said he, "we might construct
+our floating windlass in such a way that a set of small
+spars--studding-sail booms, for instance--might be inserted at right
+angles to its length, like the bars of a capstan, and these, if
+swifted together, could be worked from the boats, without the
+necessity of any one going into the water."
+
+While speaking of the dexterity of the natives of India, I may mention
+a feat which interested us very much. A strong party of hands from the
+ship were sent one day to remove an anchor, weighing seventy-five
+hundred-weight, from one part of Bombay dockyard to another, but,
+from the want of some place to attach their tackle to, they could not
+readily transport it along the wharf. Various devices were tried in
+vain by the sailors, whose strength, if it could have been brought to
+bear, would have proved much more than enough for the task. In process
+of time, no doubt, they would have fallen upon some method of
+accomplishing their purpose; but while they were discussing various
+projects, one of the superintendents said he thought his party of
+native coolies or labourers could lift the anchor and carry it to any
+part of the yard. This proposal was received by our Johnnies with a
+loud laugh; for the numbers of the natives did not much exceed their
+own, and the least powerful of the seamen could readily, at least in
+his own estimation, have demolished half-a-dozen of the strongest of
+these slender Hindoos.
+
+To work they went, however, while Jack looked on with great
+attention. Their first operation was to lay a jib-boom horizontally,
+and nearly along the shank of the anchor. This being securely lashed
+to the shank, and also to the stock, the whole length of the spar was
+crossed at right angles by capstan bars, to the ends of which as many
+handspikes as there was room for were lashed also at right angles. In
+this way, every cooly of the party could obtain a good hold, and exert
+his strength to the greatest purpose. I forget how many natives were
+applied to this service; but in the course of a very few minutes,
+their preparations being completed, the ponderous anchor was lifted a
+few inches from the ground, to the wonder and admiration of the
+British seamen, who cheered the black fellows, and patted them on the
+back as they trotted along the wharf with their load, which appeared
+to oppress them no more than if it had been the jolly boat's grapnel!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE SURF AT MADRAS.
+
+
+From Ceylon we proceeded after a time to Madras roads, where we soon
+became well acquainted with all the outs and ins of the celebrated
+surf of that place. This surf, after all, is not really higher than
+many which one meets with in other countries; but certainly it is the
+highest and most troublesome which exists as a permanent obstruction
+in front of a great commercial city. The ingenuity and perseverance of
+man, however, have gone far to surmount this difficulty; and now the
+passage to and from the beach at Madras offers hardly any serious
+interruption to the intercourse. Still, it is by no means an agreeable
+operation to pass through the surf under any circumstances; and
+occasionally, during the north-east monsoon, it is attended with some
+danger. For the first two or three times, I remember thinking it very
+good sport to cross the surf, and sympathised but little with the
+anxious expressions of some older hands who accompanied me. The boat,
+the boatmen, their curious oars, the strange noises they made, and the
+attendant catamarans to pick up the passengers if the boat upsets,
+being all new to my eyes, and particularly odd in themselves, so
+strongly engaged my attention, that I had no leisure to think of the
+danger till the boat was cast violently on the beach. The very first
+time I landed, the whole party were pitched out heels over head on the
+shore. I thought it a mighty odd way of landing; but supposing it to
+be all regular and proper, I scrambled up the wet sand, and merely
+muttered,--"What the devil will the fellows do next?"
+
+The surf at Madras consists of two distinct lines of breakers on the
+beach, running parallel to each other and to the shore. These foaming
+ridges are caused by a succession of waves curling over and breaking
+upon bars or banks, formed probably by the reflux action of the sea
+carrying the sand outwards. The surf itself, unquestionably, owes its
+origin to the long sand of the ocean-swell coming across the Bay of
+Bengal, a sweep of nearly five hundred miles, from the coasts of
+Arracan, the Malay peninsula, and the island of Sumatra. This huge
+swell is scarcely perceptible in the fathomless Indian sea; but when
+the mighty oscillation reaches the shelving shores of Coromandel, its
+vibrations are checked by the bottom. The mass of waters, which up to
+this point had merely sunk and risen, that is, vibrated without any
+real progressive motion, is then driven forwards to the land, where,
+from the increasing shallowness, it finds less and less room for its
+"wild waves' play," and finally rises above the general level of the
+sea in threatening ridges. I know few things more alarming to nautical
+nerves than the sudden and mysterious "lift of the swell," which
+hurries a ship upwards when she has chanced to get too near the
+shore, and when, in consequence of the deadness of the calm, she can
+make no way to seaward, but is gradually hove nearer and nearer to the
+roaring surge.
+
+At last, when the great ocean-wave approaches the beach, and the depth
+of water is much diminished, the velocity of so vast a mass sweeping
+along the bottom, though greatly accelerated, becomes inadequate to
+fulfil the conditions of the oscillation, and it has no resource but
+to curl into a high and toppling wave. So that this moving ridge of
+waters, after careering forwards with a front high in proportion to
+the impulse behind, and for a length of time regulated by the degree
+of abruptness in the rise of the shore, at last dashes its monstrous
+head with a noise extremely like thunder along the endless coast.
+
+Often, indeed, when on shore at Madras, have I lain in bed awake, with
+open windows, for hours together, listening, at the distance of many a
+league, to the sound of these waves, and almost fancying I could still
+feel the tremour of the ground, always distinctly perceptible near the
+beach. When the distance is great, and the actual moment at which the
+sea breaks ceases to be distinguishable, and when a long range of
+coast is within hearing, the unceasing roar of the surf in a serene
+night, heard over the level plains of the Carnatic shore, is
+wonderfully interesting.
+
+Any attempt to pass the surf in an ordinary boat is seldom thought of.
+I remember hearing of a naval officer who crossed once in his
+jolly-boat in safety, but on a second trial he was swamped, and both
+he and his crew well-nigh drowned. The masullah boats of the country
+resemble nothing to be seen elsewhere. They have flat bottoms,
+perpendicular sides, and abruptly pointed ends, being twelve or
+fourteen feet long by five or six broad, and four or five feet high.
+Not a single nail enters into their construction, all the planks being
+held together by cords or lacings. Along the planks, at a short
+distance from the edge, are bored a set of holes, through which the
+lacing or cord is to pass. A layer of cotton is then interposed
+between the planks, and along the seam is laid a flat narrow strip of
+a fibry and tough kind of wood. The cord is next rove through the
+holes and passed over the strip, so that when it is pulled tight the
+planks are not only drawn into as close contact as the interposed
+cotton will allow of, but the long strip is pressed against the seam
+so effectually as to exclude the water. The wood of which these boats
+are constructed is so elastic and tough, that when they take the
+ground, either by accident or in regular course of service, the part
+which touches yields to the pressure without breaking, and bulges
+inwards almost as readily as if it were made of shoe-leather. Under
+similar circumstances, an ordinary boat, fitted with a keel, timbers,
+and planks nailed together, not being pliable, would be shivered to
+pieces.
+
+At the after or sternmost end a sort of high poop-deck passes from
+side to side, on which the steersman takes his post. He holds in his
+hand an oar or paddle, which consists of a pole ten or twelve feet
+long, carrying at its extremity a circular disc of wood about a foot
+or a foot and a-half in diameter. The oars used by the six hands who
+pull the masullah boat are similar to that held by the steersman, who
+is always a person of long experience and known skill, as well as
+courage and coolness--qualities indispensable to the safety of the
+passage when the surf is high. The rowers sit upon high thwarts and
+their oars are held by grummets, or rings made of rope, to pins
+inserted in the gunwale, so that they can be let go and resumed at
+pleasure, without risk of being lost. The passengers, wretched
+victims! seat themselves on a cross bench about a foot lower than the
+seats of the rowers, and close in front of the raised poop or
+steersman's deck, which is nearly on a level with the gunwale.
+
+The whole process of landing, from the moment of leaving the ship till
+you feel yourself safe on the crown of the beach is as disagreeable as
+can be; and I can only say for myself that every time I crossed the
+surf it rose in my respect. At the eighth or tenth transit I began
+really to feel uncomfortable; at the twentieth I felt considerable
+apprehension of being well ducked; and at about the thirtieth time of
+crossing, I almost fancied there was but little chance of escaping a
+watery grave, with sharks for sextons, and the wild surf for a dirge!
+The truth is that at each successive time of passing this formidable
+barrier of surf we become better and better acquainted with the
+dangers and possibilities of accidents.
+
+However, as all persons intending to go ashore at Madras must pass
+through the surf, they step with what courage they can muster into
+their boat alongside the ship, anchored in the roads a couple of miles
+off, in consequence of the water being too shallow for large vessels.
+The boat then shoves off, and rows to the "back of the surf," where it
+is usual to let go a grapnel, or to lie on the oars till the masullah
+boat comes out. The back of the surf is that part of the roadstead
+lying immediately beyond the place where the first indication is given
+of the tendency in the swell to rise into a wave; and no boat not
+expressly fitted for the purpose ever goes nearer to the shore, but
+lies off till the "bar-boat" makes her way through the surf, and lays
+herself alongside the ship's boat. A scrambling kind of boarding
+operation now takes place, to the last degree inconvenient to ladies
+and other shore-going persons not accustomed to climbing. As the
+gunwale of the masullah boat rises three or four feet above the water,
+the step is a long and troublesome one to make, even by those who are
+not encumbered with petticoats--those sad impediments to
+locomotion--devised by the men, as I heard a Chinaman remark,
+expressly to check the rambling propensities of the softer sex, always
+too prone, he alleged, to yield to wandering impulses without such
+encumbrances! I know to my cost, from many a broken shin, that even
+gentlemen bred afloat may contrive to slip in removing from one boat
+to the other, especially if the breeze be fresh, and there be what
+mariners call a "bubble of a sea." In a little while, however, all the
+party are tumbled, or hoisted into the masullah boat, where they seat
+themselves on the cross-bench, marvellously like so many culprits on a
+hurdle on their way to execution! Ahead of them roars and boils a
+furious ridge of terrific breakers, while close at their ears behind,
+stamps and bawls, or rather yells, the steersman, who takes this
+method of communicating his wishes to his fellow-boatmen. The
+steersman stands on his poop, or quarter-deck, just behind the
+miserable passengers, whose heads reach not quite so high as his
+knees. His oar rests in a crutch on the top of the stern-post, and not
+only serves as a rudder, but gives him the power to slew or twist the
+boat round with considerable rapidity, when aided by the efforts of
+the rowers. It is necessary for the steersman to wait for a favourable
+moment to enter the surf, otherwise the chances are that the boat will
+be upset, in the manner I shall describe presently. People are
+frequently kept waiting in this way for ten or twenty minutes, at the
+back of the surf, before a proper opportunity presents itself.
+
+During all this while, the experienced eye of the veteran skipper
+abaft glances backwards and forwards from the swell rolling in from
+the open sea, to the surf which is breaking close to him. From time to
+time he utters a half word to his crew, with that kind of faint
+interrogative tone in which a commanding-officer indulges when he is
+sure of acquiescence on the part of those under him, and is careless
+whether they answer or not. In general, however, he remains quite
+silent during this first stage of the passage, as do also the rowers,
+who either rest the paddles horizontally, or allow their circular
+blades to float on the surface of the water. Meanwhile the boat rolls
+from side to side, or is heaved smartly upwards as the swell, just on
+the eve of breaking, lifts her into the air, and then drops her again
+into the hollow with the most sea-sickening velocity. I should state,
+that, during this wofully unpleasant interval, the masullah boat is
+placed sideways to the line of surf, parallel to the shore, and, of
+course, exactly in the trough of the sea.
+
+I have often watched with the closest attention to discover what were
+the indications by which these experienced boatmen inferred that the
+true moment was arrived when it was safe to enter the surf, but I
+never could make out enough to be of much professional utility. It was
+clear, indeed, that the proper instant for making the grand push
+occurred when one of the highest waves was about to break--for the
+greater the dash, the greater the lull after it. But how these fellows
+managed to discover, beforehand, that the wave, upon the back of
+which they chose to ride in, was of that exact description, I could
+never discover. On the approach of a swell which he knows will answer
+his purpose, the steersman, suddenly changing his quiet and almost
+contemplative air for a look of intense anxiety, grasps his oar with
+double firmness, and exerting his utmost strength of muscle, forces
+the boat's stern round, so that her head may point to the shore. At
+the same time he urges his crew to exert themselves, partly by violent
+stampings with his feet, partly by loud and vehement exhortations, and
+partly by a succession of horrid yells, in which the sounds Yarry!
+Yarry!! Yarry!!! predominate--indicating to the ears of a stranger the
+very reverse of self-confidence, and filling the soul of a nervous
+passenger with infinite alarm.
+
+Those fearful noises are loudly re-echoed by all the other men, who
+strain themselves so vigorously at the oars, that the boat, flying
+forwards, almost keeps way with the wave, on the back of which it is
+the object of the steersman to keep her. As she is swept impetuously
+towards the bar, a person seated in the boat can distinctly feel the
+sea under him gradually rising under a sheer wave, and lifting the
+boat up--and up--and up, in a manner exceedingly startling. At length
+the ridge, near the summit of which the boat is placed, begins to
+curl, and its edge just breaks into a line of white fringe along the
+upper edge of the perpendicular face presented to the shore, towards
+which it is advancing with vast rapidity. The grand object of the
+boatmen now appears to consist in maintaining their position, not on
+the very crown of the wave, but a little further to seaward, down the
+slope, so as to ride upon its shoulders, as it were. The importance of
+this precaution becomes apparent, when the curling surge, no longer
+able to maintain its elevation, is dashed furiously forwards, and
+dispersed into an immense sheet of foam, broken by innumerable eddies
+and whirlpools, into a confused sea of irregular waves rushing
+tumultuously together, and casting the spray high into the air by
+impinging one against the other. This furious turmoil often whirls the
+masullah boat round and round, in spite of the despairing outcries of
+the steersman, and the redoubled exertions of his screaming crew, half
+of whom back their oars, while the other half tug away in vain
+endeavours to keep her head in the right direction.
+
+I have endeavoured to describe the correct and safe method of riding
+over the surf on the outer bar upon the back of the wave, a feat in
+all conscience sufficiently ticklish; but woe betide the poor masullah
+boat which shall be a little too far in advance of her proper place,
+so that, when the wave curls over and breaks, she may be pitched head
+foremost over the brink of the watery precipice, and strikes her nose
+on the sandbank. Even then, if there happen, by good luck, to be depth
+of water over the bar sufficient to float her, she may still escape;
+but, should the sand be left bare, or nearly so, as happens sometimes,
+the boat is almost sure to strike, if, instead of keeping on the back
+or shoulder of the wave, she incautiously precedes it. In that unhappy
+case she is instantly tumbled forwards, heels over head, while the
+crew and passengers are sent sprawling amongst the foam.
+
+Between the sharks and the catamaran men a race then takes place--the
+one to save, the other to destroy--the very Brahmas and Shivas of the
+surf! These accidents, however, are so very rare, that during all the
+time I was in India I never witnessed one.
+
+There is still a second surf to pass, which breaks on the inner bar,
+about forty or fifty yards nearer to the shore. The boatmen try to
+cross this, and to approach so near the beach, that, when the next
+wave breaks, they shall be so far ahead of it that it may not dash
+into the boat and swamp her, and yet not so far out as to prevent
+their profiting by its impulse to drive them up the steep face of sand
+forming the long-wished-for shore. The rapidity with which the
+masullah boat is at last cast on the beach is sometimes quite fearful,
+and the moment she thumps on the ground, as the wave recedes, most
+startling. I have seen persons pitched completely off their seats, and
+more than once I have myself been fairly turned over with all the
+party, like a parcel of fish cast out of a basket! In general, no such
+untoward events take place, and the boat at length rests on the sand,
+with her stern to the sea. But as yet she is by no means far enough up
+the beach to enable the passengers to get out with comfort or safety.
+Before the next wave breaks, the bow and sides of the boat have been
+seized by numbers of the natives on the shore, who greatly assist the
+impulse when the wave comes, both by keeping her in a straight course,
+and likewise by preventing her upsetting. These last stages of the
+process are very disagreeable, for every time the surf reaches the
+boat, it raises her up and lets her fall again, with a violent jerk.
+When at last she is high enough to remain beyond the wash of the surf,
+you either jump out, or more frequently descend by means of a ladder,
+as you would get off the top of a stage-coach; and, turning about, you
+look with astonishment at what you have gone through, and thank Heaven
+you are safe!
+
+The return passage from the shore to a ship, in a masullah boat, is
+more tedious, but less dangerous, than the process of landing. This
+difference will easily be understood, when it is recollected that in
+one case the boat is carried impetuously forward by the waves, and
+that all power of retarding her progress on the part of the boatmen
+ceases after a particular moment. In going from the shore, however,
+the boat is kept continually under management, and the talents and
+experience of the steersman regulate the affair throughout. He
+watches, just inside the surf, till a smooth moment occurs, generally
+after a high sea has broken, and then he endeavours, by great
+exertions, to avail himself of the moment of comparative tranquillity
+which follows, to force his way across the bar before another sea
+comes. If he detects, as he is supposed to have it always in his power
+to do, that another sea is on the rise, which will, in all
+probability, curl up and break over him before he can row over its
+crest and slide down its back, his duty is, to order his men to back
+their oars with their utmost speed and strength. This retrograde
+movement withdraws her from the blow, or, at all events, allows the
+wave to strike her with diminished violence at the safest point, and
+in water of sufficient depth to prevent the boat taking the ground
+injuriously, to the risk of her being turned topsy-turvy. I have, in
+fact, often been in these masullah boats when they have struck
+violently on the bar, and have seen their flat and elastic bottoms
+bulge inwards in the most alarming manner, but I never saw any of the
+planks break or the seams open so as to admit the water.
+
+It is very interesting to watch the progress of those honest catamaran
+fellows, who live almost entirely in the surf, and who, independently
+of their chief purpose of attending the masullah boats, are much
+employed as messengers to the ships in the roads, even in the worst
+weather. I remember one day being sent with a note for the commanding
+officer of the flag-ship, which Sir Samuel Hood was very desirous
+should be sent on board; but as the weather was too tempestuous to
+allow even a masullah boat to pass the surf, I was obliged to give it
+to a catamaran man. The poor fellow drew off his head a small
+skull-cap, made apparently of some kind of skin, or oil-cloth, or
+bladder, and having deposited his despatches therein, proceeded to
+execute his task.
+
+We really thought, at first, that our messenger must have been drowned
+even in crossing the inner bar, for we well-nigh lost sight of him in
+the hissing yeast of waves in which he and his catamaran appeared only
+at intervals, tossing about like a cork. But by far the most difficult
+part of his task remained after he had reached the comparatively
+smooth space between the two lines of surf, where we could observe him
+paddling to and fro as if in search of an opening in the moving wall
+of water raging between him and the roadstead. He was watching for a
+favourable moment, when, after the dash of some high wave, he might
+hope to make good his transit in safety.
+
+After allowing a great many seas to break before he attempted to cross
+the outer bar, he at length seized the proper moment, and turning his
+little bark to seaward, paddled out as fast as he could. Just as the
+gallant fellow, however, reached the shallowest part of the bar, and
+we fancied him safely across, a huge wave, which had risen with
+unusual quickness, elevated its foaming crest right before him,
+curling upwards many feet higher than his shoulders. In a moment he
+cast away his paddle, and leaping on his feet, he stood erect on his
+catamaran, watching with a bold front the advancing bank of water. He
+kept his position, quite undaunted, till the steep face of the breaker
+came within a couple of yards of him, and then leaping head foremost,
+he pierced the wave in a horizontal direction with the agility and
+confidence of a dolphin. We had scarcely lost sight of his feet, as he
+shot through the heart of the wave, when such a dash took place as
+must have crushed him to pieces had he stuck by his catamaran, which
+was whisked instantly afterwards, by a kind of somerset, completely
+out of the water by its rebounding off the sandbank. On casting our
+eyes beyond the surf, we felt much relieved by seeing our shipwrecked
+friend merrily dancing on the waves at the back of the surf, leaping
+more than breast-high above the surface, and looking in all
+directions, first for his paddle, and then for his catamaran. Having
+recovered his oar, he next swam, as he best could, through the broken
+surf to his raft, mounted it like a hero, and once more addressed
+himself to his task.
+
+By this time, as the current always runs fast along the shore, he had
+drifted several hundred yards to the northward farther from his point.
+At the second attempt to penetrate the surf, he seemed to have made a
+small miscalculation, for the sea broke so very nearly over him,
+before he had time to quit his catamaran and dive into still water,
+that we thought he must certainly have been drowned. Not a whit,
+however, did he appear to have suffered, for we soon saw him again
+swimming to his rude vessel. Many times in succession was he thus
+washed off and sent whirling towards the beach, and as often obliged
+to dive head foremost through the waves. But at last, after very
+nearly an hour of incessant struggling, and the loss of more than a
+mile of distance, he succeeded, for the first time, in reaching the
+back of the surf, without having parted company either with his paddle
+or with his catamaran. After this it became all plain sailing; he soon
+paddled off to the Roads, and placed the Admiral's letter in the first
+lieutenant's hands as dry as if it had been borne in a despatch-box
+across the court-yard of the Admiralty.
+
+I remember one day, when on board the Minden, receiving a note from
+the shore by a catamaran lad, whom I told to wait for an answer. Upon
+this he asked for a rope, with which, as soon as it was given him, he
+made his little vessel fast, and lay down to sleep in the full blaze
+of a July sun. One of his arms and one of his feet hung in the water,
+though a dozen sharks had been seen cruising round the ship. A tacit
+contract, indeed, appears to exist between the sharks and these
+people, for I never saw, nor can I remember ever having heard of any
+injury done by one to the other. By the time my answer was written,
+the sun had dried up the spray on the poor fellow's body, leaving such
+a coating of salt, that he looked as if he had been dusted with flour.
+A few fanams--a small copper coin--were all his charge, and three or
+four broken biscuits in addition sent him away the happiest of
+mortals.
+
+It is matter of considerable surprise to every one who has seen how
+well the chain-pier at Brighton stands the worst weather, that no
+similar work has been devised at Madras. The water is shallow, the
+surf does not extend very far from the beach, and there seems really
+no reason why a chain-pier should not be erected, which might answer
+not only for the accommodation of passengers, but for the transit of
+goods to and from the shore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+VISIT TO THE SULTAN OF PONTIANA, IN BORNEO--SIR SAMUEL HOOD.
+
+
+In the summer of 1814, Sir Samuel Hood made a voyage, in his Majesty's
+ship Minden, to the eastern parts of his station. We called first at
+Acheen, on the north end of the island of Sumatra, where we held some
+very amusing intercourse with the king of that district, whose capital
+the Admiral visited. From thence we steered over to Pulo Penang, or
+Prince of Wales' Island, and thence down the Straits of Malacca,
+entering the China Sea by the beautiful Straits of Sincapore. The
+Admiral's chief object was to visit Java; but as there lay three
+routes before him to choose between, viz. the Straits of Gaspar, the
+Straits of Banca, and the Caramata passage, he preferred taking the
+last and widest, which also led him near the western shore of the
+immense island of Borneo. On reaching the equator, he steered in for
+the mouth of the great river Lava, which passes the town of Pontiana.
+The weather being very favourable, the ship was anchored, and the
+barge got ready for an expedition.
+
+At four in the morning, on receiving the joyful intimation that I was
+to be officer of the boat, I lost no time in getting together
+everything likely to be useful--a sextant, artificial horizon,
+spy-glass, chart, compass, and Nautical Almanac, besides a Malay
+Dictionary.
+
+We had some little difficulty in finding our way in the barge, for the
+mouth of the river of Pontiana lay so completely hid amongst low
+cane-brakes, mangroves, and other aquatic trees and shrubs, which grow
+thickly along the western shores of Borneo, that, until we came quite
+close, no inlet was perceptible. The first hit we made proved wrong,
+and lost us three or four miles; and it was not till nearly noon that
+we reached the rush of fresh and troubled water, which indicated the
+true entrance. The Admiral desired greatly to observe the sun's
+meridian altitude. His Excellency, however, though he could command
+many things, could not command this; for although our fellows gave way
+lustily, so as to stem the current running out, and we had a full
+half-hour to spare, we could not effect a landing in good time. On
+reaching what had seemed the shore, no footing could be found
+anywhere. Even the little boat which we carried with us in tow of the
+barge, though she threaded the mangrove stems and roots, and went in
+much further than the barge, could not reach anything like dry land.
+As the main bank refused to afford us a resting-place, we put off, and
+rowed as briskly as we could to a small island about half-a-mile from
+this treacherous shore; but this, too, proved a cheat, for what we
+took to be solid ground consisted merely of a mass of green shrubs,
+growing on the ridge of a soft slippery mass of mud just peeping above
+the water.
+
+As the sailors, by this time, were pretty well exhausted with rowing
+so long in the hot sun, they hailed with great joy the sea-breeze
+which just then set in. They soon stepped the masts, hoisted the
+sails, and laid the oars in.
+
+"Now go to dinner, men," said the considerate chief, "this rattling
+breeze will not carry us up far, and you will pull all the better for
+a good bellyful."
+
+Just as this judicious order was given, and while we were still
+laughing at the recent adventure, which reminded us of Sinbad's
+mistaking a whale for a solid rock, our eyes were attracted by the
+sight of another island, much smaller than the first. It seemed,
+indeed, like a little grove or tuft of palm-like foliage, rising out
+of the water somewhat in the fashion of our Prince of Wales' feather.
+None of the party had ever seen such a tree before, and every one
+tried to guess what it might be; but all were puzzled. At length, a
+diminutive moving black speck showed itself at the root, or centre,
+from which these fairy-like branches radiated.
+
+"It is a rock with a tree on it," cried one.
+
+"Nonsense!" said Sir Samuel, "there are no rocks hereabouts; the soil
+for many a league is alluvial."
+
+"It skims along like a witch," exclaimed a third; "it is surely
+alive!"
+
+"Let us sail to it whatever it be," said the Admiral, waving his hand
+to the coxswain to sheer the barge further from the side of the river.
+
+As we drew near, we discovered our phenomenon to consist of a
+fishing-canoe, gliding along merrily before the sea-breeze, with no
+other sails than half-a-dozen branches of the cocoa-nut tree placed in
+the bow, and spread out like the feathers of a peacock's tail. These
+were held together by a slender bar of bamboo, and supported by small
+strips of bark to the stern, in which sat a naked Malay.
+
+The Admiral proved a true prophet, for the deceitful sea-breeze
+presently lulled, and it cost us a very hard row to accomplish our
+purpose against the stream. The town of Pontiana stands on a low point
+of land formed by the confluence of two mighty rivers. This particular
+spot is always held sacred in India, and is known under the Hindoo
+name of Sungum. I suspect, however, that the Malays and other
+Mahometans, who inhabit the coasts of most of the Indian Islands,
+acknowledge no superstitious predilections for one spot more than
+another, and consider such things as mere prejudices unworthy of the
+followers of Mahomet, their great military prophet. Probably the
+Sungum point has some local advantages belonging to it, as I observe
+it is generally appropriated by the strongest party in every country.
+At all events, it has the advantage of communicating directly with
+both the rivers, by whose junction the Sungum, or solid angle, is
+formed. In the instance of Pontiana, the Mussulmans had taken
+possession of it, though it was formerly a Dutch settlement, while the
+Chinese were left to occupy the corners opposite to the Sungum, on the
+right and left banks, respectively, of the river formed by the
+junction of the two streams. Thus three considerable cities had been
+built facing one another, and each displaying on the river a multitude
+of boats and barges, canoes and proas, in crowds which would not have
+disgraced the show at London Bridge, and, of course, indicating
+considerable wealth and activity.
+
+We came upon this grand view quite abruptly, and having no
+expectation of encountering anything so magnificent, were taken rather
+by surprise. Two enormous Chinese junks occupied the centre of the
+stream, each of them rising out of the water nearly as high as the
+poop of a line-of-battle ship. Along the shore, on both sides, lay a
+fleet of eight or ten sail of junks, some of them very large, and all
+bearing enormous white flags, in the centre of which sprawled huge
+dragons and other monsters familiar to the eyes of all fanciers of old
+China jars.
+
+In the mean time, as there existed no dispute about the navigation of
+the River Lava, we rowed up very peaceably towards the great city of
+Pontiana. On our meeting a canoe with a Malay in it, the Admiral, who
+had been studying Marsden's dictionary all the way, stood up in the
+barge, made the men lie on their oars, and to their great
+astonishment, and probably to that of the native, called out in the
+Malay tongue,--
+
+"Which is the way to the sultan's house?"
+
+To Sir Samuel's unspeakable delight, the man whom he addressed
+understood him, and after offering to show us the landing-place,
+paddled off ahead of us. Our fellows gave way as hard as they could,
+but the Malay kept the lead; and as we shot past the Chinese towns,
+one on each bank, the natives crowded to the beach, as much
+astonished, no doubt, with our strange cocked hats, swords, and
+oddly-shaped boat, as we could be with their long tails and
+wild-looking junks, or with the creases which every Malay carries by
+his side. This fierce-looking weapon is not, in form, unlike the
+waving sword one sees in the pictures of the angel Michael, though it
+is not above a foot and a-half in length.
+
+The sultan's cousin received the Admiral and his party at the gate of
+the palace, and led him by the hand along a causeway of flag-stones to
+the residence of the monarch. Directly in the middle of the gateway,
+which was only ten feet wide and about as many in height, there stood
+a twenty-four-pounder gun. On the top of the arch there was built a
+small square room, from holes in which peeped out the muzzles of five
+or six field-pieces, the whole affair resembling very much that part
+of a child's box of toys which represents the stronghold or castle.
+Within the high wall surrounding the palace we counted innumerable
+large guns scattered about, apparently with no other object than to be
+seen, as if the mere look of a cannon were expected to do the work of
+a fight! The same number of mock barrels of gunpowder, similarly
+disposed, would have answered the purpose equally well, or perhaps
+better; for there appeared no way in which the guns could be fired,
+without doing much more injury to the besieged than to the besiegers.
+
+On we went, till we were met by the sultan himself, at the inner side
+of the quadrangle. He courteously conducted the Admiral to a large
+room or hall of audience, and, having begged his guest to sit down at
+a small table, took a chair by his side, and began a conversation as
+if they had been long acquainted. Of course, in spite of the Admiral's
+proficiency, this could not be accomplished without an interpreter;
+and the services of a very clever Malay boy, whom we had brought with
+us from the ship, were brought into requisition. The hall, in which we
+were first received, might have been about fifty feet square, bleak,
+unfurnished, and comfortless, with an uncovered mud floor. It was so
+feebly lighted by a few windows almost hid by Venetian blinds, that we
+could only discover that the roof had been left bare and unfinished.
+After sitting for about ten minutes, the sultan rose and led the way
+to another apartment apparently of still larger dimensions, but
+literally so dark, that, had it not been for the light entering by the
+door we had left, and the one ahead of us, we could not have moved
+along without breaking our shins over the stones, sticks, and other
+rubbish lying in the way. We had next to make rather a difficult
+transit along a precarious kind of bridge, formed of a single plank
+laid across an ominous-looking pool or puddle of mud, which divided
+these two branches of the palace from each other.
+
+All at once we were ushered into a splendid room, seventy or eighty
+feet square, brilliantly lighted, and not ill furnished, but strongly
+contrasted with the darkness and dirtiness of the suite we had passed
+through. This total want of keeping, it may be mentioned, is quite in
+Oriental taste. They know tolerably well how to be magnificent on
+occasions; but they never learn how to be uniformly decent. The
+Asiatics, and even some other nations which might be named nearer
+home, can seldom afford to be taken by surprise. Indeed, I am not sure
+if more than one country can be alluded to, in which the people are at
+all hours ready to receive strangers, and have no occasion to make a
+fuss, or to change anything when a rap comes to the door.
+
+In the centre of this gorgeous room, on a dais, or a part of the floor
+raised to about a foot and a-half above the level of the rest, and
+laid with a rich Turkey carpet, stood a long table, at the top of
+which the sultan placed the Admiral, and then made the signal for
+tea. First entered an attendant, bearing a large tray, on which were
+ranged several dozens of exceedingly small cups. This he placed on the
+carpet, and then squatted himself down, cross-legged, beside it.
+Another attendant soon followed, bearing the tea-pot, and he likewise
+popped himself down. After a conjuration of some minutes, the cups
+were brought round, containing weak black tea, exquisite in flavour,
+but marvellously small in quantity. There appeared no milk, but plenty
+of sugar-candy. Some sweet sherbet was next handed round, very
+slightly acid, but so deliciously cool, that we appealed frequently to
+the vase or huge jar from which it was poured, to the great delight of
+the sultan, who assured us that this was the genuine sherbet described
+by the Persian poets. It was mixed, he told us, by a true believer,
+who had made more than one pilgrimage to Mecca.
+
+At the upper end of the apartment, in a deep recess, partly hid from
+our view by a rich festoon of shawl drapery, we could just discover
+the sultan's bed, flanked by large mirrors, beyond which, in an
+adjacent chamber, was probably stowed away the sultan's most favoured
+wife. But all this department of the establishment was thrown into
+such deep shade, that we could see none of the ladies, nor any of his
+highness's progeny, except one little boy, whom he introduced to us at
+supper. He appeared to be about five or six years old, very like his
+papa in miniature, rigged with turban and robes of cloth of gold. At
+first, the little fellow looked somewhat startled; but he soon
+recovered his dignity, and sat on our knees, without much
+apprehension of being swallowed up.
+
+Both the upper corners of the room were screened off by white
+curtains, eight or ten feet high, so as to form smaller chambers. One
+of these served the purpose of a pantry, or subsidiary kitchen, at
+least we observed the dishes issuing from it, and thought we could
+distinguish the well-known sound of the cook's angry reproaches--a
+note which, like that of muttering thunder, is nearly the same in
+every climate. The other corner we soon made out to be a sort of
+temporary nook, from which the ladies of the palace and the young
+sultans and sultanas might spy the strangers. This we ascertained from
+seeing sundry very pretty faces thrust out occasionally between the
+folds of the curtain, and by the sound of many an ill-suppressed
+giggle amongst the peeping damsels.
+
+The sultan appeared to enter into his guest's character at once, and
+neither overloaded him with attentions, nor failed to treat him as a
+person to whom much respect was due. I heard Sir Samuel say
+afterwards, that he was particularly struck with the sultan's good
+breeding, in not offering to assist him in cutting his meat. The
+sultan merely remarked that few people were so expert as his guest
+even with both hands; adding, neatly enough, that on this account the
+distinction which his wound had gained for him was more cheaply
+purchased than people supposed. While the Admiral was hunting for some
+reply to this novel compliment, his host remarked, that in Borneo it
+was considered fashionable to eat with the left hand.
+
+The supper, which soon followed the tea, consisted of about a dozen
+dishes of curry, all different from one another, and a whole poultry
+yard of grilled and boiled chickens, many different sorts of salt
+fish, with great basins of rice at intervals, jars of pickles, piles
+of sliced pine-apple, sweetmeats, and cakes. Four male attendants
+stood by with goblets of cool sherbet, from which, ever and anon, they
+replenished our glasses; besides whom, a number of young Malay girls
+waited at a distance from the table, and ran about nimbly with the
+plates and dishes.
+
+After a great deal of ceremonious rigmarole, in which the Admiral was
+asked for his autograph, and it was wonderful how well the shrewd
+little Malay interpreter expressed to the Admiral, who cheerfully
+agreed to the proposal, and desired me to send for his writing-case.
+As I rose, the Admiral whispered to me, "I wish you would contrive, at
+the same time, to see what the boat's crew are about. Try, also, if
+you can get them something to eat; the fellows must be hungry enough
+by this time--but mind they don't get too much toddy."
+
+I found the crew seated on the mud floor of a large room close to the
+beach, and open on all sides, like a tent without walls. The Johnnies
+were in such high glee, that I feared they had already trespassed too
+deeply on the toddy pot; but I was glad to find that their
+satisfaction arose from a safer source, namely, a glorious hot supper,
+which Jack was tucking in to the great delight and astonishment of the
+natives, who had been ordered by the sultan to supply them with as
+much curry and rice as they chose to eat.
+
+Very early in the morning, long before there was the least peep of
+dawn, the Admiral roused us all out of bed, ordered the boat to be
+manned, and declared his intention of dropping down the river while it
+was yet cool, so as to reach the ship before the fierce heat of the
+sun had set in. I suspect, also, that he wished to escape the salutes
+for which he had seen some preparations over night. But scarcely had
+we gained the distance of two or three hundred yards from the shore
+when the heavy guns of the batteries began to fire a royal salute. The
+night was uncommonly dark and still, and the successive flashes and
+reports of the cannons were followed by a long series of echoes from
+the edges of the damp forests lining the banks of the three different
+branches or forks of the river. The Admiral, who had the finest
+perception possible for all that was picturesque or beautiful, was
+exceedingly struck with the grandeur of this nocturnal salute, and
+having made the men lay their oars across the boat, while she drifted
+quickly down the river, he stood up in the stern-sheets in order to
+enjoy the scene more completely.
+
+A trifling incident occurred shortly afterwards, which recalled to our
+thoughts another important service of Sir Samuel Hood's, which,
+although it be familiarly known in the navy, may not be so fresh in
+the recollection of persons on shore. A question arose in the boat as
+to whether or not the land-wind was blowing. Some said there was a
+breeze up the river, while others maintained that the wind blew down,
+towards the sea. The Admiral let us go on speculating and arguing for
+some time, and then said, "You are both wrong; there is not a breath
+of air either up or down the river. At all events we shall soon see,
+if you will strike me a light." This was done accordingly; and the
+Admiral, standing on the after-thwart, held the naked candle high
+over his head, while the men ceased rowing.
+
+"There, you see," exclaimed he, "the flame stands quite upright, which
+proves, that if there be any breeze at all, it blows no faster than
+the stream runs down."
+
+As he yet spoke, the flame bent from the land, and in the next instant
+was puffed out by a slight gust from the forest.
+
+"Ay! that's something like!" exclaimed the commander-in-chief; adding,
+in an under tone, as he resumed his seat, "I have known the time when
+a flaw of wind, not greater than has just blown out this candle, has
+rendered good service to his Majesty." This was the incident to which
+he alluded:--
+
+Early in the year 1794, when Captain Hood commanded his Majesty's ship
+Juno, the port of Toulon, though in possession of the English at the
+time of his departure on a short trip to Malta, had been evacuated
+while the Juno was absent; and as the land was made in the night, no
+suspicion of that important change of affairs arose in the mind of any
+one. With his wonted decision, therefore, into the port he dashed;
+for, although the Juno carried no pilot, Captain Hood's knowledge of
+every port he had once visited rendered him comparatively indifferent
+on that score. A couple of the sharpest-sighted midshipmen were
+stationed with glasses to look out for the fleet; but no ships were
+seen--for the best of all reasons--none were there!
+
+One vessel only, a small brig, could be detected, and the captain,
+supposing the fleet had run into the inner harbour during the recent
+easterly gale, resolved to push up likewise. The batteries all kept
+quiet, and though the brig hailed the frigate as she passed in a
+language so indistinct that no one could make it out, not the least
+suspicion was excited. Supposing they wanted to know what ship it was,
+I told them it was the Juno. The brig, however, was not quite so
+courteous in return; for they merely replied by the word "Viva," but
+made no answer to the captain's repeated inquiry as to the brig's
+name, and the position of the British fleet. As the Juno passed under
+the stern of this treacherous little craft, a voice called out, "Luff!
+luff!" which naturally induced Captain Hood to put his helm down, from
+an idea that shoal water lay close to leeward of him. Nothing could
+have been more adroitly managed, for before the frigate came head to
+wind, she stuck fast upon the shoal, to which the words "Luff, luff!"
+had no doubt been intended to direct her.
+
+A boat was now observed to proceed from the brig to the town. As there
+was but little wind, and the water perfectly smooth, the Juno's sails
+were clewed up and handed; but before the men were all off the yards,
+a gust of wind came sweeping down the harbour, and drove her off the
+shoal so suddenly as to give her brisk stern-way. The anchor was
+speedily let go, but when she tended, the after-part of her keel took
+the ground, and the rudder could not be moved. The launch and cutter
+being instantly hoisted out, the usual preparations were made to lay
+out a kedge, to heave the ship off.
+
+At this critical moment a boat came alongside. The people appeared
+anxious to get out of her, and two of them, apparently officers, came
+up the side. They said it was the regulation of the port, as well as
+the commanding officer's orders, that ships should go further into
+the harbour, there to perform ten days' quarantine. In the despatch
+relating this transaction, Captain Hood says, "I kept asking them
+where Lord Hood's ship lay;" the two Frenchmen knew not what to do or
+say next. In the mean time, one of the mids, who happened to be
+thrusting his head forward after the investigating manner of this
+enterprising class of officers, said apart to the captain,--
+
+"Why, sir, they wear national cockades!"
+
+"I looked at one of their hats more steadfastly," says Captain Hood in
+his narrative, "and by the moonlight clearly distinguished the three
+colours."
+
+"Perceiving they were suspected," continues Sir Samuel in his
+narrative, "and on my questioning them again about Lord Hood, one of
+them replied, 'Soyez tranquille, les Anglais sont de braves gens, nous
+les traitons bien; l'amiral anglais est sorti il y a quelque temps.'"
+
+In an instant, the situation of the poor Juno became known throughout
+the ship. The officers crowded round their captain, while the
+Frenchman, bowing to the right and left, grinned and apologised for
+the disagreeable necessity of making them all prisoners! It was said
+of Hood's ship, that, fore and aft, there was but one heart and one
+mind, and this was an occasion to test its truth. At this moment a
+flaw of wind coming down the harbour, Lieutenant Webley said to me, "I
+believe, sir, we shall be able to fetch out if we can get her under
+sail." I immediately perceived we should have a chance of saving the
+ship; at least, if we did not, we ought not to lose her without a
+struggle. Every person was ordered to their stations; but the
+Frenchmen, perceiving some bustle, began to draw their sabres, but I
+directed the marines to force them below, which was soon done. In an
+instant every officer and man was at his duty; and within three
+minutes every sail in the ship was set, and the yards braced ready for
+casting. The steady and active assistance of Lieutenant Turner and the
+other officers prevented any confusion. As soon as the cable was taut,
+I ordered it to be cut, and had the good fortune to see the ship start
+from the shore. The head sails were filled; a favourable flaw of wind
+coming at the same time gave her good way. Not to be retarded by the
+boats, I ordered them to be cut adrift as well as the French boat. The
+moment the brig saw us begin to loose sails, we saw she was getting
+her guns ready, and we also saw lights in all the batteries. When we
+had shot far enough for the brig's guns to bear on us, which was not
+more than three ships' lengths, she began to fire; as did a fort a
+little on the starboard bow, and soon after all of them, on both
+sides, as they could bring their guns to bear. As soon as the sails
+were well trimmed, I beat to quarters. When abreast of the centre of
+Cape Sepet, and were ready to go about, she came up two points, and
+just weathered the Cape. As we passed very close along that shore, the
+batteries kept up a brisk fire. When I could keep the ship a little
+off the wind, I ordered some guns to be fired at a battery that had
+just opened abreast of us, which quieted them a little. We now stopped
+firing till we could keep her away, with the wind abaft the beam,
+when, for a few minutes, we kept up a very lively fire on the last
+battery we had to pass, which I believe must otherwise have done us
+great damage. At half-past twelve, being out of reach of their shot,
+the firing ceased.
+
+The whole of this admirable piece of service was performed so quickly,
+and at the same time with so much coolness, that there occurred little
+or no opportunity for any remarkable individual exertion. Everything,
+as I have heard it described by Sir Samuel Hood himself and by the
+officers, went on as if the ship had been working out of Plymouth
+Sound at noon-day. One little incident, however, which caused much
+amusement in the ship, will help to show the degree of regard in which
+Sir Samuel was held by those immediately about him; and to disprove
+the proverb of no man being a hero to his valet-de-chambre.
+
+Dennis M'Carty, an old and faithful servant of Captain Hood's, who was
+quartered at one of the main-deck guns in the cabin, stood firm enough
+till the batteries opened on the Juno. No sooner had the firing
+commenced, and the shot began to come whizzing over and through all
+parts of the ship, than Dennis, to the great amaze and scandal of his
+companions, dropped the side tackle-fall, and fairly ran off from his
+gun. Nothing in the world, however, could be further from poor Pat's
+mind than fear--except fear for his master, behind whom he soon
+stationed himself on the quarter-deck; and wherever Captain Hood
+moved, there Dennis followed, like his shadow; totally unconscious of
+any personal danger to himself, though the captain was necessarily in
+the hottest of the fire. At length, Sir Samuel, turning suddenly
+round, encountered the Irishman full butt.
+
+"Hallo! Dennis," exclaimed the captain, "what brings you here? Go down
+to your gun, man!"
+
+"Oh, by the powers! your honour," replied Dennis, "sure I thought it
+likely you might be hurt, so I wished to be near you to give you some
+help."
+
+There was no resisting this; the captain laughed; and poor Dennis was
+allowed to take his own way.
+
+Another remarkable instance of his courage and disinterestedness was
+afforded at the battle of the Nile. Previous to entering into that
+great action, Nelson hailed Captain Hood's ship, and consulted him as
+to the best method of attack.
+
+"What think you," said the Admiral, "of engaging the enemy to-night?"
+
+"I don't know the soundings," was the answer, "but, with your
+permission, I will lead in and try."
+
+The result is well known; but I believe it is not so generally known
+that, in the first draft of the despatch which Nelson wrote, he gave
+to Captain Hood the merit of confirming him in his determination of
+attacking the French fleet that night. On showing this letter,
+however, to Hood himself, he entreated that it might be altered,
+saying "that they were all brothers, engaged in the cause, and that
+the admiral would have received exactly the same advice from any other
+captain in the fleet whom he might have consulted." The paragraph was
+therefore omitted in the despatch.
+
+I have this anecdote of the change in the despatch from one of his
+nearest connections, and one of the dearest friends to his memory. He
+himself particularly wished the alteration in the despatch not to be
+told at the time; but, as the story crept out somehow, it seems very
+material that the facts should be well authenticated. When the
+circumstance was mentioned to Sir Samuel Hood many years afterwards,
+by the friend from whom I have received authority to state it, he
+confessed that it was so; but exclaimed,--
+
+"How the devil could all this have got wind?--I never mentioned it
+before to a living soul."
+
+As there is hardly any professional anecdote which retains its
+freshness of interest more entire than the memorable parley above
+described between Nelson and Hood, on the eve of the battle of the
+Nile, I venture to give another version of it, which is substantially
+the same, and is calculated to confirm, in a pleasing manner, all that
+is essential. The following particulars I have been favoured with by
+Captain Webley Parry, then first lieutenant of the Zealous.
+
+When steering for the enemy's fleet, Sir Horatio Nelson hailed the
+Zealous, and asked Captain Hood if he thought he might venture to bear
+up round the shoals. The answer was,--
+
+"I cannot say, sir; but if you will allow me the honour of leading
+into action, I will keep the lead going."
+
+"You have my permission, and I wish you good luck," was the reply;
+and, as Nelson said this, he took off his hat. Captain Hood, in his
+hurry to return the courtesy of his admiral, dropped his hat
+overboard. He looked after it, laughed, and exclaimed,--
+
+"Never mind, Webley, there it goes for luck! Put the helm up, and make
+all sail."
+
+Captain Foley of the Goliath, being close to the Zealous, perceiving
+this manoeuvre, guessed what the orders were, and bore up likewise, so
+that when the two ships had shaped their course, they were nearly
+abreast of each other. The Goliath being a little in advance, which
+of course was rather annoying, Captain Hood stood on for some time, in
+hopes of being able to take the lead in the Zealous, but finding this
+could not be without jostling and confusion, he turned round and
+said--
+
+"This will never do! Well, never mind; Foley is a fine, gallant,
+worthy fellow. Shorten sail, and give him time to take up his berth.
+We must risk nothing that will tend to the enemy's advantage."
+
+This was instantly done! The Goliath shot ahead, and Captain Foley
+had the glory of leading the British fleet into action. By some
+accident, however, he failed to place the Goliath in opposition to the
+headmost ship of the enemy's line. The experienced eye of Hood
+instantly saw the consequences, and while the Goliath passed on to the
+second in the line, Sir Samuel placed his own ship, the Zealous,
+alongside the first, exclaiming in the joy of his heart, "Thank God!
+my friend Foley has left me the van ship!"
+
+The indifference to danger and fatigue which was habitual to this
+great captain cost him, I believe, his life when travelling in the
+interior of India, near Seringapatam. He reached a station at which a
+fresh set of palanquin bearers were to have met him, but had been
+prevented by some accident. "It matters not," he cried, "let us walk."
+And sure enough he set off to perform on foot a stage which might have
+been dangerous on horseback; for the sun had nearly risen to the
+meridian, and there was hardly a breath of wind. Possibly no mischief
+might have followed this march, but he had been spending some days in
+the island of Seringapatam, the most unhealthy spot in Mysore; and it
+is a curious circumstance connected with the malaria of the noxious
+districts, that its effects frequently lie dormant long after it has
+been breathed. Sir Samuel Hood did not escape; but he felt no
+inconvenience till after he descended from, and entered the Carnatic
+at Madras. The jungle fever, of which the fatal seeds had been sown at
+Seringapatam, attacked him after a few days. When, unfortunately for
+the profession and for his country, he fell sick at Madras, and knew
+that his last moments were fast approaching, he called his faithful
+friend and old follower in many ships and many actions, Lieutenant,
+afterwards Captain Walcott to his bedside, and said to him,--
+
+"It will be very hard, Walcott, to die in this cursed place; but
+should I go off, let nothing deter you from going home and accounting
+to the Admiralty for my command of the East India station."
+
+These were nearly the last intelligible words he uttered; and they
+serve to show how strong, even in the hour of death, was his sense of
+professional duty. As Lieutenant Walcott had served during the whole
+of Sir Samuel's India command in the double capacity of
+flag-lieutenant and secretary, and had enjoyed the Admiral's entire
+confidence, he, and he alone, possessed the means of "accounting to
+the Admiralty" for the measures completed, or in progress, for the
+good of the service, and therefore the Admiral suggested to him the
+propriety of his going home to report matters in person.
+
+The senior officer, who succeeded to the command in the Indian seas,
+felt so desirous of following up the friendly intentions of his
+lamented predecessor, that knowing the late Admiral's attachment to
+Lieutenant Walcott, he offered to promote him into a death vacancy,
+which had either actually taken place, or was certain to fall within a
+week or two. Moreover, he assured him, that after the necessary time
+had been served, he should have the first vacancy for post promotion.
+These were indeed tempting offers to a young officer, devotedly
+attached to his profession; but they had no influence over a man bred
+in the "Sam Hood School." The Admiral's dying injunction appeared to
+this right-minded officer fully as binding, or, if possible, more so,
+than a written command must have been in his lifetime.
+
+To England Walcott went accordingly; and the difference in
+professional standing which it made to him was this:--had he remained
+in India, as Sir Samuel Hood's successor proposed, he would
+undoubtedly have become a post-captain of 1816, instead of which, his
+name stood in 1822, six years later on the list! Had it been sixty
+times six, however, it would have made no difference in his conduct.
+
+When the army returned from Spain, after the battle of Corunna, in
+1809, there were between twenty and thirty officers accommodated in
+Sir Samuel's cabin. Among them was a young officer, a connection of
+Lady Hood's, whose father and mother called to thank him, conceiving
+that he had been indebted by this connection for the attention he had
+received, but Sir Samuel did not even know of the connection or the
+name. "Indeed," said he, "I hardly knew the names of half my guests.
+But who," he continued, "would make any distinctions amongst such
+war-worn and brave fellows."
+
+The fact is, such was his general kindness, that each of these
+military officers, his passengers, fancied the Admiral was more civil
+to him than to any one else. He suspended on this occasion all the
+usual strait-laced etiquettes of the quarter-deck discipline, and
+permitted the harassed soldiers to lie down and read between the guns,
+or wherever they pleased. His great delight was to coddle them up, and
+recompense them, as far as he could, for the severe privations they
+had undergone during the retreat, and nothing entertained him so much
+as seeing the relish with which these hungry campaigners partook of
+his hospitality. On the day after the battle of Corunna, when these
+gentlemen came on board, he ordered a cock to be driven into a
+hogshead of prime old sherry; and his satisfaction was perfect, when
+his steward, with a rueful countenance, communicated to him, on
+arriving at Spithead, that "his very best cask of wine had been drunk
+dry on the passage by the soldier officers!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+COMMISSIONING A SHIP.
+
+
+Most people are curious to know how, from a state of total inaction,
+or what is called "laid up in ordinary," a ship is brought forward
+into real service. I have therefore thought it right to "begin with
+the beginning," and tell how a man-of-war is first commissioned. This
+leads to the fitting-out; that is, getting in the masts, putting the
+rigging overhead, stowing the holds, and so on. The next obvious point
+to be considered in the equipment of a ship is, the force she is to
+carry, which brings us to the very curious question of naval gunnery.
+Finally, if we suppose a ship equipped, armed, manned, and
+disciplined.
+
+As soon as an officer receives official intimation that he is
+appointed to the command of a ship, he proceeds either to the
+Admiralty or to the dockyard at the port where the ship may happen to
+be laid up in ordinary, and takes up his commission. In the first
+place, however, he must wait upon the admiral commanding at the
+out-port where the ship is lying, and having reported himself, he
+proceeds to the admiral-superintendent of the dockyard, to whom he
+communicates his commission; he has the exclusive charge and
+responsibility, having the care of the ships in ordinary, of all the
+moorings, and generally of all the vessels, and every description of
+stores in the naval arsenal.
+
+The first thing to do is to get hold of one of the warrant-officers to
+"hoist the pendant," which is a long slender streamer, having a St.
+George's cross on a white field in the upper part next the mast, with
+a fly or tail, either Red, White, and Blue, or entirely of the colour
+of the particular ensign worn by the ship; which, again, is determined
+by the colour of the admiral's flag under whose orders she is placed.
+The pendant being hoisted shows that the ship is in commission, and
+this part of the colours is never hauled down day or night. At sunset,
+when the ensign is hauled down, a smaller pendant, three or four yards
+in length, is substituted for the long one, which, in dandified ships,
+waves far over the stern. Ships in ordinary hoist merely an ensign.
+The boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, who are called the
+warrant-officers, always remain on board, even when the rest of the
+officers and crew are paid off, and the ship laid up in ordinary.
+These valuable personages, under the general superintendence of the
+captain of the ordinary, an old officer of rank, and assisted by a few
+lads to row them to and from the shore, keep the ships clean, and
+guard against fire and pillage, to which they might otherwise be
+exposed at their moorings in the different creeks.
+
+The next step, after the ship is commissioned, is to open a
+muster-book. The requisite blank books and other papers are supplied
+to the captain by the superintendent of the dockyard, in order that
+the names of the officers and men may be entered as they assemble. The
+admiral being then informed that the ship is in commission, he orders
+the commandant of marines to embark the proper complement of men from
+the barracks.
+
+The master-attendant, in the mean time, is applied to for a
+receiving-ship or hulk, alongside of which the ship may be placed, and
+in which the crew may live while she is fitting out. The same officer
+will likewise give the boatswain a "note" for one or more of what are
+called harbour boats--strong affairs, but good enough to perform the
+rough sort of work required in fitting out. The boatswain's demand for
+scrapers, buckets, and junk for swabs, is made out and approved, that,
+from the first moment to the last, the hulk may be kept clean.
+
+The officers of the newly-commissioned ship take possession of the
+hulk assigned them, the purser gets from the victualling-office
+provisions enough for present use, and draws from the same quarter a
+quantity of slop clothing, as well as bedding and haversacks, for the
+marines, who are generally the first men on board. They are supplied
+by the boatswain with hammocks, and thus the Jollies soon feel
+themselves at home. The captain's clerk having prepared what is called
+an "open list," he enters the names of the officers and men as fast as
+they arrive. Hammocks and bedding, as well as blankets and shoes, are
+issued to those sailors who may come on board without any kit, which
+is too often the case. The senior lieutenant ought, if possible, to be
+one of the very first persons who joins, and the sooner he establishes
+himself on board the hulk the better. The marines, being a standing
+portion of the service, are always ready, and, if necessary, they may
+be sent on board at a few hours' warning. On this account, as well as
+many others, they are a most invaluable body of men. When there is no
+particular hurry, however, they will be embarked in two or three days
+at the furthest from the time they receive orders.[8] Application
+should also be made for boys, who are supplied as soon as possible; a
+certain number being sent from the flag-ship, while the remainder are
+enlisted from the shore. A boat's crew of sailors will very soon be
+picked up from the stray hands lounging about the Common Hard and
+Jack's other well-known haunts.
+
+Thus, in a very few days, the foundation of a ship's company is laid;
+and under good management, with a little patience and cheerfulness,
+the superstructure will advance rapidly. A rendezvous should be opened
+at a public-house in some street frequented by the seamen; and a flag,
+with the ship's name on it, exposed before the door; while bills,
+containing the ship and captain's name, should be stuck up and
+distributed in the proper quarters. If her destination be India, South
+America, the Mediterranean, or any other favourite station, that
+circumstance will of course be sufficiently noticed in these cards of
+invitation. The master-at-arms, the captain's coxswain, or some old
+and steady hand who has an interest in getting the ship manned, will
+be usefully employed at the rendezvous, to talk to the sailors as
+they drop in to consider the _pros_ and _cons_ of the new enterprise
+in which they are invited to engage. The captain himself, and the
+first lieutenant also, will generally find it worth their while to
+look in occasionally, perhaps periodically, at the rendezvous,
+ostensibly to speak on some business, but chiefly to show themselves,
+and by a word or two of encouragement, to decide the waverers. It is
+of great consequence, on these occasions, to keep clear of anything
+which, by possibility, can be construed into false pretences; for the
+moral impropriety of such enticements, their impolicy very soon
+betrays itself, and when the men detect the fallacy, the result shows
+itself in the paucity of volunteers. The truth is, Jack, with all his
+vagaries, possesses a quick discernment in such matters, and is very
+seldom deceived by chaff. It will seldom, if ever, retard the proper
+manning of a ship to be very fastidious in choosing amongst the
+volunteers who offer. The best men will not enter for a ship where
+sailors are received indiscriminately; and the lower order of mere
+working hands are easily picked up to complete the crew.
+
+The men are always carefully examined by the surgeon before being
+received; but it would not be a bad rule that no volunteer should be
+finally entered until he has been seen and approved of by both captain
+and first lieutenant. It is, indeed, of great consequence to the
+eventual comfort of the ship, which always turns upon her good and
+consistent discipline, that the first lieutenant and captain should be
+cordially agreed on so material a point as the choice of the
+individual seamen forming the crew.
+
+During the short visits which the captain pays to his ship at this
+time, he will seldom find it useful to supplant his first lieutenant,
+by taking upon himself the conduct of the ship's detailed operations.
+The peculiar duties of the captain, when his ship is fitting out,
+necessarily require him to be absent from her every day during a
+considerable portion of the working hours. He has to wait on the
+admiral to receive fresh instructions; he has to carry on a
+correspondence with the Admiralty on the various equipments of the
+ship; he has representations and applications to make to the
+port-admiral, respecting officers and men, and to the
+admiral-superintendent of the dockyard, respecting stores. In short,
+whether at the rendezvous, at the dockyard, at the admiral's office,
+or at his own lodgings, the captain will generally find ample
+employment on shore for most of the best hours of his day, in really
+co-operating with his first lieutenant afloat, by seeing those duties
+properly executed which lie beyond that officer's reach. If these
+multifarious and important obligations, out of the ship, be fully
+complied with by the captain, he will seldom have more time left than
+is barely necessary to go on board--- just to see what is doing--to
+learn what has been done--and to give his orders, in a general way, to
+the first lieutenant, for his further guidance.
+
+As a captain has not always the choice of his first lieutenant, it may
+sometimes happen that a person unfit to fulfil the duties of that
+office will be appointed. Filling this station well implies not only
+knowledge and talents, but a disposition to enter cordially into the
+views of the captain, as well with regard to the general system of
+discipline, as to all the details of managing the ship. When an unfit
+person is appointed, it is much better for the lieutenant, as well as
+the captain, that they should part; and certainly this is more
+conducive to the discipline of the ship, and therefore to the good of
+the service, than if they went on for ever like cat and dog. This,
+indeed, is so well understood, that the Admiralty throw no obstacles
+in the way of officers exchanging.
+
+In case the unfitness of the first lieutenant arises from absolute
+incompetence or negligence of his duties, it will soon appear in some
+palpable instance, for which he must be accountable before a
+court-martial, unless his captain permit him to quit the ship to avoid
+that alternative. On the other hand, it will sometimes happen, that an
+officer who is both competent and zealous, is rather too fond of
+having his own way, and interpreting the rules and customs of the
+service in his own particular fashion, in opposition to the views of
+the captain. This pertinacity detracts from his efficiency as an
+officer, and more particularly from his fitness for the arduous and
+delicate situation of first lieutenant, by preventing the
+establishment of a hearty co-operation with his superior. But if the
+considerate line of conduct before suggested be acted upon by the
+captain, unless the lieutenant be a very pig-headed person, who
+mistakes opposition for zeal, he will readily see that the true way of
+forwarding the service is to enter heartily, cheerfully, and
+attentively, into the peculiar plans of his chief. If he does not do
+this, he will only find his duties become more and more irksome to
+himself, and all his zeal will often be thrown away in ineffectual
+efforts.
+
+When a ship is fairly commissioned, the first proceedings of the
+captain, in respect to her equipment, must be determined by the
+particular state in which she happens to be. The ship may be in dock,
+or in the basin, or riding at the moorings--masted or unmasted; she
+may have only just been launched, or may have been "paid off all
+standing." In any case, one of the first points to be attended to is
+the stowage of the ballast. If the ship has been in commission before,
+a record of her sailing qualities, and the plan of stowage which was
+found to answer best, will be supplied by the superintendent of the
+dockyard, together with her draught of water, forward and aft, light
+as launched and in ballast; and, lastly, when completely equipped for
+sea, with guns, powder, provisions, and men on board. If the ship be
+new, the captain will be furnished by the Surveyor of the Navy with
+every particular respecting her trim, and the manner in which he
+conceives her hold should be stowed. If this very important part of
+the ship's economy be one that has occupied its due share of the
+commanding-officer's attention, he will carefully examine the
+conformation of the ship's bottom, and be enabled to tell whether or
+not the former plan of stowing the ballast agrees with his own
+theoretical views, and his experience in such matters, and then
+putting the ship's recorded sailing qualities by the side of these
+actual observations, he will be enabled to decide how the ballast
+shall be distributed.
+
+The Signal Books, Printed Naval Instructions, the Admiralty Statutes,
+and other works of reference and guidance, are supplied by the
+port-admiral, while a copy of all the Port Regulations and Orders
+should be made, and so carefully perused by the captain and officers
+as to be almost got by heart. A minute attention, indeed, to the
+injunctions contained in these written orders, is absolutely
+necessary to keep the officers of a ship out of eternal hot water with
+admiral, flag-captain, secretary, and first lieutenant of the
+flag-ship, all of whom are put out of their way by any neglect on the
+part of an officer fitting or refitting a ship.
+
+I remember once a grand row which I, in common with three or four
+other commanding officers, got into. A signal was made from the
+flag-ship at Spithead, the Royal William, or the Royal Billy as she
+was universally called. The order was, "The ships at Spithead are to
+send boats to assist the vessel in distress." On looking round, we
+could see nothing but a collier aground on the end of the spit. One
+boat, or perhaps two, were sent from some of the ships--but not enough
+to save her; so poor Jock lay on the shoal till he capsized, and there
+was an end of him; for it came on to blow, and the shore, from South
+Sea Castle to Blackhouse Point, was a complete beach of coal shingle.
+Next morning out came a swinging reprimand to all of us, ordering a
+"report in writing to be made forthwith of the reasons why the signal
+made at four P.M. to send boats to the collier had not been obeyed." I
+recommend folks fitting out, therefore, as they value their peace, to
+trifle with anything rather than the port orders. For it is well to
+consider, that a scold resembles a snow-ball--it always gathers weight
+as it rolls along. Thus the Admiralty send down, by post or by
+telegraph, a rap on the knuckles to the old admiral--very moderate as
+naval things go, but such as, in civil life, would make a sober
+citizen frantic, though it merely squeezes out a growl from the
+venerable commander-in-chief. Straightway he rings for the secretary,
+and issues a smartish general order, in which the wretched captain of
+the offending ship catches the reprimand, with a most usurious
+allowance of interest. Off goes the said skipper to his ship, in a
+great fume and hurry, carrying a whole sail in the gig, though on
+ordinary occasions he chooses to have a reef in. Souse comes the
+wigging on the hapless first lieutenant; and he, in turn, only waits
+till the captain goes below, that he may open a volcano of reproaches
+on the long-suffering middies, who, though they probably now hear of
+the offence for the first time, know much better than to make any
+reply.
+
+Such is naval discipline! a strange mixture of justice and injustice,
+severity and indulgence--frankness and wrong-headedness, encouragement
+and unfair dealing; but still we may be sure, that talents, industry,
+perseverance, and, above all, resolute cheerfulness, with an absence
+of the litigious habit of self-justification, must ensure success and
+happiness, or, at least, give the best chance for them.
+
+The first lieutenant of the ship fitting out will do well to have by
+him a sheet of paper, ruled according to some tabular form, in which
+he may insert the names of the men who enter, that he may form some
+idea, when he comes to station them, what part of the ship each is fit
+for.
+
+A watch bill should be commenced at once; and the men, as fast as they
+come on board, appointed, as near as may be, to the stations which the
+officers think they will ultimately occupy. This lets a man know at
+once what duty he will be required to perform, and makes him feel at
+home. Some crack sailors will not volunteer unless they can be made
+reasonably sure of being placed in a station they like; and although
+it would be highly injudicious to make such absolute stipulations
+without some previous trial of the candidate's abilities, it may be of
+great advantage to the service to enter men more or less on this
+principle. For instance, it is of the utmost importance to obtain
+steady petty officers, that is to say, quarter-master's, gunner's,
+boatswain's, and carpenter's mates; captains of the forecastle, of the
+hold, and the tops; sail-makers, armourers, caulkers, and coopers;
+with others of less consequence, but all valuable in their respective
+departments, and contributing to make up the singular population of a
+man-of-war. The following list contains the peace establishment of the
+Conway, a ship of twenty-eight guns, which I fitted out in the
+beginning of 1820. The document may perhaps interest persons who like
+to inquire into the details of a community and _ménage_ so differently
+constructed from any they are likely to meet with elsewhere.
+
+_A Scheme of the Establishment of His Majesty's Ship Conway, with a
+Complement of 125 men._
+
+                                  Brought forward      18
+Captain                       1   Schoolmaster             1
+Lieutenants                   3   Master at Arms           1
+Master                        1   Caulker                  1
+Second Master                 1   Armourer                 1
+Purser                        1   Sailmaker                1
+Surgeon                       1   Carpenter's Mate         1
+Boatswain                     1   Gunner's Mate            1
+Gunner                        1   Boatswain's Mates        2
+Carpenter                     1   Quarter-masters          3
+Master's Mate                 1   Captain's Coxswain       1
+Midshipmen                    4   Capts. of the Forecastle 2
+Assistant Surgeon             1   Cooper                   1
+Clerk                         1   Capts. of the Foretop    2
+                            ---                          ---
+               Carry forward 18           Carry forward   36
+
+            Brought forward  36          Brought forward  58
+Capts. of the Maintop         2   Barber                   1
+------------- Afterguard      1   Purser's Steward         1
+------------- Mast            1   Captain's Steward        1
+Ship's Cook                   1   Captain's Cook           1
+Volunteers, First Class       3   Gun-room Steward         1
+Gunner's Crew                 5   Gun-room Cook            1
+Carpenter's Crew              4   Steward's Mate           1
+Sailmaker's crew              1   Able Seamen     }
+Gunner's Yeoman               1   Ordinary Seamen }       29
+Boatswain's ditto             1   Landmen         }
+Carpenter's ditto             1   Boys, Second Class       5
+Cook's mate                   1   ----- Third Class        5
+                            ---   Widows' Men              3
+              Carry forward  58                          ---
+                                                         107
+Marines:-- 1 Lieutenant; 1 Serjeant; 1 Corporal;
+            1 Drummer; 14 Privates.                       18
+                                                         ---
+                                                  Total  125
+
+The last odd entry of three widows' men was an official fiction (now
+abolished) by which the pay of so many imaginary persons was
+transferred to a fund for the relief of the widows of commissioned and
+warrant officers. Real men are now allowed in their places.
+
+If any other ship be paying off at the same time, it is well worth
+trying to get some of her best men to enter for the ship fitting out.
+People who have been for several years together in a comfortable ship
+feel unwilling to part, and the prospect of continuing still
+companions, often influences them to volunteer in considerable
+numbers, if other circumstances appear suitable. When this takes
+place, the men generally transfer their whole kit at once, see their
+names placed on the new ship's books, and obtain what is called
+"long-leave" of absence to visit their friends, after depositing a
+portion of their ready money in the hands of the commanding-officer
+until their return. These men almost always form a valuable part of a
+ship's crew, and, I am convinced, the practice will become more
+general of removing direct from one man-of-war to another, whenever
+the system of frequent payments shall be established in the Navy. The
+sailors will then learn the proper use of money, and will acquire, in
+consequence, more orderly, decent, and rational habits.
+
+By these and other means, if the captain and officers be at all
+popular in their manners, or be known favourably in the service, or if
+even without these advantages, the intended station to which the ship
+is going be a favourite one, and ordinary pains be taken at the
+rendezvous, the ship's company soon begins to assume a respectable and
+business-like appearance. It then becomes of infinite importance, that
+the first lieutenant should introduce a uniform and well-explained
+system of discipline on board, especially as regards cleanliness and
+neatness of appearance, which are best effected by frequent and
+regular musterings, without too much fastidiousness in the first
+instance, as this might only teaze the men, and prevent the effectual
+establishment of those observances which it is the chief purpose of
+good discipline to render habitual. Great efforts should always be
+made to give to Sunday its true character of a day of repose; and in
+the weekly mustering, in particular, a good deal may generally be
+accomplished towards imparting to the ship and crew the appearance of
+order, which in times more advanced ought to characterize them during
+the whole week. The stock of clothes amongst the men will, it is true,
+generally be scanty at first, but a portion of it may, with proper
+management, be always kept clean, and a well-bleached shirt and
+trousers, with a good scrape of the chin, and a thorough scrubbing
+from top to toe, render poor Jack's toilet, if not the most refined in
+the world, certainly very effectual towards its purpose. I have often
+been amused to see the merry style in which they employed great lumps
+of coarse soap and hard brushes, in vain endeavours to remove the
+umber tints of tar from their hands, and the tanning of the sunshine
+from their brawny arms. These indelible distinctions of their hard
+service are rendered more striking at such moments by their contrast
+with the firm and healthy whiteness of the skin round their shoulders
+and chest.
+
+An officer must be cautious how he issues slop clothing to newly
+entered men, who have no pay due; and have a sharp, but reserved
+look-out kept on doubtful characters as they go over the side on
+leave, for there will ever be found at the great naval stations a
+certain number of regular-built swindlers, who wander from port to
+port expressly to pilfer. These vagabonds enter on board
+newly-commissioned ships, make a great show of activity, and remain a
+certain time to lull suspicion. They then take up slops, that is,
+obtain from the purser as many shirts, trousers, shoes, and other
+articles, as they can persuade the commanding-officer they are in want
+of; after which they desert upon the first opportunity, only to run
+the same rig in some other ship. When a character of this kind is
+caught in the act of making off with his own or his messmate's
+blanket, it is best to let him go on shore (minus the blanket, of
+course), and the chances are he will not return again. You lose the
+man, but you are rid of a knave.
+
+It is a fatal error in an officer to court popularity by unworthy
+means, or indeed by any means, except those of fair-dealing and strict
+propriety, equal justice to all, and as much indulgence as the nature
+of the service will admit of. But, at the same time, advantage may be
+taken of accidental opportunities of putting the people into
+good-humour during an outfit; and by indulging them in a
+jollification, we may occasionally give them something to think of at
+the moment, and to talk of for weeks afterwards.
+
+When I was fitting out his Majesty's sloop Lyra at Deptford, in 1815,
+to accompany the embassy to China, under Lord Amherst, it occurred to
+me one cold morning, the 24th of December, that it might not have a
+bad effect on the good name of my pretty little craft, if I gave the
+ship's company a regular blow-out the next day. I communicated this
+idea to the first lieutenant, who, seeing no objection, sent for some
+of the leading men, and said each mess was to have a goose and a
+turkey for their Christmas dinner. My steward was then told to arrange
+the details; and presently he came to report that the men had taken it
+into their heads, that, as the best poultry was to be procured in
+London, they should like exceedingly to be allowed to despatch an
+embassy to Leadenhall Market for that purpose; the first lieutenant
+agreed also to this, and two seamen and one marine were forthwith
+landed at Deptford to execute the mission. A cart being hired, off
+they set, returning before sunset, with as noisy a cargo as ever I saw
+packed together. It so happened, that while we lay on one side of the
+hulk, I forget her name, another ship was lashed on the opposite side
+for some temporary purpose. The crew of our neighbour dined on
+Christmas-day on soup and beef as usual, and remained contented enough
+till some of our fellows, waddling under the effects of double
+allowance of solids, and perhaps with a trifle too much of fluids,
+came singing and capering along the deck of their hulk. In the most
+good-humoured way possible, they asked their neighbours how many geese
+and turkeys they had discussed that day. The meagre answer called
+forth shouts of merriment, and the poor fellows belonging to the other
+ship were rather unhandsomely taunted with the scantiness of their
+Christmas fare. "Look at that and weep, you hungry-faced rascals!"
+exclaimed one of our jolly blades, holding up the drumstick of a goose
+in one hand and that of a turkey in the other. He was answered by the
+practical joke of having the two bones twisted from his hands and
+shyed in his face, according to the most approved tarpaulin manners.
+This was the signal for a general _mélée_, and the officers had enough
+to do to separate the contending hosts.
+
+A few days before the next Christmas-day came round, when we were
+lying in the River Canton, my steward came to me and said,--
+
+"The people, sir, have been talking for the last two or three weeks of
+hardly anything else but the 'row' at Deptford this time twelvemonth,
+when you gave them a feast on Christmas-day."
+
+"Well, what of that?"
+
+"Oh, nothing, sir; I only thought you might like to know it. There are
+plenty of ducks and geese at the Chinese village close to us."
+
+I seized the idea in a moment; and having, as before, consulted with
+the first lieutenant, I bade my steward prepare a good stock
+accordingly. I took no further charge of the matter; nor did I expect
+to hear anything more of the dinner or its preparations. In this,
+however, I was deceived; for when daylight appeared on Christmas
+morning of 1816, such a racket was heard from our little vessel as
+brought up all hands on board every one of the ten or a dozen huge
+East India Company's ships amongst which we were anchored, at a place
+called Second Bar. Our fellows had carried the whole of their
+Christmas poultry aloft, and having perched themselves at the
+yard-arms and on the cross-trees, gaff, and flying jib-boom ends, they
+made each of the wretched birds fast with a string six or eight feet
+long, in such a manner that they could flap their wings, but could not
+escape. The great difficulty, as I afterwards learned, was how to keep
+the ducks and geese from making a noise till the proper moment
+arrived, and this was not effected without sundry bites and scratches.
+As soon as broad daylight came, the word was given, and the whole
+flock being dropped to the full length of their lines, they set up
+such a screaming, cackling, and flapping, as could not fail, when
+aided by the mingled laughter and shouts of their future demolishers,
+to call the envious attention of the whole surrounding fleet!
+
+It is very useful to keep the people in a good humour at all times;
+though, as I have already suggested, the captain must avoid even the
+appearance of courting popularity at the expense of his officers. Such
+an unworthy course of proceeding strikes at the root of discipline. A
+truly right-minded officer, therefore, at the head of any department,
+whether it be that of a ship, a fleet, an army, or a cabinet, will
+seldom, if ever, take into his calculations the effect which any
+measure is to produce on himself or his own interests--but will
+steadily seek to discover what is best for the public service. And if
+such research be made in the proper spirit of generous self-devotion
+to his duty, he may essentially advance the cause of good discipline,
+by transferring the credit of success, which might be his own due, to
+those with whom he happens to be co-operating, and without whose
+companionship and attention to details, though unseen and unknown to
+the world, he might never have gained his point. It is more difficult
+indeed, but also more generous, and more useful in practice, for the
+chief to bear manfully the brunt of failure; and in seasons when
+measures of an unpopular character become necessary, to charge himself
+with a large share of that loss of favour which he is best able to
+afford.[9]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[8] By the recent regulations each ship also receives her complement
+of seamen gunners from one of the gunnery ships, in the proportion of
+a lieutenant and thirteen gunners to a line-of-battle ship, a mate and
+ten men to a frigate, and eight men to smaller vessels. These are
+passed gunners, and their duties are to instruct the crew in gunnery.
+
+[9] The introduction of the system of registration of seamen has, of
+course, been an admirable check upon desertion after receiving
+advances, both in the naval and commercial marine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+FITTING OUT.
+
+
+In the course of a week or ten days after a ship is commissioned, the
+officers are collected on board their hulk, and they bestir themselves
+to gather their comforts about them. In the first instance they look
+after their "noble selves" by selecting, at some small salary extra, a
+boy or a marine a-piece for a valet. They next find out a good
+steward, and having installed him in possession of the nascent stock
+of gun-room crockery, make him hunt for a cook, generally a black man,
+who takes into his sable keeping the pots and pans of the growing
+mess. The mates and mids, a portion of whom are appointed by the
+Admiralty, and a portion by the captain, gradually make their
+appearance, and settle into their dungeon of a berth under the
+caterage of some old boy of a captain's clerk or a hard-a-weather mate
+of the decks. A pretty large proportion of youngsters also, or
+squeakers, who cannot be appointed without the previous consent of the
+Admiralty, spring up like mushrooms, with rosy cheeks and tender
+hands, totally unconscious, poor little fellows! of the rugged lives
+they are soon to lead.
+
+If these boys had only sense enough to look on quietly, and pay
+attention to all that is passing, with a sincere desire to understand
+it, and were they to be assisted a little in their inquiries, they
+might on such occasions as that of a ship fitting out, manage to learn
+and store up much that would prove valuable on a future day. But these
+youths are generally let loose from the Naval College, or from school,
+or from mamma's apron-string; and unless they are looked after and
+encouraged, they are too volatile to pay a proper degree of attention
+to the duty which is going on. After all, it does not require much
+ingenuity to arrange some employment for them, even at first, provided
+their numbers be not so great that they stand in one another's way.
+Three or four youngsters, even though absolute novices, might always
+be kept well employed in a sloop-of-war, and perhaps twice that number
+in a frigate or line-of-battle ship fitting. In peace time, however,
+it will happen that the crowd of young gentlemen is so great, and the
+disposition to learn so little diffused amongst them, that the first
+lieutenant is often glad to get rid of them altogether by letting them
+waste their time and money on shore.
+
+The state in which the ship happens to be at the time she is
+commissioned, must decide, as I said before, the course to be followed
+in her equipment. If she be already masted and alongside the hulk, and
+the ballast in, the officer will most likely wish to make some show in
+the way of rigging--for as yet the masts are naked to the girt-lines,
+or single ropes rove through blocks at the mast-head, by which first
+the men and then the shrouds are drawn up, and the eyes of the rigging
+placed over the mast-heads. If there be only a few sailors on board,
+these can be employed to get off the furniture, that is, all the
+blocks, ready stropped in the rigging loft; and to draw the present
+use stores from the dockyard. These can all be kept under lock and key
+in the store-rooms of the hulk; and if the rigging, and everything
+required in placing it aloft, be previously fitted and arranged by the
+boatswain, so that he can put his hand at once on the gear as soon as
+a sufficient number of the crew join, much time will be saved. Even
+the lower rigging may be got off all ready fitted from the loft; while
+the runners and tackles, the luffs, and other purchases, may be put in
+preparation for use the moment there are hands enough to employ on
+them.
+
+By application to the boatswain of the yard, assistance will be given
+to gammon the bowsprit, preparatory to its being clothed, which is the
+technical term for rigging that important spar. One of its principal
+offices is to support the foremast and fore-topmast, by means of their
+stays, as the slanting ropes are called which stretch forwards and
+downwards from the head of every mast, great and small, in the ship.
+Some of these, as the main-stay, lie at so inconsiderable an angle
+with the horizon, that they possess great power of sustaining the
+mast; while others, such as the fore-stay, being necessarily more
+perpendicular, do not act to such good mechanical purpose. There is a
+peculiar disadvantage attending the method of securing the fore-stay,
+arising from the position of the mast. It is placed so near the
+extremity of the ship, that the stay, which forms its only support in
+the forward direction, cannot be attached to the body of the vessel,
+without making so very small an angle with the mast as would divest
+it of nearly all its character as a supporter. To remedy this, the
+bowsprit has been devised, chiefly as an out-rigger for the fore-stay.
+But in order to render the spar effective for that purpose, it
+requires to be very strongly bound down. There has, therefore, been
+contrived what is called the stem, or cut-water, which is a strong but
+narrow projection from the bows, securely fastened by long and thick
+bolts of iron and copper to the body of the ship. The chief purpose of
+this stem is to furnish a point of support for the ropes securing the
+bowsprit. Of these, the most important is called the gammoning, which
+consists of a strong and well-stretched hawser, passed up and down
+successively, in perpendicular turns, over the bowsprit and through a
+hole horizontally cut in the stem. At each turn the gammoning hawser
+is hove taut, while every effort is used to bring the bowsprit down
+into its place. A heavy boat is sometimes suspended from the end, the
+weight of which greatly assists the gammoning process. Another set of
+ropes, called bob-stays, extending from about one-third from the outer
+end of the bowsprit to the cut-water, nearly at the water-line,
+contribute essentially to its stability. It is further secured in a
+lateral direction by shrouds reaching from its extremity to the bows
+of the ship.
+
+I need not mention, that, in order to give a finish, as it were, to
+the end of the ship, and to convert that into a source of ornament
+which might otherwise be deemed a deformity, the top of the stem has
+been appropriated as the position of the figure-head, the
+characteristic emblem of the vessel. In some ships the sailors pride
+themselves especially on the beauty of their figure-head; and many a
+time have I seen the captain of the forecastle employed for hours in
+painting the eyes, hair, and drapery of his favourite idol. I suppose
+few commanding-officers will allow of this liberty; for it must be
+owned that as Jack's taste in female beauty, and in the disposition
+and colours of dress, are borrowed from a very questionable model, his
+labours in adorning the figure-head are apt to produce strange
+monsters. I once heard of a captain who indulged his boatswain in this
+whim of representing his absent love as far as the king's allowance of
+paint could carry the art; and it must be owned, that, as the original
+Dulcinea owed her roses to the same source, the representation "came
+very close aboard of the original," as the delighted boatswain
+expressed it. This very proximity in colouring, scantiness of drapery,
+and so forth, which formed the boatswain's pride, perplexed the worthy
+captain, who had given his sanction to the work, for he could never
+cross the bows of his own ship with a party of friends, without
+raising a laugh at the expense of his taste in figures. The whole
+crew, however, soon fell as much in love with the damsel as the
+boatswain had done before them; and it would have been cruel to have
+sent the painter to daub her ladyship all over with one uniform
+colour, according to the general fashion. The considerate commander
+took a different line.
+
+"You seem proud of your head, Mr. Clearpipe, I shall gild her for
+you!"
+
+In a few days, the sparkling eyes and blushing cheeks of Mrs.
+Boatswain, like Danaë, had yielded up their charms to the golden
+shower. The glittering figure-head soon became the delight of the
+ship's company, and on one occasion furnished the captain with rather
+an odd means of calling out their energies. The ship was sailing in
+company with several others of the same class, and when they all came
+to reef topsails together, she was beat on the first occasion. As they
+were setting about a second trial of activity, the captain called out
+to the people aloft,--
+
+"Now, I tell you what it is, my lads, unless you are off the yards,
+and the sails are hoisted again before any other ship in the squadron,
+by the Lord Harry I'll paint your figure-head black!" From that time
+forward, she beat every ship in the fleet.
+
+As soon as a sufficient number of hands are collected on board the
+ship which is fitting out, all the spars, except the spare ones, may
+be got off to the hulk. These consist of topsail yards, topmasts, and
+top-gallant masts and yards, jib and spanker boom, studding-sail booms,
+and one or two others. The lower and topsail yards can be fitted on
+the hulk's decks, ready to be swayed into their places when the masts
+are in a state to receive them. If a dockyard lump, or lighter, can be
+got to put all the spars in, together with the tops and other things
+which are usually made into a raft and floated off, it may save a
+great deal of trouble; as it frequently happens that they cannot all
+be got in before night, and if bad weather comes on, they may break
+adrift and be lost.
+
+There seems no fixed rule for rigging a ship progressively. Different
+officers adopt different ways of setting about the operation, and
+slight variations occur in the arrangement of the ropes; but,
+generally speaking, everything is disposed according to the
+long-established rules of seamanship. The grand object is to support
+each mast laterally by a number of shrouds on each side, inclining
+slightly abaft the perpendicular, to prevent its falling either
+sideways or forwards, and also, by means of two stays, the principal
+stay and the spring stay, both stretching in the line of the keel, to
+hold it forwards. The width of the ship affords what is called a
+spread for the rigging, which spread is augmented by the application
+of broad shelves, called channels, carrying the rigging three or four
+feet further out on each side, and making its angle with the masts
+greater, and consequently increasing the support of the shrouds. These
+channels act merely as out-riggers, for the ultimate point of fixture,
+or that against which the shrouds pull, is lower down, where long
+links of iron called chain-plates, are securely bolted through and
+through the solid ribs of the ship, and rivetted within. The upper
+ends of these chain-plates are furnished with what are called
+dead-eyes, great round blocks of wood pierced with holes, through
+which the lanyards are rove by which the rigging is set up, or drawn
+almost as tight as bars of iron. The topmasts, rising immediately
+above the lower masts, are supported chiefly by rigging spread out by
+the tops, or what people on shore miscall round-tops. These, like the
+channels for the lower rigging, are mere projections or out-riggers;
+the true point of support for the topmast rigging is the lower
+shrouds, the connection being made by what are called futtock shrouds
+and catharpins. The top-gallant masts, at the next stage aloft, are
+supported by shrouds passing through the ends of small spars called
+cross-trees, at the head of the topmast; and so on in succession, up
+to the sky-scrapers and moon-rakers in some very fly-away ships.
+
+As early as possible, the boats, which are duly warranted for the
+ship, should be selected, and their equipment superintended by the
+officers of the ship, who are the persons most interested in their
+completion. The master boat-builder attends to any little extra
+fittings that the first lieutenant may have a fancy for--such as the
+arrangement of the kedge and steam-anchor davits, the slide for the
+carronnade in the launch, and so on. The boats will be painted of any
+required colour, provided that colour be consistent with the dockyard
+regulations; if any other be required, the captain must purchase it
+himself, but the dockyard painters will lay it on. In the same way, if
+the gun carriages are to be painted of any particular or fancy colour,
+the people at the gun-wharf will prime them in a manner suited to
+that colour, but no more.
+
+I may here take occasion to remark, that in the numberless dockyards I
+have drawn stores from, I never met with any real difficulty in
+getting all that was reasonable from the officers in any department. I
+have heard, indeed, one and all of these persons abused over and over
+again, for being crusty and disobliging; for pertinacity in sticking
+to the mere letter of their instructions, and forgetting its spirit;
+and for throwing obstacles in the way of the service, instead of
+promoting its advancement. But I can only say for myself, that I never
+met with anything but a hearty zeal to furnish all that was right, and
+that, too, in the pleasantest manner, provided the proper degree of
+civility were used in making the application.
+
+People too often forget, that politeness, punctuality, and general
+attention to business, are all reciprocal qualities; and that, unless
+they themselves employ such means in their intercourse with official
+authorities, it is hopeless to expect these authorities will put
+themselves one inch out of their way to oblige persons who manifestly
+hold them in contempt. At least, until we can procure angels to take
+the office of master-attendant, master-shipwright, storekeeper, and so
+forth, the laws and customs of human nature will continue to regulate
+such influences. Your gruff and sulky letter-of-the-law man will, no
+doubt, get his ship fitted, in process of time, but not half so well,
+nor nearly so quickly, as he who takes matters cheerfully.
+
+When a sufficient number of hands have been volunteered at the
+rendezvous, and stationed to the different parts of the ship's duty,
+the first lieutenant should form them into separate working parties,
+as carefully selected as possible for the different kinds of work
+required. The gunner will take one of these gangs to the
+ordnance-wharf, to fit the tackles and breechings; another party will
+be sent to the sail-loft to fit the sails; a third party may be
+occupied with stowing the water-tanks, and preparing the holds for the
+provisions; while some hands should be sent to weave mats for covering
+the different parts of the rigging. The carpenters form a most
+important department of the crew, as there are many little jobs to be
+attended to in every part of the ship which the dockyard pass over;
+and it is useful to have one or two carpenters always ready at a call
+to drive in a nail here, or fix a cleat there, or to ease or fill up
+what does not fit nicely.
+
+When a ship is first commissioned, the captain should apply to the
+builder to have the caulking of the sides, and especially of the
+decks, carefully examined, and if this important operation is to be
+repeated, it should be got over as soon as may be. If the caulking be
+delayed, as too frequently occurs, till after the ship is equipped and
+painted, and the guns mounted; off comes a noisy gang of caulkers, who
+daub her all over with pitch, the removal of which is a troublesome,
+and always a dirty operation.
+
+Old hammocks are generally supplied for the men to sleep in while the
+ship is fitting, and returned when she goes out of harbour. But two
+sets of new hammocks ought to be got on board the hulk, ready to be
+numbered as soon as a neat-handed man of letters can be enlisted for
+that purpose; and as every hammock requires to have a legible number
+marked on it, this occupies some time, and should be set about as
+early as possible, that all may be dry and ready against going to sea.
+
+If the ship be new, it will be of great advantage that the captain or
+first lieutenant should point out to the dockyard officers what he
+considers the best place for the bulk-heads, or partitions separating
+the different holds from one another. The main hold, for example, if
+fitted strictly according to rule, or if it be left to the general
+guess of the superintending shipwright, may chance to be long enough
+to stow a certain number of water-tanks, together with a foot or two
+over and above; now this lost space, if thrown into the after-hold,
+might prove sufficient to gain another entire "longer," or range of
+provision-casks. In the same way, the bulkhead which is common to
+the spirit-room and after-hold may, by timely adjustment, be so placed
+as to gain much useful space. These things are now much better
+attended to than formerly in the original fitting of the ship; but I
+mention them to prevent, as far as may be, the dangerous practice of
+taking that for granted which admits of further examination. Moreover,
+as no two vessels are exactly alike in all their dimensions, and
+correct seamanship is guided by principles, which an officer ought to
+understand, it will not do to rely upon things being done properly
+when they are done by rule-of-thumb. Thus the position of the
+main-tack block, and those of the fore and main sheets, the main-brace
+blocks, topsail sheet and brace bitts, with the number of sheeves in
+each, and twenty other things relating to kevils, cleats, and belaying
+pins, will be dependent for much of their eventual efficiency on the
+length of the yards, the size of the sails, and other circumstances
+which it is quite in vain, and quite unreasonable to expect the
+dockyard workmen to take into account.
+
+By the time the ship, to which every one has ere this become attached,
+is so far advanced as to have all her spars on end, the artificers
+will have completed their hammerings, sawings, and nailings, and the
+main-hold will have been stowed with water-tanks. It is then time to
+draw the heavy stores from the dockyard, such as anchors, cables,
+spare anchor-stocks, fishes for the lower masts, and other spars,
+forming, when packed together in two lines, one on each side of the
+upper deck, what are called "the booms." Great care must be taken in
+stowing these clusters of spars so as to leave room enough between
+them, and just room enough, for stowing the launch or largest boat.
+This is managed by the carpenter taking what is called her midship
+section, and making a slight framework model to guide the stowage of
+the booms.
+
+It may be useful to remark, that, although the operations in fitting
+out a ship are multifarious, and often apparently much confused, it is
+of great consequence to carry into them as much routine method as
+possible. For example, in spite of the frequent interruptions to which
+the seamen are exposed by the arrival of dockyard and
+victualling-office vessels, which must be cleared, it will be found
+very advantageous to adopt a uniform plan by which one set of men
+shall begin, carry on, and complete the same jobs. In this way the
+several working parties will come to take an interest and pride in
+executing their tasks well and quickly, which they never could feel if
+the responsibility and credit were divided or dissipated by their
+being sent backwards and forwards from one operation to another. For
+the purpose of such arrangements, as well as to assist his memory, the
+first lieutenant may find it useful to write out in the evening a
+programme of the next day's intended operations, and commencing every
+morning by this, adhere to it throughout the day as strictly as
+circumstances will permit. A character of consistency will thus be
+given to a vast crowd of operations which otherwise become confused
+and desultory. The people employed to execute these tasks will soon
+insensibly discover that their labours are guided by substantial
+method, and they will work all the more cheerfully and effectively,
+from a conviction that no time is lost, and that their services are
+duly appreciated.
+
+The main hold being now stowed, the cables, anchors, and spare spars,
+all on board, the quantity of provisions required to complete for the
+service appointed may be applied for, and will be sent off in the
+victualling-office lighters. The purser then gets on board coals,
+candles, lanterns, and other stores in his department. The rigging has
+been repeatedly set up, and is now so well stretched that it is ready
+for the last pull before going out of harbour. This done, and the
+dead-eyes and ratlines squared, the shroud and backstay mats are put
+on, and the masts and studding-sail booms carefully scraped. The lower
+masts, and the heads of the topmasts and top-gallant masts, are next
+painted, the yards blacked, and the rigging and backstays fore and aft
+tarred down. The whole ship ought now to be scraped within and
+without, and thoroughly cleaned and dried; after which the painters
+may be sent for from the dockyard, and when they have primed the ship
+it will be well to give her decks another good scouring. Next black
+the bends, while the painters finish the upper works with one or two
+more coats; and, finally, retouch the bends with the black-brush.
+
+When the paint is thoroughly dry, the guns and ordnance stores are to
+be got on board, and all the remaining stores drawn from the dockyard,
+leaving nothing, if possible, excepting the gunpowder, to be got off.
+At this stage of the equipment, the ropes forming the running rigging
+may be rove and cut. At the same time, both suits of sails ought to be
+got on board in a decked lighter, one for stowing away in the
+sail-room, but completely fitted and ready for use; the others to be
+bent to the yards. The hammock-cloths also being now fitted, are
+brought off; and if the ship be "going foreign," double sets are
+allowed, both of which in former times used to be painted; but the
+spare cloths are now very properly supplied unpainted.
+
+The ship being all ready for going out of harbour, the captain makes a
+report to that effect to the admiral, the working boats are returned,
+and the new ones drawn, and hoisted in. At the same time all
+unserviceable stores, worn out in fitting the ship, are returned to
+the dockyard, including the hulk hammocks, which must be well
+scrubbed, dried, and made neatly up. The new hammocks are issued and
+slung, and the bedding being lashed up in them, they are stowed in the
+nettings, with their numbers ranged in a straight line, in regular
+order fore and aft. This arrangement not only gives symmetry, but is
+useful in affording the means of getting at any particular hammock
+which may be required; for instance, if a man is taken sick, or
+persons are required to be sent to other ships.
+
+Generally speaking, indeed, it will be found that the attention
+bestowed on regularity, neatness, and even dandyism, in all these
+minor details, brings with it more than a correspondent degree of
+practical advantage. The men soon feel a pride in what their officer
+approves of and shows himself pleased with; and, when once they fall
+into habits of mutual obligation in the accomplishment of a common
+purpose, everything goes on smoothly and cheerfully. I need scarcely
+recall to the recollection of any one who has witnessed the practice
+of such things, the marvellous difference in the efficiency of a ship
+where the system of discipline is to bully and reproach, and of
+another where the principle is encouraging and gentleman-like. In one
+case the crew work as little as may be, and even take a morbid
+pleasure in crossing the views of the officers as much as they
+possibly can without incurring the risk of punishment; and they never
+stir a finger in works not strictly within their assigned duty. In the
+other case, where good will, a temperate exercise of authority,
+indulgence, when it can by possibility be granted, and, above all,
+when no coarse language unworthy the lips of an officer and a
+gentleman is used, the result is very different. All the subordinate
+authorities, and indeed the crew at large, then become insensibly
+possessed of an elasticity of obedience which exerts a two-fold
+influence, by reacting on themselves even more than it operates upon
+the commanding-officer whose judicious deportment has called out the
+exertion. I may safely add, that in the strict discipline which is
+absolutely indispensable in every efficient man-of-war, and under all
+the circumstances of confinement, privation, and other inevitable
+hardships to which both officers and men are exposed, such a course of
+moderation and good-breeding, independently of its salutary effect on
+the minds of the people, works most admirably for the public service,
+and more than doubles the results, by rendering men, who otherwise
+might have been disposed to retard the duty, sincerely zealous in its
+advancement.
+
+Lord Nelson, that great master of war and discipline, and all that was
+noble and good in the cause of his country, understood, better perhaps
+than any other officer, the art of applying these wholesome maxims to
+the practice of duty at the exact moment of need. During the long and
+weary period when Lord Nelson was blockading Toulon, he was joined
+from England by a line-of-battle ship, commanded by an officer who, as
+the story goes, had long applied for and expected an appointment to a
+cruising frigate, and who, in consequence of this disappointment, came
+growling out to join the fleet, in high dudgeon with the Admiralty at
+being condemned, as he called it, to the galley-slave duty of a
+blockade, in a wretched old tub of a 74, instead of ranging at large
+in a gay frigate over the Atlantic or the Adriatic, and nabbing up
+prizes by the dozen. It appears farther, that he rather unreasonably
+extended a portion of his indignation to the Admiral, who, of course,
+had nothing to do with his appointment; and this sulky frame of mind
+might have proved the captain's ruin, had his Admiral been any other
+than Nelson. But the genius of that great officer appeared to delight
+in such occasions of recalling people to a sense of their duty, and
+directing their passions and motives into the channels most useful to
+themselves and their country. Knowing the officer to be a clever man,
+and capable of performing good service if he chose, it was Nelson's
+cue to make it his choice. When, therefore, the captain came on board,
+full of irritability and provocation, the Admiral took no notice, but
+chatted with him during breakfast on the news from England, and other
+indifferent matters, as if his guest had been in the best humour
+possible. The other, who was nursing his displeasure, waited only for
+an opportunity of exploding, when he could do so without a breach of
+decorum. Lord Nelson soon gave him the occasion he appeared to seek
+for, by begging him to step into the after-cabin, and then asking him
+what he thought of the station, and how he should like cruising in
+the Levant and other interesting parts of the Mediterranean.
+
+"Why, as to that, my lord, I am not very likely to have any choice. I
+am sent here to join the blockading fleet, and here, no doubt, I am
+doomed to stick. I care nothing about the Mediterranean, and it would
+matter little if I did."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you speak in that way," said Nelson, "for I had
+reckoned a good deal on your activity, personal knowledge, and
+abilities, to execute a service of some consequence in the upper parts
+of the station. In this view I have been cutting out a cruise for you,
+which I had hoped might enable you to see everything that is
+interesting, and at the same time to execute a delicate and difficult
+piece of service. But if you really do not fancy it, only say so--it
+is not a business that can be done well on compulsion, but must be
+done cheerfully. If you have a mind to go, well and good--if not, I
+must look out for some one else--but you are the man I should prefer,
+if it be agreeable to you. Here is a sketch of your orders, and there
+is the chart--look them over at leisure, and make your decision."
+
+As Lord Nelson spoke these words he went on deck, leaving the poor man
+bewildered at the prospect of the very employment he most desired, and
+not a little ashamed of himself for having anticipated so different a
+reception. The captain gratefully accepted the Admiral's offer, sailed
+on the appointed service, which he executed with such diligence and
+zeal, that he actually returned to the blockading fleet long within
+the period he was authorized to bestow on the cruise; and there he
+remained ever afterwards, performing all the drudgery of the
+blockading service, not only with zeal, but with the heartiest good
+humour, springing out of an anxious desire to manifest at once his
+respect and his affectionate devotion to the matchless officer who had
+so judiciously taught him the true path to honour.
+
+The last thing to be done in fitting out, and before quitting the
+harbour, is to turn all hands over to their proper ship, and then to
+scrape, and scrub, and wash the hulk as effectually as possible,
+preparatory to her being inspected by the dockyard. This duty is too
+frequently executed in a negligent manner; and really it is not much
+to be wondered at, for the hulks are such abominable ugly-looking
+monsters, that one can take no pride or pleasure in treating them with
+common decency. The commanding-officer, therefore, should be
+particularly cautious in seeing this operation effectually performed;
+for, if he does not, he will be sure to be called upon next day to
+send a party of hands, probably at a great inconvenience, to repeat
+the process.
+
+There are, as will readily be conceived, a hundred minor points to be
+thought of in the equipment of a ship, to which I have not adverted,
+relating to the watching, stationing, and quartering of men and
+officers; the berthing and arrangement of the people into messes; the
+rules respecting their having leave to go on shore, and so on. It may
+be well, however, to remind officers that they should never forget
+that the mere appearance of their ship is a matter of considerable
+consequence; and therefore, even in the very busiest times of the
+outfit, the yards should be carefully squared every evening after the
+work is over, all the ropes hauled taut, and the decks swept as soon
+as the artificers leave off work. Not a single person beyond the
+sentries should ever be allowed to go from the hulk to the ship,
+except during working hours. This rule prevents any interference with
+the tools or unfinished work of the dockyard men. In a word, the crew
+should never be allowed to suppose that the discipline of forms and
+appearances, so to call it, is relaxed, because the usual regularity
+of working is in some degree interrupted. That a ship is essentially
+in good order can at once be discovered by a professional eye, in the
+midst of her most bustling occupations and at any stage of the outfit.
+
+Last of all the pilot comes on board; the sails are loosed and
+hoisted; and the lashings being cast off from the hulk, the gay ship
+sails joyously out of harbour, and takes up her anchorage at the
+anchoring ground. The officers and crew set to work in getting things
+into their places; and being all thoroughly tired of harbour, and
+anxious to get to sea, a fresh feeling of zeal and activity pervades
+the whole establishment.
+
+The powder is now got on board; the warrant-officers "indent" or sign
+the proper acknowledgments for their stores at the dockyard; and the
+purser, having completed the stock of provisions, closes his accounts
+at the victualling-office. The captain's wife begins to pack up her
+band-boxes in order to return home, while the Jews and bum-boat folks
+are pushing all the interest they can scrape together to induce the
+first lieutenant to give them the priority of entrance with their
+goods and chattels on the approaching pay-day. The sailors' wives
+about this period besiege the captain and his lady alternately, with
+petitions to be allowed to go to sea in the ship; to all, or most of
+which, a deaf ear must be turned. When all things are put to rights,
+the port-admiral comes on board to muster and inspect the ship's
+company, and to see how the different equipments have been attended
+to.
+
+At length, just before sailing, pay-day comes, and with it many a
+disgusting scene will ever be associated until the present system be
+modified. The ship is surrounded by a fleet of boats filled with gangs
+of queer-looking Jew-pedlars sitting in the midst of piles of
+slop-clothing, gaudy handkerchiefs, tawdry trinkets, eggs and butter,
+red herrings and cheeses, tin-pots, fruit, joints of meat, and bags of
+potatoes, well concealed beneath which are bottles and bladders filled
+with the most horribly adulterated spirituous liquors. As many of
+these dealers as can be conveniently ranged on the quarter-deck and
+gangways may be admitted, that the market may be as open and fair as
+possible; but it is very indiscreet to allow any of them to go on the
+main-deck.
+
+Right happy is that hour when the ship is fairly clear of all these
+annoyances--sweethearts and wives inclusive--and when, with the water
+filled up to the last gallon, the bread-room chock full, and as many
+quarters of beef got on board as will keep fresh, the joyful sound of
+"Up Anchor!" rings throughout the ship. The capstan is manned; the
+messenger brought to; round fly the bars; and as the anchor spins
+buoyantly up to the bows, the jib is hoisted, the topsails sheeted
+home, and off she goes, merrily before the breeze!
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+POETRY PUBLISHED BY
+MESSRS. BELL AND DALDY,
+186, FLEET STREET, LONDON.
+
+Legends and Lyrics, by Adelaide Anne
+Procter, _6th Edition_. Fcap. 8vo. 5s. Antique
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+By C.F. Alexander, Author of "Moral songs," &c.
+Fcap. 8vo. 5s.; morocco, 10s. 6d.
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+Verses for Holy Seasons. By the Same Author.
+Edited by the Very Rev. W.F. Hook, D.D. _4th Edition_.
+Fcap. 8vo. 3s. 6d.; morocco, 8s. 6d.
+
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+Love Poem. By William Allingham. With Nine Illustrations.
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+Wild Thyme. By E.H. Mitchell. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
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+Lyrics and Idylls. By Gerda Fay. Fcap. 8vo. 4s.
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+
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+the English Language. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
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+Ingledew, M.A., Ph.D. 6s.
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+  <title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Lieutenant And
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lieutenant and Commander, by Basil Hall
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Lieutenant and Commander
+       Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from
+              Fragments of Voyages and Travels
+
+Author: Basil Hall
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2005 [EBook #17032]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIEUTENANT AND COMMANDER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Gibbs and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
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+
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+
+</pre>
+
+  <h1>THE LIEUTENANT AND COMMANDER</h1>
+
+  <h3>BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES<br />
+  OF HIS OWN CAREER<br />
+  <br />
+  FROM</h3>
+
+  <h2>FRAGMENTS OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS</h2>
+
+  <h3>BY</h3>
+
+  <h2>CAPTAIN BASIL HALL, R.N., F.R.S.</h2>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 159px;">
+    <img src="images/flower1.png" width="159" height="188" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h4>LONDON:<br />
+  BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STREET,<br />
+  AND SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND CO.<br />
+  47, LUDGATE HILL.<br />
+  1862.</h4>
+  <hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+  <h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+  <p>The present volume is rather a condensation than an abridgment
+  of the later volumes of Captain Hall's "Fragments of Voyages and
+  Travels," inasmuch as it comprises all the chapters of the second
+  and third series, only slightly abbreviated, in which the author
+  describes the various duties of the naval lieutenant and
+  commander, the personal narrative being the framework, and his
+  own experience in both capacities providing the details.</p>
+
+  <p>The editor has no hesitation in stating, after the careful
+  perusal and analysis he has necessarily made of this work, and
+  that, with a tolerably extensive knowledge of books, he knows of
+  none which may, with more propriety, be placed in the hands of
+  young men, whatever may be their destination in life; but more
+  especially are they adapted for the use of young officers and all
+  aspirants to a seaman's life. The personal narrative, slight
+  though it is, renders it very amusing, and every point the author
+  makes inculcates a rigorous attention to "duty" duly tempered
+  with discretion and humanity in commanding officers.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+  <p><a href="#PREFACE"><b>PREFACE.</b></a><br /></p>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Taking a line in the service&mdash;Duty of
+    officers&mdash;The dashing boys&mdash;Dashing boys
+    ashore&mdash;Philosophers afloat&mdash;Naval
+    statesmen&mdash;Scientific officers&mdash;Hard-working
+    officers&mdash;Poetical aspirants&mdash;Taking a line</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>A sailor on shore&mdash;Irish hospitality&mdash;A sailor
+    ashore&mdash;Irish factions&mdash;Irish
+    scenery&mdash;Land-locked bay&mdash;Reflections and
+    plans&mdash;An awkward dilemma&mdash;A retreat&mdash;A country
+    party&mdash;A medical experiment&mdash;My reception</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Tricks upon travellers&mdash;Irish refinement&mdash;A wise
+    resolve&mdash;After dinner&mdash;The second bottle&mdash;One
+    bottle more&mdash;Second thoughts best&mdash;The game of
+    humbug&mdash;The climax&mdash;You're off, are you?&mdash;A
+    practical bull&mdash;Irish hospitality</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>The Admiralty List&mdash;Chances of promotion&mdash;The
+    Admiral's list&mdash;My own disappointment&mdash;A good
+    start&mdash;Homeward bound&mdash;A spell of bad weather</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>The tropical regions at sea&mdash;Sir Nathaniel
+    Dance&mdash;The old Indian ships&mdash;Social life at
+    sea&mdash;Details of the voyage&mdash;The Canary
+    Islands&mdash;The Trade-winds&mdash;Changes of
+    climate&mdash;The variable winds&mdash;North-east
+    Trades&mdash;Our limited knowledge&mdash;The great monsoons</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>The Trade-winds&mdash;The monsoons&mdash;Theory of the
+    Trade-winds&mdash;Explanations&mdash;Tropical
+    winds&mdash;Motion of cold air&mdash;Direction of
+    clouds&mdash;Equatorial Trades&mdash;Calms and
+    variables&mdash;South-east Trades&mdash;Application of
+    theories&mdash;Atlantic winds&mdash;Monsoons of
+    India&mdash;Trade-winds of the pacific&mdash;Monsoons of Indian
+    seas&mdash;Velocity of equatorial air&mdash;Obstructions of the
+    land&mdash;Horsburg's remarks&mdash;Dampier's essay</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Progress of the voyage&mdash;Cape of Good Hope&mdash;Ships'
+    decks in the tropics&mdash;Sweeping the decks&mdash;Marine
+    shower-bath&mdash;Flying-fish&mdash;A calm&mdash;Ships in a
+    calm&mdash;A tropical shower&mdash;Washing-day&mdash;Comforts
+    of fresh water</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Aquatic sports&mdash;Weather wisdom&mdash;An equatorial
+    squall&mdash;Flying-fish&mdash;A chase&mdash;The
+    dolphin&mdash;Capture&mdash;Porpoises&mdash;Harpooning&mdash;The
+    bonito&mdash;Dolphin steaks&mdash;Porpoise steaks&mdash;The
+    albatross&mdash;Shark-fishing&mdash;A shark-hook&mdash;Habits
+    of sharks&mdash;Seizing its prey&mdash;Flying at the
+    bait&mdash;The shark captured&mdash;Killing the shark&mdash;The
+    buffalo skin&mdash;A narrow escape</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>CHAPTER IX.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>A man overboard&mdash;Crossing the line&mdash;Duty of
+    officers&mdash;Rival Neptunes&mdash;A boy
+    overboard&mdash;Affecting incident&mdash;A true-hearted
+    sailor&mdash;Bathing at sea&mdash;A well-timed
+    action&mdash;Swimming&mdash;A necessary acquisition&mdash;A man
+    overboard&mdash;What should be done, and how to do
+    it&mdash;Effects of
+    precipitancy&mdash;Life-buoy&mdash;Regulations for
+    emergencies&mdash;Managing the ship with a man
+    overboard&mdash;Stationing the crew&mdash;Directing the
+    boats</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>CHAPTER X.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Sunday on board a man-of-war&mdash;Mustering by
+    divisions&mdash;The fourth commandment&mdash;Short services
+    recommended&mdash;Order for rigging&mdash;Scrubbing and
+    sweeping&mdash;Sunday muster&mdash;Jack's dandyism&mdash;Jack
+    brought up with a round turn&mdash;Mustering at
+    divisions&mdash;Inspection&mdash;The marines&mdash;Round the
+    decks&mdash;The sick-bay&mdash;Lower
+    deck&mdash;Below&mdash;Cockpit&mdash;The gun-room&mdash;Quarter
+    deck</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>CHAPTER XI.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>The ship church&mdash;Rigging the church&mdash;Short
+    services recommended&mdash;Short sermons
+    recommended&mdash;Religious duties necessary to
+    discipline&mdash;Church service interrupted&mdash;The day of
+    rest</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>CHAPTER XII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Naval ratings and sea pay&mdash;Mustering
+    clothes&mdash;Between decks on Sunday&mdash;Piping to
+    supper&mdash;Mustering by lists&mdash;A seaman disrated and
+    rerated&mdash;Ratings of seamen&mdash;Tendency to do
+    right&mdash;Examining stores&mdash;Captain's
+    duties&mdash;Clothes' muster&mdash;Responsibility&mdash;A
+    sailor's kit&mdash;A sailor's habits&mdash;Mizen-top
+    dandies&mdash;Hammocks&mdash;Piping the bags
+    down&mdash;Pressing emigrants&mdash;A Scotchman's
+    kit&mdash;Improved clothes' muster</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>CHAPTER XII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Sailors' pets&mdash;Purchasing a monkey&mdash;Jacko's
+    attractions&mdash;Gets monkey's allowance&mdash;Jacko and the
+    marines&mdash;Jacko's revenge&mdash;Jacko turns on his
+    friend&mdash;Spills the grog&mdash;Is pursued, but is
+    pardoned&mdash;Condemned to die&mdash;Commuted to
+    teeth-drawing&mdash;Surgeon's assistant appealed to&mdash;He
+    can't bite&mdash;The travelled monkey&mdash;Trick on the
+    marines&mdash;Its consequences&mdash;A potent dose&mdash;Its
+    operations&mdash;Jack's superstitions&mdash;The grunter
+    pet&mdash;Jean's advocate&mdash;Her good qualities&mdash;Jean's
+    obesity, and its attractions&mdash;Her death and
+    burial&mdash;Well ballasted</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>CHAPTER XIV.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Doubling the Cape&mdash;Southern
+    constellations&mdash;Intelligent chief officer&mdash;Sailors
+    and their friends&mdash;Parting company&mdash;The
+    cape&mdash;Simon's town&mdash;A fresh breeze&mdash;Rising to a
+    gale&mdash;All hands shorten sail&mdash;Value of experience to
+    an officer&mdash;Taking in reefs&mdash;Taking in
+    mainsail&mdash;Heaving the log&mdash;Before the
+    gale&mdash;Effects of a gale&mdash;Value of a chronometer
+    proved by the want of one&mdash;Awful catastrophe</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>CHAPTER XV.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Suggestions towards diminishing the number and severity of
+    Naval punishments&mdash;Corporal punishment&mdash;The author's
+    own case&mdash;An old shipmate&mdash;Admiralty
+    regulations&mdash;Appeal to officers to avoid
+    precipitation&mdash;Dangers of precipitation&mdash;Instance of
+    its dangers&mdash;A considerate captain&mdash;A case for
+    pardon&mdash;An obdurate officer&mdash;Pardon
+    granted&mdash;Retrieving of character</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>CHAPTER XVI.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Bombay&mdash;First glimpse of India&mdash;Bombay and its
+    scenery</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>CHAPTER XVII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Sir Samuel Hood&mdash;Naval promotion&mdash;Hopes and their
+    disappointment&mdash;An ant-hunt&mdash;The Admiral's triumph
+    over the engineers</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>CHAPTER XVIII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Excursion to Candelay lake in Ceylon&mdash;Starting of the
+    expedition&mdash;Pearl-divers&mdash;A strange
+    tunnel&mdash;Hindoo bathing&mdash;An amusing exhibition&mdash;A
+    tropical forest&mdash;A night scene&mdash;An alarm&mdash;A
+    supper&mdash;A midnight burial&mdash;Cingalese game&mdash;Lake
+    Candelay and its embankment</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>CHAPTER XIX.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Griffins in India&mdash;Sinbad's valley of diamonds&mdash;A
+    mosquito-hunt&mdash;Deep anchorage&mdash;Local
+    names&mdash;Valley of diamonds&mdash;Ceylon gems</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>CHAPTER XX.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Ceylonese canoes&mdash;Peruvian balsas&mdash;The floating
+    windlass of the Coromandel fishermen&mdash;American
+    pilot-boats&mdash;Balsas of Peru&mdash;Man-of-war
+    boats&mdash;Ceylonese canoes&mdash;Canoe mast and
+    sails&mdash;Local contrivances&mdash;Construction of the
+    balsa&mdash;Management of the sail&mdash;Indian method of
+    weighing anchor&mdash;A floating windlass&mdash;Failure of the
+    attempt&mdash;The Admiral's remarks&mdash;An interesting feat
+    of mechanical ingenuity</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><b>CHAPTER XXI.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>The surf at Madras&mdash;Sound of the waves&mdash;Masullah
+    boats&mdash;Construction of the boats&mdash;Crossing the
+    surf&mdash;Steering the boat&mdash;How a capsize in the surf
+    occurs&mdash;Catamarans of the surf&mdash;Perseverance of the
+    messenger</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><b>CHAPTER XXII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Visit to the Sultan of Pontiana, in Borneo&mdash;Sir Samuel
+    Hood&mdash;Borneo&mdash;A floating
+    grove&mdash;Pontiana&mdash;Chinese in Borneo&mdash;The sultan
+    and his audience room&mdash;Interior of the palace&mdash;The
+    autograph&mdash;Anecdote of Sir S. Hood&mdash;Getting out of
+    the trap&mdash;Sir S. Hood at the Nile&mdash;The Zealous and
+    Goliath&mdash;Captain Walcott's disinterestedness&mdash;Sir S.
+    Hood's kindness</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><b>CHAPTER XXIII.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Commissioning a ship&mdash;Receiving-hulk&mdash;Marines and
+    gunners&mdash;Choice of sailors&mdash;The ship's
+    company&mdash;Choice of officers&mdash;Stowing the
+    ballast&mdash;Importance of obedience&mdash;Complement of men
+    in ships of war&mdash;Shipping the crews&mdash;A Christmas
+    feast afloat&mdash;A Christmas feast in Canton
+    River&mdash;Self-devotion</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <p><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><b>CHAPTER XXIV.</b></a></p>
+
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>Fitting out&mdash;Progress of rigging&mdash;The
+    figure-head&mdash;Progressive rigging&mdash;The
+    boats&mdash;Fitting out&mdash;Stowage of ships'
+    stores&mdash;System requisite&mdash;Painting the
+    ship&mdash;Policy of a good chief&mdash;Anecdote of Lord
+    Nelson&mdash;Scrubbing the hulk&mdash;Leaving the
+    harbour&mdash;Sailing</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">TAKING A LINE
+  IN THE SERVICE.</p>
+
+  <p>That there is a tide in the affairs of men, has very naturally
+  become a figure of frequent and almost hackneyed use in the
+  cockpits, gun-rooms, and even the captains' cabins of our ships
+  and vessels of war. Like its numerous brethren of common-places,
+  it will be found, perhaps, but of small application to the real
+  business of life; though it answers capitally to wind up a
+  regular grumble at the unexpected success of some junior messmate
+  possessed of higher interest or abilities, and helps to contrast
+  the growler's own hard fate with the good luck of those about
+  him. Still, the metaphor may have its grateful use; for certainly
+  in the Navy, and I suppose elsewhere, there is a period in the
+  early stages of every man's professional life at which it is
+  necessary that he should, more or less decidedly, "take his
+  line," in order best to profit by the tide when the flood begins
+  to make. It is difficult to say exactly at what stage of a young
+  officer's career the determination to adopt any one of the
+  numerous lines before him should be taken: but there can be
+  little doubt as to the utility of that determination being made
+  early in life. In most cases, it is clearly beyond the reach of
+  artificial systems of discipline, to place, on a pair of young
+  shoulders, the reflecting head-piece of age and experience;
+  neither, perhaps, would such an incongruity be desirable. But it
+  seems quite within the compass of a conscientious and diligent
+  commanding officer's power by every means to cultivate the taste,
+  and strengthen the principles and the understanding of the
+  persons committed to his charge. His endeavour should be, to
+  train their thoughts in such a manner that, when the time for
+  independent reflection and action arrives, their judgment and
+  feelings may be ready to carry them forward in the right path; to
+  teach them the habit, for instance, of discovering that, in
+  practice, there is a positive, and generally a speedy pleasure
+  and reward attendant on almost every exercise of self-denial.
+  When that point is once firmly established in the minds of young
+  men, it becomes less difficult to persuade them to relinquish
+  whatever is merely agreeable at the moment, if it stand in the
+  way of the sterner claims of duty.</p>
+
+  <p>Although the period must vary a good deal, I should be
+  disposed to say, that, in general, a year or two after an officer
+  is promoted to the rank of lieutenant, may be about the time when
+  he ought fairly and finally to brace himself up to follow a
+  particular line, and resolve, ever afterwards, manfully to
+  persevere in it. His abilities being concentrated on some
+  definite set of objects; his friends, both on shore and afloat,
+  will be furnished with some tangible means of judging of his
+  capacity. Without such knowledge, their patronage is likely to do
+  themselves no credit, and their <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;</i> very
+  little, if any, real service.</p>
+
+  <p>Some young fellows set out in their professional life by
+  making themselves thorough-bred sailors; their hands are familiar
+  with the tar-bucket; their fingers are cut across with the marks
+  of the ropes they have been pulling and hauling; and their whole
+  soul is wrapped up in the intricate science of cutting out sails,
+  and of rigging masts and yards. Their dreams are of cringles and
+  reef-tackles, of knots, splices, grummets, and dead-eyes. They
+  can tell the length, to a fathom, of every rope in the
+  boatswain's warrant, from the flying jib down-haul to the
+  spanker-sheet; and the height of every spar, from the
+  main-top-gallant truck to the heel of the lower mast. Their
+  delight is in stowing the hold; dragging about kentlage is their
+  joy; they are the very souls of the ship's company. In harbour
+  they are eternally paddling in the boats, rowing, or sculling, or
+  sailing about; they are always the first in fishing or bathing
+  parties; in short, they are for ever at some sailor-kind of work.
+  At sea, their darling music is the loud whistle of the hardest
+  storm-stay-sail breeze, with an occasional accompaniment of a
+  split main-topsail. "The harder it blows, and the faster she
+  goes," the merrier are they; "strong gales and squally" is the
+  item they love best to chalk on the log-board; and even when the
+  oldest top-men begin to hesitate about lying out on the yard to
+  gather in the flapping remnants of the torn canvas, these gallant
+  youngsters glory in the opportunity of setting an example of what
+  a gentleman sailor can perform. So at it they go, utterly
+  reckless of consequences; and by sliding down the lift, or
+  scrambling out, monkey fashion, to the yard-arm, where they sit
+  laughing, though the spar be more than half sprung through, they
+  accomplish their purpose of shaming the others into greater
+  exertions. It is well known that one of the ablest, if not the
+  very ablest, of the distinguished men whom the penetrating
+  sagacity of Nelson discovered and brought forward, owed his first
+  introduction to the notice of that wonderful commander by an
+  exploit of this very description.</p>
+
+  <p>These are the dashing boys who cut out privateers, jump
+  overboard after men who cannot swim, and who, when the ship is on
+  fire, care not a farthing for the smoke and heat, but dive below
+  with the engine-pipe in their hands, and either do good service,
+  or perish in the flames with a jolly huzza on their lips. Such
+  may fairly be called the muscular parts of our body nautical, for
+  there is no gummy flesh about them; and when handled with skill,
+  they form the stout instruments which help essentially to win
+  such battles as the Nile and Trafalgar.</p>
+
+  <p>The young persons I have just been describing are, however, by
+  no means servile imitators of the sailors; they possess much
+  useful technical knowledge, as well as mere energy of character;
+  and often both think and act with originality; yet they are
+  docile to the last degree, and delight in nothing more than
+  fulfilling, to the very letter, the orders of their superiors.
+  They may amuse themselves, as youngsters, by affecting the gait,
+  the dress, and the lingo of the man before the mast; and are at
+  times supposed to be a little too familiar with these models, on
+  whom they pretend to shape their manners; but still they never
+  carry the joke so far as to become what is called "Jack and Tom,"
+  even with the leading men in the ship. They can sing, upon
+  occasion, snatches of forecastle ditties, or fling off a hornpipe
+  worthy of the merriest cracked fiddle that ever sounded under the
+  bow of a drunken musician amongst a company, half-seas over, at
+  the back of Point Beach. Not content with</p>
+
+  <div class="poem">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <span>"Their long-quartered shoes, check shirt, and blue
+      jacket,"<br /></span>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <p>they will even thrust a quid into their cheek, merely to gain
+  the credit, such as it is, of "chewing backy like a sailor."</p>
+
+  <p>But there must be a limit to the indulgence of these fancies;
+  and if even an elder midshipman or mate of the decks were
+  permanently to distinguish himself after this masquerade fashion,
+  he would speedily lose caste even with the crew. When a mid, for
+  example, is promoted to lieutenant, he must speedily decide
+  whether he shall follow up in earnest a course of strictly
+  seaman-like objects, of which the mere outward show had
+  previously captivated his young fancy; or he must enter into some
+  compromise with himself, and relinquish a part of his exclusive
+  regard for these pursuits, in consideration of others less
+  fascinating, to be sure, but more likely to bear on his
+  advancement; for, without some knowledge of many other things,
+  his chance must be very small in the race of professional
+  life.</p>
+
+  <p>In tolerably wide opposition of habits to these tarpaulin men
+  follow the less dashing and showy race sometimes called
+  "star-gazers," sometimes "dictionary-men," who are also
+  occasionally taunted or dignified by their messmates with the
+  title of "philosophers." The object of most of these young
+  philosophisers is to get at the reason of all things, and to be
+  able not only to work by the rules laid down for them in printed
+  books, or in the written orders of their superiors; but to
+  investigate the foundation of these rules and regulations so
+  thoroughly, that when new cases occur, they may have it in their
+  power to meet them by fresh resources of their own: according in
+  spirit, with those which experience has shown to be conducive to
+  the happiness of the crew and the efficiency of the service. Out
+  of the class of officers now alluded to, the growth of which it
+  has been the wise policy of late years to encourage, there have
+  sprung up the numberless voyagers, surveyors, and other strictly
+  nautical men, who are always to be found when the public service
+  requires a practical question to be settled, or a professional
+  office of responsibility and trust to be filled up. If the arctic
+  circle is to be investigated by sea or by land, or the deserts of
+  Africa traversed, or the world circumnavigated afresh, under the
+  guidance of the modern improvements in navigation, the government
+  at once calls upon such men as Parry, Franklin, Clapperton,
+  Beechey,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href=
+  "#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> to whom they can safely
+  entrust the task.</p>
+
+  <p>From the same class, also, a valuable race of naval statesmen
+  have been drawn. For a considerable number of years, the whole of
+  the diplomatic duties of South America, as far as concerned the
+  interests of England, were carried on by the naval
+  commanders-in-chief. Who can forget how important a share of Lord
+  Nelson's command, or, after him, of Lord Collingwood's in the
+  Mediterranean, consisted of duties of a purely civil description?
+  And it may be questioned if diplomatic history offers a more
+  masterly specimen of address and statesman-like decision, as well
+  as forethought, than was displayed by Captain Maitland, in
+  securing the person of Buonaparte, not only without committing
+  himself or his government, but without wounding the feelings of
+  the fallen emperor. The case was, and ever must remain, unique;
+  and yet the most deliberate reflection, even after the event, has
+  not suggested anything to wish changed. Fortunate, indeed, was it
+  for the reputation of this country that the delicate task fell to
+  the lot of an officer possessed of such inherent vigour of
+  character, and one so familiar with the practical exercise of his
+  own resources, that difficulties which might have staggered
+  ordinary minds vanished before his.</p>
+
+  <p>In so extensive a service as the Navy, accident might perhaps
+  occasionally produce such men as have been named above; but it is
+  very material to observe, that unless there existed, as a
+  permanent body, a large class in the Navy, who follow the
+  pursuits alluded to from taste as well as from motives of public
+  spirit, and from whose ranks selections can be made with
+  confidence at moments of need, such opportunities as those above
+  alluded to might often be allowed to pass unprofitably. It is,
+  moreover, important to recollect, that it is in these matters as
+  in everything else where there is a great demand, and
+  consequently a great supply, there will from time to time start
+  up a master spirit, such as that of my lamented friend, the late
+  Captain Henry Foster, to claim, even in the very outset of his
+  career, the cheerful homage of all the rest. So far from the
+  profession envying his early success, or being disturbed at his
+  pre-eminent renown, they felt that his well-earned honours only
+  shed lustre on themselves.</p>
+
+  <p>It is also very pleasing to observe the reciprocal feeling
+  which belongs on such occasions to all rightly constituted minds.
+  When Captain Foster, in 1828, then only lieutenant, received the
+  Copley medal, the highest scientific honour in the gift of the
+  Royal Society, it never occurred to him merely to hang it at his
+  breast in solitary dignity, or to chuckle presumptuously at his
+  own particular good fortune. So far from this, he thought only of
+  the service; and proceeding straight to the Admiralty, he showed
+  the medal, and declared modestly, but firmly, to their lordships,
+  that he considered the honour only nominally bestowed upon
+  himself, but essentially conferred upon the naval profession at
+  large. This generous and manly appeal could not fail to make its
+  due impression; and within the same hour, his commission, as
+  commander, was signed, his appointment to a ship ordered, and a
+  voyage of scientific research carved out for him. But I need not
+  add how bitter a grief it is to those who were personally
+  acquainted with this rising young officer, to think that so much
+  knowledge&mdash;such useful talents&mdash;such unmatched zeal and
+  industry&mdash;and such true love for science&mdash;all so
+  fertile in promises of future service and renown&mdash;should
+  have been lamentably quenched in a moment.</p>
+
+  <p>Besides the regular-built sailors, and the saltwater statesmen
+  and philosophers, there is yet another set which greatly
+  outnumbers both, and which, if comparisons must be made, equals,
+  if it does not far exceed them in utility. I allude to that large
+  and very important body of strictly professional persons who are
+  not remarkable for anything in particular, unless it be for a
+  hearty and uncompromising devotion to the service. Captains, it
+  is to be feared, are generally too apt to consider these
+  meritorious persons as less entitled to attention than their more
+  showy companions; just as schoolmasters are, not unnaturally,
+  disposed to devote most of their time to the cleverest boys, to
+  the comparative neglect of those who cluster round the point of
+  mediocrity. It may, however, be easily conceived that the persons
+  least attended to, afloat as well as on shore, often stand more
+  in need of notice and assistance than their gifted brethren, who
+  are better able to make their own consequence felt and
+  acknowledged; for it must not be forgotten that these honest,
+  hard-working men actually perform the greater part of all the
+  routine drudgery of the service, and perhaps execute it better
+  than men of higher talents could do in their place.</p>
+
+  <p>The class amongst us who devote themselves to sober literary
+  pursuits is necessarily very small; but that of the happy youths,
+  who dream the gods have made them poetical, has many members, who
+  "rave, recite, and madden round the ship," to their own
+  (exclusive) satisfaction. Others there are who deal desperately
+  in the fine arts of painting and music,&mdash;that is, who draw
+  out of perspective, and play out of tune: not that the ability to
+  sketch the scenes and phenomena continually passing before them
+  is objectionable; I allude here to the pretenders to art. Their
+  poor messmates can have little respect for these pretending
+  Rembrandts and Paganinis; and the happiness of the mess would be
+  considerably improved if authority were given to pitch every such
+  sketch-book and every flute out at the stern-port.</p>
+
+  <p>Finally come the raking, good-looking, shore-going,
+  company-hunting, gallivanting, riff-raff set of reckless youths,
+  who, having got rid of the entanglement of parents and guardians,
+  and having no great restraint of principle or anything else to
+  check them, seem to hold that his Majesty's service is merely a
+  convenience for their especial use, and his Majesty's ships a
+  sort of packet-boats to carry their elegant persons from port to
+  port, in search of fresh conquests, and, as they suppose, fresh
+  laurels to their country.</p>
+
+  <p>Few men do anything well which they do not like; for the same
+  reason, if an officer be capable of performing services really
+  valuable, his success must arise from turning his chief attention
+  to those branches of the profession which he feels are the most
+  congenial to his peculiar tastes, and which experience has shown
+  lie within the range of his capacity. Some officers deliberately
+  act upon this, while the greater number, as may be supposed,
+  adopt their line unconsciously. Still, it is the bounden duty of
+  every well-wisher to the service to use the influence he
+  possesses to lead the young persons about him to follow the true
+  bent of their genius, and to select as a principal object of
+  study the particular branch of the profession in which they are
+  most likely to benefit themselves permanently.</p>
+
+  <p>I well remember, in my own case, the day, and almost the very
+  hour, when these convictions flashed upon my mind. I then saw,
+  for the first time, that unless I speedily roused myself, and
+  "took my line" vigorously, the proper occasion might swiftly pass
+  away. I was quite astonished how, up to that moment, I had seen
+  so little of what now appeared so very palpable; every other
+  consideration was instantly dismissed, and all minor vanities
+  being shaken off like dew-drops to the air, I set resolutely
+  about the attainment of my promotion, the grand object of every
+  officer's ambition. But before describing how this important
+  affair was put in train, I shall attempt a sketch of the kind of
+  life I was leading about this period. In looking back to those
+  days, and glancing the mind's eye along the intermediate years, I
+  sometimes ask myself whether or not I should act very differently
+  if permitted to make the voyage over again, under the guidance of
+  experience bought by the practice of life. The retrospect, of
+  course, offers some unavailing regrets; but still I can hardly
+  believe that the result would, on the whole, have proved
+  materially happier for myself.</p>
+
+  <p>Such being the case, I trust there is no unpardonable egotism
+  in mentioning, in a work intended for young people, that one of
+  my chief motives for bringing these Fragments of my life and
+  adventures before them, is the hope of imparting to others,
+  similarly circumstanced, a portion of that spirit of
+  cheerfulness, and that resolute determination to make the most of
+  things, which, after thirty years of activity and enjoyment in
+  foreign climes, have landed me in perfect contentment at
+  home.</p>
+
+  <div class="footnotes">
+    <h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> All gone
+      since our author wrote. Now it looks for Osbornes, Maclures,
+      and other names as trustworthy.</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">A SAILOR ON
+  SHORE.</p>
+
+  <p>It is a far easier thing to get into a house in Ireland than
+  to get out of it again; for there is an attractive and retentive
+  witchery about the hospitality of the natives of that country,
+  which has no match, as far as I have seen, in the wide world. In
+  other places the people are hospitable or kind to a stranger; but
+  in Ireland the affair is reduced to a sort of science, and a web
+  of attentions is flung round the visitor before he well knows
+  where he is: so that if he be not a very cold-blooded or a very
+  temperate man, it will cost him sundry headaches&mdash;and mayhap
+  some touches of the heartache&mdash;before he wins his way back
+  again to his wonted tranquillity.</p>
+
+  <p>I had not a single acquaintance in Ireland when first I
+  visited that most interesting of countries: before leaving it,
+  however, after about a year and a-half's cruising off and on
+  their coasts, I was on pretty intimate terms with one family at
+  least for every dozen miles, from Downpatrick on the east, to the
+  Bloody Foreland on the west, a range of more than a hundred and
+  twenty miles.</p>
+
+  <p>The way in which this was brought about is sufficiently
+  characteristic of the country. I had inherited a taste for
+  geology; and as the north of Ireland affords a fine field for the
+  exercise of the hammer, I soon made myself acquainted with the
+  Giant's Causeway, and the other wonders of that singular
+  district. While engaged in these pursuits, I fell in with an
+  eminent medical practitioner resident in that part of the
+  country, a gentleman well known to the scientific world: he was
+  still better known on the spot as the most benevolent and kindest
+  of men. In no part of the globe have I made a more agreeable or
+  useful acquaintance. During a residence of a week under the roof
+  of this delightful person, he frequently urged me to make
+  acquaintance with some friends of his, living also in the north
+  of Ireland, but at the opposite angle. He was, in particular,
+  desirous that I should see a family with whom he described
+  himself as being very intimate, and who were then on a visit far
+  in the west.</p>
+
+  <p>Influenced by the extreme earnestness of my worthy friend,
+  who, indeed, would hardly let me stir from his house until I had
+  promised to deliver, with my own hands, a letter of introduction
+  to a lady alluded to, who, he assured me, would introduce me to
+  the family with whom she was then living as a guest. I thought it
+  rather an odd arrangement that a mere guest should introduce a
+  stranger to another person's house: but I had already seen enough
+  of the hearty hospitality of Ireland not to wonder at anything
+  having a kind purpose in view. I therefore promised that, if at
+  any time I could obtain leave of absence for a few days, the
+  introductory letter should be delivered.</p>
+
+  <p>I did not discover, until long afterwards, the secret motive
+  of my friend's anxiety that I should pay the visit in question,
+  though, at the time alluded to, I was quite coxcomb enough to
+  suppose that it all arose from personal consideration. It
+  mattered little to me, however, to what the kindness was due;
+  and, my leave having expired, I set off to the Endymion, of which
+  I was then second lieutenant, with a firm resolution to avail
+  myself of the first opportunity of visiting the persons to whom
+  my excellent friend the doctor had given me an introduction. I
+  had been so frequently absent before, that I expected to be fixed
+  on board for a long time to come, and was therefore agreeably
+  disappointed to discover that my brother-officers had formed so
+  many pleasant acquaintances at Burncrana, a town on the banks of
+  the magnificent Lough Swilly, that they were quite willing to
+  remain on the spot, and to take upon their shoulders the extra
+  duty which my renewed absence imposed upon them. I had only,
+  therefore, to obtain the captain's permission for a fresh run.
+  This was easily gained, for he was the most indulgent of mortals;
+  and his only caution was, "Now, mind, don't you be falling in
+  love with any of these Irish girls. It will be quite time enough
+  for that when you are a post captain."</p>
+
+  <p>I promised to attend to his advice, and set out in the highest
+  glee, wishing for no better sport than to try the firmness of my
+  resolutions on this head, though, it must be confessed, I was
+  fully more inclined to follow the precept enjoined upon me by
+  another friend, who, by way of improving the captain's
+  instruction, said,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Do take care what you are about when you mix with those fair
+  and fascinating witches, and never hold yourself as heart-safe,
+  unless you are in love with at least two of them at once!"</p>
+
+  <p>Off I went; but it matters not whether the course steered was
+  to the east or to the west after leaving Londonderry: a letter of
+  introduction in my pocket naturally determined my route; and,
+  having hired a good stout horse, I strapped my valise behind, and
+  set out on a fine summer's evening in quest of adventures. Yet I
+  was in no respect prepared to find myself so soon in what
+  appeared very like a field of battle. I had not proceeded twenty
+  miles before I came to a village surrounded by troops, and
+  guarded at the ends of its few streets by loaded cannon, with
+  lighted matches smoking by their sides. A considerable encampment
+  was formed on a slightly rising eminence near the village; and on
+  the neighbouring ground, still farther off, might be seen large
+  irregular groups of people, who, I learned, upon inquiry, were
+  chiefly Orangemen, preparing for a grand ceremonial procession on
+  this the 12th of July, the well-known anniversary of the battle
+  of the Boyne. In order to resist this proceeding on the part of
+  the Protestants, an immense multitude on the Roman Catholic side
+  of the question were likewise assembled, and all the roads
+  converging towards that quarter were lined with parties of men
+  carrying sticks in their hands, flocking to the expected scene of
+  action. The military had been called in to keep the peace, but
+  the angry passions of the respective factions were so much
+  roused, that even the precautions above described seemed hardly
+  sufficient to prevent the threatened conflict.</p>
+
+  <p>As a matter of curiosity, I could have no great objection to
+  seeing another such battle as the one I had witnessed near
+  Corunna between those long-established fighting-cocks, the French
+  and English; but to look on while honest Pat and Tim were
+  breaking one another's heads upon abstract political grounds, and
+  English soldiery interposing with grapeshot and fixed bayonets to
+  make them friends again, was what I had no mind for. I tried,
+  therefore, to extricate myself forthwith from this unhappy
+  struggle; but my horse being tired, I was forced to sleep in a
+  village which, for aught I knew, might be sacked and burned
+  before morning; nothing occurred, however: nevertheless, I felt
+  far from easy till out of reach of the furious factions; the
+  strangest thing of all being that some quiet folks, a few miles
+  distant, with whom I took breakfast, seemed scarcely to mind it,
+  although the country round them was all on fire. From thence the
+  course lay across a wild range of mountains, one of them having
+  on its top a sheet of fresh water called Loch Salt. Nothing can
+  be conceived more desolate or dreary than this part of the
+  country; and as there were few inhabitants upon it at any time,
+  and none at all at this moment, I had no small difficulty in
+  making good my way. On coming nearer to the noble bay or lough,
+  on the banks of which the country-seat of my unknown friends was
+  to be found, the aspect of things changed as if by magic. A
+  slight inequality in the ground concealed this "jewel in the
+  desert," as it was often called, till the whole of its rare
+  beauties could be seen to the greatest advantage. Even without
+  the contrast of wild moors, the singular beauties of the spot
+  claimed the highest admiration; but after such a preparative they
+  appeared doubly grateful to the senses, and I put spurs to my
+  horse, anxious to come nearer to such a delicious scene.</p>
+
+  <p>The mansion of my future friend, of which only partial
+  glimpses could be caught now and then, was well guarded on every
+  side by fine old trees, rising from the surface of
+  carefully-dressed grounds, richly stocked flower-gardens, long
+  and wide avenues, and graceful terraces, some of which reached to
+  the very water's edge, along a delicate beach on which the ripple
+  scarcely broke. This charming domain occupied a narrow spit of
+  land, or promontory, jutting forwards into a landlocked bay, or
+  arm of the sea, in which the water appeared to lie always asleep,
+  and as smooth as if, instead of being a mere branch uniting with
+  the stormy Atlantic, it had been some artificial lake. Nothing,
+  indeed, which the most fertile imagination could suggest seemed
+  to be wanting.</p>
+
+  <p>There was one extremely well-conceived device at this
+  delightful spot, which I never remember to have seen anywhere
+  else, though, there must often occur in other places similar
+  situations in which it might be imitated. Not far from the house,
+  but quite hid under a thickly-wooded cliff, overhanging a quiet
+  bight or cove, about ten or fifteen yards across, lay a perfectly
+  secluded pool, with a bottom of snow-white sand. It was deep in
+  the middle, but shelved gradually to its margin, which rested on
+  a narrow strip, or beach, of small round polished pebbles. This
+  fringe, encircling the cove, was surmounted by a dry grassy bank,
+  or natural terrace, reaching to the foot of the rock, the face of
+  which was not merely perpendicular, but projecting so much that
+  the top more than plumbed the edge of the basin. Along the
+  sky-line there was drawn a fence or veil of briars, honeysuckles,
+  and other impervious bushes, interspersed with myrtles, wild
+  roses, and foxgloves, so thickly woven together, that all
+  external view of this <i>beau ideal</i> of a bath was rendered
+  impossible. The only access was by a narrow, steep, and winding
+  path; and at the upper end was placed a high, locked gate, the
+  key of which was in the exclusive charge of the ladies.</p>
+
+  <p>As I rode on, ignorant as yet of these and many other rich and
+  rare beauties of this singular spot, and only admiring the
+  general aspect of things, I began, for the first time, to reflect
+  on the extreme awkwardness of my situation.</p>
+
+  <p>Here was I merely the bearer of an introductory letter to a
+  lady, herself a guest in the house; and although it might have
+  been allowable enough to have called to deliver such an
+  introduction, had business or accident brought me to the
+  neighbourhood, now it seemed rather a strong measure to travel
+  fifty or sixty miles across a wild and disturbed country merely
+  to pay a morning call. The inference that my intention was to
+  make a visit of some duration, became inevitable; and I pictured
+  to myself the string of explanations I had to give, which might,
+  after all, not be followed by any invitation to remain. After
+  long cogitations, I resolved to steal up to the house, if
+  possible, unperceived; have my horse turned over to the groom,
+  and my portmanteau stowed out of sight, and then to walk boldly
+  up to the door, with a visiting-card in one hand, and my
+  credentials in the other, to be delivered to the servant for the
+  lady to whom the letter was addressed. I next proposed to stroll
+  about the woods, to give time for any good things said of the
+  bearer to work their way, hoping, by this rather clumsy
+  manoeuvre, that by the time I returned to the house its inmates
+  might be prepared to receive the stranger; and then, if their
+  invitation to remain should happen not to be very pressing, I
+  might pretend to be collecting specimens for my geological
+  friends, and so make my escape; though, to own the truth, nothing
+  was farther from my thoughts than geology.</p>
+
+  <p>In spite of these ingenious plans, I felt myself rather
+  absurdly situated, and half wished I had not engaged at all in
+  such an unpromising adventure. It seemed, however, too late to
+  retreat, and therefore I jogged on, as earnestly hoping not to be
+  detected as ever did any troops in advancing to the attack of a
+  besieged fort.</p>
+
+  <p>What, then, was my speechless horror, on riding up the
+  approach, to discover a cavalcade of not fewer than a dozen
+  ladies and gentlemen bearing right down upon me from the house.
+  Had it been a troop of French cuirassiers charging across the
+  ground, and threatening annihilation to the unfortunate hack and
+  his rider, I could not have been much more astounded. The master
+  of the house was probably of the number; he would stop to inquire
+  the business of the suspicious-looking stranger invading his
+  territories. The person for whom I brought a letter, being an
+  elderly lady, was not likely to be on horseback amidst a party of
+  young folks. There would be a general halt ordered; while the
+  poor new-comer, with his draggled horse and swollen valise
+  indicative of anything but a hasty departure, would become the
+  subject of a pleasant criticism to the quizzical dandies and
+  young ladies of the party. Even when this scrutiny was over, what
+  were they to do with their unexpected, self-elected companion?
+  His horse was now too tired, and much too ugly at any time to
+  accompany such gay palfreys as were prancing over the lawn; yet
+  they could not, in common civility, leave a stranger adrift; nor
+  could they accompany him back to the house, without breaking up
+  their expedition for the day.</p>
+
+  <p>All this flashed through my mind in a moment, and left me in a
+  dire dilemma. I pulled up my jaded nag, however, with such a
+  jerk, that I well-nigh threw him on his haunches. Fortunately, a
+  little unevenness in the ground hid me from the view of the
+  advancing cavalry; and at the same critical instant I discovered
+  an opening in the fence on one side. Without considering or
+  caring whither it might lead, I turned my charger round, urged
+  him forwards with whip and spur, and dashed into the gap as if I
+  had been flying from the arm of justice, instead of making my
+  escape from as companionable a set of people as ever breathed.
+  Had any of the party detected the bashful fugitive, and given
+  chase, he must have been caught; for the path into which I had
+  fled terminated in a road leading to some farm offices, but with
+  no opening beyond.</p>
+
+  <p>The awkwardness of my situation, which was already
+  considerable, became greatly augmented by this ridiculous
+  proceeding; and I heard the riders pass within twenty yards of my
+  hiding-place, with the most unspeakable alarm lest any one of
+  them should catch a glimpse of me nestling behind a cart of hay.
+  I breathed freer when the last servant's horse crossed the ridge;
+  and then, creeping from my hole, soon gained the stables
+  adjoining the house, gave up my horse, secured the well-stuffed
+  valise out of sight, and repaired, according to the original
+  precious scheme, to the front door with my letter. I stood for
+  five minutes with the knob of the bell in my hand, irresolute
+  whether to go on with the adventure, or fairly to cut and run
+  from it. At length, when the fatal pull was given, I listened to
+  the sound, and felt myself what statesmen call "fully committed."
+  There was now nothing left but to screw up my courage, as I best
+  might, to meet the dangers and difficulties of the crisis.</p>
+
+  <p>There happened to be no one at home except the old lady, to
+  whom my introduction was addressed, so that the plan succeeded
+  very well; I forget now the details of the introduction, but I
+  can never cease to remember the unbounded cordiality of the
+  reception, not only from this excellent person, but from the
+  master and mistress of the house, and all their assembled
+  friends, showing how totally I had miscalculated the nature and
+  extent of Irish hospitality. There were several elderly persons,
+  then in the autumn of life, and several were very young folks,
+  scarcely able to walk, who now count many "daughters and sons of
+  beauty." There was a pretty equal admixture of Irish and English,
+  amongst them several persons of rank; also one or two foreigners;
+  besides much native wit, worth, and beauty, of the highest order,
+  and all most delightfully set off by the graces and nameless
+  enchantments of refined manners, and tasteful as well as useful
+  accomplishments. I have rarely, if ever, seen in any part of the
+  world so fascinating an assemblage of all that would render a
+  country party agreeable as was here collected in one of the most
+  out-of-the-way corners of Ireland. My worthy captain's advice was
+  now thrown to the winds; and indeed any heart, aged twenty-two,
+  must have been made of cast-iron to have resisted the rides and
+  walks, the picnic dinners, the dances, and the music parties, and
+  suppers, besides the infinitely varied round of other amusements,
+  grave and gay, which contributed to render, and will for ever
+  preserve, this nook of Ireland the true terrestrial paradise of
+  my early days.</p>
+
+  <p>How the deuce I ever contrived to get out of the magic circle,
+  I hardly know; but if I could only feel myself at liberty,
+  without a breach of confidence, to give a few details of those
+  hours, I would stake great odds on the side of the effect which
+  the description of such a reality might produce, against the
+  interest of the imaginary scenes in almost any romance.</p>
+
+  <p>I have already mentioned that the gentleman whose introduction
+  I carried was most urgent for me to deliver the letter in person;
+  but he gave no reasons for this anxiety; nor indeed was I then
+  aware, that, besides his being an intimate friend, he was their
+  family physician. While acting in this capacity, he had seen with
+  regret how ineffectual his art had proved to alleviate the
+  mother's sorrow caused by the recent loss of her favourite son.
+  The young man had been in the Navy, and would have been about my
+  own age and standing in the service. These accidental
+  coincidences suggested to her judicious and kind-hearted friend,
+  that as I, in some degree, resembled him in appearance and in
+  manners, the poor mother's thoughts and feelings might possibly
+  be diverted into a new channel, by the society of a person in so
+  many respects similarly circumstanced to the child she had
+  lost.</p>
+
+  <p>It so happened, fortunately for me, that the experiment
+  completely succeeded&mdash;I hope and believe, to the mother's
+  consolation. To me, of course, the reception I met with was
+  matter of delight and astonishment; so much so, indeed, that I
+  occasionally felt somewhat startled, and almost oppressed, with
+  the sense of obligation imposed by such unusual and unmerited
+  attentions.</p>
+
+  <p>The first explanation of the mystery is really so touching in
+  itself, that I give it without reserve as I received it in a
+  letter from this most excellent old lady, about six months after
+  my first acquaintance with her, and just before I quitted England
+  for the East Indies:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Once more adieu!" She concludes, "I must hope you will write
+  to me often; let me constantly know how you proceed, and how I
+  can address you; and recollect, you have received the freedom of
+  this house. I believe I told you I had lost a son, a lieutenant
+  in the Navy, and of superior talents. I therefore consider that
+  Heaven has given you to my care in his place&mdash;and may the
+  Almighty protect you!"</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">TRICKS UPON
+  TRAVELLERS.</p>
+
+  <p>A curious and vastly pleasing fashion prevails in that part of
+  Ireland where I was so nearly bewitched as almost to forget my
+  ship, my duties, and everything else, but beauty! When a party,
+  such as I have been describing, had passed a certain time
+  together, they seldom broke up entirely, but generally shifted,
+  or emigrated in a body (flitted, I think they used to call it) to
+  the house of some one of their number. Now and then various
+  members of the group dropped off by the way, but their places
+  were presently filled up by others, who soon found their way to
+  the new hive when the well-known sounds of festivity were heard
+  in the neighbourhood.</p>
+
+  <p>In this manner the party, into which I had been so kindly
+  admitted, made several moves, with sundry losses and accessions
+  to its numbers; and as every day rendered this life more and more
+  grateful, I could scarcely bear to think of returning to the tame
+  occupations and rugged society of the frigate, the duties of
+  which had so recently been my greatest and most sincere delight.
+  Meanwhile, since my good-natured captain, and still
+  better-natured messmates, made no difficulties about this
+  protracted absenteeism, I continued to involve myself deeper and
+  deeper at every step. I failed not to perceive at times that I
+  was getting into rather a dangerous scrape for a younger son and
+  a young officer, who had yet to work his own way in the world.
+  But as these reflections interfered rather impertinently with the
+  enjoyments of the hour, they were crushed down, and kept out of
+  sight as much as possible at that gay period.</p>
+
+  <p>What surprised me most, all this time, was the air of
+  refinement and high polish in the Irish society amongst which I
+  was thus casually thrown. I had previously entertained an idea
+  that their hospitality, proverbial in all parts of the world, was
+  of a rude and rather troublesome description. I found it, on the
+  contrary, marked not only by the strongest lines of sincerity and
+  kindness, but by many of those delicate touches of consideration
+  for the feelings of others which form the most indubitable
+  symptoms of genuine good-breeding.</p>
+
+  <p>Instead of discovering that the stories were true about the
+  sort of compulsion used in matters of drinking, I can safely say
+  that, during the course of experience in joviality I went through
+  in the north of Ireland, I seldom met with anything at a
+  gentleman's table approaching even to exigence on this score. I
+  do not deny that our friends the Irish have a wonderfully winning
+  way of insinuating their good cheer upon us, and sometimes of
+  inducing us to swallow more claret than is perhaps good for
+  us.</p>
+
+  <p>I landed once at Burncrana, a pretty quiet little village,
+  with a watering-place look, on the eastern banks of that great
+  and beautiful bay Lough Swilly. One side of this fine harbour is
+  formed by the bold promontory of Inishowen, celebrated in every
+  land for its noble whiskey, second only (which, as a Scotchman, I
+  am bound to assert) to Ferntosh or Glenlivet. I was accompanied
+  by an English gentleman, on the first day of his landing in
+  Ireland. As he then seriously imagined the inhabitants to belong
+  to a sort of wild and uncouth race, I could see he was rather
+  surprised at the gentleman-like deportment of an acquaintance of
+  mine resident on the spot, for whom he had brought a letter. We
+  had walked together to his house, or rather cottage, for he was
+  not a fixed resident, but came there for summer quarters. The
+  neatness, and even elegance, of the domestic arrangements of his
+  temporary establishment, both without and within the dwelling,
+  gave token of a taste many degrees removed from the state of
+  people far back in civilization. Presently the ladies came; and
+  their national frankness, modified by the most entire and
+  unaffected simplicity, puzzled my friend completely. In due
+  season the dressing-bell sent us off to prepare for dinner; and
+  while we were getting ready, my companion said, "I see what this
+  fellow is at: he means to sew you and me up. You may do as you
+  please; but I'll be shot if he plays off his Irish pranks on me.
+  I will eat his dinner, take a couple of glasses of his wine, make
+  my bow to the ladies, go on board by eight or nine o'clock, and,
+  having given them a dinner in return, shall have done my duty in
+  the way of attention; after which I shall totally cut the
+  connection. I have no idea of their abominable fashion of forcing
+  strangers to drink."</p>
+
+  <p>"We shall see," said I; and having knocked the dust off our
+  shoes, down we went to dinner.</p>
+
+  <p>Everything was plain, and suitable to the pretensions of a
+  cottage. There was no pressing to eat or drink during dinner; and
+  in process of time the cloth was removed, the Ladies sipped a
+  little sweet wine, and disappeared.</p>
+
+  <p>"Now for it," whispered my friend; "he has sent the women out
+  of the way, that he may ply us the better."</p>
+
+  <p>And I must own things looked rather suspicious; for our host,
+  instead of sitting down again at the dinner-table, walked to a
+  bow-window overlooking the anchorage, and exactly facing the
+  setting sun, at that hour illuminating the whole landscape in the
+  gorgeous style peculiar to combined mountain and lake scenery.
+  "Why should we not enjoy this pleasant prospect while we are
+  discussing our wine?" said the master of the house. At that
+  instant the door opened, and in walked the servant, as if he knew
+  by intuition what was passing in his master's head.</p>
+
+  <p>"Tim," said our host, "put the card-table here in the
+  bow-window, and give us some other glasses; also, if you have
+  such a thing, bring up a bottle of claret."</p>
+
+  <p>Tim nodded, smiled, and made the fitting adjustments. The
+  table was barely large enough to hold a noble long-corked bottle,
+  for the fashion of claret decanters had not as yet reached that
+  remote district of the empire. Round the margin was placed the
+  necessary accompaniment of capacious glasses&mdash;famous tall
+  fellows, with such slender stalks that they seemed scarcely equal
+  to the weight of their generous load.</p>
+
+  <p>My friend and I exchanged glances, and I could see his
+  shoulders slightly raised, as if he was saying internally, "Now
+  we are in for it! but I will not drink a drop more than I
+  choose." The claret, which in itself was most delicious, was
+  cooled in perfect style. The party consisted, I think, of four or
+  five persons, and this one bottle, I remember, just passed round
+  the group twice. As the flavour of the beverage appeared to have
+  become more exquisite at the second turn than at the first,
+  though but a short interval had been allowed to elapse, it seemed
+  odd that another bottle was not instantly called for. Instead of
+  this our landlord went on expatiating on the beauties of the
+  Lough, and the fineness of the season in general, and the sunset
+  in particular, for full five minutes after the wine had
+  disappeared; when he suddenly said, with a half-hesitating tone,
+  towards my English friend, who sat at his elbow&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"I beg your pardon! perhaps you would take some more
+  wine?"</p>
+
+  <p>As no one made any objection, the bell was rung, and Tim
+  re-appeared, bearing with him another bottle. This likewise
+  vanished in a trice, and Tim was again summoned. "Bring some more
+  claret," said the master to the man, or rather boy, as he was
+  called, though twice as old as any of the party.</p>
+
+  <p>At this instant I caught my companion's eye; and I could see
+  he was becoming alive to the plot against him, so much so,
+  indeed, that he seemed to be preparing to rise. The following
+  conversation, however, attracted his attention, and fixed him to
+  his seat. "Well, Tim, what are you gaping at? Why don't you run
+  for the clar't?"</p>
+
+  <p>"I didn't know," replied the other, "whether you'd like to use
+  the whole of it."</p>
+
+  <p>"Use the whole of it!" exclaimed his master&mdash;"what does
+  the boy mean? Why, Tim, what are you at?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Oh, sir," quoth the well-instructed rogue, "as the wine you
+  brought was but little, I thought you might not wish to use it
+  all entirely to-day." And then he whispered something in his
+  master's ear, the words of which we could not distinguish. The
+  reply, however, showed, or seemed to show, what had been said.
+  "Nonsense, Tim, nonsense! you're an ass, man; bring it up."</p>
+
+  <p>Tim accordingly disappeared, but soon returned with a basket
+  apparently full of straw; at the bottom of which, however, after
+  some considerable show of hunting, a couple of bottles were said
+  to be found. "Confound you, Tim, is this all?" said the host.</p>
+
+  <p>"It is, sir," lied Tim; "and in faith, sir," added he, still
+  lying, "it's one more bottle than I thought; for there was but a
+  dozen when we started from Derry a week ago; and you know, sir,
+  you and the collector on last Tuesday"</p>
+
+  <p>But the catalogue of circumstances which were intended to act
+  as buttresses to Master Tim's inventions was cut short by a
+  peremptory order to leave the room. This he did so soon as he had
+  made a circumbendibus to escape notice, and deposited the basket
+  behind his master's chair, muttering, as he put it down with a
+  thump, "There's a couple of bottles of as good wine as ever was
+  uncorked."</p>
+
+  <p>The fresh broach was indeed so delicious that we could hardly
+  believe it was of the same vintage as that of the previous bin,
+  though our host assured us it was "the identical." Tim's basket
+  well merited a higher eulogium than he had given it; but while
+  his reputation as a judge of wine rose, his character for
+  veracity fell in about the same proportion, since we beheld, in
+  due season, not merely two, but three, and at last a fourth
+  long-necked gentleman from Bordeaux emerge from under the
+  straw!</p>
+
+  <p>The trick played upon us by these confederates was now
+  apparent enough; but the wine, fortunately, was of that light and
+  pure kind which does not produce much effect on strong heads, and
+  that of my companion was proof against far greater trials than
+  this. He was indeed perfectly aware of what was passing; and
+  though dearly loving the wine, which was superior to any he had
+  ever before tasted, yet he had no notion of being made tipsy by
+  means of a common-place concert between host and butler. He
+  therefore rose to leave the room, expecting, of course, to be
+  forcibly detained, or, at all events, being begged and entreated
+  to sit down again. Not a whit! The wily native merely observed to
+  him that "if he had a mind to admire the prospect, there was
+  still daylight enough to command a view down the bay from the
+  little knoll on the right." The Englishman was sorely puzzled by
+  all this. There was none of the detention he expected would be
+  practised upon him, and yet he had a strong consciousness that he
+  was undergoing the operation well known afloat and ashore by the
+  title of "the game of humbug." At the same time, he felt the most
+  eager desire to take another good pull at the claret.</p>
+
+  <p>There was no wine before us at this critical juncture of the
+  evening, and our landlord, who, most unaccountably, seemed
+  indifferent to this material circumstance, went on prosing for a
+  quarter-of-an-hour about Protestant ascendancy, the eternal siege
+  of Derry, the battle of the Boyne, and such like stale topics. At
+  length one of the company became somewhat impatient, and,
+  watching for a pause, asked his host if it were the custom in
+  Ireland to discuss Orange politics with empty glasses?</p>
+
+  <p>"God bless me," cried the other, with well-feigned surprise,
+  "is there no wine on the table?" and ringing the bell furiously,
+  scolded poor Tim so naturally that the confederate was almost
+  thrown out. "Well! you numskull, why don't you make off with you,
+  and bring something for the gentlemen to drink?" Tim stood fast
+  till interrogated a second time, and then replied with perfect
+  gravity that "there wasn't another drop of wine in the house."
+  Upon this the master got up in a rage, and brushing past the
+  servant, declared his intention of searching the cellar himself.
+  He was absent some time, and we had just prevailed on our
+  hesitating companion to sit down again, when, as if there had
+  been some electrical communication between his chair and the
+  handle of the door, it opened, and in walked our generous
+  entertainer, exulting in his success, crowing like chanticleer,
+  and bearing in each hand a couple of bottles, clicking against
+  each other; while Tim, with a degree of impudence equalled only
+  by that of his master, substituted clean glasses, of a still more
+  capacious swallow than the first. To these were added two pair of
+  candles which towered high above the jolly crew, and promised to
+  last till another dawn should look in upon our revels. By this
+  time the twilight had almost entirely ebbed away, and was
+  succeeded by that cheerful, aurora-kind of brilliancy in the sky,
+  which points out the place of the sun during the whole of his
+  summer night's journey in those high latitudes. Politics dropped,
+  for the joyous juice of the grape soon melted us all into one
+  mind; and a hundred topics of more pleasing interest were
+  started, in which the strangers could join without fear of any
+  angry discussion. The mirth and animation of the company rose
+  very pleasantly as each fresh bottle found its way by some
+  magical process to the table. But it became rather difficult to
+  tell who were the listeners amongst us, or to say who was guest
+  and who landlord, for the party seemed like a circle of brothers,
+  all equally at home.</p>
+
+  <p>This went on for an indefinite length of time, but I should be
+  the veriest conjuror on earth to say how long. Through the hazy
+  atmosphere of my recollection of that jolly evening, I remember
+  that about eleven o'clock, more or less, our host was enchanted
+  almost beyond the power of words by seeing his wine so much
+  relished, and tickled also with the success of his joke, in
+  making his suspicious guest drink just as much wine as he thought
+  fit to impose. On this occasion, however, he inverted the
+  proverb, and reckoned without his guest; for, by one imprudent
+  remark, he had well-nigh torn the laurels from his brow.</p>
+
+  <p>"Well, sir!" he exclaimed, "although this is the first day you
+  ever set foot on the island, you have seen enough, I hope, to
+  satisfy you that we are not quite such savages as you supposed;
+  liberty hall, you see, is the true title of every Irish
+  gentleman's dining-room: there's no compulsion here, you must see
+  very clearly." It was little that my English friend could now see
+  very clearly of anything; but the above premature announcement of
+  victory brought back all the stranger's suspicions. Fired with
+  this idea, he started on his feet, and eyeing the door for a long
+  time before he ventured on the voyage, with a bold determination,
+  and taking a good departure from his chair, he gained his port.
+  He had undoubtedly expected to be lugged back again; for he
+  whisked the tails of his coat out of reach, while, with his other
+  hand on the lock of the door, and swaying himself about from side
+  to side, like a ship in a calm, he stood the very image of
+  tottering equilibrium, as the mathematicians call it. Our adroit
+  landlord, who was not a man to shrink from difficulties, mustered
+  to his aid all the resources of a long well-practised
+  hospitality, and gallantly met this great occasion. His devices
+  were, probably, exhausted; so he took another line, and called
+  out, "Oh, you're off, are you? Very well&mdash;you'll find the
+  ladies in the drawing-room. I think I hear the tinkle of the
+  piano: I prefer the tinkle of the glass. Pray tell the damsels we
+  are coming by-and-bye: mind you say 'by-and-bye.' I don't like to
+  be too particular, for fear of seeming rude: don't you see?"</p>
+
+  <p>This speech was wound up by a telegraphic flourish of the hand
+  towards Tim, who stood near, with a bottle between his feet, the
+  screw buried in the cork, and his body bent to the effort, which
+  he only delayed to exercise till ordered by his master to pull.
+  "Out with him, man! out with the cork!" cried the host. The loud
+  report which succeeded rang over the apartment like the sweetest
+  music to the souls of the ever thirsty company. Tim's thunder was
+  echoed back by a truly bacchanalian shout, such as nothing on
+  earth can give proper emphasis to, except a double allowance of
+  claret. The Englishman, fairly subdued by the sound, glided again
+  to the table; then seizing his brimming glass in one hand, and
+  grasping the fist of his merry host in the other, he roared
+  out,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"You really are an uncommon good fellow; and hang me if ever I
+  distrust an Irishman again as long as I live!"</p>
+
+  <p>But within three minutes afterwards this promise was broken;
+  for as soon as we had discussed the bottle which the incomparable
+  Tim had so opportunely introduced, the master of the house,
+  seeing us at length quite at his mercy, and eager to go on, rose,
+  and said, to our great amaze,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Come! we've had wine enough; let's join the ladies in the
+  next room."</p>
+
+  <p>The disappointed company stared at one another, and loudly
+  proclaimed that it was not fair to limit them in this way. The
+  Englishman, in particular, wished to remain; but our host was
+  inexorable. Meanwhile, Timothy grinned from ear to ear; familiar
+  with his master's tricks upon travellers; and the landlord
+  deliberately opening the door, marched off the field of battle
+  with flying colours.</p>
+
+  <p>As we moved along to the drawing-room, my companion whispered
+  to me,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"I must own I have been rightly served for my suspicions. I
+  made quite certain of being bullied into drinking more than was
+  agreeable to me; but it turns out," added he, laughing, "quite
+  the reverse; for I cannot get a drop of wine, now that I want
+  it."</p>
+
+  <p>"Well! well!" cried our hospitable friend, who overheard the
+  conclusion of this remark, "you shall do as you please ever after
+  this evening."</p>
+
+  <p>He then showed us to a couple of snug rooms, which he said
+  were ours, as long as we chose to occupy them.</p>
+
+  <p>For myself, I went off to the Giant's Causeway in the course
+  of next day; and on returning, at the end of a week, found that
+  my friend, instead of cutting the connection, according to
+  promise, had not been once out of sight of the house, and had
+  never been asked to drink a bottle, or even a glass, more than he
+  liked. He declared, indeed, that he had rarely met, in any
+  country, with persons so truly hospitable, or more
+  gentleman-like, in the truest sense of these words.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">THE ADMIRALTY
+  LIST.</p>
+
+  <p>In the midst of these gay doings, which were all very well for
+  a time, but rather profitless on the whole, an extremely
+  favourable opening for promotion suddenly occurred. The late Sir
+  Samuel Hood, on being appointed commander-in-chief of the East
+  India station, was applied to by my friends, and agreed to take
+  me with him as one of his lieutenants. His list of
+  <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;s</i>, he said, was a long one, and I
+  must come in last; after his old followers were provided for, but
+  there could not be a moment's doubt on the occasion. In his
+  letters, the Admiral dwelt very strongly on the importance of
+  having the name of his young friend, as he was good enough to
+  call me, placed likewise on the Admiralty List.</p>
+
+  <p>The purpose of this advice is easily explained. The Admiral on
+  a foreign station is allowed actually to appoint, or promote, to
+  certain vacancies only, any officer whom he pleases, while on the
+  occurrence of all other vacancies, except those which are thus
+  specifically placed at his disposal, he is furnished with what is
+  called an Admiralty List. In former times, whatever it be now,
+  the Admirals abroad were allowed to appoint officers of their own
+  selection to vacancies occasioned by death, or by the sentence of
+  a court-martial; while they were instructed to nominate those
+  persons only who stood on the Admiralty List to such vacancies as
+  arose from officers falling sick and invaliding; from the
+  accession of ships captured and purchased into the service; from
+  officers deserting (which strange event has sometimes happened);
+  or from the squadron being increased by ships built and launched
+  on the station. But as these last enumerated are, generally
+  speaking, of much more frequent occurrence than those which fall
+  to the Admiral's peculiar share, an officer on the Admiralty List
+  has a proportionately better chance of promotion than one who
+  stands merely on that of the commander-in-chief.</p>
+
+  <p>These two lists differ essentially in one material feature. As
+  a matter of course, the Admiral's List possesses some degree of
+  stability; since a place upon it is generally won by long service
+  under his flag, and retained there by personal esteem or family
+  connection. An Admiral's follower, indeed, far from being a term
+  of reproach, is always one of honour, as it implies the
+  confidence and regard of the flag-officer. To get placed
+  therefore, however near the end, on the good books of a rising
+  Admiral is almost a certain road to promotion.</p>
+
+  <p>On the other hand, the Admiralty List is kept a profound
+  secret, or, what comes nearly to the same thing, is kept strictly
+  out of sight of those it most concerns. It is well known to be
+  formidably intricate in its arrangements, and very slippery in
+  its promises; indeed, from the circumstance of its depending on
+  the fluctuating interests of party politics, it must be
+  essentially pie-crusty in its texture. For it is sometimes
+  thought in the political world that as much may be done by
+  propitiating antagonists as by rewarding friends. How all this
+  may be in sound principle I cannot tell; but nothing in practice
+  can be more unsteady, or less to be relied upon, as I too well
+  know, than this said Admiralty List. Still, the advantages of
+  getting his name on this precious little slip of paper are very
+  great, though it be a most unofficial-looking note sheet, as I
+  can testify, from having once incidentally been afforded a
+  glimpse of one, on which, to my horror, my own name was not! If
+  the admiral of the station be also a personal friend, that source
+  of favour, of course, always adds another string to the young
+  man's bow. Circumstances likewise occasionally arise which enable
+  an admiral, who has an officer's interest really at heart, to
+  give him an extra lift at the right moment, and in the right
+  direction, provided his name actually stands on the Admiralty
+  List, even though it be ever so low down.</p>
+
+  <p>Before sailing for India, accordingly, I took a world of pains
+  to make out this grand point, tormented my friends and relations
+  most wofully, and, as I conceived, with eventual success. A
+  distinct assurance was given to a near connection of my own, and
+  a member of parliament, that my name would certainly stand on the
+  First Lord's list, to be sent out to India in his Majesty's ship
+  Volage, of which I had the farther good fortune to be appointed
+  junior lieutenant. A change at the Admiralty was then confidently
+  expected; and I took every care, as I thought, to have it
+  arranged that my name should not be omitted when the new First
+  Lord came into power. Little dreamed I that, in the
+  <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i> of official patronage and personal
+  favour which shortly afterwards took place at headquarters, my
+  poor name would be dropped out altogether. The provoking
+  consequence was, however, that I had the mortification of seeing
+  sundry capital vacancies in India pass by, one after another,
+  which, had I occupied even the very low place on the fresh list
+  which I had filled on the old one, might have secured my
+  promotion several years sooner than it came.</p>
+
+  <p>The old Volage, in which we sailed for India, I am forced to
+  confess, was one of the least good-looking of all his Majesty's
+  ships and vessels then afloat. But by this time I cared not one
+  fig for the looks of my ship, though, a month or two before, I
+  should have considered it a point of honour to maintain its
+  beauty. I was delighted beyond measure to think that, at length,
+  I was on the right road to promotion; and this satisfaction was
+  more than doubled by finding the East was the region in which
+  that great prize was to be sought for.</p>
+
+  <p>Although the men-of-war and their convoy sailed from Spithead
+  on the 25th of March, they did not reach Madeira till the 19th of
+  April. It is always more teasing to be delayed at the outset of a
+  voyage than at any other stage of its course, just as it is
+  mortifying and hurtful to be checked in the commencement of a
+  profession. Upon this occasion we had a fine rattling easterly
+  breeze for eight-and-forty hours after starting, which swept us
+  all, dull sailers and good ones, merrily out of the British
+  Channel. This fair start is always a grand affair, whatever
+  succeeds; for if the prevalent westerly wind catches a ship
+  before the channel is left well behind, she may be driven back to
+  Plymouth or Falmouth, and all the agony of bills, news,
+  leave-taking, and letters, has to be endured over again. Whereas,
+  if she once gets the Lizard Light some fifty leagues astern of
+  her, all these worrying distractions may be considered at an end.
+  A totally new world&mdash;the "world of waters"&mdash;is now
+  entered upon, far beyond the reach even of those long-armed
+  persons, the "gentlemen of the press," or the startling sound of
+  the postman's knock; that call which so often sets off the
+  steadiest-going pulse at a gallop!</p>
+
+  <p>Oh, the joy! the relief unspeakable! of feeling oneself fairly
+  under weigh, and of seeing the white cliffs of Old England
+  sinking in the north-eastern horizon right to windward! Let the
+  concocters of romances and other imaginary tales say what they
+  please of the joys of returning home; give me the happiness of a
+  good departure, and a boundless world of untried enjoyments
+  ahead. If a man be out of debt and out of love, or only
+  moderately involved in either of these delicate predicaments; if
+  he have youth and health and tolerable prospects, a good ship
+  under his foot, good officers over him, and good messmates to
+  serve with, why need he wear and tear his feelings about those he
+  leaves behind? Or rather, why need he grieve to part from those
+  who are better pleased to see him vigorously doing his duty
+  rather than idling in other people's way at home? Or wherefore
+  should he sigh to quit those enjoyments in which he cannot
+  honourably participate till he has earned his title to them by
+  hardy service?</p>
+
+  <p>On the other hand, who is there so insensible as not to feel
+  the deepest apprehension, on returning from a long and distant
+  voyage? Busy fancy will conjure up images of death and sickness,
+  of losses and sorrows. And when the accumulated pile of letters
+  is first placed in our hands after a long voyage, with what
+  sickening eagerness do we not turn from the superscription to
+  discover the colour of the seal?</p>
+
+  <p>It happened once to me to be nearly fifteen months without
+  receiving a single line from home, or seeing an English
+  newspaper. On reaching the port of rendezvous, I found that as
+  the ship I commanded was the only man-of-war in the harbour,
+  there devolved upon me an immense load of official business
+  requiring immediate and careful attention. All this I learned on
+  my way to the consul's office, where a huge budget of letters was
+  delivered to me. My first impulse, naturally, was to tear away
+  the envelopes, and dive into the secrets of these domestic
+  dispatches; but I paused on detecting several ominous-looking
+  patches of black wax, and, thrusting them all into a drawer, did
+  not open one till next day. Officially considered, it was well I
+  imposed this restraint upon my curiosity; for the fatal news
+  these letters contained must have seriously interfered with the
+  exclusive professional attention which the nature of the service
+  required me to bestow upon various public matters admitting of no
+  delay; whereas, in regard to the private intelligence, a single
+  day, added to so many months, signified nothing.</p>
+
+  <p>After leaving Spithead, our two days of fair wind were enough
+  to take us clear of the channel, and well off the bank of
+  soundings, far beyond the danger of return. A tolerable spell of
+  bad weather then came on, which in one sense was of essential
+  service, by contributing greatly to assist the first lieutenant's
+  arrangements, though it discomfited most grievously the apple-pie
+  order of those disturbers of his peace, the shore-going,
+  long-coated gentry, our passengers, whom the sailors, in their
+  coarse but graphic vocabulary, call "dog robbers," from their
+  intercepting the broken meat on its way to the kennel from their
+  master's table. Our gale of wind, indeed, was no gale to speak
+  of; but as the sea rose, and a heavy press of canvas laid the
+  creaking old barky well over on her broadside, many of the
+  beautifully piled boxes, the well-packed portmanteaus, the
+  polished dressing cases and writing-desks, the frail glass,
+  crockery, and other finery, fetched way, and went rattling,
+  smash! dash! right into the lee scuppers. In the next instant,
+  the great bulk of these materials were jerked back again to their
+  original situation, by that peculiar movement, so trying to
+  unpractised nerves, called a lurch to windward. To unaccustomed
+  ears, the sounds on this occasion lead one to suppose the ship is
+  going to pieces; while the cries for help from the
+  broken-shinned, sea-sick landsmen, the bawling for cleats and
+  lashings from the mate of the decks, the thumping of hammers, and
+  the loud laugh of the light-hearted middies, enchanted with the
+  uproar, make a fine concert. The sedative effect of two or three
+  hours of this work exceeds fresh-water belief; so that in a day
+  or two, Messrs. Neptune, Boreas, First Lieutenant, and Co., have
+  re-established their legitimate authority so completely, that
+  neither servants, nor any other passengers, ever afterwards
+  venture to indulge in those liberties which, at first coming on
+  board, they fancied might be taken with impunity.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">THE TROPICAL
+  REGIONS AT SEA.</p>
+
+  <p>There sailed along with us in the Volage, from Spithead, the
+  Princess Caroline, 74, and the Theban frigate, to aid in
+  protecting a fleet of East India Company's ships, all for China
+  direct.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href=
+  "#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> As these ships were of
+  the largest class, well manned, well commanded, and were likewise
+  pretty well armed, and got up to look like men-of war, our force
+  had not only an imposing appearance, but was capable of baffling
+  an enemy, even in considerable strength. There is, indeed, one
+  signal instance on record in which a fleet of East India
+  Company's ships actually beat off, unassisted, a French squadron
+  of very powerful vessels. These striking incidents, peeping out
+  from time to time, show what is called the true blood, and are
+  extremely valuable, proving how essential it is that an officer
+  in command should "Never say die while there is a shot in the
+  locker!" a pithy old phrase, which will apply to many situations
+  in life, civil as well as military. Had the gallant commander
+  alluded to, Sir Nathaniel Dance, yielded when the French Admiral
+  Linois, and his squadron, consisting of the Marengo, a
+  line-of-battle ship of 84 guns, and the Belle Poule and
+  Semillante frigates, each of 44, bore down on the China fleet,
+  not less than six millions of English property, and some of the
+  noblest trading ships that float on the ocean, must have been
+  carried into the Isle of France.</p>
+
+  <p>This memorable affair took place near Pulo Aor, in the China
+  seas, and by a very interesting, and no doubt useful coincidence,
+  on the 14th of February, 1804, the seventh anniversary of the
+  glorious action off Cape St. Vincent. Had the enemy only known
+  the real force of his opponents, which he most certainly ought to
+  have found out before he quitted them, the bold front these ships
+  put forward might indeed have served them nothing. A less
+  resolute man than Captain Dance might have said this good fortune
+  was hardly to be calculated upon; but it is the duty of a
+  commander, at all times and under all circumstances, to afford
+  himself every possible chance, and never to give up while there
+  is one of these chances left.</p>
+
+  <p>A useful chapter in naval history and tactics could be written
+  on the defence of convoys, by which it might perhaps be made
+  manifest that a determined bearing, accompanied by a certain
+  degree of force, and a vigorous resolution to exert that force to
+  the utmost, would, in most cases, save the greater part of the
+  convoy, even against powerful odds. In the well-known instance,
+  in which Captain Richard Budd Vincent sacrificed his ship, in a
+  contest where he was from the first sure to be overpowered, he
+  gained sufficient time for most of his flock of merchant-ships to
+  escape.</p>
+
+  <p>In February, 1805, this gallant officer, in the Arrow, of 18
+  twenty-four pounders, ably supported by Captain Arthur Farquhar,
+  in the Acheron bomb, carrying not half that number, actually
+  engaged two large French frigates, mounting in all 90 guns and
+  1300 men, while the English force was only 26 guns and 90 men.
+  The damage and delay caused to the enemy by this spirited
+  resistance enabled the convoy to disperse, and all get off but
+  three, out of thirty-two. The English ships did not strike till
+  they were so much cut up that one sunk immediately afterwards,
+  and the other was burned by the captors as useless.</p>
+
+  <p>On the occasion of our voyage in 1812, however, the fortitude
+  and skill of our East India ships were put to no such proof, as
+  our most interesting evolutions were confined to the interchange
+  of good dinners; for your Indiamen know as well how to eat,
+  drink, and be merry, as to fight, if need be. Their chief
+  business is to trade; but their trading is a widely different
+  thing from that of the ordinary merchant service. The East India
+  Company's officers are bred in many respects like naval men, and
+  they feel in the same manner. Being sprung from as good a stock
+  as the officers of the Navy, they possess a kindred
+  gentleman-like spirit, and are in every respect suitable allies
+  in battle.</p>
+
+  <p>In fine weather, during our whole voyage, there scarcely
+  occurred a day on which, in the course of the morning, if the sea
+  were tolerably smooth, and the wind not too strong, the dinner
+  invitation signal was not displayed from the commodore, or from
+  some of his flock. When there was a breeze, and the ships were
+  making way through the water, some technical address was
+  necessary to avoid delay. This will easily be understood, without
+  going into minute details, when it is remembered, that there must
+  always in a convoy be found certain ships which sail worse than
+  others, and that, although these tubs, as they are most
+  deservedly called, crowd all their canvas, the rest are obliged
+  to shorten sail in order to keep them company; as Lightfoot, in
+  the fairy tale, was obliged to tie his feet in the race. If it be
+  the commodore who gives the dinner, he either heaves to, while
+  the boats of the several captains come on board, or he edges down
+  to the different ships in succession, passes them at the distance
+  of a quarter of a cable's length, picks up his guests, and
+  resumes his station ahead, or to windward, or wherever it may
+  suit him to place himself so as best to guard his charge. If any
+  of the fast sailers have occasion to heave to, either before or
+  after dinner, to lower down or to hoist up the boat which carries
+  the captain backwards and forwards to the ship in which the
+  entertainment is given, and in consequence of this detention any
+  way has been lost, that ship has only to set a little more sail
+  that she may shoot ahead, and regain her position in the
+  line.</p>
+
+  <p>The bad sailers of all fleets or convoys are daily and hourly
+  execrated in every note of the gamut; and it must be owned that
+  the detention they cause, when a fine fresh breeze is blowing, is
+  excessively provoking to all the rest, and mortifying to
+  themselves. Sometimes the progress of one haystack of a vessel is
+  so slow that a fast-sailing ship is directed to take her in tow,
+  and fairly lug her along. As this troublesome operation requires
+  for its proper execution no small degree of nautical knowledge,
+  as well as dexterity, and must be performed in the face of the
+  whole squadron, it is always exposed to much sharp criticism. The
+  celerity with which sail is set, or taken in, by the respective
+  ships, or the skill with which broken spars are shifted, likewise
+  furnish such abundant scope for technical table-talk, that there
+  is seldom any want of topic in the convoy. Sailors, indeed, are
+  about as restless as the element on which they float; and their
+  hands are generally kept pretty full by the necessity of studying
+  the fluctuating circumstances of wind and weather, together with
+  due attention to the navigation.</p>
+
+  <p>These occupations served to give a high degree of interest to
+  this Indian voyage, which, to most of us, was the first; the mere
+  circumstance of having to pass successively and quickly through a
+  number of different climates, first in the order of increasing
+  warmth, and then in the reverse order of increasing cold, was of
+  itself most striking. The change of latitude being the chief
+  cause of these phenomena, a succession of astronomical variations
+  were necessarily attendant upon the progress of the voyage;
+  easily explained by reasonings, and the actual, practical
+  exhibition, as it may be termed, of the truths of astronomical
+  science failed not to strike the unfamiliarised imagination as
+  both wonderful and beautiful.</p>
+
+  <p>When we sailed from England the weather was very cold, raw,
+  and uncomfortable; and although we had a couple of days' fair
+  wind at starting, we were met in the very chops of the channel by
+  hard-hearted southerly and south-westerly winds, which tried our
+  patience sorely. On the evening of the tenth day we caught a
+  glimpse of the north coast of Spain; and the rugged shore of
+  Galicia was the last which most of us saw of Europe for many
+  years. It was not till after a fortnight's hard struggling
+  against these tiresome south-westers that we anchored in Funchal
+  Roads, having by the way dropped several of our convoy. These
+  stray sheep came in during the few days we remained to refresh
+  ourselves at this most charming of resting-places. After nearly a
+  week's enjoyment, we proceeded on our course to the southward;
+  within three days we came in sight of Palma, the most northern of
+  the Canary Island group. It was thirty miles distant in the
+  south-east quarter; and Teneriffe, the sea "monarch of
+  mountains," lay too far off for us to perceive even his "diadem
+  of snow," which at that season (April), I presume, he always
+  wears. Some years after the period in question, when I paid him a
+  visit, in the month of August, the very tip-top was bare, and the
+  thermometer at 70&deg;.</p>
+
+  <p>Under more favourable circumstances, we might possibly have
+  seen Teneriffe from the Volage, for our distance was not above a
+  hundred miles. This, however, it must be owned, is a long way to
+  see the land, unless it form a continuous ridge of great
+  elevation, like the Andes; and even then, to be distinguished
+  well, it requires to be interposed between a bright sky and the
+  ship. At day-break, and for about half an hour before sunrise, if
+  the weather be clear, even sharp peaks, like the cone of
+  Teneriffe, may be seen with a degree of distinctness which is
+  very remarkable, when viewed from the distance of a hundred miles
+  and upwards, as I have several times experienced when navigating
+  in the Pacific. But when the full splendour of the sun's light
+  begins to fill the air, these gigantic forms gradually fade away
+  amongst the clouds, or melt into the sky, even when no clouds are
+  visible. I have likewise been told, that, in sailing directly
+  away from Teneriffe (or other high insulated peaks), and keeping
+  the eye pretty constantly fixed in the proper direction, it may
+  be retained in sight at much greater distance than it can be
+  discovered on approaching. I am disposed to consider this very
+  probable, but have never had a good opportunity of trying the
+  experiment.</p>
+
+  <p>It was late in April, as we were stealing slowly past these
+  distant Canary Islands, when the first real puff of the
+  Trade-wind caught our sleeping sails, and made the braces,
+  haulyards, and all the other ropes connected with the yards,
+  crack again. This breeze served more effectually to detach our
+  thoughts from European interests than anything which had occurred
+  since our leaving England. At the very moment, however, when we
+  were chuckling at this disentanglement of our feelings from
+  domestic anxieties, and all the varied agitation of home
+  concerns, we observed a ship crossing our path at some distance.
+  Signal being made to chase, we instantly darted off from the
+  convoy to examine the stranger, which proved to be an English
+  ship from Lisbon. We hailed, and asked, "What news?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Badajoz has fallen," replied the other, "after a terrible
+  siege."</p>
+
+  <p>This was received with a general buzz of joyous congratulation
+  along the decks. In answer to further questions, we were told of
+  some three or four thousand men killed and wounded in the
+  trenches and breach. Then, indeed, the glorious intelligence was
+  greeted by three jolly huzzas from every ship in the convoy!</p>
+
+  <p>Nothing so startling as this occurred to us again; but the
+  serenity of our thoughts was in some degree interrupted, a few
+  days afterwards, by the north-easterly Trade-wind dying away, and
+  a gentle south-wester springing up in its place. This occurred in
+  latitude 25-1/2&deg; N., where, according to our inexperienced
+  conception of these singular winds, we ought to have found a
+  regular breeze from the very opposite quarter! Nor was it till
+  long afterwards that I learned how much the force and direction
+  of the Trade-winds are liable to modification by the particular
+  position which the sun occupies in the heavens; or how far the
+  rotatory motion of the earth, combined with the power which the
+  sun possesses of heating certain portions of the circumambient
+  air, are the regulating causes of the Trades, Monsoons, and,
+  indeed, of all the other winds by which we are driven about. It
+  is by no means an easy problem in meteorology to show how these
+  causes act in every case; and perhaps it is one which will never
+  be so fully solved as to admit of very popular enunciation
+  applicable to all climates. In the most important and useful
+  class of these a&euml;rial currents, called, <i>par
+  excellence</i>, and with so much picturesque truth, "the
+  Trade-winds," the explanation is not difficult. But before
+  entering on this curious and copious theme, I feel anxious to
+  carry our convoy fairly across the tropical regions; after which
+  an account of the Trades will be better understood.</p>
+
+  <p>I have just mentioned that the changes of temperature, on a
+  voyage to India, are most remarkable. We set sail, for instance,
+  in the month of March, when it was bitterly cold in England; then
+  we came off the coast of Spain, where it was a little more
+  moderate; next to Madeira, which is always agreeable. Then we
+  passed the Canaries; after which we sailed over the tropic of
+  Cancer, and got well toasted in the torrid zone; steered down
+  upon the equinoctial line, passed the tropic of Capricorn, and
+  again became conscious of the weakened influence of the sun;
+  till, at length, off the Cape of Good Hope, we were once more
+  nipped with the cold. Anon, having rounded the south point of
+  Africa, we put our heads towards the line, and a second time,
+  within a few weeks, emerged from the depth of winter into the
+  height of summer.</p>
+
+  <p>The proximate cause of all these vicissitudes was, of course,
+  our approach towards and removal from the direct influence of the
+  great source of light and heat. At one time, the sun, even at
+  noon, was seen creeping stealthily along, low down in the
+  horizon, at another his jolly countenance was blazing away right
+  overhead. On the 5th of May, when our latitude was 17-1/2&deg;
+  N., the sun's declination was 16-1/4&deg; N., his centre being
+  only one degree from our zenith: shadows we had none. On that day
+  we saw St. Antonio, the north-westernmost of the Cape de Verde
+  Islands, the summit of which is about seven thousand feet above
+  the sea.</p>
+
+  <p>On the next day I well remember going on deck with a certain
+  flutter of spirits, to see, for the first time in my life, the
+  sun to the northward, and moving through the heavens from right
+  to left, instead of from left to right. No one doubts that the
+  earth is round; yet these conspicuous and actual proofs of its
+  rotundity always amuse the fancy, and frequently interest the
+  judgment, almost as much as if they were unexpected. The gradual
+  rise, night after night, of new stars and new constellations,
+  belongs to a still higher order of curiosity; for it not merely
+  places well-known objects in strange positions, but brings
+  totally new subjects of contemplation before our eyes, and leads
+  us to feel, perhaps more strongly than upon any other occasion,
+  the full gratification which novelty on the grandest scale is
+  capable of producing. I shall never forget the impatience with
+  which I have often watched the approach of darkness after a long
+  day's run to the south, knowing that, in a few moments, I was to
+  discover celestial phenomena heretofore concealed from my
+  view.</p>
+
+  <p>After slanting through the north-east Trade-wind, we reached
+  that well-known but troublesome stage in the voyage, so difficult
+  to get over, called the Variables. This region has acquired its
+  title from the regular Trades not being found there, but in their
+  place unsteady breezes, long calms, heavy squalls, and sometimes
+  smart winds from the south and south-westward. These Variables,
+  which sorely perplex all mariners, even those of most experience,
+  while they drive young ones almost out of their senses, are not
+  less under the dominion of the causes which regulate those great
+  perennial breezes the Trades, blowing to the northward and
+  southward of them. Their laws, however, are not quite so readily
+  understood, and consequently are not so easily allowed for in the
+  practice of navigation.</p>
+
+  <p>When we actually encounter, on the spot, and for the first
+  time, a crowd of new circumstances, of which, previously, we have
+  only known the names, or have merely heard them described by
+  others, we feel so much confused and bewildered, that we fly
+  eagerly to the nearest authority to help us out of the scrape. It
+  generally happens, in these cases, that the reference does not
+  prove very satisfactory, because the actual circumstances with
+  which we are engaged are rarely similar in all their bearings to
+  those with which we compare them; and when this is not the case,
+  the blindfold method of proceeding in the beaten path is very apt
+  to mislead.</p>
+
+  <p>As an illustration of this kind of deception, it may be stated
+  that navigators, whose actual experience has not extended to the
+  tropical regions, are very apt, in poring over the voyages of
+  others, to acquire, insensibly, a very confident notion that each
+  of the great Trade-winds blowing on different sides of the Line
+  (the North-east and the South-east by name), are quite steady in
+  their direction; and that, in the equatorial interval which lies
+  between them, only calms and light winds are to be found.
+  Moreover, inexperienced persons generally believe this interval
+  to be equally divided by the equator, and that both the breadth
+  and the position of this calm region continue unchanged
+  throughout the whole year. Now, here are four important
+  mistakes,&mdash;important both in a scientific and in a practical
+  point of view. For, 1st, Not calms and squalls alone, but
+  occasionally fresh and steady winds, are found between the
+  Trades; 2ndly, The belt called the Variables is by no means
+  equally divided by the equator; neither, 3rdly, is that belt
+  stationary in its position; nor, 4thly, is it uniform in its
+  breadth. It will thence be easily understood, even by a person
+  who has never quitted one of the midland counties in England, and
+  to whom the ocean is an unseen wonder, that a new-comer to the
+  tropical regions, his head loaded with these false views, will be
+  very apt to mistake his own ignorance for the caprice of Nature,
+  and perhaps call out, as I once heard a man do, in all the agony
+  of impatience caused by a protracted head-wind,&mdash;"Now, this
+  is really scandalous usage of the clerk of the weather-office!"
+  The scandal, however, lay not so much with the clerk's usage as
+  with his own limited knowledge; for if, at the very time of his
+  imprecation, instead of abusing the foul wind, and keeping his
+  yards braced sharp up, and making his sails stand like a board,
+  the grumbler had known how to take advantage of it, and had kept
+  away two or three points, set his fore-topmast studding-sail, and
+  flanked across or through the breeze which he had in vain tried
+  to beat against, he might not only have saved his temper, but
+  have made his passage in half the time.</p>
+
+  <p>I am not sure that, in the whole range of this extensive
+  subject, there could be picked out an instance more in point to
+  what has just been said, than these interesting phenomena of the
+  Trade-winds. To sailors of every age and rank, and especially to
+  naval officers, an acquaintance with the laws which regulate
+  these extraordinary a&euml;rial currents must be of great
+  importance. For a commander may be ordered, at a moment's
+  warning, either to carry his own ship, or to lead a squadron, or
+  to guard a convoy, from the northern to the southern hemisphere,
+  or perhaps from the West to the East Indies. If, however, he have
+  not previously made a tropical voyage or two, or have not studied
+  the subject in its genuine theoretical spirit, as well as in the
+  log-books of his predecessors, he may expect to find himself most
+  wofully embarrassed, both on entering and on leaving the
+  Trades.</p>
+
+  <p>Independently of all such public objects concerned in these
+  inquiries, there appears to exist a very general interest in the
+  Trade-winds, sufficiently strong to engage the attention even of
+  unprofessional persons. These vast currents of air, which sweep
+  round and round the globe, in huge strips of more than twelve
+  hundred miles in width, are in a manner forced on every one's
+  notice, from contributing to that boundless interchange of the
+  productions of distant regions by which modern times are so
+  agreeably distinguished from the old.</p>
+
+  <p>The great Monsoons, again, of the Indian and China oceans play
+  almost as important a part in this grand nautical drama along the
+  coasts of those remote countries. These great phenomena will be
+  found to obey precisely the same laws as their less fluctuating
+  brethren the mighty Trades; and hence springs one of the chief
+  delights of science when its study is conducted in a proper
+  spirit. If the pursuit of truth be engaged in with sincerity,
+  phenomena apparently the most opposite in character, for example,
+  winds in different parts of the earth, but in the same latitude,
+  blowing in totally different directions at the same season of the
+  year, will always prove in the end illustrative of one another,
+  and of their common theory.</p>
+
+  <div class="footnotes">
+    <h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> On the
+      renewal of their Charter, in 1833, the East India Company
+      ceased to be traders, and these noble ships no longer sail
+      under the Company's flag.</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">THE TRADE
+  WINDS.</p>
+
+  <p>There are few things more curious in the history of human
+  knowledge than the establishment of extensive errors as to
+  matters of fact, and the perverse tenacity with which they retain
+  their hold on the public mind. In some cases it would almost seem
+  that the pleasure which springs from genuine philosophical
+  inquiry is subordinate to that which arises from the indolent
+  process of taking things for granted. This applies peculiarly to
+  the phenomena of the Trade-winds, respecting which many erroneous
+  ideas are generally entertained. To professional men these
+  fallacies are calculated to prove extremely mischievous; while
+  even to persons not directly connected with the sea, the
+  existence of error may often be injurious: and, although it is
+  not very easy to explain these things in a popular way, I shall
+  attempt to give a description of the facts as they really
+  exist.</p>
+
+  <p>The main characteristics may easily be described.</p>
+
+  <p>The great belt of the earth's surface, nearly three thousand
+  miles in width, lying between the tropics (from 23-1/2&deg; north
+  to 23-1/2&deg; south latitude), is the chief region of the
+  Trade-winds; though in some parts of the world they extend to the
+  latitude of 28&deg; both north and south of the equator; while at
+  other places well within the tropics, and even close to the line,
+  totally different winds prevail. It is only in the open parts of
+  the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that the true Trade-winds blow.
+  In the Indian and China seas, and in many other portions of the
+  great tropical belt, periodical winds, called Monsoons, are
+  found. These shifting Trades exact the closest study from the
+  practical navigator, in consequence of their extensive variety
+  and seeming complication. But they are not less deserving the
+  attention of merely curious inquirers, from the beautiful manner
+  in which these modifications of the regular breezes obey the same
+  general laws which direct the grand phenomena of the Trades.
+  Indeed, the most extensive observation serves only to link the
+  whole into one harmonious chain or series of explanations,
+  exhibiting the uniformity as well as the exquisite adaptability
+  of Nature, even in those departments called "inconstant," where
+  she is supposed to be most capricious.</p>
+
+  <p>The only general assertion that can safely be made with
+  respect to the Trade-winds is, that they blow more or less from
+  the eastern half of the compass towards the western. On the north
+  side of the equator, the north-east Trade-winds blow; and on the
+  south side, the south-east Trade-winds. These two names have
+  undoubtedly contributed to mystify the subject by naturally
+  suggesting to the imagination currents of air blowing
+  respectively from the north-east and the south-east, or at an
+  angle of 45&deg; with the meridian. And I have even seen sailors
+  (old sailors too) quite surprised, and rather provoked, when they
+  have encountered very different winds in those parts of their
+  voyage, where, being misled by the force of names alone, they had
+  taught themselves to expect a regular breeze from a particular
+  quarter. But, in point of fact, the Trade-winds do very seldom
+  blow directly from north-east and south-east; neither are they
+  uniform in their direction on the same spot at different seasons
+  of the year, nor is their strength uniform from month to month. I
+  may add, that the equatorial limits, or bounding lines, of the
+  trades, are not steadily confined to the same latitude. In short,
+  so far from these winds being perfectly fixed in direction,
+  force, and position, they are subject to very considerable
+  mutations, dependent on the position of the sun. Their vast
+  nautical value, in fact, as well as philosophical curiosity,
+  turns mainly on their uniformity, which, in spite of all the
+  fluctuations alluded to, gives them a very distinctive
+  character.</p>
+
+  <p>Dr. Young and Hadley, the great authorities on the subject,
+  are both wrong in their conclusions.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id=
+  "FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class=
+  "fnanchor">[3]</a> Where Hadley obtains his "experience" he does
+  not tell; but certain it is, that no sailor who ever crossed the
+  equinoctial line could possibly have furnished him with two of
+  his principal statements. The Trades are not strongest near the
+  equator, as he states, nor when they reach that district do they
+  blow along it, or in a parallel direction, but almost always at
+  right angles to it.</p>
+
+  <p>If the earth had no motion on its axis, but were surrounded as
+  at present with an atmosphere, and if the sun moved round and
+  round it exactly above the equator, without varying his
+  declination, the following effects would ensue: That portion of
+  the earth lying, say thirty degrees, on each side of the equator,
+  being more exposed to the action of the sun than those further
+  from it, would become much warmer; while the superincumbent air,
+  being greatly heated by the contact, would expand, or become
+  specifically lighter, and would consequently rise. The adjacent
+  air, both on the north and south, being cooler, and, of course,
+  heavier, would rush in to supply the place of the heated air.
+  This air coming from the regions beyond the tropics would, in its
+  turn, be heated, and rise on reaching the warmer equatorial
+  regions, giving place to a fresh supply, which, it is easy to
+  see, must be furnished by the descent of that portion of air
+  formerly heated at the equator, raised into the cold regions of
+  the sky, and forced into a regular circuit by fresh elevations of
+  heated air. All these and many other interesting results are
+  clearly developed in Daniell's Meteorological Essays, a book
+  which every one at all interested in such inquiries will find it
+  advantageous to study. The first edition of this work was
+  published in 1823, some years after these speculations had been
+  forced upon my notice by a long course of service between the
+  tropics.</p>
+
+  <p>It will be understood, that, as long as we imagine the globe
+  at rest while this circulation is going on, the course of the
+  lower air along the surface would be directly towards the
+  equator, from due north in one hemisphere, and from due south in
+  the other; while in the upper regions the currents would follow
+  the opposite directions, and stream towards the poles. But the
+  instant we conceive the earth put into rotatory motion from west
+  to east, a change would take place in the course of these
+  a&euml;rial currents, both above and below. It must be
+  recollected that a volume of air, when once put in motion, will
+  move on, like any other body, by the mere force of its own
+  momentum, till that motion is destroyed by its friction against
+  the substances along or through which it is impelled. Any one who
+  has observed the ring of smoke sometimes projected from the mouth
+  of a cannon will be sensible that this is true.</p>
+
+  <p>It may likewise be of use, before going further, to consider,
+  that, if the globe, instead of being unequally heated; were
+  equally heated at all parts, from pole to pole, and being
+  surrounded by an atmosphere, were then made to revolve on its
+  axis, it would carry the atmosphere round with it exactly at the
+  rate at which it was itself going. That portion of the air in
+  contact with the equator would move about 1000 miles in one hour,
+  while that in latitude 90&deg; would be as motionless as the
+  poles themselves.</p>
+
+  <p>From this it will be seen, that, while the equator moves at
+  the rate of 1000 miles an hour, the district about the latitude
+  30&deg; moves only 860, or 140 miles slower. The average whirling
+  velocity of the earth's easterly motion, in the space between the
+  equator and latitude 30&deg;, may be stated at 950 miles an hour;
+  and that of the belt lying between 30&deg; and 40&deg;, at about
+  800 miles.</p>
+
+  <p>In the hypothetical case, above suggested, of the whole
+  surface being equally heated, and consequently the whole
+  atmosphere at the same temperature, there would be a universal
+  calm, whatever might be the rotatory motion impressed upon the
+  earth. If, however, we next suppose, what really is the case,
+  that the air over the tropical region is more heated than that
+  which is farther from the equator, this rarefied air will
+  instantly ascend, and occupy a place above the colder and denser
+  air, which will flow in from the belts lying beyond the
+  tropics.</p>
+
+  <p>When the comparatively slow-moving air of the temperate zone,
+  lying beyond the tropics, first comes in contact with those
+  quicker-moving parts of the earth forming the tropical edges of
+  the torrid zone, the apparent motion of the air from the east,
+  caused by the relative difference of the rotatory velocity
+  between the air and earth, is great, compared to the other motion
+  of the air, caused by its being drawn directly towards the
+  equator, to supply the place of the heated portions raised into
+  the sky. Consequently, at the tropical borders of both Trades the
+  wind is found to blow very nearly from the east point.</p>
+
+  <p>Since the cool air of the temperate and comparatively
+  slow-moving zones beyond the tropics is thus drawn towards the
+  equator, and comes successively in contact with parallels of
+  latitude moving faster and faster towards the east, there must be
+  gradually imparted to it, by the increased friction, a
+  considerable degree of the increased rotatory velocity belonging
+  to the low latitudes it has now reached; that is to say, there
+  will be less and less difference of velocity between the easterly
+  motion of this temperate air and the easterly motion of the
+  earth; and, consequently, the wind, as it approaches the equator,
+  will appear to blow less and less directly from the eastward.
+  But, while the earth's rotation within the tropics is thus acting
+  on the slower-moving air which has travelled to it from beyond
+  the tropics, with increased friction at every successive moment,
+  there has been no such powerful counteracting influence in
+  operation to diminish the meridional motion impressed on the air
+  in question; for, although in proceeding from the tropics towards
+  the equator, the wind might, at first sight, be supposed to have
+  its speed somewhat lessened by friction along the earth's
+  surface, the retardation due to this cause, if there be any at
+  all, must be inconsiderable, compared to that which affects the
+  motion caused by the difference in the rotatory velocity of the
+  earth at the different parallels. It must be recollected, also,
+  that there is a constant demand for fresh air from the north and
+  south, to occupy the place of the heated and rarefied air which
+  is raised up in the torrid zone; and this demand being pretty
+  equal, the motion it produces on the air in the direction of the
+  meridian must likewise be uniform.</p>
+
+  <p>If it be admitted that all the easterly character of the
+  Trade-winds is due to the difference of velocity between the
+  rotation of the torrid zone of the earth from west to east, and
+  that of the air impressed only with the slower rotatory motion to
+  the east of the temperate zone, it will follow, that, if this
+  difference of velocities between the earth and the air in contact
+  with it be diminished or annihilated, the easterly character of
+  these winds will be diminished or annihilated likewise. At the
+  same time, there is no cause in operation, that I can discover,
+  to alter the direction of the meridional motion, as it may be
+  called, of the Trade-winds, or that by which they are impelled
+  directly towards the equator.</p>
+
+  <p>At first starting from the temperate zone, on its voyage to
+  the equator, the cold air of that slow-moving region is impressed
+  with a rotatory velocity of only 800 miles per hour to the
+  eastward, but it soon comes over parts of the earth moving more
+  than 100 miles per hour faster to the eastward than itself. The
+  difference of velocity in the earth's rotation between latitudes
+  30&deg; and 20&deg; is 74 miles an hour, while between 20&deg;
+  and 10&deg; it is only 45 miles, and in the next ten degrees the
+  difference in rate per hour is reduced to 15 miles.</p>
+
+  <p>The velocity with which the air drawn from beyond the tropics
+  travels along the sea towards the equator is probably not above
+  twenty miles an hour, a rate slow enough to allow time for the
+  constantly-increasing friction of the earth's rotation to act
+  upon it, and draw it more and more entirely to the east. By the
+  time it has reached the equatorial regions, the friction of the
+  earth's surface has operated long enough to carry the air
+  completely along with it; and, of course, all relative motion
+  being done away with, everything easterly in the character of the
+  Trade-winds will be at an end.</p>
+
+  <p>But, although this constantly-increasing friction of the
+  earth's rotation has thus annihilated all relative easterly
+  motion between the air and earth, that air still retains its
+  motion towards the equator; and accordingly we do find the
+  Trade-winds, at their equatorial limits, blowing, not from the
+  east, as Hadley, Dr. Young, and others, conceived, but directly
+  from the north and from the south respectively. The strength and
+  velocity of the Trades at these places is, in general,
+  considerably diminished, chiefly, perhaps, by the air becoming
+  heated, and rising up rather than flowing along; and also, no
+  doubt, by the meeting of the two opposite currents of
+  air&mdash;one from the north, the other from the
+  south&mdash;which produces the intermediate space called the
+  Calms, or the Variables.</p>
+
+  <p>In strict conformity with these theoretical views, the clouds
+  above the Trades are almost invariably observed to proceed in the
+  contrary direction to the winds below. On the top of the Peak of
+  Teneriffe I found a gentle breeze blowing from the
+  south-westward, directly opposite to the course of the
+  Trade-wind.</p>
+
+  <p>The more detailed circumstances usually met with in that part
+  of a voyage to India which lies between 30&deg; north and 30&deg;
+  south, and which I am about to describe, will now, I imagine, be
+  readily understood. Before setting out, however, I must strongly
+  recommend any one wishing to see these matters clearly, to have
+  them fixed in his mind to useful purpose, to follow both the
+  theoretical and the practical parts of this explanation with the
+  assistance of a terrestrial globe.</p>
+
+  <p>Most ships touch at Madeira, either to take in a stock of
+  wine, to get fruit and vegetables, or to form a pleasant break in
+  the early and most disagreeable part of the voyage. Some ships
+  pass barely in sight of the high mountain which rises above the
+  town of Funchal, and satisfy themselves with taking sights for
+  verifying the rates of their chronometers when on the meridian of
+  the island; while others tantalise their passengers still more by
+  sweeping through the roads, without anchoring, or communicating
+  with the shore. The captains by such ships are pretty deeply, if
+  not very loudly, abused by all hands, passengers especially, who
+  are perhaps the most dissatisfied, because the most idle, of
+  mortals. Shortly after leaving Madeira, which is in 32-1/2&deg;
+  north latitude, a ship may expect to meet the Trades; but she
+  cannot calculate with any certainty upon catching them till she
+  arrives at the parallel of 28&deg;. On first reaching the
+  Trade-wind it will be found to blow very nearly from due east,
+  and with this a course is easily steered past or amongst the
+  Canaries, and thence for the Cape de Verdes. Some navigators pass
+  within this group, others keep so far out as barely to make San
+  Antonio; and this, I think, is considered the best route. As the
+  ship proceeds to the southward, the wind draws gradually round
+  from the east to north-east, and eventually to north-north-east,
+  and even to north, at the southern margin of the north-east
+  Trade-wind.</p>
+
+  <p>The position of this margin or southern edge, which in
+  technical language is called the equatorial limit of the Trade,
+  varies considerably with the season of the year. From December to
+  May inclusive it frequently reaches as far as the 3rd degree of
+  north latitude, though it ranges about 5&deg; and 6&deg; north.
+  From June to November it is shifted back as far, sometimes, as
+  13&deg; north, but it seldom extends as far south as 8&deg;
+  north. Subjects which are treated of in a series of tables
+  showing the equatorial limits of both Trade-winds, deduced by the
+  late Captain James Horsburgh, hydrographer of the East India
+  Company, from the observations of 238 ships. These tables show
+  very clearly the effect of the absence or presence of the sun in
+  shifting the limits of the Trades, drawing them after him, as it
+  were. The presence of the sun in either hemisphere obstructs
+  considerably the regularity and strength of the Trade-winds in
+  that hemisphere, and <i>vice vers&acirc;</i>.</p>
+
+  <p>The great difficulty experienced in making the outward-bound
+  voyage commences after the ship has been deserted by the
+  north-east Trade, for she has then to fight her way to the
+  southward across the region of Calms and Variables. But as these
+  Variables blow generally from the southward and westward, from a
+  cause afterwards to be explained, it is obvious enough why this
+  part of the homeward voyage is always more easily made than the
+  outward passage. These southerly breezes, which are met with in
+  the Variables, blow at times with considerable force, and greatly
+  perplex the young navigator, who, trusting perhaps to some of the
+  erroneous published accounts, not unnaturally reckons upon
+  meeting the regular Trade-wind, blowing, as he supposes, from the
+  east near the equator, not from the south; still less is he
+  prepared or pleased to find it blowing from the
+  south-westward.</p>
+
+  <p>This troublesome range, intervening between the two Trades,
+  varies in width from 150 to more than 500 miles. It is widest in
+  September, and narrowest in December or January. I now speak more
+  particularly of what happens in the Atlantic. In the wide
+  Pacific, far from land, fewer modifying circumstances interfere
+  with the regular course of the phenomena, than in the
+  comparatively narrow sea formed by the opposite shoulders of
+  Africa and South America.</p>
+
+  <p>Calms, also, are met with in this intermediate region, or
+  purgatory of the outward-bound voyage, and occasionally violent
+  tornados or squalls, which in a moment tear away every rag of
+  canvas from a ship's yards. For several hours at a time, also,
+  rain falls down in absolute torrents. Even when the weather
+  clears up, and a fresh breeze comes, it is generally from the
+  southward, directly in the outward-bound navigator's teeth. He
+  must have patience, however, and strive to make the most of it by
+  keeping on that tack by which most southing is to be gained. It
+  is now, I believe, generally held to be the best practice to
+  place the ship between 18&deg; and 23&deg; of west longitude on
+  losing the north-east Trade; and likewise to endeavour, if
+  possible, to cross the equator somewhere between these two
+  longitudes. Before reaching the line, however, the navigator will
+  almost always be met by the south-east Trade-wind. From January
+  to May he may expect to meet it in 1&deg; or 2&deg; north
+  latitude; but in summer and autumn he will find the northern or
+  equatorial limit of the south-east Trade a degree or two still
+  further to the northwards of the lines.</p>
+
+  <p>On first encountering the south-east Trade an outward-bound
+  ship is obliged to steer much more to the westward than she
+  wishes to do, in consequence of the wind blowing so directly
+  towards the equator, and not along it, as some of the books will
+  insist on, in spite of Nature. So that if she be a dull sailer
+  she may have some difficulty in weathering the coast of Brazil
+  about Cape St. Roque. As she proceeds onwards, however, and makes
+  a little more southing, the wind will haul more and more round
+  from the south to the south-east, then east-south-east, and
+  eventually to east at the southern limit of the Trade-wind. An
+  inexperienced sailor, on first entering the south-east Trade, is
+  very apt to be too solicitous about making southing, and hugs the
+  wind much too close; whereas he ought rather to keep his ship off
+  a little, give her a fathom or two of the fore and main sheets,
+  and take a small pull of the weather topsail and top-gallant
+  braces, to ensure making good way through the water. Indeed, many
+  officers go so far as to recommend flanking across the south-east
+  Trade with a fore-topmast studding-sail set. Although, I think,
+  there can be no doubt of the soundness of this advice, I confess
+  that it does require no inconsiderable degree of faith to adopt a
+  course, which, apparently, takes the ship not directly away from
+  her object, but very much out of the straight road. In this
+  respect, it may be remarked that the scale of navigation on every
+  Indian voyage is so great, and the importance of getting into
+  those parallels where favourable breezes are certain to be met
+  with, of so much more consequence than the gain of mere distance,
+  that two or three hundred miles to the right or left, or even
+  twice that space, is often not to be regarded. Accordingly, in
+  cutting or flanking across the south-east Trade-wind, the object,
+  it should be remembered, is not to shorten the distance, but to
+  reach those latitudes where strong westerly gales are to be met
+  with, by help of which five hundred or a thousand miles of lost
+  distance are speedily made up, and the rest of the passage
+  secured.</p>
+
+  <p>In those regions lying beyond the southern tropic westerly
+  winds prevail during the greater part of the year, exactly as we
+  find on this side of the northern tropic. In the southern
+  hemisphere, and far from the land, the wind may be said to blow
+  from the westward almost as steadily as the Trades do from the
+  eastward. The great object, therefore, for an outward-bound ship
+  is to get far enough south to ensure this fair wind. Beyond the
+  latitude of 30&deg;, and as far as 40&deg;, this purpose will
+  generally be answered.</p>
+
+  <p>We are sufficiently familiar in England with the fact of
+  westerly winds prevailing in the Atlantic. From a list of the
+  passages made by the New York sailing packets across the
+  Atlantic, during a period of six years, it is shown that the
+  average length of the voyage from Liverpool to America, that is,
+  towards the west, was forty days; while the average length of the
+  homeward passage, or that from west to east, was only
+  twenty-three days. And it may fix these facts more strongly in
+  the recollection, to mention that the passage-money from England
+  to America (in the days of sailing packets) was five guineas more
+  than that paid on the return voyage.</p>
+
+  <p>This prevalence of westerly winds beyond the tropics is
+  readily explained by the same reasoning which has been applied to
+  the Trades blowing within them. The swift moving air of the
+  torrid zone, on being rarefied and raised up, flows along towards
+  the poles, and in a direction from the equator, above the cooler
+  and slower-moving air, which, as I have already described, is
+  drawn along the surface of the earth from the temperate regions
+  beyond the tropics. When the rarefied equatorial air has
+  travelled some thirty or forty degrees of latitude along the
+  upper regions of the atmosphere towards the poles it becomes
+  cooled, and is ready to descend again, between the latitudes of
+  30&deg; and 60&deg;, to supply the place of the lower air, drawn
+  off towards the equator by the Trade-winds. But this
+  partially-cooled air falls on a part of the earth's surface which
+  is moving much more slowly towards the east, in its diurnal
+  rotation, than the air which has descended upon it, and which is
+  still impressed with a great proportion of its eastern velocity
+  due to the equatorial parallels of latitude, where it was heated
+  and raised up. The necessary consequence of this is, to produce a
+  rapid motion in the air from the west over the earth's surface;
+  and this, combined with the other motion of the same portion of
+  air, or that which has driven it from the equatorial regions,
+  produces this remarkable prevalence of south-westerly winds in
+  the northern hemisphere, and north-westerly winds in the southern
+  hemisphere, in those districts lying between the latitudes of
+  30&deg; and 60&deg;.</p>
+
+  <p>In all that has been said above it has been assumed that the
+  quickest-moving or equatorial belt of the earth is also the
+  hottest, and consequently that over which the air has the
+  greatest tendency to rise. But, although this is generally true,
+  it is not, by any means, universally so. The variations, however,
+  which are observed to occur in those places where the
+  circumstances form an exception to the general rule, tend
+  strongly to confirm the theory of Hadley. The monsoons of India,
+  as I shall presently show, are examples of this; but the most
+  striking instance with which I am personally acquainted occurs in
+  the Pacific Ocean, between the Bay of Panama and the Peninsula of
+  California, from latitude 8&deg; to 22&deg; north. If the huge
+  continent of Mexico were taken away, and only sea left in its
+  place, there can be no doubt but the ordinary phenomena of the
+  Trade-winds would be observable in that part of the Pacific above
+  mentioned. Cool air would then be drawn from the slow moving
+  parallels lying to the northward, towards the swift moving
+  latitudes, near the equator, in order to supply the place of the
+  rarefied air removed to the higher regions of the atmosphere,
+  and, of course, north-easterly breezes would be produced. But
+  when the sun comes over Mexico, that vast district of country is
+  made to act the part of an enormous heater, and becomes a far
+  more powerful cause of rarefaction to the superincumbent air than
+  the ocean which lies between it and the equator. Accordingly, the
+  air over Mexico, between the latitudes of 10&deg; and 30&deg;, is
+  more heated than that which lies over the sea between the line
+  and latitude 20&deg;; and as the coolest, or least heated, that
+  is, the most dense fluid, always rushes towards the place lately
+  occupied by the hottest and most buoyant, the air from the
+  equator will be drawn towards the coast of Mexico, the great
+  local source of heat and rarefaction.</p>
+
+  <p>But as this equatorial air is of course impressed with a more
+  rapid eastern velocity than those parts of the earth which form
+  the southern shores of Mexico, a westerly wind must be produced
+  by the relative difference in these two motions. At that
+  particular season of the year when the sun is in high southern
+  declination, Mexico is not exposed to his perpendicular rays. The
+  equatorial regions are then more heated than Mexico, and
+  accordingly we actually find north-easterly breezes nearly as
+  they would be if Mexico were out of the way, and quite in
+  accordance with our theory.</p>
+
+  <p>In like manner, in the Atlantic, when the sun is far to the
+  north, the great deserts of the western angle, or shoulder of
+  Africa, become as vehemently heated, or more so, perhaps, than
+  Mexico, and this draws the air from the equator, so as to produce
+  the south-westerly winds I have already spoken of in the
+  troublesome range called the Variables.</p>
+
+  <p>Finally, the great monsoons of the Indian ocean and China sea
+  contribute to establish this theory of Hadley, though I am not
+  aware that he ever brought it to bear on these very interesting
+  phenomena. They are eminently deserving of such notice, however,
+  from being periodical Trade-winds of the highest order of utility
+  in one of the busiest commercial regions of the world. Their
+  periodical or shifting character is the circumstance upon which
+  their extensive utility in a great measure depends, amongst
+  nations where the complicated science of navigation is but in a
+  rude state. Myriads of vessels sail from their homes during one
+  monsoon before the wind, or so nearly before it, that there is no
+  great skill required in reaching all the ports at which they wish
+  to touch; and when the wind shifts to the opposite quarter, they
+  steer back again, in like manner, with a flowing sheet. Thus,
+  with an exceedingly small portion of nautical skill, they
+  contrive to make their passages by means of what we blue-jackets
+  call "a soldier's wind, there and back again." It will sometimes
+  happen that these rude navigators miscalculate their time, or
+  meet with accidents to retard them till the period of change has
+  gone past, and then they have no resource but to wait for
+  half-a-year till the monsoon shifts.</p>
+
+  <p>Experienced sailors, in like circumstances, acquainted with
+  the varieties of winds prevailing in those seas, would speedily
+  get their vessels out of this scrape, into which the lubberly
+  Chinese junks sometimes fall. They might, and certainly would,
+  lose time in making a roundabout of some two or three hundred
+  miles in searching for a wind; but, if they really knew what they
+  were about, they would be sure to catch it at last, and to turn
+  it to their purpose.</p>
+
+  <p>From April to October, when the sun's rays fall with greatest
+  effect on Arabia, India, and China, and the several interjacent
+  seas to which these immense countries give their name, the air in
+  contact with them, becoming heated, rises, and gives place to
+  fresh supplies drawn from the equator. But this equatorial mass
+  of air has had imparted to it by the earth's rotation a greater
+  degree of velocity in the direction from west to east than
+  belongs to the countries and seas just mentioned; and this
+  additional velocity, combined with its motion from the equator,
+  in rushing to fill up the vacuum caused by the rarefaction of the
+  air over those regions intersected by the tropic, causes the
+  south-west monsoon. "This wind," says Horsburgh, "prevails from
+  April to October, between the equator and the tropic of Cancer,
+  and it reaches from the east coast of Africa to the coasts of
+  India, China, and the Philippine Islands; its influence extends
+  sometimes into the Pacific Ocean as far as the Marian Islands, on
+  to longitude about 145&deg; east, and it reaches as far north as
+  the Japan Islands."</p>
+
+  <p>The late Captain Horsburgh thus describes what takes place in
+  the winter months:&mdash;"The north-east monsoon," he says,
+  "prevails from October to May, throughout nearly the same space
+  that the south-west monsoon prevails in the opposite season
+  mentioned above. But the monsoons are subject to great
+  obstructions by land; and in contracted places, such as Malacca
+  Strait, they are changed into variable winds. Their limits are
+  not everywhere the same, nor do they always shift exactly at the
+  same period."</p>
+
+  <p>During this last named period, when the north-east monsoon is
+  blowing, viz. from October to May, the sun is acting with its
+  greatest energy on the regions about the equator, and the seas
+  lying between it and the southern tropic, while the countries
+  formerly mentioned (Arabia, India, and China), lying under the
+  northern tropic, become comparatively cool. The air over these
+  regions becomes relatively more dense than the rarefied air near
+  the line; consequently the cool air rushes to the southward to
+  interchange places with that which has been heated; and as the
+  cool air comes from slower-moving to quicker-moving parallels of
+  latitude, that is, from the tropical to the equatorial regions,
+  the north-easterly monsoon is produced, very much resembling in
+  its effect, as it strictly does in its cause, the ordinary
+  trade-wind of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.</p>
+
+  <p>This is a very general view of what may be called the great
+  monsoons of India; but there are many variations in different
+  places, all of which are so readily explained by the foregoing
+  theory, that they form by no means the least interesting branch
+  of the subject, or the least satisfactory of its
+  illustrations.</p>
+
+  <p>One of the most extensive of these varieties, though of a less
+  general and sweeping character than those which blow in the
+  Arabian sea and bay of Bengal, is found in a very remote part of
+  the world. "From October to April this north-west monsoon
+  prevails between the north-east part of Madagascar and the west
+  coast of New Holland; and it is generally confined between the
+  equator and 10&deg; or 11&deg; south latitude, but subject to
+  irregularities." This westerly wind is evidently produced by the
+  air drawn actually from the equator towards the slower moving
+  latitudes of the earth, by the rarefaction of the air to the
+  southward when the sun is near the tropic of Capricorn. "The
+  south-east monsoon predominates from April to October in the
+  space last mentioned, and in some places reaches to the equator."
+  In this case, the slow moving air near the southern tropic is
+  brought, as in the ordinary case of the south-east Trade wind, to
+  the quick-moving parts of the earth's surface.</p>
+
+  <p>The following remark of Horsburgh's, in describing the
+  monsoons, is extremely valuable, and assists to explain Hadley's
+  theory of these matters:&mdash;"The parts where the north-west
+  and the south-east monsoons prevail with greatest strength and
+  regularity are in the Java sea, and from thence eastward to
+  Timor, amongst the Molucca and Banda islands, and onward to New
+  Guinea;" for it will be obvious to any one who inspects the
+  globe, on reading this passage, that there occurs in the
+  neighbourhood of the spots alluded to a powerful cause for the
+  strength and regularity of the monsoons. The enormous island, or
+  continent, as it might almost be called, of Australia, may well
+  be supposed to act the part of a heater from October to April,
+  when the sun is so nearly over it. During that period the
+  equatorial air is drawn to the south, along the intermediate
+  seas, amongst the Moluccas and other Spice islands, so as to
+  produce a strong and steady north-westerly monsoon. Of course,
+  the opposite effect will be produced when the sun retreats to the
+  north, and leaves Australia to cool.</p>
+
+  <p>These instances are quite enough, I should imagine, to satisfy
+  ordinary curiosity on this point; but professional men ought not
+  to be contented till they have investigated all branches of this
+  important topic; including that elegant and very useful episode,
+  the land and sea breezes of all hot climates, and Horsburgh's
+  East India Directory, which I have quoted above so frequently, is
+  by far the best authority with which I am acquainted on these
+  subjects. At the same time, I must not omit to do justice to a
+  beautifully-written and accurate Essay on Winds and Currents, by
+  that Prince of all Voyagers, Old Dampier; who, with means far
+  more circumscribed than most of his successors, has contrived to
+  arrange and condense his information in such a way as not only to
+  render it available to practical men, but to make it intelligible
+  and interesting to every class of readers.<a name="FNanchor_4_4"
+  id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class=
+  "fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+  <div class="footnotes">
+    <h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> It is
+      necessary to note here that these questions have been
+      examined since Captain Hall wrote, by Commander Maury, late
+      secretary to the American navy, in the true analytical
+      spirit, and immense progress made in our knowledge of these
+      winds by the mass of practical observations on the subject
+      made by practical navigators, and published under his
+      directions.&mdash;ED.</p>
+    </div>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> The
+      principle of "Great Circle Sailing," which now guides the
+      navigator to the Indian Ocean, must be studied in connection
+      with this chapter. "For every degree the ship changes her
+      longitude south of the Line she sails a shorter distance
+      along the great circle than on any other curve; for on the
+      parallel of 60&deg; thirty miles corresponds to a distance of
+      sixty at the equator."&mdash;ROBERTSON'S <i>Theory of Great
+      Circle Sailing</i>: Bell and Daldy.</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">PROGRESS OF
+  THE VOYAGE.</p>
+
+  <p>Let people say what they please of the fine bracing weather of
+  a cold climate, I have never seen any truth-speaking persons who,
+  on coming fairly to the trial, did not complain of a cold frosty
+  morning as a very great nuisance, or who did not cling eagerly to
+  the fire to unbrace themselves again. For my own part, I have
+  always delighted in the relaxation caused by hot weather; and,
+  accordingly, I have very seldom, if ever, felt the weather
+  disagreeably warm, even in India, especially when sailing on the
+  open sea, or enjoying the free range of a wide country, under
+  awnings and bungaloes, or stretched in a palanquin, or shaded by
+  an umbrella on the back of an elephant. Soldiers and sailors,
+  whose duty exposes them at all hours, either on a march or in
+  boats, are often struck down by the heat, and sigh with all their
+  hearts for the bracing frosts of higher latitudes. But those who
+  have the means of bringing to bear on their comforts the
+  innumerable contrivances which the ingenuity of wealth has
+  devised in the East, indeed, make its climate not only bearable,
+  but one of the most enjoyable in the world.</p>
+
+  <p>As we sailed along on our voyage to India, gradually slipping
+  down from the high to the low latitudes, the sun crept up higher
+  and higher every day towards the zenith, while the thermometer,
+  of course, rose likewise. What was most agreeable in this change
+  from cold to warmth was the little difference between the
+  temperature of the day and that of the night. As we approached
+  the equator, the thermometer fell only from 82&deg; in the
+  day-time to 79&deg; or 80&deg; at night, which, on deck, was
+  delightful. We did not, of course, come to this high temperature
+  all at once; for on the 6th of May, the day after we passed
+  directly under the sun, the average of the twenty-four hours was
+  73&deg;, and at night 69&deg; and 70&deg;.</p>
+
+  <p>It is not to be imagined that everyone was pleased with these
+  changes; for on board ship, as on shore, there exist discontented
+  spirits, whose acquired habit it is to find fault with the
+  existing state of things, be these what they may. To such
+  cantankerous folks a growl of misery would really seem to be the
+  great paradoxical happiness of their lives, and, in the absence
+  of real hardship, it is part of your thorough-bred growler to
+  prophesy. I have seen a middy of this stamp glad to find, on
+  coming below, that some insignificant portion of his dinner
+  really had been devoured by his hungry messmates, while he
+  himself was keeping his watch on deck.</p>
+
+  <p>"I am used worse than a dog!" he would cry, secretly delighted
+  to have gained the luxury of a grievance, "I can't even get a
+  basin of pease-soup put by for me; it's an infernal shame, I'll
+  cut the service!"</p>
+
+  <p>The diversity of climate on an Indian voyage furnishes capital
+  nuts for these perturbed spirits. It is first too cold, then too
+  hot; then there is not wind enough; then it blows too fresh in
+  the squalls: by-and-bye the nights are discovered to be
+  abominably close and sultry, and in the day the fierce flaming
+  downright heat of the sun is still worse; then the calms are
+  never to be over; or the lying trades, as they call them, have
+  got capsized, and blow from the west instead of the east! After
+  the line has been crossed, and the south-east wind is met with,
+  the weather soon becomes what these ingenious fellows call too
+  temperate, then it grows too cold again; and next off the Cape
+  the latitude is too stormy. In this alone they have some reason;
+  and I have often regretted that, by a royal ordinance of the King
+  of Portugal, the name of this mighty promontory was changed from
+  Cabo de Tormentos, the headland of storms, to its present spoony
+  title. In short, this grand voyage is merely a peristrephic
+  panorama of miseries, which if they survive, say they, it will be
+  happy for them.&mdash;Happy! Not a whit. It is out of their
+  nature to be happy. To find fault, to fling away the good the
+  gods provide them, and to aggravate the pain of every real wound
+  by the impatience of idle complaints, is their diseased joy.
+  "Evil, be thou my good!" they might well exclaim; for, instead of
+  heightening the pleasures of life by full participation, or
+  subduing its inevitable evils, or, at all events, softening their
+  asperity by enduring with fortitude and cheerfulness what cannot
+  be helped, these self-tormentors reject what is substantially
+  pleasing, and cling with habitual but morbid relish to whatever
+  is disagreeable.</p>
+
+  <p>As we glided along, through the Trade-winds, towards the neck
+  of sea which divides Africa from South America, the symptoms of a
+  change in climate became daily more manifest. Every skylight and
+  stern window was thrown wide open, and every cabin scuttle driven
+  out, that a free draught of air might sweep through the ship all
+  night long. In the day-time, the pitch in the seams of the
+  upper-deck began to melt, and, by sticking to the soles of our
+  shoes, plastered the planks, to the great discomfiture of the
+  captain of the after-guard. The tar, oozing from the cordage
+  aloft, dropped on our heads, speckled the snow white boat covers,
+  and obliged us to spread the hammock-cloths, to prevent the
+  bedding being ruined by the spots. On the larboard or eastern
+  side of the ship, which, of course, is always presented to the
+  sun when crossing the Trades on the outward-bound voyage, the
+  pitch and rosin with which the seams had been payed ran down in
+  little streams across the lines of paint. To prevent, as far as
+  we could, some of these annoyances, we spread the awnings over
+  the decks, and triced up the curtains, fore and aft, while every
+  art was used to introduce air to all parts of the ship. The
+  half-ports were removed from the main-deck guns, the gratings put
+  on one side, and as many windsails sent down the hatchways as
+  could be made to catch a puff of air. Blue trousers and beaver
+  scrapers soon gave way before the elements, and were succeeded by
+  nankeens, straw hats, and canvas caps. In the captain's cabin,
+  where the presence of the governor, our passenger, still kept up
+  the strait-laced etiquette of the service, coats and epaulettes
+  appeared at dinner; but in the gun-room, the officers, the
+  instant they came below, slipped on their light white jackets,
+  and, disdaining waistcoat, seized their flutes and books, and
+  drew their chairs as near as possible to the mouth of the
+  windsail. In the midshipmen's berth, outside in the steerage, the
+  shirt without neckcloth or stock, and sometimes with its sleeves
+  rolled up to the elbows, was the most fashionable rig. The seamen
+  and marines, of course, dined on the main-deck, not only that
+  they might enjoy the fresh air breathing gently in upon them
+  through the ports on the weather side, and sweeping out again by
+  those to leeward, but that the lower deck might be kept as cool
+  and airy as possible against the sultry feverish night
+  season.</p>
+
+  <p>On such occasions the men leave their tables and stools below,
+  and either seat themselves tailor-fashion, or recline
+  Roman-fashion. Nor is this in the least degree unpleasant; for
+  the deck of a man-of-war is made as clean every morning as any
+  table, and is kept so during the day by being swept at least once
+  an hour. Of all the tunes played by the boatswain's pipe, that
+  which calls the sweepers is the most frequently heard. When the
+  order is given for dining on deck, the different messes into
+  which the crew are divided occupy the spots immediately above
+  their usual mess-places below, as far as the guns allow of their
+  doing so. It has always struck me as very pleasing, to see the
+  main-deck covered, from the after hatchway to the cook's coppers,
+  with the people's messes, enjoying their noon-day repast; while
+  the celestial grog, with which their hard, dry, salt junk is
+  washed down, out-matches twenty-fold in Jack's estimation all the
+  thin potations of those who, in no very courteous language, are
+  called their betters.</p>
+
+  <p>Until we had crossed the North-east Trade, and reached the
+  Calms, the ship's way through the water was too great to allow of
+  bathing alongside; but we easily contrived a shower-bath, which
+  answered very well. This consisted of a packing-box, the bottom
+  of which was perforated with holes, triced up between two of the
+  skids, near the gangway, and under the quarter of one of the
+  boats on the booms. A couple of the top-men with draw-buckets
+  supplied the water from above, while the bather stood on the
+  main-deck, enjoying the shower. The time selected for this
+  delightful bath was usually about four o'clock in the morning,
+  after the middle watch was out, and before the exhausted officer
+  tumbled into bed. A four hours' walk, indeed, in a sultry night,
+  be it managed ever so gently, has a tendency to produce a degree
+  of heat approaching to feverishness; and I have no words to
+  describe the luxury of standing under a cool shower when the long
+  task is ended. We were generally just enough fatigued to be sure
+  of a sound, light, happy sleep, and just enough heated to revel
+  in the coolest water that was to be had. In fact, we found that
+  of the sea much too warm, being only two or three degrees below
+  the temperature of the air. To remedy this, our plan was, to
+  expose a dozen buckets-full on the gangway at eight or nine
+  o'clock in the evening; and these, being allowed to stand till
+  morning, became so much cooler by the evaporation in the night,
+  that the shock was unspeakably grateful.</p>
+
+  <p>Perhaps there is not any more characteristic evidence of our
+  being within the tropical regions than the company of those
+  picturesque little animals, the flying-fish. It is true, that a
+  stray one or two may sometimes be met with far north, making a
+  few short skips out of the water, and I even remember seeing
+  several close to the edge of the banks of Newfoundland, in
+  latitude 45&deg;; but it is not until the voyager has fairly
+  reached the heart of the torrid zone that he sees the flying-fish
+  in perfection. I have hardly ever observed a person so dull or
+  unimaginative that his eye did not glisten as he watched a shoal
+  of flying-fish rise from the sea, and skim along for several
+  hundred yards. There is something in it so totally dissimilar to
+  everything else in other parts of the world, that our wonder goes
+  on increasing every time we see even a single one take its
+  flight. The incredulity of the old Scotch woman on this head is
+  sufficiently excusable. "You may hae seen rivers o' milk, and
+  mountains o' sugar," said she to her son, returned from a voyage;
+  "but you'll ne'er gar me believe you have seen a fish that could
+  flee!"</p>
+
+  <p>The pleasant Trade, which had wafted us with different degrees
+  of velocity, over a distance of more than a thousand miles, at
+  last gradually failed. The sails began to flap gently against the
+  masts, so gently, indeed, that we half hoped it was caused, not
+  so much by the diminished force of the breeze, with which we wore
+  very unwilling to part, as by that long and peculiar swell
+  which,</p>
+
+  <div class="poem">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <span class="i9">"In the torrid clime<br /></span> <span>Dark
+      heaving,"<br /></span>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <p>is productive of oscillating motion on the ship; but the faint
+  zephyrs, which had coquetted with our languid sails for an hour
+  or two, at length took their leave, first of the courses, then of
+  the topsails, and lastly of the royals and the smaller flying
+  kites aloft. In vain we looked round and round the horizon for
+  some traces of a return of our old friend the Trade, but could
+  distinguish nothing save one polished, dark-heaving sheet of
+  glass, reflecting the unbroken disc of the sun, and the bright
+  clear sky in the moving mirror beneath. From the heat, which soon
+  became intense, there was no escape, either on deck or below,
+  aloft in the tops, or still higher on the cross-trees; neither
+  could we find relief down in the hold; for it was all the same,
+  except that in the exposed situations we were scorched or
+  roasted, in the others suffocated. The useless helm was lashed
+  amidships, the yards were lowered on the cap, and the boats were
+  dropped into the water, to fill up the cracks and rents caused by
+  the fierce heat. The occasion was taken advantage of to shift
+  some of the sails, and to mend others; most of the running-ropes
+  also were turned end for end. A listless feeling stole over us
+  all, and we lay about the decks gasping for breath, seeking in
+  vain some alleviation to our thirst by drink! drink! drink! Alas,
+  the transient indulgence only made the matter worse!</p>
+
+  <p>Meanwhile, our convoy of huge China ships, rolling very slowly
+  on the top of the long, smooth, and scarcely perceptible ridges,
+  or sinking as gently between their summits, were scattered in all
+  directions, with their heads in different ways, some looking
+  homeward again, and some, as if by instinct, keeping still for
+  the south. How it happens I do not know, but on occasions of
+  perfect calm, or such as appear to be perfectly calm, the ships
+  of a fleet generally drift away from one another; so that, at the
+  end of a few hours, the whole circle bounded by the horizon is
+  speckled over with these unmanageable hulks, as they may for the
+  time be considered. It will occasionally happen, indeed, that two
+  ships draw so near in a calm as to incur some risk of falling on
+  board one another. I need scarcely mention, that, even in the
+  smoothest water ever found in the open sea, two large ships
+  coming into actual contact must prove a formidable encounter. As
+  long as they are apart their gentle and rather graceful movements
+  are fit subjects of admiration; and I have often seen people
+  gazing, for an hour at a time, at the ships of a becalmed fleet,
+  slowly twisting round, changing their position, and rolling from
+  side to side, as silently as if they had been in harbour, or
+  accompanied only by the faint, rippling sound tripping along the
+  water-line, as the copper below the bends alternately sunk into
+  the sea, or rose out of it, dripping wet, and shining as bright
+  and clean as a new coin, from the constant friction of the ocean
+  during the previous rapid passage across the Trade-winds.</p>
+
+  <p>But all this picturesque admiration changes to alarm when
+  ships come so close as to risk a contact; for these motions,
+  which appear so slow and gentle to the eye, are irresistible in
+  their force; and as the chances are against the two vessels
+  moving exactly in the same direction at the same moment, they
+  must speedily grind or tear one another to pieces. Supposing them
+  to come in contact side by side, the first roll would probably
+  tear away the fore and main channels of both ships; the next
+  roll, by interlacing the lower yards, and entangling the spars of
+  one ship with the shrouds and backstays of the other, would in
+  all likelihood bring down all three masts of both ships, not
+  piecemeal, as the poet hath it, but in one furious crash. Beneath
+  the ruins of the spars, the coils of rigging, and the enormous
+  folds of canvas, might lie crushed many of the best hands, who,
+  from being always the foremost to spring forward in such seasons
+  of danger, are surest to be sacrificed. After this first
+  catastrophe, the ships would probably drift away from one another
+  for a little while, only to tumble together again and again, till
+  they had ground one another to the water's edge, and one or both
+  of them would fill and go down. In such encounters it is
+  impossible to stop the mischief, and oak and iron break, and
+  crumble in pieces, like sealing-wax and pie-crust. Many instances
+  of such accidents are on record, but I never witnessed one.</p>
+
+  <p>To prevent these frightful <i>rencontres</i> care is always
+  taken to hoist out the boats in good time, if need be, to tow the
+  ships apart, or, what is generally sufficient, to tow the ships'
+  heads in opposite directions. I scarcely know why this should
+  have the effect, but certainly it appears that, be the calm ever
+  so complete, or dead, as the term is, a vessel generally forges
+  ahead, or steals along imperceptibly in the direction she is
+  looking to; possibly from the conformation of the hull.</p>
+
+  <p>Shortly after the Trade-wind left us, a cloud rose in the
+  south, which soon filled the whole air, and discharged upon us
+  the most furious shower I ever beheld. The rain fell down in
+  perpendicular lines of drops, or spouts, without a breath of
+  wind, unaccompanied by thunder or any other noise, and in one
+  great gush or splash, as if some prodigious reservoir had been
+  upset over the fleet from the edge of the cloud.</p>
+
+  <p>Our noble commander, delighted with the opportunity of
+  replenishing his stock of water, called out, "Put shot on each
+  side, and slack all the stops down, so that the awnings may slope
+  inwards. Get buckets and empty casks to hand instantly!"</p>
+
+  <p>In a few minutes the awnings were half full of water, and a
+  hole connected with a hose having been prepared beforehand near
+  the lowest point, where the canvas was weighed down by the shot,
+  a stream descended as if a cock had been turned. Not a drop of
+  this was lost; but being carried off, it was poured into a
+  starting-tub at the hatchway, and so conveyed by a pipe to the
+  casks in the hold. By the time the squall was over we had filled
+  six or eight butts; and although not good to drink, from being
+  contaminated by the tar from the ropes and sails, the water
+  answered admirably for washing, which was our object in catching
+  it.</p>
+
+  <p>Ever since the days of Captain Cook it has been the practice
+  to allow the crew two washing days per week, on the details of
+  which proceeding we all know the misery of putting on wet
+  clothes, or sleeping in damp sheets. Now, a shirt washed in salt
+  water is really a great deal worse than either; putting on linen
+  washed in salt water, you first dry your unhappy shirt by
+  exposing it to the sun or the fire till it seems as free from
+  moisture as any bone; you then put it on, in hopes of enjoying
+  the benefit of clean linen. Alas, not a whit of enjoyment
+  follows! For if the air be in a humid state, or you are exposed
+  to exercise, the treacherous salt, which, when crystallised, has
+  hidden itself in the fibres of the cloth, speedily melts, and you
+  have all the tortures of being once more wrapped in moist
+  drapery. In your agony, you pull it off, run to the galley-range,
+  and toast it over again; or you hang it up in the fiery heat of
+  the southern sun, and when not a particle of wet seems to remain,
+  you draw it on a second time, fancying your job at last complete.
+  But, miserable man that you are! the insidious enemy still lurks
+  there, and no art we yet know of will expel him, save and except
+  that of a good sound rinsing in fresh water.</p>
+
+  <p>I need scarcely add, then, that there are few favours of the
+  minor kind which a considerate captain may bestow on his crew
+  more appreciated than giving them as much fresh water as will
+  serve to carry off the abominable salt from their clothes, after
+  they have first been well scoured in the water of the ocean; it
+  is a great comfort, and an officer of any activity, by a
+  judicious management of the ship's regular stock, and, above all,
+  by losing no opportunity of catching rain water, need seldom be
+  without the means of giving to each man of his crew a gallon
+  twice a-week during the longest voyage.</p>
+
+  <p>It was from an old and excellent officer I first learned,
+  that, by proper and constant care, this indulgence might almost
+  always be granted. It is not easy, I freely admit, at all times,
+  and in all climates, to keep a supply Of washing-water on board.
+  But a captain ought to do what is right and kind, simply because
+  it is right and kind, regardless of trouble; and his conduct in
+  this respect should not be uninfluenced by the manner in which it
+  is received; at all events, he may be certain that if his favours
+  be not well received, the fault lies in his manner of giving
+  them. Sailors have the most acute penetration possible on these
+  occasions; and if the captain be actuated by any wish except that
+  of doing his duty uniformly and kindly, the Johnnies will see
+  through it all, and either laugh at him or hate him.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER
+  VIII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">AQUATIC
+  SPORTS.</p>
+
+  <p>One day, after we had lost the north-east Trade wind, a
+  furious squall, unperceived till it reached us, swept through the
+  fleet. These violent tornadoes are generally called white
+  squalls, from being unattended by those black heavy rain clouds.
+  On the occasion of ordinary squalls, even with the advantage of
+  the warning given by rising clouds, it is not always easy to
+  escape their force unhurt. If the wind be fair, a natural
+  reluctance is felt to shorten sail, at all events, until the
+  squall is so near that there is an absolute necessity for doing
+  so, and inexperienced officers are often deceived by the
+  unexpected velocity with which the gust comes down upon them.
+  Even the oldest sailors are apt to miscalculate the time likely
+  to elapse before the wind can touch them. In these cases, unless
+  the men be very active, the sails are torn, and sometimes a mast
+  or a yard is carried away. It is, besides, often doubtful whether
+  there is wind or merely a plump of rain in the squall; there are,
+  therefore, few points of distinction more remarkable between the
+  seamanship of an old and a young officer, than their power of
+  judging of this matter. To a man quite inexperienced, a squall
+  may look in the highest degree threatening; he will order the
+  top-gallant clew-lines to be manned, place hands by the topsail
+  haulyards, and lay along the main clew-garnets. His more
+  experienced captain, however, being apprised of the squall's
+  approach, steps on deck, takes a hasty look to windward, and says
+  quietly to the officer of the watch, "Never mind, there's nothing
+  in it, it's only rain; keep the sails on her."</p>
+
+  <p>But although the older authority nine times in ten proves
+  correct in his judgment, even he might find it difficult, if not
+  impossible, to tell exactly upon what his confidence rested.
+  Sailors boast, indeed, of having an infallible test by which the
+  point in question may be ascertained, their secret being clothed
+  in the following rhymes so to call them:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <div class="poem">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <span>"If the rain's before the wind,<br /></span> <span>'Tis
+      time to take the topsails in;<br /></span> <span>If the
+      wind's before the rain,<br /></span> <span>Hoist your
+      topsails up again."<br /></span>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <p>The practical knowledge alluded to, however, comes not by
+  rhymes, but by experience alone, with a kind of intuitive
+  confidence. Many long and hard years of study, and myriads of
+  forgotten trials must have been gone through to give this
+  enviable knowledge.</p>
+
+  <p>No experience, however, can altogether guard against these
+  sudden gusts or white squalls, since they make no show, except,
+  sometimes, by a rippling of the water along which they are
+  sweeping. On the occasion above alluded to there was not even
+  this faint warning. The first ships of the convoy touched by the
+  blast were laid over almost on their beam-ends, but in the next
+  instant righted again, on the whole of their sails being blown
+  clean out of the bolt-ropes. The Theban frigate and the Volage,
+  then lying nearly in the centre of the fleet, were the only ships
+  which saved an inch of canvas, owing chiefly to our having so
+  many more hands on board, but partly to our having caught sight
+  of the ruin brought on the vessels near us, just in time to let
+  fly the sheets and haulyards and get the yards down. But even
+  then, with the utmost exertion of every man and boy on board, we
+  barely succeeded in clewing all up.</p>
+
+  <p>When this hurricane of a moment had passed, and we had time to
+  look round, not a rag was to be seen in the whole fleet; while
+  the Wexford, a ship near us, had lost her three top-gallant masts
+  and jib-boom, and, what was a much more serious misfortune, her
+  fore-topmast was dangling over the bows. Part of the fore-topsail
+  was wrapped like a shawl round the lee cat-head, while the rest
+  hung down in festoons from the collar of the fore-stay to the
+  spritsail yard-arm. A stout party of seamen from each of the
+  men-of-war were sent to assist in clearing the wreck, and getting
+  up fresh spars; and a light fair wind having succeeded to the
+  calm in which we had been lolling about for many days, we took
+  our wounded bird in tow, and made all sail towards the equator.
+  By this time, also, the China ships had bent a new set of sails,
+  and were resuming their old stations in the appointed order of
+  bearing, which it was our policy to keep up strictly, together
+  with as many other of the formalities of a fleet in line of
+  battle and on a cruise as we could possibly maintain.</p>
+
+  <p>While we were thus stealing along pleasantly enough under the
+  genial influence of this newly-found air, which as yet was
+  confined to the upper sails, and every one was looking
+  open-mouthed to the eastward to catch a gulp of cool air, or was
+  congratulating his neighbour on getting rid of the tiresome calm
+  in which we had been so long half-roasted, half-suffocated, about
+  a dozen flying-fish rose out of the water, just under the
+  fore-chains, and skimmed away to windward at the height of ten or
+  twelve feet above the surface. But sometimes the flying-fish
+  merely skims the surface, so as to touch the tops of the
+  successive waves, without rising and falling to follow the
+  undulations of the sea; that they also rise as high as twenty
+  feet out of the water is certain, being sometimes found in the
+  channels of a line-of-battle ship; and they frequently fly into a
+  74 gun-ship's main-deck ports. On a frigate's forecastle and
+  gangways, also elevations which may be taken at eighteen or
+  twenty feet, they are often found. I remember seeing one, about
+  nine inches in length, and weighing not less, I should suppose,
+  than half-a-pound, skim into the Volage's main-deck port just
+  abreast of the gangway. One of the main-topmen was coming up the
+  quarter-deck ladder at the moment, when the flying-fish, entering
+  the port, struck the astonished mariner on the temple, knocked
+  him off the step, and very nearly laid him sprawling.</p>
+
+  <p>I was once in a prize, a low Spanish schooner, not above two
+  feet and a-half out of the water, when we used to pick up
+  flying-fish enough about the decks in the morning to give us a
+  capital breakfast. They are not unlike whitings to the taste,
+  though rather firmer, and very dry. They form, I am told, a
+  considerable article of food for the negroes in the harbours of
+  the West Indies. The method of catching them at night is thus
+  described:&mdash;In the middle of the canoe a light is placed on
+  the top of a pole, towards which object it is believed these fish
+  always dart, while on both sides of the canoe a net is spread to
+  a considerable distance, supported by out-riggers above the
+  surface of the water; the fish dash at the light, pass it, and
+  fall into the net on the other side.</p>
+
+  <p>Shortly after observing the cluster of flying-fish rise out of
+  the water, we discovered two or three dolphins ranging past the
+  ship, in all their beauty, and watched with some anxiety to see
+  one of those aquatic chases of which our friends of the Indiamen
+  had been telling us such wonderful stories. We had not long to
+  wait; for the ship, in her progress through the water, soon put
+  up another shoal of these little things, which, as the others had
+  done, took their flight directly to windward. A large dolphin,
+  which had been keeping company with us abreast of the weather
+  gangway at the depth of two or three fathoms, and, as usual,
+  glistening most beautifully in the sun, no sooner detected our
+  poor dear little friends take wing, than he turned his head
+  towards them, and, darting to the surface, leaped from the water
+  with a velocity little short, as it seemed, of a cannon-ball. But
+  although the impetus with which he shot himself into the air gave
+  him an initial velocity greatly exceeding that of the
+  flying-fish, the start which his fated prey had got enabled them
+  to keep ahead of him for a considerable time.</p>
+
+  <p>The length of the dolphin's first spring could not be less
+  than ten yards; and after he fell we could see him gliding like
+  lightning through the water for a moment, when he again rose, and
+  shot forwards with considerably greater velocity than at first,
+  and, of course, to a still greater distance. In this manner the
+  merciless pursuer seemed to stride along the sea with fearful
+  rapidity, while his brilliant coat sparkled and flashed in the
+  sun quite splendidly. As he fell headlong on the water at the end
+  of each huge leap, a series of circles were sent far over the
+  still surface, which lay as smooth as a mirror; for the breeze,
+  although enough to keep the royals and top-gallant studding sails
+  extended, was hardly as yet felt below.</p>
+
+  <p>The group of wretched flying-fish, thus hotly pursued, at
+  length dropped into the sea; but we were rejoiced to observe that
+  they merely touched the top of the swell, and scarcely sunk in
+  it, at least they instantly set off again in a fresh and even
+  more vigorous flight. It was particularly interesting to observe
+  that the direction they now took was quite different from the one
+  in which they had set out, implying but too obviously that they
+  had detected their fierce enemy, who was following them with
+  giant steps along the waves, and now gaining rapidly upon them.
+  His terrific pace, indeed, was two or three times as swift as
+  theirs, poor little things! and the greedy dolphin was fully as
+  quick-sighted as the flying-fish which were trying to elude him;
+  for whenever they varied their flight in the smallest degree, he
+  lost not the tenth part of a second in shaping a new course, so
+  as to cut off the chase; while they, in a manner really not
+  unlike that of the hare, doubled more than once upon their
+  pursuer. But it was soon too plainly to be seen that the strength
+  and confidence of the flying-fish were fast ebbing. Their flights
+  became shorter and shorter, and their course more fluttering and
+  uncertain, while the enormous leaps of the dolphin appeared to
+  grow only more vigorous at each bound. Eventually, indeed, we
+  could see, or fancied we could see, that this skilful sea
+  sportsman arranged all his springs with such an assurance of
+  success, that he contrived to fall, at the end of each, just
+  under the very spot on which the exhausted flying-fish were about
+  to drop! Sometimes this catastrophe took place at too great a
+  distance for us to see from the deck exactly what happened; but
+  on our mounting high into the rigging, we may be said to have
+  been in at the death; for then we could discover that the
+  unfortunate little creatures, one after another, either popped
+  right into the dolphin's jaws as they lighted on the water, or
+  were snapped up instantly afterwards.</p>
+
+  <p>It was impossible not to take an active part with our pretty
+  little friends of the weaker side, and accordingly we very
+  speedily had our revenge. The middies and the sailors, delighted
+  with the chance, rigged out a dozen or twenty lines from the
+  jib-boom end, and spritsail yard-arms, with hooks baited merely
+  with bits of tin, the glitter of which resembles so much that of
+  the body and wings of the flying-fish, that many a proud dolphin,
+  making sure of a delicious morsel, leaped in rapture at the
+  deceitful prize.</p>
+
+  <p>It may be well to mention that the dolphin of sailors is not
+  the fish so called by the ancient poets. Ours, which I learn from
+  the Encyclop&aelig;dia, is the <i>Coryphoena hippurus</i> of
+  naturalists, is totally different from their <i>Delphinus
+  phocoena</i>, termed by us the porpoise, respecting which there
+  exists a popular belief amongst seamen that the wind may be
+  expected from the quarter to which a shoal of porpoises are
+  observed to steer. So far, however, from our respecting the
+  speculations of these submarine philosophers, every art is used
+  to drag them out of their native element, and to pass them
+  through the fire to the insatiable Molochs of the lower decks and
+  cockpits of his Majesty's ships, a race amongst whom the constant
+  supply of the best provisions appears to produce only an increase
+  of appetite.</p>
+
+  <p>One harpoon, at least, is always kept in readiness for action
+  in the fore part of the ship. The sharpest and strongest of these
+  deadly weapons is generally stopped or fastened to the fore-tack
+  bumpkin, a spar some ten or twelve feet long, projecting from the
+  bows of a ship on each side like the horns of a snail, to which
+  the tack or lower corner of the foresail is drawn down when the
+  ship is on a wind. This spar, which affords good footing, not
+  being raised many feet above the water, while it is clear of the
+  bow, and very nearly over the spot where the porpoises glide
+  past, when shooting across the ship's forefoot, is eagerly
+  occupied by the most active and expert harpooner on board, as
+  soon as the report has been spread that a shoal, or, as the
+  sailors call it, a "school" of porpoises, are round the ship.
+  There is another favourite station which is speedily filled on
+  these occasions; I mean, alongside of the slight-looking
+  apparatus projecting perpendicularly downwards from the end of
+  the bowsprit. This spar is not inaptly called the
+  dolphin-striker, from its appearing to dash into the waves as the
+  ship pitches; perhaps it may have acquired its name on account of
+  its being so capital a position from which to strike that fish.
+  The lower end of the spar is connected with the outer end of the
+  jib-boom, by means of a stout rope, which, after passing through
+  its extremity, extends to the ship; and it is upon this guy that
+  the fortunate wielder of the harpoon fixes himself. The harpoon
+  is a triangular, or rather a heart-shaped barbed weapon, somewhat
+  larger than a man's head, and in the centre about as thick as his
+  knuckles. Its point and edges are made of iron so soft that they
+  can easily be brought to a rough edge by means of a file. This
+  javelin-head, or, as it is technically called by whalers, the
+  "mouth," is connected by a slender arm or shank, terminating in a
+  socket. The barbed head or mouth is eight inches long, and six
+  broad; the shank, with its socket, two feet and a-half long. The
+  shank is not quite half an inch in diameter; and as this part is
+  liable to be forcibly extended, twisted, and bent, it requires to
+  be made of the toughest and most pliable iron.</p>
+
+  <p>A piece of small, but stout line, called, I think, the
+  foreganger, is spliced securely to the shank of the harpoon. To
+  the end of this line is attached any small rope that lies
+  handiest on the forecastle, probably the top-gallant clew-line,
+  or the jib down-haul. The rope, before being made fast to the
+  foreganger, is rove through a block attached to some part of the
+  bowsprit, or to the foremost swifter of the fore-rigging; a gang
+  of hands are always ready to take hold of the end, and run the
+  fish right out of the water when pierced by the iron.</p>
+
+  <p>The harpooner has nothing to attend to but the mere act of
+  striking his object; and there are few exploits in which the
+  dexterity of one person is more conspicuous over that of another
+  than in delivering the harpoon. I have heard Captain Scoresby
+  say, that, when a whale is struck, it is an object of importance
+  to drive the weapon socket-deep into the blubber, or outer rind,
+  of the floating monster; but in the case of the porpoise the true
+  point of skill appears to lie in the aim alone: for the mere
+  weight of the instrument, with its loaded staff, is sufficient to
+  lodge the barbs in the body of the fish, and in many cases to
+  carry it right through to the other side.</p>
+
+  <p>The strength of the porpoise must be very great, for I have
+  seen him twist a whale harpoon several times round, and
+  eventually tear himself off by main force. On this account, it is
+  of consequence to get the floundering gentleman on board with the
+  least possible delay after the fish is struck. Accordingly, the
+  harpooner, the instant he has made a good hit, bawls out, "Haul
+  away! haul away!" upon which the men stationed at the line run
+  away with it, and the struggling wretch is raised high into the
+  air. Two or three of the smartest hands have in the mean time
+  prepared what is called a running bowline knot, or noose, the
+  nature of which may be readily described by saying that although
+  it slips up, or renders, very easily, it is perfectly secure,
+  without being subject to jamming. This running bowline, of which
+  several are always previously made ready, is placed by hand round
+  the body of the porpoise, or it may be cast, like the lasso, over
+  its tail, and then, but not till then, can the capture be
+  considered quite secure. I have seen many a gallant prize of this
+  kind fairly transfixed with the harpoon, and rattled like a shot
+  up to the block, where it was hailed by the shouts of the victors
+  as the source of a certain feast, and yet lost after all, either
+  by the line breaking, or the dart coming out during the vehement
+  struggles of the fish.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember once seeing a porpoise accidentally struck by a
+  minor description of fish-spear called a grains, a weapon quite
+  inadequate for such a service. The cord by which it was held,
+  being much too weak, soon broke, and off dashed the wounded fish,
+  right in the wind's eye, at a prodigious rate, with the staff
+  erect on its back, like a signal-post. The poor wretch was
+  instantly accompanied, or pursued, by myriads of his own species,
+  whose instinct, it is said, teaches them to follow any track of
+  blood, and even to devour their unfortunate fellow-fish. I rather
+  doubt the fact of their cannibalism, but am certain that,
+  whenever a porpoise is struck and escapes, he is followed by all
+  the others, and the ship is deserted by the shoal in a few
+  seconds. In the instance just mentioned, the grains with which
+  the porpoise was struck had been got ready for spearing a
+  dolphin; but the man in whose hands it happened to be, not being
+  an experienced harpooneer, could not resist the opportunity of
+  darting his weapon into the first fish that offered a fair
+  mark.</p>
+
+  <p>The dolphin, the bonito, and the albacore, are sometimes
+  caught with the grains, but generally by means of lines baited
+  either with bits of tin, or with pieces of the flying-fish, when
+  any are to be had. In fine weather, especially between the
+  tropics, when the whole surface of the sea is often covered with
+  them, a dozen lines are hung from the jib-boom end and spritsail
+  yard, all so arranged, that when the ship sends forward, the
+  hook, with its glittering bait, barely touches the water, but
+  rises from it when the ship is raised up by the swell. The
+  grains, spoken of above, resembles nothing so much that I know of
+  as the trident which painters thrust into the hands of Daddy
+  Neptune. If my nautical recollections, however, serve me
+  correctly, this spear has five prongs, not three, and sometimes
+  there are two sets, placed in lines at right angles to one
+  another. The upper end of the staff being loaded with lead, it
+  falls down and turns over the fish, which is then drawn on board
+  on the top of the grains, as a potato or a herring might be
+  presented on the point of a fork.</p>
+
+  <p>The dolphin is eaten and generally relished by every one,
+  though certainly a plaguy dry fish. It is often cut into slices
+  and fried like salmon, or boiled and soused in vinegar, to be
+  eaten cold. The bonito is a coarser fish, and only becomes
+  tolerable eating by the copious use of port-wine.</p>
+
+  <p>It happened in a ship I commanded that a porpoise was struck
+  about half-an-hour before the cabin dinner; and I gave
+  directions, as a matter of course, to my steward to dress a dish
+  of steaks, cut well clear of the thick coating of blubber. It so
+  chanced that none of the crew had ever before seen a fish of this
+  kind taken, and in consequence there arose doubts amongst them
+  whether or not it was good, or even safe eating. The word,
+  however, being soon passed along the decks that orders had been
+  given for some slices of the porpoise to be cooked for the
+  captain's table, a deputation from forward was appointed to
+  proceed as near to the cabin door as the etiquette of the service
+  allowed, in order to establish the important fact of the porpoise
+  being eatable. The dish was carried in, its contents speedily
+  discussed, and a fresh supply having been sent for, the steward
+  was, of course, intercepted in his way to the cook. "I say,
+  Capewell," cried one of the hungry delegates, "did the captain
+  really eat any of the porpoise?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Eat it!" exclaimed the steward, "look at that!" at the same
+  time lifting off the cover, and showing a dish as well cleared as
+  if it had previously been freighted with veal cutlets, and was
+  now on its return from the midshipmen's berth.</p>
+
+  <p>"Ho! ho!" sung out Jack, running back to the forecastle; "if
+  the skipper eats porpoise, I don't see why we should be nice; so
+  here goes!" Then pulling forth the great clasp-knife which always
+  hangs by a cord round the neck of a seaman, he plunged it into
+  the sides of the fish, and, after separating the outside rind of
+  blubber, detached half-a-dozen pounds of the red meat, which, in
+  texture and taste, and in the heat of its blood, resembles beef,
+  though very coarse. His example was so speedily followed by the
+  rest of the ship's company, that when I walked forward, after
+  dinner, in company with the doctor, to take the post-mortem view
+  of the porpoise more critically than before, we found the whole
+  had been broiled and eaten within half-an-hour after I had
+  unconsciously given, by my example, an official sanction to the
+  feast.</p>
+
+  <p>On the 24th of May, the day before crossing the equator, I saw
+  the grandest display of all these different kinds of fish which
+  it has ever been my fortune to meet with. In my journal, written
+  on that day, I find some things related of which I have scarcely
+  any recollection, and certainly have never witnessed since. A
+  bonito, it appears, darted out of the water after a flying-fish,
+  open-mouthed, and so true was the direction of his leap that he
+  actually closed with the chase in the air, and sought to snap it
+  up; but, owing to some error in his calculation, the top of his
+  head striking the object of pursuit, sent it spinning off in a
+  direction quite different from that which his own momentum
+  obliged him to follow. A number of those huge birds, the
+  albatrosses, were soaring over the face of the waters, and the
+  flying-fish, when rising into the air to avoid the dolphins and
+  bonitos, were frequently caught by these poaching birds, to the
+  very reasonable disappointment of the sporting fish below. These
+  intruders proceeded not altogether with impunity, however; for we
+  hooked several of them, who, confident in their own sagacity and
+  strength of wing, swooped eagerly at the baited hooks towed far
+  astern of the ship, and were thus drawn on board, screaming and
+  flapping their wings in a very ridiculous plight. To render this
+  curious circle of mutual destruction quite complete, though it
+  may diminish our sympathy for the persecuted flying-fish, I ought
+  to mention that on the same day one dropped on board in the
+  middle of its flight, and in its throat another small fish was
+  found half swallowed, but still alive!</p>
+
+  <p>All this may be considered, more or less, as mere sport; but
+  in the capture of the shark, a less amiable, or, I may say, a
+  more ferocious spirit is sure to prevail. There would seem,
+  indeed, to be a sort of perpetual and hereditary war waged
+  between sailors and sharks, like that said to exist between the
+  Esquimaux and the Indians of North America, where, as each of the
+  belligerents is under the full belief that every death, whether
+  natural or violent, is caused by the machinations of the other
+  side, there is no hope of peace between them, as long as the high
+  conflicting parties shall be subject to the laws of
+  mortality.</p>
+
+  <p>In like manner, I fear, that in all future times, as in all
+  times past, when poor Jack falls overboard in Madras roads, or in
+  Port Royal harbour, he will be crunched between the shark's
+  quadruple or quintuple rows of serrated teeth, with as merciless
+  a spirit of enjoyment as Jack himself can display. Certainly, I
+  nave never seen the savage part of our nature peep out more
+  clearly than upon these occasions, when a whole ship's company,
+  captain, officers, and young gentlemen inclusive, shout in
+  triumphant exultation over the body of a captive shark,
+  floundering in impotent rage on the poop or forecastle. The
+  capture always affords high and peculiar sport, for it is one in
+  which every person on board sympathises, and, to a certain
+  extent, takes a share. Like a fox-chase, it is ever new, and
+  draws within its vortex every description of person. Even the
+  monkey, if there be one on board, takes a vehement interest in
+  the whole progress of this wild scene. I remember once observing
+  Jacko running backwards and forwards along the after-part of the
+  poop hammock-netting, grinning, screaming, and chattering at such
+  a rate, that, as it was nearly calm, he was heard all over the
+  decks.</p>
+
+  <p>"What's the matter with you, Master Mona?" said the
+  quarter-master; for the animal came from Teneriffe, and preserved
+  his Spanish cognomen. Jacko replied not, but merely stretching
+  his head over the railing, stared with his eyes almost bursting
+  from his head, and by the intensity of his grin bared his teeth
+  and gums nearly from ear to ear.</p>
+
+  <p>The sharp curved dorsal fin of a huge shark was now seen,
+  rising about six inches above the water, and cutting the glazed
+  surface of the sea by as fine a line as if a sickle had been
+  drawn along.</p>
+
+  <p>"Messenger! run to the cook for a piece of pork," cried the
+  captain, taking command with as much glee as if it had been an
+  enemy's cruiser.</p>
+
+  <p>"Where's your hook, quarter-master?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Here, sir, here!" cried the fellow, feeling the point, and
+  declaring it as sharp as any lady's needle, and in the next
+  instant piercing with it a huge junk of rusty pork, weighing four
+  or five pounds; for nothing, scarcely, is too large or too high
+  in flavour for the stomach of a shark.</p>
+
+  <p>The hook, which is as thick as one's little finger, has a
+  curvature about as large as that of a man's hand when half
+  closed, and is from six to eight inches in length, with a
+  formidable barb. This fierce-looking grappling-iron is furnished
+  with three or four feet of chain, a precaution which is
+  absolutely necessary; for a voracious shark will sometimes gobble
+  the bait so deep into his stomach, that he would snap through the
+  rope as easily as if he were nipping the head off an
+  asparagus.</p>
+
+  <p>A good strong line, generally the end of the
+  mizen-topsail-haulyards, being made fast to the chain, the bait
+  is cast into the ship's wake; for it is very seldom so dead a
+  calm that a vessel has not some small motion through the water. I
+  think I have remarked that at sea the sharks are most apt to make
+  their appearance when the ship is going along at a rate of
+  somewhat less than a mile an hour, a speed which barely brings
+  her under command of the rudder, or gives her what is technically
+  called steerage-way.</p>
+
+  <p>A shark, like a midshipman, is generally very hungry; but in
+  the rare cases when he is not in good appetite he sails slowly up
+  to the bait, smells at it, and gives it a poke with his
+  shovel-nose, turning it over and over. He then edges off to the
+  right or left, as if he apprehended mischief, but soon returns
+  again, to enjoy the delicious <i>haut go&ucirc;t</i> of the
+  damaged pork, of which a piece is always selected, if it can be
+  found.</p>
+
+  <p>While this coquetry or shyness is exhibited by John Shark, the
+  whole after-part of the ship is so clustered with heads that not
+  an inch of spare room is to be had for love or money. The
+  rigging, the mizen-top, and even the gaff, out to the very peak,
+  the hammock-nettings and the quarters, almost down to the
+  counter, are stuck over with breathless spectators, speaking in
+  whispers, if they venture to speak at all, or can find leisure
+  for anything but fixing their gaze on the monster, who as yet is
+  free to roam the ocean, but who, they trust, will soon be in
+  their power. I have seen this go on for an hour together; after
+  which the shark has made up his mind to have nothing to say to
+  us, and either swerved away to windward, if there be any breeze
+  at all, or dived so deep that his place could be detected only by
+  a faint touch or flash of white many fathoms down. The loss of a
+  Spanish galleon in chase, I am persuaded, could hardly cause more
+  bitter regret, or call forth more intemperate expressions of
+  anger and impatience than the failure in hooking a shark is
+  always sure to produce on board a ship at sea.</p>
+
+  <p>On the other hand, I suppose the first symptom of an enemy's
+  flag coming down in the fight was never hailed with greater joy
+  than is felt by a ship's crew on the shark turning round to seize
+  the bait. The preparatory symptoms of this intention are so well
+  known to every one on board, that, the instant they begin to
+  appear, a greedy whisper of delight passes from mouth to mouth
+  amongst the assembled multitude; every eye is lighted up, and
+  such as have not bronzed their cheeks by too long exposure to sun
+  and wind to betray any change of colour may be seen to alter
+  their hue from pale to red, and back to pale again, like the
+  tints on the sides of the dying dolphin.</p>
+
+  <p>It is supposed by seamen that the shark must of necessity turn
+  on his back before he can bite anything, and, generally speaking,
+  he certainly does so turn himself before he takes the bait; but
+  this arises from two circumstances&mdash;one of them accidental
+  and belonging to the particular occasion, the other arising out
+  of the peculiar conformation and position of his mouth. When a
+  bait is towed astern of a ship that has any motion through the
+  water at all, it is necessarily brought to the surface, or nearly
+  so. This, of course, obliges the shark to bite at it from below;
+  and as his mouth is placed under his chin, not over it, he must
+  turn nearly on his back before he can seize the floating piece of
+  meat in which the hook is concealed. Even if he does not turn
+  completely round, he is forced to slue himself, as it is called,
+  so far as to show some portion of his white belly. The instant
+  the white skin flashes on the sight of the expectant crew, a
+  subdued cry, or murmur of satisfaction, is heard amongst the
+  crowd; but no one speaks, for fear of alarming the shark.</p>
+
+  <p>Sometimes, the very instant the bait is cast over the stern,
+  the shark flies at it with such eagerness that he actually
+  springs partially out of the water. This, however, is rare. On
+  these occasions he gorges the bait, the hook, and a foot or two
+  of the chain, without any mastication or delay, and darts off
+  with his treacherous prize with such prodigious velocity and
+  force that it makes the rope crack again as soon as the whole
+  coil is drawn out; but in general he goes more leisurely to work,
+  and seems rather to suck in the bait than to bite at it. Much
+  dexterity is required in the hand which holds the line at this
+  moment; for a bungler is apt to be too precipitate, and to jerk
+  away the hook before it has got far enough down the shark's maw.
+  Our greedy friend, indeed, is never disposed to relinquish what
+  may once have passed his formidable batteries of teeth; but the
+  hook, by a premature tug of the line, may fix itself in a part of
+  the jaw so weak that it gives way in the fierce struggle which
+  always follows. The secret of the sport is, to let the voracious
+  monster gulp down the huge mess of pork, and then to give the
+  rope a violent pull, by which the barbed point, quitting the edge
+  of the bait, buries itself in the coats of the victim's throat or
+  stomach. As the shark is not a personage to submit patiently to
+  such treatment, it will not be well for any one whose foot
+  happens to be accidentally on the coil of the rope, for, when the
+  hook is first fixed, it spins out like the log-line of a ship
+  going twelve knots.</p>
+
+  <p>The suddenness of the jerk with which the poor devil is
+  brought up, when he has reached the length of his tether, often
+  turns him quite over on the surface of the water. Then commence
+  the loud cheers, taunts, and other sounds of rage and triumph, so
+  long suppressed. A steady pull is insufficient to carry away the
+  line; but it sometimes happens that the violent struggles of the
+  shark, when too speedily drawn up, snap either the rope or the
+  hook, and so he gets off, to digest the remainder as he best can.
+  It is, accordingly, held the best practice to play him a little,
+  with his mouth at the surface, till he becomes somewhat
+  exhausted. No sailor, therefore, ought ever to think of hauling a
+  shark on board merely by the rope fastened to the hook; for,
+  however impotent his struggles may generally be in the water,
+  they are rarely unattended with risk when the rogue is drawn
+  half-way up. To prevent the line breaking, or the hook snapping,
+  or the jaw being torn away, the device formerly described, of a
+  running bowline knot, is always adopted. This noose, being
+  slipped down the rope, and passed over the monster's head, is
+  made to jam at the point of junction of the tail with the body.
+  When this is once fixed, the first act of the piece is held to be
+  complete, and the vanquished enemy is afterwards easily drawn
+  over the taffrail and flung on the deck, to the unspeakable
+  delight of all hands. But, although the shark is out of his
+  element, he has by no means lost his power of doing mischief; and
+  I would advise no one to come within range of the tail, or thrust
+  his toes too near the animal's mouth. The blow of a tolerably
+  large-sized shark's tail might break a man's leg; and I have seen
+  a three-inch hide tiller-rope bitten more than half-through full
+  ten minutes after the wretch had been dragged about the
+  quarter-deck, and had made all his victors keep at the most
+  respectful distance. I remember hearing the late Dr. Wollaston,
+  with his wonted ingenuity, suggest a method for measuring the
+  strength of a shark's bite. If a smooth plate of lead, he
+  thought, were thrust into the fish's mouth, the depth which his
+  teeth should pierce the lead would furnish a sort of scale of the
+  force exerted.</p>
+
+  <p>I need scarcely mention, that, when a shark is floundering
+  about, the quarter-deck becomes a scene of pretty considerable
+  confusion; and if there be blood on the occasion, as there
+  generally is, from all this rough usage, the stains are not to be
+  got rid of without a week's scrubbing, and many a growl from the
+  captain of the after-guard. For the time, however, all such
+  considerations are superseded; that is to say, if the commander
+  himself takes an interest in the sport, and he must be rather a
+  spoony skipper that does not. If he be indifferent about the fate
+  of the shark, it is speedily dragged forward to the forecastle,
+  amidst the kicks, thumps, and execrations of the conquerors, who
+  very soon terminate his miserable career by stabbing him with
+  their knives, boarding-pikes, and tomahawks, like so many wild
+  Indians.</p>
+
+  <p>The first operation is always to deprive him of his tail,
+  which is seldom an easy matter, it not being at all safe to come
+  too near; but some dextrous hand, familiar with the use of the
+  broad axe, watches for a quiet moment, and at a single blow
+  severs it from the body. He is then closed with by another, who
+  leaps across the prostrate foe, and with an adroit cut rips him
+  open from snout to tail, and the tragedy is over, so far as the
+  struggles and sufferings of the principal actor are concerned.
+  There always follows, however, the most lively curiosity on the
+  part of the sailors to learn what the shark has got stowed away
+  in his inside; but they are often disappointed, for the stomach
+  is generally empty. I remember one famous exception, indeed, when
+  a very large fellow was caught on board the Alceste, in Anjeer
+  Roads at Java, when we were proceeding to China with the embassy
+  under Lord Amherst. A number of ducks and hens which had died in
+  the night were, as usual, thrown overboard in the morning,
+  besides several baskets, and many other minor things, such as
+  bundles of shavings and bits of cordage: all of which were found
+  in this huge sea-monster's inside. But what excited most surprise
+  and admiration was the hide of a buffalo, killed on board that
+  day for the ship's company's dinner. The old sailor who had cut
+  open the shark stood with a foot on each side, and removed the
+  articles one by one from the huge cavern into which they had been
+  indiscriminately drawn. When the operator came at last to the
+  buffalo's skin, he held it up before him like a curtain, and
+  exclaimed, "There, my lads! d'ye see that? He has swallowed a
+  buffalo; but he could not disgest the hide!"</p>
+
+  <p>I have never been so unfortunate as to see a man bitten by a
+  shark, though, in calm weather, it is usual to allow the people
+  to swim about the ship. It would seem that they are disturbed by
+  the splashing and other noises of so many persons, and keep at a
+  distance; for although they are often observed near the ship both
+  before and after the men have been bathing, they very rarely come
+  near the swimmers. I remember once, indeed, at Bermuda, seeing a
+  shark make a grab at a midshipman's heel, just as he was getting
+  into the boat alongside. This youngster, who, with one or two
+  others, had been swimming about for an hour, was the last of the
+  party in the water. No shark had been seen during the whole
+  morning; but just as he was drawing his foot into the boat the
+  fish darted from the bottom. Fortunately for my old messmate,
+  there was no time for the shark to make the half-turn of the body
+  necessary to bring his mouth to bear; and he escaped, by half an
+  inch, a fate which, besides its making one shudder to think of,
+  would have deprived the service of an officer now deservedly in
+  the higher ranks of his profession.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">A MAN
+  OVERBOARD!</p>
+
+  <p>The strange and almost savage ceremonies used at sea on
+  crossing the equator have been so often described that a voyager,
+  at this time of day, may be well excused for omitting any minute
+  account of such wild proceedings. The whole affair, indeed, is
+  preposterous in its conception, and, I must say, brutal in its
+  execution. Notwithstanding all this, however, I have not only
+  permitted it to go on in ships which I commanded, but have even
+  encouraged it, and set it agoing, when the men themselves were in
+  doubt. Its evil is transient if any evil there be, while it
+  certainly affords Jack a topic for a month beforehand and a
+  fortnight afterwards; and if so ordered as to keep its
+  monstrosities within the limits of strict discipline, which is
+  easy enough, it may even be made to add to the authority of the
+  officers, instead of weakening their influence.</p>
+
+  <p>In a well-regulated ship, within one hour from the time when
+  these scenes of riot are at their height, order is restored, the
+  decks are washed and swabbed up, the wet things are hung on the
+  clothes' lines between the masts to dry; and the men, dressed in
+  clean trousers and duck frocks, are assembled at their guns for
+  muster, as soberly and sedately as if nothing had happened to
+  discompose the decorous propriety of the ship's discipline. The
+  middies, in like manner, may safely be allowed to have their own
+  share of this rough fun, provided they keep as clear of their
+  immediate superiors as the ship's company keep clear of the young
+  gentlemen. And I must do the population of the cockpit the
+  justice to say, that, when they fairly set about it, maugre their
+  gentleman-like habits, aristocratical sprinklings, and the march
+  of intellect to boot, they do contrive to come pretty near to the
+  honest folks before the mast in the article of ingenious
+  ferocity. The captain, of course, and, generally speaking, all
+  the officers keep quite aloof, pocketing up their dignity with
+  vast care, and ready, at a moment's warning, to repress any undue
+  familiarity. As things proceed, however, one or two of the
+  officers may possibly become so much interested in the skylarking
+  scenes going forward as to approach a little too near, and laugh
+  a little too loud, consistently with the preservation of the
+  dignity of which they were so uncommonly chary at first starting.
+  It cannot be expected, and indeed is not required, that the chief
+  actors in these wild gambols, stripped to the buff, and shying
+  buckets of water at one another, should be confined within very
+  narrow limits in their game. Accordingly, some mount the rigging
+  to shower down their cascades, while others squirt the
+  fire-engine from unseen corners upon the head of the unsuspecting
+  passer-by. And if it so chances (I say chances) that any one of
+  the "commissioned nobs" of the ship shall come in the way of
+  these explosions, it is served out to him like a thunder-storm,
+  "all accidentally," of course. Well; what is he to do? He feels
+  that he has indiscreetly trusted himself too far; and even if he
+  has not actually passed the prescribed line, still he was much
+  too near it, and the offence is perhaps unintentional. At all
+  events, it is of too trifling a nature; and, under the peculiar
+  circumstances of the moment, to make a complaint to the captain
+  would be ridiculous. Having, therefore, got his jacket well wet,
+  and seeing the ready means of revenging himself in kind, he
+  snatches up a bucket, and, forgetting his dignity, hurls the
+  contents in the face of the mid who has given him a sousing but
+  two seconds before! From that moment his commission goes for
+  nothing, and he becomes, for the time being, one of the biggest
+  Billy-boys amongst them. The captain observing him in this mess,
+  shrugs his shoulders, walks aft, muttering, "It's all your own
+  fault, Mr. Hailtop; you've put yourself amongst these mad
+  younkers; now see how they'll handle you!"</p>
+
+  <p>Nothing, I confess, now looks to me more completely out of
+  character with our well-starched discipline than a "staid
+  lieutenant" romping about the booms, skulling up the rigging,
+  blowing the grampus, and having it blown upon him by a parcel of
+  rattle-pated reefers. But I remember well in the Volage being
+  myself so gradually seduced by this animating spectacle of fun,
+  that, before I knew where I was, I had crossed the rope laid on
+  the deck as a boundary between order and disorder, and received a
+  bucket of cold water in each ear, while the spout of a
+  fire-engine, at the distance of two feet, was playing full in my
+  eyes. On turning my head round to escape these cataracts, and to
+  draw breath, a tar-brush was rammed half-way down my throat!</p>
+
+  <p>Far different was the scene, and very different, of course, my
+  deportment, four or five years afterwards on the same spot, when,
+  instead of being the junior lieutenant, I was the great gun of
+  all, the mighty master-nob of the whole party, that is to say,
+  the captain himself. I was then in command of the Lyra, a ten-gun
+  sloop-of-war; and after the shaving operations were over, and all
+  things put once more in order, I went on board the Alceste
+  frigate to dine with my excellent friend and commanding officer,
+  the late Sir Murray Maxwell. Lord Amherst, the ambassador to
+  China, was on board, and in great glee with the sight of what had
+  been enacted before him; for although, as I have always said,
+  these scenes are not of a nature to bear agreeable description,
+  they certainly are amusing enough to see&mdash;for once.</p>
+
+  <p>We soon sat down to dinner; and there was, of course, a great
+  deal of amusement in telling the anecdotes of the day, and
+  describing Father Neptune's strange aspect, and his still
+  stranger-looking family and attendants. I ventured to back one of
+  my figures against all or any of theirs, if not for monstrosity,
+  at least for interest of another kind. Our dripping Neptune in
+  the Lyra was accompanied, as usual, by a huge she-monster
+  representing Amphitrite, being no other than one of the
+  boatswain's mates dressed up with the main-hatchway tarpaulin for
+  a cloak, the jolly-boat's mizen for a petticoat, while two
+  half-wet swabs furnished her lubberly head with ringlets. By her
+  side sat a youth, her only son Triton, a morsel of submarine
+  domestic history ascertained by reference previously made to
+  Lempriere's Dictionary. This poor little fellow was a great pet
+  amongst the crew of the brig, and was indeed suspected to be
+  entitled by birth to a rank above his present station, so gentle
+  and gentleman-like he always appeared. Even on this occasion,
+  when disfigured by paint, pitch, and tar, copiously daubed over
+  his delicate person, to render him fit company for his papa old
+  Neptune, he still looked as if his ill-favoured parents had
+  stolen him, and were trying in vain to disguise their roguery by
+  rigging him up in their own gipsy apparel.</p>
+
+  <p>It was very nearly dark when I rowed back to the Lyra, which
+  had been hanging for the last half hour on the frigate's
+  weather-quarter, at the distance of a cable's length, watching
+  for my return. The wind was so light, and the brig so close, that
+  no signal was made to heave to; indeed I had scarcely rowed under
+  the Alceste's stern, on my way back, before it was necessary to
+  call out, "In bow!" The rattle of the oar on the thwarts gave the
+  earliest notice of my approach to the people on board the little
+  vessel, and I could hear the first lieutenant exclaim in haste,
+  "Attend the side! Where are the sides-men?"</p>
+
+  <p>Scarcely had these words been spoken, when I heard a splash in
+  the water, followed by a faint cry of distress and despair. In
+  the next instant the brig was hove about, and the stern-boat
+  lowered down, accompanied by all the hurried symptoms of a man
+  having fallen overboard. I made the people in the boat tug at
+  their oars towards the spot; but though we pulled over and over
+  the ship's wake twenty times, the water was everywhere unruffled
+  and unmarked by any speck. At length I rowed on board, turned the
+  hands up to muster, to ascertain who was gone, and found all
+  present but our poor little Triton! It appeared that the lad, who
+  was one of the sides-men, fatigued with the day's amusement, had
+  stretched himself in the fore-part of the quarter-deck
+  hammock-netting, and gone to sleep. The sharp voice of the
+  officer, on seeing the gig almost alongside, had roused the
+  unhappy boy too suddenly; he quite forgot where he was, and,
+  instead of jumping in-board, plunged into the sea, never to rise
+  again!</p>
+
+  <p>There are few accidents more frequent at sea than that of a
+  man falling overboard; and yet, strange to say, whenever it
+  happens, it takes every one as completely by surprise as if such
+  a thing had never occurred before. What is still more
+  unaccountable, and, I must say, altogether inexcusable, is the
+  fact of such an incident invariably exciting a certain degree of
+  confusion, even in well-regulated ships. Whenever I have
+  witnessed the tumultuous rush of the people from below, their
+  eagerness to crowd into the boats, and the reckless devotion with
+  which they fling themselves into the water to save their
+  companions, I could not help thinking that it was no small
+  disgrace to us, to whose hands the whole arrangements of
+  discipline are confided, that we had not yet fallen upon any
+  method of availing ourselves to good purpose of so much generous
+  activity.</p>
+
+  <p>Sailors are men of rough habits, but their feelings are not by
+  any means coarse; and, generally speaking, they are much attached
+  to one another, and will make great sacrifices to their messmates
+  or shipmates when opportunities occur. A very little address on
+  the part of the officers, as I have before hinted, will secure an
+  extension of these kindly sentiments to the quarter-deck. But
+  what I was alluding to just now was the cordiality of the
+  friendships which spring up between the sailors themselves, who,
+  it must be recollected, have no other society, and all, or almost
+  all, whose ordinary social ties have been broken either by the
+  chances of war, or by the very nature of their roving and
+  desultory life, which carries them they really know not where,
+  and care not wherefore.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember once, when cruising off Terceira in the Endymion,
+  that a man fell overboard and was drowned. After the usual
+  confusion, and a long search in vain, the boats were hoisted up,
+  and the hands called to make sail. I was officer of the
+  forecastle, and on looking about to see if all the men were at
+  their stations, missed one of the foretop-men. Just at that
+  moment I observed some one curled up, and apparently hiding
+  himself under the bow of the barge, between the boat and the
+  booms. "Hillo!" I said, "who are you? What are you doing here,
+  you skulker? Why are you not at your station?"</p>
+
+  <p>"I am not skulking, sir," said the poor fellow, the furrows in
+  whose bronzed and weather-beaten cheek were running down with
+  tears. The man we had just lost had been his messmate and friend,
+  he told me, for ten years. I begged his pardon in full sincerity,
+  for having used such harsh words to him at such a moment, and bid
+  him go below to his berth for the rest of the day.</p>
+
+  <p>"Never mind, sir, never mind," said the kind-hearted seaman,
+  "it can't be helped. You meant no harm, sir. I am as well on deck
+  as below. Bill's gone, sir, but I must do my duty."</p>
+
+  <p>So saying he drew the sleeve of his jacket twice or thrice
+  across his eyes, and mastering his grief within his breast,
+  walked to his station as if nothing had happened.</p>
+
+  <p>In the same ship, and nearly about the same time, some of the
+  people were bathing alongside in a calm sea. It is customary on
+  such occasions to spread a studding sail on the water, by means
+  of lines from the fore and main yard-arms, for the use of those
+  who either cannot swim, or who are not expert in this art, so
+  very important to all seafaring people. Half-a-dozen of the
+  ship's boys, youngsters sent on board by that admirable and most
+  patriotic of naval institutions, the Marine Society, were
+  floundering about in the sail, and sometimes even venturing
+  beyond the leech rope. One of the least of these urchins, but not
+  the least courageous of their number, when taunted by his more
+  skilful companions with being afraid, struck out boldly beyond
+  the prescribed bounds. He had not gone much further than his own
+  length, however, along the surface of the fathomless sea, when
+  his heart failed him, poor little man! and along with his
+  confidence away also went his power of keeping his head above
+  water. So down he sank rapidly, to the speechless horror of the
+  other boys, who, of course, could lend the drowning child no
+  help.</p>
+
+  <p>The captain of the forecastle, a tall, fine-looking,
+  hard-a-weather fellow, was standing on the shank of the sheet
+  anchor, with his arms across, and his well-varnished canvas bat
+  drawn so much over his eyes that it was difficult to tell whether
+  he was awake, or merely dozing in the sun, as he leaned his back
+  against the fore-topmast backstay. The seaman, however, had been
+  attentively watching the young party all the time, and, rather
+  fearing that mischief might ensue from their rashness, he had
+  grunted out a warning to them from time to time, to which they
+  paid no sort of attention. At last he desisted, saying they might
+  drown themselves if they had a mind, for never a bit would he
+  help them; but no sooner did the sinking figure of the
+  adventurous little boy catch his eye, than, diver-fashion,
+  joining the palms of his hands over his head, he shot
+  head-foremost into the water. The poor lad sunk so rapidly that
+  he was at least a couple of fathoms under the surface before he
+  was arrested by the grip of the sailor, who soon rose again,
+  bearing the bewildered boy in his hand, and, calling to the other
+  youngsters to take better care of their companion, chucked him
+  right into the belly of the sail in the midst of the party. The
+  fore-sheet was hanging in the calm, nearly into the water, and by
+  it the dripping seaman scrambled up again to his old berth on the
+  anchor, shook himself like a great Newfoundland dog, and then,
+  jumping on the deck, proceeded across the forecastle to shift his
+  clothes.</p>
+
+  <p>At the top of the ladder he was stopped by the marine officer,
+  who had witnessed the whole transaction, as he sat across the
+  gangway hammocks, watching the swimmers, and trying to get his
+  own consent to undergo the labour of undressing and dressing.
+  Said the soldier to the sailor, "That was very well done of you,
+  my man, and right well deserves a glass of grog. Say so to the
+  gun-room steward as you pass; and tell him it is my orders to
+  fill you out a stiff norwester."</p>
+
+  <p>The soldier's offer was kindly meant, but rather clumsily
+  timed, at least so thought Jack; for though he inclined his head
+  in acknowledgment of the attention, and instinctively touched his
+  hat, when spoken to by an officer, he made no reply, till out of
+  the marine's hearing, when he laughed, or rather chuckled out to
+  the people near him, "Does the good gentleman suppose I'll take a
+  glass of grog for saving a boy's life?"</p>
+
+  <p>It is surely very odd that there should ever be such a thing
+  as a sailor who cannot swim. And it is still more marvellous that
+  there should be found people who actually maintain that a sailor
+  who cannot swim has a better chance than one who can.</p>
+
+  <p>This strange doctrine, as may well be supposed, derives but
+  slender support from any well-established facts. It is merely
+  asserted that, on some occasions of shipwreck, the boldest
+  swimmers have been lost in trying to reach the shore, when they
+  might have been saved had they stayed by the ship. This may be
+  true enough in particular cases, and yet the general position
+  grounded upon it utterly absurd. The most skilful horsemen
+  sometimes break their necks, but this is hardly adduced as an
+  argument against learning to ride. I suppose there is not an
+  officer in the service, certainly not one who has reached the
+  rank of captain, who has not seen many men drowned solely from
+  not being able to swim; that is, because they had not learned a
+  very simple art, of which, under his official injunctions, and
+  aided by due encouragement, they might readily have acquired a
+  sufficient knowledge. My own conscience is not quite clear on
+  this score, whatever that of my brother officers may be; and
+  certainly, should I again take the command of a ship, I shall use
+  every exertion, and take advantage of every opportunity, to
+  encourage the men and officers to acquire this invaluable
+  accomplishment. Would it be unreasonable to refuse the rating of
+  A.B. (able seaman) on the ship's books to any man who could not
+  swim? If it be our duty to ascertain that a sailor can "hand,
+  reef, and steer," before we place against his name these mystical
+  letters, might we not well superadd, as a qualification, that he
+  should also be able to keep his head above water, in the event of
+  falling overboard, or that he should have it in his power to save
+  another's life, if required to leap into the sea for that purpose
+  by the orders of his superior? At present, in such an emergency,
+  an officer has to ask amongst a dozen persons, "Which of you can
+  swim?" instead of saying to the one nearest him, "Jump overboard
+  after that man who is sinking!"</p>
+
+  <p>This, then, seems the first material step in the establishment
+  of an improved system in that branch of seamanship which relates
+  to picking up men who fall overboard. There can be no doubt that
+  highly-excited feelings always stand in the way of exact
+  discipline, and especially of that prompt, hearty, and thoroughly
+  confiding obedience to the officer under whose orders we are
+  serving. Such obedience is necessary on this occasion, above all
+  others, and is essentially required, in order to accomplish the
+  purpose in view.</p>
+
+  <p>Different officers will, of course, devise different plans for
+  the accomplishment of the same end. Every one who has been
+  exposed to the misery of seeing a man fall overboard must
+  remember that by far the greatest difficulty was to keep people
+  back, there being always ten times as many persons as are
+  required, not only ready, but eager to place themselves in the
+  situations of greatest risk. In executing the duties of a
+  ship-of-war, there should be no volunteering allowed. Every man
+  ought to have a specific duty, or a set of duties, to perform at
+  all times. But these duties, in the case of a man falling
+  overboard, must, of course, vary with the hour of the day or
+  night, with the circumstance of its being the starboard or the
+  larboard watch on deck, with the weather being fine or
+  tempestuous, or with the course the ship is steering relatively
+  to the wind, the quantity of sail, and so on. The crew of every
+  ship should be exercised or drilled, if not as frequently, at
+  least specifically, in the methods of picking up a man, as they
+  are trained in the exercise of the great guns and small arms, or
+  in that of reefing topsails.</p>
+
+  <p>Every one who has been much at sea must remember the peculiar
+  sounds which pervade a ship when a man is known to have fallen
+  overboard. The course steered is so suddenly altered, that as she
+  rounds to the effect of the sails is doubled; the creaking of the
+  tiller-ropes and rudder next strike the ear; then follows the
+  pitter-patter of several hundred feet in rapid motion, producing
+  a singular tremor, fore and aft. In the midst of these ominous
+  noises may be heard, over all, the shrill startling voice of the
+  officer of the watch, generally betraying in its tone more or
+  less uncertainty of purpose. Then the violent flapping of the
+  sails, and the mingled cries of "Clear away the boats!" "Is the
+  life-buoy gone?" "Heave that grating after him!" "Throw that
+  hen-coop over the stern!" "Who is it, do you know?" "Where did he
+  fall from?" "Can he swim?" "Silence!" An impetuous, and too often
+  an ill-regulated rush now succeeds to gain the boats, which are
+  generally so crowded that it becomes dangerous to lower them
+  down, and more time is lost in getting the people out again than
+  would have manned them twice over, if any regular system had been
+  prepared, and rendered familiar and easy by practice
+  beforehand.</p>
+
+  <p>I could give a pretty long list of cases which I have myself
+  seen, or have heard others relate, where men have been drowned
+  while their shipmates were thus struggling on board who should be
+  first to save them, but who, instead of aiding, were actually
+  impeding one another by their hurry-skurry and general ignorance
+  of what really ought to be done. I remember, for example, hearing
+  of a line-of-battle-ship, in the Baltic, from which two men fell
+  one evening, when the ship's company were at quarters. The
+  weather was fine, the water smooth, and the ship going about
+  seven knots. The two lads in question, who were furling the
+  fore-royal at the time, lost their hold, and were jerked far in
+  the sea. At least a dozen men, leaving their guns, leaped
+  overboard from different parts of the ship, some dressed as they
+  were, and others stripped. Of course, the ship was in a wretched
+  state of discipline where such frantic proceedings could take
+  place. The confusion soon became worse confounded; but the ship
+  was hove aback, and several boats lowered down. Had it not been
+  smooth water, daylight, and fine weather, many of these absurd
+  volunteers must have perished. I call them absurd, because there
+  is no sense in merely incurring a great hazard, without some
+  useful purpose to guide the exercise of courage. These intrepid
+  fellows merely knew that a man had fallen overboard, and that was
+  all; so away they leaped out of the ports and over the
+  hammock-nettings, without knowing whereabouts the object of their
+  Quixotic heroism might be. The boats were obliged to pick up the
+  first that presented themselves, for they were all in a drowning
+  condition; but the two unhappy men who had been flung from aloft,
+  being furthest off, went to the bottom before their turn came.
+  Whereas, had not their undisciplined shipmates gone into the
+  water, the boats would have been at liberty to row towards them,
+  and they might have been saved. I am quite sure, therefore, that
+  there can be no offence more deserving of punishment, as a matter
+  of discipline, and in order to prevent such accidents as this,
+  than the practice of leaping overboard after a man who has fallen
+  into the water. There are cases, no doubt, in which it would be a
+  positive crime in a swimmer not to spring, without waiting for
+  orders, to the rescue of a fellow-creature whom he sees sinking
+  in the waves, at whatever hazard to himself or to others; but I
+  speak of that senseless, blindfold style in which I have very
+  often witnessed men pitch themselves into the water, without
+  knowing whether the person who had fallen overboard was within
+  their reach or not. Even in highly-disciplined ships this will
+  sometimes take place; and the circumstances which increase the
+  danger seem only to stimulate the boldest spirits to brave the
+  risk. I conceive there is no method of putting a stop to the
+  practice but by positively enjoining the people not to go
+  overboard, unless expressly ordered; and by explaining to them on
+  every occasion when the ship's company are exercised for this
+  purpose, that the difficulty of picking a man up is generally
+  much augmented by such indiscreet zeal.</p>
+
+  <p>The following incidents occurred in a frigate off Cape Horn,
+  in a gale of wind, under close-reefed main-topsail and
+  storm-staysails. At half-past twelve at noon, when the people
+  were at dinner, a young lad was washed out of the lee
+  fore-channels. The life-buoy was immediately let go, and the
+  main-topsail laid to the mast. Before the jolly-boat could be
+  lowered down, a man jumped overboard, as he said,
+  "promiscuously," for he never saw the boy at all, nor was he ever
+  within half-a-cable's length of the spot where he was floundering
+  about. Although the youth could not swim, he contrived to keep
+  his head above water till the boat reached him, just as he was
+  beginning to sink. The man who had jumped into the sea was right
+  glad to give up his "promiscuous" search, and to make for the
+  life-buoy, upon which he perched himself, and stood shivering for
+  half-an-hour, like a shag on the Mewstone, till the boat came to
+  his relief.</p>
+
+  <p>At four o'clock of the same day a man fell from the rigging;
+  the usual alarm and rush took place; the lee-quarter boat was so
+  crowded that one of the topping lifts gave way, the davit broke,
+  and the cutter, now suspended by one tackle, soon knocked herself
+  to pieces against the ship's side. Of course, the people in her
+  were jerked out very quickly, so that, instead of there being
+  only one man in the water, there were nearly a dozen swimming
+  about. More care was taken in hoisting out another boat, and,
+  strange to say, all the people were picked up, except the
+  original unfortunate man, who, but for the accident, which ought
+  to have been prevented, would in all probability have been saved.
+  Neither he nor the life-buoy, however, could be discovered before
+  the night closed.</p>
+
+  <p>The life-buoy at present in use on board his Majesty's ships,
+  and, I trust, in most merchant ships, has an admirable
+  contrivance connected with it, which has saved many lives, when
+  otherwise there would hardly have been a chance of the men being
+  rescued from a watery grave.</p>
+
+  <p>This life-buoy, which is the invention of Lieutenant Cook of
+  the Navy, consists of two hollow copper vessels connected
+  together, each about as large as an ordinary-sized pillow, and of
+  buoyancy and capacity sufficient to support one man standing upon
+  them. Should there be more than one person requiring support,
+  they can lay hold of rope beckets fitted to the buoy, and so
+  sustain themselves. Between the two copper vessels there stands
+  up a hollow pole, or mast, into which is inserted, from below, an
+  iron rod, whose lower extremity is loaded with lead, in such a
+  manner, that when the buoy is let go the iron rod slips down to a
+  certain extent, lengthens the lever, and enables the lead at the
+  end to act as ballast. By this means the mast is kept upright,
+  and the buoy prevented from upsetting. The weight at the end of
+  the rod is arranged so as to afford secure footing for two
+  persons, should that number reach it; and there are also, as I
+  said before, large rope beckets, through which others can thrust
+  their head and shoulders, till assistance is rendered.</p>
+
+  <p>On the top of the mast is fixed a port-fire, calculated to
+  burn, I think, twenty minutes, or half-anhour; this is ignited
+  most ingeniously by the same process which lets the buoy down
+  into the water. So that a man falling overboard at night is
+  directed to the buoy by the blaze on the top of its pole or mast,
+  and the boat sent to rescue him also knows in what direction to
+  pull. Even supposing, however, the man not to have gained the
+  life-buoy, it is clear that, if above the surface at all, he must
+  be somewhere in that neighbourhood; and if he shall have gone
+  down, it is still some satisfaction, by recovering the buoy, to
+  ascertain that the poor wretch is not left to perish by
+  inches.</p>
+
+  <p>The method by which this excellent invention is attached to
+  the ship, and dropped into the water in a single instant, is
+  perhaps not the least ingenious part of the contrivance. The buoy
+  is generally fixed amidships over the stern, where it is held
+  securely in its place by being strung, or threaded, as it were,
+  on two strong perpendicular iron rods fixed to the taffrail, and
+  inserted in holes piercing the framework of the buoy. The
+  apparatus is kept in its place by what is called a slip-stopper,
+  a sort of catch-bolt or detent, which can be unlocked at
+  pleasure, by merely pulling a trigger. Upon withdrawing the
+  stopper, the whole machine slips along the rods, and falls at
+  once into the ship's wake. The trigger which unlocks the
+  slip-stopper is furnished with a lanyard, passing through a hole
+  in the stern, and having at its inner end a large knob, marked
+  "Life-Buoy;" this alone is used in the day-time. Close at hand is
+  another wooden knob, marked "Lock," fastened to the end of a line
+  fixed to the trigger of a gunlock primed with powder: and so
+  arranged, that, when the line is pulled, the port-fire is
+  instantly ignited, while, at the same moment, the life-buoy
+  descends, and floats merrily away, blazing like a lighthouse. It
+  would surely be an improvement to have both these operations
+  always performed simultaneously, that is, by one pull of the
+  string. The port-fire would thus be lighted in every case of
+  letting go the buoy; and I suspect the smoke in the day-time
+  would often be as useful in guiding the boat, as the blaze always
+  is at night.</p>
+
+  <p>The gunner who has charge of the life-buoy lock sees it
+  freshly and carefully primed every evening at quarters, of which
+  he makes a report to the captain. In the morning the priming is
+  taken out, and the lock uncocked. During the night a man is
+  always stationed at this part of the ship, and every half-hour,
+  when the bell strikes, he calls out "Life-buoy!" to show that he
+  is awake and at his post, exactly in the same manner as the
+  look-out-men abaft, on the beam, and forward, call out "Starboard
+  quarter!" "Starboard gangway!" "Starboard bow!" and so on,
+  completely round the ship, to prove that they are not
+  napping.</p>
+
+  <p>After all, however, it must be owned, that some of the most
+  important considerations, when a man falls overboard, have as yet
+  scarcely been mentioned. These are,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>First, the quickest and most effectual method of arresting the
+  ship's progress, and how to keep her as near the spot where the
+  man fell as possible.</p>
+
+  <p>Secondly, to preserve entire, during these evolutions, the
+  general discipline of the ship, to maintain silence, and to
+  enforce the most prompt obedience, without permitting foolhardy
+  volunteering of any kind.</p>
+
+  <p>Thirdly, to see that the boat appointed to be employed on
+  these occasions is secured in such a manner that she may be cast
+  loose in a moment, and, when ready for lowering down, that she is
+  properly manned, and fitted, so as to be efficient in all
+  respects when she reaches the water.</p>
+
+  <p>Fourthly, to take care in lowering the boat neither to stave
+  nor to swamp her, nor to pitch the men out.</p>
+
+  <p>And, lastly, to have a sufficient number of the
+  sharpest-sighted men in the ship stationed aloft in such a manner
+  as to give them the best chance, not only of discovering the
+  person who is overboard, but of pointing him out to the people in
+  the boat, who may not otherwise know in what direction to
+  pull.</p>
+
+  <p>It is conceived that all these objects may be accomplished
+  with very little, if any, additional trouble, in all tolerably
+  well-disciplined ships.</p>
+
+  <p>Various opinions prevail amongst officers as to the first
+  point; but, I think, the best authorities recommend that, if
+  possible, the ship should not merely be hove aback when a man
+  falls overboard, but that she ought to be brought completely
+  round on the other tack. Of course, sail should be shortened in
+  stays, and the main-yard left square. This plan implies the ship
+  being on a wind, or from that position to having the wind not
+  above two points abaft the beam. But, on one tack or the other,
+  this will include a large portion of the sailing of every
+  ship.</p>
+
+  <p>The great merit of such a method of proceeding is, that, if
+  the evolution succeeds, the ship, when round, will drift right
+  down towards the man; and, although there may be some small risk
+  in lowering the boat in stays, from the ship having at one period
+  stern-way, there will, in fact, be little time lost if the boat
+  be not lowered till the ship be well round, and the stern-way at
+  an end. There is more mischief done, generally, by lowering the
+  boat too soon, than by waiting till the fittest moment arrives
+  for doing it coolly; and it cannot be too often repeated, that
+  almost the whole depends upon the self-possession of the officer
+  of the watch. This important quality is best taught by
+  experience, that is to say, by a thorough and familiar practical
+  knowledge of what should be done under all circumstances. The
+  officer in command of the deck ought to let it be seen and felt,
+  by his tone of voice, and by the judicious promptness of his
+  orders, that he, at least, is perfectly master of himself, and
+  knows distinctly what course it is best to adopt.</p>
+
+  <p>If the ship be running before the wind, or be sailing large,
+  and under a press of sail, the officer must exercise his judgment
+  in rounding to, and take care in his anxiety to save the man, not
+  to let the masts go over the side, which will not advance, but
+  defeat his object. If the top-gallant-sheets, the topsail, and
+  top-gallant-haulyards, be let fly, and the head-yards braced
+  quickly up, the ship when brought to the wind will be nearly in
+  the situation of reefing topsails. Under these circumstances, it
+  will hardly be possible to bring her about, for, long before she
+  can have come head to wind, her way will be so much deadened that
+  the rudder may have ceased to act. Still, however, I am so strong
+  an advocate for the principle of tacking, instead of merely
+  lying-to, when a man is overboard, that, even under the
+  circumstances above described, as soon as the boat is lowered
+  down and sent off, and the extra sail gathered in, I would fill,
+  stand on till the ship had gained head-way enough to render the
+  evolution certain, and then go about, so as to bring her head
+  towards the boat. It must be recollected, that when a ship is
+  going well off the wind, in the manner here supposed, it is
+  impossible to round her so quickly as to replace her on the spot
+  where the man fell; to reach which a great sweep must always be
+  made. But there seems to me no doubt, that, in every possible
+  case, even when going right before it, the ship will always drift
+  nearer and nearer to that spot, if eventually brought to the wind
+  on the opposite tack from that on which she was luffed up.</p>
+
+  <p>It will conduce greatly to the success of these measures, if
+  it be an established rule, that, whenever the alarm is given of a
+  man being overboard, the people, without further orders, fly to
+  their appointed stations for tacking ship; and that only those
+  persons who shall be specifically selected to man and lower down
+  the boats, and for other duties, shall presume to quit the places
+  assigned to them on going about. It so happens that when the men
+  are in their stations for tacking, they are almost equally in
+  their stations for shortening sail, or for performing most other
+  evolutions likely to become necessary at such moments.</p>
+
+  <p>The excepted men should consist of at least two boats' crews
+  in each watch, and of others whose sole duty it should be to
+  attend to the operation of lowering the boats, into which no men
+  but those expressly appointed should ever be allowed to enter.
+  These persons, selected for their activity, strength, and
+  coolness, should belong to the after-guard, main and mizen-top,
+  and gunner's crew, men whose duties lie chiefly abaft or about
+  the mainmast. Midshipmen in each watch should also be named to
+  the different boats; and their orders ought to be positive never
+  to allow more than the proper crew to enter, nor on any account
+  to permit the boat to be lowered till fully and properly manned.
+  I grant that it requires no small nerve to sanction the delays
+  which an attention to these minute particulars demands; but the
+  adequate degree of faith in their utility will bring with it the
+  requisite share of decision, to possess which, under all
+  circumstances, is, perhaps, one of the most characteristic
+  distinctions of a good commanding officer.</p>
+
+  <p>There ought, in every ship, to be selected a certain number of
+  the sharpest-sighted persons, who should be instructed, the
+  instant the alarm is given, to repair to stations appointed for
+  them aloft. Several of these ought to plant themselves in the
+  lower rigging, some in the topmast shrouds, and one, if not two,
+  might advantageously be perched on each of the cross-trees. Those
+  persons, whose exclusive duty is to discover the man who is
+  overboard, should be directed to look out, some in the ship's
+  wake, some on either side of it, and to be particularly careful
+  to mark the spot near which the ship must have been when he fell,
+  in order that when she comes about, and drifts near the place,
+  they may know where to direct their attention, and also to take
+  care that the ship does not forge directly upon the object they
+  are seeking for. The chief advantage of having look-out-men
+  stationed aloft in this manner consists in their commanding a far
+  better position compared to that of persons on deck, and still
+  better when compared to the people in the boat; besides which,
+  having this object alone to attend to, they are less likely to be
+  unsuccessful. Moreover, from their being in considerable numbers,
+  and scattered at different elevations, their chances are, of
+  course, much increased of discovering so small an object as a man
+  on the surface.</p>
+
+  <p>The people in the boat possess no such advantages, for they
+  are occupied with their oars, and lose between the seas all sight
+  of the surrounding objects near them, while they can always see
+  the ship's masts; and as soon as they detect that any one of the
+  look-out-men sees the person who is overboard, and points in the
+  proper direction for them to pull, they can shape their course
+  accordingly. Presently another look-out, instructed by the first
+  where to direct his eyes, also discovers the man; then another
+  sees him, then another, and so on, till all who are aloft obtain
+  sight of the desired object, and join in pointing with their
+  hands to where it is to be found. The officer in the boat, thus
+  instructed by innumerable pointers, rows at once, and with
+  confidence, in the proper direction, and the drowning man is
+  often rescued from his deep-sea grave, when, had there been no
+  such look-outs, or had they been fewer in number or lower down,
+  he must have perished.</p>
+
+  <p>It is curious to observe the electric sort of style in which
+  the perception of an object, when once pointed out, flashes along
+  from man to man. As each in succession catches sight of his
+  shipmate, he exclaims, "There he is! there he is!" and holds out
+  his hand in the proper direction for the guidance of the boat.
+  Indeed, I have seldom witnessed a more interesting sight than
+  that of eighty or a hundred persons stationed aloft, straining
+  their eyes to keep sight of a poor fellow who is struggling for
+  his life, and all eagerly extending their hands towards him, as
+  if they could clutch him from the waves. To see these hands drop
+  again is inexpressibly painful, from its indicating that the
+  unfortunate man is no longer distinguishable. One by one the arms
+  fall down, reluctantly, as if it were a signal that all hope was
+  over. Presently the boat is observed to range about at random;
+  the look-out-men aloft, when repeatedly hailed and asked, "if
+  they see anything like him?" are all silent. Finally, the boat's
+  recall-flag is hoisted, sail is again made on the ship, the
+  people are piped down, and this tragical little episode in the
+  voyage being concluded, everything goes on as before.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">SUNDAY ON
+  BOARD A MAN-OF-WAR.&mdash;MUSTERING BY DIVISIONS.</p>
+
+  <p>The first article of war runs as follows:&mdash;"All
+  commanders, captains, and officers, in or belonging to any of His
+  Majesty's ships or vessels of war, shall cause the public worship
+  of Almighty God, according to the Liturgy of the Church of
+  England established by law, to be solemnly, orderly, and
+  reverently performed in their respective ships; and shall take
+  care that prayers and preaching, by the chaplains in holy orders
+  of the respective ships, be performed diligently, and that the
+  Lord's day be observed according to law."</p>
+
+  <p>The precision with which these injunctions are attended to
+  will depend chiefly on three things:&mdash;The personal
+  disposition of the captain; the nature of the service upon which
+  the ship is employed; and the state of the weather. It is nearly
+  always in the captain's power to make the Sunday a day of rest to
+  the people committed to his charge. Sooner or later he is sure to
+  reap the fruits of his conduct in this matter, and is made to
+  feel, that, to command the respect or to win the regard of his
+  crew, he must show them, on all ordinary occasions, that he is
+  himself under the guidance of right principles. In the same
+  spirit, his authority will be strengthened by every touch of
+  consideration with which the inevitable sternness of his rule is
+  softened; and the more he manages to impart to all such
+  indulgences the character of routine, or matters of course and
+  constant usage, so much the better. We feel obliged to a person
+  who confers almost any favour upon us; but if this favour be one
+  of daily or weekly occurrence, and, at each time of its
+  concession, we are reminded of the weight of our obligation, all
+  kindliness is in danger of being removed from it, and we would
+  sometimes rather go without than hold the advantage by a tenure
+  thus avowedly capricious.</p>
+
+  <p>A captain of sense and feeling, therefore, makes it his
+  business, in the first place, to find out what is right and
+  proper, consistently with the rules of the service, and then to
+  ascertain how far the peculiar nature of the employment upon
+  which the ship is engaged will admit of indulgences. Having
+  settled with himself what is possible to be done with propriety,
+  he should grant it not as a matter of personal favour, but simply
+  because it is fitting in itself.</p>
+
+  <p>It is not possible, at sea, to comply to the letter with the
+  fourth commandment; but we have no right on that account to
+  dispense with its spirit, which is at all times and in all places
+  within every man's reach. The absolute necessity, however, of
+  performing some work, appears a sufficient reason with many
+  people for doing away with the ordinance of Sunday altogether,
+  and converting it into a day of hard and irksome toil, instead of
+  a season of at least comparative rest. On the other hand, some
+  officers either allow essential public interests to be neglected
+  which ought to be attended to, or they harass their people by
+  exacting more attention to religious observances than the poor
+  sailors can bestow with any chance of profit. Which of these
+  courses is the worst, I really cannot say. If Sunday be made a
+  working day, and no attention is paid to its appropriate duties,
+  the crew are by no means satisfied, and but too readily contract,
+  by degrees, the habit of neglecting their obligations both to God
+  and man. On the contrary, if the day be entirely taken up with
+  devotional exercises, to the fatigue of their minds and bodies,
+  they are exceedingly apt, after a time, to vote the "whole
+  concern," as they call it, a bore, and to make up for this forced
+  attention by the most scandalous indecencies, when out of sight
+  of their "psalm-singing captain."</p>
+
+  <p>I would accordingly recommend every officer in command of a
+  ship to bring as many of the arrangements of his Sunday as
+  possible into a jog-trot order, not to be departed from unless
+  there should arise an absolute necessity for such deviation.
+  Nineteen Sundays might, indeed, pass over without any apparent
+  advantage being gained from this uniformity, but on the twentieth
+  some opportunity might occur, of infinite value to all concerned,
+  which opportunity might, in all probability, prove unavailing but
+  for the previous preparation. To borrow a professional
+  illustration of the most familiar kind; it may be asked, how many
+  hundred times do we exercise the great guns and small arms, for
+  once that we fire them in real action? And why should it be
+  supposed that, for the useful application of our mental energies
+  to the most important of all warfare, habitual training is less
+  necessary?</p>
+
+  <p>Without going needlessly deep into these speculations, I may
+  observe that, even in the least regularly disciplined ships,
+  there is now a marked difference between Sunday and any other day
+  in the week. Although the grand object seems to be to have
+  everything as clean as possible, and in its most apple-pie order,
+  great part of the labour employed to produce this result is over
+  before Sunday arrives. The decks, for instance, receive such a
+  thorough allowance of holy-stoning and scrubbing on Saturday,
+  that a mere washing, with perhaps a slight touch of the brushes
+  and sand, brings them into the milk-white condition which is the
+  delight of every genuine first lieutenant's heart. All this is
+  got over early in the morning, in order that the decks may be
+  swabbed up and the ropes nicely flemished down before seven
+  bells, at which time it is generally thought expedient to go to
+  breakfast, though half-an-hour sooner than usual, in order to
+  make the forenoon as long as possible. I should have mentioned
+  that the hammocks are always piped up at seven o'clock. If they
+  have been slung overnight, they are as white as any laundress
+  could have made them; and, of course, the hammock-stowers take
+  more than ordinary care to place them neatly in the nettings,
+  with their bright numbers turned inwards, all nicely lashed up
+  with the regulated proportion of turns, each hammock being of a
+  uniform size from end to end.</p>
+
+  <p>While the people are at breakfast, the word is passed to
+  "clean for muster," in any dress the commanding officer may think
+  most suitable to the climate or weather. Between the tropics, the
+  order for rigging in frocks and trousers is generally delivered
+  in these words:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Do you hear, there! fore and aft! Clean for muster at five
+  bells&mdash;duck frocks and white trousers!"</p>
+
+  <p>In colder regions, it is "Blue jackets and trousers;" and in
+  rainy, cold, or blowing weather, the following order is sung out
+  along the lower deck, first by the husky-throated boatswain, and
+  then in a still rougher enunciation by his gruff satellites, the
+  boatswain's mates:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"D'ye hear, there! Clean shirt and a shave for muster at five
+  bells!"</p>
+
+  <p>Twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, the operation of
+  shaving is held to be necessary. These are called "clean-shirt
+  days." Mondays and Fridays are the days appointed for washing the
+  clothes.</p>
+
+  <p>It is usual to give the men three quarters, instead of
+  half-an-hour to breakfast on Sundays, that they may have time to
+  rig themselves in proper trim before coming on deck. The watch,
+  therefore, is called at a quarter-past eight, or it may be one
+  bell, which is half-past. The forenoon watch bring their
+  clothes-bags up with them, in order that they may not be again
+  required to leave the deck before muster. The bags are piled in
+  neat pyramids, or in other forms, sometimes on the booms before
+  the boats, and sometimes in a square mass on the after part of
+  the quarter-deck of a frigate. It strikes my recollection that in
+  most ships there is a sort of difficulty in finding a good place
+  on which to stow the bags.</p>
+
+  <p>As soon as the forenoon watch is called, the between decks, on
+  which the men live, is carefully cleaned, generally by what is
+  called dry holy-stoning. This is done by rubbing the deck with
+  small smooth pieces of freestone, after a layer of well-dried
+  sand has been sprinkled over it. This operation throws up a good
+  deal of dust; but it makes the deck white, which is the grand
+  point aimed at. The wings, the store-rooms, and the cockpits,
+  undergo a similar dose of rubbing and scrubbing; in short, every
+  hole and corner of the decks, both above and below stairs, as
+  folks on shore would say, is swept, and swept, and swept again,
+  on a Sunday morning, till the panting sweepers are half dead;
+  indeed, the rest of the ship's company are worried out of all
+  patience, from eight o'clock to half-past ten, with the eternal
+  cry of "Pipe the sweepers!" followed by a sharp, interrupted
+  whistle, not unlike the note of a pet canary.</p>
+
+  <p>What with cleaning the decks and cleaning themselves, the
+  watch below have fully enough to do to get all ready by five
+  bells. It must be remembered, too, that they have had the morning
+  watch to keep, since four o'clock, and the whole trouble of
+  washing the upper decks, shaking out the reefs, stowing the
+  hammocks, and coiling down the ropes; all easy matters of
+  routine, it is true, but still sufficiently tiresome when
+  multiplied so often.</p>
+
+  <p>At the appointed hour of half-past ten, to a single stroke of
+  the bell, the mate of the watch, directed by the officer on deck,
+  who again acts in obedience to the captain's orders, conveyed to
+  him by the first lieutenant, calls out,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Beat to divisions!"</p>
+
+  <p>It should have been stated, that, before this period arrives,
+  the mate of the decks and the mate of the hold, the boatswain,
+  gunner, and carpenter, have all severally received reports from
+  their subordinates that their different departments are in proper
+  order for inspection. Reports to the same effect being then
+  finally made to the first lieutenant by the mates and
+  warrant-officers, he himself goes round the ship to see that all
+  is right and tight, preparatory to the grand inspection. I ought
+  also to have mentioned that the bags of the watch below are piped
+  up at ten o'clock, so that nothing remains between decks but the
+  mess-tables, stools, and the soup and grog kids. Long before this
+  hour, the greater number of the whole ship's company have dressed
+  themselves and are ready for muster; but the never-ending
+  sweepers, the fussy warrant-officers' yeomen, the exact purser's
+  steward, the slovenly midshipmen's boy, the learned loblolly boy,
+  and the interminable host of officers' servants, who have always
+  fifty extra things to do, are often so sorely pressed for time,
+  that at the first tap of the drum beating to divisions, these
+  idlers, as they are technically much miscalled, may often be seen
+  only then lugging their shirts over their heads, or hitching up
+  their trousers in all the hurry-scurry of a lower-deck toilet. I
+  should have recorded that in the ship's head, as well as on the
+  fore-part of the main-deck, and likewise between the guns,
+  chiefly those abreast of the fore-hatchway, there have been
+  groups assembled to scrape and polish themselves ever since
+  breakfast-time, and even before it. Some are washing themselves;
+  others cutting, and combing, and trimming their hair; for,
+  now-a-days, there are none of those huge long tails, or club
+  ties, which descended along the back of the sailors who fought
+  with Benbow and Rodney. The dandyism of Jack has now taken
+  another turn, and the knowing thing at present is to have a
+  parcel of ringlets hanging from the temples almost to the
+  collar-bone. Some of the youngest and best-looking of the
+  foretop-men would also very fain indulge in the feminine foppery
+  of ear-rings; but in the British Navy this is absolutely
+  forbidden.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember once, on the beach of Madras, witnessing an amusing
+  scene between Sir Samuel Hood, then commander-in-chief in India,
+  and the newly-promoted boatswain of a sloop-of-war belonging to
+  the squadron. The Admiral, who was one of the bravest, and
+  kindest, and truest-hearted seamen that ever trod a ship's decks,
+  was a sworn foe to all trickery in dress. The eye of the veteran
+  officer was directed earnestly towards the yeast of waves, which
+  in immense double rows of surf, fringe and guard the whole of
+  that flat coast. He was watching the progress of a Massullah
+  boat, alternately lost in the foam, and raised in very uncertain
+  balance across the swell, which, though just on the break,
+  brought her swiftly towards the shore. He felt more anxious than
+  usual about the fate of this particular boat, from having ordered
+  on shore the person alluded to, with whom he wished to have some
+  conversation previous to their parting company. This boatswain
+  was a young man, who had been for some years a follower of the
+  Admiral in different ships, and to whom he had just given a
+  warrant. The poor fellow, unexpectedly promoted from before the
+  mast to the rank of a warrant-officer, was trigged out in his
+  newly-bought, but marvellously ill-cut uniform, shining like a
+  new dollar, and making its wearer, who for the first time in his
+  life had put on a long coat, feel not a little awkward.</p>
+
+  <p>As soon as the boat was partly driven up the beach by the
+  surf, and partly dragged beyond the dash of the breakers by the
+  crowd on shore, this happiest of warrant-officers leaped out on
+  the sand, and seeing the Admiral above him, standing on the crest
+  of the natural glacis which lines the shore, he took off his hat,
+  smoothed down the hair on his forehead, sailor fashion, and stood
+  uncovered, in spite of the roasting sun flaming in the
+  zenith.</p>
+
+  <p>The Admiral, of course, made a motion with his hand for the
+  boatswain to put his hat on; but the other, not perceiving the
+  signal, stood stock-still.</p>
+
+  <p>"I say, put on your hat!" called the commander-in-chief, in a
+  tone which made the newly-created warrant start. In his agitation
+  he shook a bunch of well-trimmed ringlets a little on one side,
+  and betrayed to the flashing eyes of the Admiral a pair of small
+  round silver ear-rings, the parting gift, doubtless, of some
+  favoured and favouring "Poll or Bess" of dear, old, blackguard
+  Point Beach. Be this as it may, the Admiral, first stepping on
+  one side, and then holding his head forward, as if to
+  re-establish the doubting evidence of his horrified senses, and
+  forcibly keeping down the astonished seaman's hat with his hand,
+  roared out,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Who the devil are you?"</p>
+
+  <p>"John Marline, sir!" replied the bewildered boatswain,
+  beginning to suspect the scrape he had got himself into.</p>
+
+  <p>"Oh!" cried the flag-officer, with a scornful laugh. "Oh! I
+  beg your pardon; I took you for a Portuguese."</p>
+
+  <p>"No, sir!" instinctively faltered out the other, seeing the
+  Admiral expected some reply.</p>
+
+  <p>"No! Then, if you are not a foreigner, why do you hoist false
+  colours? What business has an English sailor with these
+  d&mdash;&mdash; d machines in his ears?"</p>
+
+  <p>"I don't know, sir," said poor Marline. "I put them in only
+  this morning, when I rigged myself in my new togs to answer the
+  signal on shore."</p>
+
+  <p>"Then," said Sir Samuel, softened by the contrite look of his
+  old shipmate, and having got rid of the greater portion of his
+  bile by the first explosion, "you will now proceed to unrig
+  yourself of this top hamper as fast as you can; pitch them into
+  the surf if you like; but never, as you respect the warrant in
+  your pocket, let me see you in that disguise again."</p>
+
+  <p>When the drum beats the well-known
+  "<i>G&eacute;n&eacute;rale</i>," the ship's company range
+  themselves in a single line along both sides of the quarter-deck,
+  the gangways, and all round the forecastle. In a frigate, the
+  whole crew may be thus spread out on the upper deck alone; but in
+  line-of-battle ships the numbers are so great that similar
+  ranges, each consisting of a division, are likewise formed on the
+  opposite sides of the main-deck. The marines, under arms, and in
+  full uniform, fall in at the after-part of the quarter-deck;
+  while the ship's boys, under the master-at-arms, with his ratan
+  in hand, muster on the forecastle.</p>
+
+  <p>In some ships the men are sized, as it is called, the tallest
+  being placed at the after-end, and so on down to the most
+  diminutive, who is fixed at the extremity. But this arrangement,
+  being more of a military than of a naval cast, is rarely adopted
+  now-a-days. It will seldom happen, indeed, that the biggest and
+  burliest fellows in a ship's company are the leading men. They
+  may chance, indeed, to be poulterers, cook's mates, or fit only
+  to make sweepers of; personages who after a three years' station
+  barely know the stem from the stern, and could no more steer the
+  ship than they could take a lunar distance. Officers, however, on
+  first joining a ship, are very apt to be guilty of some injustice
+  towards the people by judging of them too hastily from appearance
+  alone. We are insensibly so much prepossessed in favour of a
+  fine, tall, good-looking sailor-lad, and prejudiced against a
+  grizzled, crooked, little wretch, that if both happen to be
+  brought before us for the same offence, we almost instinctively
+  commit the injustice of condemning the ugly fellow, and
+  acquitting the smart-looking one, before a tithe of the evidence
+  has reached our ears.</p>
+
+  <p>Leaving these speculative questions, however, for the present,
+  let us return to the divisions, which are arranged along the
+  deck, not, as formerly, by sizes, but, in the proper way, by the
+  watch-bill. The forecastle-men, of course, come first, as they
+  stand so in the lists by which they are mustered at night by the
+  mate of the watch; then the foretop men, and so on to the
+  gunners, after-guard, and waisters. Each division is under charge
+  of a lieutenant, who, as well as the midshipmen of his division,
+  appears in full uniform. The people are first mustered by the
+  young gentlemen, and then carefully inspected by the officer of
+  the division, who sees that every man is dressed according to
+  order, and that he is otherwise in proper trim. It is also usual
+  in hot climates for the surgeon and his assistants to pass along
+  the lines, to ascertain, partly by the men's looks, and partly by
+  an examination of their limbs, that no traces of scurvy have
+  begun to show themselves.</p>
+
+  <p>While the mustering and inspecting of the divisions is going
+  on, the captain paces the quarter-deck, in company with the first
+  lieutenant. No other voices are heard except theirs, and that of
+  the midshipmen calling over the names of the men, or the officers
+  putting some interrogatory about a spot of tar on a pair of duck
+  trousers, or an ill-mended hole in the sleeve of a shirt. In a
+  few minutes even these sounds are hushed, and nothing is
+  distinguishable fore and aft but the tread of the respective
+  officers, on their way aft to report to the captain on the
+  quarter-deck that all are present, properly dressed, and clean,
+  at their different divisions. The marine officer likewise makes a
+  report of his party and their equipments. The first lieutenant
+  now turns to the captain, takes off his hat, and says,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"All the officers have reported, sir."</p>
+
+  <p>To which the other replies,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"We'll go round the ship, then, if you please;" and off they
+  trudge, after leaving the deck in charge of the second
+  lieutenant, or the master, as may be determined upon at the
+  moment.</p>
+
+  <p>As the captain approaches the first division, he is received
+  by the officer commanding it, who touches his hat, and then falls
+  into the train behind. Of course, the moment the skipper appears,
+  the men along the whole line take off their hats, smooth down
+  their locks, make many clumsy efforts to stand erect, fumble
+  interminably with the waistband of their trousers, and shuffle,
+  to more or less purpose, according to the motion of the ship, to
+  maintain their toes exactly at the line or seam in the deck along
+  which they have been cautioned twenty times they are to stand.
+  The captain, as he moves slowly past, eyes each man from head to
+  foot, and lets nothing pass of which he disapproves. The officer
+  of the division is ready to explain, or to take a note of what
+  alteration is required; but supposing all to be right, not a
+  syllable is spoken, and at the end of the division the captain
+  again touches his hat to the officer, who returns the salute, and
+  remains with his people.</p>
+
+  <p>He then proceeds to the forecastle, at the break of which he
+  is received by the three warrant-officers, the boatswain, gunner,
+  and carpenter, in their best coats, cut after the fashion of the
+  year one, broad-tailed, musty, and full of creases from bad
+  packing and little use, and blazing from top to bottom with a
+  double-tiered battery of buttons of huge dimensions. Behind these
+  worthy personages, who seldom look much at home in their finery,
+  stands the master-at-arms, in front of his troop of troublesome
+  small fry, known by the name of the ship's boys, destined in good
+  time to be sailors, and perhaps amongst the best and truest that
+  we ever number in our crews.</p>
+
+  <p>In this way, in short, it is a most important, and almost an
+  imperative duty, on the officers of every man-of-war, to
+  ascertain, by actual investigation, how far their people are
+  entitled to the ratings they claim. If we do not see to this, we
+  are perpetually misapplying the resources of the nation, by
+  mistaking their true quality.</p>
+
+  <p>I should have mentioned, that before leaving the upper deck
+  the captain proceeds to inspect the marines, who are drawn up
+  across or along the quarter-deck abaft. Most captains think it
+  both judicious and kind to visit the marines first, and I have
+  never seen this practice adopted without manifest advantage. The
+  marines are excellent fellows, well-trained, hardy, cheerful,
+  duly respecting themselves, and proud of their service: while,
+  from belonging to a fixed corps, and from not being liable to be
+  perpetually disbanded and scattered, they acquire a permanent
+  interest, or an inherent <i>esprit de corps</i>, as well as a
+  permanent footing in the Navy. In like manner, the marine
+  officers constitute one of the most gentleman-like bodies of men
+  in the King's service. They are thoroughly imbued with all the
+  high sentiments of honour belonging to the military character;
+  and they possess, moreover, in a very pleasant degree, the
+  freedom of manner and versatility of habits peculiar to those who
+  go down to the sea in ships.</p>
+
+  <p>The utility of this important body of men on board a
+  man-of-war is so great, that it becomes the duty of every lover
+  of the profession to support all its ranks and classes, and to
+  render their situation when afloat one of respectability,
+  happiness, and contentment. In speaking of the utility of the
+  jolly marines, as they are kindly enough called by the sailors,
+  who, in spite of all their quizzing, really esteem their
+  pipe-clayed shipmates, I refer less to their services in action,
+  than to their inestimable value in sustaining the internal
+  discipline of the service. The manner in which this is brought
+  about forms one of the most interesting peculiarities in the
+  whole range of naval affairs; but it deserves to be treated of
+  separately, and at length.</p>
+
+  <p>The two divisions ranged along the main-deck, supposing the
+  ship's company so distributed, next engage the captain's
+  attention. I think it is usual to take that first which stands on
+  the starboard side of the deck, with the after-end, or its left,
+  as military men would say, close against the bulkhead of the
+  captain's cabin, while the foremost men of the division extend
+  under the forecastle. On arriving at the galley or kitchen, the
+  captain is received by the cook (or as much as may be left of
+  him, according to the Greenwich Hospital joke), behind whom
+  stands his mate, generally a tall, glossy, powerful negro, who,
+  unlike his chief, has always a full allowance of limbs, with a
+  round and shining face, about as moist as one of the tubful of
+  huge suet puddings, tied up in bags alongside of him. The cook,
+  aided by "Quamino," lifts the lids off the coppers, that the
+  captain may peer into them, and ascertain whether or not all is
+  clean and nice. With the end of his wooden leg the cook then
+  gives a twist to the cock of the coppers, to let some of the
+  pease-soup in preparation run off and show itself to the noble
+  commander's inspection. The oven-doors are next opened, the range
+  or large fire stirred up, and every hole and corner exposed to
+  view; the object of the grand visitation being to see that this
+  essential department of the ship is in the most perfect state of
+  cleanliness and good order.</p>
+
+  <p>Still further forward, before the galley, in the very nose of
+  her, as the foremost nook or angle of the ship is called, and a
+  little on one side, lies the sick-bay, or hospital; at the door
+  of which the surgeon, backed by his assistants, receives the
+  captain and his double the first lieutenant, and his double the
+  mate of the main-deck. In they march, all in a row. The captain
+  takes care not to pass any invalid's hammock without dropping a
+  word of encouragement to its pale inmate, or begging to be
+  informed if anything further can be done to make him comfortable.
+  Only those men who are very unwell, however, are found in their
+  beds; the rest being generally seated on the chests and boxes
+  placed round the bay, a part of the ship which, I need scarcely
+  mention, is kept, if possible, more clean, airy, and tidy than
+  any other. If a speck of dirt be found on the deck, or a gallipot
+  or phial out of its place, woe betide the loblolly-boy, the
+  assistant-surgeon's assistant, and the constant attendant upon
+  the hospital. This personage is usually a fellow of some small
+  knowledge of reading and writing, who, by overhearing the daily
+  clinical lectures of the doctor, contrives to pick up a
+  smattering of medical terms, which he loses no opportunity of
+  palming off upon his messmates below as sublime wisdom sucked in
+  at Alma Mater.</p>
+
+  <p>Just before leaving the sick-bay, the captain generally turns
+  to the surgeon, and says, as a matter of course, "Doctor, mind
+  you always send aft at dinner-time for anything and everything
+  you require for the sick;" and I have frequently remarked that
+  his whole tone and manner are greatly softened during this part
+  of the rounds, perhaps without his being conscious of any
+  difference. A very small share of attention on the part of a
+  commanding-officer on such occasions, if kindly and unaffectedly
+  exercised, leaves a wonderfully favourable impression, not only
+  among the invalids to whom it is more particularly addressed, but
+  seldom fails to extend its salutary influence over the rest of
+  the ship's company, and thus, of course, contributes materially
+  to strengthen and to maintain his authority. Such expressions of
+  sympathy never fail to act like drops of oil on the machinery of
+  discipline, making all its wheels work smoothly and sweetly.</p>
+
+  <p>The lower deck is next examined. The bags have been carried on
+  deck, so that, as I mentioned before, nothing remains but the
+  people's mess-tables and mess things, their kids, and crockery.
+  As Jack is mighty fond of a bit of show in his way, many of the
+  berths or mess-places exhibit goodly ranges of tea-cups and
+  regiments of plates worthy of the celebrated Blue Posts Tavern,
+  occasionally flanked by a huge tea-pot, famously emblazoned with
+  yellow dragons and imitation Chinese. The intervals between the
+  shelves are generally ornamented with a set of pictures of rural
+  innocence, where shepherds are seen wooing shepherdesses,
+  balanced by representations of not quite such innocent Didos
+  weeping at the Sally Port, and waving their lily hands to
+  departing sailor-boys. On the topmost-shelf stands, or is tied to
+  the side, a triangular piece of a mirror, three inches perhaps by
+  three, extremely useful in adjusting the curls of our nautical
+  coxcombs, of whom one at least is to be found in every berth.</p>
+
+  <p>The mess-tables, which are kept so bright you would suppose
+  them whitewashed, are hooked to the ship's side at one end, while
+  the other is suspended by small ropes covered with white canvas.
+  Against these lines rest the soup and grog kids, shining in a
+  double row along the deck, which is lighted up, fore and aft, for
+  the captain's visit, by a candle in each berth. In frigates it is
+  usual, I believe, to let the people have a certain number of
+  chests, besides their bags. These not only form convenient seats
+  for the men at meals, and couches on which to stretch their
+  worn-out limbs during the watch below, but they afford a place in
+  which the sailors may stow away some part of their best attire,
+  deposit their little knick-knacks, and here and there a book, or
+  mayhap a love-letter, or some cherished love-token. A chest, in
+  short, or the share of a chest, even though it be only a quarter,
+  or a sixth part, is always so great a comfort that this
+  indulgence ought to be granted when it can possibly be allowed.
+  In single-decked ships, I conceive it may generally be permitted:
+  in a line-of-battle ship hardly ever. In a frigate, as there are
+  no guns on the lower deck, where the people mess and sleep, there
+  is nothing to clear away on coming into action; but in a ship of
+  the line the men pass their whole lives amongst the guns, by
+  night as well as by day, and as it is absolutely necessary to
+  keep every part ready for action at an instant's warning, nothing
+  can be allowed to remain between the guns but such articles as
+  may be carried out of the way in a moment. It is sometimes
+  nonsensical, and even cruel, to carry this system into a frigate,
+  where the same necessity for keeping the space unencumbered does
+  not exist. Doubtless the mate of the lower deck, and often enough
+  the first lieutenant, and sometimes even the captain, will be
+  anxious to break up all the men's chests, in order to have a
+  clear-looking, open, airy, between-decks, to make a show of; but
+  with proper care it may be kept almost as clear and quite as
+  clean with a couple of chests in each berth as without. Even were
+  it otherwise, we ought, I think, rather to give up a little
+  appearance to secure so great a share of comfort to those who, at
+  best, are not overburdened with luxuries.</p>
+
+  <p>As the captain walks aft, along the lower deck, he comes to
+  the midshipmen's berth, or room, in which the youngsters mess. It
+  is the foremost and largest of a range of cabins built up on each
+  side, and reaching as far aft as the gun-room, or mess-place of
+  the commissioned officers. It is only in line-of-battle ships
+  that the mids mess in the cockpit; while in frigates they not
+  merely mess but sleep in the part of the lower deck called, I
+  know not why, the steerage. I ought to have mentioned that before
+  the cabins of the officers, and abaft those of the sailors, lie
+  the berths of the marines; but, of course, those mess-places of
+  the men are not partitioned off, being merely denoted by the
+  tables and shelves. The boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, have
+  their cabins in the steerage.</p>
+
+  <p>The captain peeps into each of these dens as he moves along.
+  In that of the midshipmen he may probably find a youth with the
+  quarantine-flag up; that is, in the sick-list. His cue, we may
+  suppose, is always to look as miserable and woe-begone as
+  possible. If he have had a tussle with a messmate, and one or
+  both his eyes are bunged up in consequence, it costs him no small
+  trouble to conceal his disorderly misdeeds. It would be just as
+  easy, in fact, to stop the winds as to stop the use of
+  fisty-cuffs amongst a parcel of hot-blooded lads between thirteen
+  and nineteen, although, of course, such <i>rencontres</i> are
+  held to be contrary to the laws and customs used at sea, and are
+  punishable accordingly. The captain, pretending ignorance,
+  however, merely grins; and, without exposing the boy to the
+  necessity of getting up a story, remarks:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"I suppose, Master Peppercorn, you fell down the
+  after-hatchway ladder, and struck your eye against the corner of
+  a chest? Didn't you? And, what is odd enough, I dare say, when I
+  cross to the starboard berth, I shall find Mr. Mustardseed, who
+  has met with exactly the same accident about the same time. What
+  do yo think? Eh?"</p>
+
+  <p>"I don't know, sir," answers the badgered youngster; "Mr.
+  Mustardseed and I are not on speaking terms."</p>
+
+  <p>"Very likely not," chuckles the skipper, as he proceeds to
+  thrust his nose curiously into the warrant officers' little
+  boxes. On arriving at the gun-room, he merely glances, with a
+  well-bred air of assumed indifference, at the apartment of the
+  officers, with whose habits and arrangements he scarcely ever
+  ventures to meddle. He next dives into the cockpit, which in a
+  frigate is used only for the purser's store-room, leading to the
+  bread-room, both of which he examines carefully. The spirit-room
+  hatchway, too, is lifted up for his inspection, as well as that
+  of the after-hold. He then takes a survey of the cable tiers,
+  which are lighted up for the occasion; as also different
+  store-rooms of the boatswain, gunner, and carpenter; all of which
+  ought to be objects of his particular care, for it is of great
+  consequence that every article they contain should not only have
+  an assigned and well-known place, but that it should actually be
+  kept in that place. It is, indeed, quite wonderful how much may
+  be done in the way of stowage by dint of good management. In a
+  well-regulated ship, there is not a bolt or a bar, nor any kind
+  of tool belonging to the carpenter, nor a single rope great or
+  small; canvas fine as duck, or coarse as No. 1, belonging to the
+  boatswain; nor any description of warlike store in charge of the
+  gunner, which cannot instantly be laid hold of, and conveyed in
+  half-a-minute to any part of the ship, alow or aloft.</p>
+
+  <p>At length, when every square inch of the holds, tiers,
+  sail-rooms, and all the cabins and berths below, have been
+  examined, the visitation party return to the quarter-deck, after
+  a full half-hour's ramble. As the captain re-ascends to the
+  different decks in succession, the men, who have never budged
+  from their divisions, again pluck off their hats, the marines
+  carry arms the moment his head shows above the coamings, and all
+  the officers stop instantaneously in the middle of their walk to
+  salute their commander, as he once more treads the
+  quarter-deck.</p>
+
+  <p>"And now, sir," says the captain, turning to the first
+  lieutenant, "if you please we will rig the church."</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">THE SHIP
+  CHURCH.</p>
+
+  <p>The carpenters and the watch on deck soon carry aft their
+  benches and mess-stools; but these not being sufficient to afford
+  accommodation for all hands, as many capstan-bars as may be
+  required are likewise brought up and placed athwart the
+  quarter-deck, with their ends resting on match-tubs and
+  fire-buckets, or on the carronade-slides. These seats occupy the
+  whole of the space from the break of the quarter-deck and the
+  belaying bits round the mainmast, as far as the
+  companion-hatchway. Chairs from the cabin and gun-room are also
+  placed abaft all, for the captain and officers, and on the lee
+  side for the warrant-officers and mids; for it need scarcely be
+  mentioned that due subordination is made to keep its place even
+  in our church.</p>
+
+  <p>The pulpit stands amidships, either on the after-gratings, or
+  on the deck immediately before the hatchway. In some ships, this
+  part of the nautical church establishment consists of a moveable
+  reading-desk, made expressly for the occasion, but brought up
+  from the carpenter's store-room only when wanted; sometimes one
+  of the binnacles is used for this purpose; and I remember a ship
+  in which the prayer-book was regularly laid on a sword-rack, or
+  stand, holding six dozen naked cutlasses. The desk is covered
+  over with a signal-flag, as well as the hassock for the chaplain
+  to kneel upon, which is usually a grape or canister shot-box,
+  surmounted by a cheese of great-gun wads, to make it soft.</p>
+
+  <p>All this implies that the weather is fine, the awnings spread
+  overhead, and the curtains stretched fore and aft, to keep out
+  the heat and glare. In rainy or blustering weather the church is
+  rigged under the half-deck, much in the same way, except that the
+  pulpit is placed between two of the guns, and generally on the
+  larboard side, as nearly abreast of the quarter-deck ladder as
+  may be.</p>
+
+  <p>When all is ready, the bell is tolled by one of the
+  quarter-masters; and the crew, quietly clustering aft, occupy the
+  bars, stools, planks, and gun-slides, prepared for their
+  accommodation. The marines range themselves on the front seats;
+  while the officers take their places, of course not avowedly in
+  the order of date in their commissions, but, more or less, they
+  do fall into their respective stations according to seniority.
+  The chaplain is now informed that every one is assembled; or, if
+  there be no clergyman on board, the report is made to the
+  captain, who generally officiates in that case. When the service
+  begins, if there be any other ship in company, a pendant, such as
+  men-of-war carry at their mast-head to distinguish them from
+  merchant-ships, is hoisted at the mizen peak, to show that the
+  ship's company are at prayers. This signal, which is kept flying
+  during the performance of divine service, is respected by every
+  other ship, whether commanded by a superior officer or not.</p>
+
+  <p>Besides the prayers, which, as I have already mentioned, are
+  "according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, established
+  by law," the chaplain gives a short discourse, not exceeding at
+  most twenty or twenty-five minutes in length. Some captains are
+  in the habit of reading a sermon; but more commonly, when there
+  is no clergyman on board, the prayers are deemed sufficient.
+  These points, as may be supposed, become frequent matters of
+  discussion in the fleet. I shall not enter into them further just
+  now than by observing that the majority of right-thinking
+  officers appear to agree, that, if the church service on board
+  ship be not "solemnly, orderly, and reverently performed,"
+  according to the terms and in the spirit of the first article of
+  war, it is either useless or worse than useless. It ought
+  therefore to take place as regularly and habitually as the nature
+  of the ship's duties will allow of. In the next place, it seems
+  clear, that if the service be rendered so long, or be otherwise
+  so conducted, as not to arrest the attention of the crew, or not
+  to maintain it alive when once fixed, it is too long.</p>
+
+  <p>I will venture to say, there is rarely to be met with anywhere
+  a more orderly or a more attentive congregation, in all respects,
+  than on board a man-of-war.</p>
+
+  <p>But, notwithstanding all Jack's decorum and his discipline, to
+  say nothing of his natural inclination, when duly encouraged, to
+  reflect seriously and properly on any subject, as he is made of
+  ordinary flesh and bones, his eyes will sometimes refuse to keep
+  open under the infliction of a dull or ill-delivered discourse;
+  so that if the person who officiates happens not to read very
+  well, his best chance for securing any useful attention consists
+  in the brevity of his prelections. If the quality, rather than
+  the quantity, of instruction be his object, he should be
+  exceedingly careful not to fatigue his hearers. The inverse rule
+  of proportion obtains here with such mortifying regularity, that
+  the longer he makes the church service beyond the mark of
+  agreeable and easy attention, the more certain will he be of
+  missing his point.</p>
+
+  <p>The analogy, not to speak it profanely, between overloading a
+  gun and overloading a discourse applies especially to
+  ship-preaching. Sailors are such odd fellows that they are nowise
+  moved by noise and smoke; but they well know how to value a good
+  aim, and always love and honour a commanding-officer who truly
+  respects their feelings, nor by means of long-winded and
+  ill-timed discourses, or what they irreverently call
+  psalm-singing, interferes too much with their religious
+  concerns.</p>
+
+  <p>It would be easy, though perhaps rather invidious, to point
+  out in what other respects many officers are apt, besides the
+  protracted length of the church service on Sunday, to err in
+  excess in these matters. I am very sorry to say it would be still
+  easier to show in what respects all of us err in defect. I should
+  rejoice much more in being able to make officers who have not
+  sufficiently reflected on these things, duly sensible that it is
+  quite as much to their immediate professional advantage that the
+  religious duties of their ship should form an essential part of
+  the discipline of the crew, and be considered not less useful in
+  a moral point of view, than rigging the masts properly is to the
+  nautical department of their command.</p>
+
+  <p>If, indeed, religion, when applied to the ordinary business of
+  life, should be found inconsistent with those moral obligations
+  which are dictated to us by conscience; or even were we to
+  discover that the ablest, most virtuous, and most successful
+  person, amongst us were uniformly despisers of religion, then
+  there would certainly be some explanation, not to say excuse, for
+  young and inexperienced men venturing to dispute on such
+  subjects, and claiming the bold privilege of absolutely
+  independent thought and action. But surely there is neither
+  excuse nor explanation, nor indeed any sound justification
+  whatsoever, for the presumption of those who, in the teeth of all
+  experience and authority, not only trust themselves with the open
+  expression of these cavils, but, having settled the whole
+  question in their own way, take the hazardous line of
+  recommending their daring example to those around them. It is
+  also material to recollect that there is not a single point of
+  duty in the whole range of the naval profession, which, when well
+  understood, may not be enforced with greater efficiency by a
+  strict adherence to the sanctions of religion, than if it were
+  attempted single-handed; so that most of the objections which one
+  hears made to the due performance of the church service on board
+  ship, on the score of its interfering with the discipline, are
+  quite absurd, and inapplicable to the circumstances of the
+  case.</p>
+
+  <p>The captain of a man-of-war, therefore, if his influence be as
+  well-founded as it ought, may, in this most material of all
+  respects, essentially supply the place of a parent to young
+  persons, who must be considered for the time virtually as
+  orphans. He may very possibly not be learned enough to lay before
+  his large nautical family the historical and other external
+  evidences of Christianity, and, perhaps, may have it still less
+  in his power to make them fully aware of the just force of its
+  internal evidences; but he can seldom have any doubt as to his
+  duty in this case more than in any other department of the
+  weighty obligations with which he is charged; and if he cannot
+  here, as elsewhere, make the lads under his care see distinctly,
+  in the main, what course it best becomes them to follow, he is
+  hardly fit for his station. I freely own that it is far beyond
+  his power to make them pursue that line, if they choose to be
+  perverse; but he will neglect an important, I might add, a sacred
+  and solemn part of his business, if he leaves their minds more
+  adrift on the score of religion than he can possibly help. Their
+  steering in this ticklish navigation, it is true, depends upon
+  their own prudence; but it is his bounden duty to provide them
+  with both a rudder and a compass, and also, as far as he is able,
+  to instruct them, like a good pilot, in the course they ought to
+  shape. The eventual success of the great voyage of life lies with
+  themselves; the captain's duty, as a moral commander-in-chief, is
+  done if he sets his juvenile squadron fairly under weigh. It is
+  in vain to conceal from ourselves, that, unless both officers and
+  men can be embodied more or less as a permanent corps, every ship
+  that is commissioned merely furnishes a sort of fresh experiment
+  in naval discipline. The officers are brought together without
+  any previous acquaintance with one another; and many of them,
+  after a long residence on shore, have lost most of their naval
+  habits. The sailors, being collected how and where we can get
+  hold of them, are too frequently the off-scourings and scum of
+  society. With such a heterogeneous crew, the first year is
+  employed in teaching them habits of cleanliness and common
+  decency; and it is only in the third year of their service that
+  the ship becomes really efficient. Just as that point has been
+  reached, all hands are turned off, to make room for another
+  experiment. If a few active men of the crew have become better
+  sailors, they generally go into the merchant-service for higher
+  wages; while the officers are again laid on the shelf. Something
+  has been done lately to retain the petty officers in the navy,
+  but perhaps not enough. It has been suggested that, instead of
+  giving men pensions for long servitude, it might be more useful
+  to allow their wages to increase gradually year by year, at some
+  small rate, and at the end of fourteen years give them half-pay
+  of the rating to which they had reached, if they chose to
+  retire.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href=
+  "#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p>
+
+  <p>In returning to the subject of the church, it must be
+  remembered that the circumstances of wind and weather will often
+  interfere with the regularity of our Sunday service. In some
+  parts of an Indian voyage, for instance, it may be safely
+  calculated that no interruption will take place; while there
+  occur other stages of the passage when Divine service must of
+  necessity be stopped, to shorten sail or trim the yards. In
+  peace-time, or in harbour, or in fine weather at sea, no such
+  teasing interference is likely to arise; but in war, and on board
+  a cruising ship, the public service frequently calls a ship's
+  company to exchange their Bibles and Prayer-books for the sponges
+  and rammers. The collect in which they have petitioned to be
+  defended from the fear of their enemies, and that their time
+  might be passed in rest and quietness, may hardly have passed
+  their lips, before they are eagerly and joyfully scampering up
+  the rigging to shake the reefs out in chase of an enemy, with
+  whom, in the next hour, they will perhaps be engaged in hot
+  fight!</p>
+
+  <p>I remember once in a frigate, cruising deep in the Bay of
+  Biscay, just as the captain had finished the Litany, and the
+  purser, whose greatest pleasure it was to officiate as clerk, had
+  said Amen, that the man at the main royal-mast head screamed
+  out,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"A strange sail, broad on the lee bow!"</p>
+
+  <p>The first effect of this announcement was to make the
+  commander turn round involuntarily to the man at the wheel and
+  exclaim, "Put the helm up!" He then closed the book, with a
+  degree of energy of which he was made somewhat ashamed when the
+  sound was echoed back by that of the rapidly closing volumes all
+  around him.</p>
+
+  <p>"My lads," said he quickly, but not without solemnity, "our
+  duty to our King is our duty to God; and if, as I hope, this sail
+  turn out to be the ship we have been so long looking after, you
+  will not give a worse account of her to the country, I am sure,
+  for having applied in good earnest for assistance from aloft."
+  After which, suddenly changing his tone and manner, he sung out
+  loudly and clearly,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Hands, make sail! Let go the bow-lines! Round in the weather
+  braces! Mast-head, there! let me know when the strange sail is
+  right ahead!"</p>
+
+  <p>Then leaping on the hammocks, and resting his glass against
+  the after-swifter of the main-rigging, he swept the horizon
+  impatiently for the stranger. Meanwhile, the rattling of the
+  chairs, capstan-bars, match-tubs, and shot-boxes, gave token of
+  the rapid demolition of our nautical church. The studding-sail
+  booms shot out like spears from the yard-arms, and the sails
+  which these spars were to expand hung dangling and flapping in
+  the air, as if the canvas had been alive, and joined in the
+  eagerness of the chase; while the ship herself, trembling fore
+  and aft under these fresh and spirit-stirring impulses, dashed
+  away at the rate of ten and a-half knots.</p>
+
+  <p>Such are the incidents which happen on board single frigates;
+  those rattling, joyous, fly-along, Salee-rover sort of cruisers,
+  which range at large over the wide ocean, scour every coast, and
+  keep the war famously alive. A much more stately ceremonial is
+  observed on board fleets, whether at sea, blockading a port, or
+  lying in harbour. The ships of the different divisions, or
+  squadrons, wait till the admiral hoists at his mizen-peak the
+  signal indicating that Divine service has commenced, the bell is
+  then tolled in each of the other ships, the usual pendant is
+  displayed, and the first article of war is complied with, not
+  only to the letter, but often, we may hope and trust, fully up to
+  the spirit. I have heard many clergymen declare that they never
+  beheld any congregation in which more attention and decorum
+  prevailed than in our ship churches.</p>
+
+  <p>At sea, both in fleets and on board single ships, the
+  afternoon of Sunday is generally a season of rest and quietness;
+  but in harbour it is frequently the most annoying period of the
+  whole week. There is nothing for the men to do, and the time
+  hangs terribly heavy on their hands; to which it must be added,
+  that our ships are too often infested by some of the vilest
+  contaminations of the shore. Bad as these influences are, at any
+  time or place, I believe they may he considered at their worst
+  when they come afloat; so that whenever it can possibly be done
+  without injury to the service, portions of the ship's company
+  should be allowed to go on shore in turn, albeit their
+  proceedings when "on liberty," as they call it, are none of the
+  most commendable. But we must let that pass. In foreign ports,
+  however, this indulgence is frequently impossible; and in cases
+  when the people cannot be permitted to land, the different
+  men-of-war in company are sure to send boat-loads of visitors, or
+  what are called "liberty men," on board one another's ships, to
+  pass the afternoon of Sunday. This practice is the very bane of
+  good discipline, and ought at all times to be discouraged in
+  every way; for it almost inevitably leads to drunkenness,
+  rioting, and bitter heart-burnings. It has, moreover, the effect
+  of making the men discontented with their own ship and their own
+  officers. The sailors are sufficiently sharp criticisers of the
+  conduct of their superiors, even when they have all the facts
+  before them, and the power of observing closely, and from day to
+  day. But when they pass on board other vessels, and interchange
+  exaggerations over an extra pot of grog, the mischievous
+  consequence is certain; for each of the parties is likely enough
+  to break up the visit miserably discontented, and to return under
+  a thorough conviction that, while everything done in their own
+  ship is wrong, all the officers are either foolish or tyrannical,
+  or both. If there must be ship-visiting, let it be on week days,
+  and in the morning; but, clearly, the less the better; and most
+  assuredly it ought never to be allowed on Sunday evening.</p>
+
+  <div class="footnotes">
+    <h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> It would
+      have gratified Captain Hall if he had lived to see that some
+      of the changes for which he pleads so earnestly are being
+      adopted, and that the best hands in the navy are now retained
+      as continuous service men.</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">NAVAL RATINGS
+  AND SEA PAY.</p>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">MUSTERING
+  CLOTHES.</p>
+
+  <p>The dinner-hour on Sunday is noon, the same as on other days;
+  but there is this distinction, which ought to mark the afternoon
+  in every well-regulated ship, the people are never disturbed
+  between twelve o'clock and four, unless some particular service
+  occurs which cannot without impropriety be deferred. It is
+  customary during the rest of the week to turn the watch up at one
+  o'clock, but on Sunday, if possible, the people should be left
+  alone: to be idle if they choose it, or to read, or otherwise to
+  employ themselves according to their own fancy. This, after all,
+  is but a trifling indulgence, which hardly ever puts the captain
+  or officers to any inconvenience. Even if it did, what would it
+  matter? The interests of the country will not be worse attended
+  to in the long-run for an occasional relaxation of strict
+  etiquettes and formal observances. Even if the ship be making a
+  passage, and that, in strictness, all sail ought to be carried,
+  no eventual loss will ever attend such very trivial abatement of
+  speed; for the men will probably be far more active in making and
+  shortening sail at other times, when their minor comforts are
+  thus regarded, than when treated as if they had no feelings to be
+  considered.</p>
+
+  <p>The circumstance which most distinctly marks the afternoon of
+  Sunday on board a man-of-war, even more than on land, is the
+  absence of all the usual stir caused by the multifarious
+  occupations of the artificers and crew. Indeed, the lower deck of
+  a man-of-war on Sunday afternoon, between dinner time and the
+  hour of tea, or evening grog, a cast of idleness is the most
+  characteristic feature. Groups of men may be seen sitting on the
+  deck chatting over very old stories, a few are reading, and many
+  are stretched out flat on their backs fast asleep, or dosing with
+  their heads laid on their arms on the mess-table. But the habit
+  of locomotion amongst sailors is so strong, that there are always
+  numerous parties walking on the main deck in pairs, or in threes
+  and fours, along a short space, backwards and forwards, although
+  there seems no reason why their walk should not be twice or
+  thrice as long. Both sides of the forecastle, too, and the
+  lee-gangway, are generally filled with these walking
+  philosophers, as they may in truth be called; for they enjoy the
+  hour that passes, and are ready to take whatever comes in good
+  part. The weather-gangway is usually left for the occasional
+  transits of that most restless of mortals, the officer of the
+  watch, who, as in duty bound, is eternally fidgeting about the
+  trim of the sails, and must often step forward to the chestree,
+  from whence, while resting his foot on the tack-block of the
+  mainsail, he may cast his eye aloft to detect something to alter
+  in the position of the head-yards. Or if he hears any noise in
+  the galley, or even on the lower deck, he can walk forward till
+  he is able to peer down the fore-hatchway, by stooping under the
+  bows of the boat on the booms. Most of this fidget probably
+  arises, not so much from any wish to find fault with what is
+  wrong, as to maintain what is right. The true preventive service
+  of an officer is to interpose his superintending vigilance
+  between the temptation, on the part of the men, to err, and their
+  first motion towards offence. Were this principle fully acted up
+  to in all ships, how rapidly might not our punishments
+  subside!</p>
+
+  <p>At four, or half-past four in the afternoon, the merry pipe to
+  supper awakes the sleepers, arrests the peripatetics, and once
+  more clusters young and old round the mess-table. At sunset the
+  drum beats to quarters, when the men's names are carefully called
+  over, and the sobriety of each ascertained. Other duties may be
+  intermitted on the day of rest, but not that of the guns, which
+  are minutely examined, and all their appendages got ready every
+  evening with as much earnest care as if the ship were that
+  instant sailing into action. A moment's reflection, indeed, will
+  show that there can, of course, be no difference in this respect
+  between Sunday and any other evening. Then come in succession the
+  following routine orders, and their correspondent
+  evolutions:&mdash;"Reef topsails!" "Stand by the hammocks!" "Pipe
+  down!" "Roll up the cloths!" "Call the watch!" "Pipe the
+  sweepers!" And thus, at last, the first day of the week at sea,
+  in a man-of-war, is at an end.</p>
+
+  <p>In old times, I recollect, the fashion was for the men to
+  press aft in a disorganised crowd; but of late years the
+  following more appropriate and orderly arrangement has been
+  universally adopted. The men are distributed in a close double
+  row round the quarter-deck gangways and forecastle, each standing
+  in his place according to the order of his name on the Open List.
+  A small table is then brought up, on which are spread the
+  muster-books; and the captain's clerk, who is the only person
+  seated, begins calling over the names. Each man, as his turn
+  comes, pulls off his hat, smooths down his hair, and passes over
+  from the lee side of the deck to the weather side, stepping
+  across the gratings just before the binnacle. The captain stands
+  to windward, so that the men advance directly up towards him, and
+  then pass forward in review. By this means, not only the captain,
+  but the officers, who, of course, are all present, become better
+  acquainted with the men, learn their names, and ascertain their
+  respective ratings and merits. The first lieutenant plants
+  himself at the captain's elbow to furnish such general
+  information as may be required, or to appeal for more minute
+  details to the other lieutenants, warrant-officers, mates, or
+  midshipmen, as the case may be.</p>
+
+  <p>The captain avails himself of this public opportunity of
+  telling any of the men that they have been advanced a step on the
+  books since the last muster; and if these intimations be given
+  without parade, and in good taste, they afford great satisfaction
+  to the people, though it may often happen that the changes of
+  rating are almost nominal. It is a great point gained in all
+  discipline, if the persons we wish to influence can be made duly
+  sensible that their merits and exertions are not neglected. It is
+  obvious, too, that if giving a man a higher rating be a source of
+  encouragement, to disrate him may readily be used as a means of
+  punishment. I remember, in the Lyra, on my way home from China,
+  in 1817, that the captain of the foretop, a fine active lad from
+  North Shields, got into some scrape, not quite bad enough to
+  bring him within the reach of the terrible gangway, but close to
+  it, and I was rather perplexed how to chastise the offender. The
+  first Sunday in the month was close at hand, so I waited till
+  this man's name was called, and then, after a suitable lecture,
+  desired the clerk, in the hearing of the whole ship's company, to
+  change his rating to that of able seaman from captain of the top.
+  The poor fellow looked bewildered, and, instead of passing on
+  when another name was called, stood stock-still half-way across
+  the deck.</p>
+
+  <p>"Don't you hear?" I said; "you are no longer captain of the
+  foretop, you are disrated on the ship's books."</p>
+
+  <p>I then turned to the clerk to see the entry properly made; but
+  on looking again at the disrated seaman, I observed, to my
+  astonishment, that he was in tears!</p>
+
+  <p>I certainly had not reckoned upon such a scene; but it at once
+  flashed upon me that here was an opportunity of gaining two
+  important points. The first and most obvious of which was to
+  secure this particular man's future good services by enlisting
+  all that was hearty in his nature at the instant of its strongest
+  expression; and the next, to avail myself of the circumstance to
+  stamp a still higher degree of importance in the eyes of the men
+  than before upon the value of these ratings. I therefore
+  instantly called out to the clerk to stop his pen; and then
+  addressing the man, in a voice loud enough to be heard by all the
+  crew, said, I was quite sure any one who felt so sensibly the
+  degradation implied in the loss of rank which he had just
+  incurred was never likely to expose himself again to such a risk.
+  I should therefore not only give him back his former rating, and
+  replace him in his station as captain of the top, but assure him
+  that all trace both of his offence and its punishment should from
+  that moment be entirely forgotten.</p>
+
+  <p>It is hardly within the range of popular explanation to show
+  in what particulars the different shades of technical merit
+  consist, by which many of these ratings are awarded. The letters
+  A.B., which mean Able Seaman, are placed against the names of
+  those only who are thorough-bred sailors, or who, in sea phrase,
+  can not only "hand, reef, and steer," but are likewise capable of
+  heaving the lead in the darkest night, as well as in the
+  day-time; who can use the palm and needle of a sail-maker; and
+  who are versed in every part of a ship's rigging, in the stowage
+  of the hold, and in the exercise of the great guns. Of course, an
+  A.B. must be able to pull an oar, as well as use it in sculling,
+  understand the management of a boat under sail, and know how to
+  cross a surf. He must also learn the art of placing an anchor in
+  a boat, in order to its being laid out; and how to get it in
+  again when weighed. In these, and twenty other things which might
+  be pointed out, he ought to be examined by the boatswain and
+  other officers before his rating of A.B. is fully established on
+  the books.</p>
+
+  <p>The higher ratings of quarter-master, gunner's mate, captain
+  of the forecastle and of the tops, and so on, are given chiefly
+  to men who may not, in fact, know more than every Able Seaman is
+  supposed to be acquainted with, but who have recommended
+  themselves by their superior activity and vigilance, and have not
+  only shown themselves fit to command others by their decision of
+  character, but evinced a sincere anxiety to see the work of their
+  department well performed. It is of great consequence to assist
+  in every way the authority of these leading hands over the other
+  men stationed in the same part of the ship; and judicious
+  officers will generally be able to avail themselves to great
+  purpose, in moments of trial, of the energetic co-operation of
+  these persons. Much of the internal, or what may be called
+  domestic, discipline of the crew, depends upon the conduct of
+  these men; for each mess has one of them at its head, who is held
+  more or less responsible for the behaviour of the people in that
+  knot or party. I have, however, known some officers exact a great
+  deal too much from these captains of the messes, and expect them
+  to become spies and informers against their companions; or, which
+  is just as unreasonable, hold them fully answerable for all
+  delinquencies committed in their part of the ship. This is cruel;
+  because, although they undoubtedly may contribute materially
+  towards the maintenance of good order, they cannot, by
+  possibility, do more than act as assistants to the first
+  lieutenant, and chiefly by explaining to the rest of the people
+  what is required of them. Most men in the long-run, and perhaps
+  in all ranks of society, but certainly on board a manof-war, find
+  it so much more agreeable in every respect to do what is right
+  than what is wrong, that when they come distinctly to know what
+  is wanted, they almost invariably set about executing it
+  cheerfully. The first grand point, therefore, in the ship's
+  discipline, after a system has been adopted which shall be
+  consistent in all its parts, is, to let the details of this
+  system be thoroughly understood by every one on board. When a
+  good plan has been once fixed upon, and the officers are
+  vigilant, patient, and exact in their own personal conduct, and
+  the leading men have been made fully acquainted with what is
+  required, the rest of the crew will be but too happy to do their
+  duty manfully and well, without the instrumentality of the lash,
+  except in extreme cases.</p>
+
+  <p>In former times, the distinctions amongst ratings of the
+  seamen on the ship's books were so few that it was impossible to
+  discriminate correctly, or to assign to each man, with any
+  justice, the exact rating which his knowledge of seamanship, his
+  experience in the exercise of that knowledge, his general good
+  conduct, and his abilities, might entitle him to. An Order in
+  Council, dated November, 1816, established a new system of
+  Ratings; and by another Order, dated the 23rd of June, 1824, "the
+  net sea pay of the flag-officers of His Majesty's fleet" was
+  established, "together with the net sea pay and number of their
+  retinue; the number of commissioned, warrant, petty, and
+  non-commissioned officers, and the ratings of every description
+  both of seamen and marines, allowed to each class of His
+  Majesty's ships, with their rates of net sea pay respectively;
+  and distinguishing the several classes for sharing the produce of
+  seizures."<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href=
+  "#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p>
+
+  <p>As soon as the ship's company have been mustered, the captain
+  takes off his hat and reads the Articles of War, to which, out of
+  respect to this important act of parliament, the people listen in
+  like manner uncovered. Between breakfast and divisions, some
+  captains occupy themselves in examining the weekly reports of the
+  expenditure of boatswain's, gunner's, and carpenter's stores; and
+  in going over with the purser the account of the remains of
+  provisions, fuel, and slop-clothing on board. After which he may
+  overhaul the midshipmen's log-books, watch, station, and quarter
+  bills, or take a look at their school-books. If the ship be in
+  harbour, he also glances his eye at their accounts; and he
+  generally takes occasion to indulge in a little kindly gossip
+  about their mess, their love of the sea, and the last letters
+  they received from home.</p>
+
+  <p>Thus the gallant skipper, as well as his gallant crew, has
+  seldom much spare time on his hands during the forenoon of
+  Sunday. I should be right glad, indeed, to be informed what day,
+  or hour, or even what half-hour, in the whole week, from end to
+  end, the captain can fairly call his own. Not one! Every other
+  person on board has his hour, or his four hours, or his eight
+  hours of rest, and of relief from all anxiety; but the poor
+  captain has not a minute. He is the chief over all, it is true;
+  but he pays dearly and deeply for this distinction in the shape
+  of heavy responsibilities, and perpetual trials of various kinds.
+  Our poet says, "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"&mdash;I
+  am quite sure that unburdened never lie the shoulders that wear
+  two epaulettes. The captain is at all calls, and must be ready at
+  all seasons with resources, good or bad, to supply the failures
+  or indolence of others; while his own fate, fortunes, and
+  character, as well as the credit of the service, and sometimes
+  that of the country, are made to hang upon the instantaneous
+  nature of his decisions, and upon the vigour and efficiency of
+  his exertions, at moments perhaps when his powers are nearly
+  exhausted, and his spirit all but crushed by sheer fatigue. The
+  simple enumeration of a captain of a man-of-war's ordinary
+  responsibilities, I have often thought, would win for his class a
+  degree of considerate forbearance, and candid allowance for his
+  difficulties, which, perhaps, it has never yet fairly received
+  from the public. If, to such enumeration, a notice respecting the
+  duties of each were appended, an interesting peep might be
+  afforded to the curious of the internal government of our
+  singular community, and information supplied on not a few points,
+  respecting which most people are entirely ignorant.</p>
+
+  <p>It is frequently the practice in the navy on Sundays to muster
+  clothes at divisions, and to take a list of what slops are
+  required by the men to complete their kit, or stock of worldly
+  goods. This overhaul or inspection happens once a month; and when
+  such is the intention, the word is passed along the lower deck at
+  breakfast-time, that the ship's company are to "muster clothes at
+  divisions." When the drum beats, each man brings his bag to the
+  place where he stands in his division, and proceeds to arrange
+  his things in order on the deck before him, each article being
+  placed separately, that the officer may count, and, if he
+  pleases, examine them, after the mates and mids have first called
+  over the names, to ascertain that every man has the proper
+  complement of articles, in good order, and well washed. A note is
+  then taken of what things are wanted, in the way of slops, to
+  supply worn-out and condemned clothes. "Slops" is the technical
+  name for jackets, trousers, shirts, and other articles of a
+  sailor's wardrobe, before they have been used. They are sent on
+  board in bales and boxes by government, and placed in charge of
+  the purser.</p>
+
+  <p>All this is reported in detail to the lieutenant of the
+  division, who continues walking backwards and forwards while the
+  inspection is going on, ready to answer appeals in the event of
+  any difficulties or doubts arising. He carries in his hand a
+  complete list of his division, and of each man's clothes; and
+  when the young gentlemen under his orders have finished their
+  work, and taken down what is wanted, the lieutenant goes along
+  the line to investigate the whole anew. He then collects the
+  different memorandums of slops wanted, and proceeds to make his
+  report to the captain, who either sanctions or disapproves of the
+  decision of the officer, as he pleases. Frequently the captain
+  himself goes along the divisions, to look at the men's clothing;
+  but the glance which he takes is necessarily of a more cursory
+  nature; his object is, to let the men feel that he is ready to
+  interfere, if need be, but also to show, that, unless there is
+  any special call for the interposition of his authority, he
+  confides in those under him.</p>
+
+  <p>A commander should recollect, that, whether it be he himself,
+  or chiefly his officers and crew, who perform any useful public
+  service, he invariably reaps at least his full share of the
+  credit. His real interest, therefore, must always be, not merely
+  to draw about him the ablest men he can induce to follow him, but
+  to allow them the utmost latitude of independent action and
+  responsibility, and as much of the merit of success as possible.
+  If he persevere sincerely in this course, he will soon discover
+  that the more he endeavours to remove the credit from himself,
+  or, rather, to divide it handsomely with those who are acting
+  with him, the more will he generally find the merit given back to
+  himself.</p>
+
+  <p>I suspect few people have the smallest notion of what a
+  sailor's wardrobe consists. Every one has, indeed, a vague idea
+  that he must have a blue jacket and trousers, and a low, canvas,
+  shining sort of affair, stuck on one side of his head, and called
+  by him a hat. But of any further particulars, the shore-going
+  world really knows about as little as they do respecting the
+  dresses of the Emperor of China. Honest Jack, it is very true, is
+  not much encumbered with clothes; and too often his wardrobe
+  sadly resembles that of the Honourable Mr. Dowlas, which was so
+  easily transportable in the Honourable Mr. Dowlas's
+  pocket-handkerchief. Yet if he have the opportunity, poor fellow,
+  and be duly encouraged, he is not a little of a dandy in his
+  way.</p>
+
+  <p>In a well-regulated ship, a sailor's kit consists generally of
+  at least two blue jackets, and one pea jacket, which is a sort of
+  lumbering shaggy surtout, or curtailed great-coat, capable of
+  being wrapped round the body, so as to cover the thighs. Why it
+  is called a pea jacket I should be glad to be informed by any
+  knowing person; and I beg leave accordingly to refer the question
+  to that corner of the United Service Journal reserved for
+  technical queries, a valuable niche in that ably conducted
+  periodical. A seaman must also have two pairs of blue trousers,
+  two pairs of shoes, six shirts, four pairs of stockings, two
+  Guernsey frocks, made of a sort of worsted stocking-work, without
+  any opening in front; two hats, two black handkerchiefs, and a
+  comforter to wrap round the throat; together with several pairs
+  of flannel drawers and waistcoats; for in hot, as well as in cold
+  climates, and at all times of the year, the men are now
+  encouraged, as much as possible, to wear flannel next the
+  skin.</p>
+
+  <p>The above forms the kit of a sailor in a ship stationed in
+  high latitudes. On the Mediterranean station, or on that of North
+  America, there is such a mixture of severe and mild weather, that
+  a larger stock is necessary than when the ship is employed
+  exclusively in a cold, or in a hot climate. On the Indian, South
+  American, and West Indian stations, which lie almost entirely
+  between the tropics, woollen clothing gradually disappears, and
+  the men are apt to suffer a good deal on returning to colder
+  regions; it being hardly to be expected that folks of such
+  improvident habits as sailors will be able to take care of
+  articles of dress, for several years together, for which they
+  have no immediate use.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember a captain, whose ship had been often exposed to
+  these alternations, amusing his people very much on entering the
+  tropics, by directing them to roll up all their blue clothes,
+  worsted stockings, and so on, in neat bundles, each having the
+  name and number of the person it belonged to written on a wooden
+  tally, and fastened to it. These being all collected, and packed
+  carefully in well-dried, watertight casks, were stowed away in
+  the hold, and forgotten, till the pinching blasts off Cape Horn
+  made the unpacking of the casks a scene of as great joy as ever
+  attended the opening of a box of finery at a boarding-school
+  gala.</p>
+
+  <p>In warm climates, the stock of a man-of-war sailor consists of
+  four duck frocks, which are more like shirts than anything else,
+  with sundry strings, and touches of blue binding about the breast
+  and collar, which is generally lined with blue, and allowed to
+  fall over the shoulders. It is totally contrary to Jack's habits
+  to have anything tight about his throat; and one of the chief
+  causes of his invincible estrangement from the royal marine corps
+  is their stiff-necked custom of wearing polished leather stocks.
+  I hardly suppose there could be found any motive strong enough to
+  induce a genuine sailor to buckle a permanent collar round his
+  neck with any tolerable grace; the alternative of the yard-arm
+  would almost be preferable! His delight is to place a black or
+  coloured silk handkerchief lightly over his neck, and to confine
+  its ends across his breast by means of one of the small bones or
+  vertebr&aelig; of a shark, which forms a neat, white, perforated
+  cylinder. Some very prime dandies of the mizen-top fold a part of
+  their handkerchief over the shoulders and back; but it requires
+  the aid of a handsome person, and a good deal of modest
+  assurance, to make this tolerable.</p>
+
+  <p>They must also provide themselves with four pairs of duck
+  trousers, a straw hat for fine weather, and a canvas or beaver
+  one for squalls, though this need not be insisted on. Shoes are
+  not much used, except by those whose work lies aloft; and prudent
+  hands generally keep a blue jacket by them, in case of rain or
+  night-work. It is not a bad rule to muster the crew occasionally
+  with blue jackets, even in hot weather, to see that such things
+  are really in existence. Each man has, of course, a bed, a
+  pillow, and two blankets; sheets are never heard of. He has also
+  two hammocks, one of which is slung and in use, the other
+  scrubbed, dry, and stowed away, ready to be exchanged for the
+  dirty one. The hammocks, at the time I first went to sea (1802),
+  were made of a coarse brown stuff, which it was difficult, if not
+  impossible, to make white by any amount of scrubbing; and, what
+  was worse, so thick that it was by no means easily dried.
+  Now-a-days, they are generally made either of canvas, or of a
+  twilled sacking, and, when spread out, measure 4-1/2 feet by
+  3-1/2; but when lashed up, and ready for stowing away in the
+  netting, they form long sacks, about as big as a man's body, but
+  not tapering to the ends.</p>
+
+  <p>In ships where much pains is taken to have the hammocks stowed
+  properly, they are lashed up, so as to preserve the same width
+  all along, and with neither more nor fewer than seven turns with
+  a well-blacked small lashing, carefully passed round at equal
+  intervals. When the hammocks are prepared in this way, and all
+  made of the same size, (which condition may be secured by putting
+  them through a ring of given dimensions,) they are laid in
+  symmetrical order all round the ship, above the bulwark, on the
+  quarter-deck and forecastle, and in the waist nettings along the
+  gangways. Each hammock, it may be mentioned, has a separate
+  number painted neatly upon it on a small, white, oval patch, near
+  one of the corners; so that, when they are all stowed in the
+  nettings, a uniform line of numbers extends round the ship, and
+  the hammock of any man who may be taken ill can be found by his
+  messmates in a moment. The bags, in like manner, of which each
+  person has two, are numbered separately. In rainy weather the
+  hammocks are securely covered by painted cloths.</p>
+
+  <p>As a seaman's kit generally forms his whole property, it ought
+  to be carefully preserved, and every possible facility given that
+  the service will allow of for his keeping it in good order. A
+  captain of any consideration will naturally bear in mind, that,
+  as the comfort and health of the men under his command depend
+  most materially upon the manner in which they are clad, and
+  especially upon the damp or dry state of their dress, it becomes
+  an important branch of his duty to see that their things are
+  taken care of with as much exactness as the spare sails, cordage,
+  or provisions. It much too frequently happens, however, that the
+  unfortunate sailors' clothes are more torment to them than
+  advantage, and they may think themselves lucky if they can catch
+  hold of a jacket or trousers to shift withal, so eternally are
+  they interfered with by some inconsiderate officers. "Pipe the
+  bags up!" "Pipe the bags down!" "Stow the bags afresh!" "Pipe to
+  scrub the bags!" and twenty such orders are given in a day in
+  some ships, to the endless misery of the people. It is, no doubt,
+  necessary that the bags should be scrubbed and stowed properly,
+  and be piped up and down at the proper times and seasons. But
+  there are two ways of doing these things: one, which gives the
+  men no more trouble than is absolutely unavoidable; the other,
+  which harasses and justly provokes them. It is not enough to say
+  that they must submit, whether they like it or not. They will
+  submit, it is true; but in what temper? and how will these men
+  work when called upon to exert themselves, if they are habitually
+  treated with disrespect, and exposed to needless, and even
+  impertinent worry? I have even heard of some crack ships, as they
+  are termed, where the poor devils are obliged to pipe-clay their
+  bags, to make them look white, forsooth! Why, the very idea of
+  pipe-clay is gall and wormwood to the taste of the Johnnies. Of
+  late years I understand there have been introduced black painted
+  water-proof bags, which are a great comfort to the men. Besides
+  keeping out wet, they require no trouble to scrub and dry, and,
+  after all, are fully as clean, and far more useful in every
+  respect.</p>
+
+  <p>To show the various sorts of outfit which the men composing a
+  man-of-war's crew may be furnished with on first coming on board,
+  I shall describe a scene which took place on the Leander's
+  quarter-deck, off the Port of New York, in 1804. We were rather
+  short-handed in those days; and being in the presence of a
+  blockaded enemy, and liable, at half-an-hour's warning, to be in
+  action, we could not afford to be very scrupulous as to the ways
+  and means by which our numbers were completed, so that
+  able-bodied men were secured to handle the gun-tackle falls. It
+  chanced one day that we fell in with a ship filled with
+  emigrants; a description of vessel called, in the classical
+  dictionary of the cockpit, an "Irish guinea man." Out of her we
+  pressed twenty Irishmen, besides two strapping fellows from
+  Yorkshire, and one canny Scot.</p>
+
+  <p>Each of this score of Pats was rigged merely in a great coat,
+  and a pair of something which might be called an apology for
+  inexpressibles; while the rest of their united wardrobe could
+  have been stowed away in the crown of any one of their hats.
+  Their motives for emigrating to a country where mere health and
+  strength of body are sure to gain an independent provision were
+  obvious enough; and I must say, that to this hour I have not been
+  able to forget the melancholy cry or howl with which the
+  separation of these hardy settlers from their families was
+  effected by the strong arm of power. It was a case of necessity,
+  it is true; but still it was a cruel case, and one for the
+  exercise of which the officer who put it in force deserves almost
+  as much pity as the poor wretches whose feelings and interests it
+  became his bounden duty to disregard.</p>
+
+  <p>In most admired contrast to this bewildered drove of
+  half-starved Paddies stood the two immense, broad-shouldered,
+  high-fed Yorkshiremen, dressed in long-tailed coats, corduroy
+  breeches, and yellow-topped boots, each accompanied by a chest of
+  clothes not much less than a pianoforte, and a huge pile of
+  spades, pick-axes, and other implements of husbandry. They
+  possessed money also, and letters of credit, and described
+  themselves as being persons of some substance at home. Why they
+  emigrated they would not tell; but such were their prospects,
+  that it was difficult to say whether they or the wild Irishers
+  were the most to be commiserated for so untoward an interruption.
+  Be this as it may, it cost the clerk half-an-hour to write down a
+  list of their multifarious goods and chattels, while a single
+  scratch of the pen sufficed for that of all the Irishmen.</p>
+
+  <p>At last honest Saunders came under review. He was a tall,
+  raw-boned, grave-looking personage, much pitted with the
+  smallpox, and wearing a good deal of that harassed and melancholy
+  air, which, sooner or later, settles on the brow of an assistant
+  to a village pedagogue. He was startled, but not abashed, when
+  drawn to the middle of the deck, and asked, in the presence of
+  fifty persons, what clothes and other things he possessed? Not
+  choosing at first to betray his poverty, he made no answer, but
+  looked round, as if to discover where his chest had been placed.
+  He then glanced at his thread-bare sleeve and tattered shoon,
+  with a slight touch of dry and bitter humour playing about the
+  corners of his mouth, and a faint sparkle lighting up his grey
+  and sunken eye, as he returned the impatient official stare of
+  the clerk, who stood, pen in hand, ready to note down the
+  items.</p>
+
+  <p>"Don't be frightened, man," said the captain; "no one is going
+  to hurt you, your things are quite safe. What does your property
+  consist of?"</p>
+
+  <p>"A trifle, sir, a trifle," quoth poor Sawney; "fourpence
+  ha'penny and an auld knife!"</p>
+
+  <p>Before concluding this subject, it may perhaps be useful to
+  remark, that, unless in those cases where such a measure is
+  absolutely necessary, the actual examination and minute recording
+  of the men's clothes might, in general, be advantageously
+  dispensed with. I have, indeed, occasionally fancied I saw traces
+  of irritation and wounded pride amongst the men, when all their
+  little knick-knacks, every hat, hose, and handkerchief, or old
+  shoe, was examined into and noted down, to be reproduced that day
+  month, or its absence accounted for. I tried a middle course in
+  my own ship, which appeared to answer all the purposes required.
+  From time to time the men were ordered to bring their bags to
+  divisions, and to spread out their clothes to air on the deck,
+  over the guns, along the hammock-nettings, or in the rigging. In
+  this way the officers and mids, who passed repeatedly up and down
+  the line, had opportunities enough, if they did their duty, to
+  see that all the clothes were clean, dry, and in good order. When
+  any man's things were observed not to be in the condition
+  demanded by the regulations of the ship, or he was found ragged
+  in his clothes, or not properly dressed, then such delinquent was
+  no longer indulged with the exemption, but had his kit subjected
+  to a daily, or weekly, or monthly scrutiny, as the case might be.
+  As long as he was in this predicament, he was obliged to exhibit
+  every article in proper condition, and was not at liberty,
+  without asking leave, to destroy even such worn-out things as an
+  old Jew clothesman would turn up his beard at. I took care that
+  no part of this surveillance should be talked of as a punishment,
+  although, unquestionably, it was intended and felt as such; but
+  studied rather to give it the character of a necessary duty in
+  the instance of individuals who, if not so watched, would, by
+  their misconduct, hurt the general discipline of the ship. It was
+  very seldom that any one exposed to such drilling for a month or
+  six weeks ever brought himself within the range of its
+  humiliation a second time.</p>
+
+  <div class="footnotes">
+    <h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> CLASSES
+      AND DENOMINATIONS OF HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS.</p>
+
+      <p>1. Rated Ships, viz.:&mdash;</p>
+
+      <p><i>First Rate</i>.&mdash;All Three-decked Ships.</p>
+
+      <p><i>Second Rate</i>.&mdash;One of Her Majesty's Yachts, and
+      all Two-decked Ships whose war complements consist of 700 men
+      and upwards.</p>
+
+      <p><i>Third Rate</i>.&mdash;Her Majesty's other Yachts, and
+      all such Yachts as may bear the Flag or Pendant of an Admiral
+      or Captain Superintending one of Her Majesty's Dock-yards;
+      and all Ships whose complements are under 700 and not less
+      than 600.</p>
+
+      <p><i>Fourth Rate</i>.&mdash;Ships whose complements are
+      under 600 and not less than 400.</p>
+
+      <p><i>Fifth Rate</i>.&mdash;Ships whose complements are under
+      400 and not less than 250.</p>
+
+      <p><i>Sixth Rate</i>.&mdash;Ships under 250.</p>
+
+      <p>2. Sloops and Bomb-Vessels; all such as are commanded by
+      Commanders.</p>
+
+      <p>3. All other smaller Vessels; such as are commanded by
+      Lieutenants or inferior officers.</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER
+  XIII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">SAILORS'
+  PETS.</p>
+
+  <p>A dog is the most obvious and natural pet for a gentleman; but
+  still, a dog, with all his familiarity, is a selfish sort of
+  companion, for he generally bestows his whole sociability either
+  upon his master, or his master's servant who feeds him, or upon
+  his master's friend who accompanies him to the fields. To all
+  others he is not only cold, but often surly and impertinent.
+  This, indeed, would matter little, if there were not
+  unfortunately a proverb extant, which has led perhaps to more
+  squabbles, duels, and other uncharitableness, than most other
+  causes of dispute. This pugnacious proverb, "Love me, love my
+  dog," being interpreted, signifies, "If you kick my dog, I kick
+  you." Then follows, if not the kick, words which hurt honour
+  quite as much, and in the end too often draw away the life-blood
+  of warriors who, but for some mangy cur, might have fought
+  themselves into companionship in public usefulness and fame with
+  "Duncan, Howe, or Jarvis."</p>
+
+  <p>No dog, therefore, can ever become a very general favourite of
+  the crew; for it is so completely his nature to be exclusive in
+  his regards, that were a whole pack of hounds on board, they
+  would not be enough, nor afford a tenth part of the amusement
+  which a single monkey serves out to a ship's company. I take good
+  care, accordingly, never to be without one in any ship I command,
+  on the sheer principle of keeping the men employed, in a good
+  humoured way, when they chance to have no specific duty to attend
+  to. It must be recollected that we are often exposed to long
+  periods of inaction, during which mischief is very apt to be
+  brewed amongst the people.</p>
+
+  <p>But if a good monkey be allowed to run about the ship, I defy
+  any one to continue long in a bad humour. Jacko is an overmatch
+  for the demon of idleness, at least if light hearts and innocent
+  diversions be weapons against which he cannot long contend. Be
+  this as it may, I make a rule of entering a monkey as speedily as
+  possible after hoisting my pendant; and if a reform takes place
+  in the table of ratings, I would recommend a corner for the
+  "ship's monkey," which should be borne on the books for "full
+  allowance of victuals," excepting only the grog; for I have
+  observed that a small quantity of tipple very soon upsets him;
+  and although there are few things in nature more ridiculous than
+  a monkey half-seas over, yet the reasons against permitting such
+  pranks are obvious and numerous.</p>
+
+  <p>When Lord Melville, then First Lord of the Admiralty, to my
+  great surprise and delight, put into my hands a commission for a
+  ship going to the South American station, a quarter of the world
+  I had long desired to visit, my first thought was, "Where now
+  shall I manage to find a merry rascal of a monkey?" Of course, I
+  did not give audible expression to this thought in the First
+  Lord's room; but, on coming down-stairs, I had a talk about it in
+  the hall with my friend, the late Mr. Nutland, the porter, who
+  laughed, and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Why, sir, you may buy a wilderness of monkeys at Exeter
+  'Change."</p>
+
+  <p>"True! true!" and off I hurried in a Hackney coach. Mr. Cross,
+  not only agreed to spare me one of his choicest and funniest
+  animals, but readily offered his help to convey him to the ship.
+  "Lord, sir!" said he, "there is not an animal in the whole world
+  so wild or fierce that we can't carry about as innocent as a
+  lamb; only trust to me, sir, and your monkey shall be delivered
+  on board your ship in Portsmouth Harbour as safely as if he were
+  your best chronometer going down by mail in charge of the
+  master." Accordingly he was in a famous condition for his
+  breakfast next morning, when the waterman ferried him off from
+  Common Hard to the hulk, on board which the officers had just
+  assembled. As the ship had been only two or three days in
+  commission, few seamen had as yet entered; but shortly afterwards
+  they came on board in sufficient numbers; and I have sometimes
+  ascribed the facility with which we got the ship manned, not a
+  little to the attractive agency of the diverting vagabond,
+  recently come from town, the fame of whose tricks soon extended
+  over Portsea; such as catching hold of the end of the
+  sail-maker's ball of twine, and paying the whole overboard, hand
+  over hand, from a secure station in the rigging; or stealing the
+  boatswain's silver call, and letting it drop from the end of the
+  cat-head; or his getting into one of the cabin ports and tearing
+  up the captain's letters, a trick at which even the stately
+  skipper can only laugh.</p>
+
+  <p>One of our monkey's grand amusements was to watch some one
+  arranging his clothes bag. After the stowage was completed, and
+  everything put carefully away, he would steal round, untie the
+  strings, and having opened the mouth of the bag draw forth in
+  succession every article of dress, first smell it, then turn it
+  over and over, and lastly fling it away on the wet deck. It was
+  amusing enough to observe, that all the while he was committing
+  any piece of mischief he appeared not only to be under the
+  fullest consciousness of guilt, but living in the perfect
+  certainty that he was earning a good sound drubbing for his
+  pains. Still the pleasure of doing wrong was so strong and
+  habitual within him, that he seemed utterly incapable of
+  resisting the temptation. While thus occupied, and alternately
+  chattering with terror, and screaming with delight, till the
+  enraged owner of the property burst in upon him, hardly more
+  angry with Jacko than with his malicious messmates, who, instead
+  of preventing, had rather encouraged the pillage.</p>
+
+  <p>All this was innocent, however, compared to the tricks which
+  the blue-jackets taught him to play upon the jolly marines. How
+  they set about this laudable piece of instruction, I know not;
+  but the antipathy which they established in Jacko's breast
+  against the red coats was something far beyond ordinary
+  prejudice, and in its consequences partook more of the
+  interminable war between cat and dog. At first he merely
+  chattered, or grinned contemptuously at them; or, at worst,
+  snapped at their heels, soiled their fine pipe-clayed trousers,
+  or pulled the cartridges out of their cartouch-boxes, and
+  scattered the powder over the decks; feats for which his rump was
+  sure to smart under the ratan of the indignant sergeant, to whom
+  the "party" made their complaint. Upon these occasions the
+  sailors laughed so heartily at their friend Jacko, as he placed
+  his hands behind him, and, in an agony of rage and pain, rubbed
+  the seat of honour tingling under the sergeant's chastisement,
+  that if he could only have reasoned the matter, he would soon
+  have distrusted this offensive but not defensive alliance with
+  the Johnnies against the Jollies. Sometimes, indeed, he appeared
+  to be quite sensible of his absurd position, caned by his enemy,
+  and ridiculed by his friends, in whose cause he was suffering. On
+  these occasions, he often made a run, open-mouthed, at the
+  sailors; in return for which mutinous proceeding he was sure to
+  get a smart rap over the nose from his own party, which more than
+  counterpoised the anguish at the other extremity of his person,
+  giving ludicrous occupation to both his hands, and redoubling the
+  shouts of laughter at his expense. In short, poor St. Jago
+  literally got what is currently called monkey's allowance, viz.
+  "more kicks than halfpence."</p>
+
+  <p>In process of time, as Mr. Monkey, by dint of that bitter
+  monitor, experience, gained higher knowledge in the art of marine
+  warfare and ship diplomacy, he became much more formidable in his
+  attacks on the "corps," and generally contrived to keep himself
+  well beyond the reach of the sergeant's merciless ratan. One of
+  the favourite pranks of the sailors was to place him near the
+  break of the forecastle, with a handspike, taken from the
+  bow-chaser gun, in his paws. It was quite as much as he could
+  carry, and far more than he could use as a missile against the
+  royals; but he was soon instructed in a method of employing it,
+  which always grievously annoyed the enemy. Theoretically, I
+  presume poor Jacko knew no more of the laws of gravitation, than
+  his friends, the seamen, did of centrifugal action, when swinging
+  round the hand-lead to gain soundings, by pitching it far forward
+  into the water; but both the monkey and his wicked associates
+  knew very well, that if a handspike were held across the top of
+  the forecastle ladder, and let go when a person was about
+  half-way down it, the heels of the said individual would be sure
+  to bring up, or stop the bar. The unhappy marine, therefore, who
+  happened to be descending the steps when Jacko let his handspike
+  fall, generally got the skin taken off his heels, or his instep,
+  according as his rear or his front was turned towards the foe.
+  The instant Jacko let go his hold, and the law of gravitation
+  began to act, so that the handspike was heard to rattle down the
+  ladder, off he jumped to the bow of the barge, overlooking the
+  spot, and there sat, with his neck stretched out, his eyes
+  starting from his head, and his lips drawn back, till his teeth,
+  displayed from ear to ear, rapped against one another like a pair
+  of castanets in a bolero, under the influence of the most
+  ecstatic alarm, curiously mixed up with the joy of complete
+  success. The poor wounded Gulpin, in the mean time, rubbed his
+  ankles as he fired off a volley of imprecations, the only effect
+  of which was to increase the number of his audience, grinning and
+  laughing in chorus with the terrified mischief-monger.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember seeing a marine, of more than usual activity, and
+  who had before been served this trick, catch hold of the end of
+  the weather middle stay-sail sheet, hanging from the booms, and,
+  before Jacko knew what he was about, succeed in giving him such a
+  cut across his sconce as the animal never forgot or forgave. Next
+  morning the monkey stowed himself away behind the pumps, till the
+  same marine passed; he then sprung out, and laid hold of him by
+  the calf of the leg; and, in spite of sundry kicks and cuffs,
+  never once relaxed his jaws till the teeth met amongst what the
+  loblolly boy, in the pride of his anatomical knowledge, called
+  the "gastrocnemii muscles" of his enemy's leg. The cries of
+  "murder!" from the soldier, brought the marines and many of the
+  sailors under the half-deck to the poor fellow's rescue; while
+  the author of the mischief scuttled off among the men's feet,
+  chattering and screaming all the way. He was not again seen
+  during two or three days; at the end of which, as the wounded
+  "troop" was not much hurt, a sort of truce was proclaimed between
+  the red and the blue factions of the ship. Doubtless the
+  armistice was all the better kept in consequence of some
+  tolerably intelligible hints from the higher powers, that the
+  peace of the ship was no longer to be invaded to make sport for
+  those who were evidently more idle than they ought to be, and for
+  whom, therefore, a little additional work might possibly be
+  found.</p>
+
+  <p>Old Jacko, however, like one of the weaker states of Europe,
+  whose fate and fortunes are settled by the protocols of the
+  surrounding political giants, was no party to these treaties; and
+  having once tasted the joys of revenge, he could not keep his
+  teeth quiet, but must needs have another bite. Upon this
+  occasion, however, he kept clear of the corps, and attacked one
+  of his oldest and dearest friends, no less a personage than the
+  captain of the foretop. It was in warm weather, and the men, as
+  usual, were dining on the main-deck; the grog had been served
+  out, and the happy Johnnies were just beginning to sip their
+  darling beverage, when Mr. Mischief, incessantly occupied in his
+  vocation of wrong doing, and utterly incapable of resisting any
+  good opening to get himself into a scrape, saw the grog-kid of
+  the captain of the top's mess standing by the fore-hatchway. So
+  he paced round, as if seeking for a bit of bread, but all the
+  while keeping his face turned just so far from the fated
+  grog-vessel that no one suspected his design. On reaching the
+  spot his heart began to fail him, but not his wickedness; indeed,
+  his was the very beau ideal of that character described in the
+  satire of Junius, which, "without courage enough to resist doing
+  a bad action, has yet virtue enough to be ashamed of it." Whether
+  or not these mixed motives influenced old Jacko, I cannot pretend
+  to say; but there he sat chattering, screaming, and trembling, as
+  if the sergeant's cane had been within an inch of his hide.</p>
+
+  <p>"What ails you, my dear Mr. St. James?" said the captain of
+  the top, playfully addressing the monkey. "What are you afraid
+  of? Nobody is going to hurt you; we are all sailors and friends
+  here, man. Not a marine within hail of you!"</p>
+
+  <p>At this stage of the colloquy the sly rogue having mustered
+  all his energies, fairly grasped the grog-kid in his arms, and,
+  making a clean spring from the deck, placed himself, at the first
+  bound, beyond the reach of the horror-stricken seaman. This
+  exploit was not so adroitly performed as it might have been if
+  Jacko had been less agitated, and one-half of the delicious
+  nectar in the sailor's cup was jerked out.</p>
+
+  <p>"You bloody thundering rascal of a monkey!" bellowed the
+  astounded topman; "let go the kid, or I'll shy this knife at your
+  head!"</p>
+
+  <p>The threat was no sooner uttered than executed; for the
+  sailor, without waiting to see the effect of his summons, threw
+  the knife; and had not his saintship ducked his head, there would
+  have been an end of monkey tricks for that cruise. As the
+  glittering steel passed before the wicked scamp's eyes, the flash
+  deprived him of all recollection of the mischief in hand: with a
+  loud yell he leaped on the booms, and in his terror let the prize
+  slip from his grasp. It fell on the cooming of the hatchway, hung
+  for one instant, and then dashed right down into the
+  fore-cockpit, to the infinite astonishment of the boatswain's
+  yeoman, a thirsty soul, and familiar with drink in all its
+  shapes, but who declared he never before had tried grog in a
+  shower-bath.</p>
+
+  <p>Up started the enraged party of seamen on their feet. "All
+  hands catch monkey!" was the cry; and in ten seconds the whole
+  crew, including the cook with his ladle, and his mate with the
+  tormentors in his hand, were seen scrambling on deck. Jacko
+  scampered like lightning up the main-stay, and reached the top
+  before any of the men, who had mounted the rigging, were
+  half-a-dozen ratlines above the hammocks. The officers rushed to
+  the quarter-deck, naturally fancying from the bustling sounds
+  that a man was overboard; but they were soon undeceived by the
+  shouts of laughter which resounded from every part of the ship,
+  low and aloft.</p>
+
+  <p>For a few moments Jacko sat on the main-cap, chattering at
+  such a rate that, had it been dark, one of the men said, you
+  could have seen the sparks of fire from his teeth. I do not quite
+  believe this; but certainly I never witnessed such an expression
+  of fear. A dozen men were soon pouring into the top, while two
+  others were stealing up the stay, and four or five had got into
+  the topmast-shrouds, to cut off his retreat in that direction;
+  finally, an active fellow leaped from the rigging to the topmast,
+  and sliding down the well-greased spar, almost plumped on the
+  devoted head of this master of the revels. It was now absolutely
+  necessary for Jacko to do something; so he made a clear run down
+  the main lift to the lower yard-arm. The gunner's mate foreseeing
+  this manoeuvre, had sprung to guard his department, and had
+  already lain out as far as the inner boom iron, with a gasket in
+  his hand, and quite certain of catching the chase. Not a bit! "A
+  gunner's mate catch a monkey!" The fable of the Tortoise and the
+  Hare affords but a feeble simile to characterize such a match;
+  and before old Hard-a-weather and his gasket had reached the
+  yard-arm, our nimble Mona had trotted half-way up the leach of
+  the topsail, and was seated as familiarly on the bridle of the
+  maintop-bowline, as if he had been perched on the feathery branch
+  of a cocoa-nut tree, enjoying the sea breeze, in his native
+  island, amongst the beautiful Cape de Verdes.</p>
+
+  <p>The sailors were now fairly baffled, and still more so when
+  the expert rogue chose to climb a little higher, and then to walk
+  deliberately along the standing part of the main-topsail brace to
+  the mizen-topmast head; whence, as if to divert himself, or force
+  his pursuers to mingle admiration with their rage, he made a
+  flying leap downwards to the peak haulyards, scampering along the
+  single part till he reached the end of the gaff. There he sat
+  laughing at a hundred and fifty men and boys, employed in the
+  vain attempt to catch one monkey!</p>
+
+  <p>Sailors are certainly not men to give up a pursuit lightly;
+  but after an hour of as hard labour as I ever witnessed, they
+  were all obliged to relinquish the chase from sheer fatigue, and
+  poor Jacko was pardoned by acclamation. The captain of the
+  foretop, however, a couple of days afterwards, more out of fun
+  than from any ill-will on the old grog score, gave the monkey's
+  ear a pinch, upon which the animal snapped at his thumb, and bit
+  it so seriously that the man was obliged to apply to the doctor.
+  When this was reported to me by the surgeon, I began to think my
+  four-footed friend was either getting rather too much licence, or
+  that too many liberties were taken with him, so I gave orders
+  that in future he should be let alone. Nevertheless, Jacko
+  contrived to bite two more of the people, one of whom was the
+  sergeant, the other the midshipmen's boy. These were all wounded
+  in one day; and when the surgeon came to me next morning, as
+  usual, with the sick-list in his hand, he was rather in
+  dudgeon.</p>
+
+  <p>"Really, sir," said he, "this does seem rather too much of the
+  monkey. Here are no fewer than three persons in my list from
+  bites of this infernal beast."</p>
+
+  <p>"Three!" I exclaimed, and straightway got angry, partly at my
+  own folly, partly at the perversity of my pet, and also somewhat
+  nettled by the tone not very unreasonably assumed by the doctor.
+  "Send Black, the quarter-master, here directly." He soon
+  came.</p>
+
+  <p>"Don't you take care of the monkey?" I asked.</p>
+
+  <p>"Yes, sir, I do. You gave me charge of him."</p>
+
+  <p>"Well! and why don't you prevent his biting the people?"</p>
+
+  <p>"I can't prevent him, sir."</p>
+
+  <p>"No! Then throw him overboard!" I cried&mdash;"over with him
+  at once! There he stands, in charge of the corporal and two
+  marines; pitch him right over the lee-gangway. I will not have
+  the ship's company killed and wounded at this rate. Over with
+  him, I say!"</p>
+
+  <p>The quarter-master moved off to the lee-gangway, and took the
+  terrified animal in his arms; while, on its part, the poor
+  creature seemed conscious of its approaching fate, and spread out
+  its arms over the seaman's bare breast, as if to supplicate his
+  mercy. The old sailor, who looked mightily as if he were going to
+  melt upon the occasion, cast a petitioning glance to windward
+  every now and then from under the edge of his straw hat, as I
+  paced up and down the deck, still fuming away at the doctor's
+  demi-official reproach. As I saw the fellow wished to say
+  something, I at length asked him whether he had any proposal to
+  make respecting his wicked and troublesome pet. The old man's
+  face brightened up with this prospect of a respite for his
+  favourite; and, after humming and hawing for a minute, he
+  said,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"It is all owing to these two great teeth, sir; if they were
+  out, he would be as harmless as any lamb."</p>
+
+  <p>"I tell you what it is," I replied, catching at this
+  suggestion, "I positively will not have the whole ship's company
+  driven one after another into the sick list by your confounded
+  monkey; but if you choose to draw those wild-boar tusks of his,
+  you may let him live."</p>
+
+  <p>Few reprieves were ever hailed at the foot of the gallows with
+  more joy by the friends of a felon than this announcement of a
+  commutation of Mr. St. Jago's sentence was received by his
+  affectionate companions. Even the marines, though
+  constitutionally predisposed against him, were glad of the
+  change; and I heard the sentry at the cabin door say, "I knew the
+  captain had too much regard for the animal to do him an
+  injury."</p>
+
+  <p>Injury, indeed! I question whether poor Jacko thought the
+  alternative any favour. At all events, his friends seemed
+  grievously puzzled how to fulfil the conditions of his exemption
+  from a watery grave; for I could perceive a council of war going
+  on upon the lee side of the main deck, as to the best method of
+  proceeding in the affair of the tusks.</p>
+
+  <p>"Who'll hold the monkey?" said one.</p>
+
+  <p>No answer was made to this. It was like the old story of
+  belling the cat; but there was no Douglas so bold as to try the
+  experiment on Master Jacko, who at any time was a powerful
+  animal, and would, it was naturally inferred, make a tenfold
+  effort when his teeth were the objects of attack.</p>
+
+  <p>"Even suppose we could tie the poor unfortunate victim," said
+  the quarter-master, "who knows how to pull out these great big
+  teeth? We might break his jaw in the operation."</p>
+
+  <p>There was a long pause.</p>
+
+  <p>"I dare say," at length cried one of the party, "that the
+  doctor's mate, who is a good-natured gentleman, would be so kind
+  as to tell us how we can manage this affair."</p>
+
+  <p>A deputation of the monkey's friends was accordingly
+  despatched to present a humble petition to the surgeon's
+  assistant, praying that he would be graciously pleased to lend
+  his professional aid in saving the jaw, and perhaps the life, of
+  one of the most diverting vagabonds in his Majesty's service.</p>
+
+  <p>Fortunately, the assistant medico was not one of those
+  priggish puppies who, having little professional knowledge to
+  balance their own inherent stupidity, fancy it necessary to
+  support their dignity by the agency of etiquettes alone. He was,
+  on the contrary, a young man of skill, good sense, and right
+  feelings, who cared nothing at all about his dignity when he
+  could be of any use; or rather, who left it to take care of
+  itself, without thinking of anything but his business. To tell
+  the truth, he was so much a lover of his art that he felt
+  secretly tickled with the idea of a new operation, and
+  experienced on the occasion that peculiar pleasure, known, it is
+  said, only to the faculty, when a complicated and difficult case
+  falls into their hands. He had just mixed a glass of grog, after
+  the day's work was done, and was eyeing the beverage with that
+  sort of serene anticipation which the sober certainty of waking
+  bliss is sure to produce, when the deputation made their
+  appearance, having first sent in the boy, whose arm was still in
+  a sling from the bite of the monkey.</p>
+
+  <p>"Are you in a hurry?" said the doctor, on hearing the novel
+  petition; for he had nestled himself into the corner of the
+  berth, with one foot on the bench, the other on the table, and
+  his glass of "half-and-half" glowing like amber between his eye
+  and the solitary glim of those profound regions, those diamond
+  mines from which the Hoods and the Hardys of times past and times
+  present have been drawn up to the very tip-top of their
+  profession.</p>
+
+  <p>"Yes, sir," replied the spokesman of the party. "There is no
+  time to be lost, for the captain, who is in a great rage, says,
+  if we don't extricate the monkey's grinders, overboard he goes to
+  a certainty."</p>
+
+  <p>"Extricate is not the word, you blockhead; extract, I suppose
+  you mean. Besides, I fancy it is not his grinders which the
+  captain has ordered to be removed, but his eye-teeth, or tusks,
+  as they may fairly be called."</p>
+
+  <p>"Well, sir," said the impatient seaman, "just as you please,
+  tushes or high teeth, if you'll only be kind enough to come and
+  help us out of this plaguy mess, and save the poor dumb animal's
+  life."</p>
+
+  <p>The quick clatter of feet up the ladders gave the signal that
+  the successful deputation were returning to the anxious party
+  assembled between the two guns just abaft the gangway-ladder, and
+  nearly abreast the after-hatchway, and immediate preparations
+  were made for the operation.</p>
+
+  <p>While these preparations were going on, the learned doctor had
+  leisure to consider the case more attentively; and it occurred to
+  him that it would be needless cruelty to draw the poor beast's
+  tusks, and therefore he exchanged that too well-known instrument,
+  the dentist's key, for a pair of bone-nippers, with which he
+  proposed merely to break off the points.</p>
+
+  <p>"I don't know exactly about that," said the perplexed
+  quarter-master, when the assistant surgeon explained his views of
+  the matter. "The captain said to me, 'Draw those wild bear's
+  tushes out of him;' and I am afraid, if they are only broken, the
+  monkey may still have a chance for going astern."</p>
+
+  <p>"Nonsense, nonsense!" interrupted the judicious doctor. "Can
+  you suppose the captain wished that anything should he done to
+  the animal but just enough to prevent his biting the people?"</p>
+
+  <p>And, suiting the action to the word, he closed the fatal
+  pincers, and nipped away the ends of the offending tusks, it is
+  to be hoped without causing him any great pain. But although poor
+  Jacko probably did not suffer much, his rage knew no bounds; and
+  no sooner was the canvas unfolded, than he sprang towards the
+  after-hatchway, and catching the sergeant's hand in his mouth,
+  closed his jaws with all his force. Instinctively the soldier's
+  cane was in the air, but a dozen voices roared out, "He can't
+  bite! He has got no tushes left! Don't hit him!" And, sure
+  enough, although Mr. St. Jago gnawed and struggled, he could make
+  no impression on the well-tanned fist of the veteran, but, at
+  length, slunk off quite abashed, amidst the shouts and laughter
+  of the crew.</p>
+
+  <p>When the ship came to England, and was paid off, I turned over
+  the monkey to the boatswain, who always remains in the ship,
+  whence he found his way back to his old haunts in Exeter 'Change,
+  after an absence of nearly three years; for happening one day,
+  not long after the ship was paid off, to be in attendance upon a
+  party seeing the wild beasts, one of the monkeys set up such a
+  chattering in his cage, that he attracted the attention of the
+  keeper of the establishment. "That animal seems to know you,
+  sir," said he to me; and upon going nearer, I discovered my old
+  and mischievous friend grinning with delight. I must own, indeed,
+  that my heart smote me a little as I looked at the broken teeth,
+  while the poor fellow held out his paw to catch my hand, in the
+  spirit of perfect kindness and forgiveness.</p>
+
+  <p>A far different fate, I am sorry to record, befell another
+  monkey of mine, in another ship, and in a very different quarter
+  of the globe. I was then in command of the Lyra, on the homeward
+  voyage from China, after the embassy under Lord Amherst had been
+  concluded. We touched on our way to Calcutta at the Philippine
+  Islands, and, amongst other live stock, laid in a monkey which
+  had seen the world. He was born, they assured us, at Teneriffe,
+  bred at Cadiz, and had afterwards made the voyage across the
+  Pacific Ocean, <i>vi&aacute;</i> Lima and Acapulco, to Manilla.
+  Our extensive traveller had made good use of his time and
+  opportunities, and was destined to see a good deal more of men
+  and manners, indeed almost to make out the circuit of the globe.
+  This distinguished monkey had a particular liking for the
+  marines, who caressed and fed him, and sometimes even ventured to
+  teach him to play off tricks on Jack, which the sailors promised
+  one day to pay back with interest on the soldiers. In so
+  diminutive a vessel as a ten-gun brig, there is but a small party
+  of marines, merely a sergeant's guard, and no commissioned
+  officer, otherwise I hardly think the following trick would have
+  been attempted.</p>
+
+  <p>One Sunday, while going the formal division rounds, I came to
+  a figure which at first sight puzzled me not a little. This was
+  no other than our great traveller, the monkey, rigged out as a
+  marine, and planted like a sentry on the middle step of the short
+  ladder, which, in deep-waisted vessels, is placed at the gangway,
+  and reaches from the deck to the top of the bulwark. The animal
+  was dressed up in a complete suit of miniature uniform, made
+  chiefly of the coloured buntin used for flags with sundry bits of
+  red baize purloined from the carpenters. His regimental cap was
+  constructed out of painted canvas; and under his lower jaw had
+  been forced a stock of pump-leather, so stiff in itself, and so
+  tightly drawn back, that his head was rendered totally
+  immoveable. His chin, and great part of the cheeks, had been
+  shaved with so much care, that only two small curled mustachios
+  and a respectable pair of whiskers remained. His hair behind
+  being tied back tightly into a queue, the poor devil's eyes were
+  almost starting from his head; while the corners of his mouth
+  being likewise tugged towards the ears by the hair-dresser's
+  operations, the expression of his countenance became irresistibly
+  ludicrous. The astonished recruit's elbows were then brought in
+  contact and fastened behind by a lashing, passed round and
+  secured to the middle step of the ladder, so that he could not
+  budge an inch from his position. One of the ship's pistols,
+  fashioned like a musket, and strapped to his shoulder, was tied
+  to his left hand, which again had been sewed by the sail-maker to
+  the waistband of his beautifully pipe-clayed trousers; in short,
+  he was rigged up as a complete sea-soldier in full uniform.</p>
+
+  <p>As the captain and his train approached, the monkey began to
+  tremble and chatter; but the men, not knowing how their chief
+  might relish the joke, looked rather grave, while, I own, it cost
+  me no small official struggle to keep down a laugh. I did
+  succeed, however, and merely said, in passing, "You should not
+  play these tricks upon travellers; cast him loose immediately."
+  One of the men pulled his knife from his breast, and cutting the
+  cord which fastened the poor Spaniard to the ladder, let him
+  scamper off. Unluckily for the gravity of the officers, however,
+  and that of the crew, Jacko did not run below, or jump into one
+  of the boats out of sight, but made straight for his dear friends
+  the marines, drawn up in line across our little hurricane-house
+  of a poop. Unconscious of the ridicule he was bringing on his
+  military patrons, he took up a position in front of the corps,
+  not unlike a fugleman; and I need hardly say, that even the
+  royals themselves, provoked though they were, now joined in the
+  laugh which soon passed along the decks, and was with difficulty
+  suppressed during the remainder of the muster.</p>
+
+  <p>A day or two afterwards, and while the monkey was still
+  puzzled to think what was the matter with his chin, he happened
+  to observe the doctor engaged in some chemical process. As his
+  curiosity and desire for information were just such as ought to
+  characterize a traveller of his intelligence, he crept gradually
+  from chest to chest, and from bag to bag, till he arrived within
+  about a yard of Apothecaries' Hall, as that part of the steerage
+  was named by the midshipmen. Poor Mono's delight was very great
+  as he observed the process of pill-making, which he watched
+  attentively while the ingredients were successively weighed,
+  pounded, and formed into a long roll of paste. All these
+  proceedings excited his deepest interest. The doctor then took
+  his spreader, and cut the roll into five pieces, each of which he
+  intended to divide into a dozen pills. At this stage of the
+  process, some one called the pharmacopoeist's attention to the
+  hatchway. The instant his back was turned, the monkey darted on
+  the top of the medicine-chest, snapped up all the five masses of
+  pill stuff, stowed them hastily away in his pouch, or bag, at the
+  side of his mouth, scampered on deck, and leaped into the main
+  rigging, preparatory to a leisurely feast upon his pilfered
+  treasures.</p>
+
+  <p>The doctor's first feeling was that of anger at the
+  abstraction of his medicines; but in the next instant,
+  recollecting that unless immediate steps were taken, the poor
+  animal must inevitably be poisoned, he rushed on deck, without
+  coat or hat, and knife in hand, to the great surprise and scandal
+  of the officer of the watch.</p>
+
+  <p>"Lay hold of the monkey, some of you!" roared the doctor to
+  the people. "Jump up in the rigging, and try to get out of his
+  pouch a whole mess of my stuff he has run off with!"</p>
+
+  <p>The men only laughed, as they fancied the doctor must be
+  cracked.</p>
+
+  <p>"For any sake," cried the good-natured physician, "don't make
+  a joke of this matter. The monkey has now in his jaws more than a
+  hundred grains of calomel, and unless you get it from him, he
+  will die to a certainty!"</p>
+
+  <p>Literally, the quantity Jacko had purloined, had it been
+  prescribed, would have been ordered in these terms:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>Rx Hydrargyri submuriatis, 3ij. (Take of calomel 120
+  grains!)</p>
+
+  <p>This appeal, which was quite intelligible, caused an immediate
+  rush of the men aloft; but the monkey, after gulping down one of
+  the lumps, or twenty-four grains, shot upwards to the top, over
+  the rail of which he displayed his shaven countenance, and, as if
+  in scorn of their impotent efforts to catch him, plucked another
+  lump from his cheek, and swallowed it likewise, making four dozen
+  grains to begin with. The news spread over the ship; and all
+  hands, marines inclusive, most of whom had never been farther in
+  the rigging than was necessary to hang up a wet shirt to dry,
+  were seen struggling aloft to rescue the poor monkey from his sad
+  fate. All their exertions were fruitless; for just as the captain
+  of the maintop seized him by the tail, at the starboard royal
+  yard-arm, he was cramming the last batch of calomel down his
+  throat!</p>
+
+  <p>It would give needless pain to describe the effects of
+  swallowing the whole of this enormous prescription. Every art was
+  resorted to within our reach in the shape of antidotes, but all
+  in vain. The stomach-pump was then, unfortunately, not invented.
+  Poor Jacko's sufferings, of course, were great: first, he lost
+  the use of his limbs, then he became blind, next paralytic; and,
+  in short, he presented, at the end of the week, such a dreadful
+  spectacle of pain, distortion, and rigidity of limb, that I felt
+  absolutely obliged to desire that he might be released from his
+  misery, by being thrown into the sea. This was accordingly done
+  when the ship was going along, for the British Channel, at the
+  rate of seven or eight knots, with a fine fair wind. Very shortly
+  afterwards it fell calm, and next day the wind drew round to the
+  eastward. It continued at that point till we were blown fifty
+  leagues back, and kept at sea so much longer than we had reckoned
+  upon, that we were obliged to reduce our daily allowance of
+  provisions and water to a most painfully small quantity. The
+  sailors unanimously ascribed the whole of our bad luck to the
+  circumstance of the monkey being thrown overboard.</p>
+
+  <p>I had all my nautical life been well aware that a cat ought
+  never to be so treated; but never knew, till the fate of this
+  poor animal acquainted me with the fact, that a monkey is
+  included in Jack's superstition.</p>
+
+  <p>In the same vessel, and on the same voyage to China, the
+  sailors had another pet, of a very singular description; viz. a
+  pig&mdash;literally a grunter: nor do I believe there ever was a
+  favourite more deeply cherished, or more sincerely lamented after
+  her singular exit. On our sailing from England, six little sows,
+  of a peculiarly fine breed, had been laid in by my steward. In
+  the course of the voyage, five of these fell under the relentless
+  hands of the butcher; but one of the six, being possessed of a
+  more graceful form than belonged to her sister swine, and kept as
+  clean as any lap-dog, was permitted to run about the decks,
+  amongst the goats, sheep, dogs, and monkeys of our little ark.
+  The occurrence of two or three smart gales of wind off the Cape
+  of Good Hope, and the unceremonious entrance of sundry large
+  seas, swept the decks of most of our live stock, excepting only
+  this one pig, known amongst the crew by the pet name of Jean.
+  During the bad weather off the Bank of Aguilhas, her sowship was
+  stowed in the launch on the booms, and never seen, though often
+  enough heard; but when we hauled up to the northward, and once
+  more entered the trade-winds, on our course to the Straits of
+  Sunda, by which entrance we proposed to gain the Java Sea, Miss
+  Jean was again allowed to range about the decks at large, and
+  right happy she seemed, poor lady, to exchange the odious
+  confinement of the longboat for the freedom of the open
+  waist.</p>
+
+  <p>In warm latitudes, the men, as I have mentioned before,
+  generally take their meals on deck, and it was Jean's grand
+  amusement, as well as business, to cruise along amongst the
+  messes, poking her snout into every bread-bag, and very often she
+  scalded her tongue in the soup-kids. Occasionally, the sailors,
+  to show the extent of their regard, amused themselves by pouring
+  a drop of grog down her throat. I never saw her fairly drunk,
+  however, but twice; upon which occasions, as was to be expected,
+  she acted pretty much like a human being in the same hoggish
+  predicament. Whether it was owing to this high feeding, or to the
+  constant scrubbing which her hide received from sand, brushes,
+  and holystones, I know not, but she certainly grew and flourished
+  at a most astonishing rate, and every day waxed more and more
+  impudent and importunate at the dinner-hour. I saw a good deal of
+  this familiarity going on, but had no idea of the estimation Jean
+  was held in, till one day, when we were about half-way across the
+  China Sea, and all our stock of sheep, fowls, and ducks, was
+  expended, I said to the steward, "You had better kill the pig,
+  which, if properly managed, will last till we reach Macao."</p>
+
+  <p>The servant stood for some time fumbling with his hair, and
+  shuffling with his feet, muttering something to himself.</p>
+
+  <p>"Don't you hear?" I asked. "Kill the pig; and let us have the
+  fry to-day; the head with plenty of port wine, as mock-turtle
+  soup, to-morrow; and get one of the legs roasted for dinner on
+  Saturday."</p>
+
+  <p>Off he went; but in half-an-hour returned, on some pretence or
+  other, when he took occasion to ask,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Did you say Jean was to be killed, sir?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Jean! Who is Jean?&mdash;Oh, now I remember; the pig. Yes,
+  certainly. Why do you bother and boggle so about killing a
+  pig?"</p>
+
+  <p>"The ship's company, sir&mdash;"</p>
+
+  <p>"Well; what have the ship's company to say to my pig?"</p>
+
+  <p>"They are very fond of Jean, sir."</p>
+
+  <p>"The devil they are! Well; what then?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Why, sir, they would take it as a great kindness if you would
+  not order her to be killed. She is a great pet, sir, and comes to
+  them when they call her by name, like a dog. They have taught her
+  not to venture abaft the mainmast; but if you only call her,
+  you'll see that what I say is true."</p>
+
+  <p>"Indeed! I'll soon try that experiment;" and seized my hat to
+  go on deck.</p>
+
+  <p>"Shall I tell the butcher to hold fast?" asked Capewell.</p>
+
+  <p>"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Of course!"</p>
+
+  <p>Off shot the steward like an arrow; and I could soon
+  distinguish the effect of the announcement, by the intermission
+  of those horrible screams which ever attend the execution of the
+  pig tribe, all which sounds were instantly terminated on the
+  seizings being cut that tied poor Jean's legs.</p>
+
+  <p>On reaching the quarter-deck, I told what had passed to the
+  officer of the watch, who questioned its propriety a little, I
+  thought, by the tone of his answer. I, however, called out "Jean!
+  Jean!" and in a moment the delighted pig came prancing along. So
+  great, in fact, was her anxiety to answer the call, as if to show
+  her sense of the trifling favour I had just conferred upon her,
+  that she dashed towards us, tripped up the officer's heels, and
+  had I not caught him, he would have come souse on the deck. Even
+  as it was, he indulged in a growl, and muttered out,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"You see, sir, what your yielding to such whims brings upon
+  us."</p>
+
+  <p>I said nothing, and only took care in future to caution my
+  friends to mind their footing when Jean was summoned aft, which,
+  I allow, was very often; for there was no resisting the
+  exhibition to all strangers of such a patent pet as this. To the
+  Chinese in particular our comical favourite became an object of
+  the highest admiration, for the natives of the celestial empire
+  soon recognized in this happiest of swine the celebrated breed of
+  their own country. Many a broad hint I got as to the acceptable
+  nature of such a present, but I was deaf to them all; for I felt
+  that Jean now belonged more to the ship's company than to myself,
+  and that there was a sort of obligation upon me neither to eat
+  her nor to give her away.</p>
+
+  <p>Under this tacit guarantee she gained so rapidly in size, fat,
+  and other accomplishments, that, on our return to China, after
+  visiting Loo Choo and other islands of the Japan Sea, the
+  gentlemen of the factory would hardly credit me that this huge
+  monster was the same animal. In talking of Jean's
+  accomplishments, I must not be understood to describe her as a
+  learned pig; for she could neither play cards, solve quadratic
+  equations, nor perform any of those feats which enchant and
+  astonish the eyes of the citizens of London and elsewhere, where
+  many dogs and hogs are devoutly believed to be vested with a
+  degree of intelligence rather above than below the average range
+  of human intellect. Far from this, honest Jean could do little or
+  nothing more than eat, drink, sleep, and grunt; in which respects
+  she was totally unrivalled, and the effect of her proficiency in
+  these characteristic qualities became daily more manifest. At
+  first, as I have mentioned, when her name was called from any
+  part of the ship, she would caper along, and dash impetuously up
+  to the group by whom she was summoned. But after a time she
+  became so excessively fat and lazy that it required many a call
+  to get her to move, and the offer of a slice of pine-apple, or a
+  handful of lychees, or even the delicious mangosteen, was now
+  hardly enough to make her open her eyes, though in the early
+  stages of the voyage she had been but too thankful for a potato,
+  or the skin of an apple. As she advanced in fatness, she lost
+  altogether the power of walking, and expected the men to bring
+  the good things of their table to her, instead of allowing her to
+  come for them.</p>
+
+  <p>At the time of Sir Murray Maxwell's attack on the batteries of
+  Canton, the Lyra, under my command, was lying at Macao, and
+  during our stay the brig was visited by many of the Chinese
+  authorities. We were also watched by a fleet of men-of-war junks,
+  and had some reason to suppose that we might have a brush with
+  them. In that event, I think our worst chance would have
+  consisted in the enthusiasm with which the Chinese admiral,
+  captains, and crews, would have fought to have put themselves in
+  possession of such a prize as Jean.</p>
+
+  <p>While things were in this interesting position, I received
+  orders to get under weigh, and run up the Canton river to Wampoa.
+  Off we set, escorted by the Chinese fleet of a dozen sail of
+  junks. The wind was against us, but we soon beat up to the Bogue,
+  and passed, unharmed, the batteries, which, to use Lord Nelson's
+  expression, Captain Maxwell had made to look very like a
+  plum-pudding. We had scarcely anchored at Second Bar, in the
+  midst of the grand fleet of tea ships, when we were boarded by a
+  host of Chinese mandarins and Hong merchants, wearing all the
+  variety of buttons by which ranks are distinguished in that
+  well-classified land. This was not to compliment us, or to offer
+  us assistance, or even to inquire our business. One single object
+  seemed to engage all their thoughts and animate the curiosity of
+  half the province of Quantung. The fame of our fat sow Jean, in
+  short, had far outrun the speed of the Lyra, and nothing was
+  heard on every hand but the wondering exclamations of the
+  natives, screaming out in admiration, "High-yaw! High-yaw!"</p>
+
+  <p>We had enough to do to clear the ship at night of these our
+  visitors, but we were by no means left in solitude; for the
+  Lyra's anchorage was completely crowded with native boats. The
+  motive of all this attention on the part of the Chinese was not
+  merely pure admiration of Jean; the fact is, the acute Chinese,
+  skilled especially in hog's flesh, saw very well that our pet pig
+  was not long for this world, and knowing that if she died a
+  natural death, we should no more think of eating her than one of
+  our own crew; and having guessed also that we had no intention of
+  "killing her to save her life," they very reasonably inferred
+  that ere long this glorious <i>bonne bouche</i> would be at their
+  disposal.</p>
+
+  <p>Our men, who soon got wind of this design on the part of the
+  Chinese, became quite outrageous against Fukee, as the natives
+  are called, and would hardly permit any visitors to come near
+  their favourite, lest they should accelerate her inevitable fate
+  by poison. At length poor dear Jean gave token of approaching
+  dissolution; she could neither eat, nor drink, nor even grunt;
+  and her breathing was like that of a broken bellows: in short,
+  she died! Every art was taken to conceal the melancholy event
+  from the Chinese; but somehow or other it got abroad, for the
+  other English ships were deserted, and long before sunset a dense
+  mass of boats, like a floating town, was formed astern and on
+  both quarters of the Lyra.</p>
+
+  <p>The sailors now held a grand consultation as to what was to be
+  done; and after much discussion, and many neat and appropriate
+  speeches, it was unanimously resolved that the mortal remains of
+  the great sow now no more should be deposited in the mud of the
+  river of Canton, in such a way that the most dexterous and hungry
+  inhabitant of the celestial empire should not be able to fish her
+  up again.</p>
+
+  <p>As soon as it was quite dark, and all the Chinese boats sent,
+  as usual, beyond the circle limited by the ship's buoys, the
+  defunct pig's friends set to work to prepare for her obsequies.
+  The chief object was to guard against the ravenous natives
+  hearing the splash, as she went overboard; and next, that she
+  should not afterwards float to the surface. The first point was
+  easily accomplished, as will be seen presently; but there was a
+  long debate, in whispers, amongst the men, as to the most
+  expedient plan of keeping the body of their late pet from once
+  more showing her snout above the stream. At length, it was
+  suggested by the coxswain of one of the boats which had been sent
+  during the morning to sound the passage, that as the bed of the
+  river where the brig lay consisted of a deep layer of mud, it
+  would be a good thing if Jean's remains could be driven so far
+  into this soft stratum as to lie below the drags and hooks of the
+  Chinese.</p>
+
+  <p>This advice was much applauded, and at once acted upon with
+  that happy facility of resource which it is the pride of the
+  profession to have always in store for small as well as for great
+  occasions. The dead sow was first laid on its back, and then two
+  masses of iron ballast, being placed one on each side of the
+  cheek, were lashed securely to the neck and shoulders in such a
+  manner that the ends of the kentlage met across her nose, and
+  formed, as it was very properly called, an extra snout for
+  piercing the mud.</p>
+
+  <p>When all was ready, the midship carronade was silently
+  dismounted, the slide unbolted, and the whole removed out of the
+  way. Jean's enormous corporation being then elevated, by means of
+  capstan bars and handspikes, was brought on a level with the
+  port-sill. A slip-rope was next passed between her hind legs,
+  which had been tied together at the feet; and poor Miss Piggy,
+  being gradually pushed over the ship's side, was lowered slowly
+  into the water. When fairly under the surface, and there were no
+  fears of any splash being caused by letting her go, one end of
+  the rope was cast off, upon which the well-loaded carcass shot
+  down perpendicularly at such a rate that there could be no
+  question of its being immersed a fathom deep, at least, in the
+  mud, and, of course, far beyond the reach of the disappointed
+  Chinese!</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">DOUBLING THE
+  CAPE.</p>
+
+  <p>As our merry little ship approached the far-famed Cape of Good
+  Hope, I often remained on deck after the watch was out, feasting
+  my eyes on the sight of constellations known to me before only by
+  name, and as yet scarcely anchored in my imagination. Each
+  succeeding night, as the various clusters rose, crossed the
+  meridian, and sunk again into the western waves, we came more and
+  more into the way, not only of speaking, but thinking of them,
+  under their conventional titles of hydras, doves, toucans,
+  phoenixes, and flying-fish, not forgetting the enormous southern
+  whale, whose beautiful eye, called Fomalhaut, while it flames in
+  the zenith of the Cape, is hardly known to the astronomers of
+  this country, from its greatest altitude, as seen by them, not
+  being ten degrees.</p>
+
+  <p>But of all the Antarctic constellations, the celebrated
+  Southern Cross is by far the most remarkable, and must, in every
+  age, continue to arrest the attention of all voyagers and
+  travellers who are fortunate enough to see it. I think it would
+  strike the imagination even of a person who had never heard of
+  the Christian religion; but of this it is difficult to judge,
+  seeing how inextricably our own ideas are mingled up with
+  associations linking this sacred symbol with almost every
+  thought, word, and deed of our lives. The three great stars which
+  form the Cross, one at the top, one at the left arm, and one,
+  which is the chief star, called Alpha, at the foot, are so placed
+  as to suggest the idea of a crucifix, even without the help of a
+  small star, which completes the horizontal beam. When on the
+  meridian, it stands nearly upright; and as it sets, we observe it
+  lean over to the westward. I am not sure whether, upon the whole,
+  this is not more striking than its gradually becoming more and
+  more erect as it rises from the east. In every position, however,
+  it is beautiful to look at, and well calculated, with a little
+  prompting from the fancy, to stir up our thoughts to solemn
+  purpose. I know not how others are affected by such things; but,
+  for myself, I can say with truth, that, during the many nights I
+  have watched the Southern Cross, I remember no two occasions when
+  the spectacle interested me exactly in the same way, nor any one
+  upon which I did not discover the result to be somewhat
+  different, and always more impressive, than what I had looked
+  for.</p>
+
+  <p>This constellation being about thirty degrees from the south
+  pole, is seen in its whole revolution, and, accordingly, when off
+  the Cape, I have observed it in every stage, from its triumphant
+  erect position, between sixty and seventy degrees above the
+  horizon, to that of complete inversion, with the top beneath, and
+  almost touching the water. This position, by the way, always
+  reminded me of the death of St. Peter, who is said to have deemed
+  it too great an honour to be crucified with his head upwards. In
+  short, I defy the stupidest mortal that ever lived to watch these
+  changes in the aspect of this splendid constellation, and not to
+  be in some degree struck by them.</p>
+
+  <p>These airy visions are sometimes curiously broken in upon by
+  the most common-place incidents, which force us back upon
+  ordinary life. On the 28th of May we overtook a packet on her way
+  to the Brazils from England, which had sailed more than a month
+  after us, but she had not a single newspaper, army list, navy
+  list, or review on board. The mate was totally ignorant of all
+  the interesting topics of that most interesting moment of the war
+  (1812); and in reply to all our questions, merely observed that
+  everything was just the same as when we left England. The captain
+  was ill in bed, and could not be spoken to, so that this
+  intelligent gentleman, his chief officer, had been lugged on deck
+  to tell the news. He honestly confessed, after being sufficiently
+  baited and badgered by our interrogatories, that even when in
+  England he had no time to look at the newspapers, but that he
+  left public affairs to the management of those whose business it
+  was to look after them, while he found enough to do in looking
+  after the packet.</p>
+
+  <p>"I dare say," added the fellow, with rather more dryness of
+  humour than we had imagined was in his doughy composition, "I
+  dare say the whole story you are asking about, of Buonaparte and
+  the Russians, is told very exactly in these bags (pointing to the
+  mail), and if I deliver them safe at Rio, it will be wrong to say
+  I bring no news."</p>
+
+  <p>On the 4th of June we had a jollification in honour of good
+  old King George the Third's birthday. In how many different parts
+  of the world, and with what deep and affectionate sincerity, were
+  cups quaffed and cheers rung out in the same loyal cause! If
+  sailors would tell the truth, we should find that when abroad and
+  far away, they generally use their distant friends as the
+  captain, mentioned some time ago, did his ship's company's
+  European clothing&mdash;stow them away for a future occasion. I
+  do not say that they forget or neglect their friends; they merely
+  put them by in safety for a time. In fact, as the song says, a
+  sailor's heart and soul have plenty to do "in every port," to
+  keep fully up to the companionships which are present, without
+  moping and moaning over the remembrance of friends at a distance,
+  who, in like manner no doubt, unship us also, more or less, from
+  their thoughts, if not from their memory, for the time being; and
+  it is all right and proper that it should be so.</p>
+
+  <p>On the 5th of June we parted from our convoy, the China ships;
+  and, alas! many a good dinner we lost by that separation. Our
+  course lay more to the left, or eastward, as we wished to look in
+  at the Cape of Good Hope, while those great towering castles, the
+  tea ships, could not afford time for play, but struck right down
+  to the southward, in search of the westerly winds which were to
+  sweep them half round the globe, and enable them to fetch the
+  entrance of the China seas in time to save the monsoon to Canton.
+  Each ship sent a boat to us with letters for England, to be
+  forwarded from the Cape. This was probably their last chance for
+  writing home; so that, after the accounts contained in these
+  dispatches reached England, their friends would hear nothing of
+  them till they presented themselves eighteen months afterwards.
+  Neither did they expect to know what was passing at home till
+  they should touch at St. Helena, on the return voyage, in the
+  latter end of the following year.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember looking over the lee-gangway next day, at the first
+  blush of the dawn, during the morning watch, and I could barely
+  distinguish the fleet far to leeward, with their royals just
+  showing above the horizon. On taking leave of our convoy, we were
+  reminded that there is always something about the last, the very
+  last look of any object, which brings with it a feeling of
+  melancholy. On this occasion, however, we had nothing more
+  serious to reproach ourselves with than sundry impatient
+  execrations with which we had honoured some of our slow-moving,
+  heavy-sterned friends, when we were compelled to shorten sail in
+  a fair wind, in order to keep them company. A smart frigate
+  making a voyage with a dull-sailing convoy reminds one of the
+  child's story of the provoking journey made by the hare with a
+  drove of oxen.</p>
+
+  <p>Our merry attendants, the flying-fish, and others which
+  swarmed about us in the torrid zone, refused to see us across the
+  tropic, and the only aquatics we fell in with afterwards were
+  clumsy whales and grampuses, and occasionally a shoal of white
+  porpoises. Of birds there were plenty, especially albatrosses.
+  The captain, being a good shot with a ball, brought down one of
+  these, which measured seven feet between the tips of the wings. I
+  have several times seen them twelve feet; and I heard a
+  well-authenticated account of one measuring sixteen feet from tip
+  to tip. On the 22nd of June we came in sight of the high land on
+  the northern part of the peninsula of the Cape of Good Hope, the
+  far-famed Table Mountain, which looked its character very well,
+  and really did not disappoint us, though, in general, its height,
+  like that of most high lands, is most outrageously exaggerated in
+  pictures. The wind failed us during the day, and left us rolling
+  about till the evening, when the breeze came too late to be of
+  much use. Next day we rounded the pitch of the Cape, but it blew
+  so strong from the northward, right out of False Bay, accompanied
+  by rain and a high sea, that we found it no easy job to hold our
+  own, much less to gain the anchorage. But on the 24th of June,
+  the day after, the wind moderated and became fair, the weather
+  cleared up, and we sailed almost into Simon's Bay, a snug little
+  nook at the north-western angle of False Bay. It then fell calm,
+  but the boats of the men-of-war at anchor, his Majesty's ships
+  Lion, Nisus, and Galatea, soon towed us into our berth. During
+  the winter of that hemisphere, which corresponds to our northern
+  summer, the only safe quarters for ships is in Simon's Bay, on
+  the south side of the Cape peninsula.</p>
+
+  <p>I have a perfect recollection of the feelings with which I
+  leaped out of the boat, and first set foot on the continent of
+  Africa, but am prevented from describing these poetical emotions
+  by the remembrance, equally distinct, of the more engrossing
+  anxiety which both my companion and myself experienced about our
+  linen, then on its way to the laundress in two goodly bundles.
+  For the life of me, I cannot separate the grand ideas suitable to
+  the occasion, from the base interests connected with cotton
+  shirts and duck trousers. And such is the tormenting effect of
+  association, that when I wish to dwell upon the strange feelings,
+  partly professional and partly historical, caused by actually
+  gazing on the identical Cape of Good Hope, a spot completely
+  hammered into the memory of all sailors, straightway I remember
+  the bitter battling with the washer-folks of Simon's Town
+  touching the rate of bleaching shirts: and both the sublime and
+  the beautiful are lost in the useful and ridiculous.</p>
+
+  <p>The 3rd of July was named for sailing; but the wind, which
+  first came foul, soon lulled into a calm, then breezed up again;
+  and so on alternately, baffling us in all our attempts to get to
+  sea. Nor was it till the 5th that we succeeded in forcing our way
+  out against a smart south-easter, with a couple of reefs in the
+  topsails, and as much as we could do to carry the mainsail. A
+  westerly current sweeps at all seasons of the year round the Cape
+  of Good Hope, and sometimes proves troublesome enough to
+  outward-bound ships. This stream is evidently caused by the
+  trade-wind in the southern parts of the Indian ocean. For three
+  days we were bamboozled with light south-easterly airs and calms,
+  but on the 8th of July, which is the depth of winter in that
+  hemisphere, there came on a spanking snuffler from the
+  north-west, before which we spun two hundred and forty miles,
+  clean off the reel, in twenty-four hours.</p>
+
+  <p>Nothing is more delightful than the commencement of such a
+  fair wind. The sea is then smooth, and the ship seems literally
+  to fly along; the masts and yards bend forwards, as if they would
+  drop over the bows, while the studding-sail booms crack and
+  twist, and, unless great care be taken, sometimes break across;
+  but still, so long as the surface of the sea is plane it is
+  astonishing what a vast expanse of canvas may be spread to the
+  rising gale. By-and-bye, however, it becomes prudent to take in
+  the royals, flying-jib, and top-gallant studding-sails. The
+  boatswain takes a look at the gripes and other fastenings of the
+  boats and booms; the carpenter instinctively examines the
+  port-lashings, and draws up the pump-boxes to look at the
+  leathers; while the gunner sees that all the breechings and
+  tackles of the guns are well secured before the ship begins to
+  roll. The different minor heads of departments, also, to use
+  their own phrase, smell the gale coming on, and each in his
+  respective walk gets things ready to meet it. The captain's and
+  gun-room steward beg the carpenter's mate to drive down a few
+  more cleats and staples, and, having got a cod-line or two from
+  the boatswain's yeoman, or a hank of marline stuff, they commence
+  double lashing all the tables and chairs. The marines' muskets
+  are more securely packed in the arm-chest. The rolling tackles
+  are got ready for the lower yards, and the master, accompanied by
+  the gunner's mate, inspects the lanyards of the lower rigging.
+  All these, and twenty other precautions are taken in a manner so
+  slow and deliberate that they would hardly catch the observation
+  of a passenger. It might also seem as if the different parties
+  were afraid to let out the secret of their own lurking
+  apprehension, but yet were resolved not to be caught
+  unprepared.</p>
+
+  <p>Of these forerunners of a gale none is more striking than the
+  repeated looks of anxiety which the captain casts to windward, as
+  if his glance could penetrate the black sky lowering in the
+  north-west, in order to discover what was behind, and how long
+  with safety he might carry sail. Ever and anon he shifts his look
+  from the wind's eye, and rests it on the writhing spars aloft,
+  viewing with much uneasiness the stretching canvas all but torn
+  from the yards. He then steps below, and for the fortieth time
+  reads off the barometer. On returning to the deck he finds that,
+  during the few minutes he has been below, the breeze has
+  freshened considerably, or, it may be, that, coming suddenly upon
+  it again, he views it differently. At all events, he feels the
+  necessity of getting the sails in while he yet can, or before
+  "God Almighty takes them in for him," as the sailors say when
+  matters have been so long deferred, that not only canvas and
+  yards, but even masts, are at times suddenly wrenched out of the
+  ship, and sent in one confused mass far off to leeward, whirling
+  in the gale!</p>
+
+  <p>The men, who are generally well aware of the necessity of
+  shortening sail long before the captain has made up his mind to
+  call the hands for that purpose, have probably been collected in
+  groups for some time in different parts of the upper deck,
+  talking low to one another, and looking aloft with a start, every
+  now and then, as the masts or yards give an extra crack.</p>
+
+  <p>"Well! this is packing on her," says one, laying an emphasis
+  on the word "is."</p>
+
+  <p>"Yes!" replies another; "and if our skipper don't mind, it
+  will be packing off her presently," with an emphasis on the word
+  "off." "Right well do I know these Cape gales," adds an ancient
+  mariner of the South Seas; "they snuffle up in a minute; and,
+  I'll answer for it, the captain will not carry sail so long off
+  Cape Aguilhas, when he has gone round that breezy point as often
+  as old Bill has."</p>
+
+  <p>At this moment the tardy voice of the commander, long
+  unwilling to lose any part of the fair wind, is at length heard,
+  giving the reluctant order, "Turn the hands up, shorten sail!"
+  The ready clatter of feet, and the show of many heads at all the
+  hatchways, and perhaps the sound of a suppressed laugh amongst
+  the men who have been gossiping and wagering about the gale, give
+  sufficient indication that this evolution has been expected for
+  some time.</p>
+
+  <p>"All hands shorten sail!" calls out the boatswain, after a
+  louder and sharper note than usual from his pipe, winded not half
+  the ordinary length of time, though twice as shrilly; for his
+  object is to mark on the ears of the people the necessity of
+  unusual expedition and exertion. A clever and experienced person
+  filling this important situation will soon teach the men to
+  distinguish between the various notes of his call, though to
+  unpractised ears the sounds might appear unvaried.</p>
+
+  <p>"Shorten sail! that's easier said than done," growls forth
+  some hard-up old cock.</p>
+
+  <p>"No! not a bit easier said than done," unexpectedly observes
+  the captain, but quite good-humouredly, having accidentally heard
+  the seaman's remark. "Not a bit, old fellow, if you and the young
+  hands only work as smartly and cheerfully as I know you can do
+  when you have a mind. Come, my lads, are you all ready
+  forward?"</p>
+
+  <p>It is a trying moment both for the sails and yards, when the
+  order is actually given to commence shortening sail; if the
+  pressure from the wind be considerable, it is necessary to have
+  men stationed to lower away the haulyards and ease off the tacks
+  at the proper moment, while others gather in the sails as they
+  come down, fluttering a little perhaps, if not carefully managed,
+  but still quietly and easily, as well as quickly. When, however,
+  the wind has risen to a pitch beyond its due proportion to the
+  canvas spread, and the captain's anxiety to make the most of a
+  fair wind has tempted him to carry on too long, the case becomes
+  very difficult, the ropes which keep the sails in their places
+  contributing also an important share to the support of those
+  spars to which the sails are bent, or to which they may be hauled
+  out. Consequently, the moment the ropes alluded to, which are
+  technically named the haulyards and tacks, are slackened, the
+  yards and booms, being suddenly deprived of these material
+  supports, are very apt to be sprung, that is, cracked across, or
+  even carried away, which means being snapped right in two as
+  short as a carrot, to use Jack's very appropriate simile.</p>
+
+  <p>It is quite true, that lowering away the sail and easing off
+  the tack of a studding-sail does diminish the pressure of the
+  sail on the spar, and, of course, both the yard and the boom have
+  less duty to perform. Still, the moment which succeeds the order
+  to "Lower away!" is especially trying to the nerves of the
+  officer who is carrying on the duty. I have not unfrequently seen
+  comparatively young officers handle the sails and yards of a ship
+  with perfect ease, from their superior mechanical knowledge, at
+  times when the oldest sailors on board were puzzled how to get
+  things right. One officer, for instance, may direct the
+  preparations for shortening sail to be made according to the most
+  orthodox rules laid down in Hamilton Moor's "Examination of a
+  Young Sea Officer," and yet when he comes to give the fatal word,
+  "Lower away! haul down!" everything shall go wrong. The tack
+  being eased off too soon, the spar breaks in the middle, and the
+  poor topmast studding-sail is spitted like a lark on the broken
+  stump of the boom, while the lower studding-sail, driven
+  furiously forward by the squall, is pierced by the spritsail
+  yard-arm, the cat-head, and the bumpkin; or it may be wrapped
+  round the bowsprit, like so much wet drapery in the inimitable
+  Chantrey's studio over the clay figure of an Indian bishop.</p>
+
+  <p>"What the blue blazes shall I do next?" moans the poor puzzled
+  officer of the watch, who sees this confusion caused entirely by
+  his own bad management. On such an occasion, a kind and
+  considerate captain will perhaps fairly walk below, and so leave
+  the mortified youth to get himself out of the scrape as he best
+  can, and rather lose a small spar, or a bolt of canvas, than
+  expose his officer to the humiliation of having the task
+  transferred to another; or he will edge himself near the
+  embarrassed officer, and, without the action being detected by
+  any one else, whisper a few magical words of instruction in the
+  young man's ear, by which the proper train of directions are set
+  agoing, and the whole confusion of ropes, sails, and yards,
+  speedily brought into order. If this fails, the hands are called,
+  upon which the captain himself, or more generally the first
+  lieutenant, takes the trumpet; and the men, hearing the
+  well-known, confident voice of skill, fly to the proper points,
+  "monkey paw" the split sails, clear the ropes, which an instant
+  before seemed inextricably foul, and in a very few minutes reduce
+  the whole disaster to the dimensions of a common occurrence.
+  "Now, you may call the watch," says the captain; and the reproved
+  officer again takes charge of the deck. I need hardly say, that
+  any young man of spirit ought rather to wear his hands to the
+  bone in learning his duty, than to expose himself to such
+  mortification as this.</p>
+
+  <p>Let us, however, suppose all the extra sails taken in without
+  accident, and rolled up with as much haste as may be consistent
+  with that good order which ought never to be relaxed under any
+  degree of urgency. In fine weather, it is usual to place the
+  studding-sails in the rigging, with all their gear bent, in
+  readiness to be whipped up to the yard-arm at a moment's warning;
+  but when a breeze such as we are now considering is on the rise,
+  it is thought best to unbend the tacks and haulyards, and to stow
+  the sails in some convenient place, either on the booms, between
+  the boats, or in the hammock-nettings. For the same reason, the
+  small sails are sent on deck, together with as much top hamper as
+  can readily be moved. These things are scarcely bundled up and
+  lifted out of the way before the long-expected order to reef
+  topsails is smartly given out, and crowds of men are seen
+  skipping up the tight weather-rigging, with a merry kind of
+  alacrity, which always makes a captain feel grateful to the
+  fellows&mdash;I do not well know why; for, as there is then no
+  real danger, there seems nothing particularly praiseworthy in
+  this common-place exertion. Perhaps the consciousness that a
+  storm is coming on, during which every nerve on board may be
+  strained, makes the captain see with pleasure a show of activity
+  which, under other circumstances, may be turned to trials of the
+  utmost hardihood and daring.</p>
+
+  <p>Be this as it may, the yards come sliding down the
+  well-greased masts; the men lie out to the right and left, grasp
+  the tumultuous canvas, drag out the earings, and tie the points,
+  with as perfect deliberation as if it were a calm, only taking
+  double pains to see that all is right and tight, and the
+  reef-band straight along the yard. The order has been given to
+  take in the second and third reefs only; but the men linger at
+  their posts, expecting the further work which they know is
+  necessary. The captain of the top, instead of moving in,
+  continues to sit astride the spar, dangling his legs under the
+  weather yard-arm with the end of the close reef-earing in his
+  hand, quite as much at his ease as any well-washed sea-bird that
+  ever screamed defiance to a pitiless south-wester.</p>
+
+  <p>Johnny's anticipations prove right, for the anxious commander,
+  after gazing twice or thrice to windward, again consulting his
+  barometer, looking six or eight times at his watch in as many
+  minutes, to learn how many hours of daylight are yet above the
+  horizon, and perhaps also stealing a professional opinion from
+  his first lieutenant, an officer probably of much more technical
+  experience than himself, decides upon close-reefing. If he be a
+  man of sense, and wishes the work to be done quickly and well, he
+  must not now hesitate about starting the topsail sheets, and it
+  will certainly be all the better if one or both the clew-lines be
+  likewise hauled close up.</p>
+
+  <p>The mainsail is now to be taken in; and as the method of
+  performing this evolution has long been a subject of hot
+  controversy at sea, I take the opportunity of saying, that
+  Falconer's couplet,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <div class="poem">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <span>"For he who strives the tempest to disarm<br /></span>
+      <span>Will never first embrail the lee
+      yard-arm,"<br /></span>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <p>has, in my opinion, done a world of mischief, and split many
+  thousands of sails.</p>
+
+  <p>I, at least, plead guilty to having been sadly misled by this
+  authority for many years, since it was only in the last ship I
+  commanded that I learned the true way to take in the mainsail
+  when it blows hard. The best practice certainly is, to man both
+  buntlines and the lee leechline well, and then to haul the LEE
+  clew-garnet close up, before starting the tack or slacking the
+  bowline. By attending to these directions, the spar is not only
+  instantaneously relieved, but the leeward half of the sail walks
+  sweetly and quietly up to the yard, without giving a single flap.
+  After which the weather-clew comes up almost of itself, and
+  without risk or trouble.</p>
+
+  <p>Meanwhile the ship is spinning along very nearly at the same
+  rate as at first, though two-thirds of the canvas have been taken
+  off her. These variations in speed are odd enough, and, at times,
+  not easily accounted for. When the breeze first comes on, all
+  sail set, and the water quite smooth, the ship can be steered on
+  a straight course without any difficulty, and she really seems to
+  fly. When the log is hove, it is discovered, we shall suppose,
+  that she is going eleven knots. Well, the wind increases, and in
+  come the studding-sails; but as the water is still smooth, the
+  single-reefed topsails and top-gallant-sails may be carried,
+  though it is evident the ship is rather over-pressed, or, at all
+  events, not another stitch of sail could be set.</p>
+
+  <p>"Heave the log again, and see what she goes now!" says the
+  officer. "How much?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Eleven knots and a-half, sir," replies the middy of the
+  watch.</p>
+
+  <p>Presently the sea rises, the masts bend, the ship begins to
+  stagger along, groaning and creaking in every joint, under the
+  severe pressure. The topsails are close-reefed to meet the
+  increased wind; but still, as before, she is under quite as much
+  canvas as she can possibly bear.</p>
+
+  <p>"Heave the log now!" again says the officer. "Ten knots!"
+  reports the middy.</p>
+
+  <p>By-and-bye the courses are reefed, and before dark the
+  mainsail is rolled up, the fore and mizen topsails handed, and
+  the top-gallant yards sent on deck. The sea has now risen to a
+  disagreeable height, and the steering, in spite of every care,
+  becomes wilder and much more difficult; and as the ship forges
+  into the breast of the waves, or rises with a surge not much less
+  startling, her way seems deadened for the moment, till she bounds
+  up again on the top of the sea, to woo, as it were, the embraces
+  of the rattling gale. The storm is not slow to meet this rude
+  invitation; while, if the ropes, sails, and masts, be all wet, as
+  they generally are in such a breeze, it is difficult to conceive
+  any tones more gruff and unsentimental than the sounds of this
+  boisterous courtship.</p>
+
+  <p>In line-of-battle ships, and even in frigates, the
+  close-reefed main-topsail and foresail may be carried, for a very
+  long time, when going nearly before the wind; and indeed it is
+  the best seamanship to crack on her; for when the gale rises to
+  its highest pitch, and the seas follow in great height, they are
+  apt to curl fairly on board, and play fine pranks along the
+  decks, even if the violence of the blow on the quarter do not
+  broach the ship to, that is, twist her head round towards the
+  wind in such a way that the next sea shall break over her
+  gangway, and in all probability sweep away the masts. In small
+  vessels it becomes a most anxious period of the gale when the sea
+  has got up so much that it is difficult to steer steadily, and
+  when the wind blows so strong that enough sail cannot be carried
+  to keep the ship sufficiently ahead of the waves, except at the
+  risk of tearing the masts away. When the requisite degree of
+  speed cannot be secured, the inevitable consequence, sooner or
+  later, is, that a monstrous pea-green solid sea walks most
+  unceremoniously on board, over the taffrail, and dashes along the
+  decks like those huge debacles, of which some geologists so
+  confidently point out the traces on the earth's surface.</p>
+
+  <p>I never happened actually to witness a catastrophe of this
+  kind on the great scale, though I have seen one or two smartish
+  gales in my time. Indeed the most serious evils I recollect to
+  have been present at occurred on board the Volage, on the very
+  passage to India which I am now describing. The following are the
+  words in which these incidents are noticed in my
+  journal:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"On the 13th of July, off the Cape of Good Hope, in the midst
+  of a heavy winter's gale, our worthy passenger, Sir Evan Nepean,
+  governor of Bombay, was thrown down the ladder, by the violent
+  rolling of the ship; and another gentleman, the Baron Tuyll, the
+  best-natured and deservedly popular passenger I ever saw afloat,
+  was very nearly washed out of his cot by a sea which broke into
+  the stern windows of the captain's cabin."</p>
+
+  <p>I have often enough been close to wars and rumours of wars,
+  but was never in a regular sea-fight; and though I have also
+  witnessed a few shipwrecks and disasters, I never was myself in
+  much danger of what might be honestly called a lee shore; neither
+  is it my good fortune to be able to recount, from personal
+  knowledge, any scenes of hardship or suffering from hunger, cold,
+  or any other misery. My whole professional life, in short, has
+  been one of such comparative ease and security, that I cannot now
+  remember ever going far beyond twenty-four hours without a good
+  bellyful. Still I have often been forced to take a high degree of
+  interest in formidable adventures of this kind, from their
+  happening in fleets of which my own ship formed a part, or from
+  these incidents including among the sufferers persons to whom I
+  was attached.</p>
+
+  <p>In the year 1815, I accompanied a convoy of homeward-bound
+  Indiamen from Ceylon, and a right merry part of the voyage it was
+  while we ran down a couple of thousand miles of the south-east
+  trade-wind; for these hospitable floating nabobs, the East India
+  captains, seldom let a day pass without feasting one another; and
+  we, their naval protectors, came in for no small share of the
+  good things, for which we could make but a poor return. Along
+  with our fleet, there sailed from Ceylon a large ship, hired as a
+  transport by Government to bring home invalid soldiers. There
+  were about 500 souls in her; of these a hundred were women, and
+  more than a hundred children. I was accidentally led to take a
+  particular interest in this ill-fated vessel, from the
+  circumstance of there being four fine boys on board, sons of a
+  military friend of mine at Point de Galle. I had become so well
+  acquainted with the parents of these poor little fellows during
+  my frequent visits to Ceylon, that one day, before sailing, I
+  playfully offered to take a couple of the boys in my brig, the
+  Victor, an eighteen-gun sloop of war; but as I could not
+  accommodate the whole family, the parents, who were obliged to
+  remain abroad, felt unwilling to separate the children, alas! and
+  my offer was declined.</p>
+
+  <p>Off we all sailed, and reached the neighbourhood of the Cape
+  without encountering anything in the way of an adventure; there,
+  however, commenced the disasters of the unfortunate Arniston, as
+  this transport was called. She had no chronometer on board; a
+  most culpable and preposterous omission in the outfit of a ship
+  destined for such a voyage. The master told me that he himself
+  was not in circumstances to purchase so expensive an instrument,
+  the cost of a good chronometer being at least fifty or sixty
+  guineas, and that the owners considered the expense needless. He
+  also stated that on his remonstrating still more, and urging upon
+  these gentlemen that their property would be ten times more
+  secure if he were furnished with the most approved means of
+  taking good care of it, he was given to understand, that, if he
+  did not choose to take the ship to sea without a chronometer,
+  another captain could easily be found who would make no such
+  new-fangled scruples. The poor master shrugged his shoulders, and
+  said he would do his best; but having often rounded the Cape, he
+  knew the difficulties of the navigation, when there was nothing
+  but the dead reckoning to trust to.</p>
+
+  <p>During our passage from Ceylon, it was the practice every day,
+  at one o'clock, for the Indiamen, as well as the men-of-war, to
+  make signals showing the longitude of each ship by chronometer.
+  Thus we had all an opportunity of comparing the going of our
+  respective time-keepers, and thus, too, the master of the
+  Arniston was enabled to learn his place so accurately, that if he
+  had only kept company with his friends the Indiamen, each of whom
+  was provided with at least four or five chronometers, the
+  deficiency in his equipment might never have led to the dreadful
+  catastrophe which speedily followed the loss of this
+  assistance.</p>
+
+  <p>It was late in the month of May when we reached the
+  tempestuous regions of the Cape; and we were not long there
+  before a furious gale of wind from the westward dispersed the
+  fleet, and set every one adrift upon his own resources. The poor
+  Arniston was seen at sunset, on the day the gale commenced, with
+  most of her sails split, but not otherwise in danger, for she had
+  a good offing, and the wind was not blowing on shore. Three heavy
+  gales followed in such quick succession during the next week,
+  that not only the ordinary course, but the velocity of the
+  current was changed, and instead of running, as it almost always
+  does, to the westward, it set, on the days in question, to the
+  south-eastward. According to the most moderate allowance for the
+  current, all circumstances being taken into consideration, any
+  navigator might fairly have supposed that, in the five days which
+  elapsed from the 24th of May to the 28th inclusive, his ship
+  would have been drifted to the westward by the current at least a
+  hundred miles. Our chronometers, however, distinctly showed us
+  that we had been carried, not, as usual, to the westward, but
+  actually to the eastward, a distance of more than a hundred
+  miles; so that, in less than a week, there occurred upwards of
+  two hundred miles of error in the dead reckoning.</p>
+
+  <p>The master of the Arniston, doubtless, after making every
+  allowance, according to the best authorities, and working by the
+  most exact rules of navigation of which he could avail himself,
+  naturally inferred that his ship was more than a hundred miles to
+  the westward of the Cape, and he probably considered himself
+  justified in bearing up before a south-easterly gale, and
+  steering, as he had so much reason to suppose he was doing,
+  straight for St. Helena.</p>
+
+  <p>It is very important to remark, in passing, to professional
+  men, that no ship off the Cape, and under any circumstances,
+  ought ever to bear up, without first heaving the deep sea-lead.
+  If soundings are obtained on the Bank, it is a sure symptom that
+  the ship is not sufficiently advanced to the westward to enable
+  her to steer with safety to the north-north-westward for St.
+  Helena. It is clear the ship in question must have omitted this
+  precaution.</p>
+
+  <p>All that is known of this fatal shipwreck is simply that the
+  Arniston, with a flowing sheet, and going nine knots, ran among
+  the breakers in Struy's Bay, nearly a hundred miles to the
+  eastward of the Cape. The masts went instantly by the board, and
+  the sea, which broke completely over all, tore the ship to pieces
+  in a few minutes; and out of her whole crew, passengers, women,
+  and children, only half-a-dozen seamen reached the coast alive.
+  All these could tell was, that they bore up and made all sail for
+  St. Helena, judging themselves well round the Cape. This scanty
+  information, however, was quite enough to establish the important
+  fact that this valuable ship, and all the lives on board of her,
+  were actually sacrificed to a piece of short-sighted economy.
+  That they might have been saved, had she been supplied with the
+  worst chronometer that was ever sent to sea, is also quite
+  obvious. I am sure practical men will agree with me, that, in
+  assuming sixty seconds a-day as the limit of the uncertainty of a
+  watch's rate, I have taken a quantity four or five times greater
+  than there was need for. Surely no time-keeper that was ever sold
+  as such by any respectable watchmaker for more than thirty or
+  forty guineas, has been found to go so outrageously ill as not to
+  be depended upon for one week, within less than ten or fifteen
+  seconds a-day. And as I have shown that a chronometer whose rate
+  was uncertain, even to an extent five or six times as great as
+  this, would have saved the Arniston, any further comment on such
+  precious economy is needless.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">SUGGESTIONS
+  TOWARDS DIMINISHING THE NUMBER AND SEVERITY OF NAVAL
+  PUNISHMENTS.</p>
+
+  <p>I trust that most of my brother-officers who have commanded
+  ships can lay their hands upon their hearts and conscientiously
+  declare they have never inflicted an unjust punishment. I can
+  only confess with much sorrow, that I, unfortunately, am not of
+  that number. But as mere regret on such occasions contributes
+  nothing towards remedying the evils committed, I have long
+  employed my thoughts in devising some plan which might lessen the
+  number of punishments at sea, and thus, perhaps, save others from
+  the remorse I have felt, while it might tend to relieve the
+  service from the discredit of an improper degree of severity in
+  its penal administration.</p>
+
+  <p>Before proceeding to the main point under consideration, the
+  diminution of the number and the degree of punishments on board
+  ship, I must entreat officers not to allow themselves to be
+  misled by the very mischievous fallacy of supposing that any of
+  the various substitutes which have yet been proposed for corporal
+  punishment are one whit less severe than those so long
+  established. It is well known to officers of experience that this
+  powerful engine of discipline may be rendered not only the most
+  effective, but essentially the most lenient, and when duly
+  reported and checked, far more likely to contribute to the peace
+  and comfort of the men themselves, than any of the specious but
+  flimsy substitutes alluded to. Solitary confinement, for example,
+  I take to be one of the most cruel, and, generally speaking, one
+  of the most unjust of all punishments; for it is incapable of
+  being correctly measured, and it almost always renders the
+  offender worse. It prompts him, and gives him time to brood over
+  revengeful purposes; it irritates him against his officers, and
+  if long continued almost inevitably leads to insanity and
+  suicide. All the beneficial effects of example, likewise, are
+  necessarily lost; because the solitary culprit's sufferings,
+  horrible though they no doubt are, never meet the eye of the rest
+  of the crew, nor, indeed, can they ever be truly made known to
+  them, while he himself, when he quits his cell, makes light of
+  his punishment. But not one man in a thousand, even of our
+  hardiest spirits, can maintain this air of indifference at the
+  gangway. And although it must be admitted that a man, at such
+  moments, can feel no great kindness to his officer, the transient
+  nature of the punishment, compared to the prolonged misery of
+  solitary confinement, leaves no time for discontent to rankle. I
+  never once knew, nor ever heard of an instance in which a
+  corporal punishment, administered calmly and with strict regard
+  to justice and established usage, was followed by any permanent
+  ill-will resting on the mind of a sailor, either towards his
+  captain or towards the service.</p>
+
+  <p>It happened to me once, when in command of a ship in the
+  Pacific Ocean, to have occasion to punish a very good seaman. The
+  offence was in some degree a doubtful one, but, upon the whole, I
+  felt it my duty to correct it rather sharply. On mature
+  reflection, however, I began to suspect I had done wrong; and on
+  joining the commander-in-chief, some weeks afterwards, I laid all
+  the circumstances of the case before him, and begged him to tell
+  me fairly what he thought. He examined the details minutely,
+  cross-questioned me about them, and, after some deliberation,
+  said, that although I had the letter of the law with me, I had
+  acted hastily, which in this instance was acting unjustly; for
+  had I waited a little, the true bearings of the case must, he
+  thought, have made themselves apparent. This judgment of Sir
+  Thomas Hardy squared but too well with my own feelings upon the
+  matter, and doubled the shame I was already suffering under. From
+  that hour to this, I have never ceased to catch with eagerness at
+  any suggestion which I thought might contribute to save deserving
+  men from a similar misfortune, and well-disposed officers from
+  the fatal errors of precipitancy. A little incident has perhaps
+  had its effect in quickening these speculative ideas into a
+  practical shape.</p>
+
+  <p>Several years after the period alluded to, I happened to be
+  sailing about Spithead in a gentleman's yacht, when a
+  man-of-war's cutter came alongside. As no officer had been sent
+  in the boat, the message was delivered by the coxswain, whom I
+  did not recognize as an old shipmate till he came to me aft, took
+  off his hat, and held out his hand. I then recollected the face
+  of the seaman I had unjustly punished! To all appearance he had
+  entirely forgotten the circumstance: but the commodore's words,
+  "You ought to have let that man off," rang in my ears, and my
+  heart smote me as I felt the honest fellow's grasp. "I shall
+  never rest," I afterwards vowed to myself, "till I have succeeded
+  in suggesting some regulations which, as far as possible, shall
+  prevent other officers from falling into the same error."</p>
+
+  <p>It seems to be now generally admitted, by all who have
+  attended to the subject, that ever since the period when it
+  became the duty of captains to make periodical reports to the
+  Admiralty of the corporal punishments inflicted, those
+  punishments have gradually decreased. Meanwhile the discipline
+  has gone on improving; and therefore it becomes a matter of much
+  practical importance to investigate the true bearings of a
+  measure by which such invaluable results have been brought about.
+  It should never be forgotten, that there is an absolute necessity
+  for maintaining the present strictness of our discipline, which
+  is one of the most essential sources of naval success; and, next
+  to the spirit of honour and patriotism which pervades the
+  profession, it may be considered the very life-blood of that
+  branch of our national strength. But there are two very different
+  methods by which this vital object of exact discipline may be
+  accomplished: one is the prevention, the other the punishment, of
+  offences. Some officers have endeavoured to do away with corporal
+  punishment altogether; and some, on the other hand, have had
+  recourse to hardly anything else. The just union of the two
+  systems will, I believe, in the end, perform the greatest public
+  service, at the least cost of human suffering.<a name=
+  "FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7"
+  class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+  <p>Antecedent to June 1811, the date of the order by which
+  officers in command of ships were required to send quarterly
+  returns of punishments to the Admiralty, there was little or no
+  restraint upon the despotic authority of the captain, as far as
+  corporal punishments were concerned. And it must be in the
+  recollection of every one who served in those days, that
+  captains, not really cruel by nature, nor more intemperate than
+  the ordinary run of men, were sometimes led, by the mere
+  indulgence of unlimited and unscrutinised authority, to use a
+  degree of severity not only out of proper measure with the crime,
+  but, by reason of its questionable justice, hurtful to the
+  discipline of the ships, and to the general character of the
+  service. Such things may also possibly have happened even of late
+  years; but certainly, they have been much less frequent; for
+  although no Admiralty regulations can convert a hot-headed
+  captain into a cool, experienced, or reflecting person,
+  nevertheless, it does seem to be quite within the legitimate
+  range of official power, to compel all intemperate officers,
+  whether young or old, to behave, as far as their nature will
+  allow, in the same manner as men of sense, feeling, and thorough
+  knowledge of the service would act in like circumstances.</p>
+
+  <p>It is a rule, now very generally observed by the best
+  authorities in the Navy, never to punish a man on the day the
+  offence has been committed. And experience having shown the
+  wisdom of this delay, there seems no reason why so simple a rule
+  should not be established imperatively upon every captain without
+  exception.</p>
+
+  <p>It is important, in discussing the subject of naval
+  discipline, to recollect under what peculiar and trying
+  circumstances the captain of a man-of-war is placed, and how much
+  he stands in need not only of every assistance that can possibly
+  be afforded to guide his judgment, but of every artificial check
+  that can be devised to control his temper. As he is charged with
+  the sole executive government of the community over which he
+  presides, he is called upon to exercise many of the legislative,
+  as well as the judicial functions of his little kingdom. Having
+  made laws in the first instance, he has to act the part of a
+  judge in the interpretation of those laws; while, in the very
+  next instant, he may stand in the place of a jury to determine
+  the facts of the case, and of a counsel to cross-question the
+  witnesses. To this strange jumble of offices is finally added the
+  fearful task of allotting the punishment, and seeing it carried
+  into effect! If ever there was a situation in the world,
+  therefore, requiring all the aids of deliberation, and especially
+  of that sobriety of thought which a night's rest can alone
+  bestow, it is surely in the case of a captain of a man-of-war.
+  And if this rule has been found a good one, even by prudent and
+  experienced officers, who, it appears, never trust themselves to
+  punish a man without twenty-four hours' delay at least, how much
+  more important might not such a regulation prove, if less
+  discreet persons were compelled to adopt invariably a similar
+  course of deliberation? Nor does it appear probable that, in the
+  whole complicated range of the service, cases will often occur
+  when its true interests may not be better answered by punishments
+  inflicted after such delay, than if the reality or the semblance
+  of passion, or even the slightest suspicion of anger, were
+  allowed to interfere with the purity of naval justice. It is so
+  difficult, indeed, to detach the appearance of vindictive warmth
+  from punishments which are made to follow quickly after the
+  offence, that in all such cases there is great danger incurred of
+  inflicting much pain to little or no purpose.</p>
+
+  <p>In the first place, therefore, I consider it might be very
+  advantageously established, by a positive order from the
+  Admiralty, that one whole day, or twenty-four hours complete,
+  should, in every instance, be allowed to elapse between the
+  investigation of an offence, and the infliction of the punishment
+  which it may be thought to deserve. The interval in question, to
+  be of use, should take its date from the time the circumstances
+  of the case have been inquired into by the captain himself. The
+  reason of this limitation will be apparent, if it be recollected
+  that the moment at which the officer's anger is likely to be the
+  greatest, is when he first becomes acquainted with the details of
+  the offender's misconduct.</p>
+
+  <p>In order still further to circumscribe the chances of passion
+  interfering with the judgment, not only of the captain, but of
+  the officer who makes the complaint, as well as the witnesses and
+  other parties concerned, I think it should be directed, that all
+  offences whatsoever are to be inquired into between nine o'clock
+  in the morning and noon. This is perhaps the only period in the
+  whole day perfectly free from suspicion as to the influence of
+  those exciting causes which tend materially to warp the judgment,
+  even of the wisest and best men. The ship's company take their
+  dinner and grog at mid-day, and the officers dine soon after. To
+  those who have witnessed in old times the investigation and
+  punishment of offences immediately after the cabin dinner, the
+  importance of this regulation will require no further argument.
+  At any other period of the day, except that above specified, the
+  irritation caused by fatigue, hunger, or repletion, is so apt to
+  interfere with the temper, and consequently with the judgment,
+  that it should never be chosen for so delicate an affair as an
+  inquiry into details which may be followed by so dreadful a
+  consequence as corporal punishment.</p>
+
+  <p>It is undoubtedly true, that the essential characteristics of
+  naval discipline are, and ought to be, promptitude of action, and
+  that vigorous kind of decision which leads to certainty of
+  purpose at all times, and under all circumstances. But these very
+  qualities are valueless, unless they are regulated by justice.
+  Without this, a man-of-war would very soon become worse than
+  useless to the country, besides being what a "slack ship" has
+  been emphatically termed, "a perfect hell afloat!"</p>
+
+  <p>Independently of every other consideration, it is assuredly
+  most desirable to establish throughout the fleet the conviction,
+  that, although the punishment of flogging, which has prevailed
+  for so long a time, cannot possibly be discontinued, it shall be
+  exercised with a due regard to the offence, and without any added
+  severity on personal grounds. It is difficult to estimate how
+  essentially this conviction, if once fixed in the minds of the
+  seamen, and guaranteed, as I think it might be, in a great
+  measure, by a very simple Admiralty regulation, would contribute
+  to extend the popularity of the naval service throughout the
+  country.</p>
+
+  <p>There are some minor details, in addition to the above
+  suggestions, which it may be useful to consider in connection
+  with them. All punishments should take place between the hours of
+  nine in the morning and noon, for the reasons hinted at above. If
+  possible, also, not more than one day should be allowed to elapse
+  after the inquiry; for, although there is always something like
+  passion in a punishment which is too prompt, there may, on the
+  other hand, frequently appear something akin to vindictiveness in
+  one which has been delayed until the details of the offence are
+  well-nigh forgotten. The captain should avoid pronouncing, either
+  during or immediately after the investigation of an offence, any
+  opinion on the case; much of its influence would be destroyed if
+  the captain were to commit himself by threats made in the moment
+  of greatest irritation; he might be apt to follow up, when cool,
+  a threat made in anger, to show his consistency.</p>
+
+  <p>I could relate many instances of injustice arising from
+  precipitancy in awarding punishment; but the following anecdotes,
+  for the accuracy of which I can vouch, seem sufficient to arrest
+  the attention to good purpose.</p>
+
+  <p>Two men-of-war happened to be cruising in company: one of them
+  a line-of-battle ship, bearing an admiral's flag; the other a
+  small frigate. One day, when they were sailing quite close to
+  each other, the signal was made from the large to the small ship
+  to chase in a particular direction, implying that a strange sail
+  was seen in that quarter. The look-out man at the maintop
+  mast-head of the frigate was instantly called down by the
+  captain, and severely punished on the spot, for not having
+  discovered and reported the stranger before the flag ship had
+  made the signal to chase.</p>
+
+  <p>The unhappy sufferer, who was a very young hand, unaccustomed
+  to be aloft, had merely taken his turn at the mast head with the
+  rest of the ship's company, and could give no explanation of his
+  apparent neglect. Before it was too late, however, the officer of
+  the watch ventured to suggest to the captain, that possibly the
+  difference of height between the masts of the two ships might
+  have enabled the look-out man on board the admiral to discover
+  the stranger, when it was physically impossible, owing to the
+  curvature of the earth, that she could have been seen on board
+  the frigate. No attention, however, was paid to this remark, and
+  a punishment due only to crime, or to a manifest breach of
+  discipline, was inflicted.</p>
+
+  <p>The very next day, the same officer, whose remonstrance had
+  proved so ineffectual, saw the look-out man at the flag ship's
+  mast-head again pointing out at a strange sail. The frigate
+  chanced to be placed nearly in the direction indicated;
+  consequently she must have been somewhat nearer to the stranger
+  than the line-of-battle ship was. But the man stationed at the
+  frigate's mast-head declared he could distinguish nothing of any
+  stranger. Upon this the officer of the watch sent up the captain
+  of the maintop, an experienced and quick-sighted seaman, who,
+  having for some minutes looked in vain in every direction,
+  asserted positively that there was nothing in sight from that
+  elevation. It was thus rendered certain, or at all events highly
+  probable, that the precipitate sentence of the day before had
+  been unjust; for, under circumstances even less favourable, it
+  appeared that the poor fellow could not by possibility have seen
+  the stranger, for not first detecting which he was punished!</p>
+
+  <p>I must give the conclusion of this painful story in the words
+  of my informant, the officer of the deck:&mdash;"I reported all
+  this to the captain of the ship, and watched the effect. He
+  seemed on the point of acknowledging that his heart smote him;
+  but pride prevailed, and it was barely an ejaculation that
+  escaped. So much for angry feelings getting the better of
+  judgment!"</p>
+
+  <p>The following anecdote will help to relieve the disagreeable
+  impression caused by the incident just related, without
+  obliterating the salutary reflections which it seems calculated
+  to trace on the mind of every well-disposed officer.</p>
+
+  <p>Three sailors, belonging to the watering-party of a man-of-war
+  on a foreign station, were discovered by their officer to have
+  strayed from the well at which the casks had been filled. These
+  men, it appears, instead of assisting in rolling the heavy butts
+  and puncheons across the sand, preferred indulging themselves in
+  a glass of a most insidious tipple, called Mistela in Spanish,
+  but very naturally "transmogrified" by the Jacks into Miss
+  Taylor. The offenders being dragged out of the pulperia, were
+  consigned, without inquiry, to the launch, though they had been
+  absent only a few minutes, and were still fit enough for work.
+  The officer of the boat, however, happening to be an iron-hearted
+  disciplinarian, who overlooked nothing, and forgave no one, would
+  not permit the men to rejoin the working party, or to touch a
+  single cask; but when the boat returned to the ship, had the
+  three offenders put in irons.</p>
+
+  <p>When these circumstances were reported to the captain in the
+  course of the day, so much acrimony was imparted to his account
+  by the officer, that the captain merely said, "I shall be glad if
+  you will defer stating this matter more fully till to-morrow
+  morning, after breakfast; take the night to think of it."
+  Tomorrow came, and the particulars being again detailed, even
+  more strongly and pointedly, by the officer, the captain likewise
+  became irritated, and under the influence of feelings highly
+  excited had almost ordered the men up for immediate punishment.
+  Acting, however, upon a rule which he had for sometime laid down,
+  never to chastise any one against whom he felt particularly
+  displeased without at least twenty-four hours' delay, he desired
+  the matter to stand over till the following morning.</p>
+
+  <p>In the meantime, the men in confinement, knowing that their
+  offence was a very slight one, laid their heads together, and
+  contrived, by the aid of the purser's steward, to pen a
+  supplicatory epistle to the captain. This document was conveyed
+  to its destination by his servant, a judicious fellow. Though it
+  proved no easy matter to decipher the hieroglyphics, it appeared
+  evident that there were extenuating circumstances which had not
+  been brought forward. The only remark, however, which the captain
+  made was, that the letter ought not to have been brought to him;
+  and that his servant was quite out of order, in being accessory
+  to any proceeding so irregular.</p>
+
+  <p>The steward took the hint, and recommended the prisoners to
+  appeal to the complaining officer. Accordingly, next day, when
+  the captain went on deck, that person came up and
+  said,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"I have received a strange letter, sir, from these three
+  fellows whom I complained of yesterday; but what they say does
+  not alter my opinion in the least."</p>
+
+  <p>"It does mine, however," observed the captain, after he had
+  spelled through it, as if for the first time.</p>
+
+  <p>"Indeed, sir!" exclaimed the other; adding, "I hope you won't
+  let them off."</p>
+
+  <p>"I tell you what it is," quietly remarked the captain, "I
+  would much rather you let them off than that I should; for it
+  strikes me, that all the useful ends of discipline will be much
+  better served, and your hands, as well as mine, essentially
+  strengthened, by your taking the initiative in this business
+  instead of me. My advice to you, therefore, is, that when I go
+  below you send for the men, and say to them you have read their
+  statement, and that, although it does by no means excuse, it
+  certainly explains, and so far extenuates, their offence, that
+  you feel disposed to try what your influence with the captain can
+  do to get them off altogether."</p>
+
+  <p>"I do not see the force of your reasoning," answered the
+  offended officer; "nor can I conscientiously trifle with the
+  service in the manner proposed. I thought at first, and I still
+  think, that these men ought to be punished; and, as far as I am
+  concerned, they certainly shall not escape."</p>
+
+  <p>"Well, well," cried the captain, "you will not, I hope, deny
+  that I am the best judge of what is right and fitting to be done
+  on board this ship; and I tell you again, that I consider the
+  discipline will be better served by your being the mover in this
+  case, than by my taking the affair, as you wish me to do,
+  entirely out of your hands. Will you do as I suggest?"</p>
+
+  <p>"I beg your pardon, sir, but really I cannot, consistently
+  with my sense of duty, adopt the course you propose. I think it
+  right to insist, as far as I can with propriety, on these men
+  being punished."</p>
+
+  <p>"Turn the hands up for punishment, then!" said the captain to
+  the first lieutenant, who had been walking on the other side of
+  the deck during this colloquy; "and let the three prisoners be
+  brought on deck."</p>
+
+  <p>The gratings were soon rigged under the mizen-stay&mdash;the
+  quarter-masters placed with their seizings on either
+  side&mdash;the boatswain and his mates (with the terrible weapons
+  of naval law barely concealed under their jackets) arranged
+  themselves in a group round the mast&mdash;while the marines,
+  with fixed bayonets and shoulder arms, formed across the
+  quarter-deck; and the ship's company, standing in two double
+  rows, lined the sides of the deck. Not the slightest sound could
+  be heard; and a person coming on deck blindfolded might have
+  thought the ship lay in dock, without a soul on board.</p>
+
+  <p>In the middle of the open space before the hatchway stood the
+  three culprits, with their hats off, and their eyes cast down in
+  hopeless despair; but, to all outward appearance, firm and
+  unmoved.</p>
+
+  <p>When all was declared ready, the first lieutenant descended to
+  the cabin, but returned again almost immediately, followed
+  closely by the captain, in his cocked hat and sword, grasping in
+  one hand the well-known roll of paper containing the articles of
+  war, and in the other the master-at-arms' report of prisoners.
+  Every head was uncovered at his appearance; and as he lifted his
+  hat in answer to this salute, he laid it on the capstan, against
+  which he leaned while reading the article under which the
+  delinquents had fallen.</p>
+
+  <p>"Now," said he, addressing the three prisoners, "you have been
+  found guilty of an offence against the good order and discipline
+  of this ship, which cannot be permitted, and which must
+  positively be put a stop to. Heretofore it has not occurred, and
+  I trust this will be the last case. Do you admit that you deserve
+  punishment?"</p>
+
+  <p>No answer.</p>
+
+  <p>"Have you anything to advance why you should not be
+  punished?"</p>
+
+  <p>The fellows nodged one another, scraped the deck with their
+  feet, fumbled with their hats and waist-bands, and muttered
+  something about "a letter they had written to the officer what
+  reported them."</p>
+
+  <p>"Letter!" exclaimed the captain; "let me see it."</p>
+
+  <p>The epistle being handed to the captain, he read it aloud to
+  the assembled ship's company, who listened with all their ears.
+  At the conclusion, he folded it up, and, turning to the officer,
+  asked,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"What have you to say to this?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Nothing, sir&mdash;nothing," was the obdurate reply.</p>
+
+  <p>"Well now, my lads," observed the captain to the crew, after a
+  pause of several minutes, "I shall give you a chance. These
+  fellows appear, by their own confession, to have done what they
+  knew to be wrong; and accordingly, as you perceive, they have
+  brought themselves close aboard of the gangway. It would serve
+  them all perfectly right to give each of them a good sound
+  punishment. But I am willing to hope, that if I forgive them on
+  your account&mdash;that is to say, if I let them off in
+  consideration of the good conduct of the ship's company, and in
+  confidence of your all behaving well in future&mdash;they will be
+  quite as much disposed to exert themselves to recover their
+  characters, as if they had tasted the bitterness of the gangway:
+  at all events, I'll try them and you for once. Pipe down!"</p>
+
+  <p>It is only necessary to state further, that for nearly a year
+  afterwards there occurred no instance of drunkenness or neglect
+  at the watering parties.</p>
+
+  <p>There is one other point of importance in this discussion, and
+  as it seems to possess a considerable analogy in its bearing to
+  the suggestions already thrown out, it may possibly have greater
+  weight in conjunction with them than if it were brought forward
+  alone. In every system of penal jurisprudence it seems to be of
+  the first importance to let it be felt that the true degradation
+  lies more in the crime itself, than in the expiatory punishment
+  by which it is followed. Whenever this principle is not duly
+  understood, punishments lose half their value, while they are
+  often virtually augmented in severity. The object of all
+  punishments is evidently to prevent the recurrence of offences,
+  either by others or by the offender himself. But it is not, by
+  any means, intended that he should not have a full and fair
+  chance allowed him for a return to virtue. The very instant
+  punishment is over, he should be allowed to start afresh for his
+  character. If a man is never to have his offence or his
+  chastisement forgotten, he can hardly be expected to set
+  seriously about the re-establishment of his damaged
+  reputation.</p>
+
+  <p>Neither ought it to be forgotten, that a man so circumstanced
+  has really stronger claims on our sympathy, and is more entitled
+  to our protection, than if he had never fallen under censure. He
+  has, in some sort, if not entirely, expiated his offence by the
+  severity of its consequences; and every generous-minded officer
+  must feel that a poor seaman whom he has been compelled, by a
+  sense of duty, to punish at the gangway, instead of being kept
+  down, has need of some extra assistance to place him even on the
+  footing he occupied before he committed any offence. If this be
+  not granted him, it is a mere mockery to say that he has any fair
+  chance for virtue.</p>
+
+  <p>It might, therefore, I think, be very usefully made imperative
+  upon the captain, at some short period after a punishment has
+  taken place (say on the next muster-day), and when the immediate
+  irritation shall have gone off, to call the offender publicly
+  forward, and in the presence of the whole ship's company give him
+  to understand that, as he had now received the punishment which,
+  according to the rules of the service, his offence merited, both
+  the one and the other were, from that time forward, to be
+  entirely forgotten; and that he was now fully at liberty to begin
+  his course anew. I can assert, from ample experience, that the
+  beneficial effects of this practice are very great.</p>
+
+  <div class="footnotes">
+    <h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The recent
+      instructions issued by the Board of Admiralty would have
+      gratified Captain Hall had he lived to read them; harmonizing
+      as they do with the system he so earnestly advocates.</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">BOMBAY.</p>
+
+  <p>Early on the morning of the 11th of August, 1812, we first
+  made the coast of Asia; and, on steering towards the shore,
+  discovered, close under the land, a single sail, as white as
+  snow, of a cut quite new to our seamanship, and swelled out with
+  the last faint airs of the land-breeze, which, in the night, had
+  carried us briskly along shore. As we came nearer, we observed
+  that the boat, with her head directed to the northward, was piled
+  half-mast high with fruits and vegetables, cocoa-nuts, yams,
+  plantains, intended evidently for the market of Bombay. The water
+  lay as smooth as that of a lake; so we sheered close alongside,
+  and hailed, to ask the distance we still were from our port. None
+  of the officers of the Volage could speak a word of Hindustanee;
+  and I well remember our feeling of humiliation when a poor
+  scullion, one of the cook's assistants, belonging to the
+  governor's suite, was dragged on deck, with all his grease and
+  other imperfections on his head, to act as interpreter. Sad work
+  he made of it; for, though the fellow had been in the East on
+  some ten or twelve former voyages, the languages of the countries
+  he visited had not formed so important a part of his studies as
+  the quality of the arrack and toddy which they produced. The word
+  Bombaya, however, struck the ear of the native boatmen, who
+  pointed in the direction which they themselves were steering, and
+  called out "Mombay! Mombay!" This word, I am told by an oriental
+  scholar, is a corruption of Moomba-devy, or the Goddess of
+  Moomba, from an idol to which a temple is still dedicated on the
+  island. Others, less fanciful in their etymology, say that the
+  Portuguese gave it the name of Bom-Bahia, on account of the
+  excellence of its Port. That nation held possession of Bombay
+  from the year 1530 to 1661, when it was ceded by the crown of
+  Portugal in full sovereignty to Charles II.</p>
+
+  <p>It was not long before we came in sight of several headlands.
+  When the next day broke, and the sun rose upon us over the flat
+  topped Gauts or mountains of the Mahratta country, I remember
+  feeling almost at a loss whether I had been sleeping and dreaming
+  during the night. But the actual sight of the coast gave reality
+  to pictures which, for many a long year before, I had busied my
+  fancy with painting, in colours drawn partly from the Arabian
+  Nights and Persian Tales, and partly, if not chiefly, from those
+  brilliant clusters of oriental images which crowd and adorn the
+  pages of Scripture.</p>
+
+  <p>Captain Cook asserts somewhere, speaking of the delights of
+  voyaging and travelling, that to such rovers as he and his
+  companions nothing came amiss; and I can safely venture to boast,
+  that, as far as this goes, I may claim a corner of my great
+  brother officer's mantle. At all events, in sailing over the
+  Indian seas, or travelling in those countries by land, I hardly
+  ever met anything which did not so much exceed in interest what I
+  had looked for, that the grand perplexity became, how to record
+  what I felt, or in any adequate terms to describe even the
+  simplest facts which struck the eye at every turn in that "wide
+  realm of wild reality."</p>
+
+  <p>Of all places in the noble range of countries so happily
+  called the Eastern world, from the pitch of the Cape to the
+  islands of Japan, from Bengal to Batavia, there are few which can
+  compare with Bombay. If, indeed, I were consulted by any one who
+  wished as expeditiously and economically as possible to see all
+  that was essentially characteristic of the Oriental world, I
+  would say, without hesitation, "Take a run to Bombay; remain
+  there a week or two; and having also visited the scenes in the
+  immediate neighbourhood, Eliphanta, Carli, and Poonah, you will
+  have examined good specimens of most things that are curious or
+  interesting in the East."</p>
+
+  <p>For this remarkable distinction, peculiar, as far as I know,
+  to that one spot on the earth's surface, this presidency is
+  indebted to a variety of interesting circumstances. Bombay is an
+  island, and by no means a large one, being only between six and
+  seven miles long by one or two broad. It is not, however, by
+  geographical dimensions that the wealth of towns, any more than
+  the power and wealth of nations, is determined. The harbour
+  unites every possible desideratum of a great sea port; it is easy
+  of access and egress; affords excellent anchoring ground; is
+  capacious beyond the utmost probable demands of commerce; and,
+  owing to the great rise and fall of the tides, is admirably
+  adapted for docks of every description. The climate is healthy;
+  and the country, being diversified by numerous small ridges and
+  hills, furnishes an endless choice of situations for forts,
+  towns, bazaars, and villages, not to say bungalows or villas, and
+  all sorts of country-houses, and some very splendid retreats from
+  the bustle of business. The roads which intersect this charming
+  island were beautifully Macadamised, as I well remember, long
+  before that grand improvement was heard of in England; and as the
+  soil of the island is made up of that rich kind of mould
+  resulting from decomposed basalt or lava, the whole surface
+  affords a good sample of the perennial verdure of tropical
+  scenery, which dazzles and surprises the new-comer, while its
+  interest seldom fails to rise still higher upon a more prolonged
+  and intimate acquaintance.</p>
+
+  <p>Such are among the eminent physical advantages enjoyed by
+  Bombay; but even these, had they been many times greater, would
+  have been light in the balance compared to those of a moral, or
+  rather of a political nature, which conspired in 1812 to render
+  it one of the most important spots in that quarter of the globe.
+  At the time I speak of, it was almost the only possession
+  exclusively British within several hundred miles in any
+  direction. The enormous territory of the Mahrattas lay close to
+  Bombay on the east.</p>
+
+  <p>On the morning after my arrival at Bombay, I got up with the
+  first blush of the dawn, and hastily drawing on my clothes,
+  proceeded along greedily in search of adventures. I had not gone
+  far, before I saw a native sleeping on a mat spread in the little
+  verandah extending along the front of his house, which was made
+  of basket-work plastered over with mud. He was wrapped up in a
+  long web of white linen, or cotton cloth, called, I think, his
+  cummer-bund, or waist-cloth. As soon as the first rays of the sun
+  peeped into his rude sleeping-chamber, he "arose, took up his
+  bed, and went into his house." I saw immediately an explanation
+  of this expression, which, with slight variations, occurs
+  frequently in the Bible, in connection with several of the most
+  striking and impressive of Christ's miracles, particularly with
+  that of the man sick of the palsy. My honest friend the Hindoo
+  got on his feet, cast the long folds of his wrapper over his
+  shoulder, stooped down, and having rolled up his mat, which was
+  all the bed he required, he walked into the house with it, and
+  then proceeded to the nearest tank to perform his morning
+  ablutions.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember mentioning this, amongst many other illustrations
+  of the incidents recorded in Scripture, to a worthy old Scotch
+  lady, upon whom I expected it to produce the same pleasing and
+  satisfactory effect which it had wrought on me. I made, however,
+  a great mistake; for so far from raising myself in her
+  estimation, on the score of correct observation, I sunk, I fear,
+  irrecoverably, in her good graces, by presuming, as she alleged,
+  to interfere with the wonder of the miracle, the essence of
+  which, according to her, I discovered to consist, not in the
+  recovery of "the man, who was made whole," but in his being able
+  to shoulder a four-post bed, and carry it off without
+  inconvenience!</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER
+  XVII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">SIR SAMUEL
+  HOOD.</p>
+
+  <p>As soon as the Volage was refitted, and her crew refreshed,
+  after our voyage from England of four months and a half, we
+  sailed from Bombay to the southward along the western coast of
+  India; and having rounded Ceylon, at Point de Galle, on the
+  extreme south-western corner, where we merely touched to land the
+  governor's dispatches, before we hauled up to the northward, and,
+  after twelve days' passage, sailed into the beautiful harbour of
+  Trincomalee. There, to my great joy, we found the
+  commander-in-chief, Sir Samuel Hood; who, to my still greater
+  joy, informed me that a vacancy had been kept open for me in his
+  flag ship, the Illustrious. In a few minutes my traps were packed
+  up, my commission made out, and I had the honour of hailing
+  myself a professional follower of one of the first officers in
+  his Majesty's service. It is true, I was only fifth lieutenant,
+  and not even fifth on the Admiral's list for promotion; for I
+  came after a number of old officers who had served under Sir
+  Samuel for many long years of patient, or rather impatient,
+  expectation: but my first and grand purpose was attained,
+  although my chance of advancement was very small, and very
+  remote.</p>
+
+  <p>In capstans, and other machines, there is a mechanical device,
+  with which every person is acquainted, termed a pall or catch, by
+  which the work gained in the effort last made shall be secured,
+  and the machine prevented from turning back again. Something of
+  this kind takes place in life, particularly in naval life; and
+  happy is the officer who hears the pall of his fortunes play
+  "click! click!" as he spins upwards in his profession.
+  Proportionately deep is the despair of the poor wretch who, after
+  struggling and tugging with all his might at the weary windlass
+  of his hopes, can never bring it quite far enough round to hear
+  the joyous sound of the pall dropping into its berth! I well
+  remember most of these important moments of my own life; and I
+  could readily describe the different sensations to which their
+  successive occurrence gave rise, from the startling hour when my
+  father first told me that my own request was now to be granted,
+  for on the very next day I was to go to sea&mdash;up to that
+  instant when the still more important announcement met my ear,
+  "Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder!"</p>
+
+  <p>"It is easy to be cheerful when one is successful," says a
+  high authority; and there are "few people who are not
+  good-natured when they have nothing to cross them," says another
+  equally profound recorder of common-places; but the secret of
+  good fortune seems to lie far less in making the most of
+  favourable incidents, or in submitting manfully to disastrous
+  ones, than in studying how to fill up to advantage the long
+  intervals between these great epochs in our lives. So that there
+  is, perhaps, no point of duty which affords more scope for the
+  talents of a superior than the useful and cheerful employment of
+  the heads and hands of his officers and people during those
+  trying periods of inaction which occur in every service. Sir
+  Samuel Hood possessed this faculty in a wonderful degree, as he
+  not only kept us all busy when there was nothing to be done, but
+  contrived to make us happy and contented, though some of our
+  prospects were poor enough in all conscience. My own, for
+  example, since I was placed at the tip of the tail of his long
+  string of private followers; and when the Admiralty List came
+  out, on which I had built so many beautiful castles in the air,
+  my poor name was not upon it at all. I had not expected to be
+  first or second, or even third; fourth I had reckoned upon as
+  possible; fifth as probable; sixth as certain; so that my horror
+  and disappointment were excessive when this kindest of
+  commanders-in-chief broke to me the fatal news, in the following
+  characteristic manner.</p>
+
+  <p>A telegraphic signal had been made from the flagstaff at the
+  Admiral's house to the ship, in these words:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Send Mr. Hall on shore, with a crow-bar, two pick-axes, and
+  two spades."</p>
+
+  <p>All the way to the landing-place I puzzled myself with
+  thinking what on earth could be the object of these tools; little
+  dreaming, good easy lieutenant! that I was so soon to dig the
+  grave of my own hopes. The Admiral received me at the door with
+  his coat off; and holding out his remaining hand (his right arm
+  was shot away in action), he squeezed mine with even more than
+  his wonted kindness.</p>
+
+  <p>"I have been waiting for you with some impatience;" he said,
+  "to be present at the hunt after a white ant's nest, a sort of
+  thing I know you like. These rogues, the <i>Termites
+  bellicosi</i>, as I find the naturalists call them, have made
+  their way into the house! and having carried their galleries up
+  the walls and along the roof, have come down in great force upon
+  a trunk of clothes, which they would have destroyed entirely
+  before night, had I not caught sight of them. Now let us to work;
+  for I propose to rip up the floor of the verandah, in order to
+  follow their passages and galleries till I reach their nest, if
+  it be a mile off; won't this he a glorious piece of service?"
+  exclaimed the Admiral, as he warmed himself by anticipating the
+  chase. He could hardly have been more delighted, I am persuaded,
+  had he been giving orders for a fleet under his command to bear
+  down upon the enemy's line. I could not venture to do more than
+  bow, and say I was much obliged to him for having so
+  considerately thought of me at such a moment.</p>
+
+  <p>"Oh!" cried he, apparently recollecting himself, "but I have
+  something else to show you; or rather to tell you, for I must not
+  show it; though I fear it will not please you quite so much as
+  the prospect of a white ant-hunt. Here, Gigna," called the
+  Admiral to his steward, who stood by with a tea-kettle of hot
+  water, ready to pour over the ants, "put away that affair, which
+  we shall not require this half-hour yet; and hold this crow-bar
+  while I step into the office with Mr. Hall."</p>
+
+  <p>"It is of no use to mince the matter," said the veteran,
+  shutting the door, and turning to me with somewhat of the air
+  which he might be supposed to have put on, had he been instructed
+  from home to tell me that one or both my parents were dead; "it
+  is no use to conceal the fact from you; but here is the Admiralty
+  List, just come to my hands, and your name, in spite of all you
+  tell me of promises, verbal and written, is NOT ON IT!"</p>
+
+  <p>Had the Admiral fired one of the flag-ship's thirty-two
+  pounders, double-shotted, down my throat, he could not have
+  demolished more completely my bodily framework than this fatal
+  announcement shattered to pieces the gilded crockeryware of my
+  fondest hopes. All the gay visions of command, and power, and
+  independence, in which I had indulged my fancy during the voyage,
+  vanished like the shadows of a dream I fain would recall, but
+  could not. I was at first quite stupified, and can remember
+  nothing that passed for some minutes. As I recovered my scattered
+  senses, however, I recollect gazing at the anchorage from the
+  open window of the Admiralty House, near which we stood. The
+  flag-ship then lay just off Osnaburg Point, with her ensign, or,
+  as it used to be called in old books, her Ancient, the "meteor
+  flag of England," dropped, in the calm, so perpendicularly from
+  the gaff-end, that it looked like a rope more than a flag; while
+  its reflection, as well as that of the ship herself, with every
+  mast, yard, and line of the rigging, seemed, as it were, engraved
+  on the surface of the tranquil pool, as distinctly as if another
+  vessel had actually been inverted and placed beneath. I have
+  seldom witnessed so complete a calm. The sea-breeze, with which
+  the shore had been refreshed for twenty minutes, had not as yet
+  found its way into the recesses of the inner harbour, which, take
+  it all in all, is one of the snuggest and most beautiful coves in
+  the world. And such is the commodious nature of this admirable
+  port, that even the Illustrious, though a large 74-gun ship, rode
+  at anchor in perfect security, within a very few yards of the
+  beach, which at that spot is quite steep to, and is wooded down
+  to, the very edge of the water. I gazed for some moments, almost
+  unconsciously, at this quiet scene, so different from that which
+  was boiling and bubbling in my own distracted breast, and
+  swelling up with indignation against some of my friends at home,
+  who I had such good reason to believe had either betrayed or
+  neglected me, maugre all sorts of promises.</p>
+
+  <p>In the midst of my reverie, which the kind-hearted Admiral did
+  not interrupt, I observed the wind just touch the drooping flag;
+  but the air was so light and transient, that it merely produced
+  on it a gentle motion from side to side, like that of a pendulum,
+  imitated in the mirror beneath, which lay as yet totally unbroken
+  by the sea-breeze. Presently the whole mighty flag, after a faint
+  struggle or two, gradually unfolded itself, and, buoyed up by the
+  new born gale, spread far beyond the gallant line-of-battle
+  ship's stern, and waved gracefully over the harbour. It is well
+  known to nice observers of the human mind, that the strangest
+  fancies often come into the thoughts at a moment when we might
+  least expect them; and though, assuredly, I was not then in a
+  very poetical or imaginative humour, I contrived to shape out of
+  the inspiring scene I was looking upon a figure to soothe my
+  disappointed spirit. As I saw the ensign uncurl itself to the
+  wind I said internally, "If I have but life, and health, and
+  opportunity, I trust, notwithstanding the bitterness of this
+  disappointment, I shall yet contrive to unfold, in like manner,
+  the flag of my own fortunes to the world."</p>
+
+  <p>Just as this magnanimous thought crossed my mind's eye, the
+  Admiral placed his hand so gently on my shoulder that the
+  pressure would not have hurt a fly, and said, in a cheerful tone,
+  "Never mind this mishap, master Hall; everything will come right
+  in time; and if you only resolve to take it in the proper and
+  manly temper, it may even prove all the better that this has
+  happened. Nothing is without a remedy in this world; and I'll do
+  what I can to make good this maxim in your case. In the mean
+  time, however, come along, and help me to rout out these rascally
+  white ants. Off coat, however, if you please; for we shall have a
+  tough job of it."</p>
+
+  <p>It cost us an hour's hard work; for we had to rip up the
+  planks along the whole of the verandah, then to shape a course
+  across two cellars, or <i>godongs</i>, as they are called in the
+  East, and finally the traverses of these singular insects obliged
+  us to cut a trench to the huge hillock or nest, which rose to the
+  height of five or six feet from the ground, in numberless shoots,
+  like pinnacles round the roof of a Gothic church. We might have
+  attacked them at headquarters in the first instance, had we
+  wished it; but the Admiral chose to go more technically to work,
+  and to sap up to his enemy by regular approaches. In this way we
+  had the means of seeing the principles upon which these ants
+  proceed in securing themselves, at every step of their progress,
+  by galleries or covered ways, which, though extremely feeble, are
+  sufficiently strong to keep off the attacks of every other kind
+  of ant. It is curious enough, that, although the white ant be the
+  most destructive of its species, it is said to be, individually,
+  by far the weakest, and cannot move a step without the artificial
+  protection of the galleries it constructs as it goes along; just
+  as the besiegers of a fortification secure themselves in their
+  trenches and zigzags.</p>
+
+  <p>We now brought our spades into play; and having cut the hill
+  across, laid open the secrets of these most curious of all the
+  ant tribe. At last we reached the great queen ant, the mother of
+  millions of her race, a most enormous personage to be sure,
+  nearly four inches long, and as thick as a man's finger, with a
+  head not larger than that of a bee, but a body such as I have
+  described, filled with eggs, which continually rolled out like a
+  fluid from a reservoir. Never shall I forget the shout of rapture
+  which the gallant Admiral sent over half the harbour, as he
+  succeeded in gaining the object of his labour.</p>
+
+  <p>There are some men who go about everything they undertake with
+  all their hearts and souls, and this great officer was one of
+  those. He did nothing by halves and quarters, like so many other
+  people. The greatest deeds of arms, or the most trivial objects
+  of passing amusement, engrossed his whole concentrated attention
+  for the time. He was equally in earnest when holding out examples
+  of private generosity, or lending the heartiest and kindest
+  encouragement even to the least distinguished of his followers,
+  as when performing acts of the highest public spirit, or making
+  the greatest sacrifices to what he considered his duty.
+  Everything, in short, that he did, or thought, or uttered, bore
+  the stamp of the same peculiar impress of genuine zeal. So
+  eminently exciting, and even fascinating, was this truly
+  officer-like conduct, that even those who had served under him
+  the longest often wondered at the extent of their own exertions
+  when roused by his example, and were led almost to believe that
+  his very look had something stimulating in it which actually gave
+  fresh vigour to their arms as well as to their thoughts. With all
+  this, he was the gentlest of the gentle, and accomplished
+  whatever he undertook without apparent effort, or the least
+  consciousness that what he was doing was remarkable.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember an instance of his skill in the small way. One
+  morning, near the spot where he had headed the storming party
+  against the white ants, a working party of the crew of the
+  Illustrious had commenced constructing a wharf before the
+  dockyard. The stones of which this platform or landing-place was
+  to be built were, by Sir Samuel Hood's orders, selected of very
+  large dimensions, so much so, that the sailors came at last to
+  deal with a mass of rock so heavy, that their combined strength
+  proved unequal to moving it beyond a few inches towards its final
+  position at the top of one corner. The Admiral sat on his horse
+  looking at the workmen for some time, occasionally laughing, and
+  occasionally calling out directions, which the baffled engineers
+  could by no means apply. At length, his Excellency the
+  Commander-in-chief became fidgety, and having dismounted, he
+  tried to direct them in detail; but never a bit would the stone
+  budge. Finally, losing all patience, he leaped from the top of
+  the bank, and roared out, in a voice of reproach and provocation,
+  "Give me the crow-bar!" Thus armed, he pushed the officers and
+  men to the right and left, while he insisted upon having the
+  whole job to himself, literally, single-handed. He first drove
+  the claws of the instrument well under the edge of the stone,
+  then placed with his toe a small iron pin on the ground under the
+  bar, and across its length, to act as a fulcrum, or shoulder.
+  When all things were carefully adjusted to his mind, he slipped
+  his hand to the upper end of the lever, and weighing it down,
+  gave what he called "life" to the huge stone, which, just before,
+  half-a-dozen strong men had not been able to disturb. Sure
+  enough, however, it now moved, though only about half-an-inch,
+  towards its intended resting-place. At each prize or hitch of the
+  bar, the rock appeared to advance farther, till, after five or
+  six similar shifts, it was finally lodged in the station prepared
+  for it, where, I doubt not, it rests to this day, and may occupy
+  for centuries to come.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER
+  XVIII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">EXCURSION TO
+  CANDELAY LAKE IN CEYLON.</p>
+
+  <p>The fervid activity of our excellent admiral, Sir Samuel Hood,
+  in whose flag-ship I served as lieutenant, from 1812 to 1815, was
+  unceasing. There was a boyish hilarity about this great officer,
+  which made it equally delightful to serve officially under him,
+  and to enjoy his friendly companionship. An alligator-hunt, a
+  sport in which the Malays take great delight, was shared in by
+  the Admiral, who made the place ring with his exclamation of
+  boyish delight. Scarcely had we returned from the alligator-hunt,
+  near Trincomalee, when Sir Samuel applied himself to the
+  collector of the district, who was chief civilian of the place,
+  and begged to know what he would recommend us to see next.</p>
+
+  <p>"Do you care about antiquities?" said the collector.</p>
+
+  <p>"Of course," replied the Admiral, "provided they be genuine
+  and worth seeing. What have you got to show us in that way? I
+  thought this part of the country had been a wild jungle from all
+  time, and that the English were only now bringing it into
+  cultivation."</p>
+
+  <p>"On the contrary," observed our intelligent friend, "there are
+  manifest traces, not very far off, of a dense and wealthy
+  population. At all events, the inhabitants appear to have
+  understood some of the arts of life, for they formed a huge tank
+  or pond for the purpose of irrigation; so large, indeed, that
+  there still exists, in one corner of it, a sheet of water
+  extensive enough to deserve the name of a lake."</p>
+
+  <p>"Let us go and see it," exclaimed the admiral. "Can we ride?
+  Order the horses; who minds the heat of the sun?"&mdash;for, like
+  almost all new-comers, Sir Samuel cared nothing for exposure, and
+  laughed at the precautions of more experienced residents.</p>
+
+  <p>The collector of Trincomalee soon satisfied the Admiral that
+  an expedition to Candelay Lake, as the ancient tank of the
+  natives was called, could not be undertaken quite so speedily.
+  Boats and horses indeed were all ready, and tents could easily be
+  procured; but it was likewise necessary to prepare provisions, to
+  pack up clothes, and to send forward a set of native pioneers to
+  clear the way through brushwood, otherwise impenetrable. The
+  Admiral was in such ecstacies at the prospect of an adventure
+  which was to cost some trouble, that he allowed nobody rest till
+  everything had been put in train. Early in the morning of the
+  next day but one, we accordingly set out in several of the
+  flag-ship's boats, accompanied by a mosquito fleet of native
+  canoes to pilot and assist us; Lady Hood, whom no difficulties
+  could daunt, accompanied Sir Samuel; the captain of his ship, and
+  his flag-lieutenant, with the collector as pilot, and one or two
+  others, made up the party; and our excursion, though nearly
+  destitute of adventures vulgarly so called, proved one of the
+  most interesting possible.</p>
+
+  <p>The early part of our course lay over the smooth and beautiful
+  harbour of Trincomalee, after which we passed through a series of
+  coves, forming what is called the Lake of Tamblegam, a connecting
+  bay or arm of the sea, though far out of sight of the main ocean.
+  We soon lost ourselves amid innumerable little islands clad
+  thickly in the richest mantles of tropical foliage down to the
+  water's edge, and at many places even into the water; so that, as
+  not a stone or the least bit of ground could be seen, these fairy
+  islets appeared actually to float on the surface. We had to row
+  our boats through a dense aquatic forest of mangroves for nearly
+  a mile, along a narrow lane cut through the wood expressly for us
+  the day before by the natives. These fantastical trees, which
+  grow actually in the water, often recall to the imagination those
+  villages one sees in countries liable to frequent inundation,
+  where each house is perched on the top of piles. We saw with
+  astonishment clusters of oysters and other shell-fish clinging to
+  the trunk and branches, as well as to the roots of these trees,
+  which proves that the early voyagers were not such inventors of
+  facts as folks suppose them, nor far wrong in reporting that they
+  had seen fish growing like fruit on trees!</p>
+
+  <p>Shortly before entering this watery wilderness, we encountered
+  a party of native pearl-divers; and the Admiral, who was at all
+  times most provokingly sceptical as to reported wonderful
+  exploits, pulled out his watch, and insisted on timing the best
+  diver amongst them, to see how long he could remain under water.
+  In no case did the poor fellow make out a minute complete; upon
+  which, the Admiral held up his watch exultingly in his triumph,
+  and laughing to scorn the assurances that at other parts of the
+  island divers might be found who could remain five minutes at the
+  bottom. "Show me them! show me them!" cried he, "and then, but
+  not till then&mdash;begging you pardon&mdash;I shall believe it."
+  The challenge remained unanswered.</p>
+
+  <p>The method used by these divers is to place between their feet
+  a basket loaded with one or two large lumps of coral, the weight
+  of which carries them rapidly to the bottom. The oysters being
+  then substituted for the stones, the diver disengages his feet,
+  and shoots up to the surface again, either bringing the full
+  basket with him, or leaving it to be drawn up by a line.</p>
+
+  <p>Nothing could be imagined more wild than the mangrove avenue
+  through which we rowed, or rather paddled, for the strait was so
+  narrow that there was no room for the oars when pushed out to
+  their full length. The sailors, therefore, were often obliged to
+  catch hold of the branches and roots of the trees, to draw the
+  boats along. The foliage, as may be supposed, where perennial
+  heat and moisture occur in abundance, spread overhead in such
+  extraordinary luxuriance that few of the sun's rays could
+  penetrate the massy net-work of leaves and branches forming the
+  roof of our fairy passage. Not a single bird could be seen,
+  either seated or on the wing; nor was even a chirp
+  distinguishable above the dreamy hum of millions of mosquitoes
+  floating about, in a calm so profound, that it seemed as if the
+  surface of the water had never been disturbed since the Creation.
+  The air, though cool, felt so heavy and choky, that, by the time
+  we had scrambled to the end of this strange tunnel or watery
+  lane, we could scarcely breathe, and were rejoiced to enter the
+  open air again,&mdash;although, when we came out, the sun "flamed
+  in the forehead of the morning sky," and beat fiercely and hotly
+  upon the parched ground, from which every blade of grass had been
+  scorched away.</p>
+
+  <p>The village of Tamblegam, to which we soon came, is inhabited
+  by a colony of Hindoo emigrants from the coast of Malabar. It is
+  a neat little place, of which the huts, formed chiefly of
+  branches of the tamarind-tree and leaves of the plantain,
+  standing under prodigiously high cocoa-nuts, are so very
+  diminutive, that the whole looks more like a child's toy-box
+  village than the residence of grown people. The principal edifice
+  is a pagoda built of stone, exactly ten feet square. Not fancying
+  there could be any harm in taking such a liberty, we entered the
+  pagoda unceremoniously, and one of our artists set to work
+  sketching the bronze image which the natives worship as a deity,
+  a figure not quite three inches in height; but the Hindoos were
+  shocked at our impiety, and soon ousted the Admiral and his
+  party. Close by was a little tank or pool of water, beautifully
+  spangled over with the leaves and flowers of the water-lily. Here
+  several groups of Indian girls had assembled to enjoy the
+  coolness of the water in a style which we envied not a little.
+  Instead of plunging in and swimming about as with us, one person
+  sits down, while others pour pitchers of water over the head. We
+  took notice also of one particularly interesting party of young
+  damsels, who waded in till the water reached nearly to their
+  breasts. Each of these girls held in her hand a chatty, or
+  water-pot, shaped somewhat like an Etruscan vase, the top of
+  which barely showed itself above the level of the pool. Upon a
+  signal being given by one of the party, all the girls ducked out
+  of sight, and at the same time raised their water-jars high in
+  the air. In the next instant, just as their heads began to
+  re-appear above the surface, the vessels were simultaneously
+  inclined so that the water might pour out gradually, and in such
+  measure that by the time the bathers again stood erect, the
+  inverted jars might be quite empty. Nothing could be more
+  graceful than the whole proceedings; and we sat in the shade of
+  the pagoda looking at these water-nymphs for half-an-hour in
+  great admiration.</p>
+
+  <p>In the mean time a slender pole, forty feet in height, had
+  been erected by a set of native tumblers, who presently exhibited
+  before us various feats of extraordinary agility and
+  strength&mdash;some of these are almost too curious to be
+  believed by those who are not aware of the flexibility and
+  dexterity of the Hindoos. We were most surprised and amused by
+  the exploits of a lady of forty, which is considered a very old
+  age in that climate, who ran up the pole more like a monkey than
+  a human being, and then sticking herself on the top horizontally
+  like a weathercock, whirled herself round, to the great
+  astonishment of the European beholders. What tickled us
+  particularly on this occasion was the good lady accompanying her
+  strange movements with a noise so exactly like that of our old
+  and respected friend Punch, when drubbed by his faithful wife
+  Judy, that we all burst out a-laughing.</p>
+
+  <p>The sun had now fallen past that particular angle in the sky
+  above which it is considered by the bearers inexpedient to
+  travel, we nestled ourselves into our respective palankeens, and
+  proceeded on the journey through what seemed to us a very
+  respectable forest, growing on lands which had once been under
+  the plough, but apparently very long ago. To our inexperienced
+  eyes and European associations, it seemed as if a century at
+  least must have elapsed from the time such a matting of wood
+  first supplanted the labours of the husbandman; but our friend
+  the collector soon explained to us, that, if any spot of ground
+  in that rich district were neglected for a very few years,
+  natural trees, as tall as those we now admired so much, would
+  soon shoot up spontaneously, and occupy all the soil. We shook
+  our heads at this with the confident scepticism of ignorance, and
+  exchanged glances amongst ourselves at the expense of our
+  official companion; but in the course of an hour we were
+  compelled, by the evidence of our own senses, to alter our note
+  of disbelief. On coming to the real untouched virgin forest of
+  the climate, we beheld a most noble spectacle indeed, in the way
+  of scenery, such as I at least had never seen before, and have
+  but rarely met with since. I do not recollect the names of the
+  principal trees, though they were mentioned to us over and over
+  again. The grand Banyan, however, with which European eyes have
+  become so correctly familiar through the pencil of Daniell, rose
+  on every side, and made us feel, even more decidedly than the
+  cocoa-nut trees had done in the morning, that we were indeed in
+  another world.</p>
+
+  <p>Shortly after we had left the Indian village, the night fell,
+  and, while we were threading the gigantic forest by the light of
+  torches, the only thing at all like an adventure promised to
+  occur to us; but it ended in nothing. The party consisted of six
+  palankeens, each attended by eight bearers, though only four at a
+  time, or at most six, supported the poles; these trotted along by
+  the side of the bearers, between two and three dozen coolies or
+  porters carrying provisions and torches.</p>
+
+  <p>With a mixture of vague alarm and curiosity we now listened to
+  the accounts of wild elephants in these woods, though in the
+  morning we had heard the same stories with indifference and
+  incredulity; while the old hands of the party, who had felt
+  rather piqued at our distrust of their marvellous narrations,
+  pointed out with malicious satisfaction the recent foot-marks of
+  these undisputed and formidable lords of the soil.</p>
+
+  <p>Sir Samuel and Lady Hood, with some of his staff, had left
+  their palankeens and walked forward on the path, which barely
+  admitted two people abreast, in order to enjoy the exceeding
+  beauty of the Indian jungle, lighted up with the blaze of our
+  torches. Suddenly the headmost musalgee or torch-bearer paused,
+  listened, and then retreated precipitately, upon the hinder
+  ranks. Nothing was said by them, and nothing could we hear in the
+  woods to explain the cause of this panic, which, however, soon
+  became general amongst the natives. The bearers set down the
+  palankeens, and in an instant they, as well as all the coolies,
+  took to their heels, while the torches flitted about in the
+  forest in a style which, had there been no apprehension, might
+  have been acknowledged as very picturesque. Sir Samuel not only
+  stood fast himself, but ordered all of us to do so
+  likewise&mdash;remarking, that, until we knew what to fly from,
+  we might only be making matters worse by moving. Presently the
+  loud crashing of the underwood of the forest, and a heavy
+  thumping on the ground, gave abundant evidence that a wild
+  elephant was close to us.</p>
+
+  <p>Some of the natives told us afterwards that they had seen the
+  monster; but, although we peered into the forest with all our
+  eyes, none of us could honestly take upon us to say we actually
+  saw him&mdash;though assuredly we heard his footsteps as he broke
+  his way through the jungle. Robinson Crusoe and his wolves in
+  Tartary came to our recollection; and upon our asking the natives
+  what effect fires really had on wild beasts, they all assured us
+  that hardly any animal, however ferocious, would come up to a
+  light, and that we were safe so long as we kept near a torch.
+  This might be consolatory reasoning for the musalgees, each of
+  whom carried a light, but it afforded little security to us, who,
+  it was evident, would again be left in the dark should an
+  elephant cross our path a second time. The Admiral, therefore,
+  and by his desire all of us, made an attempt to carry the torches
+  ourselves. But we were soon so plaguily smoked and scorched for
+  our pains, that we rested contented with the risk, and the
+  bearers having gradually crept back to the palankeens, we once
+  more moved on. In spite of all that had passed, some of the party
+  remained so doggedly sceptical, from being habitually distrustful
+  of all things wonderful, that they declared the whole affair a
+  mere matter of panic, and dared to swear there could not be found
+  an elephant within fifty miles of us. Scarcely had this opinion,
+  so injurious to the honours and glories of our late adventure,
+  been uttered, when the commander-in-chief, who, as usual, was
+  leading the way, snatched a light from one of the men's hands,
+  and waved it over what the geologists call a "recent deposit,"
+  half the size of a wheelbarrow, and out-rivalling in its column
+  of smoke the muggiest torch in the line.</p>
+
+  <p>"There!" exclaimed the Admiral, better pleased than if he had
+  found a pile of rupees, instead of so much recent Album
+  Gr&aelig;cum. "Will that evidence satisfy you? How many hundred
+  yards off do you think can the fellow be who left this trace of
+  his proximity?"</p>
+
+  <p>It was past ten o'clock when we reached our tents, which had
+  been pitched in the morning on the borders of the celebrated lake
+  we came to visit. All the party were well fagged, and so
+  ravenously hungry, that we shouted for joy on seeing supper enter
+  just as we came to the ground.</p>
+
+  <p>"This," said our excellent caterer the collector, "is the dish
+  upon which we pride ourselves most at Trincomalee. It is the true
+  Malay curry&mdash;rich, as you perceive, in flavour, and more
+  than half of it gravy&mdash;which gravy, I beg you particularly
+  to take notice, is full of minced vegetables, while the whole is
+  softened with some of the youngest kind of cocoa-nut, plucked
+  this very evening since the sun went down."</p>
+
+  <p>These praises really fell far short of the merits of this
+  glorious supper; nor can I remember anything in the way of
+  gourmandise in any part of the world comparable to this exquisite
+  midnight feast.</p>
+
+  <p>At the door and windows of our supper tent were hung up by the
+  neck sundry well-bedewed goglets of spring water, cheek by jowl
+  with a jolly string of long-necked bottles of Lafitte and
+  Ch&acirc;teau Margaux, joyously fanning themselves in the
+  thorough draught of the cool night-breeze, breathing so gently
+  along, that we could just hear it whispering through the leaves
+  of the damp forest, and sweeping towards the lake past the tents,
+  the curtains of which it scarcely stirred.</p>
+
+  <p>The wine perhaps was almost more chilled than a fastidious
+  wine-fancier might have directed; nevertheless, it flowed over
+  our parched palates with an intensity of zest which I do not
+  believe it is in mortals to be conscious of enjoying till they
+  have toiled a whole day in the sun within half-a-dozen degrees of
+  the equator. Bottle after bottle&mdash;each one more rich and
+  racy than its valued and lamented predecessor&mdash;vanished so
+  fast, that, ere an hour had elapsed, we felt as if a hundred mad
+  elephants would have stood no chance with us!</p>
+
+  <p>As we straggled off to our respective beds, made up in the
+  palankeens, according to the custom of the country, we became
+  sensible of a serious annoyance, of which we had taken but little
+  notice while baling in the hot curries and cool clarets within
+  the tent. A most potent and offensive smell was brought to us by
+  the land-wind; and the Admiral, who was not a man to submit to
+  any evil capable of remedy, insisted on an immediate
+  investigation into the cause of this annoyance.</p>
+
+  <p>After hunting about in the wind's eye for a short time in the
+  jungle, with torches in our hands, we came upon a huge dead
+  buffalo, swollen almost to double his natural size. Upon seeing
+  this, the bearers and servants shrugged their shoulders, as if
+  the case had been hopeless. Not so the gallant Admiral, who, in
+  his usual style of prompt resource, called out, "Let us bury this
+  monster before we go to bed." And, sure enough, under his
+  directions, and by his assistance, we contrived, in a quarter of
+  an hour, to throw sand, earth, and leaves enough over the huge
+  carcase to cover it completely. "There's a cairn for you!"
+  exclaimed the Admiral, throwing down his spade, which he had been
+  using with his only hand; "and now let us turn in; for by the
+  first peep of the morning we must have a touch at the wild ducks
+  and peacocks on the sides of the lake, and perhaps we may
+  contrive to have a shot at a buffalo or a stray elephant."</p>
+
+  <p>Accordingly, next morning, actually before it was light, I
+  felt the indefatigable Admiral tugging at my ear, and bidding me
+  get up, to accompany him on a shooting excursion, and as he said,
+  "Mayhap we shall get sight of some of those elephants, the
+  existence of which you presumed to doubt last night. Come, Mr.
+  Officer, show a leg! I know you are a bit of a philosopher, and
+  curious in natural history; so rouse up and come along with
+  me."</p>
+
+  <p>Most cordially did I then anathematise all philosophy, and
+  wish I had never expressed any curiosity on the score of wild
+  beasts, peacocks, or ancient tanks; but as the Admiral was not a
+  person to be trifled with, I made a most reluctant move, and
+  exchanged the delightful dream of hot curries and cool sherbet
+  for the raw reality of a shooting-match, up to the knees in
+  water, at five in the morning. At one place, such was his
+  Excellency's anxiety to secure a good shot at some ducks, that he
+  literally crawled for a couple of hundred yards among the muddy
+  shore of the lake on his knees, and at the end expressing himself
+  fully repaid by getting a single capital shot at a wild peacock!
+  He was also gratified by bringing down a magnificent
+  jungle-cock&mdash;a bird which resembles our barn-door fowl in
+  form, but its plumage is vastly more brilliant, and its flight
+  more lofty and sustained, than any of which the bird can boast in
+  its tame state. Our scramble in the mud brought us within sight
+  of a drove of several hundred buffaloes. We saw also several
+  troops of wild deer; but, to our great disappointment, not a
+  single elephant could we catch even a glimpse of. We counted, at
+  one time, several dozens of peacocks&mdash;some perched on the
+  trees, some high in the air; we fired at them repeatedly, but I
+  do not believe any came within shot. Their plumage exceeded that
+  of our tame peacocks less in the brilliancy of the colour than in
+  the wonderful fineness of the gloss&mdash;a characteristic of
+  animals of all kinds in their native state. We scarcely saw one
+  small bird during our whole excursion, or heard a single note but
+  the hideous screams of the peacock and parrot&mdash;tones which
+  dame Nature, in her even-handed style of doing things, has
+  probably bestowed upon these dandies of the woods, to
+  counterbalance the magnificence of their apparel.</p>
+
+  <p>While discussing this point, the collector took occasion to
+  point out to us the great importance of such artificial means of
+  irrigating a country as the ancient lake of Candelay, by the side
+  of which we were now encamped, must have furnished to
+  agriculturists of former days, when its precious waters were
+  husbanded and drawn off to fertilise the surrounding country.</p>
+
+  <p>This stupendous monument of the wealth and industry of some
+  former race is placed on ground slightly elevated above the
+  districts lying between it and the sea, which, in a direct line,
+  may be distant about twelve or fourteen miles. We could not
+  ascertain exactly what was the precise elevation, but, from the
+  remains of trenches, sluices, and other contrivances for drawing
+  off and distributing the water, it appeared that the fall in the
+  ground must have been sufficient to enable the husbandmen to
+  irrigate the fields at pleasure; though, to our eyes, no
+  inclination could be perceived. The lake itself is now greatly
+  diminished in extent, from the dilapidations in its "bund," or
+  retaining embankment, but still it stretches over many square
+  miles of area. On three sides it is confined by the swelling
+  nature of the ground, and it is only on the fourth that any
+  extensive artificial means have been resorted to for confining
+  the water. At this place, across a flat broad valley, there has
+  been thrown a huge embankment, constructed chiefly of oblong
+  stones, many of them as big as a sofa, extending in a zig-zag
+  line for several miles. At some places it rises to the height of
+  thirty or forty feet, and the courses of stone being laid above
+  one another with considerable regularity, this great retaining
+  wall assumes the appearance of a gigantic flight of steps, and
+  being crowned at top by an irregular line of tall trees, it
+  breaks the sky-line beyond the lake in a manner extremely
+  picturesque. Here and there lateral gaps between the hills occur
+  in the other sides, all of which are filled up with similar
+  embankments.</p>
+
+  <p>Near one end of the principal wall we could distinctly trace
+  the ruins of a considerable tower, beneath which the great tunnel
+  or outlet used for tapping the lake most probably passed. It is
+  said that some early European settlers, a century or two ago,
+  impressed with an idea that treasure was hid in this building,
+  had torn it down to get at the gold beneath.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">GRIFFINS IN
+  INDIA&mdash;SINBAD'S VALLEY OF DIAMONDS&mdash;A
+  MOSQUITO-HUNT.</p>
+
+  <p>On the evening of the 18th of November, 1812, we sailed, in
+  his Majesty's ship Illustrious, from the magnificent harbour of
+  Trincomalee. In attempting to get out we were sadly baffled by
+  light shifting winds, which knocked us about from side to side of
+  the entrance, in which, unfortunately, no good anchorage is to be
+  found, owing to the great depth of water and the rocky nature of
+  the ground. This serious evil of a rocky bottom is now almost
+  entirely obviated by the admirable invention of iron cables, when
+  the water is not too deep. The links of the chain merely acquire
+  a polish by their friction against the coral reefs and other
+  sharp ledges, by which the best hempen cables of past times would
+  be cut through in ten minutes.</p>
+
+  <p>The chain-cable, however, is difficult of management in deep
+  water, that is to say, when the soundings are more than twenty or
+  twenty-five fathoms. Nothing is so easy as getting the anchor to
+  the bottom in such cases; it is the "facilis descensus," with a
+  vengeance! But when the anchor is to be pulled up again, then
+  comes the tug. I once let go my anchor with a chain-cable bent to
+  it in forty-five fathoms, without having calculated on the
+  probable effects of the momentum. Though the cable was bitted,
+  all the stoppers snapped like packthread; and the anchor, not
+  content with shooting to the bottom with an accelerated velocity,
+  drew after it more than a hundred fathoms of chain, in such
+  fearful style that we thought the poor ship must have been shaken
+  to pieces. The noise was like that of rattling thunder, and so
+  loud that it was impossible to hear a word; indeed it was even
+  difficult to speak, from the excessive tremour caused by the
+  rapid and violent passage of the links, as the chain leaped, or
+  rather flew, up the hatchway, flashing round the bits, and giving
+  out sparks like a firework. Finally, it tore its way out at the
+  hause-hole, till the whole cable had probably piled itself on the
+  anchor in a pyramid of iron at the bottom of the sea. The inner
+  end of the cable had of course been securely shackled round the
+  heel of the mainmast; but the jerk with which it was brought up,
+  made the ship shake from stem to stern, as if she had bumped on a
+  rock, and every one fully expected to see the links fly in pieces
+  about the deck, like chain-shot fired from a cannon. It cost not
+  many seconds of time for the cable to run out, but it occupied
+  several hours of hard labour to heave it in again. The ordinary
+  power of the capstan, full manned, scarcely stirred it; and at
+  the last, when to the weight of chain hanging from the bows there
+  came to be added that of the anchor, it was necessary to apply
+  purchase upon purchase, in order to drag the ponderous mass once
+  more to the bows.</p>
+
+  <p>When we got fairly clear of the harbour of Trincomalee, and
+  caught the monsoon, we dashed along-shore briskly enough; and
+  having rounded the south point of Ceylon, well named Dondra Head,
+  or thunder cape, we paid a visit to Point de Galle, celebrated
+  for its bread-fruit and cocoa-nuts. We then passed on to Columbo,
+  the capital of the island. Ceylon, I may take occasion to
+  mention, is not considered by our countrymen of the East to be in
+  India. We stared with all our eyes when this unexpected
+  information was first given us, and fancied our merry friends
+  were quizzing us. But we soon learned that, in the technical
+  language of that country, Ceylon does not form a part of India;
+  still less does Sumatra, Java, or any indeed of the islands in
+  the great tropical Archipelago. New-comers are, of course, a good
+  deal perplexed by these and sundry other local peculiarities in
+  language and manners, which they at first laugh at as a good
+  joke, then ridicule as affected, and lastly conform to as quite
+  natural and proper. Among Anglo-Indians the straits of Malacca,
+  Sunda, and so on, together with the China sea, and those
+  magnificent groups of islands the Philippines and Moluccas, are
+  all included in the sweeping term&mdash;"To the eastward."</p>
+
+  <p>At almost every part of this immense range I found further
+  local distinctions, of greater or less peculiarity and extent
+  according to circumstances. At one place I was puzzled by hearing
+  the name of a whole country appropriated to a single spot. At
+  Bombay, for example, I remember it was the custom, at a certain
+  season of the year, to talk of going to the Deccan, which word
+  properly includes an immense region consisting of many provinces;
+  whereas those who used this expression meant, and were understood
+  to express, only one point in it&mdash;a little watering-place.
+  Mere local words, in like manner, come to have a much more
+  expanded signification. The word Ghaut, I believe, means, in
+  strictness, a pass between hills; and hence, some bold
+  etymologists pretend, comes our word gate! The term, however, is
+  now applied to the whole range of mountains which fringe the
+  western coast of India, just as the more gigantic Cordilleras of
+  the Andes guard the shores of the Pacific.</p>
+
+  <p>But whether Ceylon be in India or not, this island is
+  celebrated for its precious stones; indeed, there are writers who
+  believe that Mount Ophir of the Scripture is Adam's Peak of
+  Ceylon. Be this also as it may, our ever-enterprising and
+  active-minded Admiral determined to bring this reputation to the
+  proof; and, one day at dinner at the governor's table, actually
+  announced his intention of having a hunt for the sapphires,
+  rubies, tourmalines, chrysoberyls, and corundums, for which the
+  island has been long celebrated. His Excellency smiled, and the
+  company at large scarcely knew whether to treat the proposal as a
+  joke or as a serious affair. Sir Samuel, however, was not a man
+  to be quizzed out of his purposes; he begged to have a party of
+  workmen sent to him next morning, and that each of the men might
+  be furnished with a basket, a request which naturally produced a
+  titter; for it was made in such a tone as led us to fancy the
+  worthy Admiral expected to collect the rubies and garnets in as
+  great profusion as his far-famed predecessor, Sinbad the sailor,
+  found them in the Valley of Diamonds.</p>
+
+  <p>His precise plan he kept to himself till he reached the river,
+  in which the finest stones are said to be found, the alluvial
+  strip of ground bordering which was formed chiefly of fine gravel
+  mixed with sand, leaves, and mud. Here he desired the men to fill
+  their baskets, and to carry the whole mass, just as they picked
+  it up, to one of the ship's boats, which he had directed to meet
+  him at the landing-place.</p>
+
+  <p>Not a word more was said on the subject at Government-house,
+  nor on board the ship, till a couple of days after we had left
+  Columbo, when the Admiral ordered the bag of gravel into his
+  cabin, along with a great tub of water and half-a-dozen wash-deck
+  buckets. The whole stuff collected on shore was now thoroughly
+  cleaned, and when only the gravel remained, it was divided into a
+  number of small portions, and laid on plates and dishes on the
+  table of the fore-cabin. As soon as all was arranged, the
+  Admiral, who superintended the operation, called out, "Send all
+  the young gentlemen in the ship, and let every one take a
+  plateful of gravel before him, to catch what jewels he can."</p>
+
+  <p>Before the party had time to assemble, the delighted Admiral
+  had himself discovered in his own dish three or four small
+  garnets, one ruby, and several small crystals of corundum.
+  By-and-bye, to the astonishment of every one, a collection was
+  made, which not only furnished the promised ring to the
+  governor's lady, but half-a-dozen others of equal beauty. These
+  precious stones were certainly not of the largest dimensions;
+  but, for all that, the Admiral established his point.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">CEYLONESE
+  CANOES&mdash;PERUVIAN BALSAS&mdash;THE FLOATING WINDLASS OF THE
+  COROMANDEL FISHERMEN.</p>
+
+  <p>The canoes of Ceylon, as far as I remember, are not described
+  by any writer, nor have I met with any professional men who are
+  aware of their peculiar construction, and of the advantages of
+  the extremely elegant principle upon which they are contrived,
+  though capable, I am persuaded, of being applied to various
+  purposes of navigation.</p>
+
+  <p>Among the lesser circumstances which appear to form
+  characteristic points of distinction between country and country
+  may be mentioned the head-dress of the men, and the form and rig
+  of their boats. An endless variety of turbans, sheep-skin caps,
+  and conical bonnets, distinguish the Asiatics from the "Toppee
+  Wallas" or hat-wearers of Europe; and a still greater variety
+  exists amongst the boats of different nations. My purpose, just
+  now, however, is to speak of boats and canoes alone; and it is
+  really most curious to observe, that their size, form, cut of
+  sails, description of oar and rudder, length of mast and so on,
+  are not always entirely regulated by the peculiar climate of the
+  locality, but made to depend on a caprice which it is difficult
+  to account for. The boats of some countries are so extremely
+  unstable, and altogether without bearings, that the smallest
+  weight on one side more than on the other upsets them. This
+  applies to the canoes of the North American Indian, which require
+  considerable practice, even in the smoothest water, to keep them
+  upright; and yet the Indians cross immense lakes in them,
+  although the surface of those vast sheets of fresh water is often
+  as rough as that of any salt sea. The waves, it is true, are not
+  so long and high; but they are very awkward to deal with, from
+  their abruptness, and the rapidity with which they get up when a
+  breeze sets in.</p>
+
+  <p>On those parts of the coast of the United States where the
+  seasons are alternately very fine and very rough, our ingenious
+  friends, the Americans, have contrived a set of pilot-boats,
+  which are the delight of every sailor. This description of
+  vessel, as the name implies, must always be at sea, as it is
+  impossible to tell when her services may be required by ships
+  steering in for the harbour's mouth. Accordingly, the Baltimore
+  clippers and the New York pilots defy the elements in a style
+  which it requires a long apprenticeship to the difficulties and
+  discomforts of a wintry navigation, in a stormy latitude, duly to
+  appreciate. In the fine weather, smooth water, and light winds of
+  summer, these pilot-boats skim over the surface with the ease and
+  swiftness of a swallow, apparently just touching the water with
+  their prettily formed hulls, which seem too small to bear the
+  immense load of snow-white canvas swelling above them, and
+  shooting them along as if by magic, when every other vessel is
+  lost in the calm, and when even taunt-masted ships can barely
+  catch a breath of air to fill their sky-sails and royal
+  studding-sails. They are truly "water-witches;" for, while they
+  look so delicate and fragile that one feels at first as if the
+  most moderate breeze must brush them from the face of the ocean,
+  and scatter to the winds all their gay drapery, they can and do
+  defy, as a matter of habit and choice, the most furious gales
+  with which the rugged "sea-board" of America is visited in
+  February and March.</p>
+
+  <p>I have seen a pilot-boat off New York, in the morning, in a
+  calm, with all her sails set, lying asleep on the water, which
+  had subsided into such perfect stillness that we could count the
+  seam of each cloth in the mirror beneath her, and it became
+  difficult to tell which was the reflected image, which the true
+  vessel. And yet, within a few hours, I have observed the same
+  boat, with only her close-reefed foresail set&mdash;no one
+  visible on her decks&mdash;and the sea running mountains high,
+  threatening to swallow her up. Nevertheless, the beautiful craft
+  rose as buoyantly on the back of the waves as any duck, and,
+  moreover, glanced along their surface, and kept so good a wind,
+  that, ere long, she shot ahead, and weathered our ship. Before
+  the day was done, she could scarcely be distinguished from the
+  mast-head to windward, though we had been labouring in the
+  interval under every sail we could safely carry.</p>
+
+  <p>The balsas of Peru, the catamarans and masullah boats of the
+  Coromandel coast, and the flying proas of the South Sea Islands,
+  have all been described before, and their respective merits dwelt
+  upon, by Cook, Vancouver, Ulloa, and others. Each in its way, and
+  on its proper spot, seems to possess qualities which it is
+  difficult to communicate to vessels similarly constructed at a
+  distance. The boats of each country, indeed, may be said to
+  possess a peculiar language, understood only by the natives of
+  the countries to which they belong; and truly, the manner in
+  which the vessels of some regions behave, under the guidance of
+  their respective masters, seems almost to imply that the boats
+  themselves are gifted with animal intelligence. At all events,
+  their performance never fails to excite the highest professional
+  admiration of those whom experience has rendered familiar with
+  the difficulties to be overcome.</p>
+
+  <p>Long acquaintance with the local tides, winds, currents, and
+  other circumstances of the pilotage, and the constant pressure of
+  necessity, enable the inhabitants of each particular spot to
+  acquire such masterly command over their machinery, that no
+  new-comer, however well provided, or however skilful generally,
+  can expect to cope with them. Hence it arises, that boats of a
+  man-of-war are found almost invariably inferior, in some
+  respects, to those of the port at which she touches. The effect
+  of seeking to adapt our boats to any one particular place would
+  be to render them less serviceable upon the whole. After
+  remaining some time at a place, we might succeed in occasionally
+  outsailing or outrowing the natives; but what sort of a figure
+  would our boats cut at the next point to which the ship might be
+  ordered&mdash;say a thousand miles farther from, or nearer to,
+  the equator, where all the circumstances would be totally
+  different. We should have to change again and again, losing time
+  at each place, and probably not gaining, after all, any of the
+  real advantages which the natives long resident on the spot alone
+  know the art of applying to practice.</p>
+
+  <p>The hull or body of the Ceylonese canoe is formed, like that
+  of Robinson Crusoe's, out of the trunk of a single tree, wrought
+  in its middle part into a perfectly smooth cylinder, but slightly
+  flattened and turned up at both ends, which are made exactly
+  alike. It is hollowed out in the usual way, but not cut so much
+  open at top as we see in other canoes, for considerably more than
+  half of the outside part of the cylinder or barrel is left
+  entire, with only a narrow slit, eight or ten inches wide, above.
+  If such a vessel were placed in the water, it would possess very
+  little stability, even when not loaded with any weight on its
+  upper edges. But there is built upon it a set of wooden upper
+  works, in the shape of a long trough, extending from end to end;
+  and the top-heaviness of this addition to the hull would
+  instantly overturn the vessel, unless some device were applied to
+  preserve its upright position. This purpose is accomplished by
+  means of an out-rigger on one side, consisting of two curved
+  poles, or slender but tough spars, laid across the canoe at
+  right-angles to its length, and extending to the distance of
+  twelve, fifteen, or even twenty feet, where they join a small log
+  of buoyant wood, about half as long as the canoe, and lying
+  parallel to it, with both its ends turned up like the toe of a
+  slipper, to prevent its dipping into the waves. The inner ends of
+  these transverse poles are securely bound by thongs to the raised
+  gunwales of the canoe. The out-rigger, which is always kept to
+  windward, acting by its weight at the end of so long a lever,
+  prevents the vessel from turning over by the pressure of the
+  sail; or, should the wind shift suddenly, so as to bring the sail
+  aback, the buoyancy of the floating log would prevent the canoe
+  from upsetting on that side by retaining the out-rigger
+  horizontal. The mast, which is very taunt, or lofty, supports a
+  lug-sail of immense size, and is stepped exactly in midships,
+  that is, at the same distance from both ends of the canoe. The
+  yard, also, is slung precisely in the middle; and while the tack
+  of the sail is made fast at one extremity of the hull, the
+  opposite corner, or clew, to which the sheet is attached, hauls
+  aft to the other end. Shrouds extend from the mast-head to the
+  gunwale of the canoe; besides which, slender backstays are
+  carried to the extremity of the out-rigger; and these ropes, by
+  reason of their great spread, give such powerful support to the
+  mast, though loaded with a prodigious sail, that a very slender
+  spar is sufficient.</p>
+
+  <p>The method of working the sails of these canoes is as follows.
+  They proceed in one direction as far as may be deemed convenient,
+  and then, without going about, or turning completely round as we
+  do, they merely change the stern of the canoe into the head, by
+  shifting the tack of the sail over to leeward, and so converting
+  it into the sheet&mdash;while the other clew, being shifted up to
+  windward, becomes the tack. As soon as these changes have been
+  made, away spins the little fairy bark on her new course, but
+  always keeping the same side, or that on which the out-rigger is
+  placed to windward. It will be easily understood that the
+  pressure of the sail has a tendency to lift the weight at the
+  extremity of the out-rigger above the surface of the water. In
+  sailing along, therefore, the log just skims the tops of the
+  waves, but scarcely ever buries itself in them, so that little or
+  no interruption to the velocity of the canoe is caused by the
+  out-rigger. When the breeze freshens so much as to lift the
+  weight higher than the natives like, one, and sometimes two of
+  them, walk out on the horizontal spars, so as to add their weight
+  to that of the out-rigger. In order to enable them to accomplish
+  this purpose in safety, a "man rope," about breast high, extends
+  over each of the spars from the mast to the backstays.</p>
+
+  <p>But of all the ingenious native contrivances for turning small
+  means to good account, one of the most curious, and, under
+  certain circumstances, perhaps the most useful, is the balsa, or
+  raft of South America, or, as it is called on some part of the
+  coast, the catamaran. The simplest form of the raft, or balsa, is
+  that of five, seven, or nine large beams of very light wood, from
+  fifty to sixty feet long, arranged side by side, with the longest
+  spar placed in the centre. These logs are firmly held together by
+  cross-bars, lashings, and stout planking near the ends. They vary
+  from fifteen to twenty, and even thirty feet in width. I have
+  seen some at Guayaquil of an immense size, formed of logs as
+  large as a frigate's foremast. These are intended for conveying
+  goods to Paita, and other places along-shore. The balsa generally
+  carries only one large sail, which is hoisted to what we call a
+  pair of shears, formed by two poles crossing at the top, where
+  they are lashed together. It is obvious that it would be
+  difficult to step a mast securely to a raft in the manner it is
+  done in a ship. It is truly astonishing to see how fast these
+  singular vessels go through the water; but it is still more
+  curious to observe how accurately they can be steered, and how
+  effectively they may be handled in all respects like any ordinary
+  vessel.</p>
+
+  <p>The method by which the balsas are directed in their course is
+  extremely ingenious, and is that to which I should wish to call
+  the attention of sailors, not merely as a matter of curiosity,
+  but from its practical utility in seamanship. No officer can tell
+  how soon he may be called upon to place his crew on a raft,
+  should his ship be wrecked; and yet, unless he has been
+  previously made aware of some method of steering it, no purpose
+  may be answered but that of protracting the misery of the people
+  under his charge. Nothing can be more simple, or more easy of
+  application, than the South American contrivance. Near both ends
+  of the centre spar there is cut a perpendicular slit, about a
+  couple of inches wide by one or two feet in length. Into each of
+  these holes a broad plank, called guaras by the natives, is
+  inserted in such a way that it may be thrust down to the depth of
+  ten or twelve feet, or it may be drawn up entirely. The slits are
+  so cut, that, when the raft is in motion, the edges of these
+  planks shall meet the water. It is clear, that if both the guaras
+  be thrust quite down, and held fast in a perpendicular direction,
+  they will offer a broad surface towards the side, and thus, by
+  acting like the leeboards of a river-barge, or the keel of a
+  ship, prevent the balsa from drifting sidewise or dead to
+  leeward. But while these guaras serve the purpose of a keel, they
+  also perform the important duty of a rudder, the rationale of
+  which every sailor will understand, upon considering the effect
+  which must follow upon pulling either up the guara in the bow or
+  that in the stern. Suppose, when the wind is on the beam, the
+  foremost one drawn up; that end of the raft will instantly have a
+  tendency to drift to leeward, from the absence of the lateral
+  support it previously received from its guara or keel at the bow;
+  or, in sea language, the balsa will immediately "fall off," and
+  in time she will come right before the wind. On the other hand,
+  if the foremost guara be kept down while the sternmost one is
+  drawn up, the balsa's head, or bow, will gradually come up
+  towards the wind, in consequence of that end retaining its hold
+  of the water by reason of its guara, while the stern end, being
+  relieved from its lateral support, drifts to leeward. Thus, by
+  judiciously raising or lowering one or both the guaras, the raft
+  may not only be steered with the greatest nicety, but may be
+  tacked or wore, or otherwise directed, with precision.</p>
+
+  <p>I never shall forget the sensation produced in a ship I
+  commanded one evening on the coast of Peru, as we steered towards
+  the roadstead of Payta. An immense balsa was dashing out before
+  the land-wind, and sending a snowy wreath of foam before her like
+  that which curls up before the bow of a frigate in chase. As long
+  as she was kept before the wind, we could understand this in some
+  degree; but when she hauled up in order to round the point, and
+  having made a stretch along-shore, proceeded to tack, we could
+  scarcely believe our eyes. Had the celebrated Flying Dutchman
+  sailed past us, our wonder could hardly have been more
+  excited.</p>
+
+  <p>It will generally be found well worth an officer's attention
+  to remark in what manner the natives of any coast, however rude
+  they may be, contrive to perform difficult tasks. Such things may
+  be very simple and easy for us to execute, when we have all the
+  appliances and means of our full equipment at command; but, as
+  circumstances may often occur to deprive us of many of those
+  means, and thus, virtually, to reduce us to the condition of the
+  natives, it becomes of consequence to ascertain how necessity,
+  the venerable mother of invention, has taught people so situated
+  to do the required work. For example, it is generally easy for a
+  ship of war to pick up her anchor with her own boats; but it will
+  sometimes happen that the launch and other large boats may be
+  stove, and then it may prove of consequence to know how a heavy
+  anchor can be weighed without a boat at all.</p>
+
+  <p>We happened, in his Majesty's ship Minden, to run upon the
+  Coleroon shoal, off the mouth of the great river of that name,
+  about a hundred miles south of Madras. After laying out a bower
+  anchor, and hauling the ship off, we set about preparing the
+  boats to weigh it in the usual way. But the master-attendant of
+  Porto Novo, who had come off to our assistance with a fleet of
+  canoes and rafts, suggested to Sir Samuel Hood that it might he a
+  good opportunity to try the skill of the natives, who were
+  celebrated for their expertness in raising great weights from the
+  bottom. The proposal was one which delighted the Admiral, who
+  enjoyed everything that was new. He posted himself accordingly in
+  his barge near the spot, but he allowed the task to be turned
+  over entirely to the black fellows, whom he ordered to be
+  supplied with ropes, spars, and anything else they required from
+  the ship. The officers and sailors, in imitation of their chief,
+  clustered themselves in wondering groups in the rigging, in the
+  chains, and in the boats, to witness the strange spectacle of a
+  huge bower anchor, weighing nearly four tons, raised off the
+  ground by a set of native fishermen, possessed of no canoe larger
+  than the smallest gig on board.</p>
+
+  <p>The master-attendant stood interpreter, and passed backwards
+  and forwards between the ship and the scene of
+  operations&mdash;not to direct, but merely to signify what things
+  the natives required for their purpose. They first begged us to
+  have a couple of spare topmasts and topsail-yards, with a number
+  of smaller spars, such as top-gallant masts and studding-sail
+  booms. Out of these they formed, with wonderful speed, an
+  exceedingly neat cylindrical raft, between two and three feet in
+  diameter. They next bound the whole closely together by lashings,
+  and filled up all its inequalities with capstan-bars, handspikes,
+  and other small spars, so as to make it a compact, smooth, and
+  uniform cylinder from end to end. Nothing could be more dexterous
+  or seaman-like than the style in which these fellows swam about
+  and passed the lashings; in fact, they appeared to be as much at
+  home in the water as our sailors were in the boats or in the
+  rigging.</p>
+
+  <p>A stout seven-inch hawser was now sent down by the buoy-rope,
+  and the running clinch or noose formed on its end, placed over
+  the fluke of the anchor in the usual way. A couple of round turns
+  were then taken with the hawser at the middle part of the
+  cylindrical raft, after it had been drawn up as tight as possible
+  from the anchor. A number of slew-ropes, I think about sixty or
+  seventy in all, were next passed round the cylinder several
+  times, in the opposite direction to the round turns taken with
+  the hawser.</p>
+
+  <p>Upwards of a hundred of the natives now mounted the raft, and,
+  after dividing themselves into pairs, and taking hold of the
+  slew-ropes in their hands, pulled them up as tight as they could.
+  By this effort they caused the cylinder to turn round till its
+  further revolutions were stopped by the increasing tightness of
+  the hawser, which was wound on the cylinder as fast as the
+  slew-ropes were wound off it. When all the ropes had been drawn
+  equally tight, and the whole party of men had been ranged along
+  the top in an erect posture, with their faces all turned one way,
+  a signal was given by one of the principal natives. At this
+  moment the men, one and all, still grasping their respective
+  slew-ropes firmly in their hands, and without bending a joint in
+  their whole bodies, fell simultaneously on their backs, flat on
+  the water! The effect of this sudden movement was to turn the
+  cylinder a full quadrant, or one quarter of a revolution. This,
+  of course, brought a considerable strain on the hawser fixed to
+  the anchor. On a second signal being given, every alternate pair
+  of men gradually crept up the spars by means of their slew-ropes,
+  till one-half of the number stood once more along the top of the
+  cylinder, while the other half of the party still lay flat on the
+  water, and by their weight prevented the cylinder rolling back
+  again.</p>
+
+  <p>When the next signal was given, those natives who had regained
+  their original position on the top of the cylinder threw
+  themselves down once more, while those who already lay prostrate
+  gathered in the slack of their slew-ropes with the utmost
+  eagerness as the cylinder revolved another quarter of a turn. It
+  soon became evident that the anchor had fairly begun to rise off
+  the ground, for the buoy-rope, which at first had been bowsed
+  taught over the stern of our launch, became quite slack.</p>
+
+  <p>I forget how many successive efforts were made by the natives
+  before the anchor was lifted; but, in the end, it certainly was
+  raised completely off the ground by their exertions alone. The
+  natives, however, complained of the difficulty being much greater
+  than they had expected in consequence of the great size of our
+  anchor. In fact, when at length they had wound the hawser on the
+  cylinder so far that it carried the full weight, the whole number
+  of the natives lay stretched on the water in a horizontal
+  position, apparently afraid to move, lest the weight, if not
+  uniformly distributed amongst them, might prove too great, and
+  the anchor drop again to the bottom, by the returning revolutions
+  of the cylinder. When this was explained to Sir Samuel Hood, he
+  ordered the people in the launch to bowse away at the buoy-rope.
+  This proved a most seasonable relief to the poor natives, who,
+  however, declared, that, if it were required, they would go on,
+  and bring up the anchor fairly to the water's edge. As the
+  good-natured Admiral would not permit this, the huge anchor,
+  cylinder, natives, launch, and all, were drawn into deep water
+  were the ship lay. The master-attendant now explained to the
+  natives that they had nothing more to do than to continue lying
+  flat and still on the water, till the people on board the ship,
+  by heaving in the cable, should bring the anchor to the bows, and
+  thus relieve them of their burden. The officer of the launch was
+  also instructed not to slack the buoy-rope till the cable had got
+  the full weight of the anchor, and the natives required no
+  farther help.</p>
+
+  <p>Nothing could be more distinctly given than those orders, so
+  that I cannot account for the panic which seized some of the
+  natives when close to the ship. Whatever was the cause, its
+  effect was such that many of them let go their slew-ropes, and
+  thus cast a disproportionate share of burden on the others, whose
+  strength, or rather weight, proving unequal to counterpoise the
+  load, the cylinder began to turn back again. This soon brought
+  the whole strain, or nearly the whole, on the stern of the
+  launch, and had not the tackle been smartly let go, she must have
+  been drawn under water and swamped. The terrified natives now
+  lost all self-possession, as the mighty anchor shot rapidly to
+  the bottom. The cylinder of course whirled round with prodigious
+  velocity as the hawser unwound itself; and so suddenly had the
+  catastrophe occurred, that many of the natives, not having
+  presence of mind to let go their slew-ropes, held fast and were
+  whisked round and round several times alternately under water
+  beneath the cylinder and on the top of it, not unlike the spokes
+  of a coach-wheel wanting the rim.</p>
+
+  <p>The Admiral was in the greatest alarm, lest some of these poor
+  fellows should get entangled with the ropes and be drowned, or be
+  dashed against one another, and beaten to pieces against the
+  cylinder. It was a great relief, therefore, to find that no one
+  was in the least degree hurt, though some of the natives had been
+  soused most soundly, or, as the Jacks said, who grinned at the
+  whole affair, "keel-hauled in proper style."</p>
+
+  <p>In a certain sense, then, this experiment may be said to have
+  failed; but enough was done to show that it might be rendered
+  exceedingly effective on many occasions. The Admiral, one of the
+  best practical sailors of his day, thus explained it:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"In the first place," said Sir Samuel, "you must observe,
+  youngsters, that this device of the natives is neither more nor
+  less than a floating windlass, where the buoyant power of the
+  timber serves the purpose of a support to the axis. The men fixed
+  by the slew-ropes to the cylinder, represent the handspikes or
+  bars by which the windlass is turned round, and the hawser takes
+  the place of the cable. But," continued he, "there appears to be
+  no reason why the cylinder should be made equally large along its
+  whole length; and were I to repeat this experiment, I would make
+  the middle part, round which the hawser was to be passed, of a
+  single topmast, while I would swell out the ends of my cylinder
+  or raft to three or four feet in diameter. In this way a great
+  increase of power would evidently be gained by those who worked
+  the slew-ropes. In the next place," said the Admiral, "it is
+  clear that either the buoy-rope, or another hawser also fastened
+  to the anchor, as a 'preventer,' ought to be carried round the
+  middle part of the cylinder, but in the opposite direction to
+  that of the weighing hawser. This second hawser should be hauled
+  tight round at the end of each successive quarter-turn gained by
+  the men. If this were done, all tendency in the cylinder to turn
+  one way more than the other would be prevented; for each of the
+  hawsers would bear an equal share of the weight of the anchor,
+  and being wound upon the raft in opposite directions, would of
+  course counteract each other's tendency to slew it round. The
+  whole party of men, instead of only one-half of them, might then
+  mount the spars; and thus their united strength could be exerted
+  at each effort, and in perfect security, against the formidable
+  danger of the cylinder whirling back by the anchor gaining the
+  mastery over them, and dropping again to the bottom. But without
+  using their clumsy, though certainly very ingenious, machinery of
+  turning men into handspikes, I think," said he, "we might
+  construct our floating windlass in such a way that a set of small
+  spars&mdash;studding-sail booms, for instance&mdash;might be
+  inserted at right angles to its length, like the bars of a
+  capstan, and these, if swifted together, could be worked from the
+  boats, without the necessity of any one going into the
+  water."</p>
+
+  <p>While speaking of the dexterity of the natives of India, I may
+  mention a feat which interested us very much. A strong party of
+  hands from the ship were sent one day to remove an anchor,
+  weighing seventy-five hundred-weight, from one part of Bombay
+  dockyard to another, but, from the want of some place to attach
+  their tackle to, they could not readily transport it along the
+  wharf. Various devices were tried in vain by the sailors, whose
+  strength, if it could have been brought to bear, would have
+  proved much more than enough for the task. In process of time, no
+  doubt, they would have fallen upon some method of accomplishing
+  their purpose; but while they were discussing various projects,
+  one of the superintendents said he thought his party of native
+  coolies or labourers could lift the anchor and carry it to any
+  part of the yard. This proposal was received by our Johnnies with
+  a loud laugh; for the numbers of the natives did not much exceed
+  their own, and the least powerful of the seamen could readily, at
+  least in his own estimation, have demolished half-a-dozen of the
+  strongest of these slender Hindoos.</p>
+
+  <p>To work they went, however, while Jack looked on with great
+  attention. Their first operation was to lay a jib-boom
+  horizontally, and nearly along the shank of the anchor. This
+  being securely lashed to the shank, and also to the stock, the
+  whole length of the spar was crossed at right angles by capstan
+  bars, to the ends of which as many handspikes as there was room
+  for were lashed also at right angles. In this way, every cooly of
+  the party could obtain a good hold, and exert his strength to the
+  greatest purpose. I forget how many natives were applied to this
+  service; but in the course of a very few minutes, their
+  preparations being completed, the ponderous anchor was lifted a
+  few inches from the ground, to the wonder and admiration of the
+  British seamen, who cheered the black fellows, and patted them on
+  the back as they trotted along the wharf with their load, which
+  appeared to oppress them no more than if it had been the jolly
+  boat's grapnel!</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">THE SURF AT
+  MADRAS.</p>
+
+  <p>From Ceylon we proceeded after a time to Madras roads, where
+  we soon became well acquainted with all the outs and ins of the
+  celebrated surf of that place. This surf, after all, is not
+  really higher than many which one meets with in other countries;
+  but certainly it is the highest and most troublesome which exists
+  as a permanent obstruction in front of a great commercial city.
+  The ingenuity and perseverance of man, however, have gone far to
+  surmount this difficulty; and now the passage to and from the
+  beach at Madras offers hardly any serious interruption to the
+  intercourse. Still, it is by no means an agreeable operation to
+  pass through the surf under any circumstances; and occasionally,
+  during the north-east monsoon, it is attended with some danger.
+  For the first two or three times, I remember thinking it very
+  good sport to cross the surf, and sympathised but little with the
+  anxious expressions of some older hands who accompanied me. The
+  boat, the boatmen, their curious oars, the strange noises they
+  made, and the attendant catamarans to pick up the passengers if
+  the boat upsets, being all new to my eyes, and particularly odd
+  in themselves, so strongly engaged my attention, that I had no
+  leisure to think of the danger till the boat was cast violently
+  on the beach. The very first time I landed, the whole party were
+  pitched out heels over head on the shore. I thought it a mighty
+  odd way of landing; but supposing it to be all regular and
+  proper, I scrambled up the wet sand, and merely
+  muttered,&mdash;"What the devil will the fellows do next?"</p>
+
+  <p>The surf at Madras consists of two distinct lines of breakers
+  on the beach, running parallel to each other and to the shore.
+  These foaming ridges are caused by a succession of waves curling
+  over and breaking upon bars or banks, formed probably by the
+  reflux action of the sea carrying the sand outwards. The surf
+  itself, unquestionably, owes its origin to the long sand of the
+  ocean-swell coming across the Bay of Bengal, a sweep of nearly
+  five hundred miles, from the coasts of Arracan, the Malay
+  peninsula, and the island of Sumatra. This huge swell is scarcely
+  perceptible in the fathomless Indian sea; but when the mighty
+  oscillation reaches the shelving shores of Coromandel, its
+  vibrations are checked by the bottom. The mass of waters, which
+  up to this point had merely sunk and risen, that is, vibrated
+  without any real progressive motion, is then driven forwards to
+  the land, where, from the increasing shallowness, it finds less
+  and less room for its "wild waves' play," and finally rises above
+  the general level of the sea in threatening ridges. I know few
+  things more alarming to nautical nerves than the sudden and
+  mysterious "lift of the swell," which hurries a ship upwards when
+  she has chanced to get too near the shore, and when, in
+  consequence of the deadness of the calm, she can make no way to
+  seaward, but is gradually hove nearer and nearer to the roaring
+  surge.</p>
+
+  <p>At last, when the great ocean-wave approaches the beach, and
+  the depth of water is much diminished, the velocity of so vast a
+  mass sweeping along the bottom, though greatly accelerated,
+  becomes inadequate to fulfil the conditions of the oscillation,
+  and it has no resource but to curl into a high and toppling wave.
+  So that this moving ridge of waters, after careering forwards
+  with a front high in proportion to the impulse behind, and for a
+  length of time regulated by the degree of abruptness in the rise
+  of the shore, at last dashes its monstrous head with a noise
+  extremely like thunder along the endless coast.</p>
+
+  <p>Often, indeed, when on shore at Madras, have I lain in bed
+  awake, with open windows, for hours together, listening, at the
+  distance of many a league, to the sound of these waves, and
+  almost fancying I could still feel the tremour of the ground,
+  always distinctly perceptible near the beach. When the distance
+  is great, and the actual moment at which the sea breaks ceases to
+  be distinguishable, and when a long range of coast is within
+  hearing, the unceasing roar of the surf in a serene night, heard
+  over the level plains of the Carnatic shore, is wonderfully
+  interesting.</p>
+
+  <p>Any attempt to pass the surf in an ordinary boat is seldom
+  thought of. I remember hearing of a naval officer who crossed
+  once in his jolly-boat in safety, but on a second trial he was
+  swamped, and both he and his crew well-nigh drowned. The masullah
+  boats of the country resemble nothing to be seen elsewhere. They
+  have flat bottoms, perpendicular sides, and abruptly pointed
+  ends, being twelve or fourteen feet long by five or six broad,
+  and four or five feet high. Not a single nail enters into their
+  construction, all the planks being held together by cords or
+  lacings. Along the planks, at a short distance from the edge, are
+  bored a set of holes, through which the lacing or cord is to
+  pass. A layer of cotton is then interposed between the planks,
+  and along the seam is laid a flat narrow strip of a fibry and
+  tough kind of wood. The cord is next rove through the holes and
+  passed over the strip, so that when it is pulled tight the planks
+  are not only drawn into as close contact as the interposed cotton
+  will allow of, but the long strip is pressed against the seam so
+  effectually as to exclude the water. The wood of which these
+  boats are constructed is so elastic and tough, that when they
+  take the ground, either by accident or in regular course of
+  service, the part which touches yields to the pressure without
+  breaking, and bulges inwards almost as readily as if it were made
+  of shoe-leather. Under similar circumstances, an ordinary boat,
+  fitted with a keel, timbers, and planks nailed together, not
+  being pliable, would be shivered to pieces.</p>
+
+  <p>At the after or sternmost end a sort of high poop-deck passes
+  from side to side, on which the steersman takes his post. He
+  holds in his hand an oar or paddle, which consists of a pole ten
+  or twelve feet long, carrying at its extremity a circular disc of
+  wood about a foot or a foot and a-half in diameter. The oars used
+  by the six hands who pull the masullah boat are similar to that
+  held by the steersman, who is always a person of long experience
+  and known skill, as well as courage and coolness&mdash;qualities
+  indispensable to the safety of the passage when the surf is high.
+  The rowers sit upon high thwarts and their oars are held by
+  grummets, or rings made of rope, to pins inserted in the gunwale,
+  so that they can be let go and resumed at pleasure, without risk
+  of being lost. The passengers, wretched victims! seat themselves
+  on a cross bench about a foot lower than the seats of the rowers,
+  and close in front of the raised poop or steersman's deck, which
+  is nearly on a level with the gunwale.</p>
+
+  <p>The whole process of landing, from the moment of leaving the
+  ship till you feel yourself safe on the crown of the beach is as
+  disagreeable as can be; and I can only say for myself that every
+  time I crossed the surf it rose in my respect. At the eighth or
+  tenth transit I began really to feel uncomfortable; at the
+  twentieth I felt considerable apprehension of being well ducked;
+  and at about the thirtieth time of crossing, I almost fancied
+  there was but little chance of escaping a watery grave, with
+  sharks for sextons, and the wild surf for a dirge! The truth is
+  that at each successive time of passing this formidable barrier
+  of surf we become better and better acquainted with the dangers
+  and possibilities of accidents.</p>
+
+  <p>However, as all persons intending to go ashore at Madras must
+  pass through the surf, they step with what courage they can
+  muster into their boat alongside the ship, anchored in the roads
+  a couple of miles off, in consequence of the water being too
+  shallow for large vessels. The boat then shoves off, and rows to
+  the "back of the surf," where it is usual to let go a grapnel, or
+  to lie on the oars till the masullah boat comes out. The back of
+  the surf is that part of the roadstead lying immediately beyond
+  the place where the first indication is given of the tendency in
+  the swell to rise into a wave; and no boat not expressly fitted
+  for the purpose ever goes nearer to the shore, but lies off till
+  the "bar-boat" makes her way through the surf, and lays herself
+  alongside the ship's boat. A scrambling kind of boarding
+  operation now takes place, to the last degree inconvenient to
+  ladies and other shore-going persons not accustomed to climbing.
+  As the gunwale of the masullah boat rises three or four feet
+  above the water, the step is a long and troublesome one to make,
+  even by those who are not encumbered with petticoats&mdash;those
+  sad impediments to locomotion&mdash;devised by the men, as I
+  heard a Chinaman remark, expressly to check the rambling
+  propensities of the softer sex, always too prone, he alleged, to
+  yield to wandering impulses without such encumbrances! I know to
+  my cost, from many a broken shin, that even gentlemen bred afloat
+  may contrive to slip in removing from one boat to the other,
+  especially if the breeze be fresh, and there be what mariners
+  call a "bubble of a sea." In a little while, however, all the
+  party are tumbled, or hoisted into the masullah boat, where they
+  seat themselves on the cross-bench, marvellously like so many
+  culprits on a hurdle on their way to execution! Ahead of them
+  roars and boils a furious ridge of terrific breakers, while close
+  at their ears behind, stamps and bawls, or rather yells, the
+  steersman, who takes this method of communicating his wishes to
+  his fellow-boatmen. The steersman stands on his poop, or
+  quarter-deck, just behind the miserable passengers, whose heads
+  reach not quite so high as his knees. His oar rests in a crutch
+  on the top of the stern-post, and not only serves as a rudder,
+  but gives him the power to slew or twist the boat round with
+  considerable rapidity, when aided by the efforts of the rowers.
+  It is necessary for the steersman to wait for a favourable moment
+  to enter the surf, otherwise the chances are that the boat will
+  be upset, in the manner I shall describe presently. People are
+  frequently kept waiting in this way for ten or twenty minutes, at
+  the back of the surf, before a proper opportunity presents
+  itself.</p>
+
+  <p>During all this while, the experienced eye of the veteran
+  skipper abaft glances backwards and forwards from the swell
+  rolling in from the open sea, to the surf which is breaking close
+  to him. From time to time he utters a half word to his crew, with
+  that kind of faint interrogative tone in which a
+  commanding-officer indulges when he is sure of acquiescence on
+  the part of those under him, and is careless whether they answer
+  or not. In general, however, he remains quite silent during this
+  first stage of the passage, as do also the rowers, who either
+  rest the paddles horizontally, or allow their circular blades to
+  float on the surface of the water. Meanwhile the boat rolls from
+  side to side, or is heaved smartly upwards as the swell, just on
+  the eve of breaking, lifts her into the air, and then drops her
+  again into the hollow with the most sea-sickening velocity. I
+  should state, that, during this wofully unpleasant interval, the
+  masullah boat is placed sideways to the line of surf, parallel to
+  the shore, and, of course, exactly in the trough of the sea.</p>
+
+  <p>I have often watched with the closest attention to discover
+  what were the indications by which these experienced boatmen
+  inferred that the true moment was arrived when it was safe to
+  enter the surf, but I never could make out enough to be of much
+  professional utility. It was clear, indeed, that the proper
+  instant for making the grand push occurred when one of the
+  highest waves was about to break&mdash;for the greater the dash,
+  the greater the lull after it. But how these fellows managed to
+  discover, beforehand, that the wave, upon the back of which they
+  chose to ride in, was of that exact description, I could never
+  discover. On the approach of a swell which he knows will answer
+  his purpose, the steersman, suddenly changing his quiet and
+  almost contemplative air for a look of intense anxiety, grasps
+  his oar with double firmness, and exerting his utmost strength of
+  muscle, forces the boat's stern round, so that her head may point
+  to the shore. At the same time he urges his crew to exert
+  themselves, partly by violent stampings with his feet, partly by
+  loud and vehement exhortations, and partly by a succession of
+  horrid yells, in which the sounds Yarry! Yarry!! Yarry!!!
+  predominate&mdash;indicating to the ears of a stranger the very
+  reverse of self-confidence, and filling the soul of a nervous
+  passenger with infinite alarm.</p>
+
+  <p>Those fearful noises are loudly re-echoed by all the other
+  men, who strain themselves so vigorously at the oars, that the
+  boat, flying forwards, almost keeps way with the wave, on the
+  back of which it is the object of the steersman to keep her. As
+  she is swept impetuously towards the bar, a person seated in the
+  boat can distinctly feel the sea under him gradually rising under
+  a sheer wave, and lifting the boat up&mdash;and up&mdash;and up,
+  in a manner exceedingly startling. At length the ridge, near the
+  summit of which the boat is placed, begins to curl, and its edge
+  just breaks into a line of white fringe along the upper edge of
+  the perpendicular face presented to the shore, towards which it
+  is advancing with vast rapidity. The grand object of the boatmen
+  now appears to consist in maintaining their position, not on the
+  very crown of the wave, but a little further to seaward, down the
+  slope, so as to ride upon its shoulders, as it were. The
+  importance of this precaution becomes apparent, when the curling
+  surge, no longer able to maintain its elevation, is dashed
+  furiously forwards, and dispersed into an immense sheet of foam,
+  broken by innumerable eddies and whirlpools, into a confused sea
+  of irregular waves rushing tumultuously together, and casting the
+  spray high into the air by impinging one against the other. This
+  furious turmoil often whirls the masullah boat round and round,
+  in spite of the despairing outcries of the steersman, and the
+  redoubled exertions of his screaming crew, half of whom back
+  their oars, while the other half tug away in vain endeavours to
+  keep her head in the right direction.</p>
+
+  <p>I have endeavoured to describe the correct and safe method of
+  riding over the surf on the outer bar upon the back of the wave,
+  a feat in all conscience sufficiently ticklish; but woe betide
+  the poor masullah boat which shall be a little too far in advance
+  of her proper place, so that, when the wave curls over and
+  breaks, she may be pitched head foremost over the brink of the
+  watery precipice, and strikes her nose on the sandbank. Even
+  then, if there happen, by good luck, to be depth of water over
+  the bar sufficient to float her, she may still escape; but,
+  should the sand be left bare, or nearly so, as happens sometimes,
+  the boat is almost sure to strike, if, instead of keeping on the
+  back or shoulder of the wave, she incautiously precedes it. In
+  that unhappy case she is instantly tumbled forwards, heels over
+  head, while the crew and passengers are sent sprawling amongst
+  the foam.</p>
+
+  <p>Between the sharks and the catamaran men a race then takes
+  place&mdash;the one to save, the other to destroy&mdash;the very
+  Brahmas and Shivas of the surf! These accidents, however, are so
+  very rare, that during all the time I was in India I never
+  witnessed one.</p>
+
+  <p>There is still a second surf to pass, which breaks on the
+  inner bar, about forty or fifty yards nearer to the shore. The
+  boatmen try to cross this, and to approach so near the beach,
+  that, when the next wave breaks, they shall be so far ahead of it
+  that it may not dash into the boat and swamp her, and yet not so
+  far out as to prevent their profiting by its impulse to drive
+  them up the steep face of sand forming the long-wished-for shore.
+  The rapidity with which the masullah boat is at last cast on the
+  beach is sometimes quite fearful, and the moment she thumps on
+  the ground, as the wave recedes, most startling. I have seen
+  persons pitched completely off their seats, and more than once I
+  have myself been fairly turned over with all the party, like a
+  parcel of fish cast out of a basket! In general, no such untoward
+  events take place, and the boat at length rests on the sand, with
+  her stern to the sea. But as yet she is by no means far enough up
+  the beach to enable the passengers to get out with comfort or
+  safety. Before the next wave breaks, the bow and sides of the
+  boat have been seized by numbers of the natives on the shore, who
+  greatly assist the impulse when the wave comes, both by keeping
+  her in a straight course, and likewise by preventing her
+  upsetting. These last stages of the process are very
+  disagreeable, for every time the surf reaches the boat, it raises
+  her up and lets her fall again, with a violent jerk. When at last
+  she is high enough to remain beyond the wash of the surf, you
+  either jump out, or more frequently descend by means of a ladder,
+  as you would get off the top of a stage-coach; and, turning
+  about, you look with astonishment at what you have gone through,
+  and thank Heaven you are safe!</p>
+
+  <p>The return passage from the shore to a ship, in a masullah
+  boat, is more tedious, but less dangerous, than the process of
+  landing. This difference will easily be understood, when it is
+  recollected that in one case the boat is carried impetuously
+  forward by the waves, and that all power of retarding her
+  progress on the part of the boatmen ceases after a particular
+  moment. In going from the shore, however, the boat is kept
+  continually under management, and the talents and experience of
+  the steersman regulate the affair throughout. He watches, just
+  inside the surf, till a smooth moment occurs, generally after a
+  high sea has broken, and then he endeavours, by great exertions,
+  to avail himself of the moment of comparative tranquillity which
+  follows, to force his way across the bar before another sea
+  comes. If he detects, as he is supposed to have it always in his
+  power to do, that another sea is on the rise, which will, in all
+  probability, curl up and break over him before he can row over
+  its crest and slide down its back, his duty is, to order his men
+  to back their oars with their utmost speed and strength. This
+  retrograde movement withdraws her from the blow, or, at all
+  events, allows the wave to strike her with diminished violence at
+  the safest point, and in water of sufficient depth to prevent the
+  boat taking the ground injuriously, to the risk of her being
+  turned topsy-turvy. I have, in fact, often been in these masullah
+  boats when they have struck violently on the bar, and have seen
+  their flat and elastic bottoms bulge inwards in the most alarming
+  manner, but I never saw any of the planks break or the seams open
+  so as to admit the water.</p>
+
+  <p>It is very interesting to watch the progress of those honest
+  catamaran fellows, who live almost entirely in the surf, and who,
+  independently of their chief purpose of attending the masullah
+  boats, are much employed as messengers to the ships in the roads,
+  even in the worst weather. I remember one day being sent with a
+  note for the commanding officer of the flag-ship, which Sir
+  Samuel Hood was very desirous should be sent on board; but as the
+  weather was too tempestuous to allow even a masullah boat to pass
+  the surf, I was obliged to give it to a catamaran man. The poor
+  fellow drew off his head a small skull-cap, made apparently of
+  some kind of skin, or oil-cloth, or bladder, and having deposited
+  his despatches therein, proceeded to execute his task.</p>
+
+  <p>We really thought, at first, that our messenger must have been
+  drowned even in crossing the inner bar, for we well-nigh lost
+  sight of him in the hissing yeast of waves in which he and his
+  catamaran appeared only at intervals, tossing about like a cork.
+  But by far the most difficult part of his task remained after he
+  had reached the comparatively smooth space between the two lines
+  of surf, where we could observe him paddling to and fro as if in
+  search of an opening in the moving wall of water raging between
+  him and the roadstead. He was watching for a favourable moment,
+  when, after the dash of some high wave, he might hope to make
+  good his transit in safety.</p>
+
+  <p>After allowing a great many seas to break before he attempted
+  to cross the outer bar, he at length seized the proper moment,
+  and turning his little bark to seaward, paddled out as fast as he
+  could. Just as the gallant fellow, however, reached the
+  shallowest part of the bar, and we fancied him safely across, a
+  huge wave, which had risen with unusual quickness, elevated its
+  foaming crest right before him, curling upwards many feet higher
+  than his shoulders. In a moment he cast away his paddle, and
+  leaping on his feet, he stood erect on his catamaran, watching
+  with a bold front the advancing bank of water. He kept his
+  position, quite undaunted, till the steep face of the breaker
+  came within a couple of yards of him, and then leaping head
+  foremost, he pierced the wave in a horizontal direction with the
+  agility and confidence of a dolphin. We had scarcely lost sight
+  of his feet, as he shot through the heart of the wave, when such
+  a dash took place as must have crushed him to pieces had he stuck
+  by his catamaran, which was whisked instantly afterwards, by a
+  kind of somerset, completely out of the water by its rebounding
+  off the sandbank. On casting our eyes beyond the surf, we felt
+  much relieved by seeing our shipwrecked friend merrily dancing on
+  the waves at the back of the surf, leaping more than breast-high
+  above the surface, and looking in all directions, first for his
+  paddle, and then for his catamaran. Having recovered his oar, he
+  next swam, as he best could, through the broken surf to his raft,
+  mounted it like a hero, and once more addressed himself to his
+  task.</p>
+
+  <p>By this time, as the current always runs fast along the shore,
+  he had drifted several hundred yards to the northward farther
+  from his point. At the second attempt to penetrate the surf, he
+  seemed to have made a small miscalculation, for the sea broke so
+  very nearly over him, before he had time to quit his catamaran
+  and dive into still water, that we thought he must certainly have
+  been drowned. Not a whit, however, did he appear to have
+  suffered, for we soon saw him again swimming to his rude vessel.
+  Many times in succession was he thus washed off and sent whirling
+  towards the beach, and as often obliged to dive head foremost
+  through the waves. But at last, after very nearly an hour of
+  incessant struggling, and the loss of more than a mile of
+  distance, he succeeded, for the first time, in reaching the back
+  of the surf, without having parted company either with his paddle
+  or with his catamaran. After this it became all plain sailing; he
+  soon paddled off to the Roads, and placed the Admiral's letter in
+  the first lieutenant's hands as dry as if it had been borne in a
+  despatch-box across the court-yard of the Admiralty.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember one day, when on board the Minden, receiving a note
+  from the shore by a catamaran lad, whom I told to wait for an
+  answer. Upon this he asked for a rope, with which, as soon as it
+  was given him, he made his little vessel fast, and lay down to
+  sleep in the full blaze of a July sun. One of his arms and one of
+  his feet hung in the water, though a dozen sharks had been seen
+  cruising round the ship. A tacit contract, indeed, appears to
+  exist between the sharks and these people, for I never saw, nor
+  can I remember ever having heard of any injury done by one to the
+  other. By the time my answer was written, the sun had dried up
+  the spray on the poor fellow's body, leaving such a coating of
+  salt, that he looked as if he had been dusted with flour. A few
+  fanams&mdash;a small copper coin&mdash;were all his charge, and
+  three or four broken biscuits in addition sent him away the
+  happiest of mortals.</p>
+
+  <p>It is matter of considerable surprise to every one who has
+  seen how well the chain-pier at Brighton stands the worst
+  weather, that no similar work has been devised at Madras. The
+  water is shallow, the surf does not extend very far from the
+  beach, and there seems really no reason why a chain-pier should
+  not be erected, which might answer not only for the accommodation
+  of passengers, but for the transit of goods to and from the
+  shore.</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER
+  XXII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">VISIT TO THE
+  SULTAN OF PONTIANA, IN BORNEO&mdash;SIR SAMUEL HOOD.</p>
+
+  <p>In the summer of 1814, Sir Samuel Hood made a voyage, in his
+  Majesty's ship Minden, to the eastern parts of his station. We
+  called first at Acheen, on the north end of the island of
+  Sumatra, where we held some very amusing intercourse with the
+  king of that district, whose capital the Admiral visited. From
+  thence we steered over to Pulo Penang, or Prince of Wales'
+  Island, and thence down the Straits of Malacca, entering the
+  China Sea by the beautiful Straits of Sincapore. The Admiral's
+  chief object was to visit Java; but as there lay three routes
+  before him to choose between, viz. the Straits of Gaspar, the
+  Straits of Banca, and the Caramata passage, he preferred taking
+  the last and widest, which also led him near the western shore of
+  the immense island of Borneo. On reaching the equator, he steered
+  in for the mouth of the great river Lava, which passes the town
+  of Pontiana. The weather being very favourable, the ship was
+  anchored, and the barge got ready for an expedition.</p>
+
+  <p>At four in the morning, on receiving the joyful intimation
+  that I was to be officer of the boat, I lost no time in getting
+  together everything likely to be useful&mdash;a sextant,
+  artificial horizon, spy-glass, chart, compass, and Nautical
+  Almanac, besides a Malay Dictionary.</p>
+
+  <p>We had some little difficulty in finding our way in the barge,
+  for the mouth of the river of Pontiana lay so completely hid
+  amongst low cane-brakes, mangroves, and other aquatic trees and
+  shrubs, which grow thickly along the western shores of Borneo,
+  that, until we came quite close, no inlet was perceptible. The
+  first hit we made proved wrong, and lost us three or four miles;
+  and it was not till nearly noon that we reached the rush of fresh
+  and troubled water, which indicated the true entrance. The
+  Admiral desired greatly to observe the sun's meridian altitude.
+  His Excellency, however, though he could command many things,
+  could not command this; for although our fellows gave way
+  lustily, so as to stem the current running out, and we had a full
+  half-hour to spare, we could not effect a landing in good time.
+  On reaching what had seemed the shore, no footing could be found
+  anywhere. Even the little boat which we carried with us in tow of
+  the barge, though she threaded the mangrove stems and roots, and
+  went in much further than the barge, could not reach anything
+  like dry land. As the main bank refused to afford us a
+  resting-place, we put off, and rowed as briskly as we could to a
+  small island about half-a-mile from this treacherous shore; but
+  this, too, proved a cheat, for what we took to be solid ground
+  consisted merely of a mass of green shrubs, growing on the ridge
+  of a soft slippery mass of mud just peeping above the water.</p>
+
+  <p>As the sailors, by this time, were pretty well exhausted with
+  rowing so long in the hot sun, they hailed with great joy the
+  sea-breeze which just then set in. They soon stepped the masts,
+  hoisted the sails, and laid the oars in.</p>
+
+  <p>"Now go to dinner, men," said the considerate chief, "this
+  rattling breeze will not carry us up far, and you will pull all
+  the better for a good bellyful."</p>
+
+  <p>Just as this judicious order was given, and while we were
+  still laughing at the recent adventure, which reminded us of
+  Sinbad's mistaking a whale for a solid rock, our eyes were
+  attracted by the sight of another island, much smaller than the
+  first. It seemed, indeed, like a little grove or tuft of
+  palm-like foliage, rising out of the water somewhat in the
+  fashion of our Prince of Wales' feather. None of the party had
+  ever seen such a tree before, and every one tried to guess what
+  it might be; but all were puzzled. At length, a diminutive moving
+  black speck showed itself at the root, or centre, from which
+  these fairy-like branches radiated.</p>
+
+  <p>"It is a rock with a tree on it," cried one.</p>
+
+  <p>"Nonsense!" said Sir Samuel, "there are no rocks hereabouts;
+  the soil for many a league is alluvial."</p>
+
+  <p>"It skims along like a witch," exclaimed a third; "it is
+  surely alive!"</p>
+
+  <p>"Let us sail to it whatever it be," said the Admiral, waving
+  his hand to the coxswain to sheer the barge further from the side
+  of the river.</p>
+
+  <p>As we drew near, we discovered our phenomenon to consist of a
+  fishing-canoe, gliding along merrily before the sea-breeze, with
+  no other sails than half-a-dozen branches of the cocoa-nut tree
+  placed in the bow, and spread out like the feathers of a
+  peacock's tail. These were held together by a slender bar of
+  bamboo, and supported by small strips of bark to the stern, in
+  which sat a naked Malay.</p>
+
+  <p>The Admiral proved a true prophet, for the deceitful
+  sea-breeze presently lulled, and it cost us a very hard row to
+  accomplish our purpose against the stream. The town of Pontiana
+  stands on a low point of land formed by the confluence of two
+  mighty rivers. This particular spot is always held sacred in
+  India, and is known under the Hindoo name of Sungum. I suspect,
+  however, that the Malays and other Mahometans, who inhabit the
+  coasts of most of the Indian Islands, acknowledge no
+  superstitious predilections for one spot more than another, and
+  consider such things as mere prejudices unworthy of the followers
+  of Mahomet, their great military prophet. Probably the Sungum
+  point has some local advantages belonging to it, as I observe it
+  is generally appropriated by the strongest party in every
+  country. At all events, it has the advantage of communicating
+  directly with both the rivers, by whose junction the Sungum, or
+  solid angle, is formed. In the instance of Pontiana, the
+  Mussulmans had taken possession of it, though it was formerly a
+  Dutch settlement, while the Chinese were left to occupy the
+  corners opposite to the Sungum, on the right and left banks,
+  respectively, of the river formed by the junction of the two
+  streams. Thus three considerable cities had been built facing one
+  another, and each displaying on the river a multitude of boats
+  and barges, canoes and proas, in crowds which would not have
+  disgraced the show at London Bridge, and, of course, indicating
+  considerable wealth and activity.</p>
+
+  <p>We came upon this grand view quite abruptly, and having no
+  expectation of encountering anything so magnificent, were taken
+  rather by surprise. Two enormous Chinese junks occupied the
+  centre of the stream, each of them rising out of the water nearly
+  as high as the poop of a line-of-battle ship. Along the shore, on
+  both sides, lay a fleet of eight or ten sail of junks, some of
+  them very large, and all bearing enormous white flags, in the
+  centre of which sprawled huge dragons and other monsters familiar
+  to the eyes of all fanciers of old China jars.</p>
+
+  <p>In the mean time, as there existed no dispute about the
+  navigation of the River Lava, we rowed up very peaceably towards
+  the great city of Pontiana. On our meeting a canoe with a Malay
+  in it, the Admiral, who had been studying Marsden's dictionary
+  all the way, stood up in the barge, made the men lie on their
+  oars, and to their great astonishment, and probably to that of
+  the native, called out in the Malay tongue,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Which is the way to the sultan's house?"</p>
+
+  <p>To Sir Samuel's unspeakable delight, the man whom he addressed
+  understood him, and after offering to show us the landing-place,
+  paddled off ahead of us. Our fellows gave way as hard as they
+  could, but the Malay kept the lead; and as we shot past the
+  Chinese towns, one on each bank, the natives crowded to the
+  beach, as much astonished, no doubt, with our strange cocked
+  hats, swords, and oddly-shaped boat, as we could be with their
+  long tails and wild-looking junks, or with the creases which
+  every Malay carries by his side. This fierce-looking weapon is
+  not, in form, unlike the waving sword one sees in the pictures of
+  the angel Michael, though it is not above a foot and a-half in
+  length.</p>
+
+  <p>The sultan's cousin received the Admiral and his party at the
+  gate of the palace, and led him by the hand along a causeway of
+  flag-stones to the residence of the monarch. Directly in the
+  middle of the gateway, which was only ten feet wide and about as
+  many in height, there stood a twenty-four-pounder gun. On the top
+  of the arch there was built a small square room, from holes in
+  which peeped out the muzzles of five or six field-pieces, the
+  whole affair resembling very much that part of a child's box of
+  toys which represents the stronghold or castle. Within the high
+  wall surrounding the palace we counted innumerable large guns
+  scattered about, apparently with no other object than to be seen,
+  as if the mere look of a cannon were expected to do the work of a
+  fight! The same number of mock barrels of gunpowder, similarly
+  disposed, would have answered the purpose equally well, or
+  perhaps better; for there appeared no way in which the guns could
+  be fired, without doing much more injury to the besieged than to
+  the besiegers.</p>
+
+  <p>On we went, till we were met by the sultan himself, at the
+  inner side of the quadrangle. He courteously conducted the
+  Admiral to a large room or hall of audience, and, having begged
+  his guest to sit down at a small table, took a chair by his side,
+  and began a conversation as if they had been long acquainted. Of
+  course, in spite of the Admiral's proficiency, this could not be
+  accomplished without an interpreter; and the services of a very
+  clever Malay boy, whom we had brought with us from the ship, were
+  brought into requisition. The hall, in which we were first
+  received, might have been about fifty feet square, bleak,
+  unfurnished, and comfortless, with an uncovered mud floor. It was
+  so feebly lighted by a few windows almost hid by Venetian blinds,
+  that we could only discover that the roof had been left bare and
+  unfinished. After sitting for about ten minutes, the sultan rose
+  and led the way to another apartment apparently of still larger
+  dimensions, but literally so dark, that, had it not been for the
+  light entering by the door we had left, and the one ahead of us,
+  we could not have moved along without breaking our shins over the
+  stones, sticks, and other rubbish lying in the way. We had next
+  to make rather a difficult transit along a precarious kind of
+  bridge, formed of a single plank laid across an ominous-looking
+  pool or puddle of mud, which divided these two branches of the
+  palace from each other.</p>
+
+  <p>All at once we were ushered into a splendid room, seventy or
+  eighty feet square, brilliantly lighted, and not ill furnished,
+  but strongly contrasted with the darkness and dirtiness of the
+  suite we had passed through. This total want of keeping, it may
+  be mentioned, is quite in Oriental taste. They know tolerably
+  well how to be magnificent on occasions; but they never learn how
+  to be uniformly decent. The Asiatics, and even some other nations
+  which might be named nearer home, can seldom afford to be taken
+  by surprise. Indeed, I am not sure if more than one country can
+  be alluded to, in which the people are at all hours ready to
+  receive strangers, and have no occasion to make a fuss, or to
+  change anything when a rap comes to the door.</p>
+
+  <p>In the centre of this gorgeous room, on a dais, or a part of
+  the floor raised to about a foot and a-half above the level of
+  the rest, and laid with a rich Turkey carpet, stood a long table,
+  at the top of which the sultan placed the Admiral, and then made
+  the signal for tea. First entered an attendant, bearing a large
+  tray, on which were ranged several dozens of exceedingly small
+  cups. This he placed on the carpet, and then squatted himself
+  down, cross-legged, beside it. Another attendant soon followed,
+  bearing the tea-pot, and he likewise popped himself down. After a
+  conjuration of some minutes, the cups were brought round,
+  containing weak black tea, exquisite in flavour, but marvellously
+  small in quantity. There appeared no milk, but plenty of
+  sugar-candy. Some sweet sherbet was next handed round, very
+  slightly acid, but so deliciously cool, that we appealed
+  frequently to the vase or huge jar from which it was poured, to
+  the great delight of the sultan, who assured us that this was the
+  genuine sherbet described by the Persian poets. It was mixed, he
+  told us, by a true believer, who had made more than one
+  pilgrimage to Mecca.</p>
+
+  <p>At the upper end of the apartment, in a deep recess, partly
+  hid from our view by a rich festoon of shawl drapery, we could
+  just discover the sultan's bed, flanked by large mirrors, beyond
+  which, in an adjacent chamber, was probably stowed away the
+  sultan's most favoured wife. But all this department of the
+  establishment was thrown into such deep shade, that we could see
+  none of the ladies, nor any of his highness's progeny, except one
+  little boy, whom he introduced to us at supper. He appeared to be
+  about five or six years old, very like his papa in miniature,
+  rigged with turban and robes of cloth of gold. At first, the
+  little fellow looked somewhat startled; but he soon recovered his
+  dignity, and sat on our knees, without much apprehension of being
+  swallowed up.</p>
+
+  <p>Both the upper corners of the room were screened off by white
+  curtains, eight or ten feet high, so as to form smaller chambers.
+  One of these served the purpose of a pantry, or subsidiary
+  kitchen, at least we observed the dishes issuing from it, and
+  thought we could distinguish the well-known sound of the cook's
+  angry reproaches&mdash;a note which, like that of muttering
+  thunder, is nearly the same in every climate. The other corner we
+  soon made out to be a sort of temporary nook, from which the
+  ladies of the palace and the young sultans and sultanas might spy
+  the strangers. This we ascertained from seeing sundry very pretty
+  faces thrust out occasionally between the folds of the curtain,
+  and by the sound of many an ill-suppressed giggle amongst the
+  peeping damsels.</p>
+
+  <p>The sultan appeared to enter into his guest's character at
+  once, and neither overloaded him with attentions, nor failed to
+  treat him as a person to whom much respect was due. I heard Sir
+  Samuel say afterwards, that he was particularly struck with the
+  sultan's good breeding, in not offering to assist him in cutting
+  his meat. The sultan merely remarked that few people were so
+  expert as his guest even with both hands; adding, neatly enough,
+  that on this account the distinction which his wound had gained
+  for him was more cheaply purchased than people supposed. While
+  the Admiral was hunting for some reply to this novel compliment,
+  his host remarked, that in Borneo it was considered fashionable
+  to eat with the left hand.</p>
+
+  <p>The supper, which soon followed the tea, consisted of about a
+  dozen dishes of curry, all different from one another, and a
+  whole poultry yard of grilled and boiled chickens, many different
+  sorts of salt fish, with great basins of rice at intervals, jars
+  of pickles, piles of sliced pine-apple, sweetmeats, and cakes.
+  Four male attendants stood by with goblets of cool sherbet, from
+  which, ever and anon, they replenished our glasses; besides whom,
+  a number of young Malay girls waited at a distance from the
+  table, and ran about nimbly with the plates and dishes.</p>
+
+  <p>After a great deal of ceremonious rigmarole, in which the
+  Admiral was asked for his autograph, and it was wonderful how
+  well the shrewd little Malay interpreter expressed to the
+  Admiral, who cheerfully agreed to the proposal, and desired me to
+  send for his writing-case. As I rose, the Admiral whispered to
+  me, "I wish you would contrive, at the same time, to see what the
+  boat's crew are about. Try, also, if you can get them something
+  to eat; the fellows must be hungry enough by this time&mdash;but
+  mind they don't get too much toddy."</p>
+
+  <p>I found the crew seated on the mud floor of a large room close
+  to the beach, and open on all sides, like a tent without walls.
+  The Johnnies were in such high glee, that I feared they had
+  already trespassed too deeply on the toddy pot; but I was glad to
+  find that their satisfaction arose from a safer source, namely, a
+  glorious hot supper, which Jack was tucking in to the great
+  delight and astonishment of the natives, who had been ordered by
+  the sultan to supply them with as much curry and rice as they
+  chose to eat.</p>
+
+  <p>Very early in the morning, long before there was the least
+  peep of dawn, the Admiral roused us all out of bed, ordered the
+  boat to be manned, and declared his intention of dropping down
+  the river while it was yet cool, so as to reach the ship before
+  the fierce heat of the sun had set in. I suspect, also, that he
+  wished to escape the salutes for which he had seen some
+  preparations over night. But scarcely had we gained the distance
+  of two or three hundred yards from the shore when the heavy guns
+  of the batteries began to fire a royal salute. The night was
+  uncommonly dark and still, and the successive flashes and reports
+  of the cannons were followed by a long series of echoes from the
+  edges of the damp forests lining the banks of the three different
+  branches or forks of the river. The Admiral, who had the finest
+  perception possible for all that was picturesque or beautiful,
+  was exceedingly struck with the grandeur of this nocturnal
+  salute, and having made the men lay their oars across the boat,
+  while she drifted quickly down the river, he stood up in the
+  stern-sheets in order to enjoy the scene more completely.</p>
+
+  <p>A trifling incident occurred shortly afterwards, which
+  recalled to our thoughts another important service of Sir Samuel
+  Hood's, which, although it be familiarly known in the navy, may
+  not be so fresh in the recollection of persons on shore. A
+  question arose in the boat as to whether or not the land-wind was
+  blowing. Some said there was a breeze up the river, while others
+  maintained that the wind blew down, towards the sea. The Admiral
+  let us go on speculating and arguing for some time, and then
+  said, "You are both wrong; there is not a breath of air either up
+  or down the river. At all events we shall soon see, if you will
+  strike me a light." This was done accordingly; and the Admiral,
+  standing on the after-thwart, held the naked candle high over his
+  head, while the men ceased rowing.</p>
+
+  <p>"There, you see," exclaimed he, "the flame stands quite
+  upright, which proves, that if there be any breeze at all, it
+  blows no faster than the stream runs down."</p>
+
+  <p>As he yet spoke, the flame bent from the land, and in the next
+  instant was puffed out by a slight gust from the forest.</p>
+
+  <p>"Ay! that's something like!" exclaimed the commander-in-chief;
+  adding, in an under tone, as he resumed his seat, "I have known
+  the time when a flaw of wind, not greater than has just blown out
+  this candle, has rendered good service to his Majesty." This was
+  the incident to which he alluded:&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>Early in the year 1794, when Captain Hood commanded his
+  Majesty's ship Juno, the port of Toulon, though in possession of
+  the English at the time of his departure on a short trip to
+  Malta, had been evacuated while the Juno was absent; and as the
+  land was made in the night, no suspicion of that important change
+  of affairs arose in the mind of any one. With his wonted
+  decision, therefore, into the port he dashed; for, although the
+  Juno carried no pilot, Captain Hood's knowledge of every port he
+  had once visited rendered him comparatively indifferent on that
+  score. A couple of the sharpest-sighted midshipmen were stationed
+  with glasses to look out for the fleet; but no ships were
+  seen&mdash;for the best of all reasons&mdash;none were there!</p>
+
+  <p>One vessel only, a small brig, could be detected, and the
+  captain, supposing the fleet had run into the inner harbour
+  during the recent easterly gale, resolved to push up likewise.
+  The batteries all kept quiet, and though the brig hailed the
+  frigate as she passed in a language so indistinct that no one
+  could make it out, not the least suspicion was excited. Supposing
+  they wanted to know what ship it was, I told them it was the
+  Juno. The brig, however, was not quite so courteous in return;
+  for they merely replied by the word "Viva," but made no answer to
+  the captain's repeated inquiry as to the brig's name, and the
+  position of the British fleet. As the Juno passed under the stern
+  of this treacherous little craft, a voice called out, "Luff!
+  luff!" which naturally induced Captain Hood to put his helm down,
+  from an idea that shoal water lay close to leeward of him.
+  Nothing could have been more adroitly managed, for before the
+  frigate came head to wind, she stuck fast upon the shoal, to
+  which the words "Luff, luff!" had no doubt been intended to
+  direct her.</p>
+
+  <p>A boat was now observed to proceed from the brig to the town.
+  As there was but little wind, and the water perfectly smooth, the
+  Juno's sails were clewed up and handed; but before the men were
+  all off the yards, a gust of wind came sweeping down the harbour,
+  and drove her off the shoal so suddenly as to give her brisk
+  stern-way. The anchor was speedily let go, but when she tended,
+  the after-part of her keel took the ground, and the rudder could
+  not be moved. The launch and cutter being instantly hoisted out,
+  the usual preparations were made to lay out a kedge, to heave the
+  ship off.</p>
+
+  <p>At this critical moment a boat came alongside. The people
+  appeared anxious to get out of her, and two of them, apparently
+  officers, came up the side. They said it was the regulation of
+  the port, as well as the commanding officer's orders, that ships
+  should go further into the harbour, there to perform ten days'
+  quarantine. In the despatch relating this transaction, Captain
+  Hood says, "I kept asking them where Lord Hood's ship lay;" the
+  two Frenchmen knew not what to do or say next. In the mean time,
+  one of the mids, who happened to be thrusting his head forward
+  after the investigating manner of this enterprising class of
+  officers, said apart to the captain,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Why, sir, they wear national cockades!"</p>
+
+  <p>"I looked at one of their hats more steadfastly," says Captain
+  Hood in his narrative, "and by the moonlight clearly
+  distinguished the three colours."</p>
+
+  <p>"Perceiving they were suspected," continues Sir Samuel in his
+  narrative, "and on my questioning them again about Lord Hood, one
+  of them replied, 'Soyez tranquille, les Anglais sont de braves
+  gens, nous les traitons bien; l'amiral anglais est sorti il y a
+  quelque temps.'"</p>
+
+  <p>In an instant, the situation of the poor Juno became known
+  throughout the ship. The officers crowded round their captain,
+  while the Frenchman, bowing to the right and left, grinned and
+  apologised for the disagreeable necessity of making them all
+  prisoners! It was said of Hood's ship, that, fore and aft, there
+  was but one heart and one mind, and this was an occasion to test
+  its truth. At this moment a flaw of wind coming down the harbour,
+  Lieutenant Webley said to me, "I believe, sir, we shall be able
+  to fetch out if we can get her under sail." I immediately
+  perceived we should have a chance of saving the ship; at least,
+  if we did not, we ought not to lose her without a struggle. Every
+  person was ordered to their stations; but the Frenchmen,
+  perceiving some bustle, began to draw their sabres, but I
+  directed the marines to force them below, which was soon done. In
+  an instant every officer and man was at his duty; and within
+  three minutes every sail in the ship was set, and the yards
+  braced ready for casting. The steady and active assistance of
+  Lieutenant Turner and the other officers prevented any confusion.
+  As soon as the cable was taut, I ordered it to be cut, and had
+  the good fortune to see the ship start from the shore. The head
+  sails were filled; a favourable flaw of wind coming at the same
+  time gave her good way. Not to be retarded by the boats, I
+  ordered them to be cut adrift as well as the French boat. The
+  moment the brig saw us begin to loose sails, we saw she was
+  getting her guns ready, and we also saw lights in all the
+  batteries. When we had shot far enough for the brig's guns to
+  bear on us, which was not more than three ships' lengths, she
+  began to fire; as did a fort a little on the starboard bow, and
+  soon after all of them, on both sides, as they could bring their
+  guns to bear. As soon as the sails were well trimmed, I beat to
+  quarters. When abreast of the centre of Cape Sepet, and were
+  ready to go about, she came up two points, and just weathered the
+  Cape. As we passed very close along that shore, the batteries
+  kept up a brisk fire. When I could keep the ship a little off the
+  wind, I ordered some guns to be fired at a battery that had just
+  opened abreast of us, which quieted them a little. We now stopped
+  firing till we could keep her away, with the wind abaft the beam,
+  when, for a few minutes, we kept up a very lively fire on the
+  last battery we had to pass, which I believe must otherwise have
+  done us great damage. At half-past twelve, being out of reach of
+  their shot, the firing ceased.</p>
+
+  <p>The whole of this admirable piece of service was performed so
+  quickly, and at the same time with so much coolness, that there
+  occurred little or no opportunity for any remarkable individual
+  exertion. Everything, as I have heard it described by Sir Samuel
+  Hood himself and by the officers, went on as if the ship had been
+  working out of Plymouth Sound at noon-day. One little incident,
+  however, which caused much amusement in the ship, will help to
+  show the degree of regard in which Sir Samuel was held by those
+  immediately about him; and to disprove the proverb of no man
+  being a hero to his valet-de-chambre.</p>
+
+  <p>Dennis M'Carty, an old and faithful servant of Captain Hood's,
+  who was quartered at one of the main-deck guns in the cabin,
+  stood firm enough till the batteries opened on the Juno. No
+  sooner had the firing commenced, and the shot began to come
+  whizzing over and through all parts of the ship, than Dennis, to
+  the great amaze and scandal of his companions, dropped the side
+  tackle-fall, and fairly ran off from his gun. Nothing in the
+  world, however, could be further from poor Pat's mind than
+  fear&mdash;except fear for his master, behind whom he soon
+  stationed himself on the quarter-deck; and wherever Captain Hood
+  moved, there Dennis followed, like his shadow; totally
+  unconscious of any personal danger to himself, though the captain
+  was necessarily in the hottest of the fire. At length, Sir
+  Samuel, turning suddenly round, encountered the Irishman full
+  butt.</p>
+
+  <p>"Hallo! Dennis," exclaimed the captain, "what brings you here?
+  Go down to your gun, man!"</p>
+
+  <p>"Oh, by the powers! your honour," replied Dennis, "sure I
+  thought it likely you might be hurt, so I wished to be near you
+  to give you some help."</p>
+
+  <p>There was no resisting this; the captain laughed; and poor
+  Dennis was allowed to take his own way.</p>
+
+  <p>Another remarkable instance of his courage and
+  disinterestedness was afforded at the battle of the Nile.
+  Previous to entering into that great action, Nelson hailed
+  Captain Hood's ship, and consulted him as to the best method of
+  attack.</p>
+
+  <p>"What think you," said the Admiral, "of engaging the enemy
+  to-night?"</p>
+
+  <p>"I don't know the soundings," was the answer, "but, with your
+  permission, I will lead in and try."</p>
+
+  <p>The result is well known; but I believe it is not so generally
+  known that, in the first draft of the despatch which Nelson
+  wrote, he gave to Captain Hood the merit of confirming him in his
+  determination of attacking the French fleet that night. On
+  showing this letter, however, to Hood himself, he entreated that
+  it might be altered, saying "that they were all brothers, engaged
+  in the cause, and that the admiral would have received exactly
+  the same advice from any other captain in the fleet whom he might
+  have consulted." The paragraph was therefore omitted in the
+  despatch.</p>
+
+  <p>I have this anecdote of the change in the despatch from one of
+  his nearest connections, and one of the dearest friends to his
+  memory. He himself particularly wished the alteration in the
+  despatch not to be told at the time; but, as the story crept out
+  somehow, it seems very material that the facts should be well
+  authenticated. When the circumstance was mentioned to Sir Samuel
+  Hood many years afterwards, by the friend from whom I have
+  received authority to state it, he confessed that it was so; but
+  exclaimed,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"How the devil could all this have got wind?&mdash;I never
+  mentioned it before to a living soul."</p>
+
+  <p>As there is hardly any professional anecdote which retains its
+  freshness of interest more entire than the memorable parley above
+  described between Nelson and Hood, on the eve of the battle of
+  the Nile, I venture to give another version of it, which is
+  substantially the same, and is calculated to confirm, in a
+  pleasing manner, all that is essential. The following particulars
+  I have been favoured with by Captain Webley Parry, then first
+  lieutenant of the Zealous.</p>
+
+  <p>When steering for the enemy's fleet, Sir Horatio Nelson hailed
+  the Zealous, and asked Captain Hood if he thought he might
+  venture to bear up round the shoals. The answer was,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"I cannot say, sir; but if you will allow me the honour of
+  leading into action, I will keep the lead going."</p>
+
+  <p>"You have my permission, and I wish you good luck," was the
+  reply; and, as Nelson said this, he took off his hat. Captain
+  Hood, in his hurry to return the courtesy of his admiral, dropped
+  his hat overboard. He looked after it, laughed, and
+  exclaimed,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Never mind, Webley, there it goes for luck! Put the helm up,
+  and make all sail."</p>
+
+  <p>Captain Foley of the Goliath, being close to the Zealous,
+  perceiving this manoeuvre, guessed what the orders were, and bore
+  up likewise, so that when the two ships had shaped their course,
+  they were nearly abreast of each other. The Goliath being a
+  little in advance, which of course was rather annoying, Captain
+  Hood stood on for some time, in hopes of being able to take the
+  lead in the Zealous, but finding this could not be without
+  jostling and confusion, he turned round and said&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"This will never do! Well, never mind; Foley is a fine,
+  gallant, worthy fellow. Shorten sail, and give him time to take
+  up his berth. We must risk nothing that will tend to the enemy's
+  advantage."</p>
+
+  <p>This was instantly done! The Goliath shot ahead, and Captain
+  Foley had the glory of leading the British fleet into action. By
+  some accident, however, he failed to place the Goliath in
+  opposition to the headmost ship of the enemy's line. The
+  experienced eye of Hood instantly saw the consequences, and while
+  the Goliath passed on to the second in the line, Sir Samuel
+  placed his own ship, the Zealous, alongside the first, exclaiming
+  in the joy of his heart, "Thank God! my friend Foley has left me
+  the van ship!"</p>
+
+  <p>The indifference to danger and fatigue which was habitual to
+  this great captain cost him, I believe, his life when travelling
+  in the interior of India, near Seringapatam. He reached a station
+  at which a fresh set of palanquin bearers were to have met him,
+  but had been prevented by some accident. "It matters not," he
+  cried, "let us walk." And sure enough he set off to perform on
+  foot a stage which might have been dangerous on horseback; for
+  the sun had nearly risen to the meridian, and there was hardly a
+  breath of wind. Possibly no mischief might have followed this
+  march, but he had been spending some days in the island of
+  Seringapatam, the most unhealthy spot in Mysore; and it is a
+  curious circumstance connected with the malaria of the noxious
+  districts, that its effects frequently lie dormant long after it
+  has been breathed. Sir Samuel Hood did not escape; but he felt no
+  inconvenience till after he descended from, and entered the
+  Carnatic at Madras. The jungle fever, of which the fatal seeds
+  had been sown at Seringapatam, attacked him after a few days.
+  When, unfortunately for the profession and for his country, he
+  fell sick at Madras, and knew that his last moments were fast
+  approaching, he called his faithful friend and old follower in
+  many ships and many actions, Lieutenant, afterwards Captain
+  Walcott to his bedside, and said to him,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"It will be very hard, Walcott, to die in this cursed place;
+  but should I go off, let nothing deter you from going home and
+  accounting to the Admiralty for my command of the East India
+  station."</p>
+
+  <p>These were nearly the last intelligible words he uttered; and
+  they serve to show how strong, even in the hour of death, was his
+  sense of professional duty. As Lieutenant Walcott had served
+  during the whole of Sir Samuel's India command in the double
+  capacity of flag-lieutenant and secretary, and had enjoyed the
+  Admiral's entire confidence, he, and he alone, possessed the
+  means of "accounting to the Admiralty" for the measures
+  completed, or in progress, for the good of the service, and
+  therefore the Admiral suggested to him the propriety of his going
+  home to report matters in person.</p>
+
+  <p>The senior officer, who succeeded to the command in the Indian
+  seas, felt so desirous of following up the friendly intentions of
+  his lamented predecessor, that knowing the late Admiral's
+  attachment to Lieutenant Walcott, he offered to promote him into
+  a death vacancy, which had either actually taken place, or was
+  certain to fall within a week or two. Moreover, he assured him,
+  that after the necessary time had been served, he should have the
+  first vacancy for post promotion. These were indeed tempting
+  offers to a young officer, devotedly attached to his profession;
+  but they had no influence over a man bred in the "Sam Hood
+  School." The Admiral's dying injunction appeared to this
+  right-minded officer fully as binding, or, if possible, more so,
+  than a written command must have been in his lifetime.</p>
+
+  <p>To England Walcott went accordingly; and the difference in
+  professional standing which it made to him was this:&mdash;had he
+  remained in India, as Sir Samuel Hood's successor proposed, he
+  would undoubtedly have become a post-captain of 1816, instead of
+  which, his name stood in 1822, six years later on the list! Had
+  it been sixty times six, however, it would have made no
+  difference in his conduct.</p>
+
+  <p>When the army returned from Spain, after the battle of
+  Corunna, in 1809, there were between twenty and thirty officers
+  accommodated in Sir Samuel's cabin. Among them was a young
+  officer, a connection of Lady Hood's, whose father and mother
+  called to thank him, conceiving that he had been indebted by this
+  connection for the attention he had received, but Sir Samuel did
+  not even know of the connection or the name. "Indeed," said he,
+  "I hardly knew the names of half my guests. But who," he
+  continued, "would make any distinctions amongst such war-worn and
+  brave fellows."</p>
+
+  <p>The fact is, such was his general kindness, that each of these
+  military officers, his passengers, fancied the Admiral was more
+  civil to him than to any one else. He suspended on this occasion
+  all the usual strait-laced etiquettes of the quarter-deck
+  discipline, and permitted the harassed soldiers to lie down and
+  read between the guns, or wherever they pleased. His great
+  delight was to coddle them up, and recompense them, as far as he
+  could, for the severe privations they had undergone during the
+  retreat, and nothing entertained him so much as seeing the relish
+  with which these hungry campaigners partook of his hospitality.
+  On the day after the battle of Corunna, when these gentlemen came
+  on board, he ordered a cock to be driven into a hogshead of prime
+  old sherry; and his satisfaction was perfect, when his steward,
+  with a rueful countenance, communicated to him, on arriving at
+  Spithead, that "his very best cask of wine had been drunk dry on
+  the passage by the soldier officers!"</p>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER
+  XXIII.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">COMMISSIONING
+  A SHIP.</p>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">Most people
+  are curious to know how, from a state of total inaction, or what
+  is called "laid up in ordinary," a ship is brought forward into
+  real service. I have therefore thought it right to "begin with
+  the beginning," and tell how a man-of-war is first commissioned.
+  This leads to the fitting-out; that is, getting in the masts,
+  putting the rigging overhead, stowing the holds, and so on. The
+  next obvious point to be considered in the equipment of a ship
+  is, the force she is to carry, which brings us to the very
+  curious question of naval gunnery. Finally, if we suppose a ship
+  equipped, armed, manned, and disciplined.</p>
+
+  <p>As soon as an officer receives official intimation that he is
+  appointed to the command of a ship, he proceeds either to the
+  Admiralty or to the dockyard at the port where the ship may
+  happen to be laid up in ordinary, and takes up his commission. In
+  the first place, however, he must wait upon the admiral
+  commanding at the out-port where the ship is lying, and having
+  reported himself, he proceeds to the admiral-superintendent of
+  the dockyard, to whom he communicates his commission; he has the
+  exclusive charge and responsibility, having the care of the ships
+  in ordinary, of all the moorings, and generally of all the
+  vessels, and every description of stores in the naval
+  arsenal.</p>
+
+  <p>The first thing to do is to get hold of one of the
+  warrant-officers to "hoist the pendant," which is a long slender
+  streamer, having a St. George's cross on a white field in the
+  upper part next the mast, with a fly or tail, either Red, White,
+  and Blue, or entirely of the colour of the particular ensign worn
+  by the ship; which, again, is determined by the colour of the
+  admiral's flag under whose orders she is placed. The pendant
+  being hoisted shows that the ship is in commission, and this part
+  of the colours is never hauled down day or night. At sunset, when
+  the ensign is hauled down, a smaller pendant, three or four yards
+  in length, is substituted for the long one, which, in dandified
+  ships, waves far over the stern. Ships in ordinary hoist merely
+  an ensign. The boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, who are called
+  the warrant-officers, always remain on board, even when the rest
+  of the officers and crew are paid off, and the ship laid up in
+  ordinary. These valuable personages, under the general
+  superintendence of the captain of the ordinary, an old officer of
+  rank, and assisted by a few lads to row them to and from the
+  shore, keep the ships clean, and guard against fire and pillage,
+  to which they might otherwise be exposed at their moorings in the
+  different creeks.</p>
+
+  <p>The next step, after the ship is commissioned, is to open a
+  muster-book. The requisite blank books and other papers are
+  supplied to the captain by the superintendent of the dockyard, in
+  order that the names of the officers and men may be entered as
+  they assemble. The admiral being then informed that the ship is
+  in commission, he orders the commandant of marines to embark the
+  proper complement of men from the barracks.</p>
+
+  <p>The master-attendant, in the mean time, is applied to for a
+  receiving-ship or hulk, alongside of which the ship may be
+  placed, and in which the crew may live while she is fitting out.
+  The same officer will likewise give the boatswain a "note" for
+  one or more of what are called harbour boats&mdash;strong
+  affairs, but good enough to perform the rough sort of work
+  required in fitting out. The boatswain's demand for scrapers,
+  buckets, and junk for swabs, is made out and approved, that, from
+  the first moment to the last, the hulk may be kept clean.</p>
+
+  <p>The officers of the newly-commissioned ship take possession of
+  the hulk assigned them, the purser gets from the
+  victualling-office provisions enough for present use, and draws
+  from the same quarter a quantity of slop clothing, as well as
+  bedding and haversacks, for the marines, who are generally the
+  first men on board. They are supplied by the boatswain with
+  hammocks, and thus the Jollies soon feel themselves at home. The
+  captain's clerk having prepared what is called an "open list," he
+  enters the names of the officers and men as fast as they arrive.
+  Hammocks and bedding, as well as blankets and shoes, are issued
+  to those sailors who may come on board without any kit, which is
+  too often the case. The senior lieutenant ought, if possible, to
+  be one of the very first persons who joins, and the sooner he
+  establishes himself on board the hulk the better. The marines,
+  being a standing portion of the service, are always ready, and,
+  if necessary, they may be sent on board at a few hours' warning.
+  On this account, as well as many others, they are a most
+  invaluable body of men. When there is no particular hurry,
+  however, they will be embarked in two or three days at the
+  furthest from the time they receive orders.<a name="FNanchor_8_8"
+  id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class=
+  "fnanchor">[8]</a> Application should also be made for boys, who
+  are supplied as soon as possible; a certain number being sent
+  from the flag-ship, while the remainder are enlisted from the
+  shore. A boat's crew of sailors will very soon be picked up from
+  the stray hands lounging about the Common Hard and Jack's other
+  well-known haunts.</p>
+
+  <p>Thus, in a very few days, the foundation of a ship's company
+  is laid; and under good management, with a little patience and
+  cheerfulness, the superstructure will advance rapidly. A
+  rendezvous should be opened at a public-house in some street
+  frequented by the seamen; and a flag, with the ship's name on it,
+  exposed before the door; while bills, containing the ship and
+  captain's name, should be stuck up and distributed in the proper
+  quarters. If her destination be India, South America, the
+  Mediterranean, or any other favourite station, that circumstance
+  will of course be sufficiently noticed in these cards of
+  invitation. The master-at-arms, the captain's coxswain, or some
+  old and steady hand who has an interest in getting the ship
+  manned, will be usefully employed at the rendezvous, to talk to
+  the sailors as they drop in to consider the <i>pros</i> and
+  <i>cons</i> of the new enterprise in which they are invited to
+  engage. The captain himself, and the first lieutenant also, will
+  generally find it worth their while to look in occasionally,
+  perhaps periodically, at the rendezvous, ostensibly to speak on
+  some business, but chiefly to show themselves, and by a word or
+  two of encouragement, to decide the waverers. It is of great
+  consequence, on these occasions, to keep clear of anything which,
+  by possibility, can be construed into false pretences; for the
+  moral impropriety of such enticements, their impolicy very soon
+  betrays itself, and when the men detect the fallacy, the result
+  shows itself in the paucity of volunteers. The truth is, Jack,
+  with all his vagaries, possesses a quick discernment in such
+  matters, and is very seldom deceived by chaff. It will seldom, if
+  ever, retard the proper manning of a ship to be very fastidious
+  in choosing amongst the volunteers who offer. The best men will
+  not enter for a ship where sailors are received indiscriminately;
+  and the lower order of mere working hands are easily picked up to
+  complete the crew.</p>
+
+  <p>The men are always carefully examined by the surgeon before
+  being received; but it would not be a bad rule that no volunteer
+  should be finally entered until he has been seen and approved of
+  by both captain and first lieutenant. It is, indeed, of great
+  consequence to the eventual comfort of the ship, which always
+  turns upon her good and consistent discipline, that the first
+  lieutenant and captain should be cordially agreed on so material
+  a point as the choice of the individual seamen forming the
+  crew.</p>
+
+  <p>During the short visits which the captain pays to his ship at
+  this time, he will seldom find it useful to supplant his first
+  lieutenant, by taking upon himself the conduct of the ship's
+  detailed operations. The peculiar duties of the captain, when his
+  ship is fitting out, necessarily require him to be absent from
+  her every day during a considerable portion of the working hours.
+  He has to wait on the admiral to receive fresh instructions; he
+  has to carry on a correspondence with the Admiralty on the
+  various equipments of the ship; he has representations and
+  applications to make to the port-admiral, respecting officers and
+  men, and to the admiral-superintendent of the dockyard,
+  respecting stores. In short, whether at the rendezvous, at the
+  dockyard, at the admiral's office, or at his own lodgings, the
+  captain will generally find ample employment on shore for most of
+  the best hours of his day, in really co-operating with his first
+  lieutenant afloat, by seeing those duties properly executed which
+  lie beyond that officer's reach. If these multifarious and
+  important obligations, out of the ship, be fully complied with by
+  the captain, he will seldom have more time left than is barely
+  necessary to go on board&mdash;- just to see what is
+  doing&mdash;to learn what has been done&mdash;and to give his
+  orders, in a general way, to the first lieutenant, for his
+  further guidance.</p>
+
+  <p>As a captain has not always the choice of his first
+  lieutenant, it may sometimes happen that a person unfit to fulfil
+  the duties of that office will be appointed. Filling this station
+  well implies not only knowledge and talents, but a disposition to
+  enter cordially into the views of the captain, as well with
+  regard to the general system of discipline, as to all the details
+  of managing the ship. When an unfit person is appointed, it is
+  much better for the lieutenant, as well as the captain, that they
+  should part; and certainly this is more conducive to the
+  discipline of the ship, and therefore to the good of the service,
+  than if they went on for ever like cat and dog. This, indeed, is
+  so well understood, that the Admiralty throw no obstacles in the
+  way of officers exchanging.</p>
+
+  <p>In case the unfitness of the first lieutenant arises from
+  absolute incompetence or negligence of his duties, it will soon
+  appear in some palpable instance, for which he must be
+  accountable before a court-martial, unless his captain permit him
+  to quit the ship to avoid that alternative. On the other hand, it
+  will sometimes happen, that an officer who is both competent and
+  zealous, is rather too fond of having his own way, and
+  interpreting the rules and customs of the service in his own
+  particular fashion, in opposition to the views of the captain.
+  This pertinacity detracts from his efficiency as an officer, and
+  more particularly from his fitness for the arduous and delicate
+  situation of first lieutenant, by preventing the establishment of
+  a hearty co-operation with his superior. But if the considerate
+  line of conduct before suggested be acted upon by the captain,
+  unless the lieutenant be a very pig-headed person, who mistakes
+  opposition for zeal, he will readily see that the true way of
+  forwarding the service is to enter heartily, cheerfully, and
+  attentively, into the peculiar plans of his chief. If he does not
+  do this, he will only find his duties become more and more
+  irksome to himself, and all his zeal will often be thrown away in
+  ineffectual efforts.</p>
+
+  <p>When a ship is fairly commissioned, the first proceedings of
+  the captain, in respect to her equipment, must be determined by
+  the particular state in which she happens to be. The ship may be
+  in dock, or in the basin, or riding at the moorings&mdash;masted
+  or unmasted; she may have only just been launched, or may have
+  been "paid off all standing." In any case, one of the first
+  points to be attended to is the stowage of the ballast. If the
+  ship has been in commission before, a record of her sailing
+  qualities, and the plan of stowage which was found to answer
+  best, will be supplied by the superintendent of the dockyard,
+  together with her draught of water, forward and aft, light as
+  launched and in ballast; and, lastly, when completely equipped
+  for sea, with guns, powder, provisions, and men on board. If the
+  ship be new, the captain will be furnished by the Surveyor of the
+  Navy with every particular respecting her trim, and the manner in
+  which he conceives her hold should be stowed. If this very
+  important part of the ship's economy be one that has occupied its
+  due share of the commanding-officer's attention, he will
+  carefully examine the conformation of the ship's bottom, and be
+  enabled to tell whether or not the former plan of stowing the
+  ballast agrees with his own theoretical views, and his experience
+  in such matters, and then putting the ship's recorded sailing
+  qualities by the side of these actual observations, he will be
+  enabled to decide how the ballast shall be distributed.</p>
+
+  <p>The Signal Books, Printed Naval Instructions, the Admiralty
+  Statutes, and other works of reference and guidance, are supplied
+  by the port-admiral, while a copy of all the Port Regulations and
+  Orders should be made, and so carefully perused by the captain
+  and officers as to be almost got by heart. A minute attention,
+  indeed, to the injunctions contained in these written orders, is
+  absolutely necessary to keep the officers of a ship out of
+  eternal hot water with admiral, flag-captain, secretary, and
+  first lieutenant of the flag-ship, all of whom are put out of
+  their way by any neglect on the part of an officer fitting or
+  refitting a ship.</p>
+
+  <p>I remember once a grand row which I, in common with three or
+  four other commanding officers, got into. A signal was made from
+  the flag-ship at Spithead, the Royal William, or the Royal Billy
+  as she was universally called. The order was, "The ships at
+  Spithead are to send boats to assist the vessel in distress." On
+  looking round, we could see nothing but a collier aground on the
+  end of the spit. One boat, or perhaps two, were sent from some of
+  the ships&mdash;but not enough to save her; so poor Jock lay on
+  the shoal till he capsized, and there was an end of him; for it
+  came on to blow, and the shore, from South Sea Castle to
+  Blackhouse Point, was a complete beach of coal shingle. Next
+  morning out came a swinging reprimand to all of us, ordering a
+  "report in writing to be made forthwith of the reasons why the
+  signal made at four P.M. to send boats to the collier had not
+  been obeyed." I recommend folks fitting out, therefore, as they
+  value their peace, to trifle with anything rather than the port
+  orders. For it is well to consider, that a scold resembles a
+  snow-ball&mdash;it always gathers weight as it rolls along. Thus
+  the Admiralty send down, by post or by telegraph, a rap on the
+  knuckles to the old admiral&mdash;very moderate as naval things
+  go, but such as, in civil life, would make a sober citizen
+  frantic, though it merely squeezes out a growl from the venerable
+  commander-in-chief. Straightway he rings for the secretary, and
+  issues a smartish general order, in which the wretched captain of
+  the offending ship catches the reprimand, with a most usurious
+  allowance of interest. Off goes the said skipper to his ship, in
+  a great fume and hurry, carrying a whole sail in the gig, though
+  on ordinary occasions he chooses to have a reef in. Souse comes
+  the wigging on the hapless first lieutenant; and he, in turn,
+  only waits till the captain goes below, that he may open a
+  volcano of reproaches on the long-suffering middies, who, though
+  they probably now hear of the offence for the first time, know
+  much better than to make any reply.</p>
+
+  <p>Such is naval discipline! a strange mixture of justice and
+  injustice, severity and indulgence&mdash;frankness and
+  wrong-headedness, encouragement and unfair dealing; but still we
+  may be sure, that talents, industry, perseverance, and, above
+  all, resolute cheerfulness, with an absence of the litigious
+  habit of self-justification, must ensure success and happiness,
+  or, at least, give the best chance for them.</p>
+
+  <p>The first lieutenant of the ship fitting out will do well to
+  have by him a sheet of paper, ruled according to some tabular
+  form, in which he may insert the names of the men who enter, that
+  he may form some idea, when he comes to station them, what part
+  of the ship each is fit for.</p>
+
+  <p>A watch bill should be commenced at once; and the men, as fast
+  as they come on board, appointed, as near as may be, to the
+  stations which the officers think they will ultimately occupy.
+  This lets a man know at once what duty he will be required to
+  perform, and makes him feel at home. Some crack sailors will not
+  volunteer unless they can be made reasonably sure of being placed
+  in a station they like; and although it would be highly
+  injudicious to make such absolute stipulations without some
+  previous trial of the candidate's abilities, it may be of great
+  advantage to the service to enter men more or less on this
+  principle. For instance, it is of the utmost importance to obtain
+  steady petty officers, that is to say, quarter-master's,
+  gunner's, boatswain's, and carpenter's mates; captains of the
+  forecastle, of the hold, and the tops; sail-makers, armourers,
+  caulkers, and coopers; with others of less consequence, but all
+  valuable in their respective departments, and contributing to
+  make up the singular population of a man-of-war. The following
+  list contains the peace establishment of the Conway, a ship of
+  twenty-eight guns, which I fitted out in the beginning of 1820.
+  The document may perhaps interest persons who like to inquire
+  into the details of a community and <i>m&eacute;nage</i> so
+  differently constructed from any they are likely to meet with
+  elsewhere.</p>
+
+  <p><i>A Scheme of the Establishment of His Majesty's Ship Conway,
+  with a Complement of 125 men.</i></p>
+  <pre>
+                                     Brought forward      18
+Captain                       1   Schoolmaster             1
+Lieutenants                   3   Master at Arms           1
+Master                        1   Caulker                  1
+Second Master                 1   Armourer                 1
+Purser                        1   Sailmaker                1
+Surgeon                       1   Carpenter's Mate         1
+Boatswain                     1   Gunner's Mate            1
+Gunner                        1   Boatswain's Mates        2
+Carpenter                     1   Quarter-masters          3
+Master's Mate                 1   Captain's Coxswain       1
+Midshipmen                    4   Capts. of the Forecastle 2
+Assistant Surgeon             1   Cooper                   1
+Clerk                         1   Capts. of the Foretop    2
+                            ---                          ---
+               Carry forward 18           Carry forward   36
+
+            Brought forward  36          Brought forward  58
+Capts. of the Maintop         2   Barber                   1
+------------- Afterguard      1   Purser's Steward         1
+------------- Mast            1   Captain's Steward        1
+Ship's Cook                   1   Captain's Cook           1
+Volunteers, First Class       3   Gun-room Steward         1
+Gunner's Crew                 5   Gun-room Cook            1
+Carpenter's Crew              4   Steward's Mate           1
+Sailmaker's crew              1   Able Seamen     }
+Gunner's Yeoman               1   Ordinary Seamen }       29
+Boatswain's ditto             1   Landmen         }
+Carpenter's ditto             1   Boys, Second Class       5
+Cook's mate                   1   ----- Third Class        5
+                            ---   Widows' Men              3
+              Carry forward  58                          ---
+                                                         107
+Marines:-- 1 Lieutenant; 1 Serjeant; 1 Corporal;
+           1 Drummer; 14 Privates.                        18
+                                                         ---
+                                                  Total  125
+</pre>
+
+  <p>The last odd entry of three widows' men was an official
+  fiction (now abolished) by which the pay of so many imaginary
+  persons was transferred to a fund for the relief of the widows of
+  commissioned and warrant officers. Real men are now allowed in
+  their places.</p>
+
+  <p>If any other ship be paying off at the same time, it is well
+  worth trying to get some of her best men to enter for the ship
+  fitting out. People who have been for several years together in a
+  comfortable ship feel unwilling to part, and the prospect of
+  continuing still companions, often influences them to volunteer
+  in considerable numbers, if other circumstances appear suitable.
+  When this takes place, the men generally transfer their whole kit
+  at once, see their names placed on the new ship's books, and
+  obtain what is called "long-leave" of absence to visit their
+  friends, after depositing a portion of their ready money in the
+  hands of the commanding-officer until their return. These men
+  almost always form a valuable part of a ship's crew, and, I am
+  convinced, the practice will become more general of removing
+  direct from one man-of-war to another, whenever the system of
+  frequent payments shall be established in the Navy. The sailors
+  will then learn the proper use of money, and will acquire, in
+  consequence, more orderly, decent, and rational habits.</p>
+
+  <p>By these and other means, if the captain and officers be at
+  all popular in their manners, or be known favourably in the
+  service, or if even without these advantages, the intended
+  station to which the ship is going be a favourite one, and
+  ordinary pains be taken at the rendezvous, the ship's company
+  soon begins to assume a respectable and business-like appearance.
+  It then becomes of infinite importance, that the first lieutenant
+  should introduce a uniform and well-explained system of
+  discipline on board, especially as regards cleanliness and
+  neatness of appearance, which are best effected by frequent and
+  regular musterings, without too much fastidiousness in the first
+  instance, as this might only teaze the men, and prevent the
+  effectual establishment of those observances which it is the
+  chief purpose of good discipline to render habitual. Great
+  efforts should always be made to give to Sunday its true
+  character of a day of repose; and in the weekly mustering, in
+  particular, a good deal may generally be accomplished towards
+  imparting to the ship and crew the appearance of order, which in
+  times more advanced ought to characterize them during the whole
+  week. The stock of clothes amongst the men will, it is true,
+  generally be scanty at first, but a portion of it may, with
+  proper management, be always kept clean, and a well-bleached
+  shirt and trousers, with a good scrape of the chin, and a
+  thorough scrubbing from top to toe, render poor Jack's toilet, if
+  not the most refined in the world, certainly very effectual
+  towards its purpose. I have often been amused to see the merry
+  style in which they employed great lumps of coarse soap and hard
+  brushes, in vain endeavours to remove the umber tints of tar from
+  their hands, and the tanning of the sunshine from their brawny
+  arms. These indelible distinctions of their hard service are
+  rendered more striking at such moments by their contrast with the
+  firm and healthy whiteness of the skin round their shoulders and
+  chest.</p>
+
+  <p>An officer must be cautious how he issues slop clothing to
+  newly entered men, who have no pay due; and have a sharp, but
+  reserved look-out kept on doubtful characters as they go over the
+  side on leave, for there will ever be found at the great naval
+  stations a certain number of regular-built swindlers, who wander
+  from port to port expressly to pilfer. These vagabonds enter on
+  board newly-commissioned ships, make a great show of activity,
+  and remain a certain time to lull suspicion. They then take up
+  slops, that is, obtain from the purser as many shirts, trousers,
+  shoes, and other articles, as they can persuade the
+  commanding-officer they are in want of; after which they desert
+  upon the first opportunity, only to run the same rig in some
+  other ship. When a character of this kind is caught in the act of
+  making off with his own or his messmate's blanket, it is best to
+  let him go on shore (minus the blanket, of course), and the
+  chances are he will not return again. You lose the man, but you
+  are rid of a knave.</p>
+
+  <p>It is a fatal error in an officer to court popularity by
+  unworthy means, or indeed by any means, except those of
+  fair-dealing and strict propriety, equal justice to all, and as
+  much indulgence as the nature of the service will admit of. But,
+  at the same time, advantage may be taken of accidental
+  opportunities of putting the people into good-humour during an
+  outfit; and by indulging them in a jollification, we may
+  occasionally give them something to think of at the moment, and
+  to talk of for weeks afterwards.</p>
+
+  <p>When I was fitting out his Majesty's sloop Lyra at Deptford,
+  in 1815, to accompany the embassy to China, under Lord Amherst,
+  it occurred to me one cold morning, the 24th of December, that it
+  might not have a bad effect on the good name of my pretty little
+  craft, if I gave the ship's company a regular blow-out the next
+  day. I communicated this idea to the first lieutenant, who,
+  seeing no objection, sent for some of the leading men, and said
+  each mess was to have a goose and a turkey for their Christmas
+  dinner. My steward was then told to arrange the details; and
+  presently he came to report that the men had taken it into their
+  heads, that, as the best poultry was to be procured in London,
+  they should like exceedingly to be allowed to despatch an embassy
+  to Leadenhall Market for that purpose; the first lieutenant
+  agreed also to this, and two seamen and one marine were forthwith
+  landed at Deptford to execute the mission. A cart being hired,
+  off they set, returning before sunset, with as noisy a cargo as
+  ever I saw packed together. It so happened, that while we lay on
+  one side of the hulk, I forget her name, another ship was lashed
+  on the opposite side for some temporary purpose. The crew of our
+  neighbour dined on Christmas-day on soup and beef as usual, and
+  remained contented enough till some of our fellows, waddling
+  under the effects of double allowance of solids, and perhaps with
+  a trifle too much of fluids, came singing and capering along the
+  deck of their hulk. In the most good-humoured way possible, they
+  asked their neighbours how many geese and turkeys they had
+  discussed that day. The meagre answer called forth shouts of
+  merriment, and the poor fellows belonging to the other ship were
+  rather unhandsomely taunted with the scantiness of their
+  Christmas fare. "Look at that and weep, you hungry-faced
+  rascals!" exclaimed one of our jolly blades, holding up the
+  drumstick of a goose in one hand and that of a turkey in the
+  other. He was answered by the practical joke of having the two
+  bones twisted from his hands and shyed in his face, according to
+  the most approved tarpaulin manners. This was the signal for a
+  general <i>m&eacute;l&eacute;e</i>, and the officers had enough
+  to do to separate the contending hosts.</p>
+
+  <p>A few days before the next Christmas-day came round, when we
+  were lying in the River Canton, my steward came to me and
+  said,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"The people, sir, have been talking for the last two or three
+  weeks of hardly anything else but the 'row' at Deptford this time
+  twelvemonth, when you gave them a feast on Christmas-day."</p>
+
+  <p>"Well, what of that?"</p>
+
+  <p>"Oh, nothing, sir; I only thought you might like to know it.
+  There are plenty of ducks and geese at the Chinese village close
+  to us."</p>
+
+  <p>I seized the idea in a moment; and having, as before,
+  consulted with the first lieutenant, I bade my steward prepare a
+  good stock accordingly. I took no further charge of the matter;
+  nor did I expect to hear anything more of the dinner or its
+  preparations. In this, however, I was deceived; for when daylight
+  appeared on Christmas morning of 1816, such a racket was heard
+  from our little vessel as brought up all hands on board every one
+  of the ten or a dozen huge East India Company's ships amongst
+  which we were anchored, at a place called Second Bar. Our fellows
+  had carried the whole of their Christmas poultry aloft, and
+  having perched themselves at the yard-arms and on the
+  cross-trees, gaff, and flying jib-boom ends, they made each of
+  the wretched birds fast with a string six or eight feet long, in
+  such a manner that they could flap their wings, but could not
+  escape. The great difficulty, as I afterwards learned, was how to
+  keep the ducks and geese from making a noise till the proper
+  moment arrived, and this was not effected without sundry bites
+  and scratches. As soon as broad daylight came, the word was
+  given, and the whole flock being dropped to the full length of
+  their lines, they set up such a screaming, cackling, and
+  flapping, as could not fail, when aided by the mingled laughter
+  and shouts of their future demolishers, to call the envious
+  attention of the whole surrounding fleet!</p>
+
+  <p>It is very useful to keep the people in a good humour at all
+  times; though, as I have already suggested, the captain must
+  avoid even the appearance of courting popularity at the expense
+  of his officers. Such an unworthy course of proceeding strikes at
+  the root of discipline. A truly right-minded officer, therefore,
+  at the head of any department, whether it be that of a ship, a
+  fleet, an army, or a cabinet, will seldom, if ever, take into his
+  calculations the effect which any measure is to produce on
+  himself or his own interests&mdash;but will steadily seek to
+  discover what is best for the public service. And if such
+  research be made in the proper spirit of generous self-devotion
+  to his duty, he may essentially advance the cause of good
+  discipline, by transferring the credit of success, which might be
+  his own due, to those with whom he happens to be co-operating,
+  and without whose companionship and attention to details, though
+  unseen and unknown to the world, he might never have gained his
+  point. It is more difficult indeed, but also more generous, and
+  more useful in practice, for the chief to bear manfully the brunt
+  of failure; and in seasons when measures of an unpopular
+  character become necessary, to charge himself with a large share
+  of that loss of favour which he is best able to afford.<a name=
+  "FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9"
+  class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
+
+  <div class="footnotes">
+    <h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> By the
+      recent regulations each ship also receives her complement of
+      seamen gunners from one of the gunnery ships, in the
+      proportion of a lieutenant and thirteen gunners to a
+      line-of-battle ship, a mate and ten men to a frigate, and
+      eight men to smaller vessels. These are passed gunners, and
+      their duties are to instruct the crew in gunnery.</p>
+    </div>
+
+    <div class="footnote">
+      <p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href=
+      "#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> The
+      introduction of the system of registration of seamen has, of
+      course, been an admirable check upon desertion after
+      receiving advances, both in the naval and commercial
+      marine.</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;">
+    <img src="images/flower2.png" width="432" height="121" alt=
+    "Printer's Flower" title="" />
+  </div>
+
+  <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER
+  XXIV.</h2>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">FITTING
+  OUT.</p>
+
+  <p>In the course of a week or ten days after a ship is
+  commissioned, the officers are collected on board their hulk, and
+  they bestir themselves to gather their comforts about them. In
+  the first instance they look after their "noble selves" by
+  selecting, at some small salary extra, a boy or a marine a-piece
+  for a valet. They next find out a good steward, and having
+  installed him in possession of the nascent stock of gun-room
+  crockery, make him hunt for a cook, generally a black man, who
+  takes into his sable keeping the pots and pans of the growing
+  mess. The mates and mids, a portion of whom are appointed by the
+  Admiralty, and a portion by the captain, gradually make their
+  appearance, and settle into their dungeon of a berth under the
+  caterage of some old boy of a captain's clerk or a hard-a-weather
+  mate of the decks. A pretty large proportion of youngsters also,
+  or squeakers, who cannot be appointed without the previous
+  consent of the Admiralty, spring up like mushrooms, with rosy
+  cheeks and tender hands, totally unconscious, poor little
+  fellows! of the rugged lives they are soon to lead.</p>
+
+  <p>If these boys had only sense enough to look on quietly, and
+  pay attention to all that is passing, with a sincere desire to
+  understand it, and were they to be assisted a little in their
+  inquiries, they might on such occasions as that of a ship fitting
+  out, manage to learn and store up much that would prove valuable
+  on a future day. But these youths are generally let loose from
+  the Naval College, or from school, or from mamma's apron-string;
+  and unless they are looked after and encouraged, they are too
+  volatile to pay a proper degree of attention to the duty which is
+  going on. After all, it does not require much ingenuity to
+  arrange some employment for them, even at first, provided their
+  numbers be not so great that they stand in one another's way.
+  Three or four youngsters, even though absolute novices, might
+  always be kept well employed in a sloop-of-war, and perhaps twice
+  that number in a frigate or line-of-battle ship fitting. In peace
+  time, however, it will happen that the crowd of young gentlemen
+  is so great, and the disposition to learn so little diffused
+  amongst them, that the first lieutenant is often glad to get rid
+  of them altogether by letting them waste their time and money on
+  shore.</p>
+
+  <p>The state in which the ship happens to be at the time she is
+  commissioned, must decide, as I said before, the course to be
+  followed in her equipment. If she be already masted and alongside
+  the hulk, and the ballast in, the officer will most likely wish
+  to make some show in the way of rigging&mdash;for as yet the
+  masts are naked to the girt-lines, or single ropes rove through
+  blocks at the mast-head, by which first the men and then the
+  shrouds are drawn up, and the eyes of the rigging placed over the
+  mast-heads. If there be only a few sailors on board, these can be
+  employed to get off the furniture, that is, all the blocks, ready
+  stropped in the rigging loft; and to draw the present use stores
+  from the dockyard. These can all be kept under lock and key in
+  the store-rooms of the hulk; and if the rigging, and everything
+  required in placing it aloft, be previously fitted and arranged
+  by the boatswain, so that he can put his hand at once on the gear
+  as soon as a sufficient number of the crew join, much time will
+  be saved. Even the lower rigging may be got off all ready fitted
+  from the loft; while the runners and tackles, the luffs, and
+  other purchases, may be put in preparation for use the moment
+  there are hands enough to employ on them.</p>
+
+  <p>By application to the boatswain of the yard, assistance will
+  be given to gammon the bowsprit, preparatory to its being
+  clothed, which is the technical term for rigging that important
+  spar. One of its principal offices is to support the foremast and
+  fore-topmast, by means of their stays, as the slanting ropes are
+  called which stretch forwards and downwards from the head of
+  every mast, great and small, in the ship. Some of these, as the
+  main-stay, lie at so inconsiderable an angle with the horizon,
+  that they possess great power of sustaining the mast; while
+  others, such as the fore-stay, being necessarily more
+  perpendicular, do not act to such good mechanical purpose. There
+  is a peculiar disadvantage attending the method of securing the
+  fore-stay, arising from the position of the mast. It is placed so
+  near the extremity of the ship, that the stay, which forms its
+  only support in the forward direction, cannot be attached to the
+  body of the vessel, without making so very small an angle with
+  the mast as would divest it of nearly all its character as a
+  supporter. To remedy this, the bowsprit has been devised, chiefly
+  as an out-rigger for the fore-stay. But in order to render the
+  spar effective for that purpose, it requires to be very strongly
+  bound down. There has, therefore, been contrived what is called
+  the stem, or cut-water, which is a strong but narrow projection
+  from the bows, securely fastened by long and thick bolts of iron
+  and copper to the body of the ship. The chief purpose of this
+  stem is to furnish a point of support for the ropes securing the
+  bowsprit. Of these, the most important is called the gammoning,
+  which consists of a strong and well-stretched hawser, passed up
+  and down successively, in perpendicular turns, over the bowsprit
+  and through a hole horizontally cut in the stem. At each turn the
+  gammoning hawser is hove taut, while every effort is used to
+  bring the bowsprit down into its place. A heavy boat is sometimes
+  suspended from the end, the weight of which greatly assists the
+  gammoning process. Another set of ropes, called bob-stays,
+  extending from about one-third from the outer end of the bowsprit
+  to the cut-water, nearly at the water-line, contribute
+  essentially to its stability. It is further secured in a lateral
+  direction by shrouds reaching from its extremity to the bows of
+  the ship.</p>
+
+  <p>I need not mention, that, in order to give a finish, as it
+  were, to the end of the ship, and to convert that into a source
+  of ornament which might otherwise be deemed a deformity, the top
+  of the stem has been appropriated as the position of the
+  figure-head, the characteristic emblem of the vessel. In some
+  ships the sailors pride themselves especially on the beauty of
+  their figure-head; and many a time have I seen the captain of the
+  forecastle employed for hours in painting the eyes, hair, and
+  drapery of his favourite idol. I suppose few commanding-officers
+  will allow of this liberty; for it must be owned that as Jack's
+  taste in female beauty, and in the disposition and colours of
+  dress, are borrowed from a very questionable model, his labours
+  in adorning the figure-head are apt to produce strange monsters.
+  I once heard of a captain who indulged his boatswain in this whim
+  of representing his absent love as far as the king's allowance of
+  paint could carry the art; and it must be owned, that, as the
+  original Dulcinea owed her roses to the same source, the
+  representation "came very close aboard of the original," as the
+  delighted boatswain expressed it. This very proximity in
+  colouring, scantiness of drapery, and so forth, which formed the
+  boatswain's pride, perplexed the worthy captain, who had given
+  his sanction to the work, for he could never cross the bows of
+  his own ship with a party of friends, without raising a laugh at
+  the expense of his taste in figures. The whole crew, however,
+  soon fell as much in love with the damsel as the boatswain had
+  done before them; and it would have been cruel to have sent the
+  painter to daub her ladyship all over with one uniform colour,
+  according to the general fashion. The considerate commander took
+  a different line.</p>
+
+  <p>"You seem proud of your head, Mr. Clearpipe, I shall gild her
+  for you!"</p>
+
+  <p>In a few days, the sparkling eyes and blushing cheeks of Mrs.
+  Boatswain, like Dana&euml;, had yielded up their charms to the
+  golden shower. The glittering figure-head soon became the delight
+  of the ship's company, and on one occasion furnished the captain
+  with rather an odd means of calling out their energies. The ship
+  was sailing in company with several others of the same class, and
+  when they all came to reef topsails together, she was beat on the
+  first occasion. As they were setting about a second trial of
+  activity, the captain called out to the people aloft,&mdash;</p>
+
+  <p>"Now, I tell you what it is, my lads, unless you are off the
+  yards, and the sails are hoisted again before any other ship in
+  the squadron, by the Lord Harry I'll paint your figure-head
+  black!" From that time forward, she beat every ship in the
+  fleet.</p>
+
+  <p>As soon as a sufficient number of hands are collected on board
+  the ship which is fitting out, all the spars, except the spare
+  ones, may be got off to the hulk. These consist of topsail yards,
+  topmasts, and top-gallant masts and yards, jib and spanker boom,
+  studding-sail booms, and one or two others. The lower and topsail
+  yards can be fitted on the hulk's decks, ready to be swayed into
+  their places when the masts are in a state to receive them. If a
+  dockyard lump, or lighter, can be got to put all the spars in,
+  together with the tops and other things which are usually made
+  into a raft and floated off, it may save a great deal of trouble;
+  as it frequently happens that they cannot all be got in before
+  night, and if bad weather comes on, they may break adrift and be
+  lost.</p>
+
+  <p>There seems no fixed rule for rigging a ship progressively.
+  Different officers adopt different ways of setting about the
+  operation, and slight variations occur in the arrangement of the
+  ropes; but, generally speaking, everything is disposed according
+  to the long-established rules of seamanship. The grand object is
+  to support each mast laterally by a number of shrouds on each
+  side, inclining slightly abaft the perpendicular, to prevent its
+  falling either sideways or forwards, and also, by means of two
+  stays, the principal stay and the spring stay, both stretching in
+  the line of the keel, to hold it forwards. The width of the ship
+  affords what is called a spread for the rigging, which spread is
+  augmented by the application of broad shelves, called channels,
+  carrying the rigging three or four feet further out on each side,
+  and making its angle with the masts greater, and consequently
+  increasing the support of the shrouds. These channels act merely
+  as out-riggers, for the ultimate point of fixture, or that
+  against which the shrouds pull, is lower down, where long links
+  of iron called chain-plates, are securely bolted through and
+  through the solid ribs of the ship, and rivetted within. The
+  upper ends of these chain-plates are furnished with what are
+  called dead-eyes, great round blocks of wood pierced with holes,
+  through which the lanyards are rove by which the rigging is set
+  up, or drawn almost as tight as bars of iron. The topmasts,
+  rising immediately above the lower masts, are supported chiefly
+  by rigging spread out by the tops, or what people on shore
+  miscall round-tops. These, like the channels for the lower
+  rigging, are mere projections or out-riggers; the true point of
+  support for the topmast rigging is the lower shrouds, the
+  connection being made by what are called futtock shrouds and
+  catharpins. The top-gallant masts, at the next stage aloft, are
+  supported by shrouds passing through the ends of small spars
+  called cross-trees, at the head of the topmast; and so on in
+  succession, up to the sky-scrapers and moon-rakers in some very
+  fly-away ships.</p>
+
+  <p>As early as possible, the boats, which are duly warranted for
+  the ship, should be selected, and their equipment superintended
+  by the officers of the ship, who are the persons most interested
+  in their completion. The master boat-builder attends to any
+  little extra fittings that the first lieutenant may have a fancy
+  for&mdash;such as the arrangement of the kedge and steam-anchor
+  davits, the slide for the carronnade in the launch, and so on.
+  The boats will be painted of any required colour, provided that
+  colour be consistent with the dockyard regulations; if any other
+  be required, the captain must purchase it himself, but the
+  dockyard painters will lay it on. In the same way, if the gun
+  carriages are to be painted of any particular or fancy colour,
+  the people at the gun-wharf will prime them in a manner suited to
+  that colour, but no more.</p>
+
+  <p>I may here take occasion to remark, that in the numberless
+  dockyards I have drawn stores from, I never met with any real
+  difficulty in getting all that was reasonable from the officers
+  in any department. I have heard, indeed, one and all of these
+  persons abused over and over again, for being crusty and
+  disobliging; for pertinacity in sticking to the mere letter of
+  their instructions, and forgetting its spirit; and for throwing
+  obstacles in the way of the service, instead of promoting its
+  advancement. But I can only say for myself, that I never met with
+  anything but a hearty zeal to furnish all that was right, and
+  that, too, in the pleasantest manner, provided the proper degree
+  of civility were used in making the application.</p>
+
+  <p>People too often forget, that politeness, punctuality, and
+  general attention to business, are all reciprocal qualities; and
+  that, unless they themselves employ such means in their
+  intercourse with official authorities, it is hopeless to expect
+  these authorities will put themselves one inch out of their way
+  to oblige persons who manifestly hold them in contempt. At least,
+  until we can procure angels to take the office of
+  master-attendant, master-shipwright, storekeeper, and so forth,
+  the laws and customs of human nature will continue to regulate
+  such influences. Your gruff and sulky letter-of-the-law man will,
+  no doubt, get his ship fitted, in process of time, but not half
+  so well, nor nearly so quickly, as he who takes matters
+  cheerfully.</p>
+
+  <p>When a sufficient number of hands have been volunteered at the
+  rendezvous, and stationed to the different parts of the ship's
+  duty, the first lieutenant should form them into separate working
+  parties, as carefully selected as possible for the different
+  kinds of work required. The gunner will take one of these gangs
+  to the ordnance-wharf, to fit the tackles and breechings; another
+  party will be sent to the sail-loft to fit the sails; a third
+  party may be occupied with stowing the water-tanks, and preparing
+  the holds for the provisions; while some hands should be sent to
+  weave mats for covering the different parts of the rigging. The
+  carpenters form a most important department of the crew, as there
+  are many little jobs to be attended to in every part of the ship
+  which the dockyard pass over; and it is useful to have one or two
+  carpenters always ready at a call to drive in a nail here, or fix
+  a cleat there, or to ease or fill up what does not fit
+  nicely.</p>
+
+  <p>When a ship is first commissioned, the captain should apply to
+  the builder to have the caulking of the sides, and especially of
+  the decks, carefully examined, and if this important operation is
+  to be repeated, it should be got over as soon as may be. If the
+  caulking be delayed, as too frequently occurs, till after the
+  ship is equipped and painted, and the guns mounted; off comes a
+  noisy gang of caulkers, who daub her all over with pitch, the
+  removal of which is a troublesome, and always a dirty
+  operation.</p>
+
+  <p>Old hammocks are generally supplied for the men to sleep in
+  while the ship is fitting, and returned when she goes out of
+  harbour. But two sets of new hammocks ought to be got on board
+  the hulk, ready to be numbered as soon as a neat-handed man of
+  letters can be enlisted for that purpose; and as every hammock
+  requires to have a legible number marked on it, this occupies
+  some time, and should be set about as early as possible, that all
+  may be dry and ready against going to sea.</p>
+
+  <p>If the ship be new, it will be of great advantage that the
+  captain or first lieutenant should point out to the dockyard
+  officers what he considers the best place for the bulk-heads, or
+  partitions separating the different holds from one another. The
+  main hold, for example, if fitted strictly according to rule, or
+  if it be left to the general guess of the superintending
+  shipwright, may chance to be long enough to stow a certain number
+  of water-tanks, together with a foot or two over and above; now
+  this lost space, if thrown into the after-hold, might prove
+  sufficient to gain another entire "longer," or range of
+  provision-casks. In the same way, the bulkhead which is common to
+  the spirit-room and after-hold may, by timely adjustment, be so
+  placed as to gain much useful space. These things are now much
+  better attended to than formerly in the original fitting of the
+  ship; but I mention them to prevent, as far as may be, the
+  dangerous practice of taking that for granted which admits of
+  further examination. Moreover, as no two vessels are exactly
+  alike in all their dimensions, and correct seamanship is guided
+  by principles, which an officer ought to understand, it will not
+  do to rely upon things being done properly when they are done by
+  rule-of-thumb. Thus the position of the main-tack block, and
+  those of the fore and main sheets, the main-brace blocks, topsail
+  sheet and brace bitts, with the number of sheeves in each, and
+  twenty other things relating to kevils, cleats, and belaying
+  pins, will be dependent for much of their eventual efficiency on
+  the length of the yards, the size of the sails, and other
+  circumstances which it is quite in vain, and quite unreasonable
+  to expect the dockyard workmen to take into account.</p>
+
+  <p>By the time the ship, to which every one has ere this become
+  attached, is so far advanced as to have all her spars on end, the
+  artificers will have completed their hammerings, sawings, and
+  nailings, and the main-hold will have been stowed with
+  water-tanks. It is then time to draw the heavy stores from the
+  dockyard, such as anchors, cables, spare anchor-stocks, fishes
+  for the lower masts, and other spars, forming, when packed
+  together in two lines, one on each side of the upper deck, what
+  are called "the booms." Great care must be taken in stowing these
+  clusters of spars so as to leave room enough between them, and
+  just room enough, for stowing the launch or largest boat. This is
+  managed by the carpenter taking what is called her midship
+  section, and making a slight framework model to guide the stowage
+  of the booms.</p>
+
+  <p>It may be useful to remark, that, although the operations in
+  fitting out a ship are multifarious, and often apparently much
+  confused, it is of great consequence to carry into them as much
+  routine method as possible. For example, in spite of the frequent
+  interruptions to which the seamen are exposed by the arrival of
+  dockyard and victualling-office vessels, which must be cleared,
+  it will be found very advantageous to adopt a uniform plan by
+  which one set of men shall begin, carry on, and complete the same
+  jobs. In this way the several working parties will come to take
+  an interest and pride in executing their tasks well and quickly,
+  which they never could feel if the responsibility and credit were
+  divided or dissipated by their being sent backwards and forwards
+  from one operation to another. For the purpose of such
+  arrangements, as well as to assist his memory, the first
+  lieutenant may find it useful to write out in the evening a
+  programme of the next day's intended operations, and commencing
+  every morning by this, adhere to it throughout the day as
+  strictly as circumstances will permit. A character of consistency
+  will thus be given to a vast crowd of operations which otherwise
+  become confused and desultory. The people employed to execute
+  these tasks will soon insensibly discover that their labours are
+  guided by substantial method, and they will work all the more
+  cheerfully and effectively, from a conviction that no time is
+  lost, and that their services are duly appreciated.</p>
+
+  <p>The main hold being now stowed, the cables, anchors, and spare
+  spars, all on board, the quantity of provisions required to
+  complete for the service appointed may be applied for, and will
+  be sent off in the victualling-office lighters. The purser then
+  gets on board coals, candles, lanterns, and other stores in his
+  department. The rigging has been repeatedly set up, and is now so
+  well stretched that it is ready for the last pull before going
+  out of harbour. This done, and the dead-eyes and ratlines
+  squared, the shroud and backstay mats are put on, and the masts
+  and studding-sail booms carefully scraped. The lower masts, and
+  the heads of the topmasts and top-gallant masts, are next
+  painted, the yards blacked, and the rigging and backstays fore
+  and aft tarred down. The whole ship ought now to be scraped
+  within and without, and thoroughly cleaned and dried; after which
+  the painters may be sent for from the dockyard, and when they
+  have primed the ship it will be well to give her decks another
+  good scouring. Next black the bends, while the painters finish
+  the upper works with one or two more coats; and, finally, retouch
+  the bends with the black-brush.</p>
+
+  <p>When the paint is thoroughly dry, the guns and ordnance stores
+  are to be got on board, and all the remaining stores drawn from
+  the dockyard, leaving nothing, if possible, excepting the
+  gunpowder, to be got off. At this stage of the equipment, the
+  ropes forming the running rigging may be rove and cut. At the
+  same time, both suits of sails ought to be got on board in a
+  decked lighter, one for stowing away in the sail-room, but
+  completely fitted and ready for use; the others to be bent to the
+  yards. The hammock-cloths also being now fitted, are brought off;
+  and if the ship be "going foreign," double sets are allowed, both
+  of which in former times used to be painted; but the spare cloths
+  are now very properly supplied unpainted.</p>
+
+  <p>The ship being all ready for going out of harbour, the captain
+  makes a report to that effect to the admiral, the working boats
+  are returned, and the new ones drawn, and hoisted in. At the same
+  time all unserviceable stores, worn out in fitting the ship, are
+  returned to the dockyard, including the hulk hammocks, which must
+  be well scrubbed, dried, and made neatly up. The new hammocks are
+  issued and slung, and the bedding being lashed up in them, they
+  are stowed in the nettings, with their numbers ranged in a
+  straight line, in regular order fore and aft. This arrangement
+  not only gives symmetry, but is useful in affording the means of
+  getting at any particular hammock which may be required; for
+  instance, if a man is taken sick, or persons are required to be
+  sent to other ships.</p>
+
+  <p>Generally speaking, indeed, it will be found that the
+  attention bestowed on regularity, neatness, and even dandyism, in
+  all these minor details, brings with it more than a correspondent
+  degree of practical advantage. The men soon feel a pride in what
+  their officer approves of and shows himself pleased with; and,
+  when once they fall into habits of mutual obligation in the
+  accomplishment of a common purpose, everything goes on smoothly
+  and cheerfully. I need scarcely recall to the recollection of any
+  one who has witnessed the practice of such things, the marvellous
+  difference in the efficiency of a ship where the system of
+  discipline is to bully and reproach, and of another where the
+  principle is encouraging and gentleman-like. In one case the crew
+  work as little as may be, and even take a morbid pleasure in
+  crossing the views of the officers as much as they possibly can
+  without incurring the risk of punishment; and they never stir a
+  finger in works not strictly within their assigned duty. In the
+  other case, where good will, a temperate exercise of authority,
+  indulgence, when it can by possibility be granted, and, above
+  all, when no coarse language unworthy the lips of an officer and
+  a gentleman is used, the result is very different. All the
+  subordinate authorities, and indeed the crew at large, then
+  become insensibly possessed of an elasticity of obedience which
+  exerts a two-fold influence, by reacting on themselves even more
+  than it operates upon the commanding-officer whose judicious
+  deportment has called out the exertion. I may safely add, that in
+  the strict discipline which is absolutely indispensable in every
+  efficient man-of-war, and under all the circumstances of
+  confinement, privation, and other inevitable hardships to which
+  both officers and men are exposed, such a course of moderation
+  and good-breeding, independently of its salutary effect on the
+  minds of the people, works most admirably for the public service,
+  and more than doubles the results, by rendering men, who
+  otherwise might have been disposed to retard the duty, sincerely
+  zealous in its advancement.</p>
+
+  <p>Lord Nelson, that great master of war and discipline, and all
+  that was noble and good in the cause of his country, understood,
+  better perhaps than any other officer, the art of applying these
+  wholesome maxims to the practice of duty at the exact moment of
+  need. During the long and weary period when Lord Nelson was
+  blockading Toulon, he was joined from England by a line-of-battle
+  ship, commanded by an officer who, as the story goes, had long
+  applied for and expected an appointment to a cruising frigate,
+  and who, in consequence of this disappointment, came growling out
+  to join the fleet, in high dudgeon with the Admiralty at being
+  condemned, as he called it, to the galley-slave duty of a
+  blockade, in a wretched old tub of a 74, instead of ranging at
+  large in a gay frigate over the Atlantic or the Adriatic, and
+  nabbing up prizes by the dozen. It appears farther, that he
+  rather unreasonably extended a portion of his indignation to the
+  Admiral, who, of course, had nothing to do with his appointment;
+  and this sulky frame of mind might have proved the captain's
+  ruin, had his Admiral been any other than Nelson. But the genius
+  of that great officer appeared to delight in such occasions of
+  recalling people to a sense of their duty, and directing their
+  passions and motives into the channels most useful to themselves
+  and their country. Knowing the officer to be a clever man, and
+  capable of performing good service if he chose, it was Nelson's
+  cue to make it his choice. When, therefore, the captain came on
+  board, full of irritability and provocation, the Admiral took no
+  notice, but chatted with him during breakfast on the news from
+  England, and other indifferent matters, as if his guest had been
+  in the best humour possible. The other, who was nursing his
+  displeasure, waited only for an opportunity of exploding, when he
+  could do so without a breach of decorum. Lord Nelson soon gave
+  him the occasion he appeared to seek for, by begging him to step
+  into the after-cabin, and then asking him what he thought of the
+  station, and how he should like cruising in the Levant and other
+  interesting parts of the Mediterranean.</p>
+
+  <p>"Why, as to that, my lord, I am not very likely to have any
+  choice. I am sent here to join the blockading fleet, and here, no
+  doubt, I am doomed to stick. I care nothing about the
+  Mediterranean, and it would matter little if I did."</p>
+
+  <p>"I am sorry to hear you speak in that way," said Nelson, "for
+  I had reckoned a good deal on your activity, personal knowledge,
+  and abilities, to execute a service of some consequence in the
+  upper parts of the station. In this view I have been cutting out
+  a cruise for you, which I had hoped might enable you to see
+  everything that is interesting, and at the same time to execute a
+  delicate and difficult piece of service. But if you really do not
+  fancy it, only say so&mdash;it is not a business that can be done
+  well on compulsion, but must be done cheerfully. If you have a
+  mind to go, well and good&mdash;if not, I must look out for some
+  one else&mdash;but you are the man I should prefer, if it be
+  agreeable to you. Here is a sketch of your orders, and there is
+  the chart&mdash;look them over at leisure, and make your
+  decision."</p>
+
+  <p>As Lord Nelson spoke these words he went on deck, leaving the
+  poor man bewildered at the prospect of the very employment he
+  most desired, and not a little ashamed of himself for having
+  anticipated so different a reception. The captain gratefully
+  accepted the Admiral's offer, sailed on the appointed service,
+  which he executed with such diligence and zeal, that he actually
+  returned to the blockading fleet long within the period he was
+  authorized to bestow on the cruise; and there he remained ever
+  afterwards, performing all the drudgery of the blockading
+  service, not only with zeal, but with the heartiest good humour,
+  springing out of an anxious desire to manifest at once his
+  respect and his affectionate devotion to the matchless officer
+  who had so judiciously taught him the true path to honour.</p>
+
+  <p>The last thing to be done in fitting out, and before quitting
+  the harbour, is to turn all hands over to their proper ship, and
+  then to scrape, and scrub, and wash the hulk as effectually as
+  possible, preparatory to her being inspected by the dockyard.
+  This duty is too frequently executed in a negligent manner; and
+  really it is not much to be wondered at, for the hulks are such
+  abominable ugly-looking monsters, that one can take no pride or
+  pleasure in treating them with common decency. The
+  commanding-officer, therefore, should be particularly cautious in
+  seeing this operation effectually performed; for, if he does not,
+  he will be sure to be called upon next day to send a party of
+  hands, probably at a great inconvenience, to repeat the
+  process.</p>
+
+  <p>There are, as will readily be conceived, a hundred minor
+  points to be thought of in the equipment of a ship, to which I
+  have not adverted, relating to the watching, stationing, and
+  quartering of men and officers; the berthing and arrangement of
+  the people into messes; the rules respecting their having leave
+  to go on shore, and so on. It may be well, however, to remind
+  officers that they should never forget that the mere appearance
+  of their ship is a matter of considerable consequence; and
+  therefore, even in the very busiest times of the outfit, the
+  yards should be carefully squared every evening after the work is
+  over, all the ropes hauled taut, and the decks swept as soon as
+  the artificers leave off work. Not a single person beyond the
+  sentries should ever be allowed to go from the hulk to the ship,
+  except during working hours. This rule prevents any interference
+  with the tools or unfinished work of the dockyard men. In a word,
+  the crew should never be allowed to suppose that the discipline
+  of forms and appearances, so to call it, is relaxed, because the
+  usual regularity of working is in some degree interrupted. That a
+  ship is essentially in good order can at once be discovered by a
+  professional eye, in the midst of her most bustling occupations
+  and at any stage of the outfit.</p>
+
+  <p>Last of all the pilot comes on board; the sails are loosed and
+  hoisted; and the lashings being cast off from the hulk, the gay
+  ship sails joyously out of harbour, and takes up her anchorage at
+  the anchoring ground. The officers and crew set to work in
+  getting things into their places; and being all thoroughly tired
+  of harbour, and anxious to get to sea, a fresh feeling of zeal
+  and activity pervades the whole establishment.</p>
+
+  <p>The powder is now got on board; the warrant-officers "indent"
+  or sign the proper acknowledgments for their stores at the
+  dockyard; and the purser, having completed the stock of
+  provisions, closes his accounts at the victualling-office. The
+  captain's wife begins to pack up her band-boxes in order to
+  return home, while the Jews and bum-boat folks are pushing all
+  the interest they can scrape together to induce the first
+  lieutenant to give them the priority of entrance with their goods
+  and chattels on the approaching pay-day. The sailors' wives about
+  this period besiege the captain and his lady alternately, with
+  petitions to be allowed to go to sea in the ship; to all, or most
+  of which, a deaf ear must be turned. When all things are put to
+  rights, the port-admiral comes on board to muster and inspect the
+  ship's company, and to see how the different equipments have been
+  attended to.</p>
+
+  <p>At length, just before sailing, pay-day comes, and with it
+  many a disgusting scene will ever be associated until the present
+  system be modified. The ship is surrounded by a fleet of boats
+  filled with gangs of queer-looking Jew-pedlars sitting in the
+  midst of piles of slop-clothing, gaudy handkerchiefs, tawdry
+  trinkets, eggs and butter, red herrings and cheeses, tin-pots,
+  fruit, joints of meat, and bags of potatoes, well concealed
+  beneath which are bottles and bladders filled with the most
+  horribly adulterated spirituous liquors. As many of these dealers
+  as can be conveniently ranged on the quarter-deck and gangways
+  may be admitted, that the market may be as open and fair as
+  possible; but it is very indiscreet to allow any of them to go on
+  the main-deck.</p>
+
+  <p>Right happy is that hour when the ship is fairly clear of all
+  these annoyances&mdash;sweethearts and wives inclusive&mdash;and
+  when, with the water filled up to the last gallon, the bread-room
+  chock full, and as many quarters of beef got on board as will
+  keep fresh, the joyful sound of "Up Anchor!" rings throughout the
+  ship. The capstan is manned; the messenger brought to; round fly
+  the bars; and as the anchor spins buoyantly up to the bows, the
+  jib is hoisted, the topsails sheeted home, and off she goes,
+  merrily before the breeze!</p>
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">FINIS.</p>
+  <hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+  <p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bolder;">POETRY
+  PUBLISHED BY<br />
+  MESSRS. BELL AND DALDY,<br />
+  186, FLEET STREET, LONDON.</p>
+
+  <p>Legends and Lyrics, by Adelaide Anne<br />
+  Procter, <i>6th Edition</i>. Fcap. 8vo. 5s. Antique<br />
+  or best plain morocco, 10s. 6d.<br />
+  <br />
+  &mdash;SECOND SERIES. <i>2nd Edition</i>.<br />
+  Fcap. 8vo. 5s.; morocco, 10s. 6d.<br />
+  <br />
+  Teuton. By C.J. Riethm&uuml;ller. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d.<br />
+  <br />
+  The Legend of the Golden Prayers, and other Poems.<br />
+  By C.F. Alexander, Author of "Moral songs," &amp;c.<br />
+  Fcap. 8vo. 5s.; morocco, 10s. 6d.<br />
+  <br />
+  Verses for Holy Seasons. By the Same Author.<br />
+  Edited by the Very Rev. W.F. Hook, D.D. <i>4th Edition</i>.<br />
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lieutenant and Commander, by Basil Hall
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Lieutenant and Commander
+       Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from
+       Fragments of Voyages and Travels
+
+Author: Basil Hall
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2005 [EBook #17032]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIEUTENANT AND COMMANDER ***
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+Produced by Steven Gibbs and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
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+
+THE LIEUTENANT AND COMMANDER;
+
+BEING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
+OF HIS OWN CAREER,
+
+FROM
+
+FRAGMENTS OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
+BY CAPTAIN BASIL HALL, R.N., F.R.S.
+
+
+LONDON:
+BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STREET,
+AND SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND CO.
+47, LUDGATE HILL.
+1862.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The present volume is rather a condensation than an abridgment of the
+later volumes of Captain Hall's "Fragments of Voyages and Travels,"
+inasmuch as it comprises all the chapters of the second and third
+series, only slightly abbreviated, in which the author describes the
+various duties of the naval lieutenant and commander, the personal
+narrative being the framework, and his own experience in both
+capacities providing the details.
+
+The editor has no hesitation in stating, after the careful perusal and
+analysis he has necessarily made of this work, and that, with a
+tolerably extensive knowledge of books, he knows of none which may,
+with more propriety, be placed in the hands of young men, whatever
+may be their destination in life; but more especially are they adapted
+for the use of young officers and all aspirants to a seaman's life.
+The personal narrative, slight though it is, renders it very amusing,
+and every point the author makes inculcates a rigorous attention to
+"duty" duly tempered with discretion and humanity in commanding
+officers.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+    Taking a line in the service--Duty of officers--The dashing
+    boys--Dashing boys ashore--Philosophers afloat--Naval
+    statesmen--Scientific officers--Hard-working officers--Poetical
+    aspirants--Taking a line
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+    A sailor on shore--Irish hospitality--A sailor ashore--Irish
+    factions--Irish scenery--Land-locked bay--Reflections and
+    plans--An awkward dilemma--A retreat--A country party--A medical
+    experiment--My reception
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+    Tricks upon travellers--Irish refinement--A wise resolve--After
+    dinner--The second bottle--One bottle more--Second thoughts
+    best--The game of humbug--The climax--You're off, are you?--A
+    practical bull--Irish hospitality
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+    The Admiralty List--Chances of promotion--The Admiral's list--My
+    own disappointment--A good start--Homeward bound--A spell of bad
+    weather
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+    The tropical regions at sea--Sir Nathaniel Dance--The old Indian
+    ships--Social life at sea--Details of the voyage--The Canary
+    Islands--The Trade-winds--Changes of climate--The variable
+    winds--North-east Trades--Our limited knowledge--The great
+    monsoons
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+    The Trade-winds--The monsoons--Theory of the
+    Trade-winds--Explanations--Tropical winds--Motion of cold
+    air--Direction of clouds--Equatorial Trades--Calms and
+    variables--South-east Trades--Application of theories--Atlantic
+    winds--Monsoons of India--Trade-winds of the pacific--Monsoons
+    of Indian seas--Velocity of equatorial air--Obstructions of the
+    land--Horsburg's remarks--Dampier's essay
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+    Progress of the voyage--Cape of Good Hope--Ships' decks in the
+    tropics--Sweeping the decks--Marine shower-bath--Flying-fish--A
+    calm--Ships in a calm--A tropical shower--Washing-day--Comforts
+    of fresh water
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+    Aquatic sports--Weather wisdom--An equatorial
+    squall--Flying-fish--A chase--The
+    dolphin--Capture--Porpoises--Harpooning--The bonito--Dolphin
+    steaks--Porpoise steaks--The albatross--Shark-fishing--A
+    shark-hook--Habits of sharks--Seizing its prey--Flying at the
+    bait--The shark captured--Killing the shark--The buffalo skin--A
+    narrow escape
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+    A man overboard--Crossing the line--Duty of officers--Rival
+    Neptunes--A boy overboard--Affecting incident--A true-hearted
+    sailor--Bathing at sea--A well-timed action--Swimming--A
+    necessary acquisition--A man overboard--What should be done, and
+    how to do it--Effects of precipitancy--Life-buoy--Regulations
+    for emergencies--Managing the ship with a man
+    overboard--Stationing the crew--Directing the boats
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+    Sunday on board a man-of-war--Mustering by divisions--The fourth
+    commandment--Short services recommended--Order for
+    rigging--Scrubbing and sweeping--Sunday muster--Jack's
+    dandyism--Jack brought up with a round turn--Mustering at
+    divisions--Inspection--The marines--Round the decks--The
+    sick-bay--Lower deck--Below--Cockpit--The gun-room--Quarter deck
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+    The ship church--Rigging the church--Short services
+    recommended--Short sermons recommended--Religious duties
+    necessary to discipline--Church service interrupted--The day of
+    rest
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+    Naval ratings and sea pay--Mustering clothes--Between decks on
+    Sunday--Piping to supper--Mustering by lists--A seaman disrated
+    and rerated--Ratings of seamen--Tendency to do right--Examining
+    stores--Captain's duties--Clothes' muster--Responsibility--A
+    sailor's kit--A sailor's habits--Mizen-top
+    dandies--Hammocks--Piping the bags down--Pressing emigrants--A
+    Scotchman's kit--Improved clothes' muster
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+    Sailors' pets--Purchasing a monkey--Jacko's attractions--Gets
+    monkey's allowance--Jacko and the marines--Jacko's
+    revenge--Jacko turns on his friend--Spills the grog--Is
+    pursued, but is pardoned--Condemned to die--Commuted to
+    teeth-drawing--Surgeon's assistant appealed to--He can't
+    bite--The travelled monkey--Trick on the marines--Its
+    consequences--A potent dose--Its operations--Jack's
+    superstitions--The grunter pet--Jean's advocate--Her good
+    qualities--Jean's obesity, and its attractions--Her death and
+    burial--Well ballasted
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+    Doubling the Cape--Southern constellations--Intelligent chief
+    officer--Sailors and their friends--Parting company--The
+    cape--Simon's town--A fresh breeze--Rising to a gale--All hands
+    shorten sail--Value of experience to an officer--Taking in
+    reefs--Taking in mainsail--Heaving the log--Before the
+    gale--Effects of a gale--Value of a chronometer proved by the
+    want of one--Awful catastrophe
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+    Suggestions towards diminishing the number and severity of Naval
+    punishments--Corporal punishment--The author's own case--An old
+    shipmate--Admiralty regulations--Appeal to officers to avoid
+    precipitation--Dangers of precipitation--Instance of its
+    dangers--A considerate captain--A case for pardon--An obdurate
+    officer--Pardon granted--Retrieving of character
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+    Bombay--First glimpse of India--Bombay and its scenery
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+    Sir Samuel Hood--Naval promotion--Hopes and their
+    disappointment--An ant-hunt--The Admiral's triumph over the
+    engineers
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+    Excursion to Candelay lake in Ceylon--Starting of the
+    expedition--Pearl-divers--A strange tunnel--Hindoo bathing--An
+    amusing exhibition--A tropical forest--A night scene--An
+    alarm--A supper--A midnight burial--Cingalese game--Lake
+    Candelay and its embankment
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+    Griffins in India--Sinbad's valley of diamonds--A
+    mosquito-hunt--Deep anchorage--Local names--Valley of
+    diamonds--Ceylon gems
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+    Ceylonese canoes--Peruvian balsas--The floating windlass of the
+    Coromandel fishermen--American pilot-boats--Balsas of
+    Peru--Man-of-war boats--Ceylonese canoes--Canoe mast and
+    sails--Local contrivances--Construction of the balsa--Management
+    of the sail--Indian method of weighing anchor--A floating
+    windlass--Failure of the attempt--The Admiral's remarks--An
+    interesting feat of mechanical ingenuity
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+    The surf at Madras--Sound of the waves--Masullah
+    boats--Construction of the boats--Crossing the surf--Steering
+    the boat--How a capsize in the surf occurs--Catamarans of the
+    surf--Perseverance of the messenger
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+    Visit to the Sultan of Pontiana, in Borneo--Sir Samuel
+    Hood--Borneo--A floating grove--Pontiana--Chinese in Borneo--The
+    sultan and his audience room--Interior of the palace--The
+    autograph--Anecdote of Sir S. Hood--Getting out of the trap--Sir
+    S. Hood at the Nile--The Zealous and Goliath--Captain Walcott's
+    disinterestedness--Sir S. Hood's kindness
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+    Commissioning a ship--Receiving-hulk--Marines and
+    gunners--Choice of sailors--The ship's company--Choice of
+    officers--Stowing the ballast--Importance of
+    obedience--Complement of men in ships of war--Shipping the
+    crews--A Christmas feast afloat--A Christmas feast in Canton
+    River--Self-devotion
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+    Fitting out--Progress of rigging--The figure-head--Progressive
+    rigging--The boats--Fitting out--Stowage of ships'
+    stores--System requisite--Painting the ship--Policy of a good
+    chief--Anecdote of Lord Nelson--Scrubbing the hulk--Leaving the
+    harbour--Sailing
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+TAKING A LINE IN THE SERVICE.
+
+
+That there is a tide in the affairs of men, has very naturally become
+a figure of frequent and almost hackneyed use in the cockpits,
+gun-rooms, and even the captains' cabins of our ships and vessels of
+war. Like its numerous brethren of common-places, it will be found,
+perhaps, but of small application to the real business of life; though
+it answers capitally to wind up a regular grumble at the unexpected
+success of some junior messmate possessed of higher interest or
+abilities, and helps to contrast the growler's own hard fate with the
+good luck of those about him. Still, the metaphor may have its
+grateful use; for certainly in the Navy, and I suppose elsewhere,
+there is a period in the early stages of every man's professional life
+at which it is necessary that he should, more or less decidedly, "take
+his line," in order best to profit by the tide when the flood begins
+to make. It is difficult to say exactly at what stage of a young
+officer's career the determination to adopt any one of the numerous
+lines before him should be taken: but there can be little doubt as to
+the utility of that determination being made early in life. In most
+cases, it is clearly beyond the reach of artificial systems of
+discipline, to place, on a pair of young shoulders, the reflecting
+head-piece of age and experience; neither, perhaps, would such an
+incongruity be desirable. But it seems quite within the compass of a
+conscientious and diligent commanding officer's power by every means
+to cultivate the taste, and strengthen the principles and the
+understanding of the persons committed to his charge. His endeavour
+should be, to train their thoughts in such a manner that, when the
+time for independent reflection and action arrives, their judgment and
+feelings may be ready to carry them forward in the right path; to
+teach them the habit, for instance, of discovering that, in practice,
+there is a positive, and generally a speedy pleasure and reward
+attendant on almost every exercise of self-denial. When that point is
+once firmly established in the minds of young men, it becomes less
+difficult to persuade them to relinquish whatever is merely agreeable
+at the moment, if it stand in the way of the sterner claims of duty.
+
+Although the period must vary a good deal, I should be disposed to
+say, that, in general, a year or two after an officer is promoted to
+the rank of lieutenant, may be about the time when he ought fairly and
+finally to brace himself up to follow a particular line, and resolve,
+ever afterwards, manfully to persevere in it. His abilities being
+concentrated on some definite set of objects; his friends, both on
+shore and afloat, will be furnished with some tangible means of
+judging of his capacity. Without such knowledge, their patronage is
+likely to do themselves no credit, and their _protege_ very little, if
+any, real service.
+
+Some young fellows set out in their professional life by making
+themselves thorough-bred sailors; their hands are familiar with the
+tar-bucket; their fingers are cut across with the marks of the ropes
+they have been pulling and hauling; and their whole soul is wrapped up
+in the intricate science of cutting out sails, and of rigging masts
+and yards. Their dreams are of cringles and reef-tackles, of knots,
+splices, grummets, and dead-eyes. They can tell the length, to a
+fathom, of every rope in the boatswain's warrant, from the flying jib
+down-haul to the spanker-sheet; and the height of every spar, from the
+main-top-gallant truck to the heel of the lower mast. Their delight
+is in stowing the hold; dragging about kentlage is their joy; they are
+the very souls of the ship's company. In harbour they are eternally
+paddling in the boats, rowing, or sculling, or sailing about; they are
+always the first in fishing or bathing parties; in short, they are for
+ever at some sailor-kind of work. At sea, their darling music is the
+loud whistle of the hardest storm-stay-sail breeze, with an occasional
+accompaniment of a split main-topsail. "The harder it blows, and the
+faster she goes," the merrier are they; "strong gales and squally" is
+the item they love best to chalk on the log-board; and even when the
+oldest top-men begin to hesitate about lying out on the yard to gather
+in the flapping remnants of the torn canvas, these gallant youngsters
+glory in the opportunity of setting an example of what a gentleman
+sailor can perform. So at it they go, utterly reckless of
+consequences; and by sliding down the lift, or scrambling out, monkey
+fashion, to the yard-arm, where they sit laughing, though the spar be
+more than half sprung through, they accomplish their purpose of
+shaming the others into greater exertions. It is well known that one
+of the ablest, if not the very ablest, of the distinguished men whom
+the penetrating sagacity of Nelson discovered and brought forward,
+owed his first introduction to the notice of that wonderful commander
+by an exploit of this very description.
+
+These are the dashing boys who cut out privateers, jump overboard
+after men who cannot swim, and who, when the ship is on fire, care not
+a farthing for the smoke and heat, but dive below with the engine-pipe
+in their hands, and either do good service, or perish in the flames
+with a jolly huzza on their lips. Such may fairly be called the
+muscular parts of our body nautical, for there is no gummy flesh about
+them; and when handled with skill, they form the stout instruments
+which help essentially to win such battles as the Nile and Trafalgar.
+
+The young persons I have just been describing are, however, by no
+means servile imitators of the sailors; they possess much useful
+technical knowledge, as well as mere energy of character; and often
+both think and act with originality; yet they are docile to the last
+degree, and delight in nothing more than fulfilling, to the very
+letter, the orders of their superiors. They may amuse themselves, as
+youngsters, by affecting the gait, the dress, and the lingo of the
+man before the mast; and are at times supposed to be a little too
+familiar with these models, on whom they pretend to shape their
+manners; but still they never carry the joke so far as to become what
+is called "Jack and Tom," even with the leading men in the ship. They
+can sing, upon occasion, snatches of forecastle ditties, or fling off
+a hornpipe worthy of the merriest cracked fiddle that ever sounded
+under the bow of a drunken musician amongst a company, half-seas over,
+at the back of Point Beach. Not content with
+
+    "Their long-quartered shoes, check shirt, and blue jacket,"
+
+they will even thrust a quid into their cheek, merely to gain the
+credit, such as it is, of "chewing backy like a sailor."
+
+But there must be a limit to the indulgence of these fancies; and if
+even an elder midshipman or mate of the decks were permanently to
+distinguish himself after this masquerade fashion, he would speedily
+lose caste even with the crew. When a mid, for example, is promoted to
+lieutenant, he must speedily decide whether he shall follow up in
+earnest a course of strictly seaman-like objects, of which the mere
+outward show had previously captivated his young fancy; or he must
+enter into some compromise with himself, and relinquish a part of his
+exclusive regard for these pursuits, in consideration of others less
+fascinating, to be sure, but more likely to bear on his advancement;
+for, without some knowledge of many other things, his chance must be
+very small in the race of professional life.
+
+In tolerably wide opposition of habits to these tarpaulin men follow
+the less dashing and showy race sometimes called "star-gazers,"
+sometimes "dictionary-men," who are also occasionally taunted or
+dignified by their messmates with the title of "philosophers." The
+object of most of these young philosophisers is to get at the reason
+of all things, and to be able not only to work by the rules laid down
+for them in printed books, or in the written orders of their
+superiors; but to investigate the foundation of these rules and
+regulations so thoroughly, that when new cases occur, they may have it
+in their power to meet them by fresh resources of their own: according
+in spirit, with those which experience has shown to be conducive to
+the happiness of the crew and the efficiency of the service. Out of
+the class of officers now alluded to, the growth of which it has been
+the wise policy of late years to encourage, there have sprung up the
+numberless voyagers, surveyors, and other strictly nautical men, who
+are always to be found when the public service requires a practical
+question to be settled, or a professional office of responsibility and
+trust to be filled up. If the arctic circle is to be investigated by
+sea or by land, or the deserts of Africa traversed, or the world
+circumnavigated afresh, under the guidance of the modern improvements
+in navigation, the government at once calls upon such men as Parry,
+Franklin, Clapperton, Beechey,[1] to whom they can safely entrust the
+task.
+
+From the same class, also, a valuable race of naval statesmen have
+been drawn. For a considerable number of years, the whole of the
+diplomatic duties of South America, as far as concerned the interests
+of England, were carried on by the naval commanders-in-chief. Who can
+forget how important a share of Lord Nelson's command, or, after him,
+of Lord Collingwood's in the Mediterranean, consisted of duties of a
+purely civil description? And it may be questioned if diplomatic
+history offers a more masterly specimen of address and statesman-like
+decision, as well as forethought, than was displayed by Captain
+Maitland, in securing the person of Buonaparte, not only without
+committing himself or his government, but without wounding the
+feelings of the fallen emperor. The case was, and ever must remain,
+unique; and yet the most deliberate reflection, even after the event,
+has not suggested anything to wish changed. Fortunate, indeed, was it
+for the reputation of this country that the delicate task fell to the
+lot of an officer possessed of such inherent vigour of character, and
+one so familiar with the practical exercise of his own resources, that
+difficulties which might have staggered ordinary minds vanished before
+his.
+
+In so extensive a service as the Navy, accident might perhaps
+occasionally produce such men as have been named above; but it is very
+material to observe, that unless there existed, as a permanent body, a
+large class in the Navy, who follow the pursuits alluded to from taste
+as well as from motives of public spirit, and from whose ranks
+selections can be made with confidence at moments of need, such
+opportunities as those above alluded to might often be allowed to pass
+unprofitably. It is, moreover, important to recollect, that it is in
+these matters as in everything else where there is a great demand, and
+consequently a great supply, there will from time to time start up a
+master spirit, such as that of my lamented friend, the late Captain
+Henry Foster, to claim, even in the very outset of his career, the
+cheerful homage of all the rest. So far from the profession envying
+his early success, or being disturbed at his pre-eminent renown, they
+felt that his well-earned honours only shed lustre on themselves.
+
+It is also very pleasing to observe the reciprocal feeling which
+belongs on such occasions to all rightly constituted minds. When
+Captain Foster, in 1828, then only lieutenant, received the Copley
+medal, the highest scientific honour in the gift of the Royal Society,
+it never occurred to him merely to hang it at his breast in solitary
+dignity, or to chuckle presumptuously at his own particular good
+fortune. So far from this, he thought only of the service; and
+proceeding straight to the Admiralty, he showed the medal, and
+declared modestly, but firmly, to their lordships, that he considered
+the honour only nominally bestowed upon himself, but essentially
+conferred upon the naval profession at large. This generous and manly
+appeal could not fail to make its due impression; and within the same
+hour, his commission, as commander, was signed, his appointment to a
+ship ordered, and a voyage of scientific research carved out for him.
+But I need not add how bitter a grief it is to those who were
+personally acquainted with this rising young officer, to think that so
+much knowledge--such useful talents--such unmatched zeal and
+industry--and such true love for science--all so fertile in promises
+of future service and renown--should have been lamentably quenched in
+a moment.
+
+Besides the regular-built sailors, and the saltwater statesmen and
+philosophers, there is yet another set which greatly outnumbers both,
+and which, if comparisons must be made, equals, if it does not far
+exceed them in utility. I allude to that large and very important body
+of strictly professional persons who are not remarkable for anything
+in particular, unless it be for a hearty and uncompromising devotion
+to the service. Captains, it is to be feared, are generally too apt to
+consider these meritorious persons as less entitled to attention than
+their more showy companions; just as schoolmasters are, not
+unnaturally, disposed to devote most of their time to the cleverest
+boys, to the comparative neglect of those who cluster round the point
+of mediocrity. It may, however, be easily conceived that the persons
+least attended to, afloat as well as on shore, often stand more in
+need of notice and assistance than their gifted brethren, who are
+better able to make their own consequence felt and acknowledged; for
+it must not be forgotten that these honest, hard-working men actually
+perform the greater part of all the routine drudgery of the service,
+and perhaps execute it better than men of higher talents could do in
+their place.
+
+The class amongst us who devote themselves to sober literary pursuits
+is necessarily very small; but that of the happy youths, who dream the
+gods have made them poetical, has many members, who "rave, recite, and
+madden round the ship," to their own (exclusive) satisfaction. Others
+there are who deal desperately in the fine arts of painting and
+music,--that is, who draw out of perspective, and play out of tune:
+not that the ability to sketch the scenes and phenomena continually
+passing before them is objectionable; I allude here to the pretenders
+to art. Their poor messmates can have little respect for these
+pretending Rembrandts and Paganinis; and the happiness of the mess
+would be considerably improved if authority were given to pitch every
+such sketch-book and every flute out at the stern-port.
+
+Finally come the raking, good-looking, shore-going, company-hunting,
+gallivanting, riff-raff set of reckless youths, who, having got rid of
+the entanglement of parents and guardians, and having no great
+restraint of principle or anything else to check them, seem to hold
+that his Majesty's service is merely a convenience for their especial
+use, and his Majesty's ships a sort of packet-boats to carry their
+elegant persons from port to port, in search of fresh conquests, and,
+as they suppose, fresh laurels to their country.
+
+Few men do anything well which they do not like; for the same reason,
+if an officer be capable of performing services really valuable, his
+success must arise from turning his chief attention to those branches
+of the profession which he feels are the most congenial to his
+peculiar tastes, and which experience has shown lie within the range
+of his capacity. Some officers deliberately act upon this, while the
+greater number, as may be supposed, adopt their line unconsciously.
+Still, it is the bounden duty of every well-wisher to the service to
+use the influence he possesses to lead the young persons about him to
+follow the true bent of their genius, and to select as a principal
+object of study the particular branch of the profession in which they
+are most likely to benefit themselves permanently.
+
+I well remember, in my own case, the day, and almost the very hour,
+when these convictions flashed upon my mind. I then saw, for the first
+time, that unless I speedily roused myself, and "took my line"
+vigorously, the proper occasion might swiftly pass away. I was quite
+astonished how, up to that moment, I had seen so little of what now
+appeared so very palpable; every other consideration was instantly
+dismissed, and all minor vanities being shaken off like dew-drops to
+the air, I set resolutely about the attainment of my promotion, the
+grand object of every officer's ambition. But before describing how
+this important affair was put in train, I shall attempt a sketch of
+the kind of life I was leading about this period. In looking back to
+those days, and glancing the mind's eye along the intermediate years,
+I sometimes ask myself whether or not I should act very differently if
+permitted to make the voyage over again, under the guidance of
+experience bought by the practice of life. The retrospect, of course,
+offers some unavailing regrets; but still I can hardly believe that
+the result would, on the whole, have proved materially happier for
+myself.
+
+Such being the case, I trust there is no unpardonable egotism in
+mentioning, in a work intended for young people, that one of my chief
+motives for bringing these Fragments of my life and adventures before
+them, is the hope of imparting to others, similarly circumstanced, a
+portion of that spirit of cheerfulness, and that resolute
+determination to make the most of things, which, after thirty years of
+activity and enjoyment in foreign climes, have landed me in perfect
+contentment at home.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] All gone since our author wrote. Now it looks for Osbornes,
+Maclures, and other names as trustworthy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A SAILOR ON SHORE.
+
+
+It is a far easier thing to get into a house in Ireland than to get
+out of it again; for there is an attractive and retentive witchery
+about the hospitality of the natives of that country, which has no
+match, as far as I have seen, in the wide world. In other places the
+people are hospitable or kind to a stranger; but in Ireland the affair
+is reduced to a sort of science, and a web of attentions is flung
+round the visitor before he well knows where he is: so that if he be
+not a very cold-blooded or a very temperate man, it will cost him
+sundry headaches--and mayhap some touches of the heartache--before he
+wins his way back again to his wonted tranquillity.
+
+I had not a single acquaintance in Ireland when first I visited that
+most interesting of countries: before leaving it, however, after about
+a year and a-half's cruising off and on their coasts, I was on pretty
+intimate terms with one family at least for every dozen miles, from
+Downpatrick on the east, to the Bloody Foreland on the west, a range
+of more than a hundred and twenty miles.
+
+The way in which this was brought about is sufficiently
+characteristic of the country. I had inherited a taste for geology;
+and as the north of Ireland affords a fine field for the exercise of
+the hammer, I soon made myself acquainted with the Giant's Causeway,
+and the other wonders of that singular district. While engaged in
+these pursuits, I fell in with an eminent medical practitioner
+resident in that part of the country, a gentleman well known to the
+scientific world: he was still better known on the spot as the most
+benevolent and kindest of men. In no part of the globe have I made a
+more agreeable or useful acquaintance. During a residence of a week
+under the roof of this delightful person, he frequently urged me to
+make acquaintance with some friends of his, living also in the north
+of Ireland, but at the opposite angle. He was, in particular, desirous
+that I should see a family with whom he described himself as being
+very intimate, and who were then on a visit far in the west.
+
+Influenced by the extreme earnestness of my worthy friend, who,
+indeed, would hardly let me stir from his house until I had promised
+to deliver, with my own hands, a letter of introduction to a lady
+alluded to, who, he assured me, would introduce me to the family with
+whom she was then living as a guest. I thought it rather an odd
+arrangement that a mere guest should introduce a stranger to another
+person's house: but I had already seen enough of the hearty
+hospitality of Ireland not to wonder at anything having a kind purpose
+in view. I therefore promised that, if at any time I could obtain
+leave of absence for a few days, the introductory letter should be
+delivered.
+
+I did not discover, until long afterwards, the secret motive of my
+friend's anxiety that I should pay the visit in question, though, at
+the time alluded to, I was quite coxcomb enough to suppose that it all
+arose from personal consideration. It mattered little to me, however,
+to what the kindness was due; and, my leave having expired, I set off
+to the Endymion, of which I was then second lieutenant, with a firm
+resolution to avail myself of the first opportunity of visiting the
+persons to whom my excellent friend the doctor had given me an
+introduction. I had been so frequently absent before, that I expected
+to be fixed on board for a long time to come, and was therefore
+agreeably disappointed to discover that my brother-officers had formed
+so many pleasant acquaintances at Burncrana, a town on the banks of
+the magnificent Lough Swilly, that they were quite willing to remain
+on the spot, and to take upon their shoulders the extra duty which my
+renewed absence imposed upon them. I had only, therefore, to obtain
+the captain's permission for a fresh run. This was easily gained, for
+he was the most indulgent of mortals; and his only caution was, "Now,
+mind, don't you be falling in love with any of these Irish girls. It
+will be quite time enough for that when you are a post captain."
+
+I promised to attend to his advice, and set out in the highest glee,
+wishing for no better sport than to try the firmness of my resolutions
+on this head, though, it must be confessed, I was fully more inclined
+to follow the precept enjoined upon me by another friend, who, by way
+of improving the captain's instruction, said,--
+
+"Do take care what you are about when you mix with those fair and
+fascinating witches, and never hold yourself as heart-safe, unless you
+are in love with at least two of them at once!"
+
+Off I went; but it matters not whether the course steered was to the
+east or to the west after leaving Londonderry: a letter of
+introduction in my pocket naturally determined my route; and, having
+hired a good stout horse, I strapped my valise behind, and set out on
+a fine summer's evening in quest of adventures. Yet I was in no
+respect prepared to find myself so soon in what appeared very like a
+field of battle. I had not proceeded twenty miles before I came to a
+village surrounded by troops, and guarded at the ends of its few
+streets by loaded cannon, with lighted matches smoking by their sides.
+A considerable encampment was formed on a slightly rising eminence
+near the village; and on the neighbouring ground, still farther off,
+might be seen large irregular groups of people, who, I learned, upon
+inquiry, were chiefly Orangemen, preparing for a grand ceremonial
+procession on this the 12th of July, the well-known anniversary of the
+battle of the Boyne. In order to resist this proceeding on the part of
+the Protestants, an immense multitude on the Roman Catholic side of
+the question were likewise assembled, and all the roads converging
+towards that quarter were lined with parties of men carrying sticks in
+their hands, flocking to the expected scene of action. The military
+had been called in to keep the peace, but the angry passions of the
+respective factions were so much roused, that even the precautions
+above described seemed hardly sufficient to prevent the threatened
+conflict.
+
+As a matter of curiosity, I could have no great objection to seeing
+another such battle as the one I had witnessed near Corunna between
+those long-established fighting-cocks, the French and English; but to
+look on while honest Pat and Tim were breaking one another's heads
+upon abstract political grounds, and English soldiery interposing with
+grapeshot and fixed bayonets to make them friends again, was what I
+had no mind for. I tried, therefore, to extricate myself forthwith
+from this unhappy struggle; but my horse being tired, I was forced to
+sleep in a village which, for aught I knew, might be sacked and burned
+before morning; nothing occurred, however: nevertheless, I felt far
+from easy till out of reach of the furious factions; the strangest
+thing of all being that some quiet folks, a few miles distant, with
+whom I took breakfast, seemed scarcely to mind it, although the
+country round them was all on fire. From thence the course lay across
+a wild range of mountains, one of them having on its top a sheet of
+fresh water called Loch Salt. Nothing can be conceived more desolate
+or dreary than this part of the country; and as there were few
+inhabitants upon it at any time, and none at all at this moment, I had
+no small difficulty in making good my way. On coming nearer to the
+noble bay or lough, on the banks of which the country-seat of my
+unknown friends was to be found, the aspect of things changed as if by
+magic. A slight inequality in the ground concealed this "jewel in the
+desert," as it was often called, till the whole of its rare beauties
+could be seen to the greatest advantage. Even without the contrast of
+wild moors, the singular beauties of the spot claimed the highest
+admiration; but after such a preparative they appeared doubly grateful
+to the senses, and I put spurs to my horse, anxious to come nearer to
+such a delicious scene.
+
+The mansion of my future friend, of which only partial glimpses could
+be caught now and then, was well guarded on every side by fine old
+trees, rising from the surface of carefully-dressed grounds, richly
+stocked flower-gardens, long and wide avenues, and graceful terraces,
+some of which reached to the very water's edge, along a delicate beach
+on which the ripple scarcely broke. This charming domain occupied a
+narrow spit of land, or promontory, jutting forwards into a landlocked
+bay, or arm of the sea, in which the water appeared to lie always
+asleep, and as smooth as if, instead of being a mere branch uniting
+with the stormy Atlantic, it had been some artificial lake. Nothing,
+indeed, which the most fertile imagination could suggest seemed to be
+wanting.
+
+There was one extremely well-conceived device at this delightful spot,
+which I never remember to have seen anywhere else, though, there must
+often occur in other places similar situations in which it might be
+imitated. Not far from the house, but quite hid under a thickly-wooded
+cliff, overhanging a quiet bight or cove, about ten or fifteen yards
+across, lay a perfectly secluded pool, with a bottom of snow-white
+sand. It was deep in the middle, but shelved gradually to its margin,
+which rested on a narrow strip, or beach, of small round polished
+pebbles. This fringe, encircling the cove, was surmounted by a dry
+grassy bank, or natural terrace, reaching to the foot of the rock, the
+face of which was not merely perpendicular, but projecting so much
+that the top more than plumbed the edge of the basin. Along the
+sky-line there was drawn a fence or veil of briars, honeysuckles, and
+other impervious bushes, interspersed with myrtles, wild roses, and
+foxgloves, so thickly woven together, that all external view of this
+_beau ideal_ of a bath was rendered impossible. The only access was by
+a narrow, steep, and winding path; and at the upper end was placed a
+high, locked gate, the key of which was in the exclusive charge of the
+ladies.
+
+As I rode on, ignorant as yet of these and many other rich and rare
+beauties of this singular spot, and only admiring the general aspect
+of things, I began, for the first time, to reflect on the extreme
+awkwardness of my situation.
+
+Here was I merely the bearer of an introductory letter to a lady,
+herself a guest in the house; and although it might have been
+allowable enough to have called to deliver such an introduction, had
+business or accident brought me to the neighbourhood, now it seemed
+rather a strong measure to travel fifty or sixty miles across a wild
+and disturbed country merely to pay a morning call. The inference that
+my intention was to make a visit of some duration, became inevitable;
+and I pictured to myself the string of explanations I had to give,
+which might, after all, not be followed by any invitation to remain.
+After long cogitations, I resolved to steal up to the house, if
+possible, unperceived; have my horse turned over to the groom, and my
+portmanteau stowed out of sight, and then to walk boldly up to the
+door, with a visiting-card in one hand, and my credentials in the
+other, to be delivered to the servant for the lady to whom the letter
+was addressed. I next proposed to stroll about the woods, to give
+time for any good things said of the bearer to work their way,
+hoping, by this rather clumsy manoeuvre, that by the time I returned
+to the house its inmates might be prepared to receive the stranger;
+and then, if their invitation to remain should happen not to be very
+pressing, I might pretend to be collecting specimens for my geological
+friends, and so make my escape; though, to own the truth, nothing was
+farther from my thoughts than geology.
+
+In spite of these ingenious plans, I felt myself rather absurdly
+situated, and half wished I had not engaged at all in such an
+unpromising adventure. It seemed, however, too late to retreat, and
+therefore I jogged on, as earnestly hoping not to be detected as ever
+did any troops in advancing to the attack of a besieged fort.
+
+What, then, was my speechless horror, on riding up the approach, to
+discover a cavalcade of not fewer than a dozen ladies and gentlemen
+bearing right down upon me from the house. Had it been a troop of
+French cuirassiers charging across the ground, and threatening
+annihilation to the unfortunate hack and his rider, I could not have
+been much more astounded. The master of the house was probably of the
+number; he would stop to inquire the business of the
+suspicious-looking stranger invading his territories. The person for
+whom I brought a letter, being an elderly lady, was not likely to be
+on horseback amidst a party of young folks. There would be a general
+halt ordered; while the poor new-comer, with his draggled horse and
+swollen valise indicative of anything but a hasty departure, would
+become the subject of a pleasant criticism to the quizzical dandies
+and young ladies of the party. Even when this scrutiny was over, what
+were they to do with their unexpected, self-elected companion? His
+horse was now too tired, and much too ugly at any time to accompany
+such gay palfreys as were prancing over the lawn; yet they could not,
+in common civility, leave a stranger adrift; nor could they accompany
+him back to the house, without breaking up their expedition for the
+day.
+
+All this flashed through my mind in a moment, and left me in a dire
+dilemma. I pulled up my jaded nag, however, with such a jerk, that I
+well-nigh threw him on his haunches. Fortunately, a little unevenness
+in the ground hid me from the view of the advancing cavalry; and at
+the same critical instant I discovered an opening in the fence on one
+side. Without considering or caring whither it might lead, I turned my
+charger round, urged him forwards with whip and spur, and dashed into
+the gap as if I had been flying from the arm of justice, instead of
+making my escape from as companionable a set of people as ever
+breathed. Had any of the party detected the bashful fugitive, and
+given chase, he must have been caught; for the path into which I had
+fled terminated in a road leading to some farm offices, but with no
+opening beyond.
+
+The awkwardness of my situation, which was already considerable,
+became greatly augmented by this ridiculous proceeding; and I heard
+the riders pass within twenty yards of my hiding-place, with the most
+unspeakable alarm lest any one of them should catch a glimpse of me
+nestling behind a cart of hay. I breathed freer when the last
+servant's horse crossed the ridge; and then, creeping from my hole,
+soon gained the stables adjoining the house, gave up my horse,
+secured the well-stuffed valise out of sight, and repaired, according
+to the original precious scheme, to the front door with my letter. I
+stood for five minutes with the knob of the bell in my hand,
+irresolute whether to go on with the adventure, or fairly to cut and
+run from it. At length, when the fatal pull was given, I listened to
+the sound, and felt myself what statesmen call "fully committed."
+There was now nothing left but to screw up my courage, as I best
+might, to meet the dangers and difficulties of the crisis.
+
+There happened to be no one at home except the old lady, to whom my
+introduction was addressed, so that the plan succeeded very well; I
+forget now the details of the introduction, but I can never cease to
+remember the unbounded cordiality of the reception, not only from this
+excellent person, but from the master and mistress of the house, and
+all their assembled friends, showing how totally I had miscalculated
+the nature and extent of Irish hospitality. There were several elderly
+persons, then in the autumn of life, and several were very young
+folks, scarcely able to walk, who now count many "daughters and sons
+of beauty." There was a pretty equal admixture of Irish and English,
+amongst them several persons of rank; also one or two foreigners;
+besides much native wit, worth, and beauty, of the highest order, and
+all most delightfully set off by the graces and nameless enchantments
+of refined manners, and tasteful as well as useful accomplishments. I
+have rarely, if ever, seen in any part of the world so fascinating an
+assemblage of all that would render a country party agreeable as was
+here collected in one of the most out-of-the-way corners of Ireland.
+My worthy captain's advice was now thrown to the winds; and indeed any
+heart, aged twenty-two, must have been made of cast-iron to have
+resisted the rides and walks, the picnic dinners, the dances, and the
+music parties, and suppers, besides the infinitely varied round of
+other amusements, grave and gay, which contributed to render, and will
+for ever preserve, this nook of Ireland the true terrestrial paradise
+of my early days.
+
+How the deuce I ever contrived to get out of the magic circle, I
+hardly know; but if I could only feel myself at liberty, without a
+breach of confidence, to give a few details of those hours, I would
+stake great odds on the side of the effect which the description of
+such a reality might produce, against the interest of the imaginary
+scenes in almost any romance.
+
+I have already mentioned that the gentleman whose introduction I
+carried was most urgent for me to deliver the letter in person; but he
+gave no reasons for this anxiety; nor indeed was I then aware, that,
+besides his being an intimate friend, he was their family physician.
+While acting in this capacity, he had seen with regret how ineffectual
+his art had proved to alleviate the mother's sorrow caused by the
+recent loss of her favourite son. The young man had been in the Navy,
+and would have been about my own age and standing in the service.
+These accidental coincidences suggested to her judicious and
+kind-hearted friend, that as I, in some degree, resembled him in
+appearance and in manners, the poor mother's thoughts and feelings
+might possibly be diverted into a new channel, by the society of a
+person in so many respects similarly circumstanced to the child she
+had lost.
+
+It so happened, fortunately for me, that the experiment completely
+succeeded--I hope and believe, to the mother's consolation. To me, of
+course, the reception I met with was matter of delight and
+astonishment; so much so, indeed, that I occasionally felt somewhat
+startled, and almost oppressed, with the sense of obligation imposed
+by such unusual and unmerited attentions.
+
+The first explanation of the mystery is really so touching in itself,
+that I give it without reserve as I received it in a letter from this
+most excellent old lady, about six months after my first acquaintance
+with her, and just before I quitted England for the East Indies:--
+
+"Once more adieu!" She concludes, "I must hope you will write to me
+often; let me constantly know how you proceed, and how I can address
+you; and recollect, you have received the freedom of this house. I
+believe I told you I had lost a son, a lieutenant in the Navy, and of
+superior talents. I therefore consider that Heaven has given you to my
+care in his place--and may the Almighty protect you!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+TRICKS UPON TRAVELLERS.
+
+
+A curious and vastly pleasing fashion prevails in that part of Ireland
+where I was so nearly bewitched as almost to forget my ship, my
+duties, and everything else, but beauty! When a party, such as I have
+been describing, had passed a certain time together, they seldom broke
+up entirely, but generally shifted, or emigrated in a body (flitted, I
+think they used to call it) to the house of some one of their number.
+Now and then various members of the group dropped off by the way, but
+their places were presently filled up by others, who soon found their
+way to the new hive when the well-known sounds of festivity were heard
+in the neighbourhood.
+
+In this manner the party, into which I had been so kindly admitted,
+made several moves, with sundry losses and accessions to its numbers;
+and as every day rendered this life more and more grateful, I could
+scarcely bear to think of returning to the tame occupations and rugged
+society of the frigate, the duties of which had so recently been my
+greatest and most sincere delight. Meanwhile, since my good-natured
+captain, and still better-natured messmates, made no difficulties
+about this protracted absenteeism, I continued to involve myself
+deeper and deeper at every step. I failed not to perceive at times
+that I was getting into rather a dangerous scrape for a younger son
+and a young officer, who had yet to work his own way in the world. But
+as these reflections interfered rather impertinently with the
+enjoyments of the hour, they were crushed down, and kept out of sight
+as much as possible at that gay period.
+
+What surprised me most, all this time, was the air of refinement and
+high polish in the Irish society amongst which I was thus casually
+thrown. I had previously entertained an idea that their hospitality,
+proverbial in all parts of the world, was of a rude and rather
+troublesome description. I found it, on the contrary, marked not only
+by the strongest lines of sincerity and kindness, but by many of those
+delicate touches of consideration for the feelings of others which
+form the most indubitable symptoms of genuine good-breeding.
+
+Instead of discovering that the stories were true about the sort of
+compulsion used in matters of drinking, I can safely say that, during
+the course of experience in joviality I went through in the north of
+Ireland, I seldom met with anything at a gentleman's table approaching
+even to exigence on this score. I do not deny that our friends the
+Irish have a wonderfully winning way of insinuating their good cheer
+upon us, and sometimes of inducing us to swallow more claret than is
+perhaps good for us.
+
+I landed once at Burncrana, a pretty quiet little village, with a
+watering-place look, on the eastern banks of that great and beautiful
+bay Lough Swilly. One side of this fine harbour is formed by the bold
+promontory of Inishowen, celebrated in every land for its noble
+whiskey, second only (which, as a Scotchman, I am bound to assert) to
+Ferntosh or Glenlivet. I was accompanied by an English gentleman, on
+the first day of his landing in Ireland. As he then seriously imagined
+the inhabitants to belong to a sort of wild and uncouth race, I could
+see he was rather surprised at the gentleman-like deportment of an
+acquaintance of mine resident on the spot, for whom he had brought a
+letter. We had walked together to his house, or rather cottage, for he
+was not a fixed resident, but came there for summer quarters. The
+neatness, and even elegance, of the domestic arrangements of his
+temporary establishment, both without and within the dwelling, gave
+token of a taste many degrees removed from the state of people far
+back in civilization. Presently the ladies came; and their national
+frankness, modified by the most entire and unaffected simplicity,
+puzzled my friend completely. In due season the dressing-bell sent us
+off to prepare for dinner; and while we were getting ready, my
+companion said, "I see what this fellow is at: he means to sew you and
+me up. You may do as you please; but I'll be shot if he plays off his
+Irish pranks on me. I will eat his dinner, take a couple of glasses of
+his wine, make my bow to the ladies, go on board by eight or nine
+o'clock, and, having given them a dinner in return, shall have done my
+duty in the way of attention; after which I shall totally cut the
+connection. I have no idea of their abominable fashion of forcing
+strangers to drink."
+
+"We shall see," said I; and having knocked the dust off our shoes,
+down we went to dinner.
+
+Everything was plain, and suitable to the pretensions of a cottage.
+There was no pressing to eat or drink during dinner; and in process of
+time the cloth was removed, the Ladies sipped a little sweet wine, and
+disappeared.
+
+"Now for it," whispered my friend; "he has sent the women out of the
+way, that he may ply us the better."
+
+And I must own things looked rather suspicious; for our host, instead
+of sitting down again at the dinner-table, walked to a bow-window
+overlooking the anchorage, and exactly facing the setting sun, at that
+hour illuminating the whole landscape in the gorgeous style peculiar
+to combined mountain and lake scenery. "Why should we not enjoy this
+pleasant prospect while we are discussing our wine?" said the master
+of the house. At that instant the door opened, and in walked the
+servant, as if he knew by intuition what was passing in his master's
+head.
+
+"Tim," said our host, "put the card-table here in the bow-window, and
+give us some other glasses; also, if you have such a thing, bring up a
+bottle of claret."
+
+Tim nodded, smiled, and made the fitting adjustments. The table was
+barely large enough to hold a noble long-corked bottle, for the
+fashion of claret decanters had not as yet reached that remote
+district of the empire. Round the margin was placed the necessary
+accompaniment of capacious glasses--famous tall fellows, with such
+slender stalks that they seemed scarcely equal to the weight of their
+generous load.
+
+My friend and I exchanged glances, and I could see his shoulders
+slightly raised, as if he was saying internally, "Now we are in for
+it! but I will not drink a drop more than I choose." The claret, which
+in itself was most delicious, was cooled in perfect style. The party
+consisted, I think, of four or five persons, and this one bottle, I
+remember, just passed round the group twice. As the flavour of the
+beverage appeared to have become more exquisite at the second turn
+than at the first, though but a short interval had been allowed to
+elapse, it seemed odd that another bottle was not instantly called
+for. Instead of this our landlord went on expatiating on the beauties
+of the Lough, and the fineness of the season in general, and the
+sunset in particular, for full five minutes after the wine had
+disappeared; when he suddenly said, with a half-hesitating tone,
+towards my English friend, who sat at his elbow----
+
+"I beg your pardon! perhaps you would take some more wine?"
+
+As no one made any objection, the bell was rung, and Tim re-appeared,
+bearing with him another bottle. This likewise vanished in a trice,
+and Tim was again summoned. "Bring some more claret," said the master
+to the man, or rather boy, as he was called, though twice as old as
+any of the party.
+
+At this instant I caught my companion's eye; and I could see he was
+becoming alive to the plot against him, so much so, indeed, that he
+seemed to be preparing to rise. The following conversation, however,
+attracted his attention, and fixed him to his seat. "Well, Tim, what
+are you gaping at? Why don't you run for the clar't?"
+
+"I didn't know," replied the other, "whether you'd like to use the
+whole of it."
+
+"Use the whole of it!" exclaimed his master--"what does the boy mean?
+Why, Tim, what are you at?"
+
+"Oh, sir," quoth the well-instructed rogue, "as the wine you brought
+was but little, I thought you might not wish to use it all entirely
+to-day." And then he whispered something in his master's ear, the words
+of which we could not distinguish. The reply, however, showed, or
+seemed to show, what had been said. "Nonsense, Tim, nonsense! you're
+an ass, man; bring it up."
+
+Tim accordingly disappeared, but soon returned with a basket
+apparently full of straw; at the bottom of which, however, after some
+considerable show of hunting, a couple of bottles were said to be
+found. "Confound you, Tim, is this all?" said the host.
+
+"It is, sir," lied Tim; "and in faith, sir," added he, still lying,
+"it's one more bottle than I thought; for there was but a dozen when
+we started from Derry a week ago; and you know, sir, you and the
+collector on last Tuesday"
+
+But the catalogue of circumstances which were intended to act as
+buttresses to Master Tim's inventions was cut short by a peremptory
+order to leave the room. This he did so soon as he had made a
+circumbendibus to escape notice, and deposited the basket behind his
+master's chair, muttering, as he put it down with a thump, "There's a
+couple of bottles of as good wine as ever was uncorked."
+
+The fresh broach was indeed so delicious that we could hardly believe
+it was of the same vintage as that of the previous bin, though our
+host assured us it was "the identical." Tim's basket well merited a
+higher eulogium than he had given it; but while his reputation as a
+judge of wine rose, his character for veracity fell in about the same
+proportion, since we beheld, in due season, not merely two, but three,
+and at last a fourth long-necked gentleman from Bordeaux emerge from
+under the straw!
+
+The trick played upon us by these confederates was now apparent
+enough; but the wine, fortunately, was of that light and pure kind
+which does not produce much effect on strong heads, and that of my
+companion was proof against far greater trials than this. He was
+indeed perfectly aware of what was passing; and though dearly loving
+the wine, which was superior to any he had ever before tasted, yet he
+had no notion of being made tipsy by means of a common-place concert
+between host and butler. He therefore rose to leave the room,
+expecting, of course, to be forcibly detained, or, at all events,
+being begged and entreated to sit down again. Not a whit! The wily
+native merely observed to him that "if he had a mind to admire the
+prospect, there was still daylight enough to command a view down the
+bay from the little knoll on the right." The Englishman was sorely
+puzzled by all this. There was none of the detention he expected would
+be practised upon him, and yet he had a strong consciousness that he
+was undergoing the operation well known afloat and ashore by the title
+of "the game of humbug." At the same time, he felt the most eager
+desire to take another good pull at the claret.
+
+There was no wine before us at this critical juncture of the evening,
+and our landlord, who, most unaccountably, seemed indifferent to this
+material circumstance, went on prosing for a quarter-of-an-hour about
+Protestant ascendancy, the eternal siege of Derry, the battle of the
+Boyne, and such like stale topics. At length one of the company became
+somewhat impatient, and, watching for a pause, asked his host if it
+were the custom in Ireland to discuss Orange politics with empty
+glasses?
+
+"God bless me," cried the other, with well-feigned surprise, "is there
+no wine on the table?" and ringing the bell furiously, scolded poor
+Tim so naturally that the confederate was almost thrown out. "Well!
+you numskull, why don't you make off with you, and bring something for
+the gentlemen to drink?" Tim stood fast till interrogated a second
+time, and then replied with perfect gravity that "there wasn't another
+drop of wine in the house." Upon this the master got up in a rage, and
+brushing past the servant, declared his intention of searching the
+cellar himself. He was absent some time, and we had just prevailed on
+our hesitating companion to sit down again, when, as if there had been
+some electrical communication between his chair and the handle of the
+door, it opened, and in walked our generous entertainer, exulting in
+his success, crowing like chanticleer, and bearing in each hand a
+couple of bottles, clicking against each other; while Tim, with a
+degree of impudence equalled only by that of his master, substituted
+clean glasses, of a still more capacious swallow than the first. To
+these were added two pair of candles which towered high above the
+jolly crew, and promised to last till another dawn should look in upon
+our revels. By this time the twilight had almost entirely ebbed away,
+and was succeeded by that cheerful, aurora-kind of brilliancy in the
+sky, which points out the place of the sun during the whole of his
+summer night's journey in those high latitudes. Politics dropped, for
+the joyous juice of the grape soon melted us all into one mind; and a
+hundred topics of more pleasing interest were started, in which the
+strangers could join without fear of any angry discussion. The mirth
+and animation of the company rose very pleasantly as each fresh bottle
+found its way by some magical process to the table. But it became
+rather difficult to tell who were the listeners amongst us, or to say
+who was guest and who landlord, for the party seemed like a circle of
+brothers, all equally at home.
+
+This went on for an indefinite length of time, but I should be the
+veriest conjuror on earth to say how long. Through the hazy atmosphere
+of my recollection of that jolly evening, I remember that about eleven
+o'clock, more or less, our host was enchanted almost beyond the power
+of words by seeing his wine so much relished, and tickled also with
+the success of his joke, in making his suspicious guest drink just as
+much wine as he thought fit to impose. On this occasion, however, he
+inverted the proverb, and reckoned without his guest; for, by one
+imprudent remark, he had well-nigh torn the laurels from his brow.
+
+"Well, sir!" he exclaimed, "although this is the first day you ever
+set foot on the island, you have seen enough, I hope, to satisfy you
+that we are not quite such savages as you supposed; liberty hall, you
+see, is the true title of every Irish gentleman's dining-room: there's
+no compulsion here, you must see very clearly." It was little that my
+English friend could now see very clearly of anything; but the above
+premature announcement of victory brought back all the stranger's
+suspicions. Fired with this idea, he started on his feet, and eyeing
+the door for a long time before he ventured on the voyage, with a bold
+determination, and taking a good departure from his chair, he gained
+his port. He had undoubtedly expected to be lugged back again; for he
+whisked the tails of his coat out of reach, while, with his other hand
+on the lock of the door, and swaying himself about from side to side,
+like a ship in a calm, he stood the very image of tottering
+equilibrium, as the mathematicians call it. Our adroit landlord, who
+was not a man to shrink from difficulties, mustered to his aid all the
+resources of a long well-practised hospitality, and gallantly met this
+great occasion. His devices were, probably, exhausted; so he took
+another line, and called out, "Oh, you're off, are you? Very
+well--you'll find the ladies in the drawing-room. I think I hear the
+tinkle of the piano: I prefer the tinkle of the glass. Pray tell the
+damsels we are coming by-and-bye: mind you say 'by-and-bye.' I don't
+like to be too particular, for fear of seeming rude: don't you see?"
+
+This speech was wound up by a telegraphic flourish of the hand towards
+Tim, who stood near, with a bottle between his feet, the screw buried
+in the cork, and his body bent to the effort, which he only delayed to
+exercise till ordered by his master to pull. "Out with him, man! out
+with the cork!" cried the host. The loud report which succeeded rang
+over the apartment like the sweetest music to the souls of the ever
+thirsty company. Tim's thunder was echoed back by a truly
+bacchanalian shout, such as nothing on earth can give proper emphasis
+to, except a double allowance of claret. The Englishman, fairly
+subdued by the sound, glided again to the table; then seizing his
+brimming glass in one hand, and grasping the fist of his merry host in
+the other, he roared out,--
+
+"You really are an uncommon good fellow; and hang me if ever I
+distrust an Irishman again as long as I live!"
+
+But within three minutes afterwards this promise was broken; for as
+soon as we had discussed the bottle which the incomparable Tim had so
+opportunely introduced, the master of the house, seeing us at length
+quite at his mercy, and eager to go on, rose, and said, to our great
+amaze,--
+
+"Come! we've had wine enough; let's join the ladies in the next room."
+
+The disappointed company stared at one another, and loudly proclaimed
+that it was not fair to limit them in this way. The Englishman, in
+particular, wished to remain; but our host was inexorable. Meanwhile,
+Timothy grinned from ear to ear; familiar with his master's tricks
+upon travellers; and the landlord deliberately opening the door,
+marched off the field of battle with flying colours.
+
+As we moved along to the drawing-room, my companion whispered to me,--
+
+"I must own I have been rightly served for my suspicions. I made quite
+certain of being bullied into drinking more than was agreeable to me;
+but it turns out," added he, laughing, "quite the reverse; for I
+cannot get a drop of wine, now that I want it."
+
+"Well! well!" cried our hospitable friend, who overheard the
+conclusion of this remark, "you shall do as you please ever after this
+evening."
+
+He then showed us to a couple of snug rooms, which he said were ours,
+as long as we chose to occupy them.
+
+For myself, I went off to the Giant's Causeway in the course of next
+day; and on returning, at the end of a week, found that my friend,
+instead of cutting the connection, according to promise, had not been
+once out of sight of the house, and had never been asked to drink a
+bottle, or even a glass, more than he liked. He declared, indeed, that
+he had rarely met, in any country, with persons so truly hospitable,
+or more gentleman-like, in the truest sense of these words.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE ADMIRALTY LIST.
+
+
+In the midst of these gay doings, which were all very well for a time,
+but rather profitless on the whole, an extremely favourable opening
+for promotion suddenly occurred. The late Sir Samuel Hood, on being
+appointed commander-in-chief of the East India station, was applied to
+by my friends, and agreed to take me with him as one of his
+lieutenants. His list of _proteges_, he said, was a long one, and I
+must come in last; after his old followers were provided for, but
+there could not be a moment's doubt on the occasion. In his letters,
+the Admiral dwelt very strongly on the importance of having the name
+of his young friend, as he was good enough to call me, placed likewise
+on the Admiralty List.
+
+The purpose of this advice is easily explained. The Admiral on a
+foreign station is allowed actually to appoint, or promote, to certain
+vacancies only, any officer whom he pleases, while on the occurrence
+of all other vacancies, except those which are thus specifically
+placed at his disposal, he is furnished with what is called an
+Admiralty List. In former times, whatever it be now, the Admirals
+abroad were allowed to appoint officers of their own selection to
+vacancies occasioned by death, or by the sentence of a court-martial;
+while they were instructed to nominate those persons only who stood on
+the Admiralty List to such vacancies as arose from officers falling
+sick and invaliding; from the accession of ships captured and
+purchased into the service; from officers deserting (which strange
+event has sometimes happened); or from the squadron being increased by
+ships built and launched on the station. But as these last enumerated
+are, generally speaking, of much more frequent occurrence than those
+which fall to the Admiral's peculiar share, an officer on the
+Admiralty List has a proportionately better chance of promotion than
+one who stands merely on that of the commander-in-chief.
+
+These two lists differ essentially in one material feature. As a
+matter of course, the Admiral's List possesses some degree of
+stability; since a place upon it is generally won by long service
+under his flag, and retained there by personal esteem or family
+connection. An Admiral's follower, indeed, far from being a term of
+reproach, is always one of honour, as it implies the confidence and
+regard of the flag-officer. To get placed therefore, however near the
+end, on the good books of a rising Admiral is almost a certain road to
+promotion.
+
+On the other hand, the Admiralty List is kept a profound secret, or,
+what comes nearly to the same thing, is kept strictly out of sight of
+those it most concerns. It is well known to be formidably intricate in
+its arrangements, and very slippery in its promises; indeed, from the
+circumstance of its depending on the fluctuating interests of party
+politics, it must be essentially pie-crusty in its texture. For it is
+sometimes thought in the political world that as much may be done by
+propitiating antagonists as by rewarding friends. How all this may be
+in sound principle I cannot tell; but nothing in practice can be more
+unsteady, or less to be relied upon, as I too well know, than this
+said Admiralty List. Still, the advantages of getting his name on this
+precious little slip of paper are very great, though it be a most
+unofficial-looking note sheet, as I can testify, from having once
+incidentally been afforded a glimpse of one, on which, to my horror,
+my own name was not! If the admiral of the station be also a personal
+friend, that source of favour, of course, always adds another string
+to the young man's bow. Circumstances likewise occasionally arise
+which enable an admiral, who has an officer's interest really at
+heart, to give him an extra lift at the right moment, and in the right
+direction, provided his name actually stands on the Admiralty List,
+even though it be ever so low down.
+
+Before sailing for India, accordingly, I took a world of pains to make
+out this grand point, tormented my friends and relations most wofully,
+and, as I conceived, with eventual success. A distinct assurance was
+given to a near connection of my own, and a member of parliament, that
+my name would certainly stand on the First Lord's list, to be sent out
+to India in his Majesty's ship Volage, of which I had the farther good
+fortune to be appointed junior lieutenant. A change at the Admiralty
+was then confidently expected; and I took every care, as I thought, to
+have it arranged that my name should not be omitted when the new
+First Lord came into power. Little dreamed I that, in the _melee_ of
+official patronage and personal favour which shortly afterwards took
+place at headquarters, my poor name would be dropped out altogether.
+The provoking consequence was, however, that I had the mortification
+of seeing sundry capital vacancies in India pass by, one after
+another, which, had I occupied even the very low place on the fresh
+list which I had filled on the old one, might have secured my
+promotion several years sooner than it came.
+
+The old Volage, in which we sailed for India, I am forced to confess,
+was one of the least good-looking of all his Majesty's ships and
+vessels then afloat. But by this time I cared not one fig for the
+looks of my ship, though, a month or two before, I should have
+considered it a point of honour to maintain its beauty. I was
+delighted beyond measure to think that, at length, I was on the right
+road to promotion; and this satisfaction was more than doubled by
+finding the East was the region in which that great prize was to be
+sought for.
+
+Although the men-of-war and their convoy sailed from Spithead on the
+25th of March, they did not reach Madeira till the 19th of April. It
+is always more teasing to be delayed at the outset of a voyage than at
+any other stage of its course, just as it is mortifying and hurtful to
+be checked in the commencement of a profession. Upon this occasion we
+had a fine rattling easterly breeze for eight-and-forty hours after
+starting, which swept us all, dull sailers and good ones, merrily out
+of the British Channel. This fair start is always a grand affair,
+whatever succeeds; for if the prevalent westerly wind catches a ship
+before the channel is left well behind, she may be driven back to
+Plymouth or Falmouth, and all the agony of bills, news, leave-taking,
+and letters, has to be endured over again. Whereas, if she once gets
+the Lizard Light some fifty leagues astern of her, all these worrying
+distractions may be considered at an end. A totally new world--the
+"world of waters"--is now entered upon, far beyond the reach even of
+those long-armed persons, the "gentlemen of the press," or the
+startling sound of the postman's knock; that call which so often sets
+off the steadiest-going pulse at a gallop!
+
+Oh, the joy! the relief unspeakable! of feeling oneself fairly under
+weigh, and of seeing the white cliffs of Old England sinking in the
+north-eastern horizon right to windward! Let the concocters of
+romances and other imaginary tales say what they please of the joys of
+returning home; give me the happiness of a good departure, and a
+boundless world of untried enjoyments ahead. If a man be out of debt
+and out of love, or only moderately involved in either of these
+delicate predicaments; if he have youth and health and tolerable
+prospects, a good ship under his foot, good officers over him, and
+good messmates to serve with, why need he wear and tear his feelings
+about those he leaves behind? Or rather, why need he grieve to part
+from those who are better pleased to see him vigorously doing his duty
+rather than idling in other people's way at home? Or wherefore should
+he sigh to quit those enjoyments in which he cannot honourably
+participate till he has earned his title to them by hardy service?
+
+On the other hand, who is there so insensible as not to feel the
+deepest apprehension, on returning from a long and distant voyage?
+Busy fancy will conjure up images of death and sickness, of losses and
+sorrows. And when the accumulated pile of letters is first placed in
+our hands after a long voyage, with what sickening eagerness do we not
+turn from the superscription to discover the colour of the seal?
+
+It happened once to me to be nearly fifteen months without receiving a
+single line from home, or seeing an English newspaper. On reaching the
+port of rendezvous, I found that as the ship I commanded was the only
+man-of-war in the harbour, there devolved upon me an immense load of
+official business requiring immediate and careful attention. All this
+I learned on my way to the consul's office, where a huge budget of
+letters was delivered to me. My first impulse, naturally, was to tear
+away the envelopes, and dive into the secrets of these domestic
+dispatches; but I paused on detecting several ominous-looking patches
+of black wax, and, thrusting them all into a drawer, did not open one
+till next day. Officially considered, it was well I imposed this
+restraint upon my curiosity; for the fatal news these letters
+contained must have seriously interfered with the exclusive
+professional attention which the nature of the service required me to
+bestow upon various public matters admitting of no delay; whereas, in
+regard to the private intelligence, a single day, added to so many
+months, signified nothing.
+
+After leaving Spithead, our two days of fair wind were enough to take
+us clear of the channel, and well off the bank of soundings, far
+beyond the danger of return. A tolerable spell of bad weather then
+came on, which in one sense was of essential service, by contributing
+greatly to assist the first lieutenant's arrangements, though it
+discomfited most grievously the apple-pie order of those disturbers of
+his peace, the shore-going, long-coated gentry, our passengers, whom
+the sailors, in their coarse but graphic vocabulary, call "dog
+robbers," from their intercepting the broken meat on its way to the
+kennel from their master's table. Our gale of wind, indeed, was no
+gale to speak of; but as the sea rose, and a heavy press of canvas
+laid the creaking old barky well over on her broadside, many of the
+beautifully piled boxes, the well-packed portmanteaus, the polished
+dressing cases and writing-desks, the frail glass, crockery, and other
+finery, fetched way, and went rattling, smash! dash! right into the
+lee scuppers. In the next instant, the great bulk of these materials
+were jerked back again to their original situation, by that peculiar
+movement, so trying to unpractised nerves, called a lurch to windward.
+To unaccustomed ears, the sounds on this occasion lead one to suppose
+the ship is going to pieces; while the cries for help from the
+broken-shinned, sea-sick landsmen, the bawling for cleats and lashings
+from the mate of the decks, the thumping of hammers, and the loud
+laugh of the light-hearted middies, enchanted with the uproar, make a
+fine concert. The sedative effect of two or three hours of this work
+exceeds fresh-water belief; so that in a day or two, Messrs. Neptune,
+Boreas, First Lieutenant, and Co., have re-established their
+legitimate authority so completely, that neither servants, nor any
+other passengers, ever afterwards venture to indulge in those
+liberties which, at first coming on board, they fancied might be taken
+with impunity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE TROPICAL REGIONS AT SEA.
+
+
+There sailed along with us in the Volage, from Spithead, the Princess
+Caroline, 74, and the Theban frigate, to aid in protecting a fleet of
+East India Company's ships, all for China direct.[2] As these ships
+were of the largest class, well manned, well commanded, and were
+likewise pretty well armed, and got up to look like men-of war, our
+force had not only an imposing appearance, but was capable of baffling
+an enemy, even in considerable strength. There is, indeed, one signal
+instance on record in which a fleet of East India Company's ships
+actually beat off, unassisted, a French squadron of very powerful
+vessels. These striking incidents, peeping out from time to time, show
+what is called the true blood, and are extremely valuable, proving how
+essential it is that an officer in command should "Never say die while
+there is a shot in the locker!" a pithy old phrase, which will apply
+to many situations in life, civil as well as military. Had the gallant
+commander alluded to, Sir Nathaniel Dance, yielded when the French
+Admiral Linois, and his squadron, consisting of the Marengo, a
+line-of-battle ship of 84 guns, and the Belle Poule and Semillante
+frigates, each of 44, bore down on the China fleet, not less than six
+millions of English property, and some of the noblest trading ships
+that float on the ocean, must have been carried into the Isle of
+France.
+
+This memorable affair took place near Pulo Aor, in the China seas, and
+by a very interesting, and no doubt useful coincidence, on the 14th of
+February, 1804, the seventh anniversary of the glorious action off
+Cape St. Vincent. Had the enemy only known the real force of his
+opponents, which he most certainly ought to have found out before he
+quitted them, the bold front these ships put forward might indeed have
+served them nothing. A less resolute man than Captain Dance might have
+said this good fortune was hardly to be calculated upon; but it is the
+duty of a commander, at all times and under all circumstances, to
+afford himself every possible chance, and never to give up while there
+is one of these chances left.
+
+A useful chapter in naval history and tactics could be written on the
+defence of convoys, by which it might perhaps be made manifest that a
+determined bearing, accompanied by a certain degree of force, and a
+vigorous resolution to exert that force to the utmost, would, in most
+cases, save the greater part of the convoy, even against powerful
+odds. In the well-known instance, in which Captain Richard Budd
+Vincent sacrificed his ship, in a contest where he was from the first
+sure to be overpowered, he gained sufficient time for most of his
+flock of merchant-ships to escape.
+
+In February, 1805, this gallant officer, in the Arrow, of 18
+twenty-four pounders, ably supported by Captain Arthur Farquhar, in
+the Acheron bomb, carrying not half that number, actually engaged two
+large French frigates, mounting in all 90 guns and 1300 men, while the
+English force was only 26 guns and 90 men. The damage and delay caused
+to the enemy by this spirited resistance enabled the convoy to
+disperse, and all get off but three, out of thirty-two. The English
+ships did not strike till they were so much cut up that one sunk
+immediately afterwards, and the other was burned by the captors as
+useless.
+
+On the occasion of our voyage in 1812, however, the fortitude and
+skill of our East India ships were put to no such proof, as our most
+interesting evolutions were confined to the interchange of good
+dinners; for your Indiamen know as well how to eat, drink, and be
+merry, as to fight, if need be. Their chief business is to trade; but
+their trading is a widely different thing from that of the ordinary
+merchant service. The East India Company's officers are bred in many
+respects like naval men, and they feel in the same manner. Being
+sprung from as good a stock as the officers of the Navy, they possess
+a kindred gentleman-like spirit, and are in every respect suitable
+allies in battle.
+
+In fine weather, during our whole voyage, there scarcely occurred a
+day on which, in the course of the morning, if the sea were tolerably
+smooth, and the wind not too strong, the dinner invitation signal was
+not displayed from the commodore, or from some of his flock. When
+there was a breeze, and the ships were making way through the water,
+some technical address was necessary to avoid delay. This will easily
+be understood, without going into minute details, when it is
+remembered, that there must always in a convoy be found certain ships
+which sail worse than others, and that, although these tubs, as they
+are most deservedly called, crowd all their canvas, the rest are
+obliged to shorten sail in order to keep them company; as Lightfoot,
+in the fairy tale, was obliged to tie his feet in the race. If it be
+the commodore who gives the dinner, he either heaves to, while the
+boats of the several captains come on board, or he edges down to the
+different ships in succession, passes them at the distance of a
+quarter of a cable's length, picks up his guests, and resumes his
+station ahead, or to windward, or wherever it may suit him to place
+himself so as best to guard his charge. If any of the fast sailers
+have occasion to heave to, either before or after dinner, to lower
+down or to hoist up the boat which carries the captain backwards and
+forwards to the ship in which the entertainment is given, and in
+consequence of this detention any way has been lost, that ship has
+only to set a little more sail that she may shoot ahead, and regain
+her position in the line.
+
+The bad sailers of all fleets or convoys are daily and hourly
+execrated in every note of the gamut; and it must be owned that the
+detention they cause, when a fine fresh breeze is blowing, is
+excessively provoking to all the rest, and mortifying to themselves.
+Sometimes the progress of one haystack of a vessel is so slow that a
+fast-sailing ship is directed to take her in tow, and fairly lug her
+along. As this troublesome operation requires for its proper execution
+no small degree of nautical knowledge, as well as dexterity, and must
+be performed in the face of the whole squadron, it is always exposed
+to much sharp criticism. The celerity with which sail is set, or taken
+in, by the respective ships, or the skill with which broken spars are
+shifted, likewise furnish such abundant scope for technical
+table-talk, that there is seldom any want of topic in the convoy.
+Sailors, indeed, are about as restless as the element on which they
+float; and their hands are generally kept pretty full by the necessity
+of studying the fluctuating circumstances of wind and weather,
+together with due attention to the navigation.
+
+These occupations served to give a high degree of interest to this
+Indian voyage, which, to most of us, was the first; the mere
+circumstance of having to pass successively and quickly through a
+number of different climates, first in the order of increasing warmth,
+and then in the reverse order of increasing cold, was of itself most
+striking. The change of latitude being the chief cause of these
+phenomena, a succession of astronomical variations were necessarily
+attendant upon the progress of the voyage; easily explained by
+reasonings, and the actual, practical exhibition, as it may be termed,
+of the truths of astronomical science failed not to strike the
+unfamiliarised imagination as both wonderful and beautiful.
+
+When we sailed from England the weather was very cold, raw, and
+uncomfortable; and although we had a couple of days' fair wind at
+starting, we were met in the very chops of the channel by hard-hearted
+southerly and south-westerly winds, which tried our patience sorely.
+On the evening of the tenth day we caught a glimpse of the north coast
+of Spain; and the rugged shore of Galicia was the last which most of
+us saw of Europe for many years. It was not till after a fortnight's
+hard struggling against these tiresome south-westers that we anchored
+in Funchal Roads, having by the way dropped several of our convoy.
+These stray sheep came in during the few days we remained to refresh
+ourselves at this most charming of resting-places. After nearly a
+week's enjoyment, we proceeded on our course to the southward; within
+three days we came in sight of Palma, the most northern of the Canary
+Island group. It was thirty miles distant in the south-east quarter;
+and Teneriffe, the sea "monarch of mountains," lay too far off for us
+to perceive even his "diadem of snow," which at that season (April), I
+presume, he always wears. Some years after the period in question,
+when I paid him a visit, in the month of August, the very tip-top was
+bare, and the thermometer at 70 deg..
+
+Under more favourable circumstances, we might possibly have seen
+Teneriffe from the Volage, for our distance was not above a hundred
+miles. This, however, it must be owned, is a long way to see the land,
+unless it form a continuous ridge of great elevation, like the Andes;
+and even then, to be distinguished well, it requires to be interposed
+between a bright sky and the ship. At day-break, and for about half an
+hour before sunrise, if the weather be clear, even sharp peaks, like
+the cone of Teneriffe, may be seen with a degree of distinctness which
+is very remarkable, when viewed from the distance of a hundred miles
+and upwards, as I have several times experienced when navigating in
+the Pacific. But when the full splendour of the sun's light begins to
+fill the air, these gigantic forms gradually fade away amongst the
+clouds, or melt into the sky, even when no clouds are visible. I have
+likewise been told, that, in sailing directly away from Teneriffe (or
+other high insulated peaks), and keeping the eye pretty constantly
+fixed in the proper direction, it may be retained in sight at much
+greater distance than it can be discovered on approaching. I am
+disposed to consider this very probable, but have never had a good
+opportunity of trying the experiment.
+
+It was late in April, as we were stealing slowly past these distant
+Canary Islands, when the first real puff of the Trade-wind caught our
+sleeping sails, and made the braces, haulyards, and all the other
+ropes connected with the yards, crack again. This breeze served more
+effectually to detach our thoughts from European interests than
+anything which had occurred since our leaving England. At the very
+moment, however, when we were chuckling at this disentanglement of our
+feelings from domestic anxieties, and all the varied agitation of home
+concerns, we observed a ship crossing our path at some distance.
+Signal being made to chase, we instantly darted off from the convoy to
+examine the stranger, which proved to be an English ship from Lisbon.
+We hailed, and asked, "What news?"
+
+"Badajoz has fallen," replied the other, "after a terrible siege."
+
+This was received with a general buzz of joyous congratulation along
+the decks. In answer to further questions, we were told of some three
+or four thousand men killed and wounded in the trenches and breach.
+Then, indeed, the glorious intelligence was greeted by three jolly
+huzzas from every ship in the convoy!
+
+Nothing so startling as this occurred to us again; but the serenity of
+our thoughts was in some degree interrupted, a few days afterwards, by
+the north-easterly Trade-wind dying away, and a gentle south-wester
+springing up in its place. This occurred in latitude 25-1/2 deg. N.,
+where, according to our inexperienced conception of these singular
+winds, we ought to have found a regular breeze from the very opposite
+quarter! Nor was it till long afterwards that I learned how much the
+force and direction of the Trade-winds are liable to modification by
+the particular position which the sun occupies in the heavens; or how
+far the rotatory motion of the earth, combined with the power which
+the sun possesses of heating certain portions of the circumambient
+air, are the regulating causes of the Trades, Monsoons, and, indeed,
+of all the other winds by which we are driven about. It is by no means
+an easy problem in meteorology to show how these causes act in every
+case; and perhaps it is one which will never be so fully solved as to
+admit of very popular enunciation applicable to all climates. In the
+most important and useful class of these aerial currents, called, _par
+excellence_, and with so much picturesque truth, "the Trade-winds,"
+the explanation is not difficult. But before entering on this curious
+and copious theme, I feel anxious to carry our convoy fairly across
+the tropical regions; after which an account of the Trades will be
+better understood.
+
+I have just mentioned that the changes of temperature, on a voyage to
+India, are most remarkable. We set sail, for instance, in the month
+of March, when it was bitterly cold in England; then we came off the
+coast of Spain, where it was a little more moderate; next to Madeira,
+which is always agreeable. Then we passed the Canaries; after which we
+sailed over the tropic of Cancer, and got well toasted in the torrid
+zone; steered down upon the equinoctial line, passed the tropic of
+Capricorn, and again became conscious of the weakened influence of the
+sun; till, at length, off the Cape of Good Hope, we were once more
+nipped with the cold. Anon, having rounded the south point of Africa,
+we put our heads towards the line, and a second time, within a few
+weeks, emerged from the depth of winter into the height of summer.
+
+The proximate cause of all these vicissitudes was, of course, our
+approach towards and removal from the direct influence of the great
+source of light and heat. At one time, the sun, even at noon, was seen
+creeping stealthily along, low down in the horizon, at another his
+jolly countenance was blazing away right overhead. On the 5th of May,
+when our latitude was 17-1/2 deg. N., the sun's declination was 16-1/4 deg.
+N., his centre being only one degree from our zenith: shadows we had
+none. On that day we saw St. Antonio, the north-westernmost of the
+Cape de Verde Islands, the summit of which is about seven thousand
+feet above the sea.
+
+On the next day I well remember going on deck with a certain flutter
+of spirits, to see, for the first time in my life, the sun to the
+northward, and moving through the heavens from right to left, instead
+of from left to right. No one doubts that the earth is round; yet
+these conspicuous and actual proofs of its rotundity always amuse the
+fancy, and frequently interest the judgment, almost as much as if they
+were unexpected. The gradual rise, night after night, of new stars and
+new constellations, belongs to a still higher order of curiosity; for
+it not merely places well-known objects in strange positions, but
+brings totally new subjects of contemplation before our eyes, and
+leads us to feel, perhaps more strongly than upon any other occasion,
+the full gratification which novelty on the grandest scale is capable
+of producing. I shall never forget the impatience with which I have
+often watched the approach of darkness after a long day's run to the
+south, knowing that, in a few moments, I was to discover celestial
+phenomena heretofore concealed from my view.
+
+After slanting through the north-east Trade-wind, we reached that
+well-known but troublesome stage in the voyage, so difficult to get
+over, called the Variables. This region has acquired its title from
+the regular Trades not being found there, but in their place unsteady
+breezes, long calms, heavy squalls, and sometimes smart winds from the
+south and south-westward. These Variables, which sorely perplex all
+mariners, even those of most experience, while they drive young ones
+almost out of their senses, are not less under the dominion of the
+causes which regulate those great perennial breezes the Trades,
+blowing to the northward and southward of them. Their laws, however,
+are not quite so readily understood, and consequently are not so
+easily allowed for in the practice of navigation.
+
+When we actually encounter, on the spot, and for the first time, a
+crowd of new circumstances, of which, previously, we have only known
+the names, or have merely heard them described by others, we feel so
+much confused and bewildered, that we fly eagerly to the nearest
+authority to help us out of the scrape. It generally happens, in these
+cases, that the reference does not prove very satisfactory, because
+the actual circumstances with which we are engaged are rarely similar
+in all their bearings to those with which we compare them; and when
+this is not the case, the blindfold method of proceeding in the beaten
+path is very apt to mislead.
+
+As an illustration of this kind of deception, it may be stated that
+navigators, whose actual experience has not extended to the tropical
+regions, are very apt, in poring over the voyages of others, to
+acquire, insensibly, a very confident notion that each of the great
+Trade-winds blowing on different sides of the Line (the North-east and
+the South-east by name), are quite steady in their direction; and
+that, in the equatorial interval which lies between them, only calms
+and light winds are to be found. Moreover, inexperienced persons
+generally believe this interval to be equally divided by the equator,
+and that both the breadth and the position of this calm region
+continue unchanged throughout the whole year. Now, here are four
+important mistakes,--important both in a scientific and in a practical
+point of view. For, 1st, Not calms and squalls alone, but occasionally
+fresh and steady winds, are found between the Trades; 2ndly, The belt
+called the Variables is by no means equally divided by the equator;
+neither, 3rdly, is that belt stationary in its position; nor, 4thly,
+is it uniform in its breadth. It will thence be easily understood,
+even by a person who has never quitted one of the midland counties in
+England, and to whom the ocean is an unseen wonder, that a new-comer
+to the tropical regions, his head loaded with these false views, will
+be very apt to mistake his own ignorance for the caprice of Nature,
+and perhaps call out, as I once heard a man do, in all the agony of
+impatience caused by a protracted head-wind,--"Now, this is really
+scandalous usage of the clerk of the weather-office!" The scandal,
+however, lay not so much with the clerk's usage as with his own
+limited knowledge; for if, at the very time of his imprecation,
+instead of abusing the foul wind, and keeping his yards braced sharp
+up, and making his sails stand like a board, the grumbler had known
+how to take advantage of it, and had kept away two or three points,
+set his fore-topmast studding-sail, and flanked across or through the
+breeze which he had in vain tried to beat against, he might not only
+have saved his temper, but have made his passage in half the time.
+
+I am not sure that, in the whole range of this extensive subject,
+there could be picked out an instance more in point to what has just
+been said, than these interesting phenomena of the Trade-winds. To
+sailors of every age and rank, and especially to naval officers, an
+acquaintance with the laws which regulate these extraordinary aerial
+currents must be of great importance. For a commander may be ordered,
+at a moment's warning, either to carry his own ship, or to lead a
+squadron, or to guard a convoy, from the northern to the southern
+hemisphere, or perhaps from the West to the East Indies. If, however,
+he have not previously made a tropical voyage or two, or have not
+studied the subject in its genuine theoretical spirit, as well as in
+the log-books of his predecessors, he may expect to find himself most
+wofully embarrassed, both on entering and on leaving the Trades.
+
+Independently of all such public objects concerned in these inquiries,
+there appears to exist a very general interest in the Trade-winds,
+sufficiently strong to engage the attention even of unprofessional
+persons. These vast currents of air, which sweep round and round the
+globe, in huge strips of more than twelve hundred miles in width, are
+in a manner forced on every one's notice, from contributing to that
+boundless interchange of the productions of distant regions by which
+modern times are so agreeably distinguished from the old.
+
+The great Monsoons, again, of the Indian and China oceans play almost
+as important a part in this grand nautical drama along the coasts of
+those remote countries. These great phenomena will be found to obey
+precisely the same laws as their less fluctuating brethren the mighty
+Trades; and hence springs one of the chief delights of science when
+its study is conducted in a proper spirit. If the pursuit of truth be
+engaged in with sincerity, phenomena apparently the most opposite in
+character, for example, winds in different parts of the earth, but in
+the same latitude, blowing in totally different directions at the same
+season of the year, will always prove in the end illustrative of one
+another, and of their common theory.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] On the renewal of their Charter, in 1833, the East India Company
+ceased to be traders, and these noble ships no longer sail under the
+Company's flag.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE TRADE WINDS.
+
+
+There are few things more curious in the history of human knowledge
+than the establishment of extensive errors as to matters of fact, and
+the perverse tenacity with which they retain their hold on the public
+mind. In some cases it would almost seem that the pleasure which
+springs from genuine philosophical inquiry is subordinate to that
+which arises from the indolent process of taking things for granted.
+This applies peculiarly to the phenomena of the Trade-winds,
+respecting which many erroneous ideas are generally entertained. To
+professional men these fallacies are calculated to prove extremely
+mischievous; while even to persons not directly connected with the
+sea, the existence of error may often be injurious: and, although it
+is not very easy to explain these things in a popular way, I shall
+attempt to give a description of the facts as they really exist.
+
+The main characteristics may easily be described.
+
+The great belt of the earth's surface, nearly three thousand miles in
+width, lying between the tropics (from 23-1/2 deg. north to 23-1/2 deg. south
+latitude), is the chief region of the Trade-winds; though in some
+parts of the world they extend to the latitude of 28 deg. both north and
+south of the equator; while at other places well within the tropics,
+and even close to the line, totally different winds prevail. It is
+only in the open parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that the
+true Trade-winds blow. In the Indian and China seas, and in many other
+portions of the great tropical belt, periodical winds, called
+Monsoons, are found. These shifting Trades exact the closest study
+from the practical navigator, in consequence of their extensive
+variety and seeming complication. But they are not less deserving the
+attention of merely curious inquirers, from the beautiful manner in
+which these modifications of the regular breezes obey the same general
+laws which direct the grand phenomena of the Trades. Indeed, the most
+extensive observation serves only to link the whole into one
+harmonious chain or series of explanations, exhibiting the uniformity
+as well as the exquisite adaptability of Nature, even in those
+departments called "inconstant," where she is supposed to be most
+capricious.
+
+The only general assertion that can safely be made with respect to the
+Trade-winds is, that they blow more or less from the eastern half of
+the compass towards the western. On the north side of the equator, the
+north-east Trade-winds blow; and on the south side, the south-east
+Trade-winds. These two names have undoubtedly contributed to mystify
+the subject by naturally suggesting to the imagination currents of air
+blowing respectively from the north-east and the south-east, or at an
+angle of 45 deg. with the meridian. And I have even seen sailors (old
+sailors too) quite surprised, and rather provoked, when they have
+encountered very different winds in those parts of their voyage,
+where, being misled by the force of names alone, they had taught
+themselves to expect a regular breeze from a particular quarter. But,
+in point of fact, the Trade-winds do very seldom blow directly from
+north-east and south-east; neither are they uniform in their direction
+on the same spot at different seasons of the year, nor is their
+strength uniform from month to month. I may add, that the equatorial
+limits, or bounding lines, of the trades, are not steadily confined to
+the same latitude. In short, so far from these winds being perfectly
+fixed in direction, force, and position, they are subject to very
+considerable mutations, dependent on the position of the sun. Their
+vast nautical value, in fact, as well as philosophical curiosity,
+turns mainly on their uniformity, which, in spite of all the
+fluctuations alluded to, gives them a very distinctive character.
+
+Dr. Young and Hadley, the great authorities on the subject, are both
+wrong in their conclusions.[3] Where Hadley obtains his "experience"
+he does not tell; but certain it is, that no sailor who ever crossed
+the equinoctial line could possibly have furnished him with two of his
+principal statements. The Trades are not strongest near the equator,
+as he states, nor when they reach that district do they blow along it,
+or in a parallel direction, but almost always at right angles to it.
+
+If the earth had no motion on its axis, but were surrounded as at
+present with an atmosphere, and if the sun moved round and round it
+exactly above the equator, without varying his declination, the
+following effects would ensue: That portion of the earth lying, say
+thirty degrees, on each side of the equator, being more exposed to the
+action of the sun than those further from it, would become much
+warmer; while the superincumbent air, being greatly heated by the
+contact, would expand, or become specifically lighter, and would
+consequently rise. The adjacent air, both on the north and south,
+being cooler, and, of course, heavier, would rush in to supply the
+place of the heated air. This air coming from the regions beyond the
+tropics would, in its turn, be heated, and rise on reaching the warmer
+equatorial regions, giving place to a fresh supply, which, it is easy
+to see, must be furnished by the descent of that portion of air
+formerly heated at the equator, raised into the cold regions of the
+sky, and forced into a regular circuit by fresh elevations of heated
+air. All these and many other interesting results are clearly
+developed in Daniell's Meteorological Essays, a book which every one
+at all interested in such inquiries will find it advantageous to
+study. The first edition of this work was published in 1823, some
+years after these speculations had been forced upon my notice by a
+long course of service between the tropics.
+
+It will be understood, that, as long as we imagine the globe at rest
+while this circulation is going on, the course of the lower air along
+the surface would be directly towards the equator, from due north in
+one hemisphere, and from due south in the other; while in the upper
+regions the currents would follow the opposite directions, and stream
+towards the poles. But the instant we conceive the earth put into
+rotatory motion from west to east, a change would take place in the
+course of these aerial currents, both above and below. It must be
+recollected that a volume of air, when once put in motion, will move
+on, like any other body, by the mere force of its own momentum, till
+that motion is destroyed by its friction against the substances along
+or through which it is impelled. Any one who has observed the ring of
+smoke sometimes projected from the mouth of a cannon will be sensible
+that this is true.
+
+It may likewise be of use, before going further, to consider, that, if
+the globe, instead of being unequally heated; were equally heated at
+all parts, from pole to pole, and being surrounded by an atmosphere,
+were then made to revolve on its axis, it would carry the atmosphere
+round with it exactly at the rate at which it was itself going. That
+portion of the air in contact with the equator would move about 1000
+miles in one hour, while that in latitude 90 deg. would be as motionless
+as the poles themselves.
+
+From this it will be seen, that, while the equator moves at the rate
+of 1000 miles an hour, the district about the latitude 30 deg. moves only
+860, or 140 miles slower. The average whirling velocity of the earth's
+easterly motion, in the space between the equator and latitude 30 deg.,
+may be stated at 950 miles an hour; and that of the belt lying between
+30 deg. and 40 deg., at about 800 miles.
+
+In the hypothetical case, above suggested, of the whole surface being
+equally heated, and consequently the whole atmosphere at the same
+temperature, there would be a universal calm, whatever might be the
+rotatory motion impressed upon the earth. If, however, we next
+suppose, what really is the case, that the air over the tropical
+region is more heated than that which is farther from the equator,
+this rarefied air will instantly ascend, and occupy a place above the
+colder and denser air, which will flow in from the belts lying beyond
+the tropics.
+
+When the comparatively slow-moving air of the temperate zone, lying
+beyond the tropics, first comes in contact with those quicker-moving
+parts of the earth forming the tropical edges of the torrid zone, the
+apparent motion of the air from the east, caused by the relative
+difference of the rotatory velocity between the air and earth, is
+great, compared to the other motion of the air, caused by its being
+drawn directly towards the equator, to supply the place of the heated
+portions raised into the sky. Consequently, at the tropical borders of
+both Trades the wind is found to blow very nearly from the east point.
+
+Since the cool air of the temperate and comparatively slow-moving
+zones beyond the tropics is thus drawn towards the equator, and comes
+successively in contact with parallels of latitude moving faster and
+faster towards the east, there must be gradually imparted to it, by
+the increased friction, a considerable degree of the increased
+rotatory velocity belonging to the low latitudes it has now reached;
+that is to say, there will be less and less difference of velocity
+between the easterly motion of this temperate air and the easterly
+motion of the earth; and, consequently, the wind, as it approaches the
+equator, will appear to blow less and less directly from the
+eastward. But, while the earth's rotation within the tropics is thus
+acting on the slower-moving air which has travelled to it from beyond
+the tropics, with increased friction at every successive moment, there
+has been no such powerful counteracting influence in operation to
+diminish the meridional motion impressed on the air in question; for,
+although in proceeding from the tropics towards the equator, the wind
+might, at first sight, be supposed to have its speed somewhat lessened
+by friction along the earth's surface, the retardation due to this
+cause, if there be any at all, must be inconsiderable, compared to
+that which affects the motion caused by the difference in the rotatory
+velocity of the earth at the different parallels. It must be
+recollected, also, that there is a constant demand for fresh air from
+the north and south, to occupy the place of the heated and rarefied
+air which is raised up in the torrid zone; and this demand being
+pretty equal, the motion it produces on the air in the direction of
+the meridian must likewise be uniform.
+
+If it be admitted that all the easterly character of the Trade-winds
+is due to the difference of velocity between the rotation of the
+torrid zone of the earth from west to east, and that of the air
+impressed only with the slower rotatory motion to the east of the
+temperate zone, it will follow, that, if this difference of velocities
+between the earth and the air in contact with it be diminished or
+annihilated, the easterly character of these winds will be diminished
+or annihilated likewise. At the same time, there is no cause in
+operation, that I can discover, to alter the direction of the
+meridional motion, as it may be called, of the Trade-winds, or that
+by which they are impelled directly towards the equator.
+
+At first starting from the temperate zone, on its voyage to the
+equator, the cold air of that slow-moving region is impressed with a
+rotatory velocity of only 800 miles per hour to the eastward, but it
+soon comes over parts of the earth moving more than 100 miles per hour
+faster to the eastward than itself. The difference of velocity in the
+earth's rotation between latitudes 30 deg. and 20 deg. is 74 miles an hour,
+while between 20 deg. and 10 deg. it is only 45 miles, and in the next ten
+degrees the difference in rate per hour is reduced to 15 miles.
+
+The velocity with which the air drawn from beyond the tropics travels
+along the sea towards the equator is probably not above twenty miles
+an hour, a rate slow enough to allow time for the
+constantly-increasing friction of the earth's rotation to act upon it,
+and draw it more and more entirely to the east. By the time it has
+reached the equatorial regions, the friction of the earth's surface
+has operated long enough to carry the air completely along with it;
+and, of course, all relative motion being done away with, everything
+easterly in the character of the Trade-winds will be at an end.
+
+But, although this constantly-increasing friction of the earth's
+rotation has thus annihilated all relative easterly motion between the
+air and earth, that air still retains its motion towards the equator;
+and accordingly we do find the Trade-winds, at their equatorial
+limits, blowing, not from the east, as Hadley, Dr. Young, and others,
+conceived, but directly from the north and from the south
+respectively. The strength and velocity of the Trades at these places
+is, in general, considerably diminished, chiefly, perhaps, by the air
+becoming heated, and rising up rather than flowing along; and also, no
+doubt, by the meeting of the two opposite currents of air--one from
+the north, the other from the south--which produces the intermediate
+space called the Calms, or the Variables.
+
+In strict conformity with these theoretical views, the clouds above
+the Trades are almost invariably observed to proceed in the contrary
+direction to the winds below. On the top of the Peak of Teneriffe I
+found a gentle breeze blowing from the south-westward, directly
+opposite to the course of the Trade-wind.
+
+The more detailed circumstances usually met with in that part of a
+voyage to India which lies between 30 deg. north and 30 deg. south, and which
+I am about to describe, will now, I imagine, be readily understood.
+Before setting out, however, I must strongly recommend any one wishing
+to see these matters clearly, to have them fixed in his mind to useful
+purpose, to follow both the theoretical and the practical parts of
+this explanation with the assistance of a terrestrial globe.
+
+Most ships touch at Madeira, either to take in a stock of wine, to get
+fruit and vegetables, or to form a pleasant break in the early and
+most disagreeable part of the voyage. Some ships pass barely in sight
+of the high mountain which rises above the town of Funchal, and
+satisfy themselves with taking sights for verifying the rates of their
+chronometers when on the meridian of the island; while others
+tantalise their passengers still more by sweeping through the roads,
+without anchoring, or communicating with the shore. The captains by
+such ships are pretty deeply, if not very loudly, abused by all hands,
+passengers especially, who are perhaps the most dissatisfied, because
+the most idle, of mortals. Shortly after leaving Madeira, which is in
+32-1/2 deg. north latitude, a ship may expect to meet the Trades; but she
+cannot calculate with any certainty upon catching them till she
+arrives at the parallel of 28 deg.. On first reaching the Trade-wind it
+will be found to blow very nearly from due east, and with this a
+course is easily steered past or amongst the Canaries, and thence for
+the Cape de Verdes. Some navigators pass within this group, others
+keep so far out as barely to make San Antonio; and this, I think, is
+considered the best route. As the ship proceeds to the southward, the
+wind draws gradually round from the east to north-east, and eventually
+to north-north-east, and even to north, at the southern margin of the
+north-east Trade-wind.
+
+The position of this margin or southern edge, which in technical
+language is called the equatorial limit of the Trade, varies
+considerably with the season of the year. From December to May
+inclusive it frequently reaches as far as the 3rd degree of north
+latitude, though it ranges about 5 deg. and 6 deg. north. From June to
+November it is shifted back as far, sometimes, as 13 deg. north, but it
+seldom extends as far south as 8 deg. north. Subjects which are treated of
+in a series of tables showing the equatorial limits of both
+Trade-winds, deduced by the late Captain James Horsburgh, hydrographer
+of the East India Company, from the observations of 238 ships. These
+tables show very clearly the effect of the absence or presence of the
+sun in shifting the limits of the Trades, drawing them after him, as
+it were. The presence of the sun in either hemisphere obstructs
+considerably the regularity and strength of the Trade-winds in that
+hemisphere, and _vice versa_.
+
+The great difficulty experienced in making the outward-bound voyage
+commences after the ship has been deserted by the north-east Trade,
+for she has then to fight her way to the southward across the region
+of Calms and Variables. But as these Variables blow generally from the
+southward and westward, from a cause afterwards to be explained, it is
+obvious enough why this part of the homeward voyage is always more
+easily made than the outward passage. These southerly breezes, which
+are met with in the Variables, blow at times with considerable force,
+and greatly perplex the young navigator, who, trusting perhaps to some
+of the erroneous published accounts, not unnaturally reckons upon
+meeting the regular Trade-wind, blowing, as he supposes, from the east
+near the equator, not from the south; still less is he prepared or
+pleased to find it blowing from the south-westward.
+
+This troublesome range, intervening between the two Trades, varies in
+width from 150 to more than 500 miles. It is widest in September, and
+narrowest in December or January. I now speak more particularly of
+what happens in the Atlantic. In the wide Pacific, far from land,
+fewer modifying circumstances interfere with the regular course of the
+phenomena, than in the comparatively narrow sea formed by the opposite
+shoulders of Africa and South America.
+
+Calms, also, are met with in this intermediate region, or purgatory of
+the outward-bound voyage, and occasionally violent tornados or
+squalls, which in a moment tear away every rag of canvas from a ship's
+yards. For several hours at a time, also, rain falls down in absolute
+torrents. Even when the weather clears up, and a fresh breeze comes,
+it is generally from the southward, directly in the outward-bound
+navigator's teeth. He must have patience, however, and strive to make
+the most of it by keeping on that tack by which most southing is to be
+gained. It is now, I believe, generally held to be the best practice
+to place the ship between 18 deg. and 23 deg. of west longitude on losing the
+north-east Trade; and likewise to endeavour, if possible, to cross the
+equator somewhere between these two longitudes. Before reaching the
+line, however, the navigator will almost always be met by the
+south-east Trade-wind. From January to May he may expect to meet it in
+1 deg. or 2 deg. north latitude; but in summer and autumn he will find the
+northern or equatorial limit of the south-east Trade a degree or two
+still further to the northwards of the lines.
+
+On first encountering the south-east Trade an outward-bound ship is
+obliged to steer much more to the westward than she wishes to do, in
+consequence of the wind blowing so directly towards the equator, and
+not along it, as some of the books will insist on, in spite of Nature.
+So that if she be a dull sailer she may have some difficulty in
+weathering the coast of Brazil about Cape St. Roque. As she proceeds
+onwards, however, and makes a little more southing, the wind will haul
+more and more round from the south to the south-east, then
+east-south-east, and eventually to east at the southern limit of the
+Trade-wind. An inexperienced sailor, on first entering the south-east
+Trade, is very apt to be too solicitous about making southing, and
+hugs the wind much too close; whereas he ought rather to keep his ship
+off a little, give her a fathom or two of the fore and main sheets,
+and take a small pull of the weather topsail and top-gallant braces,
+to ensure making good way through the water. Indeed, many officers go
+so far as to recommend flanking across the south-east Trade with a
+fore-topmast studding-sail set. Although, I think, there can be no
+doubt of the soundness of this advice, I confess that it does require
+no inconsiderable degree of faith to adopt a course, which,
+apparently, takes the ship not directly away from her object, but very
+much out of the straight road. In this respect, it may be remarked
+that the scale of navigation on every Indian voyage is so great, and
+the importance of getting into those parallels where favourable
+breezes are certain to be met with, of so much more consequence than
+the gain of mere distance, that two or three hundred miles to the
+right or left, or even twice that space, is often not to be regarded.
+Accordingly, in cutting or flanking across the south-east Trade-wind,
+the object, it should be remembered, is not to shorten the distance,
+but to reach those latitudes where strong westerly gales are to be met
+with, by help of which five hundred or a thousand miles of lost
+distance are speedily made up, and the rest of the passage secured.
+
+In those regions lying beyond the southern tropic westerly winds
+prevail during the greater part of the year, exactly as we find on
+this side of the northern tropic. In the southern hemisphere, and far
+from the land, the wind may be said to blow from the westward almost
+as steadily as the Trades do from the eastward. The great object,
+therefore, for an outward-bound ship is to get far enough south to
+ensure this fair wind. Beyond the latitude of 30 deg., and as far as 40 deg.,
+this purpose will generally be answered.
+
+We are sufficiently familiar in England with the fact of westerly
+winds prevailing in the Atlantic. From a list of the passages made by
+the New York sailing packets across the Atlantic, during a period of
+six years, it is shown that the average length of the voyage from
+Liverpool to America, that is, towards the west, was forty days; while
+the average length of the homeward passage, or that from west to east,
+was only twenty-three days. And it may fix these facts more strongly
+in the recollection, to mention that the passage-money from England to
+America (in the days of sailing packets) was five guineas more than
+that paid on the return voyage.
+
+This prevalence of westerly winds beyond the tropics is readily
+explained by the same reasoning which has been applied to the Trades
+blowing within them. The swift moving air of the torrid zone, on being
+rarefied and raised up, flows along towards the poles, and in a
+direction from the equator, above the cooler and slower-moving air,
+which, as I have already described, is drawn along the surface of the
+earth from the temperate regions beyond the tropics. When the rarefied
+equatorial air has travelled some thirty or forty degrees of latitude
+along the upper regions of the atmosphere towards the poles it becomes
+cooled, and is ready to descend again, between the latitudes of 30 deg.
+and 60 deg., to supply the place of the lower air, drawn off towards the
+equator by the Trade-winds. But this partially-cooled air falls on a
+part of the earth's surface which is moving much more slowly towards
+the east, in its diurnal rotation, than the air which has descended
+upon it, and which is still impressed with a great proportion of its
+eastern velocity due to the equatorial parallels of latitude, where it
+was heated and raised up. The necessary consequence of this is, to
+produce a rapid motion in the air from the west over the earth's
+surface; and this, combined with the other motion of the same portion
+of air, or that which has driven it from the equatorial regions,
+produces this remarkable prevalence of south-westerly winds in the
+northern hemisphere, and north-westerly winds in the southern
+hemisphere, in those districts lying between the latitudes of 30 deg. and
+60 deg..
+
+In all that has been said above it has been assumed that the
+quickest-moving or equatorial belt of the earth is also the hottest,
+and consequently that over which the air has the greatest tendency to
+rise. But, although this is generally true, it is not, by any means,
+universally so. The variations, however, which are observed to occur
+in those places where the circumstances form an exception to the
+general rule, tend strongly to confirm the theory of Hadley. The
+monsoons of India, as I shall presently show, are examples of this;
+but the most striking instance with which I am personally acquainted
+occurs in the Pacific Ocean, between the Bay of Panama and the
+Peninsula of California, from latitude 8 deg. to 22 deg. north. If the huge
+continent of Mexico were taken away, and only sea left in its place,
+there can be no doubt but the ordinary phenomena of the Trade-winds
+would be observable in that part of the Pacific above mentioned. Cool
+air would then be drawn from the slow moving parallels lying to the
+northward, towards the swift moving latitudes, near the equator, in
+order to supply the place of the rarefied air removed to the higher
+regions of the atmosphere, and, of course, north-easterly breezes
+would be produced. But when the sun comes over Mexico, that vast
+district of country is made to act the part of an enormous heater, and
+becomes a far more powerful cause of rarefaction to the superincumbent
+air than the ocean which lies between it and the equator. Accordingly,
+the air over Mexico, between the latitudes of 10 deg. and 30 deg., is more
+heated than that which lies over the sea between the line and latitude
+20 deg.; and as the coolest, or least heated, that is, the most dense
+fluid, always rushes towards the place lately occupied by the hottest
+and most buoyant, the air from the equator will be drawn towards the
+coast of Mexico, the great local source of heat and rarefaction.
+
+But as this equatorial air is of course impressed with a more rapid
+eastern velocity than those parts of the earth which form the southern
+shores of Mexico, a westerly wind must be produced by the relative
+difference in these two motions. At that particular season of the year
+when the sun is in high southern declination, Mexico is not exposed to
+his perpendicular rays. The equatorial regions are then more heated
+than Mexico, and accordingly we actually find north-easterly breezes
+nearly as they would be if Mexico were out of the way, and quite in
+accordance with our theory.
+
+In like manner, in the Atlantic, when the sun is far to the north,
+the great deserts of the western angle, or shoulder of Africa, become
+as vehemently heated, or more so, perhaps, than Mexico, and this draws
+the air from the equator, so as to produce the south-westerly winds I
+have already spoken of in the troublesome range called the Variables.
+
+Finally, the great monsoons of the Indian ocean and China sea
+contribute to establish this theory of Hadley, though I am not aware
+that he ever brought it to bear on these very interesting phenomena.
+They are eminently deserving of such notice, however, from being
+periodical Trade-winds of the highest order of utility in one of the
+busiest commercial regions of the world. Their periodical or shifting
+character is the circumstance upon which their extensive utility in a
+great measure depends, amongst nations where the complicated science
+of navigation is but in a rude state. Myriads of vessels sail from
+their homes during one monsoon before the wind, or so nearly before
+it, that there is no great skill required in reaching all the ports at
+which they wish to touch; and when the wind shifts to the opposite
+quarter, they steer back again, in like manner, with a flowing sheet.
+Thus, with an exceedingly small portion of nautical skill, they
+contrive to make their passages by means of what we blue-jackets call
+"a soldier's wind, there and back again." It will sometimes happen
+that these rude navigators miscalculate their time, or meet with
+accidents to retard them till the period of change has gone past, and
+then they have no resource but to wait for half-a-year till the
+monsoon shifts.
+
+Experienced sailors, in like circumstances, acquainted with the
+varieties of winds prevailing in those seas, would speedily get their
+vessels out of this scrape, into which the lubberly Chinese junks
+sometimes fall. They might, and certainly would, lose time in making a
+roundabout of some two or three hundred miles in searching for a wind;
+but, if they really knew what they were about, they would be sure to
+catch it at last, and to turn it to their purpose.
+
+From April to October, when the sun's rays fall with greatest effect
+on Arabia, India, and China, and the several interjacent seas to which
+these immense countries give their name, the air in contact with them,
+becoming heated, rises, and gives place to fresh supplies drawn from
+the equator. But this equatorial mass of air has had imparted to it by
+the earth's rotation a greater degree of velocity in the direction
+from west to east than belongs to the countries and seas just
+mentioned; and this additional velocity, combined with its motion from
+the equator, in rushing to fill up the vacuum caused by the
+rarefaction of the air over those regions intersected by the tropic,
+causes the south-west monsoon. "This wind," says Horsburgh, "prevails
+from April to October, between the equator and the tropic of Cancer,
+and it reaches from the east coast of Africa to the coasts of India,
+China, and the Philippine Islands; its influence extends sometimes
+into the Pacific Ocean as far as the Marian Islands, on to longitude
+about 145 deg. east, and it reaches as far north as the Japan Islands."
+
+The late Captain Horsburgh thus describes what takes place in the
+winter months:--"The north-east monsoon," he says, "prevails from
+October to May, throughout nearly the same space that the south-west
+monsoon prevails in the opposite season mentioned above. But the
+monsoons are subject to great obstructions by land; and in contracted
+places, such as Malacca Strait, they are changed into variable winds.
+Their limits are not everywhere the same, nor do they always shift
+exactly at the same period."
+
+During this last named period, when the north-east monsoon is blowing,
+viz. from October to May, the sun is acting with its greatest energy
+on the regions about the equator, and the seas lying between it and
+the southern tropic, while the countries formerly mentioned (Arabia,
+India, and China), lying under the northern tropic, become
+comparatively cool. The air over these regions becomes relatively more
+dense than the rarefied air near the line; consequently the cool air
+rushes to the southward to interchange places with that which has been
+heated; and as the cool air comes from slower-moving to quicker-moving
+parallels of latitude, that is, from the tropical to the equatorial
+regions, the north-easterly monsoon is produced, very much resembling
+in its effect, as it strictly does in its cause, the ordinary
+trade-wind of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
+
+This is a very general view of what may be called the great monsoons
+of India; but there are many variations in different places, all of
+which are so readily explained by the foregoing theory, that they form
+by no means the least interesting branch of the subject, or the least
+satisfactory of its illustrations.
+
+One of the most extensive of these varieties, though of a less general
+and sweeping character than those which blow in the Arabian sea and
+bay of Bengal, is found in a very remote part of the world. "From
+October to April this north-west monsoon prevails between the
+north-east part of Madagascar and the west coast of New Holland; and
+it is generally confined between the equator and 10 deg. or 11 deg. south
+latitude, but subject to irregularities." This westerly wind is
+evidently produced by the air drawn actually from the equator towards
+the slower moving latitudes of the earth, by the rarefaction of the
+air to the southward when the sun is near the tropic of Capricorn.
+"The south-east monsoon predominates from April to October in the
+space last mentioned, and in some places reaches to the equator." In
+this case, the slow moving air near the southern tropic is brought, as
+in the ordinary case of the south-east Trade wind, to the quick-moving
+parts of the earth's surface.
+
+The following remark of Horsburgh's, in describing the monsoons, is
+extremely valuable, and assists to explain Hadley's theory of these
+matters:--"The parts where the north-west and the south-east monsoons
+prevail with greatest strength and regularity are in the Java sea, and
+from thence eastward to Timor, amongst the Molucca and Banda islands,
+and onward to New Guinea;" for it will be obvious to any one who
+inspects the globe, on reading this passage, that there occurs in the
+neighbourhood of the spots alluded to a powerful cause for the
+strength and regularity of the monsoons. The enormous island, or
+continent, as it might almost be called, of Australia, may well be
+supposed to act the part of a heater from October to April, when the
+sun is so nearly over it. During that period the equatorial air is
+drawn to the south, along the intermediate seas, amongst the Moluccas
+and other Spice islands, so as to produce a strong and steady
+north-westerly monsoon. Of course, the opposite effect will be
+produced when the sun retreats to the north, and leaves Australia to
+cool.
+
+These instances are quite enough, I should imagine, to satisfy
+ordinary curiosity on this point; but professional men ought not to be
+contented till they have investigated all branches of this important
+topic; including that elegant and very useful episode, the land and
+sea breezes of all hot climates, and Horsburgh's East India Directory,
+which I have quoted above so frequently, is by far the best authority
+with which I am acquainted on these subjects. At the same time, I must
+not omit to do justice to a beautifully-written and accurate Essay on
+Winds and Currents, by that Prince of all Voyagers, Old Dampier; who,
+with means far more circumscribed than most of his successors, has
+contrived to arrange and condense his information in such a way as not
+only to render it available to practical men, but to make it
+intelligible and interesting to every class of readers.[4]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] It is necessary to note here that these questions have been
+examined since Captain Hall wrote, by Commander Maury, late secretary
+to the American navy, in the true analytical spirit, and immense
+progress made in our knowledge of these winds by the mass of practical
+observations on the subject made by practical navigators, and
+published under his directions.--ED.
+
+[4] The principle of "Great Circle Sailing," which now guides the
+navigator to the Indian Ocean, must be studied in connection with this
+chapter. "For every degree the ship changes her longitude south of the
+Line she sails a shorter distance along the great circle than on any
+other curve; for on the parallel of 60 deg. thirty miles corresponds to a
+distance of sixty at the equator."--ROBERTSON'S _Theory of Great
+Circle Sailing_: Bell and Daldy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+PROGRESS OF THE VOYAGE.
+
+
+Let people say what they please of the fine bracing weather of a cold
+climate, I have never seen any truth-speaking persons who, on coming
+fairly to the trial, did not complain of a cold frosty morning as a
+very great nuisance, or who did not cling eagerly to the fire to
+unbrace themselves again. For my own part, I have always delighted in
+the relaxation caused by hot weather; and, accordingly, I have very
+seldom, if ever, felt the weather disagreeably warm, even in India,
+especially when sailing on the open sea, or enjoying the free range of
+a wide country, under awnings and bungaloes, or stretched in a
+palanquin, or shaded by an umbrella on the back of an elephant.
+Soldiers and sailors, whose duty exposes them at all hours, either on
+a march or in boats, are often struck down by the heat, and sigh with
+all their hearts for the bracing frosts of higher latitudes. But those
+who have the means of bringing to bear on their comforts the
+innumerable contrivances which the ingenuity of wealth has devised in
+the East, indeed, make its climate not only bearable, but one of the
+most enjoyable in the world.
+
+As we sailed along on our voyage to India, gradually slipping down
+from the high to the low latitudes, the sun crept up higher and higher
+every day towards the zenith, while the thermometer, of course, rose
+likewise. What was most agreeable in this change from cold to warmth
+was the little difference between the temperature of the day and that
+of the night. As we approached the equator, the thermometer fell only
+from 82 deg. in the day-time to 79 deg. or 80 deg. at night, which, on deck, was
+delightful. We did not, of course, come to this high temperature all
+at once; for on the 6th of May, the day after we passed directly under
+the sun, the average of the twenty-four hours was 73 deg., and at night
+69 deg. and 70 deg..
+
+It is not to be imagined that everyone was pleased with these changes;
+for on board ship, as on shore, there exist discontented spirits,
+whose acquired habit it is to find fault with the existing state of
+things, be these what they may. To such cantankerous folks a growl of
+misery would really seem to be the great paradoxical happiness of
+their lives, and, in the absence of real hardship, it is part of your
+thorough-bred growler to prophesy. I have seen a middy of this stamp
+glad to find, on coming below, that some insignificant portion of his
+dinner really had been devoured by his hungry messmates, while he
+himself was keeping his watch on deck.
+
+"I am used worse than a dog!" he would cry, secretly delighted to have
+gained the luxury of a grievance, "I can't even get a basin of
+pease-soup put by for me; it's an infernal shame, I'll cut the
+service!"
+
+The diversity of climate on an Indian voyage furnishes capital nuts
+for these perturbed spirits. It is first too cold, then too hot; then
+there is not wind enough; then it blows too fresh in the squalls:
+by-and-bye the nights are discovered to be abominably close and
+sultry, and in the day the fierce flaming downright heat of the sun is
+still worse; then the calms are never to be over; or the lying trades,
+as they call them, have got capsized, and blow from the west instead
+of the east! After the line has been crossed, and the south-east wind
+is met with, the weather soon becomes what these ingenious fellows
+call too temperate, then it grows too cold again; and next off the
+Cape the latitude is too stormy. In this alone they have some reason;
+and I have often regretted that, by a royal ordinance of the King of
+Portugal, the name of this mighty promontory was changed from Cabo de
+Tormentos, the headland of storms, to its present spoony title. In
+short, this grand voyage is merely a peristrephic panorama of
+miseries, which if they survive, say they, it will be happy for
+them.--Happy! Not a whit. It is out of their nature to be happy. To
+find fault, to fling away the good the gods provide them, and to
+aggravate the pain of every real wound by the impatience of idle
+complaints, is their diseased joy. "Evil, be thou my good!" they might
+well exclaim; for, instead of heightening the pleasures of life by
+full participation, or subduing its inevitable evils, or, at all
+events, softening their asperity by enduring with fortitude and
+cheerfulness what cannot be helped, these self-tormentors reject what
+is substantially pleasing, and cling with habitual but morbid relish
+to whatever is disagreeable.
+
+As we glided along, through the Trade-winds, towards the neck of sea
+which divides Africa from South America, the symptoms of a change in
+climate became daily more manifest. Every skylight and stern window
+was thrown wide open, and every cabin scuttle driven out, that a free
+draught of air might sweep through the ship all night long. In the
+day-time, the pitch in the seams of the upper-deck began to melt, and,
+by sticking to the soles of our shoes, plastered the planks, to the
+great discomfiture of the captain of the after-guard. The tar, oozing
+from the cordage aloft, dropped on our heads, speckled the snow white
+boat covers, and obliged us to spread the hammock-cloths, to prevent
+the bedding being ruined by the spots. On the larboard or eastern side
+of the ship, which, of course, is always presented to the sun when
+crossing the Trades on the outward-bound voyage, the pitch and rosin
+with which the seams had been payed ran down in little streams across
+the lines of paint. To prevent, as far as we could, some of these
+annoyances, we spread the awnings over the decks, and triced up the
+curtains, fore and aft, while every art was used to introduce air to
+all parts of the ship. The half-ports were removed from the main-deck
+guns, the gratings put on one side, and as many windsails sent down
+the hatchways as could be made to catch a puff of air. Blue trousers
+and beaver scrapers soon gave way before the elements, and were
+succeeded by nankeens, straw hats, and canvas caps. In the captain's
+cabin, where the presence of the governor, our passenger, still kept
+up the strait-laced etiquette of the service, coats and epaulettes
+appeared at dinner; but in the gun-room, the officers, the instant
+they came below, slipped on their light white jackets, and, disdaining
+waistcoat, seized their flutes and books, and drew their chairs as
+near as possible to the mouth of the windsail. In the midshipmen's
+berth, outside in the steerage, the shirt without neckcloth or stock,
+and sometimes with its sleeves rolled up to the elbows, was the most
+fashionable rig. The seamen and marines, of course, dined on the
+main-deck, not only that they might enjoy the fresh air breathing
+gently in upon them through the ports on the weather side, and
+sweeping out again by those to leeward, but that the lower deck might
+be kept as cool and airy as possible against the sultry feverish night
+season.
+
+On such occasions the men leave their tables and stools below, and
+either seat themselves tailor-fashion, or recline Roman-fashion. Nor
+is this in the least degree unpleasant; for the deck of a man-of-war
+is made as clean every morning as any table, and is kept so during the
+day by being swept at least once an hour. Of all the tunes played by
+the boatswain's pipe, that which calls the sweepers is the most
+frequently heard. When the order is given for dining on deck, the
+different messes into which the crew are divided occupy the spots
+immediately above their usual mess-places below, as far as the guns
+allow of their doing so. It has always struck me as very pleasing, to
+see the main-deck covered, from the after hatchway to the cook's
+coppers, with the people's messes, enjoying their noon-day repast;
+while the celestial grog, with which their hard, dry, salt junk is
+washed down, out-matches twenty-fold in Jack's estimation all the thin
+potations of those who, in no very courteous language, are called
+their betters.
+
+Until we had crossed the North-east Trade, and reached the Calms, the
+ship's way through the water was too great to allow of bathing
+alongside; but we easily contrived a shower-bath, which answered very
+well. This consisted of a packing-box, the bottom of which was
+perforated with holes, triced up between two of the skids, near the
+gangway, and under the quarter of one of the boats on the booms. A
+couple of the top-men with draw-buckets supplied the water from above,
+while the bather stood on the main-deck, enjoying the shower. The time
+selected for this delightful bath was usually about four o'clock in
+the morning, after the middle watch was out, and before the exhausted
+officer tumbled into bed. A four hours' walk, indeed, in a sultry
+night, be it managed ever so gently, has a tendency to produce a
+degree of heat approaching to feverishness; and I have no words to
+describe the luxury of standing under a cool shower when the long task
+is ended. We were generally just enough fatigued to be sure of a
+sound, light, happy sleep, and just enough heated to revel in the
+coolest water that was to be had. In fact, we found that of the sea
+much too warm, being only two or three degrees below the temperature
+of the air. To remedy this, our plan was, to expose a dozen
+buckets-full on the gangway at eight or nine o'clock in the evening;
+and these, being allowed to stand till morning, became so much cooler
+by the evaporation in the night, that the shock was unspeakably
+grateful.
+
+Perhaps there is not any more characteristic evidence of our being
+within the tropical regions than the company of those picturesque
+little animals, the flying-fish. It is true, that a stray one or two
+may sometimes be met with far north, making a few short skips out of
+the water, and I even remember seeing several close to the edge of the
+banks of Newfoundland, in latitude 45 deg.; but it is not until the
+voyager has fairly reached the heart of the torrid zone that he sees
+the flying-fish in perfection. I have hardly ever observed a person so
+dull or unimaginative that his eye did not glisten as he watched a
+shoal of flying-fish rise from the sea, and skim along for several
+hundred yards. There is something in it so totally dissimilar to
+everything else in other parts of the world, that our wonder goes on
+increasing every time we see even a single one take its flight. The
+incredulity of the old Scotch woman on this head is sufficiently
+excusable. "You may hae seen rivers o' milk, and mountains o' sugar,"
+said she to her son, returned from a voyage; "but you'll ne'er gar me
+believe you have seen a fish that could flee!"
+
+The pleasant Trade, which had wafted us with different degrees of
+velocity, over a distance of more than a thousand miles, at last
+gradually failed. The sails began to flap gently against the masts, so
+gently, indeed, that we half hoped it was caused, not so much by the
+diminished force of the breeze, with which we wore very unwilling to
+part, as by that long and peculiar swell which,
+
+        "In the torrid clime
+        Dark heaving,"
+
+is productive of oscillating motion on the ship; but the faint
+zephyrs, which had coquetted with our languid sails for an hour or
+two, at length took their leave, first of the courses, then of the
+topsails, and lastly of the royals and the smaller flying kites
+aloft. In vain we looked round and round the horizon for some traces
+of a return of our old friend the Trade, but could distinguish nothing
+save one polished, dark-heaving sheet of glass, reflecting the
+unbroken disc of the sun, and the bright clear sky in the moving
+mirror beneath. From the heat, which soon became intense, there was no
+escape, either on deck or below, aloft in the tops, or still higher on
+the cross-trees; neither could we find relief down in the hold; for it
+was all the same, except that in the exposed situations we were
+scorched or roasted, in the others suffocated. The useless helm was
+lashed amidships, the yards were lowered on the cap, and the boats
+were dropped into the water, to fill up the cracks and rents caused by
+the fierce heat. The occasion was taken advantage of to shift some of
+the sails, and to mend others; most of the running-ropes also were
+turned end for end. A listless feeling stole over us all, and we lay
+about the decks gasping for breath, seeking in vain some alleviation
+to our thirst by drink! drink! drink! Alas, the transient indulgence
+only made the matter worse!
+
+Meanwhile, our convoy of huge China ships, rolling very slowly on the
+top of the long, smooth, and scarcely perceptible ridges, or sinking
+as gently between their summits, were scattered in all directions,
+with their heads in different ways, some looking homeward again, and
+some, as if by instinct, keeping still for the south. How it happens I
+do not know, but on occasions of perfect calm, or such as appear to be
+perfectly calm, the ships of a fleet generally drift away from one
+another; so that, at the end of a few hours, the whole circle bounded
+by the horizon is speckled over with these unmanageable hulks, as they
+may for the time be considered. It will occasionally happen, indeed,
+that two ships draw so near in a calm as to incur some risk of falling
+on board one another. I need scarcely mention, that, even in the
+smoothest water ever found in the open sea, two large ships coming
+into actual contact must prove a formidable encounter. As long as they
+are apart their gentle and rather graceful movements are fit subjects
+of admiration; and I have often seen people gazing, for an hour at a
+time, at the ships of a becalmed fleet, slowly twisting round,
+changing their position, and rolling from side to side, as silently as
+if they had been in harbour, or accompanied only by the faint,
+rippling sound tripping along the water-line, as the copper below the
+bends alternately sunk into the sea, or rose out of it, dripping wet,
+and shining as bright and clean as a new coin, from the constant
+friction of the ocean during the previous rapid passage across the
+Trade-winds.
+
+But all this picturesque admiration changes to alarm when ships come
+so close as to risk a contact; for these motions, which appear so slow
+and gentle to the eye, are irresistible in their force; and as the
+chances are against the two vessels moving exactly in the same
+direction at the same moment, they must speedily grind or tear one
+another to pieces. Supposing them to come in contact side by side, the
+first roll would probably tear away the fore and main channels of both
+ships; the next roll, by interlacing the lower yards, and entangling
+the spars of one ship with the shrouds and backstays of the other,
+would in all likelihood bring down all three masts of both ships, not
+piecemeal, as the poet hath it, but in one furious crash. Beneath the
+ruins of the spars, the coils of rigging, and the enormous folds of
+canvas, might lie crushed many of the best hands, who, from being
+always the foremost to spring forward in such seasons of danger, are
+surest to be sacrificed. After this first catastrophe, the ships would
+probably drift away from one another for a little while, only to
+tumble together again and again, till they had ground one another to
+the water's edge, and one or both of them would fill and go down. In
+such encounters it is impossible to stop the mischief, and oak and
+iron break, and crumble in pieces, like sealing-wax and pie-crust.
+Many instances of such accidents are on record, but I never witnessed
+one.
+
+To prevent these frightful _rencontres_ care is always taken to hoist
+out the boats in good time, if need be, to tow the ships apart, or,
+what is generally sufficient, to tow the ships' heads in opposite
+directions. I scarcely know why this should have the effect, but
+certainly it appears that, be the calm ever so complete, or dead, as
+the term is, a vessel generally forges ahead, or steals along
+imperceptibly in the direction she is looking to; possibly from the
+conformation of the hull.
+
+Shortly after the Trade-wind left us, a cloud rose in the south, which
+soon filled the whole air, and discharged upon us the most furious
+shower I ever beheld. The rain fell down in perpendicular lines of
+drops, or spouts, without a breath of wind, unaccompanied by thunder
+or any other noise, and in one great gush or splash, as if some
+prodigious reservoir had been upset over the fleet from the edge of
+the cloud.
+
+Our noble commander, delighted with the opportunity of replenishing
+his stock of water, called out, "Put shot on each side, and slack all
+the stops down, so that the awnings may slope inwards. Get buckets and
+empty casks to hand instantly!"
+
+In a few minutes the awnings were half full of water, and a hole
+connected with a hose having been prepared beforehand near the lowest
+point, where the canvas was weighed down by the shot, a stream
+descended as if a cock had been turned. Not a drop of this was lost;
+but being carried off, it was poured into a starting-tub at the
+hatchway, and so conveyed by a pipe to the casks in the hold. By the
+time the squall was over we had filled six or eight butts; and
+although not good to drink, from being contaminated by the tar from
+the ropes and sails, the water answered admirably for washing, which
+was our object in catching it.
+
+Ever since the days of Captain Cook it has been the practice to allow
+the crew two washing days per week, on the details of which proceeding
+we all know the misery of putting on wet clothes, or sleeping in damp
+sheets. Now, a shirt washed in salt water is really a great deal worse
+than either; putting on linen washed in salt water, you first dry your
+unhappy shirt by exposing it to the sun or the fire till it seems as
+free from moisture as any bone; you then put it on, in hopes of
+enjoying the benefit of clean linen. Alas, not a whit of enjoyment
+follows! For if the air be in a humid state, or you are exposed to
+exercise, the treacherous salt, which, when crystallised, has hidden
+itself in the fibres of the cloth, speedily melts, and you have all
+the tortures of being once more wrapped in moist drapery. In your
+agony, you pull it off, run to the galley-range, and toast it over
+again; or you hang it up in the fiery heat of the southern sun, and
+when not a particle of wet seems to remain, you draw it on a second
+time, fancying your job at last complete. But, miserable man that you
+are! the insidious enemy still lurks there, and no art we yet know of
+will expel him, save and except that of a good sound rinsing in fresh
+water.
+
+I need scarcely add, then, that there are few favours of the minor
+kind which a considerate captain may bestow on his crew more
+appreciated than giving them as much fresh water as will serve to
+carry off the abominable salt from their clothes, after they have
+first been well scoured in the water of the ocean; it is a great
+comfort, and an officer of any activity, by a judicious management of
+the ship's regular stock, and, above all, by losing no opportunity of
+catching rain water, need seldom be without the means of giving to
+each man of his crew a gallon twice a-week during the longest voyage.
+
+It was from an old and excellent officer I first learned, that, by
+proper and constant care, this indulgence might almost always be
+granted. It is not easy, I freely admit, at all times, and in all
+climates, to keep a supply Of washing-water on board. But a captain
+ought to do what is right and kind, simply because it is right and
+kind, regardless of trouble; and his conduct in this respect should
+not be uninfluenced by the manner in which it is received; at all
+events, he may be certain that if his favours be not well received,
+the fault lies in his manner of giving them. Sailors have the most
+acute penetration possible on these occasions; and if the captain be
+actuated by any wish except that of doing his duty uniformly and
+kindly, the Johnnies will see through it all, and either laugh at him
+or hate him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+AQUATIC SPORTS.
+
+
+One day, after we had lost the north-east Trade wind, a furious
+squall, unperceived till it reached us, swept through the fleet. These
+violent tornadoes are generally called white squalls, from being
+unattended by those black heavy rain clouds. On the occasion of
+ordinary squalls, even with the advantage of the warning given by
+rising clouds, it is not always easy to escape their force unhurt. If
+the wind be fair, a natural reluctance is felt to shorten sail, at all
+events, until the squall is so near that there is an absolute
+necessity for doing so, and inexperienced officers are often deceived
+by the unexpected velocity with which the gust comes down upon them.
+Even the oldest sailors are apt to miscalculate the time likely to
+elapse before the wind can touch them. In these cases, unless the men
+be very active, the sails are torn, and sometimes a mast or a yard is
+carried away. It is, besides, often doubtful whether there is wind or
+merely a plump of rain in the squall; there are, therefore, few points
+of distinction more remarkable between the seamanship of an old and a
+young officer, than their power of judging of this matter. To a man
+quite inexperienced, a squall may look in the highest degree
+threatening; he will order the top-gallant clew-lines to be manned,
+place hands by the topsail haulyards, and lay along the main
+clew-garnets. His more experienced captain, however, being apprised of
+the squall's approach, steps on deck, takes a hasty look to windward,
+and says quietly to the officer of the watch, "Never mind, there's
+nothing in it, it's only rain; keep the sails on her."
+
+But although the older authority nine times in ten proves correct in
+his judgment, even he might find it difficult, if not impossible, to
+tell exactly upon what his confidence rested. Sailors boast, indeed,
+of having an infallible test by which the point in question may be
+ascertained, their secret being clothed in the following rhymes so to
+call them:--
+
+    "If the rain's before the wind,
+    'Tis time to take the topsails in;
+    If the wind's before the rain,
+    Hoist your topsails up again."
+
+The practical knowledge alluded to, however, comes not by rhymes, but
+by experience alone, with a kind of intuitive confidence. Many long
+and hard years of study, and myriads of forgotten trials must have
+been gone through to give this enviable knowledge.
+
+No experience, however, can altogether guard against these sudden
+gusts or white squalls, since they make no show, except, sometimes, by
+a rippling of the water along which they are sweeping. On the occasion
+above alluded to there was not even this faint warning. The first
+ships of the convoy touched by the blast were laid over almost on
+their beam-ends, but in the next instant righted again, on the whole
+of their sails being blown clean out of the bolt-ropes. The Theban
+frigate and the Volage, then lying nearly in the centre of the fleet,
+were the only ships which saved an inch of canvas, owing chiefly to
+our having so many more hands on board, but partly to our having
+caught sight of the ruin brought on the vessels near us, just in time
+to let fly the sheets and haulyards and get the yards down. But even
+then, with the utmost exertion of every man and boy on board, we
+barely succeeded in clewing all up.
+
+When this hurricane of a moment had passed, and we had time to look
+round, not a rag was to be seen in the whole fleet; while the Wexford,
+a ship near us, had lost her three top-gallant masts and jib-boom,
+and, what was a much more serious misfortune, her fore-topmast was
+dangling over the bows. Part of the fore-topsail was wrapped like a
+shawl round the lee cat-head, while the rest hung down in festoons
+from the collar of the fore-stay to the spritsail yard-arm. A stout
+party of seamen from each of the men-of-war were sent to assist in
+clearing the wreck, and getting up fresh spars; and a light fair wind
+having succeeded to the calm in which we had been lolling about for
+many days, we took our wounded bird in tow, and made all sail towards
+the equator. By this time, also, the China ships had bent a new set of
+sails, and were resuming their old stations in the appointed order of
+bearing, which it was our policy to keep up strictly, together with as
+many other of the formalities of a fleet in line of battle and on a
+cruise as we could possibly maintain.
+
+While we were thus stealing along pleasantly enough under the genial
+influence of this newly-found air, which as yet was confined to the
+upper sails, and every one was looking open-mouthed to the eastward to
+catch a gulp of cool air, or was congratulating his neighbour on
+getting rid of the tiresome calm in which we had been so long
+half-roasted, half-suffocated, about a dozen flying-fish rose out of
+the water, just under the fore-chains, and skimmed away to windward at
+the height of ten or twelve feet above the surface. But sometimes the
+flying-fish merely skims the surface, so as to touch the tops of the
+successive waves, without rising and falling to follow the undulations
+of the sea; that they also rise as high as twenty feet out of the
+water is certain, being sometimes found in the channels of a
+line-of-battle ship; and they frequently fly into a 74 gun-ship's
+main-deck ports. On a frigate's forecastle and gangways, also
+elevations which may be taken at eighteen or twenty feet, they are
+often found. I remember seeing one, about nine inches in length, and
+weighing not less, I should suppose, than half-a-pound, skim into the
+Volage's main-deck port just abreast of the gangway. One of the
+main-topmen was coming up the quarter-deck ladder at the moment, when
+the flying-fish, entering the port, struck the astonished mariner on
+the temple, knocked him off the step, and very nearly laid him
+sprawling.
+
+I was once in a prize, a low Spanish schooner, not above two feet and
+a-half out of the water, when we used to pick up flying-fish enough
+about the decks in the morning to give us a capital breakfast. They
+are not unlike whitings to the taste, though rather firmer, and very
+dry. They form, I am told, a considerable article of food for the
+negroes in the harbours of the West Indies. The method of catching
+them at night is thus described:--In the middle of the canoe a light
+is placed on the top of a pole, towards which object it is believed
+these fish always dart, while on both sides of the canoe a net is
+spread to a considerable distance, supported by out-riggers above the
+surface of the water; the fish dash at the light, pass it, and fall
+into the net on the other side.
+
+Shortly after observing the cluster of flying-fish rise out of the
+water, we discovered two or three dolphins ranging past the ship, in
+all their beauty, and watched with some anxiety to see one of those
+aquatic chases of which our friends of the Indiamen had been telling
+us such wonderful stories. We had not long to wait; for the ship, in
+her progress through the water, soon put up another shoal of these
+little things, which, as the others had done, took their flight
+directly to windward. A large dolphin, which had been keeping company
+with us abreast of the weather gangway at the depth of two or three
+fathoms, and, as usual, glistening most beautifully in the sun, no
+sooner detected our poor dear little friends take wing, than he turned
+his head towards them, and, darting to the surface, leaped from the
+water with a velocity little short, as it seemed, of a cannon-ball.
+But although the impetus with which he shot himself into the air gave
+him an initial velocity greatly exceeding that of the flying-fish, the
+start which his fated prey had got enabled them to keep ahead of him
+for a considerable time.
+
+The length of the dolphin's first spring could not be less than ten
+yards; and after he fell we could see him gliding like lightning
+through the water for a moment, when he again rose, and shot forwards
+with considerably greater velocity than at first, and, of course, to a
+still greater distance. In this manner the merciless pursuer seemed to
+stride along the sea with fearful rapidity, while his brilliant coat
+sparkled and flashed in the sun quite splendidly. As he fell headlong
+on the water at the end of each huge leap, a series of circles were
+sent far over the still surface, which lay as smooth as a mirror; for
+the breeze, although enough to keep the royals and top-gallant
+studding sails extended, was hardly as yet felt below.
+
+The group of wretched flying-fish, thus hotly pursued, at length
+dropped into the sea; but we were rejoiced to observe that they merely
+touched the top of the swell, and scarcely sunk in it, at least they
+instantly set off again in a fresh and even more vigorous flight. It
+was particularly interesting to observe that the direction they now
+took was quite different from the one in which they had set out,
+implying but too obviously that they had detected their fierce enemy,
+who was following them with giant steps along the waves, and now
+gaining rapidly upon them. His terrific pace, indeed, was two or three
+times as swift as theirs, poor little things! and the greedy dolphin
+was fully as quick-sighted as the flying-fish which were trying to
+elude him; for whenever they varied their flight in the smallest
+degree, he lost not the tenth part of a second in shaping a new
+course, so as to cut off the chase; while they, in a manner really not
+unlike that of the hare, doubled more than once upon their pursuer.
+But it was soon too plainly to be seen that the strength and
+confidence of the flying-fish were fast ebbing. Their flights became
+shorter and shorter, and their course more fluttering and uncertain,
+while the enormous leaps of the dolphin appeared to grow only more
+vigorous at each bound. Eventually, indeed, we could see, or fancied
+we could see, that this skilful sea sportsman arranged all his springs
+with such an assurance of success, that he contrived to fall, at the
+end of each, just under the very spot on which the exhausted
+flying-fish were about to drop! Sometimes this catastrophe took place
+at too great a distance for us to see from the deck exactly what
+happened; but on our mounting high into the rigging, we may be said to
+have been in at the death; for then we could discover that the
+unfortunate little creatures, one after another, either popped right
+into the dolphin's jaws as they lighted on the water, or were snapped
+up instantly afterwards.
+
+It was impossible not to take an active part with our pretty little
+friends of the weaker side, and accordingly we very speedily had our
+revenge. The middies and the sailors, delighted with the chance,
+rigged out a dozen or twenty lines from the jib-boom end, and
+spritsail yard-arms, with hooks baited merely with bits of tin, the
+glitter of which resembles so much that of the body and wings of the
+flying-fish, that many a proud dolphin, making sure of a delicious
+morsel, leaped in rapture at the deceitful prize.
+
+It may be well to mention that the dolphin of sailors is not the fish
+so called by the ancient poets. Ours, which I learn from the
+Encyclopaedia, is the _Coryphoena hippurus_ of naturalists, is
+totally different from their _Delphinus phocoena_, termed by us the
+porpoise, respecting which there exists a popular belief amongst
+seamen that the wind may be expected from the quarter to which a shoal
+of porpoises are observed to steer. So far, however, from our
+respecting the speculations of these submarine philosophers, every art
+is used to drag them out of their native element, and to pass them
+through the fire to the insatiable Molochs of the lower decks and
+cockpits of his Majesty's ships, a race amongst whom the constant
+supply of the best provisions appears to produce only an increase of
+appetite.
+
+One harpoon, at least, is always kept in readiness for action in the
+fore part of the ship. The sharpest and strongest of these deadly
+weapons is generally stopped or fastened to the fore-tack bumpkin, a
+spar some ten or twelve feet long, projecting from the bows of a ship
+on each side like the horns of a snail, to which the tack or lower
+corner of the foresail is drawn down when the ship is on a wind. This
+spar, which affords good footing, not being raised many feet above the
+water, while it is clear of the bow, and very nearly over the spot
+where the porpoises glide past, when shooting across the ship's
+forefoot, is eagerly occupied by the most active and expert harpooner
+on board, as soon as the report has been spread that a shoal, or, as
+the sailors call it, a "school" of porpoises, are round the ship.
+There is another favourite station which is speedily filled on these
+occasions; I mean, alongside of the slight-looking apparatus
+projecting perpendicularly downwards from the end of the bowsprit.
+This spar is not inaptly called the dolphin-striker, from its
+appearing to dash into the waves as the ship pitches; perhaps it may
+have acquired its name on account of its being so capital a position
+from which to strike that fish. The lower end of the spar is connected
+with the outer end of the jib-boom, by means of a stout rope, which,
+after passing through its extremity, extends to the ship; and it is
+upon this guy that the fortunate wielder of the harpoon fixes himself.
+The harpoon is a triangular, or rather a heart-shaped barbed weapon,
+somewhat larger than a man's head, and in the centre about as thick as
+his knuckles. Its point and edges are made of iron so soft that they
+can easily be brought to a rough edge by means of a file. This
+javelin-head, or, as it is technically called by whalers, the "mouth,"
+is connected by a slender arm or shank, terminating in a socket. The
+barbed head or mouth is eight inches long, and six broad; the shank,
+with its socket, two feet and a-half long. The shank is not quite half
+an inch in diameter; and as this part is liable to be forcibly
+extended, twisted, and bent, it requires to be made of the toughest
+and most pliable iron.
+
+A piece of small, but stout line, called, I think, the foreganger, is
+spliced securely to the shank of the harpoon. To the end of this line
+is attached any small rope that lies handiest on the forecastle,
+probably the top-gallant clew-line, or the jib down-haul. The rope,
+before being made fast to the foreganger, is rove through a block
+attached to some part of the bowsprit, or to the foremost swifter of
+the fore-rigging; a gang of hands are always ready to take hold of the
+end, and run the fish right out of the water when pierced by the iron.
+
+The harpooner has nothing to attend to but the mere act of striking
+his object; and there are few exploits in which the dexterity of one
+person is more conspicuous over that of another than in delivering the
+harpoon. I have heard Captain Scoresby say, that, when a whale is
+struck, it is an object of importance to drive the weapon socket-deep
+into the blubber, or outer rind, of the floating monster; but in the
+case of the porpoise the true point of skill appears to lie in the aim
+alone: for the mere weight of the instrument, with its loaded staff,
+is sufficient to lodge the barbs in the body of the fish, and in many
+cases to carry it right through to the other side.
+
+The strength of the porpoise must be very great, for I have seen him
+twist a whale harpoon several times round, and eventually tear himself
+off by main force. On this account, it is of consequence to get the
+floundering gentleman on board with the least possible delay after the
+fish is struck. Accordingly, the harpooner, the instant he has made a
+good hit, bawls out, "Haul away! haul away!" upon which the men
+stationed at the line run away with it, and the struggling wretch is
+raised high into the air. Two or three of the smartest hands have in
+the mean time prepared what is called a running bowline knot, or
+noose, the nature of which may be readily described by saying that
+although it slips up, or renders, very easily, it is perfectly secure,
+without being subject to jamming. This running bowline, of which
+several are always previously made ready, is placed by hand round the
+body of the porpoise, or it may be cast, like the lasso, over its
+tail, and then, but not till then, can the capture be considered quite
+secure. I have seen many a gallant prize of this kind fairly
+transfixed with the harpoon, and rattled like a shot up to the block,
+where it was hailed by the shouts of the victors as the source of a
+certain feast, and yet lost after all, either by the line breaking, or
+the dart coming out during the vehement struggles of the fish.
+
+I remember once seeing a porpoise accidentally struck by a minor
+description of fish-spear called a grains, a weapon quite inadequate
+for such a service. The cord by which it was held, being much too
+weak, soon broke, and off dashed the wounded fish, right in the wind's
+eye, at a prodigious rate, with the staff erect on its back, like a
+signal-post. The poor wretch was instantly accompanied, or pursued, by
+myriads of his own species, whose instinct, it is said, teaches them
+to follow any track of blood, and even to devour their unfortunate
+fellow-fish. I rather doubt the fact of their cannibalism, but am
+certain that, whenever a porpoise is struck and escapes, he is
+followed by all the others, and the ship is deserted by the shoal in a
+few seconds. In the instance just mentioned, the grains with which the
+porpoise was struck had been got ready for spearing a dolphin; but the
+man in whose hands it happened to be, not being an experienced
+harpooneer, could not resist the opportunity of darting his weapon
+into the first fish that offered a fair mark.
+
+The dolphin, the bonito, and the albacore, are sometimes caught with
+the grains, but generally by means of lines baited either with bits of
+tin, or with pieces of the flying-fish, when any are to be had. In
+fine weather, especially between the tropics, when the whole surface
+of the sea is often covered with them, a dozen lines are hung from the
+jib-boom end and spritsail yard, all so arranged, that when the ship
+sends forward, the hook, with its glittering bait, barely touches the
+water, but rises from it when the ship is raised up by the swell. The
+grains, spoken of above, resembles nothing so much that I know of as
+the trident which painters thrust into the hands of Daddy Neptune. If
+my nautical recollections, however, serve me correctly, this spear has
+five prongs, not three, and sometimes there are two sets, placed in
+lines at right angles to one another. The upper end of the staff being
+loaded with lead, it falls down and turns over the fish, which is then
+drawn on board on the top of the grains, as a potato or a herring
+might be presented on the point of a fork.
+
+The dolphin is eaten and generally relished by every one, though
+certainly a plaguy dry fish. It is often cut into slices and fried
+like salmon, or boiled and soused in vinegar, to be eaten cold. The
+bonito is a coarser fish, and only becomes tolerable eating by the
+copious use of port-wine.
+
+It happened in a ship I commanded that a porpoise was struck about
+half-an-hour before the cabin dinner; and I gave directions, as a
+matter of course, to my steward to dress a dish of steaks, cut well
+clear of the thick coating of blubber. It so chanced that none of the
+crew had ever before seen a fish of this kind taken, and in
+consequence there arose doubts amongst them whether or not it was
+good, or even safe eating. The word, however, being soon passed along
+the decks that orders had been given for some slices of the porpoise
+to be cooked for the captain's table, a deputation from forward was
+appointed to proceed as near to the cabin door as the etiquette of the
+service allowed, in order to establish the important fact of the
+porpoise being eatable. The dish was carried in, its contents
+speedily discussed, and a fresh supply having been sent for, the
+steward was, of course, intercepted in his way to the cook. "I say,
+Capewell," cried one of the hungry delegates, "did the captain really
+eat any of the porpoise?"
+
+"Eat it!" exclaimed the steward, "look at that!" at the same time
+lifting off the cover, and showing a dish as well cleared as if it had
+previously been freighted with veal cutlets, and was now on its return
+from the midshipmen's berth.
+
+"Ho! ho!" sung out Jack, running back to the forecastle; "if the
+skipper eats porpoise, I don't see why we should be nice; so here
+goes!" Then pulling forth the great clasp-knife which always hangs by
+a cord round the neck of a seaman, he plunged it into the sides of the
+fish, and, after separating the outside rind of blubber, detached
+half-a-dozen pounds of the red meat, which, in texture and taste, and
+in the heat of its blood, resembles beef, though very coarse. His
+example was so speedily followed by the rest of the ship's company,
+that when I walked forward, after dinner, in company with the doctor,
+to take the post-mortem view of the porpoise more critically than
+before, we found the whole had been broiled and eaten within
+half-an-hour after I had unconsciously given, by my example, an
+official sanction to the feast.
+
+On the 24th of May, the day before crossing the equator, I saw the
+grandest display of all these different kinds of fish which it has
+ever been my fortune to meet with. In my journal, written on that day,
+I find some things related of which I have scarcely any recollection,
+and certainly have never witnessed since. A bonito, it appears,
+darted out of the water after a flying-fish, open-mouthed, and so true
+was the direction of his leap that he actually closed with the chase
+in the air, and sought to snap it up; but, owing to some error in his
+calculation, the top of his head striking the object of pursuit, sent
+it spinning off in a direction quite different from that which his own
+momentum obliged him to follow. A number of those huge birds, the
+albatrosses, were soaring over the face of the waters, and the
+flying-fish, when rising into the air to avoid the dolphins and
+bonitos, were frequently caught by these poaching birds, to the very
+reasonable disappointment of the sporting fish below. These intruders
+proceeded not altogether with impunity, however; for we hooked several
+of them, who, confident in their own sagacity and strength of wing,
+swooped eagerly at the baited hooks towed far astern of the ship, and
+were thus drawn on board, screaming and flapping their wings in a very
+ridiculous plight. To render this curious circle of mutual destruction
+quite complete, though it may diminish our sympathy for the persecuted
+flying-fish, I ought to mention that on the same day one dropped on
+board in the middle of its flight, and in its throat another small
+fish was found half swallowed, but still alive!
+
+All this may be considered, more or less, as mere sport; but in the
+capture of the shark, a less amiable, or, I may say, a more ferocious
+spirit is sure to prevail. There would seem, indeed, to be a sort of
+perpetual and hereditary war waged between sailors and sharks, like
+that said to exist between the Esquimaux and the Indians of North
+America, where, as each of the belligerents is under the full belief
+that every death, whether natural or violent, is caused by the
+machinations of the other side, there is no hope of peace between
+them, as long as the high conflicting parties shall be subject to the
+laws of mortality.
+
+In like manner, I fear, that in all future times, as in all times
+past, when poor Jack falls overboard in Madras roads, or in Port Royal
+harbour, he will be crunched between the shark's quadruple or
+quintuple rows of serrated teeth, with as merciless a spirit of
+enjoyment as Jack himself can display. Certainly, I nave never seen
+the savage part of our nature peep out more clearly than upon these
+occasions, when a whole ship's company, captain, officers, and young
+gentlemen inclusive, shout in triumphant exultation over the body of a
+captive shark, floundering in impotent rage on the poop or forecastle.
+The capture always affords high and peculiar sport, for it is one in
+which every person on board sympathises, and, to a certain extent,
+takes a share. Like a fox-chase, it is ever new, and draws within its
+vortex every description of person. Even the monkey, if there be one
+on board, takes a vehement interest in the whole progress of this wild
+scene. I remember once observing Jacko running backwards and forwards
+along the after-part of the poop hammock-netting, grinning, screaming,
+and chattering at such a rate, that, as it was nearly calm, he was
+heard all over the decks.
+
+"What's the matter with you, Master Mona?" said the quarter-master;
+for the animal came from Teneriffe, and preserved his Spanish
+cognomen. Jacko replied not, but merely stretching his head over the
+railing, stared with his eyes almost bursting from his head, and by
+the intensity of his grin bared his teeth and gums nearly from ear to
+ear.
+
+The sharp curved dorsal fin of a huge shark was now seen, rising
+about six inches above the water, and cutting the glazed surface of
+the sea by as fine a line as if a sickle had been drawn along.
+
+"Messenger! run to the cook for a piece of pork," cried the captain,
+taking command with as much glee as if it had been an enemy's cruiser.
+
+"Where's your hook, quarter-master?"
+
+"Here, sir, here!" cried the fellow, feeling the point, and declaring
+it as sharp as any lady's needle, and in the next instant piercing
+with it a huge junk of rusty pork, weighing four or five pounds; for
+nothing, scarcely, is too large or too high in flavour for the stomach
+of a shark.
+
+The hook, which is as thick as one's little finger, has a curvature
+about as large as that of a man's hand when half closed, and is from
+six to eight inches in length, with a formidable barb. This
+fierce-looking grappling-iron is furnished with three or four feet of
+chain, a precaution which is absolutely necessary; for a voracious
+shark will sometimes gobble the bait so deep into his stomach, that he
+would snap through the rope as easily as if he were nipping the head
+off an asparagus.
+
+A good strong line, generally the end of the mizen-topsail-haulyards,
+being made fast to the chain, the bait is cast into the ship's wake;
+for it is very seldom so dead a calm that a vessel has not some small
+motion through the water. I think I have remarked that at sea the
+sharks are most apt to make their appearance when the ship is going
+along at a rate of somewhat less than a mile an hour, a speed which
+barely brings her under command of the rudder, or gives her what is
+technically called steerage-way.
+
+A shark, like a midshipman, is generally very hungry; but in the rare
+cases when he is not in good appetite he sails slowly up to the bait,
+smells at it, and gives it a poke with his shovel-nose, turning it
+over and over. He then edges off to the right or left, as if he
+apprehended mischief, but soon returns again, to enjoy the delicious
+_haut gout_ of the damaged pork, of which a piece is always selected,
+if it can be found.
+
+While this coquetry or shyness is exhibited by John Shark, the whole
+after-part of the ship is so clustered with heads that not an inch of
+spare room is to be had for love or money. The rigging, the mizen-top,
+and even the gaff, out to the very peak, the hammock-nettings and the
+quarters, almost down to the counter, are stuck over with breathless
+spectators, speaking in whispers, if they venture to speak at all, or
+can find leisure for anything but fixing their gaze on the monster,
+who as yet is free to roam the ocean, but who, they trust, will soon
+be in their power. I have seen this go on for an hour together; after
+which the shark has made up his mind to have nothing to say to us, and
+either swerved away to windward, if there be any breeze at all, or
+dived so deep that his place could be detected only by a faint touch
+or flash of white many fathoms down. The loss of a Spanish galleon in
+chase, I am persuaded, could hardly cause more bitter regret, or call
+forth more intemperate expressions of anger and impatience than the
+failure in hooking a shark is always sure to produce on board a ship
+at sea.
+
+On the other hand, I suppose the first symptom of an enemy's flag
+coming down in the fight was never hailed with greater joy than is
+felt by a ship's crew on the shark turning round to seize the bait.
+The preparatory symptoms of this intention are so well known to every
+one on board, that, the instant they begin to appear, a greedy whisper
+of delight passes from mouth to mouth amongst the assembled multitude;
+every eye is lighted up, and such as have not bronzed their cheeks by
+too long exposure to sun and wind to betray any change of colour may
+be seen to alter their hue from pale to red, and back to pale again,
+like the tints on the sides of the dying dolphin.
+
+It is supposed by seamen that the shark must of necessity turn on his
+back before he can bite anything, and, generally speaking, he
+certainly does so turn himself before he takes the bait; but this
+arises from two circumstances--one of them accidental and belonging to
+the particular occasion, the other arising out of the peculiar
+conformation and position of his mouth. When a bait is towed astern of
+a ship that has any motion through the water at all, it is necessarily
+brought to the surface, or nearly so. This, of course, obliges the
+shark to bite at it from below; and as his mouth is placed under his
+chin, not over it, he must turn nearly on his back before he can seize
+the floating piece of meat in which the hook is concealed. Even if he
+does not turn completely round, he is forced to slue himself, as it is
+called, so far as to show some portion of his white belly. The instant
+the white skin flashes on the sight of the expectant crew, a subdued
+cry, or murmur of satisfaction, is heard amongst the crowd; but no one
+speaks, for fear of alarming the shark.
+
+Sometimes, the very instant the bait is cast over the stern, the
+shark flies at it with such eagerness that he actually springs
+partially out of the water. This, however, is rare. On these occasions
+he gorges the bait, the hook, and a foot or two of the chain, without
+any mastication or delay, and darts off with his treacherous prize
+with such prodigious velocity and force that it makes the rope crack
+again as soon as the whole coil is drawn out; but in general he goes
+more leisurely to work, and seems rather to suck in the bait than to
+bite at it. Much dexterity is required in the hand which holds the
+line at this moment; for a bungler is apt to be too precipitate, and
+to jerk away the hook before it has got far enough down the shark's
+maw. Our greedy friend, indeed, is never disposed to relinquish what
+may once have passed his formidable batteries of teeth; but the hook,
+by a premature tug of the line, may fix itself in a part of the jaw so
+weak that it gives way in the fierce struggle which always follows.
+The secret of the sport is, to let the voracious monster gulp down the
+huge mess of pork, and then to give the rope a violent pull, by which
+the barbed point, quitting the edge of the bait, buries itself in the
+coats of the victim's throat or stomach. As the shark is not a
+personage to submit patiently to such treatment, it will not be well
+for any one whose foot happens to be accidentally on the coil of the
+rope, for, when the hook is first fixed, it spins out like the
+log-line of a ship going twelve knots.
+
+The suddenness of the jerk with which the poor devil is brought up,
+when he has reached the length of his tether, often turns him quite
+over on the surface of the water. Then commence the loud cheers,
+taunts, and other sounds of rage and triumph, so long suppressed. A
+steady pull is insufficient to carry away the line; but it sometimes
+happens that the violent struggles of the shark, when too speedily
+drawn up, snap either the rope or the hook, and so he gets off, to
+digest the remainder as he best can. It is, accordingly, held the best
+practice to play him a little, with his mouth at the surface, till he
+becomes somewhat exhausted. No sailor, therefore, ought ever to think
+of hauling a shark on board merely by the rope fastened to the hook;
+for, however impotent his struggles may generally be in the water,
+they are rarely unattended with risk when the rogue is drawn half-way
+up. To prevent the line breaking, or the hook snapping, or the jaw
+being torn away, the device formerly described, of a running bowline
+knot, is always adopted. This noose, being slipped down the rope, and
+passed over the monster's head, is made to jam at the point of
+junction of the tail with the body. When this is once fixed, the first
+act of the piece is held to be complete, and the vanquished enemy is
+afterwards easily drawn over the taffrail and flung on the deck, to
+the unspeakable delight of all hands. But, although the shark is out
+of his element, he has by no means lost his power of doing mischief;
+and I would advise no one to come within range of the tail, or thrust
+his toes too near the animal's mouth. The blow of a tolerably
+large-sized shark's tail might break a man's leg; and I have seen a
+three-inch hide tiller-rope bitten more than half-through full ten
+minutes after the wretch had been dragged about the quarter-deck, and
+had made all his victors keep at the most respectful distance. I
+remember hearing the late Dr. Wollaston, with his wonted ingenuity,
+suggest a method for measuring the strength of a shark's bite. If a
+smooth plate of lead, he thought, were thrust into the fish's mouth,
+the depth which his teeth should pierce the lead would furnish a sort
+of scale of the force exerted.
+
+I need scarcely mention, that, when a shark is floundering about, the
+quarter-deck becomes a scene of pretty considerable confusion; and if
+there be blood on the occasion, as there generally is, from all this
+rough usage, the stains are not to be got rid of without a week's
+scrubbing, and many a growl from the captain of the after-guard. For
+the time, however, all such considerations are superseded; that is to
+say, if the commander himself takes an interest in the sport, and he
+must be rather a spoony skipper that does not. If he be indifferent
+about the fate of the shark, it is speedily dragged forward to the
+forecastle, amidst the kicks, thumps, and execrations of the
+conquerors, who very soon terminate his miserable career by stabbing
+him with their knives, boarding-pikes, and tomahawks, like so many
+wild Indians.
+
+The first operation is always to deprive him of his tail, which is
+seldom an easy matter, it not being at all safe to come too near; but
+some dextrous hand, familiar with the use of the broad axe, watches
+for a quiet moment, and at a single blow severs it from the body. He
+is then closed with by another, who leaps across the prostrate foe,
+and with an adroit cut rips him open from snout to tail, and the
+tragedy is over, so far as the struggles and sufferings of the
+principal actor are concerned. There always follows, however, the most
+lively curiosity on the part of the sailors to learn what the shark
+has got stowed away in his inside; but they are often disappointed,
+for the stomach is generally empty. I remember one famous exception,
+indeed, when a very large fellow was caught on board the Alceste, in
+Anjeer Roads at Java, when we were proceeding to China with the
+embassy under Lord Amherst. A number of ducks and hens which had died
+in the night were, as usual, thrown overboard in the morning, besides
+several baskets, and many other minor things, such as bundles of
+shavings and bits of cordage: all of which were found in this huge
+sea-monster's inside. But what excited most surprise and admiration
+was the hide of a buffalo, killed on board that day for the ship's
+company's dinner. The old sailor who had cut open the shark stood with
+a foot on each side, and removed the articles one by one from the huge
+cavern into which they had been indiscriminately drawn. When the
+operator came at last to the buffalo's skin, he held it up before him
+like a curtain, and exclaimed, "There, my lads! d'ye see that? He has
+swallowed a buffalo; but he could not disgest the hide!"
+
+I have never been so unfortunate as to see a man bitten by a shark,
+though, in calm weather, it is usual to allow the people to swim about
+the ship. It would seem that they are disturbed by the splashing and
+other noises of so many persons, and keep at a distance; for although
+they are often observed near the ship both before and after the men
+have been bathing, they very rarely come near the swimmers. I remember
+once, indeed, at Bermuda, seeing a shark make a grab at a midshipman's
+heel, just as he was getting into the boat alongside. This youngster,
+who, with one or two others, had been swimming about for an hour, was
+the last of the party in the water. No shark had been seen during the
+whole morning; but just as he was drawing his foot into the boat the
+fish darted from the bottom. Fortunately for my old messmate, there
+was no time for the shark to make the half-turn of the body necessary
+to bring his mouth to bear; and he escaped, by half an inch, a fate
+which, besides its making one shudder to think of, would have deprived
+the service of an officer now deservedly in the higher ranks of his
+profession.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+A MAN OVERBOARD!
+
+
+The strange and almost savage ceremonies used at sea on crossing the
+equator have been so often described that a voyager, at this time of
+day, may be well excused for omitting any minute account of such wild
+proceedings. The whole affair, indeed, is preposterous in its
+conception, and, I must say, brutal in its execution. Notwithstanding
+all this, however, I have not only permitted it to go on in ships
+which I commanded, but have even encouraged it, and set it agoing,
+when the men themselves were in doubt. Its evil is transient if any
+evil there be, while it certainly affords Jack a topic for a month
+beforehand and a fortnight afterwards; and if so ordered as to keep
+its monstrosities within the limits of strict discipline, which is
+easy enough, it may even be made to add to the authority of the
+officers, instead of weakening their influence.
+
+In a well-regulated ship, within one hour from the time when these
+scenes of riot are at their height, order is restored, the decks are
+washed and swabbed up, the wet things are hung on the clothes' lines
+between the masts to dry; and the men, dressed in clean trousers and
+duck frocks, are assembled at their guns for muster, as soberly and
+sedately as if nothing had happened to discompose the decorous
+propriety of the ship's discipline. The middies, in like manner, may
+safely be allowed to have their own share of this rough fun, provided
+they keep as clear of their immediate superiors as the ship's company
+keep clear of the young gentlemen. And I must do the population of the
+cockpit the justice to say, that, when they fairly set about it,
+maugre their gentleman-like habits, aristocratical sprinklings, and
+the march of intellect to boot, they do contrive to come pretty near
+to the honest folks before the mast in the article of ingenious
+ferocity. The captain, of course, and, generally speaking, all the
+officers keep quite aloof, pocketing up their dignity with vast care,
+and ready, at a moment's warning, to repress any undue familiarity. As
+things proceed, however, one or two of the officers may possibly
+become so much interested in the skylarking scenes going forward as to
+approach a little too near, and laugh a little too loud, consistently
+with the preservation of the dignity of which they were so uncommonly
+chary at first starting. It cannot be expected, and indeed is not
+required, that the chief actors in these wild gambols, stripped to the
+buff, and shying buckets of water at one another, should be confined
+within very narrow limits in their game. Accordingly, some mount the
+rigging to shower down their cascades, while others squirt the
+fire-engine from unseen corners upon the head of the unsuspecting
+passer-by. And if it so chances (I say chances) that any one of the
+"commissioned nobs" of the ship shall come in the way of these
+explosions, it is served out to him like a thunder-storm, "all
+accidentally," of course. Well; what is he to do? He feels that he has
+indiscreetly trusted himself too far; and even if he has not actually
+passed the prescribed line, still he was much too near it, and the
+offence is perhaps unintentional. At all events, it is of too trifling
+a nature; and, under the peculiar circumstances of the moment, to make
+a complaint to the captain would be ridiculous. Having, therefore, got
+his jacket well wet, and seeing the ready means of revenging himself
+in kind, he snatches up a bucket, and, forgetting his dignity, hurls
+the contents in the face of the mid who has given him a sousing but
+two seconds before! From that moment his commission goes for nothing,
+and he becomes, for the time being, one of the biggest Billy-boys
+amongst them. The captain observing him in this mess, shrugs his
+shoulders, walks aft, muttering, "It's all your own fault, Mr.
+Hailtop; you've put yourself amongst these mad younkers; now see how
+they'll handle you!"
+
+Nothing, I confess, now looks to me more completely out of character
+with our well-starched discipline than a "staid lieutenant" romping
+about the booms, skulling up the rigging, blowing the grampus, and
+having it blown upon him by a parcel of rattle-pated reefers. But I
+remember well in the Volage being myself so gradually seduced by this
+animating spectacle of fun, that, before I knew where I was, I had
+crossed the rope laid on the deck as a boundary between order and
+disorder, and received a bucket of cold water in each ear, while the
+spout of a fire-engine, at the distance of two feet, was playing full
+in my eyes. On turning my head round to escape these cataracts, and
+to draw breath, a tar-brush was rammed half-way down my throat!
+
+Far different was the scene, and very different, of course, my
+deportment, four or five years afterwards on the same spot, when,
+instead of being the junior lieutenant, I was the great gun of all,
+the mighty master-nob of the whole party, that is to say, the captain
+himself. I was then in command of the Lyra, a ten-gun sloop-of-war;
+and after the shaving operations were over, and all things put once
+more in order, I went on board the Alceste frigate to dine with my
+excellent friend and commanding officer, the late Sir Murray Maxwell.
+Lord Amherst, the ambassador to China, was on board, and in great glee
+with the sight of what had been enacted before him; for although, as I
+have always said, these scenes are not of a nature to bear agreeable
+description, they certainly are amusing enough to see--for once.
+
+We soon sat down to dinner; and there was, of course, a great deal of
+amusement in telling the anecdotes of the day, and describing Father
+Neptune's strange aspect, and his still stranger-looking family and
+attendants. I ventured to back one of my figures against all or any of
+theirs, if not for monstrosity, at least for interest of another kind.
+Our dripping Neptune in the Lyra was accompanied, as usual, by a huge
+she-monster representing Amphitrite, being no other than one of the
+boatswain's mates dressed up with the main-hatchway tarpaulin for a
+cloak, the jolly-boat's mizen for a petticoat, while two half-wet
+swabs furnished her lubberly head with ringlets. By her side sat a
+youth, her only son Triton, a morsel of submarine domestic history
+ascertained by reference previously made to Lempriere's Dictionary.
+This poor little fellow was a great pet amongst the crew of the brig,
+and was indeed suspected to be entitled by birth to a rank above his
+present station, so gentle and gentleman-like he always appeared. Even
+on this occasion, when disfigured by paint, pitch, and tar, copiously
+daubed over his delicate person, to render him fit company for his
+papa old Neptune, he still looked as if his ill-favoured parents had
+stolen him, and were trying in vain to disguise their roguery by
+rigging him up in their own gipsy apparel.
+
+It was very nearly dark when I rowed back to the Lyra, which had been
+hanging for the last half hour on the frigate's weather-quarter, at
+the distance of a cable's length, watching for my return. The wind was
+so light, and the brig so close, that no signal was made to heave to;
+indeed I had scarcely rowed under the Alceste's stern, on my way back,
+before it was necessary to call out, "In bow!" The rattle of the oar
+on the thwarts gave the earliest notice of my approach to the people
+on board the little vessel, and I could hear the first lieutenant
+exclaim in haste, "Attend the side! Where are the sides-men?"
+
+Scarcely had these words been spoken, when I heard a splash in the
+water, followed by a faint cry of distress and despair. In the next
+instant the brig was hove about, and the stern-boat lowered down,
+accompanied by all the hurried symptoms of a man having fallen
+overboard. I made the people in the boat tug at their oars towards the
+spot; but though we pulled over and over the ship's wake twenty times,
+the water was everywhere unruffled and unmarked by any speck. At
+length I rowed on board, turned the hands up to muster, to ascertain
+who was gone, and found all present but our poor little Triton! It
+appeared that the lad, who was one of the sides-men, fatigued with the
+day's amusement, had stretched himself in the fore-part of the
+quarter-deck hammock-netting, and gone to sleep. The sharp voice of
+the officer, on seeing the gig almost alongside, had roused the
+unhappy boy too suddenly; he quite forgot where he was, and, instead
+of jumping in-board, plunged into the sea, never to rise again!
+
+There are few accidents more frequent at sea than that of a man
+falling overboard; and yet, strange to say, whenever it happens, it
+takes every one as completely by surprise as if such a thing had never
+occurred before. What is still more unaccountable, and, I must say,
+altogether inexcusable, is the fact of such an incident invariably
+exciting a certain degree of confusion, even in well-regulated ships.
+Whenever I have witnessed the tumultuous rush of the people from
+below, their eagerness to crowd into the boats, and the reckless
+devotion with which they fling themselves into the water to save their
+companions, I could not help thinking that it was no small disgrace to
+us, to whose hands the whole arrangements of discipline are confided,
+that we had not yet fallen upon any method of availing ourselves to
+good purpose of so much generous activity.
+
+Sailors are men of rough habits, but their feelings are not by any
+means coarse; and, generally speaking, they are much attached to one
+another, and will make great sacrifices to their messmates or
+shipmates when opportunities occur. A very little address on the part
+of the officers, as I have before hinted, will secure an extension of
+these kindly sentiments to the quarter-deck. But what I was alluding
+to just now was the cordiality of the friendships which spring up
+between the sailors themselves, who, it must be recollected, have no
+other society, and all, or almost all, whose ordinary social ties have
+been broken either by the chances of war, or by the very nature of
+their roving and desultory life, which carries them they really know
+not where, and care not wherefore.
+
+I remember once, when cruising off Terceira in the Endymion, that a
+man fell overboard and was drowned. After the usual confusion, and a
+long search in vain, the boats were hoisted up, and the hands called
+to make sail. I was officer of the forecastle, and on looking about to
+see if all the men were at their stations, missed one of the
+foretop-men. Just at that moment I observed some one curled up, and
+apparently hiding himself under the bow of the barge, between the boat
+and the booms. "Hillo!" I said, "who are you? What are you doing here,
+you skulker? Why are you not at your station?"
+
+"I am not skulking, sir," said the poor fellow, the furrows in whose
+bronzed and weather-beaten cheek were running down with tears. The man
+we had just lost had been his messmate and friend, he told me, for ten
+years. I begged his pardon in full sincerity, for having used such
+harsh words to him at such a moment, and bid him go below to his berth
+for the rest of the day.
+
+"Never mind, sir, never mind," said the kind-hearted seaman, "it can't
+be helped. You meant no harm, sir. I am as well on deck as below.
+Bill's gone, sir, but I must do my duty."
+
+So saying he drew the sleeve of his jacket twice or thrice across his
+eyes, and mastering his grief within his breast, walked to his station
+as if nothing had happened.
+
+In the same ship, and nearly about the same time, some of the people
+were bathing alongside in a calm sea. It is customary on such
+occasions to spread a studding sail on the water, by means of lines
+from the fore and main yard-arms, for the use of those who either
+cannot swim, or who are not expert in this art, so very important to
+all seafaring people. Half-a-dozen of the ship's boys, youngsters sent
+on board by that admirable and most patriotic of naval institutions,
+the Marine Society, were floundering about in the sail, and sometimes
+even venturing beyond the leech rope. One of the least of these
+urchins, but not the least courageous of their number, when taunted by
+his more skilful companions with being afraid, struck out boldly
+beyond the prescribed bounds. He had not gone much further than his
+own length, however, along the surface of the fathomless sea, when his
+heart failed him, poor little man! and along with his confidence away
+also went his power of keeping his head above water. So down he sank
+rapidly, to the speechless horror of the other boys, who, of course,
+could lend the drowning child no help.
+
+The captain of the forecastle, a tall, fine-looking, hard-a-weather
+fellow, was standing on the shank of the sheet anchor, with his arms
+across, and his well-varnished canvas bat drawn so much over his eyes
+that it was difficult to tell whether he was awake, or merely dozing
+in the sun, as he leaned his back against the fore-topmast backstay.
+The seaman, however, had been attentively watching the young party
+all the time, and, rather fearing that mischief might ensue from their
+rashness, he had grunted out a warning to them from time to time, to
+which they paid no sort of attention. At last he desisted, saying they
+might drown themselves if they had a mind, for never a bit would he
+help them; but no sooner did the sinking figure of the adventurous
+little boy catch his eye, than, diver-fashion, joining the palms of
+his hands over his head, he shot head-foremost into the water. The
+poor lad sunk so rapidly that he was at least a couple of fathoms
+under the surface before he was arrested by the grip of the sailor,
+who soon rose again, bearing the bewildered boy in his hand, and,
+calling to the other youngsters to take better care of their
+companion, chucked him right into the belly of the sail in the midst
+of the party. The fore-sheet was hanging in the calm, nearly into the
+water, and by it the dripping seaman scrambled up again to his old
+berth on the anchor, shook himself like a great Newfoundland dog, and
+then, jumping on the deck, proceeded across the forecastle to shift
+his clothes.
+
+At the top of the ladder he was stopped by the marine officer, who had
+witnessed the whole transaction, as he sat across the gangway
+hammocks, watching the swimmers, and trying to get his own consent to
+undergo the labour of undressing and dressing. Said the soldier to the
+sailor, "That was very well done of you, my man, and right well
+deserves a glass of grog. Say so to the gun-room steward as you pass;
+and tell him it is my orders to fill you out a stiff norwester."
+
+The soldier's offer was kindly meant, but rather clumsily timed, at
+least so thought Jack; for though he inclined his head in
+acknowledgment of the attention, and instinctively touched his hat,
+when spoken to by an officer, he made no reply, till out of the
+marine's hearing, when he laughed, or rather chuckled out to the
+people near him, "Does the good gentleman suppose I'll take a glass of
+grog for saving a boy's life?"
+
+It is surely very odd that there should ever be such a thing as a
+sailor who cannot swim. And it is still more marvellous that there
+should be found people who actually maintain that a sailor who cannot
+swim has a better chance than one who can.
+
+This strange doctrine, as may well be supposed, derives but slender
+support from any well-established facts. It is merely asserted that,
+on some occasions of shipwreck, the boldest swimmers have been lost in
+trying to reach the shore, when they might have been saved had they
+stayed by the ship. This may be true enough in particular cases, and
+yet the general position grounded upon it utterly absurd. The most
+skilful horsemen sometimes break their necks, but this is hardly
+adduced as an argument against learning to ride. I suppose there is
+not an officer in the service, certainly not one who has reached the
+rank of captain, who has not seen many men drowned solely from not
+being able to swim; that is, because they had not learned a very
+simple art, of which, under his official injunctions, and aided by due
+encouragement, they might readily have acquired a sufficient
+knowledge. My own conscience is not quite clear on this score,
+whatever that of my brother officers may be; and certainly, should I
+again take the command of a ship, I shall use every exertion, and
+take advantage of every opportunity, to encourage the men and officers
+to acquire this invaluable accomplishment. Would it be unreasonable to
+refuse the rating of A.B. (able seaman) on the ship's books to any man
+who could not swim? If it be our duty to ascertain that a sailor can
+"hand, reef, and steer," before we place against his name these
+mystical letters, might we not well superadd, as a qualification, that
+he should also be able to keep his head above water, in the event of
+falling overboard, or that he should have it in his power to save
+another's life, if required to leap into the sea for that purpose by
+the orders of his superior? At present, in such an emergency, an
+officer has to ask amongst a dozen persons, "Which of you can swim?"
+instead of saying to the one nearest him, "Jump overboard after that
+man who is sinking!"
+
+This, then, seems the first material step in the establishment of an
+improved system in that branch of seamanship which relates to picking
+up men who fall overboard. There can be no doubt that highly-excited
+feelings always stand in the way of exact discipline, and especially
+of that prompt, hearty, and thoroughly confiding obedience to the
+officer under whose orders we are serving. Such obedience is necessary
+on this occasion, above all others, and is essentially required, in
+order to accomplish the purpose in view.
+
+Different officers will, of course, devise different plans for the
+accomplishment of the same end. Every one who has been exposed to the
+misery of seeing a man fall overboard must remember that by far the
+greatest difficulty was to keep people back, there being always ten
+times as many persons as are required, not only ready, but eager to
+place themselves in the situations of greatest risk. In executing the
+duties of a ship-of-war, there should be no volunteering allowed.
+Every man ought to have a specific duty, or a set of duties, to
+perform at all times. But these duties, in the case of a man falling
+overboard, must, of course, vary with the hour of the day or night,
+with the circumstance of its being the starboard or the larboard watch
+on deck, with the weather being fine or tempestuous, or with the
+course the ship is steering relatively to the wind, the quantity of
+sail, and so on. The crew of every ship should be exercised or
+drilled, if not as frequently, at least specifically, in the methods
+of picking up a man, as they are trained in the exercise of the great
+guns and small arms, or in that of reefing topsails.
+
+Every one who has been much at sea must remember the peculiar sounds
+which pervade a ship when a man is known to have fallen overboard. The
+course steered is so suddenly altered, that as she rounds to the
+effect of the sails is doubled; the creaking of the tiller-ropes and
+rudder next strike the ear; then follows the pitter-patter of several
+hundred feet in rapid motion, producing a singular tremor, fore and
+aft. In the midst of these ominous noises may be heard, over all, the
+shrill startling voice of the officer of the watch, generally
+betraying in its tone more or less uncertainty of purpose. Then the
+violent flapping of the sails, and the mingled cries of "Clear away
+the boats!" "Is the life-buoy gone?" "Heave that grating after him!"
+"Throw that hen-coop over the stern!" "Who is it, do you know?"
+"Where did he fall from?" "Can he swim?" "Silence!" An impetuous, and
+too often an ill-regulated rush now succeeds to gain the boats, which
+are generally so crowded that it becomes dangerous to lower them down,
+and more time is lost in getting the people out again than would have
+manned them twice over, if any regular system had been prepared, and
+rendered familiar and easy by practice beforehand.
+
+I could give a pretty long list of cases which I have myself seen, or
+have heard others relate, where men have been drowned while their
+shipmates were thus struggling on board who should be first to save
+them, but who, instead of aiding, were actually impeding one another
+by their hurry-skurry and general ignorance of what really ought to be
+done. I remember, for example, hearing of a line-of-battle-ship, in
+the Baltic, from which two men fell one evening, when the ship's
+company were at quarters. The weather was fine, the water smooth, and
+the ship going about seven knots. The two lads in question, who were
+furling the fore-royal at the time, lost their hold, and were jerked
+far in the sea. At least a dozen men, leaving their guns, leaped
+overboard from different parts of the ship, some dressed as they were,
+and others stripped. Of course, the ship was in a wretched state of
+discipline where such frantic proceedings could take place. The
+confusion soon became worse confounded; but the ship was hove aback,
+and several boats lowered down. Had it not been smooth water,
+daylight, and fine weather, many of these absurd volunteers must have
+perished. I call them absurd, because there is no sense in merely
+incurring a great hazard, without some useful purpose to guide the
+exercise of courage. These intrepid fellows merely knew that a man had
+fallen overboard, and that was all; so away they leaped out of the
+ports and over the hammock-nettings, without knowing whereabouts the
+object of their Quixotic heroism might be. The boats were obliged to
+pick up the first that presented themselves, for they were all in a
+drowning condition; but the two unhappy men who had been flung from
+aloft, being furthest off, went to the bottom before their turn came.
+Whereas, had not their undisciplined shipmates gone into the water,
+the boats would have been at liberty to row towards them, and they
+might have been saved. I am quite sure, therefore, that there can be
+no offence more deserving of punishment, as a matter of discipline,
+and in order to prevent such accidents as this, than the practice of
+leaping overboard after a man who has fallen into the water. There are
+cases, no doubt, in which it would be a positive crime in a swimmer
+not to spring, without waiting for orders, to the rescue of a
+fellow-creature whom he sees sinking in the waves, at whatever hazard
+to himself or to others; but I speak of that senseless, blindfold
+style in which I have very often witnessed men pitch themselves into
+the water, without knowing whether the person who had fallen overboard
+was within their reach or not. Even in highly-disciplined ships this
+will sometimes take place; and the circumstances which increase the
+danger seem only to stimulate the boldest spirits to brave the risk. I
+conceive there is no method of putting a stop to the practice but by
+positively enjoining the people not to go overboard, unless expressly
+ordered; and by explaining to them on every occasion when the ship's
+company are exercised for this purpose, that the difficulty of picking
+a man up is generally much augmented by such indiscreet zeal.
+
+The following incidents occurred in a frigate off Cape Horn, in a gale
+of wind, under close-reefed main-topsail and storm-staysails. At
+half-past twelve at noon, when the people were at dinner, a young lad
+was washed out of the lee fore-channels. The life-buoy was immediately
+let go, and the main-topsail laid to the mast. Before the jolly-boat
+could be lowered down, a man jumped overboard, as he said,
+"promiscuously," for he never saw the boy at all, nor was he ever
+within half-a-cable's length of the spot where he was floundering
+about. Although the youth could not swim, he contrived to keep his
+head above water till the boat reached him, just as he was beginning
+to sink. The man who had jumped into the sea was right glad to give up
+his "promiscuous" search, and to make for the life-buoy, upon which he
+perched himself, and stood shivering for half-an-hour, like a shag on
+the Mewstone, till the boat came to his relief.
+
+At four o'clock of the same day a man fell from the rigging; the usual
+alarm and rush took place; the lee-quarter boat was so crowded that
+one of the topping lifts gave way, the davit broke, and the cutter,
+now suspended by one tackle, soon knocked herself to pieces against
+the ship's side. Of course, the people in her were jerked out very
+quickly, so that, instead of there being only one man in the water,
+there were nearly a dozen swimming about. More care was taken in
+hoisting out another boat, and, strange to say, all the people were
+picked up, except the original unfortunate man, who, but for the
+accident, which ought to have been prevented, would in all probability
+have been saved. Neither he nor the life-buoy, however, could be
+discovered before the night closed.
+
+The life-buoy at present in use on board his Majesty's ships, and, I
+trust, in most merchant ships, has an admirable contrivance connected
+with it, which has saved many lives, when otherwise there would hardly
+have been a chance of the men being rescued from a watery grave.
+
+This life-buoy, which is the invention of Lieutenant Cook of the Navy,
+consists of two hollow copper vessels connected together, each about
+as large as an ordinary-sized pillow, and of buoyancy and capacity
+sufficient to support one man standing upon them. Should there be more
+than one person requiring support, they can lay hold of rope beckets
+fitted to the buoy, and so sustain themselves. Between the two copper
+vessels there stands up a hollow pole, or mast, into which is
+inserted, from below, an iron rod, whose lower extremity is loaded
+with lead, in such a manner, that when the buoy is let go the iron rod
+slips down to a certain extent, lengthens the lever, and enables the
+lead at the end to act as ballast. By this means the mast is kept
+upright, and the buoy prevented from upsetting. The weight at the end
+of the rod is arranged so as to afford secure footing for two persons,
+should that number reach it; and there are also, as I said before,
+large rope beckets, through which others can thrust their head and
+shoulders, till assistance is rendered.
+
+On the top of the mast is fixed a port-fire, calculated to burn, I
+think, twenty minutes, or half-anhour; this is ignited most
+ingeniously by the same process which lets the buoy down into the
+water. So that a man falling overboard at night is directed to the
+buoy by the blaze on the top of its pole or mast, and the boat sent to
+rescue him also knows in what direction to pull. Even supposing,
+however, the man not to have gained the life-buoy, it is clear that,
+if above the surface at all, he must be somewhere in that
+neighbourhood; and if he shall have gone down, it is still some
+satisfaction, by recovering the buoy, to ascertain that the poor
+wretch is not left to perish by inches.
+
+The method by which this excellent invention is attached to the ship,
+and dropped into the water in a single instant, is perhaps not the
+least ingenious part of the contrivance. The buoy is generally fixed
+amidships over the stern, where it is held securely in its place by
+being strung, or threaded, as it were, on two strong perpendicular
+iron rods fixed to the taffrail, and inserted in holes piercing the
+framework of the buoy. The apparatus is kept in its place by what is
+called a slip-stopper, a sort of catch-bolt or detent, which can be
+unlocked at pleasure, by merely pulling a trigger. Upon withdrawing
+the stopper, the whole machine slips along the rods, and falls at once
+into the ship's wake. The trigger which unlocks the slip-stopper is
+furnished with a lanyard, passing through a hole in the stern, and
+having at its inner end a large knob, marked "Life-Buoy;" this alone
+is used in the day-time. Close at hand is another wooden knob, marked
+"Lock," fastened to the end of a line fixed to the trigger of a
+gunlock primed with powder: and so arranged, that, when the line is
+pulled, the port-fire is instantly ignited, while, at the same
+moment, the life-buoy descends, and floats merrily away, blazing like
+a lighthouse. It would surely be an improvement to have both these
+operations always performed simultaneously, that is, by one pull of
+the string. The port-fire would thus be lighted in every case of
+letting go the buoy; and I suspect the smoke in the day-time would
+often be as useful in guiding the boat, as the blaze always is at
+night.
+
+The gunner who has charge of the life-buoy lock sees it freshly and
+carefully primed every evening at quarters, of which he makes a report
+to the captain. In the morning the priming is taken out, and the lock
+uncocked. During the night a man is always stationed at this part of
+the ship, and every half-hour, when the bell strikes, he calls out
+"Life-buoy!" to show that he is awake and at his post, exactly in the
+same manner as the look-out-men abaft, on the beam, and forward, call
+out "Starboard quarter!" "Starboard gangway!" "Starboard bow!" and so
+on, completely round the ship, to prove that they are not napping.
+
+After all, however, it must be owned, that some of the most important
+considerations, when a man falls overboard, have as yet scarcely been
+mentioned. These are,--
+
+First, the quickest and most effectual method of arresting the ship's
+progress, and how to keep her as near the spot where the man fell as
+possible.
+
+Secondly, to preserve entire, during these evolutions, the general
+discipline of the ship, to maintain silence, and to enforce the most
+prompt obedience, without permitting foolhardy volunteering of any
+kind.
+
+Thirdly, to see that the boat appointed to be employed on these
+occasions is secured in such a manner that she may be cast loose in a
+moment, and, when ready for lowering down, that she is properly
+manned, and fitted, so as to be efficient in all respects when she
+reaches the water.
+
+Fourthly, to take care in lowering the boat neither to stave nor to
+swamp her, nor to pitch the men out.
+
+And, lastly, to have a sufficient number of the sharpest-sighted men
+in the ship stationed aloft in such a manner as to give them the best
+chance, not only of discovering the person who is overboard, but of
+pointing him out to the people in the boat, who may not otherwise know
+in what direction to pull.
+
+It is conceived that all these objects may be accomplished with very
+little, if any, additional trouble, in all tolerably well-disciplined
+ships.
+
+Various opinions prevail amongst officers as to the first point; but,
+I think, the best authorities recommend that, if possible, the ship
+should not merely be hove aback when a man falls overboard, but that
+she ought to be brought completely round on the other tack. Of course,
+sail should be shortened in stays, and the main-yard left square. This
+plan implies the ship being on a wind, or from that position to having
+the wind not above two points abaft the beam. But, on one tack or the
+other, this will include a large portion of the sailing of every ship.
+
+The great merit of such a method of proceeding is, that, if the
+evolution succeeds, the ship, when round, will drift right down
+towards the man; and, although there may be some small risk in
+lowering the boat in stays, from the ship having at one period
+stern-way, there will, in fact, be little time lost if the boat be
+not lowered till the ship be well round, and the stern-way at an end.
+There is more mischief done, generally, by lowering the boat too soon,
+than by waiting till the fittest moment arrives for doing it coolly;
+and it cannot be too often repeated, that almost the whole depends
+upon the self-possession of the officer of the watch. This important
+quality is best taught by experience, that is to say, by a thorough
+and familiar practical knowledge of what should be done under all
+circumstances. The officer in command of the deck ought to let it be
+seen and felt, by his tone of voice, and by the judicious promptness
+of his orders, that he, at least, is perfectly master of himself, and
+knows distinctly what course it is best to adopt.
+
+If the ship be running before the wind, or be sailing large, and under
+a press of sail, the officer must exercise his judgment in rounding
+to, and take care in his anxiety to save the man, not to let the masts
+go over the side, which will not advance, but defeat his object. If
+the top-gallant-sheets, the topsail, and top-gallant-haulyards, be let
+fly, and the head-yards braced quickly up, the ship when brought to
+the wind will be nearly in the situation of reefing topsails. Under
+these circumstances, it will hardly be possible to bring her about,
+for, long before she can have come head to wind, her way will be so
+much deadened that the rudder may have ceased to act. Still, however,
+I am so strong an advocate for the principle of tacking, instead of
+merely lying-to, when a man is overboard, that, even under the
+circumstances above described, as soon as the boat is lowered down and
+sent off, and the extra sail gathered in, I would fill, stand on till
+the ship had gained head-way enough to render the evolution certain,
+and then go about, so as to bring her head towards the boat. It must
+be recollected, that when a ship is going well off the wind, in the
+manner here supposed, it is impossible to round her so quickly as to
+replace her on the spot where the man fell; to reach which a great
+sweep must always be made. But there seems to me no doubt, that, in
+every possible case, even when going right before it, the ship will
+always drift nearer and nearer to that spot, if eventually brought to
+the wind on the opposite tack from that on which she was luffed up.
+
+It will conduce greatly to the success of these measures, if it be an
+established rule, that, whenever the alarm is given of a man being
+overboard, the people, without further orders, fly to their appointed
+stations for tacking ship; and that only those persons who shall be
+specifically selected to man and lower down the boats, and for other
+duties, shall presume to quit the places assigned to them on going
+about. It so happens that when the men are in their stations for
+tacking, they are almost equally in their stations for shortening
+sail, or for performing most other evolutions likely to become
+necessary at such moments.
+
+The excepted men should consist of at least two boats' crews in each
+watch, and of others whose sole duty it should be to attend to the
+operation of lowering the boats, into which no men but those expressly
+appointed should ever be allowed to enter. These persons, selected for
+their activity, strength, and coolness, should belong to the
+after-guard, main and mizen-top, and gunner's crew, men whose duties
+lie chiefly abaft or about the mainmast. Midshipmen in each watch
+should also be named to the different boats; and their orders ought to
+be positive never to allow more than the proper crew to enter, nor on
+any account to permit the boat to be lowered till fully and properly
+manned. I grant that it requires no small nerve to sanction the delays
+which an attention to these minute particulars demands; but the
+adequate degree of faith in their utility will bring with it the
+requisite share of decision, to possess which, under all
+circumstances, is, perhaps, one of the most characteristic
+distinctions of a good commanding officer.
+
+There ought, in every ship, to be selected a certain number of the
+sharpest-sighted persons, who should be instructed, the instant the
+alarm is given, to repair to stations appointed for them aloft.
+Several of these ought to plant themselves in the lower rigging, some
+in the topmast shrouds, and one, if not two, might advantageously be
+perched on each of the cross-trees. Those persons, whose exclusive
+duty is to discover the man who is overboard, should be directed to
+look out, some in the ship's wake, some on either side of it, and to
+be particularly careful to mark the spot near which the ship must have
+been when he fell, in order that when she comes about, and drifts near
+the place, they may know where to direct their attention, and also to
+take care that the ship does not forge directly upon the object they
+are seeking for. The chief advantage of having look-out-men stationed
+aloft in this manner consists in their commanding a far better
+position compared to that of persons on deck, and still better when
+compared to the people in the boat; besides which, having this object
+alone to attend to, they are less likely to be unsuccessful.
+Moreover, from their being in considerable numbers, and scattered at
+different elevations, their chances are, of course, much increased of
+discovering so small an object as a man on the surface.
+
+The people in the boat possess no such advantages, for they are
+occupied with their oars, and lose between the seas all sight of the
+surrounding objects near them, while they can always see the ship's
+masts; and as soon as they detect that any one of the look-out-men
+sees the person who is overboard, and points in the proper direction
+for them to pull, they can shape their course accordingly. Presently
+another look-out, instructed by the first where to direct his eyes,
+also discovers the man; then another sees him, then another, and so
+on, till all who are aloft obtain sight of the desired object, and
+join in pointing with their hands to where it is to be found. The
+officer in the boat, thus instructed by innumerable pointers, rows at
+once, and with confidence, in the proper direction, and the drowning
+man is often rescued from his deep-sea grave, when, had there been no
+such look-outs, or had they been fewer in number or lower down, he
+must have perished.
+
+It is curious to observe the electric sort of style in which the
+perception of an object, when once pointed out, flashes along from man
+to man. As each in succession catches sight of his shipmate, he
+exclaims, "There he is! there he is!" and holds out his hand in the
+proper direction for the guidance of the boat. Indeed, I have seldom
+witnessed a more interesting sight than that of eighty or a hundred
+persons stationed aloft, straining their eyes to keep sight of a poor
+fellow who is struggling for his life, and all eagerly extending
+their hands towards him, as if they could clutch him from the waves.
+To see these hands drop again is inexpressibly painful, from its
+indicating that the unfortunate man is no longer distinguishable. One
+by one the arms fall down, reluctantly, as if it were a signal that
+all hope was over. Presently the boat is observed to range about at
+random; the look-out-men aloft, when repeatedly hailed and asked, "if
+they see anything like him?" are all silent. Finally, the boat's
+recall-flag is hoisted, sail is again made on the ship, the people are
+piped down, and this tragical little episode in the voyage being
+concluded, everything goes on as before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+SUNDAY ON BOARD A MAN-OF-WAR.--MUSTERING BY DIVISIONS.
+
+
+The first article of war runs as follows:--"All commanders, captains,
+and officers, in or belonging to any of His Majesty's ships or vessels
+of war, shall cause the public worship of Almighty God, according to
+the Liturgy of the Church of England established by law, to be
+solemnly, orderly, and reverently performed in their respective ships;
+and shall take care that prayers and preaching, by the chaplains in
+holy orders of the respective ships, be performed diligently, and that
+the Lord's day be observed according to law."
+
+The precision with which these injunctions are attended to will depend
+chiefly on three things:--The personal disposition of the captain; the
+nature of the service upon which the ship is employed; and the state
+of the weather. It is nearly always in the captain's power to make the
+Sunday a day of rest to the people committed to his charge. Sooner or
+later he is sure to reap the fruits of his conduct in this matter, and
+is made to feel, that, to command the respect or to win the regard of
+his crew, he must show them, on all ordinary occasions, that he is
+himself under the guidance of right principles. In the same spirit,
+his authority will be strengthened by every touch of consideration
+with which the inevitable sternness of his rule is softened; and the
+more he manages to impart to all such indulgences the character of
+routine, or matters of course and constant usage, so much the better.
+We feel obliged to a person who confers almost any favour upon us; but
+if this favour be one of daily or weekly occurrence, and, at each time
+of its concession, we are reminded of the weight of our obligation,
+all kindliness is in danger of being removed from it, and we would
+sometimes rather go without than hold the advantage by a tenure thus
+avowedly capricious.
+
+A captain of sense and feeling, therefore, makes it his business, in
+the first place, to find out what is right and proper, consistently
+with the rules of the service, and then to ascertain how far the
+peculiar nature of the employment upon which the ship is engaged will
+admit of indulgences. Having settled with himself what is possible to
+be done with propriety, he should grant it not as a matter of personal
+favour, but simply because it is fitting in itself.
+
+It is not possible, at sea, to comply to the letter with the fourth
+commandment; but we have no right on that account to dispense with its
+spirit, which is at all times and in all places within every man's
+reach. The absolute necessity, however, of performing some work,
+appears a sufficient reason with many people for doing away with the
+ordinance of Sunday altogether, and converting it into a day of hard
+and irksome toil, instead of a season of at least comparative rest. On
+the other hand, some officers either allow essential public interests
+to be neglected which ought to be attended to, or they harass their
+people by exacting more attention to religious observances than the
+poor sailors can bestow with any chance of profit. Which of these
+courses is the worst, I really cannot say. If Sunday be made a working
+day, and no attention is paid to its appropriate duties, the crew are
+by no means satisfied, and but too readily contract, by degrees, the
+habit of neglecting their obligations both to God and man. On the
+contrary, if the day be entirely taken up with devotional exercises,
+to the fatigue of their minds and bodies, they are exceedingly apt,
+after a time, to vote the "whole concern," as they call it, a bore,
+and to make up for this forced attention by the most scandalous
+indecencies, when out of sight of their "psalm-singing captain."
+
+I would accordingly recommend every officer in command of a ship to
+bring as many of the arrangements of his Sunday as possible into a
+jog-trot order, not to be departed from unless there should arise an
+absolute necessity for such deviation. Nineteen Sundays might, indeed,
+pass over without any apparent advantage being gained from this
+uniformity, but on the twentieth some opportunity might occur, of
+infinite value to all concerned, which opportunity might, in all
+probability, prove unavailing but for the previous preparation. To
+borrow a professional illustration of the most familiar kind; it may
+be asked, how many hundred times do we exercise the great guns and
+small arms, for once that we fire them in real action? And why should
+it be supposed that, for the useful application of our mental
+energies to the most important of all warfare, habitual training is
+less necessary?
+
+Without going needlessly deep into these speculations, I may observe
+that, even in the least regularly disciplined ships, there is now a
+marked difference between Sunday and any other day in the week.
+Although the grand object seems to be to have everything as clean as
+possible, and in its most apple-pie order, great part of the labour
+employed to produce this result is over before Sunday arrives. The
+decks, for instance, receive such a thorough allowance of holy-stoning
+and scrubbing on Saturday, that a mere washing, with perhaps a slight
+touch of the brushes and sand, brings them into the milk-white
+condition which is the delight of every genuine first lieutenant's
+heart. All this is got over early in the morning, in order that the
+decks may be swabbed up and the ropes nicely flemished down before
+seven bells, at which time it is generally thought expedient to go to
+breakfast, though half-an-hour sooner than usual, in order to make the
+forenoon as long as possible. I should have mentioned that the
+hammocks are always piped up at seven o'clock. If they have been slung
+overnight, they are as white as any laundress could have made them;
+and, of course, the hammock-stowers take more than ordinary care to
+place them neatly in the nettings, with their bright numbers turned
+inwards, all nicely lashed up with the regulated proportion of turns,
+each hammock being of a uniform size from end to end.
+
+While the people are at breakfast, the word is passed to "clean for
+muster," in any dress the commanding officer may think most suitable
+to the climate or weather. Between the tropics, the order for rigging
+in frocks and trousers is generally delivered in these words:--
+
+"Do you hear, there! fore and aft! Clean for muster at five
+bells--duck frocks and white trousers!"
+
+In colder regions, it is "Blue jackets and trousers;" and in rainy,
+cold, or blowing weather, the following order is sung out along the
+lower deck, first by the husky-throated boatswain, and then in a still
+rougher enunciation by his gruff satellites, the boatswain's mates:--
+
+"D'ye hear, there! Clean shirt and a shave for muster at five bells!"
+
+Twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, the operation of shaving is
+held to be necessary. These are called "clean-shirt days." Mondays and
+Fridays are the days appointed for washing the clothes.
+
+It is usual to give the men three quarters, instead of half-an-hour to
+breakfast on Sundays, that they may have time to rig themselves in
+proper trim before coming on deck. The watch, therefore, is called at
+a quarter-past eight, or it may be one bell, which is half-past. The
+forenoon watch bring their clothes-bags up with them, in order that
+they may not be again required to leave the deck before muster. The
+bags are piled in neat pyramids, or in other forms, sometimes on the
+booms before the boats, and sometimes in a square mass on the after
+part of the quarter-deck of a frigate. It strikes my recollection that
+in most ships there is a sort of difficulty in finding a good place on
+which to stow the bags.
+
+As soon as the forenoon watch is called, the between decks, on which
+the men live, is carefully cleaned, generally by what is called dry
+holy-stoning. This is done by rubbing the deck with small smooth
+pieces of freestone, after a layer of well-dried sand has been
+sprinkled over it. This operation throws up a good deal of dust; but
+it makes the deck white, which is the grand point aimed at. The wings,
+the store-rooms, and the cockpits, undergo a similar dose of rubbing
+and scrubbing; in short, every hole and corner of the decks, both
+above and below stairs, as folks on shore would say, is swept, and
+swept, and swept again, on a Sunday morning, till the panting sweepers
+are half dead; indeed, the rest of the ship's company are worried out
+of all patience, from eight o'clock to half-past ten, with the eternal
+cry of "Pipe the sweepers!" followed by a sharp, interrupted whistle,
+not unlike the note of a pet canary.
+
+What with cleaning the decks and cleaning themselves, the watch below
+have fully enough to do to get all ready by five bells. It must be
+remembered, too, that they have had the morning watch to keep, since
+four o'clock, and the whole trouble of washing the upper decks,
+shaking out the reefs, stowing the hammocks, and coiling down the
+ropes; all easy matters of routine, it is true, but still sufficiently
+tiresome when multiplied so often.
+
+At the appointed hour of half-past ten, to a single stroke of the
+bell, the mate of the watch, directed by the officer on deck, who
+again acts in obedience to the captain's orders, conveyed to him by
+the first lieutenant, calls out,--
+
+"Beat to divisions!"
+
+It should have been stated, that, before this period arrives, the
+mate of the decks and the mate of the hold, the boatswain, gunner, and
+carpenter, have all severally received reports from their subordinates
+that their different departments are in proper order for inspection.
+Reports to the same effect being then finally made to the first
+lieutenant by the mates and warrant-officers, he himself goes round
+the ship to see that all is right and tight, preparatory to the grand
+inspection. I ought also to have mentioned that the bags of the watch
+below are piped up at ten o'clock, so that nothing remains between
+decks but the mess-tables, stools, and the soup and grog kids. Long
+before this hour, the greater number of the whole ship's company have
+dressed themselves and are ready for muster; but the never-ending
+sweepers, the fussy warrant-officers' yeomen, the exact purser's
+steward, the slovenly midshipmen's boy, the learned loblolly boy, and
+the interminable host of officers' servants, who have always fifty
+extra things to do, are often so sorely pressed for time, that at the
+first tap of the drum beating to divisions, these idlers, as they are
+technically much miscalled, may often be seen only then lugging their
+shirts over their heads, or hitching up their trousers in all the
+hurry-scurry of a lower-deck toilet. I should have recorded that in
+the ship's head, as well as on the fore-part of the main-deck, and
+likewise between the guns, chiefly those abreast of the fore-hatchway,
+there have been groups assembled to scrape and polish themselves ever
+since breakfast-time, and even before it. Some are washing themselves;
+others cutting, and combing, and trimming their hair; for, now-a-days,
+there are none of those huge long tails, or club ties, which descended
+along the back of the sailors who fought with Benbow and Rodney. The
+dandyism of Jack has now taken another turn, and the knowing thing at
+present is to have a parcel of ringlets hanging from the temples
+almost to the collar-bone. Some of the youngest and best-looking of
+the foretop-men would also very fain indulge in the feminine foppery
+of ear-rings; but in the British Navy this is absolutely forbidden.
+
+I remember once, on the beach of Madras, witnessing an amusing scene
+between Sir Samuel Hood, then commander-in-chief in India, and the
+newly-promoted boatswain of a sloop-of-war belonging to the squadron.
+The Admiral, who was one of the bravest, and kindest, and
+truest-hearted seamen that ever trod a ship's decks, was a sworn foe
+to all trickery in dress. The eye of the veteran officer was directed
+earnestly towards the yeast of waves, which in immense double rows of
+surf, fringe and guard the whole of that flat coast. He was watching
+the progress of a Massullah boat, alternately lost in the foam, and
+raised in very uncertain balance across the swell, which, though just
+on the break, brought her swiftly towards the shore. He felt more
+anxious than usual about the fate of this particular boat, from having
+ordered on shore the person alluded to, with whom he wished to have
+some conversation previous to their parting company. This boatswain
+was a young man, who had been for some years a follower of the Admiral
+in different ships, and to whom he had just given a warrant. The poor
+fellow, unexpectedly promoted from before the mast to the rank of a
+warrant-officer, was trigged out in his newly-bought, but marvellously
+ill-cut uniform, shining like a new dollar, and making its wearer,
+who for the first time in his life had put on a long coat, feel not a
+little awkward.
+
+As soon as the boat was partly driven up the beach by the surf, and
+partly dragged beyond the dash of the breakers by the crowd on shore,
+this happiest of warrant-officers leaped out on the sand, and seeing
+the Admiral above him, standing on the crest of the natural glacis
+which lines the shore, he took off his hat, smoothed down the hair on
+his forehead, sailor fashion, and stood uncovered, in spite of the
+roasting sun flaming in the zenith.
+
+The Admiral, of course, made a motion with his hand for the boatswain
+to put his hat on; but the other, not perceiving the signal, stood
+stock-still.
+
+"I say, put on your hat!" called the commander-in-chief, in a tone
+which made the newly-created warrant start. In his agitation he shook
+a bunch of well-trimmed ringlets a little on one side, and betrayed to
+the flashing eyes of the Admiral a pair of small round silver
+ear-rings, the parting gift, doubtless, of some favoured and favouring
+"Poll or Bess" of dear, old, blackguard Point Beach. Be this as it
+may, the Admiral, first stepping on one side, and then holding his
+head forward, as if to re-establish the doubting evidence of his
+horrified senses, and forcibly keeping down the astonished seaman's
+hat with his hand, roared out,--
+
+"Who the devil are you?"
+
+"John Marline, sir!" replied the bewildered boatswain, beginning to
+suspect the scrape he had got himself into.
+
+"Oh!" cried the flag-officer, with a scornful laugh. "Oh! I beg your
+pardon; I took you for a Portuguese."
+
+"No, sir!" instinctively faltered out the other, seeing the Admiral
+expected some reply.
+
+"No! Then, if you are not a foreigner, why do you hoist false colours?
+What business has an English sailor with these d----d machines in his
+ears?"
+
+"I don't know, sir," said poor Marline. "I put them in only this
+morning, when I rigged myself in my new togs to answer the signal on
+shore."
+
+"Then," said Sir Samuel, softened by the contrite look of his old
+shipmate, and having got rid of the greater portion of his bile by the
+first explosion, "you will now proceed to unrig yourself of this top
+hamper as fast as you can; pitch them into the surf if you like; but
+never, as you respect the warrant in your pocket, let me see you in
+that disguise again."
+
+When the drum beats the well-known "_Generale_," the ship's company
+range themselves in a single line along both sides of the
+quarter-deck, the gangways, and all round the forecastle. In a
+frigate, the whole crew may be thus spread out on the upper deck
+alone; but in line-of-battle ships the numbers are so great that
+similar ranges, each consisting of a division, are likewise formed on
+the opposite sides of the main-deck. The marines, under arms, and in
+full uniform, fall in at the after-part of the quarter-deck; while the
+ship's boys, under the master-at-arms, with his ratan in hand, muster
+on the forecastle.
+
+In some ships the men are sized, as it is called, the tallest being
+placed at the after-end, and so on down to the most diminutive, who is
+fixed at the extremity. But this arrangement, being more of a
+military than of a naval cast, is rarely adopted now-a-days. It will
+seldom happen, indeed, that the biggest and burliest fellows in a
+ship's company are the leading men. They may chance, indeed, to be
+poulterers, cook's mates, or fit only to make sweepers of; personages
+who after a three years' station barely know the stem from the stern,
+and could no more steer the ship than they could take a lunar
+distance. Officers, however, on first joining a ship, are very apt to
+be guilty of some injustice towards the people by judging of them too
+hastily from appearance alone. We are insensibly so much prepossessed
+in favour of a fine, tall, good-looking sailor-lad, and prejudiced
+against a grizzled, crooked, little wretch, that if both happen to be
+brought before us for the same offence, we almost instinctively commit
+the injustice of condemning the ugly fellow, and acquitting the
+smart-looking one, before a tithe of the evidence has reached our
+ears.
+
+Leaving these speculative questions, however, for the present, let us
+return to the divisions, which are arranged along the deck, not, as
+formerly, by sizes, but, in the proper way, by the watch-bill. The
+forecastle-men, of course, come first, as they stand so in the lists
+by which they are mustered at night by the mate of the watch; then the
+foretop men, and so on to the gunners, after-guard, and waisters.
+Each division is under charge of a lieutenant, who, as well as the
+midshipmen of his division, appears in full uniform. The people are
+first mustered by the young gentlemen, and then carefully inspected by
+the officer of the division, who sees that every man is dressed
+according to order, and that he is otherwise in proper trim. It is
+also usual in hot climates for the surgeon and his assistants to pass
+along the lines, to ascertain, partly by the men's looks, and partly
+by an examination of their limbs, that no traces of scurvy have begun
+to show themselves.
+
+While the mustering and inspecting of the divisions is going on, the
+captain paces the quarter-deck, in company with the first lieutenant.
+No other voices are heard except theirs, and that of the midshipmen
+calling over the names of the men, or the officers putting some
+interrogatory about a spot of tar on a pair of duck trousers, or an
+ill-mended hole in the sleeve of a shirt. In a few minutes even these
+sounds are hushed, and nothing is distinguishable fore and aft but the
+tread of the respective officers, on their way aft to report to the
+captain on the quarter-deck that all are present, properly dressed,
+and clean, at their different divisions. The marine officer likewise
+makes a report of his party and their equipments. The first lieutenant
+now turns to the captain, takes off his hat, and says,--
+
+"All the officers have reported, sir."
+
+To which the other replies,--
+
+"We'll go round the ship, then, if you please;" and off they trudge,
+after leaving the deck in charge of the second lieutenant, or the
+master, as may be determined upon at the moment.
+
+As the captain approaches the first division, he is received by the
+officer commanding it, who touches his hat, and then falls into the
+train behind. Of course, the moment the skipper appears, the men along
+the whole line take off their hats, smooth down their locks, make many
+clumsy efforts to stand erect, fumble interminably with the waistband
+of their trousers, and shuffle, to more or less purpose, according to
+the motion of the ship, to maintain their toes exactly at the line or
+seam in the deck along which they have been cautioned twenty times
+they are to stand. The captain, as he moves slowly past, eyes each man
+from head to foot, and lets nothing pass of which he disapproves. The
+officer of the division is ready to explain, or to take a note of what
+alteration is required; but supposing all to be right, not a syllable
+is spoken, and at the end of the division the captain again touches
+his hat to the officer, who returns the salute, and remains with his
+people.
+
+He then proceeds to the forecastle, at the break of which he is
+received by the three warrant-officers, the boatswain, gunner, and
+carpenter, in their best coats, cut after the fashion of the year one,
+broad-tailed, musty, and full of creases from bad packing and little
+use, and blazing from top to bottom with a double-tiered battery of
+buttons of huge dimensions. Behind these worthy personages, who seldom
+look much at home in their finery, stands the master-at-arms, in front
+of his troop of troublesome small fry, known by the name of the ship's
+boys, destined in good time to be sailors, and perhaps amongst the
+best and truest that we ever number in our crews.
+
+In this way, in short, it is a most important, and almost an
+imperative duty, on the officers of every man-of-war, to ascertain, by
+actual investigation, how far their people are entitled to the ratings
+they claim. If we do not see to this, we are perpetually misapplying
+the resources of the nation, by mistaking their true quality.
+
+I should have mentioned, that before leaving the upper deck the
+captain proceeds to inspect the marines, who are drawn up across or
+along the quarter-deck abaft. Most captains think it both judicious
+and kind to visit the marines first, and I have never seen this
+practice adopted without manifest advantage. The marines are excellent
+fellows, well-trained, hardy, cheerful, duly respecting themselves,
+and proud of their service: while, from belonging to a fixed corps,
+and from not being liable to be perpetually disbanded and scattered,
+they acquire a permanent interest, or an inherent _esprit de corps_,
+as well as a permanent footing in the Navy. In like manner, the marine
+officers constitute one of the most gentleman-like bodies of men in
+the King's service. They are thoroughly imbued with all the high
+sentiments of honour belonging to the military character; and they
+possess, moreover, in a very pleasant degree, the freedom of manner
+and versatility of habits peculiar to those who go down to the sea in
+ships.
+
+The utility of this important body of men on board a man-of-war is so
+great, that it becomes the duty of every lover of the profession to
+support all its ranks and classes, and to render their situation when
+afloat one of respectability, happiness, and contentment. In speaking
+of the utility of the jolly marines, as they are kindly enough called
+by the sailors, who, in spite of all their quizzing, really esteem
+their pipe-clayed shipmates, I refer less to their services in action,
+than to their inestimable value in sustaining the internal discipline
+of the service. The manner in which this is brought about forms one of
+the most interesting peculiarities in the whole range of naval
+affairs; but it deserves to be treated of separately, and at length.
+
+The two divisions ranged along the main-deck, supposing the ship's
+company so distributed, next engage the captain's attention. I think
+it is usual to take that first which stands on the starboard side of
+the deck, with the after-end, or its left, as military men would say,
+close against the bulkhead of the captain's cabin, while the foremost
+men of the division extend under the forecastle. On arriving at the
+galley or kitchen, the captain is received by the cook (or as much as
+may be left of him, according to the Greenwich Hospital joke), behind
+whom stands his mate, generally a tall, glossy, powerful negro, who,
+unlike his chief, has always a full allowance of limbs, with a round
+and shining face, about as moist as one of the tubful of huge suet
+puddings, tied up in bags alongside of him. The cook, aided by
+"Quamino," lifts the lids off the coppers, that the captain may peer
+into them, and ascertain whether or not all is clean and nice. With
+the end of his wooden leg the cook then gives a twist to the cock of
+the coppers, to let some of the pease-soup in preparation run off and
+show itself to the noble commander's inspection. The oven-doors are
+next opened, the range or large fire stirred up, and every hole and
+corner exposed to view; the object of the grand visitation being to
+see that this essential department of the ship is in the most perfect
+state of cleanliness and good order.
+
+Still further forward, before the galley, in the very nose of her, as
+the foremost nook or angle of the ship is called, and a little on one
+side, lies the sick-bay, or hospital; at the door of which the
+surgeon, backed by his assistants, receives the captain and his double
+the first lieutenant, and his double the mate of the main-deck. In
+they march, all in a row. The captain takes care not to pass any
+invalid's hammock without dropping a word of encouragement to its pale
+inmate, or begging to be informed if anything further can be done to
+make him comfortable. Only those men who are very unwell, however, are
+found in their beds; the rest being generally seated on the chests and
+boxes placed round the bay, a part of the ship which, I need scarcely
+mention, is kept, if possible, more clean, airy, and tidy than any
+other. If a speck of dirt be found on the deck, or a gallipot or phial
+out of its place, woe betide the loblolly-boy, the assistant-surgeon's
+assistant, and the constant attendant upon the hospital. This
+personage is usually a fellow of some small knowledge of reading and
+writing, who, by overhearing the daily clinical lectures of the
+doctor, contrives to pick up a smattering of medical terms, which he
+loses no opportunity of palming off upon his messmates below as
+sublime wisdom sucked in at Alma Mater.
+
+Just before leaving the sick-bay, the captain generally turns to the
+surgeon, and says, as a matter of course, "Doctor, mind you always
+send aft at dinner-time for anything and everything you require for
+the sick;" and I have frequently remarked that his whole tone and
+manner are greatly softened during this part of the rounds, perhaps
+without his being conscious of any difference. A very small share of
+attention on the part of a commanding-officer on such occasions, if
+kindly and unaffectedly exercised, leaves a wonderfully favourable
+impression, not only among the invalids to whom it is more
+particularly addressed, but seldom fails to extend its salutary
+influence over the rest of the ship's company, and thus, of course,
+contributes materially to strengthen and to maintain his authority.
+Such expressions of sympathy never fail to act like drops of oil on
+the machinery of discipline, making all its wheels work smoothly and
+sweetly.
+
+The lower deck is next examined. The bags have been carried on deck,
+so that, as I mentioned before, nothing remains but the people's
+mess-tables and mess things, their kids, and crockery. As Jack is
+mighty fond of a bit of show in his way, many of the berths or
+mess-places exhibit goodly ranges of tea-cups and regiments of plates
+worthy of the celebrated Blue Posts Tavern, occasionally flanked by a
+huge tea-pot, famously emblazoned with yellow dragons and imitation
+Chinese. The intervals between the shelves are generally ornamented
+with a set of pictures of rural innocence, where shepherds are seen
+wooing shepherdesses, balanced by representations of not quite such
+innocent Didos weeping at the Sally Port, and waving their lily hands
+to departing sailor-boys. On the topmost-shelf stands, or is tied to
+the side, a triangular piece of a mirror, three inches perhaps by
+three, extremely useful in adjusting the curls of our nautical
+coxcombs, of whom one at least is to be found in every berth.
+
+The mess-tables, which are kept so bright you would suppose them
+whitewashed, are hooked to the ship's side at one end, while the other
+is suspended by small ropes covered with white canvas. Against these
+lines rest the soup and grog kids, shining in a double row along the
+deck, which is lighted up, fore and aft, for the captain's visit, by a
+candle in each berth. In frigates it is usual, I believe, to let the
+people have a certain number of chests, besides their bags. These not
+only form convenient seats for the men at meals, and couches on which
+to stretch their worn-out limbs during the watch below, but they
+afford a place in which the sailors may stow away some part of their
+best attire, deposit their little knick-knacks, and here and there a
+book, or mayhap a love-letter, or some cherished love-token. A chest,
+in short, or the share of a chest, even though it be only a quarter,
+or a sixth part, is always so great a comfort that this indulgence
+ought to be granted when it can possibly be allowed. In single-decked
+ships, I conceive it may generally be permitted: in a line-of-battle
+ship hardly ever. In a frigate, as there are no guns on the lower
+deck, where the people mess and sleep, there is nothing to clear away
+on coming into action; but in a ship of the line the men pass their
+whole lives amongst the guns, by night as well as by day, and as it is
+absolutely necessary to keep every part ready for action at an
+instant's warning, nothing can be allowed to remain between the guns
+but such articles as may be carried out of the way in a moment. It is
+sometimes nonsensical, and even cruel, to carry this system into a
+frigate, where the same necessity for keeping the space unencumbered
+does not exist. Doubtless the mate of the lower deck, and often enough
+the first lieutenant, and sometimes even the captain, will be anxious
+to break up all the men's chests, in order to have a clear-looking,
+open, airy, between-decks, to make a show of; but with proper care it
+may be kept almost as clear and quite as clean with a couple of chests
+in each berth as without. Even were it otherwise, we ought, I think,
+rather to give up a little appearance to secure so great a share of
+comfort to those who, at best, are not overburdened with luxuries.
+
+As the captain walks aft, along the lower deck, he comes to the
+midshipmen's berth, or room, in which the youngsters mess. It is the
+foremost and largest of a range of cabins built up on each side, and
+reaching as far aft as the gun-room, or mess-place of the commissioned
+officers. It is only in line-of-battle ships that the mids mess in the
+cockpit; while in frigates they not merely mess but sleep in the part
+of the lower deck called, I know not why, the steerage. I ought to
+have mentioned that before the cabins of the officers, and abaft those
+of the sailors, lie the berths of the marines; but, of course, those
+mess-places of the men are not partitioned off, being merely denoted
+by the tables and shelves. The boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, have
+their cabins in the steerage.
+
+The captain peeps into each of these dens as he moves along. In that
+of the midshipmen he may probably find a youth with the
+quarantine-flag up; that is, in the sick-list. His cue, we may
+suppose, is always to look as miserable and woe-begone as possible. If
+he have had a tussle with a messmate, and one or both his eyes are
+bunged up in consequence, it costs him no small trouble to conceal his
+disorderly misdeeds. It would be just as easy, in fact, to stop the
+winds as to stop the use of fisty-cuffs amongst a parcel of
+hot-blooded lads between thirteen and nineteen, although, of course,
+such _rencontres_ are held to be contrary to the laws and customs used
+at sea, and are punishable accordingly. The captain, pretending
+ignorance, however, merely grins; and, without exposing the boy to
+the necessity of getting up a story, remarks:--
+
+"I suppose, Master Peppercorn, you fell down the after-hatchway
+ladder, and struck your eye against the corner of a chest? Didn't you?
+And, what is odd enough, I dare say, when I cross to the starboard
+berth, I shall find Mr. Mustardseed, who has met with exactly the same
+accident about the same time. What do yo think? Eh?"
+
+"I don't know, sir," answers the badgered youngster; "Mr. Mustardseed
+and I are not on speaking terms."
+
+"Very likely not," chuckles the skipper, as he proceeds to thrust his
+nose curiously into the warrant officers' little boxes. On arriving at
+the gun-room, he merely glances, with a well-bred air of assumed
+indifference, at the apartment of the officers, with whose habits and
+arrangements he scarcely ever ventures to meddle. He next dives into
+the cockpit, which in a frigate is used only for the purser's
+store-room, leading to the bread-room, both of which he examines
+carefully. The spirit-room hatchway, too, is lifted up for his
+inspection, as well as that of the after-hold. He then takes a survey
+of the cable tiers, which are lighted up for the occasion; as also
+different store-rooms of the boatswain, gunner, and carpenter; all of
+which ought to be objects of his particular care, for it is of great
+consequence that every article they contain should not only have an
+assigned and well-known place, but that it should actually be kept in
+that place. It is, indeed, quite wonderful how much may be done in the
+way of stowage by dint of good management. In a well-regulated ship,
+there is not a bolt or a bar, nor any kind of tool belonging to the
+carpenter, nor a single rope great or small; canvas fine as duck, or
+coarse as No. 1, belonging to the boatswain; nor any description of
+warlike store in charge of the gunner, which cannot instantly be laid
+hold of, and conveyed in half-a-minute to any part of the ship, alow
+or aloft.
+
+At length, when every square inch of the holds, tiers, sail-rooms, and
+all the cabins and berths below, have been examined, the visitation
+party return to the quarter-deck, after a full half-hour's ramble. As
+the captain re-ascends to the different decks in succession, the men,
+who have never budged from their divisions, again pluck off their
+hats, the marines carry arms the moment his head shows above the
+coamings, and all the officers stop instantaneously in the middle of
+their walk to salute their commander, as he once more treads the
+quarter-deck.
+
+"And now, sir," says the captain, turning to the first lieutenant, "if
+you please we will rig the church."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE SHIP CHURCH.
+
+
+The carpenters and the watch on deck soon carry aft their benches and
+mess-stools; but these not being sufficient to afford accommodation
+for all hands, as many capstan-bars as may be required are likewise
+brought up and placed athwart the quarter-deck, with their ends
+resting on match-tubs and fire-buckets, or on the carronade-slides.
+These seats occupy the whole of the space from the break of the
+quarter-deck and the belaying bits round the mainmast, as far as the
+companion-hatchway. Chairs from the cabin and gun-room are also placed
+abaft all, for the captain and officers, and on the lee side for the
+warrant-officers and mids; for it need scarcely be mentioned that due
+subordination is made to keep its place even in our church.
+
+The pulpit stands amidships, either on the after-gratings, or on the
+deck immediately before the hatchway. In some ships, this part of the
+nautical church establishment consists of a moveable reading-desk,
+made expressly for the occasion, but brought up from the carpenter's
+store-room only when wanted; sometimes one of the binnacles is used
+for this purpose; and I remember a ship in which the prayer-book was
+regularly laid on a sword-rack, or stand, holding six dozen naked
+cutlasses. The desk is covered over with a signal-flag, as well as the
+hassock for the chaplain to kneel upon, which is usually a grape or
+canister shot-box, surmounted by a cheese of great-gun wads, to make
+it soft.
+
+All this implies that the weather is fine, the awnings spread
+overhead, and the curtains stretched fore and aft, to keep out the
+heat and glare. In rainy or blustering weather the church is rigged
+under the half-deck, much in the same way, except that the pulpit is
+placed between two of the guns, and generally on the larboard side, as
+nearly abreast of the quarter-deck ladder as may be.
+
+When all is ready, the bell is tolled by one of the quarter-masters;
+and the crew, quietly clustering aft, occupy the bars, stools, planks,
+and gun-slides, prepared for their accommodation. The marines range
+themselves on the front seats; while the officers take their places,
+of course not avowedly in the order of date in their commissions, but,
+more or less, they do fall into their respective stations according to
+seniority. The chaplain is now informed that every one is assembled;
+or, if there be no clergyman on board, the report is made to the
+captain, who generally officiates in that case. When the service
+begins, if there be any other ship in company, a pendant, such as
+men-of-war carry at their mast-head to distinguish them from
+merchant-ships, is hoisted at the mizen peak, to show that the ship's
+company are at prayers. This signal, which is kept flying during the
+performance of divine service, is respected by every other ship,
+whether commanded by a superior officer or not.
+
+Besides the prayers, which, as I have already mentioned, are
+"according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, established by
+law," the chaplain gives a short discourse, not exceeding at most
+twenty or twenty-five minutes in length. Some captains are in the
+habit of reading a sermon; but more commonly, when there is no
+clergyman on board, the prayers are deemed sufficient. These points,
+as may be supposed, become frequent matters of discussion in the
+fleet. I shall not enter into them further just now than by observing
+that the majority of right-thinking officers appear to agree, that, if
+the church service on board ship be not "solemnly, orderly, and
+reverently performed," according to the terms and in the spirit of the
+first article of war, it is either useless or worse than useless. It
+ought therefore to take place as regularly and habitually as the
+nature of the ship's duties will allow of. In the next place, it seems
+clear, that if the service be rendered so long, or be otherwise so
+conducted, as not to arrest the attention of the crew, or not to
+maintain it alive when once fixed, it is too long.
+
+I will venture to say, there is rarely to be met with anywhere a more
+orderly or a more attentive congregation, in all respects, than on
+board a man-of-war.
+
+But, notwithstanding all Jack's decorum and his discipline, to say
+nothing of his natural inclination, when duly encouraged, to reflect
+seriously and properly on any subject, as he is made of ordinary flesh
+and bones, his eyes will sometimes refuse to keep open under the
+infliction of a dull or ill-delivered discourse; so that if the
+person who officiates happens not to read very well, his best chance
+for securing any useful attention consists in the brevity of his
+prelections. If the quality, rather than the quantity, of instruction
+be his object, he should be exceedingly careful not to fatigue his
+hearers. The inverse rule of proportion obtains here with such
+mortifying regularity, that the longer he makes the church service
+beyond the mark of agreeable and easy attention, the more certain will
+he be of missing his point.
+
+The analogy, not to speak it profanely, between overloading a gun and
+overloading a discourse applies especially to ship-preaching. Sailors
+are such odd fellows that they are nowise moved by noise and smoke;
+but they well know how to value a good aim, and always love and honour
+a commanding-officer who truly respects their feelings, nor by means
+of long-winded and ill-timed discourses, or what they irreverently
+call psalm-singing, interferes too much with their religious concerns.
+
+It would be easy, though perhaps rather invidious, to point out in
+what other respects many officers are apt, besides the protracted
+length of the church service on Sunday, to err in excess in these
+matters. I am very sorry to say it would be still easier to show in
+what respects all of us err in defect. I should rejoice much more in
+being able to make officers who have not sufficiently reflected on
+these things, duly sensible that it is quite as much to their
+immediate professional advantage that the religious duties of their
+ship should form an essential part of the discipline of the crew, and
+be considered not less useful in a moral point of view, than rigging
+the masts properly is to the nautical department of their command.
+
+If, indeed, religion, when applied to the ordinary business of life,
+should be found inconsistent with those moral obligations which are
+dictated to us by conscience; or even were we to discover that the
+ablest, most virtuous, and most successful person, amongst us were
+uniformly despisers of religion, then there would certainly be some
+explanation, not to say excuse, for young and inexperienced men
+venturing to dispute on such subjects, and claiming the bold privilege
+of absolutely independent thought and action. But surely there is
+neither excuse nor explanation, nor indeed any sound justification
+whatsoever, for the presumption of those who, in the teeth of all
+experience and authority, not only trust themselves with the open
+expression of these cavils, but, having settled the whole question in
+their own way, take the hazardous line of recommending their daring
+example to those around them. It is also material to recollect that
+there is not a single point of duty in the whole range of the naval
+profession, which, when well understood, may not be enforced with
+greater efficiency by a strict adherence to the sanctions of religion,
+than if it were attempted single-handed; so that most of the
+objections which one hears made to the due performance of the church
+service on board ship, on the score of its interfering with the
+discipline, are quite absurd, and inapplicable to the circumstances of
+the case.
+
+The captain of a man-of-war, therefore, if his influence be as
+well-founded as it ought, may, in this most material of all respects,
+essentially supply the place of a parent to young persons, who must be
+considered for the time virtually as orphans. He may very possibly
+not be learned enough to lay before his large nautical family the
+historical and other external evidences of Christianity, and, perhaps,
+may have it still less in his power to make them fully aware of the
+just force of its internal evidences; but he can seldom have any doubt
+as to his duty in this case more than in any other department of the
+weighty obligations with which he is charged; and if he cannot here,
+as elsewhere, make the lads under his care see distinctly, in the
+main, what course it best becomes them to follow, he is hardly fit for
+his station. I freely own that it is far beyond his power to make them
+pursue that line, if they choose to be perverse; but he will neglect
+an important, I might add, a sacred and solemn part of his business,
+if he leaves their minds more adrift on the score of religion than he
+can possibly help. Their steering in this ticklish navigation, it is
+true, depends upon their own prudence; but it is his bounden duty to
+provide them with both a rudder and a compass, and also, as far as he
+is able, to instruct them, like a good pilot, in the course they ought
+to shape. The eventual success of the great voyage of life lies with
+themselves; the captain's duty, as a moral commander-in-chief, is done
+if he sets his juvenile squadron fairly under weigh. It is in vain to
+conceal from ourselves, that, unless both officers and men can be
+embodied more or less as a permanent corps, every ship that is
+commissioned merely furnishes a sort of fresh experiment in naval
+discipline. The officers are brought together without any previous
+acquaintance with one another; and many of them, after a long
+residence on shore, have lost most of their naval habits. The
+sailors, being collected how and where we can get hold of them, are
+too frequently the off-scourings and scum of society. With such a
+heterogeneous crew, the first year is employed in teaching them habits
+of cleanliness and common decency; and it is only in the third year of
+their service that the ship becomes really efficient. Just as that
+point has been reached, all hands are turned off, to make room for
+another experiment. If a few active men of the crew have become better
+sailors, they generally go into the merchant-service for higher wages;
+while the officers are again laid on the shelf. Something has been
+done lately to retain the petty officers in the navy, but perhaps not
+enough. It has been suggested that, instead of giving men pensions for
+long servitude, it might be more useful to allow their wages to
+increase gradually year by year, at some small rate, and at the end of
+fourteen years give them half-pay of the rating to which they had
+reached, if they chose to retire.[5]
+
+In returning to the subject of the church, it must be remembered that
+the circumstances of wind and weather will often interfere with the
+regularity of our Sunday service. In some parts of an Indian voyage,
+for instance, it may be safely calculated that no interruption will
+take place; while there occur other stages of the passage when Divine
+service must of necessity be stopped, to shorten sail or trim the
+yards. In peace-time, or in harbour, or in fine weather at sea, no
+such teasing interference is likely to arise; but in war, and on board
+a cruising ship, the public service frequently calls a ship's company
+to exchange their Bibles and Prayer-books for the sponges and rammers.
+The collect in which they have petitioned to be defended from the fear
+of their enemies, and that their time might be passed in rest and
+quietness, may hardly have passed their lips, before they are eagerly
+and joyfully scampering up the rigging to shake the reefs out in chase
+of an enemy, with whom, in the next hour, they will perhaps be engaged
+in hot fight!
+
+I remember once in a frigate, cruising deep in the Bay of Biscay, just
+as the captain had finished the Litany, and the purser, whose greatest
+pleasure it was to officiate as clerk, had said Amen, that the man at
+the main royal-mast head screamed out,--
+
+"A strange sail, broad on the lee bow!"
+
+The first effect of this announcement was to make the commander turn
+round involuntarily to the man at the wheel and exclaim, "Put the helm
+up!" He then closed the book, with a degree of energy of which he was
+made somewhat ashamed when the sound was echoed back by that of the
+rapidly closing volumes all around him.
+
+"My lads," said he quickly, but not without solemnity, "our duty to
+our King is our duty to God; and if, as I hope, this sail turn out to
+be the ship we have been so long looking after, you will not give a
+worse account of her to the country, I am sure, for having applied in
+good earnest for assistance from aloft." After which, suddenly
+changing his tone and manner, he sung out loudly and clearly,--
+
+"Hands, make sail! Let go the bow-lines! Round in the weather braces!
+Mast-head, there! let me know when the strange sail is right ahead!"
+
+Then leaping on the hammocks, and resting his glass against the
+after-swifter of the main-rigging, he swept the horizon impatiently
+for the stranger. Meanwhile, the rattling of the chairs, capstan-bars,
+match-tubs, and shot-boxes, gave token of the rapid demolition of our
+nautical church. The studding-sail booms shot out like spears from the
+yard-arms, and the sails which these spars were to expand hung
+dangling and flapping in the air, as if the canvas had been alive, and
+joined in the eagerness of the chase; while the ship herself,
+trembling fore and aft under these fresh and spirit-stirring impulses,
+dashed away at the rate of ten and a-half knots.
+
+Such are the incidents which happen on board single frigates; those
+rattling, joyous, fly-along, Salee-rover sort of cruisers, which range
+at large over the wide ocean, scour every coast, and keep the war
+famously alive. A much more stately ceremonial is observed on board
+fleets, whether at sea, blockading a port, or lying in harbour. The
+ships of the different divisions, or squadrons, wait till the admiral
+hoists at his mizen-peak the signal indicating that Divine service has
+commenced, the bell is then tolled in each of the other ships, the
+usual pendant is displayed, and the first article of war is complied
+with, not only to the letter, but often, we may hope and trust, fully
+up to the spirit. I have heard many clergymen declare that they never
+beheld any congregation in which more attention and decorum prevailed
+than in our ship churches.
+
+At sea, both in fleets and on board single ships, the afternoon of
+Sunday is generally a season of rest and quietness; but in harbour it
+is frequently the most annoying period of the whole week. There is
+nothing for the men to do, and the time hangs terribly heavy on their
+hands; to which it must be added, that our ships are too often
+infested by some of the vilest contaminations of the shore. Bad as
+these influences are, at any time or place, I believe they may he
+considered at their worst when they come afloat; so that whenever it
+can possibly be done without injury to the service, portions of the
+ship's company should be allowed to go on shore in turn, albeit their
+proceedings when "on liberty," as they call it, are none of the most
+commendable. But we must let that pass. In foreign ports, however,
+this indulgence is frequently impossible; and in cases when the people
+cannot be permitted to land, the different men-of-war in company are
+sure to send boat-loads of visitors, or what are called "liberty men,"
+on board one another's ships, to pass the afternoon of Sunday. This
+practice is the very bane of good discipline, and ought at all times
+to be discouraged in every way; for it almost inevitably leads to
+drunkenness, rioting, and bitter heart-burnings. It has, moreover, the
+effect of making the men discontented with their own ship and their
+own officers. The sailors are sufficiently sharp criticisers of the
+conduct of their superiors, even when they have all the facts before
+them, and the power of observing closely, and from day to day. But
+when they pass on board other vessels, and interchange exaggerations
+over an extra pot of grog, the mischievous consequence is certain;
+for each of the parties is likely enough to break up the visit
+miserably discontented, and to return under a thorough conviction
+that, while everything done in their own ship is wrong, all the
+officers are either foolish or tyrannical, or both. If there must be
+ship-visiting, let it be on week days, and in the morning; but,
+clearly, the less the better; and most assuredly it ought never to be
+allowed on Sunday evening.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] It would have gratified Captain Hall if he had lived to see that
+some of the changes for which he pleads so earnestly are being
+adopted, and that the best hands in the navy are now retained as
+continuous service men.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+NAVAL RATINGS AND SEA PAY.
+
+MUSTERING CLOTHES.
+
+
+The dinner-hour on Sunday is noon, the same as on other days; but
+there is this distinction, which ought to mark the afternoon in every
+well-regulated ship, the people are never disturbed between twelve
+o'clock and four, unless some particular service occurs which cannot
+without impropriety be deferred. It is customary during the rest of
+the week to turn the watch up at one o'clock, but on Sunday, if
+possible, the people should be left alone: to be idle if they choose
+it, or to read, or otherwise to employ themselves according to their
+own fancy. This, after all, is but a trifling indulgence, which hardly
+ever puts the captain or officers to any inconvenience. Even if it
+did, what would it matter? The interests of the country will not be
+worse attended to in the long-run for an occasional relaxation of
+strict etiquettes and formal observances. Even if the ship be making a
+passage, and that, in strictness, all sail ought to be carried, no
+eventual loss will ever attend such very trivial abatement of speed;
+for the men will probably be far more active in making and shortening
+sail at other times, when their minor comforts are thus regarded, than
+when treated as if they had no feelings to be considered.
+
+The circumstance which most distinctly marks the afternoon of Sunday
+on board a man-of-war, even more than on land, is the absence of all
+the usual stir caused by the multifarious occupations of the
+artificers and crew. Indeed, the lower deck of a man-of-war on Sunday
+afternoon, between dinner time and the hour of tea, or evening grog, a
+cast of idleness is the most characteristic feature. Groups of men may
+be seen sitting on the deck chatting over very old stories, a few are
+reading, and many are stretched out flat on their backs fast asleep,
+or dosing with their heads laid on their arms on the mess-table. But
+the habit of locomotion amongst sailors is so strong, that there are
+always numerous parties walking on the main deck in pairs, or in
+threes and fours, along a short space, backwards and forwards,
+although there seems no reason why their walk should not be twice or
+thrice as long. Both sides of the forecastle, too, and the
+lee-gangway, are generally filled with these walking philosophers, as
+they may in truth be called; for they enjoy the hour that passes, and
+are ready to take whatever comes in good part. The weather-gangway is
+usually left for the occasional transits of that most restless of
+mortals, the officer of the watch, who, as in duty bound, is eternally
+fidgeting about the trim of the sails, and must often step forward to
+the chestree, from whence, while resting his foot on the tack-block of
+the mainsail, he may cast his eye aloft to detect something to alter
+in the position of the head-yards. Or if he hears any noise in the
+galley, or even on the lower deck, he can walk forward till he is able
+to peer down the fore-hatchway, by stooping under the bows of the boat
+on the booms. Most of this fidget probably arises, not so much from
+any wish to find fault with what is wrong, as to maintain what is
+right. The true preventive service of an officer is to interpose his
+superintending vigilance between the temptation, on the part of the
+men, to err, and their first motion towards offence. Were this
+principle fully acted up to in all ships, how rapidly might not our
+punishments subside!
+
+At four, or half-past four in the afternoon, the merry pipe to supper
+awakes the sleepers, arrests the peripatetics, and once more clusters
+young and old round the mess-table. At sunset the drum beats to
+quarters, when the men's names are carefully called over, and the
+sobriety of each ascertained. Other duties may be intermitted on the
+day of rest, but not that of the guns, which are minutely examined,
+and all their appendages got ready every evening with as much earnest
+care as if the ship were that instant sailing into action. A moment's
+reflection, indeed, will show that there can, of course, be no
+difference in this respect between Sunday and any other evening. Then
+come in succession the following routine orders, and their
+correspondent evolutions:--"Reef topsails!" "Stand by the hammocks!"
+"Pipe down!" "Roll up the cloths!" "Call the watch!" "Pipe the
+sweepers!" And thus, at last, the first day of the week at sea, in a
+man-of-war, is at an end.
+
+In old times, I recollect, the fashion was for the men to press aft
+in a disorganised crowd; but of late years the following more
+appropriate and orderly arrangement has been universally adopted. The
+men are distributed in a close double row round the quarter-deck
+gangways and forecastle, each standing in his place according to the
+order of his name on the Open List. A small table is then brought up,
+on which are spread the muster-books; and the captain's clerk, who is
+the only person seated, begins calling over the names. Each man, as
+his turn comes, pulls off his hat, smooths down his hair, and passes
+over from the lee side of the deck to the weather side, stepping
+across the gratings just before the binnacle. The captain stands to
+windward, so that the men advance directly up towards him, and then
+pass forward in review. By this means, not only the captain, but the
+officers, who, of course, are all present, become better acquainted
+with the men, learn their names, and ascertain their respective
+ratings and merits. The first lieutenant plants himself at the
+captain's elbow to furnish such general information as may be
+required, or to appeal for more minute details to the other
+lieutenants, warrant-officers, mates, or midshipmen, as the case may
+be.
+
+The captain avails himself of this public opportunity of telling any
+of the men that they have been advanced a step on the books since the
+last muster; and if these intimations be given without parade, and in
+good taste, they afford great satisfaction to the people, though it
+may often happen that the changes of rating are almost nominal. It is
+a great point gained in all discipline, if the persons we wish to
+influence can be made duly sensible that their merits and exertions
+are not neglected. It is obvious, too, that if giving a man a higher
+rating be a source of encouragement, to disrate him may readily be
+used as a means of punishment. I remember, in the Lyra, on my way home
+from China, in 1817, that the captain of the foretop, a fine active
+lad from North Shields, got into some scrape, not quite bad enough to
+bring him within the reach of the terrible gangway, but close to it,
+and I was rather perplexed how to chastise the offender. The first
+Sunday in the month was close at hand, so I waited till this man's
+name was called, and then, after a suitable lecture, desired the
+clerk, in the hearing of the whole ship's company, to change his
+rating to that of able seaman from captain of the top. The poor fellow
+looked bewildered, and, instead of passing on when another name was
+called, stood stock-still half-way across the deck.
+
+"Don't you hear?" I said; "you are no longer captain of the foretop,
+you are disrated on the ship's books."
+
+I then turned to the clerk to see the entry properly made; but on
+looking again at the disrated seaman, I observed, to my astonishment,
+that he was in tears!
+
+I certainly had not reckoned upon such a scene; but it at once flashed
+upon me that here was an opportunity of gaining two important points.
+The first and most obvious of which was to secure this particular
+man's future good services by enlisting all that was hearty in his
+nature at the instant of its strongest expression; and the next, to
+avail myself of the circumstance to stamp a still higher degree of
+importance in the eyes of the men than before upon the value of these
+ratings. I therefore instantly called out to the clerk to stop his
+pen; and then addressing the man, in a voice loud enough to be heard
+by all the crew, said, I was quite sure any one who felt so sensibly
+the degradation implied in the loss of rank which he had just incurred
+was never likely to expose himself again to such a risk. I should
+therefore not only give him back his former rating, and replace him in
+his station as captain of the top, but assure him that all trace both
+of his offence and its punishment should from that moment be entirely
+forgotten.
+
+It is hardly within the range of popular explanation to show in what
+particulars the different shades of technical merit consist, by which
+many of these ratings are awarded. The letters A.B., which mean Able
+Seaman, are placed against the names of those only who are
+thorough-bred sailors, or who, in sea phrase, can not only "hand,
+reef, and steer," but are likewise capable of heaving the lead in the
+darkest night, as well as in the day-time; who can use the palm and
+needle of a sail-maker; and who are versed in every part of a ship's
+rigging, in the stowage of the hold, and in the exercise of the great
+guns. Of course, an A.B. must be able to pull an oar, as well as use
+it in sculling, understand the management of a boat under sail, and
+know how to cross a surf. He must also learn the art of placing an
+anchor in a boat, in order to its being laid out; and how to get it in
+again when weighed. In these, and twenty other things which might be
+pointed out, he ought to be examined by the boatswain and other
+officers before his rating of A.B. is fully established on the books.
+
+The higher ratings of quarter-master, gunner's mate, captain of the
+forecastle and of the tops, and so on, are given chiefly to men who
+may not, in fact, know more than every Able Seaman is supposed to be
+acquainted with, but who have recommended themselves by their superior
+activity and vigilance, and have not only shown themselves fit to
+command others by their decision of character, but evinced a sincere
+anxiety to see the work of their department well performed. It is of
+great consequence to assist in every way the authority of these
+leading hands over the other men stationed in the same part of the
+ship; and judicious officers will generally be able to avail
+themselves to great purpose, in moments of trial, of the energetic
+co-operation of these persons. Much of the internal, or what may be
+called domestic, discipline of the crew, depends upon the conduct of
+these men; for each mess has one of them at its head, who is held more
+or less responsible for the behaviour of the people in that knot or
+party. I have, however, known some officers exact a great deal too
+much from these captains of the messes, and expect them to become
+spies and informers against their companions; or, which is just as
+unreasonable, hold them fully answerable for all delinquencies
+committed in their part of the ship. This is cruel; because, although
+they undoubtedly may contribute materially towards the maintenance of
+good order, they cannot, by possibility, do more than act as
+assistants to the first lieutenant, and chiefly by explaining to the
+rest of the people what is required of them. Most men in the long-run,
+and perhaps in all ranks of society, but certainly on board a
+manof-war, find it so much more agreeable in every respect to do what
+is right than what is wrong, that when they come distinctly to know
+what is wanted, they almost invariably set about executing it
+cheerfully. The first grand point, therefore, in the ship's
+discipline, after a system has been adopted which shall be consistent
+in all its parts, is, to let the details of this system be thoroughly
+understood by every one on board. When a good plan has been once fixed
+upon, and the officers are vigilant, patient, and exact in their own
+personal conduct, and the leading men have been made fully acquainted
+with what is required, the rest of the crew will be but too happy to
+do their duty manfully and well, without the instrumentality of the
+lash, except in extreme cases.
+
+In former times, the distinctions amongst ratings of the seamen on the
+ship's books were so few that it was impossible to discriminate
+correctly, or to assign to each man, with any justice, the exact
+rating which his knowledge of seamanship, his experience in the
+exercise of that knowledge, his general good conduct, and his
+abilities, might entitle him to. An Order in Council, dated November,
+1816, established a new system of Ratings; and by another Order, dated
+the 23rd of June, 1824, "the net sea pay of the flag-officers of His
+Majesty's fleet" was established, "together with the net sea pay and
+number of their retinue; the number of commissioned, warrant, petty,
+and non-commissioned officers, and the ratings of every description
+both of seamen and marines, allowed to each class of His Majesty's
+ships, with their rates of net sea pay respectively; and
+distinguishing the several classes for sharing the produce of
+seizures."[6]
+
+As soon as the ship's company have been mustered, the captain takes
+off his hat and reads the Articles of War, to which, out of respect to
+this important act of parliament, the people listen in like manner
+uncovered. Between breakfast and divisions, some captains occupy
+themselves in examining the weekly reports of the expenditure of
+boatswain's, gunner's, and carpenter's stores; and in going over with
+the purser the account of the remains of provisions, fuel, and
+slop-clothing on board. After which he may overhaul the midshipmen's
+log-books, watch, station, and quarter bills, or take a look at their
+school-books. If the ship be in harbour, he also glances his eye at
+their accounts; and he generally takes occasion to indulge in a little
+kindly gossip about their mess, their love of the sea, and the last
+letters they received from home.
+
+Thus the gallant skipper, as well as his gallant crew, has seldom much
+spare time on his hands during the forenoon of Sunday. I should be
+right glad, indeed, to be informed what day, or hour, or even what
+half-hour, in the whole week, from end to end, the captain can fairly
+call his own. Not one! Every other person on board has his hour, or
+his four hours, or his eight hours of rest, and of relief from all
+anxiety; but the poor captain has not a minute. He is the chief over
+all, it is true; but he pays dearly and deeply for this distinction in
+the shape of heavy responsibilities, and perpetual trials of various
+kinds. Our poet says, "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"--I am
+quite sure that unburdened never lie the shoulders that wear two
+epaulettes. The captain is at all calls, and must be ready at all
+seasons with resources, good or bad, to supply the failures or
+indolence of others; while his own fate, fortunes, and character, as
+well as the credit of the service, and sometimes that of the country,
+are made to hang upon the instantaneous nature of his decisions, and
+upon the vigour and efficiency of his exertions, at moments perhaps
+when his powers are nearly exhausted, and his spirit all but crushed
+by sheer fatigue. The simple enumeration of a captain of a
+man-of-war's ordinary responsibilities, I have often thought, would
+win for his class a degree of considerate forbearance, and candid
+allowance for his difficulties, which, perhaps, it has never yet
+fairly received from the public. If, to such enumeration, a notice
+respecting the duties of each were appended, an interesting peep
+might be afforded to the curious of the internal government of our
+singular community, and information supplied on not a few points,
+respecting which most people are entirely ignorant.
+
+It is frequently the practice in the navy on Sundays to muster clothes
+at divisions, and to take a list of what slops are required by the men
+to complete their kit, or stock of worldly goods. This overhaul or
+inspection happens once a month; and when such is the intention, the
+word is passed along the lower deck at breakfast-time, that the ship's
+company are to "muster clothes at divisions." When the drum beats,
+each man brings his bag to the place where he stands in his division,
+and proceeds to arrange his things in order on the deck before him,
+each article being placed separately, that the officer may count, and,
+if he pleases, examine them, after the mates and mids have first
+called over the names, to ascertain that every man has the proper
+complement of articles, in good order, and well washed. A note is then
+taken of what things are wanted, in the way of slops, to supply
+worn-out and condemned clothes. "Slops" is the technical name for
+jackets, trousers, shirts, and other articles of a sailor's wardrobe,
+before they have been used. They are sent on board in bales and boxes
+by government, and placed in charge of the purser.
+
+All this is reported in detail to the lieutenant of the division, who
+continues walking backwards and forwards while the inspection is going
+on, ready to answer appeals in the event of any difficulties or doubts
+arising. He carries in his hand a complete list of his division, and
+of each man's clothes; and when the young gentlemen under his orders
+have finished their work, and taken down what is wanted, the
+lieutenant goes along the line to investigate the whole anew. He then
+collects the different memorandums of slops wanted, and proceeds to
+make his report to the captain, who either sanctions or disapproves of
+the decision of the officer, as he pleases. Frequently the captain
+himself goes along the divisions, to look at the men's clothing; but
+the glance which he takes is necessarily of a more cursory nature; his
+object is, to let the men feel that he is ready to interfere, if need
+be, but also to show, that, unless there is any special call for the
+interposition of his authority, he confides in those under him.
+
+A commander should recollect, that, whether it be he himself, or
+chiefly his officers and crew, who perform any useful public service,
+he invariably reaps at least his full share of the credit. His real
+interest, therefore, must always be, not merely to draw about him the
+ablest men he can induce to follow him, but to allow them the utmost
+latitude of independent action and responsibility, and as much of the
+merit of success as possible. If he persevere sincerely in this
+course, he will soon discover that the more he endeavours to remove
+the credit from himself, or, rather, to divide it handsomely with
+those who are acting with him, the more will he generally find the
+merit given back to himself.
+
+I suspect few people have the smallest notion of what a sailor's
+wardrobe consists. Every one has, indeed, a vague idea that he must
+have a blue jacket and trousers, and a low, canvas, shining sort of
+affair, stuck on one side of his head, and called by him a hat. But of
+any further particulars, the shore-going world really knows about as
+little as they do respecting the dresses of the Emperor of China.
+Honest Jack, it is very true, is not much encumbered with clothes;
+and too often his wardrobe sadly resembles that of the Honourable Mr.
+Dowlas, which was so easily transportable in the Honourable Mr.
+Dowlas's pocket-handkerchief. Yet if he have the opportunity, poor
+fellow, and be duly encouraged, he is not a little of a dandy in his
+way.
+
+In a well-regulated ship, a sailor's kit consists generally of at
+least two blue jackets, and one pea jacket, which is a sort of
+lumbering shaggy surtout, or curtailed great-coat, capable of being
+wrapped round the body, so as to cover the thighs. Why it is called a
+pea jacket I should be glad to be informed by any knowing person; and
+I beg leave accordingly to refer the question to that corner of the
+United Service Journal reserved for technical queries, a valuable
+niche in that ably conducted periodical. A seaman must also have two
+pairs of blue trousers, two pairs of shoes, six shirts, four pairs of
+stockings, two Guernsey frocks, made of a sort of worsted
+stocking-work, without any opening in front; two hats, two black
+handkerchiefs, and a comforter to wrap round the throat; together with
+several pairs of flannel drawers and waistcoats; for in hot, as well
+as in cold climates, and at all times of the year, the men are now
+encouraged, as much as possible, to wear flannel next the skin.
+
+The above forms the kit of a sailor in a ship stationed in high
+latitudes. On the Mediterranean station, or on that of North America,
+there is such a mixture of severe and mild weather, that a larger
+stock is necessary than when the ship is employed exclusively in a
+cold, or in a hot climate. On the Indian, South American, and West
+Indian stations, which lie almost entirely between the tropics,
+woollen clothing gradually disappears, and the men are apt to suffer a
+good deal on returning to colder regions; it being hardly to be
+expected that folks of such improvident habits as sailors will be able
+to take care of articles of dress, for several years together, for
+which they have no immediate use.
+
+I remember a captain, whose ship had been often exposed to these
+alternations, amusing his people very much on entering the tropics, by
+directing them to roll up all their blue clothes, worsted stockings,
+and so on, in neat bundles, each having the name and number of the
+person it belonged to written on a wooden tally, and fastened to it.
+These being all collected, and packed carefully in well-dried,
+watertight casks, were stowed away in the hold, and forgotten, till
+the pinching blasts off Cape Horn made the unpacking of the casks a
+scene of as great joy as ever attended the opening of a box of finery
+at a boarding-school gala.
+
+In warm climates, the stock of a man-of-war sailor consists of four
+duck frocks, which are more like shirts than anything else, with
+sundry strings, and touches of blue binding about the breast and
+collar, which is generally lined with blue, and allowed to fall over
+the shoulders. It is totally contrary to Jack's habits to have
+anything tight about his throat; and one of the chief causes of his
+invincible estrangement from the royal marine corps is their
+stiff-necked custom of wearing polished leather stocks. I hardly
+suppose there could be found any motive strong enough to induce a
+genuine sailor to buckle a permanent collar round his neck with any
+tolerable grace; the alternative of the yard-arm would almost be
+preferable! His delight is to place a black or coloured silk
+handkerchief lightly over his neck, and to confine its ends across his
+breast by means of one of the small bones or vertebrae of a shark,
+which forms a neat, white, perforated cylinder. Some very prime
+dandies of the mizen-top fold a part of their handkerchief over the
+shoulders and back; but it requires the aid of a handsome person, and
+a good deal of modest assurance, to make this tolerable.
+
+They must also provide themselves with four pairs of duck trousers, a
+straw hat for fine weather, and a canvas or beaver one for squalls,
+though this need not be insisted on. Shoes are not much used, except
+by those whose work lies aloft; and prudent hands generally keep a
+blue jacket by them, in case of rain or night-work. It is not a bad
+rule to muster the crew occasionally with blue jackets, even in hot
+weather, to see that such things are really in existence. Each man
+has, of course, a bed, a pillow, and two blankets; sheets are never
+heard of. He has also two hammocks, one of which is slung and in use,
+the other scrubbed, dry, and stowed away, ready to be exchanged for
+the dirty one. The hammocks, at the time I first went to sea (1802),
+were made of a coarse brown stuff, which it was difficult, if not
+impossible, to make white by any amount of scrubbing; and, what was
+worse, so thick that it was by no means easily dried. Now-a-days, they
+are generally made either of canvas, or of a twilled sacking, and,
+when spread out, measure 4-1/2 feet by 3-1/2; but when lashed up, and
+ready for stowing away in the netting, they form long sacks, about as
+big as a man's body, but not tapering to the ends.
+
+In ships where much pains is taken to have the hammocks stowed
+properly, they are lashed up, so as to preserve the same width all
+along, and with neither more nor fewer than seven turns with a
+well-blacked small lashing, carefully passed round at equal intervals.
+When the hammocks are prepared in this way, and all made of the same
+size, (which condition may be secured by putting them through a ring
+of given dimensions,) they are laid in symmetrical order all round the
+ship, above the bulwark, on the quarter-deck and forecastle, and in
+the waist nettings along the gangways. Each hammock, it may be
+mentioned, has a separate number painted neatly upon it on a small,
+white, oval patch, near one of the corners; so that, when they are all
+stowed in the nettings, a uniform line of numbers extends round the
+ship, and the hammock of any man who may be taken ill can be found by
+his messmates in a moment. The bags, in like manner, of which each
+person has two, are numbered separately. In rainy weather the hammocks
+are securely covered by painted cloths.
+
+As a seaman's kit generally forms his whole property, it ought to be
+carefully preserved, and every possible facility given that the
+service will allow of for his keeping it in good order. A captain of
+any consideration will naturally bear in mind, that, as the comfort
+and health of the men under his command depend most materially upon
+the manner in which they are clad, and especially upon the damp or dry
+state of their dress, it becomes an important branch of his duty to
+see that their things are taken care of with as much exactness as the
+spare sails, cordage, or provisions. It much too frequently happens,
+however, that the unfortunate sailors' clothes are more torment to
+them than advantage, and they may think themselves lucky if they can
+catch hold of a jacket or trousers to shift withal, so eternally are
+they interfered with by some inconsiderate officers. "Pipe the bags
+up!" "Pipe the bags down!" "Stow the bags afresh!" "Pipe to scrub the
+bags!" and twenty such orders are given in a day in some ships, to the
+endless misery of the people. It is, no doubt, necessary that the bags
+should be scrubbed and stowed properly, and be piped up and down at
+the proper times and seasons. But there are two ways of doing these
+things: one, which gives the men no more trouble than is absolutely
+unavoidable; the other, which harasses and justly provokes them. It is
+not enough to say that they must submit, whether they like it or not.
+They will submit, it is true; but in what temper? and how will these
+men work when called upon to exert themselves, if they are habitually
+treated with disrespect, and exposed to needless, and even impertinent
+worry? I have even heard of some crack ships, as they are termed,
+where the poor devils are obliged to pipe-clay their bags, to make
+them look white, forsooth! Why, the very idea of pipe-clay is gall and
+wormwood to the taste of the Johnnies. Of late years I understand
+there have been introduced black painted water-proof bags, which are a
+great comfort to the men. Besides keeping out wet, they require no
+trouble to scrub and dry, and, after all, are fully as clean, and far
+more useful in every respect.
+
+To show the various sorts of outfit which the men composing a
+man-of-war's crew may be furnished with on first coming on board, I
+shall describe a scene which took place on the Leander's
+quarter-deck, off the Port of New York, in 1804. We were rather
+short-handed in those days; and being in the presence of a blockaded
+enemy, and liable, at half-an-hour's warning, to be in action, we
+could not afford to be very scrupulous as to the ways and means by
+which our numbers were completed, so that able-bodied men were secured
+to handle the gun-tackle falls. It chanced one day that we fell in
+with a ship filled with emigrants; a description of vessel called, in
+the classical dictionary of the cockpit, an "Irish guinea man." Out of
+her we pressed twenty Irishmen, besides two strapping fellows from
+Yorkshire, and one canny Scot.
+
+Each of this score of Pats was rigged merely in a great coat, and a
+pair of something which might be called an apology for inexpressibles;
+while the rest of their united wardrobe could have been stowed away in
+the crown of any one of their hats. Their motives for emigrating to a
+country where mere health and strength of body are sure to gain an
+independent provision were obvious enough; and I must say, that to
+this hour I have not been able to forget the melancholy cry or howl
+with which the separation of these hardy settlers from their families
+was effected by the strong arm of power. It was a case of necessity,
+it is true; but still it was a cruel case, and one for the exercise of
+which the officer who put it in force deserves almost as much pity as
+the poor wretches whose feelings and interests it became his bounden
+duty to disregard.
+
+In most admired contrast to this bewildered drove of half-starved
+Paddies stood the two immense, broad-shouldered, high-fed
+Yorkshiremen, dressed in long-tailed coats, corduroy breeches, and
+yellow-topped boots, each accompanied by a chest of clothes not much
+less than a pianoforte, and a huge pile of spades, pick-axes, and
+other implements of husbandry. They possessed money also, and letters
+of credit, and described themselves as being persons of some substance
+at home. Why they emigrated they would not tell; but such were their
+prospects, that it was difficult to say whether they or the wild
+Irishers were the most to be commiserated for so untoward an
+interruption. Be this as it may, it cost the clerk half-an-hour to
+write down a list of their multifarious goods and chattels, while a
+single scratch of the pen sufficed for that of all the Irishmen.
+
+At last honest Saunders came under review. He was a tall, raw-boned,
+grave-looking personage, much pitted with the smallpox, and wearing a
+good deal of that harassed and melancholy air, which, sooner or later,
+settles on the brow of an assistant to a village pedagogue. He was
+startled, but not abashed, when drawn to the middle of the deck, and
+asked, in the presence of fifty persons, what clothes and other things
+he possessed? Not choosing at first to betray his poverty, he made no
+answer, but looked round, as if to discover where his chest had been
+placed. He then glanced at his thread-bare sleeve and tattered shoon,
+with a slight touch of dry and bitter humour playing about the corners
+of his mouth, and a faint sparkle lighting up his grey and sunken eye,
+as he returned the impatient official stare of the clerk, who stood,
+pen in hand, ready to note down the items.
+
+"Don't be frightened, man," said the captain; "no one is going to
+hurt you, your things are quite safe. What does your property consist
+of?"
+
+"A trifle, sir, a trifle," quoth poor Sawney; "fourpence ha'penny and
+an auld knife!"
+
+Before concluding this subject, it may perhaps be useful to remark,
+that, unless in those cases where such a measure is absolutely
+necessary, the actual examination and minute recording of the men's
+clothes might, in general, be advantageously dispensed with. I have,
+indeed, occasionally fancied I saw traces of irritation and wounded
+pride amongst the men, when all their little knick-knacks, every hat,
+hose, and handkerchief, or old shoe, was examined into and noted down,
+to be reproduced that day month, or its absence accounted for. I tried
+a middle course in my own ship, which appeared to answer all the
+purposes required. From time to time the men were ordered to bring
+their bags to divisions, and to spread out their clothes to air on the
+deck, over the guns, along the hammock-nettings, or in the rigging. In
+this way the officers and mids, who passed repeatedly up and down the
+line, had opportunities enough, if they did their duty, to see that
+all the clothes were clean, dry, and in good order. When any man's
+things were observed not to be in the condition demanded by the
+regulations of the ship, or he was found ragged in his clothes, or not
+properly dressed, then such delinquent was no longer indulged with the
+exemption, but had his kit subjected to a daily, or weekly, or monthly
+scrutiny, as the case might be. As long as he was in this predicament,
+he was obliged to exhibit every article in proper condition, and was
+not at liberty, without asking leave, to destroy even such worn-out
+things as an old Jew clothesman would turn up his beard at. I took
+care that no part of this surveillance should be talked of as a
+punishment, although, unquestionably, it was intended and felt as
+such; but studied rather to give it the character of a necessary duty
+in the instance of individuals who, if not so watched, would, by their
+misconduct, hurt the general discipline of the ship. It was very
+seldom that any one exposed to such drilling for a month or six weeks
+ever brought himself within the range of its humiliation a second
+time.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] CLASSES AND DENOMINATIONS OF HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS.
+
+1. Rated Ships, viz.:--
+
+_First Rate_.--All Three-decked Ships.
+
+_Second Rate_.--One of Her Majesty's Yachts, and all Two-decked Ships
+whose war complements consist of 700 men and upwards.
+
+_Third Rate_.--Her Majesty's other Yachts, and all such Yachts as may
+bear the Flag or Pendant of an Admiral or Captain Superintending one
+of Her Majesty's Dock-yards; and all Ships whose complements are under
+700 and not less than 600.
+
+_Fourth Rate_.--Ships whose complements are under 600 and not less
+than 400.
+
+_Fifth Rate_.--Ships whose complements are under 400 and not less than
+250.
+
+_Sixth Rate_.--Ships under 250.
+
+2. Sloops and Bomb-Vessels; all such as are commanded by Commanders.
+
+3. All other smaller Vessels; such as are commanded by Lieutenants or
+inferior officers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+SAILORS' PETS.
+
+
+A dog is the most obvious and natural pet for a gentleman; but still,
+a dog, with all his familiarity, is a selfish sort of companion, for
+he generally bestows his whole sociability either upon his master, or
+his master's servant who feeds him, or upon his master's friend who
+accompanies him to the fields. To all others he is not only cold, but
+often surly and impertinent. This, indeed, would matter little, if
+there were not unfortunately a proverb extant, which has led perhaps
+to more squabbles, duels, and other uncharitableness, than most other
+causes of dispute. This pugnacious proverb, "Love me, love my dog,"
+being interpreted, signifies, "If you kick my dog, I kick you." Then
+follows, if not the kick, words which hurt honour quite as much, and
+in the end too often draw away the life-blood of warriors who, but
+for some mangy cur, might have fought themselves into companionship in
+public usefulness and fame with "Duncan, Howe, or Jarvis."
+
+No dog, therefore, can ever become a very general favourite of the
+crew; for it is so completely his nature to be exclusive in his
+regards, that were a whole pack of hounds on board, they would not be
+enough, nor afford a tenth part of the amusement which a single monkey
+serves out to a ship's company. I take good care, accordingly, never
+to be without one in any ship I command, on the sheer principle of
+keeping the men employed, in a good humoured way, when they chance to
+have no specific duty to attend to. It must be recollected that we are
+often exposed to long periods of inaction, during which mischief is
+very apt to be brewed amongst the people.
+
+But if a good monkey be allowed to run about the ship, I defy any one
+to continue long in a bad humour. Jacko is an overmatch for the demon
+of idleness, at least if light hearts and innocent diversions be
+weapons against which he cannot long contend. Be this as it may, I
+make a rule of entering a monkey as speedily as possible after
+hoisting my pendant; and if a reform takes place in the table of
+ratings, I would recommend a corner for the "ship's monkey," which
+should be borne on the books for "full allowance of victuals,"
+excepting only the grog; for I have observed that a small quantity of
+tipple very soon upsets him; and although there are few things in
+nature more ridiculous than a monkey half-seas over, yet the reasons
+against permitting such pranks are obvious and numerous.
+
+When Lord Melville, then First Lord of the Admiralty, to my great
+surprise and delight, put into my hands a commission for a ship going
+to the South American station, a quarter of the world I had long
+desired to visit, my first thought was, "Where now shall I manage to
+find a merry rascal of a monkey?" Of course, I did not give audible
+expression to this thought in the First Lord's room; but, on coming
+down-stairs, I had a talk about it in the hall with my friend, the
+late Mr. Nutland, the porter, who laughed, and said,--
+
+"Why, sir, you may buy a wilderness of monkeys at Exeter 'Change."
+
+"True! true!" and off I hurried in a Hackney coach. Mr. Cross, not
+only agreed to spare me one of his choicest and funniest animals, but
+readily offered his help to convey him to the ship. "Lord, sir!" said
+he, "there is not an animal in the whole world so wild or fierce that
+we can't carry about as innocent as a lamb; only trust to me, sir, and
+your monkey shall be delivered on board your ship in Portsmouth
+Harbour as safely as if he were your best chronometer going down by
+mail in charge of the master." Accordingly he was in a famous
+condition for his breakfast next morning, when the waterman ferried
+him off from Common Hard to the hulk, on board which the officers had
+just assembled. As the ship had been only two or three days in
+commission, few seamen had as yet entered; but shortly afterwards they
+came on board in sufficient numbers; and I have sometimes ascribed the
+facility with which we got the ship manned, not a little to the
+attractive agency of the diverting vagabond, recently come from town,
+the fame of whose tricks soon extended over Portsea; such as catching
+hold of the end of the sail-maker's ball of twine, and paying the
+whole overboard, hand over hand, from a secure station in the rigging;
+or stealing the boatswain's silver call, and letting it drop from the
+end of the cat-head; or his getting into one of the cabin ports and
+tearing up the captain's letters, a trick at which even the stately
+skipper can only laugh.
+
+One of our monkey's grand amusements was to watch some one arranging
+his clothes bag. After the stowage was completed, and everything put
+carefully away, he would steal round, untie the strings, and having
+opened the mouth of the bag draw forth in succession every article of
+dress, first smell it, then turn it over and over, and lastly fling it
+away on the wet deck. It was amusing enough to observe, that all the
+while he was committing any piece of mischief he appeared not only to
+be under the fullest consciousness of guilt, but living in the perfect
+certainty that he was earning a good sound drubbing for his pains.
+Still the pleasure of doing wrong was so strong and habitual within
+him, that he seemed utterly incapable of resisting the temptation.
+While thus occupied, and alternately chattering with terror, and
+screaming with delight, till the enraged owner of the property burst
+in upon him, hardly more angry with Jacko than with his malicious
+messmates, who, instead of preventing, had rather encouraged the
+pillage.
+
+All this was innocent, however, compared to the tricks which the
+blue-jackets taught him to play upon the jolly marines. How they set
+about this laudable piece of instruction, I know not; but the
+antipathy which they established in Jacko's breast against the red
+coats was something far beyond ordinary prejudice, and in its
+consequences partook more of the interminable war between cat and dog.
+At first he merely chattered, or grinned contemptuously at them; or,
+at worst, snapped at their heels, soiled their fine pipe-clayed
+trousers, or pulled the cartridges out of their cartouch-boxes, and
+scattered the powder over the decks; feats for which his rump was
+sure to smart under the ratan of the indignant sergeant, to whom the
+"party" made their complaint. Upon these occasions the sailors laughed
+so heartily at their friend Jacko, as he placed his hands behind him,
+and, in an agony of rage and pain, rubbed the seat of honour tingling
+under the sergeant's chastisement, that if he could only have reasoned
+the matter, he would soon have distrusted this offensive but not
+defensive alliance with the Johnnies against the Jollies. Sometimes,
+indeed, he appeared to be quite sensible of his absurd position, caned
+by his enemy, and ridiculed by his friends, in whose cause he was
+suffering. On these occasions, he often made a run, open-mouthed, at
+the sailors; in return for which mutinous proceeding he was sure to
+get a smart rap over the nose from his own party, which more than
+counterpoised the anguish at the other extremity of his person, giving
+ludicrous occupation to both his hands, and redoubling the shouts of
+laughter at his expense. In short, poor St. Jago literally got what is
+currently called monkey's allowance, viz. "more kicks than halfpence."
+
+In process of time, as Mr. Monkey, by dint of that bitter monitor,
+experience, gained higher knowledge in the art of marine warfare and
+ship diplomacy, he became much more formidable in his attacks on the
+"corps," and generally contrived to keep himself well beyond the reach
+of the sergeant's merciless ratan. One of the favourite pranks of the
+sailors was to place him near the break of the forecastle, with a
+handspike, taken from the bow-chaser gun, in his paws. It was quite as
+much as he could carry, and far more than he could use as a missile
+against the royals; but he was soon instructed in a method of
+employing it, which always grievously annoyed the enemy.
+Theoretically, I presume poor Jacko knew no more of the laws of
+gravitation, than his friends, the seamen, did of centrifugal action,
+when swinging round the hand-lead to gain soundings, by pitching it
+far forward into the water; but both the monkey and his wicked
+associates knew very well, that if a handspike were held across the
+top of the forecastle ladder, and let go when a person was about
+half-way down it, the heels of the said individual would be sure to
+bring up, or stop the bar. The unhappy marine, therefore, who happened
+to be descending the steps when Jacko let his handspike fall,
+generally got the skin taken off his heels, or his instep, according
+as his rear or his front was turned towards the foe. The instant Jacko
+let go his hold, and the law of gravitation began to act, so that the
+handspike was heard to rattle down the ladder, off he jumped to the
+bow of the barge, overlooking the spot, and there sat, with his neck
+stretched out, his eyes starting from his head, and his lips drawn
+back, till his teeth, displayed from ear to ear, rapped against one
+another like a pair of castanets in a bolero, under the influence of
+the most ecstatic alarm, curiously mixed up with the joy of complete
+success. The poor wounded Gulpin, in the mean time, rubbed his ankles
+as he fired off a volley of imprecations, the only effect of which was
+to increase the number of his audience, grinning and laughing in
+chorus with the terrified mischief-monger.
+
+I remember seeing a marine, of more than usual activity, and who had
+before been served this trick, catch hold of the end of the weather
+middle stay-sail sheet, hanging from the booms, and, before Jacko
+knew what he was about, succeed in giving him such a cut across his
+sconce as the animal never forgot or forgave. Next morning the monkey
+stowed himself away behind the pumps, till the same marine passed; he
+then sprung out, and laid hold of him by the calf of the leg; and, in
+spite of sundry kicks and cuffs, never once relaxed his jaws till the
+teeth met amongst what the loblolly boy, in the pride of his
+anatomical knowledge, called the "gastrocnemii muscles" of his enemy's
+leg. The cries of "murder!" from the soldier, brought the marines and
+many of the sailors under the half-deck to the poor fellow's rescue;
+while the author of the mischief scuttled off among the men's feet,
+chattering and screaming all the way. He was not again seen during two
+or three days; at the end of which, as the wounded "troop" was not
+much hurt, a sort of truce was proclaimed between the red and the blue
+factions of the ship. Doubtless the armistice was all the better kept
+in consequence of some tolerably intelligible hints from the higher
+powers, that the peace of the ship was no longer to be invaded to make
+sport for those who were evidently more idle than they ought to be,
+and for whom, therefore, a little additional work might possibly be
+found.
+
+Old Jacko, however, like one of the weaker states of Europe, whose
+fate and fortunes are settled by the protocols of the surrounding
+political giants, was no party to these treaties; and having once
+tasted the joys of revenge, he could not keep his teeth quiet, but
+must needs have another bite. Upon this occasion, however, he kept
+clear of the corps, and attacked one of his oldest and dearest
+friends, no less a personage than the captain of the foretop. It was
+in warm weather, and the men, as usual, were dining on the main-deck;
+the grog had been served out, and the happy Johnnies were just
+beginning to sip their darling beverage, when Mr. Mischief,
+incessantly occupied in his vocation of wrong doing, and utterly
+incapable of resisting any good opening to get himself into a scrape,
+saw the grog-kid of the captain of the top's mess standing by the
+fore-hatchway. So he paced round, as if seeking for a bit of bread,
+but all the while keeping his face turned just so far from the fated
+grog-vessel that no one suspected his design. On reaching the spot his
+heart began to fail him, but not his wickedness; indeed, his was the
+very beau ideal of that character described in the satire of Junius,
+which, "without courage enough to resist doing a bad action, has yet
+virtue enough to be ashamed of it." Whether or not these mixed motives
+influenced old Jacko, I cannot pretend to say; but there he sat
+chattering, screaming, and trembling, as if the sergeant's cane had
+been within an inch of his hide.
+
+"What ails you, my dear Mr. St. James?" said the captain of the top,
+playfully addressing the monkey. "What are you afraid of? Nobody is
+going to hurt you; we are all sailors and friends here, man. Not a
+marine within hail of you!"
+
+At this stage of the colloquy the sly rogue having mustered all his
+energies, fairly grasped the grog-kid in his arms, and, making a clean
+spring from the deck, placed himself, at the first bound, beyond the
+reach of the horror-stricken seaman. This exploit was not so adroitly
+performed as it might have been if Jacko had been less agitated, and
+one-half of the delicious nectar in the sailor's cup was jerked out.
+
+"You bloody thundering rascal of a monkey!" bellowed the astounded
+topman; "let go the kid, or I'll shy this knife at your head!"
+
+The threat was no sooner uttered than executed; for the sailor,
+without waiting to see the effect of his summons, threw the knife; and
+had not his saintship ducked his head, there would have been an end of
+monkey tricks for that cruise. As the glittering steel passed before
+the wicked scamp's eyes, the flash deprived him of all recollection of
+the mischief in hand: with a loud yell he leaped on the booms, and in
+his terror let the prize slip from his grasp. It fell on the cooming
+of the hatchway, hung for one instant, and then dashed right down into
+the fore-cockpit, to the infinite astonishment of the boatswain's
+yeoman, a thirsty soul, and familiar with drink in all its shapes, but
+who declared he never before had tried grog in a shower-bath.
+
+Up started the enraged party of seamen on their feet. "All hands catch
+monkey!" was the cry; and in ten seconds the whole crew, including the
+cook with his ladle, and his mate with the tormentors in his hand,
+were seen scrambling on deck. Jacko scampered like lightning up the
+main-stay, and reached the top before any of the men, who had mounted
+the rigging, were half-a-dozen ratlines above the hammocks. The
+officers rushed to the quarter-deck, naturally fancying from the
+bustling sounds that a man was overboard; but they were soon
+undeceived by the shouts of laughter which resounded from every part
+of the ship, low and aloft.
+
+For a few moments Jacko sat on the main-cap, chattering at such a rate
+that, had it been dark, one of the men said, you could have seen the
+sparks of fire from his teeth. I do not quite believe this; but
+certainly I never witnessed such an expression of fear. A dozen men
+were soon pouring into the top, while two others were stealing up the
+stay, and four or five had got into the topmast-shrouds, to cut off
+his retreat in that direction; finally, an active fellow leaped from
+the rigging to the topmast, and sliding down the well-greased spar,
+almost plumped on the devoted head of this master of the revels. It
+was now absolutely necessary for Jacko to do something; so he made a
+clear run down the main lift to the lower yard-arm. The gunner's mate
+foreseeing this manoeuvre, had sprung to guard his department, and had
+already lain out as far as the inner boom iron, with a gasket in his
+hand, and quite certain of catching the chase. Not a bit! "A gunner's
+mate catch a monkey!" The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare affords
+but a feeble simile to characterize such a match; and before old
+Hard-a-weather and his gasket had reached the yard-arm, our nimble
+Mona had trotted half-way up the leach of the topsail, and was seated
+as familiarly on the bridle of the maintop-bowline, as if he had been
+perched on the feathery branch of a cocoa-nut tree, enjoying the sea
+breeze, in his native island, amongst the beautiful Cape de Verdes.
+
+The sailors were now fairly baffled, and still more so when the expert
+rogue chose to climb a little higher, and then to walk deliberately
+along the standing part of the main-topsail brace to the mizen-topmast
+head; whence, as if to divert himself, or force his pursuers to mingle
+admiration with their rage, he made a flying leap downwards to the
+peak haulyards, scampering along the single part till he reached the
+end of the gaff. There he sat laughing at a hundred and fifty men and
+boys, employed in the vain attempt to catch one monkey!
+
+Sailors are certainly not men to give up a pursuit lightly; but after
+an hour of as hard labour as I ever witnessed, they were all obliged
+to relinquish the chase from sheer fatigue, and poor Jacko was
+pardoned by acclamation. The captain of the foretop, however, a couple
+of days afterwards, more out of fun than from any ill-will on the old
+grog score, gave the monkey's ear a pinch, upon which the animal
+snapped at his thumb, and bit it so seriously that the man was obliged
+to apply to the doctor. When this was reported to me by the surgeon, I
+began to think my four-footed friend was either getting rather too
+much licence, or that too many liberties were taken with him, so I
+gave orders that in future he should be let alone. Nevertheless, Jacko
+contrived to bite two more of the people, one of whom was the
+sergeant, the other the midshipmen's boy. These were all wounded in
+one day; and when the surgeon came to me next morning, as usual, with
+the sick-list in his hand, he was rather in dudgeon.
+
+"Really, sir," said he, "this does seem rather too much of the monkey.
+Here are no fewer than three persons in my list from bites of this
+infernal beast."
+
+"Three!" I exclaimed, and straightway got angry, partly at my own
+folly, partly at the perversity of my pet, and also somewhat nettled
+by the tone not very unreasonably assumed by the doctor. "Send Black,
+the quarter-master, here directly." He soon came.
+
+"Don't you take care of the monkey?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, sir, I do. You gave me charge of him."
+
+"Well! and why don't you prevent his biting the people?"
+
+"I can't prevent him, sir."
+
+"No! Then throw him overboard!" I cried--"over with him at once! There
+he stands, in charge of the corporal and two marines; pitch him right
+over the lee-gangway. I will not have the ship's company killed and
+wounded at this rate. Over with him, I say!"
+
+The quarter-master moved off to the lee-gangway, and took the
+terrified animal in his arms; while, on its part, the poor creature
+seemed conscious of its approaching fate, and spread out its arms over
+the seaman's bare breast, as if to supplicate his mercy. The old
+sailor, who looked mightily as if he were going to melt upon the
+occasion, cast a petitioning glance to windward every now and then
+from under the edge of his straw hat, as I paced up and down the deck,
+still fuming away at the doctor's demi-official reproach. As I saw the
+fellow wished to say something, I at length asked him whether he had
+any proposal to make respecting his wicked and troublesome pet. The
+old man's face brightened up with this prospect of a respite for his
+favourite; and, after humming and hawing for a minute, he said,--
+
+"It is all owing to these two great teeth, sir; if they were out, he
+would be as harmless as any lamb."
+
+"I tell you what it is," I replied, catching at this suggestion, "I
+positively will not have the whole ship's company driven one after
+another into the sick list by your confounded monkey; but if you
+choose to draw those wild-boar tusks of his, you may let him live."
+
+Few reprieves were ever hailed at the foot of the gallows with more
+joy by the friends of a felon than this announcement of a commutation
+of Mr. St. Jago's sentence was received by his affectionate
+companions. Even the marines, though constitutionally predisposed
+against him, were glad of the change; and I heard the sentry at the
+cabin door say, "I knew the captain had too much regard for the animal
+to do him an injury."
+
+Injury, indeed! I question whether poor Jacko thought the alternative
+any favour. At all events, his friends seemed grievously puzzled how
+to fulfil the conditions of his exemption from a watery grave; for I
+could perceive a council of war going on upon the lee side of the main
+deck, as to the best method of proceeding in the affair of the tusks.
+
+"Who'll hold the monkey?" said one.
+
+No answer was made to this. It was like the old story of belling the
+cat; but there was no Douglas so bold as to try the experiment on
+Master Jacko, who at any time was a powerful animal, and would, it was
+naturally inferred, make a tenfold effort when his teeth were the
+objects of attack.
+
+"Even suppose we could tie the poor unfortunate victim," said the
+quarter-master, "who knows how to pull out these great big teeth? We
+might break his jaw in the operation."
+
+There was a long pause.
+
+"I dare say," at length cried one of the party, "that the doctor's
+mate, who is a good-natured gentleman, would be so kind as to tell us
+how we can manage this affair."
+
+A deputation of the monkey's friends was accordingly despatched to
+present a humble petition to the surgeon's assistant, praying that he
+would be graciously pleased to lend his professional aid in saving the
+jaw, and perhaps the life, of one of the most diverting vagabonds in
+his Majesty's service.
+
+Fortunately, the assistant medico was not one of those priggish
+puppies who, having little professional knowledge to balance their own
+inherent stupidity, fancy it necessary to support their dignity by the
+agency of etiquettes alone. He was, on the contrary, a young man of
+skill, good sense, and right feelings, who cared nothing at all about
+his dignity when he could be of any use; or rather, who left it to
+take care of itself, without thinking of anything but his business. To
+tell the truth, he was so much a lover of his art that he felt
+secretly tickled with the idea of a new operation, and experienced on
+the occasion that peculiar pleasure, known, it is said, only to the
+faculty, when a complicated and difficult case falls into their hands.
+He had just mixed a glass of grog, after the day's work was done, and
+was eyeing the beverage with that sort of serene anticipation which
+the sober certainty of waking bliss is sure to produce, when the
+deputation made their appearance, having first sent in the boy, whose
+arm was still in a sling from the bite of the monkey.
+
+"Are you in a hurry?" said the doctor, on hearing the novel petition;
+for he had nestled himself into the corner of the berth, with one foot
+on the bench, the other on the table, and his glass of "half-and-half"
+glowing like amber between his eye and the solitary glim of those
+profound regions, those diamond mines from which the Hoods and the
+Hardys of times past and times present have been drawn up to the very
+tip-top of their profession.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied the spokesman of the party. "There is no time to
+be lost, for the captain, who is in a great rage, says, if we don't
+extricate the monkey's grinders, overboard he goes to a certainty."
+
+"Extricate is not the word, you blockhead; extract, I suppose you
+mean. Besides, I fancy it is not his grinders which the captain has
+ordered to be removed, but his eye-teeth, or tusks, as they may fairly
+be called."
+
+"Well, sir," said the impatient seaman, "just as you please, tushes or
+high teeth, if you'll only be kind enough to come and help us out of
+this plaguy mess, and save the poor dumb animal's life."
+
+The quick clatter of feet up the ladders gave the signal that the
+successful deputation were returning to the anxious party assembled
+between the two guns just abaft the gangway-ladder, and nearly abreast
+the after-hatchway, and immediate preparations were made for the
+operation.
+
+While these preparations were going on, the learned doctor had leisure
+to consider the case more attentively; and it occurred to him that it
+would be needless cruelty to draw the poor beast's tusks, and
+therefore he exchanged that too well-known instrument, the dentist's
+key, for a pair of bone-nippers, with which he proposed merely to
+break off the points.
+
+"I don't know exactly about that," said the perplexed quarter-master,
+when the assistant surgeon explained his views of the matter. "The
+captain said to me, 'Draw those wild bear's tushes out of him;' and I
+am afraid, if they are only broken, the monkey may still have a chance
+for going astern."
+
+"Nonsense, nonsense!" interrupted the judicious doctor. "Can you
+suppose the captain wished that anything should he done to the animal
+but just enough to prevent his biting the people?"
+
+And, suiting the action to the word, he closed the fatal pincers, and
+nipped away the ends of the offending tusks, it is to be hoped without
+causing him any great pain. But although poor Jacko probably did not
+suffer much, his rage knew no bounds; and no sooner was the canvas
+unfolded, than he sprang towards the after-hatchway, and catching the
+sergeant's hand in his mouth, closed his jaws with all his force.
+Instinctively the soldier's cane was in the air, but a dozen voices
+roared out, "He can't bite! He has got no tushes left! Don't hit him!"
+And, sure enough, although Mr. St. Jago gnawed and struggled, he could
+make no impression on the well-tanned fist of the veteran, but, at
+length, slunk off quite abashed, amidst the shouts and laughter of the
+crew.
+
+When the ship came to England, and was paid off, I turned over the
+monkey to the boatswain, who always remains in the ship, whence he
+found his way back to his old haunts in Exeter 'Change, after an
+absence of nearly three years; for happening one day, not long after
+the ship was paid off, to be in attendance upon a party seeing the
+wild beasts, one of the monkeys set up such a chattering in his cage,
+that he attracted the attention of the keeper of the establishment.
+"That animal seems to know you, sir," said he to me; and upon going
+nearer, I discovered my old and mischievous friend grinning with
+delight. I must own, indeed, that my heart smote me a little as I
+looked at the broken teeth, while the poor fellow held out his paw to
+catch my hand, in the spirit of perfect kindness and forgiveness.
+
+A far different fate, I am sorry to record, befell another monkey of
+mine, in another ship, and in a very different quarter of the globe. I
+was then in command of the Lyra, on the homeward voyage from China,
+after the embassy under Lord Amherst had been concluded. We touched on
+our way to Calcutta at the Philippine Islands, and, amongst other live
+stock, laid in a monkey which had seen the world. He was born, they
+assured us, at Teneriffe, bred at Cadiz, and had afterwards made the
+voyage across the Pacific Ocean, _via_ Lima and Acapulco, to Manilla.
+Our extensive traveller had made good use of his time and
+opportunities, and was destined to see a good deal more of men and
+manners, indeed almost to make out the circuit of the globe. This
+distinguished monkey had a particular liking for the marines, who
+caressed and fed him, and sometimes even ventured to teach him to play
+off tricks on Jack, which the sailors promised one day to pay back
+with interest on the soldiers. In so diminutive a vessel as a ten-gun
+brig, there is but a small party of marines, merely a sergeant's
+guard, and no commissioned officer, otherwise I hardly think the
+following trick would have been attempted.
+
+One Sunday, while going the formal division rounds, I came to a figure
+which at first sight puzzled me not a little. This was no other than
+our great traveller, the monkey, rigged out as a marine, and planted
+like a sentry on the middle step of the short ladder, which, in
+deep-waisted vessels, is placed at the gangway, and reaches from the
+deck to the top of the bulwark. The animal was dressed up in a
+complete suit of miniature uniform, made chiefly of the coloured
+buntin used for flags with sundry bits of red baize purloined from the
+carpenters. His regimental cap was constructed out of painted canvas;
+and under his lower jaw had been forced a stock of pump-leather, so
+stiff in itself, and so tightly drawn back, that his head was rendered
+totally immoveable. His chin, and great part of the cheeks, had been
+shaved with so much care, that only two small curled mustachios and a
+respectable pair of whiskers remained. His hair behind being tied back
+tightly into a queue, the poor devil's eyes were almost starting from
+his head; while the corners of his mouth being likewise tugged towards
+the ears by the hair-dresser's operations, the expression of his
+countenance became irresistibly ludicrous. The astonished recruit's
+elbows were then brought in contact and fastened behind by a lashing,
+passed round and secured to the middle step of the ladder, so that he
+could not budge an inch from his position. One of the ship's pistols,
+fashioned like a musket, and strapped to his shoulder, was tied to his
+left hand, which again had been sewed by the sail-maker to the
+waistband of his beautifully pipe-clayed trousers; in short, he was
+rigged up as a complete sea-soldier in full uniform.
+
+As the captain and his train approached, the monkey began to tremble
+and chatter; but the men, not knowing how their chief might relish the
+joke, looked rather grave, while, I own, it cost me no small official
+struggle to keep down a laugh. I did succeed, however, and merely
+said, in passing, "You should not play these tricks upon travellers;
+cast him loose immediately." One of the men pulled his knife from his
+breast, and cutting the cord which fastened the poor Spaniard to the
+ladder, let him scamper off. Unluckily for the gravity of the
+officers, however, and that of the crew, Jacko did not run below, or
+jump into one of the boats out of sight, but made straight for his
+dear friends the marines, drawn up in line across our little
+hurricane-house of a poop. Unconscious of the ridicule he was bringing
+on his military patrons, he took up a position in front of the corps,
+not unlike a fugleman; and I need hardly say, that even the royals
+themselves, provoked though they were, now joined in the laugh which
+soon passed along the decks, and was with difficulty suppressed during
+the remainder of the muster.
+
+A day or two afterwards, and while the monkey was still puzzled to
+think what was the matter with his chin, he happened to observe the
+doctor engaged in some chemical process. As his curiosity and desire
+for information were just such as ought to characterize a traveller of
+his intelligence, he crept gradually from chest to chest, and from bag
+to bag, till he arrived within about a yard of Apothecaries' Hall, as
+that part of the steerage was named by the midshipmen. Poor Mono's
+delight was very great as he observed the process of pill-making,
+which he watched attentively while the ingredients were successively
+weighed, pounded, and formed into a long roll of paste. All these
+proceedings excited his deepest interest. The doctor then took his
+spreader, and cut the roll into five pieces, each of which he intended
+to divide into a dozen pills. At this stage of the process, some one
+called the pharmacopoeist's attention to the hatchway. The instant his
+back was turned, the monkey darted on the top of the medicine-chest,
+snapped up all the five masses of pill stuff, stowed them hastily
+away in his pouch, or bag, at the side of his mouth, scampered on
+deck, and leaped into the main rigging, preparatory to a leisurely
+feast upon his pilfered treasures.
+
+The doctor's first feeling was that of anger at the abstraction of his
+medicines; but in the next instant, recollecting that unless immediate
+steps were taken, the poor animal must inevitably be poisoned, he
+rushed on deck, without coat or hat, and knife in hand, to the great
+surprise and scandal of the officer of the watch.
+
+"Lay hold of the monkey, some of you!" roared the doctor to the
+people. "Jump up in the rigging, and try to get out of his pouch a
+whole mess of my stuff he has run off with!"
+
+The men only laughed, as they fancied the doctor must be cracked.
+
+"For any sake," cried the good-natured physician, "don't make a joke
+of this matter. The monkey has now in his jaws more than a hundred
+grains of calomel, and unless you get it from him, he will die to a
+certainty!"
+
+Literally, the quantity Jacko had purloined, had it been prescribed,
+would have been ordered in these terms:--
+
+Rx Hydrargyri submuriatis, 3ij. (Take of calomel 120 grains!)
+
+This appeal, which was quite intelligible, caused an immediate rush of
+the men aloft; but the monkey, after gulping down one of the lumps, or
+twenty-four grains, shot upwards to the top, over the rail of which he
+displayed his shaven countenance, and, as if in scorn of their
+impotent efforts to catch him, plucked another lump from his cheek,
+and swallowed it likewise, making four dozen grains to begin with. The
+news spread over the ship; and all hands, marines inclusive, most of
+whom had never been farther in the rigging than was necessary to hang
+up a wet shirt to dry, were seen struggling aloft to rescue the poor
+monkey from his sad fate. All their exertions were fruitless; for just
+as the captain of the maintop seized him by the tail, at the starboard
+royal yard-arm, he was cramming the last batch of calomel down his
+throat!
+
+It would give needless pain to describe the effects of swallowing the
+whole of this enormous prescription. Every art was resorted to within
+our reach in the shape of antidotes, but all in vain. The stomach-pump
+was then, unfortunately, not invented. Poor Jacko's sufferings, of
+course, were great: first, he lost the use of his limbs, then he
+became blind, next paralytic; and, in short, he presented, at the end
+of the week, such a dreadful spectacle of pain, distortion, and
+rigidity of limb, that I felt absolutely obliged to desire that he
+might be released from his misery, by being thrown into the sea. This
+was accordingly done when the ship was going along, for the British
+Channel, at the rate of seven or eight knots, with a fine fair wind.
+Very shortly afterwards it fell calm, and next day the wind drew round
+to the eastward. It continued at that point till we were blown fifty
+leagues back, and kept at sea so much longer than we had reckoned
+upon, that we were obliged to reduce our daily allowance of provisions
+and water to a most painfully small quantity. The sailors unanimously
+ascribed the whole of our bad luck to the circumstance of the monkey
+being thrown overboard.
+
+I had all my nautical life been well aware that a cat ought never to
+be so treated; but never knew, till the fate of this poor animal
+acquainted me with the fact, that a monkey is included in Jack's
+superstition.
+
+In the same vessel, and on the same voyage to China, the sailors had
+another pet, of a very singular description; viz. a pig--literally a
+grunter: nor do I believe there ever was a favourite more deeply
+cherished, or more sincerely lamented after her singular exit. On our
+sailing from England, six little sows, of a peculiarly fine breed, had
+been laid in by my steward. In the course of the voyage, five of these
+fell under the relentless hands of the butcher; but one of the six,
+being possessed of a more graceful form than belonged to her sister
+swine, and kept as clean as any lap-dog, was permitted to run about
+the decks, amongst the goats, sheep, dogs, and monkeys of our little
+ark. The occurrence of two or three smart gales of wind off the Cape
+of Good Hope, and the unceremonious entrance of sundry large seas,
+swept the decks of most of our live stock, excepting only this one
+pig, known amongst the crew by the pet name of Jean. During the bad
+weather off the Bank of Aguilhas, her sowship was stowed in the launch
+on the booms, and never seen, though often enough heard; but when we
+hauled up to the northward, and once more entered the trade-winds, on
+our course to the Straits of Sunda, by which entrance we proposed to
+gain the Java Sea, Miss Jean was again allowed to range about the
+decks at large, and right happy she seemed, poor lady, to exchange the
+odious confinement of the longboat for the freedom of the open waist.
+
+In warm latitudes, the men, as I have mentioned before, generally
+take their meals on deck, and it was Jean's grand amusement, as well
+as business, to cruise along amongst the messes, poking her snout into
+every bread-bag, and very often she scalded her tongue in the
+soup-kids. Occasionally, the sailors, to show the extent of their
+regard, amused themselves by pouring a drop of grog down her throat. I
+never saw her fairly drunk, however, but twice; upon which occasions,
+as was to be expected, she acted pretty much like a human being in the
+same hoggish predicament. Whether it was owing to this high feeding,
+or to the constant scrubbing which her hide received from sand,
+brushes, and holystones, I know not, but she certainly grew and
+flourished at a most astonishing rate, and every day waxed more and
+more impudent and importunate at the dinner-hour. I saw a good deal of
+this familiarity going on, but had no idea of the estimation Jean was
+held in, till one day, when we were about half-way across the China
+Sea, and all our stock of sheep, fowls, and ducks, was expended, I
+said to the steward, "You had better kill the pig, which, if properly
+managed, will last till we reach Macao."
+
+The servant stood for some time fumbling with his hair, and shuffling
+with his feet, muttering something to himself.
+
+"Don't you hear?" I asked. "Kill the pig; and let us have the fry
+to-day; the head with plenty of port wine, as mock-turtle soup,
+to-morrow; and get one of the legs roasted for dinner on Saturday."
+
+Off he went; but in half-an-hour returned, on some pretence or other,
+when he took occasion to ask,--
+
+"Did you say Jean was to be killed, sir?"
+
+"Jean! Who is Jean?--Oh, now I remember; the pig. Yes, certainly. Why
+do you bother and boggle so about killing a pig?"
+
+"The ship's company, sir--"
+
+"Well; what have the ship's company to say to my pig?"
+
+"They are very fond of Jean, sir."
+
+"The devil they are! Well; what then?"
+
+"Why, sir, they would take it as a great kindness if you would not
+order her to be killed. She is a great pet, sir, and comes to them
+when they call her by name, like a dog. They have taught her not to
+venture abaft the mainmast; but if you only call her, you'll see that
+what I say is true."
+
+"Indeed! I'll soon try that experiment;" and seized my hat to go on
+deck.
+
+"Shall I tell the butcher to hold fast?" asked Capewell.
+
+"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Of course!"
+
+Off shot the steward like an arrow; and I could soon distinguish the
+effect of the announcement, by the intermission of those horrible
+screams which ever attend the execution of the pig tribe, all which
+sounds were instantly terminated on the seizings being cut that tied
+poor Jean's legs.
+
+On reaching the quarter-deck, I told what had passed to the officer of
+the watch, who questioned its propriety a little, I thought, by the
+tone of his answer. I, however, called out "Jean! Jean!" and in a
+moment the delighted pig came prancing along. So great, in fact, was
+her anxiety to answer the call, as if to show her sense of the
+trifling favour I had just conferred upon her, that she dashed towards
+us, tripped up the officer's heels, and had I not caught him, he
+would have come souse on the deck. Even as it was, he indulged in a
+growl, and muttered out,--
+
+"You see, sir, what your yielding to such whims brings upon us."
+
+I said nothing, and only took care in future to caution my friends to
+mind their footing when Jean was summoned aft, which, I allow, was
+very often; for there was no resisting the exhibition to all strangers
+of such a patent pet as this. To the Chinese in particular our comical
+favourite became an object of the highest admiration, for the natives
+of the celestial empire soon recognized in this happiest of swine the
+celebrated breed of their own country. Many a broad hint I got as to
+the acceptable nature of such a present, but I was deaf to them all;
+for I felt that Jean now belonged more to the ship's company than to
+myself, and that there was a sort of obligation upon me neither to eat
+her nor to give her away.
+
+Under this tacit guarantee she gained so rapidly in size, fat, and
+other accomplishments, that, on our return to China, after visiting
+Loo Choo and other islands of the Japan Sea, the gentlemen of the
+factory would hardly credit me that this huge monster was the same
+animal. In talking of Jean's accomplishments, I must not be understood
+to describe her as a learned pig; for she could neither play cards,
+solve quadratic equations, nor perform any of those feats which
+enchant and astonish the eyes of the citizens of London and elsewhere,
+where many dogs and hogs are devoutly believed to be vested with a
+degree of intelligence rather above than below the average range of
+human intellect. Far from this, honest Jean could do little or nothing
+more than eat, drink, sleep, and grunt; in which respects she was
+totally unrivalled, and the effect of her proficiency in these
+characteristic qualities became daily more manifest. At first, as I
+have mentioned, when her name was called from any part of the ship,
+she would caper along, and dash impetuously up to the group by whom
+she was summoned. But after a time she became so excessively fat and
+lazy that it required many a call to get her to move, and the offer of
+a slice of pine-apple, or a handful of lychees, or even the delicious
+mangosteen, was now hardly enough to make her open her eyes, though in
+the early stages of the voyage she had been but too thankful for a
+potato, or the skin of an apple. As she advanced in fatness, she lost
+altogether the power of walking, and expected the men to bring the
+good things of their table to her, instead of allowing her to come for
+them.
+
+At the time of Sir Murray Maxwell's attack on the batteries of Canton,
+the Lyra, under my command, was lying at Macao, and during our stay
+the brig was visited by many of the Chinese authorities. We were also
+watched by a fleet of men-of-war junks, and had some reason to suppose
+that we might have a brush with them. In that event, I think our worst
+chance would have consisted in the enthusiasm with which the Chinese
+admiral, captains, and crews, would have fought to have put themselves
+in possession of such a prize as Jean.
+
+While things were in this interesting position, I received orders to
+get under weigh, and run up the Canton river to Wampoa. Off we set,
+escorted by the Chinese fleet of a dozen sail of junks. The wind was
+against us, but we soon beat up to the Bogue, and passed, unharmed,
+the batteries, which, to use Lord Nelson's expression, Captain
+Maxwell had made to look very like a plum-pudding. We had scarcely
+anchored at Second Bar, in the midst of the grand fleet of tea ships,
+when we were boarded by a host of Chinese mandarins and Hong
+merchants, wearing all the variety of buttons by which ranks are
+distinguished in that well-classified land. This was not to compliment
+us, or to offer us assistance, or even to inquire our business. One
+single object seemed to engage all their thoughts and animate the
+curiosity of half the province of Quantung. The fame of our fat sow
+Jean, in short, had far outrun the speed of the Lyra, and nothing was
+heard on every hand but the wondering exclamations of the natives,
+screaming out in admiration, "High-yaw! High-yaw!"
+
+We had enough to do to clear the ship at night of these our visitors,
+but we were by no means left in solitude; for the Lyra's anchorage was
+completely crowded with native boats. The motive of all this attention
+on the part of the Chinese was not merely pure admiration of Jean; the
+fact is, the acute Chinese, skilled especially in hog's flesh, saw
+very well that our pet pig was not long for this world, and knowing
+that if she died a natural death, we should no more think of eating
+her than one of our own crew; and having guessed also that we had no
+intention of "killing her to save her life," they very reasonably
+inferred that ere long this glorious _bonne bouche_ would be at their
+disposal.
+
+Our men, who soon got wind of this design on the part of the Chinese,
+became quite outrageous against Fukee, as the natives are called, and
+would hardly permit any visitors to come near their favourite, lest
+they should accelerate her inevitable fate by poison. At length poor
+dear Jean gave token of approaching dissolution; she could neither
+eat, nor drink, nor even grunt; and her breathing was like that of a
+broken bellows: in short, she died! Every art was taken to conceal the
+melancholy event from the Chinese; but somehow or other it got abroad,
+for the other English ships were deserted, and long before sunset a
+dense mass of boats, like a floating town, was formed astern and on
+both quarters of the Lyra.
+
+The sailors now held a grand consultation as to what was to be done;
+and after much discussion, and many neat and appropriate speeches, it
+was unanimously resolved that the mortal remains of the great sow now
+no more should be deposited in the mud of the river of Canton, in such
+a way that the most dexterous and hungry inhabitant of the celestial
+empire should not be able to fish her up again.
+
+As soon as it was quite dark, and all the Chinese boats sent, as
+usual, beyond the circle limited by the ship's buoys, the defunct
+pig's friends set to work to prepare for her obsequies. The chief
+object was to guard against the ravenous natives hearing the splash,
+as she went overboard; and next, that she should not afterwards float
+to the surface. The first point was easily accomplished, as will be
+seen presently; but there was a long debate, in whispers, amongst the
+men, as to the most expedient plan of keeping the body of their late
+pet from once more showing her snout above the stream. At length, it
+was suggested by the coxswain of one of the boats which had been sent
+during the morning to sound the passage, that as the bed of the river
+where the brig lay consisted of a deep layer of mud, it would be a
+good thing if Jean's remains could be driven so far into this soft
+stratum as to lie below the drags and hooks of the Chinese.
+
+This advice was much applauded, and at once acted upon with that happy
+facility of resource which it is the pride of the profession to have
+always in store for small as well as for great occasions. The dead sow
+was first laid on its back, and then two masses of iron ballast, being
+placed one on each side of the cheek, were lashed securely to the neck
+and shoulders in such a manner that the ends of the kentlage met
+across her nose, and formed, as it was very properly called, an extra
+snout for piercing the mud.
+
+When all was ready, the midship carronade was silently dismounted, the
+slide unbolted, and the whole removed out of the way. Jean's enormous
+corporation being then elevated, by means of capstan bars and
+handspikes, was brought on a level with the port-sill. A slip-rope was
+next passed between her hind legs, which had been tied together at the
+feet; and poor Miss Piggy, being gradually pushed over the ship's
+side, was lowered slowly into the water. When fairly under the
+surface, and there were no fears of any splash being caused by letting
+her go, one end of the rope was cast off, upon which the well-loaded
+carcass shot down perpendicularly at such a rate that there could be
+no question of its being immersed a fathom deep, at least, in the mud,
+and, of course, far beyond the reach of the disappointed Chinese!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+DOUBLING THE CAPE.
+
+
+As our merry little ship approached the far-famed Cape of Good Hope, I
+often remained on deck after the watch was out, feasting my eyes on
+the sight of constellations known to me before only by name, and as
+yet scarcely anchored in my imagination. Each succeeding night, as the
+various clusters rose, crossed the meridian, and sunk again into the
+western waves, we came more and more into the way, not only of
+speaking, but thinking of them, under their conventional titles of
+hydras, doves, toucans, phoenixes, and flying-fish, not forgetting the
+enormous southern whale, whose beautiful eye, called Fomalhaut, while
+it flames in the zenith of the Cape, is hardly known to the
+astronomers of this country, from its greatest altitude, as seen by
+them, not being ten degrees.
+
+But of all the Antarctic constellations, the celebrated Southern Cross
+is by far the most remarkable, and must, in every age, continue to
+arrest the attention of all voyagers and travellers who are fortunate
+enough to see it. I think it would strike the imagination even of a
+person who had never heard of the Christian religion; but of this it
+is difficult to judge, seeing how inextricably our own ideas are
+mingled up with associations linking this sacred symbol with almost
+every thought, word, and deed of our lives. The three great stars
+which form the Cross, one at the top, one at the left arm, and one,
+which is the chief star, called Alpha, at the foot, are so placed as
+to suggest the idea of a crucifix, even without the help of a small
+star, which completes the horizontal beam. When on the meridian, it
+stands nearly upright; and as it sets, we observe it lean over to the
+westward. I am not sure whether, upon the whole, this is not more
+striking than its gradually becoming more and more erect as it rises
+from the east. In every position, however, it is beautiful to look at,
+and well calculated, with a little prompting from the fancy, to stir
+up our thoughts to solemn purpose. I know not how others are affected
+by such things; but, for myself, I can say with truth, that, during
+the many nights I have watched the Southern Cross, I remember no two
+occasions when the spectacle interested me exactly in the same way,
+nor any one upon which I did not discover the result to be somewhat
+different, and always more impressive, than what I had looked for.
+
+This constellation being about thirty degrees from the south pole, is
+seen in its whole revolution, and, accordingly, when off the Cape, I
+have observed it in every stage, from its triumphant erect position,
+between sixty and seventy degrees above the horizon, to that of
+complete inversion, with the top beneath, and almost touching the
+water. This position, by the way, always reminded me of the death of
+St. Peter, who is said to have deemed it too great an honour to be
+crucified with his head upwards. In short, I defy the stupidest mortal
+that ever lived to watch these changes in the aspect of this splendid
+constellation, and not to be in some degree struck by them.
+
+These airy visions are sometimes curiously broken in upon by the most
+common-place incidents, which force us back upon ordinary life. On the
+28th of May we overtook a packet on her way to the Brazils from
+England, which had sailed more than a month after us, but she had not
+a single newspaper, army list, navy list, or review on board. The mate
+was totally ignorant of all the interesting topics of that most
+interesting moment of the war (1812); and in reply to all our
+questions, merely observed that everything was just the same as when
+we left England. The captain was ill in bed, and could not be spoken
+to, so that this intelligent gentleman, his chief officer, had been
+lugged on deck to tell the news. He honestly confessed, after being
+sufficiently baited and badgered by our interrogatories, that even
+when in England he had no time to look at the newspapers, but that he
+left public affairs to the management of those whose business it was
+to look after them, while he found enough to do in looking after the
+packet.
+
+"I dare say," added the fellow, with rather more dryness of humour
+than we had imagined was in his doughy composition, "I dare say the
+whole story you are asking about, of Buonaparte and the Russians, is
+told very exactly in these bags (pointing to the mail), and if I
+deliver them safe at Rio, it will be wrong to say I bring no news."
+
+On the 4th of June we had a jollification in honour of good old King
+George the Third's birthday. In how many different parts of the world,
+and with what deep and affectionate sincerity, were cups quaffed and
+cheers rung out in the same loyal cause! If sailors would tell the
+truth, we should find that when abroad and far away, they generally
+use their distant friends as the captain, mentioned some time ago, did
+his ship's company's European clothing--stow them away for a future
+occasion. I do not say that they forget or neglect their friends; they
+merely put them by in safety for a time. In fact, as the song says, a
+sailor's heart and soul have plenty to do "in every port," to keep
+fully up to the companionships which are present, without moping and
+moaning over the remembrance of friends at a distance, who, in like
+manner no doubt, unship us also, more or less, from their thoughts, if
+not from their memory, for the time being; and it is all right and
+proper that it should be so.
+
+On the 5th of June we parted from our convoy, the China ships; and,
+alas! many a good dinner we lost by that separation. Our course lay
+more to the left, or eastward, as we wished to look in at the Cape of
+Good Hope, while those great towering castles, the tea ships, could
+not afford time for play, but struck right down to the southward, in
+search of the westerly winds which were to sweep them half round the
+globe, and enable them to fetch the entrance of the China seas in time
+to save the monsoon to Canton. Each ship sent a boat to us with
+letters for England, to be forwarded from the Cape. This was probably
+their last chance for writing home; so that, after the accounts
+contained in these dispatches reached England, their friends would
+hear nothing of them till they presented themselves eighteen months
+afterwards. Neither did they expect to know what was passing at home
+till they should touch at St. Helena, on the return voyage, in the
+latter end of the following year.
+
+I remember looking over the lee-gangway next day, at the first blush
+of the dawn, during the morning watch, and I could barely distinguish
+the fleet far to leeward, with their royals just showing above the
+horizon. On taking leave of our convoy, we were reminded that there is
+always something about the last, the very last look of any object,
+which brings with it a feeling of melancholy. On this occasion,
+however, we had nothing more serious to reproach ourselves with than
+sundry impatient execrations with which we had honoured some of our
+slow-moving, heavy-sterned friends, when we were compelled to shorten
+sail in a fair wind, in order to keep them company. A smart frigate
+making a voyage with a dull-sailing convoy reminds one of the child's
+story of the provoking journey made by the hare with a drove of oxen.
+
+Our merry attendants, the flying-fish, and others which swarmed about
+us in the torrid zone, refused to see us across the tropic, and the
+only aquatics we fell in with afterwards were clumsy whales and
+grampuses, and occasionally a shoal of white porpoises. Of birds there
+were plenty, especially albatrosses. The captain, being a good shot
+with a ball, brought down one of these, which measured seven feet
+between the tips of the wings. I have several times seen them twelve
+feet; and I heard a well-authenticated account of one measuring
+sixteen feet from tip to tip. On the 22nd of June we came in sight of
+the high land on the northern part of the peninsula of the Cape of
+Good Hope, the far-famed Table Mountain, which looked its character
+very well, and really did not disappoint us, though, in general, its
+height, like that of most high lands, is most outrageously exaggerated
+in pictures. The wind failed us during the day, and left us rolling
+about till the evening, when the breeze came too late to be of much
+use. Next day we rounded the pitch of the Cape, but it blew so strong
+from the northward, right out of False Bay, accompanied by rain and a
+high sea, that we found it no easy job to hold our own, much less to
+gain the anchorage. But on the 24th of June, the day after, the wind
+moderated and became fair, the weather cleared up, and we sailed
+almost into Simon's Bay, a snug little nook at the north-western angle
+of False Bay. It then fell calm, but the boats of the men-of-war at
+anchor, his Majesty's ships Lion, Nisus, and Galatea, soon towed us
+into our berth. During the winter of that hemisphere, which
+corresponds to our northern summer, the only safe quarters for ships
+is in Simon's Bay, on the south side of the Cape peninsula.
+
+I have a perfect recollection of the feelings with which I leaped out
+of the boat, and first set foot on the continent of Africa, but am
+prevented from describing these poetical emotions by the remembrance,
+equally distinct, of the more engrossing anxiety which both my
+companion and myself experienced about our linen, then on its way to
+the laundress in two goodly bundles. For the life of me, I cannot
+separate the grand ideas suitable to the occasion, from the base
+interests connected with cotton shirts and duck trousers. And such is
+the tormenting effect of association, that when I wish to dwell upon
+the strange feelings, partly professional and partly historical,
+caused by actually gazing on the identical Cape of Good Hope, a spot
+completely hammered into the memory of all sailors, straightway I
+remember the bitter battling with the washer-folks of Simon's Town
+touching the rate of bleaching shirts: and both the sublime and the
+beautiful are lost in the useful and ridiculous.
+
+The 3rd of July was named for sailing; but the wind, which first came
+foul, soon lulled into a calm, then breezed up again; and so on
+alternately, baffling us in all our attempts to get to sea. Nor was it
+till the 5th that we succeeded in forcing our way out against a smart
+south-easter, with a couple of reefs in the topsails, and as much as
+we could do to carry the mainsail. A westerly current sweeps at all
+seasons of the year round the Cape of Good Hope, and sometimes proves
+troublesome enough to outward-bound ships. This stream is evidently
+caused by the trade-wind in the southern parts of the Indian ocean.
+For three days we were bamboozled with light south-easterly airs and
+calms, but on the 8th of July, which is the depth of winter in that
+hemisphere, there came on a spanking snuffler from the north-west,
+before which we spun two hundred and forty miles, clean off the reel,
+in twenty-four hours.
+
+Nothing is more delightful than the commencement of such a fair wind.
+The sea is then smooth, and the ship seems literally to fly along; the
+masts and yards bend forwards, as if they would drop over the bows,
+while the studding-sail booms crack and twist, and, unless great care
+be taken, sometimes break across; but still, so long as the surface of
+the sea is plane it is astonishing what a vast expanse of canvas may
+be spread to the rising gale. By-and-bye, however, it becomes prudent
+to take in the royals, flying-jib, and top-gallant studding-sails. The
+boatswain takes a look at the gripes and other fastenings of the boats
+and booms; the carpenter instinctively examines the port-lashings, and
+draws up the pump-boxes to look at the leathers; while the gunner sees
+that all the breechings and tackles of the guns are well secured
+before the ship begins to roll. The different minor heads of
+departments, also, to use their own phrase, smell the gale coming on,
+and each in his respective walk gets things ready to meet it. The
+captain's and gun-room steward beg the carpenter's mate to drive down
+a few more cleats and staples, and, having got a cod-line or two from
+the boatswain's yeoman, or a hank of marline stuff, they commence
+double lashing all the tables and chairs. The marines' muskets are
+more securely packed in the arm-chest. The rolling tackles are got
+ready for the lower yards, and the master, accompanied by the gunner's
+mate, inspects the lanyards of the lower rigging. All these, and
+twenty other precautions are taken in a manner so slow and deliberate
+that they would hardly catch the observation of a passenger. It might
+also seem as if the different parties were afraid to let out the
+secret of their own lurking apprehension, but yet were resolved not to
+be caught unprepared.
+
+Of these forerunners of a gale none is more striking than the repeated
+looks of anxiety which the captain casts to windward, as if his
+glance could penetrate the black sky lowering in the north-west, in
+order to discover what was behind, and how long with safety he might
+carry sail. Ever and anon he shifts his look from the wind's eye, and
+rests it on the writhing spars aloft, viewing with much uneasiness the
+stretching canvas all but torn from the yards. He then steps below,
+and for the fortieth time reads off the barometer. On returning to the
+deck he finds that, during the few minutes he has been below, the
+breeze has freshened considerably, or, it may be, that, coming
+suddenly upon it again, he views it differently. At all events, he
+feels the necessity of getting the sails in while he yet can, or
+before "God Almighty takes them in for him," as the sailors say when
+matters have been so long deferred, that not only canvas and yards,
+but even masts, are at times suddenly wrenched out of the ship, and
+sent in one confused mass far off to leeward, whirling in the gale!
+
+The men, who are generally well aware of the necessity of shortening
+sail long before the captain has made up his mind to call the hands
+for that purpose, have probably been collected in groups for some time
+in different parts of the upper deck, talking low to one another, and
+looking aloft with a start, every now and then, as the masts or yards
+give an extra crack.
+
+"Well! this is packing on her," says one, laying an emphasis on the
+word "is."
+
+"Yes!" replies another; "and if our skipper don't mind, it will be
+packing off her presently," with an emphasis on the word "off." "Right
+well do I know these Cape gales," adds an ancient mariner of the
+South Seas; "they snuffle up in a minute; and, I'll answer for it, the
+captain will not carry sail so long off Cape Aguilhas, when he has
+gone round that breezy point as often as old Bill has."
+
+At this moment the tardy voice of the commander, long unwilling to
+lose any part of the fair wind, is at length heard, giving the
+reluctant order, "Turn the hands up, shorten sail!" The ready clatter
+of feet, and the show of many heads at all the hatchways, and
+perhaps the sound of a suppressed laugh amongst the men who have been
+gossiping and wagering about the gale, give sufficient indication that
+this evolution has been expected for some time.
+
+"All hands shorten sail!" calls out the boatswain, after a louder and
+sharper note than usual from his pipe, winded not half the ordinary
+length of time, though twice as shrilly; for his object is to mark on
+the ears of the people the necessity of unusual expedition and
+exertion. A clever and experienced person filling this important
+situation will soon teach the men to distinguish between the various
+notes of his call, though to unpractised ears the sounds might appear
+unvaried.
+
+"Shorten sail! that's easier said than done," growls forth some
+hard-up old cock.
+
+"No! not a bit easier said than done," unexpectedly observes the
+captain, but quite good-humouredly, having accidentally heard the
+seaman's remark. "Not a bit, old fellow, if you and the young hands
+only work as smartly and cheerfully as I know you can do when you have
+a mind. Come, my lads, are you all ready forward?"
+
+It is a trying moment both for the sails and yards, when the order is
+actually given to commence shortening sail; if the pressure from the
+wind be considerable, it is necessary to have men stationed to lower
+away the haulyards and ease off the tacks at the proper moment, while
+others gather in the sails as they come down, fluttering a little
+perhaps, if not carefully managed, but still quietly and easily, as
+well as quickly. When, however, the wind has risen to a pitch beyond
+its due proportion to the canvas spread, and the captain's anxiety to
+make the most of a fair wind has tempted him to carry on too long, the
+case becomes very difficult, the ropes which keep the sails in their
+places contributing also an important share to the support of those
+spars to which the sails are bent, or to which they may be hauled out.
+Consequently, the moment the ropes alluded to, which are technically
+named the haulyards and tacks, are slackened, the yards and booms,
+being suddenly deprived of these material supports, are very apt to be
+sprung, that is, cracked across, or even carried away, which means
+being snapped right in two as short as a carrot, to use Jack's very
+appropriate simile.
+
+It is quite true, that lowering away the sail and easing off the tack
+of a studding-sail does diminish the pressure of the sail on the spar,
+and, of course, both the yard and the boom have less duty to perform.
+Still, the moment which succeeds the order to "Lower away!" is
+especially trying to the nerves of the officer who is carrying on the
+duty. I have not unfrequently seen comparatively young officers handle
+the sails and yards of a ship with perfect ease, from their superior
+mechanical knowledge, at times when the oldest sailors on board were
+puzzled how to get things right. One officer, for instance, may
+direct the preparations for shortening sail to be made according to
+the most orthodox rules laid down in Hamilton Moor's "Examination of a
+Young Sea Officer," and yet when he comes to give the fatal word,
+"Lower away! haul down!" everything shall go wrong. The tack being
+eased off too soon, the spar breaks in the middle, and the poor
+topmast studding-sail is spitted like a lark on the broken stump of
+the boom, while the lower studding-sail, driven furiously forward by
+the squall, is pierced by the spritsail yard-arm, the cat-head, and
+the bumpkin; or it may be wrapped round the bowsprit, like so much wet
+drapery in the inimitable Chantrey's studio over the clay figure of an
+Indian bishop.
+
+"What the blue blazes shall I do next?" moans the poor puzzled officer
+of the watch, who sees this confusion caused entirely by his own bad
+management. On such an occasion, a kind and considerate captain will
+perhaps fairly walk below, and so leave the mortified youth to get
+himself out of the scrape as he best can, and rather lose a small
+spar, or a bolt of canvas, than expose his officer to the humiliation
+of having the task transferred to another; or he will edge himself
+near the embarrassed officer, and, without the action being detected
+by any one else, whisper a few magical words of instruction in the
+young man's ear, by which the proper train of directions are set
+agoing, and the whole confusion of ropes, sails, and yards, speedily
+brought into order. If this fails, the hands are called, upon which
+the captain himself, or more generally the first lieutenant, takes the
+trumpet; and the men, hearing the well-known, confident voice of
+skill, fly to the proper points, "monkey paw" the split sails, clear
+the ropes, which an instant before seemed inextricably foul, and in a
+very few minutes reduce the whole disaster to the dimensions of a
+common occurrence. "Now, you may call the watch," says the captain;
+and the reproved officer again takes charge of the deck. I need hardly
+say, that any young man of spirit ought rather to wear his hands to
+the bone in learning his duty, than to expose himself to such
+mortification as this.
+
+Let us, however, suppose all the extra sails taken in without
+accident, and rolled up with as much haste as may be consistent with
+that good order which ought never to be relaxed under any degree of
+urgency. In fine weather, it is usual to place the studding-sails in
+the rigging, with all their gear bent, in readiness to be whipped up
+to the yard-arm at a moment's warning; but when a breeze such as we
+are now considering is on the rise, it is thought best to unbend the
+tacks and haulyards, and to stow the sails in some convenient place,
+either on the booms, between the boats, or in the hammock-nettings.
+For the same reason, the small sails are sent on deck, together with
+as much top hamper as can readily be moved. These things are scarcely
+bundled up and lifted out of the way before the long-expected order to
+reef topsails is smartly given out, and crowds of men are seen
+skipping up the tight weather-rigging, with a merry kind of alacrity,
+which always makes a captain feel grateful to the fellows--I do not
+well know why; for, as there is then no real danger, there seems
+nothing particularly praiseworthy in this common-place exertion.
+Perhaps the consciousness that a storm is coming on, during which
+every nerve on board may be strained, makes the captain see with
+pleasure a show of activity which, under other circumstances, may be
+turned to trials of the utmost hardihood and daring.
+
+Be this as it may, the yards come sliding down the well-greased masts;
+the men lie out to the right and left, grasp the tumultuous canvas,
+drag out the earings, and tie the points, with as perfect deliberation
+as if it were a calm, only taking double pains to see that all is
+right and tight, and the reef-band straight along the yard. The order
+has been given to take in the second and third reefs only; but the men
+linger at their posts, expecting the further work which they know is
+necessary. The captain of the top, instead of moving in, continues to
+sit astride the spar, dangling his legs under the weather yard-arm
+with the end of the close reef-earing in his hand, quite as much at
+his ease as any well-washed sea-bird that ever screamed defiance to a
+pitiless south-wester.
+
+Johnny's anticipations prove right, for the anxious commander, after
+gazing twice or thrice to windward, again consulting his barometer,
+looking six or eight times at his watch in as many minutes, to learn
+how many hours of daylight are yet above the horizon, and perhaps also
+stealing a professional opinion from his first lieutenant, an officer
+probably of much more technical experience than himself, decides upon
+close-reefing. If he be a man of sense, and wishes the work to be done
+quickly and well, he must not now hesitate about starting the topsail
+sheets, and it will certainly be all the better if one or both the
+clew-lines be likewise hauled close up.
+
+The mainsail is now to be taken in; and as the method of performing
+this evolution has long been a subject of hot controversy at sea, I
+take the opportunity of saying, that Falconer's couplet,--
+
+    "For he who strives the tempest to disarm
+    Will never first embrail the lee yard-arm,"
+
+has, in my opinion, done a world of mischief, and split many thousands
+of sails.
+
+I, at least, plead guilty to having been sadly misled by this
+authority for many years, since it was only in the last ship I
+commanded that I learned the true way to take in the mainsail when it
+blows hard. The best practice certainly is, to man both buntlines and
+the lee leechline well, and then to haul the LEE clew-garnet close up,
+before starting the tack or slacking the bowline. By attending to
+these directions, the spar is not only instantaneously relieved, but
+the leeward half of the sail walks sweetly and quietly up to the yard,
+without giving a single flap. After which the weather-clew comes up
+almost of itself, and without risk or trouble.
+
+Meanwhile the ship is spinning along very nearly at the same rate as
+at first, though two-thirds of the canvas have been taken off her.
+These variations in speed are odd enough, and, at times, not easily
+accounted for. When the breeze first comes on, all sail set, and the
+water quite smooth, the ship can be steered on a straight course
+without any difficulty, and she really seems to fly. When the log is
+hove, it is discovered, we shall suppose, that she is going eleven
+knots. Well, the wind increases, and in come the studding-sails; but
+as the water is still smooth, the single-reefed topsails and
+top-gallant-sails may be carried, though it is evident the ship is
+rather over-pressed, or, at all events, not another stitch of sail
+could be set.
+
+"Heave the log again, and see what she goes now!" says the officer.
+"How much?"
+
+"Eleven knots and a-half, sir," replies the middy of the watch.
+
+Presently the sea rises, the masts bend, the ship begins to stagger
+along, groaning and creaking in every joint, under the severe
+pressure. The topsails are close-reefed to meet the increased wind;
+but still, as before, she is under quite as much canvas as she can
+possibly bear.
+
+"Heave the log now!" again says the officer. "Ten knots!" reports the
+middy.
+
+By-and-bye the courses are reefed, and before dark the mainsail is
+rolled up, the fore and mizen topsails handed, and the top-gallant
+yards sent on deck. The sea has now risen to a disagreeable height,
+and the steering, in spite of every care, becomes wilder and much more
+difficult; and as the ship forges into the breast of the waves, or
+rises with a surge not much less startling, her way seems deadened for
+the moment, till she bounds up again on the top of the sea, to woo, as
+it were, the embraces of the rattling gale. The storm is not slow to
+meet this rude invitation; while, if the ropes, sails, and masts, be
+all wet, as they generally are in such a breeze, it is difficult to
+conceive any tones more gruff and unsentimental than the sounds of
+this boisterous courtship.
+
+In line-of-battle ships, and even in frigates, the close-reefed
+main-topsail and foresail may be carried, for a very long time, when
+going nearly before the wind; and indeed it is the best seamanship to
+crack on her; for when the gale rises to its highest pitch, and the
+seas follow in great height, they are apt to curl fairly on board, and
+play fine pranks along the decks, even if the violence of the blow on
+the quarter do not broach the ship to, that is, twist her head round
+towards the wind in such a way that the next sea shall break over her
+gangway, and in all probability sweep away the masts. In small vessels
+it becomes a most anxious period of the gale when the sea has got up
+so much that it is difficult to steer steadily, and when the wind
+blows so strong that enough sail cannot be carried to keep the ship
+sufficiently ahead of the waves, except at the risk of tearing the
+masts away. When the requisite degree of speed cannot be secured, the
+inevitable consequence, sooner or later, is, that a monstrous
+pea-green solid sea walks most unceremoniously on board, over the
+taffrail, and dashes along the decks like those huge debacles, of
+which some geologists so confidently point out the traces on the
+earth's surface.
+
+I never happened actually to witness a catastrophe of this kind on the
+great scale, though I have seen one or two smartish gales in my time.
+Indeed the most serious evils I recollect to have been present at
+occurred on board the Volage, on the very passage to India which I am
+now describing. The following are the words in which these incidents
+are noticed in my journal:--
+
+"On the 13th of July, off the Cape of Good Hope, in the midst of a
+heavy winter's gale, our worthy passenger, Sir Evan Nepean, governor
+of Bombay, was thrown down the ladder, by the violent rolling of the
+ship; and another gentleman, the Baron Tuyll, the best-natured and
+deservedly popular passenger I ever saw afloat, was very nearly
+washed out of his cot by a sea which broke into the stern windows of
+the captain's cabin."
+
+I have often enough been close to wars and rumours of wars, but was
+never in a regular sea-fight; and though I have also witnessed a few
+shipwrecks and disasters, I never was myself in much danger of what
+might be honestly called a lee shore; neither is it my good fortune to
+be able to recount, from personal knowledge, any scenes of hardship or
+suffering from hunger, cold, or any other misery. My whole
+professional life, in short, has been one of such comparative ease and
+security, that I cannot now remember ever going far beyond twenty-four
+hours without a good bellyful. Still I have often been forced to take
+a high degree of interest in formidable adventures of this kind, from
+their happening in fleets of which my own ship formed a part, or from
+these incidents including among the sufferers persons to whom I was
+attached.
+
+In the year 1815, I accompanied a convoy of homeward-bound Indiamen
+from Ceylon, and a right merry part of the voyage it was while we ran
+down a couple of thousand miles of the south-east trade-wind; for
+these hospitable floating nabobs, the East India captains, seldom let
+a day pass without feasting one another; and we, their naval
+protectors, came in for no small share of the good things, for which
+we could make but a poor return. Along with our fleet, there sailed
+from Ceylon a large ship, hired as a transport by Government to bring
+home invalid soldiers. There were about 500 souls in her; of these a
+hundred were women, and more than a hundred children. I was
+accidentally led to take a particular interest in this ill-fated
+vessel, from the circumstance of there being four fine boys on board,
+sons of a military friend of mine at Point de Galle. I had become so
+well acquainted with the parents of these poor little fellows during
+my frequent visits to Ceylon, that one day, before sailing, I
+playfully offered to take a couple of the boys in my brig, the Victor,
+an eighteen-gun sloop of war; but as I could not accommodate the whole
+family, the parents, who were obliged to remain abroad, felt unwilling
+to separate the children, alas! and my offer was declined.
+
+Off we all sailed, and reached the neighbourhood of the Cape without
+encountering anything in the way of an adventure; there, however,
+commenced the disasters of the unfortunate Arniston, as this transport
+was called. She had no chronometer on board; a most culpable and
+preposterous omission in the outfit of a ship destined for such a
+voyage. The master told me that he himself was not in circumstances to
+purchase so expensive an instrument, the cost of a good chronometer
+being at least fifty or sixty guineas, and that the owners considered
+the expense needless. He also stated that on his remonstrating still
+more, and urging upon these gentlemen that their property would be ten
+times more secure if he were furnished with the most approved means of
+taking good care of it, he was given to understand, that, if he did
+not choose to take the ship to sea without a chronometer, another
+captain could easily be found who would make no such new-fangled
+scruples. The poor master shrugged his shoulders, and said he would do
+his best; but having often rounded the Cape, he knew the difficulties
+of the navigation, when there was nothing but the dead reckoning to
+trust to.
+
+During our passage from Ceylon, it was the practice every day, at one
+o'clock, for the Indiamen, as well as the men-of-war, to make signals
+showing the longitude of each ship by chronometer. Thus we had all an
+opportunity of comparing the going of our respective time-keepers, and
+thus, too, the master of the Arniston was enabled to learn his place
+so accurately, that if he had only kept company with his friends the
+Indiamen, each of whom was provided with at least four or five
+chronometers, the deficiency in his equipment might never have led to
+the dreadful catastrophe which speedily followed the loss of this
+assistance.
+
+It was late in the month of May when we reached the tempestuous
+regions of the Cape; and we were not long there before a furious gale
+of wind from the westward dispersed the fleet, and set every one
+adrift upon his own resources. The poor Arniston was seen at sunset,
+on the day the gale commenced, with most of her sails split, but not
+otherwise in danger, for she had a good offing, and the wind was not
+blowing on shore. Three heavy gales followed in such quick succession
+during the next week, that not only the ordinary course, but the
+velocity of the current was changed, and instead of running, as it
+almost always does, to the westward, it set, on the days in question,
+to the south-eastward. According to the most moderate allowance for
+the current, all circumstances being taken into consideration, any
+navigator might fairly have supposed that, in the five days which
+elapsed from the 24th of May to the 28th inclusive, his ship would
+have been drifted to the westward by the current at least a hundred
+miles. Our chronometers, however, distinctly showed us that we had
+been carried, not, as usual, to the westward, but actually to the
+eastward, a distance of more than a hundred miles; so that, in less
+than a week, there occurred upwards of two hundred miles of error in
+the dead reckoning.
+
+The master of the Arniston, doubtless, after making every allowance,
+according to the best authorities, and working by the most exact rules
+of navigation of which he could avail himself, naturally inferred that
+his ship was more than a hundred miles to the westward of the Cape,
+and he probably considered himself justified in bearing up before a
+south-easterly gale, and steering, as he had so much reason to suppose
+he was doing, straight for St. Helena.
+
+It is very important to remark, in passing, to professional men, that
+no ship off the Cape, and under any circumstances, ought ever to bear
+up, without first heaving the deep sea-lead. If soundings are obtained
+on the Bank, it is a sure symptom that the ship is not sufficiently
+advanced to the westward to enable her to steer with safety to the
+north-north-westward for St. Helena. It is clear the ship in question
+must have omitted this precaution.
+
+All that is known of this fatal shipwreck is simply that the Arniston,
+with a flowing sheet, and going nine knots, ran among the breakers in
+Struy's Bay, nearly a hundred miles to the eastward of the Cape. The
+masts went instantly by the board, and the sea, which broke completely
+over all, tore the ship to pieces in a few minutes; and out of her
+whole crew, passengers, women, and children, only half-a-dozen seamen
+reached the coast alive. All these could tell was, that they bore up
+and made all sail for St. Helena, judging themselves well round the
+Cape. This scanty information, however, was quite enough to establish
+the important fact that this valuable ship, and all the lives on board
+of her, were actually sacrificed to a piece of short-sighted economy.
+That they might have been saved, had she been supplied with the worst
+chronometer that was ever sent to sea, is also quite obvious. I am
+sure practical men will agree with me, that, in assuming sixty seconds
+a-day as the limit of the uncertainty of a watch's rate, I have taken
+a quantity four or five times greater than there was need for. Surely
+no time-keeper that was ever sold as such by any respectable
+watchmaker for more than thirty or forty guineas, has been found to
+go so outrageously ill as not to be depended upon for one week, within
+less than ten or fifteen seconds a-day. And as I have shown that a
+chronometer whose rate was uncertain, even to an extent five or six
+times as great as this, would have saved the Arniston, any further
+comment on such precious economy is needless.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+SUGGESTIONS TOWARDS DIMINISHING THE NUMBER AND SEVERITY OF NAVAL
+PUNISHMENTS.
+
+
+I trust that most of my brother-officers who have commanded ships can
+lay their hands upon their hearts and conscientiously declare they
+have never inflicted an unjust punishment. I can only confess with
+much sorrow, that I, unfortunately, am not of that number. But as mere
+regret on such occasions contributes nothing towards remedying the
+evils committed, I have long employed my thoughts in devising some
+plan which might lessen the number of punishments at sea, and thus,
+perhaps, save others from the remorse I have felt, while it might tend
+to relieve the service from the discredit of an improper degree of
+severity in its penal administration.
+
+Before proceeding to the main point under consideration, the
+diminution of the number and the degree of punishments on board ship,
+I must entreat officers not to allow themselves to be misled by the
+very mischievous fallacy of supposing that any of the various
+substitutes which have yet been proposed for corporal punishment are
+one whit less severe than those so long established. It is well known
+to officers of experience that this powerful engine of discipline may
+be rendered not only the most effective, but essentially the most
+lenient, and when duly reported and checked, far more likely to
+contribute to the peace and comfort of the men themselves, than any of
+the specious but flimsy substitutes alluded to. Solitary confinement,
+for example, I take to be one of the most cruel, and, generally
+speaking, one of the most unjust of all punishments; for it is
+incapable of being correctly measured, and it almost always renders
+the offender worse. It prompts him, and gives him time to brood over
+revengeful purposes; it irritates him against his officers, and if
+long continued almost inevitably leads to insanity and suicide. All
+the beneficial effects of example, likewise, are necessarily lost;
+because the solitary culprit's sufferings, horrible though they no
+doubt are, never meet the eye of the rest of the crew, nor, indeed,
+can they ever be truly made known to them, while he himself, when he
+quits his cell, makes light of his punishment. But not one man in a
+thousand, even of our hardiest spirits, can maintain this air of
+indifference at the gangway. And although it must be admitted that a
+man, at such moments, can feel no great kindness to his officer, the
+transient nature of the punishment, compared to the prolonged misery
+of solitary confinement, leaves no time for discontent to rankle. I
+never once knew, nor ever heard of an instance in which a corporal
+punishment, administered calmly and with strict regard to justice and
+established usage, was followed by any permanent ill-will resting on
+the mind of a sailor, either towards his captain or towards the
+service.
+
+It happened to me once, when in command of a ship in the Pacific
+Ocean, to have occasion to punish a very good seaman. The offence was
+in some degree a doubtful one, but, upon the whole, I felt it my duty
+to correct it rather sharply. On mature reflection, however, I began
+to suspect I had done wrong; and on joining the commander-in-chief,
+some weeks afterwards, I laid all the circumstances of the case before
+him, and begged him to tell me fairly what he thought. He examined the
+details minutely, cross-questioned me about them, and, after some
+deliberation, said, that although I had the letter of the law with me,
+I had acted hastily, which in this instance was acting unjustly; for
+had I waited a little, the true bearings of the case must, he thought,
+have made themselves apparent. This judgment of Sir Thomas Hardy
+squared but too well with my own feelings upon the matter, and doubled
+the shame I was already suffering under. From that hour to this, I
+have never ceased to catch with eagerness at any suggestion which I
+thought might contribute to save deserving men from a similar
+misfortune, and well-disposed officers from the fatal errors of
+precipitancy. A little incident has perhaps had its effect in
+quickening these speculative ideas into a practical shape.
+
+Several years after the period alluded to, I happened to be sailing
+about Spithead in a gentleman's yacht, when a man-of-war's cutter came
+alongside. As no officer had been sent in the boat, the message was
+delivered by the coxswain, whom I did not recognize as an old shipmate
+till he came to me aft, took off his hat, and held out his hand. I
+then recollected the face of the seaman I had unjustly punished! To
+all appearance he had entirely forgotten the circumstance: but the
+commodore's words, "You ought to have let that man off," rang in my
+ears, and my heart smote me as I felt the honest fellow's grasp. "I
+shall never rest," I afterwards vowed to myself, "till I have
+succeeded in suggesting some regulations which, as far as possible,
+shall prevent other officers from falling into the same error."
+
+It seems to be now generally admitted, by all who have attended to the
+subject, that ever since the period when it became the duty of
+captains to make periodical reports to the Admiralty of the corporal
+punishments inflicted, those punishments have gradually decreased.
+Meanwhile the discipline has gone on improving; and therefore it
+becomes a matter of much practical importance to investigate the true
+bearings of a measure by which such invaluable results have been
+brought about. It should never be forgotten, that there is an absolute
+necessity for maintaining the present strictness of our discipline,
+which is one of the most essential sources of naval success; and, next
+to the spirit of honour and patriotism which pervades the profession,
+it may be considered the very life-blood of that branch of our
+national strength. But there are two very different methods by which
+this vital object of exact discipline may be accomplished: one is the
+prevention, the other the punishment, of offences. Some officers have
+endeavoured to do away with corporal punishment altogether; and some,
+on the other hand, have had recourse to hardly anything else. The just
+union of the two systems will, I believe, in the end, perform the
+greatest public service, at the least cost of human suffering.[7]
+
+Antecedent to June 1811, the date of the order by which officers in
+command of ships were required to send quarterly returns of
+punishments to the Admiralty, there was little or no restraint upon
+the despotic authority of the captain, as far as corporal punishments
+were concerned. And it must be in the recollection of every one who
+served in those days, that captains, not really cruel by nature, nor
+more intemperate than the ordinary run of men, were sometimes led, by
+the mere indulgence of unlimited and unscrutinised authority, to use a
+degree of severity not only out of proper measure with the crime, but,
+by reason of its questionable justice, hurtful to the discipline of
+the ships, and to the general character of the service. Such things
+may also possibly have happened even of late years; but certainly,
+they have been much less frequent; for although no Admiralty
+regulations can convert a hot-headed captain into a cool,
+experienced, or reflecting person, nevertheless, it does seem to be
+quite within the legitimate range of official power, to compel all
+intemperate officers, whether young or old, to behave, as far as their
+nature will allow, in the same manner as men of sense, feeling, and
+thorough knowledge of the service would act in like circumstances.
+
+It is a rule, now very generally observed by the best authorities in
+the Navy, never to punish a man on the day the offence has been
+committed. And experience having shown the wisdom of this delay, there
+seems no reason why so simple a rule should not be established
+imperatively upon every captain without exception.
+
+It is important, in discussing the subject of naval discipline, to
+recollect under what peculiar and trying circumstances the captain of
+a man-of-war is placed, and how much he stands in need not only of
+every assistance that can possibly be afforded to guide his judgment,
+but of every artificial check that can be devised to control his
+temper. As he is charged with the sole executive government of the
+community over which he presides, he is called upon to exercise many
+of the legislative, as well as the judicial functions of his little
+kingdom. Having made laws in the first instance, he has to act the
+part of a judge in the interpretation of those laws; while, in the
+very next instant, he may stand in the place of a jury to determine
+the facts of the case, and of a counsel to cross-question the
+witnesses. To this strange jumble of offices is finally added the
+fearful task of allotting the punishment, and seeing it carried into
+effect! If ever there was a situation in the world, therefore,
+requiring all the aids of deliberation, and especially of that
+sobriety of thought which a night's rest can alone bestow, it is
+surely in the case of a captain of a man-of-war. And if this rule has
+been found a good one, even by prudent and experienced officers, who,
+it appears, never trust themselves to punish a man without twenty-four
+hours' delay at least, how much more important might not such a
+regulation prove, if less discreet persons were compelled to adopt
+invariably a similar course of deliberation? Nor does it appear
+probable that, in the whole complicated range of the service, cases
+will often occur when its true interests may not be better answered by
+punishments inflicted after such delay, than if the reality or the
+semblance of passion, or even the slightest suspicion of anger, were
+allowed to interfere with the purity of naval justice. It is so
+difficult, indeed, to detach the appearance of vindictive warmth from
+punishments which are made to follow quickly after the offence, that
+in all such cases there is great danger incurred of inflicting much
+pain to little or no purpose.
+
+In the first place, therefore, I consider it might be very
+advantageously established, by a positive order from the Admiralty,
+that one whole day, or twenty-four hours complete, should, in every
+instance, be allowed to elapse between the investigation of an
+offence, and the infliction of the punishment which it may be thought
+to deserve. The interval in question, to be of use, should take its
+date from the time the circumstances of the case have been inquired
+into by the captain himself. The reason of this limitation will be
+apparent, if it be recollected that the moment at which the officer's
+anger is likely to be the greatest, is when he first becomes
+acquainted with the details of the offender's misconduct.
+
+In order still further to circumscribe the chances of passion
+interfering with the judgment, not only of the captain, but of the
+officer who makes the complaint, as well as the witnesses and other
+parties concerned, I think it should be directed, that all offences
+whatsoever are to be inquired into between nine o'clock in the morning
+and noon. This is perhaps the only period in the whole day perfectly
+free from suspicion as to the influence of those exciting causes which
+tend materially to warp the judgment, even of the wisest and best men.
+The ship's company take their dinner and grog at mid-day, and the
+officers dine soon after. To those who have witnessed in old times the
+investigation and punishment of offences immediately after the cabin
+dinner, the importance of this regulation will require no further
+argument. At any other period of the day, except that above specified,
+the irritation caused by fatigue, hunger, or repletion, is so apt to
+interfere with the temper, and consequently with the judgment, that it
+should never be chosen for so delicate an affair as an inquiry into
+details which may be followed by so dreadful a consequence as corporal
+punishment.
+
+It is undoubtedly true, that the essential characteristics of naval
+discipline are, and ought to be, promptitude of action, and that
+vigorous kind of decision which leads to certainty of purpose at all
+times, and under all circumstances. But these very qualities are
+valueless, unless they are regulated by justice. Without this, a
+man-of-war would very soon become worse than useless to the country,
+besides being what a "slack ship" has been emphatically termed, "a
+perfect hell afloat!"
+
+Independently of every other consideration, it is assuredly most
+desirable to establish throughout the fleet the conviction, that,
+although the punishment of flogging, which has prevailed for so long a
+time, cannot possibly be discontinued, it shall be exercised with a
+due regard to the offence, and without any added severity on personal
+grounds. It is difficult to estimate how essentially this conviction,
+if once fixed in the minds of the seamen, and guaranteed, as I think
+it might be, in a great measure, by a very simple Admiralty
+regulation, would contribute to extend the popularity of the naval
+service throughout the country.
+
+There are some minor details, in addition to the above suggestions,
+which it may be useful to consider in connection with them. All
+punishments should take place between the hours of nine in the morning
+and noon, for the reasons hinted at above. If possible, also, not more
+than one day should be allowed to elapse after the inquiry; for,
+although there is always something like passion in a punishment which
+is too prompt, there may, on the other hand, frequently appear
+something akin to vindictiveness in one which has been delayed until
+the details of the offence are well-nigh forgotten. The captain should
+avoid pronouncing, either during or immediately after the
+investigation of an offence, any opinion on the case; much of its
+influence would be destroyed if the captain were to commit himself by
+threats made in the moment of greatest irritation; he might be apt to
+follow up, when cool, a threat made in anger, to show his consistency.
+
+I could relate many instances of injustice arising from precipitancy
+in awarding punishment; but the following anecdotes, for the accuracy
+of which I can vouch, seem sufficient to arrest the attention to good
+purpose.
+
+Two men-of-war happened to be cruising in company: one of them a
+line-of-battle ship, bearing an admiral's flag; the other a small
+frigate. One day, when they were sailing quite close to each other,
+the signal was made from the large to the small ship to chase in a
+particular direction, implying that a strange sail was seen in that
+quarter. The look-out man at the maintop mast-head of the frigate was
+instantly called down by the captain, and severely punished on the
+spot, for not having discovered and reported the stranger before the
+flag ship had made the signal to chase.
+
+The unhappy sufferer, who was a very young hand, unaccustomed to be
+aloft, had merely taken his turn at the mast head with the rest of the
+ship's company, and could give no explanation of his apparent neglect.
+Before it was too late, however, the officer of the watch ventured to
+suggest to the captain, that possibly the difference of height between
+the masts of the two ships might have enabled the look-out man on
+board the admiral to discover the stranger, when it was physically
+impossible, owing to the curvature of the earth, that she could have
+been seen on board the frigate. No attention, however, was paid to
+this remark, and a punishment due only to crime, or to a manifest
+breach of discipline, was inflicted.
+
+The very next day, the same officer, whose remonstrance had proved so
+ineffectual, saw the look-out man at the flag ship's mast-head again
+pointing out at a strange sail. The frigate chanced to be placed
+nearly in the direction indicated; consequently she must have been
+somewhat nearer to the stranger than the line-of-battle ship was. But
+the man stationed at the frigate's mast-head declared he could
+distinguish nothing of any stranger. Upon this the officer of the
+watch sent up the captain of the maintop, an experienced and
+quick-sighted seaman, who, having for some minutes looked in vain in
+every direction, asserted positively that there was nothing in sight
+from that elevation. It was thus rendered certain, or at all events
+highly probable, that the precipitate sentence of the day before had
+been unjust; for, under circumstances even less favourable, it
+appeared that the poor fellow could not by possibility have seen the
+stranger, for not first detecting which he was punished!
+
+I must give the conclusion of this painful story in the words of my
+informant, the officer of the deck:--"I reported all this to the
+captain of the ship, and watched the effect. He seemed on the point of
+acknowledging that his heart smote him; but pride prevailed, and it
+was barely an ejaculation that escaped. So much for angry feelings
+getting the better of judgment!"
+
+The following anecdote will help to relieve the disagreeable
+impression caused by the incident just related, without obliterating
+the salutary reflections which it seems calculated to trace on the
+mind of every well-disposed officer.
+
+Three sailors, belonging to the watering-party of a man-of-war on a
+foreign station, were discovered by their officer to have strayed from
+the well at which the casks had been filled. These men, it appears,
+instead of assisting in rolling the heavy butts and puncheons across
+the sand, preferred indulging themselves in a glass of a most
+insidious tipple, called Mistela in Spanish, but very naturally
+"transmogrified" by the Jacks into Miss Taylor. The offenders being
+dragged out of the pulperia, were consigned, without inquiry, to the
+launch, though they had been absent only a few minutes, and were still
+fit enough for work. The officer of the boat, however, happening to
+be an iron-hearted disciplinarian, who overlooked nothing, and forgave
+no one, would not permit the men to rejoin the working party, or to
+touch a single cask; but when the boat returned to the ship, had the
+three offenders put in irons.
+
+When these circumstances were reported to the captain in the course of
+the day, so much acrimony was imparted to his account by the officer,
+that the captain merely said, "I shall be glad if you will defer
+stating this matter more fully till to-morrow morning, after breakfast;
+take the night to think of it." Tomorrow came, and the particulars
+being again detailed, even more strongly and pointedly, by the
+officer, the captain likewise became irritated, and under the
+influence of feelings highly excited had almost ordered the men up for
+immediate punishment. Acting, however, upon a rule which he had for
+sometime laid down, never to chastise any one against whom he felt
+particularly displeased without at least twenty-four hours' delay, he
+desired the matter to stand over till the following morning.
+
+In the meantime, the men in confinement, knowing that their offence
+was a very slight one, laid their heads together, and contrived, by
+the aid of the purser's steward, to pen a supplicatory epistle to the
+captain. This document was conveyed to its destination by his servant,
+a judicious fellow. Though it proved no easy matter to decipher the
+hieroglyphics, it appeared evident that there were extenuating
+circumstances which had not been brought forward. The only remark,
+however, which the captain made was, that the letter ought not to have
+been brought to him; and that his servant was quite out of order, in
+being accessory to any proceeding so irregular.
+
+The steward took the hint, and recommended the prisoners to appeal to
+the complaining officer. Accordingly, next day, when the captain went
+on deck, that person came up and said,--
+
+"I have received a strange letter, sir, from these three fellows whom
+I complained of yesterday; but what they say does not alter my opinion
+in the least."
+
+"It does mine, however," observed the captain, after he had spelled
+through it, as if for the first time.
+
+"Indeed, sir!" exclaimed the other; adding, "I hope you won't let them
+off."
+
+"I tell you what it is," quietly remarked the captain, "I would much
+rather you let them off than that I should; for it strikes me, that
+all the useful ends of discipline will be much better served, and your
+hands, as well as mine, essentially strengthened, by your taking the
+initiative in this business instead of me. My advice to you,
+therefore, is, that when I go below you send for the men, and say to
+them you have read their statement, and that, although it does by no
+means excuse, it certainly explains, and so far extenuates, their
+offence, that you feel disposed to try what your influence with the
+captain can do to get them off altogether."
+
+"I do not see the force of your reasoning," answered the offended
+officer; "nor can I conscientiously trifle with the service in the
+manner proposed. I thought at first, and I still think, that these men
+ought to be punished; and, as far as I am concerned, they certainly
+shall not escape."
+
+"Well, well," cried the captain, "you will not, I hope, deny that I am
+the best judge of what is right and fitting to be done on board this
+ship; and I tell you again, that I consider the discipline will be
+better served by your being the mover in this case, than by my taking
+the affair, as you wish me to do, entirely out of your hands. Will you
+do as I suggest?"
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir, but really I cannot, consistently with my
+sense of duty, adopt the course you propose. I think it right to
+insist, as far as I can with propriety, on these men being punished."
+
+"Turn the hands up for punishment, then!" said the captain to the
+first lieutenant, who had been walking on the other side of the deck
+during this colloquy; "and let the three prisoners be brought on
+deck."
+
+The gratings were soon rigged under the mizen-stay--the
+quarter-masters placed with their seizings on either side--the
+boatswain and his mates (with the terrible weapons of naval law barely
+concealed under their jackets) arranged themselves in a group round
+the mast--while the marines, with fixed bayonets and shoulder arms,
+formed across the quarter-deck; and the ship's company, standing in
+two double rows, lined the sides of the deck. Not the slightest sound
+could be heard; and a person coming on deck blindfolded might have
+thought the ship lay in dock, without a soul on board.
+
+In the middle of the open space before the hatchway stood the three
+culprits, with their hats off, and their eyes cast down in hopeless
+despair; but, to all outward appearance, firm and unmoved.
+
+When all was declared ready, the first lieutenant descended to the
+cabin, but returned again almost immediately, followed closely by the
+captain, in his cocked hat and sword, grasping in one hand the
+well-known roll of paper containing the articles of war, and in the
+other the master-at-arms' report of prisoners. Every head was
+uncovered at his appearance; and as he lifted his hat in answer to
+this salute, he laid it on the capstan, against which he leaned while
+reading the article under which the delinquents had fallen.
+
+"Now," said he, addressing the three prisoners, "you have been found
+guilty of an offence against the good order and discipline of this
+ship, which cannot be permitted, and which must positively be put a
+stop to. Heretofore it has not occurred, and I trust this will be the
+last case. Do you admit that you deserve punishment?"
+
+No answer.
+
+"Have you anything to advance why you should not be punished?"
+
+The fellows nodged one another, scraped the deck with their feet,
+fumbled with their hats and waist-bands, and muttered something about
+"a letter they had written to the officer what reported them."
+
+"Letter!" exclaimed the captain; "let me see it."
+
+The epistle being handed to the captain, he read it aloud to the
+assembled ship's company, who listened with all their ears. At the
+conclusion, he folded it up, and, turning to the officer, asked,--
+
+"What have you to say to this?"
+
+"Nothing, sir--nothing," was the obdurate reply.
+
+"Well now, my lads," observed the captain to the crew, after a pause
+of several minutes, "I shall give you a chance. These fellows appear,
+by their own confession, to have done what they knew to be wrong; and
+accordingly, as you perceive, they have brought themselves close
+aboard of the gangway. It would serve them all perfectly right to give
+each of them a good sound punishment. But I am willing to hope, that
+if I forgive them on your account--that is to say, if I let them off
+in consideration of the good conduct of the ship's company, and in
+confidence of your all behaving well in future--they will be quite as
+much disposed to exert themselves to recover their characters, as if
+they had tasted the bitterness of the gangway: at all events, I'll try
+them and you for once. Pipe down!"
+
+It is only necessary to state further, that for nearly a year
+afterwards there occurred no instance of drunkenness or neglect at the
+watering parties.
+
+There is one other point of importance in this discussion, and as it
+seems to possess a considerable analogy in its bearing to the
+suggestions already thrown out, it may possibly have greater weight in
+conjunction with them than if it were brought forward alone. In every
+system of penal jurisprudence it seems to be of the first importance
+to let it be felt that the true degradation lies more in the crime
+itself, than in the expiatory punishment by which it is followed.
+Whenever this principle is not duly understood, punishments lose half
+their value, while they are often virtually augmented in severity. The
+object of all punishments is evidently to prevent the recurrence of
+offences, either by others or by the offender himself. But it is not,
+by any means, intended that he should not have a full and fair chance
+allowed him for a return to virtue. The very instant punishment is
+over, he should be allowed to start afresh for his character. If a man
+is never to have his offence or his chastisement forgotten, he can
+hardly be expected to set seriously about the re-establishment of his
+damaged reputation.
+
+Neither ought it to be forgotten, that a man so circumstanced has
+really stronger claims on our sympathy, and is more entitled to our
+protection, than if he had never fallen under censure. He has, in some
+sort, if not entirely, expiated his offence by the severity of its
+consequences; and every generous-minded officer must feel that a poor
+seaman whom he has been compelled, by a sense of duty, to punish at
+the gangway, instead of being kept down, has need of some extra
+assistance to place him even on the footing he occupied before he
+committed any offence. If this be not granted him, it is a mere
+mockery to say that he has any fair chance for virtue.
+
+It might, therefore, I think, be very usefully made imperative upon
+the captain, at some short period after a punishment has taken place
+(say on the next muster-day), and when the immediate irritation shall
+have gone off, to call the offender publicly forward, and in the
+presence of the whole ship's company give him to understand that, as
+he had now received the punishment which, according to the rules of
+the service, his offence merited, both the one and the other were,
+from that time forward, to be entirely forgotten; and that he was now
+fully at liberty to begin his course anew. I can assert, from ample
+experience, that the beneficial effects of this practice are very
+great.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] The recent instructions issued by the Board of Admiralty would
+have gratified Captain Hall had he lived to read them; harmonizing as
+they do with the system he so earnestly advocates.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+BOMBAY.
+
+
+Early on the morning of the 11th of August, 1812, we first made the
+coast of Asia; and, on steering towards the shore, discovered, close
+under the land, a single sail, as white as snow, of a cut quite new to
+our seamanship, and swelled out with the last faint airs of the
+land-breeze, which, in the night, had carried us briskly along shore.
+As we came nearer, we observed that the boat, with her head directed
+to the northward, was piled half-mast high with fruits and vegetables,
+cocoa-nuts, yams, plantains, intended evidently for the market of
+Bombay. The water lay as smooth as that of a lake; so we sheered close
+alongside, and hailed, to ask the distance we still were from our
+port. None of the officers of the Volage could speak a word of
+Hindustanee; and I well remember our feeling of humiliation when a
+poor scullion, one of the cook's assistants, belonging to the
+governor's suite, was dragged on deck, with all his grease and other
+imperfections on his head, to act as interpreter. Sad work he made of
+it; for, though the fellow had been in the East on some ten or twelve
+former voyages, the languages of the countries he visited had not
+formed so important a part of his studies as the quality of the arrack
+and toddy which they produced. The word Bombaya, however, struck the
+ear of the native boatmen, who pointed in the direction which they
+themselves were steering, and called out "Mombay! Mombay!" This word,
+I am told by an oriental scholar, is a corruption of Moomba-devy, or
+the Goddess of Moomba, from an idol to which a temple is still
+dedicated on the island. Others, less fanciful in their etymology, say
+that the Portuguese gave it the name of Bom-Bahia, on account of the
+excellence of its Port. That nation held possession of Bombay from the
+year 1530 to 1661, when it was ceded by the crown of Portugal in full
+sovereignty to Charles II.
+
+It was not long before we came in sight of several headlands. When the
+next day broke, and the sun rose upon us over the flat topped Gauts or
+mountains of the Mahratta country, I remember feeling almost at a loss
+whether I had been sleeping and dreaming during the night. But the
+actual sight of the coast gave reality to pictures which, for many a
+long year before, I had busied my fancy with painting, in colours
+drawn partly from the Arabian Nights and Persian Tales, and partly, if
+not chiefly, from those brilliant clusters of oriental images which
+crowd and adorn the pages of Scripture.
+
+Captain Cook asserts somewhere, speaking of the delights of voyaging
+and travelling, that to such rovers as he and his companions nothing
+came amiss; and I can safely venture to boast, that, as far as this
+goes, I may claim a corner of my great brother officer's mantle. At
+all events, in sailing over the Indian seas, or travelling in those
+countries by land, I hardly ever met anything which did not so much
+exceed in interest what I had looked for, that the grand perplexity
+became, how to record what I felt, or in any adequate terms to
+describe even the simplest facts which struck the eye at every turn in
+that "wide realm of wild reality."
+
+Of all places in the noble range of countries so happily called the
+Eastern world, from the pitch of the Cape to the islands of Japan,
+from Bengal to Batavia, there are few which can compare with Bombay.
+If, indeed, I were consulted by any one who wished as expeditiously
+and economically as possible to see all that was essentially
+characteristic of the Oriental world, I would say, without hesitation,
+"Take a run to Bombay; remain there a week or two; and having also
+visited the scenes in the immediate neighbourhood, Eliphanta, Carli,
+and Poonah, you will have examined good specimens of most things that
+are curious or interesting in the East."
+
+For this remarkable distinction, peculiar, as far as I know, to that
+one spot on the earth's surface, this presidency is indebted to a
+variety of interesting circumstances. Bombay is an island, and by no
+means a large one, being only between six and seven miles long by one
+or two broad. It is not, however, by geographical dimensions that the
+wealth of towns, any more than the power and wealth of nations, is
+determined. The harbour unites every possible desideratum of a great
+sea port; it is easy of access and egress; affords excellent anchoring
+ground; is capacious beyond the utmost probable demands of commerce;
+and, owing to the great rise and fall of the tides, is admirably
+adapted for docks of every description. The climate is healthy; and
+the country, being diversified by numerous small ridges and hills,
+furnishes an endless choice of situations for forts, towns, bazaars,
+and villages, not to say bungalows or villas, and all sorts of
+country-houses, and some very splendid retreats from the bustle of
+business. The roads which intersect this charming island were
+beautifully Macadamised, as I well remember, long before that grand
+improvement was heard of in England; and as the soil of the island is
+made up of that rich kind of mould resulting from decomposed basalt or
+lava, the whole surface affords a good sample of the perennial verdure
+of tropical scenery, which dazzles and surprises the new-comer, while
+its interest seldom fails to rise still higher upon a more prolonged
+and intimate acquaintance.
+
+Such are among the eminent physical advantages enjoyed by Bombay; but
+even these, had they been many times greater, would have been light in
+the balance compared to those of a moral, or rather of a political
+nature, which conspired in 1812 to render it one of the most important
+spots in that quarter of the globe. At the time I speak of, it was
+almost the only possession exclusively British within several hundred
+miles in any direction. The enormous territory of the Mahrattas lay
+close to Bombay on the east.
+
+On the morning after my arrival at Bombay, I got up with the first
+blush of the dawn, and hastily drawing on my clothes, proceeded along
+greedily in search of adventures. I had not gone far, before I saw a
+native sleeping on a mat spread in the little verandah extending
+along the front of his house, which was made of basket-work plastered
+over with mud. He was wrapped up in a long web of white linen, or
+cotton cloth, called, I think, his cummer-bund, or waist-cloth. As
+soon as the first rays of the sun peeped into his rude
+sleeping-chamber, he "arose, took up his bed, and went into his
+house." I saw immediately an explanation of this expression, which,
+with slight variations, occurs frequently in the Bible, in connection
+with several of the most striking and impressive of Christ's miracles,
+particularly with that of the man sick of the palsy. My honest friend
+the Hindoo got on his feet, cast the long folds of his wrapper over
+his shoulder, stooped down, and having rolled up his mat, which was
+all the bed he required, he walked into the house with it, and then
+proceeded to the nearest tank to perform his morning ablutions.
+
+I remember mentioning this, amongst many other illustrations of the
+incidents recorded in Scripture, to a worthy old Scotch lady, upon
+whom I expected it to produce the same pleasing and satisfactory
+effect which it had wrought on me. I made, however, a great mistake;
+for so far from raising myself in her estimation, on the score of
+correct observation, I sunk, I fear, irrecoverably, in her good
+graces, by presuming, as she alleged, to interfere with the wonder of
+the miracle, the essence of which, according to her, I discovered to
+consist, not in the recovery of "the man, who was made whole," but in
+his being able to shoulder a four-post bed, and carry it off without
+inconvenience!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+SIR SAMUEL HOOD.
+
+
+As soon as the Volage was refitted, and her crew refreshed, after our
+voyage from England of four months and a half, we sailed from Bombay
+to the southward along the western coast of India; and having rounded
+Ceylon, at Point de Galle, on the extreme south-western corner, where
+we merely touched to land the governor's dispatches, before we hauled
+up to the northward, and, after twelve days' passage, sailed into the
+beautiful harbour of Trincomalee. There, to my great joy, we found the
+commander-in-chief, Sir Samuel Hood; who, to my still greater joy,
+informed me that a vacancy had been kept open for me in his flag ship,
+the Illustrious. In a few minutes my traps were packed up, my
+commission made out, and I had the honour of hailing myself a
+professional follower of one of the first officers in his Majesty's
+service. It is true, I was only fifth lieutenant, and not even fifth
+on the Admiral's list for promotion; for I came after a number of old
+officers who had served under Sir Samuel for many long years of
+patient, or rather impatient, expectation: but my first and grand
+purpose was attained, although my chance of advancement was very
+small, and very remote.
+
+In capstans, and other machines, there is a mechanical device, with
+which every person is acquainted, termed a pall or catch, by which the
+work gained in the effort last made shall be secured, and the machine
+prevented from turning back again. Something of this kind takes place
+in life, particularly in naval life; and happy is the officer who
+hears the pall of his fortunes play "click! click!" as he spins
+upwards in his profession. Proportionately deep is the despair of the
+poor wretch who, after struggling and tugging with all his might at
+the weary windlass of his hopes, can never bring it quite far enough
+round to hear the joyous sound of the pall dropping into its berth! I
+well remember most of these important moments of my own life; and I
+could readily describe the different sensations to which their
+successive occurrence gave rise, from the startling hour when my
+father first told me that my own request was now to be granted, for on
+the very next day I was to go to sea--up to that instant when the
+still more important announcement met my ear, "Those whom God hath
+joined together let no man put asunder!"
+
+"It is easy to be cheerful when one is successful," says a high
+authority; and there are "few people who are not good-natured when
+they have nothing to cross them," says another equally profound
+recorder of common-places; but the secret of good fortune seems to lie
+far less in making the most of favourable incidents, or in submitting
+manfully to disastrous ones, than in studying how to fill up to
+advantage the long intervals between these great epochs in our lives.
+So that there is, perhaps, no point of duty which affords more scope
+for the talents of a superior than the useful and cheerful employment
+of the heads and hands of his officers and people during those trying
+periods of inaction which occur in every service. Sir Samuel Hood
+possessed this faculty in a wonderful degree, as he not only kept us
+all busy when there was nothing to be done, but contrived to make us
+happy and contented, though some of our prospects were poor enough in
+all conscience. My own, for example, since I was placed at the tip of
+the tail of his long string of private followers; and when the
+Admiralty List came out, on which I had built so many beautiful
+castles in the air, my poor name was not upon it at all. I had not
+expected to be first or second, or even third; fourth I had reckoned
+upon as possible; fifth as probable; sixth as certain; so that my
+horror and disappointment were excessive when this kindest of
+commanders-in-chief broke to me the fatal news, in the following
+characteristic manner.
+
+A telegraphic signal had been made from the flagstaff at the
+Admiral's house to the ship, in these words:--
+
+"Send Mr. Hall on shore, with a crow-bar, two pick-axes, and two
+spades."
+
+All the way to the landing-place I puzzled myself with thinking what
+on earth could be the object of these tools; little dreaming, good
+easy lieutenant! that I was so soon to dig the grave of my own hopes.
+The Admiral received me at the door with his coat off; and holding out
+his remaining hand (his right arm was shot away in action), he
+squeezed mine with even more than his wonted kindness.
+
+"I have been waiting for you with some impatience;" he said, "to be
+present at the hunt after a white ant's nest, a sort of thing I know
+you like. These rogues, the _Termites bellicosi_, as I find the
+naturalists call them, have made their way into the house! and having
+carried their galleries up the walls and along the roof, have come
+down in great force upon a trunk of clothes, which they would have
+destroyed entirely before night, had I not caught sight of them. Now
+let us to work; for I propose to rip up the floor of the verandah, in
+order to follow their passages and galleries till I reach their nest,
+if it be a mile off; won't this he a glorious piece of service?"
+exclaimed the Admiral, as he warmed himself by anticipating the chase.
+He could hardly have been more delighted, I am persuaded, had he been
+giving orders for a fleet under his command to bear down upon the
+enemy's line. I could not venture to do more than bow, and say I was
+much obliged to him for having so considerately thought of me at such
+a moment.
+
+"Oh!" cried he, apparently recollecting himself, "but I have something
+else to show you; or rather to tell you, for I must not show it;
+though I fear it will not please you quite so much as the prospect of
+a white ant-hunt. Here, Gigna," called the Admiral to his steward, who
+stood by with a tea-kettle of hot water, ready to pour over the ants,
+"put away that affair, which we shall not require this half-hour yet;
+and hold this crow-bar while I step into the office with Mr. Hall."
+
+"It is of no use to mince the matter," said the veteran, shutting the
+door, and turning to me with somewhat of the air which he might be
+supposed to have put on, had he been instructed from home to tell me
+that one or both my parents were dead; "it is no use to conceal the
+fact from you; but here is the Admiralty List, just come to my hands,
+and your name, in spite of all you tell me of promises, verbal and
+written, is NOT ON IT!"
+
+Had the Admiral fired one of the flag-ship's thirty-two pounders,
+double-shotted, down my throat, he could not have demolished more
+completely my bodily framework than this fatal announcement shattered
+to pieces the gilded crockeryware of my fondest hopes. All the gay
+visions of command, and power, and independence, in which I had
+indulged my fancy during the voyage, vanished like the shadows of a
+dream I fain would recall, but could not. I was at first quite
+stupified, and can remember nothing that passed for some minutes. As I
+recovered my scattered senses, however, I recollect gazing at the
+anchorage from the open window of the Admiralty House, near which we
+stood. The flag-ship then lay just off Osnaburg Point, with her
+ensign, or, as it used to be called in old books, her Ancient, the
+"meteor flag of England," dropped, in the calm, so perpendicularly
+from the gaff-end, that it looked like a rope more than a flag; while
+its reflection, as well as that of the ship herself, with every mast,
+yard, and line of the rigging, seemed, as it were, engraved on the
+surface of the tranquil pool, as distinctly as if another vessel had
+actually been inverted and placed beneath. I have seldom witnessed so
+complete a calm. The sea-breeze, with which the shore had been
+refreshed for twenty minutes, had not as yet found its way into the
+recesses of the inner harbour, which, take it all in all, is one of
+the snuggest and most beautiful coves in the world. And such is the
+commodious nature of this admirable port, that even the Illustrious,
+though a large 74-gun ship, rode at anchor in perfect security, within
+a very few yards of the beach, which at that spot is quite steep to,
+and is wooded down to, the very edge of the water. I gazed for some
+moments, almost unconsciously, at this quiet scene, so different from
+that which was boiling and bubbling in my own distracted breast, and
+swelling up with indignation against some of my friends at home, who I
+had such good reason to believe had either betrayed or neglected me,
+maugre all sorts of promises.
+
+In the midst of my reverie, which the kind-hearted Admiral did not
+interrupt, I observed the wind just touch the drooping flag; but the
+air was so light and transient, that it merely produced on it a gentle
+motion from side to side, like that of a pendulum, imitated in the
+mirror beneath, which lay as yet totally unbroken by the sea-breeze.
+Presently the whole mighty flag, after a faint struggle or two,
+gradually unfolded itself, and, buoyed up by the new born gale, spread
+far beyond the gallant line-of-battle ship's stern, and waved
+gracefully over the harbour. It is well known to nice observers of the
+human mind, that the strangest fancies often come into the thoughts at
+a moment when we might least expect them; and though, assuredly, I was
+not then in a very poetical or imaginative humour, I contrived to
+shape out of the inspiring scene I was looking upon a figure to soothe
+my disappointed spirit. As I saw the ensign uncurl itself to the wind
+I said internally, "If I have but life, and health, and opportunity, I
+trust, notwithstanding the bitterness of this disappointment, I shall
+yet contrive to unfold, in like manner, the flag of my own fortunes
+to the world."
+
+Just as this magnanimous thought crossed my mind's eye, the Admiral
+placed his hand so gently on my shoulder that the pressure would not
+have hurt a fly, and said, in a cheerful tone, "Never mind this
+mishap, master Hall; everything will come right in time; and if you
+only resolve to take it in the proper and manly temper, it may even
+prove all the better that this has happened. Nothing is without a
+remedy in this world; and I'll do what I can to make good this maxim
+in your case. In the mean time, however, come along, and help me to
+rout out these rascally white ants. Off coat, however, if you please;
+for we shall have a tough job of it."
+
+It cost us an hour's hard work; for we had to rip up the planks along
+the whole of the verandah, then to shape a course across two cellars,
+or _godongs_, as they are called in the East, and finally the
+traverses of these singular insects obliged us to cut a trench to the
+huge hillock or nest, which rose to the height of five or six feet
+from the ground, in numberless shoots, like pinnacles round the roof
+of a Gothic church. We might have attacked them at headquarters in
+the first instance, had we wished it; but the Admiral chose to go more
+technically to work, and to sap up to his enemy by regular approaches.
+In this way we had the means of seeing the principles upon which these
+ants proceed in securing themselves, at every step of their progress,
+by galleries or covered ways, which, though extremely feeble, are
+sufficiently strong to keep off the attacks of every other kind of
+ant. It is curious enough, that, although the white ant be the most
+destructive of its species, it is said to be, individually, by far
+the weakest, and cannot move a step without the artificial protection
+of the galleries it constructs as it goes along; just as the besiegers
+of a fortification secure themselves in their trenches and zigzags.
+
+We now brought our spades into play; and having cut the hill across,
+laid open the secrets of these most curious of all the ant tribe. At
+last we reached the great queen ant, the mother of millions of her
+race, a most enormous personage to be sure, nearly four inches long,
+and as thick as a man's finger, with a head not larger than that of a
+bee, but a body such as I have described, filled with eggs, which
+continually rolled out like a fluid from a reservoir. Never shall I
+forget the shout of rapture which the gallant Admiral sent over half
+the harbour, as he succeeded in gaining the object of his labour.
+
+There are some men who go about everything they undertake with all
+their hearts and souls, and this great officer was one of those. He
+did nothing by halves and quarters, like so many other people. The
+greatest deeds of arms, or the most trivial objects of passing
+amusement, engrossed his whole concentrated attention for the time. He
+was equally in earnest when holding out examples of private
+generosity, or lending the heartiest and kindest encouragement even to
+the least distinguished of his followers, as when performing acts of
+the highest public spirit, or making the greatest sacrifices to what
+he considered his duty. Everything, in short, that he did, or thought,
+or uttered, bore the stamp of the same peculiar impress of genuine
+zeal. So eminently exciting, and even fascinating, was this truly
+officer-like conduct, that even those who had served under him the
+longest often wondered at the extent of their own exertions when
+roused by his example, and were led almost to believe that his very
+look had something stimulating in it which actually gave fresh vigour
+to their arms as well as to their thoughts. With all this, he was the
+gentlest of the gentle, and accomplished whatever he undertook without
+apparent effort, or the least consciousness that what he was doing was
+remarkable.
+
+I remember an instance of his skill in the small way. One morning,
+near the spot where he had headed the storming party against the white
+ants, a working party of the crew of the Illustrious had commenced
+constructing a wharf before the dockyard. The stones of which this
+platform or landing-place was to be built were, by Sir Samuel Hood's
+orders, selected of very large dimensions, so much so, that the
+sailors came at last to deal with a mass of rock so heavy, that their
+combined strength proved unequal to moving it beyond a few inches
+towards its final position at the top of one corner. The Admiral sat
+on his horse looking at the workmen for some time, occasionally
+laughing, and occasionally calling out directions, which the baffled
+engineers could by no means apply. At length, his Excellency the
+Commander-in-chief became fidgety, and having dismounted, he tried to
+direct them in detail; but never a bit would the stone budge. Finally,
+losing all patience, he leaped from the top of the bank, and roared
+out, in a voice of reproach and provocation, "Give me the crow-bar!"
+Thus armed, he pushed the officers and men to the right and left,
+while he insisted upon having the whole job to himself, literally,
+single-handed. He first drove the claws of the instrument well under
+the edge of the stone, then placed with his toe a small iron pin on
+the ground under the bar, and across its length, to act as a fulcrum,
+or shoulder. When all things were carefully adjusted to his mind, he
+slipped his hand to the upper end of the lever, and weighing it down,
+gave what he called "life" to the huge stone, which, just before,
+half-a-dozen strong men had not been able to disturb. Sure enough,
+however, it now moved, though only about half-an-inch, towards its
+intended resting-place. At each prize or hitch of the bar, the rock
+appeared to advance farther, till, after five or six similar shifts,
+it was finally lodged in the station prepared for it, where, I doubt
+not, it rests to this day, and may occupy for centuries to come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+EXCURSION TO CANDELAY LAKE IN CEYLON.
+
+
+The fervid activity of our excellent admiral, Sir Samuel Hood, in
+whose flag-ship I served as lieutenant, from 1812 to 1815, was
+unceasing. There was a boyish hilarity about this great officer, which
+made it equally delightful to serve officially under him, and to enjoy
+his friendly companionship. An alligator-hunt, a sport in which the
+Malays take great delight, was shared in by the Admiral, who made the
+place ring with his exclamation of boyish delight. Scarcely had we
+returned from the alligator-hunt, near Trincomalee, when Sir Samuel
+applied himself to the collector of the district, who was chief
+civilian of the place, and begged to know what he would recommend us
+to see next.
+
+"Do you care about antiquities?" said the collector.
+
+"Of course," replied the Admiral, "provided they be genuine and worth
+seeing. What have you got to show us in that way? I thought this part
+of the country had been a wild jungle from all time, and that the
+English were only now bringing it into cultivation."
+
+"On the contrary," observed our intelligent friend, "there are
+manifest traces, not very far off, of a dense and wealthy population.
+At all events, the inhabitants appear to have understood some of the
+arts of life, for they formed a huge tank or pond for the purpose of
+irrigation; so large, indeed, that there still exists, in one corner
+of it, a sheet of water extensive enough to deserve the name of a
+lake."
+
+"Let us go and see it," exclaimed the admiral. "Can we ride? Order the
+horses; who minds the heat of the sun?"--for, like almost all
+new-comers, Sir Samuel cared nothing for exposure, and laughed at the
+precautions of more experienced residents.
+
+The collector of Trincomalee soon satisfied the Admiral that an
+expedition to Candelay Lake, as the ancient tank of the natives was
+called, could not be undertaken quite so speedily. Boats and horses
+indeed were all ready, and tents could easily be procured; but it was
+likewise necessary to prepare provisions, to pack up clothes, and to
+send forward a set of native pioneers to clear the way through
+brushwood, otherwise impenetrable. The Admiral was in such ecstacies
+at the prospect of an adventure which was to cost some trouble, that
+he allowed nobody rest till everything had been put in train. Early in
+the morning of the next day but one, we accordingly set out in several
+of the flag-ship's boats, accompanied by a mosquito fleet of native
+canoes to pilot and assist us; Lady Hood, whom no difficulties could
+daunt, accompanied Sir Samuel; the captain of his ship, and his
+flag-lieutenant, with the collector as pilot, and one or two others,
+made up the party; and our excursion, though nearly destitute of
+adventures vulgarly so called, proved one of the most interesting
+possible.
+
+The early part of our course lay over the smooth and beautiful
+harbour of Trincomalee, after which we passed through a series of
+coves, forming what is called the Lake of Tamblegam, a connecting bay
+or arm of the sea, though far out of sight of the main ocean. We soon
+lost ourselves amid innumerable little islands clad thickly in the
+richest mantles of tropical foliage down to the water's edge, and at
+many places even into the water; so that, as not a stone or the least
+bit of ground could be seen, these fairy islets appeared actually to
+float on the surface. We had to row our boats through a dense aquatic
+forest of mangroves for nearly a mile, along a narrow lane cut through
+the wood expressly for us the day before by the natives. These
+fantastical trees, which grow actually in the water, often recall to
+the imagination those villages one sees in countries liable to
+frequent inundation, where each house is perched on the top of piles.
+We saw with astonishment clusters of oysters and other shell-fish
+clinging to the trunk and branches, as well as to the roots of these
+trees, which proves that the early voyagers were not such inventors of
+facts as folks suppose them, nor far wrong in reporting that they had
+seen fish growing like fruit on trees!
+
+Shortly before entering this watery wilderness, we encountered a party
+of native pearl-divers; and the Admiral, who was at all times most
+provokingly sceptical as to reported wonderful exploits, pulled out
+his watch, and insisted on timing the best diver amongst them, to see
+how long he could remain under water. In no case did the poor fellow
+make out a minute complete; upon which, the Admiral held up his watch
+exultingly in his triumph, and laughing to scorn the assurances that
+at other parts of the island divers might be found who could remain
+five minutes at the bottom. "Show me them! show me them!" cried he,
+"and then, but not till then--begging you pardon--I shall believe it."
+The challenge remained unanswered.
+
+The method used by these divers is to place between their feet a
+basket loaded with one or two large lumps of coral, the weight of
+which carries them rapidly to the bottom. The oysters being then
+substituted for the stones, the diver disengages his feet, and shoots
+up to the surface again, either bringing the full basket with him, or
+leaving it to be drawn up by a line.
+
+Nothing could be imagined more wild than the mangrove avenue through
+which we rowed, or rather paddled, for the strait was so narrow that
+there was no room for the oars when pushed out to their full length.
+The sailors, therefore, were often obliged to catch hold of the
+branches and roots of the trees, to draw the boats along. The foliage,
+as may be supposed, where perennial heat and moisture occur in
+abundance, spread overhead in such extraordinary luxuriance that few
+of the sun's rays could penetrate the massy net-work of leaves and
+branches forming the roof of our fairy passage. Not a single bird
+could be seen, either seated or on the wing; nor was even a chirp
+distinguishable above the dreamy hum of millions of mosquitoes
+floating about, in a calm so profound, that it seemed as if the
+surface of the water had never been disturbed since the Creation. The
+air, though cool, felt so heavy and choky, that, by the time we had
+scrambled to the end of this strange tunnel or watery lane, we could
+scarcely breathe, and were rejoiced to enter the open air
+again,--although, when we came out, the sun "flamed in the forehead of
+the morning sky," and beat fiercely and hotly upon the parched ground,
+from which every blade of grass had been scorched away.
+
+The village of Tamblegam, to which we soon came, is inhabited by a
+colony of Hindoo emigrants from the coast of Malabar. It is a neat
+little place, of which the huts, formed chiefly of branches of the
+tamarind-tree and leaves of the plantain, standing under prodigiously
+high cocoa-nuts, are so very diminutive, that the whole looks more
+like a child's toy-box village than the residence of grown people. The
+principal edifice is a pagoda built of stone, exactly ten feet square.
+Not fancying there could be any harm in taking such a liberty, we
+entered the pagoda unceremoniously, and one of our artists set to work
+sketching the bronze image which the natives worship as a deity, a
+figure not quite three inches in height; but the Hindoos were shocked
+at our impiety, and soon ousted the Admiral and his party. Close by
+was a little tank or pool of water, beautifully spangled over with the
+leaves and flowers of the water-lily. Here several groups of Indian
+girls had assembled to enjoy the coolness of the water in a style
+which we envied not a little. Instead of plunging in and swimming
+about as with us, one person sits down, while others pour pitchers of
+water over the head. We took notice also of one particularly
+interesting party of young damsels, who waded in till the water
+reached nearly to their breasts. Each of these girls held in her hand
+a chatty, or water-pot, shaped somewhat like an Etruscan vase, the
+top of which barely showed itself above the level of the pool. Upon a
+signal being given by one of the party, all the girls ducked out of
+sight, and at the same time raised their water-jars high in the air.
+In the next instant, just as their heads began to re-appear above the
+surface, the vessels were simultaneously inclined so that the water
+might pour out gradually, and in such measure that by the time the
+bathers again stood erect, the inverted jars might be quite empty.
+Nothing could be more graceful than the whole proceedings; and we sat
+in the shade of the pagoda looking at these water-nymphs for
+half-an-hour in great admiration.
+
+In the mean time a slender pole, forty feet in height, had been
+erected by a set of native tumblers, who presently exhibited before us
+various feats of extraordinary agility and strength--some of these are
+almost too curious to be believed by those who are not aware of the
+flexibility and dexterity of the Hindoos. We were most surprised and
+amused by the exploits of a lady of forty, which is considered a very
+old age in that climate, who ran up the pole more like a monkey than a
+human being, and then sticking herself on the top horizontally like a
+weathercock, whirled herself round, to the great astonishment of the
+European beholders. What tickled us particularly on this occasion was
+the good lady accompanying her strange movements with a noise so
+exactly like that of our old and respected friend Punch, when drubbed
+by his faithful wife Judy, that we all burst out a-laughing.
+
+The sun had now fallen past that particular angle in the sky above
+which it is considered by the bearers inexpedient to travel, we
+nestled ourselves into our respective palankeens, and proceeded on
+the journey through what seemed to us a very respectable forest,
+growing on lands which had once been under the plough, but apparently
+very long ago. To our inexperienced eyes and European associations, it
+seemed as if a century at least must have elapsed from the time such a
+matting of wood first supplanted the labours of the husbandman; but
+our friend the collector soon explained to us, that, if any spot of
+ground in that rich district were neglected for a very few years,
+natural trees, as tall as those we now admired so much, would soon
+shoot up spontaneously, and occupy all the soil. We shook our heads at
+this with the confident scepticism of ignorance, and exchanged glances
+amongst ourselves at the expense of our official companion; but in the
+course of an hour we were compelled, by the evidence of our own
+senses, to alter our note of disbelief. On coming to the real
+untouched virgin forest of the climate, we beheld a most noble
+spectacle indeed, in the way of scenery, such as I at least had never
+seen before, and have but rarely met with since. I do not recollect
+the names of the principal trees, though they were mentioned to us
+over and over again. The grand Banyan, however, with which European
+eyes have become so correctly familiar through the pencil of Daniell,
+rose on every side, and made us feel, even more decidedly than the
+cocoa-nut trees had done in the morning, that we were indeed in
+another world.
+
+Shortly after we had left the Indian village, the night fell, and,
+while we were threading the gigantic forest by the light of torches,
+the only thing at all like an adventure promised to occur to us; but
+it ended in nothing. The party consisted of six palankeens, each
+attended by eight bearers, though only four at a time, or at most six,
+supported the poles; these trotted along by the side of the bearers,
+between two and three dozen coolies or porters carrying provisions and
+torches.
+
+With a mixture of vague alarm and curiosity we now listened to the
+accounts of wild elephants in these woods, though in the morning we
+had heard the same stories with indifference and incredulity; while
+the old hands of the party, who had felt rather piqued at our distrust
+of their marvellous narrations, pointed out with malicious
+satisfaction the recent foot-marks of these undisputed and formidable
+lords of the soil.
+
+Sir Samuel and Lady Hood, with some of his staff, had left their
+palankeens and walked forward on the path, which barely admitted two
+people abreast, in order to enjoy the exceeding beauty of the Indian
+jungle, lighted up with the blaze of our torches. Suddenly the
+headmost musalgee or torch-bearer paused, listened, and then
+retreated precipitately, upon the hinder ranks. Nothing was said by
+them, and nothing could we hear in the woods to explain the cause of
+this panic, which, however, soon became general amongst the natives.
+The bearers set down the palankeens, and in an instant they, as well
+as all the coolies, took to their heels, while the torches flitted
+about in the forest in a style which, had there been no apprehension,
+might have been acknowledged as very picturesque. Sir Samuel not
+only stood fast himself, but ordered all of us to do so
+likewise--remarking, that, until we knew what to fly from, we might
+only be making matters worse by moving. Presently the loud crashing of
+the underwood of the forest, and a heavy thumping on the ground, gave
+abundant evidence that a wild elephant was close to us.
+
+Some of the natives told us afterwards that they had seen the monster;
+but, although we peered into the forest with all our eyes, none of us
+could honestly take upon us to say we actually saw him--though
+assuredly we heard his footsteps as he broke his way through the
+jungle. Robinson Crusoe and his wolves in Tartary came to our
+recollection; and upon our asking the natives what effect fires really
+had on wild beasts, they all assured us that hardly any animal,
+however ferocious, would come up to a light, and that we were safe so
+long as we kept near a torch. This might be consolatory reasoning for
+the musalgees, each of whom carried a light, but it afforded little
+security to us, who, it was evident, would again be left in the dark
+should an elephant cross our path a second time. The Admiral,
+therefore, and by his desire all of us, made an attempt to carry the
+torches ourselves. But we were soon so plaguily smoked and scorched
+for our pains, that we rested contented with the risk, and the bearers
+having gradually crept back to the palankeens, we once more moved on.
+In spite of all that had passed, some of the party remained so
+doggedly sceptical, from being habitually distrustful of all things
+wonderful, that they declared the whole affair a mere matter of panic,
+and dared to swear there could not be found an elephant within fifty
+miles of us. Scarcely had this opinion, so injurious to the honours
+and glories of our late adventure, been uttered, when the
+commander-in-chief, who, as usual, was leading the way, snatched a
+light from one of the men's hands, and waved it over what the
+geologists call a "recent deposit," half the size of a wheelbarrow,
+and out-rivalling in its column of smoke the muggiest torch in the
+line.
+
+"There!" exclaimed the Admiral, better pleased than if he had found a
+pile of rupees, instead of so much recent Album Graecum. "Will that
+evidence satisfy you? How many hundred yards off do you think can the
+fellow be who left this trace of his proximity?"
+
+It was past ten o'clock when we reached our tents, which had been
+pitched in the morning on the borders of the celebrated lake we came
+to visit. All the party were well fagged, and so ravenously hungry,
+that we shouted for joy on seeing supper enter just as we came to the
+ground.
+
+"This," said our excellent caterer the collector, "is the dish upon
+which we pride ourselves most at Trincomalee. It is the true Malay
+curry--rich, as you perceive, in flavour, and more than half of it
+gravy--which gravy, I beg you particularly to take notice, is full of
+minced vegetables, while the whole is softened with some of the
+youngest kind of cocoa-nut, plucked this very evening since the sun
+went down."
+
+These praises really fell far short of the merits of this glorious
+supper; nor can I remember anything in the way of gourmandise in any
+part of the world comparable to this exquisite midnight feast.
+
+At the door and windows of our supper tent were hung up by the neck
+sundry well-bedewed goglets of spring water, cheek by jowl with a
+jolly string of long-necked bottles of Lafitte and Chateau Margaux,
+joyously fanning themselves in the thorough draught of the cool
+night-breeze, breathing so gently along, that we could just hear it
+whispering through the leaves of the damp forest, and sweeping towards
+the lake past the tents, the curtains of which it scarcely stirred.
+
+The wine perhaps was almost more chilled than a fastidious
+wine-fancier might have directed; nevertheless, it flowed over our
+parched palates with an intensity of zest which I do not believe it is
+in mortals to be conscious of enjoying till they have toiled a whole
+day in the sun within half-a-dozen degrees of the equator. Bottle
+after bottle--each one more rich and racy than its valued and lamented
+predecessor--vanished so fast, that, ere an hour had elapsed, we felt
+as if a hundred mad elephants would have stood no chance with us!
+
+As we straggled off to our respective beds, made up in the palankeens,
+according to the custom of the country, we became sensible of a
+serious annoyance, of which we had taken but little notice while
+baling in the hot curries and cool clarets within the tent. A most
+potent and offensive smell was brought to us by the land-wind; and the
+Admiral, who was not a man to submit to any evil capable of remedy,
+insisted on an immediate investigation into the cause of this
+annoyance.
+
+After hunting about in the wind's eye for a short time in the jungle,
+with torches in our hands, we came upon a huge dead buffalo, swollen
+almost to double his natural size. Upon seeing this, the bearers and
+servants shrugged their shoulders, as if the case had been hopeless.
+Not so the gallant Admiral, who, in his usual style of prompt
+resource, called out, "Let us bury this monster before we go to bed."
+And, sure enough, under his directions, and by his assistance, we
+contrived, in a quarter of an hour, to throw sand, earth, and leaves
+enough over the huge carcase to cover it completely. "There's a cairn
+for you!" exclaimed the Admiral, throwing down his spade, which he had
+been using with his only hand; "and now let us turn in; for by the
+first peep of the morning we must have a touch at the wild ducks and
+peacocks on the sides of the lake, and perhaps we may contrive to have
+a shot at a buffalo or a stray elephant."
+
+Accordingly, next morning, actually before it was light, I felt the
+indefatigable Admiral tugging at my ear, and bidding me get up, to
+accompany him on a shooting excursion, and as he said, "Mayhap we
+shall get sight of some of those elephants, the existence of which you
+presumed to doubt last night. Come, Mr. Officer, show a leg! I know
+you are a bit of a philosopher, and curious in natural history; so
+rouse up and come along with me."
+
+Most cordially did I then anathematise all philosophy, and wish I had
+never expressed any curiosity on the score of wild beasts, peacocks,
+or ancient tanks; but as the Admiral was not a person to be trifled
+with, I made a most reluctant move, and exchanged the delightful dream
+of hot curries and cool sherbet for the raw reality of a
+shooting-match, up to the knees in water, at five in the morning. At
+one place, such was his Excellency's anxiety to secure a good shot at
+some ducks, that he literally crawled for a couple of hundred yards
+among the muddy shore of the lake on his knees, and at the end
+expressing himself fully repaid by getting a single capital shot at a
+wild peacock! He was also gratified by bringing down a magnificent
+jungle-cock--a bird which resembles our barn-door fowl in form, but
+its plumage is vastly more brilliant, and its flight more lofty and
+sustained, than any of which the bird can boast in its tame state. Our
+scramble in the mud brought us within sight of a drove of several
+hundred buffaloes. We saw also several troops of wild deer; but, to
+our great disappointment, not a single elephant could we catch even a
+glimpse of. We counted, at one time, several dozens of peacocks--some
+perched on the trees, some high in the air; we fired at them
+repeatedly, but I do not believe any came within shot. Their plumage
+exceeded that of our tame peacocks less in the brilliancy of the
+colour than in the wonderful fineness of the gloss--a characteristic
+of animals of all kinds in their native state. We scarcely saw one
+small bird during our whole excursion, or heard a single note but the
+hideous screams of the peacock and parrot--tones which dame Nature, in
+her even-handed style of doing things, has probably bestowed upon
+these dandies of the woods, to counterbalance the magnificence of
+their apparel.
+
+While discussing this point, the collector took occasion to point out
+to us the great importance of such artificial means of irrigating a
+country as the ancient lake of Candelay, by the side of which we were
+now encamped, must have furnished to agriculturists of former days,
+when its precious waters were husbanded and drawn off to fertilise the
+surrounding country.
+
+This stupendous monument of the wealth and industry of some former
+race is placed on ground slightly elevated above the districts lying
+between it and the sea, which, in a direct line, may be distant about
+twelve or fourteen miles. We could not ascertain exactly what was the
+precise elevation, but, from the remains of trenches, sluices, and
+other contrivances for drawing off and distributing the water, it
+appeared that the fall in the ground must have been sufficient to
+enable the husbandmen to irrigate the fields at pleasure; though, to
+our eyes, no inclination could be perceived. The lake itself is now
+greatly diminished in extent, from the dilapidations in its "bund," or
+retaining embankment, but still it stretches over many square miles of
+area. On three sides it is confined by the swelling nature of the
+ground, and it is only on the fourth that any extensive artificial
+means have been resorted to for confining the water. At this place,
+across a flat broad valley, there has been thrown a huge embankment,
+constructed chiefly of oblong stones, many of them as big as a sofa,
+extending in a zig-zag line for several miles. At some places it rises
+to the height of thirty or forty feet, and the courses of stone being
+laid above one another with considerable regularity, this great
+retaining wall assumes the appearance of a gigantic flight of steps,
+and being crowned at top by an irregular line of tall trees, it breaks
+the sky-line beyond the lake in a manner extremely picturesque. Here
+and there lateral gaps between the hills occur in the other sides, all
+of which are filled up with similar embankments.
+
+Near one end of the principal wall we could distinctly trace the ruins
+of a considerable tower, beneath which the great tunnel or outlet used
+for tapping the lake most probably passed. It is said that some early
+European settlers, a century or two ago, impressed with an idea that
+treasure was hid in this building, had torn it down to get at the gold
+beneath.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+GRIFFINS IN INDIA--SINBAD'S VALLEY OF DIAMONDS--A MOSQUITO-HUNT.
+
+
+On the evening of the 18th of November, 1812, we sailed, in his
+Majesty's ship Illustrious, from the magnificent harbour of
+Trincomalee. In attempting to get out we were sadly baffled by light
+shifting winds, which knocked us about from side to side of the
+entrance, in which, unfortunately, no good anchorage is to be found,
+owing to the great depth of water and the rocky nature of the ground.
+This serious evil of a rocky bottom is now almost entirely obviated by
+the admirable invention of iron cables, when the water is not too
+deep. The links of the chain merely acquire a polish by their friction
+against the coral reefs and other sharp ledges, by which the best
+hempen cables of past times would be cut through in ten minutes.
+
+The chain-cable, however, is difficult of management in deep water,
+that is to say, when the soundings are more than twenty or twenty-five
+fathoms. Nothing is so easy as getting the anchor to the bottom in
+such cases; it is the "facilis descensus," with a vengeance! But when
+the anchor is to be pulled up again, then comes the tug. I once let
+go my anchor with a chain-cable bent to it in forty-five fathoms,
+without having calculated on the probable effects of the momentum.
+Though the cable was bitted, all the stoppers snapped like packthread;
+and the anchor, not content with shooting to the bottom with an
+accelerated velocity, drew after it more than a hundred fathoms of
+chain, in such fearful style that we thought the poor ship must have
+been shaken to pieces. The noise was like that of rattling thunder,
+and so loud that it was impossible to hear a word; indeed it was even
+difficult to speak, from the excessive tremour caused by the rapid and
+violent passage of the links, as the chain leaped, or rather flew, up
+the hatchway, flashing round the bits, and giving out sparks like a
+firework. Finally, it tore its way out at the hause-hole, till the
+whole cable had probably piled itself on the anchor in a pyramid of
+iron at the bottom of the sea. The inner end of the cable had of
+course been securely shackled round the heel of the mainmast; but the
+jerk with which it was brought up, made the ship shake from stem to
+stern, as if she had bumped on a rock, and every one fully expected to
+see the links fly in pieces about the deck, like chain-shot fired from
+a cannon. It cost not many seconds of time for the cable to run out,
+but it occupied several hours of hard labour to heave it in again. The
+ordinary power of the capstan, full manned, scarcely stirred it; and
+at the last, when to the weight of chain hanging from the bows there
+came to be added that of the anchor, it was necessary to apply
+purchase upon purchase, in order to drag the ponderous mass once more
+to the bows.
+
+When we got fairly clear of the harbour of Trincomalee, and caught
+the monsoon, we dashed along-shore briskly enough; and having rounded
+the south point of Ceylon, well named Dondra Head, or thunder cape, we
+paid a visit to Point de Galle, celebrated for its bread-fruit and
+cocoa-nuts. We then passed on to Columbo, the capital of the island.
+Ceylon, I may take occasion to mention, is not considered by our
+countrymen of the East to be in India. We stared with all our eyes
+when this unexpected information was first given us, and fancied our
+merry friends were quizzing us. But we soon learned that, in the
+technical language of that country, Ceylon does not form a part of
+India; still less does Sumatra, Java, or any indeed of the islands in
+the great tropical Archipelago. New-comers are, of course, a good deal
+perplexed by these and sundry other local peculiarities in language
+and manners, which they at first laugh at as a good joke, then
+ridicule as affected, and lastly conform to as quite natural and
+proper. Among Anglo-Indians the straits of Malacca, Sunda, and so on,
+together with the China sea, and those magnificent groups of islands
+the Philippines and Moluccas, are all included in the sweeping
+term--"To the eastward."
+
+At almost every part of this immense range I found further local
+distinctions, of greater or less peculiarity and extent according to
+circumstances. At one place I was puzzled by hearing the name of a
+whole country appropriated to a single spot. At Bombay, for example, I
+remember it was the custom, at a certain season of the year, to talk
+of going to the Deccan, which word properly includes an immense region
+consisting of many provinces; whereas those who used this expression
+meant, and were understood to express, only one point in it--a little
+watering-place. Mere local words, in like manner, come to have a much
+more expanded signification. The word Ghaut, I believe, means, in
+strictness, a pass between hills; and hence, some bold etymologists
+pretend, comes our word gate! The term, however, is now applied to the
+whole range of mountains which fringe the western coast of India, just
+as the more gigantic Cordilleras of the Andes guard the shores of the
+Pacific.
+
+But whether Ceylon be in India or not, this island is celebrated for
+its precious stones; indeed, there are writers who believe that Mount
+Ophir of the Scripture is Adam's Peak of Ceylon. Be this also as it
+may, our ever-enterprising and active-minded Admiral determined to
+bring this reputation to the proof; and, one day at dinner at the
+governor's table, actually announced his intention of having a hunt
+for the sapphires, rubies, tourmalines, chrysoberyls, and corundums,
+for which the island has been long celebrated. His Excellency smiled,
+and the company at large scarcely knew whether to treat the proposal
+as a joke or as a serious affair. Sir Samuel, however, was not a man
+to be quizzed out of his purposes; he begged to have a party of
+workmen sent to him next morning, and that each of the men might be
+furnished with a basket, a request which naturally produced a titter;
+for it was made in such a tone as led us to fancy the worthy Admiral
+expected to collect the rubies and garnets in as great profusion as
+his far-famed predecessor, Sinbad the sailor, found them in the Valley
+of Diamonds.
+
+His precise plan he kept to himself till he reached the river, in
+which the finest stones are said to be found, the alluvial strip of
+ground bordering which was formed chiefly of fine gravel mixed with
+sand, leaves, and mud. Here he desired the men to fill their baskets,
+and to carry the whole mass, just as they picked it up, to one of the
+ship's boats, which he had directed to meet him at the landing-place.
+
+Not a word more was said on the subject at Government-house, nor on
+board the ship, till a couple of days after we had left Columbo, when
+the Admiral ordered the bag of gravel into his cabin, along with a
+great tub of water and half-a-dozen wash-deck buckets. The whole stuff
+collected on shore was now thoroughly cleaned, and when only the
+gravel remained, it was divided into a number of small portions, and
+laid on plates and dishes on the table of the fore-cabin. As soon as
+all was arranged, the Admiral, who superintended the operation, called
+out, "Send all the young gentlemen in the ship, and let every one take
+a plateful of gravel before him, to catch what jewels he can."
+
+Before the party had time to assemble, the delighted Admiral had
+himself discovered in his own dish three or four small garnets, one
+ruby, and several small crystals of corundum. By-and-bye, to the
+astonishment of every one, a collection was made, which not only
+furnished the promised ring to the governor's lady, but half-a-dozen
+others of equal beauty. These precious stones were certainly not of
+the largest dimensions; but, for all that, the Admiral established his
+point.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+CEYLONESE CANOES--PERUVIAN BALSAS--THE FLOATING WINDLASS OF THE
+COROMANDEL FISHERMEN.
+
+
+The canoes of Ceylon, as far as I remember, are not described by any
+writer, nor have I met with any professional men who are aware of
+their peculiar construction, and of the advantages of the extremely
+elegant principle upon which they are contrived, though capable, I am
+persuaded, of being applied to various purposes of navigation.
+
+Among the lesser circumstances which appear to form characteristic
+points of distinction between country and country may be mentioned the
+head-dress of the men, and the form and rig of their boats. An
+endless variety of turbans, sheep-skin caps, and conical bonnets,
+distinguish the Asiatics from the "Toppee Wallas" or hat-wearers of
+Europe; and a still greater variety exists amongst the boats of
+different nations. My purpose, just now, however, is to speak of boats
+and canoes alone; and it is really most curious to observe, that their
+size, form, cut of sails, description of oar and rudder, length of
+mast and so on, are not always entirely regulated by the peculiar
+climate of the locality, but made to depend on a caprice which it is
+difficult to account for. The boats of some countries are so extremely
+unstable, and altogether without bearings, that the smallest weight on
+one side more than on the other upsets them. This applies to the
+canoes of the North American Indian, which require considerable
+practice, even in the smoothest water, to keep them upright; and yet
+the Indians cross immense lakes in them, although the surface of those
+vast sheets of fresh water is often as rough as that of any salt sea.
+The waves, it is true, are not so long and high; but they are very
+awkward to deal with, from their abruptness, and the rapidity with
+which they get up when a breeze sets in.
+
+On those parts of the coast of the United States where the seasons are
+alternately very fine and very rough, our ingenious friends, the
+Americans, have contrived a set of pilot-boats, which are the delight
+of every sailor. This description of vessel, as the name implies, must
+always be at sea, as it is impossible to tell when her services may be
+required by ships steering in for the harbour's mouth. Accordingly,
+the Baltimore clippers and the New York pilots defy the elements in a
+style which it requires a long apprenticeship to the difficulties and
+discomforts of a wintry navigation, in a stormy latitude, duly to
+appreciate. In the fine weather, smooth water, and light winds of
+summer, these pilot-boats skim over the surface with the ease and
+swiftness of a swallow, apparently just touching the water with their
+prettily formed hulls, which seem too small to bear the immense load
+of snow-white canvas swelling above them, and shooting them along as
+if by magic, when every other vessel is lost in the calm, and when
+even taunt-masted ships can barely catch a breath of air to fill their
+sky-sails and royal studding-sails. They are truly "water-witches;"
+for, while they look so delicate and fragile that one feels at first
+as if the most moderate breeze must brush them from the face of the
+ocean, and scatter to the winds all their gay drapery, they can and do
+defy, as a matter of habit and choice, the most furious gales with
+which the rugged "sea-board" of America is visited in February and
+March.
+
+I have seen a pilot-boat off New York, in the morning, in a calm, with
+all her sails set, lying asleep on the water, which had subsided into
+such perfect stillness that we could count the seam of each cloth in
+the mirror beneath her, and it became difficult to tell which was the
+reflected image, which the true vessel. And yet, within a few hours, I
+have observed the same boat, with only her close-reefed foresail
+set--no one visible on her decks--and the sea running mountains high,
+threatening to swallow her up. Nevertheless, the beautiful craft rose
+as buoyantly on the back of the waves as any duck, and, moreover,
+glanced along their surface, and kept so good a wind, that, ere long,
+she shot ahead, and weathered our ship. Before the day was done, she
+could scarcely be distinguished from the mast-head to windward, though
+we had been labouring in the interval under every sail we could safely
+carry.
+
+The balsas of Peru, the catamarans and masullah boats of the
+Coromandel coast, and the flying proas of the South Sea Islands, have
+all been described before, and their respective merits dwelt upon, by
+Cook, Vancouver, Ulloa, and others. Each in its way, and on its
+proper spot, seems to possess qualities which it is difficult to
+communicate to vessels similarly constructed at a distance. The boats
+of each country, indeed, may be said to possess a peculiar language,
+understood only by the natives of the countries to which they belong;
+and truly, the manner in which the vessels of some regions behave,
+under the guidance of their respective masters, seems almost to imply
+that the boats themselves are gifted with animal intelligence. At all
+events, their performance never fails to excite the highest
+professional admiration of those whom experience has rendered familiar
+with the difficulties to be overcome.
+
+Long acquaintance with the local tides, winds, currents, and other
+circumstances of the pilotage, and the constant pressure of necessity,
+enable the inhabitants of each particular spot to acquire such
+masterly command over their machinery, that no new-comer, however well
+provided, or however skilful generally, can expect to cope with them.
+Hence it arises, that boats of a man-of-war are found almost
+invariably inferior, in some respects, to those of the port at which
+she touches. The effect of seeking to adapt our boats to any one
+particular place would be to render them less serviceable upon the
+whole. After remaining some time at a place, we might succeed in
+occasionally outsailing or outrowing the natives; but what sort of a
+figure would our boats cut at the next point to which the ship might
+be ordered--say a thousand miles farther from, or nearer to, the
+equator, where all the circumstances would be totally different. We
+should have to change again and again, losing time at each place, and
+probably not gaining, after all, any of the real advantages which the
+natives long resident on the spot alone know the art of applying to
+practice.
+
+The hull or body of the Ceylonese canoe is formed, like that of
+Robinson Crusoe's, out of the trunk of a single tree, wrought in its
+middle part into a perfectly smooth cylinder, but slightly flattened
+and turned up at both ends, which are made exactly alike. It is
+hollowed out in the usual way, but not cut so much open at top as we
+see in other canoes, for considerably more than half of the outside
+part of the cylinder or barrel is left entire, with only a narrow
+slit, eight or ten inches wide, above. If such a vessel were placed in
+the water, it would possess very little stability, even when not
+loaded with any weight on its upper edges. But there is built upon it
+a set of wooden upper works, in the shape of a long trough, extending
+from end to end; and the top-heaviness of this addition to the hull
+would instantly overturn the vessel, unless some device were applied
+to preserve its upright position. This purpose is accomplished by
+means of an out-rigger on one side, consisting of two curved poles, or
+slender but tough spars, laid across the canoe at right-angles to its
+length, and extending to the distance of twelve, fifteen, or even
+twenty feet, where they join a small log of buoyant wood, about half
+as long as the canoe, and lying parallel to it, with both its ends
+turned up like the toe of a slipper, to prevent its dipping into the
+waves. The inner ends of these transverse poles are securely bound by
+thongs to the raised gunwales of the canoe. The out-rigger, which is
+always kept to windward, acting by its weight at the end of so long a
+lever, prevents the vessel from turning over by the pressure of the
+sail; or, should the wind shift suddenly, so as to bring the sail
+aback, the buoyancy of the floating log would prevent the canoe from
+upsetting on that side by retaining the out-rigger horizontal. The
+mast, which is very taunt, or lofty, supports a lug-sail of immense
+size, and is stepped exactly in midships, that is, at the same
+distance from both ends of the canoe. The yard, also, is slung
+precisely in the middle; and while the tack of the sail is made fast
+at one extremity of the hull, the opposite corner, or clew, to which
+the sheet is attached, hauls aft to the other end. Shrouds extend from
+the mast-head to the gunwale of the canoe; besides which, slender
+backstays are carried to the extremity of the out-rigger; and these
+ropes, by reason of their great spread, give such powerful support to
+the mast, though loaded with a prodigious sail, that a very slender
+spar is sufficient.
+
+The method of working the sails of these canoes is as follows. They
+proceed in one direction as far as may be deemed convenient, and then,
+without going about, or turning completely round as we do, they merely
+change the stern of the canoe into the head, by shifting the tack of
+the sail over to leeward, and so converting it into the sheet--while
+the other clew, being shifted up to windward, becomes the tack. As
+soon as these changes have been made, away spins the little fairy bark
+on her new course, but always keeping the same side, or that on which
+the out-rigger is placed to windward. It will be easily understood
+that the pressure of the sail has a tendency to lift the weight at the
+extremity of the out-rigger above the surface of the water. In sailing
+along, therefore, the log just skims the tops of the waves, but
+scarcely ever buries itself in them, so that little or no interruption
+to the velocity of the canoe is caused by the out-rigger. When the
+breeze freshens so much as to lift the weight higher than the natives
+like, one, and sometimes two of them, walk out on the horizontal
+spars, so as to add their weight to that of the out-rigger. In order
+to enable them to accomplish this purpose in safety, a "man rope,"
+about breast high, extends over each of the spars from the mast to the
+backstays.
+
+But of all the ingenious native contrivances for turning small means
+to good account, one of the most curious, and, under certain
+circumstances, perhaps the most useful, is the balsa, or raft of South
+America, or, as it is called on some part of the coast, the catamaran.
+The simplest form of the raft, or balsa, is that of five, seven, or
+nine large beams of very light wood, from fifty to sixty feet long,
+arranged side by side, with the longest spar placed in the centre.
+These logs are firmly held together by cross-bars, lashings, and stout
+planking near the ends. They vary from fifteen to twenty, and even
+thirty feet in width. I have seen some at Guayaquil of an immense
+size, formed of logs as large as a frigate's foremast. These are
+intended for conveying goods to Paita, and other places along-shore.
+The balsa generally carries only one large sail, which is hoisted to
+what we call a pair of shears, formed by two poles crossing at the
+top, where they are lashed together. It is obvious that it would be
+difficult to step a mast securely to a raft in the manner it is done
+in a ship. It is truly astonishing to see how fast these singular
+vessels go through the water; but it is still more curious to observe
+how accurately they can be steered, and how effectively they may be
+handled in all respects like any ordinary vessel.
+
+The method by which the balsas are directed in their course is
+extremely ingenious, and is that to which I should wish to call the
+attention of sailors, not merely as a matter of curiosity, but from
+its practical utility in seamanship. No officer can tell how soon he
+may be called upon to place his crew on a raft, should his ship be
+wrecked; and yet, unless he has been previously made aware of some
+method of steering it, no purpose may be answered but that of
+protracting the misery of the people under his charge. Nothing can be
+more simple, or more easy of application, than the South American
+contrivance. Near both ends of the centre spar there is cut a
+perpendicular slit, about a couple of inches wide by one or two feet
+in length. Into each of these holes a broad plank, called guaras by
+the natives, is inserted in such a way that it may be thrust down to
+the depth of ten or twelve feet, or it may be drawn up entirely. The
+slits are so cut, that, when the raft is in motion, the edges of these
+planks shall meet the water. It is clear, that if both the guaras be
+thrust quite down, and held fast in a perpendicular direction, they
+will offer a broad surface towards the side, and thus, by acting like
+the leeboards of a river-barge, or the keel of a ship, prevent the
+balsa from drifting sidewise or dead to leeward. But while these
+guaras serve the purpose of a keel, they also perform the important
+duty of a rudder, the rationale of which every sailor will understand,
+upon considering the effect which must follow upon pulling either up
+the guara in the bow or that in the stern. Suppose, when the wind is
+on the beam, the foremost one drawn up; that end of the raft will
+instantly have a tendency to drift to leeward, from the absence of
+the lateral support it previously received from its guara or keel at
+the bow; or, in sea language, the balsa will immediately "fall off,"
+and in time she will come right before the wind. On the other hand, if
+the foremost guara be kept down while the sternmost one is drawn up,
+the balsa's head, or bow, will gradually come up towards the wind, in
+consequence of that end retaining its hold of the water by reason of
+its guara, while the stern end, being relieved from its lateral
+support, drifts to leeward. Thus, by judiciously raising or lowering
+one or both the guaras, the raft may not only be steered with the
+greatest nicety, but may be tacked or wore, or otherwise directed,
+with precision.
+
+I never shall forget the sensation produced in a ship I commanded one
+evening on the coast of Peru, as we steered towards the roadstead of
+Payta. An immense balsa was dashing out before the land-wind, and
+sending a snowy wreath of foam before her like that which curls up
+before the bow of a frigate in chase. As long as she was kept before
+the wind, we could understand this in some degree; but when she hauled
+up in order to round the point, and having made a stretch along-shore,
+proceeded to tack, we could scarcely believe our eyes. Had the
+celebrated Flying Dutchman sailed past us, our wonder could hardly
+have been more excited.
+
+It will generally be found well worth an officer's attention to remark
+in what manner the natives of any coast, however rude they may be,
+contrive to perform difficult tasks. Such things may be very simple
+and easy for us to execute, when we have all the appliances and means
+of our full equipment at command; but, as circumstances may often
+occur to deprive us of many of those means, and thus, virtually, to
+reduce us to the condition of the natives, it becomes of consequence
+to ascertain how necessity, the venerable mother of invention, has
+taught people so situated to do the required work. For example, it is
+generally easy for a ship of war to pick up her anchor with her own
+boats; but it will sometimes happen that the launch and other large
+boats may be stove, and then it may prove of consequence to know how a
+heavy anchor can be weighed without a boat at all.
+
+We happened, in his Majesty's ship Minden, to run upon the Coleroon
+shoal, off the mouth of the great river of that name, about a hundred
+miles south of Madras. After laying out a bower anchor, and hauling
+the ship off, we set about preparing the boats to weigh it in the
+usual way. But the master-attendant of Porto Novo, who had come off to
+our assistance with a fleet of canoes and rafts, suggested to Sir
+Samuel Hood that it might he a good opportunity to try the skill of
+the natives, who were celebrated for their expertness in raising great
+weights from the bottom. The proposal was one which delighted the
+Admiral, who enjoyed everything that was new. He posted himself
+accordingly in his barge near the spot, but he allowed the task to be
+turned over entirely to the black fellows, whom he ordered to be
+supplied with ropes, spars, and anything else they required from the
+ship. The officers and sailors, in imitation of their chief, clustered
+themselves in wondering groups in the rigging, in the chains, and in
+the boats, to witness the strange spectacle of a huge bower anchor,
+weighing nearly four tons, raised off the ground by a set of native
+fishermen, possessed of no canoe larger than the smallest gig on
+board.
+
+The master-attendant stood interpreter, and passed backwards and
+forwards between the ship and the scene of operations--not to direct,
+but merely to signify what things the natives required for their
+purpose. They first begged us to have a couple of spare topmasts and
+topsail-yards, with a number of smaller spars, such as top-gallant
+masts and studding-sail booms. Out of these they formed, with
+wonderful speed, an exceedingly neat cylindrical raft, between two and
+three feet in diameter. They next bound the whole closely together by
+lashings, and filled up all its inequalities with capstan-bars,
+handspikes, and other small spars, so as to make it a compact, smooth,
+and uniform cylinder from end to end. Nothing could be more dexterous
+or seaman-like than the style in which these fellows swam about and
+passed the lashings; in fact, they appeared to be as much at home in
+the water as our sailors were in the boats or in the rigging.
+
+A stout seven-inch hawser was now sent down by the buoy-rope, and the
+running clinch or noose formed on its end, placed over the fluke of
+the anchor in the usual way. A couple of round turns were then taken
+with the hawser at the middle part of the cylindrical raft, after it
+had been drawn up as tight as possible from the anchor. A number of
+slew-ropes, I think about sixty or seventy in all, were next passed
+round the cylinder several times, in the opposite direction to the
+round turns taken with the hawser.
+
+Upwards of a hundred of the natives now mounted the raft, and, after
+dividing themselves into pairs, and taking hold of the slew-ropes in
+their hands, pulled them up as tight as they could. By this effort
+they caused the cylinder to turn round till its further revolutions
+were stopped by the increasing tightness of the hawser, which was
+wound on the cylinder as fast as the slew-ropes were wound off it.
+When all the ropes had been drawn equally tight, and the whole party
+of men had been ranged along the top in an erect posture, with their
+faces all turned one way, a signal was given by one of the principal
+natives. At this moment the men, one and all, still grasping their
+respective slew-ropes firmly in their hands, and without bending a
+joint in their whole bodies, fell simultaneously on their backs, flat
+on the water! The effect of this sudden movement was to turn the
+cylinder a full quadrant, or one quarter of a revolution. This, of
+course, brought a considerable strain on the hawser fixed to the
+anchor. On a second signal being given, every alternate pair of men
+gradually crept up the spars by means of their slew-ropes, till
+one-half of the number stood once more along the top of the cylinder,
+while the other half of the party still lay flat on the water, and by
+their weight prevented the cylinder rolling back again.
+
+When the next signal was given, those natives who had regained their
+original position on the top of the cylinder threw themselves down
+once more, while those who already lay prostrate gathered in the slack
+of their slew-ropes with the utmost eagerness as the cylinder revolved
+another quarter of a turn. It soon became evident that the anchor had
+fairly begun to rise off the ground, for the buoy-rope, which at first
+had been bowsed taught over the stern of our launch, became
+quite slack.
+
+I forget how many successive efforts were made by the natives before
+the anchor was lifted; but, in the end, it certainly was raised
+completely off the ground by their exertions alone. The natives,
+however, complained of the difficulty being much greater than they had
+expected in consequence of the great size of our anchor. In fact, when
+at length they had wound the hawser on the cylinder so far that it
+carried the full weight, the whole number of the natives lay stretched
+on the water in a horizontal position, apparently afraid to move, lest
+the weight, if not uniformly distributed amongst them, might prove too
+great, and the anchor drop again to the bottom, by the returning
+revolutions of the cylinder. When this was explained to Sir Samuel
+Hood, he ordered the people in the launch to bowse away at the
+buoy-rope. This proved a most seasonable relief to the poor natives,
+who, however, declared, that, if it were required, they would go on,
+and bring up the anchor fairly to the water's edge. As the
+good-natured Admiral would not permit this, the huge anchor, cylinder,
+natives, launch, and all, were drawn into deep water were the ship
+lay. The master-attendant now explained to the natives that they had
+nothing more to do than to continue lying flat and still on the water,
+till the people on board the ship, by heaving in the cable, should
+bring the anchor to the bows, and thus relieve them of their burden.
+The officer of the launch was also instructed not to slack the
+buoy-rope till the cable had got the full weight of the anchor, and
+the natives required no farther help.
+
+Nothing could be more distinctly given than those orders, so that I
+cannot account for the panic which seized some of the natives when
+close to the ship. Whatever was the cause, its effect was such that
+many of them let go their slew-ropes, and thus cast a disproportionate
+share of burden on the others, whose strength, or rather weight,
+proving unequal to counterpoise the load, the cylinder began to turn
+back again. This soon brought the whole strain, or nearly the whole,
+on the stern of the launch, and had not the tackle been smartly let
+go, she must have been drawn under water and swamped. The terrified
+natives now lost all self-possession, as the mighty anchor shot
+rapidly to the bottom. The cylinder of course whirled round with
+prodigious velocity as the hawser unwound itself; and so suddenly had
+the catastrophe occurred, that many of the natives, not having
+presence of mind to let go their slew-ropes, held fast and were
+whisked round and round several times alternately under water beneath
+the cylinder and on the top of it, not unlike the spokes of a
+coach-wheel wanting the rim.
+
+The Admiral was in the greatest alarm, lest some of these poor fellows
+should get entangled with the ropes and be drowned, or be dashed
+against one another, and beaten to pieces against the cylinder. It was
+a great relief, therefore, to find that no one was in the least degree
+hurt, though some of the natives had been soused most soundly, or, as
+the Jacks said, who grinned at the whole affair, "keel-hauled in
+proper style."
+
+In a certain sense, then, this experiment may be said to have failed;
+but enough was done to show that it might be rendered exceedingly
+effective on many occasions. The Admiral, one of the best practical
+sailors of his day, thus explained it:--
+
+"In the first place," said Sir Samuel, "you must observe, youngsters,
+that this device of the natives is neither more nor less than a
+floating windlass, where the buoyant power of the timber serves the
+purpose of a support to the axis. The men fixed by the slew-ropes to
+the cylinder, represent the handspikes or bars by which the windlass
+is turned round, and the hawser takes the place of the cable. But,"
+continued he, "there appears to be no reason why the cylinder should
+be made equally large along its whole length; and were I to repeat
+this experiment, I would make the middle part, round which the hawser
+was to be passed, of a single topmast, while I would swell out the
+ends of my cylinder or raft to three or four feet in diameter. In this
+way a great increase of power would evidently be gained by those who
+worked the slew-ropes. In the next place," said the Admiral, "it is
+clear that either the buoy-rope, or another hawser also fastened to
+the anchor, as a 'preventer,' ought to be carried round the middle
+part of the cylinder, but in the opposite direction to that of the
+weighing hawser. This second hawser should be hauled tight round at
+the end of each successive quarter-turn gained by the men. If this
+were done, all tendency in the cylinder to turn one way more than the
+other would be prevented; for each of the hawsers would bear an equal
+share of the weight of the anchor, and being wound upon the raft in
+opposite directions, would of course counteract each other's tendency
+to slew it round. The whole party of men, instead of only one-half of
+them, might then mount the spars; and thus their united strength could
+be exerted at each effort, and in perfect security, against the
+formidable danger of the cylinder whirling back by the anchor gaining
+the mastery over them, and dropping again to the bottom. But without
+using their clumsy, though certainly very ingenious, machinery of
+turning men into handspikes, I think," said he, "we might construct
+our floating windlass in such a way that a set of small
+spars--studding-sail booms, for instance--might be inserted at right
+angles to its length, like the bars of a capstan, and these, if
+swifted together, could be worked from the boats, without the
+necessity of any one going into the water."
+
+While speaking of the dexterity of the natives of India, I may mention
+a feat which interested us very much. A strong party of hands from the
+ship were sent one day to remove an anchor, weighing seventy-five
+hundred-weight, from one part of Bombay dockyard to another, but,
+from the want of some place to attach their tackle to, they could not
+readily transport it along the wharf. Various devices were tried in
+vain by the sailors, whose strength, if it could have been brought to
+bear, would have proved much more than enough for the task. In process
+of time, no doubt, they would have fallen upon some method of
+accomplishing their purpose; but while they were discussing various
+projects, one of the superintendents said he thought his party of
+native coolies or labourers could lift the anchor and carry it to any
+part of the yard. This proposal was received by our Johnnies with a
+loud laugh; for the numbers of the natives did not much exceed their
+own, and the least powerful of the seamen could readily, at least in
+his own estimation, have demolished half-a-dozen of the strongest of
+these slender Hindoos.
+
+To work they went, however, while Jack looked on with great
+attention. Their first operation was to lay a jib-boom horizontally,
+and nearly along the shank of the anchor. This being securely lashed
+to the shank, and also to the stock, the whole length of the spar was
+crossed at right angles by capstan bars, to the ends of which as many
+handspikes as there was room for were lashed also at right angles. In
+this way, every cooly of the party could obtain a good hold, and exert
+his strength to the greatest purpose. I forget how many natives were
+applied to this service; but in the course of a very few minutes,
+their preparations being completed, the ponderous anchor was lifted a
+few inches from the ground, to the wonder and admiration of the
+British seamen, who cheered the black fellows, and patted them on the
+back as they trotted along the wharf with their load, which appeared
+to oppress them no more than if it had been the jolly boat's grapnel!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE SURF AT MADRAS.
+
+
+From Ceylon we proceeded after a time to Madras roads, where we soon
+became well acquainted with all the outs and ins of the celebrated
+surf of that place. This surf, after all, is not really higher than
+many which one meets with in other countries; but certainly it is the
+highest and most troublesome which exists as a permanent obstruction
+in front of a great commercial city. The ingenuity and perseverance of
+man, however, have gone far to surmount this difficulty; and now the
+passage to and from the beach at Madras offers hardly any serious
+interruption to the intercourse. Still, it is by no means an agreeable
+operation to pass through the surf under any circumstances; and
+occasionally, during the north-east monsoon, it is attended with some
+danger. For the first two or three times, I remember thinking it very
+good sport to cross the surf, and sympathised but little with the
+anxious expressions of some older hands who accompanied me. The boat,
+the boatmen, their curious oars, the strange noises they made, and the
+attendant catamarans to pick up the passengers if the boat upsets,
+being all new to my eyes, and particularly odd in themselves, so
+strongly engaged my attention, that I had no leisure to think of the
+danger till the boat was cast violently on the beach. The very first
+time I landed, the whole party were pitched out heels over head on the
+shore. I thought it a mighty odd way of landing; but supposing it to
+be all regular and proper, I scrambled up the wet sand, and merely
+muttered,--"What the devil will the fellows do next?"
+
+The surf at Madras consists of two distinct lines of breakers on the
+beach, running parallel to each other and to the shore. These foaming
+ridges are caused by a succession of waves curling over and breaking
+upon bars or banks, formed probably by the reflux action of the sea
+carrying the sand outwards. The surf itself, unquestionably, owes its
+origin to the long sand of the ocean-swell coming across the Bay of
+Bengal, a sweep of nearly five hundred miles, from the coasts of
+Arracan, the Malay peninsula, and the island of Sumatra. This huge
+swell is scarcely perceptible in the fathomless Indian sea; but when
+the mighty oscillation reaches the shelving shores of Coromandel, its
+vibrations are checked by the bottom. The mass of waters, which up to
+this point had merely sunk and risen, that is, vibrated without any
+real progressive motion, is then driven forwards to the land, where,
+from the increasing shallowness, it finds less and less room for its
+"wild waves' play," and finally rises above the general level of the
+sea in threatening ridges. I know few things more alarming to nautical
+nerves than the sudden and mysterious "lift of the swell," which
+hurries a ship upwards when she has chanced to get too near the
+shore, and when, in consequence of the deadness of the calm, she can
+make no way to seaward, but is gradually hove nearer and nearer to the
+roaring surge.
+
+At last, when the great ocean-wave approaches the beach, and the depth
+of water is much diminished, the velocity of so vast a mass sweeping
+along the bottom, though greatly accelerated, becomes inadequate to
+fulfil the conditions of the oscillation, and it has no resource but
+to curl into a high and toppling wave. So that this moving ridge of
+waters, after careering forwards with a front high in proportion to
+the impulse behind, and for a length of time regulated by the degree
+of abruptness in the rise of the shore, at last dashes its monstrous
+head with a noise extremely like thunder along the endless coast.
+
+Often, indeed, when on shore at Madras, have I lain in bed awake, with
+open windows, for hours together, listening, at the distance of many a
+league, to the sound of these waves, and almost fancying I could still
+feel the tremour of the ground, always distinctly perceptible near the
+beach. When the distance is great, and the actual moment at which the
+sea breaks ceases to be distinguishable, and when a long range of
+coast is within hearing, the unceasing roar of the surf in a serene
+night, heard over the level plains of the Carnatic shore, is
+wonderfully interesting.
+
+Any attempt to pass the surf in an ordinary boat is seldom thought of.
+I remember hearing of a naval officer who crossed once in his
+jolly-boat in safety, but on a second trial he was swamped, and both
+he and his crew well-nigh drowned. The masullah boats of the country
+resemble nothing to be seen elsewhere. They have flat bottoms,
+perpendicular sides, and abruptly pointed ends, being twelve or
+fourteen feet long by five or six broad, and four or five feet high.
+Not a single nail enters into their construction, all the planks being
+held together by cords or lacings. Along the planks, at a short
+distance from the edge, are bored a set of holes, through which the
+lacing or cord is to pass. A layer of cotton is then interposed
+between the planks, and along the seam is laid a flat narrow strip of
+a fibry and tough kind of wood. The cord is next rove through the
+holes and passed over the strip, so that when it is pulled tight the
+planks are not only drawn into as close contact as the interposed
+cotton will allow of, but the long strip is pressed against the seam
+so effectually as to exclude the water. The wood of which these boats
+are constructed is so elastic and tough, that when they take the
+ground, either by accident or in regular course of service, the part
+which touches yields to the pressure without breaking, and bulges
+inwards almost as readily as if it were made of shoe-leather. Under
+similar circumstances, an ordinary boat, fitted with a keel, timbers,
+and planks nailed together, not being pliable, would be shivered to
+pieces.
+
+At the after or sternmost end a sort of high poop-deck passes from
+side to side, on which the steersman takes his post. He holds in his
+hand an oar or paddle, which consists of a pole ten or twelve feet
+long, carrying at its extremity a circular disc of wood about a foot
+or a foot and a-half in diameter. The oars used by the six hands who
+pull the masullah boat are similar to that held by the steersman, who
+is always a person of long experience and known skill, as well as
+courage and coolness--qualities indispensable to the safety of the
+passage when the surf is high. The rowers sit upon high thwarts and
+their oars are held by grummets, or rings made of rope, to pins
+inserted in the gunwale, so that they can be let go and resumed at
+pleasure, without risk of being lost. The passengers, wretched
+victims! seat themselves on a cross bench about a foot lower than the
+seats of the rowers, and close in front of the raised poop or
+steersman's deck, which is nearly on a level with the gunwale.
+
+The whole process of landing, from the moment of leaving the ship till
+you feel yourself safe on the crown of the beach is as disagreeable as
+can be; and I can only say for myself that every time I crossed the
+surf it rose in my respect. At the eighth or tenth transit I began
+really to feel uncomfortable; at the twentieth I felt considerable
+apprehension of being well ducked; and at about the thirtieth time of
+crossing, I almost fancied there was but little chance of escaping a
+watery grave, with sharks for sextons, and the wild surf for a dirge!
+The truth is that at each successive time of passing this formidable
+barrier of surf we become better and better acquainted with the
+dangers and possibilities of accidents.
+
+However, as all persons intending to go ashore at Madras must pass
+through the surf, they step with what courage they can muster into
+their boat alongside the ship, anchored in the roads a couple of miles
+off, in consequence of the water being too shallow for large vessels.
+The boat then shoves off, and rows to the "back of the surf," where it
+is usual to let go a grapnel, or to lie on the oars till the masullah
+boat comes out. The back of the surf is that part of the roadstead
+lying immediately beyond the place where the first indication is given
+of the tendency in the swell to rise into a wave; and no boat not
+expressly fitted for the purpose ever goes nearer to the shore, but
+lies off till the "bar-boat" makes her way through the surf, and lays
+herself alongside the ship's boat. A scrambling kind of boarding
+operation now takes place, to the last degree inconvenient to ladies
+and other shore-going persons not accustomed to climbing. As the
+gunwale of the masullah boat rises three or four feet above the water,
+the step is a long and troublesome one to make, even by those who are
+not encumbered with petticoats--those sad impediments to
+locomotion--devised by the men, as I heard a Chinaman remark,
+expressly to check the rambling propensities of the softer sex, always
+too prone, he alleged, to yield to wandering impulses without such
+encumbrances! I know to my cost, from many a broken shin, that even
+gentlemen bred afloat may contrive to slip in removing from one boat
+to the other, especially if the breeze be fresh, and there be what
+mariners call a "bubble of a sea." In a little while, however, all the
+party are tumbled, or hoisted into the masullah boat, where they seat
+themselves on the cross-bench, marvellously like so many culprits on a
+hurdle on their way to execution! Ahead of them roars and boils a
+furious ridge of terrific breakers, while close at their ears behind,
+stamps and bawls, or rather yells, the steersman, who takes this
+method of communicating his wishes to his fellow-boatmen. The
+steersman stands on his poop, or quarter-deck, just behind the
+miserable passengers, whose heads reach not quite so high as his
+knees. His oar rests in a crutch on the top of the stern-post, and not
+only serves as a rudder, but gives him the power to slew or twist the
+boat round with considerable rapidity, when aided by the efforts of
+the rowers. It is necessary for the steersman to wait for a favourable
+moment to enter the surf, otherwise the chances are that the boat will
+be upset, in the manner I shall describe presently. People are
+frequently kept waiting in this way for ten or twenty minutes, at the
+back of the surf, before a proper opportunity presents itself.
+
+During all this while, the experienced eye of the veteran skipper
+abaft glances backwards and forwards from the swell rolling in from
+the open sea, to the surf which is breaking close to him. From time to
+time he utters a half word to his crew, with that kind of faint
+interrogative tone in which a commanding-officer indulges when he is
+sure of acquiescence on the part of those under him, and is careless
+whether they answer or not. In general, however, he remains quite
+silent during this first stage of the passage, as do also the rowers,
+who either rest the paddles horizontally, or allow their circular
+blades to float on the surface of the water. Meanwhile the boat rolls
+from side to side, or is heaved smartly upwards as the swell, just on
+the eve of breaking, lifts her into the air, and then drops her again
+into the hollow with the most sea-sickening velocity. I should state,
+that, during this wofully unpleasant interval, the masullah boat is
+placed sideways to the line of surf, parallel to the shore, and, of
+course, exactly in the trough of the sea.
+
+I have often watched with the closest attention to discover what were
+the indications by which these experienced boatmen inferred that the
+true moment was arrived when it was safe to enter the surf, but I
+never could make out enough to be of much professional utility. It was
+clear, indeed, that the proper instant for making the grand push
+occurred when one of the highest waves was about to break--for the
+greater the dash, the greater the lull after it. But how these fellows
+managed to discover, beforehand, that the wave, upon the back of
+which they chose to ride in, was of that exact description, I could
+never discover. On the approach of a swell which he knows will answer
+his purpose, the steersman, suddenly changing his quiet and almost
+contemplative air for a look of intense anxiety, grasps his oar with
+double firmness, and exerting his utmost strength of muscle, forces
+the boat's stern round, so that her head may point to the shore. At
+the same time he urges his crew to exert themselves, partly by violent
+stampings with his feet, partly by loud and vehement exhortations, and
+partly by a succession of horrid yells, in which the sounds Yarry!
+Yarry!! Yarry!!! predominate--indicating to the ears of a stranger the
+very reverse of self-confidence, and filling the soul of a nervous
+passenger with infinite alarm.
+
+Those fearful noises are loudly re-echoed by all the other men, who
+strain themselves so vigorously at the oars, that the boat, flying
+forwards, almost keeps way with the wave, on the back of which it is
+the object of the steersman to keep her. As she is swept impetuously
+towards the bar, a person seated in the boat can distinctly feel the
+sea under him gradually rising under a sheer wave, and lifting the
+boat up--and up--and up, in a manner exceedingly startling. At length
+the ridge, near the summit of which the boat is placed, begins to
+curl, and its edge just breaks into a line of white fringe along the
+upper edge of the perpendicular face presented to the shore, towards
+which it is advancing with vast rapidity. The grand object of the
+boatmen now appears to consist in maintaining their position, not on
+the very crown of the wave, but a little further to seaward, down the
+slope, so as to ride upon its shoulders, as it were. The importance of
+this precaution becomes apparent, when the curling surge, no longer
+able to maintain its elevation, is dashed furiously forwards, and
+dispersed into an immense sheet of foam, broken by innumerable eddies
+and whirlpools, into a confused sea of irregular waves rushing
+tumultuously together, and casting the spray high into the air by
+impinging one against the other. This furious turmoil often whirls the
+masullah boat round and round, in spite of the despairing outcries of
+the steersman, and the redoubled exertions of his screaming crew, half
+of whom back their oars, while the other half tug away in vain
+endeavours to keep her head in the right direction.
+
+I have endeavoured to describe the correct and safe method of riding
+over the surf on the outer bar upon the back of the wave, a feat in
+all conscience sufficiently ticklish; but woe betide the poor masullah
+boat which shall be a little too far in advance of her proper place,
+so that, when the wave curls over and breaks, she may be pitched head
+foremost over the brink of the watery precipice, and strikes her nose
+on the sandbank. Even then, if there happen, by good luck, to be depth
+of water over the bar sufficient to float her, she may still escape;
+but, should the sand be left bare, or nearly so, as happens sometimes,
+the boat is almost sure to strike, if, instead of keeping on the back
+or shoulder of the wave, she incautiously precedes it. In that unhappy
+case she is instantly tumbled forwards, heels over head, while the
+crew and passengers are sent sprawling amongst the foam.
+
+Between the sharks and the catamaran men a race then takes place--the
+one to save, the other to destroy--the very Brahmas and Shivas of the
+surf! These accidents, however, are so very rare, that during all the
+time I was in India I never witnessed one.
+
+There is still a second surf to pass, which breaks on the inner bar,
+about forty or fifty yards nearer to the shore. The boatmen try to
+cross this, and to approach so near the beach, that, when the next
+wave breaks, they shall be so far ahead of it that it may not dash
+into the boat and swamp her, and yet not so far out as to prevent
+their profiting by its impulse to drive them up the steep face of sand
+forming the long-wished-for shore. The rapidity with which the
+masullah boat is at last cast on the beach is sometimes quite fearful,
+and the moment she thumps on the ground, as the wave recedes, most
+startling. I have seen persons pitched completely off their seats, and
+more than once I have myself been fairly turned over with all the
+party, like a parcel of fish cast out of a basket! In general, no such
+untoward events take place, and the boat at length rests on the sand,
+with her stern to the sea. But as yet she is by no means far enough up
+the beach to enable the passengers to get out with comfort or safety.
+Before the next wave breaks, the bow and sides of the boat have been
+seized by numbers of the natives on the shore, who greatly assist the
+impulse when the wave comes, both by keeping her in a straight course,
+and likewise by preventing her upsetting. These last stages of the
+process are very disagreeable, for every time the surf reaches the
+boat, it raises her up and lets her fall again, with a violent jerk.
+When at last she is high enough to remain beyond the wash of the surf,
+you either jump out, or more frequently descend by means of a ladder,
+as you would get off the top of a stage-coach; and, turning about, you
+look with astonishment at what you have gone through, and thank Heaven
+you are safe!
+
+The return passage from the shore to a ship, in a masullah boat, is
+more tedious, but less dangerous, than the process of landing. This
+difference will easily be understood, when it is recollected that in
+one case the boat is carried impetuously forward by the waves, and
+that all power of retarding her progress on the part of the boatmen
+ceases after a particular moment. In going from the shore, however,
+the boat is kept continually under management, and the talents and
+experience of the steersman regulate the affair throughout. He
+watches, just inside the surf, till a smooth moment occurs, generally
+after a high sea has broken, and then he endeavours, by great
+exertions, to avail himself of the moment of comparative tranquillity
+which follows, to force his way across the bar before another sea
+comes. If he detects, as he is supposed to have it always in his power
+to do, that another sea is on the rise, which will, in all
+probability, curl up and break over him before he can row over its
+crest and slide down its back, his duty is, to order his men to back
+their oars with their utmost speed and strength. This retrograde
+movement withdraws her from the blow, or, at all events, allows the
+wave to strike her with diminished violence at the safest point, and
+in water of sufficient depth to prevent the boat taking the ground
+injuriously, to the risk of her being turned topsy-turvy. I have, in
+fact, often been in these masullah boats when they have struck
+violently on the bar, and have seen their flat and elastic bottoms
+bulge inwards in the most alarming manner, but I never saw any of the
+planks break or the seams open so as to admit the water.
+
+It is very interesting to watch the progress of those honest catamaran
+fellows, who live almost entirely in the surf, and who, independently
+of their chief purpose of attending the masullah boats, are much
+employed as messengers to the ships in the roads, even in the worst
+weather. I remember one day being sent with a note for the commanding
+officer of the flag-ship, which Sir Samuel Hood was very desirous
+should be sent on board; but as the weather was too tempestuous to
+allow even a masullah boat to pass the surf, I was obliged to give it
+to a catamaran man. The poor fellow drew off his head a small
+skull-cap, made apparently of some kind of skin, or oil-cloth, or
+bladder, and having deposited his despatches therein, proceeded to
+execute his task.
+
+We really thought, at first, that our messenger must have been drowned
+even in crossing the inner bar, for we well-nigh lost sight of him in
+the hissing yeast of waves in which he and his catamaran appeared only
+at intervals, tossing about like a cork. But by far the most difficult
+part of his task remained after he had reached the comparatively
+smooth space between the two lines of surf, where we could observe him
+paddling to and fro as if in search of an opening in the moving wall
+of water raging between him and the roadstead. He was watching for a
+favourable moment, when, after the dash of some high wave, he might
+hope to make good his transit in safety.
+
+After allowing a great many seas to break before he attempted to cross
+the outer bar, he at length seized the proper moment, and turning his
+little bark to seaward, paddled out as fast as he could. Just as the
+gallant fellow, however, reached the shallowest part of the bar, and
+we fancied him safely across, a huge wave, which had risen with
+unusual quickness, elevated its foaming crest right before him,
+curling upwards many feet higher than his shoulders. In a moment he
+cast away his paddle, and leaping on his feet, he stood erect on his
+catamaran, watching with a bold front the advancing bank of water. He
+kept his position, quite undaunted, till the steep face of the breaker
+came within a couple of yards of him, and then leaping head foremost,
+he pierced the wave in a horizontal direction with the agility and
+confidence of a dolphin. We had scarcely lost sight of his feet, as he
+shot through the heart of the wave, when such a dash took place as
+must have crushed him to pieces had he stuck by his catamaran, which
+was whisked instantly afterwards, by a kind of somerset, completely
+out of the water by its rebounding off the sandbank. On casting our
+eyes beyond the surf, we felt much relieved by seeing our shipwrecked
+friend merrily dancing on the waves at the back of the surf, leaping
+more than breast-high above the surface, and looking in all
+directions, first for his paddle, and then for his catamaran. Having
+recovered his oar, he next swam, as he best could, through the broken
+surf to his raft, mounted it like a hero, and once more addressed
+himself to his task.
+
+By this time, as the current always runs fast along the shore, he had
+drifted several hundred yards to the northward farther from his point.
+At the second attempt to penetrate the surf, he seemed to have made a
+small miscalculation, for the sea broke so very nearly over him,
+before he had time to quit his catamaran and dive into still water,
+that we thought he must certainly have been drowned. Not a whit,
+however, did he appear to have suffered, for we soon saw him again
+swimming to his rude vessel. Many times in succession was he thus
+washed off and sent whirling towards the beach, and as often obliged
+to dive head foremost through the waves. But at last, after very
+nearly an hour of incessant struggling, and the loss of more than a
+mile of distance, he succeeded, for the first time, in reaching the
+back of the surf, without having parted company either with his paddle
+or with his catamaran. After this it became all plain sailing; he soon
+paddled off to the Roads, and placed the Admiral's letter in the first
+lieutenant's hands as dry as if it had been borne in a despatch-box
+across the court-yard of the Admiralty.
+
+I remember one day, when on board the Minden, receiving a note from
+the shore by a catamaran lad, whom I told to wait for an answer. Upon
+this he asked for a rope, with which, as soon as it was given him, he
+made his little vessel fast, and lay down to sleep in the full blaze
+of a July sun. One of his arms and one of his feet hung in the water,
+though a dozen sharks had been seen cruising round the ship. A tacit
+contract, indeed, appears to exist between the sharks and these
+people, for I never saw, nor can I remember ever having heard of any
+injury done by one to the other. By the time my answer was written,
+the sun had dried up the spray on the poor fellow's body, leaving such
+a coating of salt, that he looked as if he had been dusted with flour.
+A few fanams--a small copper coin--were all his charge, and three or
+four broken biscuits in addition sent him away the happiest of
+mortals.
+
+It is matter of considerable surprise to every one who has seen how
+well the chain-pier at Brighton stands the worst weather, that no
+similar work has been devised at Madras. The water is shallow, the
+surf does not extend very far from the beach, and there seems really
+no reason why a chain-pier should not be erected, which might answer
+not only for the accommodation of passengers, but for the transit of
+goods to and from the shore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+VISIT TO THE SULTAN OF PONTIANA, IN BORNEO--SIR SAMUEL HOOD.
+
+
+In the summer of 1814, Sir Samuel Hood made a voyage, in his Majesty's
+ship Minden, to the eastern parts of his station. We called first at
+Acheen, on the north end of the island of Sumatra, where we held some
+very amusing intercourse with the king of that district, whose capital
+the Admiral visited. From thence we steered over to Pulo Penang, or
+Prince of Wales' Island, and thence down the Straits of Malacca,
+entering the China Sea by the beautiful Straits of Sincapore. The
+Admiral's chief object was to visit Java; but as there lay three
+routes before him to choose between, viz. the Straits of Gaspar, the
+Straits of Banca, and the Caramata passage, he preferred taking the
+last and widest, which also led him near the western shore of the
+immense island of Borneo. On reaching the equator, he steered in for
+the mouth of the great river Lava, which passes the town of Pontiana.
+The weather being very favourable, the ship was anchored, and the
+barge got ready for an expedition.
+
+At four in the morning, on receiving the joyful intimation that I was
+to be officer of the boat, I lost no time in getting together
+everything likely to be useful--a sextant, artificial horizon,
+spy-glass, chart, compass, and Nautical Almanac, besides a Malay
+Dictionary.
+
+We had some little difficulty in finding our way in the barge, for the
+mouth of the river of Pontiana lay so completely hid amongst low
+cane-brakes, mangroves, and other aquatic trees and shrubs, which grow
+thickly along the western shores of Borneo, that, until we came quite
+close, no inlet was perceptible. The first hit we made proved wrong,
+and lost us three or four miles; and it was not till nearly noon that
+we reached the rush of fresh and troubled water, which indicated the
+true entrance. The Admiral desired greatly to observe the sun's
+meridian altitude. His Excellency, however, though he could command
+many things, could not command this; for although our fellows gave way
+lustily, so as to stem the current running out, and we had a full
+half-hour to spare, we could not effect a landing in good time. On
+reaching what had seemed the shore, no footing could be found
+anywhere. Even the little boat which we carried with us in tow of the
+barge, though she threaded the mangrove stems and roots, and went in
+much further than the barge, could not reach anything like dry land.
+As the main bank refused to afford us a resting-place, we put off, and
+rowed as briskly as we could to a small island about half-a-mile from
+this treacherous shore; but this, too, proved a cheat, for what we
+took to be solid ground consisted merely of a mass of green shrubs,
+growing on the ridge of a soft slippery mass of mud just peeping above
+the water.
+
+As the sailors, by this time, were pretty well exhausted with rowing
+so long in the hot sun, they hailed with great joy the sea-breeze
+which just then set in. They soon stepped the masts, hoisted the
+sails, and laid the oars in.
+
+"Now go to dinner, men," said the considerate chief, "this rattling
+breeze will not carry us up far, and you will pull all the better for
+a good bellyful."
+
+Just as this judicious order was given, and while we were still
+laughing at the recent adventure, which reminded us of Sinbad's
+mistaking a whale for a solid rock, our eyes were attracted by the
+sight of another island, much smaller than the first. It seemed,
+indeed, like a little grove or tuft of palm-like foliage, rising out
+of the water somewhat in the fashion of our Prince of Wales' feather.
+None of the party had ever seen such a tree before, and every one
+tried to guess what it might be; but all were puzzled. At length, a
+diminutive moving black speck showed itself at the root, or centre,
+from which these fairy-like branches radiated.
+
+"It is a rock with a tree on it," cried one.
+
+"Nonsense!" said Sir Samuel, "there are no rocks hereabouts; the soil
+for many a league is alluvial."
+
+"It skims along like a witch," exclaimed a third; "it is surely
+alive!"
+
+"Let us sail to it whatever it be," said the Admiral, waving his hand
+to the coxswain to sheer the barge further from the side of the river.
+
+As we drew near, we discovered our phenomenon to consist of a
+fishing-canoe, gliding along merrily before the sea-breeze, with no
+other sails than half-a-dozen branches of the cocoa-nut tree placed in
+the bow, and spread out like the feathers of a peacock's tail. These
+were held together by a slender bar of bamboo, and supported by small
+strips of bark to the stern, in which sat a naked Malay.
+
+The Admiral proved a true prophet, for the deceitful sea-breeze
+presently lulled, and it cost us a very hard row to accomplish our
+purpose against the stream. The town of Pontiana stands on a low point
+of land formed by the confluence of two mighty rivers. This particular
+spot is always held sacred in India, and is known under the Hindoo
+name of Sungum. I suspect, however, that the Malays and other
+Mahometans, who inhabit the coasts of most of the Indian Islands,
+acknowledge no superstitious predilections for one spot more than
+another, and consider such things as mere prejudices unworthy of the
+followers of Mahomet, their great military prophet. Probably the
+Sungum point has some local advantages belonging to it, as I observe
+it is generally appropriated by the strongest party in every country.
+At all events, it has the advantage of communicating directly with
+both the rivers, by whose junction the Sungum, or solid angle, is
+formed. In the instance of Pontiana, the Mussulmans had taken
+possession of it, though it was formerly a Dutch settlement, while the
+Chinese were left to occupy the corners opposite to the Sungum, on the
+right and left banks, respectively, of the river formed by the
+junction of the two streams. Thus three considerable cities had been
+built facing one another, and each displaying on the river a multitude
+of boats and barges, canoes and proas, in crowds which would not have
+disgraced the show at London Bridge, and, of course, indicating
+considerable wealth and activity.
+
+We came upon this grand view quite abruptly, and having no
+expectation of encountering anything so magnificent, were taken rather
+by surprise. Two enormous Chinese junks occupied the centre of the
+stream, each of them rising out of the water nearly as high as the
+poop of a line-of-battle ship. Along the shore, on both sides, lay a
+fleet of eight or ten sail of junks, some of them very large, and all
+bearing enormous white flags, in the centre of which sprawled huge
+dragons and other monsters familiar to the eyes of all fanciers of old
+China jars.
+
+In the mean time, as there existed no dispute about the navigation of
+the River Lava, we rowed up very peaceably towards the great city of
+Pontiana. On our meeting a canoe with a Malay in it, the Admiral, who
+had been studying Marsden's dictionary all the way, stood up in the
+barge, made the men lie on their oars, and to their great
+astonishment, and probably to that of the native, called out in the
+Malay tongue,--
+
+"Which is the way to the sultan's house?"
+
+To Sir Samuel's unspeakable delight, the man whom he addressed
+understood him, and after offering to show us the landing-place,
+paddled off ahead of us. Our fellows gave way as hard as they could,
+but the Malay kept the lead; and as we shot past the Chinese towns,
+one on each bank, the natives crowded to the beach, as much
+astonished, no doubt, with our strange cocked hats, swords, and
+oddly-shaped boat, as we could be with their long tails and
+wild-looking junks, or with the creases which every Malay carries by
+his side. This fierce-looking weapon is not, in form, unlike the
+waving sword one sees in the pictures of the angel Michael, though it
+is not above a foot and a-half in length.
+
+The sultan's cousin received the Admiral and his party at the gate of
+the palace, and led him by the hand along a causeway of flag-stones to
+the residence of the monarch. Directly in the middle of the gateway,
+which was only ten feet wide and about as many in height, there stood
+a twenty-four-pounder gun. On the top of the arch there was built a
+small square room, from holes in which peeped out the muzzles of five
+or six field-pieces, the whole affair resembling very much that part
+of a child's box of toys which represents the stronghold or castle.
+Within the high wall surrounding the palace we counted innumerable
+large guns scattered about, apparently with no other object than to be
+seen, as if the mere look of a cannon were expected to do the work of
+a fight! The same number of mock barrels of gunpowder, similarly
+disposed, would have answered the purpose equally well, or perhaps
+better; for there appeared no way in which the guns could be fired,
+without doing much more injury to the besieged than to the besiegers.
+
+On we went, till we were met by the sultan himself, at the inner side
+of the quadrangle. He courteously conducted the Admiral to a large
+room or hall of audience, and, having begged his guest to sit down at
+a small table, took a chair by his side, and began a conversation as
+if they had been long acquainted. Of course, in spite of the Admiral's
+proficiency, this could not be accomplished without an interpreter;
+and the services of a very clever Malay boy, whom we had brought with
+us from the ship, were brought into requisition. The hall, in which we
+were first received, might have been about fifty feet square, bleak,
+unfurnished, and comfortless, with an uncovered mud floor. It was so
+feebly lighted by a few windows almost hid by Venetian blinds, that we
+could only discover that the roof had been left bare and unfinished.
+After sitting for about ten minutes, the sultan rose and led the way
+to another apartment apparently of still larger dimensions, but
+literally so dark, that, had it not been for the light entering by the
+door we had left, and the one ahead of us, we could not have moved
+along without breaking our shins over the stones, sticks, and other
+rubbish lying in the way. We had next to make rather a difficult
+transit along a precarious kind of bridge, formed of a single plank
+laid across an ominous-looking pool or puddle of mud, which divided
+these two branches of the palace from each other.
+
+All at once we were ushered into a splendid room, seventy or eighty
+feet square, brilliantly lighted, and not ill furnished, but strongly
+contrasted with the darkness and dirtiness of the suite we had passed
+through. This total want of keeping, it may be mentioned, is quite in
+Oriental taste. They know tolerably well how to be magnificent on
+occasions; but they never learn how to be uniformly decent. The
+Asiatics, and even some other nations which might be named nearer
+home, can seldom afford to be taken by surprise. Indeed, I am not sure
+if more than one country can be alluded to, in which the people are at
+all hours ready to receive strangers, and have no occasion to make a
+fuss, or to change anything when a rap comes to the door.
+
+In the centre of this gorgeous room, on a dais, or a part of the floor
+raised to about a foot and a-half above the level of the rest, and
+laid with a rich Turkey carpet, stood a long table, at the top of
+which the sultan placed the Admiral, and then made the signal for
+tea. First entered an attendant, bearing a large tray, on which were
+ranged several dozens of exceedingly small cups. This he placed on the
+carpet, and then squatted himself down, cross-legged, beside it.
+Another attendant soon followed, bearing the tea-pot, and he likewise
+popped himself down. After a conjuration of some minutes, the cups
+were brought round, containing weak black tea, exquisite in flavour,
+but marvellously small in quantity. There appeared no milk, but plenty
+of sugar-candy. Some sweet sherbet was next handed round, very
+slightly acid, but so deliciously cool, that we appealed frequently to
+the vase or huge jar from which it was poured, to the great delight of
+the sultan, who assured us that this was the genuine sherbet described
+by the Persian poets. It was mixed, he told us, by a true believer,
+who had made more than one pilgrimage to Mecca.
+
+At the upper end of the apartment, in a deep recess, partly hid from
+our view by a rich festoon of shawl drapery, we could just discover
+the sultan's bed, flanked by large mirrors, beyond which, in an
+adjacent chamber, was probably stowed away the sultan's most favoured
+wife. But all this department of the establishment was thrown into
+such deep shade, that we could see none of the ladies, nor any of his
+highness's progeny, except one little boy, whom he introduced to us at
+supper. He appeared to be about five or six years old, very like his
+papa in miniature, rigged with turban and robes of cloth of gold. At
+first, the little fellow looked somewhat startled; but he soon
+recovered his dignity, and sat on our knees, without much
+apprehension of being swallowed up.
+
+Both the upper corners of the room were screened off by white
+curtains, eight or ten feet high, so as to form smaller chambers. One
+of these served the purpose of a pantry, or subsidiary kitchen, at
+least we observed the dishes issuing from it, and thought we could
+distinguish the well-known sound of the cook's angry reproaches--a
+note which, like that of muttering thunder, is nearly the same in
+every climate. The other corner we soon made out to be a sort of
+temporary nook, from which the ladies of the palace and the young
+sultans and sultanas might spy the strangers. This we ascertained from
+seeing sundry very pretty faces thrust out occasionally between the
+folds of the curtain, and by the sound of many an ill-suppressed
+giggle amongst the peeping damsels.
+
+The sultan appeared to enter into his guest's character at once, and
+neither overloaded him with attentions, nor failed to treat him as a
+person to whom much respect was due. I heard Sir Samuel say
+afterwards, that he was particularly struck with the sultan's good
+breeding, in not offering to assist him in cutting his meat. The
+sultan merely remarked that few people were so expert as his guest
+even with both hands; adding, neatly enough, that on this account the
+distinction which his wound had gained for him was more cheaply
+purchased than people supposed. While the Admiral was hunting for some
+reply to this novel compliment, his host remarked, that in Borneo it
+was considered fashionable to eat with the left hand.
+
+The supper, which soon followed the tea, consisted of about a dozen
+dishes of curry, all different from one another, and a whole poultry
+yard of grilled and boiled chickens, many different sorts of salt
+fish, with great basins of rice at intervals, jars of pickles, piles
+of sliced pine-apple, sweetmeats, and cakes. Four male attendants
+stood by with goblets of cool sherbet, from which, ever and anon, they
+replenished our glasses; besides whom, a number of young Malay girls
+waited at a distance from the table, and ran about nimbly with the
+plates and dishes.
+
+After a great deal of ceremonious rigmarole, in which the Admiral was
+asked for his autograph, and it was wonderful how well the shrewd
+little Malay interpreter expressed to the Admiral, who cheerfully
+agreed to the proposal, and desired me to send for his writing-case.
+As I rose, the Admiral whispered to me, "I wish you would contrive, at
+the same time, to see what the boat's crew are about. Try, also, if
+you can get them something to eat; the fellows must be hungry enough
+by this time--but mind they don't get too much toddy."
+
+I found the crew seated on the mud floor of a large room close to the
+beach, and open on all sides, like a tent without walls. The Johnnies
+were in such high glee, that I feared they had already trespassed too
+deeply on the toddy pot; but I was glad to find that their
+satisfaction arose from a safer source, namely, a glorious hot supper,
+which Jack was tucking in to the great delight and astonishment of the
+natives, who had been ordered by the sultan to supply them with as
+much curry and rice as they chose to eat.
+
+Very early in the morning, long before there was the least peep of
+dawn, the Admiral roused us all out of bed, ordered the boat to be
+manned, and declared his intention of dropping down the river while it
+was yet cool, so as to reach the ship before the fierce heat of the
+sun had set in. I suspect, also, that he wished to escape the salutes
+for which he had seen some preparations over night. But scarcely had
+we gained the distance of two or three hundred yards from the shore
+when the heavy guns of the batteries began to fire a royal salute. The
+night was uncommonly dark and still, and the successive flashes and
+reports of the cannons were followed by a long series of echoes from
+the edges of the damp forests lining the banks of the three different
+branches or forks of the river. The Admiral, who had the finest
+perception possible for all that was picturesque or beautiful, was
+exceedingly struck with the grandeur of this nocturnal salute, and
+having made the men lay their oars across the boat, while she drifted
+quickly down the river, he stood up in the stern-sheets in order to
+enjoy the scene more completely.
+
+A trifling incident occurred shortly afterwards, which recalled to our
+thoughts another important service of Sir Samuel Hood's, which,
+although it be familiarly known in the navy, may not be so fresh in
+the recollection of persons on shore. A question arose in the boat as
+to whether or not the land-wind was blowing. Some said there was a
+breeze up the river, while others maintained that the wind blew down,
+towards the sea. The Admiral let us go on speculating and arguing for
+some time, and then said, "You are both wrong; there is not a breath
+of air either up or down the river. At all events we shall soon see,
+if you will strike me a light." This was done accordingly; and the
+Admiral, standing on the after-thwart, held the naked candle high
+over his head, while the men ceased rowing.
+
+"There, you see," exclaimed he, "the flame stands quite upright, which
+proves, that if there be any breeze at all, it blows no faster than
+the stream runs down."
+
+As he yet spoke, the flame bent from the land, and in the next instant
+was puffed out by a slight gust from the forest.
+
+"Ay! that's something like!" exclaimed the commander-in-chief; adding,
+in an under tone, as he resumed his seat, "I have known the time when
+a flaw of wind, not greater than has just blown out this candle, has
+rendered good service to his Majesty." This was the incident to which
+he alluded:--
+
+Early in the year 1794, when Captain Hood commanded his Majesty's ship
+Juno, the port of Toulon, though in possession of the English at the
+time of his departure on a short trip to Malta, had been evacuated
+while the Juno was absent; and as the land was made in the night, no
+suspicion of that important change of affairs arose in the mind of any
+one. With his wonted decision, therefore, into the port he dashed;
+for, although the Juno carried no pilot, Captain Hood's knowledge of
+every port he had once visited rendered him comparatively indifferent
+on that score. A couple of the sharpest-sighted midshipmen were
+stationed with glasses to look out for the fleet; but no ships were
+seen--for the best of all reasons--none were there!
+
+One vessel only, a small brig, could be detected, and the captain,
+supposing the fleet had run into the inner harbour during the recent
+easterly gale, resolved to push up likewise. The batteries all kept
+quiet, and though the brig hailed the frigate as she passed in a
+language so indistinct that no one could make it out, not the least
+suspicion was excited. Supposing they wanted to know what ship it was,
+I told them it was the Juno. The brig, however, was not quite so
+courteous in return; for they merely replied by the word "Viva," but
+made no answer to the captain's repeated inquiry as to the brig's
+name, and the position of the British fleet. As the Juno passed under
+the stern of this treacherous little craft, a voice called out, "Luff!
+luff!" which naturally induced Captain Hood to put his helm down, from
+an idea that shoal water lay close to leeward of him. Nothing could
+have been more adroitly managed, for before the frigate came head to
+wind, she stuck fast upon the shoal, to which the words "Luff, luff!"
+had no doubt been intended to direct her.
+
+A boat was now observed to proceed from the brig to the town. As there
+was but little wind, and the water perfectly smooth, the Juno's sails
+were clewed up and handed; but before the men were all off the yards,
+a gust of wind came sweeping down the harbour, and drove her off the
+shoal so suddenly as to give her brisk stern-way. The anchor was
+speedily let go, but when she tended, the after-part of her keel took
+the ground, and the rudder could not be moved. The launch and cutter
+being instantly hoisted out, the usual preparations were made to lay
+out a kedge, to heave the ship off.
+
+At this critical moment a boat came alongside. The people appeared
+anxious to get out of her, and two of them, apparently officers, came
+up the side. They said it was the regulation of the port, as well as
+the commanding officer's orders, that ships should go further into
+the harbour, there to perform ten days' quarantine. In the despatch
+relating this transaction, Captain Hood says, "I kept asking them
+where Lord Hood's ship lay;" the two Frenchmen knew not what to do or
+say next. In the mean time, one of the mids, who happened to be
+thrusting his head forward after the investigating manner of this
+enterprising class of officers, said apart to the captain,--
+
+"Why, sir, they wear national cockades!"
+
+"I looked at one of their hats more steadfastly," says Captain Hood in
+his narrative, "and by the moonlight clearly distinguished the three
+colours."
+
+"Perceiving they were suspected," continues Sir Samuel in his
+narrative, "and on my questioning them again about Lord Hood, one of
+them replied, 'Soyez tranquille, les Anglais sont de braves gens, nous
+les traitons bien; l'amiral anglais est sorti il y a quelque temps.'"
+
+In an instant, the situation of the poor Juno became known throughout
+the ship. The officers crowded round their captain, while the
+Frenchman, bowing to the right and left, grinned and apologised for
+the disagreeable necessity of making them all prisoners! It was said
+of Hood's ship, that, fore and aft, there was but one heart and one
+mind, and this was an occasion to test its truth. At this moment a
+flaw of wind coming down the harbour, Lieutenant Webley said to me, "I
+believe, sir, we shall be able to fetch out if we can get her under
+sail." I immediately perceived we should have a chance of saving the
+ship; at least, if we did not, we ought not to lose her without a
+struggle. Every person was ordered to their stations; but the
+Frenchmen, perceiving some bustle, began to draw their sabres, but I
+directed the marines to force them below, which was soon done. In an
+instant every officer and man was at his duty; and within three
+minutes every sail in the ship was set, and the yards braced ready for
+casting. The steady and active assistance of Lieutenant Turner and the
+other officers prevented any confusion. As soon as the cable was taut,
+I ordered it to be cut, and had the good fortune to see the ship start
+from the shore. The head sails were filled; a favourable flaw of wind
+coming at the same time gave her good way. Not to be retarded by the
+boats, I ordered them to be cut adrift as well as the French boat. The
+moment the brig saw us begin to loose sails, we saw she was getting
+her guns ready, and we also saw lights in all the batteries. When we
+had shot far enough for the brig's guns to bear on us, which was not
+more than three ships' lengths, she began to fire; as did a fort a
+little on the starboard bow, and soon after all of them, on both
+sides, as they could bring their guns to bear. As soon as the sails
+were well trimmed, I beat to quarters. When abreast of the centre of
+Cape Sepet, and were ready to go about, she came up two points, and
+just weathered the Cape. As we passed very close along that shore, the
+batteries kept up a brisk fire. When I could keep the ship a little
+off the wind, I ordered some guns to be fired at a battery that had
+just opened abreast of us, which quieted them a little. We now stopped
+firing till we could keep her away, with the wind abaft the beam,
+when, for a few minutes, we kept up a very lively fire on the last
+battery we had to pass, which I believe must otherwise have done us
+great damage. At half-past twelve, being out of reach of their shot,
+the firing ceased.
+
+The whole of this admirable piece of service was performed so quickly,
+and at the same time with so much coolness, that there occurred little
+or no opportunity for any remarkable individual exertion. Everything,
+as I have heard it described by Sir Samuel Hood himself and by the
+officers, went on as if the ship had been working out of Plymouth
+Sound at noon-day. One little incident, however, which caused much
+amusement in the ship, will help to show the degree of regard in which
+Sir Samuel was held by those immediately about him; and to disprove
+the proverb of no man being a hero to his valet-de-chambre.
+
+Dennis M'Carty, an old and faithful servant of Captain Hood's, who was
+quartered at one of the main-deck guns in the cabin, stood firm enough
+till the batteries opened on the Juno. No sooner had the firing
+commenced, and the shot began to come whizzing over and through all
+parts of the ship, than Dennis, to the great amaze and scandal of his
+companions, dropped the side tackle-fall, and fairly ran off from his
+gun. Nothing in the world, however, could be further from poor Pat's
+mind than fear--except fear for his master, behind whom he soon
+stationed himself on the quarter-deck; and wherever Captain Hood
+moved, there Dennis followed, like his shadow; totally unconscious of
+any personal danger to himself, though the captain was necessarily in
+the hottest of the fire. At length, Sir Samuel, turning suddenly
+round, encountered the Irishman full butt.
+
+"Hallo! Dennis," exclaimed the captain, "what brings you here? Go down
+to your gun, man!"
+
+"Oh, by the powers! your honour," replied Dennis, "sure I thought it
+likely you might be hurt, so I wished to be near you to give you some
+help."
+
+There was no resisting this; the captain laughed; and poor Dennis was
+allowed to take his own way.
+
+Another remarkable instance of his courage and disinterestedness was
+afforded at the battle of the Nile. Previous to entering into that
+great action, Nelson hailed Captain Hood's ship, and consulted him as
+to the best method of attack.
+
+"What think you," said the Admiral, "of engaging the enemy to-night?"
+
+"I don't know the soundings," was the answer, "but, with your
+permission, I will lead in and try."
+
+The result is well known; but I believe it is not so generally known
+that, in the first draft of the despatch which Nelson wrote, he gave
+to Captain Hood the merit of confirming him in his determination of
+attacking the French fleet that night. On showing this letter,
+however, to Hood himself, he entreated that it might be altered,
+saying "that they were all brothers, engaged in the cause, and that
+the admiral would have received exactly the same advice from any other
+captain in the fleet whom he might have consulted." The paragraph was
+therefore omitted in the despatch.
+
+I have this anecdote of the change in the despatch from one of his
+nearest connections, and one of the dearest friends to his memory. He
+himself particularly wished the alteration in the despatch not to be
+told at the time; but, as the story crept out somehow, it seems very
+material that the facts should be well authenticated. When the
+circumstance was mentioned to Sir Samuel Hood many years afterwards,
+by the friend from whom I have received authority to state it, he
+confessed that it was so; but exclaimed,--
+
+"How the devil could all this have got wind?--I never mentioned it
+before to a living soul."
+
+As there is hardly any professional anecdote which retains its
+freshness of interest more entire than the memorable parley above
+described between Nelson and Hood, on the eve of the battle of the
+Nile, I venture to give another version of it, which is substantially
+the same, and is calculated to confirm, in a pleasing manner, all that
+is essential. The following particulars I have been favoured with by
+Captain Webley Parry, then first lieutenant of the Zealous.
+
+When steering for the enemy's fleet, Sir Horatio Nelson hailed the
+Zealous, and asked Captain Hood if he thought he might venture to bear
+up round the shoals. The answer was,--
+
+"I cannot say, sir; but if you will allow me the honour of leading
+into action, I will keep the lead going."
+
+"You have my permission, and I wish you good luck," was the reply;
+and, as Nelson said this, he took off his hat. Captain Hood, in his
+hurry to return the courtesy of his admiral, dropped his hat
+overboard. He looked after it, laughed, and exclaimed,--
+
+"Never mind, Webley, there it goes for luck! Put the helm up, and make
+all sail."
+
+Captain Foley of the Goliath, being close to the Zealous, perceiving
+this manoeuvre, guessed what the orders were, and bore up likewise, so
+that when the two ships had shaped their course, they were nearly
+abreast of each other. The Goliath being a little in advance, which
+of course was rather annoying, Captain Hood stood on for some time, in
+hopes of being able to take the lead in the Zealous, but finding this
+could not be without jostling and confusion, he turned round and
+said--
+
+"This will never do! Well, never mind; Foley is a fine, gallant,
+worthy fellow. Shorten sail, and give him time to take up his berth.
+We must risk nothing that will tend to the enemy's advantage."
+
+This was instantly done! The Goliath shot ahead, and Captain Foley
+had the glory of leading the British fleet into action. By some
+accident, however, he failed to place the Goliath in opposition to the
+headmost ship of the enemy's line. The experienced eye of Hood
+instantly saw the consequences, and while the Goliath passed on to the
+second in the line, Sir Samuel placed his own ship, the Zealous,
+alongside the first, exclaiming in the joy of his heart, "Thank God!
+my friend Foley has left me the van ship!"
+
+The indifference to danger and fatigue which was habitual to this
+great captain cost him, I believe, his life when travelling in the
+interior of India, near Seringapatam. He reached a station at which a
+fresh set of palanquin bearers were to have met him, but had been
+prevented by some accident. "It matters not," he cried, "let us walk."
+And sure enough he set off to perform on foot a stage which might have
+been dangerous on horseback; for the sun had nearly risen to the
+meridian, and there was hardly a breath of wind. Possibly no mischief
+might have followed this march, but he had been spending some days in
+the island of Seringapatam, the most unhealthy spot in Mysore; and it
+is a curious circumstance connected with the malaria of the noxious
+districts, that its effects frequently lie dormant long after it has
+been breathed. Sir Samuel Hood did not escape; but he felt no
+inconvenience till after he descended from, and entered the Carnatic
+at Madras. The jungle fever, of which the fatal seeds had been sown at
+Seringapatam, attacked him after a few days. When, unfortunately for
+the profession and for his country, he fell sick at Madras, and knew
+that his last moments were fast approaching, he called his faithful
+friend and old follower in many ships and many actions, Lieutenant,
+afterwards Captain Walcott to his bedside, and said to him,--
+
+"It will be very hard, Walcott, to die in this cursed place; but
+should I go off, let nothing deter you from going home and accounting
+to the Admiralty for my command of the East India station."
+
+These were nearly the last intelligible words he uttered; and they
+serve to show how strong, even in the hour of death, was his sense of
+professional duty. As Lieutenant Walcott had served during the whole
+of Sir Samuel's India command in the double capacity of
+flag-lieutenant and secretary, and had enjoyed the Admiral's entire
+confidence, he, and he alone, possessed the means of "accounting to
+the Admiralty" for the measures completed, or in progress, for the
+good of the service, and therefore the Admiral suggested to him the
+propriety of his going home to report matters in person.
+
+The senior officer, who succeeded to the command in the Indian seas,
+felt so desirous of following up the friendly intentions of his
+lamented predecessor, that knowing the late Admiral's attachment to
+Lieutenant Walcott, he offered to promote him into a death vacancy,
+which had either actually taken place, or was certain to fall within a
+week or two. Moreover, he assured him, that after the necessary time
+had been served, he should have the first vacancy for post promotion.
+These were indeed tempting offers to a young officer, devotedly
+attached to his profession; but they had no influence over a man bred
+in the "Sam Hood School." The Admiral's dying injunction appeared to
+this right-minded officer fully as binding, or, if possible, more so,
+than a written command must have been in his lifetime.
+
+To England Walcott went accordingly; and the difference in
+professional standing which it made to him was this:--had he remained
+in India, as Sir Samuel Hood's successor proposed, he would
+undoubtedly have become a post-captain of 1816, instead of which, his
+name stood in 1822, six years later on the list! Had it been sixty
+times six, however, it would have made no difference in his conduct.
+
+When the army returned from Spain, after the battle of Corunna, in
+1809, there were between twenty and thirty officers accommodated in
+Sir Samuel's cabin. Among them was a young officer, a connection of
+Lady Hood's, whose father and mother called to thank him, conceiving
+that he had been indebted by this connection for the attention he had
+received, but Sir Samuel did not even know of the connection or the
+name. "Indeed," said he, "I hardly knew the names of half my guests.
+But who," he continued, "would make any distinctions amongst such
+war-worn and brave fellows."
+
+The fact is, such was his general kindness, that each of these
+military officers, his passengers, fancied the Admiral was more civil
+to him than to any one else. He suspended on this occasion all the
+usual strait-laced etiquettes of the quarter-deck discipline, and
+permitted the harassed soldiers to lie down and read between the guns,
+or wherever they pleased. His great delight was to coddle them up, and
+recompense them, as far as he could, for the severe privations they
+had undergone during the retreat, and nothing entertained him so much
+as seeing the relish with which these hungry campaigners partook of
+his hospitality. On the day after the battle of Corunna, when these
+gentlemen came on board, he ordered a cock to be driven into a
+hogshead of prime old sherry; and his satisfaction was perfect, when
+his steward, with a rueful countenance, communicated to him, on
+arriving at Spithead, that "his very best cask of wine had been drunk
+dry on the passage by the soldier officers!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+COMMISSIONING A SHIP.
+
+
+Most people are curious to know how, from a state of total inaction,
+or what is called "laid up in ordinary," a ship is brought forward
+into real service. I have therefore thought it right to "begin with
+the beginning," and tell how a man-of-war is first commissioned. This
+leads to the fitting-out; that is, getting in the masts, putting the
+rigging overhead, stowing the holds, and so on. The next obvious point
+to be considered in the equipment of a ship is, the force she is to
+carry, which brings us to the very curious question of naval gunnery.
+Finally, if we suppose a ship equipped, armed, manned, and
+disciplined.
+
+As soon as an officer receives official intimation that he is
+appointed to the command of a ship, he proceeds either to the
+Admiralty or to the dockyard at the port where the ship may happen to
+be laid up in ordinary, and takes up his commission. In the first
+place, however, he must wait upon the admiral commanding at the
+out-port where the ship is lying, and having reported himself, he
+proceeds to the admiral-superintendent of the dockyard, to whom he
+communicates his commission; he has the exclusive charge and
+responsibility, having the care of the ships in ordinary, of all the
+moorings, and generally of all the vessels, and every description of
+stores in the naval arsenal.
+
+The first thing to do is to get hold of one of the warrant-officers to
+"hoist the pendant," which is a long slender streamer, having a St.
+George's cross on a white field in the upper part next the mast, with
+a fly or tail, either Red, White, and Blue, or entirely of the colour
+of the particular ensign worn by the ship; which, again, is determined
+by the colour of the admiral's flag under whose orders she is placed.
+The pendant being hoisted shows that the ship is in commission, and
+this part of the colours is never hauled down day or night. At sunset,
+when the ensign is hauled down, a smaller pendant, three or four yards
+in length, is substituted for the long one, which, in dandified ships,
+waves far over the stern. Ships in ordinary hoist merely an ensign.
+The boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, who are called the
+warrant-officers, always remain on board, even when the rest of the
+officers and crew are paid off, and the ship laid up in ordinary.
+These valuable personages, under the general superintendence of the
+captain of the ordinary, an old officer of rank, and assisted by a few
+lads to row them to and from the shore, keep the ships clean, and
+guard against fire and pillage, to which they might otherwise be
+exposed at their moorings in the different creeks.
+
+The next step, after the ship is commissioned, is to open a
+muster-book. The requisite blank books and other papers are supplied
+to the captain by the superintendent of the dockyard, in order that
+the names of the officers and men may be entered as they assemble. The
+admiral being then informed that the ship is in commission, he orders
+the commandant of marines to embark the proper complement of men from
+the barracks.
+
+The master-attendant, in the mean time, is applied to for a
+receiving-ship or hulk, alongside of which the ship may be placed, and
+in which the crew may live while she is fitting out. The same officer
+will likewise give the boatswain a "note" for one or more of what are
+called harbour boats--strong affairs, but good enough to perform the
+rough sort of work required in fitting out. The boatswain's demand for
+scrapers, buckets, and junk for swabs, is made out and approved, that,
+from the first moment to the last, the hulk may be kept clean.
+
+The officers of the newly-commissioned ship take possession of the
+hulk assigned them, the purser gets from the victualling-office
+provisions enough for present use, and draws from the same quarter a
+quantity of slop clothing, as well as bedding and haversacks, for the
+marines, who are generally the first men on board. They are supplied
+by the boatswain with hammocks, and thus the Jollies soon feel
+themselves at home. The captain's clerk having prepared what is called
+an "open list," he enters the names of the officers and men as fast as
+they arrive. Hammocks and bedding, as well as blankets and shoes, are
+issued to those sailors who may come on board without any kit, which
+is too often the case. The senior lieutenant ought, if possible, to be
+one of the very first persons who joins, and the sooner he establishes
+himself on board the hulk the better. The marines, being a standing
+portion of the service, are always ready, and, if necessary, they may
+be sent on board at a few hours' warning. On this account, as well as
+many others, they are a most invaluable body of men. When there is no
+particular hurry, however, they will be embarked in two or three days
+at the furthest from the time they receive orders.[8] Application
+should also be made for boys, who are supplied as soon as possible; a
+certain number being sent from the flag-ship, while the remainder are
+enlisted from the shore. A boat's crew of sailors will very soon be
+picked up from the stray hands lounging about the Common Hard and
+Jack's other well-known haunts.
+
+Thus, in a very few days, the foundation of a ship's company is laid;
+and under good management, with a little patience and cheerfulness,
+the superstructure will advance rapidly. A rendezvous should be opened
+at a public-house in some street frequented by the seamen; and a flag,
+with the ship's name on it, exposed before the door; while bills,
+containing the ship and captain's name, should be stuck up and
+distributed in the proper quarters. If her destination be India, South
+America, the Mediterranean, or any other favourite station, that
+circumstance will of course be sufficiently noticed in these cards of
+invitation. The master-at-arms, the captain's coxswain, or some old
+and steady hand who has an interest in getting the ship manned, will
+be usefully employed at the rendezvous, to talk to the sailors as
+they drop in to consider the _pros_ and _cons_ of the new enterprise
+in which they are invited to engage. The captain himself, and the
+first lieutenant also, will generally find it worth their while to
+look in occasionally, perhaps periodically, at the rendezvous,
+ostensibly to speak on some business, but chiefly to show themselves,
+and by a word or two of encouragement, to decide the waverers. It is
+of great consequence, on these occasions, to keep clear of anything
+which, by possibility, can be construed into false pretences; for the
+moral impropriety of such enticements, their impolicy very soon
+betrays itself, and when the men detect the fallacy, the result shows
+itself in the paucity of volunteers. The truth is, Jack, with all his
+vagaries, possesses a quick discernment in such matters, and is very
+seldom deceived by chaff. It will seldom, if ever, retard the proper
+manning of a ship to be very fastidious in choosing amongst the
+volunteers who offer. The best men will not enter for a ship where
+sailors are received indiscriminately; and the lower order of mere
+working hands are easily picked up to complete the crew.
+
+The men are always carefully examined by the surgeon before being
+received; but it would not be a bad rule that no volunteer should be
+finally entered until he has been seen and approved of by both captain
+and first lieutenant. It is, indeed, of great consequence to the
+eventual comfort of the ship, which always turns upon her good and
+consistent discipline, that the first lieutenant and captain should be
+cordially agreed on so material a point as the choice of the
+individual seamen forming the crew.
+
+During the short visits which the captain pays to his ship at this
+time, he will seldom find it useful to supplant his first lieutenant,
+by taking upon himself the conduct of the ship's detailed operations.
+The peculiar duties of the captain, when his ship is fitting out,
+necessarily require him to be absent from her every day during a
+considerable portion of the working hours. He has to wait on the
+admiral to receive fresh instructions; he has to carry on a
+correspondence with the Admiralty on the various equipments of the
+ship; he has representations and applications to make to the
+port-admiral, respecting officers and men, and to the
+admiral-superintendent of the dockyard, respecting stores. In short,
+whether at the rendezvous, at the dockyard, at the admiral's office,
+or at his own lodgings, the captain will generally find ample
+employment on shore for most of the best hours of his day, in really
+co-operating with his first lieutenant afloat, by seeing those duties
+properly executed which lie beyond that officer's reach. If these
+multifarious and important obligations, out of the ship, be fully
+complied with by the captain, he will seldom have more time left than
+is barely necessary to go on board--- just to see what is doing--to
+learn what has been done--and to give his orders, in a general way, to
+the first lieutenant, for his further guidance.
+
+As a captain has not always the choice of his first lieutenant, it may
+sometimes happen that a person unfit to fulfil the duties of that
+office will be appointed. Filling this station well implies not only
+knowledge and talents, but a disposition to enter cordially into the
+views of the captain, as well with regard to the general system of
+discipline, as to all the details of managing the ship. When an unfit
+person is appointed, it is much better for the lieutenant, as well as
+the captain, that they should part; and certainly this is more
+conducive to the discipline of the ship, and therefore to the good of
+the service, than if they went on for ever like cat and dog. This,
+indeed, is so well understood, that the Admiralty throw no obstacles
+in the way of officers exchanging.
+
+In case the unfitness of the first lieutenant arises from absolute
+incompetence or negligence of his duties, it will soon appear in some
+palpable instance, for which he must be accountable before a
+court-martial, unless his captain permit him to quit the ship to avoid
+that alternative. On the other hand, it will sometimes happen, that an
+officer who is both competent and zealous, is rather too fond of
+having his own way, and interpreting the rules and customs of the
+service in his own particular fashion, in opposition to the views of
+the captain. This pertinacity detracts from his efficiency as an
+officer, and more particularly from his fitness for the arduous and
+delicate situation of first lieutenant, by preventing the
+establishment of a hearty co-operation with his superior. But if the
+considerate line of conduct before suggested be acted upon by the
+captain, unless the lieutenant be a very pig-headed person, who
+mistakes opposition for zeal, he will readily see that the true way of
+forwarding the service is to enter heartily, cheerfully, and
+attentively, into the peculiar plans of his chief. If he does not do
+this, he will only find his duties become more and more irksome to
+himself, and all his zeal will often be thrown away in ineffectual
+efforts.
+
+When a ship is fairly commissioned, the first proceedings of the
+captain, in respect to her equipment, must be determined by the
+particular state in which she happens to be. The ship may be in dock,
+or in the basin, or riding at the moorings--masted or unmasted; she
+may have only just been launched, or may have been "paid off all
+standing." In any case, one of the first points to be attended to is
+the stowage of the ballast. If the ship has been in commission before,
+a record of her sailing qualities, and the plan of stowage which was
+found to answer best, will be supplied by the superintendent of the
+dockyard, together with her draught of water, forward and aft, light
+as launched and in ballast; and, lastly, when completely equipped for
+sea, with guns, powder, provisions, and men on board. If the ship be
+new, the captain will be furnished by the Surveyor of the Navy with
+every particular respecting her trim, and the manner in which he
+conceives her hold should be stowed. If this very important part of
+the ship's economy be one that has occupied its due share of the
+commanding-officer's attention, he will carefully examine the
+conformation of the ship's bottom, and be enabled to tell whether or
+not the former plan of stowing the ballast agrees with his own
+theoretical views, and his experience in such matters, and then
+putting the ship's recorded sailing qualities by the side of these
+actual observations, he will be enabled to decide how the ballast
+shall be distributed.
+
+The Signal Books, Printed Naval Instructions, the Admiralty Statutes,
+and other works of reference and guidance, are supplied by the
+port-admiral, while a copy of all the Port Regulations and Orders
+should be made, and so carefully perused by the captain and officers
+as to be almost got by heart. A minute attention, indeed, to the
+injunctions contained in these written orders, is absolutely
+necessary to keep the officers of a ship out of eternal hot water with
+admiral, flag-captain, secretary, and first lieutenant of the
+flag-ship, all of whom are put out of their way by any neglect on the
+part of an officer fitting or refitting a ship.
+
+I remember once a grand row which I, in common with three or four
+other commanding officers, got into. A signal was made from the
+flag-ship at Spithead, the Royal William, or the Royal Billy as she
+was universally called. The order was, "The ships at Spithead are to
+send boats to assist the vessel in distress." On looking round, we
+could see nothing but a collier aground on the end of the spit. One
+boat, or perhaps two, were sent from some of the ships--but not enough
+to save her; so poor Jock lay on the shoal till he capsized, and there
+was an end of him; for it came on to blow, and the shore, from South
+Sea Castle to Blackhouse Point, was a complete beach of coal shingle.
+Next morning out came a swinging reprimand to all of us, ordering a
+"report in writing to be made forthwith of the reasons why the signal
+made at four P.M. to send boats to the collier had not been obeyed." I
+recommend folks fitting out, therefore, as they value their peace, to
+trifle with anything rather than the port orders. For it is well to
+consider, that a scold resembles a snow-ball--it always gathers weight
+as it rolls along. Thus the Admiralty send down, by post or by
+telegraph, a rap on the knuckles to the old admiral--very moderate as
+naval things go, but such as, in civil life, would make a sober
+citizen frantic, though it merely squeezes out a growl from the
+venerable commander-in-chief. Straightway he rings for the secretary,
+and issues a smartish general order, in which the wretched captain of
+the offending ship catches the reprimand, with a most usurious
+allowance of interest. Off goes the said skipper to his ship, in a
+great fume and hurry, carrying a whole sail in the gig, though on
+ordinary occasions he chooses to have a reef in. Souse comes the
+wigging on the hapless first lieutenant; and he, in turn, only waits
+till the captain goes below, that he may open a volcano of reproaches
+on the long-suffering middies, who, though they probably now hear of
+the offence for the first time, know much better than to make any
+reply.
+
+Such is naval discipline! a strange mixture of justice and injustice,
+severity and indulgence--frankness and wrong-headedness, encouragement
+and unfair dealing; but still we may be sure, that talents, industry,
+perseverance, and, above all, resolute cheerfulness, with an absence
+of the litigious habit of self-justification, must ensure success and
+happiness, or, at least, give the best chance for them.
+
+The first lieutenant of the ship fitting out will do well to have by
+him a sheet of paper, ruled according to some tabular form, in which
+he may insert the names of the men who enter, that he may form some
+idea, when he comes to station them, what part of the ship each is fit
+for.
+
+A watch bill should be commenced at once; and the men, as fast as they
+come on board, appointed, as near as may be, to the stations which the
+officers think they will ultimately occupy. This lets a man know at
+once what duty he will be required to perform, and makes him feel at
+home. Some crack sailors will not volunteer unless they can be made
+reasonably sure of being placed in a station they like; and although
+it would be highly injudicious to make such absolute stipulations
+without some previous trial of the candidate's abilities, it may be of
+great advantage to the service to enter men more or less on this
+principle. For instance, it is of the utmost importance to obtain
+steady petty officers, that is to say, quarter-master's, gunner's,
+boatswain's, and carpenter's mates; captains of the forecastle, of the
+hold, and the tops; sail-makers, armourers, caulkers, and coopers;
+with others of less consequence, but all valuable in their respective
+departments, and contributing to make up the singular population of a
+man-of-war. The following list contains the peace establishment of the
+Conway, a ship of twenty-eight guns, which I fitted out in the
+beginning of 1820. The document may perhaps interest persons who like
+to inquire into the details of a community and _menage_ so differently
+constructed from any they are likely to meet with elsewhere.
+
+_A Scheme of the Establishment of His Majesty's Ship Conway, with a
+Complement of 125 men._
+
+                                  Brought forward      18
+Captain                       1   Schoolmaster             1
+Lieutenants                   3   Master at Arms           1
+Master                        1   Caulker                  1
+Second Master                 1   Armourer                 1
+Purser                        1   Sailmaker                1
+Surgeon                       1   Carpenter's Mate         1
+Boatswain                     1   Gunner's Mate            1
+Gunner                        1   Boatswain's Mates        2
+Carpenter                     1   Quarter-masters          3
+Master's Mate                 1   Captain's Coxswain       1
+Midshipmen                    4   Capts. of the Forecastle 2
+Assistant Surgeon             1   Cooper                   1
+Clerk                         1   Capts. of the Foretop    2
+                            ---                          ---
+               Carry forward 18           Carry forward   36
+
+            Brought forward  36          Brought forward  58
+Capts. of the Maintop         2   Barber                   1
+------------- Afterguard      1   Purser's Steward         1
+------------- Mast            1   Captain's Steward        1
+Ship's Cook                   1   Captain's Cook           1
+Volunteers, First Class       3   Gun-room Steward         1
+Gunner's Crew                 5   Gun-room Cook            1
+Carpenter's Crew              4   Steward's Mate           1
+Sailmaker's crew              1   Able Seamen     }
+Gunner's Yeoman               1   Ordinary Seamen }       29
+Boatswain's ditto             1   Landmen         }
+Carpenter's ditto             1   Boys, Second Class       5
+Cook's mate                   1   ----- Third Class        5
+                            ---   Widows' Men              3
+              Carry forward  58                          ---
+                                                         107
+Marines:-- 1 Lieutenant; 1 Serjeant; 1 Corporal;
+            1 Drummer; 14 Privates.                       18
+                                                         ---
+                                                  Total  125
+
+The last odd entry of three widows' men was an official fiction (now
+abolished) by which the pay of so many imaginary persons was
+transferred to a fund for the relief of the widows of commissioned and
+warrant officers. Real men are now allowed in their places.
+
+If any other ship be paying off at the same time, it is well worth
+trying to get some of her best men to enter for the ship fitting out.
+People who have been for several years together in a comfortable ship
+feel unwilling to part, and the prospect of continuing still
+companions, often influences them to volunteer in considerable
+numbers, if other circumstances appear suitable. When this takes
+place, the men generally transfer their whole kit at once, see their
+names placed on the new ship's books, and obtain what is called
+"long-leave" of absence to visit their friends, after depositing a
+portion of their ready money in the hands of the commanding-officer
+until their return. These men almost always form a valuable part of a
+ship's crew, and, I am convinced, the practice will become more
+general of removing direct from one man-of-war to another, whenever
+the system of frequent payments shall be established in the Navy. The
+sailors will then learn the proper use of money, and will acquire, in
+consequence, more orderly, decent, and rational habits.
+
+By these and other means, if the captain and officers be at all
+popular in their manners, or be known favourably in the service, or if
+even without these advantages, the intended station to which the ship
+is going be a favourite one, and ordinary pains be taken at the
+rendezvous, the ship's company soon begins to assume a respectable and
+business-like appearance. It then becomes of infinite importance, that
+the first lieutenant should introduce a uniform and well-explained
+system of discipline on board, especially as regards cleanliness and
+neatness of appearance, which are best effected by frequent and
+regular musterings, without too much fastidiousness in the first
+instance, as this might only teaze the men, and prevent the effectual
+establishment of those observances which it is the chief purpose of
+good discipline to render habitual. Great efforts should always be
+made to give to Sunday its true character of a day of repose; and in
+the weekly mustering, in particular, a good deal may generally be
+accomplished towards imparting to the ship and crew the appearance of
+order, which in times more advanced ought to characterize them during
+the whole week. The stock of clothes amongst the men will, it is true,
+generally be scanty at first, but a portion of it may, with proper
+management, be always kept clean, and a well-bleached shirt and
+trousers, with a good scrape of the chin, and a thorough scrubbing
+from top to toe, render poor Jack's toilet, if not the most refined in
+the world, certainly very effectual towards its purpose. I have often
+been amused to see the merry style in which they employed great lumps
+of coarse soap and hard brushes, in vain endeavours to remove the
+umber tints of tar from their hands, and the tanning of the sunshine
+from their brawny arms. These indelible distinctions of their hard
+service are rendered more striking at such moments by their contrast
+with the firm and healthy whiteness of the skin round their shoulders
+and chest.
+
+An officer must be cautious how he issues slop clothing to newly
+entered men, who have no pay due; and have a sharp, but reserved
+look-out kept on doubtful characters as they go over the side on
+leave, for there will ever be found at the great naval stations a
+certain number of regular-built swindlers, who wander from port to
+port expressly to pilfer. These vagabonds enter on board
+newly-commissioned ships, make a great show of activity, and remain a
+certain time to lull suspicion. They then take up slops, that is,
+obtain from the purser as many shirts, trousers, shoes, and other
+articles, as they can persuade the commanding-officer they are in want
+of; after which they desert upon the first opportunity, only to run
+the same rig in some other ship. When a character of this kind is
+caught in the act of making off with his own or his messmate's
+blanket, it is best to let him go on shore (minus the blanket, of
+course), and the chances are he will not return again. You lose the
+man, but you are rid of a knave.
+
+It is a fatal error in an officer to court popularity by unworthy
+means, or indeed by any means, except those of fair-dealing and strict
+propriety, equal justice to all, and as much indulgence as the nature
+of the service will admit of. But, at the same time, advantage may be
+taken of accidental opportunities of putting the people into
+good-humour during an outfit; and by indulging them in a
+jollification, we may occasionally give them something to think of at
+the moment, and to talk of for weeks afterwards.
+
+When I was fitting out his Majesty's sloop Lyra at Deptford, in 1815,
+to accompany the embassy to China, under Lord Amherst, it occurred to
+me one cold morning, the 24th of December, that it might not have a
+bad effect on the good name of my pretty little craft, if I gave the
+ship's company a regular blow-out the next day. I communicated this
+idea to the first lieutenant, who, seeing no objection, sent for some
+of the leading men, and said each mess was to have a goose and a
+turkey for their Christmas dinner. My steward was then told to arrange
+the details; and presently he came to report that the men had taken it
+into their heads, that, as the best poultry was to be procured in
+London, they should like exceedingly to be allowed to despatch an
+embassy to Leadenhall Market for that purpose; the first lieutenant
+agreed also to this, and two seamen and one marine were forthwith
+landed at Deptford to execute the mission. A cart being hired, off
+they set, returning before sunset, with as noisy a cargo as ever I saw
+packed together. It so happened, that while we lay on one side of the
+hulk, I forget her name, another ship was lashed on the opposite side
+for some temporary purpose. The crew of our neighbour dined on
+Christmas-day on soup and beef as usual, and remained contented enough
+till some of our fellows, waddling under the effects of double
+allowance of solids, and perhaps with a trifle too much of fluids,
+came singing and capering along the deck of their hulk. In the most
+good-humoured way possible, they asked their neighbours how many geese
+and turkeys they had discussed that day. The meagre answer called
+forth shouts of merriment, and the poor fellows belonging to the other
+ship were rather unhandsomely taunted with the scantiness of their
+Christmas fare. "Look at that and weep, you hungry-faced rascals!"
+exclaimed one of our jolly blades, holding up the drumstick of a goose
+in one hand and that of a turkey in the other. He was answered by the
+practical joke of having the two bones twisted from his hands and
+shyed in his face, according to the most approved tarpaulin manners.
+This was the signal for a general _melee_, and the officers had enough
+to do to separate the contending hosts.
+
+A few days before the next Christmas-day came round, when we were
+lying in the River Canton, my steward came to me and said,--
+
+"The people, sir, have been talking for the last two or three weeks of
+hardly anything else but the 'row' at Deptford this time twelvemonth,
+when you gave them a feast on Christmas-day."
+
+"Well, what of that?"
+
+"Oh, nothing, sir; I only thought you might like to know it. There are
+plenty of ducks and geese at the Chinese village close to us."
+
+I seized the idea in a moment; and having, as before, consulted with
+the first lieutenant, I bade my steward prepare a good stock
+accordingly. I took no further charge of the matter; nor did I expect
+to hear anything more of the dinner or its preparations. In this,
+however, I was deceived; for when daylight appeared on Christmas
+morning of 1816, such a racket was heard from our little vessel as
+brought up all hands on board every one of the ten or a dozen huge
+East India Company's ships amongst which we were anchored, at a place
+called Second Bar. Our fellows had carried the whole of their
+Christmas poultry aloft, and having perched themselves at the
+yard-arms and on the cross-trees, gaff, and flying jib-boom ends, they
+made each of the wretched birds fast with a string six or eight feet
+long, in such a manner that they could flap their wings, but could not
+escape. The great difficulty, as I afterwards learned, was how to keep
+the ducks and geese from making a noise till the proper moment
+arrived, and this was not effected without sundry bites and scratches.
+As soon as broad daylight came, the word was given, and the whole
+flock being dropped to the full length of their lines, they set up
+such a screaming, cackling, and flapping, as could not fail, when
+aided by the mingled laughter and shouts of their future demolishers,
+to call the envious attention of the whole surrounding fleet!
+
+It is very useful to keep the people in a good humour at all times;
+though, as I have already suggested, the captain must avoid even the
+appearance of courting popularity at the expense of his officers. Such
+an unworthy course of proceeding strikes at the root of discipline. A
+truly right-minded officer, therefore, at the head of any department,
+whether it be that of a ship, a fleet, an army, or a cabinet, will
+seldom, if ever, take into his calculations the effect which any
+measure is to produce on himself or his own interests--but will
+steadily seek to discover what is best for the public service. And if
+such research be made in the proper spirit of generous self-devotion
+to his duty, he may essentially advance the cause of good discipline,
+by transferring the credit of success, which might be his own due, to
+those with whom he happens to be co-operating, and without whose
+companionship and attention to details, though unseen and unknown to
+the world, he might never have gained his point. It is more difficult
+indeed, but also more generous, and more useful in practice, for the
+chief to bear manfully the brunt of failure; and in seasons when
+measures of an unpopular character become necessary, to charge himself
+with a large share of that loss of favour which he is best able to
+afford.[9]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[8] By the recent regulations each ship also receives her complement
+of seamen gunners from one of the gunnery ships, in the proportion of
+a lieutenant and thirteen gunners to a line-of-battle ship, a mate and
+ten men to a frigate, and eight men to smaller vessels. These are
+passed gunners, and their duties are to instruct the crew in gunnery.
+
+[9] The introduction of the system of registration of seamen has, of
+course, been an admirable check upon desertion after receiving
+advances, both in the naval and commercial marine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+FITTING OUT.
+
+
+In the course of a week or ten days after a ship is commissioned, the
+officers are collected on board their hulk, and they bestir themselves
+to gather their comforts about them. In the first instance they look
+after their "noble selves" by selecting, at some small salary extra, a
+boy or a marine a-piece for a valet. They next find out a good
+steward, and having installed him in possession of the nascent stock
+of gun-room crockery, make him hunt for a cook, generally a black man,
+who takes into his sable keeping the pots and pans of the growing
+mess. The mates and mids, a portion of whom are appointed by the
+Admiralty, and a portion by the captain, gradually make their
+appearance, and settle into their dungeon of a berth under the
+caterage of some old boy of a captain's clerk or a hard-a-weather mate
+of the decks. A pretty large proportion of youngsters also, or
+squeakers, who cannot be appointed without the previous consent of the
+Admiralty, spring up like mushrooms, with rosy cheeks and tender
+hands, totally unconscious, poor little fellows! of the rugged lives
+they are soon to lead.
+
+If these boys had only sense enough to look on quietly, and pay
+attention to all that is passing, with a sincere desire to understand
+it, and were they to be assisted a little in their inquiries, they
+might on such occasions as that of a ship fitting out, manage to learn
+and store up much that would prove valuable on a future day. But these
+youths are generally let loose from the Naval College, or from school,
+or from mamma's apron-string; and unless they are looked after and
+encouraged, they are too volatile to pay a proper degree of attention
+to the duty which is going on. After all, it does not require much
+ingenuity to arrange some employment for them, even at first, provided
+their numbers be not so great that they stand in one another's way.
+Three or four youngsters, even though absolute novices, might always
+be kept well employed in a sloop-of-war, and perhaps twice that number
+in a frigate or line-of-battle ship fitting. In peace time, however,
+it will happen that the crowd of young gentlemen is so great, and the
+disposition to learn so little diffused amongst them, that the first
+lieutenant is often glad to get rid of them altogether by letting them
+waste their time and money on shore.
+
+The state in which the ship happens to be at the time she is
+commissioned, must decide, as I said before, the course to be followed
+in her equipment. If she be already masted and alongside the hulk, and
+the ballast in, the officer will most likely wish to make some show in
+the way of rigging--for as yet the masts are naked to the girt-lines,
+or single ropes rove through blocks at the mast-head, by which first
+the men and then the shrouds are drawn up, and the eyes of the rigging
+placed over the mast-heads. If there be only a few sailors on board,
+these can be employed to get off the furniture, that is, all the
+blocks, ready stropped in the rigging loft; and to draw the present
+use stores from the dockyard. These can all be kept under lock and key
+in the store-rooms of the hulk; and if the rigging, and everything
+required in placing it aloft, be previously fitted and arranged by the
+boatswain, so that he can put his hand at once on the gear as soon as
+a sufficient number of the crew join, much time will be saved. Even
+the lower rigging may be got off all ready fitted from the loft; while
+the runners and tackles, the luffs, and other purchases, may be put in
+preparation for use the moment there are hands enough to employ on
+them.
+
+By application to the boatswain of the yard, assistance will be given
+to gammon the bowsprit, preparatory to its being clothed, which is the
+technical term for rigging that important spar. One of its principal
+offices is to support the foremast and fore-topmast, by means of their
+stays, as the slanting ropes are called which stretch forwards and
+downwards from the head of every mast, great and small, in the ship.
+Some of these, as the main-stay, lie at so inconsiderable an angle
+with the horizon, that they possess great power of sustaining the
+mast; while others, such as the fore-stay, being necessarily more
+perpendicular, do not act to such good mechanical purpose. There is a
+peculiar disadvantage attending the method of securing the fore-stay,
+arising from the position of the mast. It is placed so near the
+extremity of the ship, that the stay, which forms its only support in
+the forward direction, cannot be attached to the body of the vessel,
+without making so very small an angle with the mast as would divest
+it of nearly all its character as a supporter. To remedy this, the
+bowsprit has been devised, chiefly as an out-rigger for the fore-stay.
+But in order to render the spar effective for that purpose, it
+requires to be very strongly bound down. There has, therefore, been
+contrived what is called the stem, or cut-water, which is a strong but
+narrow projection from the bows, securely fastened by long and thick
+bolts of iron and copper to the body of the ship. The chief purpose of
+this stem is to furnish a point of support for the ropes securing the
+bowsprit. Of these, the most important is called the gammoning, which
+consists of a strong and well-stretched hawser, passed up and down
+successively, in perpendicular turns, over the bowsprit and through a
+hole horizontally cut in the stem. At each turn the gammoning hawser
+is hove taut, while every effort is used to bring the bowsprit down
+into its place. A heavy boat is sometimes suspended from the end, the
+weight of which greatly assists the gammoning process. Another set of
+ropes, called bob-stays, extending from about one-third from the outer
+end of the bowsprit to the cut-water, nearly at the water-line,
+contribute essentially to its stability. It is further secured in a
+lateral direction by shrouds reaching from its extremity to the bows
+of the ship.
+
+I need not mention, that, in order to give a finish, as it were, to
+the end of the ship, and to convert that into a source of ornament
+which might otherwise be deemed a deformity, the top of the stem has
+been appropriated as the position of the figure-head, the
+characteristic emblem of the vessel. In some ships the sailors pride
+themselves especially on the beauty of their figure-head; and many a
+time have I seen the captain of the forecastle employed for hours in
+painting the eyes, hair, and drapery of his favourite idol. I suppose
+few commanding-officers will allow of this liberty; for it must be
+owned that as Jack's taste in female beauty, and in the disposition
+and colours of dress, are borrowed from a very questionable model, his
+labours in adorning the figure-head are apt to produce strange
+monsters. I once heard of a captain who indulged his boatswain in this
+whim of representing his absent love as far as the king's allowance of
+paint could carry the art; and it must be owned, that, as the original
+Dulcinea owed her roses to the same source, the representation "came
+very close aboard of the original," as the delighted boatswain
+expressed it. This very proximity in colouring, scantiness of drapery,
+and so forth, which formed the boatswain's pride, perplexed the worthy
+captain, who had given his sanction to the work, for he could never
+cross the bows of his own ship with a party of friends, without
+raising a laugh at the expense of his taste in figures. The whole
+crew, however, soon fell as much in love with the damsel as the
+boatswain had done before them; and it would have been cruel to have
+sent the painter to daub her ladyship all over with one uniform
+colour, according to the general fashion. The considerate commander
+took a different line.
+
+"You seem proud of your head, Mr. Clearpipe, I shall gild her for
+you!"
+
+In a few days, the sparkling eyes and blushing cheeks of Mrs.
+Boatswain, like Danae, had yielded up their charms to the golden
+shower. The glittering figure-head soon became the delight of the
+ship's company, and on one occasion furnished the captain with rather
+an odd means of calling out their energies. The ship was sailing in
+company with several others of the same class, and when they all came
+to reef topsails together, she was beat on the first occasion. As they
+were setting about a second trial of activity, the captain called out
+to the people aloft,--
+
+"Now, I tell you what it is, my lads, unless you are off the yards,
+and the sails are hoisted again before any other ship in the squadron,
+by the Lord Harry I'll paint your figure-head black!" From that time
+forward, she beat every ship in the fleet.
+
+As soon as a sufficient number of hands are collected on board the
+ship which is fitting out, all the spars, except the spare ones, may
+be got off to the hulk. These consist of topsail yards, topmasts, and
+top-gallant masts and yards, jib and spanker boom, studding-sail booms,
+and one or two others. The lower and topsail yards can be fitted on
+the hulk's decks, ready to be swayed into their places when the masts
+are in a state to receive them. If a dockyard lump, or lighter, can be
+got to put all the spars in, together with the tops and other things
+which are usually made into a raft and floated off, it may save a
+great deal of trouble; as it frequently happens that they cannot all
+be got in before night, and if bad weather comes on, they may break
+adrift and be lost.
+
+There seems no fixed rule for rigging a ship progressively. Different
+officers adopt different ways of setting about the operation, and
+slight variations occur in the arrangement of the ropes; but,
+generally speaking, everything is disposed according to the
+long-established rules of seamanship. The grand object is to support
+each mast laterally by a number of shrouds on each side, inclining
+slightly abaft the perpendicular, to prevent its falling either
+sideways or forwards, and also, by means of two stays, the principal
+stay and the spring stay, both stretching in the line of the keel, to
+hold it forwards. The width of the ship affords what is called a
+spread for the rigging, which spread is augmented by the application
+of broad shelves, called channels, carrying the rigging three or four
+feet further out on each side, and making its angle with the masts
+greater, and consequently increasing the support of the shrouds. These
+channels act merely as out-riggers, for the ultimate point of fixture,
+or that against which the shrouds pull, is lower down, where long
+links of iron called chain-plates, are securely bolted through and
+through the solid ribs of the ship, and rivetted within. The upper
+ends of these chain-plates are furnished with what are called
+dead-eyes, great round blocks of wood pierced with holes, through
+which the lanyards are rove by which the rigging is set up, or drawn
+almost as tight as bars of iron. The topmasts, rising immediately
+above the lower masts, are supported chiefly by rigging spread out by
+the tops, or what people on shore miscall round-tops. These, like the
+channels for the lower rigging, are mere projections or out-riggers;
+the true point of support for the topmast rigging is the lower
+shrouds, the connection being made by what are called futtock shrouds
+and catharpins. The top-gallant masts, at the next stage aloft, are
+supported by shrouds passing through the ends of small spars called
+cross-trees, at the head of the topmast; and so on in succession, up
+to the sky-scrapers and moon-rakers in some very fly-away ships.
+
+As early as possible, the boats, which are duly warranted for the
+ship, should be selected, and their equipment superintended by the
+officers of the ship, who are the persons most interested in their
+completion. The master boat-builder attends to any little extra
+fittings that the first lieutenant may have a fancy for--such as the
+arrangement of the kedge and steam-anchor davits, the slide for the
+carronnade in the launch, and so on. The boats will be painted of any
+required colour, provided that colour be consistent with the dockyard
+regulations; if any other be required, the captain must purchase it
+himself, but the dockyard painters will lay it on. In the same way, if
+the gun carriages are to be painted of any particular or fancy colour,
+the people at the gun-wharf will prime them in a manner suited to
+that colour, but no more.
+
+I may here take occasion to remark, that in the numberless dockyards I
+have drawn stores from, I never met with any real difficulty in
+getting all that was reasonable from the officers in any department. I
+have heard, indeed, one and all of these persons abused over and over
+again, for being crusty and disobliging; for pertinacity in sticking
+to the mere letter of their instructions, and forgetting its spirit;
+and for throwing obstacles in the way of the service, instead of
+promoting its advancement. But I can only say for myself, that I never
+met with anything but a hearty zeal to furnish all that was right, and
+that, too, in the pleasantest manner, provided the proper degree of
+civility were used in making the application.
+
+People too often forget, that politeness, punctuality, and general
+attention to business, are all reciprocal qualities; and that, unless
+they themselves employ such means in their intercourse with official
+authorities, it is hopeless to expect these authorities will put
+themselves one inch out of their way to oblige persons who manifestly
+hold them in contempt. At least, until we can procure angels to take
+the office of master-attendant, master-shipwright, storekeeper, and so
+forth, the laws and customs of human nature will continue to regulate
+such influences. Your gruff and sulky letter-of-the-law man will, no
+doubt, get his ship fitted, in process of time, but not half so well,
+nor nearly so quickly, as he who takes matters cheerfully.
+
+When a sufficient number of hands have been volunteered at the
+rendezvous, and stationed to the different parts of the ship's duty,
+the first lieutenant should form them into separate working parties,
+as carefully selected as possible for the different kinds of work
+required. The gunner will take one of these gangs to the
+ordnance-wharf, to fit the tackles and breechings; another party will
+be sent to the sail-loft to fit the sails; a third party may be
+occupied with stowing the water-tanks, and preparing the holds for the
+provisions; while some hands should be sent to weave mats for covering
+the different parts of the rigging. The carpenters form a most
+important department of the crew, as there are many little jobs to be
+attended to in every part of the ship which the dockyard pass over;
+and it is useful to have one or two carpenters always ready at a call
+to drive in a nail here, or fix a cleat there, or to ease or fill up
+what does not fit nicely.
+
+When a ship is first commissioned, the captain should apply to the
+builder to have the caulking of the sides, and especially of the
+decks, carefully examined, and if this important operation is to be
+repeated, it should be got over as soon as may be. If the caulking be
+delayed, as too frequently occurs, till after the ship is equipped and
+painted, and the guns mounted; off comes a noisy gang of caulkers, who
+daub her all over with pitch, the removal of which is a troublesome,
+and always a dirty operation.
+
+Old hammocks are generally supplied for the men to sleep in while the
+ship is fitting, and returned when she goes out of harbour. But two
+sets of new hammocks ought to be got on board the hulk, ready to be
+numbered as soon as a neat-handed man of letters can be enlisted for
+that purpose; and as every hammock requires to have a legible number
+marked on it, this occupies some time, and should be set about as
+early as possible, that all may be dry and ready against going to sea.
+
+If the ship be new, it will be of great advantage that the captain or
+first lieutenant should point out to the dockyard officers what he
+considers the best place for the bulk-heads, or partitions separating
+the different holds from one another. The main hold, for example, if
+fitted strictly according to rule, or if it be left to the general
+guess of the superintending shipwright, may chance to be long enough
+to stow a certain number of water-tanks, together with a foot or two
+over and above; now this lost space, if thrown into the after-hold,
+might prove sufficient to gain another entire "longer," or range of
+provision-casks. In the same way, the bulkhead which is common to
+the spirit-room and after-hold may, by timely adjustment, be so placed
+as to gain much useful space. These things are now much better
+attended to than formerly in the original fitting of the ship; but I
+mention them to prevent, as far as may be, the dangerous practice of
+taking that for granted which admits of further examination. Moreover,
+as no two vessels are exactly alike in all their dimensions, and
+correct seamanship is guided by principles, which an officer ought to
+understand, it will not do to rely upon things being done properly
+when they are done by rule-of-thumb. Thus the position of the
+main-tack block, and those of the fore and main sheets, the main-brace
+blocks, topsail sheet and brace bitts, with the number of sheeves in
+each, and twenty other things relating to kevils, cleats, and belaying
+pins, will be dependent for much of their eventual efficiency on the
+length of the yards, the size of the sails, and other circumstances
+which it is quite in vain, and quite unreasonable to expect the
+dockyard workmen to take into account.
+
+By the time the ship, to which every one has ere this become attached,
+is so far advanced as to have all her spars on end, the artificers
+will have completed their hammerings, sawings, and nailings, and the
+main-hold will have been stowed with water-tanks. It is then time to
+draw the heavy stores from the dockyard, such as anchors, cables,
+spare anchor-stocks, fishes for the lower masts, and other spars,
+forming, when packed together in two lines, one on each side of the
+upper deck, what are called "the booms." Great care must be taken in
+stowing these clusters of spars so as to leave room enough between
+them, and just room enough, for stowing the launch or largest boat.
+This is managed by the carpenter taking what is called her midship
+section, and making a slight framework model to guide the stowage of
+the booms.
+
+It may be useful to remark, that, although the operations in fitting
+out a ship are multifarious, and often apparently much confused, it is
+of great consequence to carry into them as much routine method as
+possible. For example, in spite of the frequent interruptions to which
+the seamen are exposed by the arrival of dockyard and
+victualling-office vessels, which must be cleared, it will be found
+very advantageous to adopt a uniform plan by which one set of men
+shall begin, carry on, and complete the same jobs. In this way the
+several working parties will come to take an interest and pride in
+executing their tasks well and quickly, which they never could feel if
+the responsibility and credit were divided or dissipated by their
+being sent backwards and forwards from one operation to another. For
+the purpose of such arrangements, as well as to assist his memory, the
+first lieutenant may find it useful to write out in the evening a
+programme of the next day's intended operations, and commencing every
+morning by this, adhere to it throughout the day as strictly as
+circumstances will permit. A character of consistency will thus be
+given to a vast crowd of operations which otherwise become confused
+and desultory. The people employed to execute these tasks will soon
+insensibly discover that their labours are guided by substantial
+method, and they will work all the more cheerfully and effectively,
+from a conviction that no time is lost, and that their services are
+duly appreciated.
+
+The main hold being now stowed, the cables, anchors, and spare spars,
+all on board, the quantity of provisions required to complete for the
+service appointed may be applied for, and will be sent off in the
+victualling-office lighters. The purser then gets on board coals,
+candles, lanterns, and other stores in his department. The rigging has
+been repeatedly set up, and is now so well stretched that it is ready
+for the last pull before going out of harbour. This done, and the
+dead-eyes and ratlines squared, the shroud and backstay mats are put
+on, and the masts and studding-sail booms carefully scraped. The lower
+masts, and the heads of the topmasts and top-gallant masts, are next
+painted, the yards blacked, and the rigging and backstays fore and aft
+tarred down. The whole ship ought now to be scraped within and
+without, and thoroughly cleaned and dried; after which the painters
+may be sent for from the dockyard, and when they have primed the ship
+it will be well to give her decks another good scouring. Next black
+the bends, while the painters finish the upper works with one or two
+more coats; and, finally, retouch the bends with the black-brush.
+
+When the paint is thoroughly dry, the guns and ordnance stores are to
+be got on board, and all the remaining stores drawn from the dockyard,
+leaving nothing, if possible, excepting the gunpowder, to be got off.
+At this stage of the equipment, the ropes forming the running rigging
+may be rove and cut. At the same time, both suits of sails ought to be
+got on board in a decked lighter, one for stowing away in the
+sail-room, but completely fitted and ready for use; the others to be
+bent to the yards. The hammock-cloths also being now fitted, are
+brought off; and if the ship be "going foreign," double sets are
+allowed, both of which in former times used to be painted; but the
+spare cloths are now very properly supplied unpainted.
+
+The ship being all ready for going out of harbour, the captain makes a
+report to that effect to the admiral, the working boats are returned,
+and the new ones drawn, and hoisted in. At the same time all
+unserviceable stores, worn out in fitting the ship, are returned to
+the dockyard, including the hulk hammocks, which must be well
+scrubbed, dried, and made neatly up. The new hammocks are issued and
+slung, and the bedding being lashed up in them, they are stowed in the
+nettings, with their numbers ranged in a straight line, in regular
+order fore and aft. This arrangement not only gives symmetry, but is
+useful in affording the means of getting at any particular hammock
+which may be required; for instance, if a man is taken sick, or
+persons are required to be sent to other ships.
+
+Generally speaking, indeed, it will be found that the attention
+bestowed on regularity, neatness, and even dandyism, in all these
+minor details, brings with it more than a correspondent degree of
+practical advantage. The men soon feel a pride in what their officer
+approves of and shows himself pleased with; and, when once they fall
+into habits of mutual obligation in the accomplishment of a common
+purpose, everything goes on smoothly and cheerfully. I need scarcely
+recall to the recollection of any one who has witnessed the practice
+of such things, the marvellous difference in the efficiency of a ship
+where the system of discipline is to bully and reproach, and of
+another where the principle is encouraging and gentleman-like. In one
+case the crew work as little as may be, and even take a morbid
+pleasure in crossing the views of the officers as much as they
+possibly can without incurring the risk of punishment; and they never
+stir a finger in works not strictly within their assigned duty. In the
+other case, where good will, a temperate exercise of authority,
+indulgence, when it can by possibility be granted, and, above all,
+when no coarse language unworthy the lips of an officer and a
+gentleman is used, the result is very different. All the subordinate
+authorities, and indeed the crew at large, then become insensibly
+possessed of an elasticity of obedience which exerts a two-fold
+influence, by reacting on themselves even more than it operates upon
+the commanding-officer whose judicious deportment has called out the
+exertion. I may safely add, that in the strict discipline which is
+absolutely indispensable in every efficient man-of-war, and under all
+the circumstances of confinement, privation, and other inevitable
+hardships to which both officers and men are exposed, such a course of
+moderation and good-breeding, independently of its salutary effect on
+the minds of the people, works most admirably for the public service,
+and more than doubles the results, by rendering men, who otherwise
+might have been disposed to retard the duty, sincerely zealous in its
+advancement.
+
+Lord Nelson, that great master of war and discipline, and all that was
+noble and good in the cause of his country, understood, better perhaps
+than any other officer, the art of applying these wholesome maxims to
+the practice of duty at the exact moment of need. During the long and
+weary period when Lord Nelson was blockading Toulon, he was joined
+from England by a line-of-battle ship, commanded by an officer who, as
+the story goes, had long applied for and expected an appointment to a
+cruising frigate, and who, in consequence of this disappointment, came
+growling out to join the fleet, in high dudgeon with the Admiralty at
+being condemned, as he called it, to the galley-slave duty of a
+blockade, in a wretched old tub of a 74, instead of ranging at large
+in a gay frigate over the Atlantic or the Adriatic, and nabbing up
+prizes by the dozen. It appears farther, that he rather unreasonably
+extended a portion of his indignation to the Admiral, who, of course,
+had nothing to do with his appointment; and this sulky frame of mind
+might have proved the captain's ruin, had his Admiral been any other
+than Nelson. But the genius of that great officer appeared to delight
+in such occasions of recalling people to a sense of their duty, and
+directing their passions and motives into the channels most useful to
+themselves and their country. Knowing the officer to be a clever man,
+and capable of performing good service if he chose, it was Nelson's
+cue to make it his choice. When, therefore, the captain came on board,
+full of irritability and provocation, the Admiral took no notice, but
+chatted with him during breakfast on the news from England, and other
+indifferent matters, as if his guest had been in the best humour
+possible. The other, who was nursing his displeasure, waited only for
+an opportunity of exploding, when he could do so without a breach of
+decorum. Lord Nelson soon gave him the occasion he appeared to seek
+for, by begging him to step into the after-cabin, and then asking him
+what he thought of the station, and how he should like cruising in
+the Levant and other interesting parts of the Mediterranean.
+
+"Why, as to that, my lord, I am not very likely to have any choice. I
+am sent here to join the blockading fleet, and here, no doubt, I am
+doomed to stick. I care nothing about the Mediterranean, and it would
+matter little if I did."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you speak in that way," said Nelson, "for I had
+reckoned a good deal on your activity, personal knowledge, and
+abilities, to execute a service of some consequence in the upper parts
+of the station. In this view I have been cutting out a cruise for you,
+which I had hoped might enable you to see everything that is
+interesting, and at the same time to execute a delicate and difficult
+piece of service. But if you really do not fancy it, only say so--it
+is not a business that can be done well on compulsion, but must be
+done cheerfully. If you have a mind to go, well and good--if not, I
+must look out for some one else--but you are the man I should prefer,
+if it be agreeable to you. Here is a sketch of your orders, and there
+is the chart--look them over at leisure, and make your decision."
+
+As Lord Nelson spoke these words he went on deck, leaving the poor man
+bewildered at the prospect of the very employment he most desired, and
+not a little ashamed of himself for having anticipated so different a
+reception. The captain gratefully accepted the Admiral's offer, sailed
+on the appointed service, which he executed with such diligence and
+zeal, that he actually returned to the blockading fleet long within
+the period he was authorized to bestow on the cruise; and there he
+remained ever afterwards, performing all the drudgery of the
+blockading service, not only with zeal, but with the heartiest good
+humour, springing out of an anxious desire to manifest at once his
+respect and his affectionate devotion to the matchless officer who had
+so judiciously taught him the true path to honour.
+
+The last thing to be done in fitting out, and before quitting the
+harbour, is to turn all hands over to their proper ship, and then to
+scrape, and scrub, and wash the hulk as effectually as possible,
+preparatory to her being inspected by the dockyard. This duty is too
+frequently executed in a negligent manner; and really it is not much
+to be wondered at, for the hulks are such abominable ugly-looking
+monsters, that one can take no pride or pleasure in treating them with
+common decency. The commanding-officer, therefore, should be
+particularly cautious in seeing this operation effectually performed;
+for, if he does not, he will be sure to be called upon next day to
+send a party of hands, probably at a great inconvenience, to repeat
+the process.
+
+There are, as will readily be conceived, a hundred minor points to be
+thought of in the equipment of a ship, to which I have not adverted,
+relating to the watching, stationing, and quartering of men and
+officers; the berthing and arrangement of the people into messes; the
+rules respecting their having leave to go on shore, and so on. It may
+be well, however, to remind officers that they should never forget
+that the mere appearance of their ship is a matter of considerable
+consequence; and therefore, even in the very busiest times of the
+outfit, the yards should be carefully squared every evening after the
+work is over, all the ropes hauled taut, and the decks swept as soon
+as the artificers leave off work. Not a single person beyond the
+sentries should ever be allowed to go from the hulk to the ship,
+except during working hours. This rule prevents any interference with
+the tools or unfinished work of the dockyard men. In a word, the crew
+should never be allowed to suppose that the discipline of forms and
+appearances, so to call it, is relaxed, because the usual regularity
+of working is in some degree interrupted. That a ship is essentially
+in good order can at once be discovered by a professional eye, in the
+midst of her most bustling occupations and at any stage of the outfit.
+
+Last of all the pilot comes on board; the sails are loosed and
+hoisted; and the lashings being cast off from the hulk, the gay ship
+sails joyously out of harbour, and takes up her anchorage at the
+anchoring ground. The officers and crew set to work in getting things
+into their places; and being all thoroughly tired of harbour, and
+anxious to get to sea, a fresh feeling of zeal and activity pervades
+the whole establishment.
+
+The powder is now got on board; the warrant-officers "indent" or sign
+the proper acknowledgments for their stores at the dockyard; and the
+purser, having completed the stock of provisions, closes his accounts
+at the victualling-office. The captain's wife begins to pack up her
+band-boxes in order to return home, while the Jews and bum-boat folks
+are pushing all the interest they can scrape together to induce the
+first lieutenant to give them the priority of entrance with their
+goods and chattels on the approaching pay-day. The sailors' wives
+about this period besiege the captain and his lady alternately, with
+petitions to be allowed to go to sea in the ship; to all, or most of
+which, a deaf ear must be turned. When all things are put to rights,
+the port-admiral comes on board to muster and inspect the ship's
+company, and to see how the different equipments have been attended
+to.
+
+At length, just before sailing, pay-day comes, and with it many a
+disgusting scene will ever be associated until the present system be
+modified. The ship is surrounded by a fleet of boats filled with gangs
+of queer-looking Jew-pedlars sitting in the midst of piles of
+slop-clothing, gaudy handkerchiefs, tawdry trinkets, eggs and butter,
+red herrings and cheeses, tin-pots, fruit, joints of meat, and bags of
+potatoes, well concealed beneath which are bottles and bladders filled
+with the most horribly adulterated spirituous liquors. As many of
+these dealers as can be conveniently ranged on the quarter-deck and
+gangways may be admitted, that the market may be as open and fair as
+possible; but it is very indiscreet to allow any of them to go on the
+main-deck.
+
+Right happy is that hour when the ship is fairly clear of all these
+annoyances--sweethearts and wives inclusive--and when, with the water
+filled up to the last gallon, the bread-room chock full, and as many
+quarters of beef got on board as will keep fresh, the joyful sound of
+"Up Anchor!" rings throughout the ship. The capstan is manned; the
+messenger brought to; round fly the bars; and as the anchor spins
+buoyantly up to the bows, the jib is hoisted, the topsails sheeted
+home, and off she goes, merrily before the breeze!
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+POETRY PUBLISHED BY
+MESSRS. BELL AND DALDY,
+186, FLEET STREET, LONDON.
+
+Legends and Lyrics, by Adelaide Anne
+Procter, _6th Edition_. Fcap. 8vo. 5s. Antique
+or best plain morocco, 10s. 6d.
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+The Legend of the Golden Prayers, and other Poems.
+By C.F. Alexander, Author of "Moral songs," &c.
+Fcap. 8vo. 5s.; morocco, 10s. 6d.
+
+Verses for Holy Seasons. By the Same Author.
+Edited by the Very Rev. W.F. Hook, D.D. _4th Edition_.
+Fcap. 8vo. 3s. 6d.; morocco, 8s. 6d.
+
+Day and Night Songs and The Music Master, a
+Love Poem. By William Allingham. With Nine Illustrations.
+Fcap. 8vo. 6s. 6d.
+
+Wild Thyme. By E.H. Mitchell. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
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+Lyrics and Idylls. By Gerda Fay. Fcap. 8vo. 4s.
+
+Pansies. By Fanny Susan Wyvill. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
+
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+Poems from the German. By Richard Garnett.
+Fcap. 8vo. 3s. 6d.
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+NIGHTINGALE VALLEY: a Collection
+of the Choicest Lyrics and Short Poems in
+the English Language. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
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+Ballads and Songs of Yorkshire. Edited by C.J.D.
+Ingledew, M.A., Ph.D. 6s.
+
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+small 8vo. 15s. Half-bound, 18s. Antique-calf, or
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+14s. Antique morocco, 21s.
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+with 100 Illustrations by C. Bennett, and G.H. Thomas.
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+
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+by F. Dinsdale, LL.D., F.S.A. _New Edition_. Post
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+
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+The Midshipman.    By Capt. Basil Hall, R.N.   3s.
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