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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Two Admirals, by J. Fenimore Cooper
+
+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 Two Admirals
+
+Author: J. Fenimore Cooper
+
+Release Date: January 29, 2007 [EBook #20475]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWO ADMIRALS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from scanned images of public domain
+material from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          THE TWO ADMIRALS.
+
+                   A Tale BY James Fenimore Cooper
+
+                            THE AUTHOR OF
+
+     "THE PILOT," "RED ROVER," "WATER-WITCH," "HOMEWARD BOUND," ETC.
+
+
+
+
+COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME
+REVISED AND CORRECTED
+WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION, NOTES, &c,
+By the Author.
+
+NEW YORK:
+GEORGE P. PUTNAM & Co., 10 PARK PLACE.
+1852.
+
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
+STRINGER & TOWNSEND,
+In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for
+the Southern District of New York.
+
+STEREOTYPED BY
+BILLIN & BROTHERS,
+10 NORTH WILLIAM STREET, N.Y.
+R. CRAIGHEAD, PRINTER
+
+
+
+
+    Come, all ye kindred chieftains of the deep,
+      In mighty phalanx round your brother bend;
+    Hush every murmur that invades his sleep,
+      And guard the laurel that o'ershades your friend.
+
+    _Lines on Trippe._
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+It is a strong proof of the diffusive tendency of every thing in this
+country, that America never yet collected a fleet. Nothing is wanting to
+this display of power but the will. But a fleet requires only one
+commander, and a feeling is fast spreading in the country that we ought
+to be all commanders; unless the spirit of unconstitutional innovation,
+and usurpation, that is now so prevalent, at Washington, be controlled,
+we may expect to hear of proposals to send a committee of Congress to
+sea, in command of a squadron. We sincerely hope that their first
+experiment may be made on the coast of Africa.
+
+It has been said of Napoleon that he never could be made to understand
+why his fleets did not obey his orders with the same accuracy, as to
+time and place, as his _corps d'armée_. He made no allowances for the
+winds and currents, and least of all, did he comprehend that all
+important circumstance, that the efficiency of a fleet is necessarily
+confined to the rate of sailing of the dullest of its ships. More may be
+expected from a squadron of ten sail, all of which shall be average
+vessels, in this respect, than from the same number of vessels, of which
+one half are fast and the remainder dull. One brigade can march as fast
+as another, but it is not so with vessels. The efficiency of a marine,
+therefore, depends rather on its working qualities, than on its number
+of ships.
+
+Perhaps the best fleet that ever sailed under the English flag, was that
+with which Nelson fought the battle of the Nile. It consisted of twelve
+or thirteen small seventy-fours, each of approved qualities, and
+commanded by an officer of known merit. In all respects it was efficient
+and reliable. With such men as Hallowell, Hood, Trowbridge, Foley, Ball,
+and others, and with such ships, the great spirit of Nelson was
+satisfied. He knew that whatever seamen could do, his comparatively
+little force could achieve. When his enemy was discovered at anchor,
+though night was approaching and his vessels were a good deal scattered,
+he at once determined to put the qualities we have mentioned to the
+highest proof, and to attack. This was done without any other order of
+battle than that which directed each commander to get as close alongside
+of an enemy as possible, the best proof of the high confidence he had in
+his ships and in their commanders.
+
+It is now known that all the early accounts of the man[oe]uvring at the
+Nile, and of Nelson's reasoning on the subject of anchoring inside and
+of doubling on his enemies, is pure fiction. The "Life" by Southey, in
+all that relates to this feature of the day, is pure fiction, as,
+indeed, are other portions of the work of scarcely less importance. This
+fact came to the writer, through the late Commodore (Charles Valentine)
+Morris, from Sir Alexander Ball, in the early part of the century. In
+that day it would not have done to proclaim it, so tenacious is public
+opinion of its errors; but since that time, naval officers of rank have
+written on the subject, and stripped the Nile, Trafalgar, &c, of their
+poetry, to give the world plain, nautical, and probable accounts of both
+those great achievements. The truth, as relates to both battles, was
+just as little like the previously published accounts, as well could be.
+
+Nelson knew the great superiority of the English seamen, their facility
+in repairing damages, and most of all the high advantage possessed by
+the fleets of his country, in the exercise of the assumed right to
+impress, a practice that put not only the best seamen of his own
+country, but those of the whole world, more or less, at his mercy. His
+great merit, at the Nile, was in the just appreciation of these
+advantages, and in the extraordinary decision which led him to go into
+action just at nightfall, rather than give his enemy time to prepare to
+meet the shock.
+
+It is now known that the French were taken, in a great measure, by
+surprise. A large portion of their crews were on shore, and did not get
+off to their ships at all, and there was scarce a vessel that did not
+clear the decks, by tumbling the mess-chests, bags, &c, into the inside
+batteries, rendering them, in a measure, useless, when the English
+doubled on their line.
+
+It was this doubling on the French line, by anchoring inside, and
+putting two ships upon one, that gave Nelson so high a reputation as a
+tactician. The merit of this man[oe]uvre belongs exclusively to one of
+his captains. As the fleet went in, without any order, keeping as much
+to windward as the shoals would permit, Nelson ordered the Vanguard
+hove-to, to take a pilot out of a fisherman. This enabled Foley, Hood,
+and one or two more to pass that fast ship. It was at this critical
+moment that the thought occurred to Foley (we think this was the
+officer) to pass the head of the French line, keep dead away, and anchor
+inside. Others followed, completely placing their enemies between two
+fires. Sir Samuel Hood anchored his ship (the Zealous) on the inner bow
+of the most weatherly French ship, where he poured his fire into,
+virtually; an unresisting enemy. Notwithstanding the great skill
+manifested by the English in their mode of attack, this was the only
+two-decked ship in the English fleet that was able to make sail on the
+following morning.
+
+Had Nelson led in upon an American fleet, as he did upon the French at
+the Nile, he would have seen reason to repent the boldness of the
+experiment. Something like it _was_ attempted on Lake Champlain, though
+on a greatly diminished scale, and the English were virtually defeated
+before they anchored.
+
+The reader who feels an interest in such subjects, will probably detect
+the secret process of the mind, by which some of the foregoing facts
+have insinuated themselves into this fiction.
+
+
+
+
+THE TWO ADMIRALS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+                    "Then, if he were my brother's.
+    My brother might not claim him; nor your father,
+    Being none of his, refuse him: This concludes--
+    My mother's son did get your father's heir;
+    Your father's heir must have your father's land."
+
+         KING JOHN.
+
+
+The events we are about to relate, occurred near the middle of the last
+century, previously even to that struggle, which it is the fashion of
+America to call "the old French War." The opening scene of our tale,
+however, must be sought in the other hemisphere, and on the coast of the
+mother country. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the American
+colonies were models of loyalty; the very war, to which there has just
+been allusion, causing the great expenditure that induced the ministry
+to have recourse to the system of taxation, which terminated in the
+revolution. The family quarrel had not yet commenced. Intensely occupied
+with the conflict, which terminated not more gloriously for the British
+arms, than advantageously for the British American possessions, the
+inhabitants of the provinces were perhaps never better disposed to the
+metropolitan state, than at the very period of which we are about to
+write. All their early predilections seemed to be gaining strength,
+instead of becoming weaker; and, as in nature, the calm is known to
+succeed the tempest, the blind attachment of the colony to the parent
+country, was but a precursor of the alienation and violent disunion that
+were so soon to follow.
+
+Although the superiority of the English seamen was well established, in
+the conflicts that took place between the years 1740, and that of 1763,
+the naval warfare of the period by no means possessed the very decided
+character with which it became stamped, a quarter of a century later. In
+our own times, the British marine appears to have improved in quality,
+as its enemies, deteriorated. In the year 1812, however, "Greek met
+Greek," when, of a verity, came "the tug of war." The great change that
+came over the other navies of Europe, was merely a consequence of the
+revolutions, which drove experienced men into exile, and which, by
+rendering armies all-important even to the existence of the different
+states, threw nautical enterprises into the shade, and gave an
+engrossing direction to courage and talent, in another quarter. While
+France was struggling, first for independence, and next for the mastery
+of the continent, a marine was a secondary object; for Vienna, Berlin,
+and Moscow, were as easily entered without, as with its aid. To these,
+and other similar causes, must be referred the explanation of the
+seeming invincibility of the English arms at sea, during the late great
+conflicts of Europe; an invincibility that was more apparent than real,
+however, as many well-established defeats were, even then, intermingled
+with her thousand victories.
+
+From the time when her numbers could furnish succour of this nature,
+down to the day of separation, America had her full share in the
+exploits of the English marine. The gentry of the colonies willingly
+placed their sons in the royal navy, and many a bit of square bunting
+has been flying at the royal mast-heads of King's ships, in the
+nineteenth century, as the distinguishing symbols of flag-officers, who
+had to look for their birth-places among ourselves. In the course of a
+chequered life, in which we have been brought in collision with as great
+a diversity of rank, professions, and characters, as often falls to the
+lot of any one individual, we have been thrown into contact with no less
+than eight English admirals, of American birth; while, it has never yet
+been our good fortune to meet with a countryman, who has had this rank
+bestowed on him by his own government. On one occasion, an Englishman,
+who had filled the highest civil office connected with the marine of his
+nation, observed to us, that the only man he then knew, in the British
+navy, in whom he should feel an entire confidence in entrusting an
+important command, was one of these translated admirals; and the thought
+unavoidably passed through our mind, that this favourite commander had
+done well in adhering to the conventional, instead of clinging to his
+natural allegiance, inasmuch as he might have toiled for half a century,
+in the service of his native land, and been rewarded with a rank that
+would merely put him on a level with a colonel in the army! How much
+longer this short-sighted policy, and grievous injustice, are to
+continue, no man can say; but it is safe to believe, that it is to last
+until some legislator of influence learns the simple truth, that the
+fancied reluctance of popular constituencies to do right, oftener exists
+in the apprehensions of their representatives, than in reality.--But to
+our tale.
+
+England enjoys a wide-spread reputation for her fogs; but little do they
+know how much a fog may add to natural scenery, who never witnessed its
+magical effects, as it has caused a beautiful landscape to coquette with
+the eye, in playful and capricious changes. Our opening scene is in one
+of these much derided fogs; though, let it always be remembered, it was
+a fog of June, and not of November. On a high head-land of the coast of
+Devonshire, stood a little station-house, which had been erected with a
+view to communicate by signals, with the shipping, that sometimes lay at
+anchor in an adjacent roadstead. A little inland, was a village, or
+hamlet, that it suits our purposes to call Wychecombe; and at no great
+distance from the hamlet itself, surrounded by a small park, stood a
+house of the age of Henry VII., which was the abode of Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe, a baronet of the creation of King James I., and the
+possessor of an improveable estate of some three or four thousand a
+year, which had been transmitted to him, through a line of ancestors,
+that ascended as far back as the times of the Plantagenets. Neither
+Wychecombe, nor the head-land, nor the anchorage, was a place of note;
+for much larger and more favoured hamlets, villages, and towns, lay
+scattered about that fine portion of England; much better roadsteads and
+bays could generally be used by the coming or the parting vessel; and
+far more important signal-stations were to be met with, all along that
+coast. Nevertheless, the roadstead was entered when calms or adverse
+winds rendered it expedient; the hamlet had its conveniences, and, like
+most English hamlets, its beauties; and the hall and park were not
+without their claims to state and rural magnificence. A century since,
+whatever the table of precedency or Blackstone may say, an English
+baronet, particularly one of the date of 1611, was a much greater
+personage than he is to-day; and an estate of £4000 a year, more
+especially if not rack-rented, was of an extent, and necessarily of a
+local consequence, equal to one of near, or quite three times the same
+amount, in our own day. Sir Wycherly, however, enjoyed an advantage that
+was of still greater importance, and which was more common in 1745, than
+at the present moment. He had no rival within fifteen miles of him, and
+the nearest potentate was a nobleman of a rank and fortune that put all
+competition out of the question; one who dwelt in courts, the favourite
+of kings; leaving the baronet, as it might be, in undisturbed enjoyment
+of all the local homage. Sir Wycherly had once been a member of
+Parliament, and only once. In his youth, he had been a fox-hunter; and a
+small property in Yorkshire had long been in the family, as a sort of
+foothold on such enjoyments; but having broken a leg, in one of his
+leaps, he had taken refuge against _ennui_, by sitting a single session
+in the House of Commons, as the member of a borough that lay adjacent to
+his hunting-box. This session sufficed for his whole life; the good
+baronet having taken the matter so literally, as to make it a point to
+be present at all the sittings; a sort of tax on his time, which, as it
+came wholly unaccompanied by profit, was very likely soon to tire out
+the patience of an old fox-hunter. After resigning his seat, he retired
+altogether to Wychecombe, where he passed the last fifty years,
+extolling England, and most especially that part of it in which his own
+estates lay; in abusing the French, with occasional inuendoes against
+Spain and Holland; and in eating and drinking. He had never travelled;
+for, though Englishmen of his station often did visit the continent, a
+century ago, they oftener did not. It was the courtly and the noble, who
+then chiefly took this means of improving their minds and manners; a
+class, to which a baronet by no means necessarily belonged. To conclude,
+Sir Wycherly was now eighty-four; hale, hearty, and a bachelor. He had
+been born the oldest of five brothers; the cadets taking refuge, as
+usual, in the inns of court, the church, the army, and the navy; and
+precisely in the order named. The lawyer had actually risen to be a
+judge, by the style and appellation of Baron Wychecombe; had three
+illegitimate children by his housekeeper, and died, leaving to the
+eldest thereof, all his professional earnings, after buying commissions
+for the two younger in the army. The divine broke his neck, while yet a
+curate, in a fox-hunt; dying unmarried, and so far as is generally
+known, childless. This was Sir Wycherly's favourite brother; who, he was
+accustomed to say, "lost his life, in setting an example of field-sports
+to his parishioners." The soldier was fairly killed in battle, before he
+was twenty; and the name of the sailor suddenly disappeared from the
+list of His Majesty's lieutenants, about half a century before the time
+when our tale opens, by shipwreck. Between the sailor and the head of
+the family, however, there had been no great sympathy; in consequence,
+as it was rumoured, of a certain beauty's preference for the latter,
+though this preference produced no _suites_, inasmuch as the lady died a
+maid. Mr. Gregory Wychecombe, the lieutenant in question, was what is
+termed a "wild boy;" and it was the general impression, when his parents
+sent him to sea, that the ocean would now meet with its match. The hopes
+of the family centred in the judge, after the death of the curate, and
+it was a great cause of regret, to those who took an interest in its
+perpetuity and renown, that this dignitary did not marry; since the
+premature death of all the other sons had left the hall, park, and
+goodly farms, without any known legal heir. In a word, this branch of
+the family of Wychecombe would be extinct, when Sir Wycherly died, and
+the entail become useless. Not a female inheritor, even, or a male
+inheritor through females, could be traced; and it had become imperative
+on Sir Wycherly to make a will, lest the property should go off, the
+Lord knew where; or, what was worse, it should escheat. It is true, Tom
+Wychecombe, the judge's eldest son, often gave dark hints about a
+secret, and a timely marriage between his parents, a fact that would
+have superseded the necessity for all devises, as the property was
+strictly tied up, so far as the lineal descendants of a certain _old_
+Sir Wycherly were concerned; but the present Sir Wycherly had seen his
+brother, in his last illness, on which occasion, the following
+conversation had taken place.
+
+"And now, brother Thomas," said the baronet, in a friendly and consoling
+manner; "having, as one may say, prepared your soul for heaven, by these
+prayers and admissions of your sins, a word may be prudently said,
+concerning the affairs of this world. You know I am childless--that is
+to say,--"
+
+"I understand you, Wycherly," interrupted the dying man, "you're a
+_bachelor_."
+
+"That's it, Thomas; and bachelors _ought_ not to have children. Had our
+poor brother James escaped that mishap, he might have been sitting at
+your bed-side at this moment, and _he_ could have told us all about it.
+St. James I used to call him; and well did he deserve the name!"
+
+"St. James the Least, then, it must have been, Wycherly."
+
+"It's a dreadful thing to have no heir, Thomas! Did you ever know a case
+in your practice, in which another estate was left so completely without
+an heir, as this of ours?"
+
+"It does not often happen, brother; heirs are usually more abundant than
+estates."
+
+"So I thought. Will the king get the title as well as the estate,
+brother, if it should escheat, as you call it?"
+
+"Being the fountain of honour, he will be rather indifferent about the
+baronetcy."
+
+"I should care less if it went to the next sovereign, who is English
+born. Wychecombe has always belonged to Englishmen."
+
+"That it has; and ever will, I trust. You have only to select an heir,
+when I am gone, and by making a will, with proper devises, the property
+will not escheat. Be careful to use the full terms of perpetuity."
+
+"Every thing was so comfortable, brother, while you were in health,"
+said Sir Wycherly, fidgeting; "you were my natural heir--"
+
+"Heir of entail," interrupted the judge.
+
+"Well, well, _heir_, at all events; and _that_ was a prodigious comfort
+to a man like myself, who has a sort of religious scruples about making
+a will. I have heard it whispered that you were actually married to
+Martha; in which case, Tom might drop into our shoes, so readily,
+without any more signing and sealing."
+
+"A _filius nullius_," returned the other, too conscientious to lend
+himself to a deception of that nature.
+
+"Why, brother, Tom often seems to me to favour such an idea, himself."
+
+"No wonder, Wycherly, for the idea would greatly favour him. Tom and his
+brothers are all _filii nullorum_, God forgive me for that same wrong."
+
+"I wonder neither Charles nor Gregory thought of marrying before they
+lost their lives for their king and country," put in Sir Wycherly, in an
+upbraiding tone, as if he thought his penniless brethren had done him an
+injury in neglecting to supply him with an heir, though he had been so
+forgetful himself of the same great duty. "I did think of bringing in a
+bill for providing heirs for unmarried persons, without the trouble and
+responsibility of making wills."
+
+"That would have been a great improvement on the law of descents--I hope
+you wouldn't have overlooked the ancestors."
+
+"Not I--everybody would have got his rights. They tell me poor Charles
+never spoke after he was shot; but I dare say, did we know the truth, he
+regretted sincerely that he never married."
+
+"There, for once, Wycherly, I think you are likely to be wrong. A _femme
+sole_ without food, is rather a helpless sort of a person."
+
+"Well, well, I wish he had married. What would it have been to me, had
+he left a dozen widows?"
+
+"It might have raised some awkward questions as to dowry; and if each
+left a son, the title and estates would have been worse off than they
+are at present, without widows or legitimate children."
+
+"Any thing would be better than having no heir. I believe I'm the first
+baronet of Wychecombe who has been obliged to make a will!"
+
+"Quite likely," returned the brother, drily; "I remember to have got
+nothing from the last one, in that way. Charles and Gregory fared no
+better. Never mind, Wycherly, you behaved like a father to us all."
+
+"I don't mind signing cheques, in the least; but wills have an
+irreligious appearance, in my eyes. There are a good many Wychecombes,
+in England; I wonder some of them are not of our family! They tell me a
+hundredth cousin is just as good an heir, as a first-born son."
+
+"Failing nearer of kin. But we have no hundredth cousins of the _whole
+blood_."
+
+"There are the Wychecombes of Surrey, brother Thomas--?"
+
+"Descended from a bastard of the second baronet, and out of the line of
+descent, altogether."
+
+"But the Wychecombes of Hertfordshire, I have always heard were of our
+family, and legitimate."
+
+"True, as regards matrimony--rather too much of it, by the way. They
+branched off in 1487, long before the creation, and have nothing to do
+with the entail; the first of their line coming from old Sir Michael
+Wychecombe, Kt. and Sheriff of Devonshire, by his second wife Margery;
+while we are derived from the same male ancestor, through Wycherly, the
+only son by Joan, the first wife. Wycherly, and Michael, the son of
+Michael and Margery, were of the half-blood, as respects each other, and
+could not be heirs of blood. What was true of the ancestors is true of
+the descendants."
+
+"But we came of the same ancestor, and the estate is far older than
+1487."
+
+"Quite true, brother; nevertheless, the half-blood can't take; so says
+the perfection of human reason."
+
+"I never could understand these niceties of the law," said Sir Wycherly,
+sighing; "but I suppose they are all right. There are so many
+Wychecombes scattered about England, that I should think some one among
+them all might be my heir!"
+
+"Every man of them bears a bar in his arms, or is of the half-blood."
+
+"You are quite sure, brother, that Tom is a _filius nullus_?" for the
+baronet had forgotten most of the little Latin he ever knew, and
+translated this legal phrase into "no son."
+
+"_Filius nullius_, Sir Wycherly, the son of nobody; your reading would
+literally make Tom nobody; whereas, he is only the son of nobody."
+
+"But, brother, he is your son, and as like you, as two hounds of the
+same litter."
+
+"I am _nullus_, in the eye of the law, as regards poor Tom; who, until
+he marries, and has children of his own, is altogether without legal
+kindred. Nor do I know that legitimacy would make Tom any better; for he
+is presuming and confident enough for the heir apparent to the throne,
+as it is."
+
+"Well, there's this young sailor, who has been so much at the station
+lately, since he was left ashore for the cure of his wounds. 'Tis a most
+gallant lad; and the First Lord has sent him a commission, as a reward
+for his good conduct, in cutting out the Frenchman. I look upon him as a
+credit to the name; and I make no question, he is, some way or other, of
+our family."
+
+"Does he claim to be so?" asked the judge, a little quickly, for he
+distrusted men in general, and thought, from all he had heard, that some
+attempt might have been made to practise on his brother's simplicity. "I
+thought you told me that he came from the American colonies?"
+
+"So he does; he's a native of Virginia, as was his father before him."
+
+"A convict, perhaps; or a servant, quite likely, who has found the name
+of his former master, more to his liking than his own. Such things are
+common, they tell me, beyond seas."
+
+"Yes, if he were anything but an American, I might wish he were my
+heir," returned Sir Wycherly, in a melancholy tone; "but it would be
+worse than to let the lands escheat, as you call it, to place an
+American in possession of Wychecombe. The manors have always had English
+owners, down to the present moment, thank God!"
+
+"Should they have any other, it will be your own fault, Wycherly. When I
+am dead, and that will happen ere many weeks, the human being will not
+be living, who can take that property, after your demise, in any other
+manner than by escheat, or by devise. There will then be neither heir of
+entail, nor heir at law; and you may make whom you please, master of
+Wychecombe, provided he be not an alien."
+
+"Not an American, I suppose, brother; an American is an alien, of
+course."
+
+"Humph!--why, not in law, whatever he may be according to our English
+notions. Harkee, brother Wycherly; I've never asked you, or wished you
+to leave the estate to Tom, or his younger brothers; for one, and all,
+are _filii nullorum_--as I term 'em, though my brother Record will have
+it, it ought to be _filii nullius_, as well as _filius nullius_. Let
+that be as it may; no bastard should lord it at Wychecombe; and rather
+than the king; should get the lands, to bestow on some favourite, I
+would give it to the half-blood."
+
+"Can that be done without making a will, brother Thomas?"
+
+"It cannot, Sir Wycherly; nor with a will, so long as an heir of entail
+can be found."
+
+"Is there no way of making Tom a _filius somebody_, so that _he_ can
+succeed?"
+
+"Not under our laws. By the civil law, such a thing might have been
+done, and by the Scotch law; but not under the perfection of reason."
+
+"I wish you knew this young Virginian! The lad bears both of my names,
+Wycherly Wychecombe."
+
+"He is not a _filius Wycherly_--is he, baronet?"
+
+"Fie upon thee, brother Thomas! Do you think I have less candour than
+thyself, that I would not acknowledge my own flesh and blood. I never
+saw the youngster, until within the last six months, when he was landed
+from the roadstead, and brought to Wychecombe, to be cured of his
+wounds; nor ever heard of him before. When they told me his name was
+Wycherly Wychecombe, I could do no less than call and see him. The poor
+fellow lay at death's door for a fortnight; and it was while we had
+little or no hope of saving him, that I got the few family anecdotes
+from him. Now, that would be good evidence in law, I believe, Thomas."
+
+"For certain things, had the lad really died. Surviving, he must be
+heard on his _voire dire_, and under oath. But what was his tale?"
+
+"A very short one. He told me his father was a Wycherly Wychecombe, and
+that his grandfather had been a Virginia planter. This was all he seemed
+to know of his ancestry."
+
+"And probably all there was of them. My Tom is not the only _filius nullius_
+that has been among us, and this grandfather, if he has not actually
+stolen the name, has got it by these doubtful means. As for the
+Wycherly, it should pass for nothing. Learning that there is a line of
+baronets of this name, every pretender to the family would be apt to
+call a son Wycherly."
+
+"The line will shortly be ended, brother," returned Sir Wycherly,
+sighing. "I wish you might be mistaken; and, after all, Tom shouldn't
+prove to be that _filius_ you call him."
+
+Mr. Baron Wychecombe, as much from _esprit de corps_ as from moral
+principle, was a man of strict integrity, in all things that related to
+_meum_ and _tuum_. He was particularly rigid in his notions concerning
+the transmission of real estate, and the rights of primogeniture. The
+world had taken little interest in the private history of a lawyer, and
+his sons having been born before his elevation to the bench, he passed
+with the public for a widower, with a family of promising boys. Not one
+in a hundred of his acquaintances even, suspected the fact; and nothing
+would have been easier for him, than to have imposed on his brother, by
+inducing him to make a will under some legal mystification or other, and
+to have caused Tom Wychecombe to succeed to the property in question, by
+an indisputable title. There would have been no great difficulty even,
+in his son's assuming and maintaining his right to the baronetcy,
+inasmuch as there would be no competitor, and the crown officers were
+not particularly rigid in inquiring into the claims of those who assumed
+a title that brought with it no political privileges. Still, he was far
+from indulging in any such project. To him it appeared that the
+Wychecombe estate ought to go with the principles that usually governed
+such matters; and, although he submitted to the dictum of the common
+law, as regarded the provision which excluded the half-blood from
+inheriting, with the deference of an English common-law lawyer, he saw
+and felt, that, failing the direct line, Wychecombe ought to revert to
+the descendants of Sir Michael by his second son, for the plain reason
+that they were just as much derived from the person who had acquired the
+estate, as his brother Wycherly and himself. Had there been descendants
+of females, even, to interfere, no such opinion would have existed; but,
+as between an escheat, or a devise in favour of a _filius nillius_, or
+of the descendant of a _filius nullius_, the half-blood possessed every
+possible advantage. In his legal eyes, legitimacy was everything,
+although he had not hesitated to be the means of bringing into the world
+seven illegitimate children, that being the precise number Martha had
+the credit of having borne him, though three only survived. After
+reflecting a moment, therefore, he turned to the baronet, and addressed
+him more seriously than he had yet done, in the present dialogue; first
+taking a draught of cordial to give him strength for the occasion.
+
+"Listen to me, brother Wycherly," said the judge, with a gravity that at
+once caught the attention of the other. "You know something of the
+family history, and I need do no more than allude to it. Our ancestors
+were the knightly possessors of Wychecombe, centuries before King James
+established the rank of baronet. When our great-grandfather, Sir
+Wycherly, accepted the patent of 1611, he scarcely did himself honour;
+for, by aspiring higher, he might have got a peerage. However, a baronet
+he became, and for the first time since Wychecombe was Wychecombe, the
+estate was entailed, to do credit to the new rank. Now, the first Sir
+Wycherly had three sons, and no daughter. Each of these sons succeeded;
+the two eldest as bachelors, and the youngest was our grandfather. Sir
+Thomas, the fourth baronet, left an only child, Wycherly, our father.
+Sir Wycherly, our father, had five sons, Wycherly his successor,
+yourself, and the sixth baronet; myself; James; Charles; and Gregory.
+James broke his neck at your side. The two last lost their lives in the
+king's service, unmarried; and neither you, nor I, have entered into the
+holy state of matrimony. I cannot survive a month, and the hopes of
+perpetuating the direct line of the family, rests with yourself. This
+accounts for all the descendants of Sir Wycherly, the first baronet; and
+it also settles the question of heirs of entail, of whom there are none
+after myself. To go back beyond the time of King James I.: Twice did the
+elder lines of the Wychecombes fail, between the reign of King Richard
+II. and King Henry VII., when Sir Michael succeeded. Now, in each of
+these cases, the law disposed of the succession; the youngest branches
+of the family, in both instances, getting the estate. It follows that
+agreeably to legal decisions had at the time, when the facts must have
+been known, that the Wychecombes were reduced to these younger lines.
+Sir Michael had two wives. From the first _we_ are derived--from the
+last, the Wychecombes of Hertfordshire--since known as baronets of that
+county, by the style and title of Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, Herts."
+
+"The present Sir Reginald can have no claim, being of the half-blood,"
+put in Sir Wycherly, with a brevity of manner that denoted feeling. "The
+half-blood is as bad as a _nullius_, as you call Tom."
+
+"Not quite. A person of the half-blood may be as legitimate as the
+king's majesty; whereas, a nullius is of _no_ blood. Now, suppose for a
+moment, Sir Wycherly, that you had been a son by a first wife, and I had
+been a son by a second--would there have been no relationship between
+us?"
+
+"What a question, Tom, to put to your own brother!"
+
+"But I should not be your _own_ brother, my good sir; only your _half_
+brother; of the _half_, and not of the _whole_ blood."
+
+"What of that--what of that?--your father would have been my father--we
+would have had the same name--the same family history--the same family
+_feelings_--poh! poh!--we should have been both Wychecombes, exactly as
+we are to-day."
+
+"Quite true, and yet I could not have been your heir, nor you mine. The
+estate would escheat to the king, Hanoverian or Scotchman, before it
+came to me. Indeed, to _me_ it could never come."
+
+"Thomas, you are trifling with my ignorance, and making matters worse
+than they really are. Certainly, as long as you lived, you would be _my_
+heir!"
+
+"Very true, as to the £20,000 in the funds, but not as to the baronetcy
+and Wychecombe. So far as the two last are concerned, I am heir of
+blood, and of entail, of the body of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, the first
+baronet, and the maker of the entail."
+
+"Had there been no entail, and had I died a child, who would have
+succeeded our father, supposing there had been two mothers?"
+
+"I, as the next surviving son."
+
+"There!--I knew it must be so!" exclaimed Sir Wycherly, in triumph; "and
+all this time you have been joking with me!"
+
+"Not so fast, brother of mine--not so fast. I should be of the _whole_
+blood, as respected our father, and all the Wychecombes that have gone
+before him; but of the _half_-blood, as respected _you_. From our father
+I might have taken, as his heir-at-law: but from _you_, never, having
+been of the _half_-blood."
+
+"I would have made a will, in that case, Thomas, and left you every
+farthing," said Sir Wycherly, with feeling.
+
+"That is just what I wish you to do with Sir Reginald Wychecombe. You
+must take him; a _filius nullius_, in the person of my son Tom; a
+stranger; or let the property escheat; for, we are so peculiarly placed
+as not to have a known relative, by either the male or female lines; the
+maternal ancestors being just as barren of heirs as the paternal. Our
+good mother was the natural daughter of the third Earl of Prolific; our
+grandmother was the last of her race, so far as human ken can discover;
+our great-grandmother is said to have had semi-royal blood in her veins,
+without the aid of the church, and beyond that it would be hopeless to
+attempt tracing consanguinity on that side of the house. No, Wycherly;
+it is Sir Reginald who has the best right to the land; Tom, or one of
+his brothers, an utter stranger, or His Majesty, follow. Remember that
+estates of £4000 a year, don't often escheat, now-a-days."
+
+"If you'll draw up a will, brother, I'll leave it all to Tom," cried the
+baronet, with sudden energy. "Nothing need be said about the _nullius_;
+and when I'm gone, he'll step quietly into my place."
+
+Nature triumphed a moment in the bosom of the father; but habit, and the
+stern sense of right, soon overcame the feeling. Perhaps certain doubts,
+and a knowledge of his son's real character, contributed their share
+towards the reply.
+
+"It ought not to be, Sir Wycherly," returned the judge, musing, "Tom has
+no right to Wychecombe, and Sir Reginald has the best moral right
+possible, though the law cuts him off. Had Sir Michael made the entail,
+instead of our great-grandfather, he would have come in, as a matter of
+course."
+
+"I never liked Sir Reginald Wychecombe," said the baronet, stubbornly.
+
+"What of that?--He will not trouble you while living, and when dead it
+will be all the same. Come--come--I will draw the will myself, leaving
+blanks for the name; and when it is once done, you will sign it,
+cheerfully. It is the last legal act I shall ever perform, and it will
+be a suitable one, death being constantly before me."
+
+This ended the dialogue. The will was drawn according to promise; Sir
+Wycherly took it to his room to read, carefully inserted the name of Tom
+Wychecombe in all the blank spaces, brought it back, duly executed the
+instrument in his brother's presence, and then gave the paper to his
+nephew to preserve, with a strong injunction on him to keep the secret,
+until the instrument should have force by his own death. Mr. Baron
+Wychecombe died in six weeks, and the baronet returned to his residence,
+a sincere mourner for the loss of an only brother. A more unfortunate
+selection of an heir could not have been made, as Tom Wychecombe was, in
+reality, the son of a barrister in the Temple; the fancied likeness to
+the reputed father existing only in the imagination of his credulous
+uncle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+                            ----"How fearful
+    And dizzy 'tis, to cast one's eyes so low!
+    The crows, and choughs, that wing the midway air,
+    Show scarce so gross as beetles! Half-way down
+    Hangs one that gathers samphire! dreadful trade!"
+
+         KING LEAR.
+
+
+This digression on the family of Wychecombe has led us far from the
+signal-station, the head-land, and the fog, with which the tale opened.
+The little dwelling connected with the station stood at a short distance
+from the staff, sheltered, by the formation of the ground, from the
+bleak winds of the channel, and fairly embowered in shrubs and flowers.
+It was a humble cottage, that had been ornamented with more taste than
+was usual in England at that day. Its whitened walls, thatched roof,
+picketed garden, and trellised porch, bespoke care, and a mental
+improvement in the inmates, that were scarcely to be expected in persons
+so humbly employed as the keeper of the signal-staff, and his family.
+All near the house, too, was in the same excellent condition; for while
+the head-land itself lay in common, this portion of it was enclosed in
+two or three pretty little fields, that were grazed by a single horse,
+and a couple of cows. There were no hedges, however, the thorn not
+growing willingly in a situation so exposed; but the fields were divided
+by fences, neatly enough made of wood, that declared its own origin,
+having in fact been part of the timbers and planks of a wreck. As the
+whole was whitewashed, it had a rustic, and in a climate where the sun
+is seldom oppressive, by no means a disagreeable appearance.
+
+The scene with which we desire to commence the tale, opens about seven
+o'clock on a July morning. On a bench at the foot of the signal-staff,
+was seated one of a frame that was naturally large and robust, but which
+was sensibly beginning to give way, either by age or disease. A glance
+at the red, bloated face, would suffice to tell a medical man, that the
+habits had more to do with the growing failure of the system, than any
+natural derangement of the physical organs. The face, too, was
+singularly manly, and had once been handsome, even; nay, it was not
+altogether without claims to be so considered still; though intemperance
+was making sad inroads on its comeliness. This person was about fifty
+years old, and his air, as well as his attire, denoted a mariner; not a
+common seaman, nor yet altogether an officer; but one of those of a
+middle station, who in navies used to form a class by themselves; being
+of a rank that entitled them to the honours of the quarter-deck, though
+out of the regular line of promotion. In a word, he wore the
+unpretending uniform of a master. A century ago, the dress of the
+English naval officer was exceedingly simple, though more appropriate to
+the profession perhaps, than the more showy attire that has since been
+introduced. Epaulettes were not used by any, and the anchor button, with
+the tint that is called navy blue, and which is meant to represent the
+deep hue of the ocean, with white facings, composed the principal
+peculiarities of the dress. The person introduced to the reader, whose
+name was Dutton, and who was simply the officer in charge of the
+signal-station, had a certain neatness about his well-worn uniform, his
+linen, and all of his attire, which showed that some person more
+interested in such matters than one of his habits was likely to be, had
+the care of his wardrobe. In this respect, indeed, his appearance was
+unexceptionable; and there was an air about the whole man which showed
+that nature, if not education, had intended him for something far better
+than the being he actually was.
+
+Dutton was waiting, at that early hour, to ascertain, as the veil of
+mist was raised from the face of the sea, whether a sail might be in
+sight, that required of him the execution of any of his simple
+functions. That some one was near by, on the head-land, too, was quite
+evident, by the occasional interchange of speech; though no person but
+himself was visible. The direction of the sounds would seem to indicate
+that a man was actually over the brow of the cliff, perhaps a hundred
+feet removed from the seat occupied by the master.
+
+"Recollect the sailor's maxim, Mr. Wychecombe," called out Dutton, in a
+warning voice; "one hand for the king, and the other for self! Those
+cliffs are ticklish places; and really it does seem a little unnatural
+that a sea-faring person like yourself, should have so great a passion
+for flowers, as to risk his neck in order to make a posy!"
+
+"Never fear for me, Mr. Dutton," answered a full, manly voice, that one
+could have sworn issued from the chest of youth; "never fear for me; we
+sailors are used to hanging in the air."
+
+"Ay, with good three-stranded ropes to hold on by, young gentleman. Now
+His Majesty's government has just made you an officer, there is a sort
+of obligation to take care of your life, in order that it may be used,
+and, at need, given away, in his service."
+
+"Quite true--quite true, Mr. Dutton--so true, I wonder you think it
+necessary to remind me of it. I am very grateful to His Majesty's
+government, and--"
+
+While speaking, the voice seemed to descend, getting at each instant
+less and less distinct, until, in the end, it became quite inaudible.
+Dutton looked uneasy, for at that instant a noise was heard, and then it
+was quite clear some heavy object was falling down the face of the
+cliff. Now it was that the mariner felt the want of good nerves, and
+experienced the sense of humiliation which accompanied the consciousness
+of having destroyed them by his excesses. He trembled in every limb,
+and, for the moment, was actually unable to rise. A light step at his
+side, however, drew a glance in that direction, and his eye fell on the
+form of a lovely girl of nineteen, his own daughter, Mildred.
+
+"I heard you calling to some one, father," said the latter, looking
+wistfully, but distrustfully at her parent, as if wondering at his
+yielding to his infirmity so early in the day; "can I be of service to
+you?"
+
+"Poor Wychecombe!" exclaimed Dutton. "He went over the cliff in search
+of a nosegay to offer to yourself, and--and--I fear--greatly fear--"
+
+"What, father?" demanded Mildred, in a voice of horror, the rich color
+disappearing from a face which it left of the hue of death.
+"No--no--no--he _cannot_ have fallen."
+
+Dutton bent his head down, drew a long breath, and then seemed to gain
+more command of his nerves. He was about to rise, when the sound of a
+horse's feet was heard, and then Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, mounted on a
+quiet pony, rode slowly up to the signal-staff. It was a common thing
+for the baronet to appear on the cliffs early in the morning, but it was
+not usual for him to come unattended. The instant her eyes fell on the
+fine form of the venerable old man, Mildred, who seemed to know him
+well, and to use the familiarity of one confident of being a favourite,
+exclaimed--
+
+"Oh! Sir Wycherly, how fortunate--where is Richard?"
+
+"Good morrow, my pretty Milly," answered the baronet, cheerfully;
+"fortunate or not, here I am, and not a bit flattered that your first
+question should be after the groom, instead of his master. I have sent
+Dick on a message to the vicar's. Now my poor brother, the judge, is
+dead and gone, I find Mr. Rotherham more and more necessary to me."
+
+"Oh! dear Sir Wycherly--Mr. Wychecombe--Lieutenant Wychecombe, I
+mean--the young officer from Virginia--he who was so desperately
+wounded--in whose recovery we all took so deep an interest--"
+
+"Well--what of him, child?--you surely do not mean to put him on a level
+with Mr. Rotherham, in the way of religious consolation--and, as for
+anything else, there is no consanguinity between the Wychecombes of
+Virginia and my family. He may be a _filius nullius_ of the Wychecombes
+of Wychecombe-Regis, Herts, but has no connection with those of
+Wychecombe-Hall, Devonshire."
+
+"There--there--the cliff!--the cliff!" added Mildred, unable, for the
+moment, to be more explicit.
+
+As the girl pointed towards the precipice, and looked the very image of
+horror, the good-hearted old baronet began to get some glimpses of the
+truth; and, by means of a few words with Dutton, soon knew quite as much
+as his two companions. Descending from his pony with surprising activity
+for one of his years, Sir Wycherly was soon on his feet, and a sort of
+confused consultation between the three succeeded. Neither liked to
+approach the cliff, which was nearly perpendicular at the extremity of
+the head-land, and was always a trial to the nerves of those who shrunk
+from standing on the verge of precipices. They stood like persons
+paralyzed, until Dutton, ashamed of his weakness, and recalling the
+thousand lessons in coolness and courage he had received in his own
+manly profession, made a movement towards advancing to the edge of the
+cliff, in order to ascertain the real state of the case. The blood
+returned to the cheeks of Mildred, too, and she again found a portion of
+her natural spirit raising her courage.
+
+"Stop, father," she said, hastily; "you are infirm, and are in a tremour
+at this moment. My head is steadier--let me go to the verge of the hill,
+and learn what has happened."
+
+This was uttered with a forced calmness that deceived her auditors, both
+of whom, the one from age, and the other from shattered nerves, were
+certainly in no condition to assume the same office. It required the
+all-seeing eye, which alone can scan the heart, to read all the agonized
+suspense with which that young and beautiful creature approached the
+spot, where she might command a view of the whole of the side of the
+fearful declivity, from its giddy summit to the base, where it was
+washed by the sea. The latter, indeed, could not literally be seen from
+above, the waves having so far undermined the cliff, as to leave a
+projection that concealed the point where the rocks and the water came
+absolutely in contact; the upper portion of the weather-worn rocks
+falling a little inwards, so as to leave a ragged surface that was
+sufficiently broken to contain patches of earth, and verdure, sprinkled
+with the flowers peculiar to such an exposure. The fog, also,
+intercepted the sight, giving to the descent the appearance of a
+fathomless abyss. Had the life of the most indifferent person been in
+jeopardy, under the circumstances named, Mildred would have been filled
+with deep awe; but a gush of tender sensations, which had hitherto been
+pent up in the sacred privacy of her virgin affections, struggled with
+natural horror, as she trod lightly on the very verge of the declivity,
+and cast a timid but eager glance beneath. Then she recoiled a step,
+raised her hands in alarm, and hid her face, as if to shut out some
+frightful spectacle.
+
+By this time, Dutton's practical knowledge and recollection had
+returned. As is common with seamen, whose minds contain vivid pictures
+of the intricate tracery of their vessel's rigging in the darkest
+nights, his thoughts had flashed athwart all the probable circumstances,
+and presented a just image of the facts.
+
+"The boy could not be seen had he absolutely fallen, and were there no
+fog; for the cliff tumbles home, Sir Wycherly," he said, eagerly,
+unconsciously using a familiar nautical phrase to express his meaning.
+"He must be clinging to the side of the precipice, and that, too, above
+the swell of the rocks."
+
+Stimulated by a common feeling, the two men now advanced hastily to the
+brow of the hill, and there, indeed, as with Mildred herself, a single
+look sufficed to tell them the whole truth. Young Wychecombe, in leaning
+forward to pluck a flower, had pressed so hard upon the bit of rock on
+which a foot rested, as to cause it to break, thereby losing his
+balance. A presence of mind that amounted almost to inspiration, and a
+high resolution, alone saved him from being dashed to pieces. Perceiving
+the rock to give way, he threw himself forward, and alighted on a narrow
+shelf, a few feet beneath the place where he had just stood, and at
+least ten feet removed from it, laterally. The shelf on which he
+alighted was ragged, and but two or three feet wide. It would have
+afforded only a check to his fall, had there not fortunately been some
+shrubs among the rocks above it. By these shrubs the young man caught,
+actually swinging off in the air, under the impetus of his leap.
+Happily, the shrubs were too well rooted to give way; and, swinging
+himself round, with the address of a sailor, the youthful lieutenant was
+immediately on his feet, in comparative safety. The silence that
+succeeded was the consequence of the shock he felt, in finding him so
+suddenly thrown into this perilous situation. The summit of the cliff
+was now about six fathoms above his head, and the shelf on which he
+stood, impended over a portion of the cliff that was absolutely
+perpendicular, and which might be said to be out of the line of those
+projections along which he had so lately been idly gathering flowers. It
+was physically impossible for any human being to extricate himself from
+such a situation, without assistance. This Wychecombe understood at a
+glance, and he had passed the few minutes that intervened between his
+fall and the appearance of the party above him, in devising the means
+necessary to his liberation. As it was, few men, unaccustomed to the
+giddy elevations of the mast, could have mustered a sufficient command
+of nerve to maintain a position on the ledge where he stood. Even he
+could not have continued there, without steadying his form by the aid of
+the bushes.
+
+As soon as the baronet and Dutton got a glimpse of the perilous position
+of young Wychecombe, each recoiled in horror from the sight, as if
+fearful of being precipitated on top of him. Both, then, actually lay
+down on the grass, and approached the edge of the cliff again, in that
+humble attitude, even trembling as they lay at length, with their chins
+projecting over the rocks, staring downwards at the victim. The young
+man could see nothing of all this; for, as he stood with his back
+against the cliff, he had not room to turn, with safety, or even to look
+upwards. Mildred, however, seemed to lose all sense of self and of
+danger, in view of the extremity in which the youth beneath was placed.
+She stood on the very verge of the precipice, and looked down with
+steadiness and impunity that would have been utterly impossible for her
+to attain under less exciting circumstances; even allowing the young man
+to catch a glimpse of her rich locks, as they hung about her beautiful
+face.
+
+"For God's sake, Mildred," called out the youth, "keep further from the
+cliff--I see you, and we can now hear each other without so much risk."
+
+"What can we do to rescue you, Wychecombe?" eagerly asked the girl.
+"Tell me, I entreat you; for Sir Wycherly and my father are both
+unnerved!"
+
+"Blessed creature! and _you_ are mindful of my danger! But, be not
+uneasy, Mildred; do as I tell you, and all will yet be well. I hope you
+hear and understand what I say, dearest girl?"
+
+"Perfectly," returned Mildred, nearly choked by the effort to be calm.
+"I hear every syllable--speak on."
+
+"Go you then to the signal-halyards--let one end fly loose, and pull
+upon the other, until the whole line has come down--when that is done,
+return here, and I will tell you more--but, for heaven's sake, keep
+farther from the cliff."
+
+The thought that the rope, small and frail as it seemed, might be of
+use, flashed on the brain of the girl; and in a moment she was at the
+staff. Time and again, when liquor incapacitated her father to perform
+his duty, had Mildred bent-on, and hoisted the signals for him; and
+thus, happily, she was expert in the use of the halyards. In a minute
+she had unrove them, and the long line lay in a little pile at her feet.
+
+"'Tis done, Wycherly," she said, again looking over the cliff; "shall I
+throw you down one end of the rope?--but, alas! I have not strength to
+raise you; and Sir Wycherly and father seem unable to assist me!"
+
+"Do not hurry yourself, Mildred, and all will be well. Go, and put one
+end of the line around the signal-staff, then put the two ends together,
+tie them in a knot, and drop them down over my head. Be careful not to
+come too near the cliff, for--"
+
+The last injunction was useless, Mildred having flown to execute her
+commission. Her quick mind readily comprehended what was expected of
+her, and her nimble fingers soon performed their task. Tying a knot in
+the ends of the line, she did as desired, and the small rope was soon
+dangling within reach of Wychecombe's arm. It is not easy to make a
+landsman understand the confidence which a sailor feels in a rope. Place
+but a frail and rotten piece of twisted hemp in his hand, and he will
+risk his person in situations from which he would otherwise recoil in
+dread. Accustomed to hang suspended in the air, with ropes only for his
+foothold, or with ropes to grasp with his hand, his eye gets an
+intuitive knowledge of what will sustain him, and he unhesitatingly
+trusts his person to a few seemingly slight strands, that, to one
+unpractised, appear wholly unworthy of his confidence. Signal-halyards
+are ropes smaller than the little finger of a man of any size; but they
+are usually made with care, and every rope-yarn tells. Wychecombe, too,
+was aware that these particular halyards were new, for he had assisted
+in reeving them himself, only the week before. It was owing to this
+circumstance that they were long enough to reach him; a large allowance
+for wear and tear having been made in cutting them from the coil. As it
+was, the ends dropped some twenty feet below the ledge on which he
+stood.
+
+"All safe, now, Mildred!" cried the young man, in a voice of exultation
+the moment his hand caught the two ends of the line, which he
+immediately passed around his body, beneath the arms, as a precaution
+against accidents. "All safe, now, dearest girl; have no further concern
+about me."
+
+Mildred drew back, for worlds could not have tempted her to witness the
+desperate effort that she knew must follow. By this time, Sir Wycherly,
+who had been an interested witness of all that passed, found his voice,
+and assumed the office of director.
+
+"Stop, my young namesake," he eagerly cried, when he found that the
+sailor was about to make an effort to drag his own body up the cliff;
+"stop; that will never do; let Dutton and me do that much for you, at
+least. We have seen all that has passed, and are now able to do
+something."
+
+"No--no, Sir Wycherly--on no account touch the halyards. By hauling them
+over the top of the rocks you will probably cut them, or part them, and
+then I'm lost, without hope!"
+
+"Oh! Sir Wycherly," said Mildred, earnestly, clasping her hands
+together, as if to enforce the request with prayer; "do not--do not
+touch the line."
+
+"We had better let the lad manage the matter in his own way," put in
+Dutton; "he is active, resolute, and a seaman, and will do better for
+himself than I fear we can do for him. He has got a turn round his body,
+and is tolerably safe against any slip, or mishap."
+
+As the words were uttered, the whole three drew back a short distance
+and watched the result, in intense anxiety. Dutton, however, so far
+recollected himself, as to take an end of the old halyards, which were
+kept in a chest at the foot of the staff, and to make, an attempt to
+stopper together the two parts of the little rope on which the youth
+depended, for should one of the parts of it break, without this
+precaution, there was nothing to prevent the halyards from running round
+the staff, and destroying the hold. The size of the halyards rendered
+this expedient very difficult of attainment, but enough was done to give
+the arrangement a little more of the air of security. All this time
+young Wychecombe was making his own preparations on the ledge, and quite
+out of view; but the tension on the halyards soon announced that his
+weight was now pendent from them. Mildred's heart seemed ready to leap
+from her mouth, as she noted each jerk on the lines; and her father
+watched every new pull, as if he expected the next moment would produce
+the final catastrophe. It required a prodigious effort in the young man
+to raise his own weight for such a distance, by lines so small. Had the
+rope been of any size, the achievement would have been trifling for one
+of the frame and habits of the sailor, more especially as he could
+slightly avail himself of his feet, by pressing them against the rocks;
+but, as it was, he felt as if he were dragging the mountain up after
+him. At length, his head appeared a few inches above the rocks, but with
+his feet pressed against the cliff, and his body inclining outward, at
+an angle of forty-five degrees.
+
+"Help him--help him, father!" exclaimed Mildred, covering her face with
+her hands, to exclude the sight of Wychecombe's desperate struggles. "If
+he fall now, he will be destroyed. Oh! save him, save him, Sir
+Wycherly!"
+
+But neither of those to whom she appealed, could be of any use. The
+nervous trembling again came over the father; and as for the baronet,
+age and inexperience rendered him helpless.
+
+"Have you no rope, Mr. Dutton, to throw over my shoulders," cried
+Wychecombe, suspending his exertions in pure exhaustion, still keeping
+all he had gained, with his head projecting outward, over the abyss
+beneath, and his face turned towards heaven. "Throw a rope over my
+shoulders, and drag my body in to the cliff."
+
+Dutton showed an eager desire to comply, but his nerves had not yet been
+excited by the usual potations, and his hands shook in a way to render
+it questionable whether he could perform even this simple service. But
+for his daughter, indeed, he would hardly have set about it
+intelligently. Mildred, accustomed to using the signal-halyards,
+procured the old line, and handed it to her father, who discovered some
+of his professional knowledge in his manner of using it. Doubling the
+halyards twice, he threw the bight over Wychecombe's shoulders, and
+aided by Mildred, endeavoured to draw the body of the young man upwards
+and towards the cliff. But their united strength was unequal to the
+task, and wearied with holding on, and, indeed, unable to support his
+own weight any longer by so small a rope, Wychecombe felt compelled to
+suffer his feet to drop beneath him, and slid down again upon the ledge.
+Here, even his vigorous frame shook with its prodigious exertions; and
+he was compelled to seat himself on the shelf, and rest with his back
+against the cliff, to recover his self-command and strength. Mildred
+uttered a faint shriek as he disappeared, but was too much
+horror-stricken to approach the verge of the precipice to ascertain his
+fate.
+
+"Be composed, Milly," said her father, "he is safe, as you may see by
+the halyards; and to say the truth, the stuff holds on well. So long as
+the line proves true, the boy can't fall; he has taken a double turn
+with the end of it round his body. Make your mind easy, girl, for I feel
+better now, and see my way clear. Don't be uneasy, Sir Wycherly; we'll
+have the lad safe on _terra firma_ again, in ten minutes. I scarce know
+what has come over me, this morning; but I've not had the command of my
+limbs as in common. It cannot be fright, for I've seen too many men in
+danger to be disabled by _that_; and I think, Milly, it must be the
+rheumatism, of which I've so often spoken, and which I've inherited from
+my poor mother, dear old soul. Do you know, Sir Wycherly, that
+rheumatism can be inherited like gout?"
+
+"I dare say it may--I dare say it may, Dutton--but never mind the
+disease, now; get my young namesake back here on the grass, and I will
+hear all about it. I would give the world that I had not sent Dick to
+Mr. Rotherham's this morning. Can't we contrive to make the pony pull
+the boy up?"
+
+"The traces are hardly strong enough for such work, Sir Wycherly. Have a
+little patience, and I will manage the whole thing, 'ship-shape, and
+Brister fashion,' as we say at sea. Halloo there, Master
+Wychecombe--answer my hail, and I will soon get you into deep water."
+
+"I'm safe on the ledge," returned the voice of Wychecombe, from below;
+"I wish you would look to the signal-halyards, and see they do not chafe
+against the rocks, Mr. Dutton."
+
+"All right, sir; all right. Slack up, if you please, and let me have all
+the line you can, without casting off from your body. Keep fast the end
+for fear of accidents."
+
+In an instant the halyards slackened, and Dutton, who by this time had
+gained his self-command, though still weak and unnerved by the habits of
+the last fifteen years, forced the bight along the edge of the cliff,
+until he had brought it over a projection of the rocks, where it
+fastened itself. This arrangement caused the line to lead down to the
+part of the cliffs from which the young man had fallen, and where it was
+by no means difficult for a steady head and active limbs to move about
+and pluck flowers. It consequently remained for Wychecombe merely to
+regain a footing on that part of the hill-side, to ascend to the summit
+without difficulty. It is true he was now below the point from which he
+had fallen, but by swinging himself off laterally, or even by springing,
+aided by the line, it was not a difficult achievement to reach it, and
+he no sooner understood the nature of the change that had been made,
+than he set about attempting it. The confident manner of Dutton
+encouraged both the baronet and Mildred, and they drew to the cliff,
+again; standing near the verge, though on the part where the rocks might
+be descended, with less apprehension of consequences.
+
+As soon as Wychecombe had made all his preparations, he stood on the end
+of the ledge, tightened the line, looked carefully for a foothold on the
+other side of the chasm, and made his leap. As a matter of course, the
+body of the young man swung readily across the space, until the line
+became perpendicular, and then he found a surface so broken, as to
+render his ascent by no means difficult, aided as he was by the
+halyards. Scrambling upwards, he soon rejected the aid of the line, and
+sprang upon the head-land. At the same instant, Mildred fell senseless
+on the grass.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+    "I want a hero:--an uncommon want,
+       When every year and month send forth a new one;
+    'Till, after cloying the gazelles with cant,
+       The age discovers he is not the true one;--"
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+In consequence of the unsteadiness of the father's nerves, the duty of
+raising Mildred in his arms, and of carrying her to the cottage,
+devolved on the young man. This he did with a readiness and concern
+which proved how deep an interest he took in her situation, and with a
+power of arm which showed that his strength was increased rather than
+lessened by the condition into which she had fallen. So rapid was his
+movement, that no one saw the kiss he impressed on the palid cheek of
+the sweet girl, or the tender pressure with which he grasped the
+lifeless form. By the time he reached the door, the motion and air had
+begun to revive her, and Wychecombe committed her to the care of her
+alarmed mother, with a few hurried words of explanation. He did not
+leave the house, however, for a quarter of an hour, except to call out
+to Dutton that Mildred was reviving, and that he need be under no
+uneasiness on her account. Why he remained so long, we leave the reader
+to imagine, for the girl had been immediately taken to her own little
+chamber, and he saw her no more for several hours.
+
+When our young sailor came out upon the head-land again, he found the
+party near the flag-staff increased to four. Dick, the groom, had
+returned from his errand, and Tom Wychecombe, the intended heir of the
+baronet, was also there, in mourning for his reputed father, the judge.
+This young man had become a frequent visiter to the station, of late,
+affecting to imbibe his uncle's taste for sea air, and a view of the
+ocean. There had been several meetings between himself and his namesake,
+and each interview was becoming less amicable than the preceding, for a
+reason that was sufficiently known to the parties. When they met on the
+present occasion, therefore, the bows they exchanged were haughty and
+distant, and the glances cast at each other might have been termed
+hostile, were it not that a sinister irony was blended with that of Tom
+Wychecombe. Still, the feelings that were uppermost did not prevent the
+latter from speaking in an apparently friendly manner.
+
+"They tell me, Mr. Wychecombe," observed the judge's heir, (for this Tom
+Wychecombe might legally claim to be;) "they tell me, Mr. Wychecombe,
+that you have been taking a lesson in your trade this morning, by
+swinging over the cliffs at the end of a rope? Now, that is an exploit,
+more to the taste of an American than to that of an Englishman, I should
+think. But, I dare say one is compelled to do many things in the
+colonies, that we never dream of at home."
+
+This was said with seeming indifference, though with great art. Sir
+Wycherly's principal weakness was an overweening and an ignorant
+admiration of his own country, and all it contained. He was also
+strongly addicted to that feeling of contempt for the dependencies of
+the empire, which seems to be inseparable from the political connection
+between the people of the metropolitan country and their colonies. There
+must be entire equality, for perfect respect, in any situation in life;
+and, as a rule, men always appropriate to their own shares, any admitted
+superiority that may happen to exist on the part of the communities to
+which they belong. It is on this principle, that the tenant of a
+cock-loft in Paris or London, is so apt to feel a high claim to
+superiority over the occupant of a comfortable abode in a village. As
+between England and her North American colonies in particular, this
+feeling was stronger than is the case usually, on account of the early
+democratical tendencies of the latter; not, that these tendencies had
+already become the subject of political jealousies, but that they left
+social impressions, which were singularly adapted to bringing the
+colonists into contempt among a people predominant for their own
+factitious habits, and who are so strongly inclined to view everything,
+even to principles, through the medium of arbitrary, conventional
+customs. It must be confessed that the Americans, in the middle of the
+eighteenth century, were an exceedingly provincial, and in many
+particulars a narrow-minded people, as well in their opinions as in
+their habits; nor is the reproach altogether removed at the present day;
+but the country from which they are derived had not then made the vast
+strides in civilization, for which it has latterly become so
+distinguished. The indifference, too, with which all Europe regarded the
+whole American continent, and to which England, herself, though she
+possessed so large a stake on this side of the Atlantic, formed no
+material exception, constantly led that quarter of the world into
+profound mistakes in all its reasoning that was connected with this
+quarter of the world, and aided in producing the state of feeling to
+which we have alluded. Sir Wycherly felt and reasoned on the subject of
+America much as the great bulk of his countrymen felt and reasoned in
+1745; the exceptions existing only among the enlightened, and those
+whose particular duties rendered more correct knowledge necessary, and
+not always among them. It is said that the English minister conceived
+the idea of taxing America, from the circumstance of seeing a wealthy
+Virginian lose a large sum at play, a sort of _argumentum ad hominem_
+that brought with it a very dangerous conclusion to apply to the sort of
+people with whom he had to deal. Let this be as it might, there is no
+more question, that at the period of our tale, the profoundest ignorance
+concerning America existed generally in the mother country, than there
+is that the profoundest respect existed in America for nearly every
+thing English. Truth compels us to add, that in despite of all that has
+passed, the cis-atlantic portion of the weakness has longest endured the
+assaults of time and of an increased intercourse.
+
+Young Wycherly, as is ever the case, was keenly alive to any
+insinuations that might be supposed to reflect on the portion of the
+empire of which he was a native. He considered himself an Englishman, it
+is true; was thoroughly loyal; and was every way disposed to sustain the
+honour and interests of the seat of authority; but when questions were
+raised between Europe and America, he was an American; as, in America
+itself, he regarded himself as purely a Virginian, in contradistinction
+to all the other colonies. He understood the intended sarcasm of Tom
+Wychecombe, but smothered his resentment, out of respect to the baronet,
+and perhaps a little influenced by the feelings in which he had been so
+lately indulging.
+
+"Those gentlemen who are disposed to fancy such things of the colonies,
+would do well to visit that part of the world," he answered, calmly,
+"before they express their opinions too loudly, lest they should say
+something that future observation might make them wish to recall."
+
+"True, my young friend--quite true," put in the baronet, with the
+kindest possible intentions. "True as gospel. We never know any thing of
+matters about which we know nothing; that we old men must admit, Master
+Dutton; and I should think Tom must see its force. It would be
+unreasonable to expect to find every thing as comfortable in America as
+we have it here, in England; nor do I suppose the Americans, in general,
+would be as likely to get over a cliff as an Englishman. However, there
+are exceptions to all general rules, as my poor brother James used to
+say, when he saw occasion to find fault with the sermon of a prelate. I
+believe you did not know my poor brother, Dutton; he must have been
+killed about the time you were born--St. James, I used to call him,
+although my brother Thomas, the judge that was Tom's father, there--said
+he was St. James the Less."
+
+"I believe the Rev. Mr. Wychecombe was dead before I was of an age to
+remember his virtues, Sir Wycherly," said Dutton, respectfully; "though
+I have often heard my own father speak of all your honoured family."
+
+"Yes, your father, Dutton, was the attorney of the next town, and we all
+knew him well. You have done quite right to come back among us to spend
+the close of your own days. A man is never as well off as when he is
+thriving in his native soil; more especially when that soil is old
+England, and Devonshire. You are not one of us, young gentleman, though
+your name happens to be Wychecombe; but, then we are none of us
+accountable for our own births, or birth-places."
+
+This truism, which is in the mouths of thousands while it is in the
+hearts of scarcely any, was well meant by Sir Wycherly, however plainly
+expressed. It merely drew from the youth the simple answer that--"he was
+born in the colonies, and had colonists for his parents;" a fact that
+the others had heard already, some ten or a dozen times.
+
+"It is a little singular, Mr. Wychecombe, that you should bear both of
+my names, and yet be no relative," continued the baronet. "Now, Wycherly
+came into our family from old Sir Hildebrand Wycherly, who was slain at
+Bosworth Field, and whose only daughter, my ancestor, and Tom's
+ancestor, there, married. Since that day, Wycherly has been a favourite
+name among us. I do not think that the Wychecombes of Herts, ever
+thought of calling a son Wycherly, although, as my poor brother the
+judge used to say, _they_ were related, but of the half-blood, only. I
+suppose your father taught you what is meant by being of the half-blood,
+Thomas?"
+
+Tom Wychecombe's face became the colour of scarlet, and he cast an
+uneasy glance at all present; expecting in particular, to meet with a
+look of exultation in the eyes of the lieutenant. He was greatly
+relieved, however, at finding that neither of the three meant or
+understood more than was simply expressed. As for his uncle, he had not
+the smallest intention of making any allusion to the peculiarity of his
+nephew's birth; and the other two, in common with the world, supposed
+the reputed heir to be legitimate. Gathering courage from the looks of
+those around him, Tom answered with a steadiness that prevented his
+agitation from being detected:
+
+"Certainly, my dear sir; my excellent parent forgot nothing that he
+thought might be useful to me, in maintaining my rights, and the honour
+of the family, hereafter. I very well understand that the Wychecombes of
+Hertfordshire have no claims on us; nor, indeed, any Wychecombe who is
+not descended from my respectable grandfather, the late Sir Wycherly."
+
+"He must have been an _early_, instead of a _late_ Sir Wycherly, rather,
+Mr. Thomas," put in Dutton, laughing at his own conceit; "for I can
+remember no other than the honourable baronet before us, in the last
+fifty years."
+
+"Quite true, Dutton--very true," rejoined the person last alluded to.
+"As true as that 'time and tide wait for no man.' We understand the
+meaning of such things on the coast here. It was half a century, last
+October, since I succeeded my respected parent; but, it will not be
+another half century before some one will succeed me!"
+
+Sir Wycherly was a hale, hearty man for his years, but he had no unmanly
+dread of his end. Still he felt it could not be very distant, having
+already numbered fourscore and four years. Nevertheless, there were
+certain phrases of usage, that Dutton did not see fit to forget on such
+an occasion, and he answered accordingly, turning to look at and admire
+the still ruddy countenance of the baronet, by way of giving emphasis to
+his words.
+
+"You will yet see half of us into our graves, Sir Wycherly," he said,
+"and still remain an active man. Though I dare say another half century
+will bring most of us up. Even Mr. Thomas, here, and your young namesake
+can hardly hope to run out more line than that. Well, as for myself, I
+only desire to live through this war, that I may again see His Majesty's
+arms triumphant; though they do tell me that we are in for a good thirty
+years' struggle. Wars _have_ lasted as long as _that_, Sir Wycherly, and
+I don't see why this may not, as well as another."
+
+"Very true, Dutton; it is not only possible, but probable; and I trust
+both you and I may live to see our flower-hunter here, a post-captain,
+at least--though it would be wishing almost too much to expect to see
+him an admiral. There has been _one_ admiral of the name, and I confess
+I should like to see another!"
+
+"Has not Mr. Thomas a brother in the service?" demanded the master; "I
+had thought that my lord, the judge, had given us one of his young
+gentlemen."
+
+"He thought of it; but the army got both of the boys, as it turned out.
+Gregory was to be the midshipman; my poor brother intending him for a
+sailor from the first, and so giving him the name that was once borne by
+the unfortunate relative we lost by shipwreck. I wished him to call one
+of the lads James, after St. James; but, somehow, I never could persuade
+Thomas to see all the excellence of that pious young man."
+
+Dutton was a little embarrassed, for St. James had left any thing but a
+godly savour behind him; and he was about to fabricate a tolerably bold
+assertion to the contrary, rather than incur the risk of offending the
+lord of the manor, when, luckily, a change in the state of the fog
+afforded him a favourable opportunity of bringing about an apposite
+change in the subject. During the whole of the morning the sea had been
+invisible from the head-land, a dense body of vapour resting on it, far
+as eye could reach; veiling the whole expanse with a single white cloud.
+The lighter portions of the vapour had at first floated around the
+head-land, which could not have been seen at any material distance; but
+all had been gradually settling down into a single mass, that now rose
+within twenty feet of the summit of the cliffs. The hour was still quite
+early, but the sun was gaining force, and it speedily drank up all the
+lighter particles of the mist, leaving a clear, bright atmosphere above
+the feathery bank, through which objects might be seen for miles. There
+was what seamen call a "fanning breeze," or just wind enough to cause
+the light sails of a ship to swell and collapse, under the double
+influence of the air and the motion of the hull, imitating in a slight
+degree the vibrations of that familiar appliance of the female toilet.
+Dutton's eye had caught a glance of the loftiest sail of a vessel, above
+the fog, going through this very movement; and it afforded him the
+release he desired, by enabling him to draw the attention of his
+companions to the same object.
+
+"See, Sir Wycherly--see, Mr. Wychecombe," he cried, eagerly, pointing in
+the direction of the sail; "yonder is some of the king's canvass coming
+into our roadstead, or I am no judge of the set of a man-of-war's royal.
+It is a large bit of cloth, too, Mr. Lieutenant, for a sail so lofty!"
+
+"It is a two-decker's royal, Master Dutton," returned the young sailor;
+"and now you see the fore and main, separately, as the ship keeps away."
+
+"Well," put in Sir Wycherly, in a resigned manner; "here have I lived
+fourscore years on this coast, and, for the life of me, I have never
+been able to tell a fore-royal from a back-royal; or a mizzen head-stay
+from a head mizzen-stay. They are the most puzzling things imaginable;
+and now I cannot discover how you know that yonder sail, which I see
+plain enough, is a royal, any more than that it is a jib!"
+
+Dutton and the lieutenant smiled, but Sir Wycherly's simplicity had a
+cast of truth and nature about it, that deterred most people from
+wishing to ridicule him. Then, the rank, fortune, and local interest of
+the baronet, counted for a good deal on all such occasions.
+
+"Here is another fellow, farther east," cried Dutton, still pointing
+with a finger; "and every inch as big as his consort! Ah! it does my
+eyes good to see our roadstead come into notice, in this manner, after
+all I have said and done in its behalf--But, who have we here--a brother
+chip, by his appearance; I dare say some idler who has been sent ashore
+with despatches."
+
+"There is another fellow further east, and every inch as big as his
+consort," said Wychecombe, as we shall call our lieutenant, in order to
+distinguish him from Tom of the same name, repeating the very words of
+Dutton, with an application and readiness that almost amounted to wit,
+pointing, in his turn, at two strangers who were ascending to the
+station by a path that led from the beach. "Certainly both these
+gentlemen are in His Majesty's service, and they have probably just
+landed from the ships in the offing."
+
+The truth of this conjecture was apparent to Dutton at a glance. As the
+strangers joined each other, the one last seen proceeded in advance; and
+there was something in his years, the confident manner in which he
+approached, and his general appearance, that induced both the sailors to
+believe he might be the commander of one of the ships that had just come
+in view.
+
+"Good-morrow, gentlemen," commenced this person, as soon as near enough
+to salute the party at the foot of the flag-staff; "good-morrow to ye
+all. I'm glad to meet you, for it's but a Jacob's ladder, this path of
+yours, through the ravine in the cliffs. Hey! why Atwood," looking
+around him at the sea of vapour, in surprise, "what the devil has become
+of the fleet?"
+
+"It is lost in the fog, sir; we are above it, here; when more on a level
+with the ships, we could see, or fancy we saw, more of them than we do
+now."
+
+"Here are the upper sails of two heavy ships, sir," observed Wychecombe,
+pointing in the direction of the vessels already seen; "ay, and yonder
+are two more--nothing but the royals are visible."
+
+"Two more!--I left eleven two-deckers, three frigates, a sloop, and a
+cutter in sight, when I got into the boat. You might have covered 'em
+all with a pocket-handkerchief, hey! Atwood!"
+
+"They were certainly in close order, sir, but I'll not take it on myself
+to say quite as near together as that."
+
+"Ay, you're a dissenter by trade, and never will believe in a miracle.
+Sharp work, gentlemen, to get up such a hill as this, after fifty."
+
+"It is, indeed, sir," answered Sir Wycherly, kindly. "Will you do us the
+favour to take a seat among us, and rest yourself after so violent an
+exertion? The cliff is hard enough to ascend, even when one keeps the
+path; though here is a young gentleman who had a fancy just now to go
+down it, without a path; and that, too, merely that a pretty girl might
+have a nosegay on her breakfast-table."
+
+The stranger looked intently at Sir Wycherly for a moment, then glanced
+his eye at the groom and the pony, after which he took a survey of Tom
+Wychecombe, the lieutenant, and the master. He was a man accustomed to
+look about him, and he understood, by that rapid glance, the characters
+of all he surveyed, with perhaps the exception of that of Tom
+Wychecombe; and even of that he formed a tolerably shrewd conjecture.
+Sir Wycherly he immediately set down as the squire of the adjacent
+estate; Dutton's situation he hit exactly, conceiving him to be a
+worn-out master, who was employed to keep the signal-station; while he
+understood Wychecombe, by his undress, and air, to be a sea-lieutenant
+in the king's service. Tom Wychecombe he thought it quite likely might
+be the son, and heir of the lord of the manor, both being in mourning;
+though he decided in his own mind that there was not the smallest family
+likeness between them. Bowing with the courtesy of a man who knew how to
+acknowledge a civility, he took the proffered seat at Sir Wycherly's
+side without farther ceremony.
+
+"We must carry the young fellow to sea with us, sir," rejoined the
+stranger, "and that will cure him of looking for flowers in such
+ticklish places. His Majesty has need of us all, in this war; and I
+trust, young gentleman, you have not been long ashore, among the girls."
+
+"Only long enough to make a cure of a pretty smart hurt, received in
+cutting out a lugger from the opposite coast," answered Wychecombe, with
+sufficient modesty, and yet with sufficient spirit.
+
+"Lugger!--ha! what Atwood? You surely do not mean, young gentleman, la
+Voltigeuse?"
+
+"That was the name of the craft, sir--we found her in the roads of
+Groix."
+
+"And then I've the pleasure of seeing Mr. Wychecombe, the young officer
+who led in that gallant attack?"
+
+This was said with a most flattering warmth of manner, the stranger even
+rising and removing his hat, as he uttered the words with a heartiness
+that showed how much his feelings were in unison with what he said.
+
+"I am Mr. Wychecombe, sir," answered the other, blushing to the temples,
+and returning the salute; "though I had not the honour of leading; one
+of the lieutenants of our ship being in another boat."
+
+"Yes--I know all that--but he was beaten off, while you boarded and did
+the work. What have my lords commissioners done in the matter?"
+
+"All that is necessary, so far as I am concerned, sir, I do assure you;
+having sent me a commission the very next week. I only wish they had
+been equally generous to Mr. Walton, who received a severe wound also,
+and behaved as well as man could behave."
+
+"That would not be so wise, Mr. Wychecombe, since it would be rewarding
+a failure," returned the stranger, coldly. "Success is all in all, in
+war. Ah! there the fellows begin to show themselves, Atwood."
+
+This remark drew all eyes, again, towards the sea, where a sight now
+presented itself that was really worthy of a passing notice. The vapour
+appeared to have become packed into a mass of some eighty or a hundred
+feet in height, leaving a perfectly clear atmosphere above it. In the
+clear air, were visible the upper spars and canvass of the entire fleet
+mentioned by the stranger; sixteen sail in all. There were the eleven
+two-deckers, and the three frigates, rising in pyramids of canvass,
+still fanning in towards the anchorage, which in that roadstead was
+within pistol-shot of the shore; while the royals and upper part of the
+topgallant sails of the sloop seemed to stand on the surface of the fog,
+like a monument. After a moment's pause, Wychecombe discovered even the
+head of the cutter's royal-mast, with the pennant lazily fluttering
+ahead of it, partly concealed in vapour. The fog seemed to settle,
+instead of rising, though it evidently rolled along the face of the
+waters, putting the whole scene in motion. It was not long ere the tops
+of the ships of the line became visible, and then living beings were for
+the first time seen in the moving masses.
+
+"I suppose we offer just such a sight to the top-men of the ships, as
+they offer to us," observed the stranger. "They _must_ see this
+head-land and flag-staff, Mr. Wychecombe; and there can be no danger of
+their standing in too far!"
+
+"I should think not, sir; certainly the men aloft can see the cliffs
+above the fog, as we see the vessels' spars. Ha! Mr. Dutton, there is a
+rear-admiral's flag flying on board the ship farthest to the eastward."
+
+"So I see, sir; and by looking at the third vessel on the western side
+of the line, you will find a bit of square bunting at the fore, which
+will tell you there is a vice-admiral beneath it."
+
+"Quite true!" exclaimed Wychecombe, who was ever enthusiastic on matters
+relating to his profession; "a vice-admiral of the red, too; which is
+the next step to being a full admiral. This must be the fleet of Sir
+Digby Downes!"
+
+"No, young gentleman," returned the stranger, who perceived by the
+glance of the other's eye, that a question was indirectly put to
+himself; "it is the southern squadron; and the vice-admiral's flag you
+see, belongs to Sir Gervaise Oakes. Admiral Bluewater is on board the
+ship that carries a flag at the mizzen."
+
+"Those two officers always go together, Sir Wycherly," added the young
+man. "Whenever we hear the name of Sir Gervaise, that of Bluewater is
+certain to accompany it. Such a union in service is delightful to
+witness."
+
+"Well may they go in company, Mr. Wychecombe," returned the stranger,
+betraying a little emotion. "Oakes and Bluewater were reefers together,
+under old Breasthook, in the Mermaid; and when the first was made a
+lieutenant into the Squid, the last followed as a mate. Oakes was first
+of the Briton, in her action with the Spanish frigates, and Bluewater
+third. For that affair Oakes got a sloop, and his friend went with him
+as his first. The next year they had the luck to capture a heavier ship
+than their own, when, for the first time in their service, the two young
+men were separated; Oakes getting a frigate, and Bluewater getting the
+Squid. Still they cruised in company, until the senior was sent in
+command of a flying squadron, with a broad pennant, when the junior, who
+by this time was post, received his old messmate on board his own
+frigate. In that manner they served together, down to the hour when the
+first hoisted his flag. From that time, the two old seamen have never
+been parted; Bluewater acting as the admiral's captain, until he got the
+square bunting himself. The vice-admiral has never led the van of a
+fleet, that the rear-admiral did not lead the rear-division; and, now
+that Sir Gervaise is a commander-in-chief, you see his friend, Dick
+Bluewater, is cruising in his company."
+
+While the stranger was giving this account of the Two Admirals, in a
+half-serious, half-jocular manner, the eyes of his companions were on
+him. He was a middle-sized, red-faced man, with an aquiline nose, a
+light-blue animated eye, and a mouth, which denoted more of the habits
+and care of refinement than either his dress or his ordinary careless
+mien. A great deal is said about the aristocracy of the ears, and the
+hands, and the feet; but of all the features, or other appliances of the
+human frame, the mouth and the nose have the greatest influence in
+producing an impression of gentility. This was peculiarly the case with
+the stranger, whose beak, like that of an ancient galley, gave the
+promise of a stately movement, and whose beautiful teeth and winning
+smile, often relieved the expression of a countenance that was not
+unfrequently stern. As he ceased speaking, Dutton rose, in a studied
+manner, raised his hat entirely from his head, bowed his body nearly to
+a right angle, and said,
+
+"Unless my memory is treacherous, I believe I have the honor to see
+Rear-Admiral Bluewater, himself; I was a mate in the Medway, when he
+commanded the Chloe; and, unless five-and-twenty years have made more
+changes than I think probable, he is now on this hill."
+
+"Your memory is a bad one, Mr. Dutton, and your hill has on it a much
+worse man, in all respects, than Admiral Bluewater. They say that man
+and wife, from living together, and thinking alike, having the same
+affections, loving the same objects, or sometimes hating them, get in
+time to look alike; hey! Atwood? It may be that I am growing like
+Bluewater, on the same principle; but this is the first time I ever
+heard the thing suggested. I am Sir Gervaise Oakes, at your service,
+sir."
+
+The bow of Dutton was now much lower than before, while young Wychecombe
+uncovered himself, and Sir Wycherly arose and paid his compliments
+cordially, introducing himself, and offering the admiral and all his
+officers the hospitality of the Hall.
+
+"Ay, this is straight-forward and hearty, and in the good old English
+manner!" exclaimed the admiral, when he had returned the salutes, and
+cordially thanked the baronet. "One might land in Scotland, now,
+anywhere between the Tweed and John a'Groat's house, and not be asked so
+much as to eat an oaten cake; hey! Atwood?--always excepting the
+mountain dew."
+
+"You will have your fling at my poor countrymen, Sir Gervaise, and so
+there is no more to be said on the subject," returned the secretary, for
+such was the rank of the admiral's companion. "I might feel hurt at
+times, did I not know that you get as many Scotsmen about you, in your
+own ship, as you can; and that a fleet is all the better in your
+judgment, for having every other captain from the land o' cakes."
+
+"Did you ever hear the like of that, Sir Wycherly? Because I stick to a
+man I like, he accuses me of having a predilection for his whole
+country. Here's Atwood, now; he was my clerk, when in a sloop; and he
+has followed me to the Plantagenet, and because I do not throw him
+overboard, he wishes to make it appear half Scotland is in her hold."
+
+"Well, there are the surgeon, the purser, one of the mates, one of the
+marine officers, and the fourth lieutenant, to keep me company, Sir
+Gervaise," answered the secretary, smiling like one accustomed to his
+superior's jokes, and who cared very little about them. "When you send
+us all back to Scotland, I'm thinking there will be many a good vacancy
+to fill."
+
+"The Scotch make themselves very useful, Sir Gervaise," put in Sir
+Wycherly, by way of smoothing the matter over; "and now we have a
+Brunswick prince on the throne, we Englishmen have less jealousy of them
+than formerly. I am sure I should be happy to see all the gentlemen
+mentioned by Mr. Atwood, at Wychecombe Hall."
+
+"There, you're all well berthed while the fleet lies in these roads. Sir
+Wycherly, in the name of Scotland, I thank you. But what an extr'ornary
+(for so admirals pronounced the word a hundred years ago) scene this is,
+hey! Atwood? Many a time have I seen the hulls of ships when their spars
+were hid in the fog; but I do not remember ever to have seen before,
+sixteen sets of masts and sails moving about on vapour, without a single
+hull to uphold them. The tops of all the two-decked ships are as plainly
+to be seen, as if the air were without a particle of vapour, while all
+below the cat-harpings is hid in a cloud as thick as the smoke of
+battle. I do not half like Bluewater's standing in so far; perhaps, Mr.
+Dutton, they cannot see the cliffs, for I assure you we did not, until
+quite close under them. We went altogether by the lead, the masters
+feeling their way like so many blind beggars!"
+
+"We always keep that nine-pounder loaded, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+master, "in order to warn vessels when they are getting near enough in;
+and if Mr. Wychecombe, who is younger than I, will run to the house and
+light this match, I will prime, and we may give 'em warning where they
+are, in less than a minute."
+
+The admiral gave a ready assent to this proposition, and the respective
+parties immediately set about putting it in execution. Wychecombe
+hastened to the house to light the match, glad of an opportunity to
+inquire after Mildred; while Dutton produced a priming-horn from a sort
+of arm-chest that stood near the gun, and put the latter in a condition
+to be discharged. The young man was absent but a minute, and when all
+was ready, he turned towards the admiral, in order to get the signal to
+proceed.
+
+"Let 'em have it, Mr. Wychecombe," cried Sir Gervaise, smiling; "it will
+wake Bluewater up; perhaps he may favour us with a broadside, by way of
+retort."
+
+The match was applied, and the report of the gun succeeded. Then
+followed a pause of more than a minute; when the fog lifted around the
+Cæsar, the ship that wore a rear-admiral's flag, a flash like lightning
+was seen glancing in the mist, and then came the bellowing of a piece of
+heavy ordnance. Almost at the same instant, three little flags appeared
+at the mast-head of the Cæsar, for previously to quitting his own ship,
+Sir Gervaise had sent a message to his friend, requesting him to take
+care of the fleet. This was the signal to anchor. The effect of all
+this, as seen from the height, was exceedingly striking. As yet not a
+single hull had become visible, the fog remaining packed upon the water,
+in a way to conceal even the lower yards of the two-deckers. All above
+was bright, distinct, and so near, as almost to render it possible to
+distinguish persons. There every thing was vivid, while a sort of
+supernatural mystery veiled all beneath. Each ship had an officer aloft
+to look out for signals, and no sooner had the Cæsar opened her three
+little flags, which had long been suspended in black balls, in readiness
+for this service, than the answers were seen floating at the mast-head
+of each of the vessels. Then commenced a spectacle still more curious
+than that which those on the cliff had so long been regarding with
+interest. Ropes began to move, and the sails were drawn up in festoons,
+apparently without the agency of hands. Cut off from a seeming
+communication with the ocean, or the hulls, the spars of the different
+ships appeared to be instinct with life; each machine playing its own
+part independently of the others, but all having the same object in
+view. In a very few minutes the canvass was hauled up, and the whole
+fleet was swinging to the anchors. Presently head after head was thrown
+out of the fog, the upper yards were alive with men, and the sails were
+handed. Next came the squaring of the yards, though this was imperfectly
+done, and a good deal by guess-work. The men came down, and there lay a
+noble fleet at anchor, with nothing visible to those on the cliffs, but
+their top-hamper and upper spars.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had been so much struck and amused with a sight that
+to him happened to be entirely novel, that he did not speak during the
+whole process of anchoring. Indeed, many a man might pass his life at
+sea, and never witness such a scene; but those who have, know that it is
+one of the most beautiful and striking spectacles connected with the
+wonders of the great deep.
+
+By this time the sun had got so high, as to begin to stir the fog, and
+streams of vapour were shooting up from the beach, like smoke rising
+from coal-pits. The wind increased, too, and rolled the vapour before
+it, and in less than ten minutes, the veil was removed; ship after ship
+coming out in plain view, until the entire fleet was seen riding in the
+roadstead, in its naked and distinct proportions.
+
+"Now, Bluewater is a happy fellow," exclaimed Sir Gervaise. "He sees his
+great enemy, the land, and knows how to deal with it."
+
+"I thought the French were the great and natural enemies of every
+British sailor," observed Sir Wycherly, simply, but quite to the point.
+
+"Hum--there's truth in that, too. But the land is an enemy to be feared,
+while the Frenchman is not--hey! Atwood?"
+
+It was, indeed, a goodly sight to view the fine fleet that now lay
+anchored beneath the cliffs of Wychecombe. Sir Gervaise Oakes was, in
+that period, considered a successful naval commander, and was a
+favourite, both at the admiralty and with the nation. His popularity
+extended to the most distant colonies of England, in nearly all of which
+he had served with zeal and credit. But we are not writing of an age of
+nautical wonders, like that which succeeded at the close of the century.
+The French and Dutch, and even the Spaniards, were then all formidable
+as naval powers; for revolutions and changes had not destroyed their
+maritime corps, nor had the consequent naval ascendency of England
+annihilated their navigation; the two great causes of the subsequent
+apparent invincibility of the latter power. Battles at sea, in that day,
+were warmly contested, and were frequently fruitless; more especially
+when fleets were brought in opposition. The single combats were usually
+more decisive, though the absolute success of the British flag, was far
+from being as much a matter of course as it subsequently became. In a
+word, the science of naval warfare had not made those great strides,
+which marked the career of England in the end, nor had it retrograded
+among her enemies, to the point which appears to have rendered their
+defeat nearly certain. Still Sir Gervaise was a successful officer;
+having captured several single ships, in bloody encounters, and having
+actually led fleets with credit, in four or five of the great battles of
+the times; besides being second and third in command, on various similar
+occasions. His own ship was certain to be engaged, let what would happen
+to the others. Equally as captains and as flag-officers, the nation had
+become familiar with the names of Oakes and Bluewater, as men ever to be
+found sustaining each other in the thickest of the fight. It may be well
+to add here, that both these favourite seamen were men of family, or at
+least what was considered men of family among the mere gentry of
+England; Sir Gervaise being a baronet by inheritance, while his friend
+actually belonged to one of those naval lines which furnishes admirals
+for generations; his father having worn a white flag at the main; and
+his grandfather having been actually ennobled for his services, dying
+vice-admiral of England. These fortuitous circumstances perhaps rendered
+both so much the greater favourites at court.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+        ----"All with you; except three
+    On duty, and our leader Israel,
+    Who is expected momently."
+
+         MARINO FALIERO.
+
+
+As his fleet was safely anchored, and that too, in beautiful order, in
+spite of the fog, Sir Gervaise Oakes showed a disposition to pursue what
+are termed ulterior views.
+
+"This has been a fine sight--certainly a very fine sight; such as an old
+seaman loves; but there must be an end to it," he said. "You will excuse
+me, Sir Wycherly, but the movements of a fleet always have interest in
+my eyes, and it is seldom that I get such a bird's-eye view of those of
+my own; no wonder it has made me a somewhat unreflecting intruder."
+
+"Make no apologies, Sir Gervaise, I beg of you; for none are needed, on
+any account. Though this head-land does belong to the Wychecombe
+property, it is fairly leased to the crown, and none have a better right
+to occupy it than His Majesty's servants. The Hall is a little more
+private, it is true, but even that has no door that will close upon our
+gallant naval defenders. It is but a short walk, and nothing will make
+me happier than to show you the way to my poor dwelling, and to see you
+as much at home under its roof, as you could be in the cabin of the
+Plantagenet."
+
+"If any thing could make me as much at home in a house as in a ship, it
+would be so hearty a welcome; and I intend to accept your hospitality in
+the very spirit in which it is offered. Atwood and I have landed to send
+off some important despatches to the First Lord, and we will thank you
+for putting us in the way of doing it, in the safest and most
+expeditious manner. Curiosity and surprise have already occasioned the
+loss of half an hour; while a soldier, or a sailor, should never lose
+half a minute."
+
+"Is a courier who knows the country well, needed, Sir Gervaise?" the
+lieutenant demanded, modestly, though with an interest that showed he
+was influenced only by zeal for the service.
+
+The admiral looked at him, intently, for a moment, and seemed pleased
+with the hint implied in the question.
+
+"Can you ride?" asked Sir Gervaise, smiling. "I could have brought
+half-a-dozen youngsters ashore with me; but, besides the doubts about
+getting a horse--a chaise I take it is out of the question here--I was
+afraid the lads might disgrace themselves on horseback."
+
+"This must be said in pleasantry, Sir Gervaise," returned Wychecombe;
+"he would be a strange Virginian at least, who does not know how to
+ride!"
+
+"And a strange Englishman, too, Bluewater would say; and yet I never see
+the fellow straddle a horse that I do not wish it were a
+studding-sail-boom run out to leeward! We sailors _fancy_ we ride, Mr.
+Wychecombe, but it is some such fancy as a marine has for the
+fore-topmast-cross-trees. Can a horse be had, to go as far as the
+nearest post-office that sends off a daily mail?"
+
+"That can it, Sir Gervaise," put in Sir Wycherly. "Here is Dick mounted
+on as good a hunter as is to be found in England; and I'll answer for my
+young namesake's willingness to put the animal's mettle to the proof.
+Our little mail has just left Wychecombe for the next twenty-four hours,
+but by pushing the beast, there will be time to reach the high road in
+season for the great London mail, which passes the nearest market-town
+at noon. It is but a gallop of ten miles and back, and that I'll answer
+for Mr. Wychecombe's ability to do, and to join us at dinner by four."
+
+Young Wychecombe expressing his readiness to perform all this, and even
+more at need, the arrangement was soon made. Dick was dismounted, the
+lieutenant got his despatches and his instructions, took his leave, and
+had galloped out of sight, in the next five minutes. The admiral then
+declared himself at liberty for the day, accepting the invitation of Sir
+Wycherly to breakfast and dine at the Hall, in the same spirit of
+frankness as that in which it had been given. Sir Wycherly was so
+spirited as to refuse the aid of his pony, but insisted on walking
+through the village and park to his dwelling, though the distance was
+more than a mile. Just as they were quitting the signal-station, the old
+man took the admiral aside, and in an earnest, but respectful manner,
+disburthened his mind to the following effect.
+
+"Sir Gervaise," he said, "I am no sailor, as you know, and least of all
+do I bear His Majesty's commission in the navy, though I am in the
+county commission as a justice of the peace; so, if I make any little
+mistake you will have the goodness to overlook it, for I know that the
+etiquette of the quarter-deck is a very serious matter, and is not to be
+trifled with;--but here is Dutton, as good a fellow in his way as
+lives--his father was a sort of a gentleman too, having been the
+attorney of the neighbourhood, and the old man was accustomed to dine
+with me forty years ago--"
+
+"I believe I understand you, Sir Wycherly," interrupted the admiral;
+"and I thank you for the attention you wish to pay my prejudices; but,
+you are master of Wychecombe, and I should feel myself a troublesome
+intruder, indeed, did you not ask whom you please to dine at your own
+table."
+
+"That's not quite it, Sir Gervaise, though you have not gone far wide of
+the mark. Dutton is only a master, you know; and it seems that a master
+on board ship is a very different thing from a master on shore; so
+Dutton, himself, has often told me."
+
+"Ay, Dutton is right enough as regards a king's ship, though the two
+offices are pretty much the same, when other craft are alluded to. But,
+my dear Sir Wycherly, an admiral is not disgraced by keeping company
+with a boatswain, if the latter is an honest man. It is true we have our
+customs, and what we call our quarter-deck and forward officers; which
+is court end and city, on board ship; but a master belongs to the first,
+and the master of the Plantagenet, Sandy McYarn, dines with me once a
+month, as regularly as he enters a new word at the top of his log-book.
+I beg, therefore, you will extend your hospitality to whom you
+please--or--" the admiral hesitated, as he cast a good-natured glance at
+the master, who stood still uncovered, waiting for his superior to move
+away; "or, perhaps, Sir Wycherly, you would permit _me_ to ask a friend
+to make one of our party."
+
+"That's just it, Sir Gervaise," returned the kind-hearted baronet; "and
+Dutton will be one of the happiest fellows in Devonshire. I wish we
+could have Mrs. Dutton and Milly, and then the table would look what my
+poor brother James--St. James I used to call him--what the Rev. James
+Wychecombe was accustomed to term, mathematical. He said a table should
+have all its sides and angles duly filled. James was a most agreeable
+companion, Sir Gervaise, and, in divinity, he would not have turned his
+back on one of the apostles, I do verily believe!"
+
+The admiral bowed, and turning to the master, he invited him to be of
+the party at the Hall, in the manner which one long accustomed to render
+his civilities agreeable by a sort of professional off-handed way, well
+knew how to assume.
+
+"Sir Wycherly has insisted that I shall consider his table as set in my
+own cabin," he continued; "and I know of no better manner of proving my
+gratitude, than by taking him at his word, and filling it with guests
+that will be agreeable to us both. I believe there is a Mrs. Dutton, and
+a Miss--a--a--a--"
+
+"Milly," put in the baronet, eagerly; "Miss Mildred Dutton--the daughter
+of our good friend Dutton, here, and a young lady who would do credit to
+the gayest drawing-room in London."
+
+"You perceive, sir, that our kind host anticipates the wishes of an old
+bachelor, as it might be by instinct, and desires the company of the
+ladies, also. Miss Mildred will, at least, have two young men to do
+homage to her beauty, and _three_ old ones to sigh in the distance--hey!
+Atwood?"
+
+"Mildred, as Sir Wycherly knows, sir, has been a little disturbed this
+morning," returned Dutton, putting on his best manner for the occasion;
+"but, I feel no doubt, will be too grateful for this honour, not to
+exert herself to make a suitable return. As for my wife, gentlemen--"
+
+"And what is to prevent Mrs. Dutton from being one of the party,"
+interrupted Sir Wycherly, as he observed the husband to hesitate; "she
+sometimes favours me with her company."
+
+"I rather think she will to-day, Sir Wycherly, if Mildred is well enough
+to go; the good woman seldom lets her daughter stray far from her
+apron-strings. She keeps her, as I tell her, within the sweep of her own
+hawse, Sir Gervaise."
+
+"So much the wiser she, Master Dutton," returned the admiral, pointedly.
+"The best pilot for a young woman is a good mother; and now you have a
+fleet in your roadstead, I need not tell a seaman of your experience
+that you are on pilot-ground;--hey! Atwood?"
+
+Here the parties separated, Dutton remaining uncovered until his
+superior had turned the corner of his little cottage, and was fairly out
+of sight. Then the master entered his dwelling to prepare his wife and
+daughter for the honours they had in perspective. Before he executed
+this duty, however, the unfortunate man opened what he called a
+locker--what a housewife would term a cupboard--and fortified his nerves
+with a strong draught of pure Nantes; a liquor that no hostilities,
+custom-house duties, or national antipathies, has ever been able to
+bring into general disrepute in the British Islands. In the mean time
+the party of the two baronets pursued its way towards the Hall.
+
+The village, or hamlet of Wychecombe, lay about half-way between the
+station and the residence of the lord of the manor. It was an
+exceedingly rural and retired collection of mean houses, possessing
+neither physician, apothecary, nor attorney, to give it importance. A
+small inn, two or three shops of the humblest kind, and some twenty
+cottages of labourers and mechanics, composed the place, which, at that
+early day, had not even a chapel, or a conventicle; dissent not having
+made much progress then in England. The parish church, one of the old
+edifices of the time of the Henrys, stood quite alone, in a field, more
+than a mile from the place; and the vicarage, a respectable abode, was
+just on the edge of the park, fully half a mile more distant. In short,
+Wychecombe was one of those places which was so far on the decline, that
+few or no traces of any little importance it may have once possessed,
+were any longer to be discovered; and it had sunk entirely into a hamlet
+that owed its allowed claims to be marked on the maps, and to be noted
+in the gazetteers, altogether to its antiquity, and the name it had
+given to one of the oldest knightly families in England.
+
+No wonder then, that the arrival of a fleet under the head, produced a
+great excitement in the little village. The anchorage was excellent, so
+far as the bottom was concerned, but it could scarcely be called a
+roadstead in any other point of view, since there was shelter against no
+wind but that which blew directly off shore, which happened to be a wind
+that did not prevail in that part of the island. Occasionally, a small
+cruiser would come-to, in the offing, and a few frigates had lain at
+single anchors in the roads, for a tide or so, in waiting for a change
+of weather; but this was the first fleet that had been known to moor
+under the cliffs within the memory of man. The fog had prevented the
+honest villagers from ascertaining the unexpected honour that had been
+done them, until the reports of the two guns reached their ears, when
+the important intelligence spread with due rapidity over the entire
+adjacent country. Although Wychecombe did not lie in actual view of the
+sea, by the time the party of Sir Wycherly entered the hamlet, its
+little street was already crowded with visiters from the fleet; every
+vessel having sent at least one boat ashore, and many of them some three
+or four. Captain's and gun-room stewards, midshipmen's foragers,
+loblolly boys, and other similar harpies, were out in scores; for this
+was a part of the world in which bum-boats were unknown; and if the
+mountain would not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must fain go to the
+mountain. Half an hour had sufficed to exhaust all the unsophisticated
+simplicity of the hamlet; and milk, eggs, fresh butter, soft-tommy,
+vegetables, and such fruits as were ripe, had already risen quite one
+hundred per cent. in the market.
+
+Sir Gervaise had called his force the southern squadron, from the
+circumstance of its having been cruising in the Bay of Biscay, for the
+last six months. This was a wild winter-station, the danger from the
+elements greatly surpassing any that could well be anticipated from the
+enemy. The duty notwithstanding had been well and closely performed;
+several West India, and one valuable East India convoy having been
+effectually protected, as well as a few straggling frigates of the enemy
+picked up; but the service had been excessively laborious to all engaged
+in it, and replete with privations. Most of those who now landed, had
+not trod terra firma for half a year, and it was not wonderful that all
+the officers whose duties did not confine them to the vessels, gladly
+seized the occasion to feast their senses with the verdure and odours of
+their native island. Quite a hundred guests of this character were also
+pouring into the street of Wychecombe, or spreading themselves among the
+surrounding farm-houses; flirting with the awkward and blushing girls,
+and keeping an eye at the same time to the main chance of the
+mess-table.
+
+"Our boys have already found out your village, Sir Wycherly, in spite of
+the fog," the vice-admiral remarked, good-humouredly, as he cast his
+eyes around at the movement of the street; "and the locusts of Egypt
+will not come nearer to breeding a famine. One would think there was a
+great dinner _in petto_, in every cabin of the fleet, by the number of
+the captain's stewards that are ashore, hey! Atwood? I have seen nine of
+the harpies, myself, and the other seven can't be far off."
+
+"Here is Galleygo, Sir Gervaise," returned the secretary, smiling;
+"though _he_ can scarcely be called a captain's steward, having the
+honour to serve a vice-admiral and a commander-in-chief."
+
+"Ay, but _we_ feed the whole fleet at times, and have some excuse for
+being a little exacting--harkee, Galleygo--get a horse-cart, and push
+off at once, four or five miles further into the country; you might as
+well expect to find real pearls in fishes' eyes, as hope to pick up any
+thing nice among so many gun-room and cock-pit boys. I dine ashore
+to-day, but Captain Greenly is fond of mutton-chops, you'll remember."
+
+This was said kindly, and in the manner of a man accustomed to treat his
+domestics with the familiarity of humble friends. Galleygo was as
+unpromising a looking butler as any gentleman ashore would be at all
+likely to tolerate; but he had been with his present master, and in his
+present capacity, ever since the latter had commanded a sloop of war.
+All his youth had been passed as a top-man, and he was really a prime
+seaman; but accident having temporarily placed him in his present
+station, Captain Oakes was so much pleased with his attention to his
+duty, and particularly with his order, that he ever afterwards retained
+him in his cabin, notwithstanding the strong desire the honest fellow
+himself had felt to remain aloft. Time and familiarity, at length
+reconciled the steward to his station, though he did not formally accept
+it, until a clear agreement had been made that he was not to be
+considered an idler on any occasion that called for the services of the
+best men. In this manner David, for such was his Christian name, had
+become a sort of nondescript on board of a man-of-war; being foremost in
+all the cuttings out, a captain of a gun, and was frequently seen on a
+yard in moments of difficulty, just to keep his hand in, as he expressed
+it, while he descended to the duties of the cabin in peaceable times and
+good weather. Near thirty years had he thus been half-steward,
+half-seaman when afloat, while on land he was rather a counsellor and
+minister of the closet, than a servant; for out of a ship he was utterly
+useless, though he never left his master for a week at a time, ashore or
+afloat. The name of Galleygo was a _sobriquet_ conferred by his brother
+top-men, but had been so generally used, that for the last twenty years
+most of his shipmates believed it to be his patronymic. When this
+compound of cabin and forecastle received the order just related, he
+touched the lock of hair on his forehead, a ceremony he always used
+before he spoke to Sir Gervaise, the hat being removed at some three or
+four yards' distance, and made his customary answer of--
+
+"Ay-ay-sir--your honour has been a young gentleman yourself, and knows
+what a young gentleman's stomach gets to be, a'ter a six months' fast in
+the Bay of Biscay; and a young gentleman's _boy's_ stomach, too. I
+always thinks there's but a small chance for us, sir, when I sees six or
+eight of them light cruisers in my neighbourhood. They're som'mat like
+the sloops and cutters of a fleet, which picks up all the prizes."
+
+"Quite true, Master Galleygo; but if the light cruisers get the prizes,
+you should recollect that the admiral always has his share of the
+prize-money."
+
+"Yes, sir, I knows we has our share, but that's accordin' to law, and
+because the commanders of the light craft can't help it. Let 'em once
+get the law on their side, and not a ha'pence would bless our pockets!
+No, sir, what we gets, we gets by the law; and as there is no law to
+fetch up young gentlemen or their boys, that pays as they goes, we never
+gets any thing they or their boys puts hands on."
+
+"I dare say you are right, David, as you always are. It wouldn't be a
+bad thing to have an Act of Parliament to give an admiral his twentieth
+in the reefers' foragings. The old fellows would sometimes get back some
+of their own poultry and fruit in that way, hey! Atwood?"
+
+The secretary smiled his assent, and then Sir Gervaise apologized to his
+host, repeated the order to the steward, and the party proceeded.
+
+"This fellow of mine, Sir Wycherly, is no respecter of persons, beyond
+the etiquette of a man-of-war," the admiral continued, by way of further
+excuse. "I believe His Majesty himself would be favoured with an essay
+on some part of the economy of the cabin, were Galleygo to get an
+opportunity of speaking his mind to him. Nor is the fool without his
+expectations of some day enjoying this privilege; for the last lime I
+went to court, I found honest David rigged, from stem to stern, in a
+full suit of claret and steel, under the idea that he was 'to sail in
+company with me,' as he called it, 'with or without signal!'"
+
+"There was nothing surprising in that, Sir Gervaise," observed the
+secretary. "Galleygo has sailed in company with you so long, and to so
+many strange lands; has been through so many dangers at your side, and
+has got so completely to consider himself as part of the family, that it
+was the most natural thing in the world he should expect to go to court
+with you."
+
+"True enough. The fellow would face the devil, at my side, and I don't
+see why he should hesitate to face the king. I sometimes call him Lady
+Oakes, Sir Wycherly, for he appears to think he has a right of dower, or
+to some other lawyer-like claim on my estate; and as for the fleet, he
+always speaks of _that_, as if we commanded it in common. I wonder how
+Bluewater tolerates the blackguard; for he never scruples to allude to
+him as under _our_ orders! If any thing should befal me, Dick and David
+would have a civil war for the succession, hey! Atwood?"
+
+"I think military subordination would bring Galleygo to his senses, Sir
+Gervaise, should such an unfortunate accident occur--which Heaven avert
+for many years to come! There is Admiral Bluewater coming up the street,
+at this very moment, sir."
+
+At this sudden announcement, the whole party turned to look in the
+direction intimated by the secretary. It was by this time at one end of
+the short street, and all saw a man just entering the other, who, in his
+walk, air, attire, and manner, formed a striking contrast to the active,
+merry, bustling, youthful young sailors who thronged the hamlet. In
+person, Admiral Bluewater was exceedingly tall and exceedingly thin.
+Like most seamen who have that physical formation, he stooped; a
+circumstance that gave his years a greater apparent command over his
+frame, than they possessed in reality. While this bend in his figure
+deprived it, in a great measure, of the sturdy martial air that his
+superior presented to the observer, it lent to his carriage a quiet and
+dignity that it might otherwise have wanted. Certainly, were this
+officer attired like an ordinary civilian, no one would have taken him
+for one of England's bravest and most efficient sea-captains; he would
+have passed rather as some thoughtful, well-educated, and refined
+gentleman, of retired habits, diffident of himself, and a stranger to
+ambition. He wore an undress rear-admiral's uniform, as a matter of
+course; but he wore it carelessly, as if from a sense of duty only; or
+conscious that no arrangement could give him a military air. Still all
+about his person was faultlessly neat, and perfectly respectable. In a
+word, no one but a man accustomed to the sea, were it not for his
+uniform, would suspect the rear-admiral of being a sailor; and even the
+seaman himself might be often puzzled to detect any other signs of the
+profession about him, than were to be found in a face, which, fair,
+gentlemanly, handsome, and even courtly as it was, in expression and
+outline, wore the tint that exposure invariably stamps on the mariner's
+countenance. Here, however, his unseaman-like character ceased. Admiral
+Oakes had often declared that "Dick Bluewater knew more about a ship
+than any man in England;" and as for a fleet, his mode of man[oe]uvring
+one had got to be standard in the service.
+
+As soon as Sir Gervaise recognised his friend, he expressed a wish to
+wait for him, which was courteously converted by Sir Wycherly into a
+proposition to return and meet him. So abstracted was Admiral Bluewater,
+however, that he did not see the party that was approaching him, until
+he was fairly accosted by Sir Gervaise, who led the advance by a few
+yards.
+
+"Good-day to you, Bluewater," commenced the latter, in his familiar,
+off-hand way; "I'm glad you have torn yourself away from your ship;
+though I must say the manner in which you came-to, in that fog, was more
+like instinct, than any thing human! I determined to tell you as much,
+the moment we met; for I don't think there is a ship, half her length
+out of mathematical order, notwithstanding the tide runs, here, like a
+race-horse."
+
+"That is owing to your captains, Sir Gervaise," returned the other,
+observing the respect of manner, that the inferior never loses with his
+superior, on service, and in a navy; let their relative rank and
+intimacy be what they may on all other occasions; "good captains make
+handy ships. Our gentlemen have now been together so long, that they
+understand each other's movements; and every vessel in the fleet has her
+character as well as her commander!"
+
+"Very true, Admiral Bluewater, and yet there is not another officer in
+His Majesty's service, that could have brought a fleet to anchor, in so
+much order, and in such a fog; and I ask your leave, sir, most
+particularly to thank you for the lesson you have given, not only to the
+captains, but to the commander-in-chief. I presume I may admire that
+which I cannot exactly imitate."
+
+The rear-admiral merely smiled and touched his hat in acknowledgment of
+the compliment, but he made no direct answer in words. By this time Sir
+Wycherly and the others had approached, and the customary introductions
+took place. Sir Wycherly now pressed his new acquaintance to join his
+guests, with so much heartiness, that there was no such thing as
+refusing.
+
+"Since you and Sir Gervaise both insist on it so earnestly, Sir
+Wycherly," returned the rear-admiral, "I must consent; but as it is
+contrary to our practice, when on foreign service--and I call this
+roadstead a foreign station, as to any thing we know about it--as it is
+contrary to our practice for both flag-officers to sleep out of the
+fleet, I shall claim the privilege to be allowed to go off to my ship
+before midnight. I think the weather looks settled, Sir Gervaise, and we
+may trust that many hours, without apprehension."
+
+"Pooh--pooh--Bluewater, you are always fancying the ships in a gale, and
+clawing off a lee-shore. Put your heart at rest, and let us go and take
+a comfortable dinner with Sir Wycherly, who has a London paper, I dare
+to say, that may let us into some of the secrets of state. Are there any
+tidings from our people in Flanders?"
+
+"Things remain pretty much as they have been," returned Sir Wycherly,
+"since that last terrible affair, in which the Duke got the better of
+the French at--I never can remember an outlandish name; but it sounds
+something like a Christian baptism. If my poor brother, St. James, were
+living, now, he could tell us all about it."
+
+"Christian baptism! That's an odd allusion for a field of battle. The
+armies can't have got to Jerusalem; hey! Atwood?"
+
+"I rather think, Sir Gervaise," the secretary coolly remarked, "that Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe refers to the battle that took place last spring--it
+was fought at Font-something; and a font certainly has something to do
+with Christian baptism."
+
+"That's it--that's it," cried Sir Wycherly, with some eagerness;
+"Fontenoï was the name of the place, where the Duke would have carried
+all before him, and brought Marshal Saxe, and all his frog-eaters
+prisoners to England, had our Dutch and German allies behaved better
+than they did. So it is with poor old England, gentlemen; whatever _she_
+gains, her allies always _lose_ for her--the Germans, or the colonists,
+are constantly getting us into trouble!"
+
+Both Sir Gervaise and his friend were practical men, and well knew that
+they never fought the Dutch or the French, without meeting with
+something that was pretty nearly their match. They had no faith in
+general national superiority. The courts-martial that so often succeeded
+general actions, had taught them that there were all degrees of spirit,
+as well as all degrees of a want of spirit; and they knew too much, to
+be the dupes of flourishes of the pen, or of vapid declamation at
+dinner-speeches, and in the House of Commons. Men, well led and
+commanded, they had ascertained by experience, were worth twice as much
+as the same men when ill led and ill commanded; and they were not to be
+told that the moral tone of an army or a fleet, from which all its
+success was derived, depended more on the conventional feeling that had
+been got up through moral agencies, than on birth-place, origin, or
+colour. Each glanced his eye significantly at the other, and a sarcastic
+smile passed over the face of Sir Gervaise, though his friend maintained
+his customary appearance of gravity.
+
+"I believe le Grand Monarque and Marshal Saxe give a different account
+of that matter, Sir Wycherly," drily observed the former; "and it may be
+well to remember that there are two sides to every story. Whatever may
+be said of Dettingen, I fancy history will set down Fontenoï as any
+thing but a feather in His Royal Highness' cap."
+
+"You surely do not consider it possible for the French arms to overthrow
+a British army, Sir Gervaise Oakes!" exclaimed the simple-minded
+provincial--for such was Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, though he had sat in
+parliament, had four thousand a year, and was one of the oldest families
+in England--"It sounds like treason to admit the possibility of such a
+thing."
+
+"God bless us, my dear sir, I am as far from supposing any such thing,
+as the Duke of Cumberland himself; who, by the way, has as much English
+blood in his veins, as the Baltic may have of the water of the
+Mediterranean--hey! Atwood? By the way, Sir Wycherly, I must ask a
+little tenderness of you in behalf of my friend the secretary, here, who
+has a national weakness in favour of the Pretender, and all of the clan
+Stuart."
+
+"I hope not--I sincerely hope not, Sir Gervaise!" exclaimed Sir
+Wycherly, with a warmth that was not entirely free from alarm; his own
+loyalty to the new house being altogether without reproach. "Mr. Atwood
+has the air of a gentleman of too good principles not to see on which
+side real religious and political liberty lie. I am sure you are pleased
+to be jocular, Sir Gervaise; the very circumstance that he is in your
+company is a pledge of his loyalty."
+
+"Well, well, Sir Wycherly, I would not give you a false idea of my
+friend Atwood, if possible; and so I may as well confess, that, while
+his Scotch blood inclines him to toryism, his English reason makes him a
+whig. If Charles Stuart never gets the throne until Stephen Atwood helps
+him to a seat on it, he may take leave of ambition for ever."
+
+"I thought as much, Sir Gervaise--I thought _your_ secretary could never
+lean to the doctrine of 'passive obedience and non-resistance.' That's a
+principle which would hardly suit sailors, Admiral Bluewater."
+
+Admiral Bluewater's line, full, blue eye, lighted with an expression
+approaching irony; but he made no other answer than a slight inclination
+of the head. In point of fact, _he_ was a Jacobite: though no one was
+acquainted with the circumstance but his immediate commanding officer.
+As a seaman, he was called on only to serve his country; and, as often
+happens to military men, he was willing to do this under any superior
+whom circumstances might place over his head, let his private sentiments
+be what they might. During the civil war of 1715, he was too young in
+years, and too low in rank to render his opinions of much importance;
+and, kept on foreign stations, his services could only affect the
+general interests of the nation, without producing any influence on the
+contest at home. Since that period, nothing had occurred to require one,
+whose duty kept him on the ocean, to come to a very positive decision
+between the two masters that claimed his allegiance. Sir Gervaise had
+always been able to persuade him that he was sustaining the honour and
+interests of his country, and that ought to be sufficient to a patriot,
+let who would rule. Notwithstanding this wide difference in political
+feeling between the two admirals--Sir Gervaise being as decided a whig,
+as his friend was a tory--their personal harmony had been without a
+shade. As to confidence, the superior knew the inferior so well, that he
+believed the surest way to prevent his taking sides openly with the
+Jacobites, or of doing them secret service, was to put it in his power
+to commit a great breach of trust. So long as faith were put in his
+integrity, Sir Gervaise felt certain his friend Bluewater might be
+relied on; and he also knew that, should the moment ever come when the
+other really intended to abandon the service of the house of Hanover, he
+would frankly throw up his employments, and join the hostile standard,
+without profiting, in any manner, by the trusts he had previously
+enjoyed. It is also necessary that the reader should understand that
+Admiral Bluewater had never communicated his political opinions to any
+person but his friend; the Pretender and his counsellors being as
+ignorant of them, as George II. and his ministers. The only practical
+effect, therefore, that they had ever produced was to induce him to
+decline separate commands, several of which had been offered to him;
+one, quite equal to that enjoyed by Sir Gervaise Oakes, himself.
+
+"No," the latter answered to Sir Wycherly's remark; though the grave,
+thoughtful expression of his face, showed how little his feelings chimed
+in, at the moment, with the ironical language of his tongue. "No--Sir
+Wycherly, a man-of-war's man, in particular, has not the slightest idea
+of 'passive obedience and non-resistance,'--that is a doctrine which is
+intelligible only to papists and tories. Bluewater is in a brown study;
+thinking no doubt of the manner in which he intends to lead down on
+Monsieur de Gravelin, should we ever have the luck to meet that
+gentleman again; so we will, if it's agreeable to all parties, change
+the subject."
+
+"With all my heart, Sir Gervaise," answered the baronet, cordially;
+"and, after all, there is little use in discussing the affair of the
+Pretender any longer, for he appears to be quite out of men's minds,
+since that last failure of King Louis XV."
+
+"Yes, Norris rather crushed the young viper in its shell, and we may
+consider the thing at an end."
+
+"So my late brother, Baron Wychecombe, always treated it, Sir Gervaise.
+He once assured me that the twelve judges were clearly against the
+claim, and that the Stuarts had nothing to expect from _them_."
+
+"Did he tell you, sir, on what ground these learned gentlemen had come
+to this decision?" quietly asked Admiral Bluewater.
+
+"He did, indeed; for he knew my strong desire to make out a good case
+against the tories so well, that he laid all the law before me. I am a
+bad hand, however, to repeat even what I hear; though my poor brother,
+the late Rev. James Wychecombe--St. James as I used to call him--could
+go over a discourse half an hour long, and not miss a word. Thomas and
+James appear to have run away with the memories of the rest of the
+family. Nevertheless, I recollect it all depended on an act of
+Parliament, which is supreme; and the house of Hanover reigning by an
+act of Parliament, no court could set aside the claim."
+
+"Very clearly explained, sir," continued Bluewater; "and you will permit
+me to say that there was no necessity for an apology on account of the
+memory. Your brother, however, might not have exactly explained what an
+act of Parliament is. King, Lords, and Commons, are all necessary to an
+act of Parliament."
+
+"Certainly--we all know that, my dear admiral; we poor fellows ashore
+here, as well as you mariners at sea. The Hanoverian succession had all
+three to authorize it."
+
+"Had it a king?"
+
+"A king! Out of dispute--or what we bachelors ought to consider as much
+better, it had a _queen_. Queen Anne approved of the act, and that made
+it an act of Parliament. I assure you, I learned a good deal of law in
+the Baron's visits to Wychecombe; and in the pleasant hours we used to
+chat together in his chambers!"
+
+"And who signed the act of Parliament that made Anne a queen? or did she
+ascend the throne by regular succession? Both Mary and Anne were
+sovereigns by acts of Parliament, and we must look back until we get the
+approval of a prince who took the crown by legal descent."
+
+"Come--come, Bluewater," put in Sir Gervaise, gravely; "we may persuade
+Sir Wycherly, in this manner, that he has a couple of furious Jacobites
+in company. The Stuarts were dethroned by a revolution, which is a law
+of nature, and enacted by God, and which of course overshadows all other
+laws when it gets into the ascendant, as it clearly has done in this
+case. I take it, Sir Wycherly, these are your park-gates, and that
+yonder is the Hall."
+
+This remark changed the discourse, and the whole party proceeded towards
+the house, discussing the beauty of its position, its history, and its
+advantages, until they reached its door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+    "Monarch and ministers, are awful names:
+    Whoever wear them, challenge our devoir."
+
+         YOUNG.
+
+
+Our plan does not require an elaborate description of the residence of
+Sir Wycherly. The house had been neither priory, abbey, nor castle; but
+it was erected as a dwelling for himself and his posterity, by a Sir
+Michael Wychecombe, two or three centuries before, and had been kept in
+good serviceable condition ever since. It had the usual long, narrow
+windows, a suitable hall, wainscoted rooms, battlemented walls, and
+turreted angles. It was neither large, nor small; handsome, nor ugly;
+grand, nor mean; but it was quaint, respectable in appearance, and
+comfortable as an abode.
+
+The admirals were put each in possession of bed-chambers and
+dressing-rooms, as soon as they arrived; and Atwood was _berthed_ not
+far from his commanding-officer, in readiness for service, if required.
+Sir Wycherly was naturally hospitable; but his retired situation had
+given him a zest for company, that greatly increased the inborn
+disposition. Sir Gervaise, it was understood, was to pass the night with
+him, and he entertained strong hopes of including his friend in the same
+arrangement. Beds were ordered, too, for Dutton, his wife, and daughter;
+and his namesake, the lieutenant, was expected also to sleep under his
+roof, that night.
+
+The day passed in the customary manner; the party having breakfasted,
+and then separated to attend to their several occupations, agreeably to
+the usages of all country houses, in all parts of the world, and, we
+believe, in all time. Sir Gervaise, who had sent a messenger off to the
+Plantagenet for certain papers, spent the morning in writing; Admiral
+Bluewater walked in the park, by himself; Atwood was occupied with his
+superior; Sir Wycherly rode among his labourers; and Tom Wychecombe took
+a rod, and pretended to go forth to fish, though he actually held his
+way back to the head-land, lingering in and around the cottage until it
+was time to return home. At the proper hour, Sir Wycherly sent his
+chariot for the ladies; and a few minutes before the appointed moment,
+the party began to assemble in the drawing-room.
+
+When Sir Wycherly appeared, he found the Duttons already in possession,
+with Tom doing the honours of the house. Of the sailing-master and his
+daughter, it is unnecessary to say more than that the former was in his
+best uniform--an exceedingly plain one, as was then the case with the
+whole naval wardrobe--and that the last had recovered from her illness,
+as was evident by the bloom that the sensitive blushes constantly cast
+athwart her lovely face. Her attire was exactly what it ought to have
+been; neat, simple, and becoming. In honour of the host, she wore her
+best; but this was what became her station, though a little jewelry that
+rather surpassed what might have been expected in a girl of her rank of
+life, threw around her person an air of modest elegance. Mrs. Dutton was
+a plain, matronly woman--the daughter of a land-steward of a nobleman in
+the same county--with an air of great mental suffering, from griefs she
+had never yet exposed to the heartless sympathy of the world.
+
+The baronet was so much in the habit of seeing his humble neighbours,
+that an intimacy had grown up between them. Sir Wycherly, who was
+anything but an acute observer, felt an interest in the
+melancholy-looking, and almost heart-broken mother, without knowing why;
+or certainly without suspecting the real character of her habitual
+sadness; while Mildred's youth and beauty had not failed of producing
+the customary effect of making a friend of the old bachelor. He shook
+hands all round, therefore, with great cordiality; expressing his joy at
+meeting Mrs. Dutton, and congratulating the daughter on her complete
+recovery.
+
+"I see Tom has been attentive to his duty," he added, "while I've been
+detained by a silly fellow about a complaint against a poacher. My
+namesake, young Wycherly, has not got back yet, though it is quite two
+hours past his time; and Mr. Atwood tells me the admiral is a little
+uneasy about his despatches. I tell him Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe, though
+I have not the honour of ranking him among my relatives, and he is only
+a Virginian by birth, is a young man to be relied on; and that the
+despatches are safe, let what may detain the courier."
+
+"And why should not a Virginian be every way as trustworthy and prompt
+as an Englishman, Sir Wycherly?" asked Mrs. Dutton. "He _is_ an
+Englishman, merely separated from us by the water."
+
+This was said mildly, or in the manner of one accustomed to speak under
+a rebuked feeling; but it was said earnestly, and perhaps a little
+reproachfully, while the speaker's eye glanced with natural interest
+towards the beautiful face of her daughter.
+
+"Why not, sure enough, my dear Mrs. Dutton!" echoed the baronet. "They
+_are_ Englishmen, like ourselves, only born out of the realm, as it
+might be, and no doubt a little different on that account. They are
+fellow-subjects, Mrs. Dutton, and that is a great deal. Then they are
+miracles of loyalty, there being scarcely a Jacobite, as they tell me,
+in all the colonies."
+
+"Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe is a very respectable young gentleman," said
+Dutton; "and I hear he is a prime seaman for his years. He has not the
+honour of being related to this distinguished family, like Mr. Thomas,
+here, it is true; but he is likely to make a name for himself. Should he
+get a ship, and do as handsome things in her, as he has done already,
+His Majesty would probably knight him; and then we should have _two_ Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombes!"
+
+"I hope not--I hope not!" exclaimed the baronet; "I think there must be
+a law against _that_. As it is, I shall be obliged to put Bart. after my
+name, as my worthy grandfather used to do, in order to prevent
+confusion; but England can't bear two Sir Wycherlys, any more than the
+world can bear two suns. Is not that your opinion, Miss Mildred?"
+
+The baronet had laughed at his own allusion, showing he spoke half
+jocularly; but, as his question was put in too direct a manner to escape
+general attention, the confused girl was obliged to answer.
+
+"I dare say Mr. Wychecombe will never reach a rank high enough to cause
+any such difficulty," she said; and it was said in all sincerity; for,
+unconsciously perhaps, she secretly hoped that no difference so wide
+might ever be created between the youth and herself. "If he should, I
+suppose his rights would be as good as another's, and he must keep his
+name."
+
+"In such a case, which is improbable enough, as Miss Mildred has so well
+observed," put in Tom Wychecombe, "we should have to submit to the
+_knighthood_, for that comes from the king, who might knight a
+chimney-sweep, if he see fit; but a question might be raised as to the
+_name_. It is bad enough as it is; but if it really got to be _two_ Sir
+Wycherlys, I think my dear uncle would be wrong to submit to such an
+invasion of what one might call his individuality, without making some
+inquiry as to the right of the gentleman to one or both his names. The
+result might show that the king had made a Sir Something Nobody."
+
+The sneer and spite with which this was uttered, were too marked to
+escape notice; and both Dutton and his wife felt it would be unpleasant
+to mingle farther in the discourse. Still the last, submissive, rebuked,
+and heart-broken as she was, felt a glow on her own pale cheek, as she
+saw the colour mount in the face of Mildred, and she detected the strong
+impulses that urged the generous girl herself to answer.
+
+"We have now known Mr. Wychecombe several months," observed Mildred,
+fastening her full, blue eye calmly on Tom's sinister-looking face; "and
+we have never known any thing to cause us to think he would bear a
+name--or names--that he does not at least think he has a right to."
+
+This was said gently, but so distinctly, that every word entered fairly
+into Tom Wychecombe's soul; who threw a quick, suspicious glance at the
+lovely speaker, as if to ascertain how far she intended any allusion to
+himself. Meeting with no other expression than that of generous
+interest, he recovered his self-command, and made his reply with
+sufficient coolness.
+
+"Upon my word, Mrs. Dutton," he cried, laughing; "we young men will all
+of us have to get over the cliff, and hang dangling at the end of a
+rope, in order to awaken an interest in Miss Mildred, to defend us when
+our backs are turned. So eloquent--and most especially, so lovely, so
+charming an advocate, is almost certain of success; and my uncle and
+myself must admit the absent gentleman's right to our name; though,
+heaven be praised, he has not yet got either the title or the estate."
+
+"I hope I have said nothing, Sir Wycherly, to displease _you_," returned
+Mildred, with emphasis; though her face was a thousand times handsomer
+than ever, with the blushes that suffused it. "Nothing would pain me
+more, than to suppose I had done so improper a thing. I merely meant
+that we cannot believe Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe would willingly take a
+name he had no right to."
+
+"My little dear," said the baronet, taking the hand of the distressed
+girl, and kissing her cheek, as he had often done before, with fatherly
+tenderness; "it is not an easy matter for _you_ to offend _me_; and I'm
+sure the young fellow is quite welcome to both my names, if you wish him
+to have 'em."
+
+"And I merely meant, Miss Mildred," resumed Tom, who feared he might
+have gone too far; "that the young gentleman--quite without any fault of
+his own--is probably ignorant how he came by two names that have so long
+pertained to the head of an ancient and honourable family. There is many
+a young man born, who is worthy of being an earl, but whom the law
+considers--" here Tom paused to choose terms suitable for his auditor,
+when the baronet added,
+
+"A _filius nullius_--that's the phrase, Tom--I had it from your own
+father's mouth."
+
+Tom Wychecombe started, and looked furtively around him, as if to
+ascertain who suspected the truth. Then he continued, anxious to regain
+the ground he feared he had lost in Mildred's favour.
+
+"_Filius nullius_ means, Miss Mildred, exactly what I wish to express; a
+family without any legal origin. They tell me, however, that in the
+colonies, nothing is more common than for people to take the names of
+the great families at home, and after a while they fancy themselves
+related."
+
+"I never heard Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe say a word to lead us to suppose
+that he was, in any manner, connected with this family, sir," returned
+Mildred, calmly, but quite distinctly.
+
+"Did you ever hear him say he was _not_, Miss Mildred?"
+
+"I cannot say I ever did, Mr. Wychecombe. It is a subject that has
+seldom been introduced in my hearing."
+
+"But it has often been introduced in his! I declare, Sir Wycherly, it
+has struck me as singular, that while you and I have so very frequently
+stated in the presence of this gentleman, that our families are in no
+way connected, he has never, in any manner, not even by a nod or a look
+of approbation, assented to what he must certainly know to be the case.
+But I suppose, like a true colonist, he was unwilling to give up his
+hold on the old stock."
+
+Here the entrance of Sir Gervaise Oakes changed the discourse. The
+vice-admiral joined the party in good spirits, as is apt to be the case
+with men who have been much occupied with affairs of moment, and who
+meet relaxation with a consciousness of having done their duty.
+
+"If one could take with him to sea, the comforts of such a house as
+this, Sir Wycherly, and such handsome faces as your own, young lady,"
+cried Sir Gervaise, cheerfully, after he had made his salutations;
+"there would be an end of our exclusiveness, for every _petit maître_ of
+Paris and London would turn sailor, as a matter of course. Six months in
+the Bay of Biscay gives an old fellow, like myself, a keen relish for
+these enjoyments, as hunger makes any meat palatable; though I am far,
+very far, indeed, from putting this house or this company, on a level
+with an indifferent feast, even for an epicure."
+
+"Such as it is, Sir Gervaise, the first is quite at your service, in all
+things," rejoined the host; "and the last will do all in its power to
+make itself agreeable."
+
+"Ah--here comes Bluewater to echo all I have said and feel. I am telling
+Sir Wycherly and the ladies, of the satisfaction we grampuses experience
+when we get berthed under such a roof as this, with woman's sweet face
+to throw a gleam of happiness around her."
+
+Admiral Bluewater had already saluted the mother, but when his eye fell
+on the face and person of Mildred, it was riveted, for an instant, with
+an earnestness and intentness of surprise and admiration that all noted,
+though no one saw fit to comment on it.
+
+"Sir Gervaise is so established an admirer of the sex," said the
+rear-admiral, recovering himself, after a pause; "that I am never
+astonished at any of his raptures. Salt water has the usual effect on
+him, however; for I have now known him longer than he might wish to be
+reminded of, and yet the only mistress who can keep him true, is his
+ship."
+
+"And to that I believe I may be said to be constant. I don't know how it
+is with you, Sir Wycherly, but every thing I am accustomed to I like.
+Now, here I have sailed with both these gentlemen, until I should as
+soon think of going to sea without a binnacle, as to go to sea without
+'em both--hey! Atwood? Then, as to the ship, my flag has been flying in
+the Plantagenet these ten years, and I can't bear to give the old craft
+up, though Bluewater, here, would have turned her over to an inferior
+after three years' service. I tell all the young men they don't stay
+long enough in any one vessel to find out her good qualities. I never
+was in a slow ship yet."
+
+"For the simple reason that you never get into a fast one, that you do
+not wear her fairly out, before you give her up. The Plantagenet, Sir
+Wycherly, is the fastest two-decker in His Majesty's service, and the
+vice-admiral knows it too well to let any of us get foot in her, while
+her timbers will hang together."
+
+"Let it be so, if you will; it only shows, Sir Wycherly, that I do not
+choose my friends for their bad qualities. But, allow me to ask, young
+lady, if you happen to know a certain Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe--a
+namesake, but no relative, I understand, of our respectable host--and
+one who holds a commission in His Majesty's service?"
+
+"Certainly, Sir Gervaise," answered Mildred, dropping her eyes to the
+floor, and trembling, though she scarce knew why; "Mr. Wychecombe has
+been about here, now, for some months, and we all know something of
+him."
+
+"Then, perhaps you can tell me whether he is generally a loiterer on
+duty. I do not inquire whether he is a laggard in his duty to you, but
+whether, mounted on a good hunter, he could get over twenty miles, in
+eight or ten hours, for instance?"
+
+"I think Sir Wycherly would tell you that he could, sir."
+
+"He may be a Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly, but he is no Plantagenet, in the
+way of sailing. Surely the young gentleman ought to have returned some
+hours since!"
+
+"It's quite surprising to me that he is not back before this," returned
+the kind-hearted baronet. "He is active, and understands himself, and
+there is not a better horseman in the county--is there, Miss Mildred?"
+
+Mildred did not think it necessary to reply to this direct appeal; but
+spite of the manner in which she had been endeavouring to school her
+feelings, since the accident on the cliff, she could not prevent the
+deadly paleness that dread of some accident had produced, or the rush of
+colour to her cheeks that followed from the unexpected question of Sir
+Wycherly. Turning to conceal her confusion, she met the eye of Tom
+Wychecombe riveted on her face, with an expression so sinister, that it
+caused her to tremble. Fortunately, at this moment, Sir Gervaise turned
+away, and drawing near his friend, on the other side of the large
+apartment, he said in an under tone--
+
+"Luckily, Atwood has brought ashore a duplicate of my despatches,
+Bluewater, and if this dilatory gentleman does not return by the time we
+have dined, I will send off a second courier. The intelligence is too
+important to be trifled with; and after having brought the fleet north,
+to be in readiness to serve the state in this emergency, it would be
+rare folly to leave the ministry in ignorance of the reasons why I have
+done it."
+
+"Nevertheless, they would be almost as well-informed, as I am myself,"
+returned the rear-admiral, with a little point, but quite without any
+bitterness of manner. "The only advantage I have over them is that I
+_do_ know where the fleet is, which is more than the First Lord can
+boast of."
+
+"True--I had forgot, my friend--but you must feel that there _is_ a
+subject on which I had better not consult you. I have received some
+important intelligence, that my duty, as a commander-in-chief, renders
+it necessary I should--keep to myself."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed as he concluded, though he seemed vexed and
+embarrassed. Admiral Bluewater betrayed neither chagrin, nor
+disappointment; but strong, nearly ungovernable curiosity, a feeling
+from which he was singularly exempt in general, glowed in his eyes, and
+lighted his whole countenance. Still, habitual submission to his
+superior, and the self-command of discipline, enabled him to wait for
+any thing more that his friend might communicate. At this moment, the
+door opened, and Wycherly entered the room, in the state in which he had
+just dismounted. It was necessary to throw but a single glance at his
+hurried manner, and general appearance, to know that he had something of
+importance to communicate, and Sir Gervaise made a sign for him not to
+speak.
+
+"This is public service, Sir Wycherly," said the vice-admiral, "and I
+hope you will excuse us for a few minutes. I beg this good company will
+be seated at table, as soon as dinner is served, and that you will treat
+us as old friends--as I should treat you, if we were on board the
+Plantagenet. Admiral Bluewater, will you be of our conference?"
+
+Nothing more was said until the two admirals and the young lieutenant
+were in the dressing-room of Sir Gervaise Oakes. Then the latter turned,
+and addressed Wycherly, with the manner of a superior.
+
+"I should have met you with a reproof, for this delay, young gentleman,"
+he commenced, "did I not suspect, from your appearance, that something
+of moment has occurred to produce it. Had the mail passed the
+market-town, before you reached it, sir?"
+
+"It had not, Admiral Oakes; and I have the satisfaction of knowing that
+your despatches are now several hours on their way to London. I reached
+the office just in season to see them mailed."
+
+"Humph! On board the Plantagenet, it is the custom for an officer to
+report any important duty done, as soon as it is in a condition to be
+thus laid before the superior!"
+
+"I presume that is the usage in all His Majesty's ships, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes: but I have been taught that a proper discretion, when it does not
+interfere with positive orders, and sometimes when it does, is a surer
+sign of a useful officer, than even the most slavish attention to
+rules."
+
+"That is a just distinction, young gentleman, though safer in the hands
+of a captain, perhaps, than in those of a lieutenant," returned the
+vice-admiral, glancing at his friend, though he secretly admired the
+youth's spirit. "Discretion is a comparative term; meaning different
+things with different persons. May I presume to ask what Mr. Wycherly
+Wychecombe calls discretion, in the present instance?"
+
+"You have every right, sir, to know, and I only wanted your permission
+to tell my whole story. While waiting to see the London mail start with
+your despatches, and to rest my horse, a post-chaise arrived that was
+carrying a gentleman, who is suspected of being a Jacobite, to his
+country-seat, some thirty miles further west. This gentleman held a
+secret conference with another person of the same way of thinking as
+himself; and there was so much running and sending of messages, that I
+could not avoid suspecting something was in the wind. Going to the
+stable to look after Sir Wycherly's hunter, for I knew how much he
+values the animal, I found one of the stranger's servants in discourse
+with the ostler. The latter told me, when the chaise had gone, that
+great tidings had reached Exeter, before the travellers quitted the
+town. These tidings he described as news that 'Charley was no longer
+over the water.' It was useless, Sir Gervaise, to question one so
+stupid; and, at the inn, though all observed the manner of the traveller
+and his visiter, no one could tell me any thing positive. Under the
+circumstances, therefore, I threw myself into the return chaise, and
+went as far as Fowey, where I met the important intelligence that Prince
+Charles has actually landed, and is at this moment up, in Scotland!"
+
+"The Pretender is then really once more among us!" exclaimed Sir
+Gervaise, like one who had half suspected the truth.
+
+"Not the Pretender, Sir Gervaise, as I understand the news; but his
+young son, Prince Charles Edward, one much more likely to give the
+kingdom trouble. The fact is certain, I believe; and as it struck me
+that it might be important to the commander of so fine a fleet as this
+which lies under Wychecombe Head, to know it, I lost no time in getting
+back with the intelligence."
+
+"You have done well, young gentleman, and have proved that discretion
+_is_ quite as useful and respectable in a lieutenant, as it can possibly
+prove to be in a full admiral of the white. Go, now, and make yourself
+fit to take a seat by the side of one of the sweetest girls in England,
+where I shall expect to see you, in fifteen minutes. Well, Bluewater,"
+he continued, as soon as the door closed on Wycherly; "this _is_ news,
+of a certainty!"
+
+"It is, indeed; and I take it to be the news, or connected with the
+news, that you have sent to the First Lord, in the late despatches. It
+has not taken you altogether by surprise, if the truth were said?"
+
+"It has not, I confess. You know what excellent intelligence we have
+had, the past season, from the Bordeaux agent; he sent me off such
+proofs of this intended expedition, that I thought it advisable to bring
+the fleet north on the strength of it, that the ships might be used as
+the exigency should require."
+
+"Thank God, it is a long way to Scotland, and it is not probable we can
+reach the coast of that country until all is over! I wish we had
+inquired of this young man with what sort of, and how large a naval
+force the prince was accompanied with. Shall I send for him, that we may
+put the question?"
+
+"It is better that you remain passive, Admiral Bluewater. I now promise
+you that you shall learn all I hear; and that, under the circumstances,
+I think ought to content you."
+
+The two admirals now separated, though neither returned to the company
+for some little time. The intelligence they had just learned was too
+important to be lightly received, and each of these veteran seamen paced
+his room, for near a quarter of an hour, reflecting on what might be the
+probable consequences to the country and to himself. Sir Gervaise Oakes
+expected some event of this nature, and was less taken by surprise than
+his friend; still he viewed the crisis as exceedingly serious, and as
+one likely to destroy the prosperity of the nation, as well as the peace
+of families. There was then in England, as there is to-day, and as there
+probably will be throughout all time, two parties; one of which clung to
+the past with its hereditary and exclusive privileges, while the other
+looked more towards change for anticipated advantages, and created
+honours. Religion, in that age, was made the stalking-horse of
+politicians; as is liberty on one side, and order on the other, in our
+own times; and men just as blindly, as vehemently, and as regardlessly
+of principle, submitted to party in the middle of the eighteenth
+century, as we know they do in the middle of the nineteenth. The mode of
+acting was a little changed, and the watchwords and rallying points were
+not exactly the same, it is true; but, in all that relates to ignorant
+confidence, ferocious denunciation, and selfishness but half concealed
+under the cloak of patriotism, the England of the original whigs and
+tories, was the England of conservatism and reform, and the America of
+1776, the America of 1841.
+
+Still thousands always act, in political struggles, with the fairest
+intentions, though they act in bitter opposition to each other. When
+prejudice becomes the stimulant of ignorance, no other result may be
+hoped for; and the experience of the world, in the management of human
+affairs, has left the upright and intelligent, but one conclusion as the
+reward of all the pains and penalties with which political revolutions
+have been effected--the conviction that no institutions can be invented,
+which a short working does not show will be perverted from their
+original intention, by the ingenuity of those entrusted with power. In a
+word, the physical constitution of man does not more infallibly tend to
+decrepitude and imbecility, imperiously requiring a new being, and a new
+existence, to fulfil the objects of his creation, than the moral
+constitutions which are the fruits of his wisdom, contain the seeds of
+abuses and decay, that human selfishness will be as certain to
+cultivate, as human indulgence is to aid the course of nature, in
+hastening the approaches of death. Thus, while on the one hand, there
+exists the constant incentive of abuses and hopes to induce us to wish
+for modifications of the social structure, on the other there stands the
+experience of ages to demonstrate their insufficiency to produce the
+happiness we aim at. If the world advances in civilization and humanity,
+it is because knowledge will produce its fruits in every soil, and under
+every condition of cultivation and improvement.
+
+Both Sir Gervaise Oakes and Admiral Bluewater believed themselves to be
+purely governed by principles, in submitting to the bias that each felt
+towards the conflicting claims of the houses of Brunswick and Stuart.
+Perhaps no two men in England were in fact less influenced by motives
+that they ought to feel ashamed to own; and yet, as has been seen, while
+they thought so much alike on most other things, on this they were
+diametrically opposed to each other. During the many years of arduous
+and delicate duties that they had served together, jealousy, distrust,
+and discontent had been equally strangers to their bosoms; for each had
+ever felt the assurance that his own honour, happiness, and interests
+were as much ruling motives with his friend, as they could well be with
+himself Their lives had been constant scenes of mutual but unpretending
+kindnesses; and this under circumstances that naturally awakened all the
+most generous and manly sentiments of their natures. When young men,
+their laughing messmates had nick-named them Pylades and Orestes; and
+later in life, on account of their cruising so much in company, they
+were generally known in the navy as the "twin captains." On several
+occasions had they fought enemies' frigates, and captured them; on these
+occasions, as a matter of course, the senior of the two became most
+known to the nation; but Sir Gervaise had made the most generous efforts
+to give his junior a full share of the credit, while Captain Bluewater
+never spoke of the affairs without mentioning them as victories of the
+commodore. In a word, on all occasions, and under all circumstances, it
+appeared to be the aim of these generous-minded and gallant seamen, to
+serve each other; nor was this attempted with any effort, or striving
+for effect; all that was said, or done, coming naturally and
+spontaneously from the heart. But, for the first time in their lives,
+events had now occurred which threatened a jarring of the feelings
+between them, if they did not lead to acts which must inevitably place
+them in open and declared hostility to each other. No wonder, then, that
+both looked at the future with gloomy forebodings, and a distrust,
+which, if it did not render them unhappy, at least produced uneasiness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+    "The circle form'd, we sit in silent state,
+    Like figures drawn upon a dial-plate;
+    Yes ma'am, and no ma'am, uttered softly show,
+    Every five minutes how the minutes go."
+
+         COWPER.
+
+
+It is scarcely necessary to tell the reader that England, as regarded
+material civilization, was a very different country a hundred years
+since, from what it is to-day. We are writing of an age of heavy wagons,
+coaches and six, post-chaises and four; and not of an era of
+MacAdam-roads, or of cars flying along by steam. A man may now post down
+to a country-house, some sixty or eighty miles, to dinner; and this,
+too, by the aid of only a pair of horses; but, in 1745 such an
+engagement would have required at least a start on the previous day;
+and, in many parts of the island, it would have been safer to have taken
+two days' grace. Scotland was then farther from Devonshire, in effect,
+than Geneva is now; and news travelled slowly, and with the usual
+exaggerations and uncertainties of delay. It was no wonder, then, that a
+Jacobite who was posting off to his country-house--the focus of an
+English landlord's influence and authority--filled with intelligence
+that had reached him through the activity of zealous political
+partisans, preceded the more regular tidings of the mail, by several
+hours. The little that had escaped this individual, or his servants
+rather, for the gentleman was tolerably discreet himself, confiding in
+only one or two particular friends at each relay, had not got out to the
+world, either very fully, or very clearly. Wycherly had used
+intelligence in making his inquiries, and he had observed an officer's
+prudence in keeping his news for the ears of his superior alone. When
+Sir Gervaise joined the party in the drawing-room, therefore, he saw
+that Sir Wycherly knew nothing of what had occurred at the north; and he
+intended the glance which he directed at the lieutenant to convey a
+hearty approval of his discretion. This forbearance did more to raise
+the young officer in the opinion of the practised and thoughtful
+admiral, than the gallantry with which the youth had so recently
+purchased his commission; for while many were brave, few had the
+self-command, and prudence, under circumstances like the present, that
+alone can make a man safe in the management of important public
+interests. The approbation that Sir Gervaise felt, and which he desired
+to manifest, for Wycherly's prudence, was altogether a principle,
+however; since there existed no sufficient reason for keeping the secret
+from as confirmed a whig as his host. On the contrary, the sooner those
+opinions, which both of them would be apt to term sound, were
+promulgated in the neighbourhood, the better it might prove for the good
+cause. The vice-admiral, therefore, determined to communicate himself,
+as soon as the party was seated at table, the very secret which he so
+much commended the youth for keeping. Admiral Bluewater joining the
+company, at this instant, Sir Wycherly led Mrs. Dutton to the table. No
+alteration had taken place among the guests, except that Sir Gervaise
+wore the red riband; a change in his dress that his friend considered to
+be openly hoisting the standard of the house of Hanover.
+
+"One would not think, Sir Wycherly," commenced the vice-admiral,
+glancing his eyes around him, as soon as all were sealed; "that this
+good company has taken its place at your hospitable table, in the midst
+of a threatened civil war, if not of an actual revolution."
+
+Every hand was arrested, and every eye turned towards the speaker; even
+Admiral Bluewater earnestly regarding his friend, anxious to know what
+would come next.
+
+"I believe my household is in due subjection," answered Sir Wycherly,
+gazing to the right and left, as if he expected to see his butler
+heading a revolt; "and I fancy the only change we shall see to-day, will
+be the removal of the courses, and the appearance of their successors."
+
+"Ay, so says the hearty, comfortable Devonshire baronet, while seated at
+his own board, favoured by abundance and warm friends. But it would seem
+the snake was only scotched; not killed."
+
+"Sir Gervaise Oaken has grown figurative; with his _snakes_ and
+_scotch_ings," observed the rear-admiral, a little drily.
+
+"It is _Scotch_-ing, as you say with so much emphasis, Bluewater. I
+suppose, Sir Wycherly--I suppose, Mr. Dutton, and you, my pretty young
+lady--I presume all of you have heard of such a person as the
+Pretender;--some of you may possibly have _seen_ him."
+
+Sir Wycherly now dropt his knife and fork, and sat gazing at the speaker
+in amazement. To him the Christian religion, the liberties of the
+subject--more especially of the baronet and lord of the manor, who had
+four thousand a year--and the Protestant succession, all seemed to be in
+sudden danger.
+
+"I always told my brother, the judge--Mr. Baron Wychecombe, who is dead
+and gone--that what between the French, that rogue the Pope, and the
+spurious offspring of King James II., we should yet see troublesome
+times in England! And now, sir, my predictions are verified!"
+
+"Not as to England, yet, my good sir. Of Scotland I have not quite so
+good news to tell you; as your namesake, here, brings us the tidings
+that the son of the Pretender has landed in that kingdom, and is
+rallying the clans. He has come unattended by any Frenchmen, it would
+seem, and has thrown himself altogether on the misguided nobles and
+followers of his house."
+
+"'Tis, at least, a chivalrous and princely act!" exclaimed Admiral
+Bluewater.
+
+"Yes--inasmuch as it is a heedless and mad one. England is not to be
+conquered by a rabble of half-dressed Scotchmen."
+
+"True; but England may be conquered by England, notwithstanding."
+
+Sir Gervaise now chose to remain silent, for never before had Bluewater
+come so near betraying his political bias, in the presence of third
+persons. This pause enabled Sir Wycherly to find his voice.
+
+"Let me see, Tom," said the baronet, "fifteen and ten are twenty-five,
+and ten are thirty, and ten are forty-five--it is just thirty years
+since the Jacobites were up before! It would seem that half a human life
+is not sufficient to fill the cravings of a Scotchman's maw, for English
+gold."
+
+"Twice thirty years would hardly quell the promptings of a noble spirit,
+when his notions of justice showed him the way to the English throne,"
+observed Bluewater, coolly. "For my part, I like the spirit of this
+young prince, for he who nobly dares, nobly deserves. What say you, my
+beautiful neighbour?"
+
+"If you mean to address me, sir, by that compliment," answered Mildred,
+modestly, but with the emphasis that the gentlest of her sex are apt to
+use when they feel strongly; "I must be suffered to say that I hope
+every Englishman will dare as nobly, and deserve as well in defence of
+his liberties."
+
+"Come--come, Bluewater," interrupted Sir Gervaise, with a gravity that
+almost amounted to reproof; "I cannot permit such innuendoes before one
+so young and unpractised. The young lady might really suppose that His
+Majesty's fleet was entrusted to men unworthy to enjoy his confidence,
+by the cool way in which you carry on the joke. I propose, now, Sir
+Wycherly, that we eat our dinner in peace, and say no more about this
+mad expedition, until the cloth is drawn, at least. It's a long road to
+Scotland, and there is little danger that this adventurer will find his
+way into Devonshire before the nuts are placed before us."
+
+"It would be nuts to us, if he did, Sir Gervaise," put in Tom Wycherly,
+laughing heartily at his own wit. "My uncle would enjoy nothing more
+than to see the spurious sovereign on his own estate, here, and in the
+hands of his own tenants. I think, sir, that Wychecombe and one or two
+of the adjoining manors, would dispose of him."
+
+"That might depend on circumstances," the admiral answered, a little
+drily. "These Scots have such a thing as a claymore, and are desperate
+fellows, they tell me, at a charge. The very fact of arming a soldier
+with a short sword, shows a most bloody-minded disposition."
+
+"You forget, Sir Gervaise, that we have our Cornish hug, here in the
+west of England; and I will put our fellows against any Scotch regiment
+that ever charged an enemy."
+
+Tom laughed again at his own allusion to a proverbial mode of grappling,
+familiar to the adjoining county.
+
+"This is all very well, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, so long as Devonshire is
+in the west of England, and Scotland lies north of the Tweed. Sir
+Wycherly might as well leave the matter in the hands of the Duke and his
+regulars, if it were only in the way of letting every man follow his own
+trade."
+
+"It strikes me as so singularly insolent in a base-born boy like this,
+pretending to the English crown, that I can barely speak of him with
+patience! We all know that his father was a changeling, and the son of a
+changeling can have no more right than the father himself. I do not
+remember what the law terms such pretenders; but I dare say it is
+something sufficiently odious."
+
+"_Filius nullius_, Thomas," said Sir Wycherly, with a little eagerness
+to show his learning. "That's the very phrase. I have it from the first
+authority; my late brother, Baron Wychecombe, giving it to me with his
+own mouth, on an occasion that called for an understanding of such
+matters. The judge was a most accurate lawyer, particularly in all that
+related to names; and I'll engage, if he were living at this moment, he
+would tell you the legal appellation of a changeling ought to be _filius
+nullius_."
+
+In spite of his native impudence, and an innate determination to make
+his way in the world, without much regard to truth, Tom Wychecombe felt
+his cheek burn so much, at this innocent allusion of his reputed uncle,
+that he was actually obliged to turn away his face, in order to conceal
+his confusion. Had any moral delinquency of his own been implicated in
+the remark, he might have found means to steel himself against its
+consequences; but, as is only too often the case, he was far more
+ashamed of a misfortune over which he had no possible control, than he
+would have been of a crime for which he was strictly responsible in
+morals. Sir Gervaise smiled at Sir Wycherly's knowledge of law terms,
+not to say of Latin; and turning good-humouredly to his friend the
+rear-admiral, anxious to re-establish friendly relations with him, he
+said with well-concealed irony--
+
+"Sir Wycherly must be right, Bluewater. A changeling is _nobody_--that
+is to say, he is not the _body_ he pretends to be, which is
+substantially being nobody--and the son of nobody, is clearly a _filius
+nullius_. And now having settled what may be called the law of the case,
+I demand a truce, until we get our nuts--for as to Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe's having _his_ nut to crack, at least to-day, I take it there
+are too many loyal subjects in the north."
+
+When men know each other as well as was the case with our two admirals,
+there are a thousand secret means of annoyance, as well as of
+establishing amity. Admiral Bluewater was well aware that Sir Gervaise
+was greatly superior to the vulgar whig notion of the day, which
+believed in the fabricated tale of the Pretender's spurious birth; and
+the secret and ironical allusion he had made to his impression on that
+subject, acted as oil to his own chafed spirit, disposing him to
+moderation. This had been the intention of the other; and the smiles
+they exchanged, sufficiently proved that their usual mental intercourse
+was temporarily restored at least.
+
+Deference to his guests made Sir Wycherly consent to change the subject,
+though he was a little mystified with the obvious reluctance of the two
+admirals to speak of an enterprise that ought to be uppermost, according
+to his notion of the matter, in every Englishman's mind. Tom had
+received a rebuke that kept him silent during the rest of the dinner;
+while the others were content to eat and drink, as if nothing had
+happened.
+
+It is seldom that a party takes its seat at table without some secret
+man[oe]uvring, as to the neighbourhood, when the claims of rank and
+character do not interfere with personal wishes. Sir Wycherly had placed
+Sir Gervaise on his right and Mrs. Dutton on his left. But Admiral
+Bluewater had escaped from his control, and taken his seat next to
+Mildred, who had been placed by Tom Wychecombe close to himself, at the
+foot of the table. Wycherly occupied the seat opposite, and this
+compelled Dutton, and Mr. Rotherham, the vicar, to fill the other two
+chairs. The good baronet had made a wry face, at seeing a rear-admiral
+so unworthily bestowed; but Sir Gervaise assuring him that his friend
+was never so happy as when in the service of beauty, he was fain to
+submit to the arrangement.
+
+That Admiral Bluewater was struck with Mildred's beauty, and pleased
+with her natural and feminine manner, one altogether superior to what
+might have been expected from her station in life, was very apparent to
+all at table; though it was quite impossible to mistake his parental and
+frank air for any other admiration than that which was suitable to the
+difference in years, and in unison with their respective conditions and
+experience. Mrs. Dutton, so far from taking the alarm at the
+rear-admiral's attentions, felt gratification in observing them; and
+perhaps she experienced a secret pride in the consciousness of their
+being so well merited. It has been said, already, that she was, herself,
+the daughter of a land-steward of a nobleman, in an adjoining county;
+but it may be well to add, here, that she had been so great a favourite
+with the daughters of her father's employer, as to have been admitted,
+in a measure, to their society; and to have enjoyed some of the
+advantages of their education. Lady Wilmeter, the mother of the young
+ladies, to whom she was admitted as a sort of humble companion, had
+formed the opinion it might be an advantage to the girl to educate her
+for a governess; little conceiving, in her own situation, that she was
+preparing a course of life for Martha Ray, for such was Mrs. Dutton's
+maiden name, that was perhaps the least enviable of all the careers that
+a virtuous and intelligent female can run. This was, as education and
+governesses were appreciated a century ago; the world, with all its
+faults and sophisms, having unquestionably made a vast stride towards
+real civilization, and moral truths, in a thousand important interests,
+since that time. Nevertheless, the education was received, together with
+a good many tastes, and sentiments, and opinions, which it may well be
+questioned, whether they contributed most to the happiness or
+unhappiness of the pupil, in her future life. Frank Dutton, then a
+handsome, though far from polished young sea-lieutenant, interfered with
+the arrangement, by making Martha Ray his wife, when she was
+two-and-twenty. This match was suitable, in all respects, with the
+important exception of the educations and characters of the parties.
+Still, as a woman may well be more refined, and in some things, even
+more intelligent than her husband; and as sailors, in the commencement
+of the eighteenth century, formed a class of society much more distinct
+than they do to-day, there would have been nothing absolutely
+incompatible with the future well-being of the young couple, had each
+pursued his, or her own career, in a manner suitable to their respective
+duties. Young Dutton took away his bride, with the two thousand pounds
+she had received from her father, and for a long time he was seen no
+more in his native county. After an absence of some twenty years,
+however, he returned, broken in constitution, and degraded in rank. Mrs.
+Dutton brought with her one child, the beautiful girl introduced to the
+reader, and to whom she was studiously imparting all she had herself
+acquired in the adventitious manner mentioned. Such were the means, by
+which Mildred, like her mother, had been educated above her condition in
+life; and it had been remarked that, though Mrs. Dutton had probably no
+cause to felicitate herself on the possession of manners and sentiments
+that met with so little sympathy, or appreciation, in her actual
+situation, she assiduously cultivated the same manners and opinions in
+her daughter; frequently manifesting a sort of sickly fastidiousness on
+the subject of Mildred's deportment and tastes. It is probable the girl
+owed her improvement in both, however, more to the circumstance of her
+being left so much alone with her mother, than to any positive lessons
+she received; the influence of example, for years, producing its usual
+effects.
+
+No one in Wychecombe positively knew the history of Dutton's
+professional degradation. He had never risen higher than to be a
+lieutenant; and from this station he had fallen by the sentence of a
+court-martial. His restoration to the service, in the humbler and almost
+hopeless rank of a master, was believed to have been brought about by
+Mrs. Dutton's influence with the present Lord Wilmeter, who was the
+brother of her youthful companions. That the husband had wasted his
+means, was as certain as that his habits, on the score of temperance at
+least, were bad, and that his wife, if not positively broken-hearted,
+was an unhappy woman; one to be pitied, and admired. Sir Wycherly was
+little addicted to analysis, but he could not fail to discover the
+superiority of the wife and daughter, over the husband and father; and
+it is due to his young namesake to add, that his obvious admiration of
+Mildred was quite as much owing to her mind, deportment, character, and
+tastes, as to her exceeding personal charms.
+
+This little digression may perhaps, in the reader's eyes, excuse the
+interest Admiral Bluewater took in our heroine. With the indulgence of
+years and station, and the tact of a man of the world, he succeeded in
+drawing Mildred out, without alarming her timidity; and he was surprised
+at discovering the delicacy of her sentiments, and the accuracy of her
+knowledge. He was too conversant with society, and had too much good
+taste, to make any deliberate parade of opinions; but in the quiet
+manner that is so easy to those who are accustomed to deal with truths
+and tastes as familiar things, he succeeded in inducing her to answer
+his own remarks, to sympathize with his feelings, to laugh when he
+laughed, and to assume a look of disapproval, when he felt that
+disapprobation was just. To all this Wycherly was a delighted witness,
+and in some respects he participated in the conversation; for there was
+evidently no wish on the part of the rear-admiral to monopolize his
+beautiful companion to himself. Perhaps the position of the young man,
+directly opposite to her, aided in inducing Mildred to bestow so many
+grateful looks and sweet smiles, on the older officer; for she could not
+glance across the table, without meeting the admiring gaze of Wycherly,
+fastened on her own blushing face.
+
+It is certain, if our heroine did not, during this repast, make a
+conquest of Admiral Bluewater, in the ordinary meaning of the term, that
+she made him a friend. Sir Gervaise, even, was struck with the singular
+and devoted manner in which his old messmate gave all his attention to
+the beautiful girl at his side; and, once or twice, he caught himself
+conjecturing whether it were possible, that one as practised, as
+sensible, and as much accustomed to the beauties of the court, as
+Bluewater, had actually been caught, by the pretty face of a country
+girl, when so well turned of fifty, himself! Then discarding the notion
+as preposterous, he gave his attention to the discourse of Sir Wycherly;
+a dissertation on rabbits, and rabbit-warrens. In this manner the dinner
+passed away.
+
+Mrs. Dutton asked her host's permission to retire, with her daughter, at
+the earliest moment permitted by propriety. In quitting the room she
+cast an anxious glance at the face of her husband, which was already
+becoming flushed with his frequent applications of port; and spite of an
+effort to look smiling and cheerful, her lips quivered, and by the time
+she and Mildred reached the drawing-room, tears were fast falling down
+her cheeks. No explanation was asked, or needed, by the daughter, who
+threw herself into her mother's arms, and for several minutes they wept
+together, in silence. Never had Mrs. Dutton spoken, even to Mildred, of
+the besetting and degrading vice of her husband; but it had been
+impossible to conceal its painful consequences from the world; much less
+from one who lived in the bosom of her family. On that failing which the
+wife treated so tenderly, the daughter of course could not touch; but
+the silent communion of tears had got to be so sweet to both, that,
+within the last year, it was of very frequent occurrence.
+
+"Really, Mildred," said the mother, at length, after having succeeded in
+suppressing her emotion, and in drying her eyes, while she smiled fondly
+in the face of the lovely and affectionate girl; "this Admiral Bluewater
+is getting to be so particular, I hardly know how to treat the matter."
+
+"Oh! mother, he is a delightful old gentleman! and he is so gentle,
+while he is so frank, that he wins your confidence almost before you
+know it. I wonder if he could have been serious in what he said about
+the noble daring and noble deserving of Prince Edward!"
+
+"That must pass for trifling, of course; the ministry would scarcely
+employ any but a true whig, in command of a fleet. I saw several of his
+family, when a girl, and have always heard them spoken of with esteem
+and respect. Lord Bluewater, this gentleman's cousin, was very intimate
+with the present Lord Wilmeter, and was often at the castle. I remember
+to have heard that he had a disappointment in love, when quite a young
+man, and that he has ever since been considered a confirmed bachelor. So
+you will take heed, my love."
+
+"The warning was unnecessary, dear mother," returned Mildred, laughing;
+"I could dote on the admiral as a father, but must be excused from
+considering him young enough for a nearer tie."
+
+"And yet he has the much admired profession, Mildred," said the mother,
+smiling fondly, and yet a little archly. "I have often heard you speak
+of your passion for the sea."
+
+"That was formerly, mother, when I spoke as a sailor's daughter, and as
+girls are apt to speak, without much reflection. I do not know that I
+think better of a seaman's profession, now, than I do of any other. I
+fear there is often much misery in store for soldiers' and sailors'
+wives."
+
+Mrs. Dutton's lip quivered again; but hearing a foot at the door, she
+made an effort to be composed, just as Admiral Bluewater entered.
+
+"I have run away from the bottle, Mrs. Dutton, to join you and your fair
+daughter, as I would run from an enemy of twice my force," he said,
+giving each lady a hand, in a manner so friendly, as to render the act
+more than gracious; for it was kind. "Oakes is bowsing out his jib with
+his brother baronet, as we sailors say, and I have hauled out of the
+line, without a signal."
+
+"I hope Sir Gervaise Oakes does not consider it necessary to drink more
+wine than is good for the mind and body," observed Mrs. Dutton, with a
+haste that she immediately regretted.
+
+"Not he. Gervaise Oakes is as discreet a man, in all that relates to the
+table, as an anchorite; and yet he has a faculty of _seeming_ to drink,
+that makes him a boon companion for a four-bottle man. How the deuce he
+does it, is more than I can tell you; but he does it so well, that he
+does not more thoroughly get the better of the king's enemies, on the
+high seas, than he floors his friends under the table. Sir Wycherly has
+begun his libations in honour of the house of Hanover, and they will be
+likely to make a long sitting."
+
+Mrs. Dutton sighed, and walked away to a window, to conceal the paleness
+of her cheeks. Admiral Bluewater, though perfectly abstemious himself,
+regarded license with the bottle after dinner, like most men of that
+age, as a very venial weakness, and he quietly took a seat by the side
+of Mildred, and began to converse.
+
+"I hope, young lady, as a sailor's child, you feel an hereditary
+indulgence for a seaman's gossip," he said. "We, who are so much shut up
+in our ships, have a poverty of ideas on most subjects; and as to always
+talking of the winds and waves, that would fatigue even a poet."
+
+"As a sailor's daughter, I honour my father's calling, sir; and as an
+English girl, I venerate the brave defenders of the island. Nor do I
+know that seamen have less to say, than other men."
+
+"I am glad to hear you confess this, for--shall I be frank with you, and
+take a liberty that would better become a friend of a dozen years, than
+an acquaintance of a day;--and, yet, I know not why it is so, my dear
+child, but I feel as if I had long known you, though I am certain we
+never met before."
+
+"Perhaps, sir, it is an omen that we are long to know each other, in
+future," said Mildred, with the winning confidence of unsuspecting and
+innocent girlhood. "I hope you will use no reserve."
+
+"Well, then, at the risk of making a sad blunder, I will just say, that
+'my nephew Tom' is any thing but a prepossessing youth; and that I hope
+all eyes regard him exactly as he appears to a sailor of fifty-five."
+
+"I cannot answer for more than those of a girl of nineteen, Admiral
+Bluewater," said Mildred, laughing; "but, for her, I think I may say
+that she does not look on him as either an Adonis, or a Crichton."
+
+"Upon my soul! I am right glad to hear this, for the fellow has
+accidental advantages enough to render him formidable. He is the heir to
+the baronetcy, and this estate, I believe?"
+
+"I presume he is. Sir Wycherly has no other nephew--or at least this is
+the eldest of three brothers, I am told--and, being childless himself,
+it _must_ be so. My father tells me Sir Wycherly speaks of Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe as his future heir."
+
+"Your father!--Ay, fathers look on these matters with eyes very
+different from their daughters!"
+
+"There is one thing about seamen that renders them at least safe
+acquaintances," said Mildred, smiling; "I mean their frankness."
+
+"That is a failing of mine, as I have heard. But you will pardon an
+indiscretion that arises in the interest I feel in yourself. The eldest
+of three brothers--is the lieutenant, then, a younger son?"
+
+"_He_ does not belong to the family at all, I believe," Mildred
+answered, colouring slightly, in spite of a resolute determination to
+appear unconcerned. "Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe is no relative of our host,
+I hear; though he bears both of his names. He is from the colonies; born
+in Virginia."
+
+"_He_ is a noble, and a noble-looking fellow! Were I the baronet, I
+would break the entail, rather than the acres should go to that
+sinister-looking nephew, and bestow them on the namesake. From Virginia,
+and not even a relative, at all?"
+
+"That is what Mr. Thomas Wychecombe says; and even Sir Wycherly confirms
+it. I have never heard Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe speak on the subject,
+himself."
+
+"A weakness of poor human nature! The lad finds an honourable, ancient,
+and affluent family here, and has not the courage to declare his want of
+affinity to it; happening to bear the same name."
+
+Mildred hesitated about replying; but a generous feeling got the better
+of her diffidence. "I have never seen any thing in the conduct of Mr.
+Wycherly Wychecombe to induce me to think that he feels any such
+weakness," she said, earnestly. "He seems rather to take pride in, than
+to feel ashamed of, his being a colonial; and you know, we, in England,
+hardly look on the people of the colonies as our equals."
+
+"And have you, young lady, any of that overweening prejudice in favour
+of your own island?"
+
+"I hope not; but I think most persons have. Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe
+admits that Virginia is inferior to England, in a thousand things; and
+yet he seems to take pride in his birth-place."
+
+"Every sentiment of this nature is to be traced to self. We know that
+the fact is irretrievable, and struggle to be proud of what we cannot
+help. The Turk will tell you he has the honour to be a native of
+Stamboul; the Parisian will boast of his Faubourg; and the cockney
+exults in Wapping. Personal conceit lies at the bottom of all; for we
+fancy that places to which _we_ belong, are not places to be ashamed
+of."
+
+"And yet I do not think Mr. Wycherly at all remarkable for conceit. On
+the contrary, he is rather diffident and unassuming."
+
+This was said simply, but so sincerely, as to induce the listener to
+fasten his penetrating blue eye on the speaker, who now first took the
+alarm, and felt that she might have said too much. At this moment the
+two young men entered, and a servant appeared to request that Admiral
+Bluewater would do Sir Gervaise Oakes the favour to join him, in the
+dressing-room of the latter.
+
+Tom Wychecombe reported the condition of the dinner-table to be such, as
+to render it desirable for all but three and four-bottle men to retire.
+Hanoverian toasts and sentiments were in the ascendant, and there was
+every appearance that those who remained intended to make a night of it.
+This was sad intelligence for Mrs. Dutton, who had come forward eagerly
+to hear the report, but who now returned to the window, apparently
+irresolute as to the course she ought to take. As both the young men
+remained near Mildred, she had sufficient opportunity to come to her
+decision, without interruption, or hindrance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+              ----"Somewhat we will do.
+    And, look, when I am king, claim thou of me
+    The earldom of Hereford, and all the moveables
+    Whereof the king my brother was possessed."
+
+         RICHARD III.
+
+
+Rear-Admiral Bluewater found Sir Gervaise Oakes pacing a large
+dressing-room, quarter-deck fashion, with as much zeal, as if just
+released from a long sitting, on official duty, in his own cabin. As the
+two officers were perfectly familiar with each other's personal habits,
+neither deviated from his particular mode of indulging his ease; but the
+last comer quietly took his seat in a large chair, disposing of his
+person in a way to show he intended to consult his comfort, let what
+would happen.
+
+"Bluewater," commenced Sir Gervaise, "this is a very foolish affair of
+the Pretender's son, and can only lead to his destruction. I look upon
+it as altogether unfortunate."
+
+"That, as it may terminate. No man can tell what a day, or an hour, may
+bring forth. I am sure, such a rising was one of the last things _I_
+have been anticipating, down yonder, in the Bay of Biscay."
+
+"I wish, with all my heart, we had never left it," muttered Sir
+Gervaise, so low that his companion did not hear him. Then he added, in
+a louder tone, "_Our_ duty, however, is very simple. We have only to
+obey orders; and it seems that the young man has no naval force to
+sustain him. We shall probably be sent to watch Brest, or l'Orient, or
+some other port. Monsieur must be kept in, let what will happen."
+
+"I rather think it would be better to let him out, our chances on the
+high seas being at least as good as his own. I am no friend to
+blockades, which strike me as an un-English mode of carrying on a war."
+
+"You are right enough, Dick, in the main," returned Sir Gervaise,
+laughing.
+
+"Ay, and _on_ the main, Oakes. I sincerely hope the First Lord will not
+send a man like you, who are every way so capable of giving an account
+of your enemy with plenty of sea-room, on duly so scurvy as a blockade."
+
+"A man like _me_! Why a man like _me_ in particular? I trust I am to
+have the pleasure of Admiral Bluewater's company, advice and
+assistance?"
+
+"An inferior never can know, Sir Gervaise, where it may suit the
+pleasure of his superiors to order him."
+
+"That distinction of superior and inferior, Bluewater, will one day lead
+you into a confounded scrape, I fear. If you consider Charles Stuart
+your sovereign, it is not probable that orders issued by a servant of
+King George will be much respected. I hope you will do nothing hastily,
+or without consulting your oldest and truest friend!"
+
+"You know my sentiments, and there is little use in dwelling on them,
+now. So long as the quarrel was between my own country and a foreign
+land, I have been content to serve; but when my lawful prince, or his
+son and heir, comes in this gallant and chivalrous manner, throwing
+himself, as it might be, into the very arms of his subjects, confiding
+all to their loyalty and spirit; it makes such an appeal to every nobler
+feeling, that the heart finds it difficult to repulse. I could have
+joined Norris, with right good will, in dispersing and destroying the
+armament that Louis XV. was sending against us, in this very cause; but
+here every thing is English, and Englishmen have the quarrel entirely to
+themselves. I do not see how, as a loyal subject of my hereditary
+prince, I can well refrain from joining his standard."
+
+"And would _you_, Dick Bluewater, who, to my certain knowledge, were
+sent on board ship at twelve years of age, and who, for more than forty
+years, have been a man-of-war's-man, body and soul; would you now strip
+your old hulk of the sea-blue that has so long covered and become it,
+rig yourself out like a soldier, with a feather in your hat,--ay,
+d----e, and a camp-kettle on your arm, and follow a drummer, like one of
+your kinsmen, Lord Bluewater's fellows of the guards?--for of sailors,
+your lawful prince, as you call him, hasn't enough to stopper his
+conscience, or to whip the tail of his coat, to keep it from being torn
+to tatters by the heather of Scotland. If you _do_ follow the
+adventurer, it must be in some such character, since I question if he
+can muster a seaman, to tell him the bearings of London from Perth."
+
+"When I join him, he will be better off."
+
+"And what could even _you_ do alone, among a parcel of Scotchmen,
+running about their hills under bare poles? Your signals will not
+man[oe]uvre regiments, and as for man[oe]uvring in any other manner, you
+know nothing. No--no; stay where you are, and help an old friend with
+knowledge that is useful to him.--I should be afraid to do a dashing
+thing, unless I felt the certainty of having you in my van, to strike
+the first blow; or in my rear, to bring me off, handsomely.
+
+"You would be afraid of nothing, Gervaise Oakes, whether I stood at your
+elbow, or were off in Scotland. Fear is not your failing, though
+temerity may be."
+
+"Then I want your presence to keep me within the bounds of reason," said
+Sir Gervaise, stopping short in his walk, and looking his friend
+smilingly in the face. "In some mode, or other, I always need your aid."
+
+"I understand the meaning of your words, Sir Gervaise, and appreciate
+the feeling that dictates them. You must have a perfect conviction that
+I will do nothing hastily, and that I will betray no trust. When I turn
+my back on King George, it will be loyalty, in one sense, whatever he
+may think of it in another; and when I join Prince Charles Edward, it
+will be with a conscience that he need not be ashamed to probe. What
+names he bears! They are the designations of ancient English sovereigns,
+and ought of themselves, to awaken the sensibilities of Englishmen."
+
+"Ay, Charles in particular," returned the vice-admiral, with something
+like a sneer. "There's the second Charles, for instance--St. Charles, as
+our good host, Sir Wycherly, might call him--he is a pattern prince for
+Englishmen to admire. Then his father was of the school of the
+Star-Chamber martyrs!"
+
+"Both were lineal descendants of the Conqueror, and of the Saxon
+princes; and both united the double titles to the throne, in their
+sacred persons. I have always considered Charles II. as the victim of
+the rebellious conduct of his subjects, rather than vicious. He was
+driven abroad into a most corrupt state of society, and was perverted by
+our wickedness. As to the father, he was the real St. Charles, and a
+martyred saint he was; dying for true religion, as well as for his legal
+rights. Then the Edwards--glorious fellows!--remember that they were all
+but one Plantagenets; a name, of itself, to rouse an Englishman's fire!"
+
+"And yet the only difference between the right of these very
+Plantagenets to the throne, and that of the reigning prince, is, that
+one produced a revolution by the strong hand, and the other was produced
+by a revolution that came from the nation. I do not know that your
+Plantagenets ever did any thing for a navy; the only real source of
+England's power and glory. D----e, Dick, if I think so much of your
+Plantagenets, after all!"
+
+"And yet the name of Oakes is to be met with among their bravest
+knights, and most faithful followers."
+
+"The Oakes, like the pines, have been timbers in every ship that has
+floated," returned the vice-admiral, half-unconscious himself, of the
+pun he was making.
+
+For more than a minute Sir Gervaise continued his walk, his head a
+little inclined forward, like a man who pondered deeply on some matter
+of interest. Then, suddenly stopping, he turned towards his friend, whom
+he regarded for near another minute, ere he resumed the discourse.
+
+"I wish I could fairly get you to exercise your excellent reason on this
+matter, Dick," he said, after the pause; "then I should be certain of
+having secured you on the side of liberty."
+
+Admiral Bluewater merely shook his head, but he continued silent, as if
+he deemed discussion altogether supererogatory. During this pause, a
+gentle tap at the door announced a visiter; and, at the request to
+enter, Atwood made his appearance. He held in his hand a large package,
+which bore on the envelope the usual stamp that indicated it was sent on
+public service.
+
+"I beg pardon, Sir Gervaise," commenced the secretary, who always
+proceeded at once to business, when business was to be done; "but His
+Majesty's service will not admit of delay. This packet has just come to
+hand, by the arrival of an express, which left the admiralty only
+yesterday noon."
+
+"And how the devil did he know where to find me!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, holding out a hand to receive the communication.
+
+"It is all owing to this young lieutenant's forethought in following up
+the Jacobite intelligence to a market-town. The courier was bound to
+Falmouth, as fast as post-horses could carry him, when he heard,
+luckily, that the fleet lay at anchor, under Wychecombe Head; and, quite
+as luckily, he is an officer who had the intelligence to know that you
+would sooner get the despatches, if he turned aside, and came hither by
+land, than if he went on to Falmouth, got aboard the sloop that was to
+sail with him, for the Bay of Biscay, and came round here by water."
+
+Sir Gervaise smiled at this sally, which was one in keeping with all
+Atwood's feelings; for the secretary had matured a system of expresses,
+which, to his great mortification, his patron laughed at, and the
+admiralty entirely overlooked. No time was lost, however, in the way of
+business; the secretary having placed the candles on a table, where Sir
+Gervaise took a chair, and had already broken a seal. The process of
+reading, nevertheless, was suddenly interrupted by the vice-admiral's
+looking up, and exclaiming--
+
+"Why, you are not about to leave us, Bluewater?"
+
+"You may have private business with Mr. Atwood, Sir Gervaise, and
+perhaps I had better retire."
+
+Now, it so happened that while Sir Gervaise Oakes had never, by look or
+syllable, as he confidently believed, betrayed the secret of his
+friend's Jacobite propensities, Atwood was perfectly aware of their
+existence. Nor had the latter obtained his knowledge by any unworthy
+means. He had been neither an eavesdropper, nor an inquirer into private
+communications, as so often happens around the persons of men in high
+trusts; all his knowledge having been obtained through native sagacity
+and unavoidable opportunities. On the present occasion, the secretary,
+with the tact of a man of experience, felt that his presence might be
+dispensed with; and he cut short the discussion between the two
+admirals, by a very timely remark of his own.
+
+"I have left the letters uncopied, Sir Gervaise," he said, "and will go
+and finish them. A message by Locker"--this was Sir Gervaise's
+body-servant--"will bring me back at a moment's notice, should you need
+me again to-night."
+
+"That Atwood has a surprising instinct, for a Scotchman!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, as soon as the door was closed on the secretary. "He not
+only knows when he _is_ wanted, but when he is _not_ wanted. The last is
+an extraordinary attainment, for one of his nation."
+
+"And one that an Englishman may do well to emulate," returned Bluewater.
+"It is possible my company may be dispensed with, also, just at this
+important moment."
+
+"You are not so much afraid of the Hanoverians, Dick, as to run away
+from their hand-writing, are ye? Ha--what's this?--As I live, a packet
+for yourself, and directed to 'Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bluewater, K.B.'
+By the Lord, my old boy, they've given you the red riband at last! This
+is an honour well earned, and which may be fitly worn."
+
+"'Tis rather unexpected, I must own. The letter, however, cannot be
+addressed to me, as I am not a Knight of the Bath."
+
+"This is rank nonsense. Open the packet, at once, or I will do it for
+you. Are there two Dick Bluewaters in the world, or another rear-admiral
+of the same name?"
+
+"I would rather not receive a letter that does not strictly bear my
+address," returned the other, coldly.
+
+"As I'll be sworn this does. But hand it to me, since you are so
+scrupulous, and I will do that small service for you."
+
+As this was said, Sir Gervaise tore aside the seals; and, as he
+proceeded rather summarily, a red riband was soon uncased and fell upon
+the carpet. The other usual insignia of the Bath made their appearance,
+and a letter was found among them, to explain the meaning of all. Every
+thing was in due form, and went to acquaint Rear-Admiral Bluewater, that
+His Majesty had been graciously pleased to confer on him one of the
+vacant red ribands of the day, as a reward for his eminent services on
+different occasions. There was even a short communication from the
+premier, expressing the great satisfaction of the ministry in thus being
+able to second the royal pleasure with hearty good will.
+
+"Well, what do you think of that, Richard Bluewater?" asked Sir
+Gervaise, triumphantly. "Did I not always tell you, that sooner or
+later, it _must_ come?"
+
+"It has come too late, then," coldly returned the other, laying the
+riband, jewels, and letters, quietly on the table. "This is an honour, I
+can receive, _now_, only from my rightful prince. None other can legally
+create a knight of the Bath."
+
+"And pray, Mr. Richard Bluewater, who made you a captain, a commander, a
+rear-admiral? Do you believe me an impostor, because I wear this riband
+on authority no better than that of the house of Hanover? Am I, or am I
+not, in your judgment, a vice-admiral of the red?"
+
+"I make a great distinction, Oakes, between rank in the navy, and a mere
+personal dignity. In the one case, you serve your country, and give
+quite as much as you receive; whereas, in the other, it is a grace to
+confer consideration on the person honoured, without such an equivalent
+as can find an apology for accepting a rank illegally conferred."
+
+"The devil take your distinctions, which would unsettle every thing, and
+render the service a Babel. If I am a vice-admiral of the red, I am a
+knight of the Bath; and, if you are a rear-admiral of the white, you are
+also a knight of that honourable order. All comes from the same source
+of authority, and the same fountain of honour."
+
+"I do not view it thus. Our commissions are from the admiralty, which
+represents the country; but dignities come from the prince who happens
+to reign, let _his_ title be what it may."
+
+"Do you happen to think Richard III. a usurper, or a lawful prince?"
+
+"A usurper, out of all question; and a murderer to boot. His name should
+be struck from the list of English kings. I never hear it, without
+execrating him, and his deeds."
+
+"Pooh--pooh, Dick, this is talking more like a poet than a seaman. If
+only one-half the sovereigns who deserve to be execrated had their names
+erased, the list of even our English kings would be rather short; and
+some countries would be without historical kings at all. However much
+Richard III. may deserve cashiering in this summary manner, his peers
+and laws are just as good as any other prince's peers and laws. Witness
+the Duke of Norfolk, for instance."
+
+"Ay, that cannot be helped by me; but it _is_ in my power to prevent
+Richard Bluewater's being made a knight or the Bath, by George II.; and
+the power shall be used."
+
+"It would seem not, as he is already created; and I dare to say,
+gazetted."
+
+"The oaths are not yet taken, and it is, at least, an Englishman's
+birth-right, to decline an honour; if, indeed, this can be esteemed an
+honour, at all."
+
+"Upon my word, Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bluewater, you are disposed to
+be complimentary, to-night! The unworthy knight present, and all the
+rest of the order, are infinitely indebted to you!"
+
+"Your case and mine, Oakes, are essentially different," returned the
+other, with some emotion in his voice and manner. "Your riband was
+fairly won, fighting the battles of England, and can be worn with credit
+to yourself and to your country; but these baubles are sent to me, at a
+moment when a rising was foreseen, and as a sop to keep me in
+good-humour, as well as to propitiate the whole Bluewater interest."
+
+"That is pure conjecture, and I dare say will prove to be altogether a
+mistake. Here are the despatches to speak for themselves; and, as it is
+scarcely possible that the ministry should have known of this rash
+movement of the Pretender's son, more than a few days, my life on it,
+the dates will show that your riband was bestowed before the enterprise
+was even suspected."
+
+As Sir Gervaise commenced, with his constitutional ardour, to turn over
+the letters, as soon as his mind was directed to this particular object,
+Admiral Bluewater resumed his seat, awaiting the result, with not a
+little curiosity; though, at the same time, with a smile of incredulity.
+The examination disappointed Sir Gervaise Oakes. The dates proved that
+the ministers were better informed than he had supposed; for it appeared
+they had been apprised about the time he was himself of the intended
+movement. His orders were to bring the fleet north, and in substance to
+do the very thing his own sagacity had dictated. So far every thing was
+well; and he could not entertain a doubt about receiving the hearty
+approbation of his superiors, for the course he had taken. But here his
+gratification ended; for, on looking at the dates of the different
+communications, it was evident that the red riband was bestowed after
+the intelligence of the Pretender's movement had reached London. A
+private letter, from a friend at the Board of Admiralty, too, spoke of
+his own probable promotion to the rank of admiral of the blue; and
+mentioned several other similar preferments, in a way to show that the
+government was fortifying itself, in the present crisis, as much as
+possible, by favours. This was a politic mode of procedure, with
+ordinary men, it is true; but with officers of the elevation of mind,
+and of the independence of character of our two admirals, it was most
+likely to produce disgust.
+
+"D--n 'em, Dick," cried Sir Gervaise, as he threw down the last letter
+of the package, with no little sign of feeling; "you might take St.
+Paul, or even Wychecombe's dead brother, St. James the Less, and put him
+at court, and he would come out a thorough blackguard, in a week!"
+
+"That is not the common opinion concerning a court education," quietly
+replied the friend; "most people fancying that the place gives
+refinement of manners, if not of sentiment."
+
+"Poh--poh--you and I have no need of a dictionary to understand each
+other. I call a man who never trusts to a generous motive--who thinks it
+always necessary to bribe or cajole--who has no idea of any thing's
+being done without its direct _quid pro quo_, a scurvy blackguard,
+though he has the airs and graces of Phil. Stanhope, or Chesterfield, as
+he is now. What do you think those chaps at the Board, talk of doing, by
+way of clinching my loyalty, at this blessed juncture?"
+
+"No doubt to get you raised to the peerage. I see nothing so much out of
+the way in the thing. You are of one of the oldest families of England,
+and the sixth baronet by inheritance, and have a noble landed estate,
+which is none the worse for prize-money. Sir Gervaise Oakes of Bowldero,
+would make a very suitable Lord Bowldero."
+
+"If it were only that, I shouldn't mind it; for nothing is easier than
+to refuse a peerage. I've done _that_ twice already, and can do it a
+third time, at need. But one can't very well refuse promotion in his
+regular profession; and, here, just as a true gentleman would depend on
+the principles of an officer, the hackneyed consciences of your
+courtiers have suggested the expediency of making Gervaise Oakes an
+admiral of the blue, by way of sop!--me, who was made vice-admiral of
+the red, only six months since, and who take an honest pride in boasting
+that every commission, from the lowest to the highest, has been fairly
+earned in battle!"
+
+"They think it a more delicate service, perhaps, for a gentleman to be
+true to the reigning house, when so loud an appeal is made to his
+natural loyalty; and therefore class the self-conquest with a victory at
+sea!"
+
+"They are so many court-lubbers, and I should like to have an
+opportunity of speaking my mind to them. I'll not take the new
+commission; for every one must see, Dick, that it is a sop."
+
+"Ay, that's just my notion, too, about the red riband; and I'll not take
+_that_. You have had the riband these ten years, have declined the
+peerage twice, and their only chance is the promotion. Take it you
+ought, and must, however, as it will be the means of pushing on some
+four or five poor devils, who have been wedged up to honours, in this
+manner, ever since they were captains. I am glad they do not talk of
+promoting _me_, for I should hardly know how to refuse such a grace.
+There is great virtue in parchment, with all us military men."
+
+"Still it must be parchment fairly won. I think you are wrong,
+notwithstanding, Bluewater, in talking of refusing the riband, which is
+so justly your due, for a dozen different acts. There is not a man in
+the service, who has been less rewarded for what he has done, than
+yourself."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you give this as your opinion; for just at this
+moment, I would rather think that I have no cause of complaint, in this
+way, against the reigning family, or its ministers. I'm sure I was
+posted when quite a young man, and since that time, no one has been
+lifted over my head."
+
+The vice-admiral looked intently at his friend; for never before had he
+detected a feeling which betrayed, as he fancied, so settled a
+determination in him to quit the service of the powers that were.
+Acquainted from boyhood with all the workings of the other's mind, he
+perceived that the rear-admiral had been endeavouring to persuade
+himself that no selfish or unworthy motive could be assigned to an act
+which he felt to proceed from disinterested chivalry, just as he himself
+broke out with his expression of an opinion that no officer had been
+less liberally rewarded for his professional services than his friend.
+While there is no greater mystery to a selfish manager, than a man of
+disinterested temperament, they who feel and submit to generous
+impulses, understand each other with an instinctive facility. When any
+particular individual is prone to believe that there is a predominance
+of good over evil in the world he inhabits, it is a sign of
+inexperience, or of imbecility; but when one acts and reasons as if
+_all_ honour and virtue are extinct, he furnishes the best possible
+argument against his own tendencies and character. It has often been
+remarked that stronger friendships are made between those who have
+different personal peculiarities, than between those whose sameness of
+feeling and impulses would be less likely to keep interest alive; but,
+in all cases of intimacies, there must be great identity of principles,
+and even of tastes in matters at all connected with motives, in order to
+ensure respect, among those whose standard of opinion is higher than
+common, or sympathy among those with whom it is lower. Such was the
+fact, as respected Admirals Oakes and Bluewater. No two men could be
+less alike in temperament, or character, physically, and in some senses,
+morally considered; but, when it came to principles, or all those tastes
+or feelings that are allied to principles, there was a strong native, as
+well as acquired affinity. This union of sentiment was increased by
+common habits, and professional careers so long and so closely united,
+as to be almost identical. Nothing was easier, consequently, than for
+Sir Gervaise Oakes to comprehend the workings of Admiral Bluewater's
+mind, as the latter endeavoured to believe he had been fairly treated by
+the existing government. Of course, the reasoning which passed through
+the thoughts of Sir Gervaise, on this occasion, required much less time
+than we have taken to explain its nature; and, after regarding his
+friend intently, as already related, for a few seconds, he answered as
+follows; a good deal influenced, unwittingly to himself, with the wish
+to check the other's Jacobite propensities.
+
+"I am sorry not to be able to agree with you, Dick," he said, with some
+warmth. "So far from thinking you _well_ treated, by any ministry, these
+twenty years, I think you have been very _ill_ treated. Your rank you
+have, beyond a question; for of that no brave officer can well be
+deprived in a regulated service; but, have you had the _commands_ to
+which you are entitled?--I was a commander-in-chief when only a
+rear-admiral of the blue; and then how long did I wear a broad pennant,
+before I got a flag at all!"
+
+"You forget how much I have been with you. When two serve together, one
+must command, and the other must obey. So far from complaining of these
+Hanoverian Boards, and First Lords, it seems to me that they have always
+kept in view the hollowness of their claims to the throne, and have felt
+a desire to purchase honest men by their favours."
+
+"You are the strangest fellow, Dick Bluewater, it has ever been my lot
+to fall in with! D----e me, if I believe you know always, when you _are_
+ill treated. There are a dozen men in service, who have had separate
+commands, and who are not half as well entitled to them, as you are
+yourself."
+
+"Come, come, Oakes, this is getting to be puerile, for two old fellows,
+turned of fifty. You very well know that I was offered just as good a
+fleet, as this of your own, with a choice of the whole list of
+flag-officers below me, to pick a junior from; and, so, we'll say no
+more about it. As respects their red riband, however, it may go
+a-begging for me."
+
+Sir Gervaise was about to answer in his former vein, when a tap at the
+door announced the presence of another visiter. This time the door
+opened on the person of Galleygo, who had been included in Sir
+Wycherly's hospitable plan of entertaining every soul who immediately
+belonged to the suite of Sir Gervaise.
+
+"What the d----l has brought _you_ here!" exclaimed the vice-admiral, a
+little warmly; for he did not relish an interruption just at this
+moment. "Recollect you're not on board the Plantagenet, but in the
+dwelling of a gentleman, where there are both butler and housekeeper,
+and who have no occasion for your advice, or authority, to keep things
+in order."
+
+"Well, there, Sir Gervaise I doesn't agree with you the least bit; for I
+thinks as a ship's steward--I mean a _cabin_ steward, and a good 'un of
+the quality--might do a great deal of improvement in this very house.
+The cook and I has had a partic'lar dialogue on them matters, already;
+and I mentioned to her the names of seven different dishes, every one of
+which she quite as good as admitted to me, was just the same as so much
+gospel to _her_."
+
+"I shall have to quarantine this fellow, in the long run, Bluewater! I
+do believe if I were to take him to Lambeth Palace, or even to St.
+James's, he'd thrust his oar into the archbishop's benedictions, or the
+queen's caudle-cup!"
+
+"Well, Sir Gervaise, where would be the great harm, if I did? A man as
+knows the use of an oar, may be trusted with one, even in a church, or
+an abbey. When your honour comes to hear what the dishes was, as Sir
+Wycherly's cook had never heard on, you'll think it as great a cur'osity
+as I do myself. If I had just leave to name 'em over, I think as both
+you gentlemen would look at it as remarkable."
+
+"What are they, Galleygo?" inquired Bluewater, putting one of his long
+legs over an arm of the adjoining chair, in order to indulge himself in
+a yarn with his friend's steward, with greater freedom; for he greatly
+delighted in Galleygo's peculiarities; seeing just enough of the fellow
+to find amusement, without annoyance in them. "I'll answer for Sir
+Gervaise, who is always a little diffident about boasting of the
+superiority of a ship, over a house."
+
+"Yes, your honour, that he is--that is just one of Sir Jarvy's weak
+p'ints, as a body might say. Now, I never goes ashore, without trimming
+sharp up, and luffing athwart every person's hawse, I fall in with;
+which is as much as to tell 'em, I belongs to a flag-ship, and a racer,
+and a craft as hasn't her equal on salt-water; no disparagement to the
+bit of bunting at the mizzen-topgallant-mast-head of the Cæsar, or to
+the ship that carries it. I hopes, as we are so well acquainted, Admiral
+Bluewater, no offence will be taken."
+
+"Where none is meant, none ought to be taken, my friend. Now let us hear
+your bill-of-fare."
+
+"Well, sir, the very first dish I mentioned to Mrs. Larder, Sir
+Wycherly's cook, was lobscous; and, would you believe it, gentlemen, the
+poor woman had never heard of it! I began with a light hand, as it might
+be, just not to overwhelm her with knowledge, at a blow, as Sir Jarvy
+captivated the French frigate with the upper tier of guns, that he might
+take her alive, like."
+
+"And the lady knew nothing of a lobscous--neither of its essence, nor
+nature?"
+
+"There's no essences as is ever put in a lobscous, besides potaties,
+Admiral Bluewater; thof we make 'em in the old Planter"--_nautice_ for
+Plantagenet--"in so liquorish a fashion, you might well think they even
+had Jamaiky, in 'em. No, potaties is the essence of lobscous; and a very
+good thing is a potatie, Sir Jarvy, when a ship's company has been on
+salted oakum for a few months."
+
+"Well, what was the next dish the good woman broke down under?" asked
+the rear-admiral, fearful the master might order the servant to quit the
+room; while he, himself, was anxious to get rid of any further political
+discussion.
+
+"Well, sir, she knowed no more of a chowder, than if the sea wern't in
+the neighbourhood, and there wern't such a thing as a fish in all
+England. When I talked to her of a chowder, she gave in, like a Spaniard
+at the fourth or fifth broadside."
+
+"Such ignorance is disgraceful, and betokens a decline in civilization!
+But, you hoisted out more knowledge for her benefit, Galleygo--small
+doses of learning are poor things."
+
+"Yes, your honour; just like weak grog--burning the priming, without
+starting the shot. To be sure, I did, Admiral Blue. I just named to her
+burgoo, and then I mentioned duff (_anglice_ dough) to her, but she
+denied that there was any such things in the cookery-book. Do you know,
+Sir Jarvy, as these here shore craft get their dinners, as our master
+gets the sun; all out of a book as it might be. Awful tidings, too,
+gentlemen, about the Pretender's son; and I s'pose we shall have to take
+the fleet up into Scotland, as I fancy them 'ere sogers will not make
+much of a hand in settling law?"
+
+"And have you honoured us with a visit, just to give us an essay on
+dishes, and to tell us what you intend to do with the fleet?" demanded
+Sir Gervaise, a little more sternly than he was accustomed to speak to
+the steward.
+
+"Lord bless you, Sir Jarvy, I didn't dream of one or t'other! As for
+telling you, or Admiral Blue, (so the seamen used to call the second in
+rank,) here, any thing about lobscous, or chowder, why, it would be
+carrying coals to New Market. I've fed ye both with all such articles,
+when ye was nothing but young gentlemen; and when you was no longer
+young gentlemen, too, but a couple of sprightly luffs, of nineteen. And
+as for moving the fleet, I know, well enough, that will never happen,
+without our talking it over in the old Planter's cabin; which is a much
+more nat'ral place for such a discourse, than any house in England!"
+
+"May I take the liberty of inquiring, then, what _did_ bring you here?"
+
+"That you may, with all my heart, Sir Jarvy, for I likes to answer your
+questions. My errand is not to your honour this time, though you are my
+master. It's no great matter, after all, being just to hand this bit of
+a letter over to Admiral Blue."
+
+"And where did this letter come from, and how did it happen to fall into
+your hands?" demanded Bluewater, looking at the superscription, the
+writing of which he appeared to recognise.
+
+"It hails from Lun'nun, I hear; and they tell me it's to be a great
+secret that you've got it, at all. The history of the matter is just
+this. An officer got in to-night, with orders for us, carrying sail as
+hard as his shay would bear. It seems he fell in with Master Atwood, as
+he made his land-fall, and being acquainted with that gentleman, he just
+whipped out his orders, and sent 'em off to the right man. Then he laid
+his course for the landing, wishing to get aboard of the Dublin, to
+which he is ordered; but falling in with our barge, as I landed, he
+wanted to know the where-away of Admiral Blue, here; believing him to be
+afloat. Some 'un telling him as I was a friend and servant of both
+admirals, as it might be, he turned himself over to me for advice. So I
+promised to deliver the letter, as I had a thousand afore, and knowed
+the way of doing such things; and he gives me the letter, under special
+orders, like; that is to say, it was to be handed to the rear-admiral as
+it might be under the lee of the mizzen-stay-sail, or in a private
+fashion. Well, gentlemen, you both knows I understand that, too, and so
+I undertook the job."
+
+"And I have got to be so insignificant a person that I pass for no one,
+in your discriminating mind, Master Galleygo!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, sharply. "I have suspected as much, these five-and-twenty
+years."
+
+"Lord bless you, Sir Jarvy, how flag-officers will make mistakes
+sometimes! They're mortal, I says to the people of the galley, and have
+their appetites false, just like the young gentlemen, when they get
+athwart-hawse of a body, I says. Now, I count Admiral Blue and yourself
+pretty much as one man, seeing that you keep few, or no secrets from
+each other. I know'd ye both as young gentlemen, and then you loved one
+another like twins; and then I know'd ye as luffs, when ye'd walk the
+deck the whole watch, spinning yarns; and then I know'd ye as Pillardees
+and Arrestee, though one pillow might have answered for both; and as for
+Arrest, I never know'd either of ye to got into that scrape. As for
+telling a secret to one, I've always looked upon it as pretty much
+telling it to t'other."
+
+The two admirals exchanged glances, and the look of kindness that each
+met in the eyes of his friend removed every shadow that had been cast
+athwart their feelings, by the previous discourse.
+
+"That will do, Galleygo," returned Sir Gervaise, mildly. "You're a good
+fellow in the main, though a villanously rough one--"
+
+"A little of old Boreus, Sir Jarvy," interrupted the steward, with a
+grim smile: "but it blows harder at sea than it does ashore. These chaps
+on land, ar'n't battened down, and caulked for such weather, as we sons
+of Neptun' is obligated to face."
+
+"Quite true, and so good-night. Admiral Bluewater and myself wish to
+confer together, for half an hour; all that it is proper for you to
+know, shall be communicated another time."
+
+"Good-night, and God bless your honour. Good-night, Admiral Blue: we
+three is the men as can keep any secret as ever floated, let it draw as
+much water as it pleases."
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes stopped in his walk, and gazed at his friend with
+manifest interest, as he perceived that Admiral Bluewater was running
+over his letter for the third time. Being now without a witness, he did
+not hesitate to express his apprehensions.
+
+"'Tis as I feared, Dick!" he cried. "That letter is from some prominent
+partisan of Edward Stuart?"
+
+The rear-admiral turned his eyes on the face of his friend, with an
+expression that was difficult to read; and then he ran over the contents
+of the epistle, for the fourth time.
+
+"A set of precious rascals they are, Gervaise!" at length the
+rear-admiral exclaimed. "If the whole court was culled, I question if
+enough honesty could be found to leaven one puritan scoundrel. Tell me
+if you know this hand, Oakes? I question if you ever saw it before."
+
+The superscription of the letter was held out to Sir Gervaise, who,
+after a close examination, declared himself unacquainted with the
+writing.
+
+"I thought as much," resumed Bluewater, carefully tearing the signature
+from the bottom of the page, and burning it in a candle; "let this
+disgraceful part of the secret die, at least. The fellow who wrote this,
+has put 'confidential' at the top of his miserable scrawl: and a most
+confident scoundrel he is, for his pains. However, no man has a right to
+thrust himself, in this rude manner, between me and my oldest friend;
+and least of all will I consent to keep this piece of treachery from
+your knowledge. I do more than the rascal merits in concealing his name;
+nevertheless, I shall not deny myself the pleasure of sending him such
+an answer as he deserves. Read that, Oakes, and then say if keelhauling
+would be too good for the writer."
+
+Sir Gervaise took the letter in silence, though not without great
+surprise, and began to peruse it. As he proceeded, the colour mounted to
+his temples, and once he dropped his hand, to cast a look of wonder and
+indignation towards his companion. That the reader may see how much
+occasion there was for both these feelings, we shall give the
+communication entire. It was couched in the following words:
+
+     "DEAR ADMIRAL BLUEWATER:
+
+     "Our ancient friendship, and I am proud to add, affinity of blood,
+     unite in inducing me to write a line, at this interesting moment.
+     Of the result of this rash experiment of the Pretender's son, no
+     prudent man can entertain a doubt. Still, the boy may give us some
+     trouble, before he is disposed of altogether. We look to all our
+     friends, therefore, for their most efficient exertions, and most
+     prudent co-operation. On _you_, every reliance is placed; and I
+     wish I could say as much for _every flag-officer afloat_. Some
+     distrust--unmerited, I sincerely hope--exists in a very high
+     quarter, touching the loyalty of a certain commander-in-chief, who
+     is so completely under your observation, that it is felt enough is
+     done in hinting the fact to one of your political tendencies. The
+     king said, this morning, 'Vell, dere isht Bluevater; of _him_ we
+     are shure asht of ter sun.' You stand excellently well _there_, to
+     my great delight; and I need only say, be watchful and prompt.
+
+     "Yours, with the most sincere faith and attachment, my dear
+     Bluewater, &c., &c.
+
+     "REAR-ADMIRAL BLUEWATER.
+
+     "P. S.--I have just heard that they have sent you the red riband.
+     The king himself, was in this."
+
+When Sir Gervaise had perused this precious epistle to himself, he read
+it slowly, and in a steady, clear voice, aloud. When he had ended, he
+dropped the paper, and stood gazing at his friend.
+
+"One would think the fellow some exquisite satirist," said Bluewater,
+laughing. "_I_ am to be vigilant, and see that _you_ do not mutiny, and
+run away with the fleet to the Highlands, one of these foggy mornings!
+Carry it up into Scotland, as Galleygo has it! Now, what is your opinion
+of that letter?"
+
+"That all courtiers are knaves, and all princes ungrateful. I should
+think my loyalty to the good _cause_, if not to the _man_, the last in
+England to be suspected."
+
+"Nor is it suspected, in the smallest degree. My life on it, neither the
+reigning monarch, nor his confidential servants, are such arrant dunces,
+as to be guilty of so much weakness. No, this masterly move is intended
+to secure _me_, by creating a confidence that they think no
+generous-minded man would betray. It is a hook, delicately baited to
+catch a gudgeon, and not an order to watch a whale."
+
+"Can the scoundrels be so mean--nay, dare they be so bold! They must
+have known you would show me the letter."
+
+"Not they--they have reasoned on my course, as they would on their own.
+Nothing catches a weak man sooner than a pretended confidence of this
+nature; and I dare say this blackguard rates me just high enough to
+fancy I may be duped in this flimsy manner. Put your mind at rest; King
+George knows he may confide in _you_, while I think it probable _I_ am
+distrusted."
+
+"I hope, Dick, you do not suspect _my_ discretion! My own secret would
+not be half so sacred to me."
+
+"I know that, full well. Of _you_, I entertain no distrust, either in
+heart or head; of myself, I am not quite so certain. When we _feel_, we
+do not always _reason_; and there is as much feeling, as any thing else,
+in this matter."
+
+"Not a line is there, in all my despatches, that go to betray the
+slightest distrust of me, or any one else. You are spoken of, but it is
+in a manner to gratify you, rather than to alarm. Take, and read them
+all; I intended to show them to you, as soon as we had got through with
+that cursed discussion"
+
+As Sir Gervaise concluded, he threw the whole package of letters on the
+table, before his friend.
+
+"It will be time enough, when you summon me regularly to a council of
+war," returned Bluewater, laying the letters gently aside. "Perhaps we
+had better sleep on this affair; in the morning we shall meet with
+cooler heads, and just as warm hearts."
+
+"Good-night, Dick," said Sir Gervaise, holding out both hands for the
+other to shake as he passed him, in quitting the room.
+
+"Good-night, Gervaise; let this miserable devil go overboard, and think
+no more of him. I have half a mind to ask you for a leave, to-morrow,
+just to run up to London, and cut off his ears."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed and nodded his head, and the two friends parted,
+with feelings as kind as ever had distinguished their remarkable career.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+    "Look to't, think on't, I do not use to jest.
+    Thursday is near; lay hand on heart, advise;
+    An' you be mine, I'll give you to my friend;
+    An' you be not, hang, beg, starve, die i' the streets."
+
+         ROMEO AND JULIET.
+
+
+Wychecombe Hall, had most of the peculiarities of a bachelor's dwelling,
+in its internal government; nor was it, in any manner, behind, or, it
+might be better to say, before, the age, in its modes and customs
+connected with jollifications. When its master relaxed a little, the
+servants quite uniformly imitated his example. Sir Wycherly kept a
+plentiful table, and the servants' hall fared nearly as well as the
+dining-room; the single article of wine excepted. In lieu of the latter,
+however, was an unlimited allowance of double-brewed ale; and the
+difference in the potations was far more in the name, than in the
+quality of the beverages. The master drank port; for, in the middle of
+the last century, few Englishmen had better wine--and port, too, that
+was by no means of a very remarkable delicacy, but which, like those who
+used it, was rough, honest, and strong; while the servant had his malt
+liquor of the very highest stamp and flavour. Between indifferent wine
+and excellent ale, the distance is not interminable; and Sir Wycherly's
+household, was well aware of the fact, having frequently instituted
+intelligent practical comparisons, by means of which, all but the butler
+and Mrs. Larder had come to the conclusion to stand by the home-brewed.
+
+On the present occasion, not a soul in the house was ignorant of the
+reason why the baronet was making a night of it. Every man, woman, and
+child, in or about the Hall, was a devoted partisan of the house of
+Hanover; and as soon as it was understood that this feeling was to be
+manifested by drinking "success to King George, and God bless him," on
+the one side; and "confusion to the Pretender, and his mad son," on the
+other; all under the roof entered into the duty, with a zeal that might
+have seated a usurper on a throne, if potations could do it.
+
+When Admiral Bluewater, therefore, left the chamber of his friend, the
+signs of mirth and of a regular debauch were so very obvious, that a
+little curiosity to watch the result, and a disinclination to go off to
+his ship so soon, united to induce him to descend into the rooms below,
+with a view to get a more accurate knowledge of the condition of the
+household. In crossing the great hall, to enter the drawing-room, he
+encountered Galleygo, when the following discourse took place.
+
+"I should think the master-at-arms has not done his duty, and dowsed the
+glim below, Master Steward," said the rear-admiral, in his quiet way, as
+they met; "the laughing, and singing, and hiccupping, are all upon a
+very liberal scale for a respectable country-house."
+
+Galleygo touched the lock of hair on his forehead, with one hand, and
+gave his trowsers a slue with the other, before he answered; which he
+soon did, however, though with a voice a little thicker than was usual
+with him, on account of his having added a draught or two to those he
+had taken previously to visiting Sir Gervaise's dressing-room; and which
+said additional draught or two, had produced some such effect on his
+system, as the fresh drop produces on the cup that is already full.
+
+"That's just it, Admiral Blue," returned the steward, in passing
+good-humour, though still sober enough to maintain the decencies, after
+his own fashion; "that's just it, your honour. They've passed the word
+below to let the lights stand for further orders, and have turned the
+hands up for a frolic. Such ale as they has, stowed in the lower hold of
+this house, like leaguers in the ground-tier, it does a body's heart
+good to conter'plate. All hands is bowsing out their jibs on it, sir,
+and the old Hall will soon be carrying as much sail as she can stagger
+under. It's nothing but loose-away and sheet-home."
+
+"Ay, ay, Galleygo, this may be well enough for the people of the
+household, if Sir Wycherly allows it; but it ill becomes the servants of
+guests to fall into this disorder. If I find Tom has done any thing
+amiss, he will hear more of it; and as your own master is not here to
+admonish _you_, I'll just take the liberty of doing it for him, since I
+know it would mortify him exceedingly to learn that his steward had done
+any thing to disgrace himself."
+
+"Lord bless your dear soul, Admiral Blue, take just as many liberties as
+you think fit, and I'll never pocket one on 'em. I know'd you, when you
+was only a young gentleman, and now you're a rear. You're close on our
+heels; and by the time we are a full admiral, you'll be something like a
+vice. I looks upon you as bone of our bone, and flesh of our
+flesh,--Pillardees and Arrestees--and I no more minds a setting-down
+from your honour, than I does from Sir Jarvy, hisself."
+
+"I believe that is true enough, Galleygo; but take my advice, and knock
+off with the ale for to-night. Can you tell me how the land lies, with
+the rest of the company?"
+
+"You couldn't have asked a better person, your honour, as I've just been
+passing through all the rooms, from a sort of habit I has, sir; for,
+d'ye see, I thought I was in the old Planter, and that it was my duty to
+overlook every thing, as usual. The last pull at the ale, put that
+notion in my head; but it's gone now, and I see how matters is. Yes,
+sir, the mainmast of a church isn't stiffer and more correct-like, than
+my judgment is, at this blessed moment. Sir Wycherly guv' me a glass of
+his black-strap, as I ran through the dining-room, and told me to drink
+'Confusion to the Pretender,' which I did, with hearty good-will; but
+his liquor will no more lay alongside of the ale they've down on the
+orlop, than a Frenchman will compare with an Englishman. What's your
+opinion, Admiral Blue, consarning this cruise of the Pretender's son, up
+in the Highlands of Scotland?"
+
+Bluewater gave a quick, distrustful glance at the steward, for he knew
+that the fellow was half his time in the outer cabin and pantries of the
+Plantagenet, and he could not tell how much of his many private
+dialogues with Sir Gervaise, might have been overheard. Meeting with
+nothing but the unmeaning expression of one half-seas-over, his
+uneasiness instantly subsided.
+
+"I think it a gallant enterprise, Galleygo," he answered; too manly even
+to feign what he did not believe; "but I fear as a _cruise_, it will not
+bring much prize-money. You have forgotten you were about to tell me how
+the land lies. Sir Wycherly, Mr. Dutton, Mr. Rotherham, are still at the
+table, I fancy--are these all? What have become of the two young
+gentlemen?"
+
+"There's none ashore, sir," said Galleygo, promptly, accustomed to give
+that appellation only to midshipmen.
+
+"I mean the two Mr. Wychecombes; one of whom, I had forgot, is actually
+an officer."
+
+"Yes, sir, and a most partic'lar fine officer he is, as every body says.
+Well, sir, _he's_ with the ladies; while his namesake has gone back to
+the table, and has put luff upon luff, to fetch up leeway."
+
+"And the ladies--what have they done with themselves, in this scene of
+noisy revelry?"
+
+"They'se in yonder state-room, your honour. As soon as they found how
+the ship was heading, like all women-craft, they both makes for the best
+harbour they could run into. Yes, they'se yonder."
+
+As Galleygo pointed to the door of the room he meant, Bluewater
+proceeded towards it, parting with the steward after a few more words of
+customary, but very useless caution. The tap of the admiral was answered
+by Wycherly in person, who opened the door, and made way for his
+superior to enter, with a respectful obeisance. There was but a single
+candle in the little parlour, in which the two females had taken refuge
+from the increasing noise of the debauch; and this was due to a pious
+expedient of Mildred's, in extinguishing the others, with a view to
+conceal the traces of tears that were still visible on her own and her
+mother's cheeks. The rear-admiral was, at first, struck with this
+comparative obscurity; but it soon appeared to him appropriate to the
+feelings of the party assembled in the room. Mrs. Dutton received him
+with the ease she had acquired in her early life, and the meeting passed
+as a matter of course, with persons temporarily residing under the same
+roof.
+
+"Our friends appear to be enjoying themselves," said Bluewater, when a
+shout from the dining-room forced itself on the ears of all present.
+"The loyalty of Sir Wycherly seems to be of proof."
+
+"Oh! Admiral Bluewater," exclaimed the distressed wife, feeling,
+momentarily, getting the better of discretion; "_do_ you--_can_ you
+call such a desecration of God's image enjoyment?"
+
+"Not justly, perhaps, Mrs. Dutton; and yet it is what millions mistake
+for it. This mode of celebrating any great event, and even of
+illustrating what we think our principles, is, I fear, a vice not only
+of our age, but of our country."
+
+"And yet, neither you, nor Sir Gervaise Oakes, I see, find it necessary
+to give such a proof of your attachment to the house of Hanover, or of
+your readiness to serve it with your time and persons."
+
+"You will remember, my good, lady, that both Oakes and myself are
+flag-officers in command, and it would never do for us to fall into a
+debauch in sight of our own ships. I am glad to see, however, that Mr.
+Wychecombe, here, prefers such society as I find him in, to the
+pleasures of the table."
+
+Wycherly bowed, and Mildred cast an expressive, not to say grateful,
+glance towards the speaker; but her mother pursued the discourse, in
+which she found a little relief to her suppressed emotion.
+
+"God be thanked for that!" she exclaimed, half-unconscious of the
+interpretation that might be put on her words; "All that we have seen of
+Mr. Wychecombe would lead us to believe that this is not an unusual, or
+an accidental forbearance."
+
+"So much the more fortunate for him. I congratulate you, young sir, on
+this triumph of principle, or of temperament, or of both. We belong to a
+profession, in which the bottle is an enemy more to be feared, than any
+that the king can give us. A sailor can call in no ally as efficient in
+subduing this mortal foe, as an intelligent and cultivated mind. The man
+who really _thinks_ much, seldom _drinks_ much; but there are
+hours--nay, weeks and months of idleness in a ship, in which the
+temptation to resort to unnatural excitement in quest of pleasure, is
+too strong for minds, that are not well fortified, to resist. This is
+particularly the case with commanders, who find themselves isolated by
+their rank, and oppressed with responsibility, in the privacy of their
+own cabins, and get to make a companion of the bottle, by way of seeking
+relief from uncomfortable thoughts, and of creating a society of their
+own. I deem the critical period of a sailor's life, to be the first few
+years of solitary command."
+
+"How true!--how true!" murmured Mrs. Dutton. "Oh! that cutter--that
+cruel cutter!"
+
+The truth flashed upon the recollection of Bluewater, at this unguarded,
+and instantly regretted exclamation. Many years before, when only a
+captain himself, he had been a member of a court-martial which cashiered
+a lieutenant of the name of Dutton, for grievous misconduct, while in
+command of a cutter; the fruits of the bottle. From the first, he
+thought the name familiar to him; but so many similar things had
+happened in the course of forty years' service, that this particular
+incident had been partially lost in the obscurity of time. It was now
+completely recalled, however; and that, too, with all its attendant
+circumstances. The recollection served to give the rear-admiral renewed
+interest in the unhappy wife, and lovely daughter, of the miserable
+delinquent. He had been applied to, at the time, for his interest in
+effecting the restoration of the guilty officer, or even to procure for
+him, the hopeless station he now actually occupied; but he had sternly
+refused to be a party in placing any man in authority, who was the
+victim of a propensity that not only disgraced himself, but which, in
+the peculiar position of a sailor, equally jeoparded the honour of the
+country, and risked the lives of all around him. He was aware that the
+last application had been successful, by means of a court influence it
+was very unusual to exert in cases so insignificant; and, then, he had,
+for years, lost sight of the criminal and his fortunes. This unexpected
+revival of his old impressions, caused him to feel like an ancient
+friend of the wife and daughter; for well could he recall a scene he had
+with both, in which the struggle between his humanity and his principles
+had been so violent as actually to reduce him to tears. Mildred had
+forgotten the name of this particular officer, having been merely a
+child; but well did Mrs. Dutton remember it, and with fear and trembling
+had she come that day, to meet him at the Hall. The first look satisfied
+her that she was forgotten, and she had struggled herself, to bury in
+oblivion, a scene which was one of the most painful of her life. The
+unguarded expression, mentioned, entirely changed the state of affairs.
+
+"Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, kindly taking a hand of the distressed
+wife; "I believe we are old friends; if, after what has passed, you will
+allow me so to consider myself."
+
+"Ah! Admiral Bluewater, my memory needed no admonisher to tell me
+_that_. Your sympathy and kindness are as grateful to me, now, as they
+were in that dreadful moment, when we met before."
+
+"And I had the pleasure of seeing this young lady, more than once, on
+that unpleasant occasion. This accounts for a fancy that has fairly
+haunted me throughout the day; for, from the instant my eye fell on Miss
+Mildred, it struck me that the face, and most of all, its expression,
+was familiar to me. Certainly it is not a countenance, once seen, easily
+to be forgotten."
+
+"Mildred was then but a child, sir, and your recollection must have been
+a fancy, indeed, as children of her age seldom make any lasting
+impression on the mind, particularly in the way of features."
+
+"It is not the features that I recognize, but the expression; and that,
+I need not tell the young lady's mother, is an expression not so very
+easily forgotten. I dare say Mr. Wychecombe is ready enough to vouch for
+the truth of what I say."
+
+"Hark!" exclaimed Mrs. Dutton, who was sensitively alive to any
+indication of the progress of the debauch. "There is great confusion in
+the dining-room!--I hope the gentlemen are of one mind as respects this
+rising in Scotland!"
+
+"If there is a Jacobite among them, he will have a warm time of it; with
+Sir Wycherly, his nephew, and the vicar--all three of whom are raging
+lions, in the way of loyalty. There does, indeed, seem something out of
+the way, for those sounds, I should think, are the feet of servants,
+running to and fro. If the servants'-hall is in the condition I suspect,
+it will as much need the aid of the parlour, as the parlour can
+possibly--"
+
+A tap at the door caused Bluewater to cease speaking; and as Wycherly
+threw open the entrance, Galleygo appeared on the threshold, by this
+time reduced to the necessity of holding on by the casings.
+
+"Well, sir," said the rear-admiral, sternly, for he was no longer
+disposed to trifle with any of the crapulous set; "well, sir, what
+impertinence has brought you here?"
+
+"No impertinence at all, your honour; we carries none of _that_, in the
+old Planter. There being no young gentlemen, hereabouts, to report
+proceedings, I thought I'd just step in and do the duty with my own
+tongue. We has so many reports in our cabin, that there isn't an officer
+in the fleet that can make 'em better, as myself, sir."
+
+"There are a hundred who would spend fewer words on any thing. What is
+your business?"
+
+"Why, sir, just to report one flag struck, and a commander-in-chief on
+his beam-ends."
+
+"Good God! Nothing has happened to Sir Gervaise--speak, fellow, or I'll
+have you sent out of this Babel, and off to the ship, though it were
+midnight."
+
+"It be pretty much that, Admiral Blue; or past six bells; as any one may
+see by the ship's clock on the great companion ladder; six bells, going
+well on to seven--"
+
+"Your business, sir! what has happened to Sir Gervaise?" repeated
+Bluewater, shaking his long fore-finger menacingly, at the steward.
+
+"We are as well, Admiral Blue, as the hour we came over the Planter's
+side. Sir Jarvy will carry sail with the best on 'em, I'll answer for
+it, whether the ship floats in old Port Oporto, or in a brewer's vat.
+Let Sir Jarvy alone for them tricks--he wasn't a young gentleman, for
+nothing."
+
+"Have a moment's patience, sir," put in Wycherly, "and I will go myself,
+and ascertain the truth."
+
+"I shall make but another inquiry," continued Admiral Bluewater, as
+Wycherly left the room.
+
+"Why, d'ye see, your honour, old Sir Wycherly, who is
+commander-in-chief, along shore here, has capsized in consequence of
+carrying sail too hard, in company with younger craft; and they're now
+warping him into dock to be overhauled."
+
+"Is this all!--that was a result to be expected, in such a debauch. You
+need not have put on so ominous a face, for this, Galleygo."
+
+"No, sir, so I thought, myself; and I only tried to look as melancholy
+as a young gentleman who is sent below to report a topgallant-mast over
+the side, or a studding-sail-boom gone in the iron. D'ye remember the
+time, Admiral Blue, when you thought to luff up on the old Planter's
+weather-quarter, and get between her and the French ninety on three
+decks, and how your stu'n-sails went, one a'ter another, just like so
+many musherrooms breaking in peeling?"
+
+Galleygo, who was apt to draw his images from his two trades, might have
+talked on an hour, without interruption; for, while he was uttering the
+above sentence, Wycherly returned, and reported that their host was
+seriously, even dangerously ill. While doing the honours of his table,
+he had been seized with a fit, which the vicar, a noted three-bottle
+man, feared was apoplexy. Mr. Rotherham had bled the patient, who was
+already a little better, and an express had been sent for a medical man.
+As a matter of course, the _convives_ had left the table, and alarm was
+frightening the servants into sobriety. At Mrs. Dutton's earnest
+request, Wycherly immediately left the room again, forcing Galleygo out
+before him, with a view to get more accurate information concerning the
+baronet's real situation; both the mother and daughter feeling a real
+affection for Sir Wycherly; the kind old man having won their hearts by
+his habitual benevolence, and a constant concern for their welfare.
+
+"_Sic transit gloria mundi_," muttered Admiral Bluewater, as he threw
+his tall person, in his own careless manner, on a chair, in a dark
+corner of the room. "This baronet has fallen from his throne, in a
+moment of seeming prosperity and revelry; why may not another do the
+same?"
+
+Mrs. Dutton heard the voice, without distinguishing the words, and she
+felt distressed at the idea that one whom she so much respected and
+loved, might be judged of harshly, by a man of the rear-admiral's
+character.
+
+"Sir Wycherly is one of the kindest-hearted men, breathing," she said, a
+little hurriedly; "and there is not a better landlord in England. Then
+he is by no means addicted to indulgence at table, more than is
+customary with gentlemen of his station. His loyalty has, no doubt,
+carried him this evening farther than was prudent, or than we could have
+wished."
+
+"I have every disposition to think favourably of our poor host, my dear
+Mrs. Dutton; and we seamen are not accustomed to judge a _bon vivant_
+too harshly."
+
+"Ah! Admiral Bluewater, _you_, who have so wide-spread a reputation for
+sobriety and correct deportment! Well do I remember how I trembled, when
+I heard your name mentioned as one of the leading members of that
+dreadful court!"
+
+"You let your recollections dwell too much on these unpleasant subjects,
+Mrs. Dutton, and I should like to see you setting an example of greater
+cheerfulness to your sweet daughter. I could not befriend you, _then_,
+for my oath and my duty were both against it; but, _now_, there exists
+no possible reason, why I should not; while there does exist almost
+every possible disposition, why I should. This sweet child interests me
+in a way I can hardly describe."
+
+Mrs. Dutton was silent and thoughtful. The years of Admiral Bluewater
+did not absolutely forbid his regarding Mildred's extreme beauty, with
+the eyes of ordinary admiration; but his language, and most of all, his
+character, ought to repel the intrusive suspicion. Still Mildred was
+surpassingly lovely, and men were surpassingly weak in matters of love.
+Many a hero had passed a youth of self-command and discretion, to
+consummate some act of exceeding folly, of this very nature, in the
+decline of life; and bitter experience had taught her to be distrustful.
+Nevertheless, she could not, at once, bring herself to think ill of one,
+whose character she had so long respected; and, with all the
+rear-admiral's directness of manner, there was so much real and feeling
+delicacy, blended with the breeding of a gentleman-like sailor, that it
+was not easy to suppose he had any other motives than those he saw fit
+to avow. Mildred had made many a friend, by a sweetness of countenance,
+that was even more winning, than her general beauty of face and form was
+attractive; and why should not this respectable old seaman be of the
+number.
+
+This train of thought was interrupted by the sudden and unwelcome
+appearance of Dutton. He had just returned from the bed-side of Sir
+Wycherly, and now came to seek his wife and daughter, to bid them
+prepare to enter the chariot, which was in waiting to convey them home.
+The miserable man was not intoxicated, in the sense which deprives a man
+of the use of speech and limbs; but he had drunk quite enough to awaken
+the demon within him, and to lay bare the secrets of his true character.
+If any thing, his nerves were better strung than common; but the wine
+had stirred up all the energies of a being, whose resolutions seldom
+took the direction of correct feeling, or of right doing. The darkness
+of the room, and a slight confusion which nevertheless existed in his
+brain, prevented him from noticing the person of his superior, seated,
+as the latter was, in the dark corner; and he believed himself once more
+alone with those who were so completely dependent on his mercy, and who
+had so long been the subjects of his brutality and tyranny.
+
+"I hope Sir Wycherly is better, Dutton," the wife commenced, fearful
+that her husband might expose himself and her, before he was aware of
+the presence in which he stood. "Admiral Bluewater is as anxious, as we
+are ourselves, to know his real state."
+
+"Ay, you women are all pity and feeling for baronets and rear-admirals,"
+answered Dutton, throwing himself rudely into a chair, with his back
+towards the stranger, in an attitude completely to exclude the latter
+from his view; "while a husband, or father, might die a hundred deaths,
+and not draw a look of pity from your beautiful eyes, or a kind word
+from your devilish tongues."
+
+"Neither Mildred nor I, merit this from _you_, Dutton!"
+
+"No, you're both perfection; like mother, like child. Haven't I been,
+fifty times, at death's door, with this very complaint of Sir
+Wycherly's, and did either of you ever send for an apothecary, even?"
+
+"You have been occasionally indisposed, Dutton, but never apoplectic;
+and we have always thought a little sleep would restore you; as, indeed,
+it always has."
+
+"What business had you to _think_? Surgeons think, and medical men, and
+it was your duty to send for the nearest professional man, to look after
+one you're bound both to honour and obey. You are your own mistress,
+Martha, I do suppose, in a certain degree; and what can't be cured must
+be endured; but Mildred is my child; and I'll have her respect and love,
+if I break both your hearts in order to get at them."
+
+"A pious daughter always respects her parent, Dutton," said the wife,
+trembling from head to foot; "but love must come willingly, or, it will
+not come at all."
+
+"We'll see as to that, Mrs. Martha Dutton; we'll see as to that. Come
+hither, Mildred; I have a word to say to you, which may as well be said
+at once."
+
+Mildred, trembling like her mother, drew near; but with a feeling of
+filial piety, that no harshness could entirely smother, she felt anxious
+to prevent the father from further exposing himself, in the presence of
+Admiral Bluewater. With this view, then, and with this view only, she
+summoned firmness enough to speak.
+
+"Father," she said, "had we not better defer our family matters, until
+we are alone?"
+
+Under ordinary circumstances, Bluewater would not have waited for so
+palpable a hint, for he would have retired on the first appearance of
+any thing so disagreeable as a misunderstanding between man and wife.
+But, an ungovernable interest in the lovely girl, who stood trembling at
+her father's knee, caused him to forget his habitual delicacy of
+feeling, and to overlook what might perhaps be termed almost a law of
+society. Instead of moving, therefore, as Mildred had both hoped and
+expected, he remained motionless in his seat. Dutton's mind was too
+obtuse to comprehend his daughter's allusions, in the absence, of ocular
+evidence of a stranger's presence, and his wrath was too much excited to
+permit him to think much of any thing but his own causes of indignation.
+
+"Stand more in front of me, Mildred," he answered, angrily. "More before
+my face, as becomes one who don't know her duty to her parent, and needs
+be taught it."
+
+"Oh! Dutton," exclaimed the afflicted wife; "do not--do not--accuse
+Mildred of being undutiful! You know not what you say--know not her
+obliga--you cannot know her _heart_, or you would not use these cruel
+imputations!"
+
+"Silence, Mrs. Martha Dutton--my business is not with _you_, at present,
+but with this young lady, to whom, I hope, I may presume to speak a
+little plainly, as she is my own child. Silence, then, Mrs. Martha
+Dutton. If my memory is not treacherous, you once stood up before God's
+altar with me, and there vow'd to love, honour, and _obey_. Yes, that
+was the word; _obey_, Mrs. Martha Dutton."
+
+"And what did _you_ promise, at the same time, Frank?" exclaimed the
+wife, from whose bruised spirit this implied accusation was torn in an
+agony of mental suffering.
+
+"Nothing but what I have honestly and manfully performed. I promised to
+provide for you; to give you food and raiment; to let you hear my name,
+and stand before the world in the honourable character of honest Frank
+Dutton's wife."
+
+"Honourable!" murmured the wife, loud enough to be heard by both the
+Admiral and Mildred, and yet in a tone so smothered, as to elude the
+obtuse sense of hearing, that long excess had left her husband. When
+this expressive word had broken out of her very heart, however, she
+succeeded in suppressing her voice, and sinking into a chair, concealed
+her face in her hands, in silence.
+
+"Mildred, come hither," resumed the brutalized parent. "_You_ are my
+daughter, and whatever others have promised at the altar, and forgotten,
+a law of nature teaches you to obey me. You have two admirers, either of
+whom you ought to be glad to secure, though there is a great preference
+between them--"
+
+"Father!" exclaimed Mildred, every feeling of her sensitive nature
+revolting at this coarse allusion to a connection, and to sentiments,
+that she was accustomed to view as among the most sacred and private of
+her moral being. "Surely, you cannot mean what you say!"
+
+"Like mother, like child! Let but disobedience and disrespect get
+possession of a wife, and they are certain to run through a whole
+family, even though there were a dozen children! Harkee, Miss Mildred,
+it is _you_ who don't happen to know what you say, while I understand
+myself as well as most parents. Your mother would never acquaint you
+with what I feel it a duty to put plainly before your judgment; and,
+therefore, I expect you to listen as becomes a dutiful and affectionate
+child. You can secure either of these young Wychecombes, and either of
+them would be a good match for a poor, disgraced, sailing-master's
+daughter."
+
+"Father, I shall sink through the floor, if you say another word, in
+this cruel manner!"
+
+"No, dear; you'll neither sink nor swim, unless it be by making a bad,
+or a good choice. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe is Sir Wycherly's heir, and must
+be the next baronet, and possessor of this estate. Of course he is much
+the best thing, and you ought to give him a preference."
+
+"Dutton, _can_ you, as a father and a Christian, give such heartless
+counsel to your own child!" exclaimed Mrs. Dutton, inexpressibly shocked
+at the want of principle, as well as at the want of feeling, discovered
+in her husband's advice.
+
+"Mrs. Martha Dutton, I can; and believe the counsel to be any thing but
+heartless, too. Do you wish your daughter to be the wife of a miserable
+signal-station keeper, when she may become Lady Wychecombe, with a
+little prudent management, and the mistress of this capital old house,
+and noble estate?"
+
+"Father--father," interrupted Mildred, soothingly, though ready to sink
+with shame at the idea of Admiral Bluewater's being an auditor of such a
+conversation; "you forget yourself, and overlook my wishes. There is
+little probability of Mr. Thomas Wychecombe's ever thinking of me as a
+wife--or, indeed of anyone else's entertaining such thoughts."
+
+"That will turn out, as you manage matters, Milly. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe
+does not think of you as a _wife_, quite likely, just at this moment;
+but the largest whales are taken by means of very small lines, when the
+last are properly handled. This young lieutenant would have you
+to-morrow; though a more silly thing than for you two to marry, could
+not well be hit upon. He is only a lieutenant; and though his name is so
+good a one, it does not appear that he has any particular right to it."
+
+"And yet, Dutton, you were only a lieutenant when _you_ married, and
+your name was _nothing_ in the way of interest, or preferment," observed
+the mother, anxious to interpose some new feeling between her daughter,
+and the cruel inference left by the former part of her husband's speech.
+"We _then_ thought all lay bright before us!"
+
+"And so all would lie to this hour, Mrs. Dutton, but for that one silly
+act of mine. A man with the charges of a family on him, little pay, and
+no fortune, is driven to a thousand follies to hide his misery. You do
+not strengthen your case by reminding me of _that_ imprudence. But,
+Mildred, I do not tell you to cut adrift this young Virginian, for he
+may he of use in more ways than one. In the first place, you can play
+him off against Mr. Thomas Wychecombe; and, in the second place, a
+lieutenant is likely, one day, to be a captain; and the wife of a
+captain in His Majesty's navy, is no disreputable birth. I advise you,
+girl, to use this youngster as a bait to catch the heir with; and,
+failing a good bite, to take up with the lad himself."
+
+This was said dogmatically, but with a coarseness of manner that fully
+corresponded with the looseness of the principles, and the utter want of
+delicacy of feeling that alone could prompt such advice. Mrs. Dutton
+fairly groaned, as she listened to her husband, for never before had he
+so completely thrown aside the thin mask of decency that he ordinarily
+wore; but Mildred, unable to control the burst of wild emotion that came
+over her, broke away from the place she occupied at her father's knee,
+and, as if blindly seeking protection in any asylum that she fancied
+safe, found herself sobbing, as if her heart would break, in Admiral
+Bluewater's arms.
+
+Dutton followed the ungovernable, impulsive movement, with his eye, and
+for the first time he became aware in whose presence he had been
+exposing his native baseness. Wine had not so far the mastery of him, as
+to blind him to all the consequences, though it did stimulate him to a
+point that enabled him to face the momentary mortification of his
+situation.
+
+"I beg a thousand pardons, sir," he said, rising, and bowing low to his
+superior; "I was totally ignorant that I had the honour to be in the
+company of Admiral Bluewater--Admiral Blue, I find Jack calls you, sir;
+ha-ha-ha--a familiarity which is a true sign of love and respect. I
+never knew a captain, or a flag-officer, that got a regular, expressive
+ship's name, that he wasn't the delight of the whole service. Yes, sir;
+I find the people call Sir Gervaise, Little Jarvy, and yourself, Admiral
+Blue--ha-ha-ha--an infallible sign of merit in the superior, and of love
+in the men."
+
+"I ought to apologize, Mr. Dutton, for making one, so unexpectedly to
+myself, in a family council," returned the rear-admiral. "As for the
+men, they are no great philosophers, though tolerable judges of when
+they are well commanded, and well treated.--But, the hour is late, and
+it was my intention to sleep in my own ship, to-night. The coach of Sir
+Wycherly has been ordered to carry me to the landing, and I hope to have
+your permission to see these ladies home in it."
+
+The answer of Dutton was given with perfect self-possession, and in a
+manner to show that he knew how to exercise the courtesies of life, or
+to receive them, when in the humour.
+
+"It is an honour, sir, they will not think of declining, if my wishes
+are consulted," he said. "Come, Milly, foolish girl, dry your tears,
+and smile on Admiral Bluewater, for his condescension. Young women, sir,
+hardly know how to take a joke; and our ship's humours are sometimes a
+little strong for them. I tell my dear wife, sometimes--'Wife,' I say,
+'His Majesty can't have stout-hearted and stout-handed seamen, and the
+women poets and die-away swains, and all in the same individual,' says
+I. Mrs. Dutton understands me, sir; and so does little Milly; who is an
+excellent girl in the main; though a little addicted to using the
+eye-pumps, as we have it aboard ship, sir."
+
+"And, now, Mr. Dutton, it being understood that I am to see the ladies
+home, will you do me the favour to inquire after the condition of Sir
+Wycherly. One would not wish to quit his hospitable roof, in uncertainty
+as to his actual situation."
+
+Dutton was duly sensible of an awkwardness in the presence of his
+superior, and he gladly profited by this commission to quit the room;
+walking more steadily than if he had not been drinking.
+
+All this time, Mildred hung on Admiral Bluewater's shoulder, weeping,
+and unwilling to quit a place that seemed to her, in her fearful
+agitation, a sort of sanctuary.
+
+"Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, first kissing the cheek of his lovely
+burthen, in a manner so parental, that the most sensitive delicacy could
+not have taken the alarm; "you will succeed better than myself, in
+quieting the feelings of this little trembler. I need hardly say that if
+I have accidentally overheard more than I ought, it is as much a secret
+with me, as it would be with your own brother. The characters of all
+cannot be affected by the mistaken and excited calculations of one; and
+this occasion has served to make me better acquainted with you, and your
+admirable daughter, than I might otherwise have been, by means of years
+of ordinary intercourse."
+
+"Oh! Admiral Bluewater, do not judge him _too_ harshly! He has been too
+long at that fatal table, which I fear has destroyed poor dear Sir
+Wycherly, and knew not what he said. Never before have I seen him in
+such a fearful humour, or in the least disposed to trifle with, or to
+wound the feelings of this sweet child!"
+
+"Her extreme agitation is a proof of this, my good madam, and shows all
+you can wish to say. View me as your sincere friend, and place every
+reliance on my discretion."
+
+The wounded mother listened with gratitude, and Mildred withdrew from
+her extraordinary situation, wondering by what species of infatuation
+she could have been led to adopt it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+                    ----"Ah, Montague,
+    If thou be there, sweet brother, take my hand,
+    And with thy lips keep in my soul awhile!
+    Thou lov'st me not; for, brother, if thou didst,
+    Thy tears would wash this cold congealed blood
+    That glues my lips, and will not let me speak.
+    Come quickly, Montague, or I am dead."
+
+         KING HENRY VI.
+
+
+Sir Wycherly had actually been seized with a fit of apoplexy. It was the
+first serious disease he had experienced in a long life of health and
+prosperity; and the sight of their condescending, good-humored, and
+indulgent master, in a plight so miserable, had a surprising effect on
+the heated brains of all the household. Mr. Rotherham, a good
+three-bottle man, on emergency, had learned to bleed, and fortunately
+the vein he struck, as his patient still lay on the floor, where he had
+fallen, sent out a stream that had the effect not only to restore the
+baronet to life, but, in a great measure, to consciousness. Sir Wycherly
+was not a _hard_ drinker, like Dutton; but he was a _fair_ drinker, like
+Mr. Rotherham, and most of the beneficed clergy of that day. Want of
+exercise, as he grew older, had as much influence in producing his
+attack as excess of wine; and there were already, strong hopes of his
+surviving it, aided as he was, by a good constitution. The apothecary
+had reached the Hall, within five minutes after the attack, having
+luckily been prescribing to the gardener; and the physician and surgeon
+of the family were both expected in the course of the morning.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had been acquainted with the state of his host, by
+his own valet, as soon as it was known in the servants'-hall, and being
+a man of action, he did not hesitate to proceed at once to the chamber
+of the sick, to offer his own aid, in the absence of that which might be
+better. At the door of the chamber, he met Atwood, who had been summoned
+from his pen, and they entered together, the vice-admiral feeling for a
+lancet in his pocket, for he, too, had acquired the art of the
+blood-letter. They now learned the actual state of things.
+
+"Where is Bluewater?" demanded Sir Gervaise, after regarding his host a
+moment with commiseration and concern. "I hope he has not yet left the
+house."
+
+"He is still here, Sir Gervaise, but I should think on the point of
+quitting us. I heard him say, that, notwithstanding all Sir Wycherly's
+kind plans to detain him, he intended to sleep in his own ship."
+
+"That I've never doubted, though I've affected to believe otherwise. Go
+to him, Atwood, and say I beg he will pull within hail of the
+Plantagenet, as he goes off, and desire Mr. Magrath to come ashore, as
+soon as possible. There shall be a conveyance at the landing to bring
+him here; and he may order his own surgeon to come also, if it be
+agreeable to himself."
+
+With these instructions the secretary left the room; while Sir Gervaise
+turned to Tom Wychecombe, and said a few of the words customary on such
+melancholy occasions.
+
+"I think there is hope, sir," he added, "yes, sir, I think there is
+hope; though your honoured relative is no longer young--still, this
+early bleeding has been a great thing; and if we can gain a little time
+for poor Sir Wycherly, our efforts will not be thrown away. Sudden death
+is awful, sir, and few of us are prepared for it, either in mind, or
+affairs. We sailors have to hold our lives in our hands, it is true, but
+then it is for king and country; and we hope for mercy on all who fall
+in the discharge of their duties. For my part, I am never unprovided
+with a will, and that disposes of all the interests of this world, while
+I humbly trust in the Great Mediator, for the hereafter. I hope Sir
+Wycherly is equally provident as to his worldly affairs?"
+
+"No doubt my dear uncle could wish to leave certain trifling memorials
+behind him to a few of his intimates," returned Tom, with a dejected
+countenance; "but he has not been without a will, I believe, for some
+time; and I presume you will agree with me in thinking he is not in a
+condition to make one, now, were he unprovided in that way?"
+
+"Perhaps not exactly at this moment, though a rally might afford an
+opportunity. The estate is entailed, I think Mr. Dutton told me, at
+dinner."
+
+"It is, Sir Gervaise, and I am the unworthy individual who is to profit
+by it, according to the common notions of men, though Heaven knows I
+shall consider it any thing but a gain; still, I am the unworthy
+individual who is to be benefited by my uncle's death."
+
+"Your father was the baronet's next brother?" observed Sir Gervaise,
+casually, a shade of distrust passing athwart his mind, though coming
+from what source, or directed to what point, he was himself totally
+unable to say. "Mr. Baron Wychecombe, I believe, was your parent?"
+
+"He was, Sir Gervaise, and a most tender and indulgent father, I ever
+found him. He left me his earnings, some seven hundred a year, and I am
+sure the death of Sir Wycherly is as far from my necessities, as it is
+from my wishes."
+
+"Of course you will succeed to the baronetcy, as well as to the estate?"
+mechanically asked Sir Gervaise, led on by the supererogatory
+expressions of Tom, himself, rather than by a vulgar curiosity, to ask
+questions that, under other circumstances, he might have thought
+improper.
+
+"Of course, sir. My father was the only surviving brother of Sir
+Wycherly; the only one who ever married; and I am _his_ eldest child.
+Since this melancholy event has occurred, it is quite fortunate that I
+lately obtained this certificate of the marriage of my parents--is it
+not, sir?"
+
+Here Tom drew from his pocket a soiled piece of paper, which professed
+to be a certificate of the marriage of Thomas Wychecombe, barrister,
+with Martha Dodd, spinster, &c. &c. The document was duly signed by the
+rector of a parish church in Westminster, and bore a date sufficiently
+old to establish the legitimacy of the person who held it. This
+extraordinary precaution produced the very natural effect of increasing
+the distrust of the vice-admiral, and, in a slight degree, of giving it
+a direction.
+
+"You go well armed, sir," observed Sir Gervaise, drily. "Is it your
+intention, when you succeed, to carry the patent of the baronetcy, and
+the title-deeds, in your pocket?"
+
+"Ah! I perceive my having this document strikes you as odd, Sir
+Gervaise, but it can be easily explained. There was a wide difference in
+rank between my parents, and some ill-disposed persons have presumed so
+far to reflect on the character of my mother, as to assert she was not
+married at all."
+
+"In which case, sir, you would do well to cut off half-a-dozen of their
+ears."
+
+"The law is not to be appeased in that way, Sir Gervaise. My dear parent
+used to inculcate on me the necessity of doing every thing according to
+law; and I endeavour to remember his precepts. He avowed his marriage on
+his death-bed, made all due atonement to my respected and injured
+mother, and informed me in whose hands I should find this very
+certificate; I only obtained it this morning, which fact will account
+for its being in my pocket, at this melancholy and unexpected crisis, in
+my beloved uncle's constitution."
+
+The latter part of Tom's declaration was true enough; for, after having
+made all the necessary inquiries, and obtained the hand-writing of a
+clergyman who was long since dead, he had actually forged the
+certificate that day, on a piece of soiled paper, that bore the
+water-mark of 1720. His language, however, contributed to alienate the
+confidence of his listener; Sir Gervaise being a man who was so much
+accustomed to directness and fair-dealing, himself, as to feel disgust
+at any thing that had the semblance of cant or hypocrisy. Nevertheless,
+he had his own motives for pursuing the subject; the presence of neither
+at the bed-side of the sufferer, being just then necessary.
+
+"And this Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe," he said; "he who has so much
+distinguished himself of late; your uncle's namesake;--is it true that
+he is not allied to your family?"
+
+"Not in the least, Sir Gervaise," answered Tom, with one of his sinister
+smiles. "He is only a Virginian, you know, sir, and cannot well belong
+to us. I have heard my uncle say, often, that the young gentleman must
+be descended from an old servant of his father's, who was transported
+for stealing silver out of a shop on Ludgate Hill, and who was arrested
+for passing himself off, as one of the Wychecombe family. They tell me,
+Sir Gervaise, that the colonies are pretty much made of persons
+descended from that sort of ancestors?"
+
+"I cannot say that I have found it so; though, when I commanded a
+frigate, I served several years on the North American station. The
+larger portion of the Americans, like much the larger portion of the
+English, are humble labourers, established in a remote colony, where
+civilization is not far advanced, wants are many, and means few; but, in
+the way of character, I am not certain that they are not quite on a
+level with those they left behind them; and, as to the gentry of the
+colonies, I have seen many men of the best blood of the mother country
+among them;--younger sons, and their descendants, as a matter of course,
+but of an honourable and respected ancestry."
+
+"Well, sir, this surprises me; and it is not the general opinion, I am
+persuaded! Certainly, it is not the fact as respects the
+gentleman--stranger, I might call him, for stranger he is at
+Wychecombe--who has not the least right to pretend to belong to us."
+
+"Did you ever know him to lay claim to that honour, sir?"
+
+"Not directly, Sir Gervaise; though I am told he has made many hints to
+that effect, since he landed here to be cured of his wound. It would
+have been better had he presented his rights to the landlord, than to
+present them to the tenants, I think you will allow, as a man of honour,
+yourself, Sir Gervaise?"
+
+"I can approve of nothing clandestine in matters that require open and
+fair dealing, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe. But I ought to apologize for thus
+dwelling on your family affairs, which concern me only as I feel an
+interest in the wishes and happiness of my new acquaintance, my
+excellent host."
+
+"Sir Wycherly has property in the funds that is not entailed--quite
+£1000 a year, beyond the estates--and I know he has left a will,"
+continued Tom; who, with the short-sightedness of a rogue, flattered
+himself with having made a favourable impression on his companion, and
+who was desirous of making him useful to himself, in an emergency that
+he felt satisfied must terminate in the speedy death of his uncle. "Yes,
+a good £1000 a year, in the fives; money saved from his rents, in a long
+life. This will probably has some provision in favour of my younger
+brothers; and perhaps of this namesake of his,"--Tom was well aware that
+it devised every shilling, real and personal, to himself;--"for a kinder
+heart does not exist on earth. In fact, this will my uncle put in my
+possession, as heir at law, feeling it due to my pretensions, I suppose;
+but I have never presumed to look into it."
+
+Here was another instance of excessive finesse, in which Tom awakened
+suspicion by his very efforts to allay it. It seemed highly improbable
+to Sir Gervaise, that a man like the nephew could long possess his
+uncle's will, and feel no desire to ascertain its contents. The language
+of the young man was an indirect admission, that he might have examined
+the will if he would; and the admiral felt disposed to suspect that what
+he might thus readily have done, he actually had done. The dialogue,
+however, terminated here; Dutton, just at that moment, entering the room
+on the errand on which he had been sent by Admiral Bluewater, and Tom
+joining his old acquaintance, as soon as the latter made his appearance.
+Sir Gervaise Oakes was too much concerned for the condition of his host,
+and had too many cares of his own, to think deeply or long on what had
+just passed between himself and Tom Wychecombe. Had they separated that
+night, what had been said, and the unfavourable impressions it had made,
+would have been soon forgotten; but circumstances subsequently conspired
+to recall the whole to his mind, of which the consequences will be
+related in the course of our narrative.
+
+Dutton appeared to be a little shocked as he gazed upon the pallid
+features of Sir Wycherly, and he was not sorry when Tom led him aside,
+and began to speak confidentially of the future, and of the probable
+speedy death of his uncle. Had there been one present, gifted with the
+power of reading the thoughts and motives of men, a deep disgust of
+human frailties must have come over him, as these two impure spirits
+betrayed to him their cupidity and cunning. Outwardly, they were friends
+mourning over a mutual probable loss; while inwardly, Dutton was
+endeavouring to obtain such a hold of his companion's confidence, as
+might pave the way to his own future preferment to the high and
+unhoped-for station of a rich baronet's father-in-law; while Tom thought
+only of so far mystifying the master, as to make use of him, on an
+emergency, as a witness to establish his own claims. The manner in which
+he endeavoured to effect his object, however, must be left to the
+imagination of the reader, as we have matters of greater moment to
+record at this particular juncture.
+
+From the time Sir Wycherly was laid on his bed, Mr. Rotherham had been
+seated at the sick man's side, watching the course of his attack, and
+ready to interpret any of the patient's feebly and indistinctly
+expressed wishes. We say indistinctly, because the baronet's speech was
+slightly affected with that species of paralysis which reduces the
+faculty to the state that is vulgarly called thick-tongued. Although a
+three-bottle man, Mr. Rotherham was far from being without his devout
+feelings, on occasions, discharging all the clerical functions with as
+much unction as the habits of the country, and the opinions of the day,
+ordinarily exacted of divines. He had even volunteered to read the
+prayers for the sick, as soon as he perceived that the patient's
+recollection had returned; but this kind offer had been declined by Sir
+Wycherly, under the clearer views of fitness, that the near approach of
+death is apt to give, and which views left a certain consciousness that
+the party assembled was not in the best possible condition for that
+sacred office. Sir Wycherly revived so much, at last, as to look about
+him with increasing consciousness; and, at length, his eyes passed
+slowly over the room, scanning each person singly, and with marked
+deliberation.
+
+"I know you all--now," said the kind-hearted baronet, though always
+speaking thick, and with a little difficulty; "am sorry to give--much
+trouble. I have--little time to spare."
+
+"I hope not, Sir Wycherly," put in the vicar, in a consolatory manner;
+"you have had a sharp attack, but then there is a good constitution to
+withstand it."
+
+"My time--short--feel it here," rejoined the patient, passing his hand
+over his forehead.
+
+"Note that, Dutton," whispered Tom Wycherly. "My poor uncle intimates
+himself that his mind is a little shaken. Under such circumstances, it
+would be cruel to let him injure himself with business."
+
+"It cannot be done _legally_, Mr. Thomas--I should think Admiral Oakes
+would interfere to prevent it."
+
+"Rotherham," continued the patient, "I will--settle with--world; then,
+give--thoughts--to God. Have we--guests--the house?--Men of
+family--character?"
+
+"Certainly, Sir Wycherly; Admiral Oakes is in the room, even; and
+Admiral Bluewater, is, I believe, still in the house. You invited both
+to pass the night with you."
+
+"I remember it--now; my mind--still--confused,"--here Tom Wychecombe
+again nudged the master--"Sir Gervaise Oakes--an Admiral--ancient
+baronet--man of high honour. Admiral Bluewater, too--relative--Lord
+Bluewater; gentleman--universal esteem. You, too, Rotherham; wish my
+poor brother James--St. James--used to call him--had been
+living;--you--good neighbour--Rotherham."
+
+"Can I do any thing to prove it, my dear Sir Wycherly? Nothing would
+make me happier than to know, and to comply with, all your wishes, at a
+moment so important!"
+
+"Let all quit--room--but yourself--head feels worse--I cannot delay--"
+
+"'Tis cruel to distress my beloved uncle with business, or conversation,
+in his present state," interposed Tom Wychecombe, with emphasis, and, in
+a slight degree, with authority.
+
+All not only felt the truth of this, but all felt that the speaker, by
+his consanguinity, had a clear right to interfere, in the manner he had.
+Still Sir Gervaise Oakes had great reluctance in yielding to this
+remonstrance; for, to the distrust he had imbibed of Tom Wychecombe, was
+added an impression that his host wished to reveal something of
+interest, in connection with his new favourite, the lieutenant. He felt
+compelled, notwithstanding, to defer to the acknowledged nephew's better
+claims, and he refrained from interfering. Fortunately, Sir Wycherly was
+yet in a state to enforce his own wishes.
+
+"Let all quit--room," he repeated, in a voice that was startling by its
+unexpected firmness, and equally unexpected distinctness. "All but Sir
+Gervaise Oakes--Admiral Bluewater--Mr. Rotherham, Gentlemen--favour to
+remain--rest depart."
+
+Accustomed to obey their master's orders, more especially when given in
+a tone so decided, the domestics quitted the room, accompanied by
+Dutton; but Tom Wychecombe saw fit to remain, as if his presence were to
+be a matter of course.
+
+"Do me--favour--withdraw,--Mr. Wychecombe," resumed the baronet, after
+fixing his gaze on his nephew for some time, as if expecting him to
+retire without this request.
+
+"My beloved uncle, it is I--Thomas, your own brother's son--your next of
+kin--waiting anxiously by your respected bed-side. Do not--do
+not--confound me with strangers. Such a forgetfulness would break my
+heart!"
+
+"Forgive me, nephew--but I wish--alone with these
+gentle----head--getting--confused--"
+
+"You see how it is, Sir Gervaise Oakes--you see how it is, Mr.
+Rotherham. Ah! there goes the coach that is to take Admiral Bluewater to
+his boat. My uncle wished for three witnesses to something, and I can
+remain as one of the three."
+
+"Is it your pleasure, Sir Wycherly, to wish to see us alone?" asked Sir
+Gervaise, in a manner that showed authority would be exercised to
+enforce his request, should the uncle still desire the absence of his
+nephew.
+
+A sign from the sick man indicated the affirmative, and that in a manner
+too decided to admit of mistake.
+
+"You perceive, Mr. Wychecombe, what are your uncle's wishes," observed
+Sir Gervaise, very much in the way that a well-bred superior intimates
+to an inferior the compliance he expects; "I trust his desire will not
+be disregarded, at a moment like this."
+
+"I am Sir Wycherly Wychecombe's next of kin," said Tom, in a slightly
+bullying tone; "and no one has the same right as a relative, and, I may
+say, his heir, to be at his bed-side."
+
+"That depends on the pleasure of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe himself, sir.
+_He_ is master here; and, having done me the honour to invite me under
+his roof as a guest, and, now, having requested to see me alone, with
+others he has expressly named--one of whom you are not--I shall conceive
+it my duty to see his wishes obeyed."
+
+This was said in the firm, quiet way, that the habit of command had
+imparted to Sir Gervaise's manner; and Tom began to see it might be
+dangerous to resist. It was important, too, that one of the
+vice-admiral's character and station should have naught to say against
+him, in the event of any future controversy; and, making a few
+professions of respect, and of his desire to please his uncle, Tom
+quitted the room.
+
+A gleam of satisfaction shot over the sick man's countenance, as his
+nephew disappeared; and then his eye turned slowly towards the faces of
+those who remained.
+
+"Bluewater," he said, the thickness of his speech, and the general
+difficulty of utterance, seeming to increase; "the rear-admiral--I want
+all--respectable--witnesses in the house."
+
+"My friend has left us, I understand," returned Sir Gervaise, "insisting
+on his habit of never sleeping out of his ship; but Atwood must soon be
+back; I hope _he_ will answer!"
+
+A sign of assent was given; and, then, there was the pause of a minute,
+or two, ere the secretary made his appearance. As soon, however, as he
+had returned, the three collected around the baronet's bed, not without
+some of the weakness which men are supposed to have inherited from their
+common mother Eve, in connection with the motive for this singular
+proceeding of the baronet.
+
+"Sir Gervaise--Rotherham--Mr. Atwood," slowly repeated the patient, his
+eye passing from the face of one to that of another, as he uttered the
+name of each; "three witnesses--that will do--Thomas said--must have
+_three_--three _good_ names."
+
+"What can we do to serve you, Sir Wycherly?" inquired the admiral, with
+real interest. "You have only to name your requests, to have them
+faithfully attended to."
+
+"Old Sir Michael Wychecombe, Kt.--two wives--Margery and Joan. Two
+wives--two sons--half-blood--Thomas, James, Charles, and Gregory,
+_whole_--Sir Reginald Wychecombe, _half_. Understand--hope--gentlemen?"
+
+"This is not being very clear, certainly," whispered Sir Gervaise; "but,
+perhaps by getting hold of the other end of the rope, we may under-run
+it, as we sailors say, and come at the meaning--we will let the poor man
+proceed, therefore. Quite plain, my dear sir, and what have you next to
+tell us. You left off without saying only _half_ about Sir Reginald."
+
+"Half-blood; only _half_--Tom and the rest, whole. Sir Reginald, no
+_nullius_--young Tom, a _nullius_."
+
+"A _nullius_, Mr. Rotherham! You understand Latin, sir; what can a
+_nullius_, mean? No such rope in the ship, hey! Atwood?"
+
+"_Nullius_, or _nullius_, as it ought sometimes to be pronounced, is the
+genitive case, singular, of the pronoun _nullus; nullus, nulla, nullum_;
+which means, 'no man,' 'no woman,' 'no thing.' _Nullius_ means, 'of no
+man,' 'of no woman,' 'of no thing.'"
+
+The vicar gave this explanation, much in the way a pedagogue would have
+explained the matter to a class.
+
+"Ay-ay--any school-boy could have told that, which is the first form
+learning. But what the devil can 'Nom. _nullus, nulla, nullum_; Gen.
+_nullius, nullius, nullius_,' have to do with Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, the
+nephew and heir of the present baronet?"
+
+"That is more than I can inform you, Sir Gervaise," answered the vicar,
+stiffly; "but, for the Latin, I will take upon myself to answer, that it
+is good."
+
+Sir Gervaise was too-well bred to laugh, but he found it difficult to
+suppress a smile.
+
+"Well, Sir Wycherly," resumed the vice-admiral, "this is quite
+plain--Sir Reginald is only _half_, while your nephew Tom, and the rest,
+are _whole_--Margery and Joan, and all that. Any thing more to tell us,
+my dear sir?"
+
+"Tom _not_ whole--_nullus_, I wish to say. Sir Reginald _half_--no
+_nullus_."
+
+"This is like being at sea a week, without getting a sight of the sun! I
+am all adrift, now, gentlemen."
+
+"Sir Wycherly does not attend to his cases," put in Atwood, drily. "At
+one time, he is in the _genitive_, and then he gets back to the
+_nominative_; which is leaving us in the _vocative_"
+
+"Come--come--Atwood, none of your gun-room wit, on an occasion so solemn
+as this. My dear Sir Wycherly, have you any thing more to tell us? I
+believe we perfectly understand you, now. Tom is not _whole_--you wish
+to say _nullus_, and not to say _nullius_. Sir Reginald is only _half_,
+but he is no _nullus_."
+
+"Yes, sir--that is it," returned the old man, smiling. "_Half_, but no
+_nullus_. Change my mind--seen too much of the other, lately--Tom, my
+nephew--want to make _him_ my heir."
+
+"This is getting clearer, out of all question. You wish to make your
+nephew, Tom, your heir. But the law does that already, does it not my
+dear sir? Mr. Baron Wychecombe was the next brother of the baronet; was
+he not, Mr. Rotherham?"
+
+"So I have always understood, sir; and Mr. Thomas Wychecombe must be the
+heir at law."
+
+"No--no--_nullus_--_nullus_," repeated Sir Wycherly, with so much
+eagerness as to make his voice nearly indistinct; "Sir Reginald--Sir
+Reginald--Sir Reginald."
+
+"And pray, Mr. Rotherham, who may this Sir Reginald be? Some old baronet
+of the family, I presume."
+
+"Not at all, sir; it is Sir Reginald Wychecombe of Wychecombe-Regis,
+Herts; a baronet of Queen Anne's time, and a descendant from a cadet of
+this family, I am told."
+
+"This is getting on soundings--I had taken it into my head this Sir
+Reginald was some old fellow of the reign of one of the Plantagenets.
+Well, Sir Wycherly, do you wish us to send an express into
+Hertfordshire, in quest of Sir Reginald Wychecombe, who is quite likely
+your executor? Do not give yourself the pain to speak; a sign will
+answer."
+
+Sir Wycherly seemed struck with the suggestion, which, the reader will
+readily understand, was far from being his real meaning; and then he
+smiled, and nodded his head in approbation.
+
+Sir Gervaise, with the prompitude of a man of business, turned to the
+table where the vicar had written notes to the medical men, and dictated
+a short letter to his secretary. This letter he signed, and in five
+minutes Atwood left the room, to order it to be immediately forwarded by
+express. When this was done, the admiral rubbed his hands, in
+satisfaction, like a man who felt he had got himself cleverly out of a
+knotty difficulty.
+
+"I don't see, after all, Mr. Rotherham," he observed to the vicar, as
+they stood together, in a corner of the room, waiting the return of the
+secretary; "what he lugged in that school-boy Latin for--_nullus, nulla,
+nullum_! Can you possibly explain _that_?"
+
+"Not unless it was Sir Wycherly's desire to say, that Sir Reginald,
+being descended from a younger son, was nobody--as yet, had no
+woman--and I believe he is not married--and was poor, or had 'no
+_thing_.'"
+
+"And is Sir Wycherly such a desperate scholar, that he would express
+himself in this hieroglyphical manner, on what I fear will prove to be
+his death-bed?"
+
+"Why, Sir Gervaise, Sir Wycherly was educated like all other young
+gentlemen, but has forgotten most of his classics, in the course of a
+long life of ease and affluence. Is it not probable, now, that his
+recollection has returned to him suddenly, in consequence of this
+affection of the head? I think I have read of some curious instances of
+these reviving memories, on a death-bed, or after a fit of sickness."
+
+"Ay, that you may have done!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, smiling; "and
+poor, good Sir Wycherly, must have begun afresh, at the very place where
+he left off. But here is Atwood, again."
+
+After a short consultation, the three chosen witnesses returned to the
+bed-side, the admiral being spokesman.
+
+"The express will be off in ten minutes. Sir Wycherly," he said; "and
+you may hope to see your relative, in the course of the next two or
+three days."
+
+"Too late--too late," murmured the patient, who had an inward
+consciousness of his true situation; "too late--turn the will round--Sir
+Reginald, Tom;--Tom, Sir Reginald. Turn the will round."
+
+"Turn the will round!--this is very explicit, gentlemen, to those who
+can understand it. Sir Reginald, Tom;--Tom, Sir Reginald. At all events,
+it is clear that his mind is dwelling on the disposition of his
+property, since he speaks of wills. Atwood, make a note of these words,
+that there need be no mistake. I wonder he has said nothing of our brave
+young lieutenant, his namesake. There can be no harm, Mr. Rotherham, in
+just mentioning that fine fellow to him, in a moment like this?"
+
+"I see none, sir. It is _our_ duty to remind the sick of _their_
+duties."
+
+"Do you not wish to see your young namesake, Lieutenant _Wycherly_
+Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly?" asked the admiral; sufficiently emphasizing
+the Christian name. "He must be in the house, and I dare say would be
+happy to obey your wishes."
+
+"I hope he is well, sir--fine young gentleman--honour to the name, sir."
+
+"Quite true, Sir Wycherly; and an honour to the _nation_, too."
+
+"Didn't know Virginia was a _nation_--so much the better--fine young
+_Virginian_, sir."
+
+"Of your _family_, no doubt, Sir Wycherly, as well as of your name,"
+added the admiral, who secretly suspected the young sailor of being a
+son of the baronet, notwithstanding all he had heard to the contrary.
+"An exceedingly fine young man, and an honour to any house in England!"
+
+"I suppose they _have_ houses in Virginia--bad climate; houses
+necessary. No relative, sir;--probably a _nullus_. Many
+Wychecombes, _nulluses_. Tom, a _nullus_--this young gentleman, a
+_nullus_--Wychecombes of Surrey, all _nulluses_--Sir Reginald no
+_nullus_; but a _half_--Thomas, James, Charles, and Gregory, all
+_whole_. My brother, Baron Wychecombe, told me--before died."
+
+"_Whole what_, Sir Wycherly?" asked the admiral, a little vexed at the
+obscurity of the other's language.
+
+"Blood--_whole blood_, sir. Capital law, Sir Gervaise; had it from the
+baron--first hand."
+
+Now, one of the peculiarities of England is, that, in the division of
+labour, few know any thing material about the law, except the
+professional men. Even their knowledge is divided and sub-divided, in a
+way that makes a very fair division of profit. Thus the conveyancer is
+not a barrister; the barrister is not an attorney; and the chancery
+practitioner would be an unsafe adviser for one of the purely law
+courts. That particular provision of the common law, which Baron
+Wychecombe had mentioned to his brother, as the rule of the
+_half-blood_, has been set aside, or modified, by statute, within the
+last ten years; but few English laymen would be at all likely to know of
+such a law of descent even when it existed; for while it did violence to
+every natural sentiment of right, it lay hidden in the secrets of the
+profession. Were a case stated to a thousand intelligent Englishmen, who
+had not read law, in which it was laid down that brothers, by different
+mothers, though equally sons of the founder of the estate, could not
+take from each other, unless by devise or entail, the probability is
+that quite nine in ten would deny the existence of any rule so absurd;
+and this, too, under the influence of feelings that were creditable to
+their sense of natural justice. Nevertheless, such was one of the
+important provisions of the "perfection of reason," until the recent
+reforms in English law; and it has struck us as surprising, that an
+ingenious writer of fiction, who has recently charmed his readers with a
+tale, the interest of which turns principally on the vicissitudes of
+practice, did not bethink him of this peculiar feature of his country's
+laws; inasmuch as it would have supplied mystery sufficient for a dozen
+ordinary romances, and improbabilities enough for a hundred. That Sir
+Gervaise and his companions should be ignorant of the "law of the
+half-blood," is, consequently, very much a matter of course; and no one
+ought to be surprised that the worthy baronet's repeated allusions to
+the "whole," and the "half," were absolutely enigmas, which neither had
+the knowledge necessary to explain.
+
+"What _can_ the poor fellow mean?" demanded the admiral, more concerned
+than he remembered ever before to have been, on any similar occasion.
+"One could wish to serve him as much as possible, but all this about
+'_nullus_,' and 'whole blood,' and 'half,' is so much gibberish to
+me--can you make any thing of it,--hey! Atwood?"
+
+"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, it seems a matter for a judge, rather than
+for man-of-war's men, like ourselves."
+
+"It certainly can have no connection with this rising of the Jacobites?
+_That_ is an affair likely to trouble a loyal subject, in his last
+moments, Mr. Rotherham!"
+
+"Sir Wycherly's habits and age forbid the idea that he knows more of
+_that_, sir, than is known to us all. His request, however, to 'turn the
+will round,' I conceive to be altogether explicit. Several capital
+treatises have appeared lately on the 'human will,' and I regret to say,
+my honoured friend and patron has not always been quite as orthodox on
+that point, as I could wish. I, therefore, consider his words as
+evidence of a hearty repentance."
+
+Sir Gervaise looked about him, as was his habit when any droll idea
+crossed his mind; but again suppressing the inclination to smile, he
+answered with suitable gravity--
+
+"I understand you, sir; you think all these inexplicable terms are
+connected with Sir Wycherly's religious feelings. You may certainly be
+right, for it exceeds my knowledge to connect them with any thing else.
+I wish, notwithstanding, he had not disowned this noble young lieutenant
+of ours! Is it quite certain the young man is a Virginian?"
+
+"So I have always understood it, sir. He has never been known in this
+part of England, until he was landed from a frigate in the roads, to be
+cured of a serious wound. I think none of Sir Wycherly's allusions have
+the least reference to _him_."
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes now joined his hands behind his back, and walked
+several times, quarter-deck fashion, to and fro, in the room. At each
+turn, his eyes glanced towards the bed, and he ever found the gaze of
+the sick man anxiously fastened on himself. This satisfied him that
+religion had nothing to do with his host's manifest desire to make
+himself understood; and his own trouble was greatly increased. It seemed
+to him, as if the dying man was making incessant appeals to his aid,
+without its being in his power to afford it. It was not possible for a
+generous man, like Sir Gervaise, to submit to such a feeling without an
+effort; and he soon went to the side of the bed, again, determined to
+bring the affair to some intelligible issue.
+
+"Do you think, Sir Wycherly, you could write a few lines, if we put pen,
+ink, and paper before you?" he asked, as a sort of desperate remedy.
+
+"Impossible--can hardly see; have got no strength--stop--will try--if
+you please."
+
+Sir Gervaise was delighted with this, and he immediately directed his
+companions to lend their assistance. Atwood and the vicar bolstered the
+old man up, and the admiral put the writing materials before him,
+substituting a large quarto bible for a desk. Sir Wycherly, after
+several abortive attempts, finally got the pen in his hand, and with
+great difficulty traced six or seven nearly illegible words, running the
+line diagonally across the paper. By this time his powers failed him
+altogether, and he sunk back, dropping the pen, and closing his eyes in
+a partial insensibility. At this critical instant, the surgeon entered,
+and at once put an end to the interview, by taking charge of the
+patient, and directing all but one or two necessary attendants, to quit
+the room.
+
+The three chosen witnesses of what had just past, repaired together to a
+parlour; Atwood, by a sort of mechanical habit, taking with him the
+paper on which the baronet had scrawled the words just mentioned. This,
+by a sort of mechanical use, also, he put into the hands of Sir
+Gervaise, as soon as they entered the room; much as he would have laid
+before his superior, an order to sign, or a copy of a letter to the
+secretary of the Navy Board.
+
+"This is as bad as the '_nullus_!'" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, after
+endeavouring to decipher the scrawl in vain. "What is this first word,
+Mr. Rotherham--'Irish,' is it not,--hey! Atwood?"
+
+"I believe it is no move than 'I-n,' stretched over much more paper than
+is necessary."
+
+"You are right enough, vicar; and the next word is 'the,' though it
+looks like a _chevaux de frise_--what follows? It looks like
+'man-of-war.' Atwood?"
+
+"I beg your pardon, Sir Gervaise; this first letter is what I should
+call an elongated n--the next is certainly an a--the third looks like
+the waves of a river--ah! it is an m--and the last is an
+e--n-a-m-e--that makes 'name,' gentlemen."
+
+"Yes," eagerly added the vicar, "and the two next words are, 'of God.'"
+
+"Then it is religion, after all, that was on the poor man's mind!"
+exclaimed Sir Gervaise, in a slight degree disappointed, if the truth
+must be told. "What's this A-m-e-n--'Amen'--why it's a sort of prayer."
+
+"This is the form in which it is usual to commence wills, I believe, Sir
+Gervaise," observed the secretary, who had written many a one, on board
+ship, in his day. "'In the name of God, Amen.'"
+
+"By George, you're right, Atwood; and the poor man was trying, all the
+while, to let us know how he wished to dispose of his property! What
+could he mean by the _nullus_--it is not possible that the old gentleman
+has nothing to leave?"
+
+"I'll answer for it, Sir Gervaise, _that_ is not the true explanation,"
+the vicar replied. "Sir Wycherly's affairs are in the best order; and,
+besides the estate, he has a large sum in the funds."
+
+"Well, gentlemen, we can do no more to-night. A medical man is already
+in the house, and Bluewater will send ashore one or two others from the
+fleet. In the morning, if Sir Wycherly is in a state to converse, this
+matter shall be attended to."
+
+The party now separated; a bed being provided for the vicar, and the
+admiral and his secretary retiring to their respective rooms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+    "Bid physicians talk our veins to temper,
+    And with an argument new-set a pulse;
+    Then think, my lord, of reasoning into love."
+
+         YOUNG.
+
+
+While the scene just related, took place in the chamber of the sick man,
+Admiral Bluewater, Mrs. Dutton, and Mildred left the house, in the old
+family-coach. The rear-admiral had pertinaciously determined to adhere
+to his practice of sleeping in his ship; and the manner in which he had
+offered seats to his two fair companions--for Mrs. Dutton still deserved
+to be thus termed--has already been seen. The motive was simply to
+remove them from any further brutal exhibitions of Dutton's cupidity,
+while he continued in his present humour; and, thus influenced, it is
+not probable that the gallant old sailor would be likely to dwell, more
+than was absolutely necessary, on the unpleasant scene of which he had
+been a witness. In fact, no allusion was made to it, during the quarter
+of an hour the party was driving from the Hall to the station-house.
+They all spoke, with regret,--Mildred with affectionate tenderness,
+even,--of poor Sir Wycherly; and several anecdotes, indicative of his
+goodness of heart, were eagerly related to Bluewater, by the two
+females, as the carriage moved heavily along. In the time mentioned, the
+vehicle drew up before the door of the cottage, and all three alighted.
+
+If the morning of that day had been veiled in mist, the sun had set in
+as cloudless a sky, as is often arched above the island of Great
+Britain. The night was, what in that region, is termed a clear
+moonlight. It was certainly not the mimic day that is so often enjoyed
+in purer atmospheres, but the panorama of the head-land was clothed in a
+soft, magical sort of semi-distinctness, that rendered objects
+sufficiently obvious, and exceedingly beautiful. The rounded, shorn
+swells of the land, hove upward to the eye, verdant and smooth; while
+the fine oaks of the park formed a shadowy background to the picture,
+inland. Seaward, the ocean was glittering, like a reversed plane of the
+firmament, far as eye could reach. If our own hemisphere, or rather this
+latitude, may boast of purer skies than are enjoyed by the mother
+country, the latter has a vast superiority in the tint of the water.
+While the whole American coast is bounded by a dull-looking sheet of
+sea-green, the deep blue of the wide ocean appears to be carried close
+home to the shores of Europe. This glorious tint, from which the term of
+"ultramarine" has been derived, is most remarkable in the Mediterranean,
+that sea of delights; but it is met with, all along the rock-bound
+coasts of the Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, extending through the
+British Channel, until it is in a measure, lost on the shoals of the
+North Sea; to be revived, however, in the profound depths of the ocean
+that laves the wild romantic coast of Norway.
+
+"'Tis a glorious night!" exclaimed Bluewater, as he handed Mildred, the
+last, from the carriage; "and one can hardly wish to enter a cot, let it
+swing ever so lazily."
+
+"Sleep is out of the question," returned Mildred, sorrowfully. "These
+are nights in which even the weary are reluctant to lose their
+consciousness; but who can sleep while there is this uncertainty about
+dear Sir Wycherly."
+
+"I rejoice to hear you say this, Mildred,"--for so the admiral had
+unconsciously, and unrepelled, begun to call his sweet companion--"I
+rejoice to hear you say this, for I am an inveterate star-gazer and
+moon-ite; and I shall hope to persuade you and Mrs. Dutton to waste yet
+another hour, with me, in walking on this height. Ah! yonder is Sam
+Yoke, my coxswain, waiting to report the barge; I can send Sir
+Gervaise's message to the surgeons, by deputy, and there will be no
+occasion for my hastening from this lovely spot, and pleasant company."
+
+The orders were soon given to the coxswain. A dozen boats, it would
+seem, were in waiting for officers ashore, notwithstanding the lateness
+of the hour; and directions were sent for two of them to pull off, and
+obtain the medical men. The coach was sent round to receive the latter,
+and then all was tranquil, again, on the height. Mrs. Dutton entered the
+house, to attend to some of her domestic concerns, while the
+rear-admiral took the arm of Mildred, and they walked, together, to the
+verge of the cliffs.
+
+A fairer moonlight picture seldom offered itself to a seaman's eye, than
+that which now lay before the sight of Admiral Bluewater and Mildred.
+Beneath them rode the fleet; sixteen sail of different rigs, eleven of
+which, however, were two-decked ships of the largest size then known in
+naval warfare; and all of which were in that perfect order, that an
+active and intelligent commander knows how to procure, even from the
+dilatory and indifferent. If Admiral Bluewater was conspicuous in
+man[oe]uvring a fleet, and in rendering every vessel of a line that
+extended a league, efficient, and that too, in her right place, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes had the reputation of being one of the best seamen, in
+the ordinary sense of the word, in England. No vessel under his command,
+ever had a lubberly look; and no ship that had any sailing in her,
+failed to have it brought out of her. The vice-admiral was familiar with
+that all-important fact--one that members equally of Congress and of
+Parliament are so apt to forgot, or rather not to know at all--that the
+efficiency of a whole fleet, as a fleet, is necessarily brought down to
+the level of its worst ships. Of little avail is it, that four or five
+vessels of a squadron sail fast, and work well, if the eight or ten that
+remain, behave badly, and are dull. A separation of the vessels is the
+inevitable consequence, when the properties of all are thoroughly tried;
+and the division of a force, is the first step towards its defeat; as
+its proper concentration, is a leading condition of victory. As the
+poorer vessels cannot imitate the better, the good are compelled to
+regulate their movements by the bad; which is at once essentially
+bringing down the best ships of a fleet to the level of its worst; the
+proposition with which we commenced.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes was so great a favourite, that all he asked was
+usually conceded to him. One of his conditions was, that his vessels
+should sail equally well; "If you give me fast ships," he said, "I can
+overtake the enemy; if dull, the enemy can overtake me; and I leave you
+to say which course will be most likely to bring on an action. At any
+rate, give me _consorts_; not one flyer, and one drag; but vessels that
+can keep within hail of each other, without anchoring." The admiralty
+professed every desire to oblige the gallant commander; and, as he was
+resolved never to quit the Plantagenet until she was worn out, it was
+indispensably necessary to find as many fast vessels as possible, to
+keep her company. The result was literally a fleet of "horses," as
+Galleygo used to call it; and it was generally said in the service, that
+"Oakes had a squadron of flyers, if not a flying-squadron."
+
+Vessels like these just mentioned, are usually symmetrical and graceful
+to the eye, as well as fast. This fact was apparent to Mildred,
+accustomed as she was to the sight of ships and she ventured to express
+as much, after she and her companion had stood quite a minute on the
+cliff, gazing at the grand spectacle beneath them.
+
+"Your vessels look even handsomer than common, Admiral Bluewater," she
+said, "though a ship, to me, is always an attractive sight."
+
+"This is because they _are_ handsomer than common, my pretty critic.
+Vice-Admiral Oakes is an officer who will no more tolerate an ugly ship
+in his fleet, than a peer of the realm will marry any woman but one who
+is handsome; unless indeed she happen to be surpassingly rich."
+
+"I have heard that men are accustomed to lose their hearts under such an
+influence," said Mildred, laughing; "but I did not know before, that
+they were ever frank enough to avow it!"
+
+"The knowledge has been imparted by a prudent mother, I suppose,"
+returned the rear-admiral, in a musing manner; "I wish I stood
+sufficiently in the parental relation to you, my young friend, to
+venture to give a little advice, also. Never, before, did I feel so
+strong a wish to warn a human being of a great danger that I fear is
+impending over her, could I presume to take the liberty."
+
+"It is not a liberty, but a duty, to warn any one of a danger that is
+known to ourselves, and not to the person who incurs the risk. At least
+so it appears to the eyes of a very young girl."
+
+"Yes, if the danger was of falling from these cliffs, or of setting fire
+to a house, or of any other visible calamity. The case is different,
+when young ladies, and setting fire to the heart, are concerned."
+
+"Certainly, I can perceive the distinction," answered Mildred, after a
+short pause; "and can understand that the same person who would not
+scruple to give the alarm against any physical danger, would hesitate
+even at hinting at one of a moral character. Nevertheless, if Admiral
+Bluewater think a simple girl, like me, of sufficient importance to take
+the trouble to interest himself in her welfare, I should hope he would
+not shrink from pointing out this danger. It is a terrible word to sleep
+on; and I confess, besides a little uneasiness, to a good deal of
+curiosity to know more."
+
+"This is said, Mildred, because you are unaccustomed to the shocks which
+the tongue of rude man may give your sensitive feelings."
+
+"Unaccustomed!" said Mildred, trembling so that the weakness was
+apparent to her companion. "Unaccustomed! Alas! Admiral Bluewater, can
+this be so, after what you have seen and heard!"
+
+"Pardon me, dear child: nothing was farther from my thoughts, than to
+wish to revive those unpleasant recollections. If I thought I should be
+forgiven, I might venture, yet, to reveal my secret; for never
+before--though I cannot tell the reason of so sudden and so
+extraordinary an interest in one who is almost a stranger--"
+
+"No--no--not a stranger, dear sir. After all that has passed to-day;
+after you have been admitted, though it were by accident, to one most
+sacred secret;--after all that was said in the carriage, and the
+terrible scenes my beloved mother went through in your presence so many
+years since, you can never be a stranger to _us_, whatever may be your
+own desire to fancy yourself one."
+
+"Girl, you do not fascinate--you do not charm me, but you _bind_ me to
+you in a way I did not think it in the power of any human being to
+subjugate my feelings!"
+
+This was said with so much energy, that Mildred dropped the arm she
+held, and actually recoiled a step, if not in alarm, at least in
+surprise. But, on looking up into the face of her companion, and
+perceiving large tears actually glistening on his cheek, and seeing the
+hair that exposure and mental cares had whitened more than time, all her
+confidence returned, and she resumed the place she had abandoned, of her
+own accord, and as naturally as a daughter would have clung to the side
+of a father.
+
+"I am sure, sir, my gratitude for this interest ought to be quite equal
+to the honour it does me," Mildred said, earnestly. "And, now, Admiral
+Bluewater, do not hesitate to speak to me with the frankness that a
+parent might use. I will listen with the respect and deference of a
+daughter."
+
+"Then do listen to what I have to say, and make no answer, if you find
+yourself wounded at the freedom I am taking. It would seem that there is
+but one subject on which a man, old fellow or young fellow, can speak to
+a lovely young girl, when he gets her alone, under the light of a fine
+moon;--and that is love. Nay, start not again, my dear, for, if I am
+about to speak on so awkward a subject, it is not in my own behalf I
+hardly know whether you will think it in behalf of any one; as what I
+have to say, is not an appeal to your affections, but a warning against
+bestowing them."
+
+"A warning, Admiral Bluewater! Do you really think that can be
+necessary?"
+
+"Nay, my child, that is best known to yourself. Of one thing I am
+certain; the young man I have in my eye, affects to admire you, whether
+he does or not; and when young women are led to believe they are loved,
+it is a strong appeal to all their generous feelings to answer the
+passion, if not with equal warmth, at least with something very like
+it."
+
+"Affects to admire, sir!--And why should any one be at the pains of
+_affecting_ feelings towards me, that they do not actually entertain? I
+have neither rank, nor money, to bribe any one to be guilty of an
+hypocrisy so mean, and which, in my ease, would be so motiveless."
+
+"Yes, if it _were_ motiveless to win the most beautiful creature in
+England! But, no matter. We will not stop to analyze motives, when
+_facts_ are what we aim at. I should think there must be some passion in
+this youth's suit, and that will only make it so much the more dangerous
+to its object. At all events, I feel a deep conviction that he is
+altogether unworthy of you. This is a bold expression of opinion on an
+acquaintance of a day; but there are such reasons for it, that a man of
+my time of life, if unprejudiced, can scarcely be deceived."
+
+"All this is very singular, sir, and I had almost used your own word of
+'alarming,'" replied Mildred, slightly agitated by curiosity, but more
+amused. "I shall be as frank as yourself, and say that you judge the
+gentleman harshly. Mr. Rotherham may not have all the qualities that a
+clergyman ought to possess, but he is far from being a bad man. Good or
+bad, however, it is not probable that he will carry his transient
+partiality any farther than he has gone already."
+
+"Mr. Rotherham!--I have neither thought nor spoken of the pious vicar at
+all!"
+
+Mildred was now sadly confused. Mr. Rotherham had made his proposals for
+her, only the day before, and he had been mildly, but firmly refused.
+The recent occurrence was naturally uppermost in her mind; and the
+conjecture that her rejected suitor, under the influence of wine, might
+have communicated the state of his wishes, or what he fancied to be the
+state of his wishes, to her companion, was so very easy, that she had
+fallen into the error, almost without reflection.
+
+"I beg pardon, sir--I really imagined," the confused girl answered;
+"but, it was a natural mistake for me to suppose you meant Mr.
+Rotherham, as he is the only person who has ever spoken to my mother on
+the subject of any thing like a preference for me."
+
+"I should have less fear of those who spoke to your mother, Mildred,
+than of those who spoke only to _you_. As I hate ambiguity, however, I
+will say, at once, that my allusion was to Mr. Wychecombe."
+
+"Mr. Wychecombe, Admiral Bluewater!"--and the veteran felt the arm that
+leaned on him tremble violently, a sad confirmation of even more than he
+apprehended, or he would not have been so abrupt. "Surely--surely--the
+warning you mean, cannot, _ought_ not to apply to a gentleman of Mr.
+Wychecombe's standing and character!"
+
+"Such is the world, Miss Dutton, and we old seamen, in particular, get
+to know it, whether willingly or not. My sudden interest in you, the
+recollection of former, but painful scenes, and the events of the day,
+have made me watchful, and, you will add, bold--but I am resolved to
+speak, even at the risk of disobliging you for ever--and, in speaking, I
+must say that I never met with a young man who has made so unfavourable
+an impression on me, as this same Mr. Wychecombe."
+
+Mildred, unconsciously to herself, withdrew her arm, and she felt
+astonished at her own levity, in so suddenly becoming sufficiently
+intimate with a stranger to permit him thus to disparage a confirmed
+friend.
+
+"I am sorry, sir, that you entertain so indifferent an opinion of one
+who is, I believe, a general favourite, in this part of the country,"
+she answered, with a coldness that rendered her manner marked.
+
+"I perceive I shall share the fate of all unwelcome counsellors, but can
+only blame my own presumption. Mildred, we live in momentous times, and
+God knows what is to happen to myself, in the next few months; but, so
+strong is the inexplicable interest that I feel in your welfare, that I
+shall venture still to offend. I like not this Mr. Wychecombe, who is so
+devout an admirer of yours--real or affected--and, as to the liking of
+dependants for the heir of a considerable estate, it is so much a matter
+of course, that I count it nothing."
+
+"The heir of a considerable estate!" repeated Mildred, in a voice to
+which the natural sweetness returned, quietly resuming the arm, she had
+so unceremoniously dropped--"Surely, dear sir, you are not speaking of
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly's nephew."
+
+"Of whom else should I speak?--Has he not been your shadow the whole
+day?--so marked in his attentions, as scarce to deem it necessary to
+conceal his suit?"
+
+"Has it really struck you thus, sir?--I confess I did not so consider
+it. We are so much at home at the Hall, that we rather expect all of
+that family to be kind to us. But, whether you are right in your
+conjecture, or not, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe can never be ought to me--and
+as proof, Admiral Bluewater, that I take your warning, as it is meant,
+in kindness and sincerity, I will add, that he is not a very particular
+favourite."
+
+"I rejoice to hear it! Now there is his namesake, our young lieutenant,
+as gallant and as noble a fellow as ever lived--would to Heaven be was
+not so wrapt up in his profession, as to be insensible to any beauties,
+but those of a ship. Were you my own daughter, Mildred, I could give you
+to that lad, with as much freedom as I would give him my estate, were he
+my son."
+
+Mildred smiled--and it was archly, though not without a shade of sorrow,
+too--but she had sufficient self-command, to keep her feelings to
+herself, and too much maiden reserve not to shrink from betraying her
+weakness to one who, after all, was little more than a stranger.
+
+"I dare say, sir," she answered, with an equivocation which was perhaps
+venial, "that your knowledge of the world has judged both these
+gentlemen, rightly. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, notwithstanding all you heard
+from my poor father, is not likely to think seriously of me; and I will
+answer for my own feelings as regards _him_. I am, in no manner, a
+proper person to become Lady Wychecombe; and, I trust, I should have the
+prudence to decline the honour were it even offered to me. Believe me,
+sir, my father would have held a different language to-night, had it not
+been for Sir Wycherly's wine, and the many loyal toasts that were drunk.
+He _must_ be conscious, in his reflecting moments, that a child of his
+is unsuited to so high a station. Our prospects in life were once better
+than they are now, Admiral Bluewater; but they have never been such as
+to raise these high expectations in us."
+
+"An officer's daughter may always claim to be a gentlewoman, my dear;
+and, as such, you might become the wife of a duke, did he love you.
+Since I find my warning unnecessary, however, we will change the
+discourse. Did not something extraordinary occur at this cliff, this
+morning, and in connection with this very Mr. Thomas Wychecombe? Sir
+Gervaise was my informant; but he did not relate the matter very
+clearly."
+
+Mildred explained the mistake, and then gave a vivid description of the
+danger in which the young lieutenant had been placed, as well as of the
+manner in which he had extricated himself. She particularly dwelt on the
+extraordinary presence of mind and resolution, by means of which he had
+saved his life, when the stone first gave way beneath his foot.
+
+"All this is well, and what I should have expected from so active and
+energetic a youth," returned the rear-admiral, a little gravely; "but, I
+confess I would rather it had not happened. Your inconsiderate and
+reckless young men, who risk their necks idly, in places of this sort,
+seldom have much in them, after all. Had there been a motive, it would
+have altered the case."
+
+"Oh! but there _was_ a motive, sir; he was far from doing so silly a
+thing for nothing!"
+
+"And what was the motive, pray?--I can see no sufficient reason why a
+man of sense should trust his person over a cliff as menacing as this.
+One may approach it, by moonlight; but in the day, I confess to you I
+should not fancy standing as near it, as we do at this moment."
+
+Mildred was much embarrassed for an answer. Her own heart told her
+Wycherly's motive, but that it would never do to avow to her companion,
+great as was the happiness she felt in avowing it to herself. Gladly
+would she have changed the discourse; but, as this could not be done,
+she yielded to her native integrity of character, and told the truth, as
+far as she told any thing.
+
+"The flowers that grow on the sunny side of these rocks, Admiral
+Bluewater, are singularly fragrant and beautiful," she said; "and
+hearing my mother and myself speaking of them, and how much the former
+delighted in them, though they were so seldom to be had, he just
+ventured over the cliff--not here, where it is so _very_ perpendicular,
+but yonder, where one _may_ cling to it, very well, with a little
+care--and it was in venturing a little--just a _very_ little too far, he
+told me, himself, sir, to-day, after dinner,--that the stone broke, and
+the accident occurred, I do not think Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe in the
+least fool-hardy, and not at all disposed to seek a silly admiration, by
+a silly exploit."
+
+"He has a most lovely and a most eloquent advocate," returned the
+admiral, smiling, though the expression of his countenance was
+melancholy, even to sadness; "and he is acquitted. I think few men of
+his years would hesitate about risking their necks for flowers so
+fragrant and beautiful, and so much coveted by _your_ mother, Mildred."
+
+"And he a sailor, sir, who thinks so little of standing on giddy places,
+and laughs at fears of this nature?"
+
+"Quite true; though there are few cliffs on board ship. Ropes are our
+sources of courage."
+
+"So I should think, by what passed to-day," returned Mildred, laughing.
+"Mr. Wycherly called out for a rope, and we just threw him one, to help
+him out of his difficulty. The moment he got his rope, though it was
+only yonder small signal-halyards, he felt himself as secure as if he
+stood up here, on the height, with acres of level ground around him. I
+do not think he was frightened, at any time; but when he got hold of
+that little rope, he was fairly valiant!"
+
+Mildred endeavoured to laugh at her own history, by way of veiling her
+interest in the event; but her companion was too old, and too
+discerning, to be easily deceived. He continued silent, as he led her
+away from the cliff; and when he entered the cottage, Mildred saw, by
+the nearer light of the candles, that his countenance was still sad.
+
+Admiral Bluewater remained half an hour longer in the cottage, when he
+tore himself away, from a society which, for him, possessed a charm that
+he could not account for, nor yet scarcely estimate. It was past one,
+when he bid Mrs. Dutton and her daughter adieu; promising, however, to
+see them again, before the fleet sailed. Late as it was, the mother and
+Mildred felt no disposition to retire, after the exciting scenes they
+had gone through; but, feeling a calm on their spirits, succeeding the
+rude interruption produced by Dutton's brutality, they walked out on the
+cliff, to enjoy the cool air, and the bland scenery of the head-land, at
+that witching hour.
+
+"I should feel alarm at this particularity of attention, from most men,
+my child," observed the prudent mother, as they left the house: "but the
+years, and especially the character of Admiral Bluewater, are pledges
+that he meditates nothing foolish, nor wrong."
+
+"His _years_ would be sufficient, mother," cried Mildred, laughing--for
+her laugh came easily, since the opinion she had just before heard of
+Wycherly's merit--"leaving the character out of the question."
+
+"For you, perhaps, Mildred, but not for himself. Men rarely seem to
+think themselves too old to win the young of our sex; and what they want
+in attraction, they generally endeavour to supply by flattery and
+artifice. But, I acquit our new friend of all that."
+
+"Had he been my own father, dearest mother, his language, and the
+interest he took in me, could not have been more paternal. I have found
+it truly delightful to listen to such counsel, from one of his sex; for,
+in general, they do not treat me in so sincere and fatherly a manner."
+
+Mrs. Dutton's lip quivered, her eye-lids trembled too, and a couple of
+tears fell on her cheeks.
+
+"It _is_ new to you, Mildred, to listen to the language of disinterested
+affection and wisdom from one of his years and sex. I do not censure
+your listening with pleasure, but merely tell you to remember the proper
+reserve of your years and character. Hist! there are the sounds of his
+barge's oars."
+
+Mildred listened, and the measured but sudden jerk of oars in the
+rullocks, ascended on the still night-air, as distinctly as they might
+have been heard in the boat. At the next instant, an eight-oared barge
+moved swiftly out from under the cliff, and glided steadily on towards a
+ship, that had one lantern suspended from the end of her gaff, another
+in her mizzen-top, and the small night-flag of a rear-admiral,
+fluttering at her mizzen-royal-mast-head. The cutter lay nearest to the
+landing, and, as the barge approached her, the ladies heard the loud
+hail of "boat-ahoy!" The answer was also audible; though given in the
+mild gentleman-like voice of Bluewater, himself. It was simply,
+"rear-admiral's flag." A death-like stillness succeeded this
+annunciation of the rank of the officer in the passing boat, interrupted
+only by the measured jerk of the oars. Once or twice, indeed, the keen
+hearing of Mildred made her fancy she heard the common dip of the eight
+oars, and the wash of the water, as they rose from the element, to gain
+a renewed purchase. As each vessel was approached, however, the hail and
+the answer were renewed, the quiet of midnight, in every instance,
+succeeding. At length the barge was seen shooting along on the quarter
+of the Cæsar, the rear-admiral's own ship, and the last hail was given.
+This time, there was a slight stir in the vessel; and, soon after the
+sound of the oars ceased, the lanterns descended from the stations they
+had held, since nightfall. Two or three other lanterns were still
+displayed at the gaffs of other vessels, the signs that their captains
+were not on board; though whether they were ashore, or visiting in the
+fleet, were facts best known to themselves. The Plantagenet, however,
+had no light; it being known that Sir Gervaise did not intend to come
+off that night.
+
+When all this was over, Mrs. Dutton and Mildred sought their pillows,
+after an exciting day, and, to them, one far more momentous than they
+were then aware of.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+    "When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat;
+    Yet fool'd with hope, men favour the deceit;
+    Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay;
+    To-morrow's falser than the former day."
+
+         DRYDEN.
+
+
+Although Admiral Bluewater devoted the minimum of time to sleep, he was
+not what the French term _matinal_. There is a period in the morning, on
+board of a ship of war,--that of washing decks,--which can best be
+compared to the discomfort of the American purification, yelep'd "a
+house-cleaning." This occurs daily, about the rising of the sun; and no
+officer, whose rank raises him above mingling with the duty, ever
+thinks, except on extraordinary occasions that may require his presence
+for other purposes, of intruding on its sacred mysteries. It is a rabid
+hour in a ship, and the wisest course, for all idlers, and all
+watch-officers, who are not on duty, is to keep themselves under
+hatches, if their convenience will possibly allow it. He who wears a
+flag, however, is usually reposing in his cot, at this critical moment;
+or, if risen at all, he is going through similar daily ablutions of his
+own person.
+
+Admiral Bluewater was in the act of opening his eyes, when the splash of
+the first bucket of water was heard on the deck of the Cæsar, and he lay
+in the species of enjoyment which is so peculiar to naval men, after
+they have risen to the station of commander; a sort of semi-trance, in
+which the mind summons all the ancient images, connected with squalls;
+reefing top-sails in the rain; standing on the quarter of a yard,
+shouting "haul out to leeward;" peering over the weather hammock-cloths
+to eye the weather, with the sleet pricking the face like needles;--and,
+washing decks! These dreamy images of the past, however, are summoned
+merely to increase the sense of present enjoyment. They are so many
+well-contrived foils, to give greater brilliancy to the diamonds of a
+comfortable cot, and the entire consciousness of being no longer exposed
+to an untimely summons on deck.
+
+Our rear-admiral, nevertheless, was not a vulgar dreamer, on such
+occasions. He thought little of personal comforts at any time, unless
+indeed when personal discomforts obtruded themselves on his attention;
+he knew little, or nothing, of the table, whereas his friend was a
+knowing cook, and in his days of probation had been a distinguished
+caterer; but he was addicted to a sort of dreaming of his own, even when
+the sun stood in the zenith, and he was walking the poop, in the midst
+of a circle of his officers. Still, he could not refrain from glancing
+back at the past, that morning, as plash after plash was heard,
+and recalling the time when _magna pars quorum_ FUIT. At this
+delectable instant, the ruddy face of a "young gentleman" appeared in
+his state-room door, and, first ascertaining that the eyes of his
+superior were actually open, the youngster said--
+
+"A note from Sir Gervaise, Admiral Bluewater."
+
+"Very well, sir,"--taking the note.--"How's the wind, Lord Geoffrey?"
+
+"An Irishman's hurricane, sir; right up and down. Our first says, sir,
+he never knew finer channel weather."
+
+"Our first is a great astrologer. Is the fleet riding flood yet?"
+
+"No, sir; it's slack-water; or, rather, the ebb is just beginning to
+make."
+
+"Go on deck, my lord, and see if the Dover has hove in any upon her
+larboard bower, so as to bring her more on our quarter."
+
+"Ay-ay-sir," and this cadet of one of the most illustrious houses of
+England, skipped up the ladder to ascertain this fact.
+
+In the mean while, Bluewater stretched out an arm, drew a curtain from
+before his little window, fumbled for some time among his clothes before
+he got his spectacles, and then opened the note. This early epistle was
+couched in the following words--
+
+     "DEAR BLUE:--
+
+     "I write this in a bed big enough to ware a ninety in. I've been
+     athwart ships half the night, without knowing it. Galleygo has just
+     been in to report 'our fleet' all well, and the ships riding flood.
+     It seems there is a good look-out from the top of the house, where
+     part of the roads are visible. Magrath, and the rest of them, have
+     been at poor Sir Wycherly all night. I learn, but he remains down
+     by the head, yet. I am afraid the good old man will never be in
+     trim again. I shall remain here, until something is decided; and as
+     we cannot expect our orders until next day after to-morrow, at the
+     soonest, one might as well be here, as on board. Come ashore and
+     breakfast with us; when we can consult about the propriety of
+     remaining, or of abandoning the wreck. Adieu,
+
+     "OAKES.
+     "REAR-ADMIRAL BLUEWATER.
+
+     "P.S.--There was a little occurrence last night, connected with Sir
+     Thomas Wycherly's will, that makes me particularly anxious to see
+     you, as early as possible, this morning.
+
+     "O."
+
+Sir Gervaise, like a woman, had written his mind in his postscript. The
+scene of the previous night had forcibly presented itself to his
+recollection on awakening, and calling for his writing-desk, he had sent
+off this note, at the dawn of day, with the wish of having as many
+important witnesses as he could well obtain, at the interview he
+intended to demand, at the earliest practicable hour.
+
+"What the deuce can Oakes have to do with Sir Wycherly Wychecombe's
+will?" thought the rear-admiral. "By the way, that puts me in mind of my
+own; and of my own recent determination. What are my poor £30,000 to a
+man with the fortune of Lord Bluewater. Having neither a wife nor child,
+brother nor sister of my own, I'll do what I please with my money. Oakes
+_won't_ have it; besides, he's got enough of his own, and to spare. An
+estate of £7000 a year, besides heaps of prize-money funded. I dare say,
+he has a good £12,000 a year, and nothing but a nephew to inherit it
+all. I'm determined to do as I please with my money. I made every
+shilling of it, and I'll give it to whom I please."
+
+The whole time, Admiral Bluewater lay with his eyes shut, and with a
+tongue as motionless as if it couldn't stir. With all his _laissez
+aller_ manner, however, he had the promptitude of a sailor, when his
+mind was made up to do a thing, though he always performed it in his own
+peculiar mode. To rise, dress, and prepare to quit his state-room,
+occupied him but a short time; and he was seated before his own
+writing-desk, in the after-cabin, within twenty minutes after the
+thoughts just recorded, had passed through his mind. His first act was
+to take a folded paper from a private drawer, and glance his eye
+carelessly over it. This was the will in favour of Lord Bluewater: It
+was expressed in very concise terms, filling only the first side of a
+page. This will he copied, _verbatim et literatim_, leaving blanks for
+the name of the legatee, and appointing Sir Gervaise Oakes his executor,
+as in the will already executed. When finished in this manner, he set
+about filling up the blanks. For a passing instant, he felt tempted to
+insert the name of the Pretender; but, smiling at his own folly, he
+wrote that of "Mildred Dutton, daughter of Francis Dutton, a master in
+His Majesty's Navy," in all the places that it was requisite so to do.
+Then he affixed the seal, and, folding all the upper part of the sheet
+over, so as to conceal the contents, he rang a little silver bell, which
+always stood at his elbow. The outer cabin-door was opened by the
+sentry, who thrust his head in at the opening.
+
+"I want one of the young gentlemen, sentry," said the rear-admiral.
+
+The door closed, and, in another minute, the smiling face of Lord
+Geoffrey was at the entrance of the after-cabin.
+
+"Who's on deck, my lord," demanded Bluewater, "beside the watch?"
+
+"No one, sir. All the idlers keep as close as foxes, when the decks are
+getting it; and as for any of our snorers showing their faces before six
+bells, it's quite out of the question, sir."
+
+"Some one must surely be stirring in the gun-room, by this time! Go and
+ask the chaplain and the captain of marines to do me the favour to step
+into the cabin--or the first lieutenant; or the master; or any of the
+idlers."
+
+The midshipman was gone two or three minutes, when he returned with the
+purser and the chaplain.
+
+"The first lieutenant is in the forehold, sir; all the marines have got
+their dead-lights still in, and the master is working-up his log, the
+gun-room steward says. I hope these will do, sir; they are the greatest
+idlers in the ship, I believe."
+
+Lord Geoffrey Cleveland was the second son of the third duke in the
+English empire, and he knew it, as well as any one on board. Admiral
+Bluewater had no slavish respect for rank; nevertheless, like all men
+educated under an aristocratic system, he was influenced by the feeling
+to a degree of which he himself was far from being conscious. This young
+scion of nobility was not in the least favoured in matters of duty, for
+this his own high spirit would have resented; but he dined in the cabin
+twice as often as any other midshipman on board, and had obtained for
+himself a sort of license for the tongue, that emboldened him to utter
+what passed for smart things in the cock-pit and gun-room, and which,
+out of all doubt, were pert things everywhere. Neither the chaplain nor
+the purser took offence at his liberties on the present occasion; and,
+as for the rear-admiral, he had not attended to what had been uttered.
+As soon, however, as he found others in his cabin, he motioned to them
+to approach his desk, and pointed to the paper, folded down, as
+mentioned.
+
+"Every prudent man," he said, "and, especially every prudent sailor and
+soldier, in a time of war, ought to be provided with a will. This is
+mine, just drawn up, by myself; and that instrument is an old one, which
+I now destroy in your presence. I acknowledge this to be my hand and
+seal," writing his name, and touching the seal with a finger as he
+spoke; "affixed to this my last will and testament. Will you have the
+kindness to act as witnesses?"
+
+When the chaplain and purser had affixed their names, there still
+remained a space for a third signature. This, by a sign from his
+superior, the laughing midshipman filled with his own signature.
+
+"I hope you've recollected, sir," cried the boy, with glee, as he took
+his seat to obey; "that the Bluewaters and Clevelands are related. I
+shall be grievously disappointed, when this will is proved, if my name
+be not found somewhere in it!"
+
+"So shall I, too, my lord," drily returned Bluewater; "for, I fully
+expect it will appear as a witness; a character that is at once fatal to
+all claims as a legatee."
+
+"Well, sir, I suppose flag-officers can do pretty much as they please
+with their money, since they do pretty much as they please with the
+ships, and all in them. I must lean so much the harder on my two old
+aunts, as I appear to have laid myself directly athwart-hawse of
+fortune, in this affair!"
+
+"Gentlemen," said the rear-admiral, with easy courtesy, "I regret it is
+not in my power to have your company at dinner, to-day, as I am summoned
+ashore by Sir Gervaise, and it is uncertain when I can get off, again;
+but to-morrow I shall hope to enjoy that pleasure."
+
+The officers bowed, expressed their acknowledgments, accepted the
+invitation, bowed once or twice more each, and left the cabin, with the
+exception of the midshipman.
+
+"Well, sir," exclaimed Bluewater, a little surprised at finding he was
+not alone, after a minute of profound reverie; "to what request am I
+indebted still for the pleasure of your presence?"
+
+"Why, sir, it's just forty miles to my father's house in Cornwall, and I
+know the whole family is there; so I just fancied, that by bending on
+two extra horses, a chaise might make the Park gates in about five
+hours; and by getting under way on the return passage, to-morrow about
+this time, the old Cæsar would never miss a crazy reefer, more or less."
+
+"Very ingeniously put, young gentleman, and quite plausible. When I was
+of your age, I was four years without once seeing either father or
+mother."
+
+"Yes, sir, but that was such a long time ago! Boys can't stand it, half
+as well now, as they did then, as all old people say."
+
+The rear-admiral's lips moved slightly, as if a smile struggled about
+his mouth; then his face suddenly lost the expression, in one
+approaching to sadness.
+
+"You know, Geoffrey, I am not commander-in-chief. Sir Gervaise alone can
+give a furlough."
+
+"Very true, sir; but whatever you ask of Sir Gervaise, he always does;
+more especially as concerns us of your flag-ship."
+
+"Perhaps that is true. But, my boy, we live in serious times, and we may
+sail at an hour's notice. Are you ignorant that Prince Charles Edward
+has landed in Scotland, and that the Jacobites are up and doing? If the
+French back him, we may have our hands full here, in the channel."
+
+"Then my dear mother must go without a kiss, for the next twelvemonth!"
+cried the gallant boy, dashing a hand furtively across his eyes, in
+spite of his resolution. "The throne of old England must be upheld, even
+though not a mother nor a sister in the island, see a midshipman in
+years!"
+
+"Nobly said, Lord Geoffrey, and it shall be known at head-quarters.
+_Your_ family is whig; and you do well, at your time of life, to stick
+to the family politics."
+
+"A small run on the shore, sir, would be a great pleasure, after six
+months at sea?"
+
+"You must ask Captain Stowel's leave for that. You know I never
+interfere with the duty of the ship."
+
+"Yes, sir, but there are so many of us, and all have a hankering after
+_terra firma_. Might I just say, that I have your permission, to ask
+Captain Stowel, to let me have a run on the cliffs?"
+
+"You may do _that_, my lord, if you wish it; but Stowel knows that he
+can do as he pleases."
+
+"He would be a queer captain of a man-of-war, if he didn't sir! Thank
+you, Admiral Bluewater; I will write to my mother, and I know she'll be
+satisfied with the reason I shall give her, for not coming to see her.
+Good-morning, sir."
+
+"Good-morning,"--then, when the boy's hand was on the lock of the
+cabin-door--"my lord?"
+
+"Did you wish to say any thing more, sir?"
+
+"When you write, remember me kindly to the Duchess. We were intimate,
+when young people; and, I might say, loved each other."
+
+The midshipman promised to do as desired; then the rear-admiral was left
+alone. He walked the cabin, for half an hour, musing on what he had done
+in relation to his property, and on what he ought to do, in relation to
+the Pretender; when he suddenly summoned his coxswain, gave a few
+directions, and sent an order on deck to have his barge manned. The
+customary reports went their usual rounds, and reached the cabin in
+about three minutes more; Lord Geoffrey bringing them down, again.
+
+"The barge is manned, sir," said the lad, standing near the cabin-door,
+rigged out in the neat, go-ashore-clothes of a midshipman.
+
+"Have you seen Captain Stowel, my lord?" demanded the rear-admiral.
+
+"I have, sir; and he has given me permission to drift along shore, until
+sunset; to be off with the evening gun of the vice-admiral."
+
+"Then do me the favour to take a seat in my barge, if you are quite
+ready."
+
+This offer was accepted, and, in a few minutes, all the ceremonies of
+the deck had been observed, and the rear-admiral was seated in his
+barge. It was now so late, that etiquette had fair play, and no point
+was omitted on the occasion. The captain was on deck, in person, as well
+as gun-room officers enough to represent their body; the guard was
+paraded, under its officers; the drums rolled; the boatswain piped six
+side boys over, and Lord Geoffrey skipped down first into the boat,
+remaining respectfully standing, until his superior was seated. All
+these punctilios observed, the boat was shoved off from the vessel's
+side, the eight oars dropped, as one, and the party moved towards the
+shore. Every cutter, barge, yawl, or launch that was met, and which did
+not contain an officer of rank itself, tossed its oars, as this barge,
+with the rear-admiral's flag fluttering in its bow, passed, while the
+others lay on theirs, the gentlemen saluting with their hats. In this
+manner the barge passed the fleet, and approached the shore. At the
+landing, a little natural quay formed by a low flat rock, there was a
+general movement, as the rear-admiral's flag was seen to draw near; and
+even the boats of captains were shoved aside, to give the naval _pas_.
+As soon, however, as the foot of Bluewater touched the rock, the little
+flag was struck; and, a minute later, a cutter, with only a lieutenant
+in her, coming in, that officer ordered the barge to make way for _him_,
+with an air of high and undisputed authority.
+
+Perhaps there was not a man in the British marine, to whom the etiquette
+of the service gave less concern, than to Bluewater. In this respect, he
+was the very reverse of his friend; for Sir Gervaise was a punctilious
+observer, and a rigid enforcer of all the prescribed ceremonials. This
+was by no means the only professional point on which these two
+distinguished officers differed. It has already been mentioned, that the
+rear-admiral was the best tactician in England, while the vice-admiral
+was merely respectable in that branch of his duty. On the other hand,
+Sir Gervaise was deemed the best practical seaman afloat, so far as a
+single ship was concerned, while Bluewater had no particular reputation
+in that way. Then, as to discipline, the same distinction existed. The
+commander-in-chief was a little of a _martinet_, exacting compliance
+with the most minute regulations; while his friend, even when a captain,
+had thrown the police duty of his ship very much on what is called the
+executive officer: or the first lieutenant; leaving to that important
+functionary, the duty of devising, as well as of executing the system by
+which order and cleanliness were maintained in the vessel. Nevertheless,
+Bluewater had his merit even in this peculiar feature of the profession.
+He had made the best captain of the fleet to his friend, that had ever
+been met with. This office, which, in some measure, corresponds to that
+of an adjutant-general on shore, was suited to his generalizing and
+philosophical turn of mind; and he had brought all its duties within the
+circle and control of clear and simple principles, which rendered them
+pleasant and easy. Then, too, whenever he commanded in chief, as
+frequently happened, for a week or two at a time, Sir Gervaise being
+absent, it was remarked that the common service of the fleet went on
+like clock-work; his mind seeming to embrace generals, when it refused
+to descend to details. In consequence of these personal peculiarities,
+the captains often observed, that Bluewater ought to have been the
+senior, and Oakes the junior; and then, their joint commands would have
+produced perfection; but these criticisms must be set down, in a great
+measure, to the natural propensity to find fault, and an inherent desire
+in men, even when things are perfectly well in themselves, to prove
+their own superiority, by pointing out modes and means by which they
+might be made much better. Had the service been on land, this opinion
+might possibly have had more practical truth in it; but, the impetuosity
+and daring of Sir Gervaise, were not bad substitutes for tactics, in the
+straight-forward combats of ships. To resume the narrative.
+
+When Bluewater landed, he returned the profound and general salute of
+all on or near the rock, by a sweeping, but courteous bow, which was
+nevertheless given in a vacant, slovenly manner; and immediately began
+to ascend the ravine. He had actually reached the grassy acclivity
+above, before he was at all aware of any person's being near him.
+Turning, he perceived that the midshipman was at his heels, respect
+alone preventing one of the latter's active limbs and years from
+skipping past his superior on the ascent. The admiral recollected how
+little there was to amuse one of the boy's habits in a place like
+Wychecombe, and he good-naturedly determined to take him along with
+himself.
+
+"You are little likely to find any diversion here, Lord Geoffrey," he
+said; "if you will accept of the society of a dull old fellow, like
+myself, you shall see all I see, be it more or less."
+
+"I've shipped for the cruise, sir, and am ready and happy, too, to
+follow your motions, with or without signals," returned the laughing
+youngster. "I suppose Wychecombe is about as good as Portsmouth, or
+Plymouth; and I'm sure these green fields are handsomer than the streets
+of any dirty town I ever entered."
+
+"Ay, green fields are, indeed, pleasant to the eyes of us sailors, who
+see nothing but water, for months at a time. Turn to the right, if you
+please, my lord; I wish to call at yonder signal-station, on my way to
+the Hall."
+
+The boy, as is not usual with lads of his age, inclined in "the way he
+was told to go," and in a few minutes both stood on the head-land. As it
+would not have done for the master to be absent from his staff, during
+the day, with a fleet in the roads, Dutton was already at his post,
+cleanly dressed as usual, but trembling again with the effect of the
+last night's debauch on his nerves. He arose, with great deference of
+manner, to receive the rear-admiral, and not without many misgivings of
+conscience; for, while memory furnished a tolerable outline of what had
+occurred in the interview between himself and his wife and daughter,
+wine had lost its influence, and no longer helped to sustain his
+self-command. He was much relieved, however, by the discreet manner in
+which he was met by Bluewater.
+
+"How is Sir Wycherly?" inquired the admiral saluting the master, as if
+nothing had happened; "a note from Sir Gervaise, written about
+day-break, tells me he was not, then, essentially better."
+
+"I wish it were in my power to give you any good news, sir. He must be
+conscious, notwithstanding; for Dick, his groom, has just ridden over
+with a note from Mr. Rotherham, to say that the excellent old baronet
+particularly desires to see my wife and daughter; and that the coach
+will be here, to take them over in a few minutes. If you are bound to
+the Hall, this morning, sir, I'm certain the ladies would be delighted
+to give you a seat."
+
+"Then I will profit by their kindness," returned Bluewater, seating
+himself on the bench at the foot of the staff; "more especially, if you
+think they will excuse my adding Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, one of
+Stowel's midshipmen, to the party. He has entered, to follow my motions,
+with or without signals."
+
+Dutton uncovered again, and bowed profoundly, at this announcement of
+the lad's name and rank; the boy himself, taking the salute in an
+off-hand and indifferent way, like one already wearied with vulgar
+adulation, while he gazed about him, with some curiosity, at the
+head-land and flag-staff.
+
+"This a good look-out, sir," observed the midshipman; "and one that is
+somewhat loftier than our cross-trees. A pair of sharp eyes might see
+every thing that passes within twenty miles; and, as a proof of it, I
+shall be the first to sing out, 'sail, ho!'"
+
+"Where-away, my young lord?" said Dutton, fidgeting, as if he had
+neglected his duty, in the presence of a superior; "I'm sure, your
+lordship can see nothing but the fleet at anchor, and a few boats
+passing between the different ships and the landing!"
+
+"Where-away, sure enough, youngster?" added the admiral. "I see some
+gulls glancing along the surface of the water, a mile or two outside the
+ships, but nothing like a sail."
+
+The boy caught up Dutton's glass, which lay on the seat, and, in a
+minute, he had it levelled at the expanse of water. It was some little
+time, and not without much sighting along the barrel of the instrument,
+that he got it to suit himself.
+
+"Well, Master Sharp-eyes," said Bluewater, drily, "is it a Frenchman, or
+a Spaniard?"
+
+"Hold on, a moment, sir, until I can get this awkward glass to bear on
+it.--Ay--now I have her--she's but a speck, at the best--royals and head
+of top-gallant-sails--no, sir, by George, it's our own cutter, the
+Active, with her square-sail set, and the heads of her lower sails just
+rising. I know her by the way she carries her gaff."
+
+"The Active!--that betokens news," observed Bluewater, thoughtfully--for
+the march of events, at that moment, must necessarily brink on a crisis
+in his own career. "Sir Gervaise sent her to look into Cherbourg."
+
+"Yes, sir; we all know that--and, there she comes to tell us, I hope,
+that Monsieur de Vervillin, has, at last, made up his mind to come out
+and face us, like a man. Will you look at the sail, sir?"
+
+Bluewater took the glass, and sweeping the horizon, he soon caught a
+view of his object. A short survey sufficed, for one so experienced, and
+he handed the glass back to the boy.
+
+"You have quick eyes, sir," he said, as he did so; "that is a cutter,
+certainly, standing in for the roads, and I believe you may be right in
+taking her for the Active."
+
+"'Tis a long way to know so small a craft!" observed Dutton, who also
+took his look at the stranger.
+
+"Very true, sir," answered the boy; "but one ought to tell a friend as
+far as he can see him. The Active carries a longer and a lower gaff,
+than any other cutter in the navy, which is the way we all tell her from
+the Gnat, the cutter we have with us."
+
+"I am glad to find your lordship is so close an observer," returned the
+complaisant Dutton; "a certain sign, my lord, that your lordship will
+make a good sailor, in time."
+
+"Geoffrey is a good sailor, already," observed the admiral, who knew
+that the youngster was never better pleased, than when he dropped the
+distance of using his title, and spoke to, or of him, as of a
+connection; which, in truth, he was. "He has now been with me four
+years; having joined when he was only twelve. Two more years will make
+an officer of him."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Dutton, bowing first to one, and then to the other.
+"Yes, sir; his lordship may well look forward to that, with _his_
+particular merit, _your_ esteemed favour, and his _own_ great name. Ah!
+sir, they've caught a sight of the stranger in the fleet, and bunting is
+at work, already."
+
+In anchoring his ships, Admiral Bluewater had kept them as close
+together, as the fog rendered safe; for one of the great difficulties of
+a naval commander is to retain his vessels in compact order, in thick or
+heavy weather. Orders had been given, however, for a sloop and a frigate
+to weigh, and stretch out into the offing a league or two, as soon as
+the fog left them, the preceding day, in order to sweep as wide a reach
+of the horizon as was convenient. In order to maintain their ground in a
+light wind, and with a strong tide running, these two cruisers had
+anchored; one, at the distance of a league from the fleet, and the
+other, a mile or two farther outside, though more to the eastward. The
+sloop lay nearest to the stranger, and signals were flying at her
+main-royal-mast-head, which the frigate was repeating, and transmitting
+to the flag-ship of the commander-in-chief. Bluewater was so familiar
+with all the ordinary signals, that it was seldom he had recourse to his
+book for the explanations; and, in the present instance, he saw at once
+that it was the Active's number that was shown. Other signals, however,
+followed, which it surpassed the rear-admiral's knowledge to read,
+without assistance; from all which he was satisfied that the stranger
+brought intelligence of importance, and which could only be understood
+by referring to the private signal-book.
+
+While these facts were in the course of occurrence, the coach arrived to
+convey Mrs. Dutton and Mildred to the Hall. Bluewater now presented
+himself to the ladies, and was received as kindly as they had separated
+from him a few hours before; nor were the latter displeased at hearing
+he was to be their companion back to the dwelling of Sir Wycherly.
+
+"I fear this summons bodes evil tidings," said Mrs. Dutton; "he would
+hardly think of desiring to see us, unless something quite serious were
+on his mind; and the messenger said he was no better."
+
+"We shall learn all, my dear lady, when we reach the Hall," returned
+Bluewater; "and the sooner we reach it, the sooner our doubts will be
+removed. Before we enter the carriage, let me make you acquainted with
+my young friend, Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, whom I have presumed to invite
+to be of the party."
+
+The handsome young midshipman was well received, though Mrs. Dutton had
+been too much accustomed, in early life, to see people of condition, to
+betray the same deference as her husband for the boy's rank. The ladies
+occupied, as usual, the hind seat of the coach, leaving that in front to
+their male companions. The arrangement accidentally brought Mildred and
+the midshipman opposite each other; a circumstance that soon attracted
+the attention of the admiral, in a way that was a little odd; if not
+remarkable. There is a charm in youth, that no other period of life
+possesses; infancy, with its helpless beauty, scarcely seizing upon the
+imagination and senses with an equal force. Both the young persons in
+question, possessed this advantage in a high degree; and had there been
+no other peculiarity, the sight might readily have proved pleasing to
+one of Bluewater's benevolence and truth of feeling. The boy was turned
+of sixteen; an age in England when youth does not yet put on the
+appearance of manhood; and he retained all the evidences of a gay,
+generous boyhood, rendered a little _piquant_, by the dash of archness,
+roguery, and fun, that a man-of-war is tolerably certain to impart to a
+lad of spirit. Nevertheless, his countenance retained an expression of
+ingenuousness and of sensitive feeling, that was singularly striking in
+one of his sex, and which, in spite of her beauty of feature, hair, and
+complexion, formed the strongest attraction in the loveliness of
+Mildred; that expression, which had so much struck and charmed
+Bluewater--haunted him, we might add--since the previous day, by
+appearing so familiar, even while so extraordinary, and for which he had
+been unable to recollect a counterpart. As she now sat, face to face
+with Lord Geoffrey, to his great surprise, the rear-admiral found much
+of the same character of this very expression in the handsome boy, as in
+the lovely girl. It is true, the look of ingenuousness and of sensitive
+feeling, was far less marked in young Cleveland, than in Mildred, and
+there was little general resemblance of feature or countenance between
+the two; still, the first was to be found in both, and so distinctly, as
+to be easily traced, when placed in so close contact. Geoffrey Cleveland
+had the reputation of being like his mother; and, furnished with this
+clue, the fact suddenly flashed on Bluewater's mind, that the being whom
+Mildred so nearly and strikingly resembled, was a deceased sister of the
+Duchess, and a beloved cousin of his own. Miss Hedworth, the young lady
+in question, had long been dead; but, all who had known her, retained
+the most pleasing impressions equally of her charms of person and of
+mind. Between her and Bluewater there had existed a tender friendship,
+in which, however, no shade of passion had mingled; a circumstance that
+was in part owing to the difference in their years, Captain Bluewater
+having been nearly twice his young relative's age; and in part,
+probably, to the invincible manner in which the latter seemed wedded to
+his profession, and his ship. Agnes Hedworth, notwithstanding, had been
+very dear to our sailor, from a variety of causes,--far more so, than
+her sister, the Duchess, though _she_ was a favourite--and the
+rear-admiral, when his mind glanced rapidly through the chain of
+association, that traced the accidental resemblance of Mildred to this
+esteemed object, had a sincere delight in finding he had thus been
+unconsciously attracted by one whose every look and smile now forcibly
+reminded him of the countenance of a being whom, in her day, he had
+thought so near perfection. This delight, however, was blended with
+sadness, on various accounts; and the short excursion proved to be so
+melancholy, that no one was sorry when it terminated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+    "Nath. Truly, Master Holofernes, the epithets are sweetly varied,
+    like a scholar at the least. But, sir, I assure ye, it was a buck of
+    the first head.
+
+    _Hol._ Sir Nathaniel, _haud credo_.
+
+    _Bull. 'Twas not a _haud credo_, 'twas a pricket."
+
+         LOVER'S LABOUR LOST.
+
+
+Every appearance of the jolly negligence which had been so
+characteristic of life at Wychecombe-Hall, had vanished, when the old
+coach drew up in the court, to permit the party it had brought from the
+station to alight. As no one was expected but Mrs. Dutton and her
+daughter, not even a footman appeared to open the door of the carriage;
+the vulgar-minded usually revenging their own homage to the powerful, by
+manifesting as many slights as possible to the weak. Galleygo let the
+new-comers out, and, consequently, he was the first person of whom
+inquiries were made, as to the state of things in the house.
+
+"Well," said Admiral Bluewater, looking earnestly at the steward; "how
+is Sir Wycherly, and what is the news?"
+
+"Sir Wycherly is still on the doctor's list, your honour; and I expects
+his case is set down as a hard 'un. We's as well as can be expected, and
+altogether in good heart. Sir Jarvy turned out with the sun, thof he
+didn't turn in 'till the middle-watch was half gone--or _two_ bells, as
+they calls 'em aboard this house--_four_ bells, as we should say in the
+old Planter--and chickens, I hears, has riz, a shillin' a head, since
+our first boat landed."
+
+"It's a melancholy business, Mrs. Dutton; I fear there can be little
+hope."
+
+"Yes, it's all _that_, Admiral Blue," continued Galleygo, following the
+party into the house, no one but himself hearing a word he uttered; "and
+'twill be worse, afore it's any better. They tells me potaties has taken
+a start, too; and, as all the b'ys of all the young gentlemen in the
+fleet is out, like so many wild locusts of Hegypt, I expects nothing
+better than as our mess will fare as bad as sogers on a retreat."
+
+In the hall, Tom Wychecombe, and his namesake, the lieutenant, met the
+party. From the formal despondency of the first, every thing they
+apprehended was confirmed. The last, however, was more cheerful, and not
+altogether without hope; as he did not hesitate openly to avow.
+
+"For myself, I confess I think Sir Wycherly much better," he said;
+"although the opinion is not sanctioned by that of the medical men. His
+desiring to see these ladies is favourable; and then cheering news for
+him has been brought back, already, by the messenger sent, only eight
+hours since, for his kinsman, Sir Reginald Wychecombe. He has sensibly
+revived since that report was brought in."
+
+"Ah! my dear namesake," rejoined Tom, shaking his head, mournfully; "you
+cannot know my beloved uncle's constitution and feelings as well as I!
+Rely on it, the medical men are right; and your hopes deceive you. The
+sending for Mrs. Dutton and Miss Mildred, both of whom my honoured uncle
+respects and esteems, looks more like leave-taking than any thing else;
+and, as to Sir Reginald Wychecombe,--though a relative, beyond a
+question,--I think there has been some mistake in sending for him; since
+he is barely an acquaintance of the elder branch of the family, and he
+is of the half-blood."
+
+"_Half_ what, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe?" demanded the vice-admiral so
+suddenly, behind the speaker, as to cause all to start; Sir Gervaise
+having hastened to meet the ladies and his friend, as soon as he knew of
+their arrival. "I ask pardon, sir, for my abrupt inquiry; but, as _I_
+was the means of sending for Sir Reginald Wychecombe, I feel an interest
+in knowing his exact relationship to my host?"
+
+Tom started, and even paled, at this sudden question; then the colour
+rushed into his temples; he became calmer, and replied:
+
+"_Half-blood_, Sir Gervaise," he said, steadily. "This is an affinity
+that puts a person altogether out of the line of succession; and, of
+course, removes any necessity, or wish, to see Sir Reginald."
+
+"Half-_blood_--hey! Atwood?" muttered the vice-admiral, turning away
+towards his secretary, who had followed him down stairs. "This may be
+the solution, after all! Do you happen to know what half-_blood_ means?
+It cannot signify that Sir Reginald comes from one of those, who have no
+father--all their ancestry consisting only of a mother?"
+
+"I should think not, Sir Gervaise; in that case, Sir Reiginald would
+scarcely be considered of so honourable a lineage, as he appears to be.
+I have not the smallest idea, sir, what half-_blood_ means; and,
+perhaps, it may not be amiss to inquire of the medical gentlemen.
+Magrath is up stairs; possibly he can tell us."
+
+"I rather think it has something to do with the law. If this
+out-of-the-way place, now, could furnish even a lubberly attorney, we
+might learn all about it. Harkee, Atwood; you must stand by to make Sir
+Wycherly's will, if he says any thing more about it--have you got the
+heading all written out, as I desired."
+
+"It is quite ready, Sir Gervaise--beginning, as usual, 'In the name of
+God, Amen.' I have even ventured so far as to describe the testator's
+style and residence, &c. &c.--'I, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, Bart., of
+Wychecombe Hall, Devon, do make and declare this to be my last will and
+testament, &c. &c.' Nothing is wanting but the devises, as the lawyers
+call them. I can manage a will, well enough, Sir Gervaise, I believe.
+One of mine has been in the courts, now, these five years, and they tell
+me it sticks there, as well as if it had been drawn in the Middle
+Temple."
+
+"Ay, I know your skill. Still, there can be no harm in just asking
+Magrath; though I think it must be law, after all! Run up and ask him,
+Atwood, and bring me the answer in the drawing-room, where I see
+Bluewater has gone with his convoy; and--harkee--tell the surgeons to
+let us know the instant the patient says any thing about his temporal
+affairs. The twenty thousand in the funds are his, to do what he pleases
+with; let the land be tied up, as it may."
+
+While this "aside," was going on in the hall, Bluewater and the rest of
+the party had entered a small parlour, that was in constant use, still
+conversing of the state of Sir Wycherly. As all of them, but the two
+young men, were ignorant of the nature of the message to Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe, and of the intelligence in connection with that gentleman,
+which had just been received, Mrs. Dutton ventured to ask an
+explanation, which was given by Wycherly, with a readiness that proved
+_he_ felt no apprehensions on the subject.
+
+"Sir Wycherly desired to see his distant relative, Sir Reginald," said
+the lieutenant; "and the messenger who was sent to request his
+attendance, fortunately learned from a post-boy, that the Hertfordshire
+baronet, in common with many other gentlemen, is travelling in the west,
+just at this moment; and that he slept last night, at a house only
+twenty miles distant. The express reached him several hours since, and
+an answer has been received, informing us that we may expect to see him,
+in an hour or two."
+
+Thus much was related by Wycherly; but, we may add that Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe was a Catholic, as it was then usual to term the Romanists,
+and in secret, a Jacobite; and, in common with many of that religious
+persuasion, he was down in the west, to see if a rising could not be
+organized in that part of the kingdom, as a diversion to any attempt to
+repel the young Pretender in the north. As the utmost caution was used
+by the conspirators, this fact was not even suspected by any who were
+not in the secret of the whole proceeding. Understanding that his
+relation was an inefficient old man, Sir Reginald, himself an active and
+sagacious intriguer, had approached thus near to the old paternal
+residence of his family, in order to ascertain if his own name and
+descent might not aid him in obtaining levies among the ancient tenantry
+of the estate. That day he had actually intended to appear at
+Wychecombe, disguised, and under an assumed name. He proposed venturing
+on this step, because circumstances put it in his power, to give what he
+thought would be received as a sufficient excuse, should his conduct
+excite comment.
+
+Sir Reginald Wychecombe was a singular, but by no means an unnatural
+compound of management and integrity. His position as a Papist had
+disposed him to intrigue, while his position as one proscribed by
+religious hostility, had disposed him to be a Papist. Thousands are made
+men of activity, and even of importance, by persecution and
+proscription, who would pass through life quietly and unnoticed, if the
+meddling hand of human forethought did not force them into situations
+that awaken their hostility, and quicken their powers. This gentleman
+was a firm believer in all the traditions of his church, though his
+learning extended little beyond his missal; and he put the most implicit
+reliance on the absurd, because improbable, fiction of the Nag's Head
+consecration, without having even deemed it necessary to look into a
+particle of that testimony by which alone such a controversy could be
+decided. In a word, he was an instance of what religious intolerance has
+ever done, and will probably for ever continue to do, with so wayward a
+being as man.
+
+Apart from this weakness, Sir Reginald Wychecombe had both a shrewd and
+an inquiring mind. His religion he left very much to the priests; but of
+his temporal affairs he assumed a careful and prudent supervision. He
+was much richer than the head of the family; but, while he had no
+meannesses connected with money, he had no objection to be the possessor
+of the old family estates. Of his own relation to the head of this
+family, he was perfectly aware, and the circumstance of the half-blood,
+with all its legal consequences, was no secret to him. Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe was not a man to be so situated, without having recourse to
+all proper means, in order, as it has become the fashion of the day to
+express it, "to define his position." By means of a shrewd attorney, if
+not of his own religious, at least of his own political opinions, he had
+ascertained the fact, and this from the mouth of Martha herself, that
+Baron Wychecombe had never married; and that, consequently, Tom and his
+brothers were no more heirs at law to the Wychecombe estate, than he was
+in his own person. He fully understood, too, that there _was_ no heir at
+law; and that the lands must escheat, unless the present owner made a
+will; and to this last act, his precise information told him that Sir
+Wycherly had an unconquerable reluctance. Under such circumstances, it
+is not at all surprising, that when the Hertfordshire baronet was thus
+unexpectedly summoned to the bed-side of his distant kinsman, he
+inferred that his own claims were at length to be tardily acknowledged,
+and that he was about to be put in possession of the estates of his
+legitimate ancestors. It is still less wonderful, that, believing this,
+he promptly promised to lose no time in obeying the summons, determining
+momentarily to forget his political, in order to look a little after his
+personal interests.
+
+The reader will understand, of course, that all these details were
+unknown to the inmates of the Hall, beyond the fact of the expected
+arrival of Sir Reginald Wychecombe, and that of the circumstance of the
+half-blood; which, in its true bearing, was known alone to Tom. Their
+thoughts were directed towards the situation of their host, and little
+was said, or done, that had not his immediate condition for the object.
+It being understood, however, that the surgeons kept the sick chamber
+closed against all visiters, a silent and melancholy breakfast was taken
+by the whole party, in waiting for the moment when they might be
+admitted. When this cheerless meal was ended, Sir Gervaise desired
+Bluewater to follow him to his room, whither he led the way in person.
+
+"It is possible, certainly, that Vervillin is out," commenced the
+vice-admiral, when they were alone; "but we shall know more about it,
+when the cutter gets in, and reports. You saw nothing but her number, I
+think you told me?"
+
+"She was at work with private signals, when I left the head-land; of
+course I was unable to read them without the book."
+
+"That Vervillin is a good fellow," returned Sir Gervaise, rubbing his
+hands; a way he had when much pleased; "and has stuff in him. He has
+thirteen two-decked ships, Dick, and that will be one apiece for our
+captains, and a spare one for each of our flags. I believe there is no
+three-decker in that squadron?"
+
+"There you've made a small mistake, Sir Gervaise, as the Comte de
+Vervillin had his flag in the largest three-decker of France; _le
+Bourbon_ 120. The rest of his ships are like our own, though much fuller
+manned."
+
+"Never mind, Blue--never mind:--we'll put two on the Bourbon, and try to
+make our frigates of use. Besides, you have a knack at keeping the fleet
+so compact, that it is nearly a single battery."
+
+"May I venture to ask, then, if it's your intention to go out, should
+the news by the Active prove to be what you anticipate?"
+
+Sir Gervaise cast a quick, distrustful glance at the other, anxious to
+read the motive for the question, at the same time that he did not wish
+to betray his own feelings; then he appeared to meditate on the answer.
+
+"It is not quite agreeable to lie here, chafing our cables, with a
+French squadron roving the channel," he said; "but I rather think it's
+my duty to wait for orders from the Admiralty, under present
+circumstances."
+
+"Do you expect my lords will send you through the Straits of Dover, to
+blockade the Frith?"
+
+"If they do, Bluewater, I shall hope for your company. I trust, a
+night's rest has given you different views of what ought to be a
+seaman's duty, when his country is at open war with her ancient and most
+powerful enemies."
+
+"It is the prerogative of the _crown_ to declare war, Oakes. No one but
+a _lawful_ sovereign can make a _lawful_ war."
+
+"Ay, here come your cursed distinctions about _de jure_ and _de facto_,
+again. By the way, Dick, you are something of a scholar--can you tell me
+what is understood by calling a man a _nullus_?"
+
+Admiral Bluewater, who had taken his usual lolling attitude in the most
+comfortable chair he could find, while his more mercurial friend kept
+pacing the room, now raised his head in surprise, following the quick
+motions of the other, with his eyes, as if he doubted whether he had
+rightly heard the question.
+
+"It's plain English, is it not?--or plain _Latin_, if you will--what is
+meant by calling a man a _nullus_?" repeated Sir Gervaise, observing the
+other's manner.
+
+"The Latin is _plain_ enough, certainly," returned Bluewater, smiling;
+"you surely do not mean _nullus, nulla, nullum_?"
+
+"Exactly that--you've hit it to a gender.--_Nullus_, nulla, nullum_.
+No _man_, no _woman_, no _thing_. Masculine, feminine, neuter."
+
+"I never heard the saying. If ever used, it must be some silly play on
+sounds, and mean a numskull--or, perhaps, a fling at a fellow's
+position, by saying he is a 'nobody.' Who the deuce has been calling
+another a _nullus_, in the presence of the commander-in-chief of the
+southern squadron?"
+
+"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe--our unfortunate host, here: the poor man who
+is on his death-bed, on this very floor."
+
+Again Bluewater raised his head, and once more his eye sought the face
+of his friend. Sir Gervaise had now stopped short, with his hands
+crossed behind his back, looking intently at the other, in expectation
+of the answer.
+
+"I thought it might be some difficulty from the fleet--some silly fellow
+complaining of another still more silly for using such a word. Sir
+Wycherly!--the poor man's mind must have failed him."
+
+"I rather think not; if it has, there is 'method in his madness,' for he
+persevered most surprisingly, in the use of the term. His nephew, Tom
+Wychecombe, the presumptive heir, he insists on it, is a _nullus_; while
+this Sir Reginald, who is expected to arrive every instant, he says is
+only _half_--or half-_blood_, as it has since been explained to us."
+
+"I am afraid this nephew will prove to be any thing but _nullus_, when
+he succeeds to the estate and title," answered Bluewater, gravely. "A
+more sinister-looking scoundrel, I never laid eyes on."
+
+"That is just my way of thinking; and not in the least like the family."
+
+"This matter of likenesses is not easily explained, Oakes. We see
+parents and children without any visible resemblance to each other; and
+then we find startling likenesses between utter strangers."
+
+"_Bachelor's children_ may be in that predicament, certainly; but I
+should think few others. I never yet studied a child, that I did not
+find some resemblance to both parents; covert and only transitory,
+perhaps; but a likeness so distinct as to establish the relationship.
+What an accursed chance it is, that our noble young lieutenant should
+have no claim on this old baronet; while this d----d _nullus_ is both
+heir at law, and heir of entail! I never took half as much interest in
+any other man's estate, as I take in the succession to this of our poor
+host!"
+
+"There you are mistaken, Oakes; you took more in _mine_; for, when I
+made a will in your own favour, and gave it to you to read, you tore it
+in two, and threw it overboard, with your own hand."
+
+"Ay, that was an act of lawful authority. As your superior, I
+countermanded that will! I hope you've made another, and given your
+money, as I told you, to your cousin, the Viscount."
+
+"I did, but _that_ will has shared the fate of the first. It appearing
+to me, that we are touching on serious times, and Bluewater being rich
+already, I destroyed the devise in his favour, and made a new one, this
+very morning. As you are my executor, as usual, it may be well to let
+you know it."
+
+"Dick, you have not been mad enough to cut off the head of your own
+family--your own flesh and blood, as it might be--to leave the few
+thousands you own, to this mad adventurer in Scotland!"
+
+Bluewater smiled at this evidence of the familiarity of his friend with
+his own way of thinking and feeling; and, for a single instant, he
+regretted that he had not put his first intention in force, in order
+that the conformity of views might have been still more perfect; but,
+putting a hand in his pocket he drew out the document itself, and
+leaning forward, gave it carelessly to Sir Gervaise.
+
+"There is the will; and by looking it over, you will know what I've
+done," he said. "I wish you would keep it; for, if 'misery makes us
+acquainted with strange bed-fellows,' revolutions reduce us, often, to
+strange plights, and the paper will be safer with you than with me. Of
+course, you will keep my secret, until the proper time to reveal it
+shall arrive."
+
+The vice-admiral, who knew that he had no direct interest in his
+friend's disposition of his property, took the will, with a good deal of
+curiosity to ascertain its provisions. So short a testament was soon
+read; and his eye rested intently on the paper until it had taken in the
+last word. Then his hand dropped, and he regarded Bluewater with a
+surprise he neither affected, nor wished to conceal. He did not doubt
+his friend's sanity, but he greatly questioned his discretion.
+
+"This is a very simple, but a very ingenious arrangement, to disturb the
+order of society," he said; "and to convert a very modest and
+unpretending, though lovely girl, into a forward and airs-taking old
+woman! What is this Mildred Dutton to you, that you should bequeath to
+her £30,000?"
+
+"She is one of the meekest, most ingenuous, purest, and loveliest, of
+her meek, ingenuous, pure, and lovely sex, crushed to the earth by the
+curse of a brutal, drunken father; and, I am resolute to see that this
+world, for once, afford some compensation for its own miseries."
+
+"Never doubt that, Richard Bluewater; never doubt _that_. So certain is
+vice, or crime, to bring its own punishment in this life, that one may
+well question if any other hell is needed. And, depend on it, your meek,
+modest ingenuousness, in its turn, will not go unrewarded."
+
+"Quite true, so far as the spirit is concerned; but, I mean to provide a
+little for the comfort of the body. You remember Agnes Hedworth, I take
+it for granted?"
+
+"Remember her!--out of all question. Had the war left me leisure for
+making love, she was the only woman I ever knew, who could have brought
+me to her feet--I mean as a dog, Dick."
+
+"Do you see any resemblance between her and this Mildred Dutton? It is
+in the expression rather than in the features--but, it is the expression
+which alone denotes the character."
+
+"By George, you're right, Bluewater; and this relieves me from some
+embarrassment I've felt about that very expression of which you speak.
+She _is_ like poor Agnes, who became a saint earlier than any of us
+could have wished. Living or dead, Agnes Hedworth must be an angel! You
+were fonder of her, than of any other woman, I believe. At one time, I
+thought you might propose for her hand."
+
+"It was not that sort of affection, and you could not have known her
+private history, or you would not have fancied this. I was so situated
+in the way of relatives, that Agnes, though only the child of a
+cousin-german, was the nearest youthful female relative I had on earth;
+and I regarded her more as a sister, than as a creature who could ever
+become my wife. She was sixteen years my junior; and by the time she had
+become old enough to marry, I was accustomed to think of her only as one
+destined for another station. The same feeling existed as to her sister,
+the Duchess, though in a greatly lessened degree."
+
+"Poor, sweet Agnes!--and it is on account of this accidental
+resemblance, that you have determined to make the daughter of a drunken
+sailing-master your heiress?"
+
+"Not altogether so; the will was drawn before I was conscious that the
+likeness existed. Still, it has probably, unknown to myself, greatly
+disposed me to view her with favour. But, Gervaise, Agnes herself was
+not fairer in person, or more lovely in mind, than this very Mildred
+Dutton."
+
+"Well, you have not been accustomed to regard _her_ as a sister; and
+_she_ has become marriageable, without there having been any opportunity
+for your regarding her as so peculiarly sacred, Dick!" returned Sir
+Gervaise, half suppressing a smile as he threw a quiet glance at his
+friend.
+
+"You know this to be idle, Oakes. Some one must inherit my money; my
+brother is long since dead; even poor, poor Agnes is gone; her sister
+don't need it; Bluewater is an over-rich bachelor, already; _you_ won't
+take it, and what better can I do with it? If you could have seen the
+cruel manner in which the spirits of both mother and daughter were
+crushed to the earth last night, by that beast of a husband and father,
+you would have felt a desire to relieve their misery, even though it had
+cost you Bowldero, and half your money in the funds."
+
+"Umph! Bowldero has been in my family five centuries, and is likely to
+remain there, Master Bluewater, five more; unless, indeed, your dashing
+Pretender should succeed, and take it away by confiscation."
+
+"There, again, was another inducement. Should I leave my cash to a rich
+person, and should chance put me on the wrong side in this struggle, the
+king, _de facto_, would get it all; whereas, even a German would not
+have the heart to rob a poor creature like Mildred of her support."
+
+"The _Scotch_ are notorious for bowels, in such matters! Well, have it
+your own way, Dick. It's of no great moment what you do with your
+prize-money; though I had supposed it would fall into the hands of this
+boy, Geoffrey Cleveland, who is no discredit to your blood."
+
+"He will have a hundred thousand pounds, at five-and-twenty, that were
+left him by old Lady Greenfield, his great-aunt, and that is more than
+he will know what to do with. But, enough of this. Have you received
+further tidings from the north, during the night?"
+
+"Not a syllable. This is a retired part of the country, and half
+Scotland might be capsized in one of its loughs, and we not know of it,
+for a week, down here in Devonshire. Should I get no intelligence or
+orders, in the next thirty-six hours, I think of posting up to London,
+leaving you in command of the fleet."
+
+"That may not be wise. You would scarcely confide so important a trust,
+in such a crisis, to a man of my political feelings--I will not say
+_opinions_; since you attribute all to sentiment."
+
+"I would confide my life and honour to you, Richard Bluewater, with the
+utmost confidence in the security of both, so long as it depended on
+your own acts or inclinations. We must first see, however, what news the
+Active brings us; for, if de Vervillin is really out, I shall assume
+that the duty of an English sailor is to beat a Frenchman, before all
+other considerations."
+
+"If he _can_," drily observed the other, raising his right leg so high
+as to place the foot on the top of an old-fashioned chair; an effort
+that nearly brought his back in a horizontal line.
+
+"I am far from regarding it as a matter of course, Admiral Bluewater;
+but, it _has_ been done sufficiently often, to render it an event of no
+very violent _possibility_. Ah, here is Magrath to tell us the condition
+of his patient."
+
+The surgeon of the Plantagenet entering the room, at that moment, the
+conversation was instantly changed.
+
+"Well, Magrath," said Sir Gervaise, stopping suddenly in his
+quarter-deck pace; "what news of the poor man?"
+
+"He is reviving, Admiral Oakes," returned the phlegmatic surgeon; "but
+it is like the gleaming of sunshine that streams through clouds, as the
+great luminary sets behind the hills--"
+
+"Oh! hang your poetry, doctor; let us have nothing but plain
+matter-of-fact, this morning."
+
+"Well, then, Sir Gervaise, as commander-in-chief, you'll be obeyed, I
+think. Sir Wycherly Wychecombe is suffering under an attack of
+apoplexy--or [Greek: apoplêxis], as the Greeks had it. The diagnosis of
+the disease is not easily mistaken, though it has its affinities as well
+as other maladies. The applications for gout, or _arthritis_--sometimes
+produce apoplexy; though one disease is seated in the head, while the
+other usually takes refuge in the feet. Ye'll understand this the more
+readily, gentlemen, when ye reflect that as a thief is chased from one
+hiding-place, he commonly endeavours to get into another. I much misgive
+the prudence of the phlebotomy ye practised among ye, on the first
+summons to the patient."
+
+"What the d---l does the man mean by phlebotomy?" exclaimed Sir
+Gervaise, who had an aversion to medicine, and knew scarcely any of the
+commonest terms of practice, though expert in bleeding.
+
+"I'm thinking it's what you and Admiral Bluewater so freely administer
+to His Majesty's enemies, whenever ye fall in with 'em at
+sea;--he-he-he--" answered Magrath, chuckling at his own humour; which,
+as the quantity was small, was all the better in quality.
+
+"Surely he does not mean powder and shot! We give the French shot; Sir
+Wycherly has not been shot?"
+
+"Varra true, Sir Gervaise, but ye've let him blood, amang ye: a measure
+that has been somewhat precipitately practised, I've my misgivings!"
+
+"Now, any old woman can tell us better than that, doctor. Blood-letting
+is the every-day remedy for attacks of this sort."
+
+"I do not dispute the dogmas of elderly persons of the other sex, Sir
+Gervaise, or your _every-day remedia_. If 'every-day' doctors would save
+life and alleviate pain, diplomas would be unnecessary; and we might,
+all of us, practise on the principle of the 'de'el tak' the hindmaist,'
+as ye did yoursel', Sir Gervaise, when ye cut and slash'd amang the
+Dons, in boarding El Lirio. I was there, ye'll both remember, gentlemen;
+and was obleeged to sew up the gashes ye made with your own irreverent
+and ungodly hands."
+
+This speech referred to one of the most desperate, hand-to-hand
+struggles, in which the two flag-officers had ever been engaged; and, as
+it afforded them the means of exhibiting their personal gallantry, when
+quite young men, both usually looked back upon the exploit with great
+self-complacency; Sir Gervaise, in particular, his friend having often
+declared since, that they ought to have been laid on the shelf for life,
+as a punishment for risking their men in so mad an enterprise, though it
+did prove to be brilliantly successful.
+
+"That was an affair in which one might engage at twenty-two, Magrath,"
+observed Bluewater; "but which he ought to hesitate about thinking of
+even, after thirty."
+
+"I'd do it again, this blessed day, if you would give us a chance!"
+exclaimed Sir Gervaise, striking the back of one hand into the palm of
+the other, with a sudden energy, that showed how much he was excited by
+the mere recollection of the scene.
+
+"That w'ud ye!--that w'ud ye!" said Magrath, growing more and more
+Scotch, as he warmed in the discourse; "ye'd board a mackerel-hoy,
+rather than not have an engagement. Ye'r a varra capital vice-admiral of
+the red, Sir Gervaise, but I'm judging ye'd mak' a varra indeeferent
+loblolly-boy."
+
+"Bluewater, I shall be compelled to change ships with you, in order to
+get rid of the old stand-by's of the Plantagenets! They stick to me like
+leeches; and have got to be so familiar, that they criticise all my
+orders, and don't more than half obey them, in the bargain."
+
+"No one will criticise your nautical commands, Sir Gervaise; though, in
+the way of the healing airt,--science, it should be called--ye're no
+mair to be trusted, than one of the young gentlemen. I'm told ye drew
+ye'r lancet on this poor gentleman, as ye'd draw ye'r sword on an
+enemy!"
+
+"I did, indeed, sir; though Mr. Rotherham had rendered the application
+of the instrument unnecessary. Apoplexy is a rushing of the blood to the
+head; and by diminishing the quantity in the veins of the arms or
+temples, you lessen the pressure on the brain."
+
+"Just layman's practice, sir--just layman's practice. Will ye tell me
+now if the patient's face was red or white? Every thing depends on
+_that_; which is the true diagnosis of the malady."
+
+"Red, I think; was it not, Bluewater? Red, like old port, of which I
+fancy the poor man had more than his share."
+
+"Weel, in that case, you were not so varra wrong; but, they tell me his
+countenance was pallid and death-like; in which case ye came near to
+committing murder. There is one principle that controls the diagnosis of
+all cases of apoplexy among ye'r true country gentlemen--and that is,
+that the system is reduced and enfeebled, by habitual devotion to the
+decanter. In such attacks ye canna' do warse, than to let blood. But,
+I'll no be hard upon you, Sir Gervaise; and so we'll drop the
+subject--though, truth to say, I do not admire your poaching on my
+manor. Sir Wycherly is materially better, and expresses, as well as a
+man who has not the use of his tongue, _can_ express a thing, his
+besetting desire to make his last will and testament. In ordinary cases
+of _apoplexia_, it is good practice to oppose this craving; though, as
+it is my firm opinion that nothing can save the patient's life, I do not
+set myself against the measure, in this particular case. Thar' was a
+curious discussion at Edinbro', in my youth, gentlemen, on the question
+whether the considerations connected with the disposition of the
+property, or the considerations connected with the patient's health,
+ought to preponderate in the physician's mind, when it might be
+reasonably doubted whether the act of making a will, would or would not
+essentially affect the nervous system, and otherwise derange the
+functions of the body. A very pretty argument, in excellent Edinbro'
+Latin, was made on each side of the question. I think, on the whole, the
+physicos had the best o' it; for they could show a plausible present
+evil, as opposed to a possible remote good."
+
+"Has Sir Wycherly mentioned my name this morning?" asked the
+vice-admiral, with interest.
+
+"He has, indeed, Sir Gervaise; and that in a way so manifestly connected
+with his will, that I'm opining ye'll no be forgotten in the legacies.
+The name of Bluewater was in his mouth, also."
+
+"In which case no time should be lost; for, never before have I felt
+half the interest in the disposition of a stranger's estate. Hark! Are
+not those wheels rattling in the court-yard?"
+
+"Ye'r senses are most pairfect, Sir Gervaise, and that I've always said
+was one reason why ye'r so great an admiral," returned Magrath. "Mind,
+only _one_, Sir Gervaise; for many qualities united, are necessary to
+make a truly great man. I see a middle-aged gentleman alighting, and
+servants around him, who wear the same liveries as those of this house.
+Some relative, no doubt, come to look after the legacies, also."
+
+"This must be Sir Reginald Wychecombe; it may not be amiss if we go
+forward to receive him, Bluewater."
+
+At this suggestion, the rear-admiral drew in his legs, which had not
+changed their position on account of the presence of the surgeon, arose,
+and followed Sir Gervaise, as the latter left the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+    "_Videsne quis venit?_"
+    "_Video, et gaudeo._"
+
+         NATHANIEL ET HOLOFERNES.
+
+
+Tom Wychecombe had experienced an uneasiness that it is unnecessary to
+explain, ever since he learned that his reputed uncle had sent a
+messenger to bring the "half-blood" to the Hall. From the moment he got
+a clue to the fact, he took sufficient pains to ascertain what was in
+the wind; and when Sir Reginald Wychecombe entered the house, the first
+person he met was this spurious supporter of the honours of his name.
+
+"Sir Reginald Wychecombe, I presume, from the arms and the liveries,"
+said Tom, endeavouring to assume the manner of a host. "It is grateful
+to find that, though we are separated by quite two centuries, all the
+usages and the bearings of the family are equally preserved and
+respected, by both its branches."
+
+"I am Sir Reginald Wychecombe, sir, and endeavour not to forget the
+honourable ancestry from which I am derived. May I ask what kinsman I
+have the pleasure now to meet?"
+
+"Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, sir, at your command; the _eldest_ son of Sir
+Wycherly's next brother, the late Mr. Baron Wychecombe. I trust, Sir
+Reginald, you have not considered us as so far removed in blood, as to
+have entirely overlooked our births, marriages, and deaths."
+
+"I have _not_, sir," returned the baronet, drily, and with an emphasis
+that disturbed his listener, though the cold jesuitical smile that
+accompanied the words, had the effect to calm his vivid apprehensions.
+"_All_ that relates to the house of Wychecombe has interest in my eyes;
+and I have endeavoured, successfully I trust, to ascertain _all_ that
+relates to its births, _marriages_, and deaths. I greatly regret that
+the second time I enter this venerable dwelling, should be on an
+occasion as melancholy as this, on which I am now summoned. How is your
+respectable--how is Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, I wish to say?"
+
+There was sufficient in this answer, taken in connection with the
+deliberate, guarded, and yet expressive manner of the speaker to make
+Tom extremely uncomfortable, though there was also sufficient to leave
+him in doubts as to his namesake's true meaning. The words emphasized by
+the latter, were touched lightly, though distinctly; and the cold,
+artificial smile with which they were uttered, completely baffled the
+sagacity of a rogue, as common-place as the heir-expectant. Then the
+sudden change in the construction of the last sentence, and the
+substitution of the name of the person mentioned, for the degree of
+affinity in which he was supposed to stand to Tom, might be merely a
+rigid observance of the best tone of society, or it might be equivocal.
+All these little distinctions gleamed across the mind of Tom Wychecombe;
+but that was not the moment to pursue the investigation. Courtesy
+required that he should make an immediate answer, which he succeeded in
+doing steadily enough as to general appearances, though his sagacious
+and practised questioner perceived that his words had not failed of
+producing the impression he intended; for he had looked to their
+establishing a species of authority over the young man.
+
+"My honoured and beloved uncle has revived a little, they tell me," said
+Tom; "but I fear these appearances are delusive. After eighty-four,
+death has a fearful hold upon us, sir! The worst of it is, that my poor,
+dear uncle's mind is sensibly affected; and it is quite impossible to
+get at any of his little wishes, in the way of memorials and messages--"
+
+"How then, sir, came Sir Wycherly to honour _me_ with a request to visit
+him?" demanded the other, with an extremely awkward pertinency.
+
+"I suppose, sir, he has succeeded in muttering your name, and that a
+natural construction has been put on its use, at such a moment. His will
+has been made some time, I understand; though I am ignorant of even the
+name of the executor, as it is closed in an envelope, and sealed with
+Sir Wycherly's arms. It cannot be, then, on account of a _will_, that he
+has wished to see you. I rather think, as the next of the family, _out
+of the direct line of succession_, he may have ventured to name you as
+the executor of the will in existence, and has thought it proper to
+notify you of the same."
+
+"Yes, sir," returned Sir Reginald, in his usual cold, wary manner;
+"though it would have been more in conformity with usage, had the
+notification taken the form of a request to serve, previously to making
+the testament. My letter was signed 'Gervaise Oakes,' and, as they tell
+me a fleet is in the neighbourhood, I have supposed that the celebrated
+admiral of that name, has done me the honour to write it."
+
+"You are not mistaken, sir; Sir Gervaise Oakes is in the house--ah--here
+he comes to receive you, accompanied by Rear-Admiral Bluewater, whom the
+sailors call his mainmast."
+
+The foregoing conversation had taken place in a little parlour that led
+off from the great hall, whither Tom had conducted his guest, and in
+which the two admirals now made their appearance. Introductions were
+scarcely necessary, the uniform and star--for in that age officers
+usually appeared in their robes--the uniform and star of Sir Gervaise at
+once proclaiming his rank and name; while, between Sir Reginald and
+Bluewater there existed a slight personal acquaintance, which had grown
+out of their covert, but deep, Jacobite sympathies.
+
+"Sir Gervaise Oakes," and "Sir Reginald Wychecombe," passed between the
+gentlemen, with a hearty shake of the hand from the admiral, which was
+met by a cold touch of the fingers on the part of the other, that might
+very well have passed for the great model of the sophisticated
+manipulation of the modern salute, but which, in fact, was the result of
+temperament rather than of fashion. As soon as this ceremony was gone
+through, and a few brief expressions of courtesy were exchanged, the new
+comer turned to Bluewater, with an air of greater freedom, and
+continued--
+
+"And you, too, Sir Richard Bluewater! I rejoice to meet an acquaintance
+in this melancholy scene."
+
+"I am happy to see you, Sir Reginald; though you have conferred on me a
+title to which I have no proper claim."
+
+"No!--the papers tell us that you have received one of the lately vacant
+red ribands?"
+
+"I believe some such honour has been in contemplation--"
+
+"Contemplation!--I do assure you, sir, your name is fairly and
+distinctly gazetted--as, by sending to my carriage, it will be in my
+power to show you. I am, then, the first to call you Sir Richard."
+
+"Excuse me, Sir Reginald--there is some little misapprehension in this
+matter; I prefer to remain plain Rear-Admiral Bluewater. In due season,
+all will be explained."
+
+The parties exchanged looks, which, in times like those in which they
+lived, were sufficiently intelligible to both; and the conversation was
+instantly changed. Before Sir Reginald relinquished the hand he held,
+however, he gave it a cordial squeeze, an intimation that was returned
+by a warm pressure from Bluewater. The party then began to converse of
+Sir Wycherly, his actual condition, and his probable motive in desiring
+to see his distant kinsman. This motive, Sir Gervaise, regardless of the
+presence of Tom Wychecombe, declared to be a wish to make a will; and,
+as he believed, the intention of naming Sir Reginald his executor, if
+not in some still more interesting capacity.
+
+"I understand Sir Wycherly has a considerable sum entirely at his own
+disposal," continued the vice-admiral; "and I confess I like to see a
+man remember his friends and servants, generously, in his last moments.
+The estate is entailed, I hear; and I suppose Mr. Thomas Wychecombe
+here, will be none the worse for that precaution in his ancestor; let
+the old gentleman do as he pleases with his savings."
+
+Sir Gervaise was so much accustomed to command, that he did not feel the
+singularity of his own interference in the affairs of a family of what
+might be called strangers, though the circumstance struck Sir Reginald,
+as a little odd. Nevertheless, the last had sufficient penetration to
+understand the vice-admiral's character at a glance, and the peculiarity
+made no lasting impression. When the allusion was made to Tom's
+succession, as a matter of course, however, he cast a cold, but
+withering look, at the reputed heir, which almost chilled the marrow in
+the bones of the jealous rogue.
+
+"Might I say a word to you, in your own room, Sir Gervaise?" asked Sir
+Reginald, in an aside. "These matters ought not to be indecently
+hurried; and I wish to understand the ground better, before I advance."
+
+This question was overheard by Bluewater; who, begging the gentlemen to
+remain where they were, withdrew himself, taking Tom Wychecombe with
+him. As soon as they were alone, Sir Reginald drew from his companion,
+by questions warily but ingeniously put, a history of all that had
+occurred within the last twenty-four hours; a knowledge of the really
+helpless state of Sir Wycherly, and of the manner in which he himself
+had been summoned, included. When satisfied, he expressed a desire to
+see the sick man.
+
+"By the way, Sir Reginald," said the vice-admiral, with his hand on the
+lock of the door, arresting his own movement to put the question; "I
+see, by your manner of expressing yourself, that the law has not been
+entirely overlooked in your education. Do you happen to know what
+'half-blood' means? it is either a medical or a legal term, and I
+understand few but nautical."
+
+"You could not apply to any man in England, Sir Gervaise, better
+qualified to tell you," answered the Hertfordshire baronet, smiling
+expressively. "I am a barrister of the Middle Temple, having been
+educated as a younger son, and having since succeeded an elder brother,
+at the age of twenty-seven; I stand in the unfortunate relation of the
+'half-blood' myself, to this very estate, on which we are now
+conversing."
+
+Sir Reginald then proceeded to explain the law to the other, as we have
+already pointed it out to the reader; performing the duty succinctly,
+but quite clearly.
+
+"Bless me!--bless me! Sir Reginald," exclaimed the direct-minded and
+_just_-minded sailor--"here must be some mistake! A fortieth cousin, or
+the king, take this estate before yourself, though you are directly
+descended from all the old Wychecombes of the times of the
+Plantagenets!"
+
+"Such is the common law, Sir Gervaise. Were I Sir Wycherly's
+half-brother, or a son by a second wife of our common father, I could
+not take from _him_, although that common father had earned the estate
+by his own hands, or services."
+
+"This is damnable, sir--damnable--and you'll pardon me, but I can hardly
+believe we have such a monstrous principle in the good, honest,
+well-meaning laws, of good, honest, well-meaning old England!"
+
+Sir Reginald was one of the few lawyers of his time, who did not
+recognize the virtue of this particular provision of the common law; a
+circumstance that probably arose from his having so _small_ an interest
+now in the mysteries of the profession, and so _large_ an interest in
+the family estate of Wychecombe, destroyed by its _dictum_. He was,
+consequently, less surprised, and not at all hurt, at the evident manner
+in which the sailor repudiated his statement, as doing violence equally
+to reason, justice, and probability.
+
+"Good, honest, well-meaning old England tolerates many grievous things,
+notwithstanding, Sir Gervaise," he answered; "among others, it tolerates
+the law of the half-blood. Much depends on the manner in which men view
+these things; that which seems gold to one, resembling silver in the
+eyes of another. Now, I dare say,"--this was said as a feeler, and with
+a smile that might pass for ironical or confiding, as the listener
+pleased to take it--"Now, I dare say, the clans would tell us that
+England tolerates an usurper, while her lawful prince was in banishment;
+though _you_ and _I_ might not feel disposed to allow it."
+
+Sir Gervaise started, and cast a quick, suspicious glance at the
+speaker; but there the latter stood, with as open and guileless an
+expression on his handsome features, as was ever seen in the countenance
+of confiding sixteen.
+
+"Your supposititious case is no parallel," returned the vice-admiral,
+losing every shade of suspicion, at this appearance of careless
+frankness; "since men often follow their feelings in their allegiance,
+while the law is supposed to be governed by reason and justice. But, now
+we are on the subject, will you tell me. Sir Reginald, if you also know
+what a _nullus_ is?"
+
+"I have no farther knowledge of the subject, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+other, smiling, this time, quite naturally; "than is to be found in the
+Latin dictionaries and grammars."
+
+"Ay--you mean _nullus, nulla, nullum_. Even we sailors know _that_;
+as we all go to school before we go to sea. But, Sir Wycherly, in
+efforts to make himself understood, called you a 'half-blood.'"
+
+"And quite correctly--I admit such to be the fact; and that I have no
+more _legal_ claim, whatever on this estate, than you have yourself. My
+_moral_ right, however, may be somewhat better."
+
+"It is much to your credit, that you so frankly admit it, Sir Reginald;
+for, hang me, if I think even the judges would dream of raising such an
+objection to your succeeding, unless reminded of it."
+
+"Therein you do them injustice, Sir Gervaise; as it is their duty to
+administer the laws, let them be what they may."
+
+"Perhaps you are right, sir. But the reason for my asking what a
+_nullus_ is, was the circumstance that Sir Wycherly, in the course of
+his efforts to speak, repeatedly called his nephew and heir, Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, by that epithet."
+
+"Did he, indeed?--Was the epithet, as you well term it, _filius
+nullius_?"
+
+"I rather think it was _nullus_--though I do believe the word _filius_
+was muttered, once or twice, also."
+
+"Yes, sir, this has been the case; and I am not sorry Sir Wycherly is
+aware of the fact, as I hear that the young man affects to consider
+himself in a different point of view. A _filius nullius_ is the legal
+term for a bastard--the 'son of nobody,' as you will at once understand.
+I am fully aware that such is the unfortunate predicament of Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, whose father, I possess complete evidence to show, was never
+married to his mother."
+
+"And yet, Sir Reginald, the impudent rascal carries in his pocket even,
+a certificate, signed by some parish priest in London, to prove the
+contrary."
+
+The civil baronet seemed surprised at this assertion of his military
+brother; but Sir Gervaise explaining what had passed between himself and
+the young man, he could no longer entertain any doubt of the fact.
+
+"Since you have seen the document," resumed Sir Reginald, "it must,
+indeed, be so; and this misguided boy is prepared to take any desperate
+step in order to obtain the title and the estate. All that he has said
+about a will must be fabulous, as no man in his senses would risk his
+neck to obtain so hollow a distinction as a baronetcy--we are equally
+members of the class, and may speak frankly, Sir Gervaise--and the will
+would secure the estate, if there were one. I cannot think, therefore,
+that there is a will at all."
+
+"If this will were not altogether to the fellow's liking, would not the
+marriage, beside the hollow honour of which you have spoken, put the
+whole of the landed property in his possession, under the entail?"
+
+"It would, indeed; and I thank you for the suggestion. If, however, Sir
+Wycherly is desirous, _now_, of making a _new_ will, and has strength
+and mind sufficient to execute his purpose, the _old_ one need give us
+no concern. This is a most delicate affair for one in my situation to
+engage in, sir; and I greatly rejoice that I find such honourable and
+distinguished witnesses, in the house, to clear my reputation, should
+any thing occur to require such exculpation. On the one side, Sir
+Gervaise, there is the danger of an ancient estate's falling into the
+hands of the crown, and this, too, while one of no _stain_ of blood,
+derived from the same honourable ancestors as the last possessor, is in
+existence; or, on the other, of its becoming the prey of one of base
+blood, and of but very doubtful character. The circumstance that Sir
+Wycherly desired my presence, is a great deal; and I trust to you, and
+to those with you, to vindicate the fairness of my course. If it's your
+pleasure, sir, we will now go to the sick chamber."
+
+"With all my heart. I think, however, Sir Reginald," said the
+vice-admiral, as he approached the door; "that even in the event of an
+escheat, you would find these Brunswick princes sufficiently liberal to
+restore the property. I could not answer for those wandering Scotchmen;
+who have so many breechless nobles to enrich; but, I think, with the
+Hanoverians, you would be safe."
+
+"The last have certainly one recommendation the most," returned the
+other, smiling courteously, but in a way so equivocal that even Sir
+Gervaise was momentarily struck by it; "they have fed so well, now, at
+the crib, that they may not have the same voracity, as those who have
+been long fasting. It would be, however, more pleasant to take these
+lands from a Wychecombe--a Wychecombe to a Wychecombe--than to receive
+them anew from even the Plantagenet who made the first grant."
+
+This terminated the private dialogue, as the colloquists entered the
+hall, just as the last speaker concluded. Wycherly was conversing,
+earnestly, with Mrs. Dutton and Mildred, at the far end of the hall,
+when the baronets appeared; but, catching the eye of the admiral, he
+said a few words hastily to his companions, and joined the two
+gentlemen, who were now on their way to the sick man's chamber.
+
+"Here is a namesake, if not a relative, Sir Reginald," observed Sir
+Gervaise, introducing the lieutenant; "and one, I rejoice to say, of
+whom all of even your honourable name have reason to be proud."
+
+Sir Reginald's bow was courteous and bland, as the admiral proceeded to
+complete the introduction; but Wycherly felt that the keen, searching
+look he bestowed on himself, was disagreeable.
+
+"I am not at all aware, that I have the smallest claim to the honour of
+being Sir Reginald Wychecombe's relative," he said, with cold reserve.
+"Indeed, until last evening, I was ignorant of the existence of the
+Hertfordshire branch of this family; and you will remember, Sir
+Gervaise, that I am a Virginian."
+
+"A Virginian!" exclaimed his namesake, taken so much by surprise as to
+lose a little of his self-command, "I did not know, indeed, that any who
+bear the name had found their way to the colonies."
+
+"And if they had, sir, they would have met with a set of fellows every
+way fit to be their associates, Sir Reginald. We English are a little
+clannish--I hate the word, too; it has such a narrow Scotch sound--but
+we _are_ clannish, although generally provided with garments to our
+nether limbs; and we sometimes look down upon even a son, whom the love
+of adventure has led into that part of the world. In my view an
+Englishman is an Englishman, let him come from what part of the empire
+he may. That is what I call genuine liberality, Sir Reginald."
+
+"Quite true, Sir Gervaise; and a Scotchman is a Scotchman, even though
+he come from the north of Tweed."
+
+This was quietly said, but the vice-admiral felt the merited rebuke it
+contained, and he had the good-nature and the good sense to laugh at it,
+and to admit his own prejudices. This little encounter brought the party
+to Sir Wycherly's door, where all three remained until it was
+ascertained that they might enter.
+
+The next quarter of an hour brought about a great change in the
+situation of all the principal inmates of Wychecombe Hall. The interdict
+was taken off the rooms of Sir Wycherly, and in them had collected all
+the gentlemen, Mrs. Dutton and her daughter, with three or four of the
+upper servants of the establishment. Even Galleygo contrived to thrust
+his ungainly person in, among the rest, though he had the discretion to
+keep in the background among his fellows. In a word, both dressing-room
+and bed-room had their occupants, though the last was principally filled
+by the medical men, and those whose rank gave them claims to be near the
+person of the sick.
+
+It was now past a question known that poor Sir Wycherly was on his
+death-bed. His mind had sensibly improved, nor was his speech any worse;
+but his physical system generally had received a shock that rendered
+recovery hopeless. It was the opinion of the physicians that he might
+possibly survive several days; or, that he might be carried off, in a
+moment, by a return of the paralytic affection.
+
+The baronet, himself, appeared to be perfectly conscious of his
+situation; as was apparent by the anxiety he expressed to get his
+friends together, and more especially the concern he felt to make a due
+disposition of his worldly affairs. The medical men had long resisted
+both wishes, until, convinced that the question was reduced to one of a
+few hours more or less of life, and that denial was likely to produce
+worse effects than compliance, they finally and unanimously consented.
+
+"It's no a great concession to mortal infirmity to let a dying man have
+his way," whispered Magrath to the two admirals, as the latter entered
+the room. "Sir Wycherly is a hopeless case, and we'll just consent to
+let him make a few codicils, seeing that he so fairvently desires it;
+and then there may be fewer hopeless deevils left behind him, when he's
+gathered to his forefathers."
+
+"Here we are, my dear Sir Wycherly," said the vice-admiral, who never
+lost an occasion to effect his purpose, by any unnecessary delay; "here
+we all are anxious to comply with your wishes. Your kinsman, Sir
+Reginald Wychecombe, is also present, and desirous of doing your
+pleasure."
+
+It was a painful sight to see a man on his death-bed, so anxious to
+discharge the forms of the world, as the master of the Hall now appeared
+to be. There had been an unnecessary alienation between the heads of the
+two branches of the family; not arising from any quarrel, or positive
+cause of disagreement, but from a silent conviction in both parties,
+that each was unsuited to the other. They had met a few times, and
+always parted without regret. The case was now different; the separation
+was, in one sense at least, to be eternal; and all minor considerations,
+all caprices of habits or despotism of tastes, faded before the solemn
+impressions of the moment. Still, Sir Wycherly could not forget that he
+was master of Wychecombe, and that his namesake was esteemed a man of
+refinement; and, in his simple way of thinking he would fain have
+arisen, in order to do him honour. A little gentle violence, even, was
+necessary to keep the patient quiet.
+
+"Much honoured, sir--greatly pleased," muttered Sir Wycherly, the
+words coming from him with difficulty. "Same ancestors--same
+name--Plantagenets--old house, sir--head go, new one come--none better,
+than--"
+
+"Do not distress yourself to speak, unnecessarily, my dear sir,"
+interrupted Sir Reginald, with more tenderness for the patient than
+consideration for his own interest, as the next words promised to relate
+to the succession. "Sir Gervaise Oakes tells me, he understands your
+wishes, generally, and that he is now prepared to gratify them. First
+relieve your mind, in matters of business; and, then, I shall be most
+happy to exchange with you the feelings of kindred."
+
+"Yes, Sir Wycherly," put in Sir Gervaise, on this hint; "I believe I
+have now found the clue to all you wish to say. The few words written by
+you, last night, were the commencement of a will, which it is your
+strong desire to make. Do not speak, but raise your right hand, if I am
+not mistaken."
+
+The sick man actually stretched his right arm above the bed-clothes, and
+his dull eyes lighted with an expression of pleasure, that proved how
+strongly his feelings were enlisted in the result.
+
+"You see, gentlemen!" said Sir Gervaise, with emphasis. "No one can
+mistake the meaning of this! Come nearer, doctor--Mr. Rotherham--all who
+have no probable interest in the affair--I wish it to be seen that Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe is desirous of making his will."
+
+The vice-admiral now went through the ceremony of repeating his request,
+and got the same significant answer.
+
+"So I understood it, Sir Wycherly, and I believe now I also understand
+all about the 'half,' and the 'whole,' and the '_nullus_.' You meant to
+tell us that your kinsman, Sir Reginald Wychecombe, was of the
+'half-blood' as respects yourself, and that Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, your
+nephew, is what is termed in law--however painful this may be,
+gentlemen, at such solemn moments the truth must be plainly spoken--that
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe is what the law terms a '_filius nullius_.' If we
+have understood you in this, also, have the goodness to give this
+company the same sign of assent."
+
+The last words were scarcely spoken, before Sir Wycherly again raised
+his arm, and nodded his head.
+
+"Here there can be no mistake, and no one rejoices in it more than I do
+myself; for, the unintelligible words gave me a great deal of vexation.
+Well, my dear sir, understanding your wishes, my secretary, Mr. Atwood,
+has drawn the commencement of a will, in the usual form, using your own
+pious and proper language of--'In the name of God, Amen,' as the
+commencement; and he stands ready to write down your bequests, as you
+may see fit to name them. We will take them, first, on a separate piece
+of paper; then read them to you, for your approbation; and afterwards,
+transcribe them into the will. I believe, Sir Reginald, that mode would
+withstand the subtleties of all the gentlemen of all the Inns of Court?"
+
+"It is a very proper and prudent mode for executing a will, sir, under
+the peculiar circumstances," returned he of Hertfordshire. "But, Sir
+Gervaise, my situation, here, is a little delicate, as may be that of
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe--others of the name and family, if any such there
+be. Would it not be well to inquire if our presence is actually desired
+by the intended testator?"
+
+"Is it your wish, Sir Wycherly, that your kinsmen and namesakes remain
+in the room, or shall they retire until the will is executed? I will
+call over the names of the company, and when you wish any one, in
+particular, to stay in the room, you will nod your head."
+
+"All--all stay," muttered Sir Wycherly; "Sir
+Reginald--Tom--Wycherly--all--"
+
+"This seems explicit enough, gentlemen," resumed the vice-admiral. "You
+are _all_ requested to stay; and, if I might venture an opinion, our
+poor friend has named those on whom he intends his bequests to fall--and
+pretty much, too, in the order in which they will come."
+
+"That will appear more unanswerably when Sir Wycherly has expressed his
+intentions in words," observed Sir Reginald, very desirous that there
+should not be the smallest appearance of dictation or persuasion offered
+to his kinsman, at a moment so grave. "Let me entreat that no leading
+questions be put."
+
+"Sir Gervaise understands leading in battle, much better than in a
+cross-examination, Sir Reginald," Bluewater observed, in a tone so low,
+that none heard him but the person to whom the words were addressed. "I
+think we shall sooner get at Sir Wycherly's wishes, by allowing him to
+take his own course."
+
+The other bowed, and appeared disposed to acquiesce. In the mean time
+preparations were making for the construction of the will. Atwood seated
+himself at a table near the bed, and commenced nibbing his pens; the
+medical men administered a cordial; Sir Gervaise caused all the
+witnesses to range themselves around the room, in a way that each might
+fairly see, and be seen; taking care, however, so to dispose of
+Wycherly, as to leave no doubt of his handsome person's coming into the
+sick man's view. The lieutenant's modesty might have rebelled at this
+arrangement, had he not found himself immediately at the side of
+Mildred.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+    "Yet, all is o'er!--fear, doubt, suspense, are fled,
+    Let brighter thoughts be with the virtuous dead!
+    The final ordeal of the soul is past,
+    And the pale brow is sealed to Heaven at last."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+It will be easily supposed that Tom Wychecombe witnessed the proceedings
+related in the preceding chapter with dismay. The circumstance that he
+actually possessed a _bona fide_ will of his uncle, which left him heir
+of all the latter owned, real or personal, had made him audacious, and
+first induced him to take the bold stand of asserting his legitimacy,
+and of claiming all its consequences. He had fully determined to assume
+the title on the demise of Sir Wycherly; plausibly enough supposing
+that, as there was no heir to the baronetcy, the lands once in his quiet
+possession, no one would take sufficient interest in the matter to
+dispute his right to the rank. Here, however, was a blow that menaced
+death to all his hopes. His illegitimacy seemed to be known to others,
+and there was every prospect of a new will's supplanting the old one, in
+its more important provisions, at least. He was at a loss to imagine
+what had made this sudden change in his uncle's intentions; for he did
+not sufficiently understand himself, to perceive that the few months of
+close communion which had succeeded the death of his reputed father, had
+sufficed to enlighten Sir Wycherly on the subject of his own true
+character, and to awaken a disgust that had remained passive, until
+suddenly aroused by the necessity of acting; and, least of all, could he
+understand how surprisingly the moral vision of men is purified and
+enlarged, as respects both the past and the future, by the near approach
+of death. Although symptoms of strong dissatisfaction escaped him, he
+quieted his feelings as much as possible, cautiously waiting for any
+occurrence that might be used in setting aside the contemplated
+instrument, hereafter; or, what would be still better, to defeat its
+execution, now.
+
+As soon as the necessary preparations were made, Atwood, his pen nibbed,
+ink at hand, and paper spread, was ready to proceed: and a breathless
+stillness existing in the chamber, Sir Gervaise resumed the subject on
+which they were convened.
+
+"Atwood will read to you what he has already written, Sir Wycherly," he
+said; "should the phraseology be agreeable to you, you will have the
+goodness to make a sign to that effect. Well, if all is ready, you can
+now commence--hey! Atwood?"
+
+"'In the name of God, Amen,'" commenced the methodical secretary; "'I,
+Wycherly Wychecombe, Bart., of Wychecombe-Hall, in the county of Devon,
+being of sound mind, but of a feeble state of health, and having the
+view of death before my eyes, revoking all other wills, codicils, or
+testamentary devises, whatsoever, do make and declare this instrument to
+be my last will and testament: that is to say, Imprimis, I do hereby
+constitute and appoint ---- ---- of ----, the executor of this my said
+will, with all the powers and authority that the law gives, or may
+hereafter give to said executor. Secondly, I give and bequeath to ----.'
+This is all that is yet written, Sir Gervaise, blanks being left for the
+name or names of the executor or executors, as well for the 's' at the
+end of 'executor,' should the testator see fit to name more than one."
+
+"There, Sir Reginald," said the vice-admiral, not altogether without
+exultation; "this is the way we prepare these things on board a
+man-of-war! A flag-officer's secretary needs have himself qualified to
+do any thing, short of a knowledge of administering to the cure of
+souls!"
+
+"And the cure of bodies, ye'll be permitting me to add, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Magrath, taking an enormous pinch of a strong yellow snuff.
+
+"Our secretary would make but a lubberly fist at turning off a delicate
+turtle-soup out of pig's-head; such as we puts on our table at sea, so
+often," muttered Galleygo in the ear of Mrs. Larder.
+
+"I see nothing to object to, Sir Gervaise, if the language is agreeable
+to Sir Wycherly," answered the barrister by profession, though not by
+practice. "It would be advisable to get his approbation of even the
+language."
+
+"That we intend to do, of course, sir. Sir Wycherly, do you find the
+terms of this will to your liking?"
+
+Sir Wycherly smiled, and very clearly gave the sign of assent.
+
+"I thought as much--for, Atwood has made the wills of two admirals, and
+of three captains, to my knowledge; and my Lord Chief Justice said that
+one of the last would have done credit to the best conveyancer in
+England, and that it was a pity the testator had nothing to bequeath.
+Now, Sir Wycherly, will you have one executor, or more? If _one_, hold
+up a single finger; and a finger for each additional executor you wish
+us to insert in these blanks. One, Atwood--you perceive, gentlemen, that
+Sir Wycherly raises but _one_ finger; and so you can give a flourish at
+the end of the 'r,' as the word will be in the singular;--hey! Atwood?"
+
+The secretary did as directed, and then reported himself ready to
+proceed.
+
+"It will be necessary for you now to _name_ your executor, Sir
+Wycherly--make as little effort as possible, as we shall understand the
+name, alone."
+
+Sir Wycherly succeeded in uttering the name of "Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe," quite audibly.
+
+"This is plain enough," resumed the vice-admiral; "how does the sentence
+read now, Atwood?"
+
+"'_Imprimis:_--I do hereby constitute and appoint Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe of Wychecombe-Regis, in the county of Herts, Baronet, the
+executor of this my said will, &c.'"
+
+"If that clause is to your liking, Sir Wycherly, have the goodness to
+give the sign agreed on."
+
+The sick man smiled, nodded his head, raised his hand, and looked
+anxiously at his kinsman.
+
+"I consent to serve, Sir Wycherly, if such is your desire," observed the
+nominee, who detected the meaning of his kinsman's look.
+
+"And now, sir," continued the vice-admiral; "it is necessary to ask you
+a few questions, in order that Atwood may know what next to write. Is it
+your desire to bequeath any real estate?" Sir Wycherly assented. "Do you
+wish to bequeath _all_ your real estate?" The same sign of assent was
+given. "Do you wish to bequeath _all_ to one person?" The sign of assent
+was given to this also. "This makes plain sailing, and a short
+run,--hey! Atwood?"
+
+The secretary wrote as fast as possible, and in two or three minutes he
+read aloud, as follows--
+
+"'Secondly, I make and declare the following bequests or devises--that
+is to say, I give and bequeath to ---- ---- of ------, all the real
+estate of which I may die seised, together with all the houses,
+tenements, hereditaments, and appurtenances thereunto belonging, and all
+my rights to the same, whether in law or equity, to be possessed and
+enjoyed by the said ---- ---- of ------ in fee, by ---- heirs,
+executors, administrators, or assigns, for ever.' There are blanks for
+the name and description, as well as for the sex of the devisee," added
+the secretary.
+
+"All very proper and legal, I believe, Sir Reginald?--I am glad you
+think so, sir. Now, Sir Wycherly, we wait for the name of the lucky
+person you mean thus to favour."
+
+"Sir Reginald Wychecombe," the sick man uttered, painfully;
+"half-blood--no _nullus_. Sir Michael's heir--_my_ heir."
+
+"This is plain English!" cried Sir Gervaise, in the way of a man who is
+not displeased; "put in the name of 'Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, Herts,' Atwood--ay--that justs fills the blank
+handsomely--you want '_his_ heirs, executors, &c.' in the other blank."
+
+"I beg your pardon, Sir Gervaise; it should read 'by _himself, his_
+heirs, &c.'"
+
+"Very true--very true, Atwood. Now read it slowly, and Sir Wycherly will
+assent, if he approve."
+
+This was done, and Sir Wycherly not only approved, but it was apparent
+to all present, the abashed and confounded Tom himself not excepted,
+that he approved, with a feeling akin to delight.
+
+"That gives a black eye to all the land,--hey! Atwood?" said Sir
+Gervaise; who, by this time, had entered into the business in hand, with
+all the interest of a regular notary--or, rather, with that of one, on
+whose shoulders rested the responsibility of success or failure. "We
+come next to the personals. Do you wish to bequeath your furniture,
+wines, horses, carriages, and other things of that sort, to any
+particular person, Sir Wycherly?"
+
+"All--Sir Reginald--Wychecombe--half-blood--old Sir Michael's heir,"
+answered the testator.
+
+"Good--clap that down, Atwood, for it is doing the thing, as I like to
+see family affairs settled. As soon as you are ready, let us hear how it
+sounds in writing."
+
+"I furthermore bequeath to the said Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, as aforesaid, baronet, all my personal property,
+whatsoever,'" read Atwood, as soon as ready; "'including furniture,
+wines, pictures, books, horses and carriages, and all other goods and
+chattels, of which I may die possessed, excepting thereout and
+therefrom, nevertheless, such sums in money, stocks, bonds, notes, or
+other securities for debts, or such articles as I may in this instrument
+especially devise to any other person.' We can now go to especial
+legacies, Sir Gervaise, and then another clause may make Sir Reginald
+residuary legatee, if such be Sir Wycherly's pleasure."
+
+"If you approve of that clause, my dear sir, make the usual sign of
+assent."
+
+Sir Wycherly both raised his hand and nodded his head, evidently quite
+satisfied.
+
+"Now, my good sir, we come to the pounds--no--guineas? You like that
+better--well, I confess that it sounds better on the ear, and is more in
+conformity with the habits of gentlemen. Will you now bequeath guineas?
+Good--first name the legatee--is that right, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"Quite right, Sir Gervaise; and Sir Wycherly will understand that he now
+names the first person to whom he wishes to bequeath any thing else."
+
+"Milly," muttered the sick man.
+
+"What? Mills!--the mills go with the lands, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"He means Miss Mildred Dutton," eagerly interposed Wycherly, though with
+sufficient modesty.
+
+"Yes--right--right," added the testator. "Little Milly--Milly
+Dutton--good little Milly."
+
+Sir Gervaise hesitated, and looked round at Bluewater, as much as to say
+"this is bringing coals to Newcastle;" but Atwood took the idea, and
+wrote the bequest, in the usual form.
+
+"'I give and bequeath to Mildred Dutton,'" he read aloud, "'daughter of
+Francis Dutton of the Royal Navy, the sum of ----' what sum shall I fill
+the blank with, Sir Wycherly?"
+
+"Three--three--yes, three."
+
+"Hundreds or thousands, my good sir?" asked Sir Gervaise, a little
+surprised at the amount of the bequest.
+
+"Guineas--three--thousand--guineas--five per cents."
+
+"That's as plain as logarithms. Give the young lady three thousand
+guineas in the fives, Atwood."
+
+"'I give and bequeath to Mildred Dutton, daughter of Francis Dutton of
+the Royal Navy, the sum of three thousand guineas in the five per cent.
+stocks of this kingdom.' Will that do, Sir Wycherly?"
+
+The old man looked at Mildred and smiled benevolently; for, at that
+moment, he felt he was placing the pure and lovely girl above the
+ordinary contingencies of her situation, by rendering her independent.
+
+"Whose name shall we next insert, Sir Wycherly?" resumed the
+vice-admiral. "There must be many more of these guineas left."
+
+"Gregory--and--James--children of my brother Thomas--Baron
+Wychecombe--five thousand guineas each," added the testator, making a
+great effort to express his meaning as clearly as possible.
+
+He was understood; and, after a short consultation with the
+vice-admiral, Atwood wrote out the devise at length.
+
+"'I give and bequeath to my nephews, Gregory and James Wychecombe, the
+reputed sons of my late brother, Thomas Wychecombe, one of the Barons of
+His Majesty's Exchequer, the sum of five thousand guineas, each, in the
+five per cent. funded debt of this kingdom.'"
+
+"Do you approve of the devise, Sir Wycherly? if so, make the usual sign
+of assent?"
+
+Sir Wycherly complied, as in all the previous cases of his approval.
+
+"Whose name shall we next insert, in readiness for a legacy, Sir
+Wycherly?" asked the admiral.
+
+Here was a long pause, the baronet evidently turning over in his mind,
+what he had done, and what yet remained to do.
+
+"Spread yourselves, my friends, in such a way as to permit the testator
+to see you all," continued the vice-admiral, motioning with his hand to
+widen the circle around the bed, which had been contracted a little by
+curiosity and interest; "stand more this way, _Lieutenant Wycherly
+Wychecombe_, that the ladies may see and be seen; and you, too, Mr.
+Thomas Wychecombe, come further in front, where your uncle will observe
+you."
+
+This speech pretty exactly reflected the workings of the speaker's mind.
+The idea that Wycherly was a natural child of the baronet's,
+notwithstanding the Virginian story, was uppermost in his thoughts; and,
+taking the supposed fact in connection with the young man's merit, he
+earnestly desired to obtain a legacy for him. As for Tom, he cared
+little whether his name appeared in the will or not. Justice was now
+substantially done, and the judge's property being sufficient for his
+wants, the present situation of the lately reputed heir excited but
+little sympathy. Nevertheless, Sir Gervaise thought it would be
+generous, under the circumstances, to remind the testator that such a
+being as Tom Wychecombe existed.
+
+"Here is your nephew, Mr. Thomas, Sir Wycherly," he said; "is it your
+wish to let his name appear in your will?"
+
+The sick man smiled coldly; but he moved his head, as much as to imply
+assent.
+
+"'I give and bequeath to Thomas Wychecombe, the eldest reputed son of my
+late brother, Thomas, one of the Barons of His Majesty's Exchequer,'"
+read Atwood, when the clause was duly written; "'the sum of ----, in the
+five per cent. stocks of this kingdom.'"
+
+"What sum will you have inserted, Sir Wycherly?" asked the vice-admiral.
+
+"Fifty--fifty--_pounds_" said the testator, in a voice clearer and
+fuller than he had before used that day.
+
+The necessary words were immediately inserted; the clause, as completed,
+was read again, and the approval was confirmed by a distinctly
+pronounced "yes." Tom started, but, as all the others maintained their
+self-command, the business of the moment did not the less proceed.
+
+"Do you wish any more names introduced into your will, Sir Wycherly?"
+asked the vice-admiral. "You have bequeathed but--a-a-a--how much--hey!
+Atwood?--ay, ten and three are thirteen, and fifty _pounds_, make
+£13,180; and I hear you have £20,000 funded, besides loose cash, beyond
+a doubt."
+
+"Ann Larder--Samuel Cork--Richard Bitts--David Brush--Phoebe Keys," said
+Sir Wycherly, slowly, giving time after each pause, for Atwood to write;
+naming his cook, butler, groom, valet or body-servant, and housekeeper,
+in the order they have been laid before the reader.
+
+"How much to each, Sir Wycherly?--I see Atwood has made short work, and
+put them all in the same clause--that will never do, unless the legacies
+are the same."
+
+"Good--good--right," muttered the testator;
+"£200--each--£1000--all--money--money."
+
+This settled the point, and the clause was regularly written, read, and
+approved.
+
+"This raises the money bequests to £14,180, Sir Wycherly--some 6 or
+£7000 more must remain to be disposed of. Stand a little further this
+way, if you please, Mr. _Wycherly_ Wychecombe, and allow the ladies more
+room. Whose name shall we insert next, sir?"
+
+Sir Wycherly, thus directed by the eager desire of the admiral to serve
+the gallant lieutenant, fastened his eyes on the young man, regarding
+him quite a minute in silent attention.
+
+"Virginian--same name--American--colonies--good lad--_brave_
+lad--£1000," muttered the sick man between his teeth; and, yet so
+breathless was the quiet of the chamber, at that moment, every syllable
+was heard by all present. "Yes--£1000--Wycherly Wychecombe--royal
+navy--"
+
+Atwood's pen was running rapidly over the paper, and had just reached
+the name of the contemplated legatee, when his hand was arrested by the
+voice of the young man himself.
+
+"Stop, Mr. Atwood--do not insert any clause in my favour!" cried
+Wycherly, his face the colour of crimson, and his chest heaving with the
+emotions he felt it so difficult to repress. "I decline the legacy--it
+will be useless to write it, as I will not receive a shilling."
+
+"Young sir," said Sir Gervaise, with a little of the severity of a
+superior, when he rebukes an interior, in his manner; "you speak
+hastily. It is not the office of an auditor or of a spectator, to repel
+the kindness of a man about to pass from the face of the earth, into the
+more immediate presence of his God!"
+
+"I have every sentiment of respect for Sir Wycherly Wychecombe,
+sir;--every friendly wish for his speedy recovery, and a long evening to
+his life; but, I will accept of the money of no man who holds my country
+in such obvious distaste, as, it is apparent, the testator holds mine."
+
+"You are an Englishman, I believe, _Lieutenant_ Wychecombe; and a
+servant of King George II.?"
+
+"I am _not_ an Englishman, Sir Gervaise Oakes--but an American; a
+Virginian, entitled to all the rights and privileges of a British
+subject. I am no more an Englishman, than Dr. Magrath may lay claim to
+the same character."
+
+"This is putting the case strongly,--hey! Atwood?" answered the
+vice-admiral, smiling in spite of the occasion. "I am far from saying
+that you are an Englishman, in all senses, sir; but you are one in the
+sense that gives you national character and national rights. You are a
+_subject_ of _England_."
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise; your pardon. I am the subject of George II., but in
+no manner a subject of _England_. I am, in one sense, perhaps, a subject
+of the British empire; but I am not the less a Virginian, and an
+American. Not a shilling of any man's money will I ever touch, who
+expresses his contempt for either."
+
+"You forget yourself, young man, and overlook the future. The hundred or
+two of prize-money, bought at the expense of your blood, in the late
+affair at Groix, will not last for ever."
+
+"It is gone, already, sir, every shilling of it having been sent to the
+widow of the boatswain who was killed at my side. I am no beggar, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes, though only an American. I am the owner of a plantation,
+which affords me a respectable independence, already; and I do not serve
+from necessity, but from choice. Perhaps, if Sir Wycherly knew this, he
+would consent to omit my name. I honour and respect him; would gladly
+relieve his distress, either of body or mind; but I cannot consent to
+accept his money when offered on terms I consider humiliating."
+
+This was said modestly, but with a warmth and sincerity which left no
+doubt that the speaker was in earnest. Sir Gervaise too much respected
+the feelings of the young man to urge the matter any further, and he
+turned towards the bed, in expectation of what the sick man might next
+say. Sir Wycherly heard and understood all that passed, and it did not
+fail to produce an impression, even in the state to which he was
+reduced. Kind-hearted, and indisposed to injure even a fly, all the
+natural feelings of the old man resumed their ascendency, and he would
+gladly have given every shilling of his funded property to be able
+freely to express his compunction at having ever uttered a syllable that
+could offend sensibilities so noble and generous. But this exceeded his
+powers, and he was fain to do the best he could, in the painful
+situation in which he was placed.
+
+"Noble fellow!" he stuttered out; "honour to name--come here--Sir
+Gervaise--bring here--"
+
+"I believe it is the wish of Sir Wycherly, that you would draw near the
+bed, Mr. Wychecombe of _Virginia_," said the vice-admiral, pithily,
+though he extended a hand to, and smiled kindly on, the youth as the
+latter passed him in compliance.
+
+The sick man now succeeded, with a good deal of difficulty, in drawing a
+valuable signet-ring from a finger.--This ring bore the Wychecombe arms,
+engraved on it. It was without the bloody hand, however; for it was far
+older than the order of baronets, having, as Wycherly well knew, been
+given by one of the Plantagenet Dukes to an ancestor of the family,
+during the French wars of Henry VI., and that, too, in commemoration of
+some signal act of gallantry in the field.
+
+"Wear this--noble fellow--honour to name," said Sir Wycherly. "_Must_ be
+descended--all Wychecombes descended--him--"
+
+"I thank you, Sir Wycherly, for this present, which I prize as it ought
+to be prized," said Wycherly, every trace of any other feeling than that
+of gratitude having vanished from his countenance. "I may have no claims
+to your honours or money; but this ring I need not be ashamed to wear,
+since it was bestowed on one who was as much _my_ ancestor, as he was
+the ancestor of any Wychecombe in England."
+
+"Legitimate?" cried Tom, a fierce feeling of resentment upsetting his
+caution and cunning.
+
+"Yes, sir, _legitimate_," answered Wycherly, turning to his
+interrogator, with the calmness of one conscious of his own truth, and
+with a glance of the eye that caused Tom to shrink back again into the
+circle. "I need no _bar_, to enable me to use this seal, which, you may
+perceive, Sir Gervaise Oakes, is a _fac simile_ of the one I ordinarily
+wear, and which was transmitted to me from my direct ancestors."
+
+The vice-admiral compared the seal on Wycherly's watch-chain with that
+on the ring, and, the bearings being principally griffins, he was
+enabled to see that one was the exact counterpart of the other. Sir
+Reginald advanced a step, and when the admiral had satisfied himself, he
+also took the two seals and compared them. As all the known branches of
+the Wychecombes of Wychecombe, bore the same arms, viz., griffins for
+Wychecombe, with three battering-rams quartered, for Wycherly,--he saw,
+at once, that the young man habitually carried about his person, this
+proof of a common origin. Sir Reginald knew very well that arms were
+often assumed, as well as names, and the greater the obscurity of the
+individual who took these liberties, the greater was his impunity; but
+the seal was a very ancient one, and innovations on personal rights were
+far less frequent a century since, than they are to-day. Then the
+character and appearance of Wycherly put fraud out of the question, so
+far as the young lieutenant himself was concerned. Although the elder
+branch of the family, legitimately speaking, was reduced to the helpless
+old man who was now stretched upon his death-bed, his own had been
+extensive; and it well might be that some cadet of the Wychecombes of
+Wychecombe-Regis, had strayed into the colonies and left descendants.
+Secretly resolving to look more closely into these facts, he gravely
+returned the seals, and intimated to Sir Gervaise that the more
+important business before them had better proceed. On this hint, Atwood
+resumed the pen, and the vice-admiral his duties.
+
+"There want yet some 6 or £7000 to make up £20,000, Sir Wycherly, which
+I understand is the sum you have in the funds. Whose name or names will
+you have next inserted?"
+
+"Rotherham--vicar--poor St. James--gone; yes--Mr.--Rotherham--vicar."
+
+The clause was written, the sum of £1000 was inserted, and the whole was
+read and approved.
+
+"This still leaves us some £5000 more to deal with, my dear sir?"
+
+A long pause succeeded, during which time Sir Wycherly was deliberating
+what to do with the rest of his ready money. At length his wandering eye
+rested on the pale features of Mrs. Dutton; and, while he had a sort of
+liking, that proceeded from habit, for her husband, he remembered that
+she had many causes for sorrow. With a feeling that was creditable to
+his own heart, he uttered her name, and the sum of £2000. The clause was
+written, accordingly, read and approved.
+
+"We have still £3000 certainly, if not £4000," added Sir Gervaise.
+
+"Milly--dear little--Milly--pretty Milly," stammered out the baronet,
+affectionately.
+
+"This must go into a codicil, Sir Gervaise," interrupted Atwood; "there
+being already one legacy in the young lady's favour. Shall it be one,
+two, three, or four thousand pounds, Sir Wycherly, in favour of Miss
+Mildred, to whom you have already bequeathed £3000."
+
+The sick man muttered the words "three thousand," after a short pause,
+adding "codicil."
+
+His wishes were complied with, and the whole was read and approved.
+After this, Sir Gervaise inquired if the testator wished to make any
+more devises. Sir Wycherly, who had in effect bequeathed, within a few
+hundred pounds, all he had to bestow, bethought himself, for a few
+moments, of the state of his affairs, and then he signified his
+satisfaction with what had been done.
+
+"As it is possible, Sir Wycherly, that you may have overlooked
+something," said Sir Gervaise, "and it is better that nothing should
+escheat to the crown, I will suggest the expediency of your making some
+one residuary legatee."
+
+The poor old man smiled an assent, and then he succeeded in muttering
+the name of "Sir Reginald Wychecombe."
+
+This clause, like all the others, was written, read, and approved. The
+will was now completed, and preparations were made to read it carefully
+over to the intended testator. In order that this might be done with
+sufficient care for future objections, the two admirals and Atwood, who
+were selected for the witnesses, each read the testament himself, in
+order to say that nothing was laid before the testator but that which
+was fairly contained in the instrument, and that nothing was omitted.
+When all was ready, the will was audibly and slowly read to Sir
+Wycherly, by the secretary, from the beginning to the end. The old man
+listened with great attention; smiled when Mildred's name was mentioned;
+and clearly expressed, by signs and words, his entire satisfaction when
+all was ended. It remained only to place a pen in his hand, and to give
+him such assistance as would enable him to affix his name twice; once to
+the body of the instrument; and, when this was duly witnessed, then
+again to the codicil. By this time, Tom Wychecombe thought that the
+moment for interposing had arrived. He had been on thorns during the
+whole proceeding, forming desperate resolutions to sustain the bold
+fraud of his legitimacy, and thus take all the lands and heirlooms of
+the estate, under the entail; still he well knew that a subordinate but
+important question might arise, as between the validity of the two
+wills, in connection with Sir Wycherly's competency to make the last. It
+was material, therefore, in his view of the case, to enter a protest.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, advancing to the foot of the bed; "I call on you
+all to observe the nature of this whole transaction. My poor, beloved,
+but misled uncle, no longer ago than last night, was struck with a fit
+of apoplexy, or something so very near it as to disqualify him to judge
+in these matters; and here he is urged to make a will--"
+
+"By whom, sir?" demanded Sir Gervaise, with a severity of tone that
+induced the speaker to fall back a step.
+
+"Why, sir, in my judgment, by all in the room. If not with their
+tongues, at least with their eyes."
+
+"And why should all in the room do this? Am I a legatee?--is Admiral
+Bluewater to be a gainer by this will?--_can_ witnesses to a will be
+legatees?"
+
+"I do not wish to dispute the matter with you, Sir Gervaise Oakes; but I
+solemnly protest against this irregular and most extraordinary manner of
+making a will. Let all who hear me, remember this, and be ready to
+testify to it when called on in a court of justice."
+
+Here Sir Wycherly struggled to rise in the bed, in evident excitement,
+gesticulating strongly to express his disgust, and his wish for his
+nephew to withdraw. But the physicians endeavoured to pacify him, while
+Atwood, with the paper spread on a port-folio, and a pen in readiness,
+coolly proceeded to obtain the necessary signatures. Sir Wycherly's hand
+trembled so much when it received the pen, that, for the moment, writing
+was out of the question, and it became necessary to administer a
+restorative in order to strengthen his nerves.
+
+"Away--out of sight," muttered the excited baronet, leaving no doubt on
+all present, that the uppermost feeling of the moment was the strong
+desire to rid himself of the presence of the offensive object. "Sir
+Reginald--little Milly--poor servants--brothers--all the rest, stay."
+
+"Just be calming the mind, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe," put in Magrath,
+"and ye'll be solacing the body by the same effort. When the mind is in
+a state of exaltation, the nervous system is apt to feel the influence
+of sympathy. By bringing the two in harmonious co-operation, the
+testamentary devises will have none the less of validity, either in
+reality or in appearances."
+
+Sir Wycherly understood the surgeon, and he struggled for self-command.
+He raised the pen, and succeeded in getting its point on the proper
+place. Then his dim eye lighted, and shot a reproachful glance at Tom;
+he smiled in a ghastly manner, looked towards the paper, passed a hand
+across his brow, closed his eyes, and fell back on the pillow, utterly
+unconscious of all that belonged to life, its interests, its duties, or
+its feelings. In ten minutes, he ceased to breathe.
+
+Thus died Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, after a long life, in which general
+qualities of a very negative nature, had been somewhat relieved, by
+kindness of feeling, a passive if not an active benevolence, and such a
+discharge of his responsible duties as is apt to flow from an absence of
+any qualities that are positively bad; as well as of many of material
+account, that are affirmatively good.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+    "Come ye, who still the cumbrous load of life
+      Push hard up hill; but at the farthest steep
+    You trust to gain, and put on end to strife,
+      Down thunders back the stone with mighty sweep,
+      And hurls your labours to the valley deep;--"
+
+         THOMSON.
+
+
+The sudden, and, in some measure, unlooked-for event, related in the
+close of the last chapter, produced a great change in the condition of
+things at Wychecombe Hall. The first step was to make sure that the
+baronet was actually dead; a fact that Sir Gervaise Oakes, in
+particular, was very unwilling to believe, in the actual state of his
+feelings. Men often fainted, and apoplexy required _three_ blows to
+kill; the sick man might still revive, and at least be able to execute
+his so clearly expressed intentions.
+
+"Ye'll never have act of any sort, testamentary or matrimonial, legal or
+illegal, in this life, from the late Sir Wycherly Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe Hall, Devonshire," coolly observed Magrath, as he collected
+the different medicines and instruments he had himself brought forth for
+the occasion. "He's far beyond the jurisdiction of My Lord High
+Chancellor of the college of Physicians and Surgeons; and therefore,
+ye'll be acting prudently to consider him as deceased; or, in the light
+in which the human body is placed by the cessation of all the animal
+functions."
+
+This decided the matter, and the necessary orders were given; all but
+the proper attendants quitting the chamber of death. It would be far
+from true to say that no one lamented Sir Wycherly Wychecombe. Both Mrs.
+Dutton and Mildred grieved for his sudden end, and wept sincerely for
+his loss; though totally without a thought of its consequences to
+themselves. The daughter did not even once think how near she had been
+to the possession of £6000, and how unfortunately the cup of comparative
+affluence had been dashed from her lips; though truth compels us to avow
+that the mother did once recall this circumstance, with a feeling akin
+to regret. A similar recollection had its influence on the
+manifestations of sorrow that flowed from others. The domestics, in
+particular, were too much astounded to indulge in any very abstracted
+grief, and Sir Gervaise and Atwood were both extremely vexed. In short,
+the feelings, usual to such occasions were but little indulged in,
+though there was a strict observance of decorum.
+
+Sir Reginald Wychecombe noted these circumstances attentively, and he
+took his measures accordingly. Seizing a favourable moment to consult
+with the two admirals, his decision was soon made; and, within an hour
+after his kinsman's death, all the guests and most of the upper servants
+were assembled in the room, which it was the usage of the house to call
+the library; though the books were few, and seldom read. Previously,
+there had been a consultation between Sir Reginald and the two admirals,
+to which Atwood had been admitted, _ex officio_. As every thing,
+therefore, had been arranged in advance, there was no time lost
+unnecessarily, when the company was collected; the Hertfordshire baronet
+coming to the point at once, and that in the clearest manner.
+
+"Gentlemen, and you, good people, domestics of the late Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe," he commenced; "you are all acquainted with the unfortunate
+state of this household. By the recent death of its master, it is left
+without a head; and the deceased departing this life a bachelor, there
+is no child to assume his place, as the natural and legal successor. In
+one sense, I might be deemed the next of kin; though, by a _dictum_ of
+the common law I have no claim to the succession. Nevertheless, you all
+know it was the intention of our late friend to constitute me his
+executor, and I conceive it proper that search should now be made for a
+will, which, by being duly executed, must dispose of all in this house,
+and let us know who is entitled to command at this solemn and important
+moment. It strikes me, Sir Gervaise Oakes, that the circumstances are so
+peculiar as to call for prompt proceedings."
+
+"I fully agree with you, Sir Reginald," returned the vice-admiral; "but
+before we proceed any further, I would suggest the propriety of having
+as many of those present as possible, who have an interest in the
+result. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, the reputed nephew of the deceased, I do
+not see among us."
+
+On examination, this was found to be true, and the man of Tom
+Wychecombe, who had been ordered by his master to be present as a spy,
+was immediately sent to the latter, with a request that he would attend.
+After a delay of two or three minutes, the fellow returned with the
+answer.
+
+"Sir Thomas Wychecombe's compliments, gentlemen," he said, "and he
+desires to know the object of your request. He is in his room, indulging
+in natural grief for his recent loss; and he prefers to be left alone
+with his sorrows, just at this moment, if it be agreeable to you."
+
+This was taking high ground in the commencement; and, as the man had his
+cue, and delivered his message with great distinctness and steadiness,
+the effect on the dependants of the household was very evident. Sir
+Reginald's face flushed, while Sir Gervaise bit his lip; Bluewater
+played with the hilt of his sword, very indifferent to all that was
+passing; while Atwood and the surgeons shrugged their shoulders and
+smiled. The first of these persons well knew that Tom had no shadow of a
+claim to the title he had been in so much haste to assume, however, and
+he hoped that the feebleness of his rights in all particulars, was
+represented by the mixed feebleness and impudence connected with this
+message. Determined not to be bullied from his present purpose,
+therefore, he turned to the servant and sent him back with a second
+message, that did not fail of its object. The man was directed to inform
+his master, that Sir Reginald Wychecombe was in possession of facts
+that, in his opinion, justified the course he was taking, and if "Mr.
+Thomas Wychecombe" did not choose to appear, in order to look after his
+own interests, he should proceed without him. This brought Tom into the
+room, his face pale with uncertainty, rather than with grief, and his
+mind agitated with such apprehensions as are apt to beset even the most
+wicked, when they take their first important step in evil. He bowed,
+however, to the company with an air that he intended to represent the
+manner of a well-bred man acknowledging his duties to respected guests.
+
+"If I appear remiss in any of the duties of a host, gentlemen," he said,
+"you will overlook it, I trust, in consideration of my present feelings.
+Sir Wycherly was my father's elder brother, and was very dear, as he was
+very _near_ to me. By this melancholy death, Sir Reginald, I am suddenly
+and unexpectedly elevated to be the head of our ancient and honourable
+family; but I know my own personal unworthiness to occupy that
+distinguished place, and feel how much better it would be filled by
+yourself. Although the law has placed a wide and impassable barrier
+between all of your branch of the family and ourselves, I shall ever be
+ready to acknowledge the affinity, and to confess that it does us quite
+as much honour as it bestows."
+
+Sir Reginald, by a great effort, commanded himself so far as to return
+the bow, and apparently to receive the condescending admissions of the
+speech, with a proper degree of respect.
+
+"Sir, I thank you," he answered, with formal courtesy; "no affinity that
+can be properly and legally established, will ever be disavowed by me.
+Under present circumstances, however, summoned as I have been to the
+side of his death-bed, by the late Sir Wycherly, himself, and named by
+him, as one might say, with his dying breath, as his executor, I feel it
+a duty to inquire into the rights of all parties, and, if possible, to
+ascertain who is the successor, and consequently who has the best claim
+to command here."
+
+"You surely do not attach any validity, Sir Reginald, to the pretended
+will that was so singularly drawn up in my dear uncle's presence, an
+hour before he died! Had that most extraordinary instrument been duly
+signed and sealed, I cannot think that the Doctor's Commons would
+sustain it; but _unsigned_ and _unsealed_, it is no better than so much
+waste paper."
+
+"As respects the real estate, sir, though so great a loser by the delay
+of five minutes, I am willing to admit that you are right. With regard
+to the personals, a question in equity--one of clearly-expressed
+intention--might possibly arise; though even of that I am by no means
+certain."
+
+"No, sir; no--" cried Tom, a glow of triumph colouring his cheek, in
+spite of every effort to appear calm; "no English court would ever
+disturb the natural succession to the personals! I am the last man to
+wish to disturb some of these legacies--particularly that to Mr.
+Rotherham, and those to the poor, faithful domestics,"--Tom saw the
+prudence of conciliating allies, at such a critical moment, and his
+declaration had an instant and strong effect, as was evident by the
+countenances of many of the listeners;--"and I may say, that to Miss
+Mildred Dutton; all of which will be duly paid, precisely as if my
+beloved uncle had been in his right mind, and had actually made the
+bequests; for this mixture of reason and justice, with wild and
+extraordinary conceits, is by no means uncommon among men of great age,
+and in their last moments. However, Sir Reginald, I beg you will
+proceed, and act as in your judgment the extraordinary circumstances of
+what may be called a very peculiar case, require."
+
+"I conceive it to be our duty, sir, to search for a will. If Sir
+Wycherly has actually died intestate, it will be time enough to inquire
+into the question of the succession at common law. I have here the keys
+of his private secretary; and Mr. Furlong, the land-steward, who has
+just arrived, and whom you see in the room, tells me Sir Wycherly was
+accustomed to keep all his valuable papers in this piece of furniture. I
+shall now proceed to open it."
+
+"Do so, Sir Reginald; no one can have a stronger desire than myself to
+ascertain my beloved uncle's pleasure. Those to whom he _seemed_ to wish
+to give, even, shall not be losers for the want of his name."
+
+Tom was greatly raised in the opinions of half in the room, by this
+artful declaration, which was effectually securing just so many friends,
+in the event of any occurrence that might render such support necessary.
+In the mean time, Sir Reginald, assisted by the steward, opened the
+secretary, and found the deposite of papers. The leases were all in
+order; the title-deeds were properly arranged; the books and accounts
+appeared to be exactly kept: ordinary bills and receipts were filed with
+method; two or three bags of guineas proved that ready cash was not
+wanting; and, in short, every thing showed that the deceased had left
+his affairs in perfect order, and in a very intelligible condition.
+Paper after paper, however, was opened, and nothing like a will, rough
+draft or copied, was to be found. Disappointment was strongly painted on
+the faces of all the gentlemen present; for, they had ignorantly imbibed
+the opinion, that the production of a will would, in some unknown
+manner, defeat the hopes of the _soi-disant_ Sir Thomas Wychecombe. Nor
+was Tom, himself, altogether without concern; for, since the recent
+change in his uncle's feelings towards himself, he had a secret
+apprehension that some paper might be found, to defeat all his hopes.
+Triumph, however, gradually assumed the place of fear, in the expression
+of his countenance; and when Mr. Furlong, a perfectly honest man,
+declared that, from the late baronet's habits, as well as from the
+result of this search, he did not believe that any such instrument
+existed, his feelings overflowed in language.
+
+"Not so fast, Master Furlong--not so fast," he cried; "here is something
+that possibly even your legal acumen may be willing to term a will. You
+perceive, gentlemen, I have it in my possession on good authority, as it
+is addressed to me by name, and that, too, in Sir Wycherly's own
+hand-writing; the envelope is sealed with his private seal. You will
+pronounce this to be my dear uncle's hand. Furlong,"--showing the
+superscription of the letter--"and this to be his seal?"
+
+"Both are genuine, gentlemen," returned the steward, with a sigh. "Thus
+far, Mr. Thomas is in the right."
+
+"_Mr._ Thomas, sirrah!--and why not _Sir_ Thomas? Are baronets addressed
+as other men, in England? But, no matter! There is a time for all
+things. Sir Gervaise Oakes, as you are perfectly indifferent in this
+affair, I ask of you the favour to break the seal, and to inquire into
+the contents of the paper?"
+
+The vice-admiral was not slow in complying; for, by this time, he began
+to feel an intense interest in the result. The reader will readily
+understand that Tom had handed to Sir Gervaise the will drawn up by his
+father, and which, after inserting his reputed nephew's name, Sir
+Wycherly had duly executed, and delivered to the person most interested.
+The envelope, address, and outer seal, Tom had obtained the very day the
+will was signed, after assuring himself of the contents of the latter,
+by six or eight careful perusals. The vice-admiral read the instrument
+from beginning to end, before he put it into the hands of Sir Reginald
+to examine. The latter fully expected to meet with a clumsy forgery; but
+the instant his eyes fell on the phraseology, he perceived that the will
+had been drawn by one expert in the law. A second look satisfied him
+that the hand was that of Mr. Baron Wychecombe. It has already been
+said, that in this instrument, Sir Wycherly bequeathed all he had on
+earth, to "his nephew, Thomas Wychecombe, son, &c., &c.," making his
+heir, also, his executor.
+
+"This will appears to me to have been drawn up by a very skilful lawyer;
+the late Baron Wychecombe," observed the baronet.
+
+"It was, Sir Reginald," answered Tom, endeavouring to appear
+unconcerned. "He did it to oblige my respected uncle, leaving blanks for
+the name of the devisee, not liking to make a will so very decidedly in
+favour of his own son. The writing in the blanks is by Sir Wycherly
+himself, leaving no doubts of _his_ intentions."
+
+"I do not see but you may claim to be the heir of Wychecombe, sir, as
+well as of the personals; though your claims to the baronetcy shall
+certainly be contested and defeated."
+
+"And why defeated?" demanded Wycherly, stepping forward for the first
+time, and speaking with a curiosity he found it difficult to control.
+"Is not Mr. Thomas--_Sir_ Thomas, I ought rather to say,--the eldest son
+of the late Sir Wycherly's next brother; and, as a matter of course,
+heir to the title, as well as to the estate?"
+
+"Not he, as I can answer from a careful examination of proofs. Mr. Baron
+Wychecombe was never married, and thus _could have_ no heir at law."
+
+"Is this possible!--How have we all been deceived then, in America!"
+
+"Why do you say this, young gentleman? Can _you_ have any legal claims
+here?"
+
+"I am Wycherly, the _only_ son of Wycherly, who was the eldest son of
+Gregory, the younger brother of the late baronet; and if what you say be
+true, the next in succession to the baronetcy, at least."
+
+"This is--" Tom's words stuck in his throat; for the quiet, stern eye of
+the young sailor met his look and warned him to be prudent.--"This is a
+_mistake_," he resumed. "My uncle Gregory was lost at sea, and died a
+bachelor. He can have left no lawful issue."
+
+"I must say, young gentleman," added Sir Reginald, gravely, "that such
+has always been the history of his fate. I have had too near an interest
+in this family, to neglect its annals."
+
+"I know, sir, that such has been the opinion here for more than half a
+century; but it was founded in error. The facts are simply these. My
+grandfather, a warm-hearted but impetuous young man, struck an older
+lieutenant, when ashore and on duty, in one of the West India Islands.
+The penalty was death; but, neither the party injured nor the commander
+of the vessel, wished to push matters to extremity, and the offender was
+advised to absent himself from the ship, at the moment of sailing. The
+injured party was induced to take this course, as in a previous quarrel,
+my grandfather had received his fire, without returning it; frankly
+admitting his fault. The ship did sail without Mr. Gregory Wychecombe,
+and was lost, every soul on board perishing. My grandfather passed into
+Virginia, where he remained a twelvemonth, suppressing his story, lest
+its narration might lead to military punishment. Love next sealed his
+future fate. He married a woman of fortune, and though his history was
+well known in his own retired circle, it never spread beyond it. No one
+supposed him near the succession, and there was no motive for stating
+the fact, on account of his interests. Once he wrote to Sir Wycherly,
+but he suppressed the letter, as likely to give more pain than pleasure.
+That letter I now have, and in his own hand-writing. I have also his
+commission, and all the other proofs of identity that such a person
+would be apt to possess. They are as complete as any court in
+Christendom would be likely to require, for he never felt a necessity
+for changing his name. He has been dead but two years, and previously to
+dying he saw that every document necessary to establish my claim, should
+a moment for enforcing it ever arrive, was put in such a legal form as
+to admit of no cavilling. He outlived my own father, but none of us
+thought there was any motive for presenting ourselves, as all believed
+that the sons of Baron Wychecombe were legitimate. I can only say, sir,
+that I have complete legal evidence that I am heir at law of Gregory,
+the younger brother of the late Sir Wycherly Wychecombe. Whether the
+fact will give me any rights here, you best can say."
+
+"It will make you heir of entail to this estate, master of this house,
+and of most of what it contains, and the present baronet. You have only
+to prove what you say, to defeat every provision of this will, with the
+exception of that which refers to the personal estate."
+
+"Bravo!" cried Sir Gervaise, fairly rubbing his hands with delight.
+"Bravo, Dick; if we were aboard the Plantagenet, by the Lord, I'd turn
+the hands up, and have three cheers. So then, my brave young seaman, you
+turn out to be Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, after all!"
+
+"Yes, that's the way we always does, on board ship," observed Galleygo,
+to the group of domestics; "whenever any thing of a hallooing character
+turns up. Sometimes we makes a signal to Admiral Blue and the rest on
+'em, to 'stand by to cheer,' and all of us sets to, to cheer as if our
+stomachs was lull of hurrahs, and we wanted to get rid on 'em. If Sir
+Jarvy would just pass the word now, you'd have a taste of that 'ere
+custom, that would do your ears good for a twelvemonth. It's a cheering
+matter when the one of the trade falls heir to an estate."
+
+"And would this be a proper mode of settling a question of a right of
+property, Sir Gervaise Oakes?" asked Tom, with more of right and reason
+than he commonly had of his side; "and that, too, with my uncle lying
+dead beneath this roof?"
+
+"I acknowledge the justice of the reproof, young sir, and will say no
+more in the matter--at least, nothing as indiscreet as my last speech.
+Sir Reginald, you have the affair in hand, and I recommend it to your
+serious attention."
+
+"Fear nothing, Sir Gervaise," answered he of Hertfordshire. "Justice
+shall be done in the premises, if justice rule in England. Your story,
+young gentleman, is probable, and naturally told, and I see a family
+likeness between you and the Wychecombes, generally; a likeness that is
+certainly not to be traced in the person of the other claimant. Did the
+point depend on the legitimacy of Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, it might be
+easily determined, as I have his own mother's declaration to the fact of
+his illegitimacy, as well as of one other material circumstance that may
+possibly unsettle even the late Baron Wychecombe's will. But this
+testamentary devise of Sir Wycherly appears to be perfect, and nothing
+but the entail can defeat it. You speak of your proofs; where are they?
+It is all-important to know which party is entitled to possession."
+
+"Here they are, sir," answered Wycherly, removing a belt from his body,
+and producing his papers; "not in the originals, certainly; for most of
+_them_ are matters of official record, in Virginia; but in, what the
+lawyers call 'exemplified copies,' and which I am told are in a fit
+state to be read as evidence in any court in England, that can take
+cognizance of the matter."
+
+Sir Reginald took the papers, and began to read them, one by one, and
+with deep attention. The evidence of the identity of the grandfather was
+full, and of the clearest nature. He had been recognised as an old
+schoolfellow, by one of the governors of the colony, and it was at this
+gentleman's suggestion that he had taken so much pains to perpetuate the
+evidence of his identity. Both the marriages, one with Jane Beverly, and
+the other with Rebecca Randolph, were fully substantiated, as were the
+two births. The personal identity of the young man, and this too as the
+only son of Wycherly, the _eldest_ son of Gregory, was well certified
+to, and in a way that could leave no doubt as to the person meant. In a
+word, the proofs were such as a careful and experienced lawyer would
+have prepared, in a case that admitted of no doubt, and which was liable
+to be contested in a court of law. Sir Reginald was quite half an hour
+in looking over the papers; and during this time, every eye in the room
+was on him, watching the expression of his countenance with the utmost
+solicitude. At length, he finished his task, when he again turned to
+Wycherly.
+
+"These papers have been prepared with great method, and an acute
+knowledge of what might be required," he said. "Why have they been so
+long suppressed, and why did you permit Sir Wycherly to die in ignorance
+of your near affinity to him, and of your claims?"
+
+"Of my claims I was ignorant myself, believing not only Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, but his two brothers, to stand before me. This was the
+opinion of my grandfather, even when he caused these proofs to be
+perpetuated. They were given to me, that I might claim affinity to the
+family on my arrival in England; and it was the injunction of my
+grandfather that they should be worn on my person, until the moment
+arrived when I could use them."
+
+"This explains your not preferring the claim--why not prefer the
+relationship?"
+
+"What for, sir? I found America and Americans looked down on, in
+England--colonists spoken of as a race of inferior beings--of diminished
+stature, feebler intellects, and a waning spirit, as compared to those
+from whom they had so recently sprung; and I was too proud to confess an
+affinity where I saw it was not desired. When wounded, and expecting to
+die, I was landed here, at my own request, with an intention to state
+the facts; but, falling under the care of ministering angels,"--here
+Wycherly glanced his eye at Mildred and her mother--"I less felt the
+want of relatives. Sir Wycherly I honoured; but he too manifestly
+regarded us Americans as inferiors, to leave any wish to tell him I was
+his great-nephew."
+
+"I fear we are not altogether free from this reproach, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Sir Reginald, thoughtfully. "We do appear to think there is
+something in the air of this part of the island, that renders us better
+than common. Nay, if a claim comes from _over water_, let it be what it
+may, it strikes us as a foreign and inadmissible claim. The fate from
+which even princes are not exempt, humbler men must certainly submit
+to!"
+
+"I can understand the feeling, and I think it honourable to the young
+man. Admiral Bluewater, you and I have had occasion often to rebuke this
+very spirit in our young officers; and you will agree with me when I say
+that this gentleman has acted naturally, in acting as he has."
+
+"I must corroborate what you say, Sir Gervaise," answered Bluewater;
+"and, as one who has seen much of the colonies, and who is getting to be
+an old man, I venture to predict that this very feeling, sooner or
+later, will draw down upon England its own consequences, in the shape of
+condign punishment."
+
+"I don't go as far as that, Dick--I don't go as far as that. But it is
+unwise and unsound, and we, who know both hemispheres, ought to set our
+faces against it. We have already some gallant fellows from that quarter
+of the world among us, and I hope to live to see more."
+
+This, let it be remembered, was said before the Hallowells, and Coffins,
+and Brentons of our own times, were enrolled in a service that has since
+become foreign to that of the land of their birth; but it was prophetic
+of their appearance, and of that of many other high names from the
+colonies, in the lists of the British marine. Wycherly smiled proudly,
+but he made no answer. All this time, Sir Reginald had been musing on
+what had passed.
+
+"It would seem, gentlemen," the latter now observed, "that, contrary to
+our belief, there is an heir to the baronetcy, as well as to the estate
+of Wychecombe; and all our regrets that the late incumbent did not live
+to execute the will we had drawn at his request, have become useless.
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, I congratulate you, on thus succeeding to the
+honours and estates of your family; and, as a member of the last, I may
+be permitted to congratulate all of the name in being so worthily
+represented. For one of that family I cheerfully recognise you as its
+head and chief."
+
+Wycherly bowed his acknowledgments, receiving also the compliments of
+most of the others present. Tom Wychecombe, however, formed an
+exception, and instead of manifesting any disposition to submit to this
+summary disposal of his claims, he was brooding over the means of
+maintaining them. Detecting by the countenances of the upper servants
+that they were effectually bribed by his promise to pay the late
+baronet's legacies, he felt tolerably confident of support from that
+quarter. He well knew that possession was nine points of the law, and
+his thoughts naturally turned towards the means necessary to securing
+this great advantage. As yet, the two claimants were on a par, in this
+respect; for while the executed will might seem to give him a superior
+claim, no authority that was derived from an insufficient source would
+be deemed available in law; and Sir Wycherly had clearly no right to
+devise Wychecombe, so long as there existed an heir of entail. Both
+parties, too, were merely guests in the house; so that neither had any
+possession that would require a legal process to eject him. Tom had been
+entered at the Temple, and had some knowledge of the law of the land;
+more especially as related to real estate; and he was aware that there
+existed some quaint ceremony of taking possession, as it existed under
+the feudal system; but he was ignorant of the precise forms, and had
+some reasonable doubts how far they would benefit him, under the
+peculiar circumstances of this case. On the whole, therefore, he was
+disposed to try the effect of intimidation, by means of the advantages
+he clearly possessed, and of such little reason as the facts connected
+with his claim, allowed him to offer.
+
+"Sir Reginald Wychecombe," he said gravely, and with as much
+indifference as he could assume; "you have betrayed a facility of belief
+in this American history, that has surprised me in one with so high a
+reputation for prudence and caution. This sudden revival of the dead may
+answer for the credulous lovers of marvels, but it would hardly do for a
+jury of twelve sober-minded and sworn men. Admitting the whole of this
+gentleman's statement to be true, however, you will not deny the late
+Sir Wycherly's right to make a will, if he only devised his old shoes;
+and, having this right, that of naming his executor necessarily
+accompanied it. Now, sir, I am clearly that executor, and as such I
+demand leave to exercise my functions in this house, as its temporary
+master at least."
+
+"Not so fast--not so fast, young sir. Wills must be proved and executors
+qualified, before either has any validity. Then, again, Sir Wycherly
+could only give authority over that which was his own. The instant he
+ceased to breathe, his brother Gregory's grandson became the life-tenant
+of this estate, the house included; and I advise him to assert that
+right, trusting to the validity of his claim, for his justification in
+law, should it become necessary. In these matters he who is right is
+safe; while he who is wrong must take the consequences of his own acts.
+Mr. Furlong, your steward-ship ceased with the life of your principal;
+if you have any keys or papers to deliver, I advise your placing them in
+the hands of this gentleman, whom, beyond all cavil, I take to be the
+rightful Sir Wycherly Wychecombe."
+
+Furlong was a cautious, clear-headed, honest man, and with every desire
+to see Tom defeated, he was tenacious of doing his duty. He led Sir
+Reginald aside, therefore, and examined him, at some length, touching
+the nature of the proofs that had been offered; until, quite satisfied
+that there could be no mistake, he declared his willingness to comply
+with the request.
+
+"Certainly, I hold the keys of the late Sir Wycherly's papers,--those
+that have just been seen in the search for the will," he said, "and have
+every wish to place them in the hands of their proper owner. Here they
+are, Sir Wycherly; though I would advise you to remove the bags of gold
+that are in the secretary, to some other place; as _those_ your uncle
+had a right to bequeath to whom he saw fit. Every thing else in the
+secretary goes with the estate; as do the plate, furniture, and other
+heir-looms of the Hall."
+
+"I thank you, Mr. Furlong, and I will first use these keys to follow
+your advice," answered the new baronet; "then I will return them to you
+with a request that you will still retain the charge of all your former
+duties."
+
+This was no sooner said than done; Wycherly placing the bags of gold on
+the floor, until some other place of security could be provided.
+
+"All that I legally can, Sir Wycherly, will I cheerfully do, in order to
+aid you in the assertion of your right; though I do not see how I can
+transfer more than I hold. _Qui facit per alium, facit per se_, is good
+law, Sir Reginald; but the principal must have power to act, before the
+deputy can exercise authority. It appears to me that this is a case, in
+which each party stands on his own rights, at his own peril. The
+possession of the farms is safe enough, for the time being, with the
+tenants; but as to the Hall and Park, there would seem to be no one in
+the legal occupancy. This makes a case in which title is immediately
+available."
+
+"Such is the law, Mr. Furlong, and I advise Sir Wycherly to take
+possession of the key of the outer door at once, as master of the
+tenement."
+
+No sooner was this opinion given, than Wycherly left the room, followed
+by all present to the hall. Here he proceeded alone to the vestibule,
+locked the great door of the building, and put the key in his pocket.
+This act was steadily performed, and in a way to counteract, in a great
+degree, the effect on the domestics, of Tom's promises concerning the
+legacies. At the same moment, Furlong whispered something in the ear of
+Sir Reginald.
+
+"Now you are quietly in possession, Sir Wycherly," said the latter,
+smiling; "there is no necessity of keeping us all prisoners in order to
+maintain your claims. David, the usual porter, Mr. Furlong tells me, is
+a faithful servant, and if he will accept of the key as _your_ agent it
+may be returned to him with perfect legal safety."
+
+As David cheerfully assented to this proposition, the key was put into
+his hands again, and the new Sir Wycherly was generally thought to be in
+possession. Nor did Tom dare to raise the contemplated question of his
+own legitimacy before Sir Reginald, who, he had discovered, possessed a
+clue to the facts; and he consequently suppressed, for the moment at
+least, the certificate of marriage he had so recently forged. Bowing
+round to the whole company, therefore, with a sort of sarcastic
+compliance, he stalked off to his own room with the air of an injured
+man. This left our young hero in possession of the field; but, as the
+condition of the house was not one suitable to an unreasonable display
+of triumph, the party soon separated; some to consult concerning the
+future, some to discourse of the past, and all to wonder, more or less,
+at the present.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+    "Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high,
+    I fear not wove nor wind;
+    Yet marvel not, Sir Childe, that I
+    Am sorrowful of mind."
+
+         CHILDE HAROLD.
+
+
+"Well, Sir Jarvy," said Galleygo, following on the heels of the two
+admirals, as the latter entered the dressing-room of the officer
+addressed; "it has turned out just as I thought; and the County of
+Fairvillain has come out of his hole, like a porpoise coming up to
+breathe, the moment our backs is turned! As soon as we gives the order
+to square-away for England, and I see the old Planter's cabin windows
+turned upon Franco, I foreseed them consequences. Well, gentlemen,
+here's been a heap of prize-money made in this house without much
+fighting. We shall have to give the young lieutenant a leave, for a few
+months, in order that he may take his swing ashore, here, among his
+brother squires!"
+
+"Pray, sir, what may be your pleasure?" demanded Sir Gervaise; "and what
+the devil has brought you at my heels?"
+
+"Why, big ships always tows small craft, your honour," returned
+Galleygo, simpering. "Howsever, I never comes without an errand, as
+every body knows. You see, Sir Jarvy,--you see, Admiral Blue, that our
+signal-officer is ashore, with a report for us; and meeting me in the
+hall, he made it to me first like, that I might bring it up to you
+a'terwards. His news is that the French county is gone to sea, as I has
+just told you, gentlemen."
+
+"Can it be possible that Bunting has brought any such tidings here!
+Harkee, Galleygo; desire Mr. Bunting to walk up; and then see that you
+behave yourself as is decent in a house of mourning."
+
+"Ay-ay-sir. No fears of I, gentlemen. I can put on as grievous a look as
+the best on 'em, and if they wishes to see sorrow becomingly, and
+ship-shape, let them study my conduct and countenance. We has all seen
+dead men afore now, gentlemen, as we all knows. When we fou't Mounsheer
+Graveland, (Gravelin,) we had forty-seven slain, besides the hurt that
+lived to tell their own pain; and when we had the--"
+
+"Go to the devil, Master Galleygo, and desire Mr. Bunting to walk up
+stairs," cried Sir Gervaise, impatiently.
+
+"Ay-ay-sir. Which will your honour have done first?"
+
+"Let me see the signal-officer, _first_," answered the vice-admiral,
+laughing; "then be certain of executing the other order."
+
+"Well," muttered Galleygo, as he descended the stairs; "if I was to do
+as he says, now, what would we do with the fleet? Ships wants orders to
+fight; and flags wants food to give orders; and food wants stewards to
+be put upon the table; and stewards wants no devils to help 'em do their
+duty. No--no--Sir Jarvy; I'll not pay that visit, till we all goes in
+company, as is suitable for them that has sailed so long together."
+
+"This will be great news, Dick, if de Vervillin has really come out!"
+cried Sir Gervaise, rubbing his hands with delight. "Hang me, if I wait
+for orders from London; but we'll sail with the first wind and tide. Let
+them settle the quarrel at home, as they best can; it is _our_ business
+to catch the Frenchman. How many ships do you really suppose the count
+to have?"
+
+"Twelve of two decks, besides one three-decker, and beating us in
+frigates. Two or three, however, are short vessels, and cannot be quite
+as heavy as our own. I see no reason why we should not engage him."
+
+"I rejoice to hear you say so! How much more honourable is it to seek
+the enemy, than to be intriguing about a court! I hope you intend to let
+me announce that red riband in general orders to-morrow, Dick?"
+
+"Never, with my consent, Sir Gervaise, so long as the house of Hanover
+confers the boon. But what an extraordinary scene we have just had
+below! This young lieutenant is a noble fellow, and I hope, with all my
+heart, he will be enabled to make good his claim."
+
+"Of that Sir Reginald assures me there can be no manner of doubt. His
+papers are in perfect order, and his story simple and probable. Do you
+not remember hearing, when we were midshipmen in the West Indies, of a
+lieutenant of the Sappho's striking a senior officer, ashore; and of his
+having been probably saved from the sentence of death, by the loss of
+the ship?"
+
+"As well as if it were yesterday, now you name the vessel. And this you
+suppose to have been the late Sir Wycherly's brother. Did he belong to
+the Sappho?"
+
+"So they tell me, below; and it leaves no doubt on my mind, of the truth
+of the whole story."
+
+"It is a proof, too, how easy it is for one to return to England, and
+maintain his rights, after an absence of more than half a century. He in
+Scotland has a claim quite as strong as that of this youth!"
+
+"Dick Bluewater, you seem determined to pull a house down about your own
+ears! What have you or I to do with these Scotch adventurers, when a
+gallant enemy invites us to come out and meet him! But, mum--here is
+Bunting."
+
+At this instant the signal-lieutenant of the Plantagenet was shown into
+the room, by Galleygo, in person.
+
+"Well, Bunting; what tidings from the fleet?" demanded Sir Gervaise. "Do
+the ships still ride to the flood?"
+
+"It is slack-water, Sir Gervaise, and the vessels are looking all ways
+at once. Most of us are clearing hawse, for there are more round turns
+in our cables, than I remember ever to have seen in so short a time."
+
+"That comes of there being no wind, and the uselessness of the stay-sails
+and spankers. What has brought you ashore? Galleygo tells us something
+of a cutter's coming in, with information that the French are out; but
+_his_ news is usually _galley_-news."
+
+"Not always, Sir Gervaise," returned the lieutenant, casting a side-look
+at the steward, who often comforted him with ship's delicacies in the
+admiral's cabin; "this time, he is right, at least. The Active is coming
+in slowly, and has been signalling us all the morning. We make her out
+to say that Monsieur Vervillin is at sea with his whole force."
+
+"Yes," muttered Galleygo to the rear-admiral, in a sort of aside; "the
+County of Fairvillain has come out of his hole, just as I told Sir
+Jarvy. Fair-weather-villains they all is, and no bones broken."
+
+"Silence--and you think, Bunting, you read the signals clearly?"
+
+"No doubt of it, Sir Gervaise. Captain Greenly is of the same opinion,
+and has sent me ashore with the news. He desired me to tell you that the
+ebb would make in half an hour, and that we can then fetch past the
+rocks to the westward, light as the wind is."
+
+"Ay, that is Greenly, I can swear!--He'll not sit down until we are all
+aweigh, and standing out. Does the cutter tell us which way the count
+was looking?"
+
+"To the westward, sir; on an easy bowline, and under short canvass."
+
+"The gentleman is in no hurry, it would seem. Has he a convoy?"
+
+"Not a sail, sir. Nineteen sail, all cruisers, and only twelve of the
+line. He has one two-decker, and two frigates more than we can muster;
+just a Frenchman's odds, sir."
+
+"The count has certainly with him, the seven new ships that were built
+last season," quietly observed Bluewater, leaning back in his
+easy-chair, until his body inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees,
+and stretching a leg on an empty stand, in his usual self-indulgent
+manner. "They are a little heavier than their old vessels, and will give
+us harder work."
+
+"The tougher the job, the more creditable the workmanship. The tide is
+turning, you say, Bunting?"
+
+"It is, Sir Gervaise; and we shall all tend ebb, in twenty minutes. The
+frigates outside are riding down channel already. The Chloe seems to
+think that we shall be moving soon, as she has crossed top-gallant and
+royal-yards. Even Captain Greenly was thinking of stretching along the
+messenger."
+
+"Ah! you're a set of uneasy fellows, all round!--You tire of your native
+land in twenty-four hours, I find. Well, Mr. Bunting; you can go off,
+and say that all is very well. This house is in a sad state of
+confusion, as, I presume, you know. Mention this to Captain Greenly."
+
+"Ay-ay-sir; is it your pleasure I should tell him any thing else, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes?"
+
+"Why--yes--Bunting," answered the vice-admiral, smiling; "you may as
+well give him a hint to get all his fresh grub off, as fast as he
+can--and--yes; to let no more men quit the ship on liberty."
+
+"Any thing more, Sir Gervaise?" added the pertinacious officer.
+
+"On the whole, you may as well run up a signal to be ready to unmoor.
+The ships can very well ride at single anchors, when the tide has once
+fairly made. What say you, Bluewater?"
+
+"A signal to unmoor, at once, would expedite matters. You know very
+well, you intend to go to sea, and why not do the thing off-hand?"
+
+"I dare say, now, Bunting, you too would like to give the
+commander-in-chief a nudge of some sort or other."
+
+"If I could presume so far, Sir Gervaise. I can only say, sir, that the
+sooner we are off, the sooner we shall flog the French."
+
+"And Master Galleygo, what are your sentiments, on this occasion? It is
+a full council, and all ought to speak, freely."
+
+"You knows, Sir Jarvy, that I never speaks in these matters, unless
+spoken to. Admiral Blue and your honour are quite enough to take care of
+the fleet in most circumstances, though there is some knowledge in the
+tops, as well as in the cabin. My ideas is, gentlemen, that, by casting
+to starboard on this ebb tide, we shall all have our heads off-shore,
+and we shall fetch into the offing as easily as a country wench turns in
+a jig. What we shall do with the fleet, when we gets out, will be shown
+in our ultra movements."
+
+By "ultra," David meant "ulterior," a word he had caught up from hearing
+despatches read, which he understood no better than those who wrote them
+at the admiralty.
+
+"Thanks to you all, my friends!" cried Sir Gervaise, who was so
+delighted at the prospect of a general engagement, that he felt a boyish
+pleasure in this fooling; "and now to business, seriously. Mr. Bunting,
+I would have the signal for sailing shown. Let each ship fire a
+recall-gun for her boats. Half an hour later, show the bunting to
+unmoor; and send my boat ashore as soon as you begin to heave on the
+capstan. So, good-morning, my fine fellow, and show your activity."
+
+"Mr. Bunting, as you pass the Cæsar, do me the favour to ask for my
+boat, also," said Bluewater, lazily, but half-raising his body to look
+after the retiring lieutenant. "If we are to move, I suppose I shall
+have to go with the rest of them. Of course we shall repeat all your
+signals."
+
+Sir Gervaise waited until Bunting was out of the room, when he turned to
+the steward, and said with some dryness of manner--
+
+"Mr. Galleygo, you have my permission to go on board, bag and baggage."
+
+"Yes, Sir Jarvy, I understands. We are about to get the ships under way,
+and good men ought to be in their places. Good-by, Admiral Blue. We
+shall meet before the face of the French, and then I expects every man
+on us will set an example to himself of courage and devotion."
+
+"That fellow grows worse and worse, each day, and I shall have to send
+him forward, in order to check his impertinence," said Sir Gervaise,
+half-vexed and half-laughing. "I wonder you stand his saucy familiarity
+as well as you appear to do--with his Admiral Blues!"
+
+"I shall take offence as soon as I find Sir Jarvy really out of humour
+with him. The man is brave, honest, and attached; and these are virtues
+that would atone for a hundred faults."
+
+"Let the fellow go to the devil!--Do you not think I had better go out,
+without waiting for despatches from town?"
+
+"It is hard to say. Your orders may send us all down into Scotland, to
+face Charles Stuart. Perhaps, too, they may make you a duke, and me a
+baron, in order to secure our fidelity!"
+
+"The blackguards!--well, say no more of that, just now. If M. de
+Vervillin is steering to the westward, he can hardly be aiming at
+Edinburgh, and the movements in the north."
+
+"That is by no means so certain. Your really politic fellows usually
+look one way and row another."
+
+"It is my opinion, that his object is to effect a diversion, and my wish
+is to give it to him, to his heart's content. So long as this force is
+kept near the chops of the channel, it can do no harm in the north, and,
+in-so-much, must leave the road to Germany open."
+
+"For one, I think it a pity--not to say a disgrace--that England cannot
+settle her own quarrels without calling in the aid of either Frenchman
+or Dutchman."
+
+"We must take the world as it is, Dick, and act like two
+straight-forward seamen, without stopping to talk politics. I take it
+for granted, notwithstanding your Stuart fervour, that you are willing
+enough to help me thresh Monsieur de Vervillin."
+
+"Beyond a question. Nothing but the conviction that he was directly
+employed in serving my natural and legitimate prince, could induce me to
+show him any favour. Still, Oakes, it is possible he may have succours
+for the Scotch on board, and be bound to the north by the way of the
+Irish channel!"
+
+"Ay, pretty succours, truly, for an Englishman to stomach!
+_Mousquetaires_, and _régiments de Croy_, or _de Dillon_, or some d----d
+French name or other; and, perhaps, beautiful muskets from the _Bois de
+Vincennes_; or some other infernal nest of Gallic inventions to put down
+the just ascendency of old England! No--no--Dick Bluewater, your
+excellent, loyal, true-hearted English mother, never bore you to be a
+dupe of Bourbon perfidy and trick. I dare say she sickened at the very
+name of Louis!"
+
+"I'll not answer for that, Sir Jarvy," returned the rear-admiral, with a
+vacant smile; "for she passed some time at the court of _le Grand
+Monarque_. But all this is idle; we know each other's opinions, and, by
+this time, ought to know each other's characters. Have you digested any
+plan for your future operations; and what part am I to play in it?"
+
+Sir Gervaise paced the room, with hands folded behind his back, in an
+air of deep contemplation, for quite five minutes, before he answered.
+All this time, Bluewater remained watching his countenance and
+movements, in anticipation of what was to come. At length, the
+vice-admiral appeared to have made up his mind, and he delivered himself
+of his decision, as follows.
+
+"I have reflected on them, Dick," he said, "even while my thoughts have
+seemed to be occupied with the concerns of others. If de Vervillin is
+out, he must still be to the eastward of us; for, running as the tides
+do on the French coast, he can hardly have made much westing with this
+light south-west wind. We are yet uncertain of his destination, and it
+is all-important that we get immediate sight of him, and keep him in
+view, until he can be brought to action. Now, my plan is this. I will
+send out the ships in succession, with orders to keep on an easy
+bowline, until each reaches the chops of the channel, when she is to go
+about and stand in towards the English coast. Each succeeding vessel,
+however, will weigh as soon as her leader is hull down, and keep within
+signal distance, in order to send intelligence through the whole line.
+Nothing will be easier than to keep in sight of each other, in such fine
+weather; and by these means we shall spread a wide clew,--quite a
+hundred miles,--and command the whole of the channel. As soon as
+Monsieur de Vervillin is made, the fleet can close, when we will be
+governed by circumstances Should we see nothing of the French, by the
+time we make their coast, we may be certain they have gone up channel;
+and then, a signal from the van can reverse the order of sailing, and we
+will chase to the eastward, closing to a line abreast as fast as
+possible."
+
+"All this is very well, certainly; and by means of the frigates and
+smaller cruisers we can easily sweep a hundred and fifty miles of
+ocean;--nevertheless, the fleet will be much scattered."
+
+"You do not think there will be any danger of the French's engaging the
+van, before the rear can close to aid it?" asked Sir Gervaise, with
+interest, for he had the profoundest respect for his friend's
+professional opinions. "I intended to lead out in the Plantagenet,
+myself, and to have five or six of the fastest ships next to me, with a
+view that we might keep off, until you could bring up the rear. If they
+chase, you know we can retire."
+
+"Beyond a doubt, if Sir Gervaise Oakes can make up his mind to _retire_,
+before any Frenchman who was ever born," returned Bluewater, laughing.
+"All this sounds well; but, in the event of a meeting, I should expect
+to find you, with the whole van dismasted, fighting your hulks like
+bull-dogs, and keeping the Count at bay, leaving the glory of covering
+your retreat to me."
+
+"No--no--Dick: I'll give you my honour I'll do nothing so boyish and
+silly. I'm a different man at fifty-five, from what I was at
+twenty-five. You may be certain that I will run, until I think myself
+strong enough to fight."
+
+"Will you allow me to make a suggestion, Admiral Oakes; and this with
+all the frankness that ought to characterize our ancient friendship?"
+
+Sir Gervaise stopped short in his walk, looked Bluewater steadily in the
+face, and nodded his head.
+
+"I understand by the expression of your countenance," continued the
+other, "that I am expected to speak. I had no more to say, than to make
+the simple suggestion that your plan would be most likely to be
+executed, were I to lead the van, and were _you_ to bring up the rear."
+
+"The devil you do!--This comes as near mutiny--or _scandalum
+magnatum_--as one can wish! And why do you suppose that the plan of the
+commander-in-chief will be least in danger of failing, if Admiral
+Bluewater lead on this occasion, instead of Admiral Oakes?"
+
+"Merely because I think Admiral Oakes, when an enemy is pressing him, is
+more apt to take counsel of his heart than of his head; while Admiral
+Bluewater is _not_. You do not know yourself, Sir Jarvy, if you think it
+so easy a matter to run away."
+
+"I've spoiled you, Dick, by praising your foolish man[oe]uvring so much
+before your face, and that's the whole truth of the matter. No--my mind
+is made up; and, I believe you know me well enough to feel sure, when
+that is the case, even a council of war could not move it. _I_ lead out,
+in the _first_ two-decked ship that lifts her anchor, and _you_ follow
+in the _last_. You understand my plan, and will see it executed, as you
+see every thing executed, in face of the enemy."
+
+Admiral Bluewater smiled, and not altogether without irony in his
+manner; though he managed, at the same time, to get the leg that had
+been lowest for the last five minutes, raised by an ingenuity peculiar
+to himself, several inches above its fellow.
+
+"Nature never made you for a conspirator, Oakes," he said, as soon as
+this change was effected to his mind; "for you carry a top-light in your
+breast that even the blind can see!"
+
+"What crotchet is uppermost in your mind, now, Dick? Ar'n't the orders
+plain enough to suit you?"
+
+"I confess it;--as well as the motive for giving them just in this
+form."
+
+"Let's have it, at once. I prefer a full broadside to your minute-guns.
+What is my motive?"
+
+"Simply that you, Sir Jarvy, say to a certain Sir Gervaise Oakes, Bart.,
+Vice-Admiral of the Red, and Member for Bowldero, in your own mind,
+'now, if I can just leave that fellow, Dick Bluewater, behind me, with
+four or five ships, he'll never desert _me_, when in front of the enemy,
+whatever he might do with _King George_; and so I'll make sure of him by
+placing the question in such a light that it shall be one of friendship,
+rather than one of loyalty.'"
+
+Sir Gervaise coloured to the temples, for the other had penetrated into
+his most secret thoughts; and, yet, spite of his momentary vexation, he
+faced his accuser, and both laughed in the heartfelt manner that the
+circumstance would be likely to excite.
+
+"Harkee, Dick," said the vice-admiral, as soon as he could command
+sufficient gravity to speak; "they made a mistake when they sent you to
+sea; you ought to have been apprenticed to a conjuror. I care not what
+you think about it; my orders are given, and they must be obeyed. Have
+you a clear perception of the plan?"
+
+"One quite as clear, I tell you, as I have of the motive."
+
+"Enough of this, Bluewater; we have serious duties before us."
+
+Sir Gervaise now entered more at length into his scheme; explaining to
+his friend all his wishes and hopes, and letting him know, with official
+minuteness, what was expected at his hands. The rear-admiral listened
+with his accustomed respect, whenever any thing grave was in discussion
+between them; and, had any one entered while they were thus engaged, he
+would have seen in the manner of one, nothing but the dignified
+frankness of a friendly superior, and in the other the deference which
+the naval inferior usually pays to rank. As he concluded Sir Gervaise
+rang his bell, and desired the presence of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe.
+
+"I could have wished to remain and see this battle for the succession
+fairly fought," he said; "but a battle of a different sort calls us in
+another quarter. Show him in," he added, as his man intimated that the
+young baronet was in waiting.
+
+"What between the duties of our professional stations, and those of the
+guest to the host," said the vice-admiral, rising and bowing to the
+young man; "it is not easy to settle the question of etiquette between
+us, Sir Wycherly; and I have, from habit, thought more of the admiral
+and the lieutenant, than of the lord of the manor and his obliged
+guests. If I have erred, you will excuse me."
+
+"My new situation is so very novel, that I still remain all sailor, Sir
+Gervaise," answered the other, smiling; "as such I hope _you_ will ever
+consider me. Can I be of any service, here?"
+
+"One of our cutters has just come in with news that will take the fleet
+to sea, again, this morning; or, as soon as the tide begins to run a
+strong ebb. The French are out, and we must go and look for them. It was
+my intention and my hope, to be able to take you to sea with me in the
+Plantagenet. The date of your commission would not put you very high
+among her lieutenants; but, Bunting deserves a first lieutenancy, and I
+meant to give it to him this afternoon, in which case there would be a
+vacancy in the situation of my own signal-officer, a duty you could well
+perform. As it is, you ought not to quit this house, and I must take my
+leave of you with regret it is so."
+
+"Admiral Oakes, what is there that ought to keep one of my station
+ashore, on the eve of a general battle? I sincerely hope and trust you
+will alter the last determination, and return to the first."
+
+"You forget your own important interests--remember that possession is
+nine points of the law."
+
+"We had heard the news below, and Sir Reginald, Mr. Furlong, and myself,
+were discussing the matter when I received your summons. These gentlemen
+tell me, that possession can be held by deputy, as well as in person. I
+am satisfied we can dispose of this objection."
+
+"Your grandfather's brother, and the late head of your family, lies dead
+in this house; it is proper his successor should be present at his
+funeral obsequies."
+
+"We thought of that, also. Sir Reginald has kindly offered to appear in
+my place; and, then, there is the chance that the meeting with Monsieur
+de Vervillin will take place within the next eight-and-forty hours;
+whereas my uncle cannot be interred certainly for a week or ten days."
+
+"I see you have well calculated all the chances, young sir," said Sir
+Gervaise, smiling. "Bluewater, how does this matter strike you?"
+
+"Leave it in my hands, and I will see to it. You will sail near or quite
+twenty-four hours before me, and there will be time for more reflection.
+Sir Wycherly can remain with me in the Cæsar, in the action; or he can
+be thrown aboard the Plantagenet, when we meet."
+
+After a little reflection, Sir Gervaise, who liked to give every one a
+fair chance, consented to the arrangement, and it was decided that
+Wycherly should come out in the Cæsar, if nothing occurred to render the
+step improper.
+
+This arrangement completed, the vice-admiral declared he was ready to
+quit the Hall. Galleygo and the other servants had already made the
+dispositions necessary for embarking, and it only remained to take leave
+of the inmates of the dwelling. The parting between the baronets was
+friendly; for the common interest they felt in the success of Wycherly,
+had, in a degree, rendered them intimates, and much disposed Sir
+Reginald to overlook the sailor's well-known Whiggery. Dutton and the
+ladies took their departure at the same time, and what passed between
+them and Sir Gervaise on this occasion, took place on the road to the
+head-land, whither all parties proceeded on foot.
+
+A person so important as Sir Gervaise Oakes did not leave the roof that
+had sheltered him, to embark on board his own ship, without a due escort
+to the shore. Bluewater accompanied him, in order to discuss any little
+point of duty that might occur to the mind of either, at the last
+moment; and Wycherly was of the group, partly from professional feeling,
+and more from a desire to be near Mildred. Then there were Atwood, and
+the surgeons, Mr. Rotherham, and two or three of the cabin attendants.
+Lord Geoffrey, too, strolled along with the rest, though it was
+understood that his own ship would not sail that day.
+
+Just as the party issued from the gate of the park into the street of
+the hamlet, a heavy gun was fired from the fleet. It was soon succeeded
+by others, and whiffs and cornets were seen flying from the mast-heads
+that rose above the openings in the cliffs, the signals of recall for
+all boats. This set every one in motion, and, never within the memory of
+man, had Wychecombe presented such a scene of confusion and activity.
+Half-intoxicated seamen were driven down to the boats, by youngsters
+with the cloth diamond in their collars, like swine, who were reluctant
+to go, and yet afraid to stay. Quarters of beeves were trundled along in
+carts or barrows, and were soon seen swinging at different main-stays;
+while the gathering of eggs, butter, poultry, mutton, lamb, and veal,
+menaced the surrounding country with a scarcity. Through this throng of
+the living and the dead, our party held its way, jostled by the eager
+countrymen, and respectfully avoided by all who belonged to the fleet,
+until it reached the point where the roads to the cliffs and the landing
+separated, when the vice-admiral turned to the only midshipman present,
+and courteously lifting his hat, as if reluctant to impose such a duty
+on a "young gentleman" on liberty, he said--
+
+"Do me the favour, Lord Geoffrey, to step down to the landing and
+ascertain if my barge is there. The officer of the boat will find me at
+the signal-station."
+
+The boy cheerfully complied; and this son of an English duke, who, by
+the death of an elder brother, became in time a duke himself, went on a
+service that among gentlemen of the land would be deemed nearly menial,
+with as much alacrity as if he felt honoured by the request. It was by a
+training like this, that England came, in time, to possess a marine that
+has achieved so many memorable deeds; since it taught those who were
+destined to command, the high and useful lesson how to obey.
+
+While the midshipman was gone to look for the boat, the two admirals
+walked the cliff, side by side, discussing their future movements; and
+when all was ready, Sir Gervaise descended to the shore, using the very
+path by which he had ascended the previous day; and, pushing through the
+throng that crowded the landing, almost too much engaged to heed even
+his approach, he entered his barge. In another minute, the measured
+strokes of the oars urged him swiftly towards the Plantagenet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+    "'Twas not without some reason, for the wind
+      Increased at night, until it blew a gale;
+    And though 'twas not much to a naval mind,
+      Some landsmen would have look'd a little pale,
+    For sailors are, in fact, a different kind;
+      At sunset they began to take in sail,
+    For the sky show'd it would come on to blow,
+      And carry away, perhaps, a mast or so."
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+As it was just past the turn of the day, Bluewater determined to linger
+on the cliffs for several hours, or until it was time to think of his
+dinner. Abstracted as his thoughts were habitually, his mind found
+occupation and pleasure in witnessing the evolutions that succeeded
+among the ships; some of which evolutions it may be well now briefly to
+relate.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes' foot had not been on the deck of the Plantagenet
+five minutes, before a signal for all commanders was flying at that
+vessel's mast-head. In ten minutes more every captain of the fleet, with
+the exception of those belonging to the vessels in the offing, were in
+the flag-ship's cabin, listening to the intentions and instructions of
+the vice-admiral.
+
+"My plan of sailing, gentlemen, is easily comprehended," continued the
+commander-in-chief, after he had explained his general intentions to
+chase and engage; "and everyone of you will implicitly follow it. We
+have the tide strong at ebb, and a good six-knot breeze is coming up at
+south-west. I shall weigh, with my yards square, and keep them so, until
+the ship has drawn out of the fleet, and then I shall luff up on a taut
+bowline and on the starboard tack, bringing the ebb well under my
+lee-bow. This will hawse the ship over towards Morlaix, and bringing us
+quite as far to windward as is desirable. While the ebb lasts, and this
+breeze stands, we shall have plain sailing; the difficulty will come on
+the flood, or with a shift of wind. The ships that come out last must be
+careful to keep their seconds, ahead and astern, in plain sight, and
+regulate their movements, as much as they can, by the leading vessels.
+The object is to spread as wide a clew as possible, while we hold the
+ships within signal-distance of each other. Towards sunset I shall
+shorten sail, and the line will close up within a league from vessel to
+vessel, and I have told Bluewater to use his discretion about coming out
+with the last ships, though I have requested him to hold on as long as
+he shall deem it prudent, in the hope of receiving another express from
+the Admiralty. When the flood makes, I do not intend to go about, but
+shall continue on the starboard tack, and I wish you all to do the same.
+This will bring the leading vessels considerably to windward of those
+astern, and may possibly throw the fleet into a bow and quarter line.
+Being in the van, it will fall to my duty to look to this, and to watch
+for the consequences. But I ask of you to keep an eye on the weather,
+and to hold your ships within plain signal-distance of each other. If it
+come on thick, or to blow very hard, we must close, from van to rear,
+and try our luck, in a search in compact order. Let the man who first
+sees the enemy make himself heard at once, and send the news, with the
+bearings of the French, both ahead and astern, as fast as possible. In
+that case you will all close on the point from which the intelligence
+comes; and, mark me, no cruising to get to windward, in your own
+fashions, as if you sailed with roving commissions. You know I'll not
+stand _that_. And now, gentlemen, it is probable that we shall all never
+meet again. God bless you! Come and shake hands with me, one by one, and
+then to your boats, for the first lieutenant has just sent Greenly word
+that we are up and down. Let him trip, Greenly, and be off as soon as we
+can."
+
+The leave-taking, a scene in which joyousness and sadness were strangely
+mingled, succeeded, and then the captains disappeared. From that moment
+every mind was bent on sailing.
+
+Although Bluewater did not witness the scene in the Plantagenet's cabin,
+he pictured it, in his mind's eye, and remained on the cliffs to watch
+the succeeding movements. As Wycherly had disappeared in the house, and
+Dutton clung to his flag-staff, the rear-admiral had no one but Lord
+Geoffrey for a companion. The latter, perceiving that his relation did
+not seem disposed to converse, had the tact to be silent himself; a task
+that was less difficult than common, on account of the interest he felt
+in the spectacle.
+
+The boats of the different captains were still shoving off from the
+starboard side of the Plantagenet, whither etiquette had brought them
+together, in a little crowd, when her three top-sails fell, and their
+sheets steadily drew the clews towards the ends of the lower yards. Even
+while this was in process, the yards began to ascend, and rose with that
+steady but graduated movement which marks the operation in a man-of-war.
+All three were fairly mast-headed in two minutes. As the wind struck the
+canvass obliquely, the sails filled as they opened their folds, and, by
+the time their surfaces were flattened by distension, the Plantagenet
+steadily moved from her late berth, advancing slowly against a strong
+tide, out of the group of ships, among which she had been anchored. This
+was a beautiful evolution, resembling that of a sea-fowl, which lazily
+rises on its element, spreads its wings, emerges from the water, and
+glides away to some distant and unseen point.
+
+The movement of the flag-ship was stately, measured, and grand. For five
+minutes she held her way nearly due east, with the wind on her starboard
+quarter, meeting the tide in a direct line; until, having drawn
+sufficiently ahead of the fleet, she let fall her courses, sheeted home
+top-gallant-sails and royals, set her spanker, jibs, and stay-sails, and
+braced up sharp on a wind, with her head at south-southeast. This
+brought the tide well under her lee fore-chains, and set her rapidly off
+the land, and to windward. As she trimmed her sails, and steadied her
+bowlines, she fired a gun, made the numbers of the vessels in the offing
+to weigh, and to pass within hail. All this did Bluewater note, with the
+attention of an _amateur_, as well as with the critical analysis of a
+_connoisseur_.
+
+"Very handsomely done, Master Geoffrey--very handsomely done, it must be
+allowed! never did a bird quit a flock with less fuss, or more
+beautifully, than the Plantagenet has drawn out of the fleet. It must be
+admitted that Greenly knows how to handle his ship."
+
+"I fancy Captain Stowel would have done quite as well with the Cæsar,
+sir," answered the boy, with a proper esprit-de-_ship_. "Don't you
+remember, Admiral Bluewater, the time when we got under way off
+l'Orient, with the wind blowing a gale directly on shore? Even Sir
+Gervaise said, afterwards, that we lost less ground than any ship in the
+fleet, and yet the Plantagenet is the most weatherly two-decker in the
+navy; as every body says."
+
+"Every body!--She is certainly a weatherly vessel, but not more so than
+several others. Whom did you ever hear give that character to this
+particular ship?"
+
+"Why, sir, her reefers are always bragging as much as _that_; and a
+great deal _more_, too."
+
+"Her reefers!--Young gentlemen are particularly struck with the charms
+of their first loves, both ashore and afloat, my boy. Did you ever hear
+an _old seaman_ say that much for the Plantagenet?"
+
+"I think I have, sir," returned Lord Geoffrey, blushing. "Galleygo, Sir
+Gervaise's steward, is commonly repeating some such stuff or other. They
+are furious braggarts, the Plantagenet's, all round, sir."
+
+"That comes honestly," answered Bluewater, smiling, "her namesakes and
+predecessors of old, having some such characteristic, too. Look at that
+ship's yards, boy, and learn how to trim a vessel's sails on a wind. The
+pencil of a painter could not draw lines more accurate!"
+
+"Captain Stowel tells us, sir, that the yards ought not to be braced in
+exactly alike; but that we ought to check the weather-braces, a little,
+as we go aloft, so that the top-sail yard should point a little less
+forward than the lower yard, and the topgallant than the top-sail."
+
+"You are quite right in taking Stowel's opinion in all such matters,
+Geoffrey: but has not Captain Greenly done the same thing in the
+Plantagenet? When I speak of symmetry, I mean the symmetry of a seaman."
+
+The boy was silenced, though exceedingly reluctant to admit that any
+ship could equal his own. In the mean time, there was every appearance
+of a change in the weather. Just about the time the Plantagenet braced
+up, the wind freshened, and in ten minutes it blew a stiff breeze. Some
+time before the admiral spoke the vessels outside, he was compelled to
+take in all his light canvass; and when he filled, again, after giving
+his orders to the frigate and sloop, the topgallant sheets were let fly,
+a single reef was taken in the top-sails, and the lighter sails were set
+over them. This change in the weather, more especially as the night
+threatened to be clouded, if not absolutely dark, would necessarily
+bring about a corresponding change in the plan of sailing, reducing the
+intervals between the departures of the vessels, quite one-half. To such
+vicissitudes are all maritime operations liable, and it is fortunate
+when there is sufficient capacity in the leaders to remedy them.
+
+In less than an hour, the Plantagenet's hull began to sink, to those on
+a level with it, when the Carnatic tripped her anchor, opened her
+canvass, shot out of the fleet, hauled by the wind, and followed in the
+admiral's wake. So accurate was the course she steered, that, half an
+hour after she had braced up, a hawse-bucket, which had been dropped
+from the Plantagenet in hauling water, was picked up. We may add, here,
+though it will be a little anticipating events, that the Thunderer
+followed the Carnatic; the Blenheim the Thunderer; the Achilles the
+Blenheim; the Warspite the Achilles; the Dover the Warspite; the York
+the Dover; the Elizabeth the York; the Dublin the Elizabeth; and the
+Cæsar the Dublin. But hours passed before all these ships were in
+motion, and hours in which we shall have some occurrences to relate that
+took place on shore. Still it will aid the reader in better
+understanding the future incidents of our tale, if we describe, at once,
+some of the circumstances under which all these ships got in motion.
+
+By the time the Plantagenet's top-sails were beginning to dip from the
+cliffs, the Carnatic, the Thunderer, the Blenheim, the Achilles, and the
+Warspite were all stretching out in line, with intervals of quite two
+leagues between them, under as much canvass as they could now bear. The
+admiral had shortened sail the most, and was evidently allowing the
+Carnatic to close, most probably on account of the threatening look of
+the sky, to windward; while he was suffering the frigate and sloop, the
+Chloe and Driver, to pass ahead of him, the one on his weather, and the
+other on his lee bow. When the Dover weighed, the admiral's upper sail
+was not visible from her tops, though the Warspite's hull had not yet
+disappeared from her deck. She left the fleet, or the portions of it
+that still remained at anchor, with her fore-course set, and hauled by
+the wind, under double-reefed top-sails, a single reef in her main-sail,
+and with her main-topgallant sail set over its proper sail. With this
+reduced canvass, she started away on the track of her consorts, the
+brine foaming under her bows, and with a heel that denoted the heavy
+pressure that bore on her sails. By this time, the York was aweigh, the
+tide had turned, and it became necessary to fill on the other tack in
+order to clear the land to the eastward. This altered the formation, but
+we will now revert to the events as they transpired on the shore, with a
+view to relate them more in their regular order.
+
+It is scarcely necessary to say that Bluewater must have remained on, or
+about the cliffs several hours, in order to witness the departure of so
+many of the vessels. Instead of returning to the Hall at the dinner
+hour, agreeably to promise, he profited by the appearance of Wycherly,
+who left the cottage with a flushed, agitated manner, just as he was
+thinking of the necessity of sending a message to Sir Reginald, and
+begged the young man to be the bearer of his excuses. He thought that
+the change in the weather rendered it necessary for him to remain in
+sight of the sea. Dutton overheard this message, and, after a private
+conference with his wife, he ventured to invite his superior to appease
+his appetite under his own humble roof. To this Bluewater cheerfully
+assented; and when the summons came to the table, to his great joy he
+found that his only companion was to be Mildred, who, like himself, for
+some reason known only to her own bosom, had let the ordinary dining
+hour pass without appearing at table, but whom her mother had now
+directed to take some sustenance.
+
+"The late events at the Hall have agitated the poor child, sir," said
+Mrs. Dutton, in the way of apology, "and she has not tasted food since
+morning. I have told her you would excuse the intrusion, and receive her
+carving and attentions as an excuse for her company."
+
+Bluewater looked at the pallid countenance of the girl, and never before
+had he found the resemblance to Agnes Hedworth so strong, as that
+moment. The last year or two of his own sweet friend's life had been far
+from happy, and the languid look and tearful eyes of Mildred revived the
+recollection of the dead with painful distinctness.
+
+"Good God!" he murmured to himself; "that two such beings should exist
+only to suffer! my good Mrs. Dutton, make no excuses; but believe me
+when I say that you could not have found in England another that would
+have proved as welcome as my present little messmate."
+
+Mildred struggled for a smile; and she did succeed in looking extremely
+grateful. Beyond this, however, it exceeded her powers to go. Mrs.
+Dutton was gratified, and soon left the two to partake of their neat,
+but simple meal, by themselves; household duties requiring her presence
+elsewhere.
+
+"Let me persuade you to take a glass of this really excellent port, my
+child," said Bluewater. "If you had cruised as long as I have done, on
+the coast of Portugal, you would know how to value a liquor as pure as
+this. I don't know of an admiral that has as good!"
+
+"It is probably _our_ last, sir," answered Mildred, shaking a tear from
+each of her long dark lashes, by an involuntarily trembling motion, as
+she spoke. "It was a present from dear, old, Sir Wycherly, who never
+left my mother wholly unsupplied with such plain delicacies, as he
+fancied poverty placed beyond our reach. The wine we can easily forget;
+not so easily the donor."
+
+Bluewater felt as if he could draw a cheque for one-half the fortune he
+had devised to his companion; and, yet, by a caprice of feeling that is
+not uncommon to persons of the liveliest susceptibility, he answered in
+a way to smother his own emotion.
+
+"There will not soon be another _old_ Sir Wycherly to make his
+neighbours comfortable; but there is a _young_ one, who is not likely to
+forget his uncle's good example. I hope you all here, rejoice at the
+sudden rise in fortune, that has so unexpectedly been placed within the
+reach of our favourite lieutenant?"
+
+A look of anguish passed over Mildred's face, and her companion noted
+it; though surprise and pity--not to say resentment--prevented his
+betraying his discovery.
+
+"We _endeavour_ to be glad, sir," answered Mildred, smiling in so
+suffering a manner, as to awaken all her companion's sympathies; "but it
+is not easy for us to rejoice at any thing which is gained by the loss
+of our former valued friend."
+
+"I am aware that a young follow, like the present Sir Wycherly, can be
+no substitute for an old fellow like the last Sir Wycherly, my dear; but
+as one is a sailor, and the other was only a landsman, my professional
+prejudices may not consider the disparity as great as it may possibly
+appear to be to your less partial judgment."
+
+Bluewater thought the glance he received was imploring, and he instantly
+regretted that he had taken such means to divert his companion's
+sadness. Some consciousness of this regret probably passed through
+Mildred's mind, for she rallied her spirits, and made a partially
+successful effort to be a more agreeable companion.
+
+"My father thinks, sir," she said, "that our late pleasant weather is
+about to desert us, and that it is likely to blow heavily before
+six-and-thirty hours are over."
+
+"I am afraid Mr. Dutton will prove to be too accurate an almanac. The
+weather has a breeding look, and I expect a dirty night. Good or bad, we
+seamen must face it, and that, too, in the narrow seas, where gales of
+wind are no gales of Araby."
+
+"Ah, sir, it is a terrible life to lead! By living on this cliff, I have
+learned to pity sailors."
+
+"Perhaps, my child, you pity us when we are the most happy. Nine seamen
+in ten prefer a respectable gale to a flat calm. There are moments when
+the ocean is terrific; but, on the whole, it is capricious, rather than
+malignant. The night that is before us promises to be just such a one as
+Sir Gervaise Oakes delights in. He is never happier than when he hears a
+gale howling through the cordage of his ship."
+
+"I have heard him spoken of as a very daring and self-relying commander.
+But _you_ cannot entertain such feelings, Admiral Bluewater; for to me
+you seem better fitted for a fireside, well filled with friends and
+relatives, than for the conflicts and hardships of the sea."
+
+Mildred had no difficulty now in forcing a smile, for the sweet one she
+bestowed on the veteran almost tempted him to rise and fold her in his
+arms, as a parent would wrap a beloved daughter to his heart.
+Discretion, however, prevented a betrayal of feelings that might have
+been misinterpreted, and he answered in his original vein.
+
+"I fear I am a wolf in sheep's clothing," he said; "while Oakes admits
+the happiness he feels in seeing his ship ploughing through a raging
+sea, in a dark night, he maintains that my rapture is sought in a
+hurricane. I do not plead guilty to the accusation, but I will allow
+there is a sort of fierce delight in participating, as it might be, in a
+wild strife of the elements. To me, my very nature seems changed at such
+moments, and I forget all that is mild and gentle. That comes of having
+lived so much estranged from your sex, my dear; desolate bachelor, as I
+am."
+
+"Do you think sailors ought to marry?" asked Mildred, with a steadiness
+that surprised herself; for, while she put the question, consciousness
+brought the blood to her temples.
+
+"I should be sorry to condemn a whole profession, and that one I so well
+love, to the hopeless misery of single life. There are miseries peculiar
+to the wedded lives of both soldiers and sailors; but are there not
+miseries peculiar to those who never separate? I have heard seamen
+say--men, too, who loved their wives and families--that they believed
+the extreme pleasure of meetings after long separations, the delights of
+hope, and the zest of excited feelings, have rendered their years of
+active service more replete with agreeable sensations, than the stagnant
+periods of peace. Never having been married myself, I can only speak on
+report."
+
+"Ah! this may be so with _men_; but--surely--surely--_women_ never can
+feel thus!"
+
+"I suppose, a sailor's daughter yourself, you know Jack's account of his
+wife's domestic creed! 'A good fire, a clean hearth, the children abed,
+and the husband at sea,' is supposed to be the climax of felicity."
+
+"This may do for the sailor's jokes, Admiral Bluewater," answered
+Mildred, smiling; "but it will hardly ease a breaking heart. I fear from
+all I have heard this afternoon, and from the sudden sailing of the
+ships, that a great battle is at hand?"
+
+"And why should you, a British officer's daughter, dread that? Have you
+so little faith in us, as to suppose a battle will necessarily bring
+defeat! I have seen much of my own profession, Miss Dutton, and trust I
+am in some small degree above the rhodomontade of the braggarts; but it
+is _not_ usual for us to meet the enemy, and to give those on shore
+reason to be ashamed of the English flag. It has never yet been my luck
+to meet a Frenchman who did not manifest a manly desire to do his
+country credit; and I have always felt that we must fight hard for him
+before we could get him; nor has the result ever disappointed me. Still,
+fortune, or skill, or _right_, is commonly of our side, and has given us
+the advantage in the end."
+
+"And to which, sir, do you ascribe a success at sea, so very uniform?"
+
+"As a Protestant, I ought to say to our _religion_; but, this my own
+knowledge of Protestant _vices_ rejects. Then to say _fortune_ would be
+an exceeding self-abasement--one, that between us, is not needed; and I
+believe I must impute it to skill. As plain seamen, I do believe we are
+more expert than most of our neighbours; though I am far from being
+positive we have any great advantage over them in tactics. If any, the
+Dutch are our equals."
+
+"Notwithstanding, you are quite certain of success. It must be a great
+encouragement to enter into the fight with a strong confidence in
+victory! I suppose--that is, it seems to me--it is a matter of course,
+sir,--that our new Sir Wycherly will not be able to join in the battle,
+this time?"
+
+Mildred spoke timidly, and she endeavoured to seem unconcerned; but
+Bluewater read her whole heart, and pitied the pain which she had
+inflicted on herself, in asking the question. It struck him, too, that a
+girl of his companion's delicacy and sensibility would not thus advert
+to the young man's movements at all, if the latter had done aught justly
+to awaken censure; and this conviction greatly relieved his mind as to
+the effect of sudden elevation on the handsome lieutenant. As it was
+necessary to answer, however, lest Mildred might detect his
+consciousness of her feelings, not a moment was lost before making a
+reply.
+
+"It is not an easy matter to prevent a young, dashing sailor, like this
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, from doing his part in a general engagement,
+and that, too, of the character of the one to which we are looking
+forward," he said. "Oakes has left the matter in my hands; I suppose I
+shall have to grant the young man's request."
+
+"He has then requested to be received in your ship?" asked Mildred, her
+hand shaking as she used the spoon it held.
+
+"That of course. No one who wears the uniform could or would do less. It
+seems a ticklish moment for him to quit Wychecombe, too; where I fancy
+he will have a battle of his own to fight ere long; but professional
+feeling will overshadow all others, in young men. Among us seamen, it is
+said to be even stronger than love."
+
+Mildred made no answer; but her pale cheek and quivering lips, evidences
+of feeling that her artlessness did not enable her to conceal, caused
+Bluewater again to regret the remark. With a view to restore the poor
+girl to her self-command, he changed the subject of conversation, which
+did not again advert to Wycherly. The remainder of the meal was
+consequently eaten in peace, the admiral manifesting to the last,
+however, the sudden and generous interest he had taken in the character
+and welfare of his companion. When they rose from table, Mildred joined
+her mother, and Bluewater walked out upon the cliffs again.
+
+It was now evening, and the waste of water that lay stretched before the
+eye, though the softness of summer was shed upon it, had the wild and
+dreary aspect that the winds and waves lend to a view, as the light of
+day is about to abandon the ocean to the gloom of night. All this had no
+effect on Bluewater, however, who knew that two-decked ships, strongly
+manned, with their heavy canvass reduced, would make light work of
+worrying through hours of darkness that menaced no more than these.
+Still the wind had freshened, and when he stood on the verge of the
+cliff sustained by the breeze, which pressed him back from the
+precipice, rendering his head more steady, and his footing sure, the
+Elizabeth was casting, under close-reefed top-sails, and two reefs in her
+courses, with a heavy stay-sail or two, to ease her helm. He saw that the
+ponderous machine would stagger under even this short canvass, and that
+her captain had made his dispositions for a windy night. The lights that
+the Dover and the York carried in their tops were just beginning to be
+visible in the gathering gloom, the last about a league and a half down
+channel, the ship standing in that direction to get to windward, and the
+former, more to the southward, the vessel having already tacked to
+follow the admiral. A chain of lights connected the whole of the long
+line, and placed the means of communication in the power of the
+captains. At this moment, the Plantagenet was full fifty miles at sea,
+ploughing through a heavy south-west swell, which the wind was driving
+into the chops of the channel, from the direction of the Bay of Biscay,
+and the broad Atlantic.
+
+Bluewater buttoned his coat, and he felt his frame invigorated by a gale
+that came over his person, loaded by the peculiar flavour of the sea.
+But two of the heavy ships remained at their anchors, the Dublin and the
+Cæsar; and his experienced eye could see that Stowel had every thing on
+board the latter ready to trip and be off, as soon as he, himself,
+should give the order. At this moment the midshipman, who had been
+absent for hours, returned, and stood again at his side.
+
+"Our turn will soon come, sir," said the gallant boy, "and, for one, I
+shall not be sorry to be in motion. Those chaps on board the Plantagenet
+will swagger like so many Dons, if they should happen to get a broadside
+at Monsieur de Vervillin, while we are lying here, under the shore, like
+a gentleman's yacht hauled into a bay, that the ladies might eat without
+disturbing their stomachs."
+
+"Little fear of that, Geoffrey. The Active is too light of foot,
+especially in the weather we have had, to suffer heavy ships to be so
+close on her heels. She must have had some fifteen or twenty miles the
+start, and the French have been compelled to double Cape la Hogue and
+Alderney, before they could even look this way. If coming down channel
+at all, they are fully fifty miles to the eastward; and should our van
+stretch far enough by morning to head them off, it will bring us
+handsomely to windward. Sir Gervaise never set a better trap, than he
+has done this very day. The Elizabeth has her hands full, boy, and the
+wind seems to be getting scant for her. If it knock her off much more,
+it will bring the flood on her weather-bow, and compel her to tack. This
+will throw the rear of our line into confusion!"
+
+"What should we do, sir, in such a case? It would never answer to leave
+poor Sir Jarvy out there, by himself!"
+
+"We would try not to do _that_!" returned Bluewater, smiling at the
+affectionate solicitude of the lad, a solicitude that caused him
+slightly to forget his habitual respect for the commander-in-chief, and
+to adopt the _sobriquet_ of the fleet. "In such a case, it would become
+my duty to collect as many ships as I could, and to make the best of our
+way towards the place where we might hope to fall in with the others, in
+the morning. There is little danger of losing each other, for any length
+of time, in these narrow waters, and I have few apprehensions of the
+French being far enough west, to fall in with our leading vessels before
+morning. If they _should_, indeed, Geoffrey--"
+
+"Ay, sir, if they _should_, I know well enough what would come to pass!"
+
+"What, boy?--On the supposition that Monsieur de Vervillin _did_ meet
+with Sir Gervaise by day-break, what, in your experienced eyes, seem
+most likely to be the consequences?"
+
+"Why, sir, Sir Jarvy, would go at 'em, like a dolphin at a flying-fish;
+and if he _should_ really happen to catch one or two of 'em, there'll be
+no sailing in company with the Plantagenet's, for us Cæsar's!--When we
+had the last 'bout with Monsieur de Gravelin, they were as saucy as
+peacocks, because we didn't close until their fore-yard and
+mizzen-top-gallant-mast were gone, although the shift of wind brought us
+dead to leeward, and, after all, we had eleven men the most hurt in the
+fight. You don't know them Plantagenet's, sir; for they never _dare_ say
+any thing before _you_!"
+
+"Not to the discredit of my young Cæsars, I'll answer for it. Yet,
+you'll remember Sir Gervaise gave us full credit, in his despatches."
+
+"Yes, sir, all very true. Sir Gervaise knows better; and then _he_
+understands what the Cæsar _is_; and what she _can_ do, and _has_ done.
+But it's a very different matter with his youngsters, who fancy because
+they carry a red flag at the fore, they are so many Blakes and Howards,
+themselves. There's Jack Oldcastle, now; he's always talking of our
+reefers as if there was no sea-blood in our veins, and that just because
+his own father happened to be a captain--a _commodore_, he says, because
+he happened once to have three frigates under his orders."
+
+"Well, that would make a commodore, for the time being. But, surely he
+does not claim privilege for the Oldcastle blood, over that of the
+Clevelands!"
+
+"No, sir, it isn't that sort of thing, at all," returned the fine boy,
+blushing a little, in spite of his contempt for any such womanly
+weakness; "you know we never talk of that nonsense in our squadron. With
+us it's all service, and that sort of thing. Jack Oldcastle says the
+Clevelands are all civilians, as he calls 'em; or _soldiers_, which
+isn't much better, as you know, sir. Now, I tell him that there is an
+old picture of one of 'em, with an anchor-button, and that was long
+before Queen Anne's time--Queen Elizabeth's, perhaps,--and then you
+know, sir, I fetch him up with a yarn about the Hedworths; for I am just
+as much Hedworth as Cleveland."
+
+"And what does the impudent dog say to that, Geoffrey?"
+
+"Why, sir, he says the name should be spelt Head_work_, and that they
+were all _lawyers_. But I gave him as good as he sent for that saucy
+speech, I'm certain!"
+
+"And what did you give him, in return for such a compliment? Did you
+tell him the Oldcastles were just so much stone, and wood, and old iron;
+and that, too, in a tumbledown condition?"
+
+"No, sir, not I," answered the boy, laughing; "I didn't think of any
+answer half so clever; and so I just gave him a dig in the nose, and
+that, laid on with right good will."
+
+"And how did he receive that argument? Was it conclusive;--or did the
+debate continue?"
+
+"Oh, of course, sir, we fought it out. 'Twas on board the Dover, and the
+first lieutenant saw fair play. Jack carried too many guns for me, sir,
+for he's more than a year older; but I hulled him so often that he owned
+it was harder work than being mast-headed. After that the Dover's chaps
+took my part, and they said the Hedworths had no Head_work_ at all, but
+they were regular sailors; admirals, and captains, and youngsters, you
+know, sir, like all the rest of us. I told 'em my grandfather Hedworth
+was an admiral, and a good one, too."
+
+"In that you made a small mistake. Your mother's father was only a
+_general_; but _his_ father was a full admiral of the red,--for he lived
+before that grade was abolished--and as good an officer as ever trod a
+plank. He was my mother's brother, and both Sir Gervaise and myself
+served long under his orders. He was a sailor of whom you well might
+boast."
+
+"I don't think any of the Plantagenets will chase in that quarter again,
+sir; for we've had an overhauling among our chaps, and we find we can
+muster four admirals, two commodores, and thirteen captains in our two
+messes; that is, counting all sorts of relatives, you know, sir."
+
+"Well, my dear boy, I hope you may live to reckon all that and more too,
+in your own persons, at some future day. Yonder is Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe, coming this way, to my surprise; perhaps he wishes to see me
+alone. Go down to the landing and ascertain if my barge is ashore, and
+let me know it, as soon as is convenient. Remember, Geoffrey, you will
+go off with me; and hunt up Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, who will lose his
+passage, unless ready the instant he is wanted."
+
+The boy touched his cap, and went bounding down the hill to execute the
+order.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+    "So glozed the Tempter, and his poison tuned;
+    Into the heart of Eve his words made way,
+    Though at the voice much marvelling."
+
+         MILTON.
+
+
+It was, probably, a species of presentiment, that induced Bluewater to
+send away the midshipman, when he saw the adherent of the dethroned
+house approaching. Enough had passed between the parties to satisfy each
+of the secret bias of the other; and, by that sort of free-masonry which
+generally accompanies strong feelings of partisanship, the admiral felt
+persuaded that the approaching interview was about to relate to the
+political troubles of the day.
+
+The season and the hour, and the spot, too, were all poetically
+favourable to an interview between conspirators. It was now nearly dark;
+the head-land was deserted, Dutton having retired, first to his bottle,
+and then to his bed; the wind blew heavily athwart the bleak eminence,
+or was heard scuffling in the caverns of the cliffs, while the
+portentous clouds that drove through the air, now veiled entirely, and
+now partially and dimly revealed the light of the moon, in a way to
+render the scene both exciting and wild. No wonder, then, that
+Bluewater, his visiter drawing near, felt a stronger disposition than
+had ever yet come over him to listen to the tale of the tempter, as,
+under all the circumstances, it would scarcely exceed the bounds of
+justice to call Sir Reginald.
+
+"In seeking you at such a spot, and in the midst of this wild
+landscape," said the latter, "I might have been assured I should be
+certain of finding one who really loved the sea and your noble
+profession. The Hall is a melancholy house, just at this moment; and
+when I inquired for you, no one could say whither you had strolled. In
+following what I thought a seaman's instinct, it appears that I did
+well.--Do my eyes fail me, or are there no more than three vessels at
+anchor yonder?"
+
+"Your eyes are still good, Sir Reginald; Admiral Oakes sailed several
+hours since, and he has been followed by all the fleet, with the
+exception of the two line-of-battle ships, and the frigate you see;
+leaving me to be the last to quit the anchorage."
+
+"Is it a secret of state, or are you permitted to say whither so strong
+a force has so suddenly sailed?" demanded the baronet, glancing his dark
+eye so expressively towards the other as to give him, in the growing
+obscurity, the appearance of an inquisitor. "I had been told the fleet
+would wait for orders from London?"
+
+"Such was the first intention of the commander-in-chief; but
+intelligence of the sailing of the Comte de Vervillin has induced Sir
+Gervaise to change his mind. An English admiral seldom errs when he
+seeks and beats an active and dangerous enemy."
+
+"Is this always true, Admiral Bluewater?" returned Sir Reginald,
+dropping in at the side of the other, and joining in his walk, as he
+paced, to and fro, a short path that Dutton called his own quarter-deck;
+"or is it merely an unmeaning generality that sometimes causes men to
+become the dupes of their own imaginations. Are those _always_ our
+enemies who may seem to be so? or, are we so infallible that every
+feeling or prejudice may be safely set down as an impulse to which we
+ought to submit, without questioning its authority?"
+
+"Do you esteem it a prejudice to view France as the natural enemy of
+England, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"By heaven, I do, sir! I can conceive that England may be much more her
+own enemy than France has ever proved to be. Then, conceding that ages
+of warfare have contributed to awaken some such feeling as this you hint
+at, is there not a question of right and wrong that lies behind all?
+Reflect how often England has invaded the French soil, and what serious
+injuries she has committed on the territory of the latter, while France
+has so little wronged us, in the same way; how, even her throne has been
+occupied by our princes, and her provinces possessed by our armies."
+
+"I think you hardly allow for all the equity of the different cases.
+Parts of what is now France, were the just inheritance of those who have
+sat on the English throne, and the quarrels were no more than the usual
+difficulties of neighbourhood. When our claims were just in themselves,
+you surely could not have wished to see them abandoned."
+
+"Far from it; but when claims were disputed, is it not natural for the
+loser to view them as a hardship? I believe we should have had a much
+better neighbourhood, as you call it, with France, had not the modern
+difficulties connected with religious changes, occurred."
+
+"I presume you know. Sir Reginald, that I, and all my family are
+Protestants."
+
+"I do, Admiral Bluewater; and I rejoice to find that a difference of
+opinion on this great interest, does not necessarily produce one on all
+others. From several little allusions that have passed between us
+to-day, I am encouraged to believe that we think alike on certain
+temporal matters, however wide the chasm between us on spiritual
+things."
+
+"I confess I have fallen into the same conclusion; and I should be sorry
+to be undeceived if wrong."
+
+"What occasion, then, for farther ambiguity? Surely two honourable men
+may safely trust each other with their common sentiments, when the times
+call for decision and frankness! I am a Jacobite, Admiral Bluewater; if
+I risk life or fortune by making the avowal, I place both, without
+reserve at your mercy."
+
+"They could not be in safer hands, sir; and I know no better mode of
+giving you every possible assurance that the confidence will not be
+abused, than by telling you in return, that I would cheerfully lay down
+my life could the sacrifice restore the deposed family to the throne."
+
+"This is noble, and manly, and frank, as I had hoped from a sailor!"
+exclaimed Sir Reginald, more delighted than he well knew how to express
+at the moment. "This simple assurance from your lips, carries more
+weight than all the oaths and pledges of vulgar conspiracy. We
+understand each other, and I should be truly sorry to inspire less
+confidence than I feel."
+
+"What better proof can I give you of the reliance placed on your faith,
+than the declaration you have heard, Sir Reginald? My head would answer
+for your treachery in a week; but I have never felt it more securely on
+my shoulders than at this moment."
+
+The baronet grasped the other's hand, and each gave and received a
+pressure that was full of meaning. Then both walked on, thoughtful and
+relieved, for quite a minute, in profound silence.
+
+"This sudden appearance of the prince in Scotland has taken us all a
+little by surprise," Sir Reginald resumed, after the pause; "though a
+few of us knew that his intentions led him this way. Perhaps he has done
+well to come unattended by a foreign force, and to throw himself, as it
+might be singly, into the arms of his subjects; trusting every thing to
+their generosity, loyalty, and courage. Some blame him; but I do not. He
+will awaken interest, now, in every generous heart in the nation,"--this
+was artfully adapted to the character of the listener;--"whereas some
+might feel disposed to be lukewarm under a less manly appeal to their
+affections and loyalty. In Scotland, we learn from all directions that
+His Royal Highness is doing wonders, while the friends of his house are
+full of activity in England, though compelled, for a time, to be
+watchful and prudent."
+
+"I rejoice, from the bottom of my heart, to hear this!" said Bluewater,
+drawing a long breath, like one whose mind was unexpectedly relieved
+from a heavy load. "From the bottom of my heart, do I rejoice! I had my
+apprehensions that the sudden appearance of the prince might find his
+well-wishers unprepared and timid."
+
+"As far from that as possible, my dear sir; though much still depends on
+the promptitude and resolution of the master spirits of the party. We
+are strong enough to control the nation, if we can bring those forward
+who have the strength to lead and control ourselves. All we now want are
+some hundred or two of prominent men to step out of their diffidence,
+and show us the way to honourable achievement and certain success."
+
+"Can such men be wanting, at a moment like this?"
+
+"I think we are secure of most of the high nobility, though their great
+risks render them all a little wary in the outset. It is among the
+professional men--the gallant soldiers, and the bold, ardent seamen of
+the fleet, that we must look for the first demonstrations of loyalty and
+true patriotism. To be honest with you, sir, I tire of being ruled by a
+German."
+
+"Do you know of any intention to rally a force in this part of England,
+Sir Reginald? If so, say but the word--point out the spot where the
+standard is to be raised, and I will rally under it, the instant
+circumstances will permit!"
+
+"This is just what I expected, Mr. Bluewater," answered the baronet,
+more gratified than he thought it prudent to express; "though it is not
+exactly the _form_ in which you can best serve us at this precise
+moment. Cut off from the north, as we are in this part of the island, by
+all the resources of the actual government, it would be the height of
+imprudence in us to show our hands, until all the cards are ready to be
+played. Active and confidential agents are at work in the army; London
+has its proper share of business men, while others are in the counties,
+doing their best to put things in a shape for the consummation we so
+anxiously look for. I have been with several of our friends in this
+vicinity, to bring matters into a combined state; and it was my
+intention to visit this very estate, to see what my own name might do
+with the tenantry, had not the late Sir Wycherly summoned me as he did,
+to attend his death-bed. Have you any clue to the feelings of this new
+and young head of my family, the sea-lieutenant and present baronet?"
+
+"Not a very plain one, sir, though I doubt if they be favourable to the
+House of Stuart."
+
+"I feared as much; this very evening I have had an anonymous
+communication that I think must come from his competitor, pretty plainly
+intimating that, by asserting _his_ rights, as they are called, the
+whole Wychecombe tenantry and interest could be united, in the present
+struggle, on whichever side I might desire to see them."
+
+"This is a bold and decided stroke, truly! May I inquire as to your
+answer, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"I shall give none. Under all circumstances I will ever refuse to place
+a bastard in the seat of a legitimate descendant of my family. We
+contend for legal and natural rights, my dear admiral, and the means
+employed should not be unworthy of the end. Besides, I know the
+scoundrel to be unworthy of trust, and shall not have the weakness to
+put myself in his power. I could wish the other boy to be of another
+mind; but, by getting him off to sea, whither he tells me he is bound,
+we shall at least send him out of harm's way."
+
+In all this Sir Reginald was perfectly sincere; for, while he did not
+always hesitate about the employment of means, in matters of politics,
+he was rigidly honest in every thing that related to private properly; a
+species of moral contradiction that is sometimes found among men who aim
+at the management of human affairs; since those often yield to a
+besetting weakness who are nearly irreproachable in other matters.
+Bluewater was glad to hear this declaration; his own simplicity of
+character inducing him to fancy it was an indication to the general
+probity of his companion.
+
+"Yes," observed the latter, "in all eases, we must maintain the laws of
+the land, in an affair of private right. This young man is not capable,
+perhaps, of forming a just estimate of his political duties, in a crisis
+like this, and it may be well, truly, to get him off to sea, lest by
+taking the losing side, he endangers his estate before he is fairly
+possessed of it. And having now disposed of Sir Wycherly, what can I do
+most to aid the righteous and glorious cause?"
+
+"This is coming to the point manfully, Sir Richard--I beg pardon for
+thus styling you, but I happen to know that your name has been before
+the prince, for some time, as one of those who are to receive the riband
+from a sovereign really _authorized_ to bestow it; if I have spoken a
+little prematurely, I again entreat your pardon;--but, this is at once
+coming manfully to the point! Serve us you can, of course, and that most
+effectually, and in an all-important manner. I now greatly regret that
+my father had not put me in the army, in my youth, that I might serve my
+prince as I could wish, in this perilous trial. But we have many friends
+accustomed to arms, and among them your own honourable name will appear
+conspicuous as to the past, and encouraging as to the future."
+
+"I have carried arms from boyhood, it is true, Sir Reginald, but it is
+in a service that will scarcely much avail us in this warfare. Prince
+Edward has no ships, nor do I know he will need any."
+
+"True, my dear sir, but King George has! As for the necessity, permit me
+to say you are mistaken; it will soon be all-important to keep open the
+communication with the continent. No doubt, Monsieur de Vervillin is
+out, with some such object, already."
+
+Bluewater started, and he recoiled from the firm grasp which the other
+took of his arm, in the earnestness of discourse, with some such
+instinctive aversion as a man recoils from the touch of the reptile. The
+thought of a treachery like that implied in the remark of his companion
+had never occurred to him, and his honest mind turned with a strong
+disrelish, from even the implied proposition of the other. Still, he was
+not quite certain how far Sir Reginald wished to urge him, and he felt
+it just to ascertain his real views before he answered them. Plausible
+as this appeared, it was a dangerous delay for one so simple-minded,
+when brought in contact with a person so practised as the baronet; Sir
+Reginald having the tact to perceive that his new friend's feelings had
+already taken the alarm, and at once determined to be more wary.
+
+"What am I to understand by this, Sir Reginald Wychecombe?" demanded the
+rear-admiral. "In what manner can I possibly be connected with the naval
+resources of the House of Hanover, when it is my intention to throw off
+its service? King George's fleets will hardly aid the Stuarts; and they
+will, at least, obey the orders of their own officers."
+
+"Not the least doubt in the world of this, Admiral Bluewater! What a
+glorious privilege it was for Monk to have it in his power to put his
+liege sovereign in his rightful seat, and thus to save the empire, by a
+_coup de main_, from the pains and grievances of a civil contest! Of all
+the glorious names in English history, I esteem that of George Monk as
+the one most to be envied! It is a great thing to be a prince--one born
+to be set apart as God's substitute on earth, in all that relates to
+human justice and human power;--yet it is greater, in my eyes, to be the
+subject to _restore_ the order of these almost divine successions, when
+once deranged by lawless and presuming men."
+
+"This is true enough, sir; though I would rather have joined Charles on
+the beach at Dover, armed only with an untainted sword, than followed by
+an army at my heels!"
+
+"What, when that army followed _cheerfully_, and was equally eager with
+yourself to serve their sovereign!"
+
+"That, indeed, might somewhat qualify the feeling. But soldiers and
+sailors are usually influenced by the opinions of those who have been
+placed over them by the higher authorities."
+
+"No doubt they are; and that is as it should be. We are encouraged to
+believe that some ten or fifteen captains are already well-disposed
+towards us, and will cheerfully take their respective ships to the
+points our wants require, the moment they feel assured of being properly
+led, when collected. By a little timely concert, we can command the
+North Sea, and keep open important communications with the continent. It
+is known the ministry intend to employ as many German troops as they can
+assemble, and a naval force will be all-important in keeping these
+mustachoed foreigners at a distance The quarrel is purely English, sir,
+and ought to be decided by Englishmen only."
+
+"In that, indeed, I fully concur, Sir Reginald," answered Bluewater,
+breathing more freely. "I would cruise a whole winter in the North Sea
+to keep the Dutchmen at home, and let Englishmen decide who is to be
+England's king. To me, foreign interference, in such a matter, is the
+next evil to positive disloyalty to my rightful prince."
+
+"These are exactly my sentiments, dear sir, and I hope to see you act on
+them. By the way, how happens it you are left alone, and in what manner
+do you admirals divide your authority when serving in company?"
+
+"I do not know I comprehend your question, Sir Reginald. I am left here
+to sail the last with the Cæsar; Sir Gervaise leading out in the
+Plantagenet, with a view to draw a line across the channel that shall
+effectually prevent de Vervillin from getting to the westward."
+
+"To the _westward_!" repeated the other, smiling ironically, though the
+darkness prevented the admiral from seeing the expression of his
+features. "Does Admiral Oakes then think that the French ships are
+steering in _that_ direction?"
+
+"Such is our information; have you any reason to suppose that the enemy
+intend differently?"
+
+The baronet paused, and he appeared to ruminate. Enough had already
+passed to satisfy him he had not an ordinary mind in that of his
+companion to deal with, and he was slightly at a loss how to answer. To
+bring the other within his lures, he was fully resolved; and the spirits
+that aid the designing just at that moment suggested the plan which, of
+all others, was most likely to be successful. Bluewater had betrayed his
+aversion to the interference of foreign troops in the quarrel, and on
+this subject he intended to strike a chord which he rightly fancied
+would thrill on the rear-admiral's feelings.
+
+"We have our information, certainly," answered Sir Reginald, like one
+who was reluctant to tell all he knew; "though good faith requires it
+should not actually be exposed. Nevertheless, any one can reason on the
+probabilities. The Duke of Cumberland will collect his German
+auxiliaries, and they must get into England the best way that they can.
+Would an intelligent enemy with a well-appointed fleet suffer this
+junction, if he could prevent it? We know he would not; and when we
+remember the precise time of the sailing of the Comte, his probable
+ignorance of the presence of this squadron of yours, in the channel, and
+all the other circumstances of the case, who can suppose otherwise than
+to believe his aim is to intercept the German regiments."
+
+"This does seem plausible; and yet the Active's signals told us that the
+French were steering west; and that, too, with a light westerly wind."
+
+"Do not fleets, like armies, frequently make false demonstrations? Might
+not Monsieur de Vervillin, so long as his vessels were in sight from the
+shore, have turned toward the west, with an intention, as soon as
+covered by the darkness, to incline to the east, again, and sail up
+channel, under English ensigns, perhaps? Is it not possible for him to
+pass the Straits of Dover, even, as an English squadron--your own, for
+instance--and thus deceive the Hanoverian cruisers until ready to seize
+or destroy any transports that may be sent?"
+
+"Hardly, Sir Reginald," said Bluewater, smiling. "A French ship can no
+more be mistaken for an English ship, than a Frenchman can pass for a
+Briton. We sailors are not as easily deceived as that would show. It is
+true, however, that a fleet might well stand in one direction, until far
+enough off the land or covered by night, when it might change its course
+suddenly, in an opposite direction; and it _is possible_ the Comte de
+Vervillin has adopted some such stratagem. If he actually knew of the
+intention to throw German troops into the island, it is even quite
+_probable_. In that case, for one, I could actually wish him success!"
+
+"Well, my dear sir, and what is to prevent it?" asked Sir Reginald, with
+a triumph that was not feigned. "Nothing, you will say, unless he fall
+in with Sir Gervaise Oakes. But you have not answered my inquiry, as to
+the manner in which flag-officers divide their commands, at sea?"
+
+"As soldiers divide their commands ashore. The superior orders, and the
+inferior obeys."
+
+"Ay, this is true; but it does not meet my question. Here are eleven
+large ships, and two admirals; now what portion of these ships are under
+your particular orders, and what portion under those of Sir Gervaise
+Oakes?"
+
+"The vice-admiral has assigned to himself a division of six of the
+ships, and left me the other five. Each of us has his frigates and
+smaller vessels. But an order that the commander-in-chief may choose to
+give any captain must be obeyed by him, as the inferior submits, as a
+rule, to the last order."
+
+"And _you_," resumed Sir Reginald, with quickness; "how are _you_
+situated, as respects these captains?"
+
+"Should I give a direct order to any captain in the fleet, it would
+certainly be his duty to obey it; though circumstances might occur which
+would render it obligatory on him to let me know that he had different
+instructions from our common superior. But, why these questions, Sir
+Reginald?"
+
+"Your patience, my dear admiral;--and what ships have you specifically
+under your care?"
+
+"The Cæsar, my own; the Dublin, the Elizabeth, the York, and the Dover.
+To these must be added the Druid frigate, the sloop of war, and the
+Gnat. My division numbers eight in all."
+
+"What a magnificent force to possess at a moment as critical as
+this!--But where are all these vessels? I see but four and a cutter, and
+only two of these seem to be large."
+
+"The light you perceive there, along the land to the westward, is on
+board the Elizabeth; and that broad off here, in the channel, is on
+board the York. The Dover's lantern has disappeared further to the
+southward. Ah! there the Dublin casts, and is off after the others!"
+
+"And you intend to follow, Admiral Bluewater?"
+
+"Within an hour, or I shall lose the division. As it is, I have been
+deliberating on the propriety of calling back the sternmost ships, and
+collecting them in close squadron; for this increase and hauling of the
+wind render it probable they will lose the vice-admiral, and that
+day-light will find the line scattered and in confusion. One mind must
+control the movements of ships, as well as of battalions, Sir Reginald,
+if they are to act in concert."
+
+"With what view would you collect the vessels you have mentioned, and in
+the manner you have named, if you do not deem my inquiry indiscreet?"
+demanded the baronet, with quickness.
+
+"Simply that they might be kept together, and brought in subjection to
+my own particular signals. This is the duty that more especially falls
+to my share, as head of the division."
+
+"Have you the means to effect this, here, on this hill, and by yourself,
+sir?"
+
+"It would be a great oversight to neglect so important a provision. My
+signal-officer is lying under yonder cover, wrapped in his cloak, and
+two quarter-masters are in readiness to make the very signal in
+question; for its necessity has been foreseen, and really would seem to
+be approaching. If done at all, it must be done quickly, too. The light
+of the York grows dim in the distance. It _shall_ be done, sir; prudence
+requires it, and you shall see the manner in which we hold our distant
+ships in command."
+
+Bluewater could not have announced more agreeable intelligence to his
+companion. Sir Reginald was afraid to propose the open treason he
+meditated; but he fancied, if the rear-admiral could fairly withdraw his
+own division from the fleet, it would at once weaken the vice-admiral so
+much, as to render an engagement with the French impossible, and might
+lead to such a separation of the commands as to render the final
+defection of the division inshore easier of accomplishment. It is true,
+Bluewater, himself, was actuated by motives directly contrary to these
+wishes; but, as the parties travelled the same road to a certain point,
+the intriguing baronet had his expectations of being able to persuade
+his new friend to continue on in his own route.
+
+Promptitude is a military virtue, and, among seamen, it is a maxim to do
+every thing that is required to be done, with activity and vigour. These
+laws were not neglected on the present occasion. No sooner had the
+rear-admiral determined on his course, than he summoned his agents to
+put it in execution. Lord Geoffrey had returned to the heights and was
+within call, and he carried the orders to the lieutenant and the
+quarter-masters. The lanterns only required lighting, and then they were
+run aloft on Dutton's staff, as regularly as the same duty could have
+been performed on the poop of the Cæsar. Three rockets were thrown up,
+immediately after, and the gun kept on the cliffs for that purpose was
+fired, to draw attention to the signal. It might have been a minute ere
+the heavy ordnance of the Cæsar repeated the summons, and the same
+signal was shown at her mast-head. The Dublin was still so near that no
+time was lost, but according to orders, she too repeated the signal; for
+in the line that night, it was understood that an order of this nature
+was to be sent from ship to ship.
+
+"Now for the Elizabeth!" cried Bluewater; "she cannot fail to have heard
+our guns, and to see our signals."
+
+"The York is ahead of her, sir!" exclaimed the boy; "see; she has the
+signal up already!"
+
+All this passed in a very few minutes, the last ships having sailed in
+the expectation of receiving some such recall. The York preceded the
+ship next to her in the line, in consequence of having gone about, and
+being actually nearer to the rear-admiral than her second astern. It was
+but a minute, before the gun and the lanterns of the Elizabeth, however,
+announced her knowledge of the order, also.
+
+The two ships last named were no longer visible from the cliffs, though
+their positions were known by their lights; but no sign whatever
+indicated the part of the ocean on which the Dover was struggling along
+through the billows. After a pause of several minutes, Bluewater spoke.
+
+"I fear we shall collect no more," he said; "one of my ships must take
+her chance to find the commander-in-chief, alone. Ha!--that means
+something!"
+
+At this instant a faint, distant flash was seen, for a single moment, in
+the gloom, and then all heads were bent forward to listen, in breathless
+attention. A little time had elapsed, when the dull, smothered report of
+a gun proclaimed that even the Dover had caught the rapidly transmitted
+order.
+
+"What means that, sir?" eagerly demanded Sir Reginald, who had attended
+to every thing with intense expectation.
+
+"It means, sir, that all of the division are still under my command. No
+other ship would note the order. _Their_ directions, unless specifically
+pointed out by their numbers, must come from the vice-admiral. Is my
+barge ashore, Lord Geoffrey Cleveland?"
+
+"It is, sir, as well as the cutter for Mr. Cornet and the
+quarter-masters."
+
+"It is well. Gentlemen, we will go on board; the Cæsar must weigh and
+join the other vessels in the offing. I will follow you to the landing,
+but you will shove off, at once, and desire Captain Stowel to weigh and
+cast to-port. We will fill on the starboard tack, and haul directly off
+the land."
+
+The whole party immediately left the station, hurrying down to the
+boats, leaving Bluewater and Sir Reginald to follow more leisurely. It
+was a critical moment for the baronet, who had so nearly effected his
+purpose, that his disappointment would have been double did he fail of
+his object altogether. He determined, therefore, not to quit the admiral
+while there was the slightest hope of success. The two consequently
+descended together to the shore, walking, for the first minute or two,
+in profound silence.
+
+"A great game is in your hands, Admiral Bluewater," resumed the baronet;
+"rightly played, it may secure the triumph of the good cause. I think I
+may say I _know_ de Vervillin's object, and that his success will reseat
+the Stuarts on the thrones of their ancestors! One who loves them should
+ponder well before he does aught to mar so glorious a result."
+
+This speech was as bold as it was artful. In point of fact, Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe knew no more of the Comte de Vervillin's intended movements
+than his companion; but he did not hesitate to assert what he now did,
+in order to obtain a great political advantage, in a moment of so much
+importance. To commit Bluewater and his captains openly on the side of
+the Stuarts would be a great achievement in itself; to frustrate the
+plans of Sir Gervaise might safely be accounted another; and, then,
+there were all the chances that the Frenchman was not at sea for
+nothing, and that his operations might indeed succour the movements of
+the prince. The baronet, upright as he was in other matters, had no
+scruples of conscience on this occasion; having long since brought
+himself over to the belief that it was justifiable to attain ends as
+great as those he had in view, by the sacrifice of any of the minor
+moral considerations.
+
+The effect on Bluewater was not trifling. The devil had placed the bait
+before his eyes in a most tempting form; for he felt that he had only to
+hold his division in reserve to render an engagement morally improbable.
+Abandon his friend to a superior force he could and would not; but, it
+is our painful duty to avow that his mind had glimpses of the
+possibility of doing the adventurer in Scotland a great good, without
+doing the vice-admiral and the van of the fleet any very essential harm.
+Let us be understood, however. The rear-admiral did not even contemplate
+treason, or serious defection of any sort; but through one of those
+avenues of frailty by which men are environed, he had a glance at
+results that the master-spirit of evil momentarily placed before his
+mental vision as both great and glorious.
+
+"I wish we were really certain of de Vervillin's object," he said; the
+only concession he made to this novel feeling, in words. "It might,
+indeed, throw a great light on the course we ought to take ourselves. I
+do detest this German alliance, and would abandon the service ere I
+would convoy or transport a ragamuffin of them all to England."
+
+Here Sir Reginald proved how truly expert he was in the arts of
+management. A train of thought and feeling had been lighted in the mind
+of his companion, which he felt might lead to all he wished, while he
+was apprehensive that further persuasion would awaken opposition, and
+renew old sentiments. He wisely determined, therefore, to leave things
+as they were, trusting to the strong and declared bias of the admiral in
+favour of the revolution, to work out its own consequences, with a
+visible and all-important advantage so prominently placed before his
+eyes.
+
+"I know nothing of ships," he answered, modestly; "but I do _know_ that
+the Comte has our succour in view. It would ill become me to advise one
+of your experience how to lead a force like this, which is subject to
+your orders; but a friend of the good cause, who is now in the west, and
+who was lately in the presence itself, tells me that the prince
+manifested extreme satisfaction when he learned how much it might be in
+your power to serve him."
+
+"Do you then think my name has reached the royal ear, and that the
+prince has any knowledge of my real feelings?"
+
+"Nothing but your extreme modesty could cause you to doubt the first,
+sir; as to the last, ask yourself how came I to approach you to-night,
+with my heart in my hand, as it might be, making you master of my life
+as well as of my secret. Love and hatred are emotions that soon betray
+themselves."
+
+It is matter of historical truth that men of the highest principles and
+strongest minds have yielded to the flattery of rank. Bluewater's
+political feelings had rendered him indifferent to the blandishments of
+the court at London, while his imagination, that chivalrous deference to
+antiquity and poetical right, which lay at the root of his Jacobitism,
+and his brooding sympathies, disposed him but too well to become the
+dupe of language like this. Had he been more a man of facts, one less
+under the influence of his own imagination; had it been his good fortune
+to live even in contact with those he now so devoutly worshipped, in a
+political sense at least, their influence over a mind as just and
+clear-sighted as his own, would soon have ceased; but, passing his time
+at sea, they had the most powerful auxiliary possible, in the high
+faculty he possessed of fancying things as he wished them to be. No
+wonder, then, that he heard this false assertion of Sir Reginald with a
+glow of pleasure; with even a thrill at the heart to which he had long
+been a stranger. For a time, his better feelings were smothered in this
+new and treacherous sensation.
+
+The gentlemen, by this time, were at the landing, and it became
+necessary to separate. The barge of the rear-admiral was with difficulty
+kept from leaping on the rock, by means of oars and boat-hooks, and each
+instant rendered the embarkation more and more difficult. The moments
+were precious on more accounts than one, and the leave-taking was short.
+Sir Reginald said but little, though he intended the pressure of the
+hand he gave his companion to express every thing.
+
+"God be with you," he added; "and as you prove true, may you prove
+successful! Remember, 'a lawful prince, and the claims of birth-right.'
+God be with you!"
+
+"Adieu, Sir Reginald; when we next meet, the future will probably be
+more apparent to us all.--But who comes hither, rushing like a madman
+towards the boat?"
+
+A form came leaping through the darkness; nor was it known, until it
+stood within two feet of Bluewater, it was that of Wycherly. He had
+heard the guns and seen the signals. Guessing at the reasons, he dashed
+from the park, which he was pacing to cool his agitation, and which now
+owned him for a master, and ran the whole distance to the shore, in
+order not to be left. His arrival was most opportune; for, in another
+minute, the barge left the rock.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+    "O'er the glad waters of the dark-blue sea.
+    Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free.
+    Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,
+    Survey our empire and behold our home."
+
+         THE CORSAIR.
+
+
+One is never fully aware of the extent of the movement that agitates the
+bosom of the ocean until fairly subject to its action himself, when
+indeed we all feel its power and reason closely on its dangers. The
+first pitch of his boat told Bluewater that the night threatened to be
+serious. As the lusty oarsmen bent to their stroke, the barge rose on a
+swell, dividing the foam that glanced past it like a marine Aurora
+Borealis, and then plunged into the trough as if descending to the
+bottom. It required several united and vigorous efforts to force the
+little craft from its dangerous vicinity to the rocks, and to get it in
+perfect command. This once done, however, the well-practised crew urged
+the barge slowly but steadily ahead.
+
+"A dirty night!--a dirty night!" muttered Bluewater, unconsciously to
+himself; "we should have had a wild berth, had we rode out this blow, at
+anchor. Oakes will have a heavy time of it out yonder in the very chops
+of the channel, with a westerly swell heaving in against this ebb."
+
+"Yes, sir," answered Wycherly; "the vice-admiral will be looking out for
+us all, anxiously enough, in the morning."
+
+Not another syllable did Bluewater utter until his boat had touched the
+side of the Cæsar. He reflected deeply on his situation, and those who
+know his feelings will easily understand that his reflections were not
+altogether free from pain. Such as they were, he kept them to himself,
+however, and in a man-of-war's boat, when a flag-officer chooses to be
+silent, it is a matter of course for his inferiors to imitate his
+example.
+
+The barge was about a quarter of a mile from the landing, when the heavy
+flap of the Cæsar's main-top-sail was heard, as, close-reefed, it
+struggled for freedom, while her crew drew its sheets down to the blocks
+on the lower yard-arms. A minute later, the Gnat, under the head of her
+fore-and-aft-main-sail, was seen standing slowly off from the land,
+looking in the darkness like some half-equipped shadow of herself. The
+sloop of war, too, was seen bending low to the force of the wind, with
+her mere apology of a top-sail thrown aback, in waiting for the flag-ship
+to cast.
+
+The surface of the waters was a sheet of glancing foam, while the air
+was filled with the blended sounds of the wash of the element, and the
+roar of the winds. Still there was nothing chilling or repulsive in the
+temperature of the air, which was charged with the freshness of the sea,
+and was bracing and animating, bringing with it the flavour that a
+seaman loves. After fully fifteen minutes' severe tugging at the oars,
+the barge drew near enough to permit the black mass of the Cæsar to be
+seen. For some time, Lord Geoffrey, who had seated himself at the
+tiller,--yoke-lines were not used a century since,--steered by the
+top-light of the rear-admiral; but now the maze of hamper was seen
+waving slowly to and fro in the lurid heavens, and the huge hull became
+visible, heaving and setting, as if the ocean groaned with the labour of
+lifting such a pile of wood and iron. A light gleamed from the
+cabin-windows, and ever and anon, one glanced athwart an open gun-room
+port. In all other respects, the ship presented but one hue of
+blackness. Nor was it an easy undertaking, even after the barge was
+under the lee of the ship, for those in it, to quit its uneasy support
+and get a firm footing on the cleets that lined the vessel's side like a
+ladder. This was done, however, and all ascended to the deck but two of
+the crew, who remained to hook-on the yard and stay-tackles. This
+effected, the shrill whistle gave the word, and that large boat, built
+to carry at need some twenty souls, was raised from the raging water, as
+it were by some gigantic effort of the ship herself, and safely
+deposited in her bosom.
+
+"We are none too soon, sir," said Stowel, the moment he had received the
+rear-admiral with the customary etiquette of the hour. "It's a cap-full
+of wind already, and it promises to blow harder before morning. We are
+catted and fished, sir, and the forecastle-men are passing the
+shank-painter at this moment."
+
+"Fill, sir, and stretch off, on an easy bowline," was the answer; "when
+a league in the offing, let me know it. Mr. Cornet, I have need of you,
+in my cabin."
+
+As this was said, Bluewater went below, followed by his signal-officer.
+At the same instant the first lieutenant called out to man the
+main-braces, and to fill the top-sail. As soon as this command was
+obeyed, the Cæsar started ahead. Her movement was slow, but it had a
+majesty in it, that set at naught the turbulence of the elements.
+
+Bluewater had paced to and fro in his cabin no less than six times, with
+his head drooping, in a thoughtful attitude, ere his attention was
+called to any external object.
+
+"Do you wish my presence, Admiral Bluewater?" the signal-officer at
+length inquired.
+
+"I ask your pardon, Mr. Cornet; I was really unconscious that you were
+in the cabin. Let me see--ay--our last signal was, 'division come within
+hail of rear-admiral.' They must get close to us, to be able to do
+_that_ to-night, Cornet! The winds and waves have begun their song in
+earnest."
+
+"And yet, sir, I'll venture a month's pay that Captain Drinkwater brings
+the Dover so near us, as to put the officer of the watch and the
+quarter-master at the wheel in a fever. We once made that signal, in a
+gale of wind, and he passed his jib-boom-end over our taffrail."
+
+"He is certainly a most literal gentleman, that Captain Drinkwater, but
+he knows how to take care of his ship. Look for the number of 'follow
+the rear-admiral's motions.' 'Tis 211, I think."
+
+"No, sir; but 212. Blue, red, and white, with the flags. With the
+lanterns, 'tis one of the simplest signals we have."
+
+"We will make it, at once. When that is done, show 'the rear-admiral;
+keep in his wake, in the general order of sailing.' That I am sure is
+204."
+
+"Yes, sir; you are quite right. Shall I show the second signal as soon
+as all the vessels have answered the first, sir?"
+
+"That is my intention, Cornet. When all have answered, let me know it."
+
+Mr. Cornet now left the cabin, and Bluewater took a seat in an
+arm-chair, in deep meditation. For quite half an hour the former was
+busy on the poop, with his two quarter-masters, going through the slow
+and far from easy duty of making night-signals, as they were then
+practised at sea. It was some time before the most distant vessel, the
+Dover, gave any evidence of comprehending the first order, and then the
+same tardy operation had to be gone through with for the second. At
+length the sentinel threw open the cabin-door, and Cornet re-appeared.
+During the whole of his absence on deck, Bluewater had not stirred;
+scarce seemed to breathe. His thoughts were away from his ships, and for
+the first time, in the ten years he had worn a flag, he had forgotten
+the order he had given.
+
+"The signals are made and answered, sir," said Cornet, as soon as he had
+advanced to the edge of the table, on which the rear-admiral's elbow was
+leaning. "The Dublin is already in our wake, and the Elizabeth is
+bearing down fast on our weather-quarter; she will bring herself into
+her station in ten minutes."
+
+"What news of the York and Dover, Cornet?" asked Bluewater, rousing
+himself from a fit of deep abstraction.
+
+"The York's light nears us, quite evidently; though that of the Dover is
+still a fixed star, sir," answered the lieutenant, chuckling a little at
+his own humour; "it seems no larger than it did when we first made it."
+
+"It is something to have made it at all. I was not aware it could be
+seen from deck?"
+
+"Nor can it, sir; but, by going up half-a-dozen ratlins we get a look at
+it. Captain Drinkwater bowses up his lights to the gaff-end, and I can
+see him always ten minutes sooner than any other ship in the fleet,
+under the same circumstances."
+
+"Drinkwater is a careful officer; do the bearings of his light alter
+enough to tell the course he is steering?"
+
+"I think they do, sir, though our standing out athwart his line of
+sailing would make the change slow, of course. Every foot we get to the
+southward, you know, sir, would throw his bearings farther west; while
+every foot he comes east, would counteract that change and throw his
+bearings further south."
+
+"That's very clear; but, as he must go three fathoms to our one, running
+off with square yards before such a breeze, I think we should be
+constantly altering his bearings to the southward."
+
+"No doubt of it, in the world, sir; and that is just what we _are_
+doing. I think I can see a difference of half a point, already; but,
+when we get his light fairly in view from the poop, we shall be able to
+tell with perfect accuracy."
+
+"All very well, Cornet. Do me the favour to desire Captain Stowel to
+step into the cabin and keep a bright look-out for the ships of the
+division. Stay, for a single instant; what particularly sharp-eyed
+youngster happens to belong to the watch on deck?"
+
+"I know none keener in that way than Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, sir; he
+can see all the roguery that is going on in the whole fleet, at any
+rate, and ought to see other things."
+
+"He will do perfectly well; send the young gentleman to me, sir; but,
+first inform the officer of the watch that I have need of him."
+
+Bluewater was unusually fastidious in exercising his authority over
+those who had temporary superiors on the assigned duty of the ship; and
+he never sent an order to any of the watch, without causing it to pass
+through the officer of that watch. He waited but a minute before the boy
+appeared.
+
+"Have you a good gripe to-night, boy?" asked the rear-admiral, smiling;
+"or will it be both hands for yourself and none for the king? I want you
+on the fore-top-gallant-yard, for eight or ten minutes."
+
+"Well, sir, it's a plain road there, and one I've often travelled,"
+returned the lad, cheerfully.
+
+"That I well know; you are certainly no skulk when duty is to be done.
+Go aloft then, and ascertain if the lights of any of Sir Gervaise's
+squadron are to be seen. You will remember that the Dover bears
+somewhere about south-west from us, and that she is still a long way to
+seaward. I should think all of Sir Gervaise's ships must be quite as far
+to windward as that point would bring them, but much further off. By
+looking sharp a point or half a point to windward of the Dover, you may
+possibly see the light of the Warspite, and then we shall get a correct
+idea of the bearings of all the rest of the division--"
+
+"Ay-ay-sir," interrupted the boy; "I think I understand exactly what you
+wish to know, Admiral Bluewater."
+
+"That is a natural gift at sixteen, my lord," returned the admiral,
+smiling; "but it may be improved a little, perhaps, by the experience of
+fifty. Now, it is possible Sir Gervaise may have gone about, as soon as
+the flood made; in which case he ought to bear nearly west of us, and
+you will also look in that direction. On the other hand, Sir Gervaise
+may have stretched so far over towards the French coast before night
+shut in, as to feel satisfied Monsieur de Vervillin is still to the
+eastward of him; in which case he would keep off a little, and may, at
+this moment, be nearly ahead of us. So that, under all the
+circumstances, you will sweep the horizon, from the weather-beam to the
+lee-bow, ranging forward. Am I understood, now, my lord?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I think you are," answered the boy, blushing at his own
+impetuosity. "You will excuse my indiscretion, Admiral Bluewater; but I
+_thought_ I understood all you desired, when I spoke so hastily."
+
+"No doubt you did, Geoffrey, but you perceive you did not. Nature has
+made you quick of apprehension, but not quick enough to _foresee_ all an
+old man's gossip. Come nearer, now, and let us shake hands. So go aloft,
+and hold on well, for it is a windy night, and I do not desire to lose
+you overboard."
+
+The boy did as told, squeezed Bluewater's hand, and dashed out of the
+cabin to conceal his tears. As for the rear-admiral, he immediately
+relapsed into his fit of forgetfulness, waiting for the arrival of
+Stowel.
+
+A summons to a captain does not as immediately produce a visit, on board
+a vessel of war, as a summons to a midshipman. Captain Stowel was busy
+in looking at the manner in which his boats were stowed, when Cornet
+told him of the rear-admiral's request; and then he had to give some
+orders to the first lieutenant concerning the fresh meat that had been
+got off, and one or two other similar little things, before he was at
+leisure to comply.
+
+"See me, do you say, Mr. Cornet; in his own cabin, as soon as it is
+convenient?" he at length remarked, when all these several offices had
+been duly performed.
+
+The signal-officer repeated the request, word for word as he had heard
+it, when he turned to take another look at the light of the Dover. As
+for Stowel, he cared no more for the Dover, windy and dark as the night
+promised to be, than the burgher is apt to care for his neighbour's
+house when the whole street is threatened with destruction. To him the
+Cæsar was the great centre of attraction, and Cornet paid him off in
+kind; for, of all the vessels in the fleet, the Cæsar was precisely the
+one to which he gave the least attention; and this for the simple reason
+that she was the only ship to which he never gave, or from which he
+never received, a signal.
+
+"Well, Mr. Bluff," said Stowel to the first lieutenant; "one of us will
+have to be on deck most of the night, and I'll take a slant below, for
+half an hour first, and see what the admiral wishes."
+
+Thus saying, the captain left the deck, in order to ascertain his
+superior's pleasure. Captain Stowel was several years the senior of
+Bluewater, having actually been a lieutenant in one of the frigates in
+which the rear-admiral had served as a midshipman; a circumstance to
+which he occasionally alluded in their present intercourse. The change
+in the relative positions was the result of the family influence of the
+junior, who had passed his senior in the grade of master and commander;
+a rank that then brought many an honest man up for life, in the English
+marine. At the age of five-and-forty, that at which Bluewater first
+hoisted his flag, Stowell was posted; and soon after he was invited by
+his old shipmate, who had once had him under him as his first lieutenant
+in a sloop of war, to take the command of his flag-ship. From that day
+down to the present moment, the two officers had sailed together,
+whenever they sailed at all, perfectly good friends; though the captain
+never appeared entirely to forget the time when they were in the
+aforesaid frigate; one a gun-room officer, and the other only a
+"youngster."
+
+Stowel must now have been about sixty-five; a square, hard-featured,
+red-faced seaman, who knew all about his ship, from her truck to her
+limber-rope, but who troubled himself very little about any thing else.
+He had married a widow when he was posted, but was childless, and had
+long since permitted his affections to wander back into their former
+channels; from the domestic hearth to his ship. He seldom spoke of
+matrimony, but the little he saw fit to say on the subject was
+comprehensive and to the point. A perfectly sober man, he consumed large
+quantities of both wine and brandy, as well as of tobacco, and never
+seemed to be the worse for either. Loyal he was by political faith, and
+he looked upon a revolution, let its object be what it might, as he
+would have regarded a mutiny in the Cæsar. He was exceedingly
+pertinacious of his rights as "captain of his own ship," both ashore and
+afloat; a disposition that produced less trouble with the mild and
+gentlemanly rear-admiral, than with Mrs. Stowel. If we add that this
+plain sailor never looked into a book, his proper scientific works
+excepted, we shall have said all of him that his connection with our
+tale demands.
+
+"Good-evening, Admiral Bluewater," said this true tar, saluting the
+rear-admiral, as one neighbour would greet another, on dropping in of an
+evening, for they occupied different cabins. "Mr. Cornet told me you
+would like to say a word to me, before I turned in; if, indeed, turn in
+at all, I do this blessed night."
+
+"Take a seat, Stowel, and a glass of this sherry, in the bargain,"
+Bluewater answered, kindly, showing how well he understood his man, by
+the manner in which he shoved both bottle and glass within reach of his
+hand. "How goes the night?--and is this wind likely to stand?"
+
+"I'm of opinion, sir--we'll drink His Majesty, if you've no objection,
+Admiral Bluewater,--I'm of opinion, we shall stretch the threads of that
+new main-top-sail, before we've done with the breeze, sir. I believe
+I've not told you, yet, that I've had the new sail bent, since we last
+spoke together on the subject. It's a good fit, sir; and, close-reefed,
+the sails stands like the side of a house."
+
+"I'm glad to hear it, Stowel; though I think all your canvass usually
+appears to be in its place."
+
+"Why you know, Admiral Bluewater, that I've been long enough at it, to
+understand something about the matter. It is now more than forty years
+since we were in the Calypso together, and ever since that time I've
+borne the commission of an officer. You were then a youngster, and
+thought more of your joke, than of bending sails, or of seeing how they
+would stand."
+
+"There wasn't much of me, certainly, forty years ago, Stowel; but I well
+remember the knack you had of making every robin, sheet, bowline, and
+thread do its duty, then, as you do to-day. By the way, can you tell me
+any thing of the Dover, this evening?"
+
+"Not I, sir; she came out with the rest of us I suppose, and must be
+somewhere in the fleet; though I dare say the log will have it all, if
+she has been anywhere near us, lately. I am sorry we did not go into one
+of the watering-ports, instead of this open roadstead, for we must be at
+least twenty-seven hundred gallons short of what we ought to have, by my
+calculation; and then we want a new set of light spars, pretty much all
+round; and the lower hold hasn't as many barrels of provisions in it, by
+thirty-odd, as I could wish to see there."
+
+"I leave these things to you, entirely, Stowel; you will report in time
+to keep the ship efficient."
+
+"No fear of the Cæsar, sir; for, between Mr. Bluff, the master, and
+myself, we know pretty much all about _her_, though I dare say there are
+men in the fleet who can tell you more about the Dublin, or the Dover,
+or the York. We will drink the queen, and all the royal family, if you
+please, sir."
+
+As usual, Bluewater merely bowed, for his companion required no further
+acquiescence in his toasts. Just at that moment, too, it would have
+needed a general order, at least, to induce him to drink any of the
+family of the reigning house.
+
+"Oakes must be well off, mid-channel, by this time, Captain Stowel?"
+
+"I should think he might be, sir; though I can't say I took particular
+notice of the time he sailed. I dare say it's all in the log. The
+Plantagenet is a fast ship, sir, and Captain Greenly understands her
+trim, and what she can do on all tacks; and, yet, I do think His Majesty
+has one ship in this fleet that can find a Frenchman quite as soon, and
+deal with him, when found, quite as much to the purpose."
+
+"Of course you mean the Cæsar;--well, I'm quite of your way of thinking,
+though Sir Gervaise manages never to be in a slow ship. I suppose you
+know, Stowel, that Monsieur de Vervillin is out, and that we may expect
+to see or hear something of him, to-morrow."
+
+"Yes, sir, there is some such conversation in the ship, I know; but the
+quantity of galley-news is so great in this squadron, that I never
+attend much to what is said. One of the officers brought off a rumour, I
+believe, that there was a sort of a row in Scotland. By the way, sir,
+there is a supernumerary lieutenant on board, and as he has joined
+entirely without orders, I'm at a loss how to berth or to provision him.
+We can treat the gentleman hospitably to-night; but in the morning I
+shall be obliged to get him regularly on paper."
+
+"You mean Sir Wycherly Wychecombe; he shall come into my mess, rather
+than give you any trouble."
+
+"I shall not presume to meddle with any gentleman you may please to
+invite into your cabin, sir," answered Stowel, with a stiff bow, in the
+way of apology. "That's what I always tell Mrs. Stowel, sir;--that my
+_cabin_ is my _own_, and even a wife has no right to shake a broom in
+it."
+
+"Which is a great advantage to us seamen; for it gives us a citadel to
+retreat to, when the outworks are pressed. You appear to take but little
+interest in this civil war, Stowel!"
+
+"Then it's true, is it, sir? I didn't know but it might turn out to be
+galley-news. Pray what is the rumpus all about, Admiral Bluewater? for,
+I never could get that story fidded properly, so as to set up the
+rigging, and have the spar well stayed in its place."
+
+"It is merely a war to decide who shall be king of England; nothing
+else, I do assure you, sir."
+
+"They're an uneasy set ashore, sir, if the truth must be said of them!
+We've got one king, already; and on what principle does any man wish for
+more? Now, there was Captain Blakely, from the Elizabeth, on board of me
+this afternoon; and we talked the matter over a little, and both of us
+concluded that they got these things up much as a matter of profit among
+the army contractors, and the dealers in warlike stores."
+
+Bluewater listened with intense interest, for here was proof how
+completely two of his captains, at least, would be at his own command,
+and how little they would be likely, for a time, at least, to dispute
+any of his orders. He thought of Sir Reginald, and of the rapture with
+which _he_ would have received this trait of nautical character.
+
+"There are people who set their hearts on the result, notwithstanding,"
+carelessly observed the rear-admiral; "and some who see their fortunes
+marred or promoted, by the success or downfall of the parties. They
+think de Vervillin is out on some errand connected with this rising in
+the north."
+
+"Well, I don't see what _he_ has got to do with the matter at all; for,
+I don't suppose that King Louis is such a fool as to expect to be king
+of England as well as king of France!"
+
+"The dignity would be too much for one pair of shoulders to bear. As
+well might one admiral wish to command all the divisions of his own
+fleet, though they were fifty leagues asunder."
+
+"Or one captain two ships; or what is more to the purpose, sir, one ship
+to keep two captains. We'll drink to discipline, if you've no objection,
+sir. 'Tis the soul of order and quiet, ashore or afloat. For my part, I
+want no _co-equal_--I believe that's the cant word they use on such
+occasions--but I want no co-equal, in the Cæsar, and I am unwilling to
+have one in the house at Greenwich; though Mrs. Stowel thinks
+differently. Here's my ship; she's in her place in the line; it's my
+business to see she is fit for any service that a first-class two-decker
+can undertake, and that duty I endeavour to perform; and I make no doubt
+it is all the better performed because there's no wife or co-equal
+aboard here. _Where_ the ship is to _go_, and _what_ she is to _do_, are
+other matters, which I take from general orders, special orders, or
+signals. Let them act up to this principle in London, and we should hear
+no more of disturbances, north or south."
+
+"Certainly, Stowel, your doctrine would make a quiet nation, as well as
+a quiet ship. I hope you do me the justice to think there is no co-equal
+in my commands!"
+
+"That there is not, sir--and I have the honour to drink your
+health--that there is not. When we were in the Calypso together, I had
+the advantage; and I must say that I never had a youngster under me who
+ever did his duty more cheerfully. Since that day we've shifted places;
+end for end, as one might say; and I endeavour to pay you, in your own
+coin. There is no man whose orders I obey more willingly or more to my
+own advantage; always excepting those of Admiral Oakes, who, being
+commander-in-chief, overlays us all with his anchor. We must dowse our
+peaks to his signals, though we _can_ maintain, without mutinying, that
+the Cæsar is as good a boat on or off a wind, as the Plantagenet, the
+best day Sir Jarvy ever saw."
+
+"There is no manner of doubt of that. You have all the notions of a true
+sailor, I find, Stowel; obey orders before all other things. I am
+curious to know how our captains, generally, stand affected to this
+claim which the Pretender has set up to the throne."
+
+"Can't tell you, on my soul, sir; though I fancy few of them give
+themselves any great anxiety in the matter. When the wind is fair we can
+run off large, and when it is foul we must haul upon a bowline, let who
+will reign. I was a youngster under Queen Anne, and she was a Stuart, I
+believe; and I have served under the German family ever since; and to be
+frank with you, Admiral Bluewater, I see but little difference in the
+duty, the pay, or the rations. My maxim is to obey orders, and then I
+know the blame will fall on them that give them, if any thing goes
+wrong."
+
+"We have many Scotchmen in the fleet, Stowel," observed the
+rear-admiral, in a musing manner, like one who rather thought aloud than
+spoke. "Several of the captains are from the north of Tweed."
+
+"Ay, sir, one is pretty certain of meeting gentlemen from that part of
+the island, in almost all situations in life. I never have understood
+that Scotland had much of a navy in ancient times, and yet the moment
+old England has to pay for it, the lairds are willing enough to send
+their children to sea."
+
+"Nevertheless it must be owned that they make gallant and useful
+officers, Stowel."
+
+"No doubt they do, sir; but gallant and useful men are not scarce
+anywhere. You and I are too old and too experienced, Admiral Bluewater,
+to put any faith in the notion that courage belongs to any particular
+part of the world, or usefulness either. I never fought a Frenchman yet
+that I thought a coward; and, in my judgment, there are brave men enough
+in England, to command all her ships, and to fight them too."
+
+"Let this be so, Stowel, still we must take things as they come. What do
+you think of the night?"
+
+"Dirty enough before morning, I should think, sir, though it is a little
+out of rule, that it does not rain with this wind, already. The next
+time we come-to, Admiral Bluewater, I intend to anchor with a shorter
+scope of cable than we have been doing lately; for, I begin to think
+there is no use in wetting so many yarns in the summer months. They tell
+me the York brings up always on forty fathoms."
+
+"That's a short range, I should think, for a heavy ship. But here is a
+visiter."
+
+The sentinel opened the cabin-door, and Lord Geoffrey, with his cap
+fastened to his head by a pocket-handkerchief, and his face red with
+exposure to the wind, entered the cabin.
+
+"Well," said Bluewater, quietly; "what is the report from aloft?"
+
+"The Dover is running down athwart our forefoot, and nearing us fast,
+sir," returned the midshipman. "The York is close on our weather-beam,
+edging in to her station; but I can make out nothing ahead of us, though
+I was on the yard twenty minutes."
+
+"Did you look well on the weather-beam, and thence forward to the
+lee-bow?"
+
+"I did, sir; if any light is in view, better eyes than mine must find
+it."
+
+Stowel looked from one to the other, as this short conversation was
+held; but, as soon as there was a pause, he put in a word in behalf of
+the ship.
+
+"You've been up forward, my lord?" he said.
+
+"Yes, I have, Captain Stowel."
+
+"And did you think of seeing how the heel of the top-gallant-mast stood
+it, in this sea? Bluff tells me 'tis too loose to be fit for very heavy
+weather."
+
+"I did not, sir. I was sent aloft to look out for the ships of the
+commander-in-chief's division, and didn't think of the heel of the
+top-gallant-mast's being too loose, at all."
+
+"Ay, that's the way with all the youngsters, now-a-days. In my time, or
+even in _yours_, Admiral Bluewater, we never put our feet on a ratlin,
+but hands and eyes were at work, until we reached the halting place,
+even though it should be the truck. That is the manner to know what a
+ship is made of!"
+
+"I kept my hands and eyes at work, too, Captain Stowel; but it was to
+hold on well, and to look out well."
+
+"That will never do--that will never do, if you wish to make yourself a
+sailor. Begin with your own ship first; learn all about _her_, then,
+when you get to be an admiral, as your father's son, my lord, will be
+certain to become, it will be time enough to be inquiring about the rest
+of the fleet."
+
+"You forget, Captain Stowel--"
+
+"That will do, Lord Geoffrey," Bluewater soothingly interposed, for he
+knew that the Captain preached no more than he literally practised; "if
+_I_ am satisfied with your report, no one else has a right to complain.
+Desire Sir Wycherly Wychecombe to meet me on deck, where we will now go,
+Stowel, and take a look at the weather for ourselves."
+
+"With all my heart, Admiral Bluewater, though I'll just drink the First
+Lord's health before we quit this excellent liquor. That youngster has
+stuff in him, in spite of his nobility, and by fetching him up, with
+round turns, occasionally, I hope to make a man of him, yet."
+
+"If he do not grow into that character, physically and morally, within
+the next few years, sir, he will be the first person of his family who
+has ever failed of it."
+
+As Bluewater said this, he and the captain left his cabin, and ascended
+to the quarter-deck. Here Stowel stopped to hold a consultation with his
+first lieutenant, while the admiral went up the poop-ladder, and joined
+Cornet. The last had nothing new to communicate, and as he was permitted
+to go below, he was desired to send Wycherly up to the poop, where the
+young man would be expected by the rear-admiral.
+
+Some little time elapsed before the Virginian could be found; no sooner
+was this effected, however, than he joined Bluewater. They had a private
+conversation of fully half an hour, pacing the poop the whole time, and
+then Cornet was summoned back, again, to his usual station. The latter
+immediately received an order to acquaint Captain Stowel the
+rear-admiral desired that the Cæsar might be hove-to, and to make a
+signal for the Druid 36, to come under the flag-ship's lee, and back her
+main-top-sail. No sooner did this order reach the quarter-deck than the
+watch was sent to the braces, and the main-yard was rounded in, until
+the portion of sail that was still set lay against the mast. This
+deadened the way of the huge body, which rose and fell heavily in the
+seas, as they washed under her, scarcely large enough to lift the
+burthen it imposed upon them. Just at this instant, the signal was made.
+
+The sudden check to the movement of the Cæsar brought the Dublin booming
+up in the darkness, when putting her helm up, that ship surged slowly
+past to leeward, resembling a black mountain moving by in the gloom. She
+was hailed and directed to heave-to, also, as soon as far enough ahead.
+The Elizabeth followed, clearing the flag-ship by merely twenty fathoms,
+and receiving a similar order. The Druid had been on the admiral's
+weather-quarter, but she now came gliding down, with the wind abeam,
+taking room to back her top-sail under the Cæsar's lee-bow. By this time
+a cutter was in the water, rising six or eight feet up the black side of
+the ship, and sinking as low apparently beneath her bottom. Next,
+Wycherly reported himself ready to proceed.
+
+"You will not forget, sir," said Bluewater, "any part of my commission;
+but inform the commander-in-chief of the _whole_. It may be important
+that we understand each other fully. You will also hand him this letter
+which I have hastily written while the boat was getting ready."
+
+"I think I understand your wishes, sir;--at least, I _hope_ so;--and I
+will endeavour to execute them."
+
+"God bless you, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe," added Bluewater, with emotion.
+"We may never meet again; we sailors carry uncertain lives; and we may
+be said to carry them in our hands."
+
+Wycherly took his leave of the admiral, and he ran down the poop-ladder
+to descend into the boat. Twice he paused on the quarter-deck, however,
+in the manner of one who felt disposed to return and ask some
+explanation; but each time he moved on, decided to proceed.
+
+It needed all the agility of our young sailor to get safely into the
+boat. This done, the oars fell and the cutter was driven swiftly away to
+leeward. In a few minutes, it shot beneath the lee of the frigate, and
+discharged its freight. Wycherly could not have been three minutes on
+the deck of the Druid, ere her yards were braced up, and her top-sail
+filled with a heavy flap. This caused her to draw slowly ahead. Five
+minutes later, however, a white cloud was seen dimly fluttering over her
+hull, and the reefed main-sail was distended to the wind. The effect was
+so instantaneous that the frigate seemed to glide away from the
+flag-ship, and in a quarter of an hour, under her three top-sails
+double-reefed, and her courses, she was a mile distant on her
+weather-bow. Those who watched her movements without understanding them,
+observed that she lowered her light, and appeared to detach herself from
+the rest of the division.
+
+It was some time before the Cæsar's boat was enabled to pull up against
+the tide, wind, and sea. When this hard task was successfully
+accomplished, the ship filled, passed the Dublin and Elizabeth, and
+resumed her place in the line.
+
+Bluewater paced the poop an hour longer, having dismissed his
+signal-officer and the quarter-masters to their hammocks. Even Stowel
+had turned in, nor did Mr. Bluff deem it necessary to remain on deck any
+longer. At the end of the hour, the rear-admiral bethought him of
+retiring too. Before he quitted the poop, however, he stood at the
+weather-ladder, holding on to the mizzen-rigging, and gazing at the
+scene.
+
+The wind had increased, as had the sea, but it was not yet a gale. The
+York had long before hauled up in her station, a cable's length ahead of
+the Cæsar, and was standing on, under the same canvass as the flag-ship,
+looking stately and black. The Dover was just shooting into her berth,
+under the standing sailing-orders, at the same distance ahead of the
+York; visible, but much less distinct and imposing. The sloop and the
+cutter were running along, under the lee of the heavy snips, a quarter
+of a mile distant, each vessel keeping her relative position, by close
+attention to her canvass. Further than this, nothing was in sight. The
+sea had that wild mixture of brightness and gloom, which belongs to the
+element when much agitated in a dark night, while the heavens were murky
+and threatening.
+
+Within the ship, all was still. Here and there a lantern threw its
+wavering light around, but the shadows of the masts and guns, and other
+objects, rendered this relief to the night trifling. The lieutenant of
+the watch paced the weather side of the quarter-deck, silent but
+attentive. Occasionally he hailed the look-outs, and admonished them to
+be vigilant, also, and at each turn he glanced upward to see how the
+top-sail stood. Four or five old and thoughtful seamen walked the waist
+and forecastle, but most of the watch were stowed between the guns, or
+in the best places they could find, under the lee of the bulwarks,
+catching cat's naps. This was an indulgence denied the young gentlemen,
+of whom one was on the forecastle, leaning against the mast, dreaming of
+home, one in the waist, supporting the nettings, and one walking the
+lee-side of the quarter-deck, his eyes shut, his thoughts confused, and
+his footing uncertain. As Bluewater stepped on the quarter-deck-ladder,
+to descend to his own cabin, the youngster hit his foot against an
+eye-bolt, and fetched way plump up against his superior. Bluewater
+caught the lad in his arms, and saved him from a fall, setting him
+fairly on his feet before he let him go.
+
+"'Tis seven bells, Geoffrey," said the admiral, in an under tone. "Hold
+on for half an hour longer, and then go dream of your dear mother."
+
+Before the boy could recover himself to thank his superior, the latter
+had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+    "Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he's flint;
+    As humorous as winter, and as sudden
+    As flaws congealed in the spring of day.
+    His temper, therefore, must be well observed."
+
+         SHAKESPEARE.
+
+
+The reader will remember that the wind had not become fresh when Sir
+Gervaise Oakes got into his barge, with the intention of carrying his
+fleet to sea. A retrospective glance at the state of the weather, will
+become necessary to the reader, therefore, in carrying his mind back to
+that precise period whither it has now become our duty to transport him
+in imagination.
+
+The vice-admiral governed a fleet on principles very different from
+those of Bluewater. While the last left so much to the commanders of the
+different vessels, his friend looked into every thing himself. The
+details of the service he knew were indispensable to success on a larger
+scale, and his active mind descended into all these minutiæ, to a degree
+sometimes, that annoyed his captains. On the whole, however, he was
+sufficiently observant of that formidable barrier to excessive
+familiarity, and that great promoter of heart-burnings in a squadron,
+naval etiquette, to prevent any thing like serious misunderstandings,
+and the best feelings prevailed between him and the several magnates
+under his orders. Perhaps the circumstance that he was a _fighting_
+admiral contributed to this internal tranquillity; for, it has been
+often remarked, that armies and fleets will both tolerate more in
+leaders that give them plenty to do with the enemy, than in commanders
+who leave them inactive and less exposed. The constant encounters with
+the foe would seem to let out all the superfluous quarrelsome
+tendencies. Nelson, to a certain extent, was an example of this
+influence in the English marine, Suffren[1] in that of France, and
+Preble, to a much greater degree than in either of the other cases, in
+our own. At all events, while most of his captains sensibly felt
+themselves less of commanders, while Sir Gervaise was on board or around
+their ships, than when he was in the cabin of the Plantagenet, the peace
+was rarely broken between them, and he was generally beloved as well as
+obeyed. Bluewater was a more invariable favourite, perhaps, though
+scarcely as much respected; and certainly not half as much feared.
+
+[Footnote 1: Suffren, though one of the best sea-captains France ever
+possessed, was a man of extreme severity and great roughness of manner.
+Still he must have been a man of family, as his title of _Bailli_ de
+Suffren, was derived from his being a Knight of Malta. It is a singular
+circumstance connected with the death of this distinguished officer,
+which occurred not long before the French revolution, that he
+disappeared in an extraordinary manner, and is buried no one knows
+where. It is supposed that he was killed by one of his own officers, in
+a rencontre in the streets of Paris, at night, and that the influence of
+the friends of the victor was sufficiently great to suppress inquiry.
+The cause of the quarrel is attributed to harsh treatment on service.]
+
+On the present occasion, the vice-admiral did not pull through the
+fleet, without discovering the peculiar propensity to which we have
+alluded. In passing one of the ships, he made a sign to his coxswain to
+cause the boat's crew to lay on their oars, when he hailed the vessel,
+and the following dialogue occurred.
+
+"Carnatic, ahoy!" cried the admiral.
+
+"Sir," exclaimed the officer of the deck, jumping on a quarter-deck gun,
+and raising his hat.
+
+"Is Captain Parker on board, sir?"
+
+"He is, Sir Gervaise; will you see him, sir?"
+
+A nod of the head sufficed to bring the said Captain Parker on deck, and
+to the gangway, where he could converse with his superior, without
+inconvenience to either.
+
+"How do you do, _Captain_ Parker?"--a certain sign Sir Gervaise meant to
+rap the other over the knuckles, else would it have been _Parker_."--How
+do you do, _Captain_ Parker? I am sorry to see you have got your ship
+too much down by the head, sir. She'll steer off the wind, like a colt
+when he first feels the bridle; now with his head on one side, and now
+on the other. You know I like a compact line, and straight wakes, sir."
+
+"I am well aware of that, Sir Gervaise," returned Parker, a gray-headed,
+meek old man, who had fought his way up from the forecastle to his
+present honourable station, and, who, though brave as a lion before the
+enemy, had a particular dread of all his commanders; "but we have been
+obliged to use more water aft than we could wish, on account of the
+tiers. We shall coil away the cables anew, and come at some of the
+leaguers forward, and bring all right again, in a week, I hope, sir."
+
+"A week?--the d----l, sir; that will never do, when I expect to see de
+Vervillin _to-morrow_. Fill all your empty casks aft with salt-water,
+immediately; and if that wont do, shift some of your shot forward. I
+know that craft of yours, well; she is as tender as a fellow with corns,
+and the shoe musn't pinch anywhere."
+
+"Very well, Sir Gervaise; the ship shall be brought in trim, as soon as
+possible."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir, that is what I expect from every vessel, at _all_ times;
+and more especially when we are ready to meet an enemy. And, I say,
+_Parker_,"--making a sign to his boat's crew to stop rowing again--"I
+say, _Parker_, I know you love brawn;--I'll send you some that Galleygo
+tells me he has picked up, along-shore here, as soon as I get aboard.
+The fellow has been robbing all the hen-roosts in Devonshire, by his own
+account of the matter."
+
+Sir Gervaise waved his hand, _Parker_ smiled and bowed his thanks, and
+the two parted with feelings of perfect kindness, notwithstanding the
+little skirmish with which the interview had commenced.
+
+"Mr. Williamson," said Captain Parker to his first lieutenant, on
+quitting the gangway, "you hear what the commander-in-chief says; and he
+must be obeyed. I _don't_ think the Carnatic would have sheered out of
+the line, even if she is a little by the head; but have the empty casks
+filled, and bring her down six inches more by the stern."
+
+"That's a good fellow, that old Parker," said Sir Gervaise to his
+purser, whom he was carrying off good-naturedly to the ship, lest he
+might lose his passage; "and I wonder how he let his ship get her nose
+under water, in that fashion. I like to have him for a second astern;
+for I feel sure he'd follow if I stood into Cherbourg, bows on! Yes; a
+good fellow is Parker; and, Locker,"--to his own man, who was also in
+the boat;--"mind you send him _two_ of the best pieces of that
+brawn--hey!--hey!--hey!--what the d----l has Lord Morganic"--a descendant
+from royalty by the left hand,--"been doing now! That ship is kept like
+a tailor's jay figure, just to stuff jackets and gim-cracks on
+her--Achilles, there!"
+
+A quarter-master ran to the edge of the poop, and then turning, he spoke
+to his captain, who was walking the deck, and informed him that the
+commander-in-chief hailed the ship. The Earl of Morganic, a young man of
+four-and-twenty, who had succeeded to the title a few years before by
+the death of an elder brother,--the usual process by which an _old_ peer
+is brought into the British navy, the work being too discouraging for
+those who have fortune before their eyes from the start,--now advanced
+to the quarter of the ship, bowed with respectful ease, and spoke with a
+self-possession that not one of the old commanders of the fleet would
+have dared to use. In general, this nobleman's intercourse with his
+superiors in naval rank, betrayed the consciousness of his own
+superiority in civil rank; but Sir Gervaise being of an old family, and
+quite as rich as he was himself, the vice-admiral commanded more of his
+homage than was customary. His ship was full of "nobs," as they term it
+in the British navy, or the sons and relatives of nobles; and it was by
+no means an uncommon thing for her messes to have their jokes at the
+expense of even flag-officers, who were believed to be a little ignorant
+of the peculiar sensibilities that are rightly enough imagined to
+characterize social station.
+
+"Good-morning, Sir Gervaise," called out this noble captain; "I'm glad
+to see you looking so well, after our long cruise in the Bay; I intended
+to have the honour to inquire after your health in person, this morning,
+but they told me you slept out of your ship. We shall have to hold a
+court on you, sir, if you fall much into that habit!"
+
+All within hearing smiled, even to the rough old tars, who were
+astraddle of the yards; and even Sir Gervaise's lip curled a little,
+though he was not exactly in a joking humour.
+
+"Come, come, Morganic, do you let my habits alone, and look out for your
+own fore-top-mast. Why, in the name of seamanship, is that spar stayed
+forward in such a fashion, looking like a xebec's foremast?"
+
+"Do you dislike it, Sir Gervaise?--Now to our fancies aboard here, it
+gives the Achilles a knowing look, and we hope to set a fashion. By
+carrying the head-sails well forward, we help the ship round in a sea,
+you know, sir."
+
+"Indeed, I know no such thing, my lord. What you gain after being taken
+aback, you lose in coming to the wind. If I had a pair of scales
+suitable to such a purpose, I would have all that hamper you have stayed
+away yonder over your bows, on the end of such a long lever, weighed, in
+order that you might learn what a beautiful contrivance you've invented,
+among you, to make a ship pitch in a head sea. Why, d----e, if I think
+you'd lie-to, at all, with so much stuff aloft to knock you off to
+leeward. Come up, every thing, forward; come up every thing, my lord,
+and bring the mast as near perpendicular as possible. It's a hard
+matter, I find, to make one of your new-fashioned captains keep things
+in their places."
+
+"Well, now, Sir Gervaise, I think the Achilles makes as good an
+appearance as most of the other ships; and as to travelling or working,
+I do not know that she is either dull or clumsy!"
+
+"She's pretty well, Morganic, considering how many Bond-street ideas you
+have got among you; but she'll never do in a head sea, with that
+fore-top-mast threatening your knight-heads. So get the mast
+up-and-down, again, as soon as convenient, and come and dine with me,
+without further invitation, the first fine day we have at sea. I'm going
+to send Parker some brawn; but, I'll feed _you_ on some of Galleygo's
+turtle-soup, made out of pig's heads."
+
+"Thank'ee, Sir Gervaise; we'll endeavour to straighten the slick, since
+you _will_ have it so; though, I confess I get tired of seeing every
+thing to-day, just as we had it yesterday."
+
+"Yes--yes--that's the way with most of these St. James cruisers,"
+continued the vice-admiral, as he rowed away. "They want a fashionable
+tailor to rig a man-of-war, as they are rigged themselves. There's my
+old friend and neighbour, Lord Scupperton--he's taken a fancy to
+yachting, lately, and when his new brig was put into the water, Lady
+Scupperton made him send for an upholsterer from town to fit out the
+cabin; and when the blackguard had surveyed the unfortunate craft, as if
+it were a country box, what does he do but give an opinion, that 'this
+here edifice, my lord, in my judgment, should be furnished in cottage
+style,'--the vagabond!"
+
+This story, which was not particularly original, for Sir Gervaise
+himself had told it at least a dozen times before, put the admiral in a
+good humour, and he found no more fault with his captains, until he
+reached the Plantagenet.
+
+"Daly," said the Earl of Morganic to his first lieutenant, an
+experienced old Irishman of fifty, who still sung a good song and told a
+good story, and what was a little extraordinary for either of these
+accomplishments, knew how to take good care of a ship;--"Daly, I suppose
+we must humour the old gentleman, or he'll be quarantining me, and that
+I shouldn't particularly like on the eve of a general action; so we'll
+ease off forward, and set up the strings aft, again. Hang me if I think
+he could find it out if we didn't, so long as we kept dead in his wake!"
+
+"That wouldn't be a very safe desait for Sir Jarvy, my lord, for he's a
+wonderful eye for a rope! Were it Admiral Blue, now, I'd engage to
+cruise in his company for a week, with my mizzen-mast stowed in the
+hold, and there should be no bother about the novelty, at all; quite
+likely he'd be hailing us, and ask 'what brig's that?' But none of these
+tricks will answer with t'other, who misses the whipping off the end of
+a gasket, as soon as any first luff of us all. And so I'll just go about
+the business in earnest; get the carpenter up with his plumb-bob, and
+set every thing as straight up-and-down as the back of a grenadier."
+
+Lord Morganic laughed, as was usual with him when his lieutenant saw fit
+to be humorous; and then his caprice in changing the staying of his
+masts, as well as the order which countermanded it, was forgotten.
+
+The arrival of Sir Gervaise on board his own ship was always an event in
+the fleet, even though his absence had lasted no longer than twenty-four
+hours. The effect was like that which is produced on a team of
+high-mettled cattle, when they feel that the reins are in the hands of
+an experienced and spirited coachman.
+
+"Good-morning, Greenly, good-morning to you all, gentlemen," said the
+vice-admiral, bowing to the quarter-deck in gross, in return for the
+'present-arms,' and rattling of drums, and lowering of hats that greeted
+his arrival; "a fine day, and it is likely we shall have a fresh breeze.
+Captain Greenly, your sprit-sail-yard wants squaring by the lifts; and,
+Bunting, make the Thunderer's signal to get her fore-yard in its place,
+as soon as possible. She's had it down long enough to make a new one,
+instead of merely fishing it. Are your boats all aboard, Greenly?"
+
+"All but your own barge, Sir Gervaise, and that is hooked on."
+
+"In with it, sir; then trip, and we'll be off. Monsieur de Vervillin has
+got some mischief in his head, gentlemen, and we must go and take it out
+of him."
+
+These orders were promptly obeyed; but, as the manner in which the
+Plantagenet passed out of the fleet, and led the other ships to sea, has
+been already related, it is unnecessary to repeat it. There was the
+usual bustle, the customary orderly confusion, the winding of calls, the
+creaking of blocks, and the swinging of yards, ere the vessels were in
+motion. As the breeze freshened, sail was reduced, as already related,
+until, by the time the leading ship was ten leagues at sea, all were
+under short canvass, and the appearance of a windy, if not a dirty
+night, had set in. Of course, all means of communication between the
+Plantagenet and the vessels still at anchor, had ceased, except by
+sending signals down the line; but, to those Sir Gervaise had no
+recourse, since he was satisfied Bluewater understood his plans, and he
+then entertained no manner of doubt of his friend's willingness to aid
+them.
+
+Little heed was taken of any thing astern, by those on board the
+Plantagenet. Every one saw, it is true, that ship followed ship in due
+succession, as long as the movements of those inshore could be perceived
+at all; but the great interest centred on the horizon to the southward
+and eastward. In that quarter of the channel the French were expected to
+appear, for the cause of this sudden departure was a secret from no one
+in the fleet. A dozen of the best look-outs in the ship were kept aloft
+the whole afternoon, and Captain Greenly, himself, sat in the
+forward-cross-trees, with a glass, for more than an hour, just as the
+sun was setting, in order to sweep the horizon. Two or three sail were
+made, it is true, but they all proved to be English coasters; Guernsey
+or Jerseymen, standing for ports in the west of England, most probably
+laden with prohibited articles from the country of the enemy. Whatever
+may be the dislike of an Englishman for a Frenchman, he has no dislike
+to the labour of his hands; and there probably has not been a period
+since civilization has introduced the art of smuggling among its other
+arts, when French brandies, and laces, and silks, were not exchanged
+against English tobacco and guineas, and that in a contraband way, let
+it be in peace or let it be in war. One of the characteristics of Sir
+Gervaise Oakes was to despise all petty means of annoyance; usually he
+disdained even to turn aside to chase a smuggler. Fishermen he never
+molested at all; and, on the whole, he carried on a marine warfare, a
+century since, in a way that some of his successors might have imitated
+to advantage in our own times. Like that high-spirited Irishman,
+Caldwell,[2] who conducted a blockade in the Chesapeake, at the
+commencement of the revolution, with so much liberality, that his
+enemies actually sent him an invitation to a public dinner, Sir Gervaise
+knew how to distinguish between the combatant and the non-combatant, and
+heartily disdained all the money-making parts of his profession, though
+large sums had fallen into his hands, in this way, as pure God-sends. No
+notice was taken, therefore, of any thing that had not a warlike look;
+the noble old ship standing steadily on towards the French coast, as the
+mastiff passes the cur, on his way to encounter another animal, of a
+mould and courage more worthy of his powers.
+
+[Footnote 2: The writer believes this noble-minded sailor to have been
+the late Admiral Sir Benjamin Caldwell. It is scarcely necessary to say
+that the invitation could not be accepted, though quite seriously
+given.]
+
+"Make nothing of 'em, hey! Greenly," said Sir Gervaise, as the captain
+came down from his perch, in consequence of the gathering obscurity of
+evening, followed by half-a-dozen lieutenants and midshipmen, who had
+been aloft as volunteers. "Well, we know they cannot yet be to the
+westward of us, and by standing on shall be certain of heading them off,
+before this time six months. How beautifully all the ships behave,
+following each other as accurately as if Bluewater himself were aboard
+each vessel to conn her!"
+
+"Yes, sir, they do keep the line uncommonly well, considering that the
+tides run in streaks in the channel. I _do_ think if we were to drop a
+hammock overboard, that the Carnatic would pick it up, although she must
+be quite four leagues astern of us."
+
+"Let old Parker alone for that! I'll warrant you, _he_ is never out of
+the way. Were it Lord Morganic, now, in the Achilles, I should expect
+him to be away off here on our weather-quarter, just to show us how his
+ship can eat us out of the wind when he _tries_: or away down yonder,
+under our lee, that we might understand how she falls off, when he
+_don't_ try."
+
+"My lord is a gallant officer, and no bad seaman, for his years,
+notwithstanding, Sir Gervaise," observed Greenly, who generally took the
+part of the absent, whenever his superior felt disposed to berate them.
+
+"I deny neither, Greenly, most particularly the first. I know very well,
+were I to signal Morganic, to run into Brest, he'd do it; but whether he
+would go in, ring-tail-boom, or jib-boom first, I couldn't tell till I
+saw it. Now you are a youngish man yourself. Greenly--"
+
+"Every day of eight-and-thirty, Sir Gervaise, and a few months to spare;
+and I care not if the ladies know it."
+
+"Poh!--They like us old fellows, half the time, as well as they do the
+boys. But you are of an age not to feel time in your bones, and can see
+the folly of some of our old-fashioned notions, perhaps; though you are
+not quite as likely to understand the fooleries that have come in, in
+your own day. Nothing is more absurd than to be experimenting on the
+settled principles of ships. They are machines, Greenly, and have their
+laws, just the same as the planets in the heavens. The idea comes from a
+fish,--head, run, and helm; and all we have to do is to study the fishes
+in order to get the sort of craft we want. If there is occasion for
+bulk, take the whale, and you get a round bottom, full fore-body, and a
+clean run. When you want speed, models are plenty--take the dolphin, for
+instance,--and there you find an entrance like a wedge, a lean
+fore-body, and a run as clean as this ship's decks. But some of our
+young captains would spoil a dolphin's sailing, if they could breathe
+under water, so as to get at the poor devils. Look at their fancies! The
+First Lord shall give one of his cousins a frigate, now, that is moulded
+after nature itself, as one might say; with a bottom that would put a
+trout to shame. Well, one of the first things the lad does, when he gets
+on board her, is to lengthen his gaff, perhaps, put a cloth or two in
+his mizzen, and call it a spanker, settle away the peak till it sticks
+out over his taffrail like a sign-post, and then away he goes upon a
+wind, with his helm hard-up, bragging what a weatherly craft he has, and
+how hard it is to make her even _look_ to leeward."
+
+"I have known such sailors, I must confess, Sir Gervaise; but time cures
+them of that folly."
+
+"That is to be hoped; for what would a man think of a fish to which
+nature had fitted a tail athwart-ships, and which was obliged to carry a
+fin, like a lee-board, under its lee-jaw, to prevent falling off dead
+before the wind!"
+
+Here Sir Gervaise laughed heartily at the picture of the awkward
+creature to which his own imagination had given birth; Greenly joining
+in the merriment, partly from the oddity of the conceit, and partly from
+the docility with which commander-in-chief's jokes are usually received.
+The feeling of momentary indignation which had aroused Sir Gervaise to
+such an expression of his disgust at modern inventions, was appeased by
+this little success; and, inviting his captain to sup with him,--a
+substitute for a dinner,--he led the way below in high good-humour,
+Galleygo having just announced that the table was ready.
+
+The _convives_ on this occasion were merely the admiral himself,
+Greenly, and Atwood. The fare was substantial, rather than scientific;
+but the service was rich; Sir Gervaise uniformly eating off of plate. In
+addition to Galleygo, no less than five domestics attended to the wants
+of the party. As a ship of the Plantagenet's size was reasonably steady
+at all times, a gale of wind excepted, when the lamps and candles were
+lighted, and the group was arranged, aided by the admixture of rich
+furniture with frowning artillery and the other appliances of war, the
+great cabin of the Plantagenet was not without a certain air of rude
+magnificence. Sir Gervaise kept no less than three servants in livery,
+as a part of his personal establishment, tolerating Galleygo, and one or
+two more of the same stamp, as a homage due to Neptune.
+
+The situation not being novel to either of the party, and the day's work
+having been severe, the first twenty minutes were pretty studiously
+devoted to the duty of "restoration," as it is termed by the great
+masters of the science of the table. By the end of that time, however,
+the glass began to circulate, though moderately, and with it tongues to
+loosen.
+
+"Your health, Captain Greenly--Atwood, I remember you," said the
+vice-admiral, nodding his head familiarly to his two guests, on the eve
+of tossing off a glass of sherry. "These Spanish wines go directly to
+the heart, and I only wonder why a people who can make them, don't make
+better sailors."
+
+"In the days of Columbus, the Spaniards had something to boast of in
+that way, too, Sir Gervaise," Atwood remarked.
+
+"Ay, but that was a long time ago, and they have got bravely over it. I
+account for the deficiencies of both the French and Spanish marines
+something in this way, Greenly. Columbus, and the discovery of America,
+brought ships and sailors into fashion. But a ship without an officer
+fit to command her, is like a body without a soul. Fashion, however,
+brought your young nobles into their services, and men were given
+vessels because their fathers were dukes and counts, and not because
+they knew any thing about them."
+
+"Is our own service entirely free from this sort of favouritism?"
+quietly demanded the captain.
+
+"Far from it, Greenly; else would not Morganic have been made a captain
+at twenty, and old Parker, for instance, one only at fifty. But,
+somehow, our classes slide into each other, in a way that neutralizes,
+in a great degree, the effect of birth. Is it not so, Atwood?"
+
+"_Some_ of our classes, Sir Gervaise, manage to _slide_ into all the
+best places, if the truth must be said."
+
+"Well, that is pretty bold for a Scotchman!" rejoined the vice-admiral,
+good-humouredly. "Ever since the accession of the house of Stuart, we've
+built a bridge across the Tweed that lets people pass in only one
+direction. I make no doubt this Pretender's son will bring down half
+Scotland at his heels, to fill all the berths they may fancy suitable to
+their merits. It's an easy way of paying bounty--promises."
+
+"This affair in the north, they tell me, seems a little serious," said
+Greenly. "I believe this is Mr. Atwood's opinion?"
+
+"You'll find it serious enough, if Sir Gervaise's notion about the
+bounty be true," answered the immovable secretary. "Scotia is a small
+country, but it's well filled with 'braw sperits,' if there's an opening
+for them to prove it."
+
+"Well, well, this war between England and Scotland is out of place,
+while we have the French and Spaniards on our hands. Most extraordinary
+scenes have we had ashore, yonder, Greenly, with an old Devonshire
+baronet, who slipped and is off for the other world, while we were in
+his house."
+
+"Magrath has told me something of it, sir; and, he tells me the
+_fill-us-null-us_--hang me if I can make out his gibberish, five minutes
+after it was told to me."
+
+"_Filius nullius_, you mean; nobody's baby--the son of nobody--have you
+forgotten your Latin, man?"
+
+"Faith, Sir Gervaise, I never had any to forget. My father was a captain
+of a man-of-war before me, and he kept me afloat from the time I was
+five, down to the day of his death; Latin was no part of my spoon-meat."
+
+"Ay--ay--my good fellow, I knew your father, and was in the third ship
+from him, in the action in which he fell," returned the vice-admiral,
+kindly. "Bluewater was just ahead of him, and we all loved him, as we
+did an elder brother. You were not promoted, then."
+
+"No, sir, I was only a midshipman, and didn't happen to be in his own
+ship that day," answered Greenly, sensibly touched with this tribute to
+his parent's merit; "but I was old enough to remember how nobly you all
+behaved on the occasion. Well,"--slily brushing his eye with his
+hand,--"Latin may do a schoolmaster good, but it is of little use on
+board ship. I never had but one scholar among all my cronies and
+intimates."
+
+"And who was he, Greenly? You shouldn't despise knowledge, because you
+don't understand it. I dare say your intimate was none the worse for a
+little Latin--enough to go through _nullus, nulla, nullum_, for
+instance. Who was this intimate, Greenly?"
+
+"John Bluewater--handsome Jack, as he was called; the younger brother of
+the admiral. They sent him to sea, to keep him out of harm's way in some
+love affair; and you may remember that while he was with the admiral, or
+_Captain_ Bluewater, as he was then, I was one of the lieutenants.
+Although poor Jack was a soldier and in the guards, and he was four or
+five years my senior, he took a fancy to me, and we became intimate.
+_He_ understood Latin, better than he did his own interests."
+
+"In what did he fail?--Bluewater was never very communicative to me
+about that brother."
+
+"There was a private marriage, and cross guardians, and the usual
+difficulties. In the midst of it all, poor John fell in battle, as you
+know, and his widow followed him to the grave, within a month or two.
+'Twas a sad story all round, and I try to think of it as little as
+possible."
+
+"A private marriage!" repeated Sir Gervaise, slowly. "Are you quite sure
+of _that_? I don't think Bluewater is aware of that circumstance; at
+least, I never heard him allude to it. Could there have been any issue?"
+
+"No one can know it better than myself, as I helped to get the lady off,
+and was present at the ceremony. That much I _know_. Of issue, I should
+think there was none; though the colonel lived a year after the
+marriage. How far the admiral is familiar with all these circumstances I
+cannot say, as one would not like to introduce the particulars of a
+private marriage of a deceased brother, to his commanding officer."
+
+"I am glad there was no issue, Greenly--particular circumstances make me
+glad of that. But we will change the discourse, as these family
+disasters make one melancholy; and a melancholy dinner is like
+ingratitude to Him who bestows it."
+
+The conversation now grew general, and in due season, in common with the
+feast, it ended. After sitting the usual time, the guests retired. Sir
+Gervaise then went on deck, and paced the poop for an hour, looking
+anxiously ahead, in quest of the French signal; and, failing of
+discovering them, he was fain to seek his berth out of sheer fatigue.
+Before he did this, however, the necessary orders were given; and that
+to call him, should any thing out of the common track occur, was
+repeated no less than four times.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+    "Roll on, thou deep and dark-blue ocean--roll
+      Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
+    Man marks the earth with ruin--his control
+      Stops with the shore;--upon the watery plain
+    The wrecks are all thy deed."
+
+         CHILDE HAROLD.
+
+
+It was broad day-light, when Sir Gervaise Oakes next appeared on deck.
+As the scene then offered to his view, as well as the impression it made
+on his mind, will sufficiently explain to the reader the state of
+affairs, some six hours later than the time last included in our
+account, we refer him to those for his own impressions. The wind now
+blew a real gale, though the season of the year rendered it less
+unpleasant to the feelings than is usual with wintry tempests. The air
+was even bland, and still charged with the moisture of the ocean; though
+it came sweeping athwart sheets of foam, with a fury, at moments, which
+threatened to carry the entire summits of waves miles from their beds,
+in spray. Even the aquatic birds seemed to be terrified, in the instants
+of the greatest power of the winds, actually wheeling suddenly on their
+wings, and plunging into the element beneath to seek protection from the
+maddened efforts of that to which they more properly belonged.
+
+Still, Sir Gervaise saw that his ships bore up nobly against the fierce
+strife. Each vessel showed the same canvass; viz.--a reefed fore-sail; a
+small triangular piece of strong, heavy cloth, fitted between the end of
+the bowsprit and the head of the fore-top-mast; a similar sail over the
+quarter-deck, between the mizzen and main masts, and a close-reefed
+main-top-sail Several times that morning, Captain Greenly had thought he
+should be compelled to substitute a lower surface to the wind than that
+of the sail last mentioned. As it was an important auxiliary, however,
+in steadying the ship, and in keeping her under the command of her helm,
+on each occasion the order had been delayed, until he now began to
+question whether the canvass could be reduced, without too great a risk
+to the men whom it would be necessary to send aloft. He had decided to
+let it stand or blow away, as fortune might decide. Similar reasoning
+left nearly all the other vessels under precisely the same canvass.
+
+The ships of the vice-admiral's division had closed in the night,
+agreeably to an order given before quitting the anchorage, which
+directed them to come within the usual sailing distance, in the event of
+the weather's menacing a separation. This command had been obeyed by the
+ships astern carrying sail hard, long after the leading vessels had been
+eased by reducing their canvass. The order of sailing was the
+Plantagenet in the van, and the Carnatic, Achilles, Thunderer, Blenheim,
+and Warspite following, in the order named; some changes having been
+made in the night, in order to bring the ships of the division into
+their fighting-stations, in a line ahead, the vice-admiral leading. The
+superiority of the Plantagenet was a little apparent, notwithstanding;
+the Carnatic alone, and that only by means of the most careful watching,
+being able to keep literally in the commander-in-chief's wake; all the
+other vessels gradually but almost imperceptibly setting to leeward of
+it. These several circumstances struck Sir Gervaise, the moment his foot
+touched the poop, where he found Greenly keeping an anxious look-out on
+the state of the weather and the condition of his own ship; leaning at
+the same time, against the spanker-boom to steady himself in the gusts
+of the gale. The vice-admiral braced his own well-knit and compact
+frame, by spreading his legs; then he turned his handsome but
+weather-beaten face towards the line, scanning each ship in succession,
+as she lay over to the wind, and came wallowing on, shoving aside vast
+mounds of water with her bows, her masts describing short arcs in the
+air, and her hull rolling to windward, and lurching, as if boring her
+way through the ocean. Galleygo, who never regarded himself as a steward
+in a gale of wind, was the only other person on the poop, whither he
+went at pleasure by a sort of imprescriptibly right.
+
+"Well done, old Planter!" cried Sir Gervaise, heartily, as soon as his
+eye had taken in the leading peculiarities of the view. "You see,
+Greenly, she has every body but old Parker to leeward, and she would
+have him there, too, but he would carry every stick he has, out of the
+Carnatic, rather than not keep his berth. Look at Master Morganic; he
+has his main course close-reefed on the Achilles, to luff into his
+station, and I'll warrant you will get a good six months' wear out of
+that ship in this one gale; loosening her knees, and jerking her spars
+like so many whip-handles; and all for love of the new fashion of
+rigging an English two-decker like an Algerian xebec! Well, let him tug
+his way up to windward, Bond-street fashion, if he likes the fun. What
+has become of the Chloe, Greenly?"
+
+"Here she is, sir, quite a league on our lee-bow, looking out, according
+to orders."
+
+"Ay, that is her work, and she'll do it effectually.--But I don't see
+the Driver!"
+
+"She's dead ahead sir," answered Greenly, smiling; "_her_ orders being
+rather more difficult of execution. Her station would be off yonder to
+windward, half a league ahead of us; but it's no easy matter to get into
+that position, Sir Gervaise, when the Plantagenet is really in earnest."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed, and rubbed his hands, then he turned to look for
+the Active, the only other vessel of his division. This little cutter
+was dancing over the seas, half the time under water, notwithstanding,
+under the head of her main-sail, broad off, on the admiral's
+weather-beam; finding no difficulty in maintaining her station there, in
+the absence of all top-hamper, and favoured by the lowness of her hull.
+After this he glanced upward at the sails and spars of the Plantagenet,
+which he studied closely.
+
+"No signs of _de Vervillin_, hey! Greenly?" the admiral asked, when his
+survey of the whole fleet had ended. "I was in hopes we might see
+something of _him_, when the light returned this morning."
+
+"Perhaps it is quite as well as it is, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+captain. "We could do little besides look at each other, in this gale,
+and Admiral Bluewater ought to join before I should like even to do
+_that_."
+
+"Think you so, Master Greenly!--There you are mistaken, then; for I'd
+lie by him, were I alone in this ship, that I might know where he was to
+be found as soon as the weather would permit us to have something to say
+to him."
+
+These words were scarcely uttered, when the look-out in the forward
+cross-trees, shouted at the top of his voice, "sail-ho!" At the next
+instant the Chloe fired a gun, the report of which was just heard amid
+the roaring of the gale, though the smoke was distinctly seen floating
+above the mists of the ocean; she also set a signal at her naked
+mizzen-top-gallant-mast-head.
+
+"Run below, young gentleman," said the vice-admiral, advancing to the
+break of the poop and speaking to a midshipman on the quarter-deck; "and
+desire Mr. Bunting to make his appearance. The Chloe signals us--tell
+him not to look for his knee-buckles."
+
+A century since, the last injunction, though still so much in use on
+ship-board, was far more literal than it is to-day, nearly all classes
+of men possessing the articles in question, though not invariably
+wearing them when at sea. The midshipman dove below, however, as soon as
+the words were out of his superior's mouth; and, in a very few minutes,
+Bunting appeared, having actually stopped on the main-deck ladder to
+assume his coat, lest he might too unceremoniously invade the sacred
+precincts of the quarter-deck, in his shirt-sleeves.
+
+"There it is, Bunting," said Sir Gervaise, handing the lieutenant the
+glass; "two hundred and twenty-seven--'a large sail ahead,' if I
+remember right."
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise, '_sails_ ahead;' the number of them to follow. Hoist
+the answering flag, quarter-master."
+
+"So much the better! So much the better, Bunting! The number to follow?
+Well, _we'll_ follow the number, let it be greater or smaller. Come,
+sirrah, bear a hand up with your answering flag."
+
+The usual signal that the message was understood was now run up between
+the masts, and instantly hauled down again, the flags seen in the Chloe
+descending at the same moment.
+
+"Now for the number of the sails, ahead," said Sir Gervaise, as he,
+Greenly, and Bunting, each levelled a glass at the frigate, on board
+which the next signal was momentarily expected. "Eleven, by George!"
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise," exclaimed Greenly, "I know better than _that_. Red
+above, and blue beneath, with the distinguishing pennant _beneath_, make
+_fourteen_, in our books, now!"
+
+"Well, sir, if they are _forty_, we'll go nearer and see of what sort of
+stuff they are made. Show your answering flag, Bunting, that we may know
+what else the Chloe has to tell us."
+
+This was done, the frigate hauling down her signals in haste, and
+showing a new set as soon as possible.
+
+"What now, Bunting?--what now, Greenly?" demanded Sir Gervaise, a sea
+having struck the side of the ship and thrown so much spray into his
+face as to reduce him to the necessity of using his pocket-handkerchief,
+at the very moment he was anxious to be looking through his glass. "What
+do you make of _that_, gentlemen?"
+
+"I make out the number to be 382," answered Greenly; "but what it means,
+I know not."
+
+"'Strange sails, _enemies_,'" read Bunting from the book. "Show the
+answer, quarter-master."
+
+"We hardly wanted a signal for _that_, Greenly, since there can be no
+friendly force, here away; and fourteen sail, on this coast, always
+means mischief. What says the Chloe next?"
+
+"'Strange sails on the larboard tack, heading as follows.'"
+
+"By George, crossing our course!--We shall soon see them from deck. Do
+the ships astern notice the signals?"
+
+"Every one of them, Sir Gervaise," answered the captain; "the Thunderer
+has just lowered her answering flag, and the Active is repeating. I have
+never seen quarter-masters so nimble!"
+
+"So much the better--so much the better--down he comes; stand by for
+another."
+
+After the necessary pause, the signal to denote the point of the compass
+was shown from the Chloe.
+
+"Heading how, Bunting?" the vice-admiral eagerly inquired. "Heading how,
+sir?"
+
+"North-west-and-by-north," or as Bunting pronounced it
+"nor-west-and-by-loathe, I believe, sir,--no, I am mistaken, Sir
+Gervaise; it is nor-nor-west."
+
+"Jammed up like ourselves, hard on a wind! This gale comes directly from
+the broad Atlantic, and one party is crossing over to the north and the
+other to the south shore. We _must_ meet, unless one of us run
+away--hey! Greenly?"
+
+"True enough, Sir Gervaise; though fourteen sail is rather an awkward
+odds for seven."
+
+"You forget the Driver and Active, sir; we've _nine_; nine hearty,
+substantial British cruisers."
+
+"To wit: six ships of the line, one frigate, a _sloop_, and a _cutter_,"
+laying heavy emphasis on the two last vessels.
+
+"What does the Chloe say now, Bunting? That we're enough for the French,
+although they _are_ two to one?"
+
+"Not exactly that, I believe, Sir Gervaise. 'Five more sail ahead.' They
+increase fast, sir."
+
+"Ay, at that rate, they may indeed grow too strong for us," answered Sir
+Gervaise, with more coolness of manner; "nineteen to nine are rather
+heavy odds. I wish we had Bluewater here!"
+
+"That is what I was about to suggest, Sir Gervaise," observed the
+captain. "If we had the other division, as some of the Frenchmen are
+probably frigates and corvettes, we might do better. Admiral Bluewater
+cannot be far from us; somewhere down here, towards north-east--or
+nor-nor-east. By warring round, I think we should make his division in
+the course of a couple of hours."
+
+"What, and leave to Monsieur de Vervillin the advantage of swearing he
+frightened us away! No--no--Greenly; we will first _pass_ him fairly and
+manfully, and that, too, within reach of shot; and then it will be time
+enough to go round and look after our friends."
+
+"Will not that be putting the French exactly between our two divisions,
+Sir Gervaise, and give him the advantage of dividing our force. If he
+stand far, on a nor-nor-west course, I think he will infallibly get
+between us and Admiral Bluewater."
+
+"And what will he gain by that, Greenly?--What, according to your
+notions of matters and things, will be the great advantage of having an
+English fleet on each side of him?"
+
+"Not much, certainly, Sir Gervaise," answered Greenly, laughing; "if
+these fleets were at all equal to his own. But as they will be much
+inferior to him, the Comte may manage to close with one division, while
+the other is so far off as to be unable to assist; and one hour of a hot
+fire may dispose of the victory."
+
+"All this is apparent enough, Greenly; yet I could hardly brook letting
+the enemy go scathe less. So long as it blows as it does now, there will
+not be much fighting, and there can be no harm in taking a near look at
+M. de Vervillin. In half an hour, or an hour at most, we must get a
+sight of him from off deck, even with this slow headway of the two
+fleets. Let them heave the log, and ascertain how fast we go, sir."
+
+"Should we engage the French in such weather, Sir Gervaise," answered
+Greenly, after giving the order just mentioned; "it would be giving them
+the very advantage they like. They usually fire at the spars, and one
+shot would do more mischief, with such a strain on the masts, than
+half-a-dozen in a moderate blow."
+
+"That will do, Greenly--that will do," said the vice-admiral,
+impatiently; "if I didn't so well know you, and hadn't seen you so often
+engaged, I should think you were afraid of these nineteen sail. You have
+lectured long enough to render me prudent, and we'll say no more."
+
+Here Sir Gervaise turned on his heel, and began to pace the poop, for he
+was slightly vexed, though not angered. Such little dialogues often
+occurred between him and his captain, the latter knowing that his
+commander's greatest professional failing was excess of daring, while he
+felt that his own reputation was too well established to be afraid to
+inculcate prudence. Next to the honour of the flag, and his own perhaps,
+Greenly felt the greatest interest in that of Sir Gervaise Oakes, under
+whom he had served as midshipman, lieutenant, and captain; and this his
+superior knew, a circumstance that would have excused far greater
+liberties. After moving swiftly to and fro several times, the
+vice-admiral began to cool, and he forgot this passing ebullition of
+quick feelings. Greenly, on the other hand, satisfied that the just mind
+of the commander-in-chief would not fail to appreciate facts that had
+been so plainly presented to it, was content to change the subject. They
+conversed together, in a most friendly manner, Sir Gervaise being even
+unusually frank and communicative, in order to prove he was not
+displeased, the matter in discussion being the state of the ship and the
+situation of the crew.
+
+"You are always ready for battle, Greenly," the vice-admiral said,
+smilingly, in conclusion; "when there is a necessity; and always just as
+ready to point out the inexpediency of engaging, where you fancy nothing
+is to be gained by it. You would not have me run away from a shadow,
+however; or a signal; and that is much the same thing: so we will stand
+on, until we make the Frenchmen fairly from off-deck, when it will be
+time enough to determine what shall come next."
+
+"Sail-ho!" shouted one of the look-outs from aloft, a cry that
+immediately drew all eyes towards the mizzen-top-mast-cross-trees,
+whence the sound proceeded.
+
+The wind blew too fresh to render conversation, even by means of a
+trumpet, easy, and the man was ordered down to give an account of what
+he had seen. Of course he first touched the poop-deck, where he was met
+by the admiral and captain, the officer of the watch, to whom he
+properly belonged, giving him up to the examination of his two
+superiors, without a grimace.
+
+"Where-away is the sail you've seen, sir?" demanded Sir Gervaise a
+little sharply, for he suspected it was no more than one of the ships
+ahead, already signaled. "Down yonder to the southward and
+eastward--hey! sirrah?"
+
+"No, Sir Jarvy," answered the top-man, hitching his trowsers with one
+hand, and smoothing the hair on his forehead with the other; "but out
+here, to the forward and westward, on our weather-quarter. It's none o'
+them French chaps as is with the County of Fairvillian,"--for so all the
+common men of the fleet believed their gallant enemy to be rightly
+named,--"but is a square-rigged craft by herself, jammed up on a wind,
+pretty much like all on us."
+
+"That alters the matter, Greenly! How do you know she is square-rigged,
+my man?"
+
+"Why, Sir Jarvy, your honour, she's under her fore and main-taw-sails,
+close-reefed, with a bit of the main-sail set, as well as I can make it
+out, sir."
+
+"The devil she is! It must be some fellow in a great hurry, to carry
+that canvass in this blow! Can it be possible, Greenly, that the leading
+vessel of Bluewater is heaving in sight?"
+
+"I rather think not, Sir Gervaise; it would be too far to windward for
+any of his two-deckers. It may turn out to be a look-out ship of the
+French, got round on the other tack to keep her station, and carrying
+sail hard, because she dislikes our appearance."
+
+"In that case she must claw well to windward to escape us! What's your
+name, my lad--Tom Davis, if I'm not mistaken?"
+
+"No, Sir Jarvy, it's Jack Brown; which is much the same, your honour.
+We's no ways partic'lar about names."
+
+"Well, Jack, does it blow hard aloft? So as to give you any trouble in
+holding on?"
+
+"Nothing to speak on, Sir Jarvy. A'ter cruising a winter and spring in
+the Bay of Biscay, I looks on this as no more nor a puff. Half a hand
+will keep a fellow in his berth, aloft."
+
+"Galleygo--take Jack Brown below to my cabin, and give him a fresh nip
+in his jigger--he'll hold on all the better for it."
+
+This was Sir Gervaise's mode of atoning for the error in doing the man
+injustice, by supposing he was mistaken about the new sail, and Jack
+Brown went aloft devoted to the commander-in-chief. It costs the great
+and powerful so little to become popular, that one is sometimes
+surprised to find that any are otherwise; but, when we remember that it
+is also their duty to be just, astonishment ceases; justice being
+precisely the quality to which a large portion of the human race are
+most averse.
+
+Half an hour passed, and no further reports were received from aloft. In
+a few minutes, however, the Warspite signalled the admiral, to report
+the stranger on her weather-quarter, and, not long after, the Active did
+the same. Still neither told his character; and the course being
+substantially the same, the unknown ship approached but slowly,
+notwithstanding the unusual quantity of sail she had set. At the end of
+the period mentioned, the vessels in the south-eastern board began to be
+visible from the deck. The ocean was so white with foam, that it was not
+easy to distinguish a ship, under short canvass, at any great distance;
+but, by the aid of glasses, both Sir Gervaise and Greenly satisfied
+themselves that the number of the enemy at the southward amounted to
+just twenty; one more having hove in sight, and been signalled by the
+Chloe, since her first report. Several of these vessels, however, were
+small; and, the vice-admiral, after a long and anxious survey, lowered
+his glass and turned to his captain in order to compare opinions.
+
+"Well, Greenly," he asked, "what do you make of them, now?--According to
+my reckoning, there are thirteen of the line, two frigates, four
+corvettes, and a lugger; or twenty sail in all."
+
+"There can be no doubt of the twenty sail, Sir Gervaise, though the
+vessels astern are still too distant to speak of their size. I rather
+think it will turn out _fourteen_ of the line and only three frigates."
+
+"That is rather too much for us, certainly, without Bluewater. His five
+ships, now, and this westerly position, would make a cheering prospect
+for us. We might stick by Mr. de Vervillin until it moderated, and then
+pay our respects to him. What do you say to _that_, Greenly?"
+
+"That it is of no great moment, Sir Gervaise, so long as the other
+division is _not_ with us. But yonder are signals flying on board the
+Active, the Warspite, and the Blenheim."
+
+"Ay, they've something to tell us of the chap astern and to windward.
+Come, Bunting, give us the news."
+
+"'Stranger in the north-west shows the Druid's number;'" the
+signal-officer read mechanically from the book.
+
+"The deuce he does! Then Bluewater cannot be far off. Let Dick alone for
+keeping in his proper place; he has an instinct for a line of battle,
+and I never knew him fail to be in the very spot I could wish to have
+him, looking as much at home, as if his ships had all been built there!
+The Druid's number! The Cæsar and the rest of them are in a line ahead,
+further north, heading up well to windward even of our own wake. This
+puts the Comte fairly under our lee."
+
+But Greenly was far from being of a temperament as sanguine as that of
+the vice-admiral's. He did not like the circumstance of the Druid's
+being alone visible, and she, too, under what in so heavy a gale, might
+be deemed a press of canvass. There was no apparent reason for the
+division's carrying sail so hard, while the frigate would he obliged to
+do it, did she wish to overtake vessels like the Plantagenet and her
+consorts. He suggested, therefore, the probability that the ship was
+alone, and that her object might be to speak them.
+
+"There is something in what you say, Greenly," answered Sir Gervaise,
+after a minute's reflection; "and we must look into it. If Denham
+doesn't give us any thing new from the Count to change our plans, it may
+be well to learn what the Druid is after."
+
+Denham was the commander of the Chloe, which ship, a neat
+six-and-thirty, was pitching into the heavy seas that now came rolling
+in heavily from the broad Atlantic, the water streaming from her
+hawse-holes, as she rose from each plunge, like the spouts of a whale.
+This vessel, it has been stated, was fully a league ahead and to leeward
+of the Plantagenet, and consequently so much nearer to the French, who
+were approaching from that precise quarter of the ocean, in a long
+single line, like that of the English; a little relieved, however, by
+the look-out vessels, all of which, in their case, were sailing along on
+the weather-beam of their friends. The distance was still so great, as
+to render glasses necessary in getting any very accurate notions of the
+force and the point of sailing of Monsieur de Vervillin's fleet, the
+ships astern being yet so remote as to require long practice to speak
+with any certainty of their characters. In nothing, notwithstanding, was
+the superior practical seamanship of the English more apparent, than in
+the manner in which these respective lines were formed. That of Sir
+Gervaise Oakes was compact, each ship being as near as might be a
+cable's length distant from her seconds, ahead and astern. This was a
+point on which the vice-admiral prided himself; and by compelling his
+captains rigidly to respect their line of sailing, and by keeping the
+same ships and officers, as much as possible, under his orders, each
+captain of the fleet had got to know his own vessel's rate of speed, and
+all the other qualities that were necessary to maintain her precise
+position. All the ships being weatherly, though some, in a slight
+degree, were more so than others, it was easy to keep the line in
+weather like the present, the wind not blowing sufficiently hard to
+render a few cloths more or less of canvass of any very great moment. If
+there was a vessel sensibly out of her place, in the entire line, it was
+the Achilles; Lord Morganic not having had time to get all his forward
+spars as far aft as they should have been; a circumstance that had
+knocked him off a little more than had happened to the other vessels.
+Nevertheless, had an air-line been drawn at this moment, from the
+mizzen-top of the Plantagenet to that of the Warspite, it would have
+been found to pass through the spars of quite half the intermediate
+vessels, and no one of them all would have been a pistol-shot out of the
+way. As there were six intervals between the vessels, and each interval
+as near as could be guessed at was a cable's length, the extent of the
+whole line a little exceeded three-quarters of a mile.
+
+On the other hand, the French, though they preserved a very respectable
+degree of order, were much less compact, and by no means as methodical
+in their manner of sailing. Some of their ships were a quarter of a mile
+to leeward of the line, and the intervals were irregular and
+ill-observed. These circumstances arose from several causes, neither of
+which proceeded from any fault in the commander-in-chief, who was both
+an experienced seaman and a skilful tactician. But his captains were new
+to each other, and some of them were recently appointed to their ships;
+it being just as much a matter of course that a seaman should ascertain
+the qualities of his vessel, by familiarity, as that a man should learn
+the character of his wife, in the intimacy of wedlock.
+
+At the precise moment of which we are now writing, the Chloe might have
+been about a league from the leading vessel of the enemy, and her
+position to leeward of her own fleet threatened to bring her, half an
+hour later, within range of the Frenchmen's guns. This fact was apparent
+to all in the squadron; still the frigate stood on, having been placed
+in that station, and the whole being under the immediate supervision of
+the commander-in-chief.
+
+"Denham will have a warm berth of it, sir, should he stand on much
+longer," said Greenly, when ten minutes more had passed, during which
+the ships had gradually drawn nearer.
+
+"I was hoping he might get between the most weatherly French frigate and
+her line," answered Sir Gervaise; "when I think, by edging rapidly away,
+we could take her alive, with the Plantagenet."
+
+"In which case we might as well clear for action; such a man[oe]uvre
+being certain to bring on a general engagement."
+
+"No--no--I'm not quite mad enough for that, Master Telemachus; but, we
+can wait a little longer for the chances. How many flags can you make
+out among the enemy, Bunting?"
+
+"I see but two, Sir Gervaise; one at the fore, and the other at the
+mizzen, like our own. I can make out, now, only twelve ships of the
+line, too; neither of which is a three-decker."
+
+"So much for rumour; as flagrant a liar as ever wagged a tongue! Twelve
+ships on two decks, and eight frigates, sloops and luggers. There can be
+no great mistake in this."
+
+"I think not, Sir Gervaise; their commander-in-chief is in the fourth
+ship from the head of the line. His flag is just discernible, by means
+of our best glass. Ay, there goes a signal, this instant, at the end of
+his gaff!"
+
+"If one could only read French now, Greenly," said the vice-admiral,
+smiling; "we might get into some of Mr. de Vervillin's secrets. Perhaps
+it's an order to go to quarters or to clear; look out sharp, Bunting,
+for any signs of such a movement. What do you make of it?"
+
+"It's to the frigates, Sir Gervaise; all of which answer, while the
+other vessels do not."
+
+"We want no French to read that signal, sir," put in Greenly; "the
+frigates themselves telling us what it means. Monsieur de Vervillin has
+no idea of letting the Plantagenet take any thing he has, _alive_."
+
+This was true enough. Just as the captain spoke, the object of the order
+was made sufficiently apparent, by all the light vessels to windward of
+the French fleet, bearing up together, until they brought the wind abaft
+their beams, when away they glided to leeward, like floating objects
+that have suddenly struck a swift current. Before this change in their
+course, these frigates and corvettes had been struggling along, the seas
+meeting them on their weather-bows, at the rate of about two knots or
+rather less; whereas, their speed was now quadrupled, and in a few
+minutes, the whole of them had sailed through the different intervals in
+their main line, and had formed as before, nearly half a league to
+leeward of it. Here, in the event of an action, their principal duties
+would have been to succour crippled ships that might be forced out of
+their allotted stations during the combat. All this Sir Gervaise viewed
+with disgust. He had hoped that his enemy might have presumed on the
+state of the elements, and suffered his light vessels to maintain their
+original positions.
+
+"It would be a great triumph to us, Greenly," he said, "if Denham could
+pass without shifting his berth. There would be something manly and
+seamanlike in an inferior fleet's passing a superior, in such a style."
+
+"Yes, sir, though it _might_ cost us a fine frigate. The count can have
+no difficulty in fighting his weather main-deck guns, and a discharge
+from two or three of his leading vessels might cut away some spar that
+Denham would miss sadly, just at such a moment."
+
+Sir Gervaise placed his hands behind his back, paced the deck a minute,
+and then said decidedly--
+
+"Bunting, make the Chloe's signal to ware--tacking in this sea, and
+under that short canvass, is out of the question."
+
+Bunting had anticipated this order, and had even ventured clandestinely
+to direct the quarter-masters to bend on the necessary flags; and Sir
+Gervaise had scarcely got the words out of his mouth, before the signal
+was abroad. The Chloe was equally on the alert; for she too each moment
+expected the command, and ere her answering flag was seen, her helm was
+up, the mizen-stay-sail down, and her head falling off rapidly towards
+the enemy. This movement seemed to be expected all round--and it
+certainly had been delayed to the very last moment--for the leading
+French ship fell off three or four points, and as the frigate was
+exactly end-on to her, let fly the contents of all the guns on her
+forecastle, as well as of those on her main-deck, as far aft as they
+could be brought to bear. One of the top-sail-sheets of the frigate was
+shot away by this rapid and unexpected fire, and some little damage was
+done to the standing rigging; but luckily, none of immediate moment.
+Captain Denham was active, and the instant he found his top-sail
+flapping, he ordered it clewed up, and the main-sail loosed. The latter
+was set, close-reefed, as the ship came to the wind on the larboard
+tack, and by the time every thing was braced up and hauled aft, on that
+tack, the main-top-sail was ready to be sheeted home, anew. During the
+few minutes that these evolutions required, Sir Gervaise kept his eye
+riveted on the vessel; and when he saw her fairly round, and trimmed by
+the wind, again, with the main-sail dragging her ahead, to own the truth,
+he felt mentally relieved.
+
+"Not a minute too soon, Sir Gervaise," observed the cautious Greenly,
+smiling. "I should not be surprised if Denham hears more from that
+fellow at the head of the French line. His weather chase-guns are
+exactly in a range with the frigate, and the two upper ones might be
+worked, well enough."
+
+"I think not, Greenly. The forecastle gun, possibly; scarcely any thing
+below it."
+
+Sir Gervaise proved to be partly right and partly wrong. The Frenchman
+_did_ attempt a fire with his main-deck gun; but, at the first plunge of
+the ship, a sea slapped up against her weather-bow, and sent a column of
+water through the port, that drove half its crew into the lee-scuppers.
+In the midst of this waterspout, the gun exploded, the loggerhead having
+been applied an instant before, giving a sort of chaotic wildness to the
+scene in-board. This satisfied the party below; though that on the
+forecastle fared better. The last fired their gun several times, and
+always without success. This failure proceeded from a cause that is
+seldom sufficiently estimated by nautical gunners; the shot having
+swerved from the line of sight, by the force of the wind against which
+it flew, two or three hundred feet, by the time it had gone the mile
+that lay between the vessels. Sir Gervaise anxiously watched the effect
+of the fire, and perceiving that all the shot fell to leeward of the
+Chloe, he was no longer uneasy about that vessel, and he began to turn
+his attention to other and more important concerns.
+
+As we are now approaching a moment when it is necessary that the reader
+should receive some tolerably distinct impression of the relative
+positions of the two entire fleets, we shall close the present chapter,
+here; reserving the duty of explanation for the commencement of a new
+one.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+            ----"All were glad,
+    And laughed, and shouted, as she darted on,
+    And plunged amid the foam, and tossed it high,
+    Over the deck, as when a strong, curbed steed
+    Flings the froth from him in his eager race."
+
+         PERCIVAL
+
+
+The long twilight of a high latitude had now ended, and the sun, though
+concealed behind clouds, had risen. The additional light contributed to
+lessen the gloomy look of the ocean, though the fury of the winds and
+waves still lent to it a dark and menacing aspect. To windward there
+were no signs of an abatement of the gale, while the heavens continued
+to abstain from letting down their floods, on the raging waters beneath.
+By this lime, the fleet was materially to the southward of Cape la
+Hogue, though far to the westward, where the channel received the winds
+and waves from the whole rake of the Atlantic, and the seas were setting
+in, in the long, regular swells of the ocean, a little disturbed by the
+influence of the tides. Ships as heavy as the two-deckers moved along
+with groaning efforts, their bulk-heads and timbers "complaining," to
+use the language of the sea, as the huge masses, loaded with their iron
+artillery, rose and sunk on the coming and receding billows. But their
+movements were stately and full of majesty; whereas, the cutter, sloop,
+and even the frigates, seemed to be tossed like foam, very much at the
+mercy of the elements. The Chloe was passing the admiral, on the
+opposite tack, quite a mile to leeward, and yet, as she mounted to the
+summit of a wave, her cut-water was often visible nearly to the keel.
+These are the trials of a vessel's strength; for, were a ship always
+water-borne equally on all her lines, there would not be the necessity
+which now exists to make her the well-knit mass of wood and iron she is.
+
+The progress of the two fleets was very much the same, both squadrons
+struggling along through the billows, at the rate of about a marine
+league in the hour. As no lofty sail was carried, and the vessels were
+first made in the haze of a clouded morning, the ships had not become
+visible to each other until nearer than common; and, by the time at
+which we have now arrived in our tale, the leading vessels were
+separated by a space that did not exceed two miles, estimating the
+distance only on their respective lines of sailing; though there would
+be about the same space between them, when abreast, the English being so
+much to windward of their enemies. Any one in the least familiar with
+nautical man[oe]uvres will understand that these circumstances would
+bring the van of the French and the rear of their foes much nearer
+together in passing, both fleets being close-hauled.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes, as a matter of course, watched the progress of the
+two lines with close and intelligent attention. Mons. de Vervillin did
+the same from the poop of le Foudroyant, a noble eighty-gun ship in
+which his flag of _vice-admiral_ was flying, as it might be, in
+defiance. By the side of the former stood Greenly, Bunting, and Bury,
+the Plantagenet's first lieutenant; by the side of the latter his
+capitaine de vaisseau, a man as little like the caricatures of such
+officers, as a hostile feeling has laid before the readers of English
+literature, as Washington was like the man held up to odium in the
+London journals, at the commencement of the great American war. M. de
+Vervillin himself was a man of respectable birth, of a scientific
+education, and of great familiarity with ships, so far as a knowledge of
+their general powers and principles was concerned; but here his
+professional excellence ceased, all that infinity of detail which
+composes the distinctive merit of the practical seaman being, in a great
+degree, unknown to him, rendering it necessary for him to _think_ in
+moments of emergency; periods when the really prime mariner seems more
+to act by a sort of _instinct_ than by any very intelligible process of
+ratiocination. With his fleet drawn out before him, however, and with no
+unusual demands on his resources, this gallant officer was an
+exceedingly formidable foe to contend with in squadron.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes lost all his constitutional and feverish impatience
+while the fleets drew nigher and nigher. As is not unusual with brave
+men, who are naturally excitable, as the crisis approached he grew
+calmer, and obtained a more perfect command over himself; seeing all
+things in their true colours, and feeling more and more equal to control
+them. He continued to walk the poop, but it was with a slower step; and,
+though his hands were still closed behind his back, the fingers were
+passive, while his countenance became grave and his eye thoughtful.
+Greenly knew that his interference would now be hazardous; for
+whenever the vice-admiral assumed that air, he literally became
+commander-in-chief; and any attempt to control or influence him, unless
+sustained by the communication of new facts, could only draw down
+resentment on his own head. Bunting, too, was aware that the "admiral
+was aboard," as the officers, among themselves, used to describe this
+state of their superior's mind, and was prepared to discharge his own
+duty in the most silent and rapid manner in his power. All the others
+present felt more or less of this same influence of an established
+character.
+
+"_Mr._ Bunting," said Sir Gervaise, when the distance between the
+Plantagenet and _le Téméraire_ the leading French vessel, might have
+been about a league, allowing for the difference in the respective lines
+of sailing--"_Mr._ Bunting, bend on the signal for the ships to go to
+quarters. We may as well be ready for any turn of the dice."
+
+No one dared to comment on this order: it was obeyed in readiness and
+silence.
+
+"Signal ready, Sir Gervaise," said Bunting, the instant the last flag
+was in its place.
+
+"Run it up at once, sir, and have a bright look-out for the answers.
+Captain Greenly, go to quarters, and see all clear on the main-deck, to
+use the batteries if wanted. The people can stand fast below, as I think
+it might be dangerous to open the ports."
+
+Captain Greenly passed off the poop to the quarter-deck, and in a minute
+the drum and fife struck up the air which is known all over the
+civilized world as the call to arms. In most services this summons is
+made by the drum alone, which emits sounds to which the fancy has
+attached peculiar words; those of the soldiers of France being "_prend
+ton sac_--_prend ton sac_--_prend ton sac_," no bad representatives of
+the meaning; but in English and American ships, this appeal is usually
+made in company with the notes of the "ear-piercing fife," which gives
+it a melody that might otherwise be wanting.
+
+"Signal answered throughout the fleet, Sir Gervaise," said Bunting.
+
+No answer was given to this report beyond a quiet inclination of the
+head. After a moment's pause, however, the vice-admiral turned to his
+signal officer and said--
+
+"I should think, Bunting, no captain can need an order to tell him _not_
+to open his lee-lower-deck ports in such a sea as this?"
+
+"I rather fancy not, Sir Gervaise," answered Bunting, looking drolly at
+the boiling element that gushed up each minute from beneath the bottom
+of the ship, in a way to appear as high as the hammock-cloths. "The
+people at the _main_-deck guns would have rather a wet time of it."
+
+"Bend on the signal, sir, for the ships astern to keep in the
+vice-admiral's wake. Young gentleman," to the midshipman who always
+acted as his aid in battle, "tell Captain Greenly I desire to see him as
+soon as he has received all the reports."
+
+Down to the moment when the first tap of the drum was heard, the
+Plantagenet had presented a scene of singular quiet and unconcern,
+considering the circumstances in which she was placed. A landsman would
+scarcely credit that men could be so near their enemies, and display so
+much indifference to their vicinity; but this was the result of long
+habit, and a certain marine instinct that tells the sailor when any
+thing serious is in the wind, and when not. The difference in the force
+of the two fleets, the heavy gale, and the weatherly position of the
+English, all conspired to assure the crew that nothing decisive could
+yet occur. Here and there an officer or an old seaman might be seen
+glancing through a port, to ascertain the force and position of the
+French; but, on the whole, their fleet excited little more attention
+than if lying at anchor in Cherbourg. The breakfast hour was
+approaching, and that important event monopolized the principal interest
+of the moment. The officers' boys, in particular, began to make their
+appearance around the galley, provided, as usual, with their pots and
+dishes, and, now and then, one cast a careless glance through the
+nearest opening to see how the strangers looked; but as to warfare there
+was much more the appearance of it between the protectors of the rights
+of the different messes, than between the two great belligerent navies
+themselves.
+
+Nor was the state of things materially different in the gun-room, or
+cock-pit, or on the orlops. Most of the people of a two-decked ship are
+berthed on the lower gun deck, and the order to "clear ship" is more
+necessary to a vessel of that construction, before going to quarters
+seriously, than to smaller craft; though it is usual in all. So long as
+the bags, mess-chests, and other similar appliances were left in their
+ordinary positions, Jack saw little reason to derange himself; and as
+reports were brought below, from time to time, respecting the approach
+of the enemy, and more especially of his being well to leeward, few of
+those whose duty did not call them on deck troubled themselves about the
+matter at all. This habit of considering his fortune as attached to that
+of his ship, and of regarding himself as a point on her mass, as we all
+look on ourselves as particles of the orb we accompany in its
+revolutions, is sufficiently general among mariners; but it was
+particularly so as respects the sailors of a fleet, who were kept so
+much at sea, and who had been so often, with all sorts of results, in
+the presence of the enemy. The scene that was passing in the gun-room at
+the precise moment at which our tale has arrived, was so characteristic,
+in particular, as to merit a brief description.
+
+All the idlers by this time were out of their berths and cotts; the
+signs of those who "slept in the country," as it is termed, or who were
+obliged, for want of state-rooms, to sling in the common apartment,
+having disappeared. Magrath was reading a treatise on medicine, in good
+Leyden Latin, by a lamp. The purser was endeavouring to decipher his
+steward's hieroglyphics, favoured by the same light, and the captain of
+marines was examining the lock of an aged musket. The third and fourth
+lieutenants were helping each other to untangle one of their
+Bay-of-Biscay reckonings, which had set both plane and spherical
+trigonometry at defiance, by a lamp of their own; and the chaplain was
+hurrying the steward and the boys along with the breakfast--his usual
+occupation at that "witching time" in the morning.
+
+While things were in this state, the first lieutenant, Mr. Bury,
+appeared in the gun-room. His arrival caused one or two of the mess to
+glance upward at him, though no one spoke but the junior lieutenant,
+who, being an honourable, was at his ease with every one on board, short
+of the captain.
+
+"What's the news from deck, Bury?" asked this officer, a youth of
+twenty, his senior being a man ten years older. "Is Mr. de Vervillin
+thinking of running away yet?"
+
+"Not he, sir; there's too much of the game-cock about him for _that_."
+
+"I'll warrant you he can _crow_! But what _is_ the news, Bury?"
+
+"The news is that the old Planter is as wet as a wash-tub, forward, and
+I must have a dry jacket--do you hear, there, Tom? Soundings," turning
+to the master, who just then came in from forward, "have you taken a
+look out of doors this morning?"
+
+"You know I seldom forget that, Mr. Bury. A pretty pickle the ship would
+soon be in, if _I_ forgot to look about me!"
+
+"He swallowed the deep-sea, down in the bay," cried the honourable,
+laughing, "and goes every morning at day-light to look for it out at the
+bridle-ports."
+
+"Well, then, Soundings, what do you think of the third ship in the
+French line?" continued Bury, disregarding the levity of the youth: "did
+you ever see such top-masts, as she carries, before?"
+
+"I scarce ever saw a Frenchman without them, Mr. Bury. You'd have just
+such sticks in this fleet, if Sir Jarvy would stand them."
+
+"Ay, but Sir Jarvy _won't_ stand them. The captain who sent such a stick
+up in his ship, would have to throw it overboard before night. I never
+saw such a pole in the air in my life!"
+
+"What's the matter with the mast, Mr. Bury?" put in Magrath, who kept up
+what he called constant scientific skirmishes with the _elder_
+sea-officers; the _junior_ being too inexperienced in his view to be
+worthy of a contest. "I'll engage the spar is moulded and fashioned
+agreeably to the most approved pheelosphical principles; for in _that_
+the French certainly excel us."
+
+"Who ever heard of _moulding_ a spar?" interrupted Soundings, laughing
+loudly, "we _mould_ a ship's frame, Doctor, but we _lengthen_ and
+_shorten_, and _scrape_ and _fid_ her masts."
+
+"I'm answered as usual, gentlemen, and voted down, I suppose by
+acclamation, as they call it in other learned bodies. I would advise no
+creature that has a reason to go to sea; an instinct being all that is
+needed to make a Lord High Admiral of twenty tails."
+
+"I should like Sir Jarvy to hear _that_, my man of books," cried the
+fourth, who had satisfied himself that a book was not his own forte--"I
+fancy your instinct, doctor, will prevent you from whispering this in
+the vice-admiral's ear!"
+
+Although Magrath had a profound respect for the commander-in-chief, he
+was averse to giving in, in a gun-room discussion. His answer,
+therefore, partook of the feeling of the moment.
+
+"Sir Gervaise," (he pronounced this word Jairvis,) "Sir Gervaise Oakes,
+_honourable_ sir," he said, with a sneer, "may be a good seaman, but
+he's no linguist. Now, there he was, ashore among the dead and dying,
+just as ignorant of the meaning of _filius nullius_, which is boy's
+Latin, as if he had never seen a horn-book! Nevertheless, gentlemen, it
+is science, and not even the classics, that makes the man; as for a
+creature's getting the sciences by instinct, I shall contend it is
+against the possibilities, whereas the attainment of what you call
+seamanship, is among even the lesser probabilities."
+
+"This is the most marine-ish talk I ever heard from your mouth, doctor,"
+interrupted Soundings. "How the devil can a man tell how to ware ship by
+instinct, as you call it, if one may ask the question?"
+
+"Simply, Soundings, because the process of ratiocination is dispensed
+with. Do you have to _think_ in waring ship, now?--I'll put it to your
+own honour, for the answer."
+
+"Think!--I should be a poor creature for a master, indeed, if much
+thinking were wanting in so simple a matter as tacking or veering.
+No--no--your real sea-dog has no occasion for much _thinking_, when he
+has his work before him."
+
+"That'll just be it, gentlemen!--that'll be just what I'm telling ye,"
+cried the doctor, exulting in the success of his artifice. "Not only
+will Mr. Soundings not _think_, when he has his ordinary duties to
+perform, but he holds the process itself in merited contempt, ye'll
+obsairve; and so my theory is established, by evidence of a pairty
+concerned; which is more than a postulate logically requires."
+
+Here Magrath dropped his book, and laughed with that sort of hissing
+sound that seems peculiar to the genus of which he formed a part. He was
+still indulging in his triumph, when the first tap of the drum was
+heard. All listened; every ear pricking like that of a deer that hears
+the hound, when there followed--"r-r-r-ap tap--r-r-r-ap tap--r-r-r-ap
+tapa-tap-tap--rap-a-tap--a-rap-a-tap a-rap-a-tap--a-tap-tap."
+
+"Instinct or reason, Sir Jarvy is going to quarters!" exclaimed the
+honourable. "I'd no notion we were near enough to the Monsieurs, for
+_that_!"
+
+"Now," said Magrath, with a grinning sneer, as he rose to descend to the
+cock-pit, "there'll may be arise an occasion for a little learning, when
+I'll promise ye all the science that can be mustered in my unworthy
+knowledge. Soundings, I may have to heave the lead in the depths of your
+physical formation, in which case I'll just endeevour to avoid the
+breakers of ignorance."
+
+"Go to the devil, or to the cock-pit, whichever you please, sir,"
+answered the master; "I've served in six general actions, already, and
+have never been obliged to one of your kidney for so much as a bit of
+court-plaster or lint. With me, oakum answers for one, and canvass for
+the other."
+
+While this was saying, all hands were in motion. The sea and marine
+officers looking for their side-arms, the surgeon carefully collecting
+his books, and the chaplain seizing a dish of cold beef, that was
+hurriedly set upon a table, carrying it down with him to his quarters,
+by way of taking it out of harm's way. In a minute, the gun-room was
+cleared of all who usually dwelt there, and their places were supplied
+by the seamen who manned the three or four thirty-two's that were
+mounted in the apartment, together with their opposites. As the
+sea-officers, in particular, appeared among the men, their faces assumed
+an air of authority, and their voices were heard calling out the order
+to "tumble up," as they hastened themselves to their several stations.
+
+All this time, Sir Gervaise Oakes paced the poop. Bunting and the
+quarter-master were in readiness to hoist the new signal, and Greenly
+merely waited for the reports, to join the commander-in-chief. In about
+five minutes after the drum had given its first tap, these were
+completed, and the captain ascended to the poop.
+
+"By standing on, on our present course, Captain Greenly," observed Sir
+Gervaise, anxious to justify to himself the evolution he contemplated,
+"the rear of our line and the van of the French will be brought within
+fair range of shot from each other, and, by an accident, we might lose a
+ship; since any vessel that was crippled, would necessarily sag directly
+down upon the enemy. Now, I propose to keep away in the Plantagenet, and
+just brush past the leading French ships, at about the distance the
+Warspite will _have_ to pass, and so alter the face of matters a little.
+What do you think would be the consequence of such a man[oe]uvre?"
+
+"That the van of our line and the van of the French will be brought as
+near together, as you have just said must happen to the rear, Sir
+Gervaise, in any case."
+
+"It does not require a mathematician to tell that much, sir. You will
+keep away, as soon as Bunting shows the signal, and bring the wind
+abeam. Never mind the braces; let _them_ stand fast; as soon as we have
+passed the French admiral, I shall luff, again. This will cause us to
+lose a little of our weatherly position, but about that I am very
+indifferent. Give the order, sir--Bunting, run up the signal."
+
+These commands were silently obeyed, and presently the Plantagenet was
+running directly in the troughs of the seas, with quite double her
+former velocity. The other ships answered promptly, each keeping away as
+her second ahead came down to the proper line of sailing, and all
+complying to the letter with an order that was very easy of execution.
+The effect, besides giving every prospect of a distant engagement, was
+to straighten the line to nearly mathematical precision.
+
+"Is it your wish, Sir Gervaise, that we should endeavour to open our lee
+lower ports?" asked Greenly. "Unless we attempt something of the sort,
+we shall have nothing heavier than the eighteens to depend on, should
+Monsieur de Vervillin see fit to begin."
+
+"And will _he_ be any better off?--It would be next to madness to think
+of fighting the lower-deck guns, in such weather, and we will keep all
+fast. Should the French commence the sport, we shall have the advantage
+of being to windward; and the loss of a few weather shrouds might bring
+down the best mast in their fleet."
+
+Greenly made no answer, though he perfectly understood that the loss of
+a mast would almost certainly ensure the loss of the ship, did one of
+his own heavier spars go. But this was Sir Gervaise's greatest weakness
+as a commander, and he knew it would be useless to attempt persuading
+him to suffer a single ship under his order to pass the enemy nearer
+than he went himself in the Plantagenet. This was what he called
+covering his ships; though it amounted to no more than putting all of
+them in the jeopardy that happened to be unavoidable, as regarded one or
+two.
+
+The Comte de Vervillin seemed at a loss to understand this sudden and
+extraordinary movement in the van of his enemy. His signals followed,
+and his crews went to their guns; but it was not an easy matter for
+ships that persevered in hugging the wind to make any material
+alterations in their relative positions, in such a gale. The rate of
+sailing of the English, however, now menaced a speedy collision, if
+collision were intended, and it was time to be stirring, in order to be
+ready for it.
+
+On the other hand, all was quiet, and, seemingly, death-like, in the
+English ships. Their people were at their quarters, already, and this is
+a moment of profound stillness in a vessel of war. The lower ports being
+down, the portions of the crews stationed on those decks were buried, as
+it might be, in obscurity, while even those above were still partly
+concealed by the half-ports. There was virtually nothing for the
+sail-trimmers to do, and every thing was apparently left to the
+evolutions of the vast machines themselves, in which they floated. Sir
+Gervaise, Greenly, and the usual attendants still remained on the poop,
+their eyes scarcely turning for an instant from the fleet of the enemy.
+
+By this time the Plantagenct and _le Téméraire_ were little more than a
+mile apart, each minute lessening this distance. The latter ship was
+struggling along, her bows plunging into the seas to the hawse-holes,
+while the former had a swift, easy motion through the troughs, and along
+the summits of the waves, her flattened sails aiding in steadying her in
+the heavy lurches that unavoidably accompanied such a movement. Still, a
+sea would occasionally break against her weather side, sending its crest
+upward in a brilliant _jet-d'eau_, and leaving tons of water on the
+decks. Sir Gervaise's manner had now lost every glimmering of
+excitement. When he spoke, it was in a gentle, pleasant tone, such as a
+gentleman might use in the society of women. The truth was, all his
+energy had concentrated in the determination to do a daring deed; and,
+as is not unusual with the most resolute men, the nearer he approached
+to the consummation of his purpose, the more he seemed to reject all the
+spurious aids of manner.
+
+"The French do not open their lower ports, Greenly," observed the
+vice-admiral, dropping the glass after one of his long looks at the
+enemy, "although they have the advantage of being to leeward. I take
+that to be a sign they intend nothing very serious."
+
+"We shall know better five minutes hence, Sir Gervaise. This ship slides
+along like a London coach."
+
+"His line is lubberly, after all, Greenly! Look at those two ships
+astern--they are near half a mile to windward of the rest of the fleet,
+and at least half a mile astern. Hey! Greenly?"
+
+The captain turned towards the rear of the French, and examined the
+positions of the two ships mentioned with sufficient deliberation; but
+Sir Gervaise dropped his head in a musing manner, and began to pace the
+poop again. Once or twice he stopped to look at the rear of the French
+line, then distant from him quite a league, and as often did he resume
+his walk.
+
+"Bunting," said the vice-admiral, mildly, "come this way, a moment. Our
+last signal was to keep in the commander-in-chief's wake, and to follow
+his motions?"
+
+"It was, Sir Gervaise. The old order to follow motions, 'with or without
+signals,' as one might say."
+
+"Bend on the signals to close up in line, as near as safe, and to carry
+sail by the flag-ship."
+
+"Ay, ay, Sir Gervaise--we'll have 'em both up in five minutes, sir."
+
+The commander-in-chief now even seemed pleased. His physical excitement
+returned a little, and a smile struggled round his lip. His eye glanced
+at Greenly, to see if he were suspected, and then all his calmness of
+exterior returned. In the mean time the signals were made and answered.
+The latter circumstance was reported to Sir Gervaise, who cast his eyes
+down the line astern, and saw that the different ships were already
+bracing in, and easing off their sheets, in order to diminish the spaces
+between the different vessels. As soon as it was apparent that the
+Carnatic was drawing ahead, Captain Greenly was told to lay his main and
+fore-yards nearly square, to light up all his stay-sail sheets, and to
+keep away sufficiently to make every thing draw. Although these orders
+occasioned surprise, they were implicitly obeyed.
+
+The moment of meeting had now come. In consequence of having kept away
+so much, the Plantagenet could not be quite three-fourths of a mile on
+the weather-bow of _le Téméraire_, coming up rapidly, and threatening a
+semi-transverse fire. In order to prevent this, the French ship edged
+off a little, giving herself an easier and more rapid movement through
+the water, and bringing her own broadside more fairly to the shock. This
+evolution was followed by the two next ships, a little prematurely,
+perhaps; but the admiral in _le Foudroyant_, disdaining to edge off from
+her enemy, kept her luff. The ships astern were governed by the course
+of their superior. This change produced a little disorder in the van of
+the French, menacing still greater, unless one party or the other
+receded from the course taken. But time pressed, and the two fleets were
+closing so fast as to induce other thoughts.
+
+"There's lubberly work for you, Greenly!" said Sir Gervaise, smiling. "A
+commander-in-chief heading up with the bowlines dragged, and his second
+and third ahead--not to say fourth--running off with the wind abeam!
+Now, if we can knock the Comte off a couple of points, in passing, all
+his fellows astern will follow, and the Warspite and Blenheim and
+Thunderer will slip by like girls in a country-dance! Send Bury down to
+the main-deck, with orders to be ready with those eighteens."
+
+Greenly obeyed, of course, and he began to think better of audacity in
+naval warfare, than he had done before, that day. This was the usual
+course of things with these two officers; one arguing and deciding
+according to the dictates of a cool judgment, and the other following
+his impulses quite as much as any thing else, until facts supervened to
+prove that human things are as much controlled by adventitious agencies,
+the results of remote and unseen causes, as by any well-digested plans
+laid at the moment. In their cooler hours, when they came to reason on
+the past, the vice-admiral generally consummated his triumphs, by
+reminding his captain that if he had not been in the way of luck, he
+never could have profited by it; no bad creed for a naval officer, who
+is otherwise prudent and vigilant.
+
+The quarter-masters of the fleet were just striking six bells, or
+proclaiming that it was seven o'clock in the morning watch, as the
+Plantagenet and _le Téméraire_ came abeam of each other. Both ships
+lurched heavily in the troughs of the seas, and both rolled to windward
+in stately majesty, and yet both slid through the brine with a momentum
+that resembled the imperceptible motion of a planet. The water rolled
+back from their black sides and shining hammock-cloths, and all the
+other dark panoply that distinguishes a ship-of-war glistened with the
+spray; but no sign of hostility proceeded from either. The French
+admiral made no signal to engage, and Sir Gervaise had reasons of his
+own for wishing to pass the enemy's van, if possible, unnoticed. Minute
+passed after minute, in breathless silence, on board the Plantagenet and
+the Carnatic, the latter vessel being now but half a cable's-length
+astern of the admiral. Every eye that had any outlet for such a purpose,
+was riveted on the main-deck ports of _le Téméraire_ in expectation of
+seeing the fire issue from her guns. Each instant, however, lessened the
+chances, as regarded that particular vessel, which was soon out of the
+line of fire from the Plantagenet, when the same scene was to follow
+with the same result, in connection with _le Conquereur_, the second
+ship of the French line. Sir Gervaise smiled as he passed the three
+first ships, seemingly unnoticed; but as he drew nearer to the admiral,
+he felt confident this impunity must cease.
+
+"What they _mean_ by it all, Greenly," he observed to his companion, "is
+more than I can say; but we will go nearer, and try to find out. Keep
+her away a little more, sir; keep her away half a point." Greenly was
+not disposed to remonstrate now, for his prudent temperament was
+yielding to the excitement of the moment just reversing the traits of
+Sir Gervaise's character; the one losing his extreme discretion in
+feeling, as the other gained by the pressure of circumstances. The helm
+was eased a little, and the ship sheered nearer to _le Foudroyant_.
+
+As is usual in all services, the French commander-in-chief was in one of
+the best vessels of his fleet. Not only was the Foudroyant a heavy ship,
+carrying French forty-twos below, a circumstance that made her rate as
+an eighty, but, like the Plantagenet, she was one of the fastest and
+most weatherly vessels of her class known. By "hugging the wind," this
+noble vessel had got, by this time, materially to windward of her second
+and third ahead, and had increased her distance essentially from her
+supports astern. In a word, she was far from being in a position to be
+sustained as she ought to be, unless she edged off herself, a movement
+that no one on board her seemed to contemplate.
+
+"He's a noble fellow, Greenly, that Comte de Vervillin!" murmured Sir
+Gervaise, in a tone of admiration, "and so have I always found him, and
+so have I always _reported_ him, too! The fools about the Gazettes, and
+the knaves about the offices, may splutter as they will; Mr. de
+Vervillin would give them plenty of occupation were they _here_. I
+question if he mean to keep off in the least, but insists on holding
+every inch he can gain!"
+
+The next moment, however, satisfied Sir Gervaise that he was mistaken in
+his last conjecture, the bows of the Foudroyant gradually falling off,
+until the line of her larboard guns bore, when she made a general
+discharge of the whole of them, with the exception of those on the lower
+deck. The Plantagenets waited until the ship rose on a sea, and then
+they returned the compliment in the same manner. The Carnatic's side
+showed a sheet of flame immediately after; and the Achilles, Lord
+Morganic, luffing briskly to the wind, so as to bring her guns to bear,
+followed up the game, like flashes of lightning. All three of these
+ships had directed their fire at le Foudroyant, and the smoke had not
+yet driven from among her spars, when Sir Gervaise perceived that all
+three of her top-masts were hanging to leeward. At this sight, Greenly
+fairly sprang from the deck, and gave three cheers The men below caught
+up the cry, even to those who were, in a manner, buried on the lower
+deck, and presently, spite of the gale, the Carnatic's were heard
+following their example astern. At this instant the whole French and
+English lines opened their fire, from van to rear, as far as their guns
+would bear, or the shot tell.
+
+"Now, sir, now is our time to close with de Vervillin!" exclaimed
+Greenly, the instant he perceived the manner in which his ship was
+crippled. "In our close order we might hope to make a thorough wreck of
+him."
+
+"Not so, Greenly," returned Sir Gervaise calmly. "You see he edges away
+already, and will be down among his other ships in five minutes; we
+should have a general action with twice our force. What is done, is
+_well_ done, and we will let it stand. It is _something_ to have
+dismasted the enemy's commander-in-chief; do you look to it that the
+enemy don't do the same with ours. I heard shot rattling aloft, and
+every thing now bears a hard strain."
+
+Greenly went to look after his duty, while Sir Gervaise continued to
+pace the poop. The whole of le Foudroyant's fire had been directed at
+the Plantagenet, but so rough was the ocean that not a shot touched the
+hull. A little injury had been done aloft, but nothing that the ready
+skill of the seamen was not able to repair even in that rough weather.
+The fact is, most of the shot had touched the waves, and had flown off
+from their varying surfaces at every angle that offered. One of the
+secrets that Sir Gervaise had taught his captains was to avoid hitting
+the surface of the sea, if possible, unless that surface was reasonably
+smooth, and the object intended to be injured was near at hand. Then the
+French admiral received the _first_ fire--always the most
+destructive--of three fresh vessels; and his injuries were in
+proportion.
+
+The scene was now animated, and not without a wild magnificence. The
+gale continued as heavy as ever, and with the raging of the ocean and
+the howling of the winds, mingled the roar of artillery, and the smoky
+canopy of battle. Still the destruction on neither side bore any
+proportion to the grandeur of the accompaniments; the distance and the
+unsteadiness of the ships preventing much accuracy of aim. In that day,
+a large two-decked ship never carried heavier metal than an eighteen
+above her lower batteries; and this gun, efficient as it is on most
+occasions, does not bring with it the fearful destruction that attends a
+more modern broadside. There was a good deal of noise, notwithstanding,
+and some blood shed in passing; but, on the whole, when the Warspite,
+the last of the English ships, ceased her fire, on account of the
+distance of the enemy abreast of her, it would have been difficult to
+tell that any vessel but le Foudroyant, had been doing more than
+saluting. At this instant Greenly re-appeared on the poop, his own ship
+having ceased to fire for several minutes.
+
+"Well, Greenly, the main-deck guns are at least scaled," said Sir
+Gervaise, smiling; "and _that_ is not to be done over again for some
+time. You keep every thing ready in the batteries, I trust?"
+
+"We are all ready, Sir Gervaise, but there is nothing to be done. It
+would be useless to waste our ammunition at ships quite two miles under
+our lee."
+
+"Very true--very true, sir. But _all_ the Frenchmen are not quite so far
+to leeward, Greenly, as you may see by looking ahead. Yonder two, at
+least, are not absolutely out of harm's way!"
+
+Greenly turned, gazed an instant in the direction in which the
+commander-in-chief pointed, and then the truth of what Sir Gervaise had
+really in view in keeping away, flashed on his mind, as it might be, at
+a glance. Without saying a word, he immediately quitted the poop, and
+descending even to the lower deck, passed through the whole of his
+batteries, giving his orders, and examining their condition.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+    "By Heaven! it is a splendid sight to see,
+      (For one who hath no friend, nor brother there,)
+    Their rival scarfs of mixed embroidery--
+      Their various arms that glitter in the air!"
+
+         CHILDE HAROLD.
+
+
+The little conflict between the English ships and the head of the French
+line, the evolutions that had grown out of it, the crippling of le
+Foudroyant, and the continuance of the gale, contributed to produce
+material changes in the relative positions of the two fleets. All the
+English vessels kept their stations with beautiful accuracy, still
+running to the southward in a close line ahead, having the wind a trifle
+abaft the beam, with their yards braced in. Under the circumstances, it
+needed but some seven or eight minutes for these ships to glide a mile
+through the troubled ocean, and this was about the period the most
+exposed of them all had been under the random and slow fire that the
+state of the weather permitted. The trifling damages sustained were
+already repaired, or in a way soon to be so. On the other hand,
+considerable disorder prevailed among the French. Their line had never
+been perfect, extending quite a league; a few of the leading vessels, or
+those near the commander-in-chief, sustaining each other as well as
+could be desired, while long intervals existed between the ships astern.
+Among the latter, too, as has been stated, some were much farther to
+windward than the others; an irregularity that proceeded from a desire
+of the Comte to luff up as near as possible to the enemy--a desire,
+which, practised on, necessarily threw the least weatherly vessels to
+leeward. Thus the two ships in the extreme rear, as has been hinted at
+already, being jammed up unusually hard upon the wind, had weathered
+materially on their consorts, while their way through the water had been
+proportionably less. It was these combined circumstances which brought
+them so far astern and to windward.
+
+At the time Sir Gervaise pointed out their positions to Greenly, the two
+vessels just mentioned were quite half a mile to the westward of their
+nearest consort, and more than that distance to the southward. When it
+is remembered that the wind was nearly due west, and that all the French
+vessels, these two excepted, were steering north, the relative positions
+of the latter will be understood. Le Foudroyant, too, had kept away,
+after the loss of her top-masts, until fairly in the wake of the ships
+ahead of her, in her own line, and, as the vessels had been running off
+with the wind abeam, for several minutes, this man[oe]uvre threw the
+French still farther to leeward. To make the matter worse, just as the
+Warspite drew out of the range of shot from the French, M. de Vervillin
+showed a signal at the end of his gaff, for his whole fleet to ware in
+succession; an order, which, while it certainly had a gallant semblance,
+as it was bringing his vessels round on the same tack as his enemy, and
+looked like a defiance, was singularly adapted to restoring to the
+latter all the advantage of the wind they had lost by keeping away. As
+it was necessary to take room to execute this evolution, in order to
+clear the ships that were now crowded in the van, when le Téméraire came
+to the wind again on the starboard tack, she was fully half a mile to
+leeward of the admiral, who had just put his helm up. As a matter of
+course, in order to form anew, with the heads of the ships to the
+southward, each vessel had to get into her leader's wake, which would be
+virtually throwing the whole French line, again, two miles to leeward of
+the English. Nevertheless, the stragglers in the rear of the French
+continued to hug the wind, with a pertinacity that denoted a resolution
+to have a brush with their enemies in passing. The vessels were le
+Scipion and la Victoire, each of seventy-four guns. The first of these
+ships was commanded by a young man of very little professional
+experience, but of high court influence; while the second had a captain
+who, like old Parker, had worked his way up to his present station,
+through great difficulties, and by dint of hard knocks, and harder work.
+Unfortunately the first ranked, and the humble _capitaine de frégate_,
+placed by accident in command of a ship of the line, did not dare to
+desert a _capitaine de vaisseau_, who had a _duc_ for an elder brother,
+and called himself _comte_. There was perhaps a redeeming gallantry in
+the spirit which determined the Comte de Chélincourt to incur the risk
+of passing so near six vessels with only two, that might throw a veil
+over the indiscretion; more especially as his own fleet was near enough
+to support him in the event of any disaster, and it was certainly
+possible that the loss of a material spar on board either of his foes,
+might induce the capture of the vessel. At all events, thus reasoned M.
+de Chélincourt; who continued boldly on, with his larboard tacks aboard,
+always hugging the wind, even after the Téméraire was round; and M.
+Comptant chose to follow him in la Victoire. The Plantagenet, by this
+time, being not a mile distant from the Scipio, coming on with steady
+velocity, these intentions and circumstances created every human
+probability that she would soon be passing her weather beam, within a
+quarter of a mile, and, consequently, that a cannonade, far more serious
+than what had yet occurred, must follow. The few intervening minutes
+gave Sir Gervaise time to throw a glance around him, and to come to his
+final decision.
+
+The English fleet was never in better line than at that precise moment.
+The ships were as close to each other as comported with safety, and
+every thing stood and drew as in the trade winds. The leading French
+vessels were waring and increasing their distance to leeward, and it
+would require an hour for them to get up near enough to be at all
+dangerous in such weather, while all the rest were following, regardless
+of the two that continued their luff. The Chloe had already got round,
+and, hugging the wind, was actually coming up to windward of her own
+line, though under a press of canvass that nearly buried her. The Active
+and Driver were in their stations, as usual; one on the weather beam,
+and the other on the weather bow; while the Druid had got so near as to
+show her hull, closing fast, with square yards.
+
+"That is either a very bold, or a very obstinate fellow; he, who
+commands the two ships ahead of us," observed Greenly, as he stood at
+the vice-admiral's side, and just as the latter terminated his survey.
+"What object can he possibly have in braving three times his force in a
+gale like this?"
+
+"If it were an Englishman, Greenly, we should call him a hero! By taking
+a mast out of one of us, he might cause the loss of the ship, or compel
+us to engage double _our_ force. Do not blame him, but help me, rather,
+to disappoint him. Now, listen, and see all done immediately."
+
+Sir Gervaise then explained to the captain what his intentions really
+were, first ordering, himself, (a very unusual course for one of his
+habits,) the first lieutenant, to keep the ship off as much as
+practicable, without seeming to wish to do so; but, as the orders will
+be explained incidentally, in the course of the narrative, it is not
+necessary to give them here. Greenly then went below, leaving Sir
+Gervaise, Bunting, and their auxiliaries, in possession of the poop. A
+private signal had been bent on some little time, and it was now
+hoisted. In about five minutes it was read, understood, and answered by
+all the ships of the fleet. Sir Gervaise rubbed his hands like a man who
+was delighted, and he beckoned to Bury, who had the trumpet on the
+quarter-deck, to join him on the poop.
+
+"Did Captain Greenly let you into our plot, Bury," asked the
+vice-admiral, in high good-humour, as soon as obeyed, "I saw he spoke to
+you in going below?"
+
+"He only told me, Sir Gervaise, to edge down upon the Frenchmen as close
+as I could, and this we are doing, I think, as fast as mounsheer"--Bury
+was an Anglo-Gallican--"will at all like."
+
+"Ah! there old Parker sheers bravely to leeward! Trust to him to be in
+the right place. The Carnatic went fifty fathoms out of the line at that
+one twist. The Thunderer and Warspite too! Never was a signal more
+beautifully obeyed. If the Frenchmen don't take the alarm, now, every
+thing will be to our minds."
+
+By this time, Bury began to understand the man[oe]uvre. Each alternate
+ship of the English was sheering fast to leeward, forming a weather and
+a lee line, with increased intervals between the vessels, while all of
+them were edging rapidly away, so as greatly to near the enemy. It was
+apparent now, indeed, that the Plantagenet herself must pass within a
+hundred fathoms of the Scipio, and that in less than two minutes. The
+delay in issuing the orders for this evolution was in favour of its
+success, inasmuch as it did not give the enemy time for deliberation.
+The Comte de Chélincourt, in fact, did not detect it; or, at least, did
+not foresee the consequences; though both were quite apparent to the
+more experienced _capitaine de frégate_ astern. It was too late, or the
+latter would have signalled his superior to put him on his guard; but,
+as things were, there remained no alternative, apparently, but to run
+the gauntlet, and trust all to the chances of battle.
+
+In a moment like that we are describing, events occur much more rapidly
+than they can be related. The Plantagenet was now within pistol-shot of
+le Scipion, and on her weather bow. At that precise instant, when the
+bow-guns, on both sides, began to play, the Carnatic, then nearly in a
+line with the enemy, made a rank sheer to leeward, and drove on, opening
+in the very act with her weather-bow guns. The Thunderer and Warspite
+imitated this man[oe]uvre, leaving the Frenchman the cheerless prospect
+of being attacked on both sides. It is not to be concealed that M. de
+Chélincourt was considerably disturbed by this sudden change in his
+situation. That which, an instant before, had the prospect of being a
+chivalrous, but extremely hazardous, passage in front of a formidable
+enemy, now began to assume the appearance of something very like
+destruction. It was too late, however, to remedy the evil, and the young
+Comte, as brave a man as existed, determined to face it manfully. He had
+scarcely time to utter a few cheering sentiments, in a dramatic manner,
+to those on the quarter-deck, when the English flag-ship came sweeping
+past in a cloud of smoke, and a blaze of fire. His own broadside was
+nobly returned, or as much of it as the weather permitted, but the smoke
+of both discharges was still driving between his masts, when the dark
+hamper of the Carnatic glided into the drifting canopy, which was made
+to whirl back on the devoted Frenchman in another torrent of flame.
+Three times was this fearful assault renewed on the Scipio, at intervals
+of about a minute, the iron hurricane first coming from to windward, and
+then seeming to be driven back from to leeward, as by its own rebound,
+leaving no breathing time to meet it. The effect was completely to
+silence her own fire; for what between the power of the raging elements,
+and the destruction of the shot, a species of wild and blood-fraught
+confusion took the place of system and order. Her decks were covered
+with killed and wounded, among the latter of whom was the Comte de
+Chélincourt, while orders were given and countermanded in a way to
+render them useless, if not incoherent. From the time when the
+Plantagenet fired her first gun, to that when the Warspite fired her
+last, was just five minutes by the watch. It seemed an hour to the
+French, and but a moment to their enemies. One hundred and eighty-two
+men and boys were included in the casualties of those teeming moments on
+board the Scipio alone; and when that ship issued slowly from the scene
+of havoc, more by the velocity of her assailants in passing than by her
+own, the foremast was all that stood, the remainder of her spars
+dragging under her lee. To cut the last adrift, and to run off nearly
+before the wind, in order to save the spars forward, and to get within
+the cover of her own fleet, was all that could now be done. It may as
+well be said here, that these two objects were effected.
+
+The Plantagenet had received damage from the fire of her opponent. Some
+ten or fifteen men were killed and wounded; her main-top-sail was split
+by a shot, from clew to earing; one of the quarter-masters was carried
+from the poop, literally dragged overboard by the sinews that connected
+head and body; and several of the spars, with a good deal of rigging,
+required to be looked to, on account of injuries. But no one thought of
+these things, except as they were connected with present and pressing
+duties. Sir Gervaise got a sight of la Victoire, some hundred and twenty
+fathoms ahead, just as the roar of the Carnatic's guns was rushing upon
+his ears. The French commander saw and understood the extreme jeopardy
+of his consort, and he had already put his helm hard up.
+
+"Starboard--starboard hard, Bury!" shouted Sir Gervaise from the poop.
+"Damn him, run him aboard, if he dare hold on long enough to meet us."
+
+The lieutenant signed with his hand that the order was understood, and
+the helm being put up, the ship went whirling off to leeward on the
+summit of a hill of foam. A cheer was heard struggling in the tempest,
+and glancing over his left shoulder, Sir Gervaise perceived the Carnatic
+shooting out of the smoke, and imitating his own movement, by making
+another and still ranker sheer to leeward. At the same moment she set
+her main-sail close-reefed, as if determined to outstrip her antagonist,
+and maintain her station. None but a prime seaman could have done such a
+thing so steadily and so well, in the midst of the wild haste and
+confusion of such a scene. Sir Gervaise, now not a hundred yards from
+the Carnatic, waved high his hat in exultation and praise; and old
+Parker, alone on his own poop, bared his grey hairs in acknowledgment of
+the compliment. All this time the two ships drove madly ahead, while the
+crash and roar of the battle was heard astern.
+
+The remaining French ship was well and nimbly handled. As she came round
+she unavoidably sheered towards her enemies, and Sir Gervaise found it
+necessary to countermand his last order, and to come swiftly up to the
+wind, both to avoid her raking broadside, and to prevent running into
+his own consort. But the Carnatic, having a little more room, first kept
+off, and then came to the wind again, as soon as the Frenchman had
+fired, in a way to compel him to haul up on the other tack, or to fall
+fairly aboard. Almost at the same instant, the Plantagenet closed on his
+weather quarter and raked. Parker had got abeam, and pressing nearer, he
+compelled la Victoire to haul her bowlines, bringing her completely
+between two fires. Spar went after spar, and being left with nothing
+standing but the lower masts, the Plantagenet and Carnatic could not
+prevent themselves from passing their victim, though each shortened
+sail; the first being already without a top-sail. Their places, however,
+were immediately supplied by the Achilles and the Thunderer, both ships
+having hauled down their stay-sails to lessen their way. As the Blenheim
+and Warspite were quite near astern, and an eighteen-pound shot had
+closed the earthly career of the poor _capitaine de frégate_, his
+successor in command deemed it prudent to lower his ensign; after a
+resistance that in its duration was unequal to the promise of its
+commencement. Still the ship had suffered materially, and had fifty of
+her crew among the casualties. His submission terminated the combat.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had now leisure and opportunity to look about him.
+Most of the French ships had got round; but, besides being quite as far
+astern, when they should get up abeam, supposing himself to remain where
+he was, they would be at very long gun-shot dead to leeward. To remain
+where he was, however, formed no part of his plan, for he was fully
+resolved to maintain all his advantages. The great difficulty was to
+take possession of his prize, the sea running so high as to render it
+questionable if a boat would live. Lord Morganic, however, was just of
+an age and a temperament to bring that question to a speedy issue. Being
+on the weather-beam of la Victoire, as her flag came down, he ordered
+his own first lieutenant into the larger cutter, and putting
+half-a-dozen marines, with the proper crew, into the boat, it was soon
+seen dangling in the air over the cauldron of the ocean; the oars
+on-end. To lower, let go, and unhook, were the acts of an instant; the
+oars fell, and the boat was swept away to leeward. A commander's
+commission depended on his success, and Daly made desperate efforts to
+obtain it. The prize offered a lee, and the French, with a national
+benevolence, courtesy, and magnanimity, that would scarcely have been
+imitated had matters been reversed, threw ropes to their conquerors, to
+help to rescue them from a very awkward dilemma. The men did succeed in
+getting into the prize; but the boat, in the end, was stove and lost.
+
+The appearance of the red flag of England, the symbol of his own
+professional rank, and worn by most under his own orders, over the white
+ensign of France, was the sign to Sir Gervaise that the prize-officer
+was in possession. He immediately made the signal for the fleet to
+follow the motions of the commander-in-chief. By this time, his own
+main-sail, close-reefed, had taken the place of the torn top-sail, and
+the Plantagenet led off to the southward again, as if nothing unusual
+had occurred. Daly had a quarter of an hour of extreme exertion on board
+the prize, before he could get her fairly in motion as he desired; but,
+by dint of using the axe freely, he cut the wreck adrift, and soon had
+la Victoire liberated from that incumbrance. The fore-sail and fore and
+mizzen stay-sails were on the ship, and the main-sail, close-reefed also,
+was about to be set, to drag her-from the _mêlée_ of her foes, when her
+ensign came down. By getting the tack of the latter aboard, and the
+sheet aft, he would have all the canvass set the gale would allow, and
+to this all-essential point he directed his wits. To ride down the
+main-tack of a two-decked ship, in a gale of wind, or what fell little
+short of a real gale, was not to be undertaken with twenty men, the
+extent of Daly's command; and he had recourse to the assistance of his
+enemies. A good natured, facetious Irishman, himself, with a smattering
+of French, he soon got forty or fifty of the prisoners in a sufficient
+humour to lend their aid, and the sail was set, though not without great
+risk of its splitting. From this moment, la Victoire was better off, as
+respected the gale and keeping a weatherly position, than any of the
+English ships; inasmuch as she could carry all the canvass the wind
+permitted, while she was relieved from the drift inseparable from hamper
+aloft. The effect, indeed, was visible in the first hour, to Daly's
+great delight and exultation. At the end of that period, he found
+himself quite a cable's-length to windward of the line. But in relating
+this last particular, events have been a little anticipated.
+
+Greenly, who had gone below to attend to the batteries, which were not
+worked without great difficulty in so heavy a sea, and to be in
+readiness to open the lower ports should occasion offer, re-appeared on
+deck just as the commander-in-chief showed the signal for the ships to
+follow his own motions. The line was soon formed, as mentioned, and ere
+long it became apparent that the prize could easily keep in her station.
+As most of the day was still before him, Sir Gervaise had little doubt
+of being able to secure the latter, ere night should come to render it
+indispensable.
+
+The vice-admiral and his captain shook hands cordially on the poop, and
+the former pointed out to the latter, with honest exultation, the result
+of his own bold man[oe]uvres.
+
+"We've clipped the wings of two of them," added Sir Gervaise, "and have
+fairly bagged a third, my good friend; and, God willing, when Bluewater
+joins, there will not be much difficulty with the remainder. I cannot
+see that any of our vessels have suffered much, and I set them all down
+as sound. There's been time for a signal of inability, that curse to an
+admiral's evolutions, but no one seems disposed to make it. If we really
+escape that nuisance, it will be the first instance in my life!"
+
+"Half-a-dozen yards may be crippled, and no one the worse for it, in
+this heavy weather. Were we under a press of canvass, it would be a
+different matter; but, now, so long as the main sticks stand, we shall
+probably do well enough. I can find no injury in my own ship that may
+not be remedied at sea."
+
+"And she has had the worst of it. 'Twas a decided thing, Greenly, to
+engage such an odds in a gale; but we owe our success, most probably, to
+the audacity of the attack. Had the enemy believed it possible, it is
+probable he would have frustrated it. Well, Master Galleygo, I'm glad to
+see you unhurt! What is your pleasure?"
+
+"Why, Sir Jarvy, I've two opportunities, as a body might say, on the
+poop, just now. One is to shake hands, as we always does a'ter a brush,
+you knows, sir, and to look a'ter each other's health; and the other is
+to report a misfortin that will bear hard on this day's dinner. You see,
+Sir Jarvy, I had the dead poultry slung in a net, over the live stock,
+to be out of harm's way; well, sir, a shot cut the lanyard, and let all
+the chickens down by the run, in among the gun-room grunters; and as
+they never half feeds them hanimals, there isn't as much left of the
+birds as would make a meal for a sick young gentleman. To my notion, no
+one ought to _have_ live stock but the commanders-in-chief."
+
+"To the devil with you and the stock! Give me a shake of the hand, and
+back into your top--how came you, sir, to quit your quarters without
+leave?"
+
+"I didn't, Sir Jarvy. Seeing how things was a going on, among the pigs,
+for our top hoverlooks the awful scene, I axed the young gentleman to
+let me come down to condole with your honour; and as they always lets me
+do as I axes, in such matters, why down I come. We has had one rattler
+in at our top, howsever, that came nigh lo clear us all out on it!"
+
+"Is any spar injured?" asked Sir Gervaise, quickly. "This must be looked
+to--hey! Greenly?"
+
+"Not to signify, your honour; not to signify. One of them French
+eighteens aboard the prize just cocked its nose up, as the ship lurched,
+and let fly a round 'un and a grist of grape, right into our faces. I
+see'd it coming and sung out 'scaldings;' and 'twas well I did. We all
+ducked in time, and the round 'un cleared every thing, but a handful of
+the marbles are planted in the head of the mast, making the spar look
+like a plum-pudding, or a fellow with the small-pox."
+
+"Enough of this. You are excused from returning to the top;--and,
+Greenly, beat the retreat. Bunting, show the signal for the retreat from
+quarters. Let the ships pipe to breakfast, if they will."
+
+This order affords a fair picture of the strange admixture of feelings
+and employments that characterize the ordinary life of a ship. At one
+moment, its inmates find themselves engaged in scenes of wild
+magnificence and fierce confusion, while at the next they revert to the
+most familiar duties of humanity. The crews of the whole fleet now
+retired from the guns, and immediately after they were seated around
+their kids, indulging ravenously in the food for which the exercise of
+the morning had given keen appetites. Still there was something of the
+sternness of battle in the merriment of this meal, and the few jokes
+that passed were seasoned with a bitterness that is not usual among the
+light-hearted followers of the sea. Here and there, a messmate was
+missed, and the vacancy produced some quaint and even pathetic allusion
+to his habits, or to the manner in which he met his death; seamen
+usually treating the ravages of this great enemy of the race, after the
+blow has been struck, with as much solemnity and even tenderness, as
+they regard his approaches with levity. It is when spared themselves,
+that they most regard the destruction of battle. A man's standing in a
+ship, too, carries great weight with it, at such times; the loss of the
+quarter-master, in particular, being much regretted in the Plantagenet.
+This man messed with a portion of the petty officers, a set of men
+altogether more thoughtful and grave than the body of the crew; and who
+met, when they assembled around their mess-chest that morning, with a
+sobriety and even sternness of mien, that showed how much in the
+management of the vessel had depended on their individual exertions.
+Several minutes elapsed in the particular mess of the dead man, before a
+word was spoken; all eating with appetites that were of proof, but no
+one breaking the silence. At length an old quarter-gunner, named Tom
+Sponge, who generally led the discourse, said in a sort of
+half-inquiring, half-regretting, way--
+
+"I suppose there's no great use in asking why Jack Glass's spoon is idle
+this morning. They says, them forecastle chaps, that they see'd his body
+streaming out over the starboard quarter, as if it had been the fly of
+one of his own ensigns. How was it, Ned? you was thereaway, and ought to
+know all about it."
+
+"To be sure I does," said Ned, who was Bunting's remaining assistant. "I
+was there, as you says, and see'd as much of it as a man can see of what
+passes between a poor fellow and a shot, when they comes together, and
+that not in a very loving manner. It happened just as we come upon the
+weather beam of that first chap--him as we winged so handsomely among
+us. Well, Sir Jarvy had clapped a stopper on the signals, seeing as we
+had got fairly into the smoke, and Jack and I was looking about us for
+the muskets, not knowing but a chance might turn up to chuck a little
+lead into some of the parly-woos; and so says Jack, says he, 'Ned, you's
+got my musket;--(as I _had_, sure enough)--and says he, 'Ned, you's got
+my musket; but no matter arter all, as they're much of a muchness.' So
+when he'd said this, he lets fly; but whether he hit any body, is more
+than I can say. If he _did_, 'twas likely a Frenchman, as he shot
+that-a-way. 'Now,' says Jack, says he, 'Ned, as this is your musket, you
+can load it, and hand over mine, and I'll sheet home another of the
+b----s.' Well, at that moment the Frenchman lifted for'ard, on a heavy
+swell, and let drive at us, with all his forecastle guns, fired as it
+might be with one priming--"
+
+"That was bad gunnery," growled Tom Sponge, "it racks a ship woundily."
+
+"Yes, they'se no judgment in ships, in general. Well, them French
+twelves are spiteful guns; and a _little_ afore they fired, it seemed to
+me I heard something give Jack a rap on the check, that sounded as if a
+fellow's ear was boxed with a clap of thunder. I looked up, and there
+was Jack streaming out like the fly of the ensign, head foremost, with
+the body towing after it by strings in the neck."
+
+"I thought when a fellow's head was shot off," put in another
+quarter-master named Ben Barrel, "that the body was left in the ship
+while only the truck went!"
+
+"That comes of not seeing them things, Ben," rejoined the eye-witness.
+"A fellow's head is staid in its berth just like a ship's mast. There's
+for'ard and back-stays, and shrouds, all's one as aboard here; the only
+difference is that the lanyards are a little looser, so as to give a man
+more play for his head, than it might be safe to give to a mast. When a
+fellow makes a bow, why he only comes up a little aft, and bowses on the
+fore-stay, and now and then you falls in with a chap that is stayed
+altogether too far for'ard, or who's got a list perhaps from having the
+shrouds set up too taut to port or to starboard."
+
+"That sounds reasonable," put in the quarter-gunner, gravely; "I've seen
+such droggers myself."
+
+"If you'd been on the poop an hour or too ago, you'd ha' seen more on
+it! Now, there's all our marines, their back-stays have had a fresh pull
+since they were launched, and, as for their captain, I'll warrant you,
+_he_ had a luff upon luff!"
+
+"I've heard the carpenter overhauling them matters," remarked Sam Wad,
+another quarter-gunner, "and he chalked it all out by the square and
+compass. It seems reasonable, too."
+
+"If you'd seen Jack's head dragging his body overboard, just like the
+Frenchman dragging his wreck under his lee, you'd ha' _thought_ it
+reasonable. What's a fellow's shoulders for, but to give a spread to his
+shrouds, which lead down the neck and are set up under the arms
+somewhere. They says a great deal about the heart, and I reckons it's
+likely every thing is key'd there."
+
+"Harkee, Ned," observed a quarter-master, who knew little more than the
+mess generally, "if what you say is true, why don't these shrouds lead
+straight from the head to the shoulders, instead of being all tucked up
+under a skin in the neck? Answer me that, now."
+
+"Who the devil ever saw a ship's shrouds that wasn't cat-harpened in!"
+exclaimed Ned, with some heat. "A pretty hand a wife would make of it,
+in pulling her arms around a fellow's neck if the rigging spread in the
+way you mean! Them things is all settled according to reason when a
+chap's keel's laid."
+
+This last argument seemed to dispose of the matter, the discourse
+gradually turning on, and confining itself to the merits of the
+deceased.
+
+Sir Gervaise had directed Galleygo to prepare his breakfast as soon as
+the people were piped to their own; but he was still detained on deck in
+consequence of a movement in one of his vessels, to which it has now
+become necessary more particularly to recur.
+
+The appearance of the Druid to the northward, early in the morning, will
+doubtless be remembered by the reader. When near enough to have it made
+out, this frigate had shown her number; after which she rested satisfied
+with carrying sail much harder than any vessel in sight. When the fleets
+engaged, she made an effort to set the fore-top-sail, close-reefed, but
+several of the critics in the other ships, who occasionally noticed her
+movements, fancied that some accident must have befallen her, as the
+canvass was soon taken in, and she appeared disposed to remain content
+with the sail carried when first seen. As this ship was materially to
+windward of the line, and she was running the whole time a little free,
+her velocity was much greater than that of the other vessels, and by
+this time she had got so near that Sir Gervaise observed she was fairly
+abeam of the Plantagenet, and a little to leeward of the Active. Of
+course her hull, even to the bottom, as she rose on a sea, was plainly
+visible, and such of her people as were in the tops and rigging could be
+easily distinguished by the naked eye.
+
+"The Druid must have some communication for us from the other division
+of the fleet," observed the vice-admiral to his signal-officer, as they
+stood watching the movements of the frigate; "it is a little
+extraordinary Blewet does not signal! Look at the book, and find me a
+question to put that will ask his errand?"
+
+Bunting was in the act of turning over the leaves of his little
+vocabulary of questions and answers, when three or four dark balls, that
+Sir Gervaise, by the aid of the glass, saw suspended between the
+frigate's masts, opened into flags, effectually proving that Blewet was
+not absolutely asleep.
+
+"Four hundred and sixteen, ordinary communication," observed the
+vice-admiral, with his eye still at the glass. "Look up that, Bunting,
+and let us know what it means."
+
+"The commander-in-chief--wish to speak him!" read Bunting, in the
+customary formal manner in which he announced the purport of a signal.
+
+"Very well--answer; then make the Druid's number to come within hail!
+The fellow has got cloth enough spread to travel two feet to our one;
+let him edge away and come under our lee. Speaking will be rather close
+work to-day."
+
+"I doubt if a ship _can_ come near enough to make herself heard,"
+returned the other, "though the second lieutenant of that ship never
+uses a trumpet in the heaviest weather, they tell me, sir. Our gents say
+his father was a town-crier, and that he has inherited the family
+estate."
+
+"Ay, our gents are a set of saucy fellows, as is usually the case when
+there isn't work enough aboard."
+
+"You should make a little allowance, Sir Gervaise, for being in the ship
+of a successful commander-in-chief. That makes us all carry
+weather-helms among the other messes."
+
+"Up with your signal, sir; up with your signal. I shall be obliged to
+order Greenly to put you upon watch-and-watch for a month, in order to
+bring you down to the old level of manners."
+
+"Signal answered, already, Sir Gervaise. By the way, sir, I'll thank you
+to request Captain Greenly to give me another quarter-master. It's
+nimble work for us when there is any thing serious to do."
+
+"You shall have him, Bunting," returned the vice-admiral, a shade
+passing over his face for the moment. "I had missed poor Jack Glass, and
+from seeing a spot of blood on the poop, guessed his fate. I fancied,
+indeed, I heard a shot strike something behind me."
+
+"It struck the poor fellow's head, sir, and made a noise as if a butcher
+were felling an ox."
+
+"Well--well--let us try to forget it, until something can be done for
+his son, who is one of the side boys. Ah! there's Blewet keeping away in
+earnest. How the deuce he is to speak us, however, is more than I can
+tell."
+
+Sir Gervaise now sent a message to his captain to say that he desired
+his presence. Greenly soon appeared, and was made acquainted with the
+intention of the Druid, as well as with the purport of the last signals.
+By this time, the rent main-top-sail was mended, and the captain
+suggested it should be set again, close-reefed, as before, and that the
+main-sail should be taken in. This would lessen the Plantagenet's way,
+which ship was sensibly drawing ahead of her consorts. Sir Gervaise
+assenting, the change was made, and the effects were soon apparent, not
+only in the movement of the ship, but in her greater ease and steadiness
+of motion.
+
+It was not long before the Druid was within a hundred fathoms of the
+flag-ship, on her weather-quarter, shoving the brine before her in a way
+to denote a fearful momentum. It was evidently the intention of Captain
+Blewet to cross the Plantagenet's stern, and to luff up under her lee
+quarter; the safest point at which he could approach, in so heavy a
+swell, provided it were done with discretion. Captain Blewet had a
+reputation for handling his frigate like a boat, and the occasion was
+one which would be likely to awaken all his desire to sustain the
+character he had already earned. Still no one could imagine how he was
+to come near enough to make a communication of any length. The
+stentorian lungs of the second lieutenant, however, might effect it;
+and, as the news of the expected hail passed through the ship, many who
+had remained below, in apathy, while the enemy was close under their
+lee, came on deck, curious to witness what was about to pass.
+
+"Hey! Atwood?" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, for the little excitement had
+brought the secretary up from the commander-in-chief's cabin;--"what is
+Blewet at! The fellow cannot mean to set a studding-sail!"
+
+"He is running out a boom, nevertheless, Sir Gervaise, or my thirty
+years' experience of nautical things have been thrown away."
+
+"He is truly rigging out his weather fore-topmast-studding-sail-boom,
+sir!" added Greenly, in a tone of wonder.
+
+"It _is_ out," rejoined the vice-admiral, as one would give emphasis to
+the report of a calamity. "Hey!--what? Isn't that a man they're running
+up to the end of it, Bunting? Level your glass, and let us know at
+once."
+
+"A glass is not necessary to make out that much, Sir Gervaise. It is a
+man, beyond a doubt, and there he hangs at the boom-end, as if sentenced
+by a general court-martial."
+
+Sir Gervaise now suppressed every expression of surprise, and his
+reserve was imitated, quite as a matter of course, by the twenty
+officers, who, by this time, had assembled on the poop. The Druid,
+keeping away, approached rapidly, and had soon crossed the flag-ship's
+wake. Here she came by the wind, and favoured by the momentum with which
+she had come down, and the addition of the main-sail, drew heavily but
+steadily up on her lee-quarter. Both vessels being close-hauled, it was
+not difficult steering; and by watching the helms closely, it would have
+been possible, perhaps, notwithstanding the heavy sea, to have brought
+the two hulls within ten yards of each other, and no harm should come of
+it. This was nearer, however, than it was necessary to approach; the
+studding-sail-boom, with the man suspended on the end of it, projecting
+twice that distance, beyond the vessel's bows. Still it was nice work;
+and while yet some thirty or forty feet from the perpendicular, the man
+on the boom-end made a sign for attention, swung a coil of line he hold,
+and when he saw hands raised to catch it, he made a cast. A lieutenant
+caught the rope, and instantly hauled in the slack. As the object was
+now understood, a dozen others laid hold of the line, and, at a common
+signal, when those on board the Plantagenet hauled in strongly, the
+people of the Druid lowered away. By this simple, but united movement,
+the man descended obliquely, leaping out of the bowline in which he had
+sat, and casting the whip adrift. Shaking himself to gain his footing,
+he raised his cap and bowed to Sir Gervaise, who now saw Wycherly
+Wychecombe on his poop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+    "Yet weep not thou--the struggle is not o'er,
+    O victors of Philippi! many a field
+    Hath yielded palms to us:--one effort more,
+    By one stern conflict must our fate be sealed."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+As soon as the people of the Plantagenet, who had so far trespassed on
+discipline, when they perceived a man hanging at the end of the
+studding-sail-boom, as to appear in the rigging, on the booms, and on
+the guns, to watch the result, saw the stranger safely landed on the
+poop, they lifted their hats and caps, and, as one voice, greeted him
+with three cheers. The officers smiled at this outbreak of feeling, and
+the violation of usage was forgotten; the rigid discipline of a
+man-of-war even, giving way occasionally to the sudden impulses of
+natural feeling.
+
+As the Druid approached the flag-ship, Captain Blewet had appeared in
+her weather mizzen-rigging, conning his vessel in person; and the order
+to luff, or keep off, had been given by his own voice, or by a gesture
+of his own hand. As soon as he saw Wycherly's feet on the poop of the
+Plantagenet, and his active form freed from the double-bowline, in which
+it had been seated, the captain made a wide sweep of the arm, to denote
+his desire to edge away; the helm of the frigate was borne up hard, and,
+as the two-decker surged ahead on the bosom of a sea, the Druid's bows
+were knocked off to leeward, leaving a space of about a hundred feet, or
+more, between the two ships, as it might be, in an instant. The same
+causes continuing to operate, the Plantagenet drove still farther ahead,
+while the frigate soon came to the wind again, a cable's-length to
+leeward, and abreast of the space between the admiral and his second,
+astern. Here, Captain Blewet seemed disposed to wait for further orders.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes was not accustomed to betray any surprise he might
+feel at little events that occurred on duty. He returned the bow of
+Wycherly, coolly, and then, without question or play of feature, turned
+his eyes on the further movements of the Druid. Satisfied that all was
+right with the frigate, he directed the messenger to follow him, and
+went below himself, leaving Wycherly to obey as fast as the many
+inquiries he had to answer as he descended the ladders would allow.
+Atwood, an interested observer of what had passed, noted that Captain
+Greenly, of all present, was the only person who seemed indifferent to
+the nature of the communication the stranger might bring, though perhaps
+the only one entitled by rank to put an interrogatory.
+
+"You have come aboard of us in a novel and extraordinary mode, Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe!" observed the vice-admiral, a little severely, as
+soon as he found himself in his own cabin, alone with the lieutenant.
+
+"It was the plan of Captain Blewet, sir, and was really the only one
+that seemed likely to succeed, for a boat could scarcely live. I trust
+the success of the experiment, and the nature of the communications I
+may bring, will be thought sufficient excuses for the want of ceremony."
+
+"It is the first time, since the days of the Conqueror, I fancy, that an
+English vice-admiral's ship has been boarded so cavalierly; but, as you
+say, the circumstances may justify the innovation. What is your errand,
+sir?"
+
+"This letter, I presume, Sir Gervaise, will explain itself. I have
+little to say in addition, except to report that the Druid has sprung
+her foremast in carrying sail to close with you, and that we have not
+lost a moment since Admiral Bluewater ordered us to part company with
+himself."
+
+"You sailed on board the Cæsar, then?" asked Sir Gervaise, a great deal
+mollified by the zeal for service in a youth, situated ashore, as he
+knew Wycherly to be. "You left her, with this letter?"
+
+"I did, Sir Gervaise, at Admiral Bluewater's command."
+
+"Did you go aboard the Druid boom-fashion, or was that peculiar style
+reserved for the commander-in-chief?"
+
+"I left the Cæsar in a boat, Sir Gervaise; and though we were much
+nearer in with the coast, where the wind has not the rake it has here,
+and the strength of the gale had not then come, we were nearly swamped."
+
+"If a true Virginian, you would not have drowned, Wychecombe," answered
+the vice-admiral, in better humour. "You Americans swim like cork.
+Excuse me, while I read what Admiral Bluewater has to say."
+
+Sir Gervaise had received Wycherly in the great cabin, standing at the
+table which was lashed in its centre. He would have been puzzled
+himself, perhaps, to have given the real reason why he motioned to the
+young man to take a chair, while he went into what he called his
+"drawing-room;" or the beautiful little apartment between the two
+state-rooms, aft, which was fitted with an elegance that might have been
+admired in a more permanent dwelling, and whither he always withdrew
+when disposed to reflection. It was probably connected, however, with a
+latent apprehension of the rear-admiral's political bias, for, when by
+himself, he paused fully a minute before he opened the letter.
+Condemning this hesitation as unmanly, he broke the seal, however, and
+read the contents of a letter, which was couched in the following terms:
+
+     "My dear Oakes:--Since we parted, my mind has undergone some
+     violent misgivings as to the course duty requires of me, in this
+     great crisis. One hand--one heart--one voice even, may decide the
+     fate of England! In such circumstances, all should listen to the
+     voice of conscience, and endeavour to foresee the consequences of
+     their own acts. Confidential agents are in the west of England, and
+     one of them I have seen. By his communications I find more depends
+     on myself than I could have imagined, and more on the movements of
+     M. de Vervillin. Do not be too sanguine--take time for your own
+     decisions, and grant _me_ time; for I feel like a wretch whose fate
+     must soon be sealed. On no account engage, because you think this
+     division near enough to sustain you, but at least keep off until
+     you hear from me more positively, or we can meet. I find it equally
+     hard to strike a blow against my rightful prince, or to desert my
+     friend. For God's sake act prudently, and depend on seeing me in
+     the course of the next twenty-four hours. I shall keep well to the
+     eastward, in the hope of falling in with you, as I feel satisfied
+     de Vervillin has nothing to do very far west. I may send some
+     verbal message by the bearer, for my thoughts come sluggishly, and
+     with great reluctance.
+
+     "Ever _yours_,
+     "RICHARD BLUEWATER."
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes read this letter twice with great deliberation; then
+he crushed it in his hand, as one would strangle a deadly serpent. Not
+satisfied with this manifestation of distaste, he tore the letter into
+pieces so small as to render it impossible to imagine its contents,
+opened a cabin-window, and threw the fragments into the ocean. When he
+fancied that every sign of his friend's weakness had thus been
+destroyed, he began to pace the cabin in his usual manner. Wycherly
+heard his step, and wondered at the delay; but his duty compelled him to
+pass an uncomfortable half-hour in silence, ere the door opened, and Sir
+Gervaise appeared. The latter had suppressed the signs of distress,
+though the lieutenant could perceive he was unusually anxious.
+
+"Did the rear-admiral send any message, Sir Wycherly?" inquired Sir
+Gervaise; "in his letter he would seem to refer me to some verbal
+explanations from yourself."
+
+"I am ashamed to say, sir, none that I can render very intelligible.
+Admiral Bluewater, certainly, did make a few communications that I was
+to repeat, but when we had parted, by some extraordinary dullness of my
+own I fear, I find it is out of my power to give them any very great
+distinctness or connection."
+
+"Perhaps the fault is less your own, sir, than his. Bluewater is
+addicted to fits of absence of mind, and then he has no reason to
+complain that others do not understand him, for he does not always
+understand himself."
+
+Sir Gervaise said this with a little glee, delighted at finding his
+friend had not committed himself to his messenger. The latter, however,
+was less disposed to excuse himself by such a process, inasmuch as he
+felt certain that the rear-admiral's feelings were in the matter he
+communicated, let the manner have been what it might.
+
+"I do not think we can attribute any thing to Admiral Bluewater's
+absence of mind, on this occasion, sir," answered Wycherly, with
+generous frankness. "His feelings appeared to be strongly enlisted in
+what he said. It might have been owing to the strength of these feelings
+that he was a little obscure, but it could not have been owing to
+indifference."
+
+"I shall best understand the matter, then, by hearing what he did say,
+sir."
+
+Wycherly paused, and endeavoured to recall what had passed, in a way to
+make it intelligible.
+
+"I was frequently told to caution you not to engage the French, sir,
+until the other division had closed, and was ready to assist. But,
+really, whether this was owing to some secret information that the
+rear-admiral had obtained, or to a natural desire to have a share in the
+battle, is more than I can say."
+
+"Each may have had its influence. Was any allusion made to secret
+intelligence, that you name it?"
+
+"I never felt more cause to be ashamed of my own dullness, than at this
+present moment, Sir Gervaise Oakes," exclaimed Wycherly, who almost
+writhed under the awkwardness of his situation; for he really began to
+suspect that his own personal grounds of unhappiness had induced him to
+forget some material part of his message;--"recent events ashore, had
+perhaps disqualified me for this duty."
+
+"It is natural it should be so, my young friend; and as I am acquainted
+with them all, you can rest satisfied with my indulgence."
+
+"All! no--Sir Gervaise, you know not half--but, I forget myself, sir,
+and beg your pardon."
+
+"I have no wish to pry into your secrets, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, and
+we will drop the subject. You may say, however, if the rear-admiral was
+in good spirits--as an English seaman is apt to be, with the prospect of
+a great battle before him."
+
+"I thought not, Sir Gervaise. Admiral Bluewater to me seemed sad, if I
+may presume to mention it--almost to tears, I thought, sir, one or
+twice."
+
+"Poor Dick!" mentally ejaculated the vice-admiral; "he never could have
+made up his mind to desert _me_ without great anguish of soul. Was there
+any thing said," speaking aloud, "about the fleet of M. de Vervillin?"
+
+"Certainly a good deal, sir; and yet am I ashamed to say, I scarce know
+what! Admiral Bluewater appeared to think the Comte de Vervillin had no
+intention to strike a blow at any of our colonies, and with this he
+seemed to connect the idea that there would be less necessity for our
+engaging him. At all events, I cannot be mistaken in his wish that you
+would keep off, sir, until he could close."
+
+"Ay, and you see how instinctively I have answered to his wishes!" said
+Sir Gervaise, smiling a little bitterly. "Nevertheless, had the rear of
+the fleet been up this morning, Sir Wycherly, it might have been a
+glorious day for England!"
+
+"It _has_ been a glorious day, as it is, sir. We, in the Druid, saw it
+all; and there was not one among us that did not exult in the name of
+Englishman!"
+
+"What, even to the Virginian, Wychecombe!" rejoined Sir Gervaise,
+greatly gratified with the natural commendation conveyed in the manner
+and words of the other, and looking in a smiling, friendly manner, at
+the young man. "I was afraid the hits you got in Devonshire might have
+induced you to separate your nationality from that of old England."
+
+"Even to the Virginian, Sir Gervaise. You have been in the colonies,
+sir, and must know we do not merit all that we sometimes receive, on
+this side of the Atlantic. The king has no subjects more loyal than
+those of America."
+
+"I am fully aware of it, my noble lad, and have told the king as much,
+with my own mouth. But think no more of this. If your old uncle did give
+you an occasional specimen of true John Bullism, he has left you an
+honourable title and a valuable estate. I shall see that Greenly finds a
+berth for you, and you will consent to mess with me, I hope. I trust
+some time to see you at Bowldero. At present we will go on deck; and if
+any thing that Admiral Bluewater has said _should_ recur to your mind
+more distinctly, you will not forget to let me know it."
+
+Wycherly now bowed and left the cabin, while Sir Gervaise sat down and
+wrote a note to Greenly to request that he would look a little after the
+comfort of the young man. The latter then went on deck, in person.
+Although he endeavoured to shake off the painful doubts that beset him,
+and to appear as cheerful as became an officer who had just performed a
+brilliant exploit, the vice-admiral found it difficult to conceal the
+shock he had received from Bluewater's communication. Certain as he felt
+of striking a decisive blow at the enemy, could he be reinforced with
+the five ships of the rear division, he would cheerfully forego the
+triumph of such additional success, to be certain his friend did not
+intend to carry his disaffection to overt acts. He found it hard to
+believe that a man like Bluewater could really contemplate carrying off
+with him the ships he commanded; yet he knew the authority his friend
+wielded over his captains, and the possibility of such a step would
+painfully obtrude itself on his mind, at moments. "When a man can
+persuade himself into all the nonsense connected with the _jus
+divinum_," thought Sir Gervaise, "it is doing no great violence to
+common sense to persuade himself into all its usually admitted
+consequences." Then, again, would interpose his recollections of
+Bluewater's integrity and simplicity of character, to reassure him, and
+give him more cheering hopes for the result. Finding himself thus
+vacillating between hope and dread, the commander-in-chief determined to
+drive the matter temporarily from his mind, by bestowing his attention
+on the part of the fleet he had with him. Just as this wise resolution
+was formed, both Greenly and Wycherly appeared on the poop.
+
+"I am glad to see you with a hungry look, Greenly," cried Sir Gervaise,
+cheerfully; "here has Galleygo just been to report his breakfast, and,
+as I know your cabin has not been put in order since the people left the
+guns, I hope for the pleasure of your company. Sir Wycherly, my gallant
+young Virginian, here, will take the third chair, I trust, and then our
+party will be complete."
+
+The two gentlemen assenting, the vice-admiral was about to lead the way
+below, when suddenly arresting his footsteps, on the poop-ladder, he
+said--
+
+"Did you not tell me, Wychecombe, that the Druid had sprung her
+foremast?"
+
+"Badly, I believe, Sir Gervaise, in the hounds. Captain Blewet carried
+on his ship fearfully, all night."
+
+"Ay, he's a fearful fellow with spars, that Tom Blewet. I never felt
+certain of finding all the sticks in their places, on turning out of a
+morning, when he was with you as a lieutenant, Greenly. How many
+jib-booms and top-gallant yards did he cost us, in that cruise off the
+Cape of Good Hope? By George, it must have been a dozen, at least!"
+
+"Not quite as bad as that, Sir Gervaise, though he did expend two
+jib-booms and three top-gallant yards, for me. Captain Blewet has a fast
+ship, and he wishes people to know it."
+
+"And he has sprung his foremast and he shall see _I_ know it! Harkee,
+Bunting, make the Druid's number to lie by the prize; and when that's
+answered, tell him to take charge of the Frenchman, and to wait for
+further orders. I'll send him to Plymouth to get a new foremast, and to
+see the stranger in. By the way, does any body know the name of the
+Frenchman--hey! Greenly?"
+
+"I cannot tell you, Sir Gervaise, though some of our gentlemen think it
+is the ship that was the admiral's second ahead, in our brush off Cape
+Finisterre. I am not of the same opinion, however; for that vessel had a
+billet-head, and this has a woman figure-head, that looks a little like
+a Minerva. The French have a _la Minerve_, I think."
+
+"Not now, Greenly, if this be she, for she is _ours_." Here Sir Gervaise
+laughed heartily at his own humour, and all near him joined in, as a
+matter of course. "But la Minerve has been a frigate time out of mind.
+The Goddess of Wisdom has never been fool enough to get into a line of
+battle when she has had it in her power to prevent it."
+
+"_We_ thought the figure-head of the prize a Venus, as we passed her in
+the Druid," Wycherly modestly observed.
+
+"There is a way of knowing, and it shall be tried. When you've done with
+the Druid, Bunting, make the prize's signal to repeat her name by
+telegraph. You know how to make a prize's number, I suppose, when she
+has none."
+
+"I confess I do not, Sir Gervaise," answered Bunting, who had shown by
+his manner that he was at a loss. "Having no number in our books, one
+would be at a stand how to get at her, sir."
+
+"How would _you_ do it, young man?" asked Sir Gervaise, who all this
+time was hanging on to the man-rope of the poop-ladder. "Let us see how
+well you've been taught, sir."
+
+"I believe it may be done in different modes, Sir Gervaise," Wycherly
+answered, without any appearance of triumph at his superior readiness,
+"but the simplest I know is to hoist the French flag under the English,
+by way of saying for whom the signal is intended."
+
+"Do it, Bunting," continued Sir Gervaise, nodding his head as he
+descended the ladder, "and I warrant you, Daly will answer. What sort of
+work he will make with the Frenchman's flags, is another matter. I
+doubt, too, if he had the wit to carry one of our books with him, in
+which case he will be at a loss to read our signal. Try him, however,
+Bunting; an Irishman always has _something_ to say, though it be a
+bull."
+
+This order given, Sir Gervaise descended to his cabin. In half an hour
+the party was seated at table, as quietly as if nothing unusual had
+occurred that day.
+
+"The worst of these little brushes which lead to nothing, is that they
+leave as strong a smell of gunpowder in your cabin, Greenly, as if a
+whole fleet had been destroyed," observed the vice-admiral
+good-humouredly, as he began to help his guests. "I hope the odour we
+have here will not disturb your appetites, gentlemen."
+
+"You do this day's success injustice, Sir Gervaise, in calling it only a
+brush," answered the captain, who, to say the truth, had fallen to as
+heartily upon the delicacies of Galleygo, as if he had not eaten in
+twenty-four hours. "At any rate, it has brushed the spars out of two of
+king Louis's ships, and one of them into our hands; ay, and in a certain
+sense into our pockets."
+
+"Quite true, Greenly--quite true; but what would it have been if--"
+
+The sudden manner in which the commander-in-chief ceased speaking,
+induced his companions to think that he had met with some accident in
+eating or drinking; both looked earnestly at him, as if to offer
+assistance. He _was_ pale in the face, but he smiled, and otherwise
+appeared at his ease.
+
+"It is over, gentlemen," said Sir Gervaise, gently--"we'll think no more
+of it."
+
+"I sincerely hope you've not been hit, sir?" said Greenly. "I've known
+men hit, who did not discover that they were hurt until some sudden
+weakness has betrayed it."
+
+"I believe the French have let me off this time, my good friend--yes, I
+think Magrath will be plugging no shot-holes in my hull for this affair.
+Sir Wycherly, those eggs are from your own estate, Galleygo having laid
+the manor under contribution for all sorts of good things. Try them,
+Greenly, as coming from our friend's property."
+
+"Sir Wycherly is a lucky fellow in _having_ an estate," said the
+captain. "Few officers of his rank can boast of such an advantage;
+though, now and then, an old one is better off."
+
+"That is true enough--hey! Greenly? The army fetches up most of the
+fortunes; for your rich fellows like good county quarters and county
+balls. I was a younger brother when they sent _me_ to sea, but I became
+a baronet, and a pretty warm one too, while yet a reefer. Poor Josselin
+died when I was only sixteen, and at seventeen they made me an officer."
+
+"Ay, and we like you all the better, Sir Gervaise, for not giving us up
+when the money came. Now Lord Morganic was a captain when _he_
+succeeded, and we think much less of that."
+
+"Morganic remains in service, to teach us how to stay top-masts and
+paint figure-heads;" observed Sir Gervaise, a little drily. "And yet the
+fellow handled his ship well to-day; making much better weather of it
+than I feared he would be able to do."
+
+"I hear we are likely to get another duke in the navy, sir; it's not
+often we catch one of that high rank."
+
+Sir Gervaise cared much less for things of this sort than Bluewater, but
+he naturally cast a glance at the speaker, as this was said, as much as
+to ask whom he meant.
+
+"They tell me, sir, that Lord Montresor, the elder brother of the boy in
+the Cæsar, is in a bad way, and Lord Geoffrey stands next to the
+succession. I think there is too much stuff in _him_ to quit us now he
+is almost fit to get his commission."
+
+"True, Bluewater has that boy of high hopes and promise with him, too;"
+answered Sir Gervaise in a musing manner, unconscious of what he said.
+"God send he may not forget _that_, among other things!"
+
+"I don't think rank makes any difference with Admiral Bluewater, or
+Captain Stowel. The nobles are worked up in their ship, as well as the
+humblest reefer of them all. Here is Bunting, sir, to tell us
+something."'
+
+Sir Gervaise started from a fit of abstraction, and, turning, he saw his
+signal-officer ready to report.
+
+"The Druid has answered properly, Sir Gervaise, and has already hauled
+up so close that I think she will luff through the line, though it may
+be astern of the Carnatic."
+
+"And the prize, Bunting? Have you signalled the prize, as I told you to
+do?"
+
+"Yes, sir; and she has answered so properly that I make no question the
+prize-officer took a book with him. The telegraphic signal was answered
+like the other."
+
+"Well, what does he say? Have you found out the name of the Frenchman?"
+
+"That's the difficulty, sir; _we_ are understood, but Mr. Daly has shown
+something aboard the prize that the quarter-master swears is a paddy."
+
+"A paddy!--What, he hasn't had himself run up at a yard-arm, or
+stun'sail-boom end, has he--hey! Wychecombe? Daly's an Irishman, and has
+only to show _himself_ to show a paddy."
+
+"But this is a sort of an image of some kind or other, Sir Gervaise, and
+yet it isn't Mr. Daly. I rather think he hasn't the flags necessary for
+our words, and has rigged out a sort of a woman, to let us know his
+ship's name; for she _has_ a woman figure-head, you know, sir."
+
+"The devil he has! Well, that will form an era in signals. Galleygo,
+look out at the cabin window and let me know if you can see the prize
+from them--well, sir, what's the news?"
+
+"I sees her, Sir Jarvy," answered the steward, "and I sees her where no
+French ship as sails in company with British vessels has a right to be.
+If she's a fathom, your honour, she's fifty to windward of our line!
+Quite out of her place, as a body might say, and onreasonable."
+
+"That's owing to our having felled the forests of her masts, Mr.
+Galleygo; every spar that is left helping to put her where she is. That
+prize must be a weatherly ship, though, hey! Greenly? She and her
+consort were well to windward of their own line, or we could never have
+got 'em as we did. These Frenchmen _do_ turn off a weatherly vessel now
+and then, that we must all admit."
+
+"Yes, Sir Jarvy," put in Galleygo, who never let the conversation flag
+when he was invited to take a part in it; "yes, Sir Jarvy, and when
+they've turned 'em off the stocks they turns 'em over to us, commonly,
+to sail 'em. Building a craft is one piece of knowledge, and sailing her
+_well_ is another."
+
+"Enough of your philosophy, sirrah; look and ascertain if there is any
+thing unusual to be seen hanging in the rigging of the prize. Unless you
+show more readiness, I'll send one of the Bowlderos to help you."
+
+These Bowlderos were the servants that Sir Gervaise brought with him
+from his house, having been born on his estate, and educated as
+domestics in his own, or his father's family; and though long accustomed
+to a man-of-war, as their ambition never rose above their ordinary
+service, the steward held them exceedingly cheap. A severer punishment
+could not be offered him, than to threaten to direct one of these common
+menials to do any duty that, in the least, pertained to the profession.
+The present menace had the desired effect, Galleygo losing no time in
+critically examining the prize's rigging.
+
+"I calls nothing extr'ornary in a Frenchman's rigging, Sir Jarvy,"
+answered the steward, as soon as he felt sure of his fact; "their
+dock-men have idees of their own, as to such things. Now there is
+sum'mat hanging at the lee fore-yard-arm of that chap, that looks as if
+it might be a top-gallant-stun'sail made up to be sent aloft and set,
+but which stopped when it got as high as it is, on finding out that
+there's no hamper over-head to spread it to."
+
+"That's it, sir," put in Bunting. "Mr. Daly has run his woman up to the
+fore-yard-arm, like a pirate."
+
+"Woman!" repeated Galleygo--"do you call that 'ere thing-um-mee a woman,
+Mr. Buntin'? I calls it a bundle of flags, made up to set, if there was
+any thing to set 'em to."
+
+"It's nothing but an Irish woman, Master Galleygo, as you'll see for
+yourself, if you'll level this glass at it."
+
+"I'll do that office myself," cried Sir Gervaise. "Have you any
+curiosity, gentlemen, to read Mr. Daly's signal? Galleygo, open that
+weather window, and clear away the books and writing-desk, that we may
+have a look."
+
+The orders were immediately obeyed, and the vice-admiral was soon seated
+examining the odd figure that was certainly hanging at the lee
+fore-yard-arm of the prize; a perfect nondescript as regarded all
+nautical experience.
+
+"Hang me, if I can make any thing of it. Greenly," said Sir Gervaise,
+after a long look. "Do _you_ take this seat, and try your hand at an
+observation. It resembles a sort of a woman, sure enough."
+
+"Yes, sir," observed Bunting, with the earnestness of a man who felt his
+reputation involved in the issue, "I was certain that Mr. Daly has run
+up the figure to let us know the name of the prize, and that for want of
+a telegraph-book to signal the letters; and so I made sure of what I was
+about, before I took the liberty to come below and report."
+
+"And pray what do you make of it, Bunting? The figure-head might tell us
+better, but that seems to be imperfect."
+
+"The figure-head has lost all its bust, and one arm, by a shot," said
+Greenly, turning the glass to the object named; "and I can tell Mr. Daly
+that a part of the gammoning of his bowsprit is gone, too! That ship
+requires looking to, Sir Gervaise; she'll have no foremast to-morrow
+morning, if this wind stand! Another shot has raked the lower side of
+her fore-top, and carried away half the frame. Yes, and there's been a
+fellow at work, too--"
+
+"Never mind the shot--never mind the shot, Greenly," interrupted the
+vice-admiral. "A poor devil like him, couldn't have six of us at him, at
+once, and expect to go 'shot free.' Tell us something of the woman."
+
+"Well, Sir Gervaise, no doubt Daly has hoisted her as a symbol. Ay, no
+doubt the ship is the Minerva, after all, for there's something on the
+head like a helmet."
+
+"It never can be the Minerva," said the vice-admiral, positively, "for
+_she_, I feel certain, is a frigate. Hand me the little book with a red
+cover, Bunting; that near your hand; it has a list of the enemy's navy.
+Here it is, '_la Minerve_, 32, _le capitaine de frégate, Mondon_. Built
+in 1733, old and dull.' That settles the Minerva, for this list is the
+last sent us by the admiralty."
+
+"Then it must be the Pallas," rejoined Greenly, "for she wears a helmet,
+too, and I am certain there is not only a cap to resemble a helmet, but
+a Guernsey frock on the body to represent armour. Both Minerva and
+Pallas, if I remember right, wore armour."
+
+"This is coming nearer to the point,--hey! Greenly!" the vice-admiral
+innocently chimed in; "let us look and see if the Pallas is a two-decker
+or not. By George, there's no such name on the list. That's odd, now,
+that the French should have one of these goddesses and not the other!"
+
+"They never has any thing right, Sir Jarvy," Galleygo thrust in, by way
+of commentary on the vice-admiral's and the captain's classical lore;
+"and it's surprising to me that they should have any goddess at all,
+seeing that they has so little respect for religion, in general."
+
+Wycherly fidgeted, but respect for his superiors kept him silent. As for
+Bunting, 'twas all the same to him, his father having been a purser in
+the navy, and he himself educated altogether on board ship, and this,
+too, a century since.
+
+"It might not be amiss, Sir Gervaise," observed the captain, "to work
+this rule backwards, and just look over the list until we find a
+two-decked ship that _ought_ to have a woman figure-head, which will
+greatly simplify the matter. I've known difficult problems solved in
+that mode."
+
+The idea struck Sir Gervaise as a good one, and he set about the
+execution of the project in good earnest. Just as he came to _l'Hécate_,
+64, an exclamation from Greenly caught his attention, and he inquired
+its cause.
+
+"Look for yourself, Sir Gervaise; unless my eyes are good for nothing,
+Daly is running a kedge up alongside of his woman."
+
+"What, a kedge?--Ay, that is intended for an anchor, and it means Hope.
+Every body knows that Hope carries an anchor,--hey! Wychecombe? Upon my
+word, Daly shows ingenuity. Look for the Hope, in that list,
+Bunting,--you will find the English names printed first, in the end of
+the book."
+
+"'The Hope, or _l' Esperance_,'" read the signal-officer; "'36, _lee
+capitang dee frigate dee Courtraii_.'"
+
+"A single-decked ship after all! This affair is as bad as the d----d
+_nullus_, ashore, there. I'll not be beaten in learning, however, by any
+Frenchman who ever floated. Go below, Locker, and desire Doctor Magrath
+to step up here, if he is not occupied with the wounded. He knows more
+Latin than any man in the ship."
+
+"Yes, Sir Jarvy, but this is French, you knows, your honour, and is'nt
+as Latin, at all. I expects she'll turn out to have some name as no
+modest person wishes to use, and we shall have to halter it."
+
+"Ay, he's catted his anchor, sure enough; if the figure be not Hope, it
+must be Faith, or Charity."
+
+"No fear of them, Sir Jarvy; the French has no faith, nor no charity,
+no, nor no bowels, as any poor fellow knows as has ever been wrecked on
+their coast, as once happened to me, when a b'y. I looks upon 'em as no
+better than so many heatheners, and perhaps that's the name of the ship.
+I've seed heatheners, a hundred times, Sir Jarvy, in that sort of
+toggery."
+
+"What, man, did you ever see a heathen with an anchor?--one that will
+weigh three hundred, if it will weigh a pound?"
+
+"Perhaps not, your honour, with a downright hanchor, but with sum'mat
+like a killog. But, that's no hanchor, a'ter all, but only a kedge,
+catted hanchor-fashion, sir."
+
+"Here comes Magrath, to help us out of the difficulty; and we'll
+propound the matter to him."
+
+The vice-admiral now explained the whole affair to the surgeon, frankly
+admitting that the classics of the cabin were at fault, and throwing
+himself on the gun-room for assistance. Magrath was not a little amused,
+as he listened, for this was one of his triumphs, and he chuckled not a
+little at the dilemma of his superiors.
+
+"Well, Sir Jairvis," he answered, "ye might do warse than call a council
+o' war on the matter; but if it's the name ye'll be wanting, I can help
+ye to that, without the aids of symbols, and signs, and hyeroglyphics of
+any sort. As we crossed the vessel's wake, a couple of hours since, I
+read it on her stern, in letters of gold. It's _la Victoire_, or the
+Victory; a most unfortunate cognomen for an unlucky ship. She's a French
+victory, however, ye'll remember, gentlemen!"
+
+"That must be a mistake, Magrath; for Daly has shown an anchor, yonder;
+and Victory carries no anchor."
+
+"It's hard to say, veece-admiral, one man's victory being another man's
+defeat. As for Mr. Daly's image, it's just an _Irish_ goddess; and
+allowances must be made for the country."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed, invited the gentlemen to help demolish the
+breakfast, and sent orders on deck to hoist the answering flag. At a
+later day, Daly, when called on for an explanation, asserted that the
+armour and helmet belonged to Victory, as a matter of course; though he
+admitted that he had at first forgotten the anchor; "but, when I _did_
+run it up, they read it aboard the ould Planter, as if it had been just
+so much primmer."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+    "There's beauty in the deep:--
+    The wave is bluer than the sky;
+    And, though the light shines bright on high,
+    More softly do the sea-gems glow,
+    That sparkle in the depths below;
+    The rainbow's tints are only made
+    When on the waters they are laid.
+    And sun and moon most sweetly shine
+    Upon the ocean's level brine.
+    There's beauty in the deep."
+
+         BRAINARD.
+
+
+As Daly was the recognised jester of the fleet, his extraordinary
+attempt to announce his vessel's name was received as a characteristic
+joke, and it served to laugh at until something better offered. Under
+the actual circumstances of the two squadrons, however, it was soon
+temporarily forgotten in graver things, for few believed the collision
+that had already taken place was to satisfy a man of the known
+temperament of the commander-in-chief. As the junction of the rear
+division was the only thing wanting to bring on a general engagement, as
+soon as the weather should moderate a little, every ship had careful
+look-outs aloft, sweeping the horizon constantly with glasses, more
+particularly towards the east and north-east. The gale broke about noon,
+though the wind still continued fresh from the same quarter as before.
+The sea began to go down, however, and at eight bells material changes
+had occurred in the situations of both fleets. Some of these it may be
+necessary to mention.
+
+The ship of the French admiral, _le Foudroyant_, and _le Scipion_, had
+been received, as it might be, in the arms of their own fleet in the
+manner already mentioned; and from this moment, the movement of the
+whole force was, in a measure, regulated by that of these two crippled
+vessels. The former ship, by means of her lower sails, might have
+continued to keep her station in the line, so long as the gale lasted;
+but the latter unavoidably fell off, compelling her consorts to keep
+near, or to abandon her to her fate. M. de Vervillin preferred the
+latter course. The consequences were, that, by the time the sun was in
+the zenith, his line, a good deal extended, still, and far from regular,
+was quite three leagues to leeward of that of the English. Nor was this
+all: at that important turn in the day, Sir Gervaise Oakes was enabled
+to make sail on all his ships, setting the fore and mizzen-top-sails
+close-reefed; while _la Victoire_, a fast vessel, was enabled to keep in
+company by carrying whole courses. The French could not imitate this,
+inasmuch as one of their crippled vessels had nothing standing but a
+foremast. Sir Gervaise had ascertained, before the distance became too
+great for such observations, that the enemy was getting ready to send up
+new top-masts, and the other necessary spars on board the admiral, as
+well as jury lower-masts in _le Scipion_; though the sea would not yet
+permit any very positive demonstrations to be made towards such an
+improvement. He laid his own plans for the approaching night
+accordingly; determining not to worry his people, or notify the enemy of
+his intentions, by attempting any similar improvement in the immediate
+condition of his prize.
+
+About noon, each ship's number was made in succession, and the question
+was put if she had sustained any material injury in the late conflict.
+The answers were satisfactory in general, though one or two of the
+vessels made such replies as induced the commander-in-chief to resort to
+a still more direct mode of ascertaining the real condition of his
+fleet. In order to effect this important object, Sir Gervaise waited two
+hours longer, for the double purpose of letting all the messes get
+through with their dinners, and to permit the wind to abate and the sea
+to fall, as both were now fast doing. At the expiration of that time,
+however, he appeared on the poop, summoning Bunting to his customary
+duty.
+
+At 2 P.M. it blew a whole top-sail breeze, as it is called; but
+the sea being still high, and the ships close-hauled, the vice-admiral
+did not see fit to order any more sail. Perhaps he was also influenced
+by a desire not to increase his distance from the enemy, it being a part
+of his plan to keep M. de Vervillin in plain sight so long as the day
+continued, in order that he might have a tolerable idea of the position
+of his fleet, during the hours of darkness. His present intention was to
+cause his vessels to pass before him in review, as a general orders his
+battalions to march past a station occupied by himself and staff, with a
+view to judge by his own eye of their steadiness and appearance.
+Vice-Admiral Oakes was the only officer in the British navy who ever
+resorted to this practice; but he did many things of which other men
+never dreamed, and, among the rest, he did not hesitate to attack double
+his force, when an occasion offered, as has just been seen. The officers
+of the fleet called these characteristic reviews "Sir Jarvy's
+field-days," finding a malicious pleasure in comparing any thing out of
+the common nautical track, to some usage of the soldiers.
+
+Bunting got his orders, notwithstanding the jokes of the fleet; and the
+necessary signals were made and the answers given. Captain Greenly then
+received his verbal instructions, when the commander-in-chief went
+below, to prepare himself for the approaching scene. When Sir Gervaise
+re-appeared on the poop, he was in full uniform, wearing the star of the
+Bath, as was usual with him on all solemn official occasions. Atwood and
+Bunting were at his side, while the Bowlderos, in their rich
+shore-liveries, formed a group at hand. Captain Greenly and his first
+lieutenant joined the party as soon as their duty with the ship was
+over. On the opposite side of the poop, the whole of the marines off
+guard were drawn up in triple lines, with their officers at their head.
+The ship herself had hauled up her main-sail, hauled down all her
+stay-sails, and lay with her main-top-sail braced sharp aback, with
+orders to the quarter-master to keep her little off the wind; the object
+being to leave a little way through the water, in order to prolong the
+expected interviews. With these preparations the commander-in-chief
+awaited the successive approach of his ships, the sun, for the first
+time in twenty-four hours, making his appearance in a flood of brilliant
+summer-light, as if purposely to grace the ceremony.
+
+The first ship that drew near the Plantagenet was the Carnatic, as a
+matter of course, she being the next in the line. This vessel,
+remarkable, as the commander-in-chief had observed, for never being out
+of the way, was not long in closing, though as she luffed up on the
+admiral's weather-quarter, to pass to windward, she let go all her
+top-sail bowlines, so as to deaden her way, making a sort of half-board.
+This simple evolution, as she righted her helm, brought her about fifty
+yards to windward of the Plantagenet, past which ship she surged slowly
+but steadily, the weather now permitting a conversation to be held at
+that distance, and by means of trumpets, with little or no effort of the
+voice.
+
+Most of the officers of the Carnatic were on her poop, as she came
+sweeping up heavily, casting her shadow on the Plantagenet's decks.
+Captain Parker himself was standing near the ridge-ropes, his head
+uncovered, and the grey hairs floating in the breeze. The countenance of
+this simple-minded veteran was a little anxious, for, had he feared the
+enemy a tenth part as much as he stood in awe of his commanding officer,
+he would have been totally unfit for his station. Now he glanced upward
+at his sails, to see that all was right; then, as he drew nearer, fathom
+by fathom as it might be, he anxiously endeavoured to read the
+expression of the vice-admiral's face.
+
+"How do you do, Captain Parker?" commenced Sir Gervaise, with true
+trumpet formality, making the customary salutation.
+
+"How is Sir Gervaise Oakes to-day? I hope untouched in the late affair
+with the enemy?"
+
+"Quite well, I thank you, sir. Has the Carnatic received any serious
+injury in the battle?"
+
+"None to mention, Sir Gervaise. A rough scrape of the foremast; but not
+enough to alarm us, now the weather has moderated; a little rigging cut,
+and a couple of raps in the hull."
+
+"Have your people suffered, sir?"
+
+"Two killed and seven wounded, Sir Gervaise. Good lads, most of 'em; but
+enough like 'em remain."
+
+"I understand, then, Captain Parker, that you report the Carnatic fit
+for any service?"
+
+"As much so as my poor abilities enable me to make her, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes," answered the other, a little alarmed at the formality and
+precision of the question. "Meet her with the helm--meet her with the
+helm."
+
+All this passed while the Carnatic was making her half-board, and, the
+helm being righted, she now slowly and majestically fell off with her
+broadside to the admiral, gathering way as her canvass began to draw
+again. At this instant, when the yard-arms of the two ships were about a
+hundred feet asunder, and just as the Carnatic drew up fairly abeam, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes raised his hat, stepped quickly to the side of the poop,
+waved his hand for silence, and spoke with a distinctness that rendered
+his words audible to all in both vessels.
+
+"Captain Parker," he said, "I wish, publicly, to thank you for your
+noble conduct this day. I have always said a surer support could never
+follow a commander-in-chief into battle; you have more than proved my
+opinion to be true. I wish, publicly, to thank you, sir."
+
+"Sir Gervaise--I cannot express--God bless you, Sir Gervaise!"
+
+"I have but one fault to find with you, sir, and that is easily
+pardoned."
+
+"I'm sure I hope so, sir."
+
+"You handled your ship so rapidly and so surely, that _we_ had hardly
+time to get out of the way of your guns!"
+
+Old Parker could not now have answered had his life depended on it; but
+he bowed, and dashed a hand across his eyes. There was but a moment to
+say any more.
+
+"If His Majesty's sword be not laid on _your_ shoulder for this day's
+work, sir, it shall be no fault of mine," added Sir Gervaise, waving his
+hat in adieu.
+
+While this dialogue lasted, so profound was the stillness in the two
+ships, that the wash of the water under the bows of the Carnatic, was
+the only sound to interfere with Sir Gervaise's clarion voice; but the
+instant he ceased to speak, the crews of both vessels rose as one man,
+and cheered. The officers joined heartily, and to complete the
+compliment, the commander-in-chief ordered his own marines to present
+arms to the passing vessel. Then it was that, every sail drawing, again
+the Carnatic took a sudden start, and shot nearly her length ahead, on
+the summit of a sea. In half a minute more, she was ahead of the
+Plantagenet's flying-jib-boom-end, steering a little free, so as not to
+throw the admiral to leeward.
+
+The Carnatic was scarcely out of the way, before the Achilles was ready
+to take her place. This ship, having more room, had easily luffed to
+windward of the Plantagenet, simply letting go her bowlines, as her bows
+doubled on the admiral's stern, in order to check her way.
+
+"How do you do to-day, Sir Gervaise?" called out Lord Morganic, without
+waiting for the commander-in-chief's hail--"allow me to congratulate
+you, sir, on the exploits of this glorious day!"
+
+"I thank you, my lord, and wish to say I am satisfied with the behaviour
+of your ship. You've _all_ done well, and I desire to thank you _all_.
+Is the Achilles injured?"
+
+"Nothing to speak of, sir. A little rigging gone, and here and there a
+stick."
+
+"Have you lost any men, my lord? I desire particularly to know the
+condition of each ship."
+
+"Some eight or ten poor fellows, I believe, Sir Gervaise; but we are
+ready to engage this instant."
+
+"It is well, my lord; steady your bowlines, and make room for the
+Thunderer."
+
+Morganic gave the order, but as his ship drew ahead he called out in a
+pertinacious way,--"I hope, Sir Gervaise, you don't mean to give that
+other lame duck up. I've got my first lieutenant on board one of 'em,
+and confess to a desire to put the second on board another."
+
+"Ay--ay--Morganic, _we_ knock down the birds, and _you_ bag 'em. I'll
+give you more sport in the same way, before I've done with ye."
+
+This little concession, even Sir Gervaise Oakes, a man not accustomed to
+trifle in matters of duty, saw fit to make to the other's rank; and the
+Achilles withdrew from before the flag-ship, as the curtain is drawn
+from before the scene.
+
+"I do believe, Greenleaf," observed Lord Morganic to his surgeon, one of
+his indulged favourites; "that Sir Jarvy is a little jealous of us,
+because Daly got into the prize before he could send one of his own
+boats aboard of her. 'Twill tell well in the gazette, too, will it
+not?--'The French ship was taken possession of, and brought off, by the
+Achilles, Captain the Earl of Morganic!' I hope the old fellow will have
+the decency to give us our due. I rather think it _was_ our last
+broadside that brought the colours down?"
+
+A suitable answer was returned, but as the ship is drawing ahead, we
+cannot follow her to relate it. The vessel that approached the third,
+was the Thunderer, Captain Foley. This was one of the ships that had
+received the fire of the three leading French vessels, after they had
+brought the wind abeam, and being the leading vessel of the English
+rear, she had suffered more than any other of the British squadron. The
+fact was apparent, as she approached, by the manner in which her rigging
+was knotted, and the attention that had been paid to her spars. Even as
+she closed, the men were on the yard bending a new main-course, the old
+one having been hit on the bolt-rope, and torn nearly from the spar.
+There were also several plugs on her lee-side to mark the spots where
+the French guns had told.
+
+The usual greetings passed between the vice-admiral and his captain, and
+the former put his questions.
+
+"We have not been quite exchanging salutes, Sir Gervaise," answered
+Captain Foley; "but the ship is ready for service again. Should the wind
+moderate a little, I think everything would stand to carry sail _hard_."
+
+"I'm glad to hear it, sir--_rejoiced_ to hear it, sir. I feared more for
+you, than for any other vessel. I hope you've not suffered materially in
+your crew?"
+
+"Nine killed. Sir Gervaise; and the surgeon tells me sixteen wounded."
+
+"That proves you've not been in port, Foley! Well, I dare say, could the
+truth be known, it would be found that M. de Vervillin's vessels bear
+your marks, in revenge. Adieu--adieu--God bless you."
+
+The Thunderer glided ahead, making room for the Blenheim, Captain
+Sterling. This was one of your serviceable ships, without any show or
+style about her; but a vessel that was always ready to give and take.
+Her commander was a regular sea-dog, a little addicted to hard and
+outlandish oaths, a great consumer of tobacco and brandy; but who had
+the discrimination never to swear in the presence of the
+commander-in-chief, although he had been known to do so in a church; or
+to drink more than he could well carry, when he was in presence of an
+enemy or a gale of wind. He was too firm a man, and too good a seaman,
+to use the bottle as a refuge; it was the companion of his ease and
+pleasure, and to confess the truth, he then treated it with an
+affectionate benevolence, that rendered it exceedingly difficult for
+others not to entertain some of his own partiality for it. In a word,
+Captain Sterling was a sailor of the "old school;" for there was an "old
+school" in manners, habits, opinions, philosophy, morals, and reason, a
+century since, precisely as there _is_ to-day, and probably _will_ be, a
+century hence.
+
+The Blenheim made a good report, not having sustained any serious injury
+whatever; nor had she a man hurt. The captain reported his ship as fit
+for service as she was the hour she lifted her anchor.
+
+"So much the better, Sterling--so much the better. You shall take the
+edge off the next affair, by way of giving you another chance. I rely on
+the Blenheim, and on her captain."
+
+"I thank you, sir," returned Sterling, as his ship moved on; "by the
+way, Sir Gervaise, would it not be fair-play to rummage the prize's
+lockers before she gets into the hands of the custom-house? Out here on
+the high seas, there can be no smuggling in _that_: there must be good
+claret aboard her."
+
+"There would be 'plunder of a prize,' Sterling," said the vice-admiral,
+laughing, for he knew that the question was put more as a joke than a
+serious proposition; "and that is death, without benefit of clergy. Move
+on; here is Goodfellow close upon your heels."
+
+The last ship in the English line was the Warspite, Captain Goodfellow,
+an officer remarkable in the service at that day, for a "religious
+turn," as it was called. As is usually the case with men of this stamp,
+Captain Goodfellow was quiet, thoughtful, and attentive to his duty.
+There was less of the real tar in him, perhaps, than in some of his
+companions; but his ship was in good order, always did her duty, and was
+remarkably attentive to signals; a circumstance that rendered her
+commander a marked favourite with the vice-admiral. After the usual
+questions were put and answered, Sir Gervaise informed Goodfellow that
+he intended to change the order of sailing so as to bring him near the
+van.
+
+"We will give old Parker a breathing spell, Goodfellow," added the
+commander-in-chief, "and you will be my second astern. I must go ahead
+of you all, or you'll be running down on the Frenchman without orders;
+pretending you can't see the signals, in the smoke."
+
+The Warspite drove ahead, and the Plantagenet was now left to receive
+the prize and the Druid; the Chloe, Driver, and Active, not being
+included in the signal. Daly had been gradually eating the other ships
+out of the wind, as has been mentioned already, and when the order was
+given to pass within hail, he grumbled not a little at the necessity of
+losing so much of his vantage-ground. Nevertheless, it would not do to
+joke with the commander-in-chief in a matter of this sort, and he was
+fain to haul up his courses, and wait for the moment when he might
+close. By the time the Warspite was out of the way, his ship had drifted
+down so near the admiral, that he had nothing to do but to haul aboard
+his tacks again, and pass as near as was at all desirable. When quite
+near, he hauled up his main-sail, by order of the vice-admiral.
+
+"Are you much in want of any thing, Mr. Daly?" demanded Sir Gervaise, as
+soon as the lieutenant appeared forward to meet his hail. "The sea is
+going down so fast, that we might now send you some boats."
+
+"Many thanks, Sir Gervaise; I want to get rid of a hundred or two
+Frenchmen, and to have a hundred Englishmen in their places. We are but
+twenty-one of the king's subjects here, all told."
+
+"Captain Blewet is ordered to keep company with you, sir; and as soon as
+it is dark, I intend to send you into Plymouth under the frigate's
+convoy. Is she a nice ship, hey! Daly?"
+
+"Why, Sir Gervaise, she's like a piece of broken crockery, just now, and
+one can't tell all her merits. She's not a bad goer, and weatherly, I
+think, all will call her. But she's thundering French, inside."
+
+"We'll make her English in due time, sir. How are the leaks? do the
+pumps work freely?"
+
+"Deuce the l'ake has she, Sir Gervaise, and the pumps suck like a nine
+months' babby. And if they didn't we're scarce the boys to find out the
+contrary, being but nineteen working hands."
+
+"Very well, Daly; you can haul aboard your main-tack, now; remember,
+you're to go into Plymouth, as soon as it is dark. If you see any thing
+of Admiral Bluewater, tell him I rely on his support, and only wait for
+his appearance to finish Monsieur de Vervillin's job."
+
+"I'll do all that, with hearty good will, sir. Pray, Sir Gervaise,"
+added Daly, grinning, on the poop of the prize, whither he had got by
+this time, having walked aft as his ship went ahead, "how do you like
+French signals? For want of a better, we were driven to the classics!"
+
+"Ay, you'd be bothered to explain all your own flags, I fancy. The name
+of the ship is the Victory, I am told; why did you put her in armour,
+and whip a kedge up against the poor woman?"
+
+"It's according to the books, Sir Gervaise. Every word of it out of
+Cicero, and Cordairy, and Cornelius Nepos, and those sort of fellows.
+Oh! I went to school, sir, before I went to sea, as you say yourself,
+sometimes, Sir Gervaise; and literature is the same in Ireland, as it is
+all over the world. Victory needs armour, sir, in order to be
+victorious, and the anchor is to show that she doesn't belong to 'the
+cut and run' family. I am as sure that all was right, as I ever was of
+my moods and tenses."
+
+"Very well, Daly," answered Sir Gervaise, laughing--"My lords shall know
+your merits in that way, and it may get you named a professor--keep your
+luff, or you'll be down on our sprit-sail-yard;--remember and follow the
+Druid."
+
+Here the gentlemen waved their hands in adieu as usual, and la Victoire,
+clipped as she was of her wings, drew slowly past. The Druid succeeded,
+and Sir Gervaise simply gave Blewet his orders to see the prize into
+port, and to look after his own foremast. This ended the field day; the
+frigate luffing up to windward of the line again, leaving the
+Plantagenet in its rear. A few minutes later, the latter ship filled and
+stood after her consorts.
+
+The vice-admiral having now ascertained, in the most direct manner, the
+actual condition of his fleet, had _data_ on which to form his plans for
+the future. But for the letter from Bluewater, he would have been
+perfectly happy; the success of the day having infused a spirit into the
+different vessels, that, of itself, was a pledge of more important
+results. Still he determined to act as if that letter had never been
+written, finding it impossible to believe that one who had so long been
+true, could really fail him in the hour of need. "I know his heart
+better than he knows it himself," he caught himself mentally exclaiming,
+"and before either of us is a day older, this will I prove to him, to
+his confusion and my triumph." He had several short and broken
+conversations with Wycherly in the course of the afternoon, with a view
+to ascertain, if possible, the real frame of mind in which his friend
+had written, but without success, the young man frankly admitting that,
+owing to a confusion of thought that he modestly attributed to himself,
+but which Sir Gervaise well knew ought in justice to be imputed to
+Bluewater, he had not been able to bring away with him any very clear
+notions of the rear-admiral's intentions.
+
+In the mean while, the elements were beginning to exhibit another of
+their changeful humours. A gale in summer is seldom of long duration,
+and twenty-four hours would seem to be the period which nature had
+assigned to this. The weather had moderated materially by the time the
+review had taken place, and five hours later, not only had the sea
+subsided to a very reasonable swell, but the wind had hauled several
+points; coming out a fresh top-gallant breeze at north-west. The French
+fleet wore soon after, standing about north-east-by-north, on an easy
+bowline. They had been active in repairing damages, and the admiral was
+all a-tanto again, with every thing set that the other ships carried.
+The plight of le Scipion was not so easily remedied, though even she had
+two jury-masts rigged, assistance having been sent from the other
+vessels as soon as boats could safely pass. As the sun hung in the
+western sky, wanting about an hour of disappearing from one of the long
+summer days of that high latitude, this ship set a mizzen-top-sail in
+the place of a main, and a fore-top-gallant-sail in lieu of a
+mizzen-top-sail. Thus equipped, she was enabled to keep company with her
+consorts, all of which were under easy canvass, waiting for the night to
+cover their movements.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had made the signal for his fleet to tack in
+succession, from the rear to the van, about an hour before le Scipion
+obtained this additional sail. The order was executed with great
+readiness, and, as the ships had been looking up as high as
+west-south-west before, when they got round, and headed
+north-north-east, their line of sailing was still quite a league to
+windward of that of the enemy. As each vessel filled on the larboard
+tack, she shortened sail to allow the ships astern to keep away, and
+close to her station. It is scarcely necessary to say, that this change
+again brought the Plantagenet to the head of the line, with the
+Warspite, however, instead of the Carnatic, for her second astern; the
+latter vessel being quite in the rear.
+
+It was a glorious afternoon, and there was every promise of as fine a
+night. Still, as there were but about six hours of positive darkness at
+that season of the year, and the moon would rise at midnight, the
+vice-admiral knew he had no time to lose, if he would effect any thing
+under the cover of obscurity. Reefs were no longer used, though all the
+ships were under short canvass, in order to accommodate their movements
+to those of the prize. The latter, however, was now in tow of the Druid,
+and, as this frigate carried her top-gallant-sails, aided by her own
+courses, la Victoire was enabled not only to keep up with the fleet,
+then under whole top-sails, but to maintain her weatherly position. Such
+was the state of things just as the sun dipped, the enemy being on the
+lee bow, distant one and a half leagues, when the Plantagenet showed a
+signal for the whole fleet to heave to, with the main-top-sails to the
+masts. This command was scarcely executed, when the officers on deck
+were surprised to hear a boatswain's mate piping away the crew of the
+vice-admiral's barge, or that of the boat which was appropriated to the
+particular service of the commander-in-chief.
+
+"Did I hear aright, Sir Gervaise?" inquired Greenly, with curiosity and
+interest; "is it your wish to have your barge manned, sir?"
+
+"You heard perfectly right, Greenly; and, if disposed for a row this
+fine evening, I shall ask the favour of your company. Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe, as you are an idler here, I have a flag-officer's right to
+press yon into my service. By the way, Greenly, I have made out and
+signed an order to this gentleman to report himself to you, as attached
+to my family, as the soldiers call it; as soon as Atwood has copied it,
+it will be handed to him, when I beg you will consider him as my first
+aid."
+
+To this no one could object, and Wycherly made a bow of acknowledgment.
+At that instant the barge was seen swinging off over the ship's waist,
+and, at the next, the yard tackles were heard overhauling themselves.
+The splash of the boat in the water followed. The crew was in her, with
+oars on end, and poised boat-hooks, in another minute. The guard
+presented, the boatswain piped over, the drum rolled, and Wycherly
+jumped to the gangway and was out of sight quick as thought. Greenly and
+Sir Gervaise followed, when the boat shoved off.
+
+Although the seas had greatly subsided, and their combs were no longer
+dangerous, the Atlantic was far from being as quiet as a lake in a
+summer eventide. At the very first dash of the oars the barge rose on a
+long, heavy swell that buoyed her up like a bubble, and as the water
+glided from under her again, it seemed as if she was about to sink into
+some cavern of the ocean. Few things give more vivid impressions of
+helplessness than boats thus tossed by the waters when not in their
+raging humours; for one is apt to expect better treatment than thus to
+be made the plaything of the element. All, however, who have ever
+floated on even the most quiet ocean, must have experienced more or less
+of this helpless dependence, the stoutest boat, impelled by the lustiest
+crews, appearing half the time like a feather floating in capricious
+currents of the air.
+
+The occupants of the barge, however, were too familiar with their
+situation to think much of these matters; and, as soon as Sir Gervaise
+assented to Wycherly's offer to take the tiller, he glanced upward, with
+a critical eye, in order to scan the Plantagenet's appearance.
+
+"That fellow, Morganic, has got a better excuse for his xebec-rig than I
+had supposed, Greenly," he said, after a minute of observation. "Your
+fore-top-mast is at least six inches too far forward, and I beg you will
+have it stayed aft to-morrow morning, if the weather permit. None of
+your Mediterranean craft for me, in the narrow seas."
+
+"Very well, Sir Gervaise; the spar shall be righted in the morning
+watch," quietly returned the captain.
+
+"Now, there's Goodfellow, half-parson as he is; the man contrives to
+keep his sticks more upright than any captain in the fleet. You never
+see a spar half an inch out of its place, on board the Warspite."
+
+"That is because her captain trims every thing by his own life, sir,"
+rejoined Greenly, smiling. "Were we half as good as he is, in other
+matters, we might be better than we are in seamanship."
+
+"I do not think religion hurts a sailor, Greenly--no, not in the least.
+That is to say, when he don't wedge his masts too tight, but leaves play
+enough for all weathers. There is no cant in Goodfellow."
+
+"Not the least of it, sir, and that it is which makes him so great a
+favourite. The chaplain of the Warspite is of some use; but one might as
+well have a bowsprit rigged out of a cabin-window, as have our chap."
+
+"Why, we never bury a man, Greenly, without putting him into the water
+as a Christian should be," returned Sir Gervaise, with the simplicity of
+a true believer of the decency school. "I hate to see a seaman tossed in
+the ocean like a bag of old clothes."
+
+"We get along with that part of the duty pretty well; but _before_ a man
+is dead, the parson is of opinion that he belongs altogether to the
+doctor."
+
+"I'd bet a hundred guineas, Magrath has had some influence over him, in
+this matter--give the Blenheim a wider berth, Sir Wycherly, I wish to
+see how she looks aloft--he's a d----d fellow, that Magrath,"--no one
+swore in Sir Gervaise's boat but himself, when the vice-admiral's flag
+was flying in her bows;--"and he's just the sort of man to put such a
+notion into the chaplain's head."
+
+"Why, there, I believe you're more than half right, Sir Gervaise; I
+overheard a conversation between them one dark night, when they were
+propping the mizzen-mast under the break of the poop, and the surgeon
+_did_ maintain a theory very like that you mention, sir."
+
+"Ah!--he did, did he? It's just like the Scotch rogue, who wanted to
+persuade me that your poor uncle, Sir Wycherly, ought not to have been
+blooded, in as clear a case of apoplexy as ever was met with."
+
+"Well, I didn't think he could have carried his impudence as far as
+that," observed Greenly, whose medical knowledge was about on a par with
+that of Sir Gervaise. "I didn't think even a doctor would dare to hold
+such a doctrine! As for the chaplain, to him he laid down the principle
+that religion and medicine never worked well together. He said religion
+was an 'alterative,' and would neutralize a salt as quick as fire."
+
+"He's a great vagabond, that Magrath, when he gets hold of a young hand,
+sir; and I wish with all my heart the Pretender had him, with two or
+three pounds of his favourite medicines with him--I think, between the
+two, England might reap some advantage, Greenly.--Now, to my notion,
+Wychecombe, the Blenheim would make better weather, if her masts were
+shortened at least two feet."
+
+"Perhaps she might, Sir Gervaise; but would she be as certain a ship, in
+coming into action in light winds and at critical moments?"
+
+"Umph! It's time for us old fellows to look about us, Greenly, when the
+boys begin to reason on a line of battle! Don't blush, Wychecombe; don't
+blush. Your remark was sensible, and shows reflection. No country can
+ever have a powerful marine, or, one likely to produce much influence in
+her wars, that does not pay rigid attention to the tactics of fleets.
+Your frigate actions and sailing of single ships, are well enough as
+drill; but the great practice must be in squadron. Ten heavy ships, in
+good _fleet_ discipline, and kept at sea, will do more than a hundred
+single cruisers, in establishing and maintaining discipline; and it is
+only by using vessels _together_, that we find out what both ships and
+men can do. Now, we owe the success of this day, to our practice of
+sailing in close order, and in knowing how to keep our stations; else
+would six ships never have been able to carry away the palm of victory
+from twelve--palm!--Ay, that's the very word. Greenly, I was trying to
+think of this morning. Daly's paddy should have had a palm-branch in its
+hand, as an emblem of victory."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+      "He that has sailed upon the dark-blue sea,
+         Has viewed at times, I ween, a full fair sight;
+       When the fresh breeze is fair as breeze may be,
+         The white sail set, the gallant frigate tight;
+         Mast, spires and strand, retiring to the sight,
+       The glorious main expanding o'er the bow,
+         The convoy spread like wild swans in their flight,
+       The dullest sailer waring bravely now,
+     So gaily curl the waves before each dashing prow."
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+As Sir Gervaise Oakes' active mind was liable to such sudden mutations
+of thought as that described in the close of the last chapter, Greenly
+neither smiled, nor dwelt on the subject at all; he simply pointed out
+to his superior the fact, that they were now abreast of the Thunderer,
+and desired to know whether it was his pleasure to proceed any further.
+
+"To the Carnatic, Greenly, if Sir Wycherly will have the goodness to
+shape his course thither. I have a word to say to my friend Parker,
+before we sleep to-night. Give us room, however, to look at Morganic's
+fancies, for I never pass his ship without learning something new. Lord
+Morganic's vessel is a good school for us old fellows to attend--hey!
+Greenly?"
+
+"The Achilles is certainly a model vessel in some respects, Sir
+Gervaise, though I flatter myself the Plantagenets have no great
+occasion to imitate her, in order to gain a character."
+
+"_You_ imitate Morganic in order to know how to keep a ship in
+order!--Poh! let Morganic come to school to _you_. Yet the fellow is not
+bashful in battle neither; keeps his station well, and makes himself
+both heard and felt. Ah! there he is, flourishing his hat on the poop,
+and wondering what the deuce Sir Jarvy's after, now! Sheer in,
+Wychecombe, and let us hear what he has to say."
+
+"Good evening, Sir Gervaise," called out the earl, as usual taking the
+_initiative_ in the discourse; "I was in hopes when I saw your flag in
+the boat, that you were going to do me the favour to open a bottle of
+claret, and to taste some fruit, I have still standing on the table."
+
+"I thank you, my lord, but business before pleasure. We have not been
+idle to-day, though to-morrow shall be still more busy. How does the
+Achilles steer; now her foremast is in its place?"
+
+"Yaws like a fellow with his grog aboard, Sir Gervaise, on my honour! We
+shall never do any thing with her, until you consent to let us stay her
+spars, in our own fashion. Do you intend to send me Daly back, or am I
+to play first lieutenant myself, admiral?"
+
+"Daly's shipped for the cruise, and you must do as well as you can
+without him. If you find yourself without a second astern, in the course
+of the night, do not fancy she has gone to the bottom. Keep good
+look-outs, and pay attention to signals."
+
+As Sir Gervaise waved his hand, the young noble did not venture to
+reply, much less to ask a question, though there was not a little
+speculation on the poop of the Achilles, concerning the meaning of his
+words. The boat moved on, and five minutes later Sir Gervaise was on the
+quarter-deck of the Carnatic.
+
+Parker received the commander-in-chief, hat in hand, with a solicitude
+and anxiety that were constitutional, perhaps, and which no
+consciousness of deserving could entirely appease. Habit, however, had
+its share in it, since, accustomed to defer to rank from boyhood, and
+the architect of his own "little fortune," he had ever attached more
+importance to the commendation of his superior, than was usual with
+those who had other props to lean on than their own services. As soon as
+the honours of the quarter-deck had been duly paid--for these Sir
+Gervaise never neglected himself, nor allowed others to neglect--the
+vice-admiral intimated to Captain Parker a desire to see him in his
+cabin, requesting Greenly and Wycherly to accompany them below.
+
+"Upon my word, Parker," commenced Sir Gervaise, looking around him at
+the air of singular domestic comfort that the after-cabin of the ship
+presented, "you have the knack of taking a house to sea with you, that
+no other captain of the fleet possesses! No finery, no Morganics, but a
+plain, wholesome, domestic look, that might make a man believe he was in
+his father's house. I would give a thousand pounds if my vagabonds could
+give the cabin of the Plantagenet such a Bowldero look, now!"
+
+"Less than a hundred, sir, have done the little you see here. Mrs.
+Parker makes it a point to look to those matters, herself, and in that
+lies the whole secret, perhaps. A good wife is a great blessing, Sir
+Gervaise, though you have never been able to persuade yourself into the
+notion, I believe."
+
+"I hardly think, Parker, the wife can do it all. Now there's Stowel,
+Bluewater's captain, he is married as well as yourself--nay, by George,
+I've heard the old fellow say he had as much wife as any man in his
+majesty's service--but _his_ cabin looks like a cobbler's barn, and his
+state-room like a soldier's bunk! When we were lieutenants together in
+the Eurydice, Parker, your state-room had just the same air of comfort
+about it that this cabin has at this instant. No--no--it's in the grain,
+man, or it would never show itself, in all times and places."
+
+"You forget, Sir Gervaise, that when I had the honour to be your
+messmate in the Eurydice, I was a married man."
+
+"I beg your pardon, my old friend; so you were, indeed! Why, that was a
+confounded long time ago, hey! Parker?"
+
+"It was, truly, sir; but I was poor, and could not afford the
+extravagances of a single life. _I_ married for the sake of economy,
+Admiral Oakes."
+
+"And love--" answered Sir Gervaise, laughing. "I'll warrant you,
+Greenly, that he persuaded Mrs. Parker into that notion, whether true or
+not. I'll warrant you, he didn't tell _her_ he married for so sneaking a
+thing as economy! I should like to see your state-room now, Parker."
+
+"Nothing easier, Sir Gervaise," answered the captain, rising and opening
+the door. "Here it is, air, though little worthy the attention of the
+owner of Bowldero."
+
+"A notable place, truly!--and with a housewife-look about it that must
+certainly remind you of Mrs. Parker--unless, indeed, that picture at the
+foot of your cot puts other notions into your head! What young hussy
+have you got there, my old Eurydice?--Hey! Parker?"
+
+"That is a picture of my faithful wife, Sir Gervaise; a proper
+companion, I hope, of my cruise?"
+
+"Hey! What, that young thing your wife, Parker! How the d--l came she to
+have you?"
+
+"Ah, Sir Gervaise, she is a young thing no longer, but is well turned
+towards sixty. The picture was taken when she was a bride, and is all
+the dearer to me, now that I know the original has shared my fortunes so
+long. I never look at it, without remembering, with gratitude, how much
+she thinks of me in our cruises, and how often she prays for our
+success. _You_ are not forgotten, either, sir, in her prayers."
+
+"I!" exclaimed the vice-admiral, quite touched at the earnest simplicity
+of the other. "D'ye hear that, Greenly? I'll engage, now, this lady is a
+good woman--a really excellent creature--just such another as my poor
+sainted mother was, and a blessing to all around her! Give me your hand,
+Parker; and when you write next to your wife, tell her from me, God
+bless her; and say all you think a man ought to say on such an occasion.
+And now to business. Let us seat ourselves in this snug domestic-looking
+cabin of yours, and talk our matters over."
+
+The two captains and Wycherly followed the vice-admiral into the
+after-cabin, where the latter seated himself on a small sofa, while the
+others took chairs, in respectful attitudes near him, no familiarity or
+jocularity on the part of a naval superior ever lessening the distance
+between him and those who _hold subordinate commissions_--a fact that
+legislators would do well to remember, when graduating rank in a
+service. As soon as all were placed, Sir Gervaise opened his mind.
+
+"I have a delicate piece of duty, Captain Parker," he commenced, "which
+I wish entrusted to yourself. You must know that we handled the ship
+which escaped us this morning by running down into her own line, pretty
+roughly, in every respect; besides cutting two of her masts out of her.
+This ship, as you may have seen, has got up jury-masts, already; but
+they are spars that can only be intended to carry her into port.
+Monsieur de Vervillin is not the man I take him to be, if he intends to
+leave the quarrel between us where it is. Still he cannot keep that
+crippled ship in his fleet, any more than we can keep our prize, and I
+make no doubt he will send her off to Cherbourg as soon as it is dark;
+most probably accompanied by one of his corvettes; or perhaps by a
+frigate."
+
+"Yes, Sir Gervaise," returned Parker, thoughtfully, as soon as his
+superior ceased to speak; "what you predict, is quite likely to happen."
+
+"It _must_ happen, Parker, the wind blowing directly for his haven. Now,
+you may easily imagine what I want of the Carnatic."
+
+"I suppose I understand you, sir;--and yet, if I might presume to
+express a wish--"
+
+"Speak out, old boy--you're talking to a friend. I have chosen you to
+serve you, both as one I like, and as the oldest captain in the fleet.
+Whoever catches that ship will hear more of it."
+
+"Very true, sir; but are we not likely to have more work, here? and
+would it be altogether prudent to send so fine a ship as the Carnatic
+away, when the enemy will count ten to six, even if she remain?"
+
+"All this has been thought of; and I suppose your own feeling has been
+anticipated. You think it will be more honourable to your vessel, to
+keep her place in the line, than to take a ship already half beaten."
+
+"That's it, indeed, Sir Gervaise. I do confess some such thoughts were
+crossing my mind."
+
+"Then see how easy it is to rose them out of it. I cannot fight the
+French, in this moderate weather, without a reinforcement. When the rear
+joins, we shall be just ten to ten, without you, and with you, should be
+eleven to ten. Now, I confess, I don't wish the least odds, and shall
+send away somebody; especially when I feel certain a noble two-decked
+ship will be the reward. If a frigate accompany the crippled fellow,
+you'll have your hands full, and a very fair fight; and should you get
+either, it will be a handsome thing. What say you _now_, Parker?"
+
+"I begin to think better of the plan, Sir Gervaise, and am grateful for
+the selection. I wish, however, I knew your own precise wishes--I've
+always found it safe to follow them, sir."
+
+"Here they are, then. Get four or five sets of the sharpest eyes you
+have, and send them aloft to keep a steady look on your chap, while
+there is light enough to be certain of him. In a little while, they'll
+be able to recognise him in the dark; and by keeping your night-glasses
+well levelled, he can scarcely slip off, without your missing him. The
+moment he is gone, ware short round, and make the best of your way for
+Cape la Hogue, or Alderney; you will go three feet to his two, and, my
+life on it, by day-light you'll have him to windward of you, and then
+you'll be certain of him. Wait for no signals from me, but be off, as
+soon as it is dark. When your work is done, make the best of your way to
+the nearest English port, and clap a Scotchman on your shoulder to keep
+the king's sword from chafing it. They thought me fit for knighthood at
+three-and-twenty, and the deuce is in it, Parker, if you are not worthy
+of it at three-and-sixty!"
+
+"Ah! Sir Gervaise, every thing you undertook succeeded! You never yet
+failed in any expedition."
+
+"That has come from attempting much. My _plans_ have often failed; but
+as something good has generally followed from them, I have the credit of
+designing to do, exactly what I've done."
+
+Then followed a long, detailed discourse, on the subject before them, in
+which Greenly joined; the latter making several useful suggestions to
+the veteran commander of the Carnatic. After passing quite an hour in
+the cabin of Parker, Sir Gervaise took his leave and re-entered his
+barge. It was now so dark that small objects could not be distinguished
+a hundred yards, and the piles of ships, as the boat glided past them,
+resembled black hillocks, with clouds floating among their tree-like and
+waving spars. No captain presumed to hail the commander-in-chief, as he
+rowed down the line, again, with the exception of the peer of the realm.
+He indeed had always something to say; and, as he had been conjecturing
+what could induce the vice-admiral to pay so long a visit to the
+Carnatic, he could not refrain from uttering as much aloud, when he
+heard the measured stroke of the oars from the returning barge.
+
+"We shall all be jealous of this compliment to Captain Parker, Sir
+Gervaise," he called out, "unless your favours are occasionally extended
+to some of us less worthy ones."
+
+"Ay--ay--Morganic, you'll be remembered in proper time. In the mean
+while, keep your people's eyes open, so as not to lose sight of the
+French. We shall have something to say to them in the morning."
+
+"Spare us a night-action, if possible, Sir Gervaise! I do detest
+fighting when sleepy; and I like to see my enemy, too. As much as you
+please in the day-time; but a quiet night, I do beseech you, sir."
+
+"I'll warrant you, now, if the opera, or Ranelagh, or a drum, or a
+masquerade, were inviting you, Morganic, you'd think but little of your
+pillow!" answered Sir Gervaise, drily; "whatever you do yourself, my
+lord, don't let the Achilles get asleep on duty; I may have need of her
+to-morrow. Give way, Wychecombe, give way, and let us get home again."
+
+In fifteen minutes from that instant, Sir Gervaise was once more on the
+poop of the Plantagenet, and the barge in its place on deck. Greenly was
+attending to the duties of his ship, and Bunting stood in readiness to
+circulate such orders as it might suit the commander-in-chief to give.
+
+It was now nine o'clock, and it was not easy to distinguish objects on
+the ocean, even as large as a ship, at the distance of half a league. By
+the aid of the glasses, however, a vigilant look-out was kept on the
+French vessels, which, by this time, were quite two leagues distant,
+drawing more ahead. It was necessary to fill away, in order to close
+with them, and a night-signal was made to that effect. The whole British
+line braced forward their main-yards, as it might be, by a common
+impulse, and had there been one there of sufficiently acute senses, he
+might have heard all six of the main-top-sails flapping at the same
+instant. As a matter of course the vessels started ahead, and, the order
+being to follow the vice-admiral in a close line ahead, when the
+Plantagenet edged off, so as to bring the wind abeam, each vessel did
+the same, in succession, or as soon as in the commander-in-chief's wake,
+as if guided by instinct. About ten minutes later, the Carnatic, to the
+surprise of those who witnessed the man[oe]uvre in the Achilles, wore
+short round, and set studding-sails on her starboard side, steering
+large. The darkest portion of the horizon being that which lay to the
+eastward, or, in the direction of the continent, in twenty minutes the
+pyramid of her shadowy outline was swallowed in the gloom. All this
+time, la Victoire, with the Druid leading and towing, kept upon a
+bowline; and an hour later, when Sir Gervaise found himself abeam of the
+French line again, and half a league to windward of it, no traces were
+to be seen of the three ships last mentioned.
+
+"So far, all goes well, gentlemen," observed the vice-admiral to the
+group around him on the poop; "and we will now try to count the enemy,
+to make certain _he_, too, has no stragglers out to pick up waifs.
+Greenly, try that glass; it is set for the night, and your eyes are the
+best we have. Be particular in looking for the fellow under jury-masts."
+
+"I make out but ten ships in the line, Sir Gervaise," answered the
+captain, after a long examination; "of course the crippled ship must
+have gone to leeward. Of _her_, certainly, I can find no traces."
+
+"You will oblige me, Sir Wycherly, by seeing what _you_ can make out, in
+the same way."
+
+After a still longer examination than that of the captain, Wycherly made
+the same report, adding that he thought he also missed the frigate that
+had been nearest le Foudroyant, repeating her signals throughout the
+day. This circumstance gratified Sir Gervaise, as he was pleased to find
+his prognostics came true, and he was not sorry to be rid of one of the
+enemy's light cruisers; a species of vessel that often proved
+embarrassing, after a decided affair, even to the conqueror.
+
+"I think, Sir Gervaise," Wycherly modestly added, "that the French have
+boarded their tacks, and are pressing up to windward to near us. Did it
+not appear so to you, Captain Greenly?"
+
+"Not at all. If they carry courses, the sails have been set within the
+last five minutes--ha! Sir Gervaise, that is an indication of a busy
+night!"
+
+As he spoke. Greenly pointed to the place where the French admiral was
+known to be, where at that instant appeared a double row of lights;
+proving that the batteries had their lanterns lit, and showing a
+disposition to engage. In less than a minute the whole French line was
+to be traced along the sea, by the double rows of illumination, the
+light resembling that which is seen through the window of a room that
+has a bright fire, rather than one in which lamps or candles are
+actually visible. As this was just the species of engagement in which
+the English had much to risk, and little to gain, Sir Gervaise
+immediately gave orders to brace forward the yards, to board
+fore-and-main tacks, and to set top-gallant-sails. As a matter of
+course, the ships astern made sail in the same manner, and hauled up on
+taut bowlines, following the admiral.
+
+"This is not our play," coolly remarked Sir Gervaise; "a crippled ship
+would drop directly into their arms and as for any success at long-shot,
+in a two-to-one fight, it is not to be looked for. No--no--Monsieur de
+Vervillin, show us your teeth if you will, and a pretty sight it is, but
+you do not draw a shot from me. I hope the order to show no lights is
+duly attended to."
+
+"I do not think there is a light visible from any ship in the fleet, Sir
+Gervaise," answered Bunting, "though we are so near, there can be no
+great difficulty in telling where we are."
+
+"All but the Carnatic and the prize, Bunting. The more fuss they make
+with us, the less will they think of them."
+
+It is probable the French admiral had been deceived by the near approach
+of his enemy, for whose prowess he had a profound respect. He had made
+his preparations in expectation of an attack, but he did not open his
+fire, although heavy shot would certainly have told with effect.
+Indisposed to the uncertainty of a night-action, he declined bringing it
+on, and the lights disappeared from his ports an hour later; at that
+time the English ships, by carrying sail harder than was usual in so
+stiff a breeze, found themselves out of gun-shot, on the weather-bow of
+their enemies. Then, and not till then, did Sir Gervaise reduce his
+canvass, having, by means of his glasses, first ascertained that the
+French had again hauled up their courses, and were moving along at a
+very easy rate of sailing.
+
+It was now near midnight, and Sir Gervaise prepared to go below.
+Previously to quitting the deck, however, he gave very explicit orders
+to Greenly, who transmitted them to the first lieutenant, that officer
+or the captain intending to be on the look-out through the night; the
+movements of the whole squadron being so dependent on those of the flag
+ship. The vice-admiral then retired, and went coolly to bed. He was not
+a man to lose his rest, because an enemy was just out of gun-shot.
+Accustomed to be man[oe]uvring in front of hostile fleets, the situation
+had lost its novelty, and he had so much confidence in the practice of
+his captains, that he well knew nothing could occur so long as his
+orders were obeyed; to doubt the latter would have been heresy in his
+eyes. In professional nonchalance, no man exceeded our vice-admiral.
+Blow high, or blow low, it never disturbed the economy of his
+cabin-life, beyond what unavoidably was connected with the comfort of
+his ship; nor did any prospect of battle cause a meal to vary a minute
+in time or a particle in form, until the bulk-heads were actually
+knocked down, and the batteries were cleared for action. Although
+excitable in trifles, and sometimes a little irritable, Sir Gervaise, in
+the way of his profession, was a great man on great occasions. His
+temperament was sanguine, and his spirit both decided and bold; and, in
+common with all such men who see the truth at all, when he did see it,
+he saw it so clearly, as to throw all the doubts that beset minds of a
+less masculine order into the shade. On the present occasion, he was
+sure nothing could well occur to disturb his rest; and he took it with
+the composure of one on _terra-firma_, and in the security of peace.
+Unlike those who are unaccustomed to scenes of excitement, he quietly
+undressed himself, and his head was no sooner on its pillow, than he
+fell into a profound sleep.
+
+It would have been a curious subject of observation to an inexperienced
+person, to note the manner in which the two fleets man[oe]uvred
+throughout that night. After several hours of ineffectual efforts to
+bring their enemies fairly within reach of their guns, after the moon
+had risen, the French gave the matter up for a time, shortening sail
+while most of their superior officers caught a little rest.
+
+The sun was just rising, as Galleygo laid his hand on the shoulder of
+the vice-admiral, agreeably to orders given the previous night. The
+touch sufficed: Sir Gervaise being wide awake in an instant. "Well," he
+said, rising to a sitting attitude, and putting the question which first
+occurs to a seaman, "how's the weather?"
+
+"A good top-gallant breeze, Sir Jarvy, and just what's this ship's play.
+If you'd only let her out, and on them Johnny Crapauds, she'd be down
+among 'em, in half an hour, like a hawk upon a chicken. I ought to
+report to your honour, that the last chicken will be dished for
+breakfast unless we gives an order to the gun-room steward to turn us
+over some of his birds, as pay for what the pigs eat; which were real
+capons."
+
+"Why, you pirate, you would not have me commit a robbery, on the high
+seas, would ye?"
+
+"What robbery would it be to order the gun-room to _sell_ us some
+poultry. Lord! Sir Jarvy, I'm as far from wishing to take a thing
+without an order, as the gunner's yeoman; but, let Mr. Atwood put it in
+black and white."
+
+"Tush!" interrupted the master. "How did the French bear from us, when
+you were last on deck?"
+
+"Why, there they is, Sir Jarvy," answered Galleygo, drawing the curtain
+from before the state-room window, and allowing the vice-admiral to see
+the rear of the French line for himself, by turning half round; "and
+just where we wants 'em. Their leading ship a little abaft our lee-beam,
+distant one league. That's what I calls satisfactory, now."
+
+"Ay, that _is_ a good position, Master Galleygo. Was the prize in sight,
+or were you too chicken-headed to look."
+
+"I chicken-headed! Well, Sir Jarvy, of all characters and descriptions
+of _me_, that your honour has seen fit to put abroad, this is the most
+unjustest; chickens being a food I never thinks on, off soundings.
+Pig-headed you might in reason call me, Sir Jarvy; for I _do_ looks
+arter the pigs, which is the only real stand-by in a ship; but I never
+dreams of a chicken, except for _your_ happetite. When they was eight on
+'em--"
+
+"Was the prize in sight?" demanded Sir Gervaise, a little sharply.
+
+"No, Sir Jarvy; she had disappeared, and the Druid with her. But this
+isn't all, sir; for they does say, some'at has befallen the Carnatic,
+she having gone out of our line, like a binnacle-lamp at eight bells."
+
+"Ay, _she_ is not visible, either."
+
+"Not so much as a hen-coop, Sir Jarvy! We all wonders what has become of
+Captain Parker; no sign of him or of his ship is to be found on the
+briny ocean. The young gentlemen of the watch laugh, and say she must
+have gone up in a waterspout, but they laughs so much at misfortins,
+generally, that I never minds 'em."
+
+"Have you had a good look-out at the ocean, this morning, Master
+Galleygo," asked Sir Gervaise, drawing his head out of a basin of water,
+for, by this time, he was half-dressed, and making his preparations for
+the razor. "You used to have an eye for a chase, when we were in a
+frigate, and ought to be able to tell me if Bluewater is in sight."
+
+"Admiral Blue!--Well, Sir Jarvy, it _is_ remarkable, but I had just
+rubbed his division out of my log, and forgotten all about it. There
+_was_ a handful of craft, or so, off here to the nor'ard, at day-light,
+but I never thought it was Admiral Blue, it being more nat'ral to
+suppose him in his place, as usual, in the rear of our own line. Let me
+see, Sir Jarvy, how many ships has we absent under Admiral Blue?"
+
+"Why, the five two-deckers of his own division, to be sure, besides the
+Ranger and the Gnat. Seven sail in all."
+
+"Yes, that's just it! Well, your honour, there _was_ five sail to be
+seen, out here to the nor'ard, as I told you, and, sure enough, it may
+have been Admiral Blue, with all his craft."
+
+By this time, Sir Gervaise had his face covered with lather, but he
+forgot the circumstance in a moment. As the wind was at the north-west,
+and the Plantagenet was on the larboard tack, looking in the direction
+of the Bill of Portland, though much too far to the southward to allow
+the land to be seen, his own larboard quarter-gallery window commanded a
+good view of the whole horizon to windward. Crossing over from the
+starboard state-room, which he occupied _ex-officio_, he opened the
+window in question, and took a look for himself. There, sure enough, was
+visible a squadron of five ships, in close order, edging leisurely down
+on the two lines, under their top-sails, and just near enough to allow
+it to be ascertained that their courses were not set. This sight
+produced a sudden change in all the vice-admiral's movements. The
+business of the toilet was resumed in haste, and the beard was mowed
+with a slashing hand, that might have been hazardous in the motion of a
+ship, but for the long experience of a sailor. This important part of
+the operation was scarcely through, when Locker announced the presence
+of Captain Greenly in the main cabin.
+
+"What now, Greenly?--What now?" called out the vice-admiral, puffing as
+he withdrew his head, again, from the basin--"What now, Greenly? Any
+news from Bluewater?"
+
+"I am happy to tell you, Sir Gervaise, he has been in sight more than an
+hour, and is closing with us, though shyly and slowly. I would not let
+you be called, as all was right, and I knew sleep was necessary to a
+clear head."
+
+"You have done quite right, Greenly; God willing, I intend this to be a
+busy day! The French must see our rear division?"
+
+"Beyond a doubt, sir, but they show no signs of making off. M. de
+Vervillin will fight, I feel certain; though the experience of yesterday
+may render him a little shy as to the mode."
+
+"And his crippled ship?--Old Parker's friend--I take it _she_ is not
+visible."
+
+"You were quite right in your conjecture, Sir Gervaise; the crippled
+ship is off, as is one of the frigates, no doubt to see her in. Blewet,
+too, has gone well to windward of the French, though he can fetch into
+no anchorage short of Portsmouth, if this breeze stand."
+
+"Any haven will do. Our little success will animate the king's party,
+and give it more _éclat_, perhaps, than it really merits. Let there be
+no delay with the breakfast this morning, Greenly; it will be a busy
+day."
+
+"Ay--ay, sir," answered the captain in the sailor's usual manner;
+"_that_ has been seen to already, as I have expected as much. Admiral
+Bluewater keeps his ships in most beautiful order, sir! I do not think
+the Cæsar, which leads, is two cable's-length from the Dublin, the
+sternmost vessel. He is driving four-in-hand, with a tight rein, too,
+depend on it, sir."
+
+At this instant, Sir Gervaise came out of his state-room, his coat in
+his hand, and with a countenance that was thoughtful. He finished
+dressing with an abstracted air, and would not have known the last
+garment was on, had not Galleygo given a violent pull on its skirts, in
+order to smooth the cloth about the shoulders.
+
+"It is odd, that Bluewater should come down nearly before the wind, in a
+line ahead, and not in a line abreast!" Sir Gervaise rejoined, as his
+steward did this office for him.
+
+"Let Admiral Blue alone, for doing what's right," put in Galleygo, in
+his usual confident and sell-possessed manner. "By keeping his ships
+astern of hisself, he can tell where to find 'em, and we understands
+from experience, if Admiral Blue knows where to find a ship, he knows
+how to use her."
+
+Instead of rebuking this interference, which went a little further than
+common, Greenly was surprised to see the vice-admiral look his steward
+intently in the face, as if the man had expressed some shrewd and
+comprehensive truth. Then turning to his captain, Sir Gervaise intimated
+an intention of going on deck to survey the state of things with his own
+eyes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+    "_Thou_ shouldst have died, O high-soul'd chief!
+      In those bright days of glory fled,
+    When triumph so prevailed o'er grief,
+      We scarce would mourn the dead."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+The eventful day opened with most of the glories of a summer's morning.
+The wind alone prevented it from being one of the finest sun-risings of
+July. That continued fresh, at north-west, and, consequently, cool for
+the season. The seas of the south-west gale had entirely subsided, and
+were already succeeded by the regular but comparatively trilling swell
+of the new breeze. For large ships, it might be called smooth water;
+though the Driver and Active showed by their pitching and unsteadiness,
+and even the two-deckers, by their waving masts, that the unquiet ocean
+was yet in motion. The wind seemed likely to stand, and was what seamen
+would be apt to call a good six-knot breeze.
+
+To leeward, still distant about a league, lay the French vessels, drawn
+up in beautiful array, and in an order so close, and a line so regular,
+as to induce the belief that M. de Vervillin had made his dispositions
+to receive the expected attack, in his present position. All his
+main-top-sails lay flat aback; the top-gallant-sails were flying loose,
+but with buntlings and clew-lines hauled up; the jibs were fluttering to
+leeward of their booms, and the courses were hanging in festoons beneath
+their yards. This was gallant fighting-canvass, and it excited the
+admiration of even his enemies. To increase this feeling, just as Sir
+Gervaise's foot reached the poop, the whole French line displayed their
+ensigns, and _le Foudroyant_ fired a gun to windward.
+
+"Hey! Greenly?" exclaimed the English commander-in-chief; "this is a
+manly defiance, and coming from M. de Vervillin, it means something! He
+wishes to take the day for it; though, as I think half that time will
+answer, we will wash up the cups before we go at it. Make the signals,
+Bunting, for the ships to heave-to, and then to get their breakfasts, as
+fast as possible. Steady breeze--steady breeze, Greenly, and all we
+want!"
+
+Five minutes later, while Sir Gervaise was running his eye over the
+signal-book, the Plantagenet's calls were piping the people to their
+morning meal, at least an hour earlier than common; the people repaired
+to their messes, with a sort of stern joy; every man in the ship
+understanding the reason of a summons so unusual. The calls of the
+vessels astern were heard soon after, and one of the officers who was
+watching the enemy with a glass, reported that he thought the French
+were breakfasting, also. Orders being given to the officers to employ
+the next half hour in the same manner, nearly everybody was soon engaged
+in eating; few thinking that the meal might probably be their last. Sir
+Gervaise felt a concern, which he succeeded in concealing, however, at
+the circumstance that the ships to windward made no more sail; though he
+refrained from signalling the rear-admiral to that effect, from
+tenderness to his friend, and a vague apprehension of what might be the
+consequences. While the crews were eating, he stood gazing,
+thoughtfully, at the noble spectacle the enemy offered, to leeward,
+occasionally turning wistful glances at the division that was constantly
+drawing nearer to windward. At length Greenly, himself, reported that
+the Plantagenet had "turned the hands-to," again. At this intelligence,
+Sir Gervaise started, as from a reverie, smiled, and spoke. We will here
+remark, that now, as on the previous day, all the natural excitability
+of manner had disappeared from the commander-in-chief, and he was quiet,
+and exceedingly gentle in his deportment. This, all who knew him,
+understood to denote a serious determination to engage.
+
+"I have desired Galleygo to set my little table, half an hour hence, in
+the after-cabin, Greenly, and you will share the meal with me. Sir
+Wycherly will be of our party, and I hope it will not be the last time
+we may meet at the same board. It is necessary every thing should be in
+fighting-order to-day!"
+
+"So I understand it, Sir Gervaise. We are ready to begin, as soon as the
+order shall be received."
+
+"Wait one moment until Bunting comes up from his breakfast. Ah! here he
+is, and we are quite ready for him, having bent-on the signal in his
+absence. Show the order, Bunting; for the day advances."
+
+The little flags were fluttering at the main-top-gallant-mast-head of
+the Plantagenet in less than one minute, and in another it was repeated
+by the Chloe, Driver, and Active, all of which were lying-to, a quarter
+of a mile to windward, charged in particular with this, among other
+duties. So well was this signal known, that not a book in the fleet was
+consulted, but all the ships answered, the instant the flags could be
+seen and understood. Then the shrill whistles were heard along the line,
+calling "All hands" to "clear ship for action, ahoy!"
+
+No sooner was this order given in the Plantagenet, than the ship became
+a scene of active but orderly exertion. The top-men were on the yards,
+stoppering, swinging the yards in chains, and lashing, in order to
+prevent shot from doing more injury than was unavoidable; bulwarks were
+knocked down; mess-chest, bags, and all other domestic appliances,
+disappeared _below_,[3] and the decks were cleared of every thing which
+could be removed, and which would not be necessary in an engagement.
+Fully a quarter of an hour was thus occupied, for there was no haste,
+and as it was no moment of mere parade, it was necessary that the work
+should be effectually done. The officers forbade haste, and nothing
+important was reported as effected, that some one in authority did not
+examine with his own eyes, to see that no proper care had been
+neglected. Then Mr. Bury, the first lieutenant, went on the main-yard,
+in person, to look at the manner in which it had been slung, while he
+sent the boatswain up forward, on the same errand. These were unusual
+precautions, but the word had passed through the ship "that Sir Jarvy
+was in earnest;" and whenever it was known that "Sir Jarvy" was in such
+a humour, every one understood that the day's work was to be hard, if
+not long.
+
+[Footnote 3: In the action of the Nile, many of the French ships, under
+the impression that the enemy _must_ engage on the _outside_, put their
+lumber, bags, &c., into the ports, and between the guns, in the
+larboard, or _inshore_ batteries; and when the British anchored
+_inshore_ of them, these batteries could not be used.]
+
+"Our breakfast is ready, Sir Jarvy," reported Galleygo, "and as the
+decks is all clear, the b'ys can make a clean run of it from the
+coppers. I only wants to know when to serve it, your honour."
+
+"Serve it now, my good fellow. Tell the Bowlderos to be nimble, and
+expect us below. Come, Greenly--come, Wychecombe--we are the last to
+eat--let us not be the last at our stations."
+
+"Ship's clear, sir," reported Bury to his captain, as the three reached
+the quarter-deck, on their way to the cabin.
+
+"Very well, Bury; when the fleet is signalled to go to quarters, we will
+obey with the rest."
+
+As this was said, Greenly looked at the vice-admiral to catch his
+wishes. But Sir Gervaise had no intention of fatiguing his people
+unnecessarily. He had left his private orders with Bunting, and he
+passed down without an answer or a glance. The arrangements in the
+after-cabin were as snug and as comfortable as if the breakfast-table
+had been set in a private house, and the trio took their seats and
+commenced operations with hearty good will. The vice-admiral ordered the
+doors thrown open, and as the port-lids were up, from the place where he
+sat he could command glimpses, both to leeward and to windward, that
+included a view of the enemy, as well as one of his own expected
+reinforcements. The Bowlderos were in full livery, and more active and
+attentive than usual even. Their station in battle--for no man on board
+a vessel of war is an "_idler_" in a combat--was on the poop, as
+musketeers, near the person of their master, whose colours they wore,
+under the ensign of their prince, like vassals of an ancient baron.
+Notwithstanding the crisis of the morning, however, these men performed
+their customary functions with the precision and method of English
+menials, omitting no luxury or usage of the table. On a sofa behind the
+table, was spread the full dress-coat of a vice-admiral, then a neat but
+plain uniform, without either lace or epaulettes, but decorated with a
+rich star in brilliants, the emblem of the order of the Bath. This coat
+Sir Gervaise always wore in battle, unless the weather rendered a
+"storm-uniform," as he used to term a plainer attire, necessary.
+
+The breakfast passed off pleasantly, the gentlemen eating as if no
+momentous events were near. Just at its close, however, Sir Gervaise
+leaned forward, and looking through one of the weather-ports of the
+main-cabin, an expression of pleasure illuminated his countenance, as he
+said--
+
+"Ah! there go Bluewater's signals, at last!--a certain proof that he is
+about to put himself in communication with us."
+
+"I have been a good deal surprised, sir," observed Greenly, a little
+drily, though with great respect of manner, "that you have not ordered
+the rear-admiral to make more sail. He is jogging along like a heavy
+wagon, and yet I hardly think he can mistake these five ships for
+Frenchmen!"
+
+"He is never in a hurry, and no doubt wishes to let _his_ crews
+breakfast, before he closes. I'll warrant ye, now, gentlemen, that his
+ships are at this moment all as clear as a church five minutes after the
+blessing has been pronounced."
+
+"It will not be one of our Virginian churches, then, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Wycherly, smiling; "_they_ serve for an exchange, to give and
+receive news in, after the service is over."
+
+"Ay, that's the old rule--first pray, and then gossip. Well, Bunting,
+what does the rear-admiral say?"
+
+"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, I can make nothing of the signal, though it
+is easy enough to make out the flags," answered the puzzled
+signal-officer. "Will you have the goodness to look at the book
+yourself, sir. The number is one hundred and forty."
+
+"One hundred and forty! Why, that must have something to do with
+anchoring!--ay, here it is. 'Anchor, I cannot, having lost my cables.'
+Who the devil asked him to anchor?"
+
+"That's just it, sir. The signal-officer on board the Cæsar must have
+made some mistake in his flags; for, though the distance is
+considerable, our glasses are good enough to read them."
+
+"Perhaps Admiral Bluewater has set the private, personal, telegraph at
+work, sir," quietly observed Greenly.
+
+The commander-in-chief actually changed colour at this suggestion. His
+face, at first, flushed to crimson; then it became pale, like the
+countenance of one who suffered under acute bodily pain. Wycherly
+observed this, and respectfully inquired if Sir Gervaise were ill.
+
+"I thank you, young sir," answered the vice-admiral, smiling painfully;
+"it is over. I believe I shall have to go into dock, and let Magrath
+look at some of my old hurts, which _are_ sometimes troublesome. Mr.
+Bunting, do me the favour to go on deck, and ascertain, by a careful
+examination, if a short red pennant be not set some ten or twelve feet
+above the uppermost flag. Now, Greenly, we will take the other cup of
+tea, for there is plenty of leisure."
+
+Two or three brooding minutes followed. Then Bunting returned to say the
+pennant _was_ there, a fact he had quite overlooked in his former
+observations, confounding the narrow flag in question with the regular
+pennant of the king. This short red pennant denoted that the
+communication was verbal, according to a method invented by Bluewater
+himself, and by means of which, using the ordinary numbers, he was
+enabled to communicate with his friend, without any of the captains, or,
+indeed, without Sir Gervaise's own signal-officer's knowing what was
+said. In a word, without having recourse to any new flags, but, by
+simply giving new numbers to the old ones, and referring to a prepared
+dictionary, it was possible to hold a conversation in sentences, that
+should be a secret to all but themselves. Sir Gervaise took down the
+number of the signal that was flying, and directed Bunting to show the
+answering flag, with a similar pennant over it, and to continue this
+operation so long as the rear-admiral might make his signals. The
+numbers were to be sent below as fast as received. As soon as Bunting
+disappeared, the vice-admiral unlocked a secretary, the key of which was
+never out of his own possession, took from it a small dictionary, and
+laid it by his plate. All this time the breakfast proceeded, signals of
+this nature frequently occurring between the two admirals. In the course
+of the next ten minutes, a quarter-master brought below a succession of
+numbers written on small pieces of paper; after which Bunting appeared
+himself to say that the Cæsar had stopped signalling.
+
+Sir Gervaise now looked out each word by its proper number, and wrote it
+down with his pencil as he proceeded, until the whole read--"God
+sake--make no signal. Engage not." No sooner was the communication
+understood, than the paper was torn into minute fragments, the book
+replaced, and the vice-admiral, turning with a calm determined
+countenance to Greenly, ordered him to beat to quarters as soon as
+Bunting could show a signal to the fleet to the same effect. On this
+hint, all but the vice-admiral went on deck, and the Bowlderos instantly
+set about removing the table and all the other appliances. Finding
+himself annoyed by the movements of the servants, Sir Gervaise walked
+out into the great cabin, which, regardless of its present condition, he
+began to pace as was his wont when lost in thought. The bulk-heads being
+down, and the furniture removed, this was in truth walking in sight of
+the crew. All who happened to be on the main-deck could see what passed,
+though no one presumed to enter a spot that was tabooed to vulgar feet,
+even when thus exposed. The aspect and manner of "Sir Jarvy," however,
+were not overlooked, and the men prognosticated a serious time.
+
+Such was the state of things, when the drums beat to quarters,
+throughout the whole line. At the first tap, the great cabin sunk to the
+level of an ordinary battery; the seamen of two guns, with the proper
+officers, entering within the sacred limits, and coolly setting about
+clearing their pieces, and making the other preparations necessary for
+an action. All this time Sir Gervaise continued pacing what would have
+been the centre of his own cabin had the bulk-heads stood, the
+grim-looking sailors avoiding him with great dexterity, and invariably
+touching their hats as they were compelled to glide near his person,
+though every thing went on as if he were not present. Sir Gervaise might
+have remained lost in thought much longer than he did, had not the
+report of a gun recalled him to a consciousness of the scene that was
+enacting around him.
+
+"What's that?" suddenly demanded the vice-admiral--"Is Blue water
+signalling again?"
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise," answered the fourth lieutenant, looking out of a lee
+port; "it is the French admiral giving us another weather-gun; as much
+as to ask why we don't go down. This is the second compliment of the
+same sort that he has paid us already to-day!"
+
+These words were not all spoken before the vice-admiral was on the
+quarter-deck; in half a minute more, he was on the poop. Here he found
+Greenly, Wychecombe, and Bunting, all looking with interest at the
+beautiful line of the enemy.
+
+"Monsieur de Vervillin is impatient to wipe off the disgrace of
+yesterday," observed the first, "as is apparent by the invitations he
+gives us to come down. I presume Admiral Bluewater will wake up at this
+last hint."
+
+"By Heaven, he has hauled his wind, and is standing to the northward and
+eastward!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, surprise overcoming all his
+discretion. "Although an extraordinary movement, at such a time, it is
+wonderful in what beautiful order Bluewater keeps his ships!"
+
+All that was said was true enough. The rear-admiral's division having
+suddenly hauled up, in a close line ahead, each ship followed her leader
+as mechanically as if they moved by a common impulse. As no one in the
+least doubted the rear-admiral's loyalty, and his courage was of proof,
+it was the general opinion that this unusual man[oe]uvre had some
+connection with the unintelligible signals, and the young officers
+laughingly inquired among themselves what "Sir Jarvy was likely to do
+next?"
+
+It would seem, however, that Monsieur de Vervillin suspected a
+repetition of some of the scenes of the preceding day; for, no sooner
+did he perceive that the English rear was hugging the wind, than five of
+his leading ships filled, and drew ahead, as if to meet that division,
+man[oe]uvring to double on the head of his line; while the remaining
+five, with the Foudroyant, still lay with their top-sails to the mast,
+waiting for their enemy to come down. Sir Gervaise could not stand this
+long. He determined, if possible, to bring Bluewater to terms, and he
+ordered the Plantagenet to fill. Followed by his own division, he wore
+immediately, and went off under easy sail, quartering, towards Monsieur
+de Vervillin's rear, to avoid being raked.
+
+The quarter of an hour that succeeded was one of intense interest, and
+of material changes; though not a shot was fired. As soon as the Comte
+de Vervillin perceived that the English were disposed to come nearer, he
+signalled his own division to bear up, and to run off dead before the
+wind, under their top-sails, commencing astern; which reversed his order
+of sailing, and brought le Foudroyant in the rear, or nearest to the
+enemy. This was no sooner done, than he settled all his top-sails on the
+caps. There could be no mistaking this man[oe]uvre. It was a direct
+invitation to Sir Gervaise to come down, fairly alongside; the bearing
+up at once removing all risk of being raked in so doing. The English
+commander-in-chief was not a man to neglect such a palpable challenge;
+but, making a few signals to direct the mode of attack he contemplated,
+he set fore-sail and main-top-gallant-sail, and brought the wind directly
+over his own taffrail. The vessels astern followed like clock-work, and
+no one now doubted that the mode of attack was settled for that day.
+
+As the French, with Monsieur de Vervillin, were still half a mile to the
+southward and eastward of the approaching division, of their enemy, the
+Comte collected all his frigates and corvettes on his starboard hand,
+leaving a clear approach to Sir Gervaise on his larboard beam. This hint
+was understood, too, and the Plantagenet steered a course that would
+bring her up on that side of le Foudroyant, and at the distance of about
+one hundred yards from the muzzles of her guns. This threatened to be
+close work, and unusual work in fleets, at that day; but it was the game
+our commander-in-chief was fond of playing, and it was one, also, that
+promised soonest to bring matters to a result.
+
+These preliminaries arranged, there was yet leisure for the respective
+commanders to look about them. The French were still fully a mile ahead
+of their enemies, and as both fleets were going in the same direction,
+the approach of the English was so slow as to leave some twenty minutes
+of that solemn breathing time, which reigns in a disciplined ship,
+previous to the commencement of the combat. The feelings of the two
+commanders-in-chief, at this pregnant instant, were singularly in
+contradiction to each other. The Comte de Vervillin saw that the rear
+division of his force, under the Comte-Amiral le Vicomte des Prez, was
+in the very position he desired it to be, having obtained the advantage
+of the wind by the English division's coming down, and by keeping its
+own luff. Between the two French officers there was a perfect
+understanding as to the course each was to take, and both now felt
+sanguine hopes of being able to obliterate the disgrace of the previous
+day, and that, too, by means very similar to those by which it had been
+incurred. On the other hand, Sir Gervaise was beset with doubts as to
+the course Bluewater might pursue. He could not, however, come to the
+conclusion that he would abandon him to the joint efforts of the two
+hostile divisions; and so long as the French rear-admiral was occupied
+by the English force to windward, it left to himself a clear field and
+no favour in the action with Monsieur de Vervillin. He knew Bluewater's
+generous nature too well not to feel certain his own compliance with the
+request not to signal his inferior would touch his heart, and give him a
+double chance with all his better feelings. Nevertheless, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes did not lead into this action without many and painful misgivings.
+He had lived too long in the world not to know that political prejudice
+was the most demoralising of all our weaknesses, veiling our private
+vices under the plausible concealment of the public weal, and rendering
+even the well-disposed insensible to the wrongs they commit to
+individuals, by means of the deceptive flattery of serving the
+community. As doubt was more painful than the certainty of his worst
+forebodings, however, and it was not in his nature to refuse a combat so
+fairly offered, he was resolved to close with the Comte at every hazard,
+trusting the issue to God, and his own efforts.
+
+The Plantagenet presented an eloquent picture of order and preparation,
+as she drew near the French line, on this memorable occasion. Her people
+were all at quarters, and, as Greenly walked through her batteries, he
+found every gun on the starboard side loose, levelled, and ready to be
+fired; while the opposite merely required a turn or two of the tackles
+to be cast loose, the priming to be applied, and the loggerhead to
+follow, in order to be discharged, also. A death-like stillness reigned
+from the poop to the cock-pit, the older seamen occasionally glancing
+through their ports in order to ascertain the relative positions of the
+two fleets, that they might be ready for the collision. As the English
+got within musket-shot, the French ran their top-sails to the mast-heads,
+and their ships gathered fresher way through the water. Still the former
+moved with the greatest velocity, carrying the most sail, and impelled
+by the greater momentum. When near enough, however, Sir Gervaise gave
+the order to reduce the canvass of his own ship.
+
+"That will do, Greenly," he said, in a mild, quiet tone. "Let run the
+top-gallant-halyards, and haul up the fore-sail. The way you have, will
+bring you fairly alongside."
+
+The captain gave the necessary orders, and the master shortened sail
+accordingly. Still the Plantagenet shot ahead, and, in three or four
+minutes more, her bows doubled so far on le Foudroyant's quarter, as to
+permit a gun to bear. This was the signal for both sides, each ship
+opening as it might be in the same breath. The flash, the roar, and the
+eddying smoke followed in quick succession, and in a period of time that
+seemed nearly instantaneous. The crash of shot, and the shrieks of
+wounded mingled with the infernal din, for nature extorts painful
+concessions of human weaknesses, at such moments, even from the bravest
+and firmest. Bunting was in the act of reporting to Sir Gervaise that no
+signal could yet be seen from the Cæsar, in the midst of this uproar,
+when a small round-shot, discharged from the Frenchman's poop, passed
+through his body, literally driving the heart before it, leaving him
+dead at his commander's feet.
+
+"I shall depend on you, Sir Wycherly, for the discharge of poor
+Bunting's duty, the remainder of the cruise," observed Sir Gervaise,
+with a smile in which courtesy and regret struggled singularly for the
+mastery. "Quarter-masters, lay Mr. Bunting's body a little out of the
+way, and cover it with those signals. They are a suitable pall for so
+brave a man!"
+
+Just as this occurred, the Warspite came clear of the Plantagenet, on
+her outside, according to orders, and she opened with her forward guns,
+taking the second ship in the French line for her target. In two minutes
+more these vessels also were furiously engaged in the hot strife. In
+this manner, ship after ship passed on the outside of the Plantagenet,
+and sheered into her berth ahead of her who had just been her own
+leader, until the Achilles, Lord Morganic, the last of the five, lay
+fairly side by side with le Conquereur, the vessel now at the head of
+the French line. That the reader may understand the incidents more
+readily, we will give the opposing lines in the precise form in which
+they lay, viz.
+
+    Plantagenet    le Foudroyant
+
+    Warspite       le Téméraire
+
+    Blenheim       le Dugay Trouin
+
+    Thunderer      l'Ajax
+
+    Achilles       le Conquereur.
+
+The constantly recurring discharges of four hundred pieces of heavy
+ordnance, within a space so small, had the effect to repel the regular
+currents of air, and, almost immediately, to lessen a breeze of six or
+seven knots, to one that would not propel a ship more than two or three.
+This was the first observable phenomenon connected with the action, but,
+as it had been expected, Sir Gervaise had used the precaution to lay his
+ships as near as possible in the positions in which he intended them to
+fight the battle. The next great physical consequence, one equally
+expected and natural, but which wrought a great change in the aspect of
+the battle, was the cloud of smoke in which the ten ships were suddenly
+enveloped. At the first broadsides between the two admirals, volumes of
+light, fleecy vapour rolled over the sea, meeting midway, and rising
+thence in curling wreaths, left nothing but the masts and sails of the
+adversary visible in the hostile ship. This, of itself, would have soon
+hidden the combatants in the bosom of a nearly impenetrable cloud; but
+as the vessels drove onward they entered deeper beneath the sulphurous
+canopy, until it spread on each side of them, shutting out the view of
+ocean, skies, and horizon. The burning of the priming below contributed
+to increase the smoke, until, not only was respiration often difficult,
+but those who fought only a few yards apart frequently could not
+recognise each other's faces. In the midst of this scene of obscurity,
+and a din that might well have alarmed the caverns of the ocean, the
+earnest and well-drilled seamen toiled at their ponderous guns, and
+remedied with ready hands the injuries received in the rigging, each man
+as intent on his own particular duty as if he wrought in the occupations
+of an ordinary gale.
+
+"Sir Wycherly," observed the vice-admiral, when the cannonading had
+continued some twenty minutes, "there is little for a flag-officer to do
+in such a cloud of smoke. I would give much to know the exact positions
+of the divisions of our two rear-admirals."
+
+"There is but one mode of ascertaining that, Sir Gervaise--if it be your
+pleasure, I will attempt it. By going on the main-top-gallant-yard, one
+might get a clear view, perhaps."
+
+Sir Gervaise smiled his approbation, and presently he saw the young man
+ascending the main-rigging, though half concealed in smoke. Just at this
+instant, Greenly ascended to the poop, from making a tour of observation
+below. Without waiting for a question, the captain made his report.
+
+"We are doing pretty well, now, Sir Gervaise, though the first broadside
+of the Comte treated us roughly. I think his fire slackens, and Bury
+says, he is certain that his fore-top-mast is already gone. At all
+events, our lads are in good spirits, and as yet all the sticks keep
+their places."
+
+"I'm glad of this, Greenly; particularly of the latter, just at this
+moment. I see you are looking at those signals--they cover the body of
+poor Bunting."
+
+"And this train of blood to the ladder, sir--I hope our young baronet is
+not hurt?"
+
+"No, it is one of the Bowlderos, who has lost a leg. I shall have to see
+that he wants for nothing hereafter."
+
+There was a pause; then both the gentlemen smiled, as they heard the
+crashing work made by a shot just beneath them, which, by the sounds and
+the direction, they knew had passed through Greenly's crockery. Still
+neither spoke. After a few more minutes of silent observation, Sir
+Gervaise remarked that he thought the flashes of the French guns more
+distant than they had been at first, though, at that instant, not a
+trace of their enemy was to be discovered, except in the roar of the
+guns, and in these very flashes, and their effect on the Plantagenet.
+
+"If so, sir, the Comte begins to find his berth too hot for him; here is
+the wind still directly over _our_ taffrail, such as it is."
+
+"No--no--we steer as we began--I keep my eye on that compass below, and
+am certain we hold a straight course. Go forward, Greenly, and see that
+a sharp look-out is kept ahead. It is time some of our own ships should
+be crippled; we must be careful not to run into them. Should such a
+thing happen sheer hard to starboard, and pass _inside_."
+
+"Ay--ay--Sir Gervaise; your wishes shall be attended to."
+
+As this was said, Greenly disappeared, and, at the next instant,
+Wycherly stood in his place.
+
+"Well, sir--I am glad to see you back safe. If Greenly were here now,
+_he_ would inquire about his _masts_, but _I_ wish to know the position
+of the _ships_."
+
+"I am the bearer of bad news, sir. Nothing at all could be seen from the
+top; but in the cross-trees, I got a good look through the smoke, and am
+sorry to say the French rear-admiral is coming down fast on our
+larboard-quarter, with all his force. We shall have him abeam in five
+minutes."
+
+"And Bluewater?" demanded Sir Gervaise, quick as lightning.
+
+"I could see nothing of Admiral Bluewater's ships; but knowing the
+importance of this intelligence, I came down immediately, and by the
+back-stay."
+
+"You have done well, sir. Send a midshipman forward for Captain Greenly;
+then pass below yourself, and let the lieutenants in the batteries hear
+the news. They must divide their people, and by all means give a prompt
+and well-directed _first_ broadside."
+
+Wycherly waited for no more. He ran below with the activity of his
+years. The message found Greenly between the knight-heads, but he
+hurried aft to the poop to ascertain its object. It took Sir Gervaise
+but a moment to explain it all to the captain.
+
+"In the name of Heaven, what can the other division be about," exclaimed
+Greenly, "that it lets the French rear-admiral come upon us, in a moment
+like this!"
+
+"Of that, sir, it is unnecessary to speak _now_," answered the
+commander-in-chief, solemnly. "Our present business is to get ready for
+this new enemy. Go into the batteries again, and, as you prize victory,
+be careful not to throw away the first discharge, in the smoke."
+
+As time pressed, Greenly swallowed his discontent, and departed. The
+five minutes that succeeded were bitter minutes to Sir Gervaise Oakes.
+Beside himself there were but five men on the poop; viz., the
+quarter-master who tended the signals, and three of the Bowlderos. All
+of these were using muskets as usual, though the vice-admiral never
+permitted marines to be stationed at a point which he wished to be as
+clear of smoke, and as much removed from bustle as possible. He began to
+pace this comparatively vacant little deck with a quick step, casting
+wistful glances towards the larboard-quarter; but though the smoke
+occasionally cleared a little in that direction, the firing having much
+slackened from exhaustion in the men, as well as from injuries given and
+received, he was unable to detect any signs of a ship. Such was the
+state of things when Wycherly returned and reported that his orders
+were delivered, and part of the people were already in the
+larboard-batteries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+      "And oh, the little warlike world within!
+        The well-reeved guns, the netted canopy,
+      The hoarse command, the busy humming din.
+        When at a word, the tops are manned on high:
+        Hark to the boatswain's call, the cheering cry!
+      While through the seaman's hand the tackle glides,
+        Or school-boy midshipman, that, standing by,
+      Strains his shrill pipe, as good or ill betides,
+    And well the docile crew that skilful urchin guides."
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+"Are you quite sure, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, that there is not some
+mistake about the approach of the rear division of the French?" inquired
+the vice-admiral, endeavouring to catch some glimpse of the water,
+through the smoke on the larboard hand. "May not some crippled ship of
+our own have sheered from the line, and been left by us, unknowingly, on
+that side?"
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise, there is _no_ mistake; there _can_ be none, unless I
+may have been deceived a little in the distance. I saw nothing but the
+sails and spars, not of a single vessel, but of _three_ ships; and one
+of them wore the flag of a French rear-admiral at the mizzen. As a proof
+that I was not mistaken, sir, there it is this minute!"
+
+The smoke on the off side of the Plantagenet, as a matter of course, was
+much less dense than that on the side engaged, and the wind beginning to
+blow in eddies, as ever happens in a heavy cannonade, there were moments
+in which it cast aside the "shroud of battle." At that instant an
+opening occurred through which a single mast, and a single sail were
+visible, in the precise spot where Wycherly had stated the enemy might
+be looked for. It was a mizzen-top-sail, beyond a question, and above it
+was fluttering the little square flag of the rear-admiral. Sir Gervaise
+decided on the character of the vessel, and on his own course, in an
+instant. Stepping to the edge of the poop, with his natural voice,
+without the aid of a trumpet of any sort, he called out in tones that
+rose above the roar of the contest, the ominous but familiar nautical
+words of "stand by!" Perhaps a call from powerful lungs (and the
+vice-admiral's voice, when he chose to use it, was like the blast of a
+clarion) is clearer and more impressive, when unaided by instruments,
+than when it comes disguised and unnatural through a tube. At any rate,
+these words were heard even on the lower deck, by those who stood near
+the hatches. Taking them up, they were repeated by a dozen voices, with
+such expressions as "Look out, lads; Sir Jarvy's awake!" "Sight your
+guns!" "Wait till she's square!" and other similar admonitions that it
+is usual for the sea-officer to give, as he is about to commence the
+strife. At this critical moment, Sir Gervaise again looked up, and
+caught another glimpse of the little flag, as it passed into a vast
+wreath of smoke; he saw that the ship was fairly abeam, and, as if
+doubling all his powers, he shouted the word "fire!" Greenly was
+standing on the lower-deck ladder, with his head just even with the
+coamings of the hatch, as this order reached him, and he repeated it in
+a voice scarcely less startling. The cloud on the larboard side was
+driven in all directions, like dust scattered by wind. The ship seemed
+on fire, and the missiles of forty-one guns flew on their deadly errand,
+as it might be at a single flash. The old Plantagenet trembled to her
+keel, and even bowed a little at the recoils, but, like one suddenly
+relieved from a burthen, righted and went on her way none the less
+active. That timely broadside saved the English commander-in-chiefs ship
+from an early defeat. It took the crew of le Pluton, her new adversary,
+by surprise; for they had not been able to distinguish the precise
+position of their enemy; and, besides doing vast injury to both hull and
+people, drew her fire at an unpropitious moment. So uncertain and hasty,
+indeed, was the discharge the French ship gave in return, that no small
+portion of the contents of her guns passed ahead of the Plantagenet, and
+went into the larboard quarter of le Téméraire, the French admiral's
+second ahead.
+
+"That was a timely salute," said Sir Gervaise, smiling as soon as the
+fire of his new enemy had been received without material injury. "The
+first blow is always half the battle. We may now work on with some hopes
+of success. Ah! here comes Greenly again, God be praised! unhurt."
+
+The meeting of these two experienced seamen was cordial, but not without
+great seriousness. Both felt that the situation of not only the ship,
+but of the whole fleet, was extremely critical, the odds being much too
+great, and the position of the enemy too favourable, not to render the
+result, to say the very least, exceedingly doubtful. Some advantage had
+certainly been obtained, thus far; but there was little hope of
+preserving it long. The circumstances called for very decided and
+particularly bold measures.
+
+"My mind is made up, Greenly," observed the vice-admiral. "We must go
+aboard of one of these ships, and make it a hand-to-hand affair. We will
+take the French commander-in-chief; he is evidently a good deal cut up
+by the manner in which his fire slackens, and if we can carry him, or
+even force him out of the line, it will give us a better chance with the
+rest. As for Bluewater, God only knows what has become of him! He is not
+here at any rate, and we must help ourselves."
+
+"You have only to order, Sir Gervaise, to be obeyed. I will lead the
+boarders, myself."
+
+"It must be a general thing, Greenly; I rather think we shall all of us
+have to go aboard of le Foudroyant. Go, give the necessary orders, and
+when every thing is ready, round in a little on the larboard braces,
+clap your helm a-port, and give the ship a rank sheer to starboard. This
+will bring matters to a crisis at once. By letting the fore-sail fall,
+and setting the spanker, you might shove the ship ahead a little
+faster."
+
+Greenly instantly left the poop on this new and important duty. He sent
+his orders into the batteries, bidding the people remain at their guns,
+however, to the last moment; and particularly instructing the captain of
+marines, as to the manner in which he was to cover, and then follow the
+boarding-party. This done, he gave orders to brace forward the yards, as
+directed by Sir Gervaise.
+
+The reader will not overlook the material circumstance that all we have
+related occurred amid the din of battle. Guns were exploding at each
+instant, the cloud of smoke was both thickening and extending, fire was
+flashing in the semi-obscurity of its volumes, shot were rending the
+wood and cutting the rigging, and the piercing shrieks of agony, only so
+much the more appalling by being extorted from the stern and resolute,
+blended their thrilling accompaniments. Men seemed to be converted into
+demons, and yet there was a lofty and stubborn resolution to conquer
+mingled with all, that ennobled the strife and rendered it heroic. The
+broadsides that were delivered in succession down the line, as ship
+after ship of the rear division reached her station, however, proclaimed
+that Monsieur des Prez had imitated Sir Gervaise's mode of closing, the
+only one by means of which the leading vessel could escape destruction,
+and that the English were completely doubled on. At this moment, the
+sail-trimmers of the Plantagenet handled their braces. The first pull
+was the last. No sooner were the ropes started, than the fore-top-mast
+went over the bows, dragging after it the main with all its hamper, the
+mizzen snapping like a pipe-stem, at the cap. By this cruel accident,
+the result of many injuries to shrouds, back-stays, and spars, the
+situation of the Plantagenet became worse than ever; for, not only was
+the wreck to be partially cleared, at least, to fight many of the
+larboard guns, but the command of the ship was, in a great measure,
+lost, in the centre of one of the most infernal _mêlées_ that ever
+accompanied a combat at sea.
+
+At no time does the trained seaman ever appear so great, as when he
+meets sudden misfortunes with the steadiness and quiet which it is a
+material part of the _morale_ of discipline to inculcate. Greenly was
+full of ardour for the assault, and was thinking of the best mode of
+running foul of his adversary, when this calamity occurred; but the
+masts were hardly down, when he changed all his thoughts to a new
+current, and called out to the sail-trimmers to "lay over, and clear the
+wreck."
+
+Sir Gervaise, too, met with a sudden and violent check to the current of
+his feelings. He had collected his Bowlderos, and was giving his
+instructions as to the manner in which they were to follow, and keep
+near his person, in the expected hand-to-hand encounter, when the heavy
+rushing of the air, and the swoop of the mass from above, announced what
+had occurred. Turning to the men, he calmly ordered them to aid in
+getting rid of the incumbrances, and was in the very act of directing
+Wycherly to join in the same duty, when the latter exclaimed--
+
+"See, Sir Gervaise, here comes another of the Frenchmen close upon our
+quarter. By heavens, _they_ must mean to board!"
+
+The vice-admiral instinctively grasped his sword-hilt tighter, and
+turned in the direction mentioned by his companion. There, indeed, came
+a fresh ship, shoving the cloud aside, and, by the clearer atmosphere
+that seemed to accompany her, apparently bringing down a current of air
+stronger than common. When first seen, the jib-boom and bowsprit were
+both enveloped in smoke, but his bellying fore-top-sail, and the canvass
+hanging in festoons, loomed grandly in the vapour, the black yards
+seeming to embrace the wreaths, merely to cast them aside. The
+proximity, too, was fearful, her yard-arms promising to clear those of
+the Plantagenet only by a few feet, as her dark bows brushed along the
+admiral's side.
+
+"This will be fearful work, indeed!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise. "A fresh
+broadside from a ship so near, will sweep all from the spars. Go,
+Wychecombe, tell Greenly to call in--Hold--'Tis an English ship! No
+Frenchman's bowsprit stands like that! Almighty God be praised! 'Tis the
+Cæsar--there is the old Roman's figure-head just shoving out of the
+smoke!"
+
+This was said with a yell, rather than a cry, of delight, and in a voice
+so loud that the words were heard below, and flew through the ship like
+the hissing of an ascending rocket. To confirm the glorious tidings, the
+flash and roar of guns on the off-side of the stranger announced the
+welcome tidings that le Pluton had an enemy of her own to contend with,
+thus enabling the Plantagenet's people to throw all their strength on
+the starboard guns, and pursue their other necessary work without
+further molestation from the French rear-admiral. The gratitude of Sir
+Gervaise, as the rescuing ship thrust herself in between him and his
+most formidable assailant was too deep for language. He placed his hat
+mechanically before his face, and thanked God, with a fervour of spirit
+that never before had attended his thanksgivings. This brief act of
+devotion over, he found the bows of the Cæsar, which ship was advancing
+very slowly, in order not to pass too far ahead, just abreast of the
+spot where he stood, and so near that objects were pretty plainly
+visible. Between her knight-heads stood Bluewater, conning the ship, by
+means of a line of officers, his hat in his hand, waving in
+encouragement to his own people, while Geoffrey Cleveland held the
+trumpet at his elbow. At that moment three noble cheers were given by
+the crews of the two friendly vessels, and mingled with the increasing
+roar of the Cæsar's artillery. Then the smoke rose in a cloud over the
+forecastle of the latter ship, and persons could no longer be
+distinguished.
+
+Nevertheless, like all that thus approached, the relieving ship passed
+slowly ahead, until nearly her whole length protected the undefended
+side of her consort, delivering her fire with fearful rapidity. The
+Plantagenets seemed to imbibe new life from this arrival, and their
+starboard guns spoke out again, as if manned by giants. It was five
+minutes, perhaps, after this seasonable arrival, before the guns of the
+other ships of the English rear announced their presence on the outside
+of Monsieur des Prez's force; thus bringing the whole of the two fleets
+into four lines, all steering dead before the wind, and, as it were,
+interwoven with each other. By that time, the poops of the Plantagenet
+and Cæsar became visible from one to the other, the smoke now driving
+principally off from the vessels. There again were our two admirals each
+anxiously watching to get a glimpse of his friend. The instant the place
+was clear, Sir Gervaise applied the trumpet to his mouth, and called
+out--
+
+"God bless you--Dick! may God for ever bless you--_your_ ship can do
+it--clap your helm hard a-starboard, and sheer into M. des Prez; you'll
+have him in five minutes."
+
+Bluewater smiled, waved his hand, gave an order, and laid aside his
+trumpet. Two minutes later, the Cæsar sheered into the smoke on her
+larboard beam, and the crash of the meeting vessels was heard. By this
+time, the wreck of the Plantagenet was cut adrift, and she, too, made a
+rank sheer, though in a direction opposite to that of the Cæsar's. As
+she went through the smoke, her guns ceased, and when she emerged into
+the pure air, it was found that le Foudroyant had set courses and
+top-gallant-sails, and was drawing so fast ahead, as to render pursuit,
+under the little sail that could be set, unprofitable. Signals were out
+of the question, but this movement of the two admirals converted the
+whole battle scene into one of inexplicable confusion. Ship after ship
+changed her position, and ceased her fire from uncertainty what that
+position was, until a general silence succeeded the roar of the
+cannonade. It was indispensable to pause and let the smoke blow away.
+
+It did not require many minutes to raise the curtain on the two fleets.
+As soon as the firing stopped, the wind increased, and the smoke was
+driven off to leeward in a vast straggling cloud, that seemed to scatter
+and disperse in the air spontaneously. Then a sight of the havoc and
+destruction that had been done in this short conflict was first
+obtained.
+
+The two squadrons were intermingled, and it required some little time
+for Sir Gervaise to get a clear idea of the state of his own ships.
+Generally, it might be said that the vessels were scattering, the French
+sheering towards their own coast, while the English were principally
+coming by the wind on the larboard tack, or heading in towards England.
+The Cæsar and le Pluton were still foul of each other, though a
+rear-admiral's flag was flying at the mizzen of the first, while that
+which had so lately fluttered at the royal-mast-head of the other, had
+disappeared. The Achilles, Lord Morganic, was still among the French,
+more to leeward than any other English ship, without a single spar
+standing. Her ensigns were flying, notwithstanding, and the Thunderer
+and Dublin, both in tolerable order, were edging away rapidly to cover
+their crippled consort; though the nearest French vessels seemed more
+bent on getting out of the _mêlée_, and into their own line again, than
+on securing any advantage already obtained. Le Téméraire was in the same
+predicament as the Achilles as to spars, though much more injured in her
+hull, besides having thrice as many casualties. Her flag was down; the
+ship having fairly struck to the Warspite, whose boats were already
+alongside of her. Le Foudroyant, with quite one-third of her crew killed
+and wounded, was running off to leeward, with signals flying for her
+consorts to rally round her; but, within less than ten minutes after she
+became visible, her main and mizzen-masts both went. The Blenheim had
+lost all her top-masts, like the Plantagenet, and neither the Elizabeth
+nor the York had a mizzen-mast standing, although engaged but a very
+short time. Several lower yards were shot away, or so much injured as to
+compel the ships to shorten sail; this accident having occurred in both
+fleets. As for the damage done to the standing and running rigging, and
+to the sails, it is only necessary to say that shrouds, back and
+head-stays, braces, bowlines and lifts, were dangling in all directions,
+while the canvass that was open exhibited all sorts of rents, from that
+which had been torn like cloth in the shopman's hands, to the little
+eyelet holes of the canister and grape. It appeared, by the subsequent
+reports of the two parties, that, in this short but severe conflict, the
+slain and wounded of the English amounted to seven hundred and
+sixty-three, including officers; and that of the French, to one thousand
+four hundred and twelve. The disparity in this respect would probably
+have been greater against the latter, had it not been for the manner in
+which M. des Prez succeeded in doubling on his enemies.
+
+Little need be said in explanation of the parts of this battle that have
+not been distinctly related. M. des Prez had man[oe]uvered in the manner
+he did, at the commencement of the affair, in the hope of drawing Sir
+Gervaise down upon the division of the Comte de Vervillin; and no sooner
+did he see, the first fairly enveloped in smoke, than he wore short
+round and joined in the affair, as has been mentioned. At this sight,
+Bluewater's loyalty to the Stuarts could resist no longer. Throwing out
+a general signal to engage, he squared away, set every thing that would
+draw on the Cæsar, and arrived in time to save his friend. The other
+ships followed, engaging on the outside, for want of room to imitate
+their leader.
+
+Two more of the French ships, at least, in addition to _le Téméraire_
+and _le Pluton_, might have been added to the list of prizes, had the
+actual condition of their fleet been known. But, at such moments, a
+combatant sees and feels his own injuries, while he has to conjecture
+many of those of his adversaries; and the English were too much occupied
+in making the provisions necessary to save their remaining spars, to
+risk much in order to swell an advantage that was already so
+considerable. Some distant firing passed between the Thunderer and
+Dublin, and l'Ajax, le Dugay Trouin, and l'Hector, before the two former
+succeeded in getting Lord Morganic out of his difficulties; but it led
+to no material result; merely inflicting new injuries on certain spars
+that were sufficiently damaged before, and killing and wounding some
+fifteen or twenty men quite uselessly. As soon as the vice-admiral saw
+what was likely to be the effects of this episode, he called off Captain
+O'Neil of the Dublin, by signal, he being an officer of a "hot temper,"
+as the soldier said of himself at Waterloo. The compliance with this
+order may be said to have terminated the battle.
+
+The reader will remember that the wind, at the commencement of the
+engagement, was at north-west. It was nearly "killed," as seamen express
+it, by the cannonade; then it revived a little, as the concussions of
+the guns gradually diminished. But the combined effect of the advance of
+the day, and the rushing of new currents of air to fill the vacuums
+produced by the burning of so much powder, was a sudden shift of wind; a
+breeze coming out strong, and as it might be, in an instant, from the
+eastward. This unexpected alteration in the direction and power of the
+wind, cost the Thunderer her foremast, and did other damage to different
+ships; but, by dint of great activity and careful handling, all the
+English vessels got their heads round to the northward, while the French
+filled the other way, and went off free, steering nearly south-east,
+making the best of their way for Brest. The latter suffered still more
+than their enemies, by the change just mentioned; and when they reached
+port, as did all but one the following day, no less than three were
+towed in without a spar standing, bowsprits excepted.
+
+The exception was _le Caton_, which ship M. de Vervillin set fire to and
+blew up, on account of her damages, in the course of the afternoon. Thus
+of twelve noble two-decked ships with which this officer sailed from
+Cherbourg only two days before, he reached Brest with but seven.
+
+Nor were the English entirely without their embarrassments. Although the
+Warspite had compelled le Téméraire to strike, she was kept afloat
+herself with a good deal of difficulty, and that, too, not without
+considerable assistance from the other vessels. The leaks, however, were
+eventually stopped, and then the ship was given up to the care of her
+own crew. Other vessels suffered of course, but no English ship was in
+as much jeopardy as this.
+
+The first hour after the action ceased, was one of great exertion and
+anxiety to our admiral. He called the Chloe alongside by signal, and,
+attended by Wycherly and his own quarter-masters, Galleygo, who went
+without orders, and the Bowlderos who were unhurt, he shifted his flag
+to that frigate. Then he immediately commenced passing from vessel to
+vessel, in order to ascertain the actual condition of his command. The
+Achilles detained him some time, and he was near her, or to leeward,
+when the wind shifted; which was bringing him to windward in the present
+stale of things. Of this advantage he availed himself, by urging the
+different ships off as fast as possible; and long before the sun was in
+the meridian, all the English vessels were making the best of their way
+towards the land, with the intention of fetching into Plymouth if
+possible; if not, into the nearest and best anchorage to leeward. The
+progress of the fleet was relatively slow, as a matter of course, though
+it got along at the rate of some five knots, by making a free wind of
+it.
+
+The master of the Chloe had just taken the sun, in order to ascertain
+his latitude, when the vice-admiral commanded Denham to set
+top-gallant-sails, and go within hail of the Cæsar. That ship had got
+clear of _le Pluton_ half an hour after the action ceased, and she was
+now leading the fleet, with her three top-sails on the caps. Aloft she
+had suffered comparatively little; but Sir Gervaise knew that there must
+have been a serious loss of men in carrying, hand to hand, a vessel like
+that of M. des Prez. He was anxious to see his friend, and to hear the
+manner in which his success had been obtained, and, we might add, to
+remonstrate with Bluewater on a course that had led the latter to the
+verge of a most dangerous abyss.
+
+The Chloe was half an hour running through the fleet, which was a good
+deal extended, and was sailing without any regard to a line. Sir
+Gervaise had many questions to ask, too, of the different commanders in
+passing. At last the frigate overtook le Téméraire, which vessel was
+following the Cæsar under easy canvass. As the Chloe came up abeam, Sir
+Gervaise appeared in the gangway of the frigate, and, hat in hand, he
+asked with an accent that was intelligible, though it might not have
+absolutely stood the test of criticism,--
+
+_"Le Vice-Admiral Oakes demande comment se porte-il, le contre-amiral,
+le Vicomte des Prez?"_
+
+A little elderly man, dressed with extreme care, with a powdered head,
+but of a firm step and perfectly collected expression of countenance,
+appeared on the verge of le Téméraire's poop, trumpet in hand, to reply.
+
+"_Le Vicomte des Prez remercie bien Monsieur le Chevalier Oake, et
+désire vivement de savoir comment se porte Monsieur le Vice-Amiral?_"
+
+Mutual waves of the trumpets served as replies to the questions, and
+then, after taking a moment to muster his French, Sir Gervaise
+continued--
+
+_"J'espère voir Monsieur le Contre-Amiral à dîner, à cinq heures,
+précis."_
+
+The vicomte smiled at this characteristic manifestation of good-will and
+courtesy; and after pausing an instant to choose an expression to soften
+his refusal, and to express his own sense of the motive of the
+invitation, he called out--
+
+_"Veuillez bien recevoir nos excuses pour aujourd'hui, Mons. le
+Chevalier. Nous n'avons pas encore digéré le repas si noble reçu à vos
+mains comme déjeuner."_
+
+The Chloe passing ahead, bows terminated the interview. Sir Gervaise's
+French was at fault, for what between the rapid, neat, pronunciation of
+the Frenchman, the trumpet, and the turn of the expression, he did not
+comprehend the meaning of the _contre-amiral_.
+
+"What does he say, Wychecombe?" he asked eagerly of the young man. "Will
+he come, or not?"
+
+"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, French is a sealed language to me. Never
+having been a prisoner, no opportunity has offered for acquiring the
+language. As I understood, you intended to ask him to dinner; I rather
+think, from his countenance, he meant to say he was not in spirits for
+the entertainment."
+
+"Pooh! we would have put him in spirits, and Bluewater could have talked
+to him in his own tongue, by the fathom. We will close with the Cæsar to
+leeward, Denham; never mind rank on an occasion like this. It's time to
+let the top-gallant-halyards run; you'll have to settle your top-sails
+too, or we shall shoot past her. Bluewater may take it as a salute to
+his gallantry in carrying so fine a ship in so handsome a manner."
+
+Several minutes now passed in silence, during which the frigate was less
+and less rapidly closing with the larger vessel, drawing ahead towards
+the last, as it might be, foot by foot. Sir Gervaise got upon one of the
+quarter-deck guns, and steadying himself against the hammock-cloths, he
+was in readiness to exchange the greetings he was accustomed to give and
+to receive from his friend, in the same heartfelt manner as if nothing
+had occurred to disturb the harmony of their feelings. The single glance
+of the eye, the waving of the hat, and the noble manner in which
+Bluewater interposed between him and his most dangerous enemy, was still
+present to his mind, and disposed him even more than common to the
+kindest feelings of his nature. Stowel was already on the poop of the
+Cæsar, and, as the Chloe came slowly on, he raised his hat in deference
+to the commander-in-chief. It was a point of delicacy with Sir Gervaise
+never to interfere with any subordinate flag-officer's vessel any more
+than duty rigidly required; consequently his communications with the
+captain of the Cæsar had usually been of a general nature, verbal orders
+and criticisms being studiously avoided. This circumstance rendered the
+commander-in-chief even a greater favourite than common with Stowel, who
+had all his own way in his own ship, in consequence of the
+rear-admiral's indifference to such matters.
+
+"How do you do, Stowel?" called out Sir Gervaise, cordially. "I am
+delighted to see you on your legs, and hope the old Roman is not much
+the worse for this day's treatment"
+
+"I thank you, Sir Gervaise, we are both afloat yet, though we have
+passed through warm times. The ship is damaged, sir, as you may suppose;
+and, although it stands so bravely, and looks so upright, that foremast
+of ours is as good as a condemned spar. One thirty-two through the heart
+of it, about ten feet from the deck, an eighteen in the hounds, and a
+double-header sticking in one of the hoops! A spar cannot be counted for
+much that has as many holes in it as those, sir!"
+
+"Deal tenderly with it, my old friend, and spare the canvass; those
+chaps at Plymouth will set all to rights, again, in a week. Hoops can be
+had for asking, and as for holes in the heart, many a poor fellow has
+had them, and lived through it all. You are a case in point; Mrs. Stowel
+not having spared you in that way, I'll answer for it."
+
+"Mrs. Stowel commands ashore, Sir Gervaise, and I command afloat; and in
+that way, we keep a quiet ship and a quiet house, I thank you, sir; and
+I endeavour to think of her at sea, as little as possible."
+
+"Ay, that's the way with you doting husbands;--always ashamed of your
+own lively sensibilities. But what has become of Bluewater?--Does he
+know that we are alongside?"
+
+Stowel looked round, cast his eyes up at the sails, and played with the
+hilt of his sword. The rapid eye of the commander-in-chief detected this
+embarrassment, and quick as thought he demanded what had happened.
+
+"Why, Sir Gervaise, you know how it is with some admirals, who like to
+be in every thing. I told our respected and beloved friend, that he had
+nothing to do with boarding; that if either of us was to go, _I_ was the
+proper man; but that we ought both to stick by the ship. He answered
+something about lost honour and duty, and you know, sir, what legs he
+has, when he wishes to use them! One might as well think of stopping a
+deserter by a halloo; away he went, with the first party, sword in hand,
+a sight I never saw before, and never wish to see again! Thus you see
+how it was, sir."
+
+The commander-in-chief compressed his lips, until his features, and
+indeed his whole form was a picture of desperate resolution, though his
+face was as pale as death, and the muscles of his mouth twitched, in
+spite of all his physical self-command.
+
+"I understand you, sir," he said, in a voice that seemed to issue from
+his chest; "you wish to say that Admiral Bluewater is killed."
+
+"No, thank God! Sir Gervaise, not _quite_ as bad as that, though sadly
+hurt; yes, indeed, very sadly hurt!"
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes groaned, and for a few minutes he leaned his head on
+the hammock-cloths, veiling his face from the sight of men. Then he
+raised his person erect, and said steadily--
+
+"Run your top-sails to the mast-head, Captain Stowel, and round your
+ship to. I will come on board of you."
+
+An order was given to Denham to take room, when the Chloe came to the
+wind on one tack and the Cæsar on the other. This was contrary to rule,
+as it increased the distance between the ships; but the vice-admiral was
+impatient to be in his barge. In ten minutes he was mounting the Cæsar's
+side, and in two more he was in Bluewater's main-cabin. Geoffrey
+Cleveland was seated by the table, with his face buried in his arms.
+Touching his shoulder, the boy raised his head, and showed a face
+covered with tears.
+
+"How is he, boy?" demanded Sir Gervaise, hoarsely. "Do the surgeons give
+any hopes?"
+
+The midshipman shook his head, and then, as if the question renewed his
+grief, he again buried his face in his arms. At this moment, the surgeon
+of the ship came from the rear-admiral's state-room, and following the
+commander-in-chief into the after-cabin, they had a long conference
+together.
+
+Minute after minute passed, and the Cæsar and Chloe still lay with their
+main-top-sails aback. At the end of half an hour, Denham wore round and
+laid the head of his frigate in the proper direction. Ship after ship
+came up, and went on to the northward, fast as her crippled state would
+allow, yet no sign of movement was seen in the Cæsar. Two sail had
+appeared in the south-eastern board, and they, too, approached and
+passed without bringing the vice-admiral even on deck. These ships
+proved to be the Carnatic and her prize, le Scipion, which latter ship
+had been intercepted and easily captured by the former. The steering of
+M. de Vervillin to the south-west had left a clear passage to the two
+ships, which were coming down with a free wind at a handsome rate of
+sailing. This news was sent into the Cæsar's cabin, but it brought no
+person and no answer out of it. At length, when every thing had gone
+ahead, the barge returned to the Chloe. It merely took a note, however,
+which was no sooner read by Wycherly, than he summoned the Bowlderos and
+Galleygo, had all the vice-admiral's luggage passed into the boat,
+struck his flag, and took his leave of Denham. As soon as the boat was
+clear of the frigate, the latter made all sail after the fleet, to
+resume her ordinary duties of a look-out and a repeating-ship.
+
+As soon as Wycherly reached the Cæsar, that ship hoisted in the
+vice-admiral's barge. A report was made to Sir Gervaise of what had been
+done, and then an order came on deck that occasioned all in the fleet to
+stare with surprise. The red flag of Sir Gervaise Oakes was run up at
+the foreroyal-mast-head of the Cæsar, while the white flag of the
+rear-admiral was still flying at her mizzen. Such a thing had never
+before been known to happen, if it has ever happened since; and to the
+time when she was subsequently lost, the Cæsar was known as the double
+flag-ship.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+    "He spoke; when behold the fair Geraldine's form
+      On the canvass enchantingly glowed;
+    His touches, they flew like the leaves in a storm;
+    And the pure pearly white, and the carnation warm,
+      Contending in harmony flowed."
+
+         ALSTON.
+
+
+We shall now ask permission of the reader to advance the time just
+eight-and-forty hours; a liberty with the unities which, he will do us
+the justice to say, we have not often taken. We must also transfer the
+scene to that already described at Wychecombe, including the Head, the
+station, the roads, and the inland and seaward views. Summer weather had
+returned, too, the pennants of the ships at anchor scarce streaming from
+their masts far enough to form curved lines. Most of the English fleet
+was among these vessels, though the squadron had undergone some changes.
+The Druid had got into Portsmouth with _la Victoire_; the Driver and
+Active had made the best of their way to the nearest ports; with
+despatches for the admiralty; and the Achilles, in tow of the Dublin,
+with the Chloe to take care of both, had gone to leeward, with square
+yards, in the hope of making Falmouth. The rest of the force was
+present, the crippled ships having been towed into the roads that
+morning. The picture among the shipping was one of extreme activity and
+liveliness. Jury-masts were going up in the Warspite; lower and
+top-sail-yards were down to be fished, or new ones were rigging to be
+sent aloft in their places; the Plantagenet was all a-tanto, again, in
+readiness for another action, with rigging secured and masts fished,
+while none but an instructed eye could have detected, at a short
+distance, that the Cæsar, Carnatic, Dover, York, Elizabeth, and one or
+two more, had been in action at all. The landing was crowded with boats
+as before, and gun-room servants and midshipmen's boys were foraging as
+usual; some with honest intent to find delicacies for the wounded, but
+more with the roguish design of contributing to the comforts of the
+unhurt, by making appeals to the sympathies of the women of the
+neighbourhood, in behalf of the hurt.
+
+The principal transformation that had been brought about by this state
+of things, however, was apparent at the station. This spot had the
+appearance of a place to which the headquarters of an army had been
+transferred, in the vicissitudes of the field; warlike sailors, if not
+soldiers, flocking to it, as the centre of interest and intelligence.
+Still there was a singularity observable in the manner in which these
+heroes of the deck paid their court; the cottage being seemingly
+tabooed, or at most, approached by very few, while the grass at the foot
+of the flag-staff was already beginning to show proofs of the pressure
+of many feet. This particular spot, indeed, was the centre of
+attraction; there, officers of all ranks and ages were constantly
+arriving, and thence they were as often departing; all bearing
+countenances sobered by anxiety and apprehension. Notwithstanding the
+constant mutations, there had been no instant since the rising of the
+sun, when some ten or twelve, at least, including captains, lieutenants,
+masters and idlers, had not been collected around the bench at the foot
+of the signal-staff, and frequently the number reached even to twenty.
+
+A little retired from the crowd, and near the verge of the cliff, a
+large tent had been pitched. A marine paced in its front, as a sentinel.
+Another stood near the gate of the little door-yard of the cottage, and
+all persons who approached either, with the exception of a few of the
+privileged, were referred to the sergeant who commanded the guard. The
+arms of the latter were stacked on the grass, at hand, and the men off
+post were loitering near. These were the usual military signs of the
+presence of officers of rank, and may, in sooth, be taken as clues to
+the actual state of things, on and around the Head.
+
+Admiral Bluewater lay in the cottage, while Sir Gervaise Oakes occupied
+the tent. The former had been transferred to the place where he was
+about to breathe his last, at his own urgent request, while his friend
+had refused to be separated from him, so long as life remained. The two
+flags were still flying at the mast-heads of the Cæsar, a sort of
+melancholy memorial of the tie that had so long bound their gallant
+owners in the strong sympathies of an enduring personal and professional
+friendship.
+
+Persons of the education of Mrs. Dutton and her daughter, had not dwelt
+so long on that beautiful head-land, without leaving on the spot some
+lasting impressions of their tastes. Of the cottage, we have already
+spoken. The little garden, too, then bright with flowers, had a grace
+and refinement about it that we would hardly have expected to meet in
+such a place; and even the paths that led athwart the verdant common
+which spread over so much of the upland, had been directed with an eye
+to the picturesque and agreeable. One of these paths, too, led to a
+rustic summer-house--a sort of small, rude pavilion, constructed, like
+the fences, of fragments of wrecks, and placed on a shelf of the cliff,
+at a dizzy elevation, but in perfect security. So far from there being
+any danger in entering this summer-house, indeed, Wycherly, during his
+six months' residence near the Head, had made a path that descended
+still lower to a point that was utterly concealed from all eyes above,
+and had actually planted a seat on another shelf with so much security,
+that both Mildred and her mother often visited it in company. During the
+young man's recent absence, the poor girl, indeed, had passed much of
+her time there, weeping and suffering in solitude. To this seat, Dutton
+never ventured; the descent, though well protected with ropes, requiring
+greater steadiness of foot and head than intemperance had left him. Once
+or twice, Wycherly had induced Mildred to pass an hour with him alone in
+this romantic place, and some of his sweetest recollections of this
+just-minded and intelligent girl, were connected with the frank
+communications that had there occurred between them. On this bench he
+was seated at the time of the opening of the present chapter. The
+movement on the Head, and about the cottage, was so great, as to deprive
+him of every chance of seeing Mildred alone, and he had hoped that, led
+by some secret sympathy, she, too, might seek this perfectly retired
+seat, to obtain a moment of unobserved solitude, if not from some still
+dearer motive. He had not waited long, ere he heard a heavy foot over
+his head, and a man entered the summer-house. He was yet debating
+whether to abandon all hopes of seeing Mildred, when his acute ear
+caught her light and well-known footstep, as she reached the
+summer-house, also.
+
+"Father, I have come as you desired," said the poor girl, in those
+tremulous tones which Wycherly too well understood, not to imagine the
+condition of Dutton. "Admiral Bluewater dozes, and mother has permitted
+me to steal away."
+
+"Ay, Admiral Bluewater is a great man, though but little better than a
+dead one!" answered Dutton, as harshly in manner as the language was
+coarse. "You and your mother are all attention to _him_; did _I_ lie in
+his place, which of you would be found hanging over my bed, with pale
+cheeks and tearful eyes?"
+
+"_Both_ of us, father! _Do_ not--_do_ not think so ill of your wife and
+daughter, as to suppose it possible that either of them could forget her
+duty."
+
+"Yes, _duty_ might do something, perhaps; what has duty to do with this
+useless rear-admiral? I _hate_ the scoundrel--he was one of the court
+that cashiered me; and one, too, that I am told, was the most obstinate
+in refusing to help me into this pitiful berth of a master."
+
+Mildred was silent. She could not vindicate her friend without
+criminating her father. As for Wycherly, he would have given a year's
+income to be at sea; yet he shrunk from wounding the poor daughter's
+feelings by letting her know he overheard the dialogue. This indecision
+made him the unwilling auditor of a conversation that he ought not to
+have heard--an occurrence which, had there been time for reflection, he
+would have taken means to prevent.
+
+"Sit you down here, Mildred," resumed Dutton, sternly, "and listen to
+what I have to say. It is time that there should no longer be any
+trifling between us. You have the fortunes of your mother and myself in
+your hands; and, as one of the parties so deeply concerned, I am
+determined _mine_ shall be settled at once."
+
+"I do not understand you, father," said Mildred, with a tremour in her
+voice that almost induced the young man to show himself, though, we owe
+it to truth to say, that a lively curiosity _now_ mingled with his other
+sensations. "How can I have the keeping of dear mother's fortunes and
+yours?"
+
+"_Dear_ mother, truly!--_Dear_ enough has she proved to me; but I intend
+the daughter shall pay for it. Hark you, Mildred; I'll have no more of
+this trifling--but I ask you in a father's name, if any man has offered
+you his hand? Speak plainly, and conceal nothing--I _will_ be answered."
+
+"I wish to conceal nothing, father, that ought to be told; but when a
+young woman declines the honour that another does her in this way,
+_ought_ she to reveal the secret, even to her father?"
+
+"She _ought_; and, in your case, she _shall_. No more hesitation; name
+_one_ of the offers you have had."
+
+Mildred, after a brief pause, in a low, tremulous voice, pronounced the
+name of "Mr. Rotherham."
+
+"I suspected as much," growled Dutton; "there was a time when even _he_
+might have answered, but we can do better than that now. Still he may be
+kept as a reserve; the thousand pounds Mr. Thomas says shall be paid,
+and that and the living will make a comfortable port after a stormy
+life. Well, who next, Mildred? Has Mr. Thomas Wychecombe ever come to
+the point?"
+
+"He has asked me to become his wife, within the last twenty-four hours;
+if that is what you mean."
+
+"No affectations, Milly; I can't bear them. You know well enough what I
+mean. What was your answer?"
+
+"I do not love him in the least, father, and, of course, I told him I
+could not marry him."
+
+"That don't follow _of course_, by any means, girl! The marrying is done
+by the priest, and the love is a very different thing. I hope you
+consider Mrs. Dutton as my wife?"
+
+"What a question!" murmured Mildred.
+
+"Well, and do you suppose she _loves_ me; _can_ love me, now I am a
+disgraced, impoverished man?"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Come--come--enough of this. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe may not be
+legitimate--I rather think he is not, by the proofs Sir Reginald has
+produced within the last day or two; and I understand his own mother is
+dissatisfied with him, and _that_ will knock his claim flat aback.
+Notwithstanding, Mildred, Tom Wychecombe has a good six hundred a year
+already, and Sir Reginald himself admits that he must take all the
+personal property the late baronet could leave."
+
+"You forget, father," said Mildred, conscious of the inefficacy of any
+other appeal, "that Mr. Thomas has promised to pay the legacies that Sir
+Wycherly _intended_ to leave."
+
+"Don't place any expectations on that, Mildred. I dare say he would
+settle ten of the twenty thousand on you to-morrow, if you would consent
+to have him. But, now, as to this new baronet, for it seems he is to
+have both title and estate--has _he_ ever offered?"
+
+There was a long pause, during which Wycherly thought he heard the hard
+but suppressed breathing of Mildred. To remain quiet any longer, he felt
+was as impossible as, indeed, his conscience told him was dishonourable,
+and he sprang along the path to ascend to the summer-house. At the first
+sound of his footstep, a faint cry escaped Mildred; but when Wycherly
+entered the pavilion, he found her face buried in her hands, and Dutton
+tottering forward, equally in surprise and alarm. As the circumstances
+would not admit of evasion, the young man threw aside all reserve, and
+spoke plainly.
+
+"I have been an unwilling listener to a _part_ of your discourse with
+Mildred, Mr. Dutton," he said, "and can answer your last question for
+myself. I _have_ offered my hand to your daughter, sir; an offer that I
+now renew, and the acceptance of which would make me the happiest man in
+England. If your influence could aid me--for she has refused my hand."
+
+"Refused!" exclaimed Dutton, in a surprise that overcame the calculated
+amenity of manner he had assumed the instant Wycherly appeared--"Refused
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe! but it was before your rights had been as well
+established as they are now. Mildred, answer to this--how _could_
+you--nay, how _dare_ you refuse such an offer as this?"
+
+Human nature could not well endure more. Mildred suffered her hands to
+fall helplessly into her lap, and exposed a face that was lovely as that
+of an angel's, though pale nearly to the hue of death. Feeling extorted
+the answer she made, though the words had hardly escaped her, ere she
+repented having uttered them, and had again buried her face in her
+hands--
+
+"Father"--she said--"_could_ I--_dare_ I to encourage Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe to unite himself to a family like ours!"
+
+Conscience smote Dutton with a force that nearly sobered him, and what
+explanation might have followed it is hard to say; Wycherly, in an
+under-tone, however, requested to be left alone with the daughter.
+Dutton had sense enough to understand he was _de trop_, and shame enough
+to wish to escape. In half a minute, he had hobbled up to the summit of
+the cliff and disappeared.
+
+"Mildred!--_Dearest_ Mildred"--said Wycherly, tenderly, gently
+endeavouring to draw her attention to himself, "we are alone now;
+surely--surely--you will not refuse to _look_ at _me_!"
+
+"Is he gone?" asked Mildred, dropping her hands, and looking wildly
+around. "Thank God! It is over, for this time, at least! Now, let us go
+to the house; Admiral Bluewater may miss me."
+
+"No, Mildred, not yet. You surely can spare me--me, who have suffered so
+much of late on your account--nay, by your _means_--you can, in mercy,
+spare me a few short minutes. Was _this_ the reason--the _only_ reason,
+dearest girl, why you so pertinaciously refused my hand?"
+
+"Was it not sufficient, Wycherly?" answered Mildred, afraid the
+chartered air might hear her secret. "Remember _who_ you are, and _what_
+I am! Could I suffer you to become the husband of one to whom such
+cruel, cruel propositions had been made by her own father!"
+
+"I shall not affect to conceal my horror of such principles, Mildred,
+but your virtues shine all the brighter by having flourished in their
+company. Answer me but one question frankly, and every other difficulty
+can be gotten over. Do you love me well enough to be my wife, were you
+an orphan?"
+
+Mildred's countenance was full of anguish, but this question changed its
+expression entirely. The moment was extraordinary as were the feelings
+it engendered, and, almost unconsciously to herself, she raised the hand
+that held her own to her lips, in a sort of reverence. In the next
+instant she was encircled in the young man's arms, and pressed with
+fervour to his heart.
+
+"Let us go"--said Mildred, extricating herself from an embrace that was
+too involuntarily bestowed, and too heartfelt to alarm her delicacy. "I
+feel certain Admiral Bluewater will miss me!"
+
+"No, Mildred, we cannot part thus. Give me, at least, the poor
+consolation of knowing, that if _this_ difficulty did not exist--that if
+you were an orphan for instance--you would be mine."
+
+"Oh! Wycherly, how gladly--how gladly!--But, say no more--nay--"
+
+This time the embrace was longer, more fervent even than before, and
+Wycherly was too much of a sailor to let the sweet girl escape from his
+arms without imprinting on her lips a kiss. He had no sooner
+relinquished his hold of the slight person of Mildred, ere it vanished.
+With this characteristic leave-taking, we change the scene to the tent
+of Sir Gervaise Oakes.
+
+"You have seen Admiral Bluewater?" demanded the commander-in-chief, as
+soon as the form of Magrath darkened the entrance, and speaking with the
+sudden earnestness of a man determined to know the worst. "If so, tell
+me at once what hopes there are for him."
+
+"Of all the human passions, Sir Jairvis," answered Magrath, looking
+aside, to avoid the keen glance of the other, "hope is generally
+considered, by all rational men, as the most treacherous and delusive; I
+may add, of all denominations or divisions of hope, that which decides
+on life is the most unsairtain. We all hope to live, I'm thinking, to a
+good old age, and yet how many of us live just long enough to be
+disappointed!"
+
+Sir Gervaise did not move until the surgeon ceased speaking; then he
+began to pace the tent in mournful silence. He understood Magrath's
+manner so well, that the last faint hope he had felt from seeking his
+opinion was gone; he now knew that his friend must die. It required all
+his fortitude to stand up against this blow; for, single, childless, and
+accustomed to each other almost from infancy, these two veteran sailors
+had got to regard themselves as merely isolated parts of the same being.
+Magrath was affected more than he chose to express, and he blew his nose
+several times in a way that an observer would have found suspicious.
+
+"Will you confer on me the favour, Dr. Magrath," said Sir Gervaise, in a
+gentle, subdued manner, "to ask Captain Greenly to come hither, as you
+pass the flag-staff?"
+
+"Most willingly, Sir Jairvis; and I know he'll be any thing but backward
+in complying."
+
+It was not long ere the captain of the Plantagenet made his appearance.
+Like all around him, the recent victory appeared to bring no exultation.
+
+"I suppose Magrath told _you_ all," said the vice-admiral, squeezing the
+other's hand.
+
+"He gives no hopes, Sir Gervaise, I sincerely regret to say."
+
+"I knew as much! I knew as much! And yet he is easy, Greenly!--nay, even
+seems happy. I _did_ feel a little hope that this absence from suffering
+might be a favourable omen."
+
+"I am glad to hear that much, sir; for I have been thinking that it is
+my duty to speak to the rear-admiral on the subject of his brother's
+marriage. From his own silence on the subject, it is possible--nay, from
+_all_ circumstances, it is _probable_ he never knew of it, and there may
+be reasons why he ought to be informed of the affair. As you say he is
+so easy, would there be an impropriety in mentioning it to him?"
+
+Greenly could not possibly have made a suggestion that was a greater
+favour to Sir Gervaise. The necessity of doing, his habits of decision,
+and having an object in view, contributed to relieve his mind by
+diverting his thoughts to some active duty; and he seized his hat,
+beckoned Greenly to follow, and moved across the hill with a rapid pace,
+taking the path to the cottage. It was necessary to pass the flag-staff.
+As this was done, every countenance met the vice-admiral's glance, with
+a look of sincere sympathy. The bows that were exchanged, had more in
+them than the naked courtesies of such salutations; they were eloquent
+of feeling on both sides.
+
+Bluewater was awake, and retaining the hand of Mildred affectionately in
+his own, when his friend entered. Relinquishing his hold, however, he
+grasped the hand of the vice-admiral, and looked earnestly at him, as if
+he pitied the sorrow that he knew the survivor must feel.
+
+"My dear Bluewater," commenced Sir Gervaise, who acted under a nervous
+excitement, as well as from constitutional decision, "here is Greenly
+with something to tell you that we both think you ought to know, at a
+moment like this."
+
+The rear-admiral regarded his friend intently, as if inviting him to
+proceed.
+
+"Why, it's about your brother Jack. I fancy you cannot have known that
+he was ever married, or I think I should have heard you speak of it."
+
+"Married!" repeated Bluewater, with great interest, and speaking with
+very little difficulty. "I think that must be an error. Inconsiderate
+and warm-hearted he was, but there was only one woman he _could_, nay,
+_would_ have married. She is long since dead, but not as _his_ wife; for
+that her uncle, a man of great wealth, but of unbending will, would
+never have suffered. _He_ survived her, though my poor brother did not."
+
+This was said in a mild voice, for the wounded man spoke equally without
+effort, and without pain.
+
+"You hear, Greenly?" observed Sir Gervaise. "And yet it is not probable
+that you should be mistaken."
+
+"Certainly, I am not, gentlemen. I saw Colonel Bluewater married, as did
+another officer who is at this moment in this very fleet. Captain
+Blakely is the person I mean, and I know that the priest who performed
+the ceremony is still living, a beneficed clergyman."
+
+"This is wonderful to me! He fervently loved Agnes Hedworth, but his
+poverty was an obstacle to the union; and both died so young, that there
+was little opportunity of conciliating the uncle."
+
+"That, sir, is your mistake. Agnes Hedworth was the bride."
+
+A noise in the room interrupted the dialogue, and the three gentlemen
+saw Wycherly and Mildred stooping to pick up the fragments of a bowl
+that Mrs. Dutton had let fall. The latter, apparently in alarm, at the
+little accident, had sunk back into a seat, pale and trembling.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Dutton, take a glass of water," said Sir Gervaise, kindly
+approaching her; "your nerves have been sorely tried of late; else would
+not such a trifle affect you."
+
+"It is not _that_!" exclaimed the matron, huskily. "It is not _that_!
+Oh! the fearful moment has come at last; and, from my inmost spirit I
+thank thee, my Lord and my God, that it has come free from shame and
+disgrace!"
+
+The closing words were uttered on bended knees, and with uplifted hands.
+
+"Mother!--dearest, dearest mother," cried Mildred, falling on her
+mother's neck. "What mean you? What new misery has happened to-day?"
+
+"_Mother!_ Yes, sweet one, thou art, thou ever _shalt_ be my child! This
+is the pang I have most dreaded; but what is an unknown tie of blood, to
+use, and affection, and to a mother's care? If I did not bear thee,
+Mildred, no natural mother could have loved thee more, or would have
+died for thee, as willingly!"
+
+"Distress has disturbed her, gentlemen," said Mildred, gently
+extricating herself from her mother's arms, and helping her to rise. "A
+few moments of rest will restore her."
+
+"No, darling; it must come now--it _ought_ to come now--after what I
+have just heard, it would be unpardonable not to tell it, _now_. Did I
+understand you to say, sir, that you were present at the marriage of
+Agnes Hedworth, and that, too, with the brother of Admiral Bluewater?"
+
+"Of that fact, there can be no question, madam. I and others will
+testify to it. The marriage took place in London, in the summer of 1725,
+while Blakely and myself were up from Portsmouth, on leave. Colonel
+Bluewater asked us both to be present, under a pledge of secresy."
+
+"And in the summer of 1726, Agnes Hedworth died in my house and my arms,
+an hour after giving birth to this dear, this precious child--Mildred
+Dutton, as she has ever since been called--Mildred Bluewater, as it
+would seem her name should be."
+
+It is unnecessary to dwell on the surprise with which all present, or
+the delight with which Bluewater and Wycherly heard this extraordinary
+announcement. A cry escaped Mildred, who threw herself on Mrs. Dutton's
+neck, entwining it with her arms, convulsively, as if refusing to permit
+the tie that had so long bound them together, to be thus rudely torn
+asunder. But half an hour of weeping, and of the tenderest consolations,
+calmed the poor girl a little, and she was able to listen to the
+explanations. These were exceedingly simple, and so clear, as, in
+connection with the other evidence, to put the facts out of all doubt.
+
+Miss Hedworth had become known to Mrs. Dutton, while the latter was an
+inmate of the house of her patron. A year or two after the marriage of
+the lieutenant, and while he was on a distant station, Agnes Hedworth
+threw herself on the protection of his wife, asking a refuge for a woman
+in the most critical circumstances. Like all who knew Agnes Hedworth,
+Mrs. Dutton both respected and loved her; but the distance created
+between them, by birth and station, was such as to prevent any
+confidence. The former, for the few days passed with her humble friend,
+had acted with the quiet dignity of a woman conscious of no wrong; and
+no questions could be asked that implied doubts. A succession of
+fainting fits prevented all communications in the hour of death, and
+Mrs. Dutton found herself left with a child on her hands, and the dead
+body of her friend. Miss Hedworth had come to her dwelling unattended
+and under a false name. These circumstances induced Mrs. Dutton to
+apprehend the worst, and she proceeded to make her arrangements with
+great tenderness for the reputation of the deceased. The body was
+removed to London, and letters were sent to the uncle to inform him
+where it was to be found, with a reference should he choose to inquire
+into the circumstances of his niece's death. Mrs. Dutton ascertained
+that the body was interred in the usual manner, but no inquiry was ever
+made, concerning the particulars. The young duchess, Miss Hedworth's
+sister, was then travelling in Italy, whence she did not return for more
+than a year; and we may add, though Mrs. Dutton was unable to make the
+explanation, that her inquiries after the fate of a beloved sister, were
+met by a simple statement that she had died suddenly, on a visit to a
+watering-place, whither she had gone with a female friend for her
+health. Whether Mr. Hedworth himself had any suspicions of his niece's
+condition, is uncertain; but the probabilities were against it, for she
+had offended him by refusing a match equal in all respects to that made
+by her elder sister, with the single exception that the latter had
+married a man she loved, whereas he exacted of Agnes a very different
+sacrifice. Owing to the alienation produced by this affair, there was
+little communication between the uncle and niece; the latter passing her
+time in retirement, and professedly with friends that the former neither
+knew nor cared to know. In short, such was the mode of life of the
+respective parties, that nothing was easier than for the unhappy young
+widow to conceal her state from her uncle. The motive was the fortune of
+the expected child; this uncle having it in his power to alienate from
+it, by will, if he saw fit, certain family property, that might
+otherwise descend to the issue of the two sisters, as his co-heiresses.
+What might have happened in the end, or what poor Agnes meditated doing,
+can never be known; death closing the secret with his irremovable seal.
+
+Mrs. Dutton was the mother of a girl but three months old, at the time
+this little stranger was left on her hands. A few weeks later her own
+child died; and having waited several months in vain for tidings from
+the Hedworth family, she had the surviving infant christened by the same
+name as that borne by her own daughter, and soon came to love it, as
+much, perhaps, as if she had borne it. Three years passed in this
+manner, when the time drew near for the return of her husband from the
+East Indies. To be ready to meet him, she changed her abode to a naval
+port, and, in so doing, changed her domestics. This left her
+accidentally, but fortunately, as she afterwards thought, completely
+mistress of the secret of Mildreth's birth; the one or two others to
+whom it was known being in stations to render it improbable they should
+ever communicate any thing on the subject, unless it were asked of them.
+Her original intention, however, was to communicate the facts, without
+reserve, to her husband. But he came back an altered man; brutal in
+manners, cold in his affections, and the victim of drunkenness. By this
+time, the wife was too much attached to the child to think of exposing
+it to the wayward caprices of such a being; and Mildred was educated,
+and grew in stature and beauty as the real offspring of her reputed
+parents.
+
+All this Mrs. Dutton related clearly and briefly, refraining, of course,
+from making any allusion to the conduct of her husband, and referring
+all her own benevolence to her attachment to the child. Bluewater had
+strength enough to receive Mildred in his arms, and he kissed her pale
+cheek, again and again, blessing her in the most fervent and solemn
+manner.
+
+"My feelings were not treacherous or unfaithful," he said; "I loved
+thee, sweetest, from the first. Sir Gervaise Oakes has my will, made in
+thy favour, before we sailed on this last cruise, and every shilling I
+leave will be thine. Mr. Atwood, procure that will, and add a codicil
+explaining this recent discovery, and confirming the legacy; let not the
+last be touched, for it is spontaneous and comes from the heart."
+
+"And, now," answered Mrs. Dutton, "enough has passed for once. The
+sick-bed should be more quiet. Give me my child, again:--I cannot yet
+consent to part with her for ever."
+
+"Mother! mother!" exclaimed Mildred, throwing herself on Mrs. Dutton's
+bosom--"I am yours, and yours only."
+
+"Not so, I fear. Mildred, if all I suspect be true, and this is as
+proper a moment as another to place that matter also before your
+honoured uncle. Come forward, Sir Wycherly--I have understood you to
+say, this minute, in my ear, that you hold the pledge of this wilful
+girl to become your wife, should she ever be an orphan. An orphan she
+is, and has been since the first hour of her birth."
+
+"No--no--no," murmured Mildred, burying her face still deeper in her
+mother's bosom, "not while _you_ live, _can_ I be an orphan. Not
+now--another time--this is unseasonable--cruel--nay, it is not what I
+said."'
+
+"Take her away, dearest Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, tears of joy
+forcing themselves from his eyes. "Take her away, lest too much
+happiness come upon me at once. My thoughts should be calmer at such a
+moment."
+
+Wycherly removed Mildred from her mother's arms, and gently led her from
+the room. When in Mrs. Dutton's apartment, he whispered something in the
+ear of the agitated girl that caused her to turn on him a look of
+happiness, though it came dimmed with tears; then _he_ had his turn of
+holding her, for another precious instant, to his heart.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Dutton--nay, my dear _mother_," he said, "Mildred and
+myself have both need of parents. I am an orphan like herself, and we
+can never consent to part with you. Look forward, I entreat you, to
+making one of our family in all things, for never can either Mildred or
+myself cease to consider you as any thing but a parent entitled to more
+than common reverence and affection."
+
+Wycherly had hardly uttered this proper speech, when he received what he
+fancied a ten-fold reward. Mildred, in a burst of natural feeling,
+without affectation or reserve, but yielding to her heart only, threw
+her arms around his neck, murmured the word "thanks" several times, and
+wept freely on his bosom. When Mrs. Dutton received the sobbing girl
+from him, Wycherly kissed the mother's cheek, and he left the room.
+
+Admiral Bluewater would not consent to seek his repose until he had a
+private conference with his friend and Wycherly. The latter was
+frankness and liberality itself, but the former would not wait for
+settlements. These he trusted to the young man's honour. His own time
+was short, and he should die perfectly happy could he leave his niece in
+the care of one like our Virginian. He wished the marriage to take place
+in his presence. On this, he even insisted, and, of course, Wycherly
+make no objections, but went to state the case to Mrs. Dutton and
+Mildred.
+
+"It is singular, Dick," said Sir Gervaise, wiping his eyes, as he looked
+from a window that commanded a view of the sea, "that I have left both
+our flags flying in the Cæsar! I declare, the oddness of the
+circumstance never struck me till this minute."
+
+"Let them float thus a little longer, Gervaise. They have faced many a
+gale and many a battle together, and may endure each other's company a
+few hours longer."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+    "Compound or weakness and of strength,
+      Mighty, yet ignorant of thy power!
+    Loftier than earth, or air, or sea,
+      Yet meaner than the lowliest flower!
+
+         MARGARET DAVIDSON.
+
+
+Not a syllable of explanation, reproach, or self-accusation had passed
+between the commander-in-chief and the rear-admiral, since the latter
+received his wound. Each party appeared to blot out the events of the
+last few days, leaving the long vista of their past services and
+friendship, undisfigured by a single unsightly or unpleasant object. Sir
+Gervaise, while he retained an active superintendence of his fleet, and
+issued the necessary orders right and left, hovered around the bed of
+Bluewater with the assiduity and almost with the tenderness of a woman;
+still not the slightest allusion was made to the recent battles, or to
+any thing that had occurred in the short cruise. The speech recorded at
+the close of the last chapter, was the first words he had uttered which
+might, in any manner, carry the mind of either back to events that both
+might wish forgotten. The rear-admiral felt this forbearance deeply, and
+now that the subject was thus accidentally broached between them, he had
+a desire to say something in continuation. Still he waited until the
+baronet had left the window and taken a seat by his bed.
+
+"Gervaise," Bluewater then commenced, speaking low from weakness, but
+speaking distinctly from feeling, "I cannot die without asking your
+forgiveness. There were several hours when I actually meditated
+treason--I will not say to my _king_; on that point my opinions are
+unchanged--but to _you_."
+
+"Why speak of this, Dick? You did not know yourself when you believed it
+possible to desert me in the face of the enemy. How much better I judged
+of your character, is seen in the fact that I did not hesitate to engage
+double my force, well knowing that you could not fail to come to my
+rescue."
+
+Bluewater looked intently at his friend, and a smile of serious
+satisfaction passed over his pallid countenance as he listened to Sir
+Gervaise's words, which were uttered with his usual warmth and sincerity
+of manner.
+
+"I believe you know me better than I know myself," he answered, after a
+thoughtful pause; "yes, better than I know myself. What a glorious close
+to our professional career would it have been, Oakes, had I followed you
+into battle, as was our old practice, and fallen in your wake, imitating
+your own high example!"
+
+"It is better as it is, Dick--if any thing that has so sad a termination
+can be well--yes, it is better as it is; you have fallen at my _side_,
+as it were. We will think or talk no more of this."
+
+"We have been friends, and close friends too, for a long period,
+Gervaise," returned Bluewater, stretching his arm from the bed, with the
+long, thin fingers of the hand extended to meet the other's grasp; "yet,
+I cannot recall an act of yours which I can justly lay to heart, as
+unkind, or untrue."
+
+"God forgive me, if you can--I hope not, Dick; most sincerely do I hope
+not. It would give me great pain to believe it."
+
+"_You_ have no cause for self-reproach. In no one act or thought can you
+justly accuse yourself with injuring _me_. I should die much happier
+could I say the same of myself, Oakes!"
+
+"Thought!--Dick?--Thought! You never meditated aught against _me_ in
+your whole life. The love you bear _me_, is the true reason why you lie
+there, at this blessed moment."
+
+"It is grateful to find that I have been understood. I am deeply
+indebted to you, Oakes, for declining to signal me and my division down,
+when I foolishly requested that untimely forbearance. I was then
+suffering an anguish of mind, to which any pain of the body I may now
+endure, is an elysium; your self-denial gave time--"
+
+"For the _heart_ to prompt you to that which your feelings yearned to do
+from the first, Bluewater," interrupted Sir Gervaise. "And, now, as your
+commanding officer, I enjoin silence on this subject, _for ever_."
+
+"I will endeavour to obey. It will not be long, Oakes, that I shall
+remain under your orders," added the rear-admiral, with a painful smile.
+"There should be no charge of mutiny against me in the _last_ act of my
+life. You ought to forgive the one sin of omission, when you remember
+how much and how completely my will has been subject to yours, during
+the last five-and-thirty years,--how little my mind has matured a
+professional thought that yours has not originated!"
+
+"Speak no more of 'forgive,' I charge you, Dick. That you have shown a
+girl-like docility in obeying all my orders, too, is a truth I will aver
+before God and man; but when it comes to _mind_, I am far from asserting
+that mine has had the mastery. I do believe, could the truth he
+ascertained, it would be found that I am, at this blessed moment,
+enjoying a professional reputation, which is more than half due to you."
+
+"It matters little, now, Gervaise--it matters little, now. We were two
+light-hearted and gay lads, Oakes, when we first met as boys, fresh from
+school, and merry as health and spirits could make us."
+
+"We were, indeed, Dick!--yes, we were; thoughtless as if this sad moment
+were never to arrive!"
+
+"There were George Anson, and Peter Warren, little Charley Saunders,
+Jack Byng, and a set of us, that did, indeed, live as if we were never
+to die! We carried our lives, as it might be, in our hands, Oakes!"
+
+"There is much of that, Dick, in boyhood and youth. But, he is happiest,
+after all, who can meet this moment as you do--calmly, and yet without
+any dependence on his own merits."
+
+"I had an excellent mother, Oakes! Little do we think, in youth, how
+much we owe to the unextinguishable tenderness, and far-seeing lessons
+of our mothers! Ours both died while we were young, yet I do think we
+were their debtors for far more than we could ever repay."
+
+Sir Gervaise simply assented, but making no immediate answer, otherwise,
+a long pause succeeded, during which the vice-admiral fancied that his
+friend was beginning to doze. He was mistaken.
+
+"You will be made Viscount Bowldero, for these last affairs, Gervaise,"
+the wounded man unexpectedly observed, showing how much his thoughts
+were still engrossed with the interests of his friend. "Nor do I see why
+you should again refuse a peerage. Those who remain in this world, may
+well yield to its usages and opinions, while they do not interfere with
+higher obligations."
+
+"I!"--exclaimed Sir Gervaise, gloomily. "The thought of so commemorating
+what has happened, would be worse than defeat to me! No--I ask no change
+of name to remind me constantly of my loss!"
+
+Bluewater looked grateful, rather than pleased; but he made no answer.
+Now, he fell into a light slumber, from which he did not awake until the
+time he had himself set for the marriage of Wycherly and Mildred. With
+one uncle dead and still unburied, and another about to quit the world
+for ever, a rite that is usually deemed as joyous as it is solemn, might
+seem unseasonable; but the dying man had made it a request that he might
+have the consolation of knowing ere he expired, that he left his niece
+under the legal protection of one as competent, as he was desirous of
+protecting her. The reader must imagine the arguments that were used for
+the occasion, but they were such as disposed all, in the end, to admit
+the propriety of yielding their ordinary prejudices to the exigencies of
+the moment. It may be well to add, also, to prevent useless cavilling,
+that the laws of England were not as rigid on the subject of the
+celebration of marriages in 1745, as they subsequently became; and that
+it was lawful then to perform the ceremony in a private house without a
+license, and without the publishing of banns, even; restrictions that
+were imposed a few years later. The penalty for dispensing with the
+publication of banns, was a fine of £100, imposed on the clergyman; and
+this fine Bluewater chose to pay, rather than leave the only great
+object of life that now remained before him unaccomplished. This penalty
+in no degree impaired the validity of the contract, though Mrs. Dutton,
+as a woman, felt averse to parting with her beloved, without a rigid
+observance of all the customary forms. The point had finally been
+disposed of, by recourse to arguments addressed to the reason of this
+respectable woman, and by urging the necessity of the case. Her consent,
+however, was not given without a proviso, that a license should be
+subsequently procured, and a second marriage be had at a more fitting
+moment, should the ecclesiastical authorities consent to the same; a
+most improbable thing in itself.
+
+Mr. Rotherham availed himself of the statute inflicting the penalty, as
+an excuse for not officiating. His real motive, however, was understood,
+and the chaplain of the Plantagenet, a divine of character and piety,
+was substituted in his place. Bluewater had requested that as many of
+the captains of the fleet should be present as could be collected, and
+it was the assembling of these warriors of the deep, together with the
+arrival of the clergyman, that first gave notice of the approach of the
+appointed hour.
+
+It is not our intention to dwell on the details of a ceremony that had
+so much that was painful in its solemnities. Neither Wycherly nor
+Mildred made any change in their attire, and the lovely bride wept from
+the time the service began, to the moment when she left the arms of her
+uncle, to be received in those of her husband, and was supported from
+the room. All seemed sad, indeed, but Bluewater; to him the scene was
+exciting, but it brought great relief to his mind.
+
+"I am now ready to die, gentlemen," he said, as the door closed on the
+new-married couple. "My last worldly care is disposed of, and it were
+better for me to turn all my thoughts to another state of being. My
+niece, Lady Wychecombe, will inherit the little I have to leave; nor do
+I know that it is of much importance to substantiate her birth, as her
+uncle clearly bestowed what would have been her mother's property, on
+her aunt, the duchess. If my dying declaration can be of any use,
+however, you hear it, and can testify to it. Now, come and take leave of
+me, one by one, that I may bless you all, and thank you for much
+undeserved, and, I fear, unrequited love."
+
+The scene that followed was solemn and sad. One by one, the captains
+drew near the bed, and to each the dying man had something kind and
+affectionate to say. Even the most cold-hearted looked grave, and
+O'Neil, a man remarkable for a _gaité de c[oe]ur_ that rendered the
+excitement of battle some of the pleasantest moments of his life,
+literally shed tears on the hand he kissed.
+
+"Ah! my old friend," said the rear-admiral, as Parker, of the Carnatic,
+drew near in his customary meek and subdued manner, "you perceive it is
+not years alone that bring us to our graves! They tell me you have
+behaved as usual in these late affairs; I trust that, after a long life
+of patient and arduous services, you are about to receive a proper
+reward."
+
+"I will acknowledge, Admiral Bluewater," returned Parker, earnestly,
+"that it would be peculiarly grateful to receive some mark of the
+approbation of my sovereign; principally on account of my dear wife and
+children. We are not, like yourself, descended from a noble family; but
+must carve our rights to distinction, and they who have never known
+honours of this nature, prize them highly."
+
+"Ay, my good Parker," interrupted the rear-admiral, "and they who have
+ever known them, know their emptiness; most especially as they approach
+that verge of existence whence the eye looks in a near and fearful
+glance, over the vast and unknown range of eternity."
+
+"No doubt, sir; nor am I so vain as to suppose that hairs which have got
+to be grey as mine, can last for ever. But, what I was about to say is,
+that precious as honours are to the humble, I would cheerfully yield
+every hope of the sort I have, to see you on the poop of the Cæsar
+again, with Mr. Cornet at your elbow, leading the fleet, or following
+the motions of the vice-admiral."
+
+"Thank you, my good Parker; that can never be; nor can I say, now, that
+I wish it might. When we have cast off from the world, there is less
+pleasure in looking back, than in looking ahead. God bless you, Parker,
+and keep you, as you ever have been, an honest man."
+
+Stowel was the last to approach the bed, nor did he do it until all had
+left the room but Sir Gervaise and himself.
+
+The indomitable good-nature, and the professional nonchalance of
+Bluewater, by leaving every subordinate undisturbed in the enjoyment of
+his own personal caprices, had rendered the rear-admiral a greater
+favourite, in one sense at least, than the commander-in-chief. Stowel,
+by his near connection with Bluewater, had profited more by these
+peculiarities than any other officer under him, and the effect on his
+feelings had been in a very just proportion to the benefits. He could
+not refrain, it is true, from remembering the day when he himself had
+been a lieutenant in the ship in which the rear-admiral had been a
+midshipman, but he no longer recollected the circumstance with the
+bitterness that it sometimes drew after it. On the contrary, it was now
+brought to his mind merely as the most distant of the many land-marks in
+their long and joint services.
+
+"Well, Stowel," observed Bluewater, smiling sadly, "even the old Cæsar
+must be left behind. It is seldom a flag-captain has not some
+heart-burnings on account of his superior, and most sincerely do I beg
+you to forget and forgive any I may have occasioned yourself."
+
+"Heaven help me, sir!--I was far, just then, from thinking of any such
+thing! I was fancying how little I should have thought it probable, when
+we were together in the Calypso, that I should ever be thus standing at
+_your_ bed-side. Really, Admiral Bluewater, I would rejoice to share
+with you the remnant of life that is left me."
+
+"I do believe you would, Stowel; but that can never be. I have just
+performed my last act in this world, in giving my niece to Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe."
+
+"Yes, sir;--yes, sir--marriage is no doubt honourable, as I often tell
+Mrs. Stowel, and therefore not to be despised; and yet it _is_ singular,
+that a gentleman who has lived a bachelor himself, should fancy to see a
+marriage ceremony performed, and that, too, at the cost of £100, if any
+person choose to complain, just at the close of his own cruise! However,
+men are no more alike in such matters, than women in their domestic
+qualities; and I sincerely hope this young Sir Wycherly may find as much
+comfort, in the old house I understand he has a little inland here, as
+you and I have had together, sir, in the old Cæsar. I suppose there'll
+be no co-equals in Wychecombe Hall."
+
+"I trust not, Stowel. But you must now receive my last orders, as to the
+Cæsar--"
+
+"The commander-in-chief has his own flag flying aboard of us, sir!"
+interrupted the methodical captain, in a sort of admonitory way.
+
+"Never mind that, Stowel;--I'll answer for his acquiescence. My body
+must be received on board, and carried round in the ship to Plymouth.
+Place it on the main-deck, where the people can see the coffin; I would
+pass my last hours above ground, in their midst."
+
+"It shall be done, sir--yes, sir, to the letter, Sir Gervaise not
+countermanding. And I'll write this evening to Mrs. Stowel to say she
+needn't come down, as usual, as soon as she hears the ship is in, but
+that she must wait until your flag is fairly struck."
+
+"I should be sorry, Stowel, to cause a moment's delay in the meeting of
+husband and wife!"
+
+"Don't name it, Admiral Bluewater;--Mrs. Stowel will understand that
+it's duty; and when we married, I fully explained to her that duty, with
+a sailor, came before matrimony."
+
+A little pause succeeded, then Bluewater took a final and affectionate
+leave of his captain. Some twenty minutes elapsed in a profound silence,
+during which Sir Gervaise did not stir, fancying that his friend again
+dozed. But it was ordered that Bluewater was never to sleep again, until
+he took the final rest of the dead. It was the mind, which had always
+blazed above the duller lethargy of his body, that buoyed him thus up,
+giving an unnatural impulse to his physical powers; an impulse, however,
+that was but momentary, and which, by means of the reaction,
+contributed, in the end, to his more speedy dissolution. Perceiving, at
+length, that his friend did not sleep, Sir Gervaise drew near his bed.
+
+"Richard," he said, gently, "there is one without, who pines to be
+admitted. I have refused even his tears, under the impression that you
+felt disposed to sleep."
+
+"Never less so. My mind appears to become brighter and clearer, instead
+of fading; I think I shall never sleep, in the sense you mean. Whoever
+the person is, let him be admitted."
+
+Receiving this permission, Sir Gervaise opened the door, and Geoffrey
+Cleveland entered. At the same moment, Galleygo, who came and went at
+pleasure, thrust in his own ungainly form. The boy's face betrayed the
+nature and the extent of his grief. In his mind, Admiral Bluewater was
+associated with all the events of his own professional life; and, though
+the period had in truth been so short, in his brief existence, the vista
+through which he looked back, seemed quite as long as that which marked
+the friendship of the two admirals, themselves. Although he struggled
+manfully for self-control, feeling got the better of the lad, and he
+threw himself on his knees, at the side of his bed, sobbing as if his
+heart would break. Bluewater's eye glistened, and he laid a hand
+affectionately on the head of his young relative.
+
+"Gervaise, you will take charge of this boy, when I'm gone," he said;
+"receive him in your own ship. I leave him to you, as a very near and
+dear professional legacy. Cheer up--cheer up--my brave boy; look upon
+all this as a sailor's fortune. Our lives are the--"
+
+The word "king's," which should have succeeded, seemed to choke the
+speaker. Casting a glance of meaning at his friend, with a painful smile
+on his face, he continued silent.
+
+"Ah! dear sir," answered the midshipman, ingenuously; "I knew that _we_
+might all be killed, but it never occurred to me that an admiral could
+lose his life in battle. I'm sure--I'm sure you are the very first that
+has met with this accident!"
+
+"Not by many, my poor Geoffrey. As there are but few admirals, few fall;
+but we are as much exposed as others."
+
+"If I had only run that Monsieur des Prez through the body, when we
+closed with him," returned the boy, grating his teeth, and looking all
+the vengeance for which, at the passing instant, he felt the desire; "it
+would have been _something_! I might have done it, too, for he was quite
+unguarded!"
+
+"It would have been a very bad _thing_, boy, to have injured a brave
+man, uselessly."
+
+"Of what use was it to shoot you, sir? We took their ship, just the same
+as if you had not been hurt."
+
+"I rather think, Geoffrey, their ship was virtually taken before I was
+wounded," returned Bluewater, smiling. "But I was shot by a French
+marine, who did no more than his duty."
+
+"Yes, sir," exclaimed the boy, impatiently; "and _he_ escaped without a
+scratch. _He_, at least, ought to have been _massacred_."
+
+"Thou art bloody-minded, child; I scarce know thee. _Massacred_ is not a
+word for either a British nobleman or a British sailor. I saved the life
+of that marine; and, when you come to lie, like me, on your death-bed,
+Geoffrey, you will learn how sweet a consolation can be derived from the
+consciousness of such an act; we all need mercy, and none ought to
+expect it, for themselves, who do not yield it to others."
+
+The boy was rebuked, and his feelings took a better, though scarcely a
+more natural direction. Bluewater now spoke to him of his
+newly-discovered cousin, and had a melancholy satisfaction in creating
+an interest in behalf of Mildred, in the breast of the noble-hearted and
+ingenuous boy. The latter listened with respectful attention, as had
+been his wont, until, deceived by the tranquil and benevolent manner of
+Bluewater, he permitted himself to fall into the natural delusion of
+believing the wound of the rear-admiral less serious than he had
+supposed, and to begin to entertain hopes that the wounded man might yet
+survive. Calmed by these feelings, he soon ceased to weep; and,
+promising discretion, was permitted by Sir Gervaise to remain in the
+room, where he busied himself in the offices of a nurse.
+
+Another long pause succeeded this exciting little scene, during which
+Bluewater lay quietly communing with himself and his God. Sir Gervaise
+wrote orders, and read reports, though his eye was never off the
+countenance of his friend more than a minute or two at a time. At
+length, the rear-admiral aroused himself, again, and began to take an
+interest once more, in the persons and things around him.
+
+"Galleygo, my old fellow-cruiser," he said, "I leave Sir Gervaise more
+particularly in your care. As we advance in life, our friends decrease
+in numbers; it is only those that have been well tried that we can rely
+on."
+
+"Yes, Admiral Blue, I knows that, and so does Sir Jarvy. Yes, old
+shipmates afore young 'uns, any day, and old sailors, too, afore green
+hands. Sir Jarvy's Bowlderos are good plate-holders, and the likes of
+that; but when it comes to heavy weather, and a hard strain, I thinks
+but little on 'em, all put together."
+
+"By the way, Oakes," said Bluewater, with a sudden interest in such a
+subject, that he never expected to feel again, "I have heard nothing of
+the first day's work, in which, through the little I have gleaned, by
+listening to those around me, I understand you took a two-decker,
+besides dismasting the French admiral?"
+
+"Pardon me, Dick; you had better try and catch a little sleep; the
+subject of those two days' work is really painful to me."
+
+"Well, then, Sir Jarvy, if you has an avarsion to telling the story to
+Admiral Blue, I can do it, your honour," put in Galleygo, who gloried in
+giving a graphic description of a sea-fight. "I thinks, now, a history
+of that day will comfort a flag-hofficer as has been so badly wounded
+himself."
+
+Bluewater offering no opposition, Galleygo proceeded with his account of
+the evolutions of the ships, as we have already described them,
+succeeding surprisingly well in rendering the narrative interesting, and
+making himself perfectly intelligible and clear, by his thorough
+knowledge, and ready use, of the necessary nautical terms. When he came
+to the moment in which the English line separated, part passing to
+windward, and part to leeward of the two French ships, he related the
+incident in so clear and spirited a manner, that the commander-in-chief
+himself dropped his pen, and sat listening with pleasure.
+
+"Who could imagine, Dick," Sir Gervaise observed, "that those fellows in
+the tops watch us so closely, and could give so accurate an account of
+what passes!"
+
+"Ah! Gervaise, and what is the vigilance of Galleygo to that of the
+All-seeing eye! It is a terrible thought, at an hour like this, to
+remember that nothing can be forgotten. I have somewhere read that not
+an oath is uttered that does not continue to vibrate through all time,
+in the wide-spreading currents of sound--not a prayer lisped, that its
+record is not also to be found stamped on the laws of nature, by the
+indelible seal of the Almighty's will!"
+
+There was little in common between the religious impressions of the two
+friends. They were both sailors, and though the word does not
+necessarily imply that they were sinners in an unusual degree, neither
+does it rigidly imply that they were saints. Each had received the usual
+elementary education, and then each had been turned adrift, as it might
+be on the ocean of life, to suffer the seed to take root, and the fruit
+to ripen as best they might. Few of those "who go down to the great deep
+in ships," and who escape the more brutalizing effects of lives so rude,
+are altogether without religious impressions. Living so much, as it
+were, in the immediate presence of the power of God, the sailor is much
+disposed to reverence his omnipotence, even while he transgresses his
+laws; but in nearly all those instances in which nature has implanted a
+temperament inclining to deep feeling, as was the case with Bluewater,
+not even the harsh examples, nor the loose or irresponsible lives of men
+thus separated from the customary ties of society, can wholly extinguish
+the reverence for God which is created by constantly dwelling in the
+presence of his earthly magnificence. This sentiment in Bluewater had
+not been altogether without fruits, for he both read and reflected much.
+Sometimes, though at isolated and distant intervals, he even prayed; and
+that fervently, and with a strong and full sense of his own demerits. As
+a consequence of this general disposition, and of the passing
+convictions, his mind was better attuned for the crisis before him, than
+would have been the case with most of his brethren in arms, who, when
+overtaken with the fate so common to the profession, are usually left to
+sustain their last moments with the lingering enthusiasm of strife and
+victory.
+
+On the other hand, Sir Gervaise was as simple as a child in matters of
+this sort. He had a reverence for his Creator, and such general notions
+of his goodness and love, as the well-disposed are apt to feel; but all
+the dogmas concerning the lost condition of the human race, the
+mediation, and the power of faith, floated in his mind as opinions not
+to be controverted, and yet as scarcely to be felt. In short, the
+commander-in-chief admitted the practical heresy, which overshadows the
+faith of millions, while he deemed himself to be a stout advocate of
+church and king. Still, Sir Gervaise Oakes, on occasions, was more than
+usually disposed to seriousness, and was even inclined to be devout; but
+it was without much regard to theories or revelation. At such moments,
+while his opinions would not properly admit him within the pale of any
+Christian church, in particular, his feelings might have identified him
+with all. In a word, we apprehend he was a tolerably fair example of
+what vague generalities, when acting on a temperament not indisposed to
+moral impressions, render the great majority of men; who flit around the
+mysteries of a future state, without alighting either on the
+consolations of faith, or discovering any of those logical conclusions
+which, half the time unconsciously to themselves, they seem to expect.
+When Bluewater made his last remark, therefore, the vice-admiral looked
+anxiously at his friend; and religion for the first time since the other
+received his hurt, mingled with his reflections. He had devoutly, though
+mentally, returned thanks to God for his victory, but it had never
+occurred to him that Bluewater might need some preparation for death.
+
+"Would you like to see the Plantagenet's chaplain, again, Dick?" he
+said, tenderly; "you are no _Papist_; of _that_ I am certain."
+
+"In that you are quite right, Gervaise. I consider all churches--_the_
+one holy _Catholic_ church, if you will, as but a means furnished by
+divine benevolence to aid weak men in their pilgrimage; but I also
+believe that there is even a shorter way to his forgiveness than through
+these common avenues. How far I am right," he added, smiling, "none will
+probably know better than myself, a few hours hence."
+
+"Friends _must_ meet again, hereafter, Bluewater; it is irrational to
+suppose that they who have loved each other so well in this state of
+being, are to be for ever separated in the other."
+
+"We will hope so, Oakes," taking the vice-admiral's hand; "we will hope
+so. Still, there will be no ships for us--no cruises--no victories--no
+triumphs! It is only at moments like this, at which I have arrived, that
+we come to view these things in their proper light. Of all the past,
+your constant, unwavering friendship, gives me the most pleasure!"
+
+The vice-admiral could resist no longer. He turned aside and wept. This
+tribute to nature, in one so manly, was imposing even to the dying man,
+and Galleygo regarded it with awe. Familiar as the latter had become
+with his master, by use and indulgence, no living being, in his
+estimation, was as authoritative or as formidable as the
+commander-in-chief; and the effect of the present spectacle, was to
+induce him to hide his own face in self-abasement. Bluewater saw it all,
+but he neither spoke, nor gave any token of his observation. He merely
+prayed, and that right fervently, not only for his friend, but for his
+humble and uncouth follower.
+
+A reaction took place in the system of the wounded man, about nine
+o'clock that night. At this time he believed himself near his end, and
+he sent for Wycherly and his niece, to take his leave of them. Mrs.
+Dutton was also present, as was Magrath, who remained on shore, in
+attendance. Mildred lay for half an hour, bathing her uncle's pillow
+with her tears, until she was removed at the surgeon's suggestion.
+
+"Ye'll see, Sir Gervaise," he whispered--(or "Sir Jairvis," as he always
+pronounced the name,)--"ye'll see, Sir Jairvis, that it's a duty of the
+faculty to _prolong_ life, even when there's no hope of _saving_ it; and
+if ye'll be regairding the judgment of a professional man, Lady
+Wychecombe had better withdraw. It would really be a matter of honest
+exultation for us Plantagenets to get the rear-admiral through the
+night, seeing that the surgeon of the Cæsar said he could no survive the
+setting sun."
+
+At the moment of final separation, Bluewater had little to say to his
+niece. Ho kissed and blessed her again and again, and then signed that
+she should be taken away. Mrs. Dutton, also, came in for a full share of
+his notice, he having desired her to remain after Wycherly and Mildred
+had quitted the room.
+
+"To your care and affection, excellent woman," he said, in a voice that
+had now sunk nearly to a whisper--"we owe it, that Mildred is not unfit
+for her station. Her recovery would have been even more painful than her
+loss, had she been restored to her proper family, uneducated, vulgar,
+and coarse."
+
+"That could hardly have happened to Mildred, sir, in any circumstances,"
+answered the weeping woman. "Nature has done too much for the dear
+child, to render her any thing but delicate and lovely, under any
+tolerable circumstances of depression."
+
+"She is better as she is, and God be thanked that he raised up such a
+protector for her childhood. You have been all in all to her in her
+infancy, and she will strive to repay it to your age."
+
+Of this Mrs. Dutton felt too confident to need assurances; and receiving
+the dying man's blessing, she knelt at his bed-side, prayed fervently
+for a few minutes, and withdrew. After this, nothing out of the ordinary
+track occurred until past midnight, and Magrath, more than once,
+whispered his joyful anticipations that the rear-admiral would survive
+until morning. An hour before day, however, the wounded man revived, in
+a way that the surgeon distrusted. He knew that no physical change of
+this sort could well happen that did not arise from the momentary
+ascendency of mind over matter, as the spirit is on the point of finally
+abandoning its earthly tenement; a circumstance of no unusual occurrence
+in patients of strong and active intellectual properties, whose
+faculties often brighten for an instant, in their last moments, as the
+lamp flashes and glares as it is about to become extinct. Going to the
+bed, he examined his patient attentively, and was satisfied that the
+final moment was near.
+
+"You're a man and a soldier, Sir Jairvis," he said, in a low voice, "and
+it'll no be doing good to attempt misleading your judgment in a case of
+this sort. Our respectable friend, the rear-admiral, is _articulo
+mortis_, as one might almost say; he cannot possibly survive half an
+hour."
+
+Sir Gervaise started. He looked around him a little wistfully; for, at
+that moment, he would have given much to be alone with his dying friend.
+But he hesitated to make a request, which, it struck him, might seem
+improper. From this embarrassment, however, he was relieved by
+Bluewater, himself, who had the same desire, without the same scruples
+about confessing it. _He_ drew the surgeon to his side, and whispered a
+wish to be left alone with the commander-in-chief.
+
+"Well, there will be no trespass on the rules of practice in indulging
+the poor man in his desire," muttered Magrath, as he looked about him to
+gather the last of his professional instruments, like the workman who is
+about to quit one place of toil to repair to another; "and I'll just be
+indulging him."
+
+So saying, he pushed Galleygo and Geoffrey from the room before him,
+left it himself, and closed the door.
+
+Finding himself alone, Sir Gervaise knelt at the side of the bed and
+prayed, holding the hand of his friend in both his own. The example of
+Mrs. Dutton, and the yearnings of his own heart, exacted this sacrifice;
+when it was over he felt a great relief from sensations that nearly
+choked him.
+
+"Do you forgive me, Gervaise?" whispered Bluewater.
+
+"Name it not--name it not, my best friend. We all have our moments of
+weakness, and our need of pardon. May God forget all _my_ sins, as
+freely as I forget your errors!"
+
+"God bless you, Oakes, and keep you the same simple-minded, true-hearted
+man, you have ever been."
+
+Sir Gervaise buried his face in the bed-clothes, and groaned.
+
+"Kiss me, Oakes," murmured the rear-admiral.
+
+In order to do this, the commander-in-chief rose from his knees and bent
+over the body of his friend. As he raised himself from the cheek he had
+saluted, a benignant smile gleamed on the face of the dying man, and he
+ceased to breathe. Near half a minute followed, however, before the last
+and most significant breath that is ever drawn from man, was given. The
+remainder of that night Sir Gervaise Oakes passed in the chamber alone,
+pacing the floor, recalling the many scenes of pleasure, danger, pain,
+and triumph, through which he and the dead had passed in company. With
+the return of light, he summoned the attendants, and retired to his
+tent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+    "And they came for the buried king that lay
+      At rest in that ancient fane;
+    For he must be armed on the battle day,
+      With them to deliver Spain!--
+    Then the march went sounding on,
+    And the Moors by noontide sun,
+      Were dust on Tolosa's plain."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+It remains only to give a rapid sketch of the fortunes of our principal
+characters, and of the few incidents that are more immediately connected
+with what has gone before. The death of Bluewater was announced to the
+fleet, at sunrise, by hauling down his flag from the mizzen of the
+Cæsar. The vice-admiral's flag came down with it, and re-appeared at the
+next minute at the fore of the Plantagenet. But the little white emblem
+of rank never went aloft again in honour of the deceased. At noon, it
+was spread over his coffin, on the main-deck of the ship, agreeably to
+his own request; and more than once that day, did some rough old tar use
+it, to wipe the tear from his eyes.
+
+In the afternoon of the day after the death of one of our heroes, the
+wind came round to the westward, and all the vessels lifted their
+anchors, and proceeded to Plymouth. The crippled ships, by this time,
+were in a state to carry more or less sail, and a stranger who had seen
+the melancholy-looking line, as it rounded the Start, would have fancied
+it a beaten fleet on its return to port. The only signs of exultation
+that appeared, were the jacks that were flying over the white flags of
+the prizes; and even when all had anchored, the same air of sadness
+reigned among these victorious mariners. The body was landed, with the
+usual forms; but the procession of warriors of the deep that followed
+it, was distinguished by a gravity that exceeded the ordinary aspects of
+mere form. Many of the captains, and Greenly in particular, had viewed
+the man[oe]uvring of Bluewater with surprise, and the latter not
+altogether without displeasure; but his subsequent conduct completely
+erased these impressions, leaving no other recollection connected with
+his conduct that morning than the brilliant courage, and admirable
+handling of his vessels, by which the fortunes of a nearly desperate day
+were retrieved. Those who did reflect any longer on the subject,
+attributed the singularity of the course pursued by the rear-admiral, to
+some private orders communicated in the telegraphic signal, as already
+mentioned.
+
+It is unnecessary for us to dwell on the particular movements of the
+fleet, after it reached Plymouth. The ships were repaired, the prizes
+received into the service, and, in due time, all took the sea again,
+ready and anxious to encounter their country's enemies. They ran the
+careers usual to English heavy cruisers in that age; and as ships form
+characters in this work, perhaps it may not be amiss to take a general
+glance at their several fortunes, together with those of their
+respective commanders. Sir Gervaise fairly wore out the Plantagenet,
+which vessel was broken up three years later, though not until she had
+carried a blue flag at her main, more than two years. Greenly lived to
+be a rear-admiral of the red, and died of yellow-fever in the Island of
+Barbadoes. The Cæsar, with Stowel still in command of her, foundered at
+sea in a winter's cruise in the Baltic, every soul perishing. This
+calamity occurred the winter succeeding the summer of our legend, and
+the only relieving circumstance connected with the disaster, was the
+fact that her commander got rid of Mrs. Stowel altogether, from that day
+forward. The Thunderer had her share in many a subsequent battle, and
+Foley, her captain, died rear-admiral of England, and a vice-admiral of
+the red, thirty years later. The Carnatic was commanded by Parker, until
+the latter got a right to hoist a blue flag at the mizzen; which was
+done for just one day, to comply with form, when both ship and admiral
+were laid aside, as too old for further use. It should be added,
+however, that Parker was knighted by the king on board his own ship; a
+circumstance that cast a halo of sunshine over the close of the life of
+one, who had commenced his career so humbly, as to render this happy
+close more than equal to his expectations. In direct opposition to this,
+it may be said here, that Sir Gervaise refused, for the third time, to
+be made Viscount Bowldero, with a feeling just the reverse of that of
+Parker's; for, secure of his social position, and careless of politics,
+he viewed the elevation with an indifference that was a natural
+consequence enough of his own birth, fortune, and high character. On
+this occasion,--it was after another victory,--George II. personally
+alluded to the subject, remarking that the success we have recorded had
+never met with its reward; when the old seaman let out the true secret
+of his pertinaciously declining an honour, about which he might
+otherwise have been supposed to be as indifferent to the acceptance, as
+to the refusal. "Sir," he answered to the remark of the king, "I am duly
+sensible of your majesty's favour; but, I can never consent to receive a
+patent of nobility that, in my eyes, will always seem to be sealed with
+the blood of my closest and best friend." This reply was remembered, and
+the subject was never adverted to again.
+
+The fate of the Blenheim was one of those impressive blanks that dot the
+pages of nautical history. She sailed for the Mediterranean alone, and
+after she had discharged her pilot, was never heard of again. This did
+not occur, however, until Captain Sterling had been killed on her decks,
+in one of Sir Gervaise's subsequent actions. The Achilles was suffered
+to drift in, too near to some heavy French batteries, before the treaty
+of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed; and, after every stick had been again cut
+out of her, she was compelled to lower her flag. His earldom and his
+courage, saved Lord Morganic from censure; but, being permitted to go up
+to Paris, previously to his exchange, he contracted a matrimonial
+engagement with a celebrated _danseuse_, a craft that gave him so much
+future employment, that he virtually abandoned his profession.
+Nevertheless, his name was on the list of vice-admirals of the blue,
+when he departed this life. The Warspite and Captain Goodfellow both
+died natural deaths; one as a receiving-ship, and the other as a
+rear-admiral of the white. The Dover, Captain Drinkwater, was lost in
+attempting to weather Scilly in a gale, when her commander, and quite
+half her crew, were drowned. The York did many a hard day's duty, before
+her time arrived; but, in the end, she was so much injured in a general
+action as to be abandoned and set fire to, at sea. Her commander was
+lost overboard, in the very first cruise she took, after that related in
+this work. The Elizabeth rotted as a guard-ship, in the Medway; and
+Captain Blakely retired from the service with one arm, a yellow admiral.
+The Dublin laid her bones in the cove of Cork, having been condemned
+after a severe winter passed on the north coast. Captain O'Neil was
+killed in a duel with a French officer, after the peace; the latter
+having stated that his ship had run away from two frigates commanded by
+the _Chevalier_. The Chloe was taken by an enemy's fleet, in the next
+war; but Captain Denham worked his way up to a white flag at the main,
+and a peerage. The Druid was wrecked that very summer, chasing inshore,
+near Bordeaux; and Blewet, in a professional point of view, never
+regained the ground he lost, on this occasion. As for the sloops and
+cutters, they went the way of all small cruisers, while their nameless
+commanders shared the usual fates of mariners.
+
+Wycherly remained at Wychecombe until the interment of his uncle took
+place; at which, aided by Sir Reginald's influence and knowledge, and,
+in spite of Tom's intrigues, he appeared as chief mourner. The affair of
+the succession was also so managed as to give him very little trouble.
+Tom, discovering that his own illegitimacy was known, and seeing the
+hopelessness of a contest against such an antagonist as Sir Reginald,
+who knew quite as much of the facts as he did of the law of the case,
+was fain to retire from the field. From that moment, no one heard any
+thing more of the legacies. In the end he received the £20,000 in the
+five per cents, and the few chattels Sir Wycherly had a right to give
+away; but his enjoyment of them was short, as he contracted a severe
+cold that very autumn, and died of a malignant fever, in a few weeks.
+Leaving no will, his property escheated; but it was all restored to his
+two uterine brothers, by the liberality of the ministry, and out of
+respect to the long services of the baron, which two brothers, it will
+he remembered, alone had any of the blood of Wychecombe in their veins
+to boast of. This was disposing of the savings of both the baronet and
+the judge, with a very suitable regard to moral justice.
+
+Wycherly also appeared, though it was in company with Sir Gervaise
+Oakes, as one of the principal mourners at the funeral obsequies of
+Admiral Bluewater. These were of a public character, and took place in
+Westminster Abbey. The carriages of that portion of the royal personages
+who were not restrained by the laws of court-etiquette, appeared in the
+procession; and several members of that very family that the deceased
+regarded as intruders, were present incog. at his last rites. This,
+however, was but one of the many illusions that the great masquerade of
+life is constantly offering to the public gaze.
+
+There was little difficulty in establishing the claims of Mildred, to be
+considered the daughter of Colonel Bluewater and Agnes Hedworth. Lord
+Bluewater was soon satisfied; and, as he was quite indifferent to the
+possession of his kinsman's money, an acquisition he neither wished nor
+expected, the most perfect good-will existed between the parties. There
+was more difficulty with the Duchess of Glamorgan, who had acquired too
+many of the notions of very high rank, to look with complacency on a
+niece that had been educated as the daughter of a sailing-master in the
+navy. She raised many objections, while she admitted that she had been
+the confidant of her sister's attachment to John Bluewater. Her second
+son, Geoffrey, did more to remove her scruples than all the rest united;
+and when Sir Gervaise Oakes, in person, condescended to make a journey
+to the Park, to persuade her to examine the proofs, she could not well
+decline. As soon as one of her really candid mind entered into the
+inquiry, the evidence was found to be irresistible, and she at once
+yielded to the feelings of nature. Wycherly had been indefatigable in
+establishing his wife's claims--more so, indeed, than in establishing
+his own; and, at the suggestion of the vice-admiral--or, admiral of the
+white, as he had become by a recent general promotion--he consented to
+accompany the latter in this visit, waiting at the nearest town,
+however, for a summons to the Park, as soon as it could be ascertained
+that his presence would be agreeable to its mistress.
+
+"If my niece prove but half as acceptable in appearance, as my _nephew_,
+Sir Gervaise," observed the duchess, when the young Virginian was
+introduced to her, and laying stress on the word we have
+italicised--"nothing can be wanting to the agreeables of this new
+connection. I am impatient, now, to see my niece; Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe has prepared me to expect a young woman of more than common
+merit."
+
+"My life on it, duchess, he has not raised your expectations too high.
+The poor girl is still dwelling in her cottage, the companion of her
+reputed mother; but it is time, Wychecombe, that you had claimed your
+bride."
+
+"I expect to find her and Mrs. Dutton at the Hall, on my return, Sir
+Gervaise; it having been thus arranged between us. The sad ceremonies
+through which we have lately been, were unsuited to the introduction of
+the new mistress to her abode, and the last had been deferred to a more
+fitting occasion."
+
+"Let the first visit that Lady Wychecombe pays, be to this place," said
+the duchess. "I do not command it, Sir Wycherly, as one who has some
+slight claims to her duty; but I solicit it, as one who wishes to
+possess every hold upon her love. Her mother was an _only_ sister; and
+an _only_ sister's child must be very near to one."
+
+It would have been impossible for the Duchess of Glamorgan to have said
+as much as this before she saw the young Virginian; but, now he had
+turned out a person so very different from what she expected, she had
+lively hopes in behalf of her niece.
+
+Wycherly returned to Wychecombe, after this short visit to Mildred's
+aunt, and found his lovely bride in quiet possession, accompanied by her
+mother. Dutton still remained at the station, for he had the sagacity to
+see that he might not be welcome, and modesty enough to act with a
+cautious reserve. But Wycherly respected his excellent wife too
+profoundly not to have a due regard to her feelings, in all things; and
+the master was invited to join the party. Brutality and meanness united,
+like those which belonged to the character of Dutton, are not easily
+abashed, and he accepted the invitation, in the hope that, after all, he
+was to reap as many advantages by the marriage of Mildred with the
+affluent baronet, as if she had actually been his daughter.
+
+After passing a few weeks in sober happiness at home, Wycherly felt it
+due to all parties, to carry his wife to the Park, in order that she
+might make the acquaintance of the near relatives who dwelt there. Mrs.
+Dutton, by invitation, was of the party; but Dutton was left behind,
+having no necessary connection with the scenes and the feelings that
+were likely to occur. It would be painting the duchess too much _en
+beau_, were we to say that she met Mildred without certain misgivings
+and fears. But the first glimpse of her lovely niece completely put
+natural feelings in the ascendency. The resemblance to her sister was so
+strong as to cause a piercing cry to escape her, and, bursting into
+tears, she folded the trembling young woman to her heart, with a fervour
+and sincerity that set at naught all conventional manners. This was the
+commencement of a close intimacy; which lasted but a short time,
+however, the duchess dying two years later.
+
+Wycherly continued in the service until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle,
+when he finally quitted the sea. His strong native attachments led him
+back to Virginia, where all his own nearest relatives belonged, and
+where his whole heart might be said to be, when he saw Mildred and his
+children at his side. With him, early associations and habits had more
+strength, than traditions and memorials of the past. He erected a
+spacious dwelling on the estate inherited from his father, where he
+passed most of his time; consigning Wychecombe to the care of a careful
+steward. With the additions and improvements that he was now enabled to
+make, his Virginian estate produced even a larger income than his
+English, and his interests really pointed to the choice he had made. But
+no pecuniary considerations lay at the bottom of his selection. He
+really preferred the graceful and courteous ease of the intercourse
+which characterized the manners of James' river. In that age, they were
+equally removed from the coarse and boisterous jollity of the English
+country-squire, and the heartless conventionalities of high life. In
+addition to this, his sensitive feelings rightly enough detected that he
+was regarded in the mother-country as a sort of intruder. He was spoken
+of, alluded to in the journals, and viewed even by his tenants as the
+_American_ landlord; and he never felt truly at home in the country for
+which he had fought and bled. In England, his rank as a baronet was not
+sufficient to look down these little peculiarities; whereas, in
+Virginia, it gave him a certain _éclat_, that was grateful to one of the
+main weaknesses of human nature. "At home," as the mother-country was
+then affectionately termed, he had no hope of becoming a privy
+councillor; while, in his native colony, his rank and fortune, almost as
+a matter of course, placed him in the council of the governor. In a
+word, while Wycherly found most of those worldly considerations which
+influence men in the choice of their places of residence, in favour of
+the region in which he happened to be born, his election was made more
+from feeling and taste than from any thing else. His mind had taken an
+early bias in favour of the usages and opinions of the people among whom
+he had received his first impressions, and this bias he retained to the
+hour of his death.
+
+Like a true woman, Mildred found her happiness with her husband and
+children. Of the latter she had but three; a boy and two girls. The care
+of the last was early committed to Mrs. Dutton. This excellent woman had
+remained at Wychecombe with her husband, until death put an end to his
+vices, though the close of his career was exempt from those scenes of
+brutal dictation and interference that had rendered the earlier part of
+her life so miserable. Apprehension of what might be the consequences to
+himself, acted as a check, and he had sagacity enough to see that the
+physical comforts he now possessed were all owing to the influence of
+his wife. He lived but four years, however. On his death, his widow
+immediately took her departure for America.
+
+It would be substituting pure images of the fancy for a picture of sober
+realities, were we to say that Lady Wychecombe and her adopted mother
+never regretted the land of _their_ birth. This negation of feeling,
+habits, and prejudices, is not to be expected even in an Esquimaux. They
+both had occasional strictures to make on the _climate_, (and this to
+Wycherly's great surprise, for _he_ conscientiously believed that of
+England to be just the worst in the world,) on the fruits, the servants,
+the roads, and the difficulty of procuring various little comforts. But,
+as this was said good-naturedly and in pleasantry, rather than in the
+way of complaint, it led to no unpleasant scenes or feelings. As all
+three made occasional voyages to England, where his estates, and more
+particularly settlements with his factor, compelled the baronet to go
+once in about a lustrum, the fruits and the climate were finally given
+up by the ladies. After many years, even the slip-shod, careless, but
+hearty attendance of the negroes, came to be preferred to the dogged
+mannerism of the English domestics, perfect as were the latter in their
+parts; and the whole subject got to be one of amusement, instead of one
+of complaint. There is no greater mistake than to suppose that the
+traveller who passes _once_ through a country, with his home-bred, and
+quite likely _provincial_ notions thick upon him, is competent to
+describe, with due discrimination, even the usages of which he is
+actually a witness. This truth all the family came, in time, to
+discover; and while it rendered them more strictly critical in their
+remarks, it also rendered them more tolerant. As it was, few happier
+families were to be found in the British empire, than that of Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe; its head retaining his manly and protecting
+affection for all dependent on him, while his wife, beautiful as a
+matron, as she had been lovely as a girl, clung to him with the tenacity
+of the vine to its own oak.
+
+Of the result of the rising in the north, it is unnecessary to say much.
+The history of the _Chevalier's_ successes in the first year, and of his
+final overthrow at Culloden, is well known. Sir Reginald Wychecombe,
+like hundreds of others, played his cards so skilfully that he avoided
+committing himself; and, although he lived and eventually died a
+suspected man, he escaped forfeitures and attainder. With Sir Wycherly,
+as the head of his house, he maintained a friendly correspondence to the
+last, even taking charge of the paternal estate in its owner's absence;
+manifesting to the hour of his death, a scrupulous probity in matters of
+money, mingled with an inherent love of management and intrigue, in
+things that related to politics and the succession. Sir Reginald lived
+long enough to see the hopes of the Jacobites completely extinguished,
+and the throne filled by a native Englishman.
+
+Many long years after the events which rendered the week of its opening
+incidents so memorable among its actors, must now be imagined. Time had
+advanced with its usual unfaltering tread, and the greater part of a
+generation had been gathered to their fathers. George III. had been on
+the throne not less than three lustrums, and most of the important
+actors of the period of '45, were dead;--many of them, in a degree,
+forgotten. But each age has its own events and its own changes. Those
+colonies, which in 1745 were so loyal, so devoted to the house of
+Hanover, in the belief that political and religious liberty depended on
+the issue, had revolted against the supremacy of the parliament of the
+empire. America was already in arms against the mother country, and the
+very day before the occurrence of the little scene we are about to
+relate, the intelligence of the battle of Bunker Hill had reached
+London. Although the gazette and national pride had, in a degree,
+lessened the characteristics of this most remarkable of all similar
+combats, by exaggerating the numbers of the colonists engaged, and
+lessening the loss of the royal troops, the impression produced by the
+news is said to have been greater than any known to that age. It had
+been the prevalent opinion of England--an opinion that was then general
+in Europe, and which descended even to our own times--that the animals
+of the new continent, man included, had less courage and physical force,
+than those of the old; and astonishment, mingled with the forebodings of
+the intelligent, when it was found that a body of ill-armed countrymen
+had dared to meet, in a singularly bloody combat, twice their number of
+regular troops, and that, too, under the guns of the king's shipping and
+batteries. Rumours, for the moment, were rife in London, and the
+political world was filled with gloomy anticipations of the future.
+
+On the morning of the day alluded to, Westminster Abbey, as usual, was
+open to the inspection of the curious and interested. Several parties
+were scattered among its aisles and chapels, some reading the
+inscriptions on the simple tablets of the dead which illustrate a
+nation, in illustrating themselves; others listening to the names of
+princes who derived their consequence from their thrones and alliances;
+and still other sets, who were wandering among the more elaborate
+memorials that have been raised equally to illustrate insignificance,
+and to mark the final resting-places of more modern heroes and
+statesmen. The beauty of the weather had brought out more visiters than
+common, and not less than half-a-dozen equipages were in waiting, in and
+about Palace Yard. Among others, one had a ducal coronet. This carriage
+did not fail to attract the attention that is more than usually bestowed
+on rank, in England. All were empty, however, and more than one party of
+pedestrians entered the venerable edifice, rejoicing that the view of a
+duke or a duchess, was to be thrown in, among the other sights,
+gratuitously. All who passed on foot, however, were not influenced by
+this vulgar feeling; for, one group went by, that did not even cast a
+glance at the collection of carriages; the seniors of the party being
+too much accustomed to such things to lend them a thought, and the
+juniors too full of anticipations of what they were about to see, to
+think of other matters. This party consisted of a handsome man of
+fifty-odd, a lady some three or four years his junior well preserved and
+still exceedingly attractive; a young man of twenty-six, and two lovely
+girls, that looked like twins; though one was really twenty-one, and the
+other but nineteen. These were Sir Wycherly and Lady Wychecombe,
+Wycherly their only son, then just returned from a five years'
+peregrination on the continent of Europe, and Mildred and Agnes, their
+daughters. The rest of the family had arrived in England about a
+fortnight before, to greet the heir on his return from the _grand tour_,
+as it was then termed. The meeting had been one of love, though Lady
+Wychecombe had to reprove a few innocent foreign affectations, as she
+fancied them to be, in her son; and the baronet, himself, laughed at the
+scraps of French, Italian, and German, that quite naturally mingled in
+the young man's discourse. All this, however, cast no cloud over the
+party, for it had ever been a family of entire confidence and unbroken
+love.
+
+"This is a most solemn place to me," observed Sir Wycherly, as they
+entered at the Poets' corner, "and one in which a common man unavoidably
+feels his own insignificance. But, we will first make our pilgrimage,
+and look at these remarkable inscriptions as we come out. The tomb we
+seek is in a chapel on the other side of the church, near to the great
+doors. When I last saw it, it was quite alone."
+
+On hearing this, the whole party moved on; though the two lovely young
+Virginians cast wistful and curious eyes behind them, at the wonders by
+which they were surrounded.
+
+"Is not this an extraordinary edifice, Wycherly?" half whispered Agnes,
+the youngest of the sisters, as she clung to one arm of her brother,
+Mildred occupying the other. "Can the whole world furnish such another?"
+
+"So much for hominy and James' river!" answered the young man,
+laughing--"now could you but see the pile at Rouen, or that at Rheims,
+or that at Antwerp, or even that at York, in this good kingdom, old
+Westminster would have to fall back upon its little tablets and big
+names. But Sir Wycherly stops; he must see what he calls his land-fall."
+
+Sir Wycherly had indeed stopped. It was in consequence of having reached
+the head of the _ch[oe]ur_, whence he could see the interior of the
+recess, or chapel, towards which he had been moving. It still contained
+but a single monument, and that was adorned with an anchor and other
+nautical emblems. Even at that distance, the words "RICHARD
+BLUEWATER, REAR-ADMIRAL OF THE WHITE," might be read. But the
+baronet had come to a sudden halt, in consequence of seeing a party of
+three enter the chapel, in which he wished to be alone with his own
+family. The party consisted of an old man, who walked with tottering
+steps, and this so much the more from the circumstance that he leaned on
+a domestic nearly as old as himself, though of a somewhat sturdier
+frame, and of a tall imposing-looking person of middle age, who followed
+the two with patient steps. Several attendants of the cathedral watched
+this party from a distance with an air of curiosity and respect; but
+they had been requested not to accompany it to the chapel.
+
+"They must be some old brother-officers of my poor uncle's, visiting his
+tomb!" whispered Lady Wychecombe. "The very venerable gentleman has
+naval emblems about his attire."
+
+"_Do_ you--_can_ you forget him, love? 'Tis Sir Gervaise Oakes, the
+pride of England! yet how changed! It is now five-and-twenty years since
+we last met; still I knew him at a glance. The servant is old Galleygo,
+his steward; but the gentleman with him is a stranger. Let us advance;
+_we_ cannot be intruders in such a place."
+
+Sir Gervaise paid no attention to the entrance of the Wychecombes. It
+was evident, by the vacant look of his countenance, that time and hard
+service had impaired his faculties, though his body remained entire; an
+unusual thing for one who had been so often engaged. Still there were
+glimmerings of lively recollections, and even of strong sensibilities
+about his eyes, as sudden fancies crossed his mind. Once a year, the
+anniversary of his friend's interment, he visited that chapel; and he
+had now been brought here as much from habit, as by his own desire. A
+chair was provided for him, and he sat facing the tomb, with the large
+letters before his eyes. He regarded neither, though he bowed
+courteously to the salute of the strangers. His companion at first
+seemed a little surprised, if not offended at the intrusion; but when
+Wycherly mentioned that they were relatives of the deceased, he also
+bowed complacently, and made way for the ladies.
+
+"This it is as what you wants to see, Sir Jarvy," observed Galleygo,
+jogging his master's shoulder by way of jogging his memory. "Them 'ere
+cables and hanchors, and that 'ere mizzen-mast, with a rear-admiral's
+flag a-flying, is rigged in this old church, in honour of our friend
+Admiral Blue, as was; but as is now dead and gone this many a long
+year."
+
+"Admiral of the Blue," repeated Sir Gervaise coldly. "You're mistaken,
+Galleygo, I'm an admiral of the white, and admiral of the fleet in the
+bargain. I know my own rank, sir."
+
+"I knows that as well as you does yourself, Sir Jarvy," answered
+Galleygo, whose grammar had rather become confirmed than improved, by
+time, "or as well as the First Lord himself. But Admiral Blue was once
+your best friend, and I doesn't at all admire at your forgetting
+him--one of these long nights you'll be forgetting _me_."
+
+"I beg your pardon, Galleygo; I rather think not. I remember _you_, when
+a very young man."
+
+"Well, and so you mought remember Admiral Blue, if you'd just try. I
+know'd ye both when young luffs, myself."
+
+"This is a painful scene," observed the stranger to Sir Wycherly, with a
+melancholy smile. "This gentleman is now at the tomb of his dearest
+friend; and yet, as you see, he appears to have lost all recollection
+that such a person ever existed. For what do we live, if a few brief
+years are to render our memories such vacant spots!"
+
+"Has he been long in this way?" asked Lady Wychecombe, with interest.
+
+The stranger started at the sound of her voice. He looked intently into
+the face of the still fair speaker, before he answered; then he bowed,
+and replied--
+
+"He has been failing these five years, though his last visit here was
+much less painful than this. But are our own memories perfect?--Surely,
+I have seen that face before!--These young ladies, too--"
+
+"Geoffrey--_dear_ cousin Geoffrey!" exclaimed Lady Wychecombe, holding
+out both her hands. "It is--it must be the Duke of Glamorgan, Wycherly!"
+
+No further explanations were needed. All the parties recognised each
+other in an instant. They had not met for many--many years, and each had
+passed the period of life when the greatest change occurs in the
+physical appearance; but, now that the ice was broken, a flood of
+recollections poured in. The duke, or Geoffrey Cleveland, as we prefer
+to call him, kissed his cousin and her daughters with frank affection,
+for no change of condition had altered his simple sea-habits, and he
+shook hands with the gentlemen, with a cordiality like that of old
+times. All this, however, was unheeded by Sir Gervaise, who sat looking
+at the monument, in a dull apathy.
+
+"Galleygo," he said; but Galleygo had placed himself before Sir
+Wycherly, and thrust out a hand that looked like a bunch of knuckles.
+
+"I knows ye!" exclaimed the steward, with a grin. "I know'd ye in the
+offing yonder, but I couldn't make out your number. Lord, sir, if this
+doesn't brighten Sir Jarvy up, again, and put him in mind of old times,
+I shall begin to think we have run out cable to the better end."
+
+"I will speak to him, duke, if you think it advisable?" said Sir
+Wycherly, in an inquiring manner.
+
+"Galleygo," put in Sir Gervaise, "what lubber fitted that cable?--he has
+turned in the clench the wrong way."
+
+"Ay--ay, sir, they _is_ great lubbers, them stone-cutters, Sir Jarvy;
+and they knows about as much of ships, as ships knows of them. But here
+is _young_ Sir Wycherly Wychecombe come to see you--the _old_ 'un's
+nevy."
+
+"Sir Wycherly, you are a very welcome guest. Bowldero is a poor place
+for a gentleman of your merit; but such as it is, it is entirely at your
+service. What did you say the gentleman's name was, Galleygo?"
+
+"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, the _young_ 'un--the _old_ 'un slipped the
+night as we moored in his house."
+
+"I hope, Sir Gervaise, I have not entirely passed from your
+recollection; it would grieve me sadly to think so. And my poor uncle,
+too; he who died of apoplexy in your presence!"
+
+"_Nullus, nulla, nullum._ That's good Latin, hey! Duke? _Nullius,
+nullius, nullius._ My memory _is_ excellent, gentlemen; nominative,
+_penna_; genitive, _pennæ_, and so on."
+
+"Now, Sir Jarvy, since you're veering out your Latin, _I_ should likes
+to know if you can tell a 'clove-hitch' from a 'carrick-bend?'"
+
+"That is an extraordinary question, Galleygo, to put to an old seaman!"
+
+"Well, if you remembers _that_, why can't you just as reasonably
+remember your old friend, Admiral Blue?"
+
+"Admiral of the blue! I do recollect _many_ admirals of the blue. They
+ought to make me an admiral of the blue, duke; I've been a rear-admiral
+long enough."
+
+"You've _been_ an admiral of the blue _once_; and that's enough for any
+man," interrupted Galleygo, again in his positive manner; "and it isn't
+five minutes since you know'd your own rank as well as the Secretary to
+the Admiralty himself. He veers and hauls, in this fashion, on an idee,
+gentlemen, until he doesn't know one end of it from t'other."
+
+"This is not uncommon with men of great age," observed the duke. "They
+sometimes remember the things of their youth, while the whole of later
+life is a blank. I have remarked this with our venerable friend, in
+whose mind I think it will not be difficult, however, to revive the
+recollection of Admiral Bluewater, and even of yourself, Sir Wycherly.
+Let _me_ make the effort, Galleygo."
+
+"Yes, Lord Geoffrey," for so the steward always called the quondam
+reefer, "you does handle him more like a quick-working boat, than any on
+us; and so I'll take an hopportunity of just overhauling our old
+lieutenant's young 'uns, and of seeing what sort of craft he has set
+afloat for the next generation."
+
+"Sir Gervaise," said the Duke, leaning over the chair, "here is Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe, who once served a short time with us as a
+lieutenant; it was when you were in the Plantagenet. You remember the
+Plantagenet, I trust, my dear sir?"
+
+"The Plantagenets? Certainly, duke; I read all about them when a boy.
+Edwards, and Henrys, and _Richards_--" at the last name he stopped; the
+muscles of his face twitched; memory had touched a sensitive chord. But
+it was too faintly, to produce more than a pause.
+
+"There, now," growled Galleygo, in Agnes' face, he being just then
+employed in surveying her through a pair of silver spectacles that were
+a present from his master, "you see, he has forgotten the old Planter;
+and the next thing, he'll forget to eat his dinner. It's _wicked_, Sir
+Jarvy, to forget _such_ a ship."
+
+"I trust, at least, you have not forgotten Richard Bluewater?" continued
+the Duke, "he who fell in our last action with the Comte de Vervillin?"
+
+A gleam of intelligence shot into the rigid and wrinkled face; the eye
+lighted, and a painful smile struggled around the lips.
+
+"What, _Dick_!" he exclaimed, in a voice stronger than that in which he
+had previously spoken. "_Dick!_ hey! duke? _good, excellent Dick?_ We
+were midshipmen together, my lord duke; and I loved him like a brother!"
+
+"I _knew_ you did! and I dare say now you can recollect the melancholy
+occasion of his death?"
+
+"Is Dick _dead_?" asked the admiral, with a vacant gaze.
+
+"Lord--Lord, Sir Jarvy, you knows he is, and that 'ere marvel
+constructure is his monerment--now you _must_ remember the old Planter,
+and the County of Fairvillian, and the threshing we guv'd him?"
+
+"Pardon me, Galleygo; there is no occasion for warmth. When I was a
+midshipman, warmth of expression was disapproved of by all the elder
+officers."
+
+"You cause me to lose ground," said the Duke, looking at the steward by
+way of bidding him be silent: "is it not extraordinary, Sir Wycherly,
+how his mind reverts to his youth, overlooking the scenes of latter
+life! Yes, _Dick is_ dead, Sir Gervaise. He fell in that battle in which
+you were doubled on by the French--when you had le Foudroyant on one
+side of you, and le Pluton on the other--"
+
+"_I remember it!_" interrupted Sir Gervaise, in a clear strong voice,
+his eye flashing with something like the fire of youth--"I remember it!
+Le Foudroyant was on our starboard beam; le Pluton a little on our
+larboard bow--Bunting had gone aloft to look out for Bluewater--no--poor
+Bunting was killed--"
+
+"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, who afterwards married Mildred Bluewater,
+Dick's niece," put in the baronet, himself, almost as eager as the
+admiral had now become; "Sir Wycherly Wychecombe _had_ been aloft, but
+was returned to report the Pluton coming down!"
+
+"So he did!--God bless him! A clever youth, and he _did_ marry Dick's
+niece. God bless them _both_. Well, sir, you're a stranger, but the
+story will interest you. There we lay, almost smothered in the smoke,
+with one two-decker at work on our starboard beam, and another hammering
+away on the larboard bow, with our top-masts over the side, and the guns
+firing through the wreck."
+
+"Ay, now you're getting it like a book!" exclaimed Galleygo exultingly,
+flourishing his stick, and strutting about the little chapel; "that's
+just the way things was, as I knows from seeing 'em!"
+
+"I'm quite certain I'm right, Galleygo?"
+
+"Right! your honour's righter than any log-book in the fleet. Give it to
+'em, Sir Jarvy, larboard and starboard!"
+
+"That we did--that we did"--continued the old man earnestly, becoming
+even grand in aspect, as he rose, always gentleman-like and graceful,
+but filled with native fire, "that did we! de Vervillin was on our
+right, and des Prez on our left--the smoke was choking us
+all--Bunting--no; young Wychecombe was at my side; he said a fresh
+Frenchman was shoving in between us and le Pluton, sir--God forbid! I
+_thought_; for we had enough of them, us it was. There she comes! See,
+here is her flying-jib-boom-end--and there--hey! Wychecombe?--_That's_
+the _old Roman_, shoving through the smoke!--Cæsar himself! and there
+stands Dick and young Geoffrey Cleveland--_he_ was of your family,
+duke--there stands Dick Bluewater, between the knight-heads, waving his
+hat--_HURRAH!_--He's true, at last!--He's true, at last--_HURRAH!
+HURRAH!_"
+
+The clarion tones rose like a trumpet's blast, and the cheering of the
+old sailor rang in the arches of the Abbey Church, causing all within
+hearing to start, as if a voice spoke from the tombs. Sir Gervaise,
+himself, seemed surprised; he looked up at the vaulted roof, with a gaze
+half-bewildered, half-delighted.
+
+"Is this Bowldero, or Glamorgan House, my Lord Duke," he asked, in a
+whisper.
+
+"It is neither, Admiral Oakes, but Westminster Abbey; and this is the
+tomb of your friend, rear-admiral Richard Bluewater."
+
+"Galleygo, help me to kneel," the old man added in the manner of a
+corrected school-boy. "The stoutest of us all, should kneel to God, in
+his own temple. I beg pardon, gentlemen; I wish to pray."
+
+The Duke of Glamorgan and Sir Wycherly Wychecombe helped the admiral to
+his knees, and Galleygo, as was his practice, knelt beside his master,
+who bowed his head on his man's shoulders. This touching spectacle
+brought all the others into the same humble attitude. Wycherly, Mildred,
+and their children, with the noble, kneeling and praying in company. One
+by one, the latter arose; still Galleygo and his master continued on the
+pavement. At length Geoffrey Cleveland stepped forward, and raised the
+old man, placing him, with Wycherly's assistance, in the chair. Here he
+sat, with a calm smile on his aged features, his open eyes riveted
+seemingly on the name of his friend, perfectly dead. There had been a
+reaction, which suddenly stopped the current of life, at the heart.
+
+Thus expired Sir Gervaise Oakes, full of years and of honours; one of
+the bravest and most successful of England's sea-captains. He had lived
+his time, and supplied an instance of the insufficiency of worldly
+success to complete the destiny of man; having, in a degree, survived
+his faculties, and the consciousness of all he had done, and all he
+merited. As a small offset to this failing of nature, he had regained a
+glimmering view of one of the most striking scenes, and of much the most
+enduring sentiment, of a long life, which God, in mercy, permitted to be
+terminated in the act of humble submission to his own greatness and
+glory.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Two Admirals, by J. Fenimore Cooper
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Two Admirals, by James Fenimore Cooper.
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Two Admirals, by J. Fenimore Cooper
+
+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 Two Admirals
+
+Author: J. Fenimore Cooper
+
+Release Date: January 29, 2007 [EBook #20475]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWO ADMIRALS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from scanned images of public domain
+material from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<h1>THE TWO ADMIRALS.</h1>
+
+<h2>A Tale BY James Fenimore Cooper</h2>
+
+<h3>THE AUTHOR OF "THE PILOT," "RED ROVER," "WATER-WITCH," "HOMEWARD BOUND," ETC.</h3>
+
+<h4>COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME<br />
+REVISED AND CORRECTED<br />
+WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION, NOTES, &amp;c.,<br />
+By the Author.</h4>
+
+
+<h4>NEW YORK:<br />
+GEORGE P. PUTNAM &amp; Co., 10 PARK PLACE.<br />
+1852.</h4>
+
+<h4>Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by<br />
+STRINGER &amp; TOWNSEND,<br />
+In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.</h4>
+
+<h4>STEREOTYPED BY<br />
+BILLIN &amp; BROTHERS,<br />
+10 NORTH WILLIAM STREET, N.Y.<br />
+R. CRAIGHEAD, <span class="smcap">Printer</span></h4>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Come, all ye kindred chieftains of the deep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In mighty phalanx round your brother bend;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hush every murmur that invades his sleep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And guard the laurel that o'ershades your friend.<br /></span><br />
+
+<span class="i0"><i>Lines on Trippe.</i></span>
+
+</div></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p>
+<a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.</a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI.</a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It is a strong proof of the diffusive tendency of every thing in this
+country, that America never yet collected a fleet. Nothing is wanting to
+this display of power but the will. But a fleet requires only one
+commander, and a feeling is fast spreading in the country that we ought
+to be all commanders; unless the spirit of unconstitutional innovation,
+and usurpation, that is now so prevalent, at Washington, be controlled,
+we may expect to hear of proposals to send a committee of Congress to
+sea, in command of a squadron. We sincerely hope that their first
+experiment may be made on the coast of Africa.</p>
+
+<p>It has been said of Napoleon that he never could be made to understand
+why his fleets did not obey his orders with the same accuracy, as to
+time and place, as his <i>corps d'arm&eacute;e</i>. He made no allowances for the
+winds and currents, and least of all, did he comprehend that all
+important circumstance, that the efficiency of a fleet is necessarily
+confined to the rate of sailing of the dullest of its ships. More may be
+expected from a squadron of ten sail, all of which shall be average
+vessels, in this respect, than from the same number of vessels, of which
+one half are fast and the remainder dull. One brigade can march as fast
+as another, but it is not so with vessels. The efficiency of a marine,
+therefore, depends rather on its working qualities, than on its number
+of ships.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the best fleet that ever sailed under the English flag, was that
+with which Nelson fought the battle of the Nile. It consisted of twelve
+or thirteen small seventy-fours, each of approved qualities, and
+commanded by an officer of known merit. In all respects it was efficient
+and reliable. With such men as Hallowell, Hood, Trowbridge, Foley, Ball,
+and others, and with such ships, the great spirit of Nelson was
+satisfied. He knew that whatever seamen could do, his comparatively
+little force could achieve. When his enemy was discovered at anchor,
+though night was approaching and his vessels were a good deal scattered,
+he at once determined to put the qualities we have mentioned to the
+highest proof, and to attack. This was done without any other order of
+battle than that which directed each commander to get as close alongside
+of an enemy as possible, the best proof of the high confidence he had in
+his ships and in their commanders.</p>
+
+<p>It is now known that all the early accounts of the man[oe]uvring at the
+Nile, and of Nelson's reasoning on the subject of anchoring inside and
+of doubling on his enemies, is pure fiction. The "Life" by Southey, in
+all that relates to this feature of the day, is pure fiction, as,
+indeed, are other portions of the work of scarcely less importance. This
+fact came to the writer, through the late Commodore (Charles Valentine)
+Morris, from Sir Alexander Ball, in the early part of the century. In
+that day it would not have done to proclaim it, so tenacious is public
+opinion of its errors; but since that time, naval officers of rank have
+written on the subject, and stripped the Nile, Trafalgar, &amp;c., of their
+poetry, to give the world plain, nautical, and probable accounts of both
+those great achievements. The truth, as relates to both battles, was
+just as little like the previously published accounts, as well could be.</p>
+
+<p>Nelson knew the great superiority of the English seamen, their facility
+in repairing damages, and most of all the high advantage possessed by
+the fleets of his country, in the exercise of the assumed right to
+impress, a practice that put not only the best seamen of his own
+country, but those of the whole world, more or less, at his mercy. His
+great merit, at the Nile, was in the just appreciation of these
+advantages, and in the extraordinary decision which led him to go into
+action just at nightfall, rather than give his enemy time to prepare to
+meet the shock.</p>
+
+<p>It is now known that the French were taken, in a great measure, by
+surprise. A large portion of their crews were on shore, and did not get
+off to their ships at all, and there was scarce a vessel that did not
+clear the decks, by tumbling the mess-chests, bags, &amp;c., into the inside
+batteries, rendering them, in a measure, useless, when the English
+doubled on their line.</p>
+
+<p>It was this doubling on the French line, by anchoring inside, and
+putting two ships upon one, that gave Nelson so high a reputation as a
+tactician. The merit of this man[oe]uvre belongs exclusively to one of
+his captains. As the fleet went in, without any order, keeping as much
+to windward as the shoals would permit, Nelson ordered the Vanguard
+hove-to, to take a pilot out of a fisherman. This enabled Foley, Hood,
+and one or two more to pass that fast ship. It was at this critical
+moment that the thought occurred to Foley (we think this was the
+officer) to pass the head of the French line, keep dead away, and anchor
+inside. Others followed, completely placing their enemies between two
+fires. Sir Samuel Hood anchored his ship (the Zealous) on the inner bow
+of the most weatherly French ship, where he poured his fire into,
+virtually; an unresisting enemy. Notwithstanding the great skill
+manifested by the English in their mode of attack, this was the only
+two-decked ship in the English fleet that was able to make sail on the
+following morning.</p>
+
+<p>Had Nelson led in upon an American fleet, as he did upon the French at
+the Nile, he would have seen reason to repent the boldness of the
+experiment. Something like it <i>was</i> attempted on Lake Champlain, though
+on a greatly diminished scale, and the English were virtually defeated
+before they anchored.</p>
+
+<p>The reader who feels an interest in such subjects, will probably detect
+the secret process of the mind, by which some of the foregoing facts
+have insinuated themselves into this fiction.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h1>THE TWO ADMIRALS</h1>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Then, if he were my brother's.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My brother might not claim him; nor your father,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Being none of his, refuse him: This concludes&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My mother's son did get your father's heir;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Your father's heir must have your father's land."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">King John.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>The events we are about to relate, occurred near the middle of the last
+century, previously even to that struggle, which it is the fashion of
+America to call "the old French War." The opening scene of our tale,
+however, must be sought in the other hemisphere, and on the coast of the
+mother country. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the American
+colonies were models of loyalty; the very war, to which there has just
+been allusion, causing the great expenditure that induced the ministry
+to have recourse to the system of taxation, which terminated in the
+revolution. The family quarrel had not yet commenced. Intensely occupied
+with the conflict, which terminated not more gloriously for the British
+arms, than advantageously for the British American possessions, the
+inhabitants of the provinces were perhaps never better disposed to the
+metropolitan state, than at the very period of which we are about to
+write. All their early predilections seemed to be gaining strength,
+instead of becoming weaker; and, as in nature, the calm is known to
+succeed the tempest, the blind attachment of the colony to the parent
+country, was but a precursor of the alienation and violent disunion that
+were so soon to follow.</p>
+
+<p>Although the superiority of the English seamen was well established, in
+the conflicts that took place between the years 1740, and that of 1763,
+the naval warfare of the period by no means possessed the very decided
+character with which it became stamped, a quarter of a century later. In
+our own times, the British marine appears to have improved in quality,
+as its enemies, deteriorated. In the year 1812, however, "Greek met
+Greek," when, of a verity, came "the tug of war." The great change that
+came over the other navies of Europe, was merely a consequence of the
+revolutions, which drove experienced men into exile, and which, by
+rendering armies all-important even to the existence of the different
+states, threw nautical enterprises into the shade, and gave an
+engrossing direction to courage and talent, in another quarter. While
+France was struggling, first for independence, and next for the mastery
+of the continent, a marine was a secondary object; for Vienna, Berlin,
+and Moscow, were as easily entered without, as with its aid. To these,
+and other similar causes, must be referred the explanation of the
+seeming invincibility of the English arms at sea, during the late great
+conflicts of Europe; an invincibility that was more apparent than real,
+however, as many well-established defeats were, even then, intermingled
+with her thousand victories.</p>
+
+<p>From the time when her numbers could furnish succour of this nature,
+down to the day of separation, America had her full share in the
+exploits of the English marine. The gentry of the colonies willingly
+placed their sons in the royal navy, and many a bit of square bunting
+has been flying at the royal mast-heads of King's ships, in the
+nineteenth century, as the distinguishing symbols of flag-officers, who
+had to look for their birth-places among ourselves. In the course of a
+chequered life, in which we have been brought in collision with as great
+a diversity of rank, professions, and characters, as often falls to the
+lot of any one individual, we have been thrown into contact with no less
+than eight English admirals, of American birth; while, it has never yet
+been our good fortune to meet with a countryman, who has had this rank
+bestowed on him by his own government. On one occasion, an Englishman,
+who had filled the highest civil office connected with the marine of his
+nation, observed to us, that the only man he then knew, in the British
+navy, in whom he should feel an entire confidence in entrusting an
+important command, was one of these translated admirals; and the thought
+unavoidably passed through our mind, that this favourite commander had
+done well in adhering to the conventional, instead of clinging to his
+natural allegiance, inasmuch as he might have toiled for half a century,
+in the service of his native land, and been rewarded with a rank that
+would merely put him on a level with a colonel in the army! How much
+longer this short-sighted policy, and grievous injustice, are to
+continue, no man can say; but it is safe to believe, that it is to last
+until some legislator of influence learns the simple truth, that the
+fancied reluctance of popular constituencies to do right, oftener exists
+in the apprehensions of their representatives, than in reality.&mdash;But to
+our tale.</p>
+
+<p>England enjoys a wide-spread reputation for her fogs; but little do they
+know how much a fog may add to natural scenery, who never witnessed its
+magical effects, as it has caused a beautiful landscape to coquette with
+the eye, in playful and capricious changes. Our opening scene is in one
+of these much derided fogs; though, let it always be remembered, it was
+a fog of June, and not of November. On a high head-land of the coast of
+Devonshire, stood a little station-house, which had been erected with a
+view to communicate by signals, with the shipping, that sometimes lay at
+anchor in an adjacent roadstead. A little inland, was a village, or
+hamlet, that it suits our purposes to call Wychecombe; and at no great
+distance from the hamlet itself, surrounded by a small park, stood a
+house of the age of Henry VII., which was the abode of Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe, a baronet of the creation of King James I., and the
+possessor of an improveable estate of some three or four thousand a
+year, which had been transmitted to him, through a line of ancestors,
+that ascended as far back as the times of the Plantagenets. Neither
+Wychecombe, nor the head-land, nor the anchorage, was a place of note;
+for much larger and more favoured hamlets, villages, and towns, lay
+scattered about that fine portion of England; much better roadsteads and
+bays could generally be used by the coming or the parting vessel; and
+far more important signal-stations were to be met with, all along that
+coast. Nevertheless, the roadstead was entered when calms or adverse
+winds rendered it expedient; the hamlet had its conveniences, and, like
+most English hamlets, its beauties; and the hall and park were not
+without their claims to state and rural magnificence. A century since,
+whatever the table of precedency or Blackstone may say, an English
+baronet, particularly one of the date of 1611, was a much greater
+personage than he is to-day; and an estate of &pound;4000 a year, more
+especially if not rack-rented, was of an extent, and necessarily of a
+local consequence, equal to one of near, or quite three times the same
+amount, in our own day. Sir Wycherly, however, enjoyed an advantage that
+was of still greater importance, and which was more common in 1745, than
+at the present moment. He had no rival within fifteen miles of him, and
+the nearest potentate was a nobleman of a rank and fortune that put all
+competition out of the question; one who dwelt in courts, the favourite
+of kings; leaving the baronet, as it might be, in undisturbed enjoyment
+of all the local homage. Sir Wycherly had once been a member of
+Parliament, and only once. In his youth, he had been a fox-hunter; and a
+small property in Yorkshire had long been in the family, as a sort of
+foothold on such enjoyments; but having broken a leg, in one of his
+leaps, he had taken refuge against <i>ennui</i>, by sitting a single session
+in the House of Commons, as the member of a borough that lay adjacent to
+his hunting-box. This session sufficed for his whole life; the good
+baronet having taken the matter so literally, as to make it a point to
+be present at all the sittings; a sort of tax on his time, which, as it
+came wholly unaccompanied by profit, was very likely soon to tire out
+the patience of an old fox-hunter. After resigning his seat, he retired
+altogether to Wychecombe, where he passed the last fifty years,
+extolling England, and most especially that part of it in which his own
+estates lay; in abusing the French, with occasional inuendoes against
+Spain and Holland; and in eating and drinking. He had never travelled;
+for, though Englishmen of his station often did visit the continent, a
+century ago, they oftener did not. It was the courtly and the noble, who
+then chiefly took this means of improving their minds and manners; a
+class, to which a baronet by no means necessarily belonged. To conclude,
+Sir Wycherly was now eighty-four; hale, hearty, and a bachelor. He had
+been born the oldest of five brothers; the cadets taking refuge, as
+usual, in the inns of court, the church, the army, and the navy; and
+precisely in the order named. The lawyer had actually risen to be a
+judge, by the style and appellation of Baron Wychecombe; had three
+illegitimate children by his housekeeper, and died, leaving to the
+eldest thereof, all his professional earnings, after buying commissions
+for the two younger in the army. The divine broke his neck, while yet a
+curate, in a fox-hunt; dying unmarried, and so far as is generally
+known, childless. This was Sir Wycherly's favourite brother; who, he was
+accustomed to say, "lost his life, in setting an example of field-sports
+to his parishioners." The soldier was fairly killed in battle, before he
+was twenty; and the name of the sailor suddenly disappeared from the
+list of His Majesty's lieutenants, about half a century before the time
+when our tale opens, by shipwreck. Between the sailor and the head of
+the family, however, there had been no great sympathy; in consequence,
+as it was rumoured, of a certain beauty's preference for the latter,
+though this preference produced no <i>suites</i>, inasmuch as the lady died a
+maid. Mr. Gregory Wychecombe, the lieutenant in question, was what is
+termed a "wild boy;" and it was the general impression, when his parents
+sent him to sea, that the ocean would now meet with its match. The hopes
+of the family centred in the judge, after the death of the curate, and
+it was a great cause of regret, to those who took an interest in its
+perpetuity and renown, that this dignitary did not marry; since the
+premature death of all the other sons had left the hall, park, and
+goodly farms, without any known legal heir. In a word, this branch of
+the family of Wychecombe would be extinct, when Sir Wycherly died, and
+the entail become useless. Not a female inheritor, even, or a male
+inheritor through females, could be traced; and it had become imperative
+on Sir Wycherly to make a will, lest the property should go off, the
+Lord knew where; or, what was worse, it should escheat. It is true, Tom
+Wychecombe, the judge's eldest son, often gave dark hints about a
+secret, and a timely marriage between his parents, a fact that would
+have superseded the necessity for all devises, as the property was
+strictly tied up, so far as the lineal descendants of a certain <i>old</i>
+Sir Wycherly were concerned; but the present Sir Wycherly had seen his
+brother, in his last illness, on which occasion, the following
+conversation had taken place.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, brother Thomas," said the baronet, in a friendly and consoling
+manner; "having, as one may say, prepared your soul for heaven, by these
+prayers and admissions of your sins, a word may be prudently said,
+concerning the affairs of this world. You know I am childless&mdash;that is
+to say,&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I understand you, Wycherly," interrupted the dying man, "you're a
+<i>bachelor</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"That's it, Thomas; and bachelors <i>ought</i> not to have children. Had our
+poor brother James escaped that mishap, he might have been sitting at
+your bed-side at this moment, and <i>he</i> could have told us all about it.
+St. James I used to call him; and well did he deserve the name!"</p>
+
+<p>"St. James the Least, then, it must have been, Wycherly."</p>
+
+<p>"It's a dreadful thing to have no heir, Thomas! Did you ever know a case
+in your practice, in which another estate was left so completely without
+an heir, as this of ours?"</p>
+
+<p>"It does not often happen, brother; heirs are usually more abundant than
+estates."</p>
+
+<p>"So I thought. Will the king get the title as well as the estate,
+brother, if it should escheat, as you call it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Being the fountain of honour, he will be rather indifferent about the
+baronetcy."</p>
+
+<p>"I should care less if it went to the next sovereign, who is English
+born. Wychecombe has always belonged to Englishmen."</p>
+
+<p>"That it has; and ever will, I trust. You have only to select an heir,
+when I am gone, and by making a will, with proper devises, the property
+will not escheat. Be careful to use the full terms of perpetuity."</p>
+
+<p>"Every thing was so comfortable, brother, while you were in health,"
+said Sir Wycherly, fidgeting; "you were my natural heir&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Heir of entail," interrupted the judge.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, <i>heir</i>, at all events; and <i>that</i> was a prodigious comfort
+to a man like myself, who has a sort of religious scruples about making
+a will. I have heard it whispered that you were actually married to
+Martha; in which case, Tom might drop into our shoes, so readily,
+without any more signing and sealing."</p>
+
+<p>"A <i>filius nullius</i>," returned the other, too conscientious to lend
+himself to a deception of that nature.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, brother, Tom often seems to me to favour such an idea, himself."</p>
+
+<p>"No wonder, Wycherly, for the idea would greatly favour him. Tom and his
+brothers are all <i>filii nullorum</i>, God forgive me for that same wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder neither Charles nor Gregory thought of marrying before they
+lost their lives for their king and country," put in Sir Wycherly, in an
+upbraiding tone, as if he thought his penniless brethren had done him an
+injury in neglecting to supply him with an heir, though he had been so
+forgetful himself of the same great duty. "I did think of bringing in a
+bill for providing heirs for unmarried persons, without the trouble and
+responsibility of making wills."</p>
+
+<p>"That would have been a great improvement on the law of descents&mdash;I hope
+you wouldn't have overlooked the ancestors."</p>
+
+<p>"Not I&mdash;everybody would have got his rights. They tell me poor Charles
+never spoke after he was shot; but I dare say, did we know the truth, he
+regretted sincerely that he never married."</p>
+
+<p>"There, for once, Wycherly, I think you are likely to be wrong. A <i>femme
+sole</i> without food, is rather a helpless sort of a person."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, I wish he had married. What would it have been to me, had
+he left a dozen widows?"</p>
+
+<p>"It might have raised some awkward questions as to dowry; and if each
+left a son, the title and estates would have been worse off than they
+are at present, without widows or legitimate children."</p>
+
+<p>"Any thing would be better than having no heir. I believe I'm the first
+baronet of Wychecombe who has been obliged to make a will!"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite likely," returned the brother, drily; "I remember to have got
+nothing from the last one, in that way. Charles and Gregory fared no
+better. Never mind, Wycherly, you behaved like a father to us all."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't mind signing cheques, in the least; but wills have an
+irreligious appearance, in my eyes. There are a good many Wychecombes,
+in England; I wonder some of them are not of our family! They tell me a
+hundredth cousin is just as good an heir, as a first-born son."</p>
+
+<p>"Failing nearer of kin. But we have no hundredth cousins of the <i>whole
+blood</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"There are the Wychecombes of Surrey, brother Thomas&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"Descended from a bastard of the second baronet, and out of the line of
+descent, altogether."</p>
+
+<p>"But the Wychecombes of Hertfordshire, I have always heard were of our
+family, and legitimate."</p>
+
+<p>"True, as regards matrimony&mdash;rather too much of it, by the way. They
+branched off in 1487, long before the creation, and have nothing to do
+with the entail; the first of their line coming from old Sir Michael
+Wychecombe, Kt. and Sheriff of Devonshire, by his second wife Margery;
+while we are derived from the same male ancestor, through Wycherly, the
+only son by Joan, the first wife. Wycherly, and Michael, the son of
+Michael and Margery, were of the half-blood, as respects each other, and
+could not be heirs of blood. What was true of the ancestors is true of
+the descendants."</p>
+
+<p>"But we came of the same ancestor, and the estate is far older than
+1487."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, brother; nevertheless, the half-blood can't take; so says
+the perfection of human reason."</p>
+
+<p>"I never could understand these niceties of the law," said Sir Wycherly,
+sighing; "but I suppose they are all right. There are so many
+Wychecombes scattered about England, that I should think some one among
+them all might be my heir!"</p>
+
+<p>"Every man of them bears a bar in his arms, or is of the half-blood."</p>
+
+<p>"You are quite sure, brother, that Tom is a <i>filius nullus</i>?" for the
+baronet had forgotten most of the little Latin he ever knew, and
+translated this legal phrase into "no son."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Filius nullius</i>, Sir Wycherly, the son of nobody; your reading would
+literally make Tom nobody; whereas, he is only the son of nobody."</p>
+
+<p>"But, brother, he is your son, and as like you, as two hounds of the
+same litter."</p>
+
+<p>"I am <i>nullus</i>, in the eye of the law, as regards poor Tom; who, until
+he marries, and has children of his own, is altogether without legal
+kindred. Nor do I know that legitimacy would make Tom any better; for he
+is presuming and confident enough for the heir apparent to the throne,
+as it is."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there's this young sailor, who has been so much at the station
+lately, since he was left ashore for the cure of his wounds. 'Tis a most
+gallant lad; and the First Lord has sent him a commission, as a reward
+for his good conduct, in cutting out the Frenchman. I look upon him as a
+credit to the name; and I make no question, he is, some way or other, of
+our family."</p>
+
+<p>"Does he claim to be so?" asked the judge, a little quickly, for he
+distrusted men in general, and thought, from all he had heard, that some
+attempt might have been made to practise on his brother's simplicity. "I
+thought you told me that he came from the American colonies?"</p>
+
+<p>"So he does; he's a native of Virginia, as was his father before him."</p>
+
+<p>"A convict, perhaps; or a servant, quite likely, who has found the name
+of his former master, more to his liking than his own. Such things are
+common, they tell me, beyond seas."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, if he were anything but an American, I might wish he were my
+heir," returned Sir Wycherly, in a melancholy tone; "but it would be
+worse than to let the lands escheat, as you call it, to place an
+American in possession of Wychecombe. The manors have always had English
+owners, down to the present moment, thank God!"</p>
+
+<p>"Should they have any other, it will be your own fault, Wycherly. When I
+am dead, and that will happen ere many weeks, the human being will not
+be living, who can take that property, after your demise, in any other
+manner than by escheat, or by devise. There will then be neither heir of
+entail, nor heir at law; and you may make whom you please, master of
+Wychecombe, provided he be not an alien."</p>
+
+<p>"Not an American, I suppose, brother; an American is an alien, of
+course."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph!&mdash;why, not in law, whatever he may be according to our English
+notions. Harkee, brother Wycherly; I've never asked you, or wished you
+to leave the estate to Tom, or his younger brothers; for one, and all,
+are <i>filii nullorum</i>&mdash;as I term 'em, though my brother Record will have
+it, it ought to be <i>filii nullius</i>, as well as <i>filius nullius</i>. Let
+that be as it may; no bastard should lord it at Wychecombe; and rather
+than the king; should get the lands, to bestow on some favourite, I
+would give it to the half-blood."</p>
+
+<p>"Can that be done without making a will, brother Thomas?"</p>
+
+<p>"It cannot, Sir Wycherly; nor with a will, so long as an heir of entail
+can be found."</p>
+
+<p>"Is there no way of making Tom a <i>filius somebody</i>, so that <i>he</i> can
+succeed?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not under our laws. By the civil law, such a thing might have been
+done, and by the Scotch law; but not under the perfection of reason."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you knew this young Virginian! The lad bears both of my names,
+Wycherly Wychecombe."</p>
+
+<p>"He is not a <i>filius Wycherly</i>&mdash;is he, baronet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Fie upon thee, brother Thomas! Do you think I have less candour than
+thyself, that I would not acknowledge my own flesh and blood. I never
+saw the youngster, until within the last six months, when he was landed
+from the roadstead, and brought to Wychecombe, to be cured of his
+wounds; nor ever heard of him before. When they told me his name was
+Wycherly Wychecombe, I could do no less than call and see him. The poor
+fellow lay at death's door for a fortnight; and it was while we had
+little or no hope of saving him, that I got the few family anecdotes
+from him. Now, that would be good evidence in law, I believe, Thomas."</p>
+
+<p>"For certain things, had the lad really died. Surviving, he must be
+heard on his <i>voire dire</i>, and under oath. But what was his tale?"</p>
+
+<p>"A very short one. He told me his father was a Wycherly Wychecombe, and
+that his grandfather had been a Virginia planter. This was all he seemed
+to know of his ancestry."</p>
+
+<p>"And probably all there was of them. My Tom is not the only <i>filius nullius</i>
+that has been among us, and this grandfather, if he has not actually
+stolen the name, has got it by these doubtful means. As for the
+Wycherly, it should pass for nothing. Learning that there is a line of
+baronets of this name, every pretender to the family would be apt to
+call a son Wycherly."</p>
+
+<p>"The line will shortly be ended, brother," returned Sir Wycherly,
+sighing. "I wish you might be mistaken; and, after all, Tom shouldn't
+prove to be that <i>filius</i> you call him."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Baron Wychecombe, as much from <i>esprit de corps</i> as from moral
+principle, was a man of strict integrity, in all things that related to
+<i>meum</i> and <i>tuum</i>. He was particularly rigid in his notions concerning
+the transmission of real estate, and the rights of primogeniture. The
+world had taken little interest in the private history of a lawyer, and
+his sons having been born before his elevation to the bench, he passed
+with the public for a widower, with a family of promising boys. Not one
+in a hundred of his acquaintances even, suspected the fact; and nothing
+would have been easier for him, than to have imposed on his brother, by
+inducing him to make a will under some legal mystification or other, and
+to have caused Tom Wychecombe to succeed to the property in question, by
+an indisputable title. There would have been no great difficulty even,
+in his son's assuming and maintaining his right to the baronetcy,
+inasmuch as there would be no competitor, and the crown officers were
+not particularly rigid in inquiring into the claims of those who assumed
+a title that brought with it no political privileges. Still, he was far
+from indulging in any such project. To him it appeared that the
+Wychecombe estate ought to go with the principles that usually governed
+such matters; and, although he submitted to the dictum of the common
+law, as regarded the provision which excluded the half-blood from
+inheriting, with the deference of an English common-law lawyer, he saw
+and felt, that, failing the direct line, Wychecombe ought to revert to
+the descendants of Sir Michael by his second son, for the plain reason
+that they were just as much derived from the person who had acquired the
+estate, as his brother Wycherly and himself. Had there been descendants
+of females, even, to interfere, no such opinion would have existed; but,
+as between an escheat, or a devise in favour of a <i>filius nillius</i>, or
+of the descendant of a <i>filius nullius</i>, the half-blood possessed every
+possible advantage. In his legal eyes, legitimacy was everything,
+although he had not hesitated to be the means of bringing into the world
+seven illegitimate children, that being the precise number Martha had
+the credit of having borne him, though three only survived. After
+reflecting a moment, therefore, he turned to the baronet, and addressed
+him more seriously than he had yet done, in the present dialogue; first
+taking a draught of cordial to give him strength for the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to me, brother Wycherly," said the judge, with a gravity that at
+once caught the attention of the other. "You know something of the
+family history, and I need do no more than allude to it. Our ancestors
+were the knightly possessors of Wychecombe, centuries before King James
+established the rank of baronet. When our great-grandfather, Sir
+Wycherly, accepted the patent of 1611, he scarcely did himself honour;
+for, by aspiring higher, he might have got a peerage. However, a baronet
+he became, and for the first time since Wychecombe was Wychecombe, the
+estate was entailed, to do credit to the new rank. Now, the first Sir
+Wycherly had three sons, and no daughter. Each of these sons succeeded;
+the two eldest as bachelors, and the youngest was our grandfather. Sir
+Thomas, the fourth baronet, left an only child, Wycherly, our father.
+Sir Wycherly, our father, had five sons, Wycherly his successor,
+yourself, and the sixth baronet; myself; James; Charles; and Gregory.
+James broke his neck at your side. The two last lost their lives in the
+king's service, unmarried; and neither you, nor I, have entered into the
+holy state of matrimony. I cannot survive a month, and the hopes of
+perpetuating the direct line of the family, rests with yourself. This
+accounts for all the descendants of Sir Wycherly, the first baronet; and
+it also settles the question of heirs of entail, of whom there are none
+after myself. To go back beyond the time of King James I.: Twice did the
+elder lines of the Wychecombes fail, between the reign of King Richard
+II. and King Henry VII., when Sir Michael succeeded. Now, in each of
+these cases, the law disposed of the succession; the youngest branches
+of the family, in both instances, getting the estate. It follows that
+agreeably to legal decisions had at the time, when the facts must have
+been known, that the Wychecombes were reduced to these younger lines.
+Sir Michael had two wives. From the first <i>we</i> are derived&mdash;from the
+last, the Wychecombes of Hertfordshire&mdash;since known as baronets of that
+county, by the style and title of Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, Herts."</p>
+
+<p>"The present Sir Reginald can have no claim, being of the half-blood,"
+put in Sir Wycherly, with a brevity of manner that denoted feeling. "The
+half-blood is as bad as a <i>nullius</i>, as you call Tom."</p>
+
+<p>"Not quite. A person of the half-blood may be as legitimate as the
+king's majesty; whereas, a nullius is of <i>no</i> blood. Now, suppose for a
+moment, Sir Wycherly, that you had been a son by a first wife, and I had
+been a son by a second&mdash;would there have been no relationship between
+us?"</p>
+
+<p>"What a question, Tom, to put to your own brother!"</p>
+
+<p>"But I should not be your <i>own</i> brother, my good sir; only your <i>half</i>
+brother; of the <i>half</i>, and not of the <i>whole</i> blood."</p>
+
+<p>"What of that&mdash;what of that?&mdash;your father would have been my father&mdash;we
+would have had the same name&mdash;the same family history&mdash;the same family
+<i>feelings</i>&mdash;poh! poh!&mdash;we should have been both Wychecombes, exactly as
+we are to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, and yet I could not have been your heir, nor you mine. The
+estate would escheat to the king, Hanoverian or Scotchman, before it
+came to me. Indeed, to <i>me</i> it could never come."</p>
+
+<p>"Thomas, you are trifling with my ignorance, and making matters worse
+than they really are. Certainly, as long as you lived, you would be <i>my</i>
+heir!"</p>
+
+<p>"Very true, as to the &pound;20,000 in the funds, but not as to the baronetcy
+and Wychecombe. So far as the two last are concerned, I am heir of
+blood, and of entail, of the body of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, the first
+baronet, and the maker of the entail."</p>
+
+<p>"Had there been no entail, and had I died a child, who would have
+succeeded our father, supposing there had been two mothers?"</p>
+
+<p>"I, as the next surviving son."</p>
+
+<p>"There!&mdash;I knew it must be so!" exclaimed Sir Wycherly, in triumph; "and
+all this time you have been joking with me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not so fast, brother of mine&mdash;not so fast. I should be of the <i>whole</i>
+blood, as respected our father, and all the Wychecombes that have gone
+before him; but of the <i>half</i>-blood, as respected <i>you</i>. From our father
+I might have taken, as his heir-at-law: but from <i>you</i>, never, having
+been of the <i>half</i>-blood."</p>
+
+<p>"I would have made a will, in that case, Thomas, and left you every
+farthing," said Sir Wycherly, with feeling.</p>
+
+<p>"That is just what I wish you to do with Sir Reginald Wychecombe. You
+must take him; a <i>filius nullius</i>, in the person of my son Tom; a
+stranger; or let the property escheat; for, we are so peculiarly placed
+as not to have a known relative, by either the male or female lines; the
+maternal ancestors being just as barren of heirs as the paternal. Our
+good mother was the natural daughter of the third Earl of Prolific; our
+grandmother was the last of her race, so far as human ken can discover;
+our great-grandmother is said to have had semi-royal blood in her veins,
+without the aid of the church, and beyond that it would be hopeless to
+attempt tracing consanguinity on that side of the house. No, Wycherly;
+it is Sir Reginald who has the best right to the land; Tom, or one of
+his brothers, an utter stranger, or His Majesty, follow. Remember that
+estates of &pound;4000 a year, don't often escheat, now-a-days."</p>
+
+<p>"If you'll draw up a will, brother, I'll leave it all to Tom," cried the
+baronet, with sudden energy. "Nothing need be said about the <i>nullius</i>;
+and when I'm gone, he'll step quietly into my place."</p>
+
+<p>Nature triumphed a moment in the bosom of the father; but habit, and the
+stern sense of right, soon overcame the feeling. Perhaps certain doubts,
+and a knowledge of his son's real character, contributed their share
+towards the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"It ought not to be, Sir Wycherly," returned the judge, musing, "Tom has
+no right to Wychecombe, and Sir Reginald has the best moral right
+possible, though the law cuts him off. Had Sir Michael made the entail,
+instead of our great-grandfather, he would have come in, as a matter of
+course."</p>
+
+<p>"I never liked Sir Reginald Wychecombe," said the baronet, stubbornly.</p>
+
+<p>"What of that?&mdash;He will not trouble you while living, and when dead it
+will be all the same. Come&mdash;come&mdash;I will draw the will myself, leaving
+blanks for the name; and when it is once done, you will sign it,
+cheerfully. It is the last legal act I shall ever perform, and it will
+be a suitable one, death being constantly before me."</p>
+
+<p>This ended the dialogue. The will was drawn according to promise; Sir
+Wycherly took it to his room to read, carefully inserted the name of Tom
+Wychecombe in all the blank spaces, brought it back, duly executed the
+instrument in his brother's presence, and then gave the paper to his
+nephew to preserve, with a strong injunction on him to keep the secret,
+until the instrument should have force by his own death. Mr. Baron
+Wychecombe died in six weeks, and the baronet returned to his residence,
+a sincere mourner for the loss of an only brother. A more unfortunate
+selection of an heir could not have been made, as Tom Wychecombe was, in
+reality, the son of a barrister in the Temple; the fancied likeness to
+the reputed father existing only in the imagination of his credulous
+uncle.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">&mdash;&mdash;"How fearful<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And dizzy 'tis, to cast one's eyes so low!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The crows, and choughs, that wing the midway air,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Show scarce so gross as beetles! Half-way down<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hangs one that gathers samphire! dreadful trade!"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">King Lear</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>This digression on the family of Wychecombe has led us far from the
+signal-station, the head-land, and the fog, with which the tale opened.
+The little dwelling connected with the station stood at a short distance
+from the staff, sheltered, by the formation of the ground, from the
+bleak winds of the channel, and fairly embowered in shrubs and flowers.
+It was a humble cottage, that had been ornamented with more taste than
+was usual in England at that day. Its whitened walls, thatched roof,
+picketed garden, and trellised porch, bespoke care, and a mental
+improvement in the inmates, that were scarcely to be expected in persons
+so humbly employed as the keeper of the signal-staff, and his family.
+All near the house, too, was in the same excellent condition; for while
+the head-land itself lay in common, this portion of it was enclosed in
+two or three pretty little fields, that were grazed by a single horse,
+and a couple of cows. There were no hedges, however, the thorn not
+growing willingly in a situation so exposed; but the fields were divided
+by fences, neatly enough made of wood, that declared its own origin,
+having in fact been part of the timbers and planks of a wreck. As the
+whole was whitewashed, it had a rustic, and in a climate where the sun
+is seldom oppressive, by no means a disagreeable appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The scene with which we desire to commence the tale, opens about seven
+o'clock on a July morning. On a bench at the foot of the signal-staff,
+was seated one of a frame that was naturally large and robust, but which
+was sensibly beginning to give way, either by age or disease. A glance
+at the red, bloated face, would suffice to tell a medical man, that the
+habits had more to do with the growing failure of the system, than any
+natural derangement of the physical organs. The face, too, was
+singularly manly, and had once been handsome, even; nay, it was not
+altogether without claims to be so considered still; though intemperance
+was making sad inroads on its comeliness. This person was about fifty
+years old, and his air, as well as his attire, denoted a mariner; not a
+common seaman, nor yet altogether an officer; but one of those of a
+middle station, who in navies used to form a class by themselves; being
+of a rank that entitled them to the honours of the quarter-deck, though
+out of the regular line of promotion. In a word, he wore the
+unpretending uniform of a master. A century ago, the dress of the
+English naval officer was exceedingly simple, though more appropriate to
+the profession perhaps, than the more showy attire that has since been
+introduced. Epaulettes were not used by any, and the anchor button, with
+the tint that is called navy blue, and which is meant to represent the
+deep hue of the ocean, with white facings, composed the principal
+peculiarities of the dress. The person introduced to the reader, whose
+name was Dutton, and who was simply the officer in charge of the
+signal-station, had a certain neatness about his well-worn uniform, his
+linen, and all of his attire, which showed that some person more
+interested in such matters than one of his habits was likely to be, had
+the care of his wardrobe. In this respect, indeed, his appearance was
+unexceptionable; and there was an air about the whole man which showed
+that nature, if not education, had intended him for something far better
+than the being he actually was.</p>
+
+<p>Dutton was waiting, at that early hour, to ascertain, as the veil of
+mist was raised from the face of the sea, whether a sail might be in
+sight, that required of him the execution of any of his simple
+functions. That some one was near by, on the head-land, too, was quite
+evident, by the occasional interchange of speech; though no person but
+himself was visible. The direction of the sounds would seem to indicate
+that a man was actually over the brow of the cliff, perhaps a hundred
+feet removed from the seat occupied by the master.</p>
+
+<p>"Recollect the sailor's maxim, Mr. Wychecombe," called out Dutton, in a
+warning voice; "one hand for the king, and the other for self! Those
+cliffs are ticklish places; and really it does seem a little unnatural
+that a sea-faring person like yourself, should have so great a passion
+for flowers, as to risk his neck in order to make a posy!"</p>
+
+<p>"Never fear for me, Mr. Dutton," answered a full, manly voice, that one
+could have sworn issued from the chest of youth; "never fear for me; we
+sailors are used to hanging in the air."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, with good three-stranded ropes to hold on by, young gentleman. Now
+His Majesty's government has just made you an officer, there is a sort
+of obligation to take care of your life, in order that it may be used,
+and, at need, given away, in his service."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true&mdash;quite true, Mr. Dutton&mdash;so true, I wonder you think it
+necessary to remind me of it. I am very grateful to His Majesty's
+government, and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>While speaking, the voice seemed to descend, getting at each instant
+less and less distinct, until, in the end, it became quite inaudible.
+Dutton looked uneasy, for at that instant a noise was heard, and then it
+was quite clear some heavy object was falling down the face of the
+cliff. Now it was that the mariner felt the want of good nerves, and
+experienced the sense of humiliation which accompanied the consciousness
+of having destroyed them by his excesses. He trembled in every limb,
+and, for the moment, was actually unable to rise. A light step at his
+side, however, drew a glance in that direction, and his eye fell on the
+form of a lovely girl of nineteen, his own daughter, Mildred.</p>
+
+<p>"I heard you calling to some one, father," said the latter, looking
+wistfully, but distrustfully at her parent, as if wondering at his
+yielding to his infirmity so early in the day; "can I be of service to
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Poor Wychecombe!" exclaimed Dutton. "He went over the cliff in search
+of a nosegay to offer to yourself, and&mdash;and&mdash;I fear&mdash;greatly fear&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"What, father?" demanded Mildred, in a voice of horror, the rich color
+disappearing from a face which it left of the hue of death.
+"No&mdash;no&mdash;no&mdash;he <i>cannot</i> have fallen."</p>
+
+<p>Dutton bent his head down, drew a long breath, and then seemed to gain
+more command of his nerves. He was about to rise, when the sound of a
+horse's feet was heard, and then Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, mounted on a
+quiet pony, rode slowly up to the signal-staff. It was a common thing
+for the baronet to appear on the cliffs early in the morning, but it was
+not usual for him to come unattended. The instant her eyes fell on the
+fine form of the venerable old man, Mildred, who seemed to know him
+well, and to use the familiarity of one confident of being a favourite,
+exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Sir Wycherly, how fortunate&mdash;where is Richard?"</p>
+
+<p>"Good morrow, my pretty Milly," answered the baronet, cheerfully;
+"fortunate or not, here I am, and not a bit flattered that your first
+question should be after the groom, instead of his master. I have sent
+Dick on a message to the vicar's. Now my poor brother, the judge, is
+dead and gone, I find Mr. Rotherham more and more necessary to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! dear Sir Wycherly&mdash;Mr. Wychecombe&mdash;Lieutenant Wychecombe, I
+mean&mdash;the young officer from Virginia&mdash;he who was so desperately
+wounded&mdash;in whose recovery we all took so deep an interest&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;what of him, child?&mdash;you surely do not mean to put him on a level
+with Mr. Rotherham, in the way of religious consolation&mdash;and, as for
+anything else, there is no consanguinity between the Wychecombes of
+Virginia and my family. He may be a <i>filius nullius</i> of the Wychecombes
+of Wychecombe-Regis, Herts, but has no connection with those of
+Wychecombe-Hall, Devonshire."</p>
+
+<p>"There&mdash;there&mdash;the cliff!&mdash;the cliff!" added Mildred, unable, for the
+moment, to be more explicit.</p>
+
+<p>As the girl pointed towards the precipice, and looked the very image of
+horror, the good-hearted old baronet began to get some glimpses of the
+truth; and, by means of a few words with Dutton, soon knew quite as much
+as his two companions. Descending from his pony with surprising activity
+for one of his years, Sir Wycherly was soon on his feet, and a sort of
+confused consultation between the three succeeded. Neither liked to
+approach the cliff, which was nearly perpendicular at the extremity of
+the head-land, and was always a trial to the nerves of those who shrunk
+from standing on the verge of precipices. They stood like persons
+paralyzed, until Dutton, ashamed of his weakness, and recalling the
+thousand lessons in coolness and courage he had received in his own
+manly profession, made a movement towards advancing to the edge of the
+cliff, in order to ascertain the real state of the case. The blood
+returned to the cheeks of Mildred, too, and she again found a portion of
+her natural spirit raising her courage.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop, father," she said, hastily; "you are infirm, and are in a tremour
+at this moment. My head is steadier&mdash;let me go to the verge of the hill,
+and learn what has happened."</p>
+
+<p>This was uttered with a forced calmness that deceived her auditors, both
+of whom, the one from age, and the other from shattered nerves, were
+certainly in no condition to assume the same office. It required the
+all-seeing eye, which alone can scan the heart, to read all the agonized
+suspense with which that young and beautiful creature approached the
+spot, where she might command a view of the whole of the side of the
+fearful declivity, from its giddy summit to the base, where it was
+washed by the sea. The latter, indeed, could not literally be seen from
+above, the waves having so far undermined the cliff, as to leave a
+projection that concealed the point where the rocks and the water came
+absolutely in contact; the upper portion of the weather-worn rocks
+falling a little inwards, so as to leave a ragged surface that was
+sufficiently broken to contain patches of earth, and verdure, sprinkled
+with the flowers peculiar to such an exposure. The fog, also,
+intercepted the sight, giving to the descent the appearance of a
+fathomless abyss. Had the life of the most indifferent person been in
+jeopardy, under the circumstances named, Mildred would have been filled
+with deep awe; but a gush of tender sensations, which had hitherto been
+pent up in the sacred privacy of her virgin affections, struggled with
+natural horror, as she trod lightly on the very verge of the declivity,
+and cast a timid but eager glance beneath. Then she recoiled a step,
+raised her hands in alarm, and hid her face, as if to shut out some
+frightful spectacle.</p>
+
+<p>By this time, Dutton's practical knowledge and recollection had
+returned. As is common with seamen, whose minds contain vivid pictures
+of the intricate tracery of their vessel's rigging in the darkest
+nights, his thoughts had flashed athwart all the probable circumstances,
+and presented a just image of the facts.</p>
+
+<p>"The boy could not be seen had he absolutely fallen, and were there no
+fog; for the cliff tumbles home, Sir Wycherly," he said, eagerly,
+unconsciously using a familiar nautical phrase to express his meaning.
+"He must be clinging to the side of the precipice, and that, too, above
+the swell of the rocks."</p>
+
+<p>Stimulated by a common feeling, the two men now advanced hastily to the
+brow of the hill, and there, indeed, as with Mildred herself, a single
+look sufficed to tell them the whole truth. Young Wychecombe, in leaning
+forward to pluck a flower, had pressed so hard upon the bit of rock on
+which a foot rested, as to cause it to break, thereby losing his
+balance. A presence of mind that amounted almost to inspiration, and a
+high resolution, alone saved him from being dashed to pieces. Perceiving
+the rock to give way, he threw himself forward, and alighted on a narrow
+shelf, a few feet beneath the place where he had just stood, and at
+least ten feet removed from it, laterally. The shelf on which he
+alighted was ragged, and but two or three feet wide. It would have
+afforded only a check to his fall, had there not fortunately been some
+shrubs among the rocks above it. By these shrubs the young man caught,
+actually swinging off in the air, under the impetus of his leap.
+Happily, the shrubs were too well rooted to give way; and, swinging
+himself round, with the address of a sailor, the youthful lieutenant was
+immediately on his feet, in comparative safety. The silence that
+succeeded was the consequence of the shock he felt, in finding him so
+suddenly thrown into this perilous situation. The summit of the cliff
+was now about six fathoms above his head, and the shelf on which he
+stood, impended over a portion of the cliff that was absolutely
+perpendicular, and which might be said to be out of the line of those
+projections along which he had so lately been idly gathering flowers. It
+was physically impossible for any human being to extricate himself from
+such a situation, without assistance. This Wychecombe understood at a
+glance, and he had passed the few minutes that intervened between his
+fall and the appearance of the party above him, in devising the means
+necessary to his liberation. As it was, few men, unaccustomed to the
+giddy elevations of the mast, could have mustered a sufficient command
+of nerve to maintain a position on the ledge where he stood. Even he
+could not have continued there, without steadying his form by the aid of
+the bushes.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the baronet and Dutton got a glimpse of the perilous position
+of young Wychecombe, each recoiled in horror from the sight, as if
+fearful of being precipitated on top of him. Both, then, actually lay
+down on the grass, and approached the edge of the cliff again, in that
+humble attitude, even trembling as they lay at length, with their chins
+projecting over the rocks, staring downwards at the victim. The young
+man could see nothing of all this; for, as he stood with his back
+against the cliff, he had not room to turn, with safety, or even to look
+upwards. Mildred, however, seemed to lose all sense of self and of
+danger, in view of the extremity in which the youth beneath was placed.
+She stood on the very verge of the precipice, and looked down with
+steadiness and impunity that would have been utterly impossible for her
+to attain under less exciting circumstances; even allowing the young man
+to catch a glimpse of her rich locks, as they hung about her beautiful
+face.</p>
+
+<p>"For God's sake, Mildred," called out the youth, "keep further from the
+cliff&mdash;I see you, and we can now hear each other without so much risk."</p>
+
+<p>"What can we do to rescue you, Wychecombe?" eagerly asked the girl.
+"Tell me, I entreat you; for Sir Wycherly and my father are both
+unnerved!"</p>
+
+<p>"Blessed creature! and <i>you</i> are mindful of my danger! But, be not
+uneasy, Mildred; do as I tell you, and all will yet be well. I hope you
+hear and understand what I say, dearest girl?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly," returned Mildred, nearly choked by the effort to be calm.
+"I hear every syllable&mdash;speak on."</p>
+
+<p>"Go you then to the signal-halyards&mdash;let one end fly loose, and pull
+upon the other, until the whole line has come down&mdash;when that is done,
+return here, and I will tell you more&mdash;but, for heaven's sake, keep
+farther from the cliff."</p>
+
+<p>The thought that the rope, small and frail as it seemed, might be of
+use, flashed on the brain of the girl; and in a moment she was at the
+staff. Time and again, when liquor incapacitated her father to perform
+his duty, had Mildred bent-on, and hoisted the signals for him; and
+thus, happily, she was expert in the use of the halyards. In a minute
+she had unrove them, and the long line lay in a little pile at her feet.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis done, Wycherly," she said, again looking over the cliff; "shall I
+throw you down one end of the rope?&mdash;but, alas! I have not strength to
+raise you; and Sir Wycherly and father seem unable to assist me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Do not hurry yourself, Mildred, and all will be well. Go, and put one
+end of the line around the signal-staff, then put the two ends together,
+tie them in a knot, and drop them down over my head. Be careful not to
+come too near the cliff, for&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The last injunction was useless, Mildred having flown to execute her
+commission. Her quick mind readily comprehended what was expected of
+her, and her nimble fingers soon performed their task. Tying a knot in
+the ends of the line, she did as desired, and the small rope was soon
+dangling within reach of Wychecombe's arm. It is not easy to make a
+landsman understand the confidence which a sailor feels in a rope. Place
+but a frail and rotten piece of twisted hemp in his hand, and he will
+risk his person in situations from which he would otherwise recoil in
+dread. Accustomed to hang suspended in the air, with ropes only for his
+foothold, or with ropes to grasp with his hand, his eye gets an
+intuitive knowledge of what will sustain him, and he unhesitatingly
+trusts his person to a few seemingly slight strands, that, to one
+unpractised, appear wholly unworthy of his confidence. Signal-halyards
+are ropes smaller than the little finger of a man of any size; but they
+are usually made with care, and every rope-yarn tells. Wychecombe, too,
+was aware that these particular halyards were new, for he had assisted
+in reeving them himself, only the week before. It was owing to this
+circumstance that they were long enough to reach him; a large allowance
+for wear and tear having been made in cutting them from the coil. As it
+was, the ends dropped some twenty feet below the ledge on which he
+stood.</p>
+
+<p>"All safe, now, Mildred!" cried the young man, in a voice of exultation
+the moment his hand caught the two ends of the line, which he
+immediately passed around his body, beneath the arms, as a precaution
+against accidents. "All safe, now, dearest girl; have no further concern
+about me."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred drew back, for worlds could not have tempted her to witness the
+desperate effort that she knew must follow. By this time, Sir Wycherly,
+who had been an interested witness of all that passed, found his voice,
+and assumed the office of director.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop, my young namesake," he eagerly cried, when he found that the
+sailor was about to make an effort to drag his own body up the cliff;
+"stop; that will never do; let Dutton and me do that much for you, at
+least. We have seen all that has passed, and are now able to do
+something."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;no, Sir Wycherly&mdash;on no account touch the halyards. By hauling them
+over the top of the rocks you will probably cut them, or part them, and
+then I'm lost, without hope!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Sir Wycherly," said Mildred, earnestly, clasping her hands
+together, as if to enforce the request with prayer; "do not&mdash;do not
+touch the line."</p>
+
+<p>"We had better let the lad manage the matter in his own way," put in
+Dutton; "he is active, resolute, and a seaman, and will do better for
+himself than I fear we can do for him. He has got a turn round his body,
+and is tolerably safe against any slip, or mishap."</p>
+
+<p>As the words were uttered, the whole three drew back a short distance
+and watched the result, in intense anxiety. Dutton, however, so far
+recollected himself, as to take an end of the old halyards, which were
+kept in a chest at the foot of the staff, and to make, an attempt to
+stopper together the two parts of the little rope on which the youth
+depended, for should one of the parts of it break, without this
+precaution, there was nothing to prevent the halyards from running round
+the staff, and destroying the hold. The size of the halyards rendered
+this expedient very difficult of attainment, but enough was done to give
+the arrangement a little more of the air of security. All this time
+young Wychecombe was making his own preparations on the ledge, and quite
+out of view; but the tension on the halyards soon announced that his
+weight was now pendent from them. Mildred's heart seemed ready to leap
+from her mouth, as she noted each jerk on the lines; and her father
+watched every new pull, as if he expected the next moment would produce
+the final catastrophe. It required a prodigious effort in the young man
+to raise his own weight for such a distance, by lines so small. Had the
+rope been of any size, the achievement would have been trifling for one
+of the frame and habits of the sailor, more especially as he could
+slightly avail himself of his feet, by pressing them against the rocks;
+but, as it was, he felt as if he were dragging the mountain up after
+him. At length, his head appeared a few inches above the rocks, but with
+his feet pressed against the cliff, and his body inclining outward, at
+an angle of forty-five degrees.</p>
+
+<p>"Help him&mdash;help him, father!" exclaimed Mildred, covering her face with
+her hands, to exclude the sight of Wychecombe's desperate struggles. "If
+he fall now, he will be destroyed. Oh! save him, save him, Sir
+Wycherly!"</p>
+
+<p>But neither of those to whom she appealed, could be of any use. The
+nervous trembling again came over the father; and as for the baronet,
+age and inexperience rendered him helpless.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you no rope, Mr. Dutton, to throw over my shoulders," cried
+Wychecombe, suspending his exertions in pure exhaustion, still keeping
+all he had gained, with his head projecting outward, over the abyss
+beneath, and his face turned towards heaven. "Throw a rope over my
+shoulders, and drag my body in to the cliff."</p>
+
+<p>Dutton showed an eager desire to comply, but his nerves had not yet been
+excited by the usual potations, and his hands shook in a way to render
+it questionable whether he could perform even this simple service. But
+for his daughter, indeed, he would hardly have set about it
+intelligently. Mildred, accustomed to using the signal-halyards,
+procured the old line, and handed it to her father, who discovered some
+of his professional knowledge in his manner of using it. Doubling the
+halyards twice, he threw the bight over Wychecombe's shoulders, and
+aided by Mildred, endeavoured to draw the body of the young man upwards
+and towards the cliff. But their united strength was unequal to the
+task, and wearied with holding on, and, indeed, unable to support his
+own weight any longer by so small a rope, Wychecombe felt compelled to
+suffer his feet to drop beneath him, and slid down again upon the ledge.
+Here, even his vigorous frame shook with its prodigious exertions; and
+he was compelled to seat himself on the shelf, and rest with his back
+against the cliff, to recover his self-command and strength. Mildred
+uttered a faint shriek as he disappeared, but was too much
+horror-stricken to approach the verge of the precipice to ascertain his
+fate.</p>
+
+<p>"Be composed, Milly," said her father, "he is safe, as you may see by
+the halyards; and to say the truth, the stuff holds on well. So long as
+the line proves true, the boy can't fall; he has taken a double turn
+with the end of it round his body. Make your mind easy, girl, for I feel
+better now, and see my way clear. Don't be uneasy, Sir Wycherly; we'll
+have the lad safe on <i>terra firma</i> again, in ten minutes. I scarce know
+what has come over me, this morning; but I've not had the command of my
+limbs as in common. It cannot be fright, for I've seen too many men in
+danger to be disabled by <i>that</i>; and I think, Milly, it must be the
+rheumatism, of which I've so often spoken, and which I've inherited from
+my poor mother, dear old soul. Do you know, Sir Wycherly, that
+rheumatism can be inherited like gout?"</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say it may&mdash;I dare say it may, Dutton&mdash;but never mind the
+disease, now; get my young namesake back here on the grass, and I will
+hear all about it. I would give the world that I had not sent Dick to
+Mr. Rotherham's this morning. Can't we contrive to make the pony pull
+the boy up?"</p>
+
+<p>"The traces are hardly strong enough for such work, Sir Wycherly. Have a
+little patience, and I will manage the whole thing, 'ship-shape, and
+Brister fashion,' as we say at sea. Halloo there, Master
+Wychecombe&mdash;answer my hail, and I will soon get you into deep water."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm safe on the ledge," returned the voice of Wychecombe, from below;
+"I wish you would look to the signal-halyards, and see they do not chafe
+against the rocks, Mr. Dutton."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, sir; all right. Slack up, if you please, and let me have all
+the line you can, without casting off from your body. Keep fast the end
+for fear of accidents."</p>
+
+<p>In an instant the halyards slackened, and Dutton, who by this time had
+gained his self-command, though still weak and unnerved by the habits of
+the last fifteen years, forced the bight along the edge of the cliff,
+until he had brought it over a projection of the rocks, where it
+fastened itself. This arrangement caused the line to lead down to the
+part of the cliffs from which the young man had fallen, and where it was
+by no means difficult for a steady head and active limbs to move about
+and pluck flowers. It consequently remained for Wychecombe merely to
+regain a footing on that part of the hill-side, to ascend to the summit
+without difficulty. It is true he was now below the point from which he
+had fallen, but by swinging himself off laterally, or even by springing,
+aided by the line, it was not a difficult achievement to reach it, and
+he no sooner understood the nature of the change that had been made,
+than he set about attempting it. The confident manner of Dutton
+encouraged both the baronet and Mildred, and they drew to the cliff,
+again; standing near the verge, though on the part where the rocks might
+be descended, with less apprehension of consequences.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Wychecombe had made all his preparations, he stood on the end
+of the ledge, tightened the line, looked carefully for a foothold on the
+other side of the chasm, and made his leap. As a matter of course, the
+body of the young man swung readily across the space, until the line
+became perpendicular, and then he found a surface so broken, as to
+render his ascent by no means difficult, aided as he was by the
+halyards. Scrambling upwards, he soon rejected the aid of the line, and
+sprang upon the head-land. At the same instant, Mildred fell senseless
+on the grass.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I want a hero:&mdash;an uncommon want,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">When every year and month send forth a new one;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Till, after cloying the gazelles with cant,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">The age discovers he is not the true one;&mdash;"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Byron</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>In consequence of the unsteadiness of the father's nerves, the duty of
+raising Mildred in his arms, and of carrying her to the cottage,
+devolved on the young man. This he did with a readiness and concern
+which proved how deep an interest he took in her situation, and with a
+power of arm which showed that his strength was increased rather than
+lessened by the condition into which she had fallen. So rapid was his
+movement, that no one saw the kiss he impressed on the palid cheek of
+the sweet girl, or the tender pressure with which he grasped the
+lifeless form. By the time he reached the door, the motion and air had
+begun to revive her, and Wychecombe committed her to the care of her
+alarmed mother, with a few hurried words of explanation. He did not
+leave the house, however, for a quarter of an hour, except to call out
+to Dutton that Mildred was reviving, and that he need be under no
+uneasiness on her account. Why he remained so long, we leave the reader
+to imagine, for the girl had been immediately taken to her own little
+chamber, and he saw her no more for several hours.</p>
+
+<p>When our young sailor came out upon the head-land again, he found the
+party near the flag-staff increased to four. Dick, the groom, had
+returned from his errand, and Tom Wychecombe, the intended heir of the
+baronet, was also there, in mourning for his reputed father, the judge.
+This young man had become a frequent visiter to the station, of late,
+affecting to imbibe his uncle's taste for sea air, and a view of the
+ocean. There had been several meetings between himself and his namesake,
+and each interview was becoming less amicable than the preceding, for a
+reason that was sufficiently known to the parties. When they met on the
+present occasion, therefore, the bows they exchanged were haughty and
+distant, and the glances cast at each other might have been termed
+hostile, were it not that a sinister irony was blended with that of Tom
+Wychecombe. Still, the feelings that were uppermost did not prevent the
+latter from speaking in an apparently friendly manner.</p>
+
+<p>"They tell me, Mr. Wychecombe," observed the judge's heir, (for this Tom
+Wychecombe might legally claim to be;) "they tell me, Mr. Wychecombe,
+that you have been taking a lesson in your trade this morning, by
+swinging over the cliffs at the end of a rope? Now, that is an exploit,
+more to the taste of an American than to that of an Englishman, I should
+think. But, I dare say one is compelled to do many things in the
+colonies, that we never dream of at home."</p>
+
+<p>This was said with seeming indifference, though with great art. Sir
+Wycherly's principal weakness was an overweening and an ignorant
+admiration of his own country, and all it contained. He was also
+strongly addicted to that feeling of contempt for the dependencies of
+the empire, which seems to be inseparable from the political connection
+between the people of the metropolitan country and their colonies. There
+must be entire equality, for perfect respect, in any situation in life;
+and, as a rule, men always appropriate to their own shares, any admitted
+superiority that may happen to exist on the part of the communities to
+which they belong. It is on this principle, that the tenant of a
+cock-loft in Paris or London, is so apt to feel a high claim to
+superiority over the occupant of a comfortable abode in a village. As
+between England and her North American colonies in particular, this
+feeling was stronger than is the case usually, on account of the early
+democratical tendencies of the latter; not, that these tendencies had
+already become the subject of political jealousies, but that they left
+social impressions, which were singularly adapted to bringing the
+colonists into contempt among a people predominant for their own
+factitious habits, and who are so strongly inclined to view everything,
+even to principles, through the medium of arbitrary, conventional
+customs. It must be confessed that the Americans, in the middle of the
+eighteenth century, were an exceedingly provincial, and in many
+particulars a narrow-minded people, as well in their opinions as in
+their habits; nor is the reproach altogether removed at the present day;
+but the country from which they are derived had not then made the vast
+strides in civilization, for which it has latterly become so
+distinguished. The indifference, too, with which all Europe regarded the
+whole American continent, and to which England, herself, though she
+possessed so large a stake on this side of the Atlantic, formed no
+material exception, constantly led that quarter of the world into
+profound mistakes in all its reasoning that was connected with this
+quarter of the world, and aided in producing the state of feeling to
+which we have alluded. Sir Wycherly felt and reasoned on the subject of
+America much as the great bulk of his countrymen felt and reasoned in
+1745; the exceptions existing only among the enlightened, and those
+whose particular duties rendered more correct knowledge necessary, and
+not always among them. It is said that the English minister conceived
+the idea of taxing America, from the circumstance of seeing a wealthy
+Virginian lose a large sum at play, a sort of <i>argumentum ad hominem</i>
+that brought with it a very dangerous conclusion to apply to the sort of
+people with whom he had to deal. Let this be as it might, there is no
+more question, that at the period of our tale, the profoundest ignorance
+concerning America existed generally in the mother country, than there
+is that the profoundest respect existed in America for nearly every
+thing English. Truth compels us to add, that in despite of all that has
+passed, the cis-atlantic portion of the weakness has longest endured the
+assaults of time and of an increased intercourse.</p>
+
+<p>Young Wycherly, as is ever the case, was keenly alive to any
+insinuations that might be supposed to reflect on the portion of the
+empire of which he was a native. He considered himself an Englishman, it
+is true; was thoroughly loyal; and was every way disposed to sustain the
+honour and interests of the seat of authority; but when questions were
+raised between Europe and America, he was an American; as, in America
+itself, he regarded himself as purely a Virginian, in contradistinction
+to all the other colonies. He understood the intended sarcasm of Tom
+Wychecombe, but smothered his resentment, out of respect to the baronet,
+and perhaps a little influenced by the feelings in which he had been so
+lately indulging.</p>
+
+<p>"Those gentlemen who are disposed to fancy such things of the colonies,
+would do well to visit that part of the world," he answered, calmly,
+"before they express their opinions too loudly, lest they should say
+something that future observation might make them wish to recall."</p>
+
+<p>"True, my young friend&mdash;quite true," put in the baronet, with the
+kindest possible intentions. "True as gospel. We never know any thing of
+matters about which we know nothing; that we old men must admit, Master
+Dutton; and I should think Tom must see its force. It would be
+unreasonable to expect to find every thing as comfortable in America as
+we have it here, in England; nor do I suppose the Americans, in general,
+would be as likely to get over a cliff as an Englishman. However, there
+are exceptions to all general rules, as my poor brother James used to
+say, when he saw occasion to find fault with the sermon of a prelate. I
+believe you did not know my poor brother, Dutton; he must have been
+killed about the time you were born&mdash;St. James, I used to call him,
+although my brother Thomas, the judge that was Tom's father, there&mdash;said
+he was St. James the Less."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe the Rev. Mr. Wychecombe was dead before I was of an age to
+remember his virtues, Sir Wycherly," said Dutton, respectfully; "though
+I have often heard my own father speak of all your honoured family."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, your father, Dutton, was the attorney of the next town, and we all
+knew him well. You have done quite right to come back among us to spend
+the close of your own days. A man is never as well off as when he is
+thriving in his native soil; more especially when that soil is old
+England, and Devonshire. You are not one of us, young gentleman, though
+your name happens to be Wychecombe; but, then we are none of us
+accountable for our own births, or birth-places."</p>
+
+<p>This truism, which is in the mouths of thousands while it is in the
+hearts of scarcely any, was well meant by Sir Wycherly, however plainly
+expressed. It merely drew from the youth the simple answer that&mdash;"he was
+born in the colonies, and had colonists for his parents;" a fact that
+the others had heard already, some ten or a dozen times.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a little singular, Mr. Wychecombe, that you should bear both of
+my names, and yet be no relative," continued the baronet. "Now, Wycherly
+came into our family from old Sir Hildebrand Wycherly, who was slain at
+Bosworth Field, and whose only daughter, my ancestor, and Tom's
+ancestor, there, married. Since that day, Wycherly has been a favourite
+name among us. I do not think that the Wychecombes of Herts, ever
+thought of calling a son Wycherly, although, as my poor brother the
+judge used to say, <i>they</i> were related, but of the half-blood, only. I
+suppose your father taught you what is meant by being of the half-blood,
+Thomas?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom Wychecombe's face became the colour of scarlet, and he cast an
+uneasy glance at all present; expecting in particular, to meet with a
+look of exultation in the eyes of the lieutenant. He was greatly
+relieved, however, at finding that neither of the three meant or
+understood more than was simply expressed. As for his uncle, he had not
+the smallest intention of making any allusion to the peculiarity of his
+nephew's birth; and the other two, in common with the world, supposed
+the reputed heir to be legitimate. Gathering courage from the looks of
+those around him, Tom answered with a steadiness that prevented his
+agitation from being detected:</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, my dear sir; my excellent parent forgot nothing that he
+thought might be useful to me, in maintaining my rights, and the honour
+of the family, hereafter. I very well understand that the Wychecombes of
+Hertfordshire have no claims on us; nor, indeed, any Wychecombe who is
+not descended from my respectable grandfather, the late Sir Wycherly."</p>
+
+<p>"He must have been an <i>early</i>, instead of a <i>late</i> Sir Wycherly, rather,
+Mr. Thomas," put in Dutton, laughing at his own conceit; "for I can
+remember no other than the honourable baronet before us, in the last
+fifty years."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, Dutton&mdash;very true," rejoined the person last alluded to.
+"As true as that 'time and tide wait for no man.' We understand the
+meaning of such things on the coast here. It was half a century, last
+October, since I succeeded my respected parent; but, it will not be
+another half century before some one will succeed me!"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly was a hale, hearty man for his years, but he had no unmanly
+dread of his end. Still he felt it could not be very distant, having
+already numbered fourscore and four years. Nevertheless, there were
+certain phrases of usage, that Dutton did not see fit to forget on such
+an occasion, and he answered accordingly, turning to look at and admire
+the still ruddy countenance of the baronet, by way of giving emphasis to
+his words.</p>
+
+<p>"You will yet see half of us into our graves, Sir Wycherly," he said,
+"and still remain an active man. Though I dare say another half century
+will bring most of us up. Even Mr. Thomas, here, and your young namesake
+can hardly hope to run out more line than that. Well, as for myself, I
+only desire to live through this war, that I may again see His Majesty's
+arms triumphant; though they do tell me that we are in for a good thirty
+years' struggle. Wars <i>have</i> lasted as long as <i>that</i>, Sir Wycherly, and
+I don't see why this may not, as well as another."</p>
+
+<p>"Very true, Dutton; it is not only possible, but probable; and I trust
+both you and I may live to see our flower-hunter here, a post-captain,
+at least&mdash;though it would be wishing almost too much to expect to see
+him an admiral. There has been <i>one</i> admiral of the name, and I confess
+I should like to see another!"</p>
+
+<p>"Has not Mr. Thomas a brother in the service?" demanded the master; "I
+had thought that my lord, the judge, had given us one of his young
+gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"He thought of it; but the army got both of the boys, as it turned out.
+Gregory was to be the midshipman; my poor brother intending him for a
+sailor from the first, and so giving him the name that was once borne by
+the unfortunate relative we lost by shipwreck. I wished him to call one
+of the lads James, after St. James; but, somehow, I never could persuade
+Thomas to see all the excellence of that pious young man."</p>
+
+<p>Dutton was a little embarrassed, for St. James had left any thing but a
+godly savour behind him; and he was about to fabricate a tolerably bold
+assertion to the contrary, rather than incur the risk of offending the
+lord of the manor, when, luckily, a change in the state of the fog
+afforded him a favourable opportunity of bringing about an apposite
+change in the subject. During the whole of the morning the sea had been
+invisible from the head-land, a dense body of vapour resting on it, far
+as eye could reach; veiling the whole expanse with a single white cloud.
+The lighter portions of the vapour had at first floated around the
+head-land, which could not have been seen at any material distance; but
+all had been gradually settling down into a single mass, that now rose
+within twenty feet of the summit of the cliffs. The hour was still quite
+early, but the sun was gaining force, and it speedily drank up all the
+lighter particles of the mist, leaving a clear, bright atmosphere above
+the feathery bank, through which objects might be seen for miles. There
+was what seamen call a "fanning breeze," or just wind enough to cause
+the light sails of a ship to swell and collapse, under the double
+influence of the air and the motion of the hull, imitating in a slight
+degree the vibrations of that familiar appliance of the female toilet.
+Dutton's eye had caught a glance of the loftiest sail of a vessel, above
+the fog, going through this very movement; and it afforded him the
+release he desired, by enabling him to draw the attention of his
+companions to the same object.</p>
+
+<p>"See, Sir Wycherly&mdash;see, Mr. Wychecombe," he cried, eagerly, pointing in
+the direction of the sail; "yonder is some of the king's canvass coming
+into our roadstead, or I am no judge of the set of a man-of-war's royal.
+It is a large bit of cloth, too, Mr. Lieutenant, for a sail so lofty!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a two-decker's royal, Master Dutton," returned the young sailor;
+"and now you see the fore and main, separately, as the ship keeps away."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," put in Sir Wycherly, in a resigned manner; "here have I lived
+fourscore years on this coast, and, for the life of me, I have never
+been able to tell a fore-royal from a back-royal; or a mizzen head-stay
+from a head mizzen-stay. They are the most puzzling things imaginable;
+and now I cannot discover how you know that yonder sail, which I see
+plain enough, is a royal, any more than that it is a jib!"</p>
+
+<p>Dutton and the lieutenant smiled, but Sir Wycherly's simplicity had a
+cast of truth and nature about it, that deterred most people from
+wishing to ridicule him. Then, the rank, fortune, and local interest of
+the baronet, counted for a good deal on all such occasions.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is another fellow, farther east," cried Dutton, still pointing
+with a finger; "and every inch as big as his consort! Ah! it does my
+eyes good to see our roadstead come into notice, in this manner, after
+all I have said and done in its behalf&mdash;But, who have we here&mdash;a brother
+chip, by his appearance; I dare say some idler who has been sent ashore
+with despatches."</p>
+
+<p>"There is another fellow further east, and every inch as big as his
+consort," said Wychecombe, as we shall call our lieutenant, in order to
+distinguish him from Tom of the same name, repeating the very words of
+Dutton, with an application and readiness that almost amounted to wit,
+pointing, in his turn, at two strangers who were ascending to the
+station by a path that led from the beach. "Certainly both these
+gentlemen are in His Majesty's service, and they have probably just
+landed from the ships in the offing."</p>
+
+<p>The truth of this conjecture was apparent to Dutton at a glance. As the
+strangers joined each other, the one last seen proceeded in advance; and
+there was something in his years, the confident manner in which he
+approached, and his general appearance, that induced both the sailors to
+believe he might be the commander of one of the ships that had just come
+in view.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morrow, gentlemen," commenced this person, as soon as near enough
+to salute the party at the foot of the flag-staff; "good-morrow to ye
+all. I'm glad to meet you, for it's but a Jacob's ladder, this path of
+yours, through the ravine in the cliffs. Hey! why Atwood," looking
+around him at the sea of vapour, in surprise, "what the devil has become
+of the fleet?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is lost in the fog, sir; we are above it, here; when more on a level
+with the ships, we could see, or fancy we saw, more of them than we do
+now."</p>
+
+<p>"Here are the upper sails of two heavy ships, sir," observed Wychecombe,
+pointing in the direction of the vessels already seen; "ay, and yonder
+are two more&mdash;nothing but the royals are visible."</p>
+
+<p>"Two more!&mdash;I left eleven two-deckers, three frigates, a sloop, and a
+cutter in sight, when I got into the boat. You might have covered 'em
+all with a pocket-handkerchief, hey! Atwood!"</p>
+
+<p>"They were certainly in close order, sir, but I'll not take it on myself
+to say quite as near together as that."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, you're a dissenter by trade, and never will believe in a miracle.
+Sharp work, gentlemen, to get up such a hill as this, after fifty."</p>
+
+<p>"It is, indeed, sir," answered Sir Wycherly, kindly. "Will you do us the
+favour to take a seat among us, and rest yourself after so violent an
+exertion? The cliff is hard enough to ascend, even when one keeps the
+path; though here is a young gentleman who had a fancy just now to go
+down it, without a path; and that, too, merely that a pretty girl might
+have a nosegay on her breakfast-table."</p>
+
+<p>The stranger looked intently at Sir Wycherly for a moment, then glanced
+his eye at the groom and the pony, after which he took a survey of Tom
+Wychecombe, the lieutenant, and the master. He was a man accustomed to
+look about him, and he understood, by that rapid glance, the characters
+of all he surveyed, with perhaps the exception of that of Tom
+Wychecombe; and even of that he formed a tolerably shrewd conjecture.
+Sir Wycherly he immediately set down as the squire of the adjacent
+estate; Dutton's situation he hit exactly, conceiving him to be a
+worn-out master, who was employed to keep the signal-station; while he
+understood Wychecombe, by his undress, and air, to be a sea-lieutenant
+in the king's service. Tom Wychecombe he thought it quite likely might
+be the son, and heir of the lord of the manor, both being in mourning;
+though he decided in his own mind that there was not the smallest family
+likeness between them. Bowing with the courtesy of a man who knew how to
+acknowledge a civility, he took the proffered seat at Sir Wycherly's
+side without farther ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>"We must carry the young fellow to sea with us, sir," rejoined the
+stranger, "and that will cure him of looking for flowers in such
+ticklish places. His Majesty has need of us all, in this war; and I
+trust, young gentleman, you have not been long ashore, among the girls."</p>
+
+<p>"Only long enough to make a cure of a pretty smart hurt, received in
+cutting out a lugger from the opposite coast," answered Wychecombe, with
+sufficient modesty, and yet with sufficient spirit.</p>
+
+<p>"Lugger!&mdash;ha! what Atwood? You surely do not mean, young gentleman, la
+Voltigeuse?"</p>
+
+<p>"That was the name of the craft, sir&mdash;we found her in the roads of
+Groix."</p>
+
+<p>"And then I've the pleasure of seeing Mr. Wychecombe, the young officer
+who led in that gallant attack?"</p>
+
+<p>This was said with a most flattering warmth of manner, the stranger even
+rising and removing his hat, as he uttered the words with a heartiness
+that showed how much his feelings were in unison with what he said.</p>
+
+<p>"I am Mr. Wychecombe, sir," answered the other, blushing to the temples,
+and returning the salute; "though I had not the honour of leading; one
+of the lieutenants of our ship being in another boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;I know all that&mdash;but he was beaten off, while you boarded and did
+the work. What have my lords commissioners done in the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"All that is necessary, so far as I am concerned, sir, I do assure you;
+having sent me a commission the very next week. I only wish they had
+been equally generous to Mr. Walton, who received a severe wound also,
+and behaved as well as man could behave."</p>
+
+<p>"That would not be so wise, Mr. Wychecombe, since it would be rewarding
+a failure," returned the stranger, coldly. "Success is all in all, in
+war. Ah! there the fellows begin to show themselves, Atwood."</p>
+
+<p>This remark drew all eyes, again, towards the sea, where a sight now
+presented itself that was really worthy of a passing notice. The vapour
+appeared to have become packed into a mass of some eighty or a hundred
+feet in height, leaving a perfectly clear atmosphere above it. In the
+clear air, were visible the upper spars and canvass of the entire fleet
+mentioned by the stranger; sixteen sail in all. There were the eleven
+two-deckers, and the three frigates, rising in pyramids of canvass,
+still fanning in towards the anchorage, which in that roadstead was
+within pistol-shot of the shore; while the royals and upper part of the
+topgallant sails of the sloop seemed to stand on the surface of the fog,
+like a monument. After a moment's pause, Wychecombe discovered even the
+head of the cutter's royal-mast, with the pennant lazily fluttering
+ahead of it, partly concealed in vapour. The fog seemed to settle,
+instead of rising, though it evidently rolled along the face of the
+waters, putting the whole scene in motion. It was not long ere the tops
+of the ships of the line became visible, and then living beings were for
+the first time seen in the moving masses.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose we offer just such a sight to the top-men of the ships, as
+they offer to us," observed the stranger. "They <i>must</i> see this
+head-land and flag-staff, Mr. Wychecombe; and there can be no danger of
+their standing in too far!"</p>
+
+<p>"I should think not, sir; certainly the men aloft can see the cliffs
+above the fog, as we see the vessels' spars. Ha! Mr. Dutton, there is a
+rear-admiral's flag flying on board the ship farthest to the eastward."</p>
+
+<p>"So I see, sir; and by looking at the third vessel on the western side
+of the line, you will find a bit of square bunting at the fore, which
+will tell you there is a vice-admiral beneath it."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true!" exclaimed Wychecombe, who was ever enthusiastic on matters
+relating to his profession; "a vice-admiral of the red, too; which is
+the next step to being a full admiral. This must be the fleet of Sir
+Digby Downes!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, young gentleman," returned the stranger, who perceived by the
+glance of the other's eye, that a question was indirectly put to
+himself; "it is the southern squadron; and the vice-admiral's flag you
+see, belongs to Sir Gervaise Oakes. Admiral Bluewater is on board the
+ship that carries a flag at the mizzen."</p>
+
+<p>"Those two officers always go together, Sir Wycherly," added the young
+man. "Whenever we hear the name of Sir Gervaise, that of Bluewater is
+certain to accompany it. Such a union in service is delightful to
+witness."</p>
+
+<p>"Well may they go in company, Mr. Wychecombe," returned the stranger,
+betraying a little emotion. "Oakes and Bluewater were reefers together,
+under old Breasthook, in the Mermaid; and when the first was made a
+lieutenant into the Squid, the last followed as a mate. Oakes was first
+of the Briton, in her action with the Spanish frigates, and Bluewater
+third. For that affair Oakes got a sloop, and his friend went with him
+as his first. The next year they had the luck to capture a heavier ship
+than their own, when, for the first time in their service, the two young
+men were separated; Oakes getting a frigate, and Bluewater getting the
+Squid. Still they cruised in company, until the senior was sent in
+command of a flying squadron, with a broad pennant, when the junior, who
+by this time was post, received his old messmate on board his own
+frigate. In that manner they served together, down to the hour when the
+first hoisted his flag. From that time, the two old seamen have never
+been parted; Bluewater acting as the admiral's captain, until he got the
+square bunting himself. The vice-admiral has never led the van of a
+fleet, that the rear-admiral did not lead the rear-division; and, now
+that Sir Gervaise is a commander-in-chief, you see his friend, Dick
+Bluewater, is cruising in his company."</p>
+
+<p>While the stranger was giving this account of the Two Admirals, in a
+half-serious, half-jocular manner, the eyes of his companions were on
+him. He was a middle-sized, red-faced man, with an aquiline nose, a
+light-blue animated eye, and a mouth, which denoted more of the habits
+and care of refinement than either his dress or his ordinary careless
+mien. A great deal is said about the aristocracy of the ears, and the
+hands, and the feet; but of all the features, or other appliances of the
+human frame, the mouth and the nose have the greatest influence in
+producing an impression of gentility. This was peculiarly the case with
+the stranger, whose beak, like that of an ancient galley, gave the
+promise of a stately movement, and whose beautiful teeth and winning
+smile, often relieved the expression of a countenance that was not
+unfrequently stern. As he ceased speaking, Dutton rose, in a studied
+manner, raised his hat entirely from his head, bowed his body nearly to
+a right angle, and said,</p>
+
+<p>"Unless my memory is treacherous, I believe I have the honor to see
+Rear-Admiral Bluewater, himself; I was a mate in the Medway, when he
+commanded the Chloe; and, unless five-and-twenty years have made more
+changes than I think probable, he is now on this hill."</p>
+
+<p>"Your memory is a bad one, Mr. Dutton, and your hill has on it a much
+worse man, in all respects, than Admiral Bluewater. They say that man
+and wife, from living together, and thinking alike, having the same
+affections, loving the same objects, or sometimes hating them, get in
+time to look alike; hey! Atwood? It may be that I am growing like
+Bluewater, on the same principle; but this is the first time I ever
+heard the thing suggested. I am Sir Gervaise Oakes, at your service,
+sir."</p>
+
+<p>The bow of Dutton was now much lower than before, while young Wychecombe
+uncovered himself, and Sir Wycherly arose and paid his compliments
+cordially, introducing himself, and offering the admiral and all his
+officers the hospitality of the Hall.</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, this is straight-forward and hearty, and in the good old English
+manner!" exclaimed the admiral, when he had returned the salutes, and
+cordially thanked the baronet. "One might land in Scotland, now,
+anywhere between the Tweed and John a'Groat's house, and not be asked so
+much as to eat an oaten cake; hey! Atwood?&mdash;always excepting the
+mountain dew."</p>
+
+<p>"You will have your fling at my poor countrymen, Sir Gervaise, and so
+there is no more to be said on the subject," returned the secretary, for
+such was the rank of the admiral's companion. "I might feel hurt at
+times, did I not know that you get as many Scotsmen about you, in your
+own ship, as you can; and that a fleet is all the better in your
+judgment, for having every other captain from the land o' cakes."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever hear the like of that, Sir Wycherly? Because I stick to a
+man I like, he accuses me of having a predilection for his whole
+country. Here's Atwood, now; he was my clerk, when in a sloop; and he
+has followed me to the Plantagenet, and because I do not throw him
+overboard, he wishes to make it appear half Scotland is in her hold."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there are the surgeon, the purser, one of the mates, one of the
+marine officers, and the fourth lieutenant, to keep me company, Sir
+Gervaise," answered the secretary, smiling like one accustomed to his
+superior's jokes, and who cared very little about them. "When you send
+us all back to Scotland, I'm thinking there will be many a good vacancy
+to fill."</p>
+
+<p>"The Scotch make themselves very useful, Sir Gervaise," put in Sir
+Wycherly, by way of smoothing the matter over; "and now we have a
+Brunswick prince on the throne, we Englishmen have less jealousy of them
+than formerly. I am sure I should be happy to see all the gentlemen
+mentioned by Mr. Atwood, at Wychecombe Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"There, you're all well berthed while the fleet lies in these roads. Sir
+Wycherly, in the name of Scotland, I thank you. But what an extr'ornary
+(for so admirals pronounced the word a hundred years ago) scene this is,
+hey! Atwood? Many a time have I seen the hulls of ships when their spars
+were hid in the fog; but I do not remember ever to have seen before,
+sixteen sets of masts and sails moving about on vapour, without a single
+hull to uphold them. The tops of all the two-decked ships are as plainly
+to be seen, as if the air were without a particle of vapour, while all
+below the cat-harpings is hid in a cloud as thick as the smoke of
+battle. I do not half like Bluewater's standing in so far; perhaps, Mr.
+Dutton, they cannot see the cliffs, for I assure you we did not, until
+quite close under them. We went altogether by the lead, the masters
+feeling their way like so many blind beggars!"</p>
+
+<p>"We always keep that nine-pounder loaded, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+master, "in order to warn vessels when they are getting near enough in;
+and if Mr. Wychecombe, who is younger than I, will run to the house and
+light this match, I will prime, and we may give 'em warning where they
+are, in less than a minute."</p>
+
+<p>The admiral gave a ready assent to this proposition, and the respective
+parties immediately set about putting it in execution. Wychecombe
+hastened to the house to light the match, glad of an opportunity to
+inquire after Mildred; while Dutton produced a priming-horn from a sort
+of arm-chest that stood near the gun, and put the latter in a condition
+to be discharged. The young man was absent but a minute, and when all
+was ready, he turned towards the admiral, in order to get the signal to
+proceed.</p>
+
+<p>"Let 'em have it, Mr. Wychecombe," cried Sir Gervaise, smiling; "it will
+wake Bluewater up; perhaps he may favour us with a broadside, by way of
+retort."</p>
+
+<p>The match was applied, and the report of the gun succeeded. Then
+followed a pause of more than a minute; when the fog lifted around the
+C&aelig;sar, the ship that wore a rear-admiral's flag, a flash like lightning
+was seen glancing in the mist, and then came the bellowing of a piece of
+heavy ordnance. Almost at the same instant, three little flags appeared
+at the mast-head of the C&aelig;sar, for previously to quitting his own ship,
+Sir Gervaise had sent a message to his friend, requesting him to take
+care of the fleet. This was the signal to anchor. The effect of all
+this, as seen from the height, was exceedingly striking. As yet not a
+single hull had become visible, the fog remaining packed upon the water,
+in a way to conceal even the lower yards of the two-deckers. All above
+was bright, distinct, and so near, as almost to render it possible to
+distinguish persons. There every thing was vivid, while a sort of
+supernatural mystery veiled all beneath. Each ship had an officer aloft
+to look out for signals, and no sooner had the C&aelig;sar opened her three
+little flags, which had long been suspended in black balls, in readiness
+for this service, than the answers were seen floating at the mast-head
+of each of the vessels. Then commenced a spectacle still more curious
+than that which those on the cliff had so long been regarding with
+interest. Ropes began to move, and the sails were drawn up in festoons,
+apparently without the agency of hands. Cut off from a seeming
+communication with the ocean, or the hulls, the spars of the different
+ships appeared to be instinct with life; each machine playing its own
+part independently of the others, but all having the same object in
+view. In a very few minutes the canvass was hauled up, and the whole
+fleet was swinging to the anchors. Presently head after head was thrown
+out of the fog, the upper yards were alive with men, and the sails were
+handed. Next came the squaring of the yards, though this was imperfectly
+done, and a good deal by guess-work. The men came down, and there lay a
+noble fleet at anchor, with nothing visible to those on the cliffs, but
+their top-hamper and upper spars.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes had been so much struck and amused with a sight that
+to him happened to be entirely novel, that he did not speak during the
+whole process of anchoring. Indeed, many a man might pass his life at
+sea, and never witness such a scene; but those who have, know that it is
+one of the most beautiful and striking spectacles connected with the
+wonders of the great deep.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the sun had got so high, as to begin to stir the fog, and
+streams of vapour were shooting up from the beach, like smoke rising
+from coal-pits. The wind increased, too, and rolled the vapour before
+it, and in less than ten minutes, the veil was removed; ship after ship
+coming out in plain view, until the entire fleet was seen riding in the
+roadstead, in its naked and distinct proportions.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Bluewater is a happy fellow," exclaimed Sir Gervaise. "He sees his
+great enemy, the land, and knows how to deal with it."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought the French were the great and natural enemies of every
+British sailor," observed Sir Wycherly, simply, but quite to the point.</p>
+
+<p>"Hum&mdash;there's truth in that, too. But the land is an enemy to be feared,
+while the Frenchman is not&mdash;hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>It was, indeed, a goodly sight to view the fine fleet that now lay
+anchored beneath the cliffs of Wychecombe. Sir Gervaise Oakes was, in
+that period, considered a successful naval commander, and was a
+favourite, both at the admiralty and with the nation. His popularity
+extended to the most distant colonies of England, in nearly all of which
+he had served with zeal and credit. But we are not writing of an age of
+nautical wonders, like that which succeeded at the close of the century.
+The French and Dutch, and even the Spaniards, were then all formidable
+as naval powers; for revolutions and changes had not destroyed their
+maritime corps, nor had the consequent naval ascendency of England
+annihilated their navigation; the two great causes of the subsequent
+apparent invincibility of the latter power. Battles at sea, in that day,
+were warmly contested, and were frequently fruitless; more especially
+when fleets were brought in opposition. The single combats were usually
+more decisive, though the absolute success of the British flag, was far
+from being as much a matter of course as it subsequently became. In a
+word, the science of naval warfare had not made those great strides,
+which marked the career of England in the end, nor had it retrograded
+among her enemies, to the point which appears to have rendered their
+defeat nearly certain. Still Sir Gervaise was a successful officer;
+having captured several single ships, in bloody encounters, and having
+actually led fleets with credit, in four or five of the great battles of
+the times; besides being second and third in command, on various similar
+occasions. His own ship was certain to be engaged, let what would happen
+to the others. Equally as captains and as flag-officers, the nation had
+become familiar with the names of Oakes and Bluewater, as men ever to be
+found sustaining each other in the thickest of the fight. It may be well
+to add here, that both these favourite seamen were men of family, or at
+least what was considered men of family among the mere gentry of
+England; Sir Gervaise being a baronet by inheritance, while his friend
+actually belonged to one of those naval lines which furnishes admirals
+for generations; his father having worn a white flag at the main; and
+his grandfather having been actually ennobled for his services, dying
+vice-admiral of England. These fortuitous circumstances perhaps rendered
+both so much the greater favourites at court.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">&mdash;&mdash;"All with you; except three<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On duty, and our leader Israel,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who is expected momently."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Marino Faliero.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>As his fleet was safely anchored, and that too, in beautiful order, in
+spite of the fog, Sir Gervaise Oakes showed a disposition to pursue what
+are termed ulterior views.</p>
+
+<p>"This has been a fine sight&mdash;certainly a very fine sight; such as an old
+seaman loves; but there must be an end to it," he said. "You will excuse
+me, Sir Wycherly, but the movements of a fleet always have interest in
+my eyes, and it is seldom that I get such a bird's-eye view of those of
+my own; no wonder it has made me a somewhat unreflecting intruder."</p>
+
+<p>"Make no apologies, Sir Gervaise, I beg of you; for none are needed, on
+any account. Though this head-land does belong to the Wychecombe
+property, it is fairly leased to the crown, and none have a better right
+to occupy it than His Majesty's servants. The Hall is a little more
+private, it is true, but even that has no door that will close upon our
+gallant naval defenders. It is but a short walk, and nothing will make
+me happier than to show you the way to my poor dwelling, and to see you
+as much at home under its roof, as you could be in the cabin of the
+Plantagenet."</p>
+
+<p>"If any thing could make me as much at home in a house as in a ship, it
+would be so hearty a welcome; and I intend to accept your hospitality in
+the very spirit in which it is offered. Atwood and I have landed to send
+off some important despatches to the First Lord, and we will thank you
+for putting us in the way of doing it, in the safest and most
+expeditious manner. Curiosity and surprise have already occasioned the
+loss of half an hour; while a soldier, or a sailor, should never lose
+half a minute."</p>
+
+<p>"Is a courier who knows the country well, needed, Sir Gervaise?" the
+lieutenant demanded, modestly, though with an interest that showed he
+was influenced only by zeal for the service.</p>
+
+<p>The admiral looked at him, intently, for a moment, and seemed pleased
+with the hint implied in the question.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you ride?" asked Sir Gervaise, smiling. "I could have brought
+half-a-dozen youngsters ashore with me; but, besides the doubts about
+getting a horse&mdash;a chaise I take it is out of the question here&mdash;I was
+afraid the lads might disgrace themselves on horseback."</p>
+
+<p>"This must be said in pleasantry, Sir Gervaise," returned Wychecombe;
+"he would be a strange Virginian at least, who does not know how to
+ride!"</p>
+
+<p>"And a strange Englishman, too, Bluewater would say; and yet I never see
+the fellow straddle a horse that I do not wish it were a
+studding-sail-boom run out to leeward! We sailors <i>fancy</i> we ride, Mr.
+Wychecombe, but it is some such fancy as a marine has for the
+fore-topmast-cross-trees. Can a horse be had, to go as far as the
+nearest post-office that sends off a daily mail?"</p>
+
+<p>"That can it, Sir Gervaise," put in Sir Wycherly. "Here is Dick mounted
+on as good a hunter as is to be found in England; and I'll answer for my
+young namesake's willingness to put the animal's mettle to the proof.
+Our little mail has just left Wychecombe for the next twenty-four hours,
+but by pushing the beast, there will be time to reach the high road in
+season for the great London mail, which passes the nearest market-town
+at noon. It is but a gallop of ten miles and back, and that I'll answer
+for Mr. Wychecombe's ability to do, and to join us at dinner by four."</p>
+
+<p>Young Wychecombe expressing his readiness to perform all this, and even
+more at need, the arrangement was soon made. Dick was dismounted, the
+lieutenant got his despatches and his instructions, took his leave, and
+had galloped out of sight, in the next five minutes. The admiral then
+declared himself at liberty for the day, accepting the invitation of Sir
+Wycherly to breakfast and dine at the Hall, in the same spirit of
+frankness as that in which it had been given. Sir Wycherly was so
+spirited as to refuse the aid of his pony, but insisted on walking
+through the village and park to his dwelling, though the distance was
+more than a mile. Just as they were quitting the signal-station, the old
+man took the admiral aside, and in an earnest, but respectful manner,
+disburthened his mind to the following effect.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise," he said, "I am no sailor, as you know, and least of all
+do I bear His Majesty's commission in the navy, though I am in the
+county commission as a justice of the peace; so, if I make any little
+mistake you will have the goodness to overlook it, for I know that the
+etiquette of the quarter-deck is a very serious matter, and is not to be
+trifled with;&mdash;but here is Dutton, as good a fellow in his way as
+lives&mdash;his father was a sort of a gentleman too, having been the
+attorney of the neighbourhood, and the old man was accustomed to dine
+with me forty years ago&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe I understand you, Sir Wycherly," interrupted the admiral;
+"and I thank you for the attention you wish to pay my prejudices; but,
+you are master of Wychecombe, and I should feel myself a troublesome
+intruder, indeed, did you not ask whom you please to dine at your own
+table."</p>
+
+<p>"That's not quite it, Sir Gervaise, though you have not gone far wide of
+the mark. Dutton is only a master, you know; and it seems that a master
+on board ship is a very different thing from a master on shore; so
+Dutton, himself, has often told me."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, Dutton is right enough as regards a king's ship, though the two
+offices are pretty much the same, when other craft are alluded to. But,
+my dear Sir Wycherly, an admiral is not disgraced by keeping company
+with a boatswain, if the latter is an honest man. It is true we have our
+customs, and what we call our quarter-deck and forward officers; which
+is court end and city, on board ship; but a master belongs to the first,
+and the master of the Plantagenet, Sandy McYarn, dines with me once a
+month, as regularly as he enters a new word at the top of his log-book.
+I beg, therefore, you will extend your hospitality to whom you
+please&mdash;or&mdash;" the admiral hesitated, as he cast a good-natured glance at
+the master, who stood still uncovered, waiting for his superior to move
+away; "or, perhaps, Sir Wycherly, you would permit <i>me</i> to ask a friend
+to make one of our party."</p>
+
+<p>"That's just it, Sir Gervaise," returned the kind-hearted baronet; "and
+Dutton will be one of the happiest fellows in Devonshire. I wish we
+could have Mrs. Dutton and Milly, and then the table would look what my
+poor brother James&mdash;St. James I used to call him&mdash;what the Rev. James
+Wychecombe was accustomed to term, mathematical. He said a table should
+have all its sides and angles duly filled. James was a most agreeable
+companion, Sir Gervaise, and, in divinity, he would not have turned his
+back on one of the apostles, I do verily believe!"</p>
+
+<p>The admiral bowed, and turning to the master, he invited him to be of
+the party at the Hall, in the manner which one long accustomed to render
+his civilities agreeable by a sort of professional off-handed way, well
+knew how to assume.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly has insisted that I shall consider his table as set in my
+own cabin," he continued; "and I know of no better manner of proving my
+gratitude, than by taking him at his word, and filling it with guests
+that will be agreeable to us both. I believe there is a Mrs. Dutton, and
+a Miss&mdash;a&mdash;a&mdash;a&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Milly," put in the baronet, eagerly; "Miss Mildred Dutton&mdash;the daughter
+of our good friend Dutton, here, and a young lady who would do credit to
+the gayest drawing-room in London."</p>
+
+<p>"You perceive, sir, that our kind host anticipates the wishes of an old
+bachelor, as it might be by instinct, and desires the company of the
+ladies, also. Miss Mildred will, at least, have two young men to do
+homage to her beauty, and <i>three</i> old ones to sigh in the distance&mdash;hey!
+Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mildred, as Sir Wycherly knows, sir, has been a little disturbed this
+morning," returned Dutton, putting on his best manner for the occasion;
+"but, I feel no doubt, will be too grateful for this honour, not to
+exert herself to make a suitable return. As for my wife, gentlemen&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And what is to prevent Mrs. Dutton from being one of the party,"
+interrupted Sir Wycherly, as he observed the husband to hesitate; "she
+sometimes favours me with her company."</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think she will to-day, Sir Wycherly, if Mildred is well enough
+to go; the good woman seldom lets her daughter stray far from her
+apron-strings. She keeps her, as I tell her, within the sweep of her own
+hawse, Sir Gervaise."</p>
+
+<p>"So much the wiser she, Master Dutton," returned the admiral, pointedly.
+"The best pilot for a young woman is a good mother; and now you have a
+fleet in your roadstead, I need not tell a seaman of your experience
+that you are on pilot-ground;&mdash;hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>Here the parties separated, Dutton remaining uncovered until his
+superior had turned the corner of his little cottage, and was fairly out
+of sight. Then the master entered his dwelling to prepare his wife and
+daughter for the honours they had in perspective. Before he executed
+this duty, however, the unfortunate man opened what he called a
+locker&mdash;what a housewife would term a cupboard&mdash;and fortified his nerves
+with a strong draught of pure Nantes; a liquor that no hostilities,
+custom-house duties, or national antipathies, has ever been able to
+bring into general disrepute in the British Islands. In the mean time
+the party of the two baronets pursued its way towards the Hall.</p>
+
+<p>The village, or hamlet of Wychecombe, lay about half-way between the
+station and the residence of the lord of the manor. It was an
+exceedingly rural and retired collection of mean houses, possessing
+neither physician, apothecary, nor attorney, to give it importance. A
+small inn, two or three shops of the humblest kind, and some twenty
+cottages of labourers and mechanics, composed the place, which, at that
+early day, had not even a chapel, or a conventicle; dissent not having
+made much progress then in England. The parish church, one of the old
+edifices of the time of the Henrys, stood quite alone, in a field, more
+than a mile from the place; and the vicarage, a respectable abode, was
+just on the edge of the park, fully half a mile more distant. In short,
+Wychecombe was one of those places which was so far on the decline, that
+few or no traces of any little importance it may have once possessed,
+were any longer to be discovered; and it had sunk entirely into a hamlet
+that owed its allowed claims to be marked on the maps, and to be noted
+in the gazetteers, altogether to its antiquity, and the name it had
+given to one of the oldest knightly families in England.</p>
+
+<p>No wonder then, that the arrival of a fleet under the head, produced a
+great excitement in the little village. The anchorage was excellent, so
+far as the bottom was concerned, but it could scarcely be called a
+roadstead in any other point of view, since there was shelter against no
+wind but that which blew directly off shore, which happened to be a wind
+that did not prevail in that part of the island. Occasionally, a small
+cruiser would come-to, in the offing, and a few frigates had lain at
+single anchors in the roads, for a tide or so, in waiting for a change
+of weather; but this was the first fleet that had been known to moor
+under the cliffs within the memory of man. The fog had prevented the
+honest villagers from ascertaining the unexpected honour that had been
+done them, until the reports of the two guns reached their ears, when
+the important intelligence spread with due rapidity over the entire
+adjacent country. Although Wychecombe did not lie in actual view of the
+sea, by the time the party of Sir Wycherly entered the hamlet, its
+little street was already crowded with visiters from the fleet; every
+vessel having sent at least one boat ashore, and many of them some three
+or four. Captain's and gun-room stewards, midshipmen's foragers,
+loblolly boys, and other similar harpies, were out in scores; for this
+was a part of the world in which bum-boats were unknown; and if the
+mountain would not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must fain go to the
+mountain. Half an hour had sufficed to exhaust all the unsophisticated
+simplicity of the hamlet; and milk, eggs, fresh butter, soft-tommy,
+vegetables, and such fruits as were ripe, had already risen quite one
+hundred per cent. in the market.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise had called his force the southern squadron, from the
+circumstance of its having been cruising in the Bay of Biscay, for the
+last six months. This was a wild winter-station, the danger from the
+elements greatly surpassing any that could well be anticipated from the
+enemy. The duty notwithstanding had been well and closely performed;
+several West India, and one valuable East India convoy having been
+effectually protected, as well as a few straggling frigates of the enemy
+picked up; but the service had been excessively laborious to all engaged
+in it, and replete with privations. Most of those who now landed, had
+not trod terra firma for half a year, and it was not wonderful that all
+the officers whose duties did not confine them to the vessels, gladly
+seized the occasion to feast their senses with the verdure and odours of
+their native island. Quite a hundred guests of this character were also
+pouring into the street of Wychecombe, or spreading themselves among the
+surrounding farm-houses; flirting with the awkward and blushing girls,
+and keeping an eye at the same time to the main chance of the
+mess-table.</p>
+
+<p>"Our boys have already found out your village, Sir Wycherly, in spite of
+the fog," the vice-admiral remarked, good-humouredly, as he cast his
+eyes around at the movement of the street; "and the locusts of Egypt
+will not come nearer to breeding a famine. One would think there was a
+great dinner <i>in petto</i>, in every cabin of the fleet, by the number of
+the captain's stewards that are ashore, hey! Atwood? I have seen nine of
+the harpies, myself, and the other seven can't be far off."</p>
+
+<p>"Here is Galleygo, Sir Gervaise," returned the secretary, smiling;
+"though <i>he</i> can scarcely be called a captain's steward, having the
+honour to serve a vice-admiral and a commander-in-chief."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, but <i>we</i> feed the whole fleet at times, and have some excuse for
+being a little exacting&mdash;harkee, Galleygo&mdash;get a horse-cart, and push
+off at once, four or five miles further into the country; you might as
+well expect to find real pearls in fishes' eyes, as hope to pick up any
+thing nice among so many gun-room and cock-pit boys. I dine ashore
+to-day, but Captain Greenly is fond of mutton-chops, you'll remember."</p>
+
+<p>This was said kindly, and in the manner of a man accustomed to treat his
+domestics with the familiarity of humble friends. Galleygo was as
+unpromising a looking butler as any gentleman ashore would be at all
+likely to tolerate; but he had been with his present master, and in his
+present capacity, ever since the latter had commanded a sloop of war.
+All his youth had been passed as a top-man, and he was really a prime
+seaman; but accident having temporarily placed him in his present
+station, Captain Oakes was so much pleased with his attention to his
+duty, and particularly with his order, that he ever afterwards retained
+him in his cabin, notwithstanding the strong desire the honest fellow
+himself had felt to remain aloft. Time and familiarity, at length
+reconciled the steward to his station, though he did not formally accept
+it, until a clear agreement had been made that he was not to be
+considered an idler on any occasion that called for the services of the
+best men. In this manner David, for such was his Christian name, had
+become a sort of nondescript on board of a man-of-war; being foremost in
+all the cuttings out, a captain of a gun, and was frequently seen on a
+yard in moments of difficulty, just to keep his hand in, as he expressed
+it, while he descended to the duties of the cabin in peaceable times and
+good weather. Near thirty years had he thus been half-steward,
+half-seaman when afloat, while on land he was rather a counsellor and
+minister of the closet, than a servant; for out of a ship he was utterly
+useless, though he never left his master for a week at a time, ashore or
+afloat. The name of Galleygo was a <i>sobriquet</i> conferred by his brother
+top-men, but had been so generally used, that for the last twenty years
+most of his shipmates believed it to be his patronymic. When this
+compound of cabin and forecastle received the order just related, he
+touched the lock of hair on his forehead, a ceremony he always used
+before he spoke to Sir Gervaise, the hat being removed at some three or
+four yards' distance, and made his customary answer of&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ay-ay-sir&mdash;your honour has been a young gentleman yourself, and knows
+what a young gentleman's stomach gets to be, a'ter a six months' fast in
+the Bay of Biscay; and a young gentleman's <i>boy's</i> stomach, too. I
+always thinks there's but a small chance for us, sir, when I sees six or
+eight of them light cruisers in my neighbourhood. They're som'mat like
+the sloops and cutters of a fleet, which picks up all the prizes."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, Master Galleygo; but if the light cruisers get the prizes,
+you should recollect that the admiral always has his share of the
+prize-money."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, I knows we has our share, but that's accordin' to law, and
+because the commanders of the light craft can't help it. Let 'em once
+get the law on their side, and not a ha'pence would bless our pockets!
+No, sir, what we gets, we gets by the law; and as there is no law to
+fetch up young gentlemen or their boys, that pays as they goes, we never
+gets any thing they or their boys puts hands on."</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say you are right, David, as you always are. It wouldn't be a
+bad thing to have an Act of Parliament to give an admiral his twentieth
+in the reefers' foragings. The old fellows would sometimes get back some
+of their own poultry and fruit in that way, hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>The secretary smiled his assent, and then Sir Gervaise apologized to his
+host, repeated the order to the steward, and the party proceeded.</p>
+
+<p>"This fellow of mine, Sir Wycherly, is no respecter of persons, beyond
+the etiquette of a man-of-war," the admiral continued, by way of further
+excuse. "I believe His Majesty himself would be favoured with an essay
+on some part of the economy of the cabin, were Galleygo to get an
+opportunity of speaking his mind to him. Nor is the fool without his
+expectations of some day enjoying this privilege; for the last lime I
+went to court, I found honest David rigged, from stem to stern, in a
+full suit of claret and steel, under the idea that he was 'to sail in
+company with me,' as he called it, 'with or without signal!'"</p>
+
+<p>"There was nothing surprising in that, Sir Gervaise," observed the
+secretary. "Galleygo has sailed in company with you so long, and to so
+many strange lands; has been through so many dangers at your side, and
+has got so completely to consider himself as part of the family, that it
+was the most natural thing in the world he should expect to go to court
+with you."</p>
+
+<p>"True enough. The fellow would face the devil, at my side, and I don't
+see why he should hesitate to face the king. I sometimes call him Lady
+Oakes, Sir Wycherly, for he appears to think he has a right of dower, or
+to some other lawyer-like claim on my estate; and as for the fleet, he
+always speaks of <i>that</i>, as if we commanded it in common. I wonder how
+Bluewater tolerates the blackguard; for he never scruples to allude to
+him as under <i>our</i> orders! If any thing should befal me, Dick and David
+would have a civil war for the succession, hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think military subordination would bring Galleygo to his senses, Sir
+Gervaise, should such an unfortunate accident occur&mdash;which Heaven avert
+for many years to come! There is Admiral Bluewater coming up the street,
+at this very moment, sir."</p>
+
+<p>At this sudden announcement, the whole party turned to look in the
+direction intimated by the secretary. It was by this time at one end of
+the short street, and all saw a man just entering the other, who, in his
+walk, air, attire, and manner, formed a striking contrast to the active,
+merry, bustling, youthful young sailors who thronged the hamlet. In
+person, Admiral Bluewater was exceedingly tall and exceedingly thin.
+Like most seamen who have that physical formation, he stooped; a
+circumstance that gave his years a greater apparent command over his
+frame, than they possessed in reality. While this bend in his figure
+deprived it, in a great measure, of the sturdy martial air that his
+superior presented to the observer, it lent to his carriage a quiet and
+dignity that it might otherwise have wanted. Certainly, were this
+officer attired like an ordinary civilian, no one would have taken him
+for one of England's bravest and most efficient sea-captains; he would
+have passed rather as some thoughtful, well-educated, and refined
+gentleman, of retired habits, diffident of himself, and a stranger to
+ambition. He wore an undress rear-admiral's uniform, as a matter of
+course; but he wore it carelessly, as if from a sense of duty only; or
+conscious that no arrangement could give him a military air. Still all
+about his person was faultlessly neat, and perfectly respectable. In a
+word, no one but a man accustomed to the sea, were it not for his
+uniform, would suspect the rear-admiral of being a sailor; and even the
+seaman himself might be often puzzled to detect any other signs of the
+profession about him, than were to be found in a face, which, fair,
+gentlemanly, handsome, and even courtly as it was, in expression and
+outline, wore the tint that exposure invariably stamps on the mariner's
+countenance. Here, however, his unseaman-like character ceased. Admiral
+Oakes had often declared that "Dick Bluewater knew more about a ship
+than any man in England;" and as for a fleet, his mode of man[oe]uvring
+one had got to be standard in the service.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Sir Gervaise recognised his friend, he expressed a wish to
+wait for him, which was courteously converted by Sir Wycherly into a
+proposition to return and meet him. So abstracted was Admiral Bluewater,
+however, that he did not see the party that was approaching him, until
+he was fairly accosted by Sir Gervaise, who led the advance by a few
+yards.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-day to you, Bluewater," commenced the latter, in his familiar,
+off-hand way; "I'm glad you have torn yourself away from your ship;
+though I must say the manner in which you came-to, in that fog, was more
+like instinct, than any thing human! I determined to tell you as much,
+the moment we met; for I don't think there is a ship, half her length
+out of mathematical order, notwithstanding the tide runs, here, like a
+race-horse."</p>
+
+<p>"That is owing to your captains, Sir Gervaise," returned the other,
+observing the respect of manner, that the inferior never loses with his
+superior, on service, and in a navy; let their relative rank and
+intimacy be what they may on all other occasions; "good captains make
+handy ships. Our gentlemen have now been together so long, that they
+understand each other's movements; and every vessel in the fleet has her
+character as well as her commander!"</p>
+
+<p>"Very true, Admiral Bluewater, and yet there is not another officer in
+His Majesty's service, that could have brought a fleet to anchor, in so
+much order, and in such a fog; and I ask your leave, sir, most
+particularly to thank you for the lesson you have given, not only to the
+captains, but to the commander-in-chief. I presume I may admire that
+which I cannot exactly imitate."</p>
+
+<p>The rear-admiral merely smiled and touched his hat in acknowledgment of
+the compliment, but he made no direct answer in words. By this time Sir
+Wycherly and the others had approached, and the customary introductions
+took place. Sir Wycherly now pressed his new acquaintance to join his
+guests, with so much heartiness, that there was no such thing as
+refusing.</p>
+
+<p>"Since you and Sir Gervaise both insist on it so earnestly, Sir
+Wycherly," returned the rear-admiral, "I must consent; but as it is
+contrary to our practice, when on foreign service&mdash;and I call this
+roadstead a foreign station, as to any thing we know about it&mdash;as it is
+contrary to our practice for both flag-officers to sleep out of the
+fleet, I shall claim the privilege to be allowed to go off to my ship
+before midnight. I think the weather looks settled, Sir Gervaise, and we
+may trust that many hours, without apprehension."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh&mdash;pooh&mdash;Bluewater, you are always fancying the ships in a gale, and
+clawing off a lee-shore. Put your heart at rest, and let us go and take
+a comfortable dinner with Sir Wycherly, who has a London paper, I dare
+to say, that may let us into some of the secrets of state. Are there any
+tidings from our people in Flanders?"</p>
+
+<p>"Things remain pretty much as they have been," returned Sir Wycherly,
+"since that last terrible affair, in which the Duke got the better of
+the French at&mdash;I never can remember an outlandish name; but it sounds
+something like a Christian baptism. If my poor brother, St. James, were
+living, now, he could tell us all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Christian baptism! That's an odd allusion for a field of battle. The
+armies can't have got to Jerusalem; hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think, Sir Gervaise," the secretary coolly remarked, "that Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe refers to the battle that took place last spring&mdash;it
+was fought at Font-something; and a font certainly has something to do
+with Christian baptism."</p>
+
+<p>"That's it&mdash;that's it," cried Sir Wycherly, with some eagerness;
+"Fonteno&iuml; was the name of the place, where the Duke would have carried
+all before him, and brought Marshal Saxe, and all his frog-eaters
+prisoners to England, had our Dutch and German allies behaved better
+than they did. So it is with poor old England, gentlemen; whatever <i>she</i>
+gains, her allies always <i>lose</i> for her&mdash;the Germans, or the colonists,
+are constantly getting us into trouble!"</p>
+
+<p>Both Sir Gervaise and his friend were practical men, and well knew that
+they never fought the Dutch or the French, without meeting with
+something that was pretty nearly their match. They had no faith in
+general national superiority. The courts-martial that so often succeeded
+general actions, had taught them that there were all degrees of spirit,
+as well as all degrees of a want of spirit; and they knew too much, to
+be the dupes of flourishes of the pen, or of vapid declamation at
+dinner-speeches, and in the House of Commons. Men, well led and
+commanded, they had ascertained by experience, were worth twice as much
+as the same men when ill led and ill commanded; and they were not to be
+told that the moral tone of an army or a fleet, from which all its
+success was derived, depended more on the conventional feeling that had
+been got up through moral agencies, than on birth-place, origin, or
+colour. Each glanced his eye significantly at the other, and a sarcastic
+smile passed over the face of Sir Gervaise, though his friend maintained
+his customary appearance of gravity.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe le Grand Monarque and Marshal Saxe give a different account
+of that matter, Sir Wycherly," drily observed the former; "and it may be
+well to remember that there are two sides to every story. Whatever may
+be said of Dettingen, I fancy history will set down Fonteno&iuml; as any
+thing but a feather in His Royal Highness' cap."</p>
+
+<p>"You surely do not consider it possible for the French arms to overthrow
+a British army, Sir Gervaise Oakes!" exclaimed the simple-minded
+provincial&mdash;for such was Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, though he had sat in
+parliament, had four thousand a year, and was one of the oldest families
+in England&mdash;"It sounds like treason to admit the possibility of such a
+thing."</p>
+
+<p>"God bless us, my dear sir, I am as far from supposing any such thing,
+as the Duke of Cumberland himself; who, by the way, has as much English
+blood in his veins, as the Baltic may have of the water of the
+Mediterranean&mdash;hey! Atwood? By the way, Sir Wycherly, I must ask a
+little tenderness of you in behalf of my friend the secretary, here, who
+has a national weakness in favour of the Pretender, and all of the clan
+Stuart."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope not&mdash;I sincerely hope not, Sir Gervaise!" exclaimed Sir
+Wycherly, with a warmth that was not entirely free from alarm; his own
+loyalty to the new house being altogether without reproach. "Mr. Atwood
+has the air of a gentleman of too good principles not to see on which
+side real religious and political liberty lie. I am sure you are pleased
+to be jocular, Sir Gervaise; the very circumstance that he is in your
+company is a pledge of his loyalty."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, Sir Wycherly, I would not give you a false idea of my
+friend Atwood, if possible; and so I may as well confess, that, while
+his Scotch blood inclines him to toryism, his English reason makes him a
+whig. If Charles Stuart never gets the throne until Stephen Atwood helps
+him to a seat on it, he may take leave of ambition for ever."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought as much, Sir Gervaise&mdash;I thought <i>your</i> secretary could never
+lean to the doctrine of 'passive obedience and non-resistance.' That's a
+principle which would hardly suit sailors, Admiral Bluewater."</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater's line, full, blue eye, lighted with an expression
+approaching irony; but he made no other answer than a slight inclination
+of the head. In point of fact, <i>he</i> was a Jacobite: though no one was
+acquainted with the circumstance but his immediate commanding officer.
+As a seaman, he was called on only to serve his country; and, as often
+happens to military men, he was willing to do this under any superior
+whom circumstances might place over his head, let his private sentiments
+be what they might. During the civil war of 1715, he was too young in
+years, and too low in rank to render his opinions of much importance;
+and, kept on foreign stations, his services could only affect the
+general interests of the nation, without producing any influence on the
+contest at home. Since that period, nothing had occurred to require one,
+whose duty kept him on the ocean, to come to a very positive decision
+between the two masters that claimed his allegiance. Sir Gervaise had
+always been able to persuade him that he was sustaining the honour and
+interests of his country, and that ought to be sufficient to a patriot,
+let who would rule. Notwithstanding this wide difference in political
+feeling between the two admirals&mdash;Sir Gervaise being as decided a whig,
+as his friend was a tory&mdash;their personal harmony had been without a
+shade. As to confidence, the superior knew the inferior so well, that he
+believed the surest way to prevent his taking sides openly with the
+Jacobites, or of doing them secret service, was to put it in his power
+to commit a great breach of trust. So long as faith were put in his
+integrity, Sir Gervaise felt certain his friend Bluewater might be
+relied on; and he also knew that, should the moment ever come when the
+other really intended to abandon the service of the house of Hanover, he
+would frankly throw up his employments, and join the hostile standard,
+without profiting, in any manner, by the trusts he had previously
+enjoyed. It is also necessary that the reader should understand that
+Admiral Bluewater had never communicated his political opinions to any
+person but his friend; the Pretender and his counsellors being as
+ignorant of them, as George II. and his ministers. The only practical
+effect, therefore, that they had ever produced was to induce him to
+decline separate commands, several of which had been offered to him;
+one, quite equal to that enjoyed by Sir Gervaise Oakes, himself.</p>
+
+<p>"No," the latter answered to Sir Wycherly's remark; though the grave,
+thoughtful expression of his face, showed how little his feelings chimed
+in, at the moment, with the ironical language of his tongue. "No&mdash;Sir
+Wycherly, a man-of-war's man, in particular, has not the slightest idea
+of 'passive obedience and non-resistance,'&mdash;that is a doctrine which is
+intelligible only to papists and tories. Bluewater is in a brown study;
+thinking no doubt of the manner in which he intends to lead down on
+Monsieur de Gravelin, should we ever have the luck to meet that
+gentleman again; so we will, if it's agreeable to all parties, change
+the subject."</p>
+
+<p>"With all my heart, Sir Gervaise," answered the baronet, cordially;
+"and, after all, there is little use in discussing the affair of the
+Pretender any longer, for he appears to be quite out of men's minds,
+since that last failure of King Louis XV."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Norris rather crushed the young viper in its shell, and we may
+consider the thing at an end."</p>
+
+<p>"So my late brother, Baron Wychecombe, always treated it, Sir Gervaise.
+He once assured me that the twelve judges were clearly against the
+claim, and that the Stuarts had nothing to expect from <i>them</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he tell you, sir, on what ground these learned gentlemen had come
+to this decision?" quietly asked Admiral Bluewater.</p>
+
+<p>"He did, indeed; for he knew my strong desire to make out a good case
+against the tories so well, that he laid all the law before me. I am a
+bad hand, however, to repeat even what I hear; though my poor brother,
+the late Rev. James Wychecombe&mdash;St. James as I used to call him&mdash;could
+go over a discourse half an hour long, and not miss a word. Thomas and
+James appear to have run away with the memories of the rest of the
+family. Nevertheless, I recollect it all depended on an act of
+Parliament, which is supreme; and the house of Hanover reigning by an
+act of Parliament, no court could set aside the claim."</p>
+
+<p>"Very clearly explained, sir," continued Bluewater; "and you will permit
+me to say that there was no necessity for an apology on account of the
+memory. Your brother, however, might not have exactly explained what an
+act of Parliament is. King, Lords, and Commons, are all necessary to an
+act of Parliament."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly&mdash;we all know that, my dear admiral; we poor fellows ashore
+here, as well as you mariners at sea. The Hanoverian succession had all
+three to authorize it."</p>
+
+<p>"Had it a king?"</p>
+
+<p>"A king! Out of dispute&mdash;or what we bachelors ought to consider as much
+better, it had a <i>queen</i>. Queen Anne approved of the act, and that made
+it an act of Parliament. I assure you, I learned a good deal of law in
+the Baron's visits to Wychecombe; and in the pleasant hours we used to
+chat together in his chambers!"</p>
+
+<p>"And who signed the act of Parliament that made Anne a queen? or did she
+ascend the throne by regular succession? Both Mary and Anne were
+sovereigns by acts of Parliament, and we must look back until we get the
+approval of a prince who took the crown by legal descent."</p>
+
+<p>"Come&mdash;come, Bluewater," put in Sir Gervaise, gravely; "we may persuade
+Sir Wycherly, in this manner, that he has a couple of furious Jacobites
+in company. The Stuarts were dethroned by a revolution, which is a law
+of nature, and enacted by God, and which of course overshadows all other
+laws when it gets into the ascendant, as it clearly has done in this
+case. I take it, Sir Wycherly, these are your park-gates, and that
+yonder is the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>This remark changed the discourse, and the whole party proceeded towards
+the house, discussing the beauty of its position, its history, and its
+advantages, until they reached its door.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Monarch and ministers, are awful names:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whoever wear them, challenge our devoir."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Young.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Our plan does not require an elaborate description of the residence of
+Sir Wycherly. The house had been neither priory, abbey, nor castle; but
+it was erected as a dwelling for himself and his posterity, by a Sir
+Michael Wychecombe, two or three centuries before, and had been kept in
+good serviceable condition ever since. It had the usual long, narrow
+windows, a suitable hall, wainscoted rooms, battlemented walls, and
+turreted angles. It was neither large, nor small; handsome, nor ugly;
+grand, nor mean; but it was quaint, respectable in appearance, and
+comfortable as an abode.</p>
+
+<p>The admirals were put each in possession of bed-chambers and
+dressing-rooms, as soon as they arrived; and Atwood was <i>berthed</i> not
+far from his commanding-officer, in readiness for service, if required.
+Sir Wycherly was naturally hospitable; but his retired situation had
+given him a zest for company, that greatly increased the inborn
+disposition. Sir Gervaise, it was understood, was to pass the night with
+him, and he entertained strong hopes of including his friend in the same
+arrangement. Beds were ordered, too, for Dutton, his wife, and daughter;
+and his namesake, the lieutenant, was expected also to sleep under his
+roof, that night.</p>
+
+<p>The day passed in the customary manner; the party having breakfasted,
+and then separated to attend to their several occupations, agreeably to
+the usages of all country houses, in all parts of the world, and, we
+believe, in all time. Sir Gervaise, who had sent a messenger off to the
+Plantagenet for certain papers, spent the morning in writing; Admiral
+Bluewater walked in the park, by himself; Atwood was occupied with his
+superior; Sir Wycherly rode among his labourers; and Tom Wychecombe took
+a rod, and pretended to go forth to fish, though he actually held his
+way back to the head-land, lingering in and around the cottage until it
+was time to return home. At the proper hour, Sir Wycherly sent his
+chariot for the ladies; and a few minutes before the appointed moment,
+the party began to assemble in the drawing-room.</p>
+
+<p>When Sir Wycherly appeared, he found the Duttons already in possession,
+with Tom doing the honours of the house. Of the sailing-master and his
+daughter, it is unnecessary to say more than that the former was in his
+best uniform&mdash;an exceedingly plain one, as was then the case with the
+whole naval wardrobe&mdash;and that the last had recovered from her illness,
+as was evident by the bloom that the sensitive blushes constantly cast
+athwart her lovely face. Her attire was exactly what it ought to have
+been; neat, simple, and becoming. In honour of the host, she wore her
+best; but this was what became her station, though a little jewelry that
+rather surpassed what might have been expected in a girl of her rank of
+life, threw around her person an air of modest elegance. Mrs. Dutton was
+a plain, matronly woman&mdash;the daughter of a land-steward of a nobleman in
+the same county&mdash;with an air of great mental suffering, from griefs she
+had never yet exposed to the heartless sympathy of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The baronet was so much in the habit of seeing his humble neighbours,
+that an intimacy had grown up between them. Sir Wycherly, who was
+anything but an acute observer, felt an interest in the
+melancholy-looking, and almost heart-broken mother, without knowing why;
+or certainly without suspecting the real character of her habitual
+sadness; while Mildred's youth and beauty had not failed of producing
+the customary effect of making a friend of the old bachelor. He shook
+hands all round, therefore, with great cordiality; expressing his joy at
+meeting Mrs. Dutton, and congratulating the daughter on her complete
+recovery.</p>
+
+<p>"I see Tom has been attentive to his duty," he added, "while I've been
+detained by a silly fellow about a complaint against a poacher. My
+namesake, young Wycherly, has not got back yet, though it is quite two
+hours past his time; and Mr. Atwood tells me the admiral is a little
+uneasy about his despatches. I tell him Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe, though
+I have not the honour of ranking him among my relatives, and he is only
+a Virginian by birth, is a young man to be relied on; and that the
+despatches are safe, let what may detain the courier."</p>
+
+<p>"And why should not a Virginian be every way as trustworthy and prompt
+as an Englishman, Sir Wycherly?" asked Mrs. Dutton. "He <i>is</i> an
+Englishman, merely separated from us by the water."</p>
+
+<p>This was said mildly, or in the manner of one accustomed to speak under
+a rebuked feeling; but it was said earnestly, and perhaps a little
+reproachfully, while the speaker's eye glanced with natural interest
+towards the beautiful face of her daughter.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not, sure enough, my dear Mrs. Dutton!" echoed the baronet. "They
+<i>are</i> Englishmen, like ourselves, only born out of the realm, as it
+might be, and no doubt a little different on that account. They are
+fellow-subjects, Mrs. Dutton, and that is a great deal. Then they are
+miracles of loyalty, there being scarcely a Jacobite, as they tell me,
+in all the colonies."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe is a very respectable young gentleman," said
+Dutton; "and I hear he is a prime seaman for his years. He has not the
+honour of being related to this distinguished family, like Mr. Thomas,
+here, it is true; but he is likely to make a name for himself. Should he
+get a ship, and do as handsome things in her, as he has done already,
+His Majesty would probably knight him; and then we should have <i>two</i> Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombes!"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope not&mdash;I hope not!" exclaimed the baronet; "I think there must be
+a law against <i>that</i>. As it is, I shall be obliged to put Bart. after my
+name, as my worthy grandfather used to do, in order to prevent
+confusion; but England can't bear two Sir Wycherlys, any more than the
+world can bear two suns. Is not that your opinion, Miss Mildred?"</p>
+
+<p>The baronet had laughed at his own allusion, showing he spoke half
+jocularly; but, as his question was put in too direct a manner to escape
+general attention, the confused girl was obliged to answer.</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say Mr. Wychecombe will never reach a rank high enough to cause
+any such difficulty," she said; and it was said in all sincerity; for,
+unconsciously perhaps, she secretly hoped that no difference so wide
+might ever be created between the youth and herself. "If he should, I
+suppose his rights would be as good as another's, and he must keep his
+name."</p>
+
+<p>"In such a case, which is improbable enough, as Miss Mildred has so well
+observed," put in Tom Wychecombe, "we should have to submit to the
+<i>knighthood</i>, for that comes from the king, who might knight a
+chimney-sweep, if he see fit; but a question might be raised as to the
+<i>name</i>. It is bad enough as it is; but if it really got to be <i>two</i> Sir
+Wycherlys, I think my dear uncle would be wrong to submit to such an
+invasion of what one might call his individuality, without making some
+inquiry as to the right of the gentleman to one or both his names. The
+result might show that the king had made a Sir Something Nobody."</p>
+
+<p>The sneer and spite with which this was uttered, were too marked to
+escape notice; and both Dutton and his wife felt it would be unpleasant
+to mingle farther in the discourse. Still the last, submissive, rebuked,
+and heart-broken as she was, felt a glow on her own pale cheek, as she
+saw the colour mount in the face of Mildred, and she detected the strong
+impulses that urged the generous girl herself to answer.</p>
+
+<p>"We have now known Mr. Wychecombe several months," observed Mildred,
+fastening her full, blue eye calmly on Tom's sinister-looking face; "and
+we have never known any thing to cause us to think he would bear a
+name&mdash;or names&mdash;that he does not at least think he has a right to."</p>
+
+<p>This was said gently, but so distinctly, that every word entered fairly
+into Tom Wychecombe's soul; who threw a quick, suspicious glance at the
+lovely speaker, as if to ascertain how far she intended any allusion to
+himself. Meeting with no other expression than that of generous
+interest, he recovered his self-command, and made his reply with
+sufficient coolness.</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Mrs. Dutton," he cried, laughing; "we young men will all
+of us have to get over the cliff, and hang dangling at the end of a
+rope, in order to awaken an interest in Miss Mildred, to defend us when
+our backs are turned. So eloquent&mdash;and most especially, so lovely, so
+charming an advocate, is almost certain of success; and my uncle and
+myself must admit the absent gentleman's right to our name; though,
+heaven be praised, he has not yet got either the title or the estate."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope I have said nothing, Sir Wycherly, to displease <i>you</i>," returned
+Mildred, with emphasis; though her face was a thousand times handsomer
+than ever, with the blushes that suffused it. "Nothing would pain me
+more, than to suppose I had done so improper a thing. I merely meant
+that we cannot believe Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe would willingly take a
+name he had no right to."</p>
+
+<p>"My little dear," said the baronet, taking the hand of the distressed
+girl, and kissing her cheek, as he had often done before, with fatherly
+tenderness; "it is not an easy matter for <i>you</i> to offend <i>me</i>; and I'm
+sure the young fellow is quite welcome to both my names, if you wish him
+to have 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"And I merely meant, Miss Mildred," resumed Tom, who feared he might
+have gone too far; "that the young gentleman&mdash;quite without any fault of
+his own&mdash;is probably ignorant how he came by two names that have so long
+pertained to the head of an ancient and honourable family. There is many
+a young man born, who is worthy of being an earl, but whom the law
+considers&mdash;" here Tom paused to choose terms suitable for his auditor,
+when the baronet added,</p>
+
+<p>"A <i>filius nullius</i>&mdash;that's the phrase, Tom&mdash;I had it from your own
+father's mouth."</p>
+
+<p>Tom Wychecombe started, and looked furtively around him, as if to
+ascertain who suspected the truth. Then he continued, anxious to regain
+the ground he feared he had lost in Mildred's favour.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Filius nullius</i> means, Miss Mildred, exactly what I wish to express; a
+family without any legal origin. They tell me, however, that in the
+colonies, nothing is more common than for people to take the names of
+the great families at home, and after a while they fancy themselves
+related."</p>
+
+<p>"I never heard Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe say a word to lead us to suppose
+that he was, in any manner, connected with this family, sir," returned
+Mildred, calmly, but quite distinctly.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever hear him say he was <i>not</i>, Miss Mildred?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot say I ever did, Mr. Wychecombe. It is a subject that has
+seldom been introduced in my hearing."</p>
+
+<p>"But it has often been introduced in his! I declare, Sir Wycherly, it
+has struck me as singular, that while you and I have so very frequently
+stated in the presence of this gentleman, that our families are in no
+way connected, he has never, in any manner, not even by a nod or a look
+of approbation, assented to what he must certainly know to be the case.
+But I suppose, like a true colonist, he was unwilling to give up his
+hold on the old stock."</p>
+
+<p>Here the entrance of Sir Gervaise Oakes changed the discourse. The
+vice-admiral joined the party in good spirits, as is apt to be the case
+with men who have been much occupied with affairs of moment, and who
+meet relaxation with a consciousness of having done their duty.</p>
+
+<p>"If one could take with him to sea, the comforts of such a house as
+this, Sir Wycherly, and such handsome faces as your own, young lady,"
+cried Sir Gervaise, cheerfully, after he had made his salutations;
+"there would be an end of our exclusiveness, for every <i>petit ma&icirc;tre</i> of
+Paris and London would turn sailor, as a matter of course. Six months in
+the Bay of Biscay gives an old fellow, like myself, a keen relish for
+these enjoyments, as hunger makes any meat palatable; though I am far,
+very far, indeed, from putting this house or this company, on a level
+with an indifferent feast, even for an epicure."</p>
+
+<p>"Such as it is, Sir Gervaise, the first is quite at your service, in all
+things," rejoined the host; "and the last will do all in its power to
+make itself agreeable."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah&mdash;here comes Bluewater to echo all I have said and feel. I am telling
+Sir Wycherly and the ladies, of the satisfaction we grampuses experience
+when we get berthed under such a roof as this, with woman's sweet face
+to throw a gleam of happiness around her."</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater had already saluted the mother, but when his eye fell
+on the face and person of Mildred, it was riveted, for an instant, with
+an earnestness and intentness of surprise and admiration that all noted,
+though no one saw fit to comment on it.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise is so established an admirer of the sex," said the
+rear-admiral, recovering himself, after a pause; "that I am never
+astonished at any of his raptures. Salt water has the usual effect on
+him, however; for I have now known him longer than he might wish to be
+reminded of, and yet the only mistress who can keep him true, is his
+ship."</p>
+
+<p>"And to that I believe I may be said to be constant. I don't know how it
+is with you, Sir Wycherly, but every thing I am accustomed to I like.
+Now, here I have sailed with both these gentlemen, until I should as
+soon think of going to sea without a binnacle, as to go to sea without
+'em both&mdash;hey! Atwood? Then, as to the ship, my flag has been flying in
+the Plantagenet these ten years, and I can't bear to give the old craft
+up, though Bluewater, here, would have turned her over to an inferior
+after three years' service. I tell all the young men they don't stay
+long enough in any one vessel to find out her good qualities. I never
+was in a slow ship yet."</p>
+
+<p>"For the simple reason that you never get into a fast one, that you do
+not wear her fairly out, before you give her up. The Plantagenet, Sir
+Wycherly, is the fastest two-decker in His Majesty's service, and the
+vice-admiral knows it too well to let any of us get foot in her, while
+her timbers will hang together."</p>
+
+<p>"Let it be so, if you will; it only shows, Sir Wycherly, that I do not
+choose my friends for their bad qualities. But, allow me to ask, young
+lady, if you happen to know a certain Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe&mdash;a
+namesake, but no relative, I understand, of our respectable host&mdash;and
+one who holds a commission in His Majesty's service?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, Sir Gervaise," answered Mildred, dropping her eyes to the
+floor, and trembling, though she scarce knew why; "Mr. Wychecombe has
+been about here, now, for some months, and we all know something of
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, perhaps you can tell me whether he is generally a loiterer on
+duty. I do not inquire whether he is a laggard in his duty to you, but
+whether, mounted on a good hunter, he could get over twenty miles, in
+eight or ten hours, for instance?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think Sir Wycherly would tell you that he could, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"He may be a Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly, but he is no Plantagenet, in the
+way of sailing. Surely the young gentleman ought to have returned some
+hours since!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's quite surprising to me that he is not back before this," returned
+the kind-hearted baronet. "He is active, and understands himself, and
+there is not a better horseman in the county&mdash;is there, Miss Mildred?"</p>
+
+<p>Mildred did not think it necessary to reply to this direct appeal; but
+spite of the manner in which she had been endeavouring to school her
+feelings, since the accident on the cliff, she could not prevent the
+deadly paleness that dread of some accident had produced, or the rush of
+colour to her cheeks that followed from the unexpected question of Sir
+Wycherly. Turning to conceal her confusion, she met the eye of Tom
+Wychecombe riveted on her face, with an expression so sinister, that it
+caused her to tremble. Fortunately, at this moment, Sir Gervaise turned
+away, and drawing near his friend, on the other side of the large
+apartment, he said in an under tone&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Luckily, Atwood has brought ashore a duplicate of my despatches,
+Bluewater, and if this dilatory gentleman does not return by the time we
+have dined, I will send off a second courier. The intelligence is too
+important to be trifled with; and after having brought the fleet north,
+to be in readiness to serve the state in this emergency, it would be
+rare folly to leave the ministry in ignorance of the reasons why I have
+done it."</p>
+
+<p>"Nevertheless, they would be almost as well-informed, as I am myself,"
+returned the rear-admiral, with a little point, but quite without any
+bitterness of manner. "The only advantage I have over them is that I
+<i>do</i> know where the fleet is, which is more than the First Lord can
+boast of."</p>
+
+<p>"True&mdash;I had forgot, my friend&mdash;but you must feel that there <i>is</i> a
+subject on which I had better not consult you. I have received some
+important intelligence, that my duty, as a commander-in-chief, renders
+it necessary I should&mdash;keep to myself."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise laughed as he concluded, though he seemed vexed and
+embarrassed. Admiral Bluewater betrayed neither chagrin, nor
+disappointment; but strong, nearly ungovernable curiosity, a feeling
+from which he was singularly exempt in general, glowed in his eyes, and
+lighted his whole countenance. Still, habitual submission to his
+superior, and the self-command of discipline, enabled him to wait for
+any thing more that his friend might communicate. At this moment, the
+door opened, and Wycherly entered the room, in the state in which he had
+just dismounted. It was necessary to throw but a single glance at his
+hurried manner, and general appearance, to know that he had something of
+importance to communicate, and Sir Gervaise made a sign for him not to
+speak.</p>
+
+<p>"This is public service, Sir Wycherly," said the vice-admiral, "and I
+hope you will excuse us for a few minutes. I beg this good company will
+be seated at table, as soon as dinner is served, and that you will treat
+us as old friends&mdash;as I should treat you, if we were on board the
+Plantagenet. Admiral Bluewater, will you be of our conference?"</p>
+
+<p>Nothing more was said until the two admirals and the young lieutenant
+were in the dressing-room of Sir Gervaise Oakes. Then the latter turned,
+and addressed Wycherly, with the manner of a superior.</p>
+
+<p>"I should have met you with a reproof, for this delay, young gentleman,"
+he commenced, "did I not suspect, from your appearance, that something
+of moment has occurred to produce it. Had the mail passed the
+market-town, before you reached it, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"It had not, Admiral Oakes; and I have the satisfaction of knowing that
+your despatches are now several hours on their way to London. I reached
+the office just in season to see them mailed."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph! On board the Plantagenet, it is the custom for an officer to
+report any important duty done, as soon as it is in a condition to be
+thus laid before the superior!"</p>
+
+<p>"I presume that is the usage in all His Majesty's ships, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes: but I have been taught that a proper discretion, when it does not
+interfere with positive orders, and sometimes when it does, is a surer
+sign of a useful officer, than even the most slavish attention to
+rules."</p>
+
+<p>"That is a just distinction, young gentleman, though safer in the hands
+of a captain, perhaps, than in those of a lieutenant," returned the
+vice-admiral, glancing at his friend, though he secretly admired the
+youth's spirit. "Discretion is a comparative term; meaning different
+things with different persons. May I presume to ask what Mr. Wycherly
+Wychecombe calls discretion, in the present instance?"</p>
+
+<p>"You have every right, sir, to know, and I only wanted your permission
+to tell my whole story. While waiting to see the London mail start with
+your despatches, and to rest my horse, a post-chaise arrived that was
+carrying a gentleman, who is suspected of being a Jacobite, to his
+country-seat, some thirty miles further west. This gentleman held a
+secret conference with another person of the same way of thinking as
+himself; and there was so much running and sending of messages, that I
+could not avoid suspecting something was in the wind. Going to the
+stable to look after Sir Wycherly's hunter, for I knew how much he
+values the animal, I found one of the stranger's servants in discourse
+with the ostler. The latter told me, when the chaise had gone, that
+great tidings had reached Exeter, before the travellers quitted the
+town. These tidings he described as news that 'Charley was no longer
+over the water.' It was useless, Sir Gervaise, to question one so
+stupid; and, at the inn, though all observed the manner of the traveller
+and his visiter, no one could tell me any thing positive. Under the
+circumstances, therefore, I threw myself into the return chaise, and
+went as far as Fowey, where I met the important intelligence that Prince
+Charles has actually landed, and is at this moment up, in Scotland!"</p>
+
+<p>"The Pretender is then really once more among us!" exclaimed Sir
+Gervaise, like one who had half suspected the truth.</p>
+
+<p>"Not the Pretender, Sir Gervaise, as I understand the news; but his
+young son, Prince Charles Edward, one much more likely to give the
+kingdom trouble. The fact is certain, I believe; and as it struck me
+that it might be important to the commander of so fine a fleet as this
+which lies under Wychecombe Head, to know it, I lost no time in getting
+back with the intelligence."</p>
+
+<p>"You have done well, young gentleman, and have proved that discretion
+<i>is</i> quite as useful and respectable in a lieutenant, as it can possibly
+prove to be in a full admiral of the white. Go, now, and make yourself
+fit to take a seat by the side of one of the sweetest girls in England,
+where I shall expect to see you, in fifteen minutes. Well, Bluewater,"
+he continued, as soon as the door closed on Wycherly; "this <i>is</i> news,
+of a certainty!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is, indeed; and I take it to be the news, or connected with the
+news, that you have sent to the First Lord, in the late despatches. It
+has not taken you altogether by surprise, if the truth were said?"</p>
+
+<p>"It has not, I confess. You know what excellent intelligence we have
+had, the past season, from the Bordeaux agent; he sent me off such
+proofs of this intended expedition, that I thought it advisable to bring
+the fleet north on the strength of it, that the ships might be used as
+the exigency should require."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God, it is a long way to Scotland, and it is not probable we can
+reach the coast of that country until all is over! I wish we had
+inquired of this young man with what sort of, and how large a naval
+force the prince was accompanied with. Shall I send for him, that we may
+put the question?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is better that you remain passive, Admiral Bluewater. I now promise
+you that you shall learn all I hear; and that, under the circumstances,
+I think ought to content you."</p>
+
+<p>The two admirals now separated, though neither returned to the company
+for some little time. The intelligence they had just learned was too
+important to be lightly received, and each of these veteran seamen paced
+his room, for near a quarter of an hour, reflecting on what might be the
+probable consequences to the country and to himself. Sir Gervaise Oakes
+expected some event of this nature, and was less taken by surprise than
+his friend; still he viewed the crisis as exceedingly serious, and as
+one likely to destroy the prosperity of the nation, as well as the peace
+of families. There was then in England, as there is to-day, and as there
+probably will be throughout all time, two parties; one of which clung to
+the past with its hereditary and exclusive privileges, while the other
+looked more towards change for anticipated advantages, and created
+honours. Religion, in that age, was made the stalking-horse of
+politicians; as is liberty on one side, and order on the other, in our
+own times; and men just as blindly, as vehemently, and as regardlessly
+of principle, submitted to party in the middle of the eighteenth
+century, as we know they do in the middle of the nineteenth. The mode of
+acting was a little changed, and the watchwords and rallying points were
+not exactly the same, it is true; but, in all that relates to ignorant
+confidence, ferocious denunciation, and selfishness but half concealed
+under the cloak of patriotism, the England of the original whigs and
+tories, was the England of conservatism and reform, and the America of
+1776, the America of 1841.</p>
+
+<p>Still thousands always act, in political struggles, with the fairest
+intentions, though they act in bitter opposition to each other. When
+prejudice becomes the stimulant of ignorance, no other result may be
+hoped for; and the experience of the world, in the management of human
+affairs, has left the upright and intelligent, but one conclusion as the
+reward of all the pains and penalties with which political revolutions
+have been effected&mdash;the conviction that no institutions can be invented,
+which a short working does not show will be perverted from their
+original intention, by the ingenuity of those entrusted with power. In a
+word, the physical constitution of man does not more infallibly tend to
+decrepitude and imbecility, imperiously requiring a new being, and a new
+existence, to fulfil the objects of his creation, than the moral
+constitutions which are the fruits of his wisdom, contain the seeds of
+abuses and decay, that human selfishness will be as certain to
+cultivate, as human indulgence is to aid the course of nature, in
+hastening the approaches of death. Thus, while on the one hand, there
+exists the constant incentive of abuses and hopes to induce us to wish
+for modifications of the social structure, on the other there stands the
+experience of ages to demonstrate their insufficiency to produce the
+happiness we aim at. If the world advances in civilization and humanity,
+it is because knowledge will produce its fruits in every soil, and under
+every condition of cultivation and improvement.</p>
+
+<p>Both Sir Gervaise Oakes and Admiral Bluewater believed themselves to be
+purely governed by principles, in submitting to the bias that each felt
+towards the conflicting claims of the houses of Brunswick and Stuart.
+Perhaps no two men in England were in fact less influenced by motives
+that they ought to feel ashamed to own; and yet, as has been seen, while
+they thought so much alike on most other things, on this they were
+diametrically opposed to each other. During the many years of arduous
+and delicate duties that they had served together, jealousy, distrust,
+and discontent had been equally strangers to their bosoms; for each had
+ever felt the assurance that his own honour, happiness, and interests
+were as much ruling motives with his friend, as they could well be with
+himself Their lives had been constant scenes of mutual but unpretending
+kindnesses; and this under circumstances that naturally awakened all the
+most generous and manly sentiments of their natures. When young men,
+their laughing messmates had nick-named them Pylades and Orestes; and
+later in life, on account of their cruising so much in company, they
+were generally known in the navy as the "twin captains." On several
+occasions had they fought enemies' frigates, and captured them; on these
+occasions, as a matter of course, the senior of the two became most
+known to the nation; but Sir Gervaise had made the most generous efforts
+to give his junior a full share of the credit, while Captain Bluewater
+never spoke of the affairs without mentioning them as victories of the
+commodore. In a word, on all occasions, and under all circumstances, it
+appeared to be the aim of these generous-minded and gallant seamen, to
+serve each other; nor was this attempted with any effort, or striving
+for effect; all that was said, or done, coming naturally and
+spontaneously from the heart. But, for the first time in their lives,
+events had now occurred which threatened a jarring of the feelings
+between them, if they did not lead to acts which must inevitably place
+them in open and declared hostility to each other. No wonder, then, that
+both looked at the future with gloomy forebodings, and a distrust,
+which, if it did not render them unhappy, at least produced uneasiness.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The circle form'd, we sit in silent state,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like figures drawn upon a dial-plate;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yes ma'am, and no ma'am, uttered softly show,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Every five minutes how the minutes go."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Cowper.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>It is scarcely necessary to tell the reader that England, as regarded
+material civilization, was a very different country a hundred years
+since, from what it is to-day. We are writing of an age of heavy wagons,
+coaches and six, post-chaises and four; and not of an era of
+MacAdam-roads, or of cars flying along by steam. A man may now post down
+to a country-house, some sixty or eighty miles, to dinner; and this,
+too, by the aid of only a pair of horses; but, in 1745 such an
+engagement would have required at least a start on the previous day;
+and, in many parts of the island, it would have been safer to have taken
+two days' grace. Scotland was then farther from Devonshire, in effect,
+than Geneva is now; and news travelled slowly, and with the usual
+exaggerations and uncertainties of delay. It was no wonder, then, that a
+Jacobite who was posting off to his country-house&mdash;the focus of an
+English landlord's influence and authority&mdash;filled with intelligence
+that had reached him through the activity of zealous political
+partisans, preceded the more regular tidings of the mail, by several
+hours. The little that had escaped this individual, or his servants
+rather, for the gentleman was tolerably discreet himself, confiding in
+only one or two particular friends at each relay, had not got out to the
+world, either very fully, or very clearly. Wycherly had used
+intelligence in making his inquiries, and he had observed an officer's
+prudence in keeping his news for the ears of his superior alone. When
+Sir Gervaise joined the party in the drawing-room, therefore, he saw
+that Sir Wycherly knew nothing of what had occurred at the north; and he
+intended the glance which he directed at the lieutenant to convey a
+hearty approval of his discretion. This forbearance did more to raise
+the young officer in the opinion of the practised and thoughtful
+admiral, than the gallantry with which the youth had so recently
+purchased his commission; for while many were brave, few had the
+self-command, and prudence, under circumstances like the present, that
+alone can make a man safe in the management of important public
+interests. The approbation that Sir Gervaise felt, and which he desired
+to manifest, for Wycherly's prudence, was altogether a principle,
+however; since there existed no sufficient reason for keeping the secret
+from as confirmed a whig as his host. On the contrary, the sooner those
+opinions, which both of them would be apt to term sound, were
+promulgated in the neighbourhood, the better it might prove for the good
+cause. The vice-admiral, therefore, determined to communicate himself,
+as soon as the party was seated at table, the very secret which he so
+much commended the youth for keeping. Admiral Bluewater joining the
+company, at this instant, Sir Wycherly led Mrs. Dutton to the table. No
+alteration had taken place among the guests, except that Sir Gervaise
+wore the red riband; a change in his dress that his friend considered to
+be openly hoisting the standard of the house of Hanover.</p>
+
+<p>"One would not think, Sir Wycherly," commenced the vice-admiral,
+glancing his eyes around him, as soon as all were sealed; "that this
+good company has taken its place at your hospitable table, in the midst
+of a threatened civil war, if not of an actual revolution."</p>
+
+<p>Every hand was arrested, and every eye turned towards the speaker; even
+Admiral Bluewater earnestly regarding his friend, anxious to know what
+would come next.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe my household is in due subjection," answered Sir Wycherly,
+gazing to the right and left, as if he expected to see his butler
+heading a revolt; "and I fancy the only change we shall see to-day, will
+be the removal of the courses, and the appearance of their successors."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, so says the hearty, comfortable Devonshire baronet, while seated at
+his own board, favoured by abundance and warm friends. But it would seem
+the snake was only scotched; not killed."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise Oaken has grown figurative; with his <i>snakes</i> and
+<i>scotch</i>ings," observed the rear-admiral, a little drily.</p>
+
+<p>"It is <i>Scotch</i>-ing, as you say with so much emphasis, Bluewater. I
+suppose, Sir Wycherly&mdash;I suppose, Mr. Dutton, and you, my pretty young
+lady&mdash;I presume all of you have heard of such a person as the
+Pretender;&mdash;some of you may possibly have <i>seen</i> him."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly now dropt his knife and fork, and sat gazing at the speaker
+in amazement. To him the Christian religion, the liberties of the
+subject&mdash;more especially of the baronet and lord of the manor, who had
+four thousand a year&mdash;and the Protestant succession, all seemed to be in
+sudden danger.</p>
+
+<p>"I always told my brother, the judge&mdash;Mr. Baron Wychecombe, who is dead
+and gone&mdash;that what between the French, that rogue the Pope, and the
+spurious offspring of King James II., we should yet see troublesome
+times in England! And now, sir, my predictions are verified!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not as to England, yet, my good sir. Of Scotland I have not quite so
+good news to tell you; as your namesake, here, brings us the tidings
+that the son of the Pretender has landed in that kingdom, and is
+rallying the clans. He has come unattended by any Frenchmen, it would
+seem, and has thrown himself altogether on the misguided nobles and
+followers of his house."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis, at least, a chivalrous and princely act!" exclaimed Admiral
+Bluewater.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;inasmuch as it is a heedless and mad one. England is not to be
+conquered by a rabble of half-dressed Scotchmen."</p>
+
+<p>"True; but England may be conquered by England, notwithstanding."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise now chose to remain silent, for never before had Bluewater
+come so near betraying his political bias, in the presence of third
+persons. This pause enabled Sir Wycherly to find his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me see, Tom," said the baronet, "fifteen and ten are twenty-five,
+and ten are thirty, and ten are forty-five&mdash;it is just thirty years
+since the Jacobites were up before! It would seem that half a human life
+is not sufficient to fill the cravings of a Scotchman's maw, for English
+gold."</p>
+
+<p>"Twice thirty years would hardly quell the promptings of a noble spirit,
+when his notions of justice showed him the way to the English throne,"
+observed Bluewater, coolly. "For my part, I like the spirit of this
+young prince, for he who nobly dares, nobly deserves. What say you, my
+beautiful neighbour?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you mean to address me, sir, by that compliment," answered Mildred,
+modestly, but with the emphasis that the gentlest of her sex are apt to
+use when they feel strongly; "I must be suffered to say that I hope
+every Englishman will dare as nobly, and deserve as well in defence of
+his liberties."</p>
+
+<p>"Come&mdash;come, Bluewater," interrupted Sir Gervaise, with a gravity that
+almost amounted to reproof; "I cannot permit such innuendoes before one
+so young and unpractised. The young lady might really suppose that His
+Majesty's fleet was entrusted to men unworthy to enjoy his confidence,
+by the cool way in which you carry on the joke. I propose, now, Sir
+Wycherly, that we eat our dinner in peace, and say no more about this
+mad expedition, until the cloth is drawn, at least. It's a long road to
+Scotland, and there is little danger that this adventurer will find his
+way into Devonshire before the nuts are placed before us."</p>
+
+<p>"It would be nuts to us, if he did, Sir Gervaise," put in Tom Wycherly,
+laughing heartily at his own wit. "My uncle would enjoy nothing more
+than to see the spurious sovereign on his own estate, here, and in the
+hands of his own tenants. I think, sir, that Wychecombe and one or two
+of the adjoining manors, would dispose of him."</p>
+
+<p>"That might depend on circumstances," the admiral answered, a little
+drily. "These Scots have such a thing as a claymore, and are desperate
+fellows, they tell me, at a charge. The very fact of arming a soldier
+with a short sword, shows a most bloody-minded disposition."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget, Sir Gervaise, that we have our Cornish hug, here in the
+west of England; and I will put our fellows against any Scotch regiment
+that ever charged an enemy."</p>
+
+<p>Tom laughed again at his own allusion to a proverbial mode of grappling,
+familiar to the adjoining county.</p>
+
+<p>"This is all very well, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, so long as Devonshire is
+in the west of England, and Scotland lies north of the Tweed. Sir
+Wycherly might as well leave the matter in the hands of the Duke and his
+regulars, if it were only in the way of letting every man follow his own
+trade."</p>
+
+<p>"It strikes me as so singularly insolent in a base-born boy like this,
+pretending to the English crown, that I can barely speak of him with
+patience! We all know that his father was a changeling, and the son of a
+changeling can have no more right than the father himself. I do not
+remember what the law terms such pretenders; but I dare say it is
+something sufficiently odious."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Filius nullius</i>, Thomas," said Sir Wycherly, with a little eagerness
+to show his learning. "That's the very phrase. I have it from the first
+authority; my late brother, Baron Wychecombe, giving it to me with his
+own mouth, on an occasion that called for an understanding of such
+matters. The judge was a most accurate lawyer, particularly in all that
+related to names; and I'll engage, if he were living at this moment, he
+would tell you the legal appellation of a changeling ought to be <i>filius
+nullius</i>."</p>
+
+<p>In spite of his native impudence, and an innate determination to make
+his way in the world, without much regard to truth, Tom Wychecombe felt
+his cheek burn so much, at this innocent allusion of his reputed uncle,
+that he was actually obliged to turn away his face, in order to conceal
+his confusion. Had any moral delinquency of his own been implicated in
+the remark, he might have found means to steel himself against its
+consequences; but, as is only too often the case, he was far more
+ashamed of a misfortune over which he had no possible control, than he
+would have been of a crime for which he was strictly responsible in
+morals. Sir Gervaise smiled at Sir Wycherly's knowledge of law terms,
+not to say of Latin; and turning good-humouredly to his friend the
+rear-admiral, anxious to re-establish friendly relations with him, he
+said with well-concealed irony&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly must be right, Bluewater. A changeling is <i>nobody</i>&mdash;that
+is to say, he is not the <i>body</i> he pretends to be, which is
+substantially being nobody&mdash;and the son of nobody, is clearly a <i>filius
+nullius</i>. And now having settled what may be called the law of the case,
+I demand a truce, until we get our nuts&mdash;for as to Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe's having <i>his</i> nut to crack, at least to-day, I take it there
+are too many loyal subjects in the north."</p>
+
+<p>When men know each other as well as was the case with our two admirals,
+there are a thousand secret means of annoyance, as well as of
+establishing amity. Admiral Bluewater was well aware that Sir Gervaise
+was greatly superior to the vulgar whig notion of the day, which
+believed in the fabricated tale of the Pretender's spurious birth; and
+the secret and ironical allusion he had made to his impression on that
+subject, acted as oil to his own chafed spirit, disposing him to
+moderation. This had been the intention of the other; and the smiles
+they exchanged, sufficiently proved that their usual mental intercourse
+was temporarily restored at least.</p>
+
+<p>Deference to his guests made Sir Wycherly consent to change the subject,
+though he was a little mystified with the obvious reluctance of the two
+admirals to speak of an enterprise that ought to be uppermost, according
+to his notion of the matter, in every Englishman's mind. Tom had
+received a rebuke that kept him silent during the rest of the dinner;
+while the others were content to eat and drink, as if nothing had
+happened.</p>
+
+<p>It is seldom that a party takes its seat at table without some secret
+man[oe]uvring, as to the neighbourhood, when the claims of rank and
+character do not interfere with personal wishes. Sir Wycherly had placed
+Sir Gervaise on his right and Mrs. Dutton on his left. But Admiral
+Bluewater had escaped from his control, and taken his seat next to
+Mildred, who had been placed by Tom Wychecombe close to himself, at the
+foot of the table. Wycherly occupied the seat opposite, and this
+compelled Dutton, and Mr. Rotherham, the vicar, to fill the other two
+chairs. The good baronet had made a wry face, at seeing a rear-admiral
+so unworthily bestowed; but Sir Gervaise assuring him that his friend
+was never so happy as when in the service of beauty, he was fain to
+submit to the arrangement.</p>
+
+<p>That Admiral Bluewater was struck with Mildred's beauty, and pleased
+with her natural and feminine manner, one altogether superior to what
+might have been expected from her station in life, was very apparent to
+all at table; though it was quite impossible to mistake his parental and
+frank air for any other admiration than that which was suitable to the
+difference in years, and in unison with their respective conditions and
+experience. Mrs. Dutton, so far from taking the alarm at the
+rear-admiral's attentions, felt gratification in observing them; and
+perhaps she experienced a secret pride in the consciousness of their
+being so well merited. It has been said, already, that she was, herself,
+the daughter of a land-steward of a nobleman, in an adjoining county;
+but it may be well to add, here, that she had been so great a favourite
+with the daughters of her father's employer, as to have been admitted,
+in a measure, to their society; and to have enjoyed some of the
+advantages of their education. Lady Wilmeter, the mother of the young
+ladies, to whom she was admitted as a sort of humble companion, had
+formed the opinion it might be an advantage to the girl to educate her
+for a governess; little conceiving, in her own situation, that she was
+preparing a course of life for Martha Ray, for such was Mrs. Dutton's
+maiden name, that was perhaps the least enviable of all the careers that
+a virtuous and intelligent female can run. This was, as education and
+governesses were appreciated a century ago; the world, with all its
+faults and sophisms, having unquestionably made a vast stride towards
+real civilization, and moral truths, in a thousand important interests,
+since that time. Nevertheless, the education was received, together with
+a good many tastes, and sentiments, and opinions, which it may well be
+questioned, whether they contributed most to the happiness or
+unhappiness of the pupil, in her future life. Frank Dutton, then a
+handsome, though far from polished young sea-lieutenant, interfered with
+the arrangement, by making Martha Ray his wife, when she was
+two-and-twenty. This match was suitable, in all respects, with the
+important exception of the educations and characters of the parties.
+Still, as a woman may well be more refined, and in some things, even
+more intelligent than her husband; and as sailors, in the commencement
+of the eighteenth century, formed a class of society much more distinct
+than they do to-day, there would have been nothing absolutely
+incompatible with the future well-being of the young couple, had each
+pursued his, or her own career, in a manner suitable to their respective
+duties. Young Dutton took away his bride, with the two thousand pounds
+she had received from her father, and for a long time he was seen no
+more in his native county. After an absence of some twenty years,
+however, he returned, broken in constitution, and degraded in rank. Mrs.
+Dutton brought with her one child, the beautiful girl introduced to the
+reader, and to whom she was studiously imparting all she had herself
+acquired in the adventitious manner mentioned. Such were the means, by
+which Mildred, like her mother, had been educated above her condition in
+life; and it had been remarked that, though Mrs. Dutton had probably no
+cause to felicitate herself on the possession of manners and sentiments
+that met with so little sympathy, or appreciation, in her actual
+situation, she assiduously cultivated the same manners and opinions in
+her daughter; frequently manifesting a sort of sickly fastidiousness on
+the subject of Mildred's deportment and tastes. It is probable the girl
+owed her improvement in both, however, more to the circumstance of her
+being left so much alone with her mother, than to any positive lessons
+she received; the influence of example, for years, producing its usual
+effects.</p>
+
+<p>No one in Wychecombe positively knew the history of Dutton's
+professional degradation. He had never risen higher than to be a
+lieutenant; and from this station he had fallen by the sentence of a
+court-martial. His restoration to the service, in the humbler and almost
+hopeless rank of a master, was believed to have been brought about by
+Mrs. Dutton's influence with the present Lord Wilmeter, who was the
+brother of her youthful companions. That the husband had wasted his
+means, was as certain as that his habits, on the score of temperance at
+least, were bad, and that his wife, if not positively broken-hearted,
+was an unhappy woman; one to be pitied, and admired. Sir Wycherly was
+little addicted to analysis, but he could not fail to discover the
+superiority of the wife and daughter, over the husband and father; and
+it is due to his young namesake to add, that his obvious admiration of
+Mildred was quite as much owing to her mind, deportment, character, and
+tastes, as to her exceeding personal charms.</p>
+
+<p>This little digression may perhaps, in the reader's eyes, excuse the
+interest Admiral Bluewater took in our heroine. With the indulgence of
+years and station, and the tact of a man of the world, he succeeded in
+drawing Mildred out, without alarming her timidity; and he was surprised
+at discovering the delicacy of her sentiments, and the accuracy of her
+knowledge. He was too conversant with society, and had too much good
+taste, to make any deliberate parade of opinions; but in the quiet
+manner that is so easy to those who are accustomed to deal with truths
+and tastes as familiar things, he succeeded in inducing her to answer
+his own remarks, to sympathize with his feelings, to laugh when he
+laughed, and to assume a look of disapproval, when he felt that
+disapprobation was just. To all this Wycherly was a delighted witness,
+and in some respects he participated in the conversation; for there was
+evidently no wish on the part of the rear-admiral to monopolize his
+beautiful companion to himself. Perhaps the position of the young man,
+directly opposite to her, aided in inducing Mildred to bestow so many
+grateful looks and sweet smiles, on the older officer; for she could not
+glance across the table, without meeting the admiring gaze of Wycherly,
+fastened on her own blushing face.</p>
+
+<p>It is certain, if our heroine did not, during this repast, make a
+conquest of Admiral Bluewater, in the ordinary meaning of the term, that
+she made him a friend. Sir Gervaise, even, was struck with the singular
+and devoted manner in which his old messmate gave all his attention to
+the beautiful girl at his side; and, once or twice, he caught himself
+conjecturing whether it were possible, that one as practised, as
+sensible, and as much accustomed to the beauties of the court, as
+Bluewater, had actually been caught, by the pretty face of a country
+girl, when so well turned of fifty, himself! Then discarding the notion
+as preposterous, he gave his attention to the discourse of Sir Wycherly;
+a dissertation on rabbits, and rabbit-warrens. In this manner the dinner
+passed away.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dutton asked her host's permission to retire, with her daughter, at
+the earliest moment permitted by propriety. In quitting the room she
+cast an anxious glance at the face of her husband, which was already
+becoming flushed with his frequent applications of port; and spite of an
+effort to look smiling and cheerful, her lips quivered, and by the time
+she and Mildred reached the drawing-room, tears were fast falling down
+her cheeks. No explanation was asked, or needed, by the daughter, who
+threw herself into her mother's arms, and for several minutes they wept
+together, in silence. Never had Mrs. Dutton spoken, even to Mildred, of
+the besetting and degrading vice of her husband; but it had been
+impossible to conceal its painful consequences from the world; much less
+from one who lived in the bosom of her family. On that failing which the
+wife treated so tenderly, the daughter of course could not touch; but
+the silent communion of tears had got to be so sweet to both, that,
+within the last year, it was of very frequent occurrence.</p>
+
+<p>"Really, Mildred," said the mother, at length, after having succeeded in
+suppressing her emotion, and in drying her eyes, while she smiled fondly
+in the face of the lovely and affectionate girl; "this Admiral Bluewater
+is getting to be so particular, I hardly know how to treat the matter."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! mother, he is a delightful old gentleman! and he is so gentle,
+while he is so frank, that he wins your confidence almost before you
+know it. I wonder if he could have been serious in what he said about
+the noble daring and noble deserving of Prince Edward!"</p>
+
+<p>"That must pass for trifling, of course; the ministry would scarcely
+employ any but a true whig, in command of a fleet. I saw several of his
+family, when a girl, and have always heard them spoken of with esteem
+and respect. Lord Bluewater, this gentleman's cousin, was very intimate
+with the present Lord Wilmeter, and was often at the castle. I remember
+to have heard that he had a disappointment in love, when quite a young
+man, and that he has ever since been considered a confirmed bachelor. So
+you will take heed, my love."</p>
+
+<p>"The warning was unnecessary, dear mother," returned Mildred, laughing;
+"I could dote on the admiral as a father, but must be excused from
+considering him young enough for a nearer tie."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet he has the much admired profession, Mildred," said the mother,
+smiling fondly, and yet a little archly. "I have often heard you speak
+of your passion for the sea."</p>
+
+<p>"That was formerly, mother, when I spoke as a sailor's daughter, and as
+girls are apt to speak, without much reflection. I do not know that I
+think better of a seaman's profession, now, than I do of any other. I
+fear there is often much misery in store for soldiers' and sailors'
+wives."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dutton's lip quivered again; but hearing a foot at the door, she
+made an effort to be composed, just as Admiral Bluewater entered.</p>
+
+<p>"I have run away from the bottle, Mrs. Dutton, to join you and your fair
+daughter, as I would run from an enemy of twice my force," he said,
+giving each lady a hand, in a manner so friendly, as to render the act
+more than gracious; for it was kind. "Oakes is bowsing out his jib with
+his brother baronet, as we sailors say, and I have hauled out of the
+line, without a signal."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope Sir Gervaise Oakes does not consider it necessary to drink more
+wine than is good for the mind and body," observed Mrs. Dutton, with a
+haste that she immediately regretted.</p>
+
+<p>"Not he. Gervaise Oakes is as discreet a man, in all that relates to the
+table, as an anchorite; and yet he has a faculty of <i>seeming</i> to drink,
+that makes him a boon companion for a four-bottle man. How the deuce he
+does it, is more than I can tell you; but he does it so well, that he
+does not more thoroughly get the better of the king's enemies, on the
+high seas, than he floors his friends under the table. Sir Wycherly has
+begun his libations in honour of the house of Hanover, and they will be
+likely to make a long sitting."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dutton sighed, and walked away to a window, to conceal the paleness
+of her cheeks. Admiral Bluewater, though perfectly abstemious himself,
+regarded license with the bottle after dinner, like most men of that
+age, as a very venial weakness, and he quietly took a seat by the side
+of Mildred, and began to converse.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope, young lady, as a sailor's child, you feel an hereditary
+indulgence for a seaman's gossip," he said. "We, who are so much shut up
+in our ships, have a poverty of ideas on most subjects; and as to always
+talking of the winds and waves, that would fatigue even a poet."</p>
+
+<p>"As a sailor's daughter, I honour my father's calling, sir; and as an
+English girl, I venerate the brave defenders of the island. Nor do I
+know that seamen have less to say, than other men."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to hear you confess this, for&mdash;shall I be frank with you, and
+take a liberty that would better become a friend of a dozen years, than
+an acquaintance of a day;&mdash;and, yet, I know not why it is so, my dear
+child, but I feel as if I had long known you, though I am certain we
+never met before."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps, sir, it is an omen that we are long to know each other, in
+future," said Mildred, with the winning confidence of unsuspecting and
+innocent girlhood. "I hope you will use no reserve."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, at the risk of making a sad blunder, I will just say, that
+'my nephew Tom' is any thing but a prepossessing youth; and that I hope
+all eyes regard him exactly as he appears to a sailor of fifty-five."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot answer for more than those of a girl of nineteen, Admiral
+Bluewater," said Mildred, laughing; "but, for her, I think I may say
+that she does not look on him as either an Adonis, or a Crichton."</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my soul! I am right glad to hear this, for the fellow has
+accidental advantages enough to render him formidable. He is the heir to
+the baronetcy, and this estate, I believe?"</p>
+
+<p>"I presume he is. Sir Wycherly has no other nephew&mdash;or at least this is
+the eldest of three brothers, I am told&mdash;and, being childless himself,
+it <i>must</i> be so. My father tells me Sir Wycherly speaks of Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe as his future heir."</p>
+
+<p>"Your father!&mdash;Ay, fathers look on these matters with eyes very
+different from their daughters!"</p>
+
+<p>"There is one thing about seamen that renders them at least safe
+acquaintances," said Mildred, smiling; "I mean their frankness."</p>
+
+<p>"That is a failing of mine, as I have heard. But you will pardon an
+indiscretion that arises in the interest I feel in yourself. The eldest
+of three brothers&mdash;is the lieutenant, then, a younger son?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>He</i> does not belong to the family at all, I believe," Mildred
+answered, colouring slightly, in spite of a resolute determination to
+appear unconcerned. "Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe is no relative of our host,
+I hear; though he bears both of his names. He is from the colonies; born
+in Virginia."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>He</i> is a noble, and a noble-looking fellow! Were I the baronet, I
+would break the entail, rather than the acres should go to that
+sinister-looking nephew, and bestow them on the namesake. From Virginia,
+and not even a relative, at all?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is what Mr. Thomas Wychecombe says; and even Sir Wycherly confirms
+it. I have never heard Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe speak on the subject,
+himself."</p>
+
+<p>"A weakness of poor human nature! The lad finds an honourable, ancient,
+and affluent family here, and has not the courage to declare his want of
+affinity to it; happening to bear the same name."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred hesitated about replying; but a generous feeling got the better
+of her diffidence. "I have never seen any thing in the conduct of Mr.
+Wycherly Wychecombe to induce me to think that he feels any such
+weakness," she said, earnestly. "He seems rather to take pride in, than
+to feel ashamed of, his being a colonial; and you know, we, in England,
+hardly look on the people of the colonies as our equals."</p>
+
+<p>"And have you, young lady, any of that overweening prejudice in favour
+of your own island?"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope not; but I think most persons have. Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe
+admits that Virginia is inferior to England, in a thousand things; and
+yet he seems to take pride in his birth-place."</p>
+
+<p>"Every sentiment of this nature is to be traced to self. We know that
+the fact is irretrievable, and struggle to be proud of what we cannot
+help. The Turk will tell you he has the honour to be a native of
+Stamboul; the Parisian will boast of his Faubourg; and the cockney
+exults in Wapping. Personal conceit lies at the bottom of all; for we
+fancy that places to which <i>we</i> belong, are not places to be ashamed
+of."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet I do not think Mr. Wycherly at all remarkable for conceit. On
+the contrary, he is rather diffident and unassuming."</p>
+
+<p>This was said simply, but so sincerely, as to induce the listener to
+fasten his penetrating blue eye on the speaker, who now first took the
+alarm, and felt that she might have said too much. At this moment the
+two young men entered, and a servant appeared to request that Admiral
+Bluewater would do Sir Gervaise Oakes the favour to join him, in the
+dressing-room of the latter.</p>
+
+<p>Tom Wychecombe reported the condition of the dinner-table to be such, as
+to render it desirable for all but three and four-bottle men to retire.
+Hanoverian toasts and sentiments were in the ascendant, and there was
+every appearance that those who remained intended to make a night of it.
+This was sad intelligence for Mrs. Dutton, who had come forward eagerly
+to hear the report, but who now returned to the window, apparently
+irresolute as to the course she ought to take. As both the young men
+remained near Mildred, she had sufficient opportunity to come to her
+decision, without interruption, or hindrance.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">&mdash;&mdash;"Somewhat we will do.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And, look, when I am king, claim thou of me<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The earldom of Hereford, and all the moveables<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whereof the king my brother was possessed."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Richard</span> III.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Rear-Admiral Bluewater found Sir Gervaise Oakes pacing a large
+dressing-room, quarter-deck fashion, with as much zeal, as if just
+released from a long sitting, on official duty, in his own cabin. As the
+two officers were perfectly familiar with each other's personal habits,
+neither deviated from his particular mode of indulging his ease; but the
+last comer quietly took his seat in a large chair, disposing of his
+person in a way to show he intended to consult his comfort, let what
+would happen.</p>
+
+<p>"Bluewater," commenced Sir Gervaise, "this is a very foolish affair of
+the Pretender's son, and can only lead to his destruction. I look upon
+it as altogether unfortunate."</p>
+
+<p>"That, as it may terminate. No man can tell what a day, or an hour, may
+bring forth. I am sure, such a rising was one of the last things <i>I</i>
+have been anticipating, down yonder, in the Bay of Biscay."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish, with all my heart, we had never left it," muttered Sir
+Gervaise, so low that his companion did not hear him. Then he added, in
+a louder tone, "<i>Our</i> duty, however, is very simple. We have only to
+obey orders; and it seems that the young man has no naval force to
+sustain him. We shall probably be sent to watch Brest, or l'Orient, or
+some other port. Monsieur must be kept in, let what will happen."</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think it would be better to let him out, our chances on the
+high seas being at least as good as his own. I am no friend to
+blockades, which strike me as an un-English mode of carrying on a war."</p>
+
+<p>"You are right enough, Dick, in the main," returned Sir Gervaise,
+laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, and <i>on</i> the main, Oakes. I sincerely hope the First Lord will not
+send a man like you, who are every way so capable of giving an account
+of your enemy with plenty of sea-room, on duly so scurvy as a blockade."</p>
+
+<p>"A man like <i>me</i>! Why a man like <i>me</i> in particular? I trust I am to
+have the pleasure of Admiral Bluewater's company, advice and
+assistance?"</p>
+
+<p>"An inferior never can know, Sir Gervaise, where it may suit the
+pleasure of his superiors to order him."</p>
+
+<p>"That distinction of superior and inferior, Bluewater, will one day lead
+you into a confounded scrape, I fear. If you consider Charles Stuart
+your sovereign, it is not probable that orders issued by a servant of
+King George will be much respected. I hope you will do nothing hastily,
+or without consulting your oldest and truest friend!"</p>
+
+<p>"You know my sentiments, and there is little use in dwelling on them,
+now. So long as the quarrel was between my own country and a foreign
+land, I have been content to serve; but when my lawful prince, or his
+son and heir, comes in this gallant and chivalrous manner, throwing
+himself, as it might be, into the very arms of his subjects, confiding
+all to their loyalty and spirit; it makes such an appeal to every nobler
+feeling, that the heart finds it difficult to repulse. I could have
+joined Norris, with right good will, in dispersing and destroying the
+armament that Louis XV. was sending against us, in this very cause; but
+here every thing is English, and Englishmen have the quarrel entirely to
+themselves. I do not see how, as a loyal subject of my hereditary
+prince, I can well refrain from joining his standard."</p>
+
+<p>"And would <i>you</i>, Dick Bluewater, who, to my certain knowledge, were
+sent on board ship at twelve years of age, and who, for more than forty
+years, have been a man-of-war's-man, body and soul; would you now strip
+your old hulk of the sea-blue that has so long covered and become it,
+rig yourself out like a soldier, with a feather in your hat,&mdash;ay,
+d&mdash;&mdash;e, and a camp-kettle on your arm, and follow a drummer, like one of
+your kinsmen, Lord Bluewater's fellows of the guards?&mdash;for of sailors,
+your lawful prince, as you call him, hasn't enough to stopper his
+conscience, or to whip the tail of his coat, to keep it from being torn
+to tatters by the heather of Scotland. If you <i>do</i> follow the
+adventurer, it must be in some such character, since I question if he
+can muster a seaman, to tell him the bearings of London from Perth."</p>
+
+<p>"When I join him, he will be better off."</p>
+
+<p>"And what could even <i>you</i> do alone, among a parcel of Scotchmen,
+running about their hills under bare poles? Your signals will not
+man[oe]uvre regiments, and as for man[oe]uvring in any other manner, you
+know nothing. No&mdash;no; stay where you are, and help an old friend with
+knowledge that is useful to him.&mdash;I should be afraid to do a dashing
+thing, unless I felt the certainty of having you in my van, to strike
+the first blow; or in my rear, to bring me off, handsomely.</p>
+
+<p>"You would be afraid of nothing, Gervaise Oakes, whether I stood at your
+elbow, or were off in Scotland. Fear is not your failing, though
+temerity may be."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I want your presence to keep me within the bounds of reason," said
+Sir Gervaise, stopping short in his walk, and looking his friend
+smilingly in the face. "In some mode, or other, I always need your aid."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand the meaning of your words, Sir Gervaise, and appreciate
+the feeling that dictates them. You must have a perfect conviction that
+I will do nothing hastily, and that I will betray no trust. When I turn
+my back on King George, it will be loyalty, in one sense, whatever he
+may think of it in another; and when I join Prince Charles Edward, it
+will be with a conscience that he need not be ashamed to probe. What
+names he bears! They are the designations of ancient English sovereigns,
+and ought of themselves, to awaken the sensibilities of Englishmen."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, Charles in particular," returned the vice-admiral, with something
+like a sneer. "There's the second Charles, for instance&mdash;St. Charles, as
+our good host, Sir Wycherly, might call him&mdash;he is a pattern prince for
+Englishmen to admire. Then his father was of the school of the
+Star-Chamber martyrs!"</p>
+
+<p>"Both were lineal descendants of the Conqueror, and of the Saxon
+princes; and both united the double titles to the throne, in their
+sacred persons. I have always considered Charles II. as the victim of
+the rebellious conduct of his subjects, rather than vicious. He was
+driven abroad into a most corrupt state of society, and was perverted by
+our wickedness. As to the father, he was the real St. Charles, and a
+martyred saint he was; dying for true religion, as well as for his legal
+rights. Then the Edwards&mdash;glorious fellows!&mdash;remember that they were all
+but one Plantagenets; a name, of itself, to rouse an Englishman's fire!"</p>
+
+<p>"And yet the only difference between the right of these very
+Plantagenets to the throne, and that of the reigning prince, is, that
+one produced a revolution by the strong hand, and the other was produced
+by a revolution that came from the nation. I do not know that your
+Plantagenets ever did any thing for a navy; the only real source of
+England's power and glory. D&mdash;&mdash;e, Dick, if I think so much of your
+Plantagenets, after all!"</p>
+
+<p>"And yet the name of Oakes is to be met with among their bravest
+knights, and most faithful followers."</p>
+
+<p>"The Oakes, like the pines, have been timbers in every ship that has
+floated," returned the vice-admiral, half-unconscious himself, of the
+pun he was making.</p>
+
+<p>For more than a minute Sir Gervaise continued his walk, his head a
+little inclined forward, like a man who pondered deeply on some matter
+of interest. Then, suddenly stopping, he turned towards his friend, whom
+he regarded for near another minute, ere he resumed the discourse.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish I could fairly get you to exercise your excellent reason on this
+matter, Dick," he said, after the pause; "then I should be certain of
+having secured you on the side of liberty."</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater merely shook his head, but he continued silent, as if
+he deemed discussion altogether supererogatory. During this pause, a
+gentle tap at the door announced a visiter; and, at the request to
+enter, Atwood made his appearance. He held in his hand a large package,
+which bore on the envelope the usual stamp that indicated it was sent on
+public service.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg pardon, Sir Gervaise," commenced the secretary, who always
+proceeded at once to business, when business was to be done; "but His
+Majesty's service will not admit of delay. This packet has just come to
+hand, by the arrival of an express, which left the admiralty only
+yesterday noon."</p>
+
+<p>"And how the devil did he know where to find me!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, holding out a hand to receive the communication.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all owing to this young lieutenant's forethought in following up
+the Jacobite intelligence to a market-town. The courier was bound to
+Falmouth, as fast as post-horses could carry him, when he heard,
+luckily, that the fleet lay at anchor, under Wychecombe Head; and, quite
+as luckily, he is an officer who had the intelligence to know that you
+would sooner get the despatches, if he turned aside, and came hither by
+land, than if he went on to Falmouth, got aboard the sloop that was to
+sail with him, for the Bay of Biscay, and came round here by water."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise smiled at this sally, which was one in keeping with all
+Atwood's feelings; for the secretary had matured a system of expresses,
+which, to his great mortification, his patron laughed at, and the
+admiralty entirely overlooked. No time was lost, however, in the way of
+business; the secretary having placed the candles on a table, where Sir
+Gervaise took a chair, and had already broken a seal. The process of
+reading, nevertheless, was suddenly interrupted by the vice-admiral's
+looking up, and exclaiming&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you are not about to leave us, Bluewater?"</p>
+
+<p>"You may have private business with Mr. Atwood, Sir Gervaise, and
+perhaps I had better retire."</p>
+
+<p>Now, it so happened that while Sir Gervaise Oakes had never, by look or
+syllable, as he confidently believed, betrayed the secret of his
+friend's Jacobite propensities, Atwood was perfectly aware of their
+existence. Nor had the latter obtained his knowledge by any unworthy
+means. He had been neither an eavesdropper, nor an inquirer into private
+communications, as so often happens around the persons of men in high
+trusts; all his knowledge having been obtained through native sagacity
+and unavoidable opportunities. On the present occasion, the secretary,
+with the tact of a man of experience, felt that his presence might be
+dispensed with; and he cut short the discussion between the two
+admirals, by a very timely remark of his own.</p>
+
+<p>"I have left the letters uncopied, Sir Gervaise," he said, "and will go
+and finish them. A message by Locker"&mdash;this was Sir Gervaise's
+body-servant&mdash;"will bring me back at a moment's notice, should you need
+me again to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"That Atwood has a surprising instinct, for a Scotchman!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, as soon as the door was closed on the secretary. "He not
+only knows when he <i>is</i> wanted, but when he is <i>not</i> wanted. The last is
+an extraordinary attainment, for one of his nation."</p>
+
+<p>"And one that an Englishman may do well to emulate," returned Bluewater.
+"It is possible my company may be dispensed with, also, just at this
+important moment."</p>
+
+<p>"You are not so much afraid of the Hanoverians, Dick, as to run away
+from their hand-writing, are ye? Ha&mdash;what's this?&mdash;As I live, a packet
+for yourself, and directed to 'Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bluewater, K.B.'
+By the Lord, my old boy, they've given you the red riband at last! This
+is an honour well earned, and which may be fitly worn."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis rather unexpected, I must own. The letter, however, cannot be
+addressed to me, as I am not a Knight of the Bath."</p>
+
+<p>"This is rank nonsense. Open the packet, at once, or I will do it for
+you. Are there two Dick Bluewaters in the world, or another rear-admiral
+of the same name?"</p>
+
+<p>"I would rather not receive a letter that does not strictly bear my
+address," returned the other, coldly.</p>
+
+<p>"As I'll be sworn this does. But hand it to me, since you are so
+scrupulous, and I will do that small service for you."</p>
+
+<p>As this was said, Sir Gervaise tore aside the seals; and, as he
+proceeded rather summarily, a red riband was soon uncased and fell upon
+the carpet. The other usual insignia of the Bath made their appearance,
+and a letter was found among them, to explain the meaning of all. Every
+thing was in due form, and went to acquaint Rear-Admiral Bluewater, that
+His Majesty had been graciously pleased to confer on him one of the
+vacant red ribands of the day, as a reward for his eminent services on
+different occasions. There was even a short communication from the
+premier, expressing the great satisfaction of the ministry in thus being
+able to second the royal pleasure with hearty good will.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what do you think of that, Richard Bluewater?" asked Sir
+Gervaise, triumphantly. "Did I not always tell you, that sooner or
+later, it <i>must</i> come?"</p>
+
+<p>"It has come too late, then," coldly returned the other, laying the
+riband, jewels, and letters, quietly on the table. "This is an honour, I
+can receive, <i>now</i>, only from my rightful prince. None other can legally
+create a knight of the Bath."</p>
+
+<p>"And pray, Mr. Richard Bluewater, who made you a captain, a commander, a
+rear-admiral? Do you believe me an impostor, because I wear this riband
+on authority no better than that of the house of Hanover? Am I, or am I
+not, in your judgment, a vice-admiral of the red?"</p>
+
+<p>"I make a great distinction, Oakes, between rank in the navy, and a mere
+personal dignity. In the one case, you serve your country, and give
+quite as much as you receive; whereas, in the other, it is a grace to
+confer consideration on the person honoured, without such an equivalent
+as can find an apology for accepting a rank illegally conferred."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil take your distinctions, which would unsettle every thing, and
+render the service a Babel. If I am a vice-admiral of the red, I am a
+knight of the Bath; and, if you are a rear-admiral of the white, you are
+also a knight of that honourable order. All comes from the same source
+of authority, and the same fountain of honour."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not view it thus. Our commissions are from the admiralty, which
+represents the country; but dignities come from the prince who happens
+to reign, let <i>his</i> title be what it may."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you happen to think Richard III. a usurper, or a lawful prince?"</p>
+
+<p>"A usurper, out of all question; and a murderer to boot. His name should
+be struck from the list of English kings. I never hear it, without
+execrating him, and his deeds."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh&mdash;pooh, Dick, this is talking more like a poet than a seaman. If
+only one-half the sovereigns who deserve to be execrated had their names
+erased, the list of even our English kings would be rather short; and
+some countries would be without historical kings at all. However much
+Richard III. may deserve cashiering in this summary manner, his peers
+and laws are just as good as any other prince's peers and laws. Witness
+the Duke of Norfolk, for instance."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that cannot be helped by me; but it <i>is</i> in my power to prevent
+Richard Bluewater's being made a knight or the Bath, by George II.; and
+the power shall be used."</p>
+
+<p>"It would seem not, as he is already created; and I dare to say,
+gazetted."</p>
+
+<p>"The oaths are not yet taken, and it is, at least, an Englishman's
+birth-right, to decline an honour; if, indeed, this can be esteemed an
+honour, at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bluewater, you are disposed to
+be complimentary, to-night! The unworthy knight present, and all the
+rest of the order, are infinitely indebted to you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Your case and mine, Oakes, are essentially different," returned the
+other, with some emotion in his voice and manner. "Your riband was
+fairly won, fighting the battles of England, and can be worn with credit
+to yourself and to your country; but these baubles are sent to me, at a
+moment when a rising was foreseen, and as a sop to keep me in
+good-humour, as well as to propitiate the whole Bluewater interest."</p>
+
+<p>"That is pure conjecture, and I dare say will prove to be altogether a
+mistake. Here are the despatches to speak for themselves; and, as it is
+scarcely possible that the ministry should have known of this rash
+movement of the Pretender's son, more than a few days, my life on it,
+the dates will show that your riband was bestowed before the enterprise
+was even suspected."</p>
+
+<p>As Sir Gervaise commenced, with his constitutional ardour, to turn over
+the letters, as soon as his mind was directed to this particular object,
+Admiral Bluewater resumed his seat, awaiting the result, with not a
+little curiosity; though, at the same time, with a smile of incredulity.
+The examination disappointed Sir Gervaise Oakes. The dates proved that
+the ministers were better informed than he had supposed; for it appeared
+they had been apprised about the time he was himself of the intended
+movement. His orders were to bring the fleet north, and in substance to
+do the very thing his own sagacity had dictated. So far every thing was
+well; and he could not entertain a doubt about receiving the hearty
+approbation of his superiors, for the course he had taken. But here his
+gratification ended; for, on looking at the dates of the different
+communications, it was evident that the red riband was bestowed after
+the intelligence of the Pretender's movement had reached London. A
+private letter, from a friend at the Board of Admiralty, too, spoke of
+his own probable promotion to the rank of admiral of the blue; and
+mentioned several other similar preferments, in a way to show that the
+government was fortifying itself, in the present crisis, as much as
+possible, by favours. This was a politic mode of procedure, with
+ordinary men, it is true; but with officers of the elevation of mind,
+and of the independence of character of our two admirals, it was most
+likely to produce disgust.</p>
+
+<p>"D&mdash;n 'em, Dick," cried Sir Gervaise, as he threw down the last letter
+of the package, with no little sign of feeling; "you might take St.
+Paul, or even Wychecombe's dead brother, St. James the Less, and put him
+at court, and he would come out a thorough blackguard, in a week!"</p>
+
+<p>"That is not the common opinion concerning a court education," quietly
+replied the friend; "most people fancying that the place gives
+refinement of manners, if not of sentiment."</p>
+
+<p>"Poh&mdash;poh&mdash;you and I have no need of a dictionary to understand each
+other. I call a man who never trusts to a generous motive&mdash;who thinks it
+always necessary to bribe or cajole&mdash;who has no idea of any thing's
+being done without its direct <i>quid pro quo</i>, a scurvy blackguard,
+though he has the airs and graces of Phil. Stanhope, or Chesterfield, as
+he is now. What do you think those chaps at the Board, talk of doing, by
+way of clinching my loyalty, at this blessed juncture?"</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt to get you raised to the peerage. I see nothing so much out of
+the way in the thing. You are of one of the oldest families of England,
+and the sixth baronet by inheritance, and have a noble landed estate,
+which is none the worse for prize-money. Sir Gervaise Oakes of Bowldero,
+would make a very suitable Lord Bowldero."</p>
+
+<p>"If it were only that, I shouldn't mind it; for nothing is easier than
+to refuse a peerage. I've done <i>that</i> twice already, and can do it a
+third time, at need. But one can't very well refuse promotion in his
+regular profession; and, here, just as a true gentleman would depend on
+the principles of an officer, the hackneyed consciences of your
+courtiers have suggested the expediency of making Gervaise Oakes an
+admiral of the blue, by way of sop!&mdash;me, who was made vice-admiral of
+the red, only six months since, and who take an honest pride in boasting
+that every commission, from the lowest to the highest, has been fairly
+earned in battle!"</p>
+
+<p>"They think it a more delicate service, perhaps, for a gentleman to be
+true to the reigning house, when so loud an appeal is made to his
+natural loyalty; and therefore class the self-conquest with a victory at
+sea!"</p>
+
+<p>"They are so many court-lubbers, and I should like to have an
+opportunity of speaking my mind to them. I'll not take the new
+commission; for every one must see, Dick, that it is a sop."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that's just my notion, too, about the red riband; and I'll not take
+<i>that</i>. You have had the riband these ten years, have declined the
+peerage twice, and their only chance is the promotion. Take it you
+ought, and must, however, as it will be the means of pushing on some
+four or five poor devils, who have been wedged up to honours, in this
+manner, ever since they were captains. I am glad they do not talk of
+promoting <i>me</i>, for I should hardly know how to refuse such a grace.
+There is great virtue in parchment, with all us military men."</p>
+
+<p>"Still it must be parchment fairly won. I think you are wrong,
+notwithstanding, Bluewater, in talking of refusing the riband, which is
+so justly your due, for a dozen different acts. There is not a man in
+the service, who has been less rewarded for what he has done, than
+yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry to hear you give this as your opinion; for just at this
+moment, I would rather think that I have no cause of complaint, in this
+way, against the reigning family, or its ministers. I'm sure I was
+posted when quite a young man, and since that time, no one has been
+lifted over my head."</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral looked intently at his friend; for never before had he
+detected a feeling which betrayed, as he fancied, so settled a
+determination in him to quit the service of the powers that were.
+Acquainted from boyhood with all the workings of the other's mind, he
+perceived that the rear-admiral had been endeavouring to persuade
+himself that no selfish or unworthy motive could be assigned to an act
+which he felt to proceed from disinterested chivalry, just as he himself
+broke out with his expression of an opinion that no officer had been
+less liberally rewarded for his professional services than his friend.
+While there is no greater mystery to a selfish manager, than a man of
+disinterested temperament, they who feel and submit to generous
+impulses, understand each other with an instinctive facility. When any
+particular individual is prone to believe that there is a predominance
+of good over evil in the world he inhabits, it is a sign of
+inexperience, or of imbecility; but when one acts and reasons as if
+<i>all</i> honour and virtue are extinct, he furnishes the best possible
+argument against his own tendencies and character. It has often been
+remarked that stronger friendships are made between those who have
+different personal peculiarities, than between those whose sameness of
+feeling and impulses would be less likely to keep interest alive; but,
+in all cases of intimacies, there must be great identity of principles,
+and even of tastes in matters at all connected with motives, in order to
+ensure respect, among those whose standard of opinion is higher than
+common, or sympathy among those with whom it is lower. Such was the
+fact, as respected Admirals Oakes and Bluewater. No two men could be
+less alike in temperament, or character, physically, and in some senses,
+morally considered; but, when it came to principles, or all those tastes
+or feelings that are allied to principles, there was a strong native, as
+well as acquired affinity. This union of sentiment was increased by
+common habits, and professional careers so long and so closely united,
+as to be almost identical. Nothing was easier, consequently, than for
+Sir Gervaise Oakes to comprehend the workings of Admiral Bluewater's
+mind, as the latter endeavoured to believe he had been fairly treated by
+the existing government. Of course, the reasoning which passed through
+the thoughts of Sir Gervaise, on this occasion, required much less time
+than we have taken to explain its nature; and, after regarding his
+friend intently, as already related, for a few seconds, he answered as
+follows; a good deal influenced, unwittingly to himself, with the wish
+to check the other's Jacobite propensities.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry not to be able to agree with you, Dick," he said, with some
+warmth. "So far from thinking you <i>well</i> treated, by any ministry, these
+twenty years, I think you have been very <i>ill</i> treated. Your rank you
+have, beyond a question; for of that no brave officer can well be
+deprived in a regulated service; but, have you had the <i>commands</i> to
+which you are entitled?&mdash;I was a commander-in-chief when only a
+rear-admiral of the blue; and then how long did I wear a broad pennant,
+before I got a flag at all!"</p>
+
+<p>"You forget how much I have been with you. When two serve together, one
+must command, and the other must obey. So far from complaining of these
+Hanoverian Boards, and First Lords, it seems to me that they have always
+kept in view the hollowness of their claims to the throne, and have felt
+a desire to purchase honest men by their favours."</p>
+
+<p>"You are the strangest fellow, Dick Bluewater, it has ever been my lot
+to fall in with! D&mdash;&mdash;e me, if I believe you know always, when you <i>are</i>
+ill treated. There are a dozen men in service, who have had separate
+commands, and who are not half as well entitled to them, as you are
+yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come, Oakes, this is getting to be puerile, for two old fellows,
+turned of fifty. You very well know that I was offered just as good a
+fleet, as this of your own, with a choice of the whole list of
+flag-officers below me, to pick a junior from; and, so, we'll say no
+more about it. As respects their red riband, however, it may go
+a-begging for me."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise was about to answer in his former vein, when a tap at the
+door announced the presence of another visiter. This time the door
+opened on the person of Galleygo, who had been included in Sir
+Wycherly's hospitable plan of entertaining every soul who immediately
+belonged to the suite of Sir Gervaise.</p>
+
+<p>"What the d&mdash;&mdash;l has brought <i>you</i> here!" exclaimed the vice-admiral, a
+little warmly; for he did not relish an interruption just at this
+moment. "Recollect you're not on board the Plantagenet, but in the
+dwelling of a gentleman, where there are both butler and housekeeper,
+and who have no occasion for your advice, or authority, to keep things
+in order."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there, Sir Gervaise I doesn't agree with you the least bit; for I
+thinks as a ship's steward&mdash;I mean a <i>cabin</i> steward, and a good 'un of
+the quality&mdash;might do a great deal of improvement in this very house.
+The cook and I has had a partic'lar dialogue on them matters, already;
+and I mentioned to her the names of seven different dishes, every one of
+which she quite as good as admitted to me, was just the same as so much
+gospel to <i>her</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall have to quarantine this fellow, in the long run, Bluewater! I
+do believe if I were to take him to Lambeth Palace, or even to St.
+James's, he'd thrust his oar into the archbishop's benedictions, or the
+queen's caudle-cup!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Sir Gervaise, where would be the great harm, if I did? A man as
+knows the use of an oar, may be trusted with one, even in a church, or
+an abbey. When your honour comes to hear what the dishes was, as Sir
+Wycherly's cook had never heard on, you'll think it as great a cur'osity
+as I do myself. If I had just leave to name 'em over, I think as both
+you gentlemen would look at it as remarkable."</p>
+
+<p>"What are they, Galleygo?" inquired Bluewater, putting one of his long
+legs over an arm of the adjoining chair, in order to indulge himself in
+a yarn with his friend's steward, with greater freedom; for he greatly
+delighted in Galleygo's peculiarities; seeing just enough of the fellow
+to find amusement, without annoyance in them. "I'll answer for Sir
+Gervaise, who is always a little diffident about boasting of the
+superiority of a ship, over a house."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, your honour, that he is&mdash;that is just one of Sir Jarvy's weak
+p'ints, as a body might say. Now, I never goes ashore, without trimming
+sharp up, and luffing athwart every person's hawse, I fall in with;
+which is as much as to tell 'em, I belongs to a flag-ship, and a racer,
+and a craft as hasn't her equal on salt-water; no disparagement to the
+bit of bunting at the mizzen-topgallant-mast-head of the C&aelig;sar, or to
+the ship that carries it. I hopes, as we are so well acquainted, Admiral
+Bluewater, no offence will be taken."</p>
+
+<p>"Where none is meant, none ought to be taken, my friend. Now let us hear
+your bill-of-fare."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, the very first dish I mentioned to Mrs. Larder, Sir
+Wycherly's cook, was lobscous; and, would you believe it, gentlemen, the
+poor woman had never heard of it! I began with a light hand, as it might
+be, just not to overwhelm her with knowledge, at a blow, as Sir Jarvy
+captivated the French frigate with the upper tier of guns, that he might
+take her alive, like."</p>
+
+<p>"And the lady knew nothing of a lobscous&mdash;neither of its essence, nor
+nature?"</p>
+
+<p>"There's no essences as is ever put in a lobscous, besides potaties,
+Admiral Bluewater; thof we make 'em in the old Planter"&mdash;<i>nautice</i> for
+Plantagenet&mdash;"in so liquorish a fashion, you might well think they even
+had Jamaiky, in 'em. No, potaties is the essence of lobscous; and a very
+good thing is a potatie, Sir Jarvy, when a ship's company has been on
+salted oakum for a few months."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what was the next dish the good woman broke down under?" asked
+the rear-admiral, fearful the master might order the servant to quit the
+room; while he, himself, was anxious to get rid of any further political
+discussion.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, she knowed no more of a chowder, than if the sea wern't in
+the neighbourhood, and there wern't such a thing as a fish in all
+England. When I talked to her of a chowder, she gave in, like a Spaniard
+at the fourth or fifth broadside."</p>
+
+<p>"Such ignorance is disgraceful, and betokens a decline in civilization!
+But, you hoisted out more knowledge for her benefit, Galleygo&mdash;small
+doses of learning are poor things."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, your honour; just like weak grog&mdash;burning the priming, without
+starting the shot. To be sure, I did, Admiral Blue. I just named to her
+burgoo, and then I mentioned duff (<i>anglice</i> dough) to her, but she
+denied that there was any such things in the cookery-book. Do you know,
+Sir Jarvy, as these here shore craft get their dinners, as our master
+gets the sun; all out of a book as it might be. Awful tidings, too,
+gentlemen, about the Pretender's son; and I s'pose we shall have to take
+the fleet up into Scotland, as I fancy them 'ere sogers will not make
+much of a hand in settling law?"</p>
+
+<p>"And have you honoured us with a visit, just to give us an essay on
+dishes, and to tell us what you intend to do with the fleet?" demanded
+Sir Gervaise, a little more sternly than he was accustomed to speak to
+the steward.</p>
+
+<p>"Lord bless you, Sir Jarvy, I didn't dream of one or t'other! As for
+telling you, or Admiral Blue, (so the seamen used to call the second in
+rank,) here, any thing about lobscous, or chowder, why, it would be
+carrying coals to New Market. I've fed ye both with all such articles,
+when ye was nothing but young gentlemen; and when you was no longer
+young gentlemen, too, but a couple of sprightly luffs, of nineteen. And
+as for moving the fleet, I know, well enough, that will never happen,
+without our talking it over in the old Planter's cabin; which is a much
+more nat'ral place for such a discourse, than any house in England!"</p>
+
+<p>"May I take the liberty of inquiring, then, what <i>did</i> bring you here?"</p>
+
+<p>"That you may, with all my heart, Sir Jarvy, for I likes to answer your
+questions. My errand is not to your honour this time, though you are my
+master. It's no great matter, after all, being just to hand this bit of
+a letter over to Admiral Blue."</p>
+
+<p>"And where did this letter come from, and how did it happen to fall into
+your hands?" demanded Bluewater, looking at the superscription, the
+writing of which he appeared to recognise.</p>
+
+<p>"It hails from Lun'nun, I hear; and they tell me it's to be a great
+secret that you've got it, at all. The history of the matter is just
+this. An officer got in to-night, with orders for us, carrying sail as
+hard as his shay would bear. It seems he fell in with Master Atwood, as
+he made his land-fall, and being acquainted with that gentleman, he just
+whipped out his orders, and sent 'em off to the right man. Then he laid
+his course for the landing, wishing to get aboard of the Dublin, to
+which he is ordered; but falling in with our barge, as I landed, he
+wanted to know the where-away of Admiral Blue, here; believing him to be
+afloat. Some 'un telling him as I was a friend and servant of both
+admirals, as it might be, he turned himself over to me for advice. So I
+promised to deliver the letter, as I had a thousand afore, and knowed
+the way of doing such things; and he gives me the letter, under special
+orders, like; that is to say, it was to be handed to the rear-admiral as
+it might be under the lee of the mizzen-stay-sail, or in a private
+fashion. Well, gentlemen, you both knows I understand that, too, and so
+I undertook the job."</p>
+
+<p>"And I have got to be so insignificant a person that I pass for no one,
+in your discriminating mind, Master Galleygo!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, sharply. "I have suspected as much, these five-and-twenty
+years."</p>
+
+<p>"Lord bless you, Sir Jarvy, how flag-officers will make mistakes
+sometimes! They're mortal, I says to the people of the galley, and have
+their appetites false, just like the young gentlemen, when they get
+athwart-hawse of a body, I says. Now, I count Admiral Blue and yourself
+pretty much as one man, seeing that you keep few, or no secrets from
+each other. I know'd ye both as young gentlemen, and then you loved one
+another like twins; and then I know'd ye as luffs, when ye'd walk the
+deck the whole watch, spinning yarns; and then I know'd ye as Pillardees
+and Arrestee, though one pillow might have answered for both; and as for
+Arrest, I never know'd either of ye to got into that scrape. As for
+telling a secret to one, I've always looked upon it as pretty much
+telling it to t'other."</p>
+
+<p>The two admirals exchanged glances, and the look of kindness that each
+met in the eyes of his friend removed every shadow that had been cast
+athwart their feelings, by the previous discourse.</p>
+
+<p>"That will do, Galleygo," returned Sir Gervaise, mildly. "You're a good
+fellow in the main, though a villanously rough one&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"A little of old Boreus, Sir Jarvy," interrupted the steward, with a
+grim smile: "but it blows harder at sea than it does ashore. These chaps
+on land, ar'n't battened down, and caulked for such weather, as we sons
+of Neptun' is obligated to face."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, and so good-night. Admiral Bluewater and myself wish to
+confer together, for half an hour; all that it is proper for you to
+know, shall be communicated another time."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, and God bless your honour. Good-night, Admiral Blue: we
+three is the men as can keep any secret as ever floated, let it draw as
+much water as it pleases."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes stopped in his walk, and gazed at his friend with
+manifest interest, as he perceived that Admiral Bluewater was running
+over his letter for the third time. Being now without a witness, he did
+not hesitate to express his apprehensions.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis as I feared, Dick!" he cried. "That letter is from some prominent
+partisan of Edward Stuart?"</p>
+
+<p>The rear-admiral turned his eyes on the face of his friend, with an
+expression that was difficult to read; and then he ran over the contents
+of the epistle, for the fourth time.</p>
+
+<p>"A set of precious rascals they are, Gervaise!" at length the
+rear-admiral exclaimed. "If the whole court was culled, I question if
+enough honesty could be found to leaven one puritan scoundrel. Tell me
+if you know this hand, Oakes? I question if you ever saw it before."</p>
+
+<p>The superscription of the letter was held out to Sir Gervaise, who,
+after a close examination, declared himself unacquainted with the
+writing.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought as much," resumed Bluewater, carefully tearing the signature
+from the bottom of the page, and burning it in a candle; "let this
+disgraceful part of the secret die, at least. The fellow who wrote this,
+has put 'confidential' at the top of his miserable scrawl: and a most
+confident scoundrel he is, for his pains. However, no man has a right to
+thrust himself, in this rude manner, between me and my oldest friend;
+and least of all will I consent to keep this piece of treachery from
+your knowledge. I do more than the rascal merits in concealing his name;
+nevertheless, I shall not deny myself the pleasure of sending him such
+an answer as he deserves. Read that, Oakes, and then say if keelhauling
+would be too good for the writer."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise took the letter in silence, though not without great
+surprise, and began to peruse it. As he proceeded, the colour mounted to
+his temples, and once he dropped his hand, to cast a look of wonder and
+indignation towards his companion. That the reader may see how much
+occasion there was for both these feelings, we shall give the
+communication entire. It was couched in the following words:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear. Admiral Bluewater</span>:</p>
+
+<p>"Our ancient friendship, and I am proud to add, affinity of blood,
+unite in inducing me to write a line, at this interesting moment.
+Of the result of this rash experiment of the Pretender's son, no
+prudent man can entertain a doubt. Still, the boy may give us some
+trouble, before he is disposed of altogether. We look to all our
+friends, therefore, for their most efficient exertions, and most
+prudent co-operation. On <i>you</i>, every reliance is placed; and I
+wish I could say as much for <i>every flag-officer afloat</i>. Some
+distrust&mdash;unmerited, I sincerely hope&mdash;exists in a very high
+quarter, touching the loyalty of a certain commander-in-chief, who
+is so completely under your observation, that it is felt enough is
+done in hinting the fact to one of your political tendencies. The
+king said, this morning, 'Vell, dere isht Bluevater; of <i>him</i> we
+are shure asht of ter sun.' You stand excellently well <i>there</i>, to
+my great delight; and I need only say, be watchful and prompt.</p>
+
+<p>"Yours, with the most sincere faith and attachment, my dear
+Bluewater, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Rear-Admiral Bluewater</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"P. S.&mdash;I have just heard that they have sent you the red riband.
+The king himself, was in this."</p></div>
+
+<p>When Sir Gervaise had perused this precious epistle to himself, he read
+it slowly, and in a steady, clear voice, aloud. When he had ended, he
+dropped the paper, and stood gazing at his friend.</p>
+
+<p>"One would think the fellow some exquisite satirist," said Bluewater,
+laughing. "<i>I</i> am to be vigilant, and see that <i>you</i> do not mutiny, and
+run away with the fleet to the Highlands, one of these foggy mornings!
+Carry it up into Scotland, as Galleygo has it! Now, what is your opinion
+of that letter?"</p>
+
+<p>"That all courtiers are knaves, and all princes ungrateful. I should
+think my loyalty to the good <i>cause</i>, if not to the <i>man</i>, the last in
+England to be suspected."</p>
+
+<p>"Nor is it suspected, in the smallest degree. My life on it, neither the
+reigning monarch, nor his confidential servants, are such arrant dunces,
+as to be guilty of so much weakness. No, this masterly move is intended
+to secure <i>me</i>, by creating a confidence that they think no
+generous-minded man would betray. It is a hook, delicately baited to
+catch a gudgeon, and not an order to watch a whale."</p>
+
+<p>"Can the scoundrels be so mean&mdash;nay, dare they be so bold! They must
+have known you would show me the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"Not they&mdash;they have reasoned on my course, as they would on their own.
+Nothing catches a weak man sooner than a pretended confidence of this
+nature; and I dare say this blackguard rates me just high enough to
+fancy I may be duped in this flimsy manner. Put your mind at rest; King
+George knows he may confide in <i>you</i>, while I think it probable <i>I</i> am
+distrusted."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope, Dick, you do not suspect <i>my</i> discretion! My own secret would
+not be half so sacred to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that, full well. Of <i>you</i>, I entertain no distrust, either in
+heart or head; of myself, I am not quite so certain. When we <i>feel</i>, we
+do not always <i>reason</i>; and there is as much feeling, as any thing else,
+in this matter."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a line is there, in all my despatches, that go to betray the
+slightest distrust of me, or any one else. You are spoken of, but it is
+in a manner to gratify you, rather than to alarm. Take, and read them
+all; I intended to show them to you, as soon as we had got through with
+that cursed discussion"</p>
+
+<p>As Sir Gervaise concluded, he threw the whole package of letters on the
+table, before his friend.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be time enough, when you summon me regularly to a council of
+war," returned Bluewater, laying the letters gently aside. "Perhaps we
+had better sleep on this affair; in the morning we shall meet with
+cooler heads, and just as warm hearts."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, Dick," said Sir Gervaise, holding out both hands for the
+other to shake as he passed him, in quitting the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, Gervaise; let this miserable devil go overboard, and think
+no more of him. I have half a mind to ask you for a leave, to-morrow,
+just to run up to London, and cut off his ears."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise laughed and nodded his head, and the two friends parted,
+with feelings as kind as ever had distinguished their remarkable career.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Look to't, think on't, I do not use to jest.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thursday is near; lay hand on heart, advise;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">An' you be mine, I'll give you to my friend;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">An' you be not, hang, beg, starve, die i' the streets."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Romeo and Juliet.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Wychecombe Hall, had most of the peculiarities of a bachelor's dwelling,
+in its internal government; nor was it, in any manner, behind, or, it
+might be better to say, before, the age, in its modes and customs
+connected with jollifications. When its master relaxed a little, the
+servants quite uniformly imitated his example. Sir Wycherly kept a
+plentiful table, and the servants' hall fared nearly as well as the
+dining-room; the single article of wine excepted. In lieu of the latter,
+however, was an unlimited allowance of double-brewed ale; and the
+difference in the potations was far more in the name, than in the
+quality of the beverages. The master drank port; for, in the middle of
+the last century, few Englishmen had better wine&mdash;and port, too, that
+was by no means of a very remarkable delicacy, but which, like those who
+used it, was rough, honest, and strong; while the servant had his malt
+liquor of the very highest stamp and flavour. Between indifferent wine
+and excellent ale, the distance is not interminable; and Sir Wycherly's
+household, was well aware of the fact, having frequently instituted
+intelligent practical comparisons, by means of which, all but the butler
+and Mrs. Larder had come to the conclusion to stand by the home-brewed.</p>
+
+<p>On the present occasion, not a soul in the house was ignorant of the
+reason why the baronet was making a night of it. Every man, woman, and
+child, in or about the Hall, was a devoted partisan of the house of
+Hanover; and as soon as it was understood that this feeling was to be
+manifested by drinking "success to King George, and God bless him," on
+the one side; and "confusion to the Pretender, and his mad son," on the
+other; all under the roof entered into the duty, with a zeal that might
+have seated a usurper on a throne, if potations could do it.</p>
+
+<p>When Admiral Bluewater, therefore, left the chamber of his friend, the
+signs of mirth and of a regular debauch were so very obvious, that a
+little curiosity to watch the result, and a disinclination to go off to
+his ship so soon, united to induce him to descend into the rooms below,
+with a view to get a more accurate knowledge of the condition of the
+household. In crossing the great hall, to enter the drawing-room, he
+encountered Galleygo, when the following discourse took place.</p>
+
+<p>"I should think the master-at-arms has not done his duty, and dowsed the
+glim below, Master Steward," said the rear-admiral, in his quiet way, as
+they met; "the laughing, and singing, and hiccupping, are all upon a
+very liberal scale for a respectable country-house."</p>
+
+<p>Galleygo touched the lock of hair on his forehead, with one hand, and
+gave his trowsers a slue with the other, before he answered; which he
+soon did, however, though with a voice a little thicker than was usual
+with him, on account of his having added a draught or two to those he
+had taken previously to visiting Sir Gervaise's dressing-room; and which
+said additional draught or two, had produced some such effect on his
+system, as the fresh drop produces on the cup that is already full.</p>
+
+<p>"That's just it, Admiral Blue," returned the steward, in passing
+good-humour, though still sober enough to maintain the decencies, after
+his own fashion; "that's just it, your honour. They've passed the word
+below to let the lights stand for further orders, and have turned the
+hands up for a frolic. Such ale as they has, stowed in the lower hold of
+this house, like leaguers in the ground-tier, it does a body's heart
+good to conter'plate. All hands is bowsing out their jibs on it, sir,
+and the old Hall will soon be carrying as much sail as she can stagger
+under. It's nothing but loose-away and sheet-home."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, ay, Galleygo, this may be well enough for the people of the
+household, if Sir Wycherly allows it; but it ill becomes the servants of
+guests to fall into this disorder. If I find Tom has done any thing
+amiss, he will hear more of it; and as your own master is not here to
+admonish <i>you</i>, I'll just take the liberty of doing it for him, since I
+know it would mortify him exceedingly to learn that his steward had done
+any thing to disgrace himself."</p>
+
+<p>"Lord bless your dear soul, Admiral Blue, take just as many liberties as
+you think fit, and I'll never pocket one on 'em. I know'd you, when you
+was only a young gentleman, and now you're a rear. You're close on our
+heels; and by the time we are a full admiral, you'll be something like a
+vice. I looks upon you as bone of our bone, and flesh of our
+flesh,&mdash;Pillardees and Arrestees&mdash;and I no more minds a setting-down
+from your honour, than I does from Sir Jarvy, hisself."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe that is true enough, Galleygo; but take my advice, and knock
+off with the ale for to-night. Can you tell me how the land lies, with
+the rest of the company?"</p>
+
+<p>"You couldn't have asked a better person, your honour, as I've just been
+passing through all the rooms, from a sort of habit I has, sir; for,
+d'ye see, I thought I was in the old Planter, and that it was my duty to
+overlook every thing, as usual. The last pull at the ale, put that
+notion in my head; but it's gone now, and I see how matters is. Yes,
+sir, the mainmast of a church isn't stiffer and more correct-like, than
+my judgment is, at this blessed moment. Sir Wycherly guv' me a glass of
+his black-strap, as I ran through the dining-room, and told me to drink
+'Confusion to the Pretender,' which I did, with hearty good-will; but
+his liquor will no more lay alongside of the ale they've down on the
+orlop, than a Frenchman will compare with an Englishman. What's your
+opinion, Admiral Blue, consarning this cruise of the Pretender's son, up
+in the Highlands of Scotland?"</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater gave a quick, distrustful glance at the steward, for he knew
+that the fellow was half his time in the outer cabin and pantries of the
+Plantagenet, and he could not tell how much of his many private
+dialogues with Sir Gervaise, might have been overheard. Meeting with
+nothing but the unmeaning expression of one half-seas-over, his
+uneasiness instantly subsided.</p>
+
+<p>"I think it a gallant enterprise, Galleygo," he answered; too manly even
+to feign what he did not believe; "but I fear as a <i>cruise</i>, it will not
+bring much prize-money. You have forgotten you were about to tell me how
+the land lies. Sir Wycherly, Mr. Dutton, Mr. Rotherham, are still at the
+table, I fancy&mdash;are these all? What have become of the two young
+gentlemen?"</p>
+
+<p>"There's none ashore, sir," said Galleygo, promptly, accustomed to give
+that appellation only to midshipmen.</p>
+
+<p>"I mean the two Mr. Wychecombes; one of whom, I had forgot, is actually
+an officer."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, and a most partic'lar fine officer he is, as every body says.
+Well, sir, <i>he's</i> with the ladies; while his namesake has gone back to
+the table, and has put luff upon luff, to fetch up leeway."</p>
+
+<p>"And the ladies&mdash;what have they done with themselves, in this scene of
+noisy revelry?"</p>
+
+<p>"They'se in yonder state-room, your honour. As soon as they found how
+the ship was heading, like all women-craft, they both makes for the best
+harbour they could run into. Yes, they'se yonder."</p>
+
+<p>As Galleygo pointed to the door of the room he meant, Bluewater
+proceeded towards it, parting with the steward after a few more words of
+customary, but very useless caution. The tap of the admiral was answered
+by Wycherly in person, who opened the door, and made way for his
+superior to enter, with a respectful obeisance. There was but a single
+candle in the little parlour, in which the two females had taken refuge
+from the increasing noise of the debauch; and this was due to a pious
+expedient of Mildred's, in extinguishing the others, with a view to
+conceal the traces of tears that were still visible on her own and her
+mother's cheeks. The rear-admiral was, at first, struck with this
+comparative obscurity; but it soon appeared to him appropriate to the
+feelings of the party assembled in the room. Mrs. Dutton received him
+with the ease she had acquired in her early life, and the meeting passed
+as a matter of course, with persons temporarily residing under the same
+roof.</p>
+
+<p>"Our friends appear to be enjoying themselves," said Bluewater, when a
+shout from the dining-room forced itself on the ears of all present.
+"The loyalty of Sir Wycherly seems to be of proof."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Admiral Bluewater," exclaimed the distressed wife, feeling,
+momentarily, getting the better of discretion; "<i>do</i> you&mdash;<i>can</i> you
+call such a desecration of God's image enjoyment?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not justly, perhaps, Mrs. Dutton; and yet it is what millions mistake
+for it. This mode of celebrating any great event, and even of
+illustrating what we think our principles, is, I fear, a vice not only
+of our age, but of our country."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet, neither you, nor Sir Gervaise Oakes, I see, find it necessary
+to give such a proof of your attachment to the house of Hanover, or of
+your readiness to serve it with your time and persons."</p>
+
+<p>"You will remember, my good, lady, that both Oakes and myself are
+flag-officers in command, and it would never do for us to fall into a
+debauch in sight of our own ships. I am glad to see, however, that Mr.
+Wychecombe, here, prefers such society as I find him in, to the
+pleasures of the table."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly bowed, and Mildred cast an expressive, not to say grateful,
+glance towards the speaker; but her mother pursued the discourse, in
+which she found a little relief to her suppressed emotion.</p>
+
+<p>"God be thanked for that!" she exclaimed, half-unconscious of the
+interpretation that might be put on her words; "All that we have seen of
+Mr. Wychecombe would lead us to believe that this is not an unusual, or
+an accidental forbearance."</p>
+
+<p>"So much the more fortunate for him. I congratulate you, young sir, on
+this triumph of principle, or of temperament, or of both. We belong to a
+profession, in which the bottle is an enemy more to be feared, than any
+that the king can give us. A sailor can call in no ally as efficient in
+subduing this mortal foe, as an intelligent and cultivated mind. The man
+who really <i>thinks</i> much, seldom <i>drinks</i> much; but there are
+hours&mdash;nay, weeks and months of idleness in a ship, in which the
+temptation to resort to unnatural excitement in quest of pleasure, is
+too strong for minds, that are not well fortified, to resist. This is
+particularly the case with commanders, who find themselves isolated by
+their rank, and oppressed with responsibility, in the privacy of their
+own cabins, and get to make a companion of the bottle, by way of seeking
+relief from uncomfortable thoughts, and of creating a society of their
+own. I deem the critical period of a sailor's life, to be the first few
+years of solitary command."</p>
+
+<p>"How true!&mdash;how true!" murmured Mrs. Dutton. "Oh! that cutter&mdash;that
+cruel cutter!"</p>
+
+<p>The truth flashed upon the recollection of Bluewater, at this unguarded,
+and instantly regretted exclamation. Many years before, when only a
+captain himself, he had been a member of a court-martial which cashiered
+a lieutenant of the name of Dutton, for grievous misconduct, while in
+command of a cutter; the fruits of the bottle. From the first, he
+thought the name familiar to him; but so many similar things had
+happened in the course of forty years' service, that this particular
+incident had been partially lost in the obscurity of time. It was now
+completely recalled, however; and that, too, with all its attendant
+circumstances. The recollection served to give the rear-admiral renewed
+interest in the unhappy wife, and lovely daughter, of the miserable
+delinquent. He had been applied to, at the time, for his interest in
+effecting the restoration of the guilty officer, or even to procure for
+him, the hopeless station he now actually occupied; but he had sternly
+refused to be a party in placing any man in authority, who was the
+victim of a propensity that not only disgraced himself, but which, in
+the peculiar position of a sailor, equally jeoparded the honour of the
+country, and risked the lives of all around him. He was aware that the
+last application had been successful, by means of a court influence it
+was very unusual to exert in cases so insignificant; and, then, he had,
+for years, lost sight of the criminal and his fortunes. This unexpected
+revival of his old impressions, caused him to feel like an ancient
+friend of the wife and daughter; for well could he recall a scene he had
+with both, in which the struggle between his humanity and his principles
+had been so violent as actually to reduce him to tears. Mildred had
+forgotten the name of this particular officer, having been merely a
+child; but well did Mrs. Dutton remember it, and with fear and trembling
+had she come that day, to meet him at the Hall. The first look satisfied
+her that she was forgotten, and she had struggled herself, to bury in
+oblivion, a scene which was one of the most painful of her life. The
+unguarded expression, mentioned, entirely changed the state of affairs.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, kindly taking a hand of the distressed
+wife; "I believe we are old friends; if, after what has passed, you will
+allow me so to consider myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Admiral Bluewater, my memory needed no admonisher to tell me
+<i>that</i>. Your sympathy and kindness are as grateful to me, now, as they
+were in that dreadful moment, when we met before."</p>
+
+<p>"And I had the pleasure of seeing this young lady, more than once, on
+that unpleasant occasion. This accounts for a fancy that has fairly
+haunted me throughout the day; for, from the instant my eye fell on Miss
+Mildred, it struck me that the face, and most of all, its expression,
+was familiar to me. Certainly it is not a countenance, once seen, easily
+to be forgotten."</p>
+
+<p>"Mildred was then but a child, sir, and your recollection must have been
+a fancy, indeed, as children of her age seldom make any lasting
+impression on the mind, particularly in the way of features."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not the features that I recognize, but the expression; and that,
+I need not tell the young lady's mother, is an expression not so very
+easily forgotten. I dare say Mr. Wychecombe is ready enough to vouch for
+the truth of what I say."</p>
+
+<p>"Hark!" exclaimed Mrs. Dutton, who was sensitively alive to any
+indication of the progress of the debauch. "There is great confusion in
+the dining-room!&mdash;I hope the gentlemen are of one mind as respects this
+rising in Scotland!"</p>
+
+<p>"If there is a Jacobite among them, he will have a warm time of it; with
+Sir Wycherly, his nephew, and the vicar&mdash;all three of whom are raging
+lions, in the way of loyalty. There does, indeed, seem something out of
+the way, for those sounds, I should think, are the feet of servants,
+running to and fro. If the servants'-hall is in the condition I suspect,
+it will as much need the aid of the parlour, as the parlour can
+possibly&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>A tap at the door caused Bluewater to cease speaking; and as Wycherly
+threw open the entrance, Galleygo appeared on the threshold, by this
+time reduced to the necessity of holding on by the casings.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir," said the rear-admiral, sternly, for he was no longer
+disposed to trifle with any of the crapulous set; "well, sir, what
+impertinence has brought you here?"</p>
+
+<p>"No impertinence at all, your honour; we carries none of <i>that</i>, in the
+old Planter. There being no young gentlemen, hereabouts, to report
+proceedings, I thought I'd just step in and do the duty with my own
+tongue. We has so many reports in our cabin, that there isn't an officer
+in the fleet that can make 'em better, as myself, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"There are a hundred who would spend fewer words on any thing. What is
+your business?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, just to report one flag struck, and a commander-in-chief on
+his beam-ends."</p>
+
+<p>"Good God! Nothing has happened to Sir Gervaise&mdash;speak, fellow, or I'll
+have you sent out of this Babel, and off to the ship, though it were
+midnight."</p>
+
+<p>"It be pretty much that, Admiral Blue; or past six bells; as any one may
+see by the ship's clock on the great companion ladder; six bells, going
+well on to seven&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Your business, sir! what has happened to Sir Gervaise?" repeated
+Bluewater, shaking his long fore-finger menacingly, at the steward.</p>
+
+<p>"We are as well, Admiral Blue, as the hour we came over the Planter's
+side. Sir Jarvy will carry sail with the best on 'em, I'll answer for
+it, whether the ship floats in old Port Oporto, or in a brewer's vat.
+Let Sir Jarvy alone for them tricks&mdash;he wasn't a young gentleman, for
+nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Have a moment's patience, sir," put in Wycherly, "and I will go myself,
+and ascertain the truth."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall make but another inquiry," continued Admiral Bluewater, as
+Wycherly left the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, d'ye see, your honour, old Sir Wycherly, who is
+commander-in-chief, along shore here, has capsized in consequence of
+carrying sail too hard, in company with younger craft; and they're now
+warping him into dock to be overhauled."</p>
+
+<p>"Is this all!&mdash;that was a result to be expected, in such a debauch. You
+need not have put on so ominous a face, for this, Galleygo."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, so I thought, myself; and I only tried to look as melancholy
+as a young gentleman who is sent below to report a topgallant-mast over
+the side, or a studding-sail-boom gone in the iron. D'ye remember the
+time, Admiral Blue, when you thought to luff up on the old Planter's
+weather-quarter, and get between her and the French ninety on three
+decks, and how your stu'n-sails went, one a'ter another, just like so
+many musherrooms breaking in peeling?"</p>
+
+<p>Galleygo, who was apt to draw his images from his two trades, might have
+talked on an hour, without interruption; for, while he was uttering the
+above sentence, Wycherly returned, and reported that their host was
+seriously, even dangerously ill. While doing the honours of his table,
+he had been seized with a fit, which the vicar, a noted three-bottle
+man, feared was apoplexy. Mr. Rotherham had bled the patient, who was
+already a little better, and an express had been sent for a medical man.
+As a matter of course, the <i>convives</i> had left the table, and alarm was
+frightening the servants into sobriety. At Mrs. Dutton's earnest
+request, Wycherly immediately left the room again, forcing Galleygo out
+before him, with a view to get more accurate information concerning the
+baronet's real situation; both the mother and daughter feeling a real
+affection for Sir Wycherly; the kind old man having won their hearts by
+his habitual benevolence, and a constant concern for their welfare.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Sic transit gloria mundi</i>," muttered Admiral Bluewater, as he threw
+his tall person, in his own careless manner, on a chair, in a dark
+corner of the room. "This baronet has fallen from his throne, in a
+moment of seeming prosperity and revelry; why may not another do the
+same?"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dutton heard the voice, without distinguishing the words, and she
+felt distressed at the idea that one whom she so much respected and
+loved, might be judged of harshly, by a man of the rear-admiral's
+character.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly is one of the kindest-hearted men, breathing," she said, a
+little hurriedly; "and there is not a better landlord in England. Then
+he is by no means addicted to indulgence at table, more than is
+customary with gentlemen of his station. His loyalty has, no doubt,
+carried him this evening farther than was prudent, or than we could have
+wished."</p>
+
+<p>"I have every disposition to think favourably of our poor host, my dear
+Mrs. Dutton; and we seamen are not accustomed to judge a <i>bon vivant</i>
+too harshly."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Admiral Bluewater, <i>you</i>, who have so wide-spread a reputation for
+sobriety and correct deportment! Well do I remember how I trembled, when
+I heard your name mentioned as one of the leading members of that
+dreadful court!"</p>
+
+<p>"You let your recollections dwell too much on these unpleasant subjects,
+Mrs. Dutton, and I should like to see you setting an example of greater
+cheerfulness to your sweet daughter. I could not befriend you, <i>then</i>,
+for my oath and my duty were both against it; but, <i>now</i>, there exists
+no possible reason, why I should not; while there does exist almost
+every possible disposition, why I should. This sweet child interests me
+in a way I can hardly describe."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dutton was silent and thoughtful. The years of Admiral Bluewater
+did not absolutely forbid his regarding Mildred's extreme beauty, with
+the eyes of ordinary admiration; but his language, and most of all, his
+character, ought to repel the intrusive suspicion. Still Mildred was
+surpassingly lovely, and men were surpassingly weak in matters of love.
+Many a hero had passed a youth of self-command and discretion, to
+consummate some act of exceeding folly, of this very nature, in the
+decline of life; and bitter experience had taught her to be distrustful.
+Nevertheless, she could not, at once, bring herself to think ill of one,
+whose character she had so long respected; and, with all the
+rear-admiral's directness of manner, there was so much real and feeling
+delicacy, blended with the breeding of a gentleman-like sailor, that it
+was not easy to suppose he had any other motives than those he saw fit
+to avow. Mildred had made many a friend, by a sweetness of countenance,
+that was even more winning, than her general beauty of face and form was
+attractive; and why should not this respectable old seaman be of the
+number.</p>
+
+<p>This train of thought was interrupted by the sudden and unwelcome
+appearance of Dutton. He had just returned from the bed-side of Sir
+Wycherly, and now came to seek his wife and daughter, to bid them
+prepare to enter the chariot, which was in waiting to convey them home.
+The miserable man was not intoxicated, in the sense which deprives a man
+of the use of speech and limbs; but he had drunk quite enough to awaken
+the demon within him, and to lay bare the secrets of his true character.
+If any thing, his nerves were better strung than common; but the wine
+had stirred up all the energies of a being, whose resolutions seldom
+took the direction of correct feeling, or of right doing. The darkness
+of the room, and a slight confusion which nevertheless existed in his
+brain, prevented him from noticing the person of his superior, seated,
+as the latter was, in the dark corner; and he believed himself once more
+alone with those who were so completely dependent on his mercy, and who
+had so long been the subjects of his brutality and tyranny.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope Sir Wycherly is better, Dutton," the wife commenced, fearful
+that her husband might expose himself and her, before he was aware of
+the presence in which he stood. "Admiral Bluewater is as anxious, as we
+are ourselves, to know his real state."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, you women are all pity and feeling for baronets and rear-admirals,"
+answered Dutton, throwing himself rudely into a chair, with his back
+towards the stranger, in an attitude completely to exclude the latter
+from his view; "while a husband, or father, might die a hundred deaths,
+and not draw a look of pity from your beautiful eyes, or a kind word
+from your devilish tongues."</p>
+
+<p>"Neither Mildred nor I, merit this from <i>you</i>, Dutton!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, you're both perfection; like mother, like child. Haven't I been,
+fifty times, at death's door, with this very complaint of Sir
+Wycherly's, and did either of you ever send for an apothecary, even?"</p>
+
+<p>"You have been occasionally indisposed, Dutton, but never apoplectic;
+and we have always thought a little sleep would restore you; as, indeed,
+it always has."</p>
+
+<p>"What business had you to <i>think</i>? Surgeons think, and medical men, and
+it was your duty to send for the nearest professional man, to look after
+one you're bound both to honour and obey. You are your own mistress,
+Martha, I do suppose, in a certain degree; and what can't be cured must
+be endured; but Mildred is my child; and I'll have her respect and love,
+if I break both your hearts in order to get at them."</p>
+
+<p>"A pious daughter always respects her parent, Dutton," said the wife,
+trembling from head to foot; "but love must come willingly, or, it will
+not come at all."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll see as to that, Mrs. Martha Dutton; we'll see as to that. Come
+hither, Mildred; I have a word to say to you, which may as well be said
+at once."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred, trembling like her mother, drew near; but with a feeling of
+filial piety, that no harshness could entirely smother, she felt anxious
+to prevent the father from further exposing himself, in the presence of
+Admiral Bluewater. With this view, then, and with this view only, she
+summoned firmness enough to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"Father," she said, "had we not better defer our family matters, until
+we are alone?"</p>
+
+<p>Under ordinary circumstances, Bluewater would not have waited for so
+palpable a hint, for he would have retired on the first appearance of
+any thing so disagreeable as a misunderstanding between man and wife.
+But, an ungovernable interest in the lovely girl, who stood trembling at
+her father's knee, caused him to forget his habitual delicacy of
+feeling, and to overlook what might perhaps be termed almost a law of
+society. Instead of moving, therefore, as Mildred had both hoped and
+expected, he remained motionless in his seat. Dutton's mind was too
+obtuse to comprehend his daughter's allusions, in the absence, of ocular
+evidence of a stranger's presence, and his wrath was too much excited to
+permit him to think much of any thing but his own causes of indignation.</p>
+
+<p>"Stand more in front of me, Mildred," he answered, angrily. "More before
+my face, as becomes one who don't know her duty to her parent, and needs
+be taught it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Dutton," exclaimed the afflicted wife; "do not&mdash;do not&mdash;accuse
+Mildred of being undutiful! You know not what you say&mdash;know not her
+obliga&mdash;you cannot know her <i>heart</i>, or you would not use these cruel
+imputations!"</p>
+
+<p>"Silence, Mrs. Martha Dutton&mdash;my business is not with <i>you</i>, at present,
+but with this young lady, to whom, I hope, I may presume to speak a
+little plainly, as she is my own child. Silence, then, Mrs. Martha
+Dutton. If my memory is not treacherous, you once stood up before God's
+altar with me, and there vow'd to love, honour, and <i>obey</i>. Yes, that
+was the word; <i>obey</i>, Mrs. Martha Dutton."</p>
+
+<p>"And what did <i>you</i> promise, at the same time, Frank?" exclaimed the
+wife, from whose bruised spirit this implied accusation was torn in an
+agony of mental suffering.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing but what I have honestly and manfully performed. I promised to
+provide for you; to give you food and raiment; to let you hear my name,
+and stand before the world in the honourable character of honest Frank
+Dutton's wife."</p>
+
+<p>"Honourable!" murmured the wife, loud enough to be heard by both the
+Admiral and Mildred, and yet in a tone so smothered, as to elude the
+obtuse sense of hearing, that long excess had left her husband. When
+this expressive word had broken out of her very heart, however, she
+succeeded in suppressing her voice, and sinking into a chair, concealed
+her face in her hands, in silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Mildred, come hither," resumed the brutalized parent. "<i>You</i> are my
+daughter, and whatever others have promised at the altar, and forgotten,
+a law of nature teaches you to obey me. You have two admirers, either of
+whom you ought to be glad to secure, though there is a great preference
+between them&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Father!" exclaimed Mildred, every feeling of her sensitive nature
+revolting at this coarse allusion to a connection, and to sentiments,
+that she was accustomed to view as among the most sacred and private of
+her moral being. "Surely, you cannot mean what you say!"</p>
+
+<p>"Like mother, like child! Let but disobedience and disrespect get
+possession of a wife, and they are certain to run through a whole
+family, even though there were a dozen children! Harkee, Miss Mildred,
+it is <i>you</i> who don't happen to know what you say, while I understand
+myself as well as most parents. Your mother would never acquaint you
+with what I feel it a duty to put plainly before your judgment; and,
+therefore, I expect you to listen as becomes a dutiful and affectionate
+child. You can secure either of these young Wychecombes, and either of
+them would be a good match for a poor, disgraced, sailing-master's
+daughter."</p>
+
+<p>"Father, I shall sink through the floor, if you say another word, in
+this cruel manner!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, dear; you'll neither sink nor swim, unless it be by making a bad,
+or a good choice. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe is Sir Wycherly's heir, and must
+be the next baronet, and possessor of this estate. Of course he is much
+the best thing, and you ought to give him a preference."</p>
+
+<p>"Dutton, <i>can</i> you, as a father and a Christian, give such heartless
+counsel to your own child!" exclaimed Mrs. Dutton, inexpressibly shocked
+at the want of principle, as well as at the want of feeling, discovered
+in her husband's advice.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Martha Dutton, I can; and believe the counsel to be any thing but
+heartless, too. Do you wish your daughter to be the wife of a miserable
+signal-station keeper, when she may become Lady Wychecombe, with a
+little prudent management, and the mistress of this capital old house,
+and noble estate?"</p>
+
+<p>"Father&mdash;father," interrupted Mildred, soothingly, though ready to sink
+with shame at the idea of Admiral Bluewater's being an auditor of such a
+conversation; "you forget yourself, and overlook my wishes. There is
+little probability of Mr. Thomas Wychecombe's ever thinking of me as a
+wife&mdash;or, indeed of anyone else's entertaining such thoughts."</p>
+
+<p>"That will turn out, as you manage matters, Milly. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe
+does not think of you as a <i>wife</i>, quite likely, just at this moment;
+but the largest whales are taken by means of very small lines, when the
+last are properly handled. This young lieutenant would have you
+to-morrow; though a more silly thing than for you two to marry, could
+not well be hit upon. He is only a lieutenant; and though his name is so
+good a one, it does not appear that he has any particular right to it."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet, Dutton, you were only a lieutenant when <i>you</i> married, and
+your name was <i>nothing</i> in the way of interest, or preferment," observed
+the mother, anxious to interpose some new feeling between her daughter,
+and the cruel inference left by the former part of her husband's speech.
+"We <i>then</i> thought all lay bright before us!"</p>
+
+<p>"And so all would lie to this hour, Mrs. Dutton, but for that one silly
+act of mine. A man with the charges of a family on him, little pay, and
+no fortune, is driven to a thousand follies to hide his misery. You do
+not strengthen your case by reminding me of <i>that</i> imprudence. But,
+Mildred, I do not tell you to cut adrift this young Virginian, for he
+may he of use in more ways than one. In the first place, you can play
+him off against Mr. Thomas Wychecombe; and, in the second place, a
+lieutenant is likely, one day, to be a captain; and the wife of a
+captain in His Majesty's navy, is no disreputable birth. I advise you,
+girl, to use this youngster as a bait to catch the heir with; and,
+failing a good bite, to take up with the lad himself."</p>
+
+<p>This was said dogmatically, but with a coarseness of manner that fully
+corresponded with the looseness of the principles, and the utter want of
+delicacy of feeling that alone could prompt such advice. Mrs. Dutton
+fairly groaned, as she listened to her husband, for never before had he
+so completely thrown aside the thin mask of decency that he ordinarily
+wore; but Mildred, unable to control the burst of wild emotion that came
+over her, broke away from the place she occupied at her father's knee,
+and, as if blindly seeking protection in any asylum that she fancied
+safe, found herself sobbing, as if her heart would break, in Admiral
+Bluewater's arms.</p>
+
+<p>Dutton followed the ungovernable, impulsive movement, with his eye, and
+for the first time he became aware in whose presence he had been
+exposing his native baseness. Wine had not so far the mastery of him, as
+to blind him to all the consequences, though it did stimulate him to a
+point that enabled him to face the momentary mortification of his
+situation.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg a thousand pardons, sir," he said, rising, and bowing low to his
+superior; "I was totally ignorant that I had the honour to be in the
+company of Admiral Bluewater&mdash;Admiral Blue, I find Jack calls you, sir;
+ha-ha-ha&mdash;a familiarity which is a true sign of love and respect. I
+never knew a captain, or a flag-officer, that got a regular, expressive
+ship's name, that he wasn't the delight of the whole service. Yes, sir;
+I find the people call Sir Gervaise, Little Jarvy, and yourself, Admiral
+Blue&mdash;ha-ha-ha&mdash;an infallible sign of merit in the superior, and of love
+in the men."</p>
+
+<p>"I ought to apologize, Mr. Dutton, for making one, so unexpectedly to
+myself, in a family council," returned the rear-admiral. "As for the
+men, they are no great philosophers, though tolerable judges of when
+they are well commanded, and well treated.&mdash;But, the hour is late, and
+it was my intention to sleep in my own ship, to-night. The coach of Sir
+Wycherly has been ordered to carry me to the landing, and I hope to have
+your permission to see these ladies home in it."</p>
+
+<p>The answer of Dutton was given with perfect self-possession, and in a
+manner to show that he knew how to exercise the courtesies of life, or
+to receive them, when in the humour.</p>
+
+<p>"It is an honour, sir, they will not think of declining, if my wishes
+are consulted," he said. "Come, Milly, foolish girl, dry your tears,
+and smile on Admiral Bluewater, for his condescension. Young women, sir,
+hardly know how to take a joke; and our ship's humours are sometimes a
+little strong for them. I tell my dear wife, sometimes&mdash;'Wife,' I say,
+'His Majesty can't have stout-hearted and stout-handed seamen, and the
+women poets and die-away swains, and all in the same individual,' says
+I. Mrs. Dutton understands me, sir; and so does little Milly; who is an
+excellent girl in the main; though a little addicted to using the
+eye-pumps, as we have it aboard ship, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"And, now, Mr. Dutton, it being understood that I am to see the ladies
+home, will you do me the favour to inquire after the condition of Sir
+Wycherly. One would not wish to quit his hospitable roof, in uncertainty
+as to his actual situation."</p>
+
+<p>Dutton was duly sensible of an awkwardness in the presence of his
+superior, and he gladly profited by this commission to quit the room;
+walking more steadily than if he had not been drinking.</p>
+
+<p>All this time, Mildred hung on Admiral Bluewater's shoulder, weeping,
+and unwilling to quit a place that seemed to her, in her fearful
+agitation, a sort of sanctuary.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, first kissing the cheek of his lovely
+burthen, in a manner so parental, that the most sensitive delicacy could
+not have taken the alarm; "you will succeed better than myself, in
+quieting the feelings of this little trembler. I need hardly say that if
+I have accidentally overheard more than I ought, it is as much a secret
+with me, as it would be with your own brother. The characters of all
+cannot be affected by the mistaken and excited calculations of one; and
+this occasion has served to make me better acquainted with you, and your
+admirable daughter, than I might otherwise have been, by means of years
+of ordinary intercourse."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Admiral Bluewater, do not judge him <i>too</i> harshly! He has been too
+long at that fatal table, which I fear has destroyed poor dear Sir
+Wycherly, and knew not what he said. Never before have I seen him in
+such a fearful humour, or in the least disposed to trifle with, or to
+wound the feelings of this sweet child!"</p>
+
+<p>"Her extreme agitation is a proof of this, my good madam, and shows all
+you can wish to say. View me as your sincere friend, and place every
+reliance on my discretion."</p>
+
+<p>The wounded mother listened with gratitude, and Mildred withdrew from
+her extraordinary situation, wondering by what species of infatuation
+she could have been led to adopt it.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">&mdash;&mdash;"Ah, Montague,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If thou be there, sweet brother, take my hand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with thy lips keep in my soul awhile!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou lov'st me not; for, brother, if thou didst,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy tears would wash this cold congealed blood<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That glues my lips, and will not let me speak.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Come quickly, Montague, or I am dead."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">King Henry VI.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly had actually been seized with a fit of apoplexy. It was the
+first serious disease he had experienced in a long life of health and
+prosperity; and the sight of their condescending, good-humored, and
+indulgent master, in a plight so miserable, had a surprising effect on
+the heated brains of all the household. Mr. Rotherham, a good
+three-bottle man, on emergency, had learned to bleed, and fortunately
+the vein he struck, as his patient still lay on the floor, where he had
+fallen, sent out a stream that had the effect not only to restore the
+baronet to life, but, in a great measure, to consciousness. Sir Wycherly
+was not a <i>hard</i> drinker, like Dutton; but he was a <i>fair</i> drinker, like
+Mr. Rotherham, and most of the beneficed clergy of that day. Want of
+exercise, as he grew older, had as much influence in producing his
+attack as excess of wine; and there were already, strong hopes of his
+surviving it, aided as he was, by a good constitution. The apothecary
+had reached the Hall, within five minutes after the attack, having
+luckily been prescribing to the gardener; and the physician and surgeon
+of the family were both expected in the course of the morning.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes had been acquainted with the state of his host, by
+his own valet, as soon as it was known in the servants'-hall, and being
+a man of action, he did not hesitate to proceed at once to the chamber
+of the sick, to offer his own aid, in the absence of that which might be
+better. At the door of the chamber, he met Atwood, who had been summoned
+from his pen, and they entered together, the vice-admiral feeling for a
+lancet in his pocket, for he, too, had acquired the art of the
+blood-letter. They now learned the actual state of things.</p>
+
+<p>"Where is Bluewater?" demanded Sir Gervaise, after regarding his host a
+moment with commiseration and concern. "I hope he has not yet left the
+house."</p>
+
+<p>"He is still here, Sir Gervaise, but I should think on the point of
+quitting us. I heard him say, that, notwithstanding all Sir Wycherly's
+kind plans to detain him, he intended to sleep in his own ship."</p>
+
+<p>"That I've never doubted, though I've affected to believe otherwise. Go
+to him, Atwood, and say I beg he will pull within hail of the
+Plantagenet, as he goes off, and desire Mr. Magrath to come ashore, as
+soon as possible. There shall be a conveyance at the landing to bring
+him here; and he may order his own surgeon to come also, if it be
+agreeable to himself."</p>
+
+<p>With these instructions the secretary left the room; while Sir Gervaise
+turned to Tom Wychecombe, and said a few of the words customary on such
+melancholy occasions.</p>
+
+<p>"I think there is hope, sir," he added, "yes, sir, I think there is
+hope; though your honoured relative is no longer young&mdash;still, this
+early bleeding has been a great thing; and if we can gain a little time
+for poor Sir Wycherly, our efforts will not be thrown away. Sudden death
+is awful, sir, and few of us are prepared for it, either in mind, or
+affairs. We sailors have to hold our lives in our hands, it is true, but
+then it is for king and country; and we hope for mercy on all who fall
+in the discharge of their duties. For my part, I am never unprovided
+with a will, and that disposes of all the interests of this world, while
+I humbly trust in the Great Mediator, for the hereafter. I hope Sir
+Wycherly is equally provident as to his worldly affairs?"</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt my dear uncle could wish to leave certain trifling memorials
+behind him to a few of his intimates," returned Tom, with a dejected
+countenance; "but he has not been without a will, I believe, for some
+time; and I presume you will agree with me in thinking he is not in a
+condition to make one, now, were he unprovided in that way?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps not exactly at this moment, though a rally might afford an
+opportunity. The estate is entailed, I think Mr. Dutton told me, at
+dinner."</p>
+
+<p>"It is, Sir Gervaise, and I am the unworthy individual who is to profit
+by it, according to the common notions of men, though Heaven knows I
+shall consider it any thing but a gain; still, I am the unworthy
+individual who is to be benefited by my uncle's death."</p>
+
+<p>"Your father was the baronet's next brother?" observed Sir Gervaise,
+casually, a shade of distrust passing athwart his mind, though coming
+from what source, or directed to what point, he was himself totally
+unable to say. "Mr. Baron Wychecombe, I believe, was your parent?"</p>
+
+<p>"He was, Sir Gervaise, and a most tender and indulgent father, I ever
+found him. He left me his earnings, some seven hundred a year, and I am
+sure the death of Sir Wycherly is as far from my necessities, as it is
+from my wishes."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you will succeed to the baronetcy, as well as to the estate?"
+mechanically asked Sir Gervaise, led on by the supererogatory
+expressions of Tom, himself, rather than by a vulgar curiosity, to ask
+questions that, under other circumstances, he might have thought
+improper.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, sir. My father was the only surviving brother of Sir
+Wycherly; the only one who ever married; and I am <i>his</i> eldest child.
+Since this melancholy event has occurred, it is quite fortunate that I
+lately obtained this certificate of the marriage of my parents&mdash;is it
+not, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>Here Tom drew from his pocket a soiled piece of paper, which professed
+to be a certificate of the marriage of Thomas Wychecombe, barrister,
+with Martha Dodd, spinster, &amp;c. &amp;c. The document was duly signed by the
+rector of a parish church in Westminster, and bore a date sufficiently
+old to establish the legitimacy of the person who held it. This
+extraordinary precaution produced the very natural effect of increasing
+the distrust of the vice-admiral, and, in a slight degree, of giving it
+a direction.</p>
+
+<p>"You go well armed, sir," observed Sir Gervaise, drily. "Is it your
+intention, when you succeed, to carry the patent of the baronetcy, and
+the title-deeds, in your pocket?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I perceive my having this document strikes you as odd, Sir
+Gervaise, but it can be easily explained. There was a wide difference in
+rank between my parents, and some ill-disposed persons have presumed so
+far to reflect on the character of my mother, as to assert she was not
+married at all."</p>
+
+<p>"In which case, sir, you would do well to cut off half-a-dozen of their
+ears."</p>
+
+<p>"The law is not to be appeased in that way, Sir Gervaise. My dear parent
+used to inculcate on me the necessity of doing every thing according to
+law; and I endeavour to remember his precepts. He avowed his marriage on
+his death-bed, made all due atonement to my respected and injured
+mother, and informed me in whose hands I should find this very
+certificate; I only obtained it this morning, which fact will account
+for its being in my pocket, at this melancholy and unexpected crisis, in
+my beloved uncle's constitution."</p>
+
+<p>The latter part of Tom's declaration was true enough; for, after having
+made all the necessary inquiries, and obtained the hand-writing of a
+clergyman who was long since dead, he had actually forged the
+certificate that day, on a piece of soiled paper, that bore the
+water-mark of 1720. His language, however, contributed to alienate the
+confidence of his listener; Sir Gervaise being a man who was so much
+accustomed to directness and fair-dealing, himself, as to feel disgust
+at any thing that had the semblance of cant or hypocrisy. Nevertheless,
+he had his own motives for pursuing the subject; the presence of neither
+at the bed-side of the sufferer, being just then necessary.</p>
+
+<p>"And this Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe," he said; "he who has so much
+distinguished himself of late; your uncle's namesake;&mdash;is it true that
+he is not allied to your family?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not in the least, Sir Gervaise," answered Tom, with one of his sinister
+smiles. "He is only a Virginian, you know, sir, and cannot well belong
+to us. I have heard my uncle say, often, that the young gentleman must
+be descended from an old servant of his father's, who was transported
+for stealing silver out of a shop on Ludgate Hill, and who was arrested
+for passing himself off, as one of the Wychecombe family. They tell me,
+Sir Gervaise, that the colonies are pretty much made of persons
+descended from that sort of ancestors?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot say that I have found it so; though, when I commanded a
+frigate, I served several years on the North American station. The
+larger portion of the Americans, like much the larger portion of the
+English, are humble labourers, established in a remote colony, where
+civilization is not far advanced, wants are many, and means few; but, in
+the way of character, I am not certain that they are not quite on a
+level with those they left behind them; and, as to the gentry of the
+colonies, I have seen many men of the best blood of the mother country
+among them;&mdash;younger sons, and their descendants, as a matter of course,
+but of an honourable and respected ancestry."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, this surprises me; and it is not the general opinion, I am
+persuaded! Certainly, it is not the fact as respects the
+gentleman&mdash;stranger, I might call him, for stranger he is at
+Wychecombe&mdash;who has not the least right to pretend to belong to us."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever know him to lay claim to that honour, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not directly, Sir Gervaise; though I am told he has made many hints to
+that effect, since he landed here to be cured of his wound. It would
+have been better had he presented his rights to the landlord, than to
+present them to the tenants, I think you will allow, as a man of honour,
+yourself, Sir Gervaise?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can approve of nothing clandestine in matters that require open and
+fair dealing, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe. But I ought to apologize for thus
+dwelling on your family affairs, which concern me only as I feel an
+interest in the wishes and happiness of my new acquaintance, my
+excellent host."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly has property in the funds that is not entailed&mdash;quite
+&pound;1000 a year, beyond the estates&mdash;and I know he has left a will,"
+continued Tom; who, with the short-sightedness of a rogue, flattered
+himself with having made a favourable impression on his companion, and
+who was desirous of making him useful to himself, in an emergency that
+he felt satisfied must terminate in the speedy death of his uncle. "Yes,
+a good &pound;1000 a year, in the fives; money saved from his rents, in a long
+life. This will probably has some provision in favour of my younger
+brothers; and perhaps of this namesake of his,"&mdash;Tom was well aware that
+it devised every shilling, real and personal, to himself;&mdash;"for a kinder
+heart does not exist on earth. In fact, this will my uncle put in my
+possession, as heir at law, feeling it due to my pretensions, I suppose;
+but I have never presumed to look into it."</p>
+
+<p>Here was another instance of excessive finesse, in which Tom awakened
+suspicion by his very efforts to allay it. It seemed highly improbable
+to Sir Gervaise, that a man like the nephew could long possess his
+uncle's will, and feel no desire to ascertain its contents. The language
+of the young man was an indirect admission, that he might have examined
+the will if he would; and the admiral felt disposed to suspect that what
+he might thus readily have done, he actually had done. The dialogue,
+however, terminated here; Dutton, just at that moment, entering the room
+on the errand on which he had been sent by Admiral Bluewater, and Tom
+joining his old acquaintance, as soon as the latter made his appearance.
+Sir Gervaise Oakes was too much concerned for the condition of his host,
+and had too many cares of his own, to think deeply or long on what had
+just passed between himself and Tom Wychecombe. Had they separated that
+night, what had been said, and the unfavourable impressions it had made,
+would have been soon forgotten; but circumstances subsequently conspired
+to recall the whole to his mind, of which the consequences will be
+related in the course of our narrative.</p>
+
+<p>Dutton appeared to be a little shocked as he gazed upon the pallid
+features of Sir Wycherly, and he was not sorry when Tom led him aside,
+and began to speak confidentially of the future, and of the probable
+speedy death of his uncle. Had there been one present, gifted with the
+power of reading the thoughts and motives of men, a deep disgust of
+human frailties must have come over him, as these two impure spirits
+betrayed to him their cupidity and cunning. Outwardly, they were friends
+mourning over a mutual probable loss; while inwardly, Dutton was
+endeavouring to obtain such a hold of his companion's confidence, as
+might pave the way to his own future preferment to the high and
+unhoped-for station of a rich baronet's father-in-law; while Tom thought
+only of so far mystifying the master, as to make use of him, on an
+emergency, as a witness to establish his own claims. The manner in which
+he endeavoured to effect his object, however, must be left to the
+imagination of the reader, as we have matters of greater moment to
+record at this particular juncture.</p>
+
+<p>From the time Sir Wycherly was laid on his bed, Mr. Rotherham had been
+seated at the sick man's side, watching the course of his attack, and
+ready to interpret any of the patient's feebly and indistinctly
+expressed wishes. We say indistinctly, because the baronet's speech was
+slightly affected with that species of paralysis which reduces the
+faculty to the state that is vulgarly called thick-tongued. Although a
+three-bottle man, Mr. Rotherham was far from being without his devout
+feelings, on occasions, discharging all the clerical functions with as
+much unction as the habits of the country, and the opinions of the day,
+ordinarily exacted of divines. He had even volunteered to read the
+prayers for the sick, as soon as he perceived that the patient's
+recollection had returned; but this kind offer had been declined by Sir
+Wycherly, under the clearer views of fitness, that the near approach of
+death is apt to give, and which views left a certain consciousness that
+the party assembled was not in the best possible condition for that
+sacred office. Sir Wycherly revived so much, at last, as to look about
+him with increasing consciousness; and, at length, his eyes passed
+slowly over the room, scanning each person singly, and with marked
+deliberation.</p>
+
+<p>"I know you all&mdash;now," said the kind-hearted baronet, though always
+speaking thick, and with a little difficulty; "am sorry to give&mdash;much
+trouble. I have&mdash;little time to spare."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope not, Sir Wycherly," put in the vicar, in a consolatory manner;
+"you have had a sharp attack, but then there is a good constitution to
+withstand it."</p>
+
+<p>"My time&mdash;short&mdash;feel it here," rejoined the patient, passing his hand
+over his forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"Note that, Dutton," whispered Tom Wycherly. "My poor uncle intimates
+himself that his mind is a little shaken. Under such circumstances, it
+would be cruel to let him injure himself with business."</p>
+
+<p>"It cannot be done <i>legally</i>, Mr. Thomas&mdash;I should think Admiral Oakes
+would interfere to prevent it."</p>
+
+<p>"Rotherham," continued the patient, "I will&mdash;settle with&mdash;world; then,
+give&mdash;thoughts&mdash;to God. Have we&mdash;guests&mdash;the house?&mdash;Men of
+family&mdash;character?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, Sir Wycherly; Admiral Oakes is in the room, even; and
+Admiral Bluewater, is, I believe, still in the house. You invited both
+to pass the night with you."</p>
+
+<p>"I remember it&mdash;now; my mind&mdash;still&mdash;confused,"&mdash;here Tom Wychecombe
+again nudged the master&mdash;"Sir Gervaise Oakes&mdash;an Admiral&mdash;ancient
+baronet&mdash;man of high honour. Admiral Bluewater, too&mdash;relative&mdash;Lord
+Bluewater; gentleman&mdash;universal esteem. You, too, Rotherham; wish my
+poor brother James&mdash;St. James&mdash;used to call him&mdash;had been
+living;&mdash;you&mdash;good neighbour&mdash;Rotherham."</p>
+
+<p>"Can I do any thing to prove it, my dear Sir Wycherly? Nothing would
+make me happier than to know, and to comply with, all your wishes, at a
+moment so important!"</p>
+
+<p>"Let all quit&mdash;room&mdash;but yourself&mdash;head feels worse&mdash;I cannot delay&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis cruel to distress my beloved uncle with business, or conversation,
+in his present state," interposed Tom Wychecombe, with emphasis, and, in
+a slight degree, with authority.</p>
+
+<p>All not only felt the truth of this, but all felt that the speaker, by
+his consanguinity, had a clear right to interfere, in the manner he had.
+Still Sir Gervaise Oakes had great reluctance in yielding to this
+remonstrance; for, to the distrust he had imbibed of Tom Wychecombe, was
+added an impression that his host wished to reveal something of
+interest, in connection with his new favourite, the lieutenant. He felt
+compelled, notwithstanding, to defer to the acknowledged nephew's better
+claims, and he refrained from interfering. Fortunately, Sir Wycherly was
+yet in a state to enforce his own wishes.</p>
+
+<p>"Let all quit&mdash;room," he repeated, in a voice that was startling by its
+unexpected firmness, and equally unexpected distinctness. "All but Sir
+Gervaise Oakes&mdash;Admiral Bluewater&mdash;Mr. Rotherham, Gentlemen&mdash;favour to
+remain&mdash;rest depart."</p>
+
+<p>Accustomed to obey their master's orders, more especially when given in
+a tone so decided, the domestics quitted the room, accompanied by
+Dutton; but Tom Wychecombe saw fit to remain, as if his presence were to
+be a matter of course.</p>
+
+<p>"Do me&mdash;favour&mdash;withdraw,&mdash;Mr. Wychecombe," resumed the baronet, after
+fixing his gaze on his nephew for some time, as if expecting him to
+retire without this request.</p>
+
+<p>"My beloved uncle, it is I&mdash;Thomas, your own brother's son&mdash;your next of
+kin&mdash;waiting anxiously by your respected bed-side. Do not&mdash;do
+not&mdash;confound me with strangers. Such a forgetfulness would break my
+heart!"</p>
+
+<p>"Forgive me, nephew&mdash;but I wish&mdash;alone with these
+gentle&mdash;&mdash;head&mdash;getting&mdash;confused&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You see how it is, Sir Gervaise Oakes&mdash;you see how it is, Mr.
+Rotherham. Ah! there goes the coach that is to take Admiral Bluewater to
+his boat. My uncle wished for three witnesses to something, and I can
+remain as one of the three."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it your pleasure, Sir Wycherly, to wish to see us alone?" asked Sir
+Gervaise, in a manner that showed authority would be exercised to
+enforce his request, should the uncle still desire the absence of his
+nephew.</p>
+
+<p>A sign from the sick man indicated the affirmative, and that in a manner
+too decided to admit of mistake.</p>
+
+<p>"You perceive, Mr. Wychecombe, what are your uncle's wishes," observed
+Sir Gervaise, very much in the way that a well-bred superior intimates
+to an inferior the compliance he expects; "I trust his desire will not
+be disregarded, at a moment like this."</p>
+
+<p>"I am Sir Wycherly Wychecombe's next of kin," said Tom, in a slightly
+bullying tone; "and no one has the same right as a relative, and, I may
+say, his heir, to be at his bed-side."</p>
+
+<p>"That depends on the pleasure of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe himself, sir.
+<i>He</i> is master here; and, having done me the honour to invite me under
+his roof as a guest, and, now, having requested to see me alone, with
+others he has expressly named&mdash;one of whom you are not&mdash;I shall conceive
+it my duty to see his wishes obeyed."</p>
+
+<p>This was said in the firm, quiet way, that the habit of command had
+imparted to Sir Gervaise's manner; and Tom began to see it might be
+dangerous to resist. It was important, too, that one of the
+vice-admiral's character and station should have naught to say against
+him, in the event of any future controversy; and, making a few
+professions of respect, and of his desire to please his uncle, Tom
+quitted the room.</p>
+
+<p>A gleam of satisfaction shot over the sick man's countenance, as his
+nephew disappeared; and then his eye turned slowly towards the faces of
+those who remained.</p>
+
+<p>"Bluewater," he said, the thickness of his speech, and the general
+difficulty of utterance, seeming to increase; "the rear-admiral&mdash;I want
+all&mdash;respectable&mdash;witnesses in the house."</p>
+
+<p>"My friend has left us, I understand," returned Sir Gervaise, "insisting
+on his habit of never sleeping out of his ship; but Atwood must soon be
+back; I hope <i>he</i> will answer!"</p>
+
+<p>A sign of assent was given; and, then, there was the pause of a minute,
+or two, ere the secretary made his appearance. As soon, however, as he
+had returned, the three collected around the baronet's bed, not without
+some of the weakness which men are supposed to have inherited from their
+common mother Eve, in connection with the motive for this singular
+proceeding of the baronet.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise&mdash;Rotherham&mdash;Mr. Atwood," slowly repeated the patient, his
+eye passing from the face of one to that of another, as he uttered the
+name of each; "three witnesses&mdash;that will do&mdash;Thomas said&mdash;must have
+<i>three</i>&mdash;three <i>good</i> names."</p>
+
+<p>"What can we do to serve you, Sir Wycherly?" inquired the admiral, with
+real interest. "You have only to name your requests, to have them
+faithfully attended to."</p>
+
+<p>"Old Sir Michael Wychecombe, Kt.&mdash;two wives&mdash;Margery and Joan. Two
+wives&mdash;two sons&mdash;half-blood&mdash;Thomas, James, Charles, and Gregory,
+<i>whole</i>&mdash;Sir Reginald Wychecombe, <i>half</i>. Understand&mdash;hope&mdash;gentlemen?"</p>
+
+<p>"This is not being very clear, certainly," whispered Sir Gervaise; "but,
+perhaps by getting hold of the other end of the rope, we may under-run
+it, as we sailors say, and come at the meaning&mdash;we will let the poor man
+proceed, therefore. Quite plain, my dear sir, and what have you next to
+tell us. You left off without saying only <i>half</i> about Sir Reginald."</p>
+
+<p>"Half-blood; only <i>half</i>&mdash;Tom and the rest, whole. Sir Reginald, no
+<i>nullius</i>&mdash;young Tom, a <i>nullius</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"A <i>nullius</i>, Mr. Rotherham! You understand Latin, sir; what can a
+<i>nullius</i>, mean? No such rope in the ship, hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Nullius</i>, or <i>nullius</i>, as it ought sometimes to be pronounced, is the
+genitive case, singular, of the pronoun <i>nullus; nullus, nulla, nullum</i>;
+which means, 'no man,' 'no woman,' 'no thing.' <i>Nullius</i> means, 'of no
+man,' 'of no woman,' 'of no thing.'"</p>
+
+<p>The vicar gave this explanation, much in the way a pedagogue would have
+explained the matter to a class.</p>
+
+<p>"Ay-ay&mdash;any school-boy could have told that, which is the first form
+learning. But what the devil can 'Nom. <i>nullus, nulla, nullum</i>; Gen.
+<i>nullius, nullius, nullius</i>,' have to do with Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, the
+nephew and heir of the present baronet?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is more than I can inform you, Sir Gervaise," answered the vicar,
+stiffly; "but, for the Latin, I will take upon myself to answer, that it
+is good."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise was too-well bred to laugh, but he found it difficult to
+suppress a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Sir Wycherly," resumed the vice-admiral, "this is quite
+plain&mdash;Sir Reginald is only <i>half</i>, while your nephew Tom, and the rest,
+are <i>whole</i>&mdash;Margery and Joan, and all that. Any thing more to tell us,
+my dear sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tom <i>not</i> whole&mdash;<i>nullus</i>, I wish to say. Sir Reginald <i>half</i>&mdash;no
+<i>nullus</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"This is like being at sea a week, without getting a sight of the sun! I
+am all adrift, now, gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly does not attend to his cases," put in Atwood, drily. "At
+one time, he is in the <i>genitive</i>, and then he gets back to the
+<i>nominative</i>; which is leaving us in the <i>vocative</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"Come&mdash;come&mdash;Atwood, none of your gun-room wit, on an occasion so solemn
+as this. My dear Sir Wycherly, have you any thing more to tell us? I
+believe we perfectly understand you, now. Tom is not <i>whole</i>&mdash;you wish
+to say <i>nullus</i>, and not to say <i>nullius</i>. Sir Reginald is only <i>half</i>,
+but he is no <i>nullus</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir&mdash;that is it," returned the old man, smiling. "<i>Half</i>, but no
+<i>nullus</i>. Change my mind&mdash;seen too much of the other, lately&mdash;Tom, my
+nephew&mdash;want to make <i>him</i> my heir."</p>
+
+<p>"This is getting clearer, out of all question. You wish to make your
+nephew, Tom, your heir. But the law does that already, does it not my
+dear sir? Mr. Baron Wychecombe was the next brother of the baronet; was
+he not, Mr. Rotherham?"</p>
+
+<p>"So I have always understood, sir; and Mr. Thomas Wychecombe must be the
+heir at law."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;no&mdash;<i>nullus</i>&mdash;<i>nullus</i>," repeated Sir Wycherly, with so much
+eagerness as to make his voice nearly indistinct; "Sir Reginald&mdash;Sir
+Reginald&mdash;Sir Reginald."</p>
+
+<p>"And pray, Mr. Rotherham, who may this Sir Reginald be? Some old baronet
+of the family, I presume."</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all, sir; it is Sir Reginald Wychecombe of Wychecombe-Regis,
+Herts; a baronet of Queen Anne's time, and a descendant from a cadet of
+this family, I am told."</p>
+
+<p>"This is getting on soundings&mdash;I had taken it into my head this Sir
+Reginald was some old fellow of the reign of one of the Plantagenets.
+Well, Sir Wycherly, do you wish us to send an express into
+Hertfordshire, in quest of Sir Reginald Wychecombe, who is quite likely
+your executor? Do not give yourself the pain to speak; a sign will
+answer."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly seemed struck with the suggestion, which, the reader will
+readily understand, was far from being his real meaning; and then he
+smiled, and nodded his head in approbation.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise, with the prompitude of a man of business, turned to the
+table where the vicar had written notes to the medical men, and dictated
+a short letter to his secretary. This letter he signed, and in five
+minutes Atwood left the room, to order it to be immediately forwarded by
+express. When this was done, the admiral rubbed his hands, in
+satisfaction, like a man who felt he had got himself cleverly out of a
+knotty difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see, after all, Mr. Rotherham," he observed to the vicar, as
+they stood together, in a corner of the room, waiting the return of the
+secretary; "what he lugged in that school-boy Latin for&mdash;<i>nullus, nulla,
+nullum</i>! Can you possibly explain <i>that</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not unless it was Sir Wycherly's desire to say, that Sir Reginald,
+being descended from a younger son, was nobody&mdash;as yet, had no
+woman&mdash;and I believe he is not married&mdash;and was poor, or had 'no
+<i>thing</i>.'"</p>
+
+<p>"And is Sir Wycherly such a desperate scholar, that he would express
+himself in this hieroglyphical manner, on what I fear will prove to be
+his death-bed?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Sir Gervaise, Sir Wycherly was educated like all other young
+gentlemen, but has forgotten most of his classics, in the course of a
+long life of ease and affluence. Is it not probable, now, that his
+recollection has returned to him suddenly, in consequence of this
+affection of the head? I think I have read of some curious instances of
+these reviving memories, on a death-bed, or after a fit of sickness."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that you may have done!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, smiling; "and
+poor, good Sir Wycherly, must have begun afresh, at the very place where
+he left off. But here is Atwood, again."</p>
+
+<p>After a short consultation, the three chosen witnesses returned to the
+bed-side, the admiral being spokesman.</p>
+
+<p>"The express will be off in ten minutes. Sir Wycherly," he said; "and
+you may hope to see your relative, in the course of the next two or
+three days."</p>
+
+<p>"Too late&mdash;too late," murmured the patient, who had an inward
+consciousness of his true situation; "too late&mdash;turn the will round&mdash;Sir
+Reginald, Tom;&mdash;Tom, Sir Reginald. Turn the will round."</p>
+
+<p>"Turn the will round!&mdash;this is very explicit, gentlemen, to those who
+can understand it. Sir Reginald, Tom;&mdash;Tom, Sir Reginald. At all events,
+it is clear that his mind is dwelling on the disposition of his
+property, since he speaks of wills. Atwood, make a note of these words,
+that there need be no mistake. I wonder he has said nothing of our brave
+young lieutenant, his namesake. There can be no harm, Mr. Rotherham, in
+just mentioning that fine fellow to him, in a moment like this?"</p>
+
+<p>"I see none, sir. It is <i>our</i> duty to remind the sick of <i>their</i>
+duties."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you not wish to see your young namesake, Lieutenant <i>Wycherly</i>
+Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly?" asked the admiral; sufficiently emphasizing
+the Christian name. "He must be in the house, and I dare say would be
+happy to obey your wishes."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope he is well, sir&mdash;fine young gentleman&mdash;honour to the name, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, Sir Wycherly; and an honour to the <i>nation</i>, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't know Virginia was a <i>nation</i>&mdash;so much the better&mdash;fine young
+<i>Virginian</i>, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Of your <i>family</i>, no doubt, Sir Wycherly, as well as of your name,"
+added the admiral, who secretly suspected the young sailor of being a
+son of the baronet, notwithstanding all he had heard to the contrary.
+"An exceedingly fine young man, and an honour to any house in England!"</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose they <i>have</i> houses in Virginia&mdash;bad climate; houses
+necessary. No relative, sir;&mdash;probably a <i>nullus</i>. Many
+Wychecombes, <i>nulluses</i>. Tom, a <i>nullus</i>&mdash;this young gentleman, a
+<i>nullus</i>&mdash;Wychecombes of Surrey, all <i>nulluses</i>&mdash;Sir Reginald no
+<i>nullus</i>; but a <i>half</i>&mdash;Thomas, James, Charles, and Gregory, all
+<i>whole</i>. My brother, Baron Wychecombe, told me&mdash;before died."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Whole what</i>, Sir Wycherly?" asked the admiral, a little vexed at the
+obscurity of the other's language.</p>
+
+<p>"Blood&mdash;<i>whole blood</i>, sir. Capital law, Sir Gervaise; had it from the
+baron&mdash;first hand."</p>
+
+<p>Now, one of the peculiarities of England is, that, in the division of
+labour, few know any thing material about the law, except the
+professional men. Even their knowledge is divided and sub-divided, in a
+way that makes a very fair division of profit. Thus the conveyancer is
+not a barrister; the barrister is not an attorney; and the chancery
+practitioner would be an unsafe adviser for one of the purely law
+courts. That particular provision of the common law, which Baron
+Wychecombe had mentioned to his brother, as the rule of the
+<i>half-blood</i>, has been set aside, or modified, by statute, within the
+last ten years; but few English laymen would be at all likely to know of
+such a law of descent even when it existed; for while it did violence to
+every natural sentiment of right, it lay hidden in the secrets of the
+profession. Were a case stated to a thousand intelligent Englishmen, who
+had not read law, in which it was laid down that brothers, by different
+mothers, though equally sons of the founder of the estate, could not
+take from each other, unless by devise or entail, the probability is
+that quite nine in ten would deny the existence of any rule so absurd;
+and this, too, under the influence of feelings that were creditable to
+their sense of natural justice. Nevertheless, such was one of the
+important provisions of the "perfection of reason," until the recent
+reforms in English law; and it has struck us as surprising, that an
+ingenious writer of fiction, who has recently charmed his readers with a
+tale, the interest of which turns principally on the vicissitudes of
+practice, did not bethink him of this peculiar feature of his country's
+laws; inasmuch as it would have supplied mystery sufficient for a dozen
+ordinary romances, and improbabilities enough for a hundred. That Sir
+Gervaise and his companions should be ignorant of the "law of the
+half-blood," is, consequently, very much a matter of course; and no one
+ought to be surprised that the worthy baronet's repeated allusions to
+the "whole," and the "half," were absolutely enigmas, which neither had
+the knowledge necessary to explain.</p>
+
+<p>"What <i>can</i> the poor fellow mean?" demanded the admiral, more concerned
+than he remembered ever before to have been, on any similar occasion.
+"One could wish to serve him as much as possible, but all this about
+'<i>nullus</i>,' and 'whole blood,' and 'half,' is so much gibberish to
+me&mdash;can you make any thing of it,&mdash;hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, it seems a matter for a judge, rather than
+for man-of-war's men, like ourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"It certainly can have no connection with this rising of the Jacobites?
+<i>That</i> is an affair likely to trouble a loyal subject, in his last
+moments, Mr. Rotherham!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly's habits and age forbid the idea that he knows more of
+<i>that</i>, sir, than is known to us all. His request, however, to 'turn the
+will round,' I conceive to be altogether explicit. Several capital
+treatises have appeared lately on the 'human will,' and I regret to say,
+my honoured friend and patron has not always been quite as orthodox on
+that point, as I could wish. I, therefore, consider his words as
+evidence of a hearty repentance."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise looked about him, as was his habit when any droll idea
+crossed his mind; but again suppressing the inclination to smile, he
+answered with suitable gravity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I understand you, sir; you think all these inexplicable terms are
+connected with Sir Wycherly's religious feelings. You may certainly be
+right, for it exceeds my knowledge to connect them with any thing else.
+I wish, notwithstanding, he had not disowned this noble young lieutenant
+of ours! Is it quite certain the young man is a Virginian?"</p>
+
+<p>"So I have always understood it, sir. He has never been known in this
+part of England, until he was landed from a frigate in the roads, to be
+cured of a serious wound. I think none of Sir Wycherly's allusions have
+the least reference to <i>him</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes now joined his hands behind his back, and walked
+several times, quarter-deck fashion, to and fro, in the room. At each
+turn, his eyes glanced towards the bed, and he ever found the gaze of
+the sick man anxiously fastened on himself. This satisfied him that
+religion had nothing to do with his host's manifest desire to make
+himself understood; and his own trouble was greatly increased. It seemed
+to him, as if the dying man was making incessant appeals to his aid,
+without its being in his power to afford it. It was not possible for a
+generous man, like Sir Gervaise, to submit to such a feeling without an
+effort; and he soon went to the side of the bed, again, determined to
+bring the affair to some intelligible issue.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think, Sir Wycherly, you could write a few lines, if we put pen,
+ink, and paper before you?" he asked, as a sort of desperate remedy.</p>
+
+<p>"Impossible&mdash;can hardly see; have got no strength&mdash;stop&mdash;will try&mdash;if
+you please."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise was delighted with this, and he immediately directed his
+companions to lend their assistance. Atwood and the vicar bolstered the
+old man up, and the admiral put the writing materials before him,
+substituting a large quarto bible for a desk. Sir Wycherly, after
+several abortive attempts, finally got the pen in his hand, and with
+great difficulty traced six or seven nearly illegible words, running the
+line diagonally across the paper. By this time his powers failed him
+altogether, and he sunk back, dropping the pen, and closing his eyes in
+a partial insensibility. At this critical instant, the surgeon entered,
+and at once put an end to the interview, by taking charge of the
+patient, and directing all but one or two necessary attendants, to quit
+the room.</p>
+
+<p>The three chosen witnesses of what had just past, repaired together to a
+parlour; Atwood, by a sort of mechanical habit, taking with him the
+paper on which the baronet had scrawled the words just mentioned. This,
+by a sort of mechanical use, also, he put into the hands of Sir
+Gervaise, as soon as they entered the room; much as he would have laid
+before his superior, an order to sign, or a copy of a letter to the
+secretary of the Navy Board.</p>
+
+<p>"This is as bad as the '<i>nullus</i>!'" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, after
+endeavouring to decipher the scrawl in vain. "What is this first word,
+Mr. Rotherham&mdash;'Irish,' is it not,&mdash;hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe it is no move than 'I-n,' stretched over much more paper than
+is necessary."</p>
+
+<p>"You are right enough, vicar; and the next word is 'the,' though it
+looks like a <i>chevaux de frise</i>&mdash;what follows? It looks like
+'man-of-war.' Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, Sir Gervaise; this first letter is what I should
+call an elongated n&mdash;the next is certainly an a&mdash;the third looks like
+the waves of a river&mdash;ah! it is an m&mdash;and the last is an
+e&mdash;n-a-m-e&mdash;that makes 'name,' gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," eagerly added the vicar, "and the two next words are, 'of God.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Then it is religion, after all, that was on the poor man's mind!"
+exclaimed Sir Gervaise, in a slight degree disappointed, if the truth
+must be told. "What's this A-m-e-n&mdash;'Amen'&mdash;why it's a sort of prayer."</p>
+
+<p>"This is the form in which it is usual to commence wills, I believe, Sir
+Gervaise," observed the secretary, who had written many a one, on board
+ship, in his day. "'In the name of God, Amen.'"</p>
+
+<p>"By George, you're right, Atwood; and the poor man was trying, all the
+while, to let us know how he wished to dispose of his property! What
+could he mean by the <i>nullus</i>&mdash;it is not possible that the old gentleman
+has nothing to leave?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll answer for it, Sir Gervaise, <i>that</i> is not the true explanation,"
+the vicar replied. "Sir Wycherly's affairs are in the best order; and,
+besides the estate, he has a large sum in the funds."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, gentlemen, we can do no more to-night. A medical man is already
+in the house, and Bluewater will send ashore one or two others from the
+fleet. In the morning, if Sir Wycherly is in a state to converse, this
+matter shall be attended to."</p>
+
+<p>The party now separated; a bed being provided for the vicar, and the
+admiral and his secretary retiring to their respective rooms.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Bid physicians talk our veins to temper,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with an argument new-set a pulse;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then think, my lord, of reasoning into love."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Young.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>While the scene just related, took place in the chamber of the sick man,
+Admiral Bluewater, Mrs. Dutton, and Mildred left the house, in the old
+family-coach. The rear-admiral had pertinaciously determined to adhere
+to his practice of sleeping in his ship; and the manner in which he had
+offered seats to his two fair companions&mdash;for Mrs. Dutton still deserved
+to be thus termed&mdash;has already been seen. The motive was simply to
+remove them from any further brutal exhibitions of Dutton's cupidity,
+while he continued in his present humour; and, thus influenced, it is
+not probable that the gallant old sailor would be likely to dwell, more
+than was absolutely necessary, on the unpleasant scene of which he had
+been a witness. In fact, no allusion was made to it, during the quarter
+of an hour the party was driving from the Hall to the station-house.
+They all spoke, with regret,&mdash;Mildred with affectionate tenderness,
+even,&mdash;of poor Sir Wycherly; and several anecdotes, indicative of his
+goodness of heart, were eagerly related to Bluewater, by the two
+females, as the carriage moved heavily along. In the time mentioned, the
+vehicle drew up before the door of the cottage, and all three alighted.</p>
+
+<p>If the morning of that day had been veiled in mist, the sun had set in
+as cloudless a sky, as is often arched above the island of Great
+Britain. The night was, what in that region, is termed a clear
+moonlight. It was certainly not the mimic day that is so often enjoyed
+in purer atmospheres, but the panorama of the head-land was clothed in a
+soft, magical sort of semi-distinctness, that rendered objects
+sufficiently obvious, and exceedingly beautiful. The rounded, shorn
+swells of the land, hove upward to the eye, verdant and smooth; while
+the fine oaks of the park formed a shadowy background to the picture,
+inland. Seaward, the ocean was glittering, like a reversed plane of the
+firmament, far as eye could reach. If our own hemisphere, or rather this
+latitude, may boast of purer skies than are enjoyed by the mother
+country, the latter has a vast superiority in the tint of the water.
+While the whole American coast is bounded by a dull-looking sheet of
+sea-green, the deep blue of the wide ocean appears to be carried close
+home to the shores of Europe. This glorious tint, from which the term of
+"ultramarine" has been derived, is most remarkable in the Mediterranean,
+that sea of delights; but it is met with, all along the rock-bound
+coasts of the Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, extending through the
+British Channel, until it is in a measure, lost on the shoals of the
+North Sea; to be revived, however, in the profound depths of the ocean
+that laves the wild romantic coast of Norway.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a glorious night!" exclaimed Bluewater, as he handed Mildred, the
+last, from the carriage; "and one can hardly wish to enter a cot, let it
+swing ever so lazily."</p>
+
+<p>"Sleep is out of the question," returned Mildred, sorrowfully. "These
+are nights in which even the weary are reluctant to lose their
+consciousness; but who can sleep while there is this uncertainty about
+dear Sir Wycherly."</p>
+
+<p>"I rejoice to hear you say this, Mildred,"&mdash;for so the admiral had
+unconsciously, and unrepelled, begun to call his sweet companion&mdash;"I
+rejoice to hear you say this, for I am an inveterate star-gazer and
+moon-ite; and I shall hope to persuade you and Mrs. Dutton to waste yet
+another hour, with me, in walking on this height. Ah! yonder is Sam
+Yoke, my coxswain, waiting to report the barge; I can send Sir
+Gervaise's message to the surgeons, by deputy, and there will be no
+occasion for my hastening from this lovely spot, and pleasant company."</p>
+
+<p>The orders were soon given to the coxswain. A dozen boats, it would
+seem, were in waiting for officers ashore, notwithstanding the lateness
+of the hour; and directions were sent for two of them to pull off, and
+obtain the medical men. The coach was sent round to receive the latter,
+and then all was tranquil, again, on the height. Mrs. Dutton entered the
+house, to attend to some of her domestic concerns, while the
+rear-admiral took the arm of Mildred, and they walked, together, to the
+verge of the cliffs.</p>
+
+<p>A fairer moonlight picture seldom offered itself to a seaman's eye, than
+that which now lay before the sight of Admiral Bluewater and Mildred.
+Beneath them rode the fleet; sixteen sail of different rigs, eleven of
+which, however, were two-decked ships of the largest size then known in
+naval warfare; and all of which were in that perfect order, that an
+active and intelligent commander knows how to procure, even from the
+dilatory and indifferent. If Admiral Bluewater was conspicuous in
+man[oe]uvring a fleet, and in rendering every vessel of a line that
+extended a league, efficient, and that too, in her right place, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes had the reputation of being one of the best seamen, in
+the ordinary sense of the word, in England. No vessel under his command,
+ever had a lubberly look; and no ship that had any sailing in her,
+failed to have it brought out of her. The vice-admiral was familiar with
+that all-important fact&mdash;one that members equally of Congress and of
+Parliament are so apt to forgot, or rather not to know at all&mdash;that the
+efficiency of a whole fleet, as a fleet, is necessarily brought down to
+the level of its worst ships. Of little avail is it, that four or five
+vessels of a squadron sail fast, and work well, if the eight or ten that
+remain, behave badly, and are dull. A separation of the vessels is the
+inevitable consequence, when the properties of all are thoroughly tried;
+and the division of a force, is the first step towards its defeat; as
+its proper concentration, is a leading condition of victory. As the
+poorer vessels cannot imitate the better, the good are compelled to
+regulate their movements by the bad; which is at once essentially
+bringing down the best ships of a fleet to the level of its worst; the
+proposition with which we commenced.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes was so great a favourite, that all he asked was
+usually conceded to him. One of his conditions was, that his vessels
+should sail equally well; "If you give me fast ships," he said, "I can
+overtake the enemy; if dull, the enemy can overtake me; and I leave you
+to say which course will be most likely to bring on an action. At any
+rate, give me <i>consorts</i>; not one flyer, and one drag; but vessels that
+can keep within hail of each other, without anchoring." The admiralty
+professed every desire to oblige the gallant commander; and, as he was
+resolved never to quit the Plantagenet until she was worn out, it was
+indispensably necessary to find as many fast vessels as possible, to
+keep her company. The result was literally a fleet of "horses," as
+Galleygo used to call it; and it was generally said in the service, that
+"Oakes had a squadron of flyers, if not a flying-squadron."</p>
+
+<p>Vessels like these just mentioned, are usually symmetrical and graceful
+to the eye, as well as fast. This fact was apparent to Mildred,
+accustomed as she was to the sight of ships and she ventured to express
+as much, after she and her companion had stood quite a minute on the
+cliff, gazing at the grand spectacle beneath them.</p>
+
+<p>"Your vessels look even handsomer than common, Admiral Bluewater," she
+said, "though a ship, to me, is always an attractive sight."</p>
+
+<p>"This is because they <i>are</i> handsomer than common, my pretty critic.
+Vice-Admiral Oakes is an officer who will no more tolerate an ugly ship
+in his fleet, than a peer of the realm will marry any woman but one who
+is handsome; unless indeed she happen to be surpassingly rich."</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard that men are accustomed to lose their hearts under such an
+influence," said Mildred, laughing; "but I did not know before, that
+they were ever frank enough to avow it!"</p>
+
+<p>"The knowledge has been imparted by a prudent mother, I suppose,"
+returned the rear-admiral, in a musing manner; "I wish I stood
+sufficiently in the parental relation to you, my young friend, to
+venture to give a little advice, also. Never, before, did I feel so
+strong a wish to warn a human being of a great danger that I fear is
+impending over her, could I presume to take the liberty."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not a liberty, but a duty, to warn any one of a danger that is
+known to ourselves, and not to the person who incurs the risk. At least
+so it appears to the eyes of a very young girl."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, if the danger was of falling from these cliffs, or of setting fire
+to a house, or of any other visible calamity. The case is different,
+when young ladies, and setting fire to the heart, are concerned."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, I can perceive the distinction," answered Mildred, after a
+short pause; "and can understand that the same person who would not
+scruple to give the alarm against any physical danger, would hesitate
+even at hinting at one of a moral character. Nevertheless, if Admiral
+Bluewater think a simple girl, like me, of sufficient importance to take
+the trouble to interest himself in her welfare, I should hope he would
+not shrink from pointing out this danger. It is a terrible word to sleep
+on; and I confess, besides a little uneasiness, to a good deal of
+curiosity to know more."</p>
+
+<p>"This is said, Mildred, because you are unaccustomed to the shocks which
+the tongue of rude man may give your sensitive feelings."</p>
+
+<p>"Unaccustomed!" said Mildred, trembling so that the weakness was
+apparent to her companion. "Unaccustomed! Alas! Admiral Bluewater, can
+this be so, after what you have seen and heard!"</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me, dear child: nothing was farther from my thoughts, than to
+wish to revive those unpleasant recollections. If I thought I should be
+forgiven, I might venture, yet, to reveal my secret; for never
+before&mdash;though I cannot tell the reason of so sudden and so
+extraordinary an interest in one who is almost a stranger&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;no&mdash;not a stranger, dear sir. After all that has passed to-day;
+after you have been admitted, though it were by accident, to one most
+sacred secret;&mdash;after all that was said in the carriage, and the
+terrible scenes my beloved mother went through in your presence so many
+years since, you can never be a stranger to <i>us</i>, whatever may be your
+own desire to fancy yourself one."</p>
+
+<p>"Girl, you do not fascinate&mdash;you do not charm me, but you <i>bind</i> me to
+you in a way I did not think it in the power of any human being to
+subjugate my feelings!"</p>
+
+<p>This was said with so much energy, that Mildred dropped the arm she
+held, and actually recoiled a step, if not in alarm, at least in
+surprise. But, on looking up into the face of her companion, and
+perceiving large tears actually glistening on his cheek, and seeing the
+hair that exposure and mental cares had whitened more than time, all her
+confidence returned, and she resumed the place she had abandoned, of her
+own accord, and as naturally as a daughter would have clung to the side
+of a father.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure, sir, my gratitude for this interest ought to be quite equal
+to the honour it does me," Mildred said, earnestly. "And, now, Admiral
+Bluewater, do not hesitate to speak to me with the frankness that a
+parent might use. I will listen with the respect and deference of a
+daughter."</p>
+
+<p>"Then do listen to what I have to say, and make no answer, if you find
+yourself wounded at the freedom I am taking. It would seem that there is
+but one subject on which a man, old fellow or young fellow, can speak to
+a lovely young girl, when he gets her alone, under the light of a fine
+moon;&mdash;and that is love. Nay, start not again, my dear, for, if I am
+about to speak on so awkward a subject, it is not in my own behalf I
+hardly know whether you will think it in behalf of any one; as what I
+have to say, is not an appeal to your affections, but a warning against
+bestowing them."</p>
+
+<p>"A warning, Admiral Bluewater! Do you really think that can be
+necessary?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, my child, that is best known to yourself. Of one thing I am
+certain; the young man I have in my eye, affects to admire you, whether
+he does or not; and when young women are led to believe they are loved,
+it is a strong appeal to all their generous feelings to answer the
+passion, if not with equal warmth, at least with something very like
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Affects to admire, sir!&mdash;And why should any one be at the pains of
+<i>affecting</i> feelings towards me, that they do not actually entertain? I
+have neither rank, nor money, to bribe any one to be guilty of an
+hypocrisy so mean, and which, in my ease, would be so motiveless."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, if it <i>were</i> motiveless to win the most beautiful creature in
+England! But, no matter. We will not stop to analyze motives, when
+<i>facts</i> are what we aim at. I should think there must be some passion in
+this youth's suit, and that will only make it so much the more dangerous
+to its object. At all events, I feel a deep conviction that he is
+altogether unworthy of you. This is a bold expression of opinion on an
+acquaintance of a day; but there are such reasons for it, that a man of
+my time of life, if unprejudiced, can scarcely be deceived."</p>
+
+<p>"All this is very singular, sir, and I had almost used your own word of
+'alarming,'" replied Mildred, slightly agitated by curiosity, but more
+amused. "I shall be as frank as yourself, and say that you judge the
+gentleman harshly. Mr. Rotherham may not have all the qualities that a
+clergyman ought to possess, but he is far from being a bad man. Good or
+bad, however, it is not probable that he will carry his transient
+partiality any farther than he has gone already."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Rotherham!&mdash;I have neither thought nor spoken of the pious vicar at
+all!"</p>
+
+<p>Mildred was now sadly confused. Mr. Rotherham had made his proposals for
+her, only the day before, and he had been mildly, but firmly refused.
+The recent occurrence was naturally uppermost in her mind; and the
+conjecture that her rejected suitor, under the influence of wine, might
+have communicated the state of his wishes, or what he fancied to be the
+state of his wishes, to her companion, was so very easy, that she had
+fallen into the error, almost without reflection.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg pardon, sir&mdash;I really imagined," the confused girl answered;
+"but, it was a natural mistake for me to suppose you meant Mr.
+Rotherham, as he is the only person who has ever spoken to my mother on
+the subject of any thing like a preference for me."</p>
+
+<p>"I should have less fear of those who spoke to your mother, Mildred,
+than of those who spoke only to <i>you</i>. As I hate ambiguity, however, I
+will say, at once, that my allusion was to Mr. Wychecombe."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Wychecombe, Admiral Bluewater!"&mdash;and the veteran felt the arm that
+leaned on him tremble violently, a sad confirmation of even more than he
+apprehended, or he would not have been so abrupt. "Surely&mdash;surely&mdash;the
+warning you mean, cannot, <i>ought</i> not to apply to a gentleman of Mr.
+Wychecombe's standing and character!"</p>
+
+<p>"Such is the world, Miss Dutton, and we old seamen, in particular, get
+to know it, whether willingly or not. My sudden interest in you, the
+recollection of former, but painful scenes, and the events of the day,
+have made me watchful, and, you will add, bold&mdash;but I am resolved to
+speak, even at the risk of disobliging you for ever&mdash;and, in speaking, I
+must say that I never met with a young man who has made so unfavourable
+an impression on me, as this same Mr. Wychecombe."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred, unconsciously to herself, withdrew her arm, and she felt
+astonished at her own levity, in so suddenly becoming sufficiently
+intimate with a stranger to permit him thus to disparage a confirmed
+friend.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry, sir, that you entertain so indifferent an opinion of one
+who is, I believe, a general favourite, in this part of the country,"
+she answered, with a coldness that rendered her manner marked.</p>
+
+<p>"I perceive I shall share the fate of all unwelcome counsellors, but can
+only blame my own presumption. Mildred, we live in momentous times, and
+God knows what is to happen to myself, in the next few months; but, so
+strong is the inexplicable interest that I feel in your welfare, that I
+shall venture still to offend. I like not this Mr. Wychecombe, who is so
+devout an admirer of yours&mdash;real or affected&mdash;and, as to the liking of
+dependants for the heir of a considerable estate, it is so much a matter
+of course, that I count it nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"The heir of a considerable estate!" repeated Mildred, in a voice to
+which the natural sweetness returned, quietly resuming the arm, she had
+so unceremoniously dropped&mdash;"Surely, dear sir, you are not speaking of
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly's nephew."</p>
+
+<p>"Of whom else should I speak?&mdash;Has he not been your shadow the whole
+day?&mdash;so marked in his attentions, as scarce to deem it necessary to
+conceal his suit?"</p>
+
+<p>"Has it really struck you thus, sir?&mdash;I confess I did not so consider
+it. We are so much at home at the Hall, that we rather expect all of
+that family to be kind to us. But, whether you are right in your
+conjecture, or not, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe can never be ought to me&mdash;and
+as proof, Admiral Bluewater, that I take your warning, as it is meant,
+in kindness and sincerity, I will add, that he is not a very particular
+favourite."</p>
+
+<p>"I rejoice to hear it! Now there is his namesake, our young lieutenant,
+as gallant and as noble a fellow as ever lived&mdash;would to Heaven be was
+not so wrapt up in his profession, as to be insensible to any beauties,
+but those of a ship. Were you my own daughter, Mildred, I could give you
+to that lad, with as much freedom as I would give him my estate, were he
+my son."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred smiled&mdash;and it was archly, though not without a shade of sorrow,
+too&mdash;but she had sufficient self-command, to keep her feelings to
+herself, and too much maiden reserve not to shrink from betraying her
+weakness to one who, after all, was little more than a stranger.</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say, sir," she answered, with an equivocation which was perhaps
+venial, "that your knowledge of the world has judged both these
+gentlemen, rightly. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, notwithstanding all you heard
+from my poor father, is not likely to think seriously of me; and I will
+answer for my own feelings as regards <i>him</i>. I am, in no manner, a
+proper person to become Lady Wychecombe; and, I trust, I should have the
+prudence to decline the honour were it even offered to me. Believe me,
+sir, my father would have held a different language to-night, had it not
+been for Sir Wycherly's wine, and the many loyal toasts that were drunk.
+He <i>must</i> be conscious, in his reflecting moments, that a child of his
+is unsuited to so high a station. Our prospects in life were once better
+than they are now, Admiral Bluewater; but they have never been such as
+to raise these high expectations in us."</p>
+
+<p>"An officer's daughter may always claim to be a gentlewoman, my dear;
+and, as such, you might become the wife of a duke, did he love you.
+Since I find my warning unnecessary, however, we will change the
+discourse. Did not something extraordinary occur at this cliff, this
+morning, and in connection with this very Mr. Thomas Wychecombe? Sir
+Gervaise was my informant; but he did not relate the matter very
+clearly."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred explained the mistake, and then gave a vivid description of the
+danger in which the young lieutenant had been placed, as well as of the
+manner in which he had extricated himself. She particularly dwelt on the
+extraordinary presence of mind and resolution, by means of which he had
+saved his life, when the stone first gave way beneath his foot.</p>
+
+<p>"All this is well, and what I should have expected from so active and
+energetic a youth," returned the rear-admiral, a little gravely; "but, I
+confess I would rather it had not happened. Your inconsiderate and
+reckless young men, who risk their necks idly, in places of this sort,
+seldom have much in them, after all. Had there been a motive, it would
+have altered the case."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! but there <i>was</i> a motive, sir; he was far from doing so silly a
+thing for nothing!"</p>
+
+<p>"And what was the motive, pray?&mdash;I can see no sufficient reason why a
+man of sense should trust his person over a cliff as menacing as this.
+One may approach it, by moonlight; but in the day, I confess to you I
+should not fancy standing as near it, as we do at this moment."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred was much embarrassed for an answer. Her own heart told her
+Wycherly's motive, but that it would never do to avow to her companion,
+great as was the happiness she felt in avowing it to herself. Gladly
+would she have changed the discourse; but, as this could not be done,
+she yielded to her native integrity of character, and told the truth, as
+far as she told any thing.</p>
+
+<p>"The flowers that grow on the sunny side of these rocks, Admiral
+Bluewater, are singularly fragrant and beautiful," she said; "and
+hearing my mother and myself speaking of them, and how much the former
+delighted in them, though they were so seldom to be had, he just
+ventured over the cliff&mdash;not here, where it is so <i>very</i> perpendicular,
+but yonder, where one <i>may</i> cling to it, very well, with a little
+care&mdash;and it was in venturing a little&mdash;just a <i>very</i> little too far, he
+told me, himself, sir, to-day, after dinner,&mdash;that the stone broke, and
+the accident occurred, I do not think Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe in the
+least fool-hardy, and not at all disposed to seek a silly admiration, by
+a silly exploit."</p>
+
+<p>"He has a most lovely and a most eloquent advocate," returned the
+admiral, smiling, though the expression of his countenance was
+melancholy, even to sadness; "and he is acquitted. I think few men of
+his years would hesitate about risking their necks for flowers so
+fragrant and beautiful, and so much coveted by <i>your</i> mother, Mildred."</p>
+
+<p>"And he a sailor, sir, who thinks so little of standing on giddy places,
+and laughs at fears of this nature?"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true; though there are few cliffs on board ship. Ropes are our
+sources of courage."</p>
+
+<p>"So I should think, by what passed to-day," returned Mildred, laughing.
+"Mr. Wycherly called out for a rope, and we just threw him one, to help
+him out of his difficulty. The moment he got his rope, though it was
+only yonder small signal-halyards, he felt himself as secure as if he
+stood up here, on the height, with acres of level ground around him. I
+do not think he was frightened, at any time; but when he got hold of
+that little rope, he was fairly valiant!"</p>
+
+<p>Mildred endeavoured to laugh at her own history, by way of veiling her
+interest in the event; but her companion was too old, and too
+discerning, to be easily deceived. He continued silent, as he led her
+away from the cliff; and when he entered the cottage, Mildred saw, by
+the nearer light of the candles, that his countenance was still sad.</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater remained half an hour longer in the cottage, when he
+tore himself away, from a society which, for him, possessed a charm that
+he could not account for, nor yet scarcely estimate. It was past one,
+when he bid Mrs. Dutton and her daughter adieu; promising, however, to
+see them again, before the fleet sailed. Late as it was, the mother and
+Mildred felt no disposition to retire, after the exciting scenes they
+had gone through; but, feeling a calm on their spirits, succeeding the
+rude interruption produced by Dutton's brutality, they walked out on the
+cliff, to enjoy the cool air, and the bland scenery of the head-land, at
+that witching hour.</p>
+
+<p>"I should feel alarm at this particularity of attention, from most men,
+my child," observed the prudent mother, as they left the house: "but the
+years, and especially the character of Admiral Bluewater, are pledges
+that he meditates nothing foolish, nor wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"His <i>years</i> would be sufficient, mother," cried Mildred, laughing&mdash;for
+her laugh came easily, since the opinion she had just before heard of
+Wycherly's merit&mdash;"leaving the character out of the question."</p>
+
+<p>"For you, perhaps, Mildred, but not for himself. Men rarely seem to
+think themselves too old to win the young of our sex; and what they want
+in attraction, they generally endeavour to supply by flattery and
+artifice. But, I acquit our new friend of all that."</p>
+
+<p>"Had he been my own father, dearest mother, his language, and the
+interest he took in me, could not have been more paternal. I have found
+it truly delightful to listen to such counsel, from one of his sex; for,
+in general, they do not treat me in so sincere and fatherly a manner."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dutton's lip quivered, her eye-lids trembled too, and a couple of
+tears fell on her cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>is</i> new to you, Mildred, to listen to the language of disinterested
+affection and wisdom from one of his years and sex. I do not censure
+your listening with pleasure, but merely tell you to remember the proper
+reserve of your years and character. Hist! there are the sounds of his
+barge's oars."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred listened, and the measured but sudden jerk of oars in the
+rullocks, ascended on the still night-air, as distinctly as they might
+have been heard in the boat. At the next instant, an eight-oared barge
+moved swiftly out from under the cliff, and glided steadily on towards a
+ship, that had one lantern suspended from the end of her gaff, another
+in her mizzen-top, and the small night-flag of a rear-admiral,
+fluttering at her mizzen-royal-mast-head. The cutter lay nearest to the
+landing, and, as the barge approached her, the ladies heard the loud
+hail of "boat-ahoy!" The answer was also audible; though given in the
+mild gentleman-like voice of Bluewater, himself. It was simply,
+"rear-admiral's flag." A death-like stillness succeeded this
+annunciation of the rank of the officer in the passing boat, interrupted
+only by the measured jerk of the oars. Once or twice, indeed, the keen
+hearing of Mildred made her fancy she heard the common dip of the eight
+oars, and the wash of the water, as they rose from the element, to gain
+a renewed purchase. As each vessel was approached, however, the hail and
+the answer were renewed, the quiet of midnight, in every instance,
+succeeding. At length the barge was seen shooting along on the quarter
+of the C&aelig;sar, the rear-admiral's own ship, and the last hail was given.
+This time, there was a slight stir in the vessel; and, soon after the
+sound of the oars ceased, the lanterns descended from the stations they
+had held, since nightfall. Two or three other lanterns were still
+displayed at the gaffs of other vessels, the signs that their captains
+were not on board; though whether they were ashore, or visiting in the
+fleet, were facts best known to themselves. The Plantagenet, however,
+had no light; it being known that Sir Gervaise did not intend to come
+off that night.</p>
+
+<p>When all this was over, Mrs. Dutton and Mildred sought their pillows,
+after an exciting day, and, to them, one far more momentous than they
+were then aware of.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet fool'd with hope, men favour the deceit;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To-morrow's falser than the former day."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Dryden.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Although Admiral Bluewater devoted the minimum of time to sleep, he was
+not what the French term <i>matinal</i>. There is a period in the morning, on
+board of a ship of war,&mdash;that of washing decks,&mdash;which can best be
+compared to the discomfort of the American purification, yelep'd "a
+house-cleaning." This occurs daily, about the rising of the sun; and no
+officer, whose rank raises him above mingling with the duty, ever
+thinks, except on extraordinary occasions that may require his presence
+for other purposes, of intruding on its sacred mysteries. It is a rabid
+hour in a ship, and the wisest course, for all idlers, and all
+watch-officers, who are not on duty, is to keep themselves under
+hatches, if their convenience will possibly allow it. He who wears a
+flag, however, is usually reposing in his cot, at this critical moment;
+or, if risen at all, he is going through similar daily ablutions of his
+own person.</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater was in the act of opening his eyes, when the splash of
+the first bucket of water was heard on the deck of the C&aelig;sar, and he lay
+in the species of enjoyment which is so peculiar to naval men, after
+they have risen to the station of commander; a sort of semi-trance, in
+which the mind summons all the ancient images, connected with squalls;
+reefing top-sails in the rain; standing on the quarter of a yard,
+shouting "haul out to leeward;" peering over the weather hammock-cloths
+to eye the weather, with the sleet pricking the face like needles;&mdash;and,
+washing decks! These dreamy images of the past, however, are summoned
+merely to increase the sense of present enjoyment. They are so many
+well-contrived foils, to give greater brilliancy to the diamonds of a
+comfortable cot, and the entire consciousness of being no longer exposed
+to an untimely summons on deck.</p>
+
+<p>Our rear-admiral, nevertheless, was not a vulgar dreamer, on such
+occasions. He thought little of personal comforts at any time, unless
+indeed when personal discomforts obtruded themselves on his attention;
+he knew little, or nothing, of the table, whereas his friend was a
+knowing cook, and in his days of probation had been a distinguished
+caterer; but he was addicted to a sort of dreaming of his own, even when
+the sun stood in the zenith, and he was walking the poop, in the midst
+of a circle of his officers. Still, he could not refrain from glancing
+back at the past, that morning, as plash after plash was heard, and
+recalling the time when <i>magna pars quorum</i> <span class="smcap">FUIT</span>. At this
+delectable instant, the ruddy face of a "young gentleman" appeared in
+his state-room door, and, first ascertaining that the eyes of his
+superior were actually open, the youngster said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"A note from Sir Gervaise, Admiral Bluewater."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, sir,"&mdash;taking the note.&mdash;"How's the wind, Lord Geoffrey?"</p>
+
+<p>"An Irishman's hurricane, sir; right up and down. Our first says, sir,
+he never knew finer channel weather."</p>
+
+<p>"Our first is a great astrologer. Is the fleet riding flood yet?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; it's slack-water; or, rather, the ebb is just beginning to
+make."</p>
+
+<p>"Go on deck, my lord, and see if the Dover has hove in any upon her
+larboard bower, so as to bring her more on our quarter."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay-ay-sir," and this cadet of one of the most illustrious houses of
+England, skipped up the ladder to ascertain this fact.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean while, Bluewater stretched out an arm, drew a curtain from
+before his little window, fumbled for some time among his clothes before
+he got his spectacles, and then opened the note. This early epistle was
+couched in the following words&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">"Dear Blue</span>:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I write this in a bed big enough to ware a ninety in. I've been
+athwart ships half the night, without knowing it. Galleygo has just
+been in to report 'our fleet' all well, and the ships riding flood.
+It seems there is a good look-out from the top of the house, where
+part of the roads are visible. Magrath, and the rest of them, have
+been at poor Sir Wycherly all night. I learn, but he remains down
+by the head, yet. I am afraid the good old man will never be in
+trim again. I shall remain here, until something is decided; and as
+we cannot expect our orders until next day after to-morrow, at the
+soonest, one might as well be here, as on board. Come ashore and
+breakfast with us; when we can consult about the propriety of
+remaining, or of abandoning the wreck. Adieu,</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Oakes</span>.<br />
+"<span class="smcap">Rear-Admiral Bluewater</span></p>
+
+<p>"P.S.&mdash;There was a little occurrence last night, connected with Sir
+Thomas Wycherly's will, that makes me particularly anxious to see
+you, as early as possible, this morning.</p>
+
+<p>"O."</p></div>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise, like a woman, had written his mind in his postscript. The
+scene of the previous night had forcibly presented itself to his
+recollection on awakening, and calling for his writing-desk, he had sent
+off this note, at the dawn of day, with the wish of having as many
+important witnesses as he could well obtain, at the interview he
+intended to demand, at the earliest practicable hour.</p>
+
+<p>"What the deuce can Oakes have to do with Sir Wycherly Wychecombe's
+will?" thought the rear-admiral. "By the way, that puts me in mind of my
+own; and of my own recent determination. What are my poor &pound;30,000 to a
+man with the fortune of Lord Bluewater. Having neither a wife nor child,
+brother nor sister of my own, I'll do what I please with my money. Oakes
+<i>won't</i> have it; besides, he's got enough of his own, and to spare. An
+estate of &pound;7000 a year, besides heaps of prize-money funded. I dare say,
+he has a good &pound;12,000 a year, and nothing but a nephew to inherit it
+all. I'm determined to do as I please with my money. I made every
+shilling of it, and I'll give it to whom I please."</p>
+
+<p>The whole time, Admiral Bluewater lay with his eyes shut, and with a
+tongue as motionless as if it couldn't stir. With all his <i>laissez
+aller</i> manner, however, he had the promptitude of a sailor, when his
+mind was made up to do a thing, though he always performed it in his own
+peculiar mode. To rise, dress, and prepare to quit his state-room,
+occupied him but a short time; and he was seated before his own
+writing-desk, in the after-cabin, within twenty minutes after the
+thoughts just recorded, had passed through his mind. His first act was
+to take a folded paper from a private drawer, and glance his eye
+carelessly over it. This was the will in favour of Lord Bluewater: It
+was expressed in very concise terms, filling only the first side of a
+page. This will he copied, <i>verbatim et literatim</i>, leaving blanks for
+the name of the legatee, and appointing Sir Gervaise Oakes his executor,
+as in the will already executed. When finished in this manner, he set
+about filling up the blanks. For a passing instant, he felt tempted to
+insert the name of the Pretender; but, smiling at his own folly, he
+wrote that of "Mildred Dutton, daughter of Francis Dutton, a master in
+His Majesty's Navy," in all the places that it was requisite so to do.
+Then he affixed the seal, and, folding all the upper part of the sheet
+over, so as to conceal the contents, he rang a little silver bell, which
+always stood at his elbow. The outer cabin-door was opened by the
+sentry, who thrust his head in at the opening.</p>
+
+<p>"I want one of the young gentlemen, sentry," said the rear-admiral.</p>
+
+<p>The door closed, and, in another minute, the smiling face of Lord
+Geoffrey was at the entrance of the after-cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Who's on deck, my lord," demanded Bluewater, "beside the watch?"</p>
+
+<p>"No one, sir. All the idlers keep as close as foxes, when the decks are
+getting it; and as for any of our snorers showing their faces before six
+bells, it's quite out of the question, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Some one must surely be stirring in the gun-room, by this time! Go and
+ask the chaplain and the captain of marines to do me the favour to step
+into the cabin&mdash;or the first lieutenant; or the master; or any of the
+idlers."</p>
+
+<p>The midshipman was gone two or three minutes, when he returned with the
+purser and the chaplain.</p>
+
+<p>"The first lieutenant is in the forehold, sir; all the marines have got
+their dead-lights still in, and the master is working-up his log, the
+gun-room steward says. I hope these will do, sir; they are the greatest
+idlers in the ship, I believe."</p>
+
+<p>Lord Geoffrey Cleveland was the second son of the third duke in the
+English empire, and he knew it, as well as any one on board. Admiral
+Bluewater had no slavish respect for rank; nevertheless, like all men
+educated under an aristocratic system, he was influenced by the feeling
+to a degree of which he himself was far from being conscious. This young
+scion of nobility was not in the least favoured in matters of duty, for
+this his own high spirit would have resented; but he dined in the cabin
+twice as often as any other midshipman on board, and had obtained for
+himself a sort of license for the tongue, that emboldened him to utter
+what passed for smart things in the cock-pit and gun-room, and which,
+out of all doubt, were pert things everywhere. Neither the chaplain nor
+the purser took offence at his liberties on the present occasion; and,
+as for the rear-admiral, he had not attended to what had been uttered.
+As soon, however, as he found others in his cabin, he motioned to them
+to approach his desk, and pointed to the paper, folded down, as
+mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>"Every prudent man," he said, "and, especially every prudent sailor and
+soldier, in a time of war, ought to be provided with a will. This is
+mine, just drawn up, by myself; and that instrument is an old one, which
+I now destroy in your presence. I acknowledge this to be my hand and
+seal," writing his name, and touching the seal with a finger as he
+spoke; "affixed to this my last will and testament. Will you have the
+kindness to act as witnesses?"</p>
+
+<p>When the chaplain and purser had affixed their names, there still
+remained a space for a third signature. This, by a sign from his
+superior, the laughing midshipman filled with his own signature.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you've recollected, sir," cried the boy, with glee, as he took
+his seat to obey; "that the Bluewaters and Clevelands are related. I
+shall be grievously disappointed, when this will is proved, if my name
+be not found somewhere in it!"</p>
+
+<p>"So shall I, too, my lord," drily returned Bluewater; "for, I fully
+expect it will appear as a witness; a character that is at once fatal to
+all claims as a legatee."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, I suppose flag-officers can do pretty much as they please
+with their money, since they do pretty much as they please with the
+ships, and all in them. I must lean so much the harder on my two old
+aunts, as I appear to have laid myself directly athwart-hawse of
+fortune, in this affair!"</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen," said the rear-admiral, with easy courtesy, "I regret it is
+not in my power to have your company at dinner, to-day, as I am summoned
+ashore by Sir Gervaise, and it is uncertain when I can get off, again;
+but to-morrow I shall hope to enjoy that pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>The officers bowed, expressed their acknowledgments, accepted the
+invitation, bowed once or twice more each, and left the cabin, with the
+exception of the midshipman.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir," exclaimed Bluewater, a little surprised at finding he was
+not alone, after a minute of profound reverie; "to what request am I
+indebted still for the pleasure of your presence?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, it's just forty miles to my father's house in Cornwall, and I
+know the whole family is there; so I just fancied, that by bending on
+two extra horses, a chaise might make the Park gates in about five
+hours; and by getting under way on the return passage, to-morrow about
+this time, the old C&aelig;sar would never miss a crazy reefer, more or less."</p>
+
+<p>"Very ingeniously put, young gentleman, and quite plausible. When I was
+of your age, I was four years without once seeing either father or
+mother."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, but that was such a long time ago! Boys can't stand it, half
+as well now, as they did then, as all old people say."</p>
+
+<p>The rear-admiral's lips moved slightly, as if a smile struggled about
+his mouth; then his face suddenly lost the expression, in one
+approaching to sadness.</p>
+
+<p>"You know, Geoffrey, I am not commander-in-chief. Sir Gervaise alone can
+give a furlough."</p>
+
+<p>"Very true, sir; but whatever you ask of Sir Gervaise, he always does;
+more especially as concerns us of your flag-ship."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps that is true. But, my boy, we live in serious times, and we may
+sail at an hour's notice. Are you ignorant that Prince Charles Edward
+has landed in Scotland, and that the Jacobites are up and doing? If the
+French back him, we may have our hands full here, in the channel."</p>
+
+<p>"Then my dear mother must go without a kiss, for the next twelvemonth!"
+cried the gallant boy, dashing a hand furtively across his eyes, in
+spite of his resolution. "The throne of old England must be upheld, even
+though not a mother nor a sister in the island, see a midshipman in
+years!"</p>
+
+<p>"Nobly said, Lord Geoffrey, and it shall be known at head-quarters.
+<i>Your</i> family is whig; and you do well, at your time of life, to stick
+to the family politics."</p>
+
+<p>"A small run on the shore, sir, would be a great pleasure, after six
+months at sea?"</p>
+
+<p>"You must ask Captain Stowel's leave for that. You know I never
+interfere with the duty of the ship."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, but there are so many of us, and all have a hankering after
+<i>terra firma</i>. Might I just say, that I have your permission, to ask
+Captain Stowel, to let me have a run on the cliffs?"</p>
+
+<p>"You may do <i>that</i>, my lord, if you wish it; but Stowel knows that he
+can do as he pleases."</p>
+
+<p>"He would be a queer captain of a man-of-war, if he didn't sir! Thank
+you, Admiral Bluewater; I will write to my mother, and I know she'll be
+satisfied with the reason I shall give her, for not coming to see her.
+Good-morning, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning,"&mdash;then, when the boy's hand was on the lock of the
+cabin-door&mdash;"my lord?"</p>
+
+<p>"Did you wish to say any thing more, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"When you write, remember me kindly to the Duchess. We were intimate,
+when young people; and, I might say, loved each other."</p>
+
+<p>The midshipman promised to do as desired; then the rear-admiral was left
+alone. He walked the cabin, for half an hour, musing on what he had done
+in relation to his property, and on what he ought to do, in relation to
+the Pretender; when he suddenly summoned his coxswain, gave a few
+directions, and sent an order on deck to have his barge manned. The
+customary reports went their usual rounds, and reached the cabin in
+about three minutes more; Lord Geoffrey bringing them down, again.</p>
+
+<p>"The barge is manned, sir," said the lad, standing near the cabin-door,
+rigged out in the neat, go-ashore-clothes of a midshipman.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you seen Captain Stowel, my lord?" demanded the rear-admiral.</p>
+
+<p>"I have, sir; and he has given me permission to drift along shore, until
+sunset; to be off with the evening gun of the vice-admiral."</p>
+
+<p>"Then do me the favour to take a seat in my barge, if you are quite
+ready."</p>
+
+<p>This offer was accepted, and, in a few minutes, all the ceremonies of
+the deck had been observed, and the rear-admiral was seated in his
+barge. It was now so late, that etiquette had fair play, and no point
+was omitted on the occasion. The captain was on deck, in person, as well
+as gun-room officers enough to represent their body; the guard was
+paraded, under its officers; the drums rolled; the boatswain piped six
+side boys over, and Lord Geoffrey skipped down first into the boat,
+remaining respectfully standing, until his superior was seated. All
+these punctilios observed, the boat was shoved off from the vessel's
+side, the eight oars dropped, as one, and the party moved towards the
+shore. Every cutter, barge, yawl, or launch that was met, and which did
+not contain an officer of rank itself, tossed its oars, as this barge,
+with the rear-admiral's flag fluttering in its bow, passed, while the
+others lay on theirs, the gentlemen saluting with their hats. In this
+manner the barge passed the fleet, and approached the shore. At the
+landing, a little natural quay formed by a low flat rock, there was a
+general movement, as the rear-admiral's flag was seen to draw near; and
+even the boats of captains were shoved aside, to give the naval <i>pas</i>.
+As soon, however, as the foot of Bluewater touched the rock, the little
+flag was struck; and, a minute later, a cutter, with only a lieutenant
+in her, coming in, that officer ordered the barge to make way for <i>him</i>,
+with an air of high and undisputed authority.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps there was not a man in the British marine, to whom the etiquette
+of the service gave less concern, than to Bluewater. In this respect, he
+was the very reverse of his friend; for Sir Gervaise was a punctilious
+observer, and a rigid enforcer of all the prescribed ceremonials. This
+was by no means the only professional point on which these two
+distinguished officers differed. It has already been mentioned, that the
+rear-admiral was the best tactician in England, while the vice-admiral
+was merely respectable in that branch of his duty. On the other hand,
+Sir Gervaise was deemed the best practical seaman afloat, so far as a
+single ship was concerned, while Bluewater had no particular reputation
+in that way. Then, as to discipline, the same distinction existed. The
+commander-in-chief was a little of a <i>martinet</i>, exacting compliance
+with the most minute regulations; while his friend, even when a captain,
+had thrown the police duty of his ship very much on what is called the
+executive officer: or the first lieutenant; leaving to that important
+functionary, the duty of devising, as well as of executing the system by
+which order and cleanliness were maintained in the vessel. Nevertheless,
+Bluewater had his merit even in this peculiar feature of the profession.
+He had made the best captain of the fleet to his friend, that had ever
+been met with. This office, which, in some measure, corresponds to that
+of an adjutant-general on shore, was suited to his generalizing and
+philosophical turn of mind; and he had brought all its duties within the
+circle and control of clear and simple principles, which rendered them
+pleasant and easy. Then, too, whenever he commanded in chief, as
+frequently happened, for a week or two at a time, Sir Gervaise being
+absent, it was remarked that the common service of the fleet went on
+like clock-work; his mind seeming to embrace generals, when it refused
+to descend to details. In consequence of these personal peculiarities,
+the captains often observed, that Bluewater ought to have been the
+senior, and Oakes the junior; and then, their joint commands would have
+produced perfection; but these criticisms must be set down, in a great
+measure, to the natural propensity to find fault, and an inherent desire
+in men, even when things are perfectly well in themselves, to prove
+their own superiority, by pointing out modes and means by which they
+might be made much better. Had the service been on land, this opinion
+might possibly have had more practical truth in it; but, the impetuosity
+and daring of Sir Gervaise, were not bad substitutes for tactics, in the
+straight-forward combats of ships. To resume the narrative.</p>
+
+<p>When Bluewater landed, he returned the profound and general salute of
+all on or near the rock, by a sweeping, but courteous bow, which was
+nevertheless given in a vacant, slovenly manner; and immediately began
+to ascend the ravine. He had actually reached the grassy acclivity
+above, before he was at all aware of any person's being near him.
+Turning, he perceived that the midshipman was at his heels, respect
+alone preventing one of the latter's active limbs and years from
+skipping past his superior on the ascent. The admiral recollected how
+little there was to amuse one of the boy's habits in a place like
+Wychecombe, and he good-naturedly determined to take him along with
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>"You are little likely to find any diversion here, Lord Geoffrey," he
+said; "if you will accept of the society of a dull old fellow, like
+myself, you shall see all I see, be it more or less."</p>
+
+<p>"I've shipped for the cruise, sir, and am ready and happy, too, to
+follow your motions, with or without signals," returned the laughing
+youngster. "I suppose Wychecombe is about as good as Portsmouth, or
+Plymouth; and I'm sure these green fields are handsomer than the streets
+of any dirty town I ever entered."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, green fields are, indeed, pleasant to the eyes of us sailors, who
+see nothing but water, for months at a time. Turn to the right, if you
+please, my lord; I wish to call at yonder signal-station, on my way to
+the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>The boy, as is not usual with lads of his age, inclined in "the way he
+was told to go," and in a few minutes both stood on the head-land. As it
+would not have done for the master to be absent from his staff, during
+the day, with a fleet in the roads, Dutton was already at his post,
+cleanly dressed as usual, but trembling again with the effect of the
+last night's debauch on his nerves. He arose, with great deference of
+manner, to receive the rear-admiral, and not without many misgivings of
+conscience; for, while memory furnished a tolerable outline of what had
+occurred in the interview between himself and his wife and daughter,
+wine had lost its influence, and no longer helped to sustain his
+self-command. He was much relieved, however, by the discreet manner in
+which he was met by Bluewater.</p>
+
+<p>"How is Sir Wycherly?" inquired the admiral saluting the master, as if
+nothing had happened; "a note from Sir Gervaise, written about
+day-break, tells me he was not, then, essentially better."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish it were in my power to give you any good news, sir. He must be
+conscious, notwithstanding; for Dick, his groom, has just ridden over
+with a note from Mr. Rotherham, to say that the excellent old baronet
+particularly desires to see my wife and daughter; and that the coach
+will be here, to take them over in a few minutes. If you are bound to
+the Hall, this morning, sir, I'm certain the ladies would be delighted
+to give you a seat."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I will profit by their kindness," returned Bluewater, seating
+himself on the bench at the foot of the staff; "more especially, if you
+think they will excuse my adding Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, one of
+Stowel's midshipmen, to the party. He has entered, to follow my motions,
+with or without signals."</p>
+
+<p>Dutton uncovered again, and bowed profoundly, at this announcement of
+the lad's name and rank; the boy himself, taking the salute in an
+off-hand and indifferent way, like one already wearied with vulgar
+adulation, while he gazed about him, with some curiosity, at the
+head-land and flag-staff.</p>
+
+<p>"This a good look-out, sir," observed the midshipman; "and one that is
+somewhat loftier than our cross-trees. A pair of sharp eyes might see
+every thing that passes within twenty miles; and, as a proof of it, I
+shall be the first to sing out, 'sail, ho!'"</p>
+
+<p>"Where-away, my young lord?" said Dutton, fidgeting, as if he had
+neglected his duty, in the presence of a superior; "I'm sure, your
+lordship can see nothing but the fleet at anchor, and a few boats
+passing between the different ships and the landing!"</p>
+
+<p>"Where-away, sure enough, youngster?" added the admiral. "I see some
+gulls glancing along the surface of the water, a mile or two outside the
+ships, but nothing like a sail."</p>
+
+<p>The boy caught up Dutton's glass, which lay on the seat, and, in a
+minute, he had it levelled at the expanse of water. It was some little
+time, and not without much sighting along the barrel of the instrument,
+that he got it to suit himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Master Sharp-eyes," said Bluewater, drily, "is it a Frenchman, or
+a Spaniard?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on, a moment, sir, until I can get this awkward glass to bear on
+it.&mdash;Ay&mdash;now I have her&mdash;she's but a speck, at the best&mdash;royals and head
+of top-gallant-sails&mdash;no, sir, by George, it's our own cutter, the
+Active, with her square-sail set, and the heads of her lower sails just
+rising. I know her by the way she carries her gaff."</p>
+
+<p>"The Active!&mdash;that betokens news," observed Bluewater, thoughtfully&mdash;for
+the march of events, at that moment, must necessarily brink on a crisis
+in his own career. "Sir Gervaise sent her to look into Cherbourg."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; we all know that&mdash;and, there she comes to tell us, I hope,
+that Monsieur de Vervillin, has, at last, made up his mind to come out
+and face us, like a man. Will you look at the sail, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater took the glass, and sweeping the horizon, he soon caught a
+view of his object. A short survey sufficed, for one so experienced, and
+he handed the glass back to the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"You have quick eyes, sir," he said, as he did so; "that is a cutter,
+certainly, standing in for the roads, and I believe you may be right in
+taking her for the Active."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis a long way to know so small a craft!" observed Dutton, who also
+took his look at the stranger.</p>
+
+<p>"Very true, sir," answered the boy; "but one ought to tell a friend as
+far as he can see him. The Active carries a longer and a lower gaff,
+than any other cutter in the navy, which is the way we all tell her from
+the Gnat, the cutter we have with us."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to find your lordship is so close an observer," returned the
+complaisant Dutton; "a certain sign, my lord, that your lordship will
+make a good sailor, in time."</p>
+
+<p>"Geoffrey is a good sailor, already," observed the admiral, who knew
+that the youngster was never better pleased, than when he dropped the
+distance of using his title, and spoke to, or of him, as of a
+connection; which, in truth, he was. "He has now been with me four
+years; having joined when he was only twelve. Two more years will make
+an officer of him."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said Dutton, bowing first to one, and then to the other.
+"Yes, sir; his lordship may well look forward to that, with <i>his</i>
+particular merit, <i>your</i> esteemed favour, and his <i>own</i> great name. Ah!
+sir, they've caught a sight of the stranger in the fleet, and bunting is
+at work, already."</p>
+
+<p>In anchoring his ships, Admiral Bluewater had kept them as close
+together, as the fog rendered safe; for one of the great difficulties of
+a naval commander is to retain his vessels in compact order, in thick or
+heavy weather. Orders had been given, however, for a sloop and a frigate
+to weigh, and stretch out into the offing a league or two, as soon as
+the fog left them, the preceding day, in order to sweep as wide a reach
+of the horizon as was convenient. In order to maintain their ground in a
+light wind, and with a strong tide running, these two cruisers had
+anchored; one, at the distance of a league from the fleet, and the
+other, a mile or two farther outside, though more to the eastward. The
+sloop lay nearest to the stranger, and signals were flying at her
+main-royal-mast-head, which the frigate was repeating, and transmitting
+to the flag-ship of the commander-in-chief. Bluewater was so familiar
+with all the ordinary signals, that it was seldom he had recourse to his
+book for the explanations; and, in the present instance, he saw at once
+that it was the Active's number that was shown. Other signals, however,
+followed, which it surpassed the rear-admiral's knowledge to read,
+without assistance; from all which he was satisfied that the stranger
+brought intelligence of importance, and which could only be understood
+by referring to the private signal-book.</p>
+
+<p>While these facts were in the course of occurrence, the coach arrived to
+convey Mrs. Dutton and Mildred to the Hall. Bluewater now presented
+himself to the ladies, and was received as kindly as they had separated
+from him a few hours before; nor were the latter displeased at hearing
+he was to be their companion back to the dwelling of Sir Wycherly.</p>
+
+<p>"I fear this summons bodes evil tidings," said Mrs. Dutton; "he would
+hardly think of desiring to see us, unless something quite serious were
+on his mind; and the messenger said he was no better."</p>
+
+<p>"We shall learn all, my dear lady, when we reach the Hall," returned
+Bluewater; "and the sooner we reach it, the sooner our doubts will be
+removed. Before we enter the carriage, let me make you acquainted with
+my young friend, Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, whom I have presumed to invite
+to be of the party."</p>
+
+<p>The handsome young midshipman was well received, though Mrs. Dutton had
+been too much accustomed, in early life, to see people of condition, to
+betray the same deference as her husband for the boy's rank. The ladies
+occupied, as usual, the hind seat of the coach, leaving that in front to
+their male companions. The arrangement accidentally brought Mildred and
+the midshipman opposite each other; a circumstance that soon attracted
+the attention of the admiral, in a way that was a little odd; if not
+remarkable. There is a charm in youth, that no other period of life
+possesses; infancy, with its helpless beauty, scarcely seizing upon the
+imagination and senses with an equal force. Both the young persons in
+question, possessed this advantage in a high degree; and had there been
+no other peculiarity, the sight might readily have proved pleasing to
+one of Bluewater's benevolence and truth of feeling. The boy was turned
+of sixteen; an age in England when youth does not yet put on the
+appearance of manhood; and he retained all the evidences of a gay,
+generous boyhood, rendered a little <i>piquant</i>, by the dash of archness,
+roguery, and fun, that a man-of-war is tolerably certain to impart to a
+lad of spirit. Nevertheless, his countenance retained an expression of
+ingenuousness and of sensitive feeling, that was singularly striking in
+one of his sex, and which, in spite of her beauty of feature, hair, and
+complexion, formed the strongest attraction in the loveliness of
+Mildred; that expression, which had so much struck and charmed
+Bluewater&mdash;haunted him, we might add&mdash;since the previous day, by
+appearing so familiar, even while so extraordinary, and for which he had
+been unable to recollect a counterpart. As she now sat, face to face
+with Lord Geoffrey, to his great surprise, the rear-admiral found much
+of the same character of this very expression in the handsome boy, as in
+the lovely girl. It is true, the look of ingenuousness and of sensitive
+feeling, was far less marked in young Cleveland, than in Mildred, and
+there was little general resemblance of feature or countenance between
+the two; still, the first was to be found in both, and so distinctly, as
+to be easily traced, when placed in so close contact. Geoffrey Cleveland
+had the reputation of being like his mother; and, furnished with this
+clue, the fact suddenly flashed on Bluewater's mind, that the being whom
+Mildred so nearly and strikingly resembled, was a deceased sister of the
+Duchess, and a beloved cousin of his own. Miss Hedworth, the young lady
+in question, had long been dead; but, all who had known her, retained
+the most pleasing impressions equally of her charms of person and of
+mind. Between her and Bluewater there had existed a tender friendship,
+in which, however, no shade of passion had mingled; a circumstance that
+was in part owing to the difference in their years, Captain Bluewater
+having been nearly twice his young relative's age; and in part,
+probably, to the invincible manner in which the latter seemed wedded to
+his profession, and his ship. Agnes Hedworth, notwithstanding, had been
+very dear to our sailor, from a variety of causes,&mdash;far more so, than
+her sister, the Duchess, though <i>she</i> was a favourite&mdash;and the
+rear-admiral, when his mind glanced rapidly through the chain of
+association, that traced the accidental resemblance of Mildred to this
+esteemed object, had a sincere delight in finding he had thus been
+unconsciously attracted by one whose every look and smile now forcibly
+reminded him of the countenance of a being whom, in her day, he had
+thought so near perfection. This delight, however, was blended with
+sadness, on various accounts; and the short excursion proved to be so
+melancholy, that no one was sorry when it terminated.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Nath. Truly, Master Holofernes, the epithets are sweetly varied,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">like a scholar at the least. But, sir, I assure ye, it was a buck of<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">the first head.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><i>Hol.</i> Sir Nathaniel, <i>haud credo</i>.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><i>Bull.</i> 'Twas not a <i>haud credo</i>, 'twas a pricket."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Love's Labour Lost</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Every appearance of the jolly negligence which had been so
+characteristic of life at Wychecombe-Hall, had vanished, when the old
+coach drew up in the court, to permit the party it had brought from the
+station to alight. As no one was expected but Mrs. Dutton and her
+daughter, not even a footman appeared to open the door of the carriage;
+the vulgar-minded usually revenging their own homage to the powerful, by
+manifesting as many slights as possible to the weak. Galleygo let the
+new-comers out, and, consequently, he was the first person of whom
+inquiries were made, as to the state of things in the house.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Admiral Bluewater, looking earnestly at the steward; "how
+is Sir Wycherly, and what is the news?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly is still on the doctor's list, your honour; and I expects
+his case is set down as a hard 'un. We's as well as can be expected, and
+altogether in good heart. Sir Jarvy turned out with the sun, thof he
+didn't turn in 'till the middle-watch was half gone&mdash;or <i>two</i> bells, as
+they calls 'em aboard this house&mdash;<i>four</i> bells, as we should say in the
+old Planter&mdash;and chickens, I hears, has riz, a shillin' a head, since
+our first boat landed."</p>
+
+<p>"It's a melancholy business, Mrs. Dutton; I fear there can be little
+hope."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it's all <i>that</i>, Admiral Blue," continued Galleygo, following the
+party into the house, no one but himself hearing a word he uttered; "and
+'twill be worse, afore it's any better. They tells me potaties has taken
+a start, too; and, as all the b'ys of all the young gentlemen in the
+fleet is out, like so many wild locusts of Hegypt, I expects nothing
+better than as our mess will fare as bad as sogers on a retreat."</p>
+
+<p>In the hall, Tom Wychecombe, and his namesake, the lieutenant, met the
+party. From the formal despondency of the first, every thing they
+apprehended was confirmed. The last, however, was more cheerful, and not
+altogether without hope; as he did not hesitate openly to avow.</p>
+
+<p>"For myself, I confess I think Sir Wycherly much better," he said;
+"although the opinion is not sanctioned by that of the medical men. His
+desiring to see these ladies is favourable; and then cheering news for
+him has been brought back, already, by the messenger sent, only eight
+hours since, for his kinsman, Sir Reginald Wychecombe. He has sensibly
+revived since that report was brought in."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! my dear namesake," rejoined Tom, shaking his head, mournfully; "you
+cannot know my beloved uncle's constitution and feelings as well as I!
+Rely on it, the medical men are right; and your hopes deceive you. The
+sending for Mrs. Dutton and Miss Mildred, both of whom my honoured uncle
+respects and esteems, looks more like leave-taking than any thing else;
+and, as to Sir Reginald Wychecombe,&mdash;though a relative, beyond a
+question,&mdash;I think there has been some mistake in sending for him; since
+he is barely an acquaintance of the elder branch of the family, and he
+is of the half-blood."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Half</i> what, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe?" demanded the vice-admiral so
+suddenly, behind the speaker, as to cause all to start; Sir Gervaise
+having hastened to meet the ladies and his friend, as soon as he knew of
+their arrival. "I ask pardon, sir, for my abrupt inquiry; but, as <i>I</i>
+was the means of sending for Sir Reginald Wychecombe, I feel an interest
+in knowing his exact relationship to my host?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom started, and even paled, at this sudden question; then the colour
+rushed into his temples; he became calmer, and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Half-blood</i>, Sir Gervaise," he said, steadily. "This is an affinity
+that puts a person altogether out of the line of succession; and, of
+course, removes any necessity, or wish, to see Sir Reginald."</p>
+
+<p>"Half-<i>blood</i>&mdash;hey! Atwood?" muttered the vice-admiral, turning away
+towards his secretary, who had followed him down stairs. "This may be
+the solution, after all! Do you happen to know what half-<i>blood</i> means?
+It cannot signify that Sir Reginald comes from one of those, who have no
+father&mdash;all their ancestry consisting only of a mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should think not, Sir Gervaise; in that case, Sir Reiginald would
+scarcely be considered of so honourable a lineage, as he appears to be.
+I have not the smallest idea, sir, what half-<i>blood</i> means; and,
+perhaps, it may not be amiss to inquire of the medical gentlemen.
+Magrath is up stairs; possibly he can tell us."</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think it has something to do with the law. If this
+out-of-the-way place, now, could furnish even a lubberly attorney, we
+might learn all about it. Harkee, Atwood; you must stand by to make Sir
+Wycherly's will, if he says any thing more about it&mdash;have you got the
+heading all written out, as I desired."</p>
+
+<p>"It is quite ready, Sir Gervaise&mdash;beginning, as usual, 'In the name of
+God, Amen.' I have even ventured so far as to describe the testator's
+style and residence, &amp;c. &amp;c.&mdash;'I, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, Bart., of
+Wychecombe Hall, Devon, do make and declare this to be my last will and
+testament, &amp;c. &amp;c.' Nothing is wanting but the devises, as the lawyers
+call them. I can manage a will, well enough, Sir Gervaise, I believe.
+One of mine has been in the courts, now, these five years, and they tell
+me it sticks there, as well as if it had been drawn in the Middle
+Temple."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, I know your skill. Still, there can be no harm in just asking
+Magrath; though I think it must be law, after all! Run up and ask him,
+Atwood, and bring me the answer in the drawing-room, where I see
+Bluewater has gone with his convoy; and&mdash;harkee&mdash;tell the surgeons to
+let us know the instant the patient says any thing about his temporal
+affairs. The twenty thousand in the funds are his, to do what he pleases
+with; let the land be tied up, as it may."</p>
+
+<p>While this "aside," was going on in the hall, Bluewater and the rest of
+the party had entered a small parlour, that was in constant use, still
+conversing of the state of Sir Wycherly. As all of them, but the two
+young men, were ignorant of the nature of the message to Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe, and of the intelligence in connection with that gentleman,
+which had just been received, Mrs. Dutton ventured to ask an
+explanation, which was given by Wycherly, with a readiness that proved
+<i>he</i> felt no apprehensions on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly desired to see his distant relative, Sir Reginald," said
+the lieutenant; "and the messenger who was sent to request his
+attendance, fortunately learned from a post-boy, that the Hertfordshire
+baronet, in common with many other gentlemen, is travelling in the west,
+just at this moment; and that he slept last night, at a house only
+twenty miles distant. The express reached him several hours since, and
+an answer has been received, informing us that we may expect to see him,
+in an hour or two."</p>
+
+<p>Thus much was related by Wycherly; but, we may add that Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe was a Catholic, as it was then usual to term the Romanists,
+and in secret, a Jacobite; and, in common with many of that religious
+persuasion, he was down in the west, to see if a rising could not be
+organized in that part of the kingdom, as a diversion to any attempt to
+repel the young Pretender in the north. As the utmost caution was used
+by the conspirators, this fact was not even suspected by any who were
+not in the secret of the whole proceeding. Understanding that his
+relation was an inefficient old man, Sir Reginald, himself an active and
+sagacious intriguer, had approached thus near to the old paternal
+residence of his family, in order to ascertain if his own name and
+descent might not aid him in obtaining levies among the ancient tenantry
+of the estate. That day he had actually intended to appear at
+Wychecombe, disguised, and under an assumed name. He proposed venturing
+on this step, because circumstances put it in his power, to give what he
+thought would be received as a sufficient excuse, should his conduct
+excite comment.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Reginald Wychecombe was a singular, but by no means an unnatural
+compound of management and integrity. His position as a Papist had
+disposed him to intrigue, while his position as one proscribed by
+religious hostility, had disposed him to be a Papist. Thousands are made
+men of activity, and even of importance, by persecution and
+proscription, who would pass through life quietly and unnoticed, if the
+meddling hand of human forethought did not force them into situations
+that awaken their hostility, and quicken their powers. This gentleman
+was a firm believer in all the traditions of his church, though his
+learning extended little beyond his missal; and he put the most implicit
+reliance on the absurd, because improbable, fiction of the Nag's Head
+consecration, without having even deemed it necessary to look into a
+particle of that testimony by which alone such a controversy could be
+decided. In a word, he was an instance of what religious intolerance has
+ever done, and will probably for ever continue to do, with so wayward a
+being as man.</p>
+
+<p>Apart from this weakness, Sir Reginald Wychecombe had both a shrewd and
+an inquiring mind. His religion he left very much to the priests; but of
+his temporal affairs he assumed a careful and prudent supervision. He
+was much richer than the head of the family; but, while he had no
+meannesses connected with money, he had no objection to be the possessor
+of the old family estates. Of his own relation to the head of this
+family, he was perfectly aware, and the circumstance of the half-blood,
+with all its legal consequences, was no secret to him. Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe was not a man to be so situated, without having recourse to
+all proper means, in order, as it has become the fashion of the day to
+express it, "to define his position." By means of a shrewd attorney, if
+not of his own religious, at least of his own political opinions, he had
+ascertained the fact, and this from the mouth of Martha herself, that
+Baron Wychecombe had never married; and that, consequently, Tom and his
+brothers were no more heirs at law to the Wychecombe estate, than he was
+in his own person. He fully understood, too, that there <i>was</i> no heir at
+law; and that the lands must escheat, unless the present owner made a
+will; and to this last act, his precise information told him that Sir
+Wycherly had an unconquerable reluctance. Under such circumstances, it
+is not at all surprising, that when the Hertfordshire baronet was thus
+unexpectedly summoned to the bed-side of his distant kinsman, he
+inferred that his own claims were at length to be tardily acknowledged,
+and that he was about to be put in possession of the estates of his
+legitimate ancestors. It is still less wonderful, that, believing this,
+he promptly promised to lose no time in obeying the summons, determining
+momentarily to forget his political, in order to look a little after his
+personal interests.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will understand, of course, that all these details were
+unknown to the inmates of the Hall, beyond the fact of the expected
+arrival of Sir Reginald Wychecombe, and that of the circumstance of the
+half-blood; which, in its true bearing, was known alone to Tom. Their
+thoughts were directed towards the situation of their host, and little
+was said, or done, that had not his immediate condition for the object.
+It being understood, however, that the surgeons kept the sick chamber
+closed against all visiters, a silent and melancholy breakfast was taken
+by the whole party, in waiting for the moment when they might be
+admitted. When this cheerless meal was ended, Sir Gervaise desired
+Bluewater to follow him to his room, whither he led the way in person.</p>
+
+<p>"It is possible, certainly, that Vervillin is out," commenced the
+vice-admiral, when they were alone; "but we shall know more about it,
+when the cutter gets in, and reports. You saw nothing but her number, I
+think you told me?"</p>
+
+<p>"She was at work with private signals, when I left the head-land; of
+course I was unable to read them without the book."</p>
+
+<p>"That Vervillin is a good fellow," returned Sir Gervaise, rubbing his
+hands; a way he had when much pleased; "and has stuff in him. He has
+thirteen two-decked ships, Dick, and that will be one apiece for our
+captains, and a spare one for each of our flags. I believe there is no
+three-decker in that squadron?"</p>
+
+<p>"There you've made a small mistake, Sir Gervaise, as the Comte de
+Vervillin had his flag in the largest three-decker of France; <i>le
+Bourbon</i> 120. The rest of his ships are like our own, though much fuller
+manned."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, Blue&mdash;never mind:&mdash;we'll put two on the Bourbon, and try to
+make our frigates of use. Besides, you have a knack at keeping the fleet
+so compact, that it is nearly a single battery."</p>
+
+<p>"May I venture to ask, then, if it's your intention to go out, should
+the news by the Active prove to be what you anticipate?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise cast a quick, distrustful glance at the other, anxious to
+read the motive for the question, at the same time that he did not wish
+to betray his own feelings; then he appeared to meditate on the answer.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not quite agreeable to lie here, chafing our cables, with a
+French squadron roving the channel," he said; "but I rather think it's
+my duty to wait for orders from the Admiralty, under present
+circumstances."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you expect my lords will send you through the Straits of Dover, to
+blockade the Frith?"</p>
+
+<p>"If they do, Bluewater, I shall hope for your company. I trust, a
+night's rest has given you different views of what ought to be a
+seaman's duty, when his country is at open war with her ancient and most
+powerful enemies."</p>
+
+<p>"It is the prerogative of the <i>crown</i> to declare war, Oakes. No one but
+a <i>lawful</i> sovereign can make a <i>lawful</i> war."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, here come your cursed distinctions about <i>de jure</i> and <i>de facto</i>,
+again. By the way, Dick, you are something of a scholar&mdash;can you tell me
+what is understood by calling a man a <i>nullus</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater, who had taken his usual lolling attitude in the most
+comfortable chair he could find, while his more mercurial friend kept
+pacing the room, now raised his head in surprise, following the quick
+motions of the other, with his eyes, as if he doubted whether he had
+rightly heard the question.</p>
+
+<p>"It's plain English, is it not?&mdash;or plain <i>Latin</i>, if you will&mdash;what is
+meant by calling a man a <i>nullus</i>?" repeated Sir Gervaise, observing the
+other's manner.</p>
+
+<p>"The Latin is <i>plain</i> enough, certainly," returned Bluewater, smiling;
+"you surely do not mean <i>nullus, nulla, nullum</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly that&mdash;you've hit it to a gender.&mdash;<i>Nullus, nulla, nullum</i>.
+No <i>man</i>, no <i>woman</i>, no <i>thing</i>. Masculine, feminine, neuter."</p>
+
+<p>"I never heard the saying. If ever used, it must be some silly play on
+sounds, and mean a numskull&mdash;or, perhaps, a fling at a fellow's
+position, by saying he is a 'nobody.' Who the deuce has been calling
+another a <i>nullus</i>, in the presence of the commander-in-chief of the
+southern squadron?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe&mdash;our unfortunate host, here: the poor man who
+is on his death-bed, on this very floor."</p>
+
+<p>Again Bluewater raised his head, and once more his eye sought the face
+of his friend. Sir Gervaise had now stopped short, with his hands
+crossed behind his back, looking intently at the other, in expectation
+of the answer.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought it might be some difficulty from the fleet&mdash;some silly fellow
+complaining of another still more silly for using such a word. Sir
+Wycherly!&mdash;the poor man's mind must have failed him."</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think not; if it has, there is 'method in his madness,' for he
+persevered most surprisingly, in the use of the term. His nephew, Tom
+Wychecombe, the presumptive heir, he insists on it, is a <i>nullus</i>; while
+this Sir Reginald, who is expected to arrive every instant, he says is
+only <i>half</i>&mdash;or half-<i>blood</i>, as it has since been explained to us."</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid this nephew will prove to be any thing but <i>nullus</i>, when
+he succeeds to the estate and title," answered Bluewater, gravely. "A
+more sinister-looking scoundrel, I never laid eyes on."</p>
+
+<p>"That is just my way of thinking; and not in the least like the family."</p>
+
+<p>"This matter of likenesses is not easily explained, Oakes. We see
+parents and children without any visible resemblance to each other; and
+then we find startling likenesses between utter strangers."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Bachelor's children</i> may be in that predicament, certainly; but I
+should think few others. I never yet studied a child, that I did not
+find some resemblance to both parents; covert and only transitory,
+perhaps; but a likeness so distinct as to establish the relationship.
+What an accursed chance it is, that our noble young lieutenant should
+have no claim on this old baronet; while this d&mdash;&mdash;d <i>nullus</i> is both
+heir at law, and heir of entail! I never took half as much interest in
+any other man's estate, as I take in the succession to this of our poor
+host!"</p>
+
+<p>"There you are mistaken, Oakes; you took more in <i>mine</i>; for, when I
+made a will in your own favour, and gave it to you to read, you tore it
+in two, and threw it overboard, with your own hand."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that was an act of lawful authority. As your superior, I
+countermanded that will! I hope you've made another, and given your
+money, as I told you, to your cousin, the Viscount."</p>
+
+<p>"I did, but <i>that</i> will has shared the fate of the first. It appearing
+to me, that we are touching on serious times, and Bluewater being rich
+already, I destroyed the devise in his favour, and made a new one, this
+very morning. As you are my executor, as usual, it may be well to let
+you know it."</p>
+
+<p>"Dick, you have not been mad enough to cut off the head of your own
+family&mdash;your own flesh and blood, as it might be&mdash;to leave the few
+thousands you own, to this mad adventurer in Scotland!"</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater smiled at this evidence of the familiarity of his friend with
+his own way of thinking and feeling; and, for a single instant, he
+regretted that he had not put his first intention in force, in order
+that the conformity of views might have been still more perfect; but,
+putting a hand in his pocket he drew out the document itself, and
+leaning forward, gave it carelessly to Sir Gervaise.</p>
+
+<p>"There is the will; and by looking it over, you will know what I've
+done," he said. "I wish you would keep it; for, if 'misery makes us
+acquainted with strange bed-fellows,' revolutions reduce us, often, to
+strange plights, and the paper will be safer with you than with me. Of
+course, you will keep my secret, until the proper time to reveal it
+shall arrive."</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral, who knew that he had no direct interest in his
+friend's disposition of his property, took the will, with a good deal of
+curiosity to ascertain its provisions. So short a testament was soon
+read; and his eye rested intently on the paper until it had taken in the
+last word. Then his hand dropped, and he regarded Bluewater with a
+surprise he neither affected, nor wished to conceal. He did not doubt
+his friend's sanity, but he greatly questioned his discretion.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a very simple, but a very ingenious arrangement, to disturb the
+order of society," he said; "and to convert a very modest and
+unpretending, though lovely girl, into a forward and airs-taking old
+woman! What is this Mildred Dutton to you, that you should bequeath to
+her &pound;30,000?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is one of the meekest, most ingenuous, purest, and loveliest, of
+her meek, ingenuous, pure, and lovely sex, crushed to the earth by the
+curse of a brutal, drunken father; and, I am resolute to see that this
+world, for once, afford some compensation for its own miseries."</p>
+
+<p>"Never doubt that, Richard Bluewater; never doubt <i>that</i>. So certain is
+vice, or crime, to bring its own punishment in this life, that one may
+well question if any other hell is needed. And, depend on it, your meek,
+modest ingenuousness, in its turn, will not go unrewarded."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, so far as the spirit is concerned; but, I mean to provide a
+little for the comfort of the body. You remember Agnes Hedworth, I take
+it for granted?"</p>
+
+<p>"Remember her!&mdash;out of all question. Had the war left me leisure for
+making love, she was the only woman I ever knew, who could have brought
+me to her feet&mdash;I mean as a dog, Dick."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you see any resemblance between her and this Mildred Dutton? It is
+in the expression rather than in the features&mdash;but, it is the expression
+which alone denotes the character."</p>
+
+<p>"By George, you're right, Bluewater; and this relieves me from some
+embarrassment I've felt about that very expression of which you speak.
+She <i>is</i> like poor Agnes, who became a saint earlier than any of us
+could have wished. Living or dead, Agnes Hedworth must be an angel! You
+were fonder of her, than of any other woman, I believe. At one time, I
+thought you might propose for her hand."</p>
+
+<p>"It was not that sort of affection, and you could not have known her
+private history, or you would not have fancied this. I was so situated
+in the way of relatives, that Agnes, though only the child of a
+cousin-german, was the nearest youthful female relative I had on earth;
+and I regarded her more as a sister, than as a creature who could ever
+become my wife. She was sixteen years my junior; and by the time she had
+become old enough to marry, I was accustomed to think of her only as one
+destined for another station. The same feeling existed as to her sister,
+the Duchess, though in a greatly lessened degree."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor, sweet Agnes!&mdash;and it is on account of this accidental
+resemblance, that you have determined to make the daughter of a drunken
+sailing-master your heiress?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not altogether so; the will was drawn before I was conscious that the
+likeness existed. Still, it has probably, unknown to myself, greatly
+disposed me to view her with favour. But, Gervaise, Agnes herself was
+not fairer in person, or more lovely in mind, than this very Mildred
+Dutton."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you have not been accustomed to regard <i>her</i> as a sister; and
+<i>she</i> has become marriageable, without there having been any opportunity
+for your regarding her as so peculiarly sacred, Dick!" returned Sir
+Gervaise, half suppressing a smile as he threw a quiet glance at his
+friend.</p>
+
+<p>"You know this to be idle, Oakes. Some one must inherit my money; my
+brother is long since dead; even poor, poor Agnes is gone; her sister
+don't need it; Bluewater is an over-rich bachelor, already; <i>you</i> won't
+take it, and what better can I do with it? If you could have seen the
+cruel manner in which the spirits of both mother and daughter were
+crushed to the earth last night, by that beast of a husband and father,
+you would have felt a desire to relieve their misery, even though it had
+cost you Bowldero, and half your money in the funds."</p>
+
+<p>"Umph! Bowldero has been in my family five centuries, and is likely to
+remain there, Master Bluewater, five more; unless, indeed, your dashing
+Pretender should succeed, and take it away by confiscation."</p>
+
+<p>"There, again, was another inducement. Should I leave my cash to a rich
+person, and should chance put me on the wrong side in this struggle, the
+king, <i>de facto</i>, would get it all; whereas, even a German would not
+have the heart to rob a poor creature like Mildred of her support."</p>
+
+<p>"The <i>Scotch</i> are notorious for bowels, in such matters! Well, have it
+your own way, Dick. It's of no great moment what you do with your
+prize-money; though I had supposed it would fall into the hands of this
+boy, Geoffrey Cleveland, who is no discredit to your blood."</p>
+
+<p>"He will have a hundred thousand pounds, at five-and-twenty, that were
+left him by old Lady Greenfield, his great-aunt, and that is more than
+he will know what to do with. But, enough of this. Have you received
+further tidings from the north, during the night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a syllable. This is a retired part of the country, and half
+Scotland might be capsized in one of its loughs, and we not know of it,
+for a week, down here in Devonshire. Should I get no intelligence or
+orders, in the next thirty-six hours, I think of posting up to London,
+leaving you in command of the fleet."</p>
+
+<p>"That may not be wise. You would scarcely confide so important a trust,
+in such a crisis, to a man of my political feelings&mdash;I will not say
+<i>opinions</i>; since you attribute all to sentiment."</p>
+
+<p>"I would confide my life and honour to you, Richard Bluewater, with the
+utmost confidence in the security of both, so long as it depended on
+your own acts or inclinations. We must first see, however, what news the
+Active brings us; for, if de Vervillin is really out, I shall assume
+that the duty of an English sailor is to beat a Frenchman, before all
+other considerations."</p>
+
+<p>"If he <i>can</i>," drily observed the other, raising his right leg so high
+as to place the foot on the top of an old-fashioned chair; an effort
+that nearly brought his back in a horizontal line.</p>
+
+<p>"I am far from regarding it as a matter of course, Admiral Bluewater;
+but, it <i>has</i> been done sufficiently often, to render it an event of no
+very violent <i>possibility</i>. Ah, here is Magrath to tell us the condition
+of his patient."</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon of the Plantagenet entering the room, at that moment, the
+conversation was instantly changed.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Magrath," said Sir Gervaise, stopping suddenly in his
+quarter-deck pace; "what news of the poor man?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is reviving, Admiral Oakes," returned the phlegmatic surgeon; "but
+it is like the gleaming of sunshine that streams through clouds, as the
+great luminary sets behind the hills&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! hang your poetry, doctor; let us have nothing but plain
+matter-of-fact, this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, Sir Gervaise, as commander-in-chief, you'll be obeyed, I
+think. Sir Wycherly Wychecombe is suffering under an attack of
+apoplexy&mdash;or [Greek: apopl&ecirc;xis], as the Greeks had it. The diagnosis of
+the disease is not easily mistaken, though it has its affinities as well
+as other maladies. The applications for gout, or <i>arthritis</i>&mdash;sometimes
+produce apoplexy; though one disease is seated in the head, while the
+other usually takes refuge in the feet. Ye'll understand this the more
+readily, gentlemen, when ye reflect that as a thief is chased from one
+hiding-place, he commonly endeavours to get into another. I much misgive
+the prudence of the phlebotomy ye practised among ye, on the first
+summons to the patient."</p>
+
+<p>"What the d&mdash;-l does the man mean by phlebotomy?" exclaimed Sir
+Gervaise, who had an aversion to medicine, and knew scarcely any of the
+commonest terms of practice, though expert in bleeding.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm thinking it's what you and Admiral Bluewater so freely administer
+to His Majesty's enemies, whenever ye fall in with 'em at
+sea;&mdash;he-he-he&mdash;" answered Magrath, chuckling at his own humour; which,
+as the quantity was small, was all the better in quality.</p>
+
+<p>"Surely he does not mean powder and shot! We give the French shot; Sir
+Wycherly has not been shot?"</p>
+
+<p>"Varra true, Sir Gervaise, but ye've let him blood, amang ye: a measure
+that has been somewhat precipitately practised, I've my misgivings!"</p>
+
+<p>"Now, any old woman can tell us better than that, doctor. Blood-letting
+is the every-day remedy for attacks of this sort."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not dispute the dogmas of elderly persons of the other sex, Sir
+Gervaise, or your <i>every-day remedia</i>. If 'every-day' doctors would save
+life and alleviate pain, diplomas would be unnecessary; and we might,
+all of us, practise on the principle of the 'de'el tak' the hindmaist,'
+as ye did yoursel', Sir Gervaise, when ye cut and slash'd amang the
+Dons, in boarding El Lirio. I was there, ye'll both remember, gentlemen;
+and was obleeged to sew up the gashes ye made with your own irreverent
+and ungodly hands."</p>
+
+<p>This speech referred to one of the most desperate, hand-to-hand
+struggles, in which the two flag-officers had ever been engaged; and, as
+it afforded them the means of exhibiting their personal gallantry, when
+quite young men, both usually looked back upon the exploit with great
+self-complacency; Sir Gervaise, in particular, his friend having often
+declared since, that they ought to have been laid on the shelf for life,
+as a punishment for risking their men in so mad an enterprise, though it
+did prove to be brilliantly successful.</p>
+
+<p>"That was an affair in which one might engage at twenty-two, Magrath,"
+observed Bluewater; "but which he ought to hesitate about thinking of
+even, after thirty."</p>
+
+<p>"I'd do it again, this blessed day, if you would give us a chance!"
+exclaimed Sir Gervaise, striking the back of one hand into the palm of
+the other, with a sudden energy, that showed how much he was excited by
+the mere recollection of the scene.</p>
+
+<p>"That w'ud ye!&mdash;that w'ud ye!" said Magrath, growing more and more
+Scotch, as he warmed in the discourse; "ye'd board a mackerel-hoy,
+rather than not have an engagement. Ye'r a varra capital vice-admiral of
+the red, Sir Gervaise, but I'm judging ye'd mak' a varra indeeferent
+loblolly-boy."</p>
+
+<p>"Bluewater, I shall be compelled to change ships with you, in order to
+get rid of the old stand-by's of the Plantagenets! They stick to me like
+leeches; and have got to be so familiar, that they criticise all my
+orders, and don't more than half obey them, in the bargain."</p>
+
+<p>"No one will criticise your nautical commands, Sir Gervaise; though, in
+the way of the healing airt,&mdash;science, it should be called&mdash;ye're no
+mair to be trusted, than one of the young gentlemen. I'm told ye drew
+ye'r lancet on this poor gentleman, as ye'd draw ye'r sword on an
+enemy!"</p>
+
+<p>"I did, indeed, sir; though Mr. Rotherham had rendered the application
+of the instrument unnecessary. Apoplexy is a rushing of the blood to the
+head; and by diminishing the quantity in the veins of the arms or
+temples, you lessen the pressure on the brain."</p>
+
+<p>"Just layman's practice, sir&mdash;just layman's practice. Will ye tell me
+now if the patient's face was red or white? Every thing depends on
+<i>that</i>; which is the true diagnosis of the malady."</p>
+
+<p>"Red, I think; was it not, Bluewater? Red, like old port, of which I
+fancy the poor man had more than his share."</p>
+
+<p>"Weel, in that case, you were not so varra wrong; but, they tell me his
+countenance was pallid and death-like; in which case ye came near to
+committing murder. There is one principle that controls the diagnosis of
+all cases of apoplexy among ye'r true country gentlemen&mdash;and that is,
+that the system is reduced and enfeebled, by habitual devotion to the
+decanter. In such attacks ye canna' do warse, than to let blood. But,
+I'll no be hard upon you, Sir Gervaise; and so we'll drop the
+subject&mdash;though, truth to say, I do not admire your poaching on my
+manor. Sir Wycherly is materially better, and expresses, as well as a
+man who has not the use of his tongue, <i>can</i> express a thing, his
+besetting desire to make his last will and testament. In ordinary cases
+of <i>apoplexia</i>, it is good practice to oppose this craving; though, as
+it is my firm opinion that nothing can save the patient's life, I do not
+set myself against the measure, in this particular case. Thar' was a
+curious discussion at Edinbro', in my youth, gentlemen, on the question
+whether the considerations connected with the disposition of the
+property, or the considerations connected with the patient's health,
+ought to preponderate in the physician's mind, when it might be
+reasonably doubted whether the act of making a will, would or would not
+essentially affect the nervous system, and otherwise derange the
+functions of the body. A very pretty argument, in excellent Edinbro'
+Latin, was made on each side of the question. I think, on the whole, the
+physicos had the best o' it; for they could show a plausible present
+evil, as opposed to a possible remote good."</p>
+
+<p>"Has Sir Wycherly mentioned my name this morning?" asked the
+vice-admiral, with interest.</p>
+
+<p>"He has, indeed, Sir Gervaise; and that in a way so manifestly connected
+with his will, that I'm opining ye'll no be forgotten in the legacies.
+The name of Bluewater was in his mouth, also."</p>
+
+<p>"In which case no time should be lost; for, never before have I felt
+half the interest in the disposition of a stranger's estate. Hark! Are
+not those wheels rattling in the court-yard?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ye'r senses are most pairfect, Sir Gervaise, and that I've always said
+was one reason why ye'r so great an admiral," returned Magrath. "Mind,
+only <i>one</i>, Sir Gervaise; for many qualities united, are necessary to
+make a truly great man. I see a middle-aged gentleman alighting, and
+servants around him, who wear the same liveries as those of this house.
+Some relative, no doubt, come to look after the legacies, also."</p>
+
+<p>"This must be Sir Reginald Wychecombe; it may not be amiss if we go
+forward to receive him, Bluewater."</p>
+
+<p>At this suggestion, the rear-admiral drew in his legs, which had not
+changed their position on account of the presence of the surgeon, arose,
+and followed Sir Gervaise, as the latter left the room.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"<i>Videsne quis venit?</i>"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"<i>Video, et gaudeo.</i>"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Nathaniel et Holofernes.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Tom Wychecombe had experienced an uneasiness that it is unnecessary to
+explain, ever since he learned that his reputed uncle had sent a
+messenger to bring the "half-blood" to the Hall. From the moment he got
+a clue to the fact, he took sufficient pains to ascertain what was in
+the wind; and when Sir Reginald Wychecombe entered the house, the first
+person he met was this spurious supporter of the honours of his name.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Reginald Wychecombe, I presume, from the arms and the liveries,"
+said Tom, endeavouring to assume the manner of a host. "It is grateful
+to find that, though we are separated by quite two centuries, all the
+usages and the bearings of the family are equally preserved and
+respected, by both its branches."</p>
+
+<p>"I am Sir Reginald Wychecombe, sir, and endeavour not to forget the
+honourable ancestry from which I am derived. May I ask what kinsman I
+have the pleasure now to meet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, sir, at your command; the <i>eldest</i> son of Sir
+Wycherly's next brother, the late Mr. Baron Wychecombe. I trust, Sir
+Reginald, you have not considered us as so far removed in blood, as to
+have entirely overlooked our births, marriages, and deaths."</p>
+
+<p>"I have <i>not</i>, sir," returned the baronet, drily, and with an emphasis
+that disturbed his listener, though the cold jesuitical smile that
+accompanied the words, had the effect to calm his vivid apprehensions.
+"<i>All</i> that relates to the house of Wychecombe has interest in my eyes;
+and I have endeavoured, successfully I trust, to ascertain <i>all</i> that
+relates to its births, <i>marriages</i>, and deaths. I greatly regret that
+the second time I enter this venerable dwelling, should be on an
+occasion as melancholy as this, on which I am now summoned. How is your
+respectable&mdash;how is Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, I wish to say?"</p>
+
+<p>There was sufficient in this answer, taken in connection with the
+deliberate, guarded, and yet expressive manner of the speaker to make
+Tom extremely uncomfortable, though there was also sufficient to leave
+him in doubts as to his namesake's true meaning. The words emphasized by
+the latter, were touched lightly, though distinctly; and the cold,
+artificial smile with which they were uttered, completely baffled the
+sagacity of a rogue, as common-place as the heir-expectant. Then the
+sudden change in the construction of the last sentence, and the
+substitution of the name of the person mentioned, for the degree of
+affinity in which he was supposed to stand to Tom, might be merely a
+rigid observance of the best tone of society, or it might be equivocal.
+All these little distinctions gleamed across the mind of Tom Wychecombe;
+but that was not the moment to pursue the investigation. Courtesy
+required that he should make an immediate answer, which he succeeded in
+doing steadily enough as to general appearances, though his sagacious
+and practised questioner perceived that his words had not failed of
+producing the impression he intended; for he had looked to their
+establishing a species of authority over the young man.</p>
+
+<p>"My honoured and beloved uncle has revived a little, they tell me," said
+Tom; "but I fear these appearances are delusive. After eighty-four,
+death has a fearful hold upon us, sir! The worst of it is, that my poor,
+dear uncle's mind is sensibly affected; and it is quite impossible to
+get at any of his little wishes, in the way of memorials and messages&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"How then, sir, came Sir Wycherly to honour <i>me</i> with a request to visit
+him?" demanded the other, with an extremely awkward pertinency.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose, sir, he has succeeded in muttering your name, and that a
+natural construction has been put on its use, at such a moment. His will
+has been made some time, I understand; though I am ignorant of even the
+name of the executor, as it is closed in an envelope, and sealed with
+Sir Wycherly's arms. It cannot be, then, on account of a <i>will</i>, that he
+has wished to see you. I rather think, as the next of the family, <i>out
+of the direct line of succession</i>, he may have ventured to name you as
+the executor of the will in existence, and has thought it proper to
+notify you of the same."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," returned Sir Reginald, in his usual cold, wary manner;
+"though it would have been more in conformity with usage, had the
+notification taken the form of a request to serve, previously to making
+the testament. My letter was signed 'Gervaise Oakes,' and, as they tell
+me a fleet is in the neighbourhood, I have supposed that the celebrated
+admiral of that name, has done me the honour to write it."</p>
+
+<p>"You are not mistaken, sir; Sir Gervaise Oakes is in the house&mdash;ah&mdash;here
+he comes to receive you, accompanied by Rear-Admiral Bluewater, whom the
+sailors call his mainmast."</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing conversation had taken place in a little parlour that led
+off from the great hall, whither Tom had conducted his guest, and in
+which the two admirals now made their appearance. Introductions were
+scarcely necessary, the uniform and star&mdash;for in that age officers
+usually appeared in their robes&mdash;the uniform and star of Sir Gervaise at
+once proclaiming his rank and name; while, between Sir Reginald and
+Bluewater there existed a slight personal acquaintance, which had grown
+out of their covert, but deep, Jacobite sympathies.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise Oakes," and "Sir Reginald Wychecombe," passed between the
+gentlemen, with a hearty shake of the hand from the admiral, which was
+met by a cold touch of the fingers on the part of the other, that might
+very well have passed for the great model of the sophisticated
+manipulation of the modern salute, but which, in fact, was the result of
+temperament rather than of fashion. As soon as this ceremony was gone
+through, and a few brief expressions of courtesy were exchanged, the new
+comer turned to Bluewater, with an air of greater freedom, and
+continued&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And you, too, Sir Richard Bluewater! I rejoice to meet an acquaintance
+in this melancholy scene."</p>
+
+<p>"I am happy to see you, Sir Reginald; though you have conferred on me a
+title to which I have no proper claim."</p>
+
+<p>"No!&mdash;the papers tell us that you have received one of the lately vacant
+red ribands?"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe some such honour has been in contemplation&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Contemplation!&mdash;I do assure you, sir, your name is fairly and
+distinctly gazetted&mdash;as, by sending to my carriage, it will be in my
+power to show you. I am, then, the first to call you Sir Richard."</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, Sir Reginald&mdash;there is some little misapprehension in this
+matter; I prefer to remain plain Rear-Admiral Bluewater. In due season,
+all will be explained."</p>
+
+<p>The parties exchanged looks, which, in times like those in which they
+lived, were sufficiently intelligible to both; and the conversation was
+instantly changed. Before Sir Reginald relinquished the hand he held,
+however, he gave it a cordial squeeze, an intimation that was returned
+by a warm pressure from Bluewater. The party then began to converse of
+Sir Wycherly, his actual condition, and his probable motive in desiring
+to see his distant kinsman. This motive, Sir Gervaise, regardless of the
+presence of Tom Wychecombe, declared to be a wish to make a will; and,
+as he believed, the intention of naming Sir Reginald his executor, if
+not in some still more interesting capacity.</p>
+
+<p>"I understand Sir Wycherly has a considerable sum entirely at his own
+disposal," continued the vice-admiral; "and I confess I like to see a
+man remember his friends and servants, generously, in his last moments.
+The estate is entailed, I hear; and I suppose Mr. Thomas Wychecombe
+here, will be none the worse for that precaution in his ancestor; let
+the old gentleman do as he pleases with his savings."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise was so much accustomed to command, that he did not feel the
+singularity of his own interference in the affairs of a family of what
+might be called strangers, though the circumstance struck Sir Reginald,
+as a little odd. Nevertheless, the last had sufficient penetration to
+understand the vice-admiral's character at a glance, and the peculiarity
+made no lasting impression. When the allusion was made to Tom's
+succession, as a matter of course, however, he cast a cold, but
+withering look, at the reputed heir, which almost chilled the marrow in
+the bones of the jealous rogue.</p>
+
+<p>"Might I say a word to you, in your own room, Sir Gervaise?" asked Sir
+Reginald, in an aside. "These matters ought not to be indecently
+hurried; and I wish to understand the ground better, before I advance."</p>
+
+<p>This question was overheard by Bluewater; who, begging the gentlemen to
+remain where they were, withdrew himself, taking Tom Wychecombe with
+him. As soon as they were alone, Sir Reginald drew from his companion,
+by questions warily but ingeniously put, a history of all that had
+occurred within the last twenty-four hours; a knowledge of the really
+helpless state of Sir Wycherly, and of the manner in which he himself
+had been summoned, included. When satisfied, he expressed a desire to
+see the sick man.</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Sir Reginald," said the vice-admiral, with his hand on the
+lock of the door, arresting his own movement to put the question; "I
+see, by your manner of expressing yourself, that the law has not been
+entirely overlooked in your education. Do you happen to know what
+'half-blood' means? it is either a medical or a legal term, and I
+understand few but nautical."</p>
+
+<p>"You could not apply to any man in England, Sir Gervaise, better
+qualified to tell you," answered the Hertfordshire baronet, smiling
+expressively. "I am a barrister of the Middle Temple, having been
+educated as a younger son, and having since succeeded an elder brother,
+at the age of twenty-seven; I stand in the unfortunate relation of the
+'half-blood' myself, to this very estate, on which we are now
+conversing."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Reginald then proceeded to explain the law to the other, as we have
+already pointed it out to the reader; performing the duty succinctly,
+but quite clearly.</p>
+
+<p>"Bless me!&mdash;bless me! Sir Reginald," exclaimed the direct-minded and
+<i>just</i>-minded sailor&mdash;"here must be some mistake! A fortieth cousin, or
+the king, take this estate before yourself, though you are directly
+descended from all the old Wychecombes of the times of the
+Plantagenets!"</p>
+
+<p>"Such is the common law, Sir Gervaise. Were I Sir Wycherly's
+half-brother, or a son by a second wife of our common father, I could
+not take from <i>him</i>, although that common father had earned the estate
+by his own hands, or services."</p>
+
+<p>"This is damnable, sir&mdash;damnable&mdash;and you'll pardon me, but I can hardly
+believe we have such a monstrous principle in the good, honest,
+well-meaning laws, of good, honest, well-meaning old England!"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Reginald was one of the few lawyers of his time, who did not
+recognize the virtue of this particular provision of the common law; a
+circumstance that probably arose from his having so <i>small</i> an interest
+now in the mysteries of the profession, and so <i>large</i> an interest in
+the family estate of Wychecombe, destroyed by its <i>dictum</i>. He was,
+consequently, less surprised, and not at all hurt, at the evident manner
+in which the sailor repudiated his statement, as doing violence equally
+to reason, justice, and probability.</p>
+
+<p>"Good, honest, well-meaning old England tolerates many grievous things,
+notwithstanding, Sir Gervaise," he answered; "among others, it tolerates
+the law of the half-blood. Much depends on the manner in which men view
+these things; that which seems gold to one, resembling silver in the
+eyes of another. Now, I dare say,"&mdash;this was said as a feeler, and with
+a smile that might pass for ironical or confiding, as the listener
+pleased to take it&mdash;"Now, I dare say, the clans would tell us that
+England tolerates an usurper, while her lawful prince was in banishment;
+though <i>you</i> and <i>I</i> might not feel disposed to allow it."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise started, and cast a quick, suspicious glance at the
+speaker; but there the latter stood, with as open and guileless an
+expression on his handsome features, as was ever seen in the countenance
+of confiding sixteen.</p>
+
+<p>"Your supposititious case is no parallel," returned the vice-admiral,
+losing every shade of suspicion, at this appearance of careless
+frankness; "since men often follow their feelings in their allegiance,
+while the law is supposed to be governed by reason and justice. But, now
+we are on the subject, will you tell me. Sir Reginald, if you also know
+what a <i>nullus</i> is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have no farther knowledge of the subject, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+other, smiling, this time, quite naturally; "than is to be found in the
+Latin dictionaries and grammars."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;you mean <i>nullus, nulla, nullum</i>. Even we sailors know <i>that</i>;
+as we all go to school before we go to sea. But, Sir Wycherly, in
+efforts to make himself understood, called you a 'half-blood.'"</p>
+
+<p>"And quite correctly&mdash;I admit such to be the fact; and that I have no
+more <i>legal</i> claim, whatever on this estate, than you have yourself. My
+<i>moral</i> right, however, may be somewhat better."</p>
+
+<p>"It is much to your credit, that you so frankly admit it, Sir Reginald;
+for, hang me, if I think even the judges would dream of raising such an
+objection to your succeeding, unless reminded of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Therein you do them injustice, Sir Gervaise; as it is their duty to
+administer the laws, let them be what they may."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you are right, sir. But the reason for my asking what a
+<i>nullus</i> is, was the circumstance that Sir Wycherly, in the course of
+his efforts to speak, repeatedly called his nephew and heir, Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, by that epithet."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he, indeed?&mdash;Was the epithet, as you well term it, <i>filius
+nullius</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think it was <i>nullus</i>&mdash;though I do believe the word <i>filius</i>
+was muttered, once or twice, also."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, this has been the case; and I am not sorry Sir Wycherly is
+aware of the fact, as I hear that the young man affects to consider
+himself in a different point of view. A <i>filius nullius</i> is the legal
+term for a bastard&mdash;the 'son of nobody,' as you will at once understand.
+I am fully aware that such is the unfortunate predicament of Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, whose father, I possess complete evidence to show, was never
+married to his mother."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet, Sir Reginald, the impudent rascal carries in his pocket even,
+a certificate, signed by some parish priest in London, to prove the
+contrary."</p>
+
+<p>The civil baronet seemed surprised at this assertion of his military
+brother; but Sir Gervaise explaining what had passed between himself and
+the young man, he could no longer entertain any doubt of the fact.</p>
+
+<p>"Since you have seen the document," resumed Sir Reginald, "it must,
+indeed, be so; and this misguided boy is prepared to take any desperate
+step in order to obtain the title and the estate. All that he has said
+about a will must be fabulous, as no man in his senses would risk his
+neck to obtain so hollow a distinction as a baronetcy&mdash;we are equally
+members of the class, and may speak frankly, Sir Gervaise&mdash;and the will
+would secure the estate, if there were one. I cannot think, therefore,
+that there is a will at all."</p>
+
+<p>"If this will were not altogether to the fellow's liking, would not the
+marriage, beside the hollow honour of which you have spoken, put the
+whole of the landed property in his possession, under the entail?"</p>
+
+<p>"It would, indeed; and I thank you for the suggestion. If, however, Sir
+Wycherly is desirous, <i>now</i>, of making a <i>new</i> will, and has strength
+and mind sufficient to execute his purpose, the <i>old</i> one need give us
+no concern. This is a most delicate affair for one in my situation to
+engage in, sir; and I greatly rejoice that I find such honourable and
+distinguished witnesses, in the house, to clear my reputation, should
+any thing occur to require such exculpation. On the one side, Sir
+Gervaise, there is the danger of an ancient estate's falling into the
+hands of the crown, and this, too, while one of no <i>stain</i> of blood,
+derived from the same honourable ancestors as the last possessor, is in
+existence; or, on the other, of its becoming the prey of one of base
+blood, and of but very doubtful character. The circumstance that Sir
+Wycherly desired my presence, is a great deal; and I trust to you, and
+to those with you, to vindicate the fairness of my course. If it's your
+pleasure, sir, we will now go to the sick chamber."</p>
+
+<p>"With all my heart. I think, however, Sir Reginald," said the
+vice-admiral, as he approached the door; "that even in the event of an
+escheat, you would find these Brunswick princes sufficiently liberal to
+restore the property. I could not answer for those wandering Scotchmen;
+who have so many breechless nobles to enrich; but, I think, with the
+Hanoverians, you would be safe."</p>
+
+<p>"The last have certainly one recommendation the most," returned the
+other, smiling courteously, but in a way so equivocal that even Sir
+Gervaise was momentarily struck by it; "they have fed so well, now, at
+the crib, that they may not have the same voracity, as those who have
+been long fasting. It would be, however, more pleasant to take these
+lands from a Wychecombe&mdash;a Wychecombe to a Wychecombe&mdash;than to receive
+them anew from even the Plantagenet who made the first grant."</p>
+
+<p>This terminated the private dialogue, as the colloquists entered the
+hall, just as the last speaker concluded. Wycherly was conversing,
+earnestly, with Mrs. Dutton and Mildred, at the far end of the hall,
+when the baronets appeared; but, catching the eye of the admiral, he
+said a few words hastily to his companions, and joined the two
+gentlemen, who were now on their way to the sick man's chamber.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is a namesake, if not a relative, Sir Reginald," observed Sir
+Gervaise, introducing the lieutenant; "and one, I rejoice to say, of
+whom all of even your honourable name have reason to be proud."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Reginald's bow was courteous and bland, as the admiral proceeded to
+complete the introduction; but Wycherly felt that the keen, searching
+look he bestowed on himself, was disagreeable.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not at all aware, that I have the smallest claim to the honour of
+being Sir Reginald Wychecombe's relative," he said, with cold reserve.
+"Indeed, until last evening, I was ignorant of the existence of the
+Hertfordshire branch of this family; and you will remember, Sir
+Gervaise, that I am a Virginian."</p>
+
+<p>"A Virginian!" exclaimed his namesake, taken so much by surprise as to
+lose a little of his self-command, "I did not know, indeed, that any who
+bear the name had found their way to the colonies."</p>
+
+<p>"And if they had, sir, they would have met with a set of fellows every
+way fit to be their associates, Sir Reginald. We English are a little
+clannish&mdash;I hate the word, too; it has such a narrow Scotch sound&mdash;but
+we <i>are</i> clannish, although generally provided with garments to our
+nether limbs; and we sometimes look down upon even a son, whom the love
+of adventure has led into that part of the world. In my view an
+Englishman is an Englishman, let him come from what part of the empire
+he may. That is what I call genuine liberality, Sir Reginald."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, Sir Gervaise; and a Scotchman is a Scotchman, even though
+he come from the north of Tweed."</p>
+
+<p>This was quietly said, but the vice-admiral felt the merited rebuke it
+contained, and he had the good-nature and the good sense to laugh at it,
+and to admit his own prejudices. This little encounter brought the party
+to Sir Wycherly's door, where all three remained until it was
+ascertained that they might enter.</p>
+
+<p>The next quarter of an hour brought about a great change in the
+situation of all the principal inmates of Wychecombe Hall. The interdict
+was taken off the rooms of Sir Wycherly, and in them had collected all
+the gentlemen, Mrs. Dutton and her daughter, with three or four of the
+upper servants of the establishment. Even Galleygo contrived to thrust
+his ungainly person in, among the rest, though he had the discretion to
+keep in the background among his fellows. In a word, both dressing-room
+and bed-room had their occupants, though the last was principally filled
+by the medical men, and those whose rank gave them claims to be near the
+person of the sick.</p>
+
+<p>It was now past a question known that poor Sir Wycherly was on his
+death-bed. His mind had sensibly improved, nor was his speech any worse;
+but his physical system generally had received a shock that rendered
+recovery hopeless. It was the opinion of the physicians that he might
+possibly survive several days; or, that he might be carried off, in a
+moment, by a return of the paralytic affection.</p>
+
+<p>The baronet, himself, appeared to be perfectly conscious of his
+situation; as was apparent by the anxiety he expressed to get his
+friends together, and more especially the concern he felt to make a due
+disposition of his worldly affairs. The medical men had long resisted
+both wishes, until, convinced that the question was reduced to one of a
+few hours more or less of life, and that denial was likely to produce
+worse effects than compliance, they finally and unanimously consented.</p>
+
+<p>"It's no a great concession to mortal infirmity to let a dying man have
+his way," whispered Magrath to the two admirals, as the latter entered
+the room. "Sir Wycherly is a hopeless case, and we'll just consent to
+let him make a few codicils, seeing that he so fairvently desires it;
+and then there may be fewer hopeless deevils left behind him, when he's
+gathered to his forefathers."</p>
+
+<p>"Here we are, my dear Sir Wycherly," said the vice-admiral, who never
+lost an occasion to effect his purpose, by any unnecessary delay; "here
+we all are anxious to comply with your wishes. Your kinsman, Sir
+Reginald Wychecombe, is also present, and desirous of doing your
+pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>It was a painful sight to see a man on his death-bed, so anxious to
+discharge the forms of the world, as the master of the Hall now appeared
+to be. There had been an unnecessary alienation between the heads of the
+two branches of the family; not arising from any quarrel, or positive
+cause of disagreement, but from a silent conviction in both parties,
+that each was unsuited to the other. They had met a few times, and
+always parted without regret. The case was now different; the separation
+was, in one sense at least, to be eternal; and all minor considerations,
+all caprices of habits or despotism of tastes, faded before the solemn
+impressions of the moment. Still, Sir Wycherly could not forget that he
+was master of Wychecombe, and that his namesake was esteemed a man of
+refinement; and, in his simple way of thinking he would fain have
+arisen, in order to do him honour. A little gentle violence, even, was
+necessary to keep the patient quiet.</p>
+
+<p>"Much honoured, sir&mdash;greatly pleased," muttered Sir Wycherly, the
+words coming from him with difficulty. "Same ancestors&mdash;same
+name&mdash;Plantagenets&mdash;old house, sir&mdash;head go, new one come&mdash;none better,
+than&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Do not distress yourself to speak, unnecessarily, my dear sir,"
+interrupted Sir Reginald, with more tenderness for the patient than
+consideration for his own interest, as the next words promised to relate
+to the succession. "Sir Gervaise Oakes tells me, he understands your
+wishes, generally, and that he is now prepared to gratify them. First
+relieve your mind, in matters of business; and, then, I shall be most
+happy to exchange with you the feelings of kindred."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sir Wycherly," put in Sir Gervaise, on this hint; "I believe I
+have now found the clue to all you wish to say. The few words written by
+you, last night, were the commencement of a will, which it is your
+strong desire to make. Do not speak, but raise your right hand, if I am
+not mistaken."</p>
+
+<p>The sick man actually stretched his right arm above the bed-clothes, and
+his dull eyes lighted with an expression of pleasure, that proved how
+strongly his feelings were enlisted in the result.</p>
+
+<p>"You see, gentlemen!" said Sir Gervaise, with emphasis. "No one can
+mistake the meaning of this! Come nearer, doctor&mdash;Mr. Rotherham&mdash;all who
+have no probable interest in the affair&mdash;I wish it to be seen that Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe is desirous of making his will."</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral now went through the ceremony of repeating his request,
+and got the same significant answer.</p>
+
+<p>"So I understood it, Sir Wycherly, and I believe now I also understand
+all about the 'half,' and the 'whole,' and the '<i>nullus</i>.' You meant to
+tell us that your kinsman, Sir Reginald Wychecombe, was of the
+'half-blood' as respects yourself, and that Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, your
+nephew, is what is termed in law&mdash;however painful this may be,
+gentlemen, at such solemn moments the truth must be plainly spoken&mdash;that
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe is what the law terms a '<i>filius nullius</i>.' If we
+have understood you in this, also, have the goodness to give this
+company the same sign of assent."</p>
+
+<p>The last words were scarcely spoken, before Sir Wycherly again raised
+his arm, and nodded his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Here there can be no mistake, and no one rejoices in it more than I do
+myself; for, the unintelligible words gave me a great deal of vexation.
+Well, my dear sir, understanding your wishes, my secretary, Mr. Atwood,
+has drawn the commencement of a will, in the usual form, using your own
+pious and proper language of&mdash;'In the name of God, Amen,' as the
+commencement; and he stands ready to write down your bequests, as you
+may see fit to name them. We will take them, first, on a separate piece
+of paper; then read them to you, for your approbation; and afterwards,
+transcribe them into the will. I believe, Sir Reginald, that mode would
+withstand the subtleties of all the gentlemen of all the Inns of Court?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a very proper and prudent mode for executing a will, sir, under
+the peculiar circumstances," returned he of Hertfordshire. "But, Sir
+Gervaise, my situation, here, is a little delicate, as may be that of
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe&mdash;others of the name and family, if any such there
+be. Would it not be well to inquire if our presence is actually desired
+by the intended testator?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is it your wish, Sir Wycherly, that your kinsmen and namesakes remain
+in the room, or shall they retire until the will is executed? I will
+call over the names of the company, and when you wish any one, in
+particular, to stay in the room, you will nod your head."</p>
+
+<p>"All&mdash;all stay," muttered Sir Wycherly; "Sir
+Reginald&mdash;Tom&mdash;Wycherly&mdash;all&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"This seems explicit enough, gentlemen," resumed the vice-admiral. "You
+are <i>all</i> requested to stay; and, if I might venture an opinion, our
+poor friend has named those on whom he intends his bequests to fall&mdash;and
+pretty much, too, in the order in which they will come."</p>
+
+<p>"That will appear more unanswerably when Sir Wycherly has expressed his
+intentions in words," observed Sir Reginald, very desirous that there
+should not be the smallest appearance of dictation or persuasion offered
+to his kinsman, at a moment so grave. "Let me entreat that no leading
+questions be put."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise understands leading in battle, much better than in a
+cross-examination, Sir Reginald," Bluewater observed, in a tone so low,
+that none heard him but the person to whom the words were addressed. "I
+think we shall sooner get at Sir Wycherly's wishes, by allowing him to
+take his own course."</p>
+
+<p>The other bowed, and appeared disposed to acquiesce. In the mean time
+preparations were making for the construction of the will. Atwood seated
+himself at a table near the bed, and commenced nibbing his pens; the
+medical men administered a cordial; Sir Gervaise caused all the
+witnesses to range themselves around the room, in a way that each might
+fairly see, and be seen; taking care, however, so to dispose of
+Wycherly, as to leave no doubt of his handsome person's coming into the
+sick man's view. The lieutenant's modesty might have rebelled at this
+arrangement, had he not found himself immediately at the side of
+Mildred.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Yet, all is o'er!&mdash;fear, doubt, suspense, are fled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let brighter thoughts be with the virtuous dead!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The final ordeal of the soul is past,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the pale brow is sealed to Heaven at last."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Hemans.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>It will be easily supposed that Tom Wychecombe witnessed the proceedings
+related in the preceding chapter with dismay. The circumstance that he
+actually possessed a <i>bona fide</i> will of his uncle, which left him heir
+of all the latter owned, real or personal, had made him audacious, and
+first induced him to take the bold stand of asserting his legitimacy,
+and of claiming all its consequences. He had fully determined to assume
+the title on the demise of Sir Wycherly; plausibly enough supposing
+that, as there was no heir to the baronetcy, the lands once in his quiet
+possession, no one would take sufficient interest in the matter to
+dispute his right to the rank. Here, however, was a blow that menaced
+death to all his hopes. His illegitimacy seemed to be known to others,
+and there was every prospect of a new will's supplanting the old one, in
+its more important provisions, at least. He was at a loss to imagine
+what had made this sudden change in his uncle's intentions; for he did
+not sufficiently understand himself, to perceive that the few months of
+close communion which had succeeded the death of his reputed father, had
+sufficed to enlighten Sir Wycherly on the subject of his own true
+character, and to awaken a disgust that had remained passive, until
+suddenly aroused by the necessity of acting; and, least of all, could he
+understand how surprisingly the moral vision of men is purified and
+enlarged, as respects both the past and the future, by the near approach
+of death. Although symptoms of strong dissatisfaction escaped him, he
+quieted his feelings as much as possible, cautiously waiting for any
+occurrence that might be used in setting aside the contemplated
+instrument, hereafter; or, what would be still better, to defeat its
+execution, now.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the necessary preparations were made, Atwood, his pen nibbed,
+ink at hand, and paper spread, was ready to proceed: and a breathless
+stillness existing in the chamber, Sir Gervaise resumed the subject on
+which they were convened.</p>
+
+<p>"Atwood will read to you what he has already written, Sir Wycherly," he
+said; "should the phraseology be agreeable to you, you will have the
+goodness to make a sign to that effect. Well, if all is ready, you can
+now commence&mdash;hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"'In the name of God, Amen,'" commenced the methodical secretary; "'I,
+Wycherly Wychecombe, Bart., of Wychecombe-Hall, in the county of Devon,
+being of sound mind, but of a feeble state of health, and having the
+view of death before my eyes, revoking all other wills, codicils, or
+testamentary devises, whatsoever, do make and declare this instrument to
+be my last will and testament: that is to say, Imprimis, I do hereby
+constitute and appoint &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; of &mdash;&mdash;, the executor of this my said
+will, with all the powers and authority that the law gives, or may
+hereafter give to said executor. Secondly, I give and bequeath to &mdash;&mdash;.'
+This is all that is yet written, Sir Gervaise, blanks being left for the
+name or names of the executor or executors, as well for the 's' at the
+end of 'executor,' should the testator see fit to name more than one."</p>
+
+<p>"There, Sir Reginald," said the vice-admiral, not altogether without
+exultation; "this is the way we prepare these things on board a
+man-of-war! A flag-officer's secretary needs have himself qualified to
+do any thing, short of a knowledge of administering to the cure of
+souls!"</p>
+
+<p>"And the cure of bodies, ye'll be permitting me to add, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Magrath, taking an enormous pinch of a strong yellow snuff.</p>
+
+<p>"Our secretary would make but a lubberly fist at turning off a delicate
+turtle-soup out of pig's-head; such as we puts on our table at sea, so
+often," muttered Galleygo in the ear of Mrs. Larder.</p>
+
+<p>"I see nothing to object to, Sir Gervaise, if the language is agreeable
+to Sir Wycherly," answered the barrister by profession, though not by
+practice. "It would be advisable to get his approbation of even the
+language."</p>
+
+<p>"That we intend to do, of course, sir. Sir Wycherly, do you find the
+terms of this will to your liking?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly smiled, and very clearly gave the sign of assent.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought as much&mdash;for, Atwood has made the wills of two admirals, and
+of three captains, to my knowledge; and my Lord Chief Justice said that
+one of the last would have done credit to the best conveyancer in
+England, and that it was a pity the testator had nothing to bequeath.
+Now, Sir Wycherly, will you have one executor, or more? If <i>one</i>, hold
+up a single finger; and a finger for each additional executor you wish
+us to insert in these blanks. One, Atwood&mdash;you perceive, gentlemen, that
+Sir Wycherly raises but <i>one</i> finger; and so you can give a flourish at
+the end of the 'r,' as the word will be in the singular;&mdash;hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>The secretary did as directed, and then reported himself ready to
+proceed.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be necessary for you now to <i>name</i> your executor, Sir
+Wycherly&mdash;make as little effort as possible, as we shall understand the
+name, alone."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly succeeded in uttering the name of "Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe," quite audibly.</p>
+
+<p>"This is plain enough," resumed the vice-admiral; "how does the sentence
+read now, Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"'<i>Imprimis:</i>&mdash;I do hereby constitute and appoint Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe of Wychecombe-Regis, in the county of Herts, Baronet, the
+executor of this my said will, &amp;c.'"</p>
+
+<p>"If that clause is to your liking, Sir Wycherly, have the goodness to
+give the sign agreed on."</p>
+
+<p>The sick man smiled, nodded his head, raised his hand, and looked
+anxiously at his kinsman.</p>
+
+<p>"I consent to serve, Sir Wycherly, if such is your desire," observed the
+nominee, who detected the meaning of his kinsman's look.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, sir," continued the vice-admiral; "it is necessary to ask you
+a few questions, in order that Atwood may know what next to write. Is it
+your desire to bequeath any real estate?" Sir Wycherly assented. "Do you
+wish to bequeath <i>all</i> your real estate?" The same sign of assent was
+given. "Do you wish to bequeath <i>all</i> to one person?" The sign of assent
+was given to this also. "This makes plain sailing, and a short
+run,&mdash;hey! Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>The secretary wrote as fast as possible, and in two or three minutes he
+read aloud, as follows&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'Secondly, I make and declare the following bequests or devises&mdash;that
+is to say, I give and bequeath to &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; of &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, all the real
+estate of which I may die seised, together with all the houses,
+tenements, hereditaments, and appurtenances thereunto belonging, and all
+my rights to the same, whether in law or equity, to be possessed and
+enjoyed by the said &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; of &mdash;&mdash;&mdash; in fee, by &mdash;&mdash; heirs,
+executors, administrators, or assigns, for ever.' There are blanks for
+the name and description, as well as for the sex of the devisee," added
+the secretary.</p>
+
+<p>"All very proper and legal, I believe, Sir Reginald?&mdash;I am glad you
+think so, sir. Now, Sir Wycherly, we wait for the name of the lucky
+person you mean thus to favour."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Reginald Wychecombe," the sick man uttered, painfully;
+"half-blood&mdash;no <i>nullus</i>. Sir Michael's heir&mdash;<i>my</i> heir."</p>
+
+<p>"This is plain English!" cried Sir Gervaise, in the way of a man who is
+not displeased; "put in the name of 'Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, Herts,' Atwood&mdash;ay&mdash;that justs fills the blank
+handsomely&mdash;you want '<i>his</i> heirs, executors, &amp;c.' in the other blank."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, Sir Gervaise; it should read 'by <i>himself, his</i>
+heirs, &amp;c.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Very true&mdash;very true, Atwood. Now read it slowly, and Sir Wycherly will
+assent, if he approve."</p>
+
+<p>This was done, and Sir Wycherly not only approved, but it was apparent
+to all present, the abashed and confounded Tom himself not excepted,
+that he approved, with a feeling akin to delight.</p>
+
+<p>"That gives a black eye to all the land,&mdash;hey! Atwood?" said Sir
+Gervaise; who, by this time, had entered into the business in hand, with
+all the interest of a regular notary&mdash;or, rather, with that of one, on
+whose shoulders rested the responsibility of success or failure. "We
+come next to the personals. Do you wish to bequeath your furniture,
+wines, horses, carriages, and other things of that sort, to any
+particular person, Sir Wycherly?"</p>
+
+<p>"All&mdash;Sir Reginald&mdash;Wychecombe&mdash;half-blood&mdash;old Sir Michael's heir,"
+answered the testator.</p>
+
+<p>"Good&mdash;clap that down, Atwood, for it is doing the thing, as I like to
+see family affairs settled. As soon as you are ready, let us hear how it
+sounds in writing."</p>
+
+<p>"I furthermore bequeath to the said Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, as aforesaid, baronet, all my personal property,
+whatsoever,'" read Atwood, as soon as ready; "'including furniture,
+wines, pictures, books, horses and carriages, and all other goods and
+chattels, of which I may die possessed, excepting thereout and
+therefrom, nevertheless, such sums in money, stocks, bonds, notes, or
+other securities for debts, or such articles as I may in this instrument
+especially devise to any other person.' We can now go to especial
+legacies, Sir Gervaise, and then another clause may make Sir Reginald
+residuary legatee, if such be Sir Wycherly's pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>"If you approve of that clause, my dear sir, make the usual sign of
+assent."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly both raised his hand and nodded his head, evidently quite
+satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, my good sir, we come to the pounds&mdash;no&mdash;guineas? You like that
+better&mdash;well, I confess that it sounds better on the ear, and is more in
+conformity with the habits of gentlemen. Will you now bequeath guineas?
+Good&mdash;first name the legatee&mdash;is that right, Sir Reginald?"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite right, Sir Gervaise; and Sir Wycherly will understand that he now
+names the first person to whom he wishes to bequeath any thing else."</p>
+
+<p>"Milly," muttered the sick man.</p>
+
+<p>"What? Mills!&mdash;the mills go with the lands, Sir Reginald?"</p>
+
+<p>"He means Miss Mildred Dutton," eagerly interposed Wycherly, though with
+sufficient modesty.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;right&mdash;right," added the testator. "Little Milly&mdash;Milly
+Dutton&mdash;good little Milly."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise hesitated, and looked round at Bluewater, as much as to say
+"this is bringing coals to Newcastle;" but Atwood took the idea, and
+wrote the bequest, in the usual form.</p>
+
+<p>"'I give and bequeath to Mildred Dutton,'" he read aloud, "'daughter of
+Francis Dutton of the Royal Navy, the sum of &mdash;&mdash;' what sum shall I fill
+the blank with, Sir Wycherly?"</p>
+
+<p>"Three&mdash;three&mdash;yes, three."</p>
+
+<p>"Hundreds or thousands, my good sir?" asked Sir Gervaise, a little
+surprised at the amount of the bequest.</p>
+
+<p>"Guineas&mdash;three&mdash;thousand&mdash;guineas&mdash;five per cents."</p>
+
+<p>"That's as plain as logarithms. Give the young lady three thousand
+guineas in the fives, Atwood."</p>
+
+<p>"'I give and bequeath to Mildred Dutton, daughter of Francis Dutton of
+the Royal Navy, the sum of three thousand guineas in the five per cent.
+stocks of this kingdom.' Will that do, Sir Wycherly?"</p>
+
+<p>The old man looked at Mildred and smiled benevolently; for, at that
+moment, he felt he was placing the pure and lovely girl above the
+ordinary contingencies of her situation, by rendering her independent.</p>
+
+<p>"Whose name shall we next insert, Sir Wycherly?" resumed the
+vice-admiral. "There must be many more of these guineas left."</p>
+
+<p>"Gregory&mdash;and&mdash;James&mdash;children of my brother Thomas&mdash;Baron
+Wychecombe&mdash;five thousand guineas each," added the testator, making a
+great effort to express his meaning as clearly as possible.</p>
+
+<p>He was understood; and, after a short consultation with the
+vice-admiral, Atwood wrote out the devise at length.</p>
+
+<p>"'I give and bequeath to my nephews, Gregory and James Wychecombe, the
+reputed sons of my late brother, Thomas Wychecombe, one of the Barons of
+His Majesty's Exchequer, the sum of five thousand guineas, each, in the
+five per cent. funded debt of this kingdom.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you approve of the devise, Sir Wycherly? if so, make the usual sign
+of assent?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly complied, as in all the previous cases of his approval.</p>
+
+<p>"Whose name shall we next insert, in readiness for a legacy, Sir
+Wycherly?" asked the admiral.</p>
+
+<p>Here was a long pause, the baronet evidently turning over in his mind,
+what he had done, and what yet remained to do.</p>
+
+<p>"Spread yourselves, my friends, in such a way as to permit the testator
+to see you all," continued the vice-admiral, motioning with his hand to
+widen the circle around the bed, which had been contracted a little by
+curiosity and interest; "stand more this way, <i>Lieutenant Wycherly
+Wychecombe</i>, that the ladies may see and be seen; and you, too, Mr.
+Thomas Wychecombe, come further in front, where your uncle will observe
+you."</p>
+
+<p>This speech pretty exactly reflected the workings of the speaker's mind.
+The idea that Wycherly was a natural child of the baronet's,
+notwithstanding the Virginian story, was uppermost in his thoughts; and,
+taking the supposed fact in connection with the young man's merit, he
+earnestly desired to obtain a legacy for him. As for Tom, he cared
+little whether his name appeared in the will or not. Justice was now
+substantially done, and the judge's property being sufficient for his
+wants, the present situation of the lately reputed heir excited but
+little sympathy. Nevertheless, Sir Gervaise thought it would be
+generous, under the circumstances, to remind the testator that such a
+being as Tom Wychecombe existed.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is your nephew, Mr. Thomas, Sir Wycherly," he said; "is it your
+wish to let his name appear in your will?"</p>
+
+<p>The sick man smiled coldly; but he moved his head, as much as to imply
+assent.</p>
+
+<p>"'I give and bequeath to Thomas Wychecombe, the eldest reputed son of my
+late brother, Thomas, one of the Barons of His Majesty's Exchequer,'"
+read Atwood, when the clause was duly written; "'the sum of &mdash;&mdash;, in the
+five per cent. stocks of this kingdom.'"</p>
+
+<p>"What sum will you have inserted, Sir Wycherly?" asked the vice-admiral.</p>
+
+<p>"Fifty&mdash;fifty&mdash;<i>pounds</i>" said the testator, in a voice clearer and
+fuller than he had before used that day.</p>
+
+<p>The necessary words were immediately inserted; the clause, as completed,
+was read again, and the approval was confirmed by a distinctly
+pronounced "yes." Tom started, but, as all the others maintained their
+self-command, the business of the moment did not the less proceed.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you wish any more names introduced into your will, Sir Wycherly?"
+asked the vice-admiral. "You have bequeathed but&mdash;a-a-a&mdash;how much&mdash;hey!
+Atwood?&mdash;ay, ten and three are thirteen, and fifty <i>pounds</i>, make
+&pound;13,180; and I hear you have &pound;20,000 funded, besides loose cash, beyond
+a doubt."</p>
+
+<p>"Ann Larder&mdash;Samuel Cork&mdash;Richard Bitts&mdash;David Brush&mdash;Phoebe Keys," said
+Sir Wycherly, slowly, giving time after each pause, for Atwood to write;
+naming his cook, butler, groom, valet or body-servant, and housekeeper,
+in the order they have been laid before the reader.</p>
+
+<p>"How much to each, Sir Wycherly?&mdash;I see Atwood has made short work, and
+put them all in the same clause&mdash;that will never do, unless the legacies
+are the same."</p>
+
+<p>"Good&mdash;good&mdash;right," muttered the testator;
+"&pound;200&mdash;each&mdash;&pound;1000&mdash;all&mdash;money&mdash;money."</p>
+
+<p>This settled the point, and the clause was regularly written, read, and
+approved.</p>
+
+<p>"This raises the money bequests to &pound;14,180, Sir Wycherly&mdash;some 6 or
+&pound;7000 more must remain to be disposed of. Stand a little further this
+way, if you please, Mr. <i>Wycherly</i> Wychecombe, and allow the ladies more
+room. Whose name shall we insert next, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly, thus directed by the eager desire of the admiral to serve
+the gallant lieutenant, fastened his eyes on the young man, regarding
+him quite a minute in silent attention.</p>
+
+<p>"Virginian&mdash;same name&mdash;American&mdash;colonies&mdash;good lad&mdash;<i>brave</i>
+lad&mdash;&pound;1000," muttered the sick man between his teeth; and, yet so
+breathless was the quiet of the chamber, at that moment, every syllable
+was heard by all present. "Yes&mdash;&pound;1000&mdash;Wycherly Wychecombe&mdash;royal
+navy&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Atwood's pen was running rapidly over the paper, and had just reached
+the name of the contemplated legatee, when his hand was arrested by the
+voice of the young man himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop, Mr. Atwood&mdash;do not insert any clause in my favour!" cried
+Wycherly, his face the colour of crimson, and his chest heaving with the
+emotions he felt it so difficult to repress. "I decline the legacy&mdash;it
+will be useless to write it, as I will not receive a shilling."</p>
+
+<p>"Young sir," said Sir Gervaise, with a little of the severity of a
+superior, when he rebukes an interior, in his manner; "you speak
+hastily. It is not the office of an auditor or of a spectator, to repel
+the kindness of a man about to pass from the face of the earth, into the
+more immediate presence of his God!"</p>
+
+<p>"I have every sentiment of respect for Sir Wycherly Wychecombe,
+sir;&mdash;every friendly wish for his speedy recovery, and a long evening to
+his life; but, I will accept of the money of no man who holds my country
+in such obvious distaste, as, it is apparent, the testator holds mine."</p>
+
+<p>"You are an Englishman, I believe, <i>Lieutenant</i> Wychecombe; and a
+servant of King George II.?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am <i>not</i> an Englishman, Sir Gervaise Oakes&mdash;but an American; a
+Virginian, entitled to all the rights and privileges of a British
+subject. I am no more an Englishman, than Dr. Magrath may lay claim to
+the same character."</p>
+
+<p>"This is putting the case strongly,&mdash;hey! Atwood?" answered the
+vice-admiral, smiling in spite of the occasion. "I am far from saying
+that you are an Englishman, in all senses, sir; but you are one in the
+sense that gives you national character and national rights. You are a
+<i>subject</i> of <i>England</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Gervaise; your pardon. I am the subject of George II., but in
+no manner a subject of <i>England</i>. I am, in one sense, perhaps, a subject
+of the British empire; but I am not the less a Virginian, and an
+American. Not a shilling of any man's money will I ever touch, who
+expresses his contempt for either."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget yourself, young man, and overlook the future. The hundred or
+two of prize-money, bought at the expense of your blood, in the late
+affair at Groix, will not last for ever."</p>
+
+<p>"It is gone, already, sir, every shilling of it having been sent to the
+widow of the boatswain who was killed at my side. I am no beggar, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes, though only an American. I am the owner of a plantation,
+which affords me a respectable independence, already; and I do not serve
+from necessity, but from choice. Perhaps, if Sir Wycherly knew this, he
+would consent to omit my name. I honour and respect him; would gladly
+relieve his distress, either of body or mind; but I cannot consent to
+accept his money when offered on terms I consider humiliating."</p>
+
+<p>This was said modestly, but with a warmth and sincerity which left no
+doubt that the speaker was in earnest. Sir Gervaise too much respected
+the feelings of the young man to urge the matter any further, and he
+turned towards the bed, in expectation of what the sick man might next
+say. Sir Wycherly heard and understood all that passed, and it did not
+fail to produce an impression, even in the state to which he was
+reduced. Kind-hearted, and indisposed to injure even a fly, all the
+natural feelings of the old man resumed their ascendency, and he would
+gladly have given every shilling of his funded property to be able
+freely to express his compunction at having ever uttered a syllable that
+could offend sensibilities so noble and generous. But this exceeded his
+powers, and he was fain to do the best he could, in the painful
+situation in which he was placed.</p>
+
+<p>"Noble fellow!" he stuttered out; "honour to name&mdash;come here&mdash;Sir
+Gervaise&mdash;bring here&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I believe it is the wish of Sir Wycherly, that you would draw near the
+bed, Mr. Wychecombe of <i>Virginia</i>," said the vice-admiral, pithily,
+though he extended a hand to, and smiled kindly on, the youth as the
+latter passed him in compliance.</p>
+
+<p>The sick man now succeeded, with a good deal of difficulty, in drawing a
+valuable signet-ring from a finger.&mdash;This ring bore the Wychecombe arms,
+engraved on it. It was without the bloody hand, however; for it was far
+older than the order of baronets, having, as Wycherly well knew, been
+given by one of the Plantagenet Dukes to an ancestor of the family,
+during the French wars of Henry VI., and that, too, in commemoration of
+some signal act of gallantry in the field.</p>
+
+<p>"Wear this&mdash;noble fellow&mdash;honour to name," said Sir Wycherly. "<i>Must</i> be
+descended&mdash;all Wychecombes descended&mdash;him&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, Sir Wycherly, for this present, which I prize as it ought
+to be prized," said Wycherly, every trace of any other feeling than that
+of gratitude having vanished from his countenance. "I may have no claims
+to your honours or money; but this ring I need not be ashamed to wear,
+since it was bestowed on one who was as much <i>my</i> ancestor, as he was
+the ancestor of any Wychecombe in England."</p>
+
+<p>"Legitimate?" cried Tom, a fierce feeling of resentment upsetting his
+caution and cunning.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, <i>legitimate</i>," answered Wycherly, turning to his
+interrogator, with the calmness of one conscious of his own truth, and
+with a glance of the eye that caused Tom to shrink back again into the
+circle. "I need no <i>bar</i>, to enable me to use this seal, which, you may
+perceive, Sir Gervaise Oakes, is a <i>fac simile</i> of the one I ordinarily
+wear, and which was transmitted to me from my direct ancestors."</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral compared the seal on Wycherly's watch-chain with that
+on the ring, and, the bearings being principally griffins, he was
+enabled to see that one was the exact counterpart of the other. Sir
+Reginald advanced a step, and when the admiral had satisfied himself, he
+also took the two seals and compared them. As all the known branches of
+the Wychecombes of Wychecombe, bore the same arms, viz., griffins for
+Wychecombe, with three battering-rams quartered, for Wycherly,&mdash;he saw,
+at once, that the young man habitually carried about his person, this
+proof of a common origin. Sir Reginald knew very well that arms were
+often assumed, as well as names, and the greater the obscurity of the
+individual who took these liberties, the greater was his impunity; but
+the seal was a very ancient one, and innovations on personal rights were
+far less frequent a century since, than they are to-day. Then the
+character and appearance of Wycherly put fraud out of the question, so
+far as the young lieutenant himself was concerned. Although the elder
+branch of the family, legitimately speaking, was reduced to the helpless
+old man who was now stretched upon his death-bed, his own had been
+extensive; and it well might be that some cadet of the Wychecombes of
+Wychecombe-Regis, had strayed into the colonies and left descendants.
+Secretly resolving to look more closely into these facts, he gravely
+returned the seals, and intimated to Sir Gervaise that the more
+important business before them had better proceed. On this hint, Atwood
+resumed the pen, and the vice-admiral his duties.</p>
+
+<p>"There want yet some 6 or &pound;7000 to make up &pound;20,000, Sir Wycherly, which
+I understand is the sum you have in the funds. Whose name or names will
+you have next inserted?"</p>
+
+<p>"Rotherham&mdash;vicar&mdash;poor St. James&mdash;gone; yes&mdash;Mr.&mdash;Rotherham&mdash;vicar."</p>
+
+<p>The clause was written, the sum of &pound;1000 was inserted, and the whole was
+read and approved.</p>
+
+<p>"This still leaves us some &pound;5000 more to deal with, my dear sir?"</p>
+
+<p>A long pause succeeded, during which time Sir Wycherly was deliberating
+what to do with the rest of his ready money. At length his wandering eye
+rested on the pale features of Mrs. Dutton; and, while he had a sort of
+liking, that proceeded from habit, for her husband, he remembered that
+she had many causes for sorrow. With a feeling that was creditable to
+his own heart, he uttered her name, and the sum of &pound;2000. The clause was
+written, accordingly, read and approved.</p>
+
+<p>"We have still &pound;3000 certainly, if not &pound;4000," added Sir Gervaise.</p>
+
+<p>"Milly&mdash;dear little&mdash;Milly&mdash;pretty Milly," stammered out the baronet,
+affectionately.</p>
+
+<p>"This must go into a codicil, Sir Gervaise," interrupted Atwood; "there
+being already one legacy in the young lady's favour. Shall it be one,
+two, three, or four thousand pounds, Sir Wycherly, in favour of Miss
+Mildred, to whom you have already bequeathed &pound;3000."</p>
+
+<p>The sick man muttered the words "three thousand," after a short pause,
+adding "codicil."</p>
+
+<p>His wishes were complied with, and the whole was read and approved.
+After this, Sir Gervaise inquired if the testator wished to make any
+more devises. Sir Wycherly, who had in effect bequeathed, within a few
+hundred pounds, all he had to bestow, bethought himself, for a few
+moments, of the state of his affairs, and then he signified his
+satisfaction with what had been done.</p>
+
+<p>"As it is possible, Sir Wycherly, that you may have overlooked
+something," said Sir Gervaise, "and it is better that nothing should
+escheat to the crown, I will suggest the expediency of your making some
+one residuary legatee."</p>
+
+<p>The poor old man smiled an assent, and then he succeeded in muttering
+the name of "Sir Reginald Wychecombe."</p>
+
+<p>This clause, like all the others, was written, read, and approved. The
+will was now completed, and preparations were made to read it carefully
+over to the intended testator. In order that this might be done with
+sufficient care for future objections, the two admirals and Atwood, who
+were selected for the witnesses, each read the testament himself, in
+order to say that nothing was laid before the testator but that which
+was fairly contained in the instrument, and that nothing was omitted.
+When all was ready, the will was audibly and slowly read to Sir
+Wycherly, by the secretary, from the beginning to the end. The old man
+listened with great attention; smiled when Mildred's name was mentioned;
+and clearly expressed, by signs and words, his entire satisfaction when
+all was ended. It remained only to place a pen in his hand, and to give
+him such assistance as would enable him to affix his name twice; once to
+the body of the instrument; and, when this was duly witnessed, then
+again to the codicil. By this time, Tom Wychecombe thought that the
+moment for interposing had arrived. He had been on thorns during the
+whole proceeding, forming desperate resolutions to sustain the bold
+fraud of his legitimacy, and thus take all the lands and heirlooms of
+the estate, under the entail; still he well knew that a subordinate but
+important question might arise, as between the validity of the two
+wills, in connection with Sir Wycherly's competency to make the last. It
+was material, therefore, in his view of the case, to enter a protest.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen," he said, advancing to the foot of the bed; "I call on you
+all to observe the nature of this whole transaction. My poor, beloved,
+but misled uncle, no longer ago than last night, was struck with a fit
+of apoplexy, or something so very near it as to disqualify him to judge
+in these matters; and here he is urged to make a will&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"By whom, sir?" demanded Sir Gervaise, with a severity of tone that
+induced the speaker to fall back a step.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, in my judgment, by all in the room. If not with their
+tongues, at least with their eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"And why should all in the room do this? Am I a legatee?&mdash;is Admiral
+Bluewater to be a gainer by this will?&mdash;<i>can</i> witnesses to a will be
+legatees?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not wish to dispute the matter with you, Sir Gervaise Oakes; but I
+solemnly protest against this irregular and most extraordinary manner of
+making a will. Let all who hear me, remember this, and be ready to
+testify to it when called on in a court of justice."</p>
+
+<p>Here Sir Wycherly struggled to rise in the bed, in evident excitement,
+gesticulating strongly to express his disgust, and his wish for his
+nephew to withdraw. But the physicians endeavoured to pacify him, while
+Atwood, with the paper spread on a port-folio, and a pen in readiness,
+coolly proceeded to obtain the necessary signatures. Sir Wycherly's hand
+trembled so much when it received the pen, that, for the moment, writing
+was out of the question, and it became necessary to administer a
+restorative in order to strengthen his nerves.</p>
+
+<p>"Away&mdash;out of sight," muttered the excited baronet, leaving no doubt on
+all present, that the uppermost feeling of the moment was the strong
+desire to rid himself of the presence of the offensive object. "Sir
+Reginald&mdash;little Milly&mdash;poor servants&mdash;brothers&mdash;all the rest, stay."</p>
+
+<p>"Just be calming the mind, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe," put in Magrath,
+"and ye'll be solacing the body by the same effort. When the mind is in
+a state of exaltation, the nervous system is apt to feel the influence
+of sympathy. By bringing the two in harmonious co-operation, the
+testamentary devises will have none the less of validity, either in
+reality or in appearances."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly understood the surgeon, and he struggled for self-command.
+He raised the pen, and succeeded in getting its point on the proper
+place. Then his dim eye lighted, and shot a reproachful glance at Tom;
+he smiled in a ghastly manner, looked towards the paper, passed a hand
+across his brow, closed his eyes, and fell back on the pillow, utterly
+unconscious of all that belonged to life, its interests, its duties, or
+its feelings. In ten minutes, he ceased to breathe.</p>
+
+<p>Thus died Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, after a long life, in which general
+qualities of a very negative nature, had been somewhat relieved, by
+kindness of feeling, a passive if not an active benevolence, and such a
+discharge of his responsible duties as is apt to flow from an absence of
+any qualities that are positively bad; as well as of many of material
+account, that are affirmatively good.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Come ye, who still the cumbrous load of life<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Push hard up hill; but at the farthest steep<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">You trust to gain, and put on end to strife,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Down thunders back the stone with mighty sweep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And hurls your labours to the valley deep;&mdash;"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Thomson.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>The sudden, and, in some measure, unlooked-for event, related in the
+close of the last chapter, produced a great change in the condition of
+things at Wychecombe Hall. The first step was to make sure that the
+baronet was actually dead; a fact that Sir Gervaise Oakes, in
+particular, was very unwilling to believe, in the actual state of his
+feelings. Men often fainted, and apoplexy required <i>three</i> blows to
+kill; the sick man might still revive, and at least be able to execute
+his so clearly expressed intentions.</p>
+
+<p>"Ye'll never have act of any sort, testamentary or matrimonial, legal or
+illegal, in this life, from the late Sir Wycherly Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe Hall, Devonshire," coolly observed Magrath, as he collected
+the different medicines and instruments he had himself brought forth for
+the occasion. "He's far beyond the jurisdiction of My Lord High
+Chancellor of the college of Physicians and Surgeons; and therefore,
+ye'll be acting prudently to consider him as deceased; or, in the light
+in which the human body is placed by the cessation of all the animal
+functions."</p>
+
+<p>This decided the matter, and the necessary orders were given; all but
+the proper attendants quitting the chamber of death. It would be far
+from true to say that no one lamented Sir Wycherly Wychecombe. Both Mrs.
+Dutton and Mildred grieved for his sudden end, and wept sincerely for
+his loss; though totally without a thought of its consequences to
+themselves. The daughter did not even once think how near she had been
+to the possession of &pound;6000, and how unfortunately the cup of comparative
+affluence had been dashed from her lips; though truth compels us to avow
+that the mother did once recall this circumstance, with a feeling akin
+to regret. A similar recollection had its influence on the
+manifestations of sorrow that flowed from others. The domestics, in
+particular, were too much astounded to indulge in any very abstracted
+grief, and Sir Gervaise and Atwood were both extremely vexed. In short,
+the feelings, usual to such occasions were but little indulged in,
+though there was a strict observance of decorum.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Reginald Wychecombe noted these circumstances attentively, and he
+took his measures accordingly. Seizing a favourable moment to consult
+with the two admirals, his decision was soon made; and, within an hour
+after his kinsman's death, all the guests and most of the upper servants
+were assembled in the room, which it was the usage of the house to call
+the library; though the books were few, and seldom read. Previously,
+there had been a consultation between Sir Reginald and the two admirals,
+to which Atwood had been admitted, <i>ex officio</i>. As every thing,
+therefore, had been arranged in advance, there was no time lost
+unnecessarily, when the company was collected; the Hertfordshire baronet
+coming to the point at once, and that in the clearest manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen, and you, good people, domestics of the late Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe," he commenced; "you are all acquainted with the unfortunate
+state of this household. By the recent death of its master, it is left
+without a head; and the deceased departing this life a bachelor, there
+is no child to assume his place, as the natural and legal successor. In
+one sense, I might be deemed the next of kin; though, by a <i>dictum</i> of
+the common law I have no claim to the succession. Nevertheless, you all
+know it was the intention of our late friend to constitute me his
+executor, and I conceive it proper that search should now be made for a
+will, which, by being duly executed, must dispose of all in this house,
+and let us know who is entitled to command at this solemn and important
+moment. It strikes me, Sir Gervaise Oakes, that the circumstances are so
+peculiar as to call for prompt proceedings."</p>
+
+<p>"I fully agree with you, Sir Reginald," returned the vice-admiral; "but
+before we proceed any further, I would suggest the propriety of having
+as many of those present as possible, who have an interest in the
+result. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, the reputed nephew of the deceased, I do
+not see among us."</p>
+
+<p>On examination, this was found to be true, and the man of Tom
+Wychecombe, who had been ordered by his master to be present as a spy,
+was immediately sent to the latter, with a request that he would attend.
+After a delay of two or three minutes, the fellow returned with the
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Thomas Wychecombe's compliments, gentlemen," he said, "and he
+desires to know the object of your request. He is in his room, indulging
+in natural grief for his recent loss; and he prefers to be left alone
+with his sorrows, just at this moment, if it be agreeable to you."</p>
+
+<p>This was taking high ground in the commencement; and, as the man had his
+cue, and delivered his message with great distinctness and steadiness,
+the effect on the dependants of the household was very evident. Sir
+Reginald's face flushed, while Sir Gervaise bit his lip; Bluewater
+played with the hilt of his sword, very indifferent to all that was
+passing; while Atwood and the surgeons shrugged their shoulders and
+smiled. The first of these persons well knew that Tom had no shadow of a
+claim to the title he had been in so much haste to assume, however, and
+he hoped that the feebleness of his rights in all particulars, was
+represented by the mixed feebleness and impudence connected with this
+message. Determined not to be bullied from his present purpose,
+therefore, he turned to the servant and sent him back with a second
+message, that did not fail of its object. The man was directed to inform
+his master, that Sir Reginald Wychecombe was in possession of facts
+that, in his opinion, justified the course he was taking, and if "Mr.
+Thomas Wychecombe" did not choose to appear, in order to look after his
+own interests, he should proceed without him. This brought Tom into the
+room, his face pale with uncertainty, rather than with grief, and his
+mind agitated with such apprehensions as are apt to beset even the most
+wicked, when they take their first important step in evil. He bowed,
+however, to the company with an air that he intended to represent the
+manner of a well-bred man acknowledging his duties to respected guests.</p>
+
+<p>"If I appear remiss in any of the duties of a host, gentlemen," he said,
+"you will overlook it, I trust, in consideration of my present feelings.
+Sir Wycherly was my father's elder brother, and was very dear, as he was
+very <i>near</i> to me. By this melancholy death, Sir Reginald, I am suddenly
+and unexpectedly elevated to be the head of our ancient and honourable
+family; but I know my own personal unworthiness to occupy that
+distinguished place, and feel how much better it would be filled by
+yourself. Although the law has placed a wide and impassable barrier
+between all of your branch of the family and ourselves, I shall ever be
+ready to acknowledge the affinity, and to confess that it does us quite
+as much honour as it bestows."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Reginald, by a great effort, commanded himself so far as to return
+the bow, and apparently to receive the condescending admissions of the
+speech, with a proper degree of respect.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir, I thank you," he answered, with formal courtesy; "no affinity that
+can be properly and legally established, will ever be disavowed by me.
+Under present circumstances, however, summoned as I have been to the
+side of his death-bed, by the late Sir Wycherly, himself, and named by
+him, as one might say, with his dying breath, as his executor, I feel it
+a duty to inquire into the rights of all parties, and, if possible, to
+ascertain who is the successor, and consequently who has the best claim
+to command here."</p>
+
+<p>"You surely do not attach any validity, Sir Reginald, to the pretended
+will that was so singularly drawn up in my dear uncle's presence, an
+hour before he died! Had that most extraordinary instrument been duly
+signed and sealed, I cannot think that the Doctor's Commons would
+sustain it; but <i>unsigned</i> and <i>unsealed</i>, it is no better than so much
+waste paper."</p>
+
+<p>"As respects the real estate, sir, though so great a loser by the delay
+of five minutes, I am willing to admit that you are right. With regard
+to the personals, a question in equity&mdash;one of clearly-expressed
+intention&mdash;might possibly arise; though even of that I am by no means
+certain."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; no&mdash;" cried Tom, a glow of triumph colouring his cheek, in
+spite of every effort to appear calm; "no English court would ever
+disturb the natural succession to the personals! I am the last man to
+wish to disturb some of these legacies&mdash;particularly that to Mr.
+Rotherham, and those to the poor, faithful domestics,"&mdash;Tom saw the
+prudence of conciliating allies, at such a critical moment, and his
+declaration had an instant and strong effect, as was evident by the
+countenances of many of the listeners;&mdash;"and I may say, that to Miss
+Mildred Dutton; all of which will be duly paid, precisely as if my
+beloved uncle had been in his right mind, and had actually made the
+bequests; for this mixture of reason and justice, with wild and
+extraordinary conceits, is by no means uncommon among men of great age,
+and in their last moments. However, Sir Reginald, I beg you will
+proceed, and act as in your judgment the extraordinary circumstances of
+what may be called a very peculiar case, require."</p>
+
+<p>"I conceive it to be our duty, sir, to search for a will. If Sir
+Wycherly has actually died intestate, it will be time enough to inquire
+into the question of the succession at common law. I have here the keys
+of his private secretary; and Mr. Furlong, the land-steward, who has
+just arrived, and whom you see in the room, tells me Sir Wycherly was
+accustomed to keep all his valuable papers in this piece of furniture. I
+shall now proceed to open it."</p>
+
+<p>"Do so, Sir Reginald; no one can have a stronger desire than myself to
+ascertain my beloved uncle's pleasure. Those to whom he <i>seemed</i> to wish
+to give, even, shall not be losers for the want of his name."</p>
+
+<p>Tom was greatly raised in the opinions of half in the room, by this
+artful declaration, which was effectually securing just so many friends,
+in the event of any occurrence that might render such support necessary.
+In the mean time, Sir Reginald, assisted by the steward, opened the
+secretary, and found the deposite of papers. The leases were all in
+order; the title-deeds were properly arranged; the books and accounts
+appeared to be exactly kept: ordinary bills and receipts were filed with
+method; two or three bags of guineas proved that ready cash was not
+wanting; and, in short, every thing showed that the deceased had left
+his affairs in perfect order, and in a very intelligible condition.
+Paper after paper, however, was opened, and nothing like a will, rough
+draft or copied, was to be found. Disappointment was strongly painted on
+the faces of all the gentlemen present; for, they had ignorantly imbibed
+the opinion, that the production of a will would, in some unknown
+manner, defeat the hopes of the <i>soi-disant</i> Sir Thomas Wychecombe. Nor
+was Tom, himself, altogether without concern; for, since the recent
+change in his uncle's feelings towards himself, he had a secret
+apprehension that some paper might be found, to defeat all his hopes.
+Triumph, however, gradually assumed the place of fear, in the expression
+of his countenance; and when Mr. Furlong, a perfectly honest man,
+declared that, from the late baronet's habits, as well as from the
+result of this search, he did not believe that any such instrument
+existed, his feelings overflowed in language.</p>
+
+<p>"Not so fast, Master Furlong&mdash;not so fast," he cried; "here is something
+that possibly even your legal acumen may be willing to term a will. You
+perceive, gentlemen, I have it in my possession on good authority, as it
+is addressed to me by name, and that, too, in Sir Wycherly's own
+hand-writing; the envelope is sealed with his private seal. You will
+pronounce this to be my dear uncle's hand. Furlong,"&mdash;showing the
+superscription of the letter&mdash;"and this to be his seal?"</p>
+
+<p>"Both are genuine, gentlemen," returned the steward, with a sigh. "Thus
+far, Mr. Thomas is in the right."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Mr.</i> Thomas, sirrah!&mdash;and why not <i>Sir</i> Thomas? Are baronets addressed
+as other men, in England? But, no matter! There is a time for all
+things. Sir Gervaise Oakes, as you are perfectly indifferent in this
+affair, I ask of you the favour to break the seal, and to inquire into
+the contents of the paper?"</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral was not slow in complying; for, by this time, he began
+to feel an intense interest in the result. The reader will readily
+understand that Tom had handed to Sir Gervaise the will drawn up by his
+father, and which, after inserting his reputed nephew's name, Sir
+Wycherly had duly executed, and delivered to the person most interested.
+The envelope, address, and outer seal, Tom had obtained the very day the
+will was signed, after assuring himself of the contents of the latter,
+by six or eight careful perusals. The vice-admiral read the instrument
+from beginning to end, before he put it into the hands of Sir Reginald
+to examine. The latter fully expected to meet with a clumsy forgery; but
+the instant his eyes fell on the phraseology, he perceived that the will
+had been drawn by one expert in the law. A second look satisfied him
+that the hand was that of Mr. Baron Wychecombe. It has already been
+said, that in this instrument, Sir Wycherly bequeathed all he had on
+earth, to "his nephew, Thomas Wychecombe, son, &amp;c., &amp;c.," making his
+heir, also, his executor.</p>
+
+<p>"This will appears to me to have been drawn up by a very skilful lawyer;
+the late Baron Wychecombe," observed the baronet.</p>
+
+<p>"It was, Sir Reginald," answered Tom, endeavouring to appear
+unconcerned. "He did it to oblige my respected uncle, leaving blanks for
+the name of the devisee, not liking to make a will so very decidedly in
+favour of his own son. The writing in the blanks is by Sir Wycherly
+himself, leaving no doubts of <i>his</i> intentions."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not see but you may claim to be the heir of Wychecombe, sir, as
+well as of the personals; though your claims to the baronetcy shall
+certainly be contested and defeated."</p>
+
+<p>"And why defeated?" demanded Wycherly, stepping forward for the first
+time, and speaking with a curiosity he found it difficult to control.
+"Is not Mr. Thomas&mdash;<i>Sir</i> Thomas, I ought rather to say,&mdash;the eldest son
+of the late Sir Wycherly's next brother; and, as a matter of course,
+heir to the title, as well as to the estate?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not he, as I can answer from a careful examination of proofs. Mr. Baron
+Wychecombe was never married, and thus <i>could have</i> no heir at law."</p>
+
+<p>"Is this possible!&mdash;How have we all been deceived then, in America!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you say this, young gentleman? Can <i>you</i> have any legal claims
+here?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am Wycherly, the <i>only</i> son of Wycherly, who was the eldest son of
+Gregory, the younger brother of the late baronet; and if what you say be
+true, the next in succession to the baronetcy, at least."</p>
+
+<p>"This is&mdash;" Tom's words stuck in his throat; for the quiet, stern eye of
+the young sailor met his look and warned him to be prudent.&mdash;"This is a
+<i>mistake</i>," he resumed. "My uncle Gregory was lost at sea, and died a
+bachelor. He can have left no lawful issue."</p>
+
+<p>"I must say, young gentleman," added Sir Reginald, gravely, "that such
+has always been the history of his fate. I have had too near an interest
+in this family, to neglect its annals."</p>
+
+<p>"I know, sir, that such has been the opinion here for more than half a
+century; but it was founded in error. The facts are simply these. My
+grandfather, a warm-hearted but impetuous young man, struck an older
+lieutenant, when ashore and on duty, in one of the West India Islands.
+The penalty was death; but, neither the party injured nor the commander
+of the vessel, wished to push matters to extremity, and the offender was
+advised to absent himself from the ship, at the moment of sailing. The
+injured party was induced to take this course, as in a previous quarrel,
+my grandfather had received his fire, without returning it; frankly
+admitting his fault. The ship did sail without Mr. Gregory Wychecombe,
+and was lost, every soul on board perishing. My grandfather passed into
+Virginia, where he remained a twelvemonth, suppressing his story, lest
+its narration might lead to military punishment. Love next sealed his
+future fate. He married a woman of fortune, and though his history was
+well known in his own retired circle, it never spread beyond it. No one
+supposed him near the succession, and there was no motive for stating
+the fact, on account of his interests. Once he wrote to Sir Wycherly,
+but he suppressed the letter, as likely to give more pain than pleasure.
+That letter I now have, and in his own hand-writing. I have also his
+commission, and all the other proofs of identity that such a person
+would be apt to possess. They are as complete as any court in
+Christendom would be likely to require, for he never felt a necessity
+for changing his name. He has been dead but two years, and previously to
+dying he saw that every document necessary to establish my claim, should
+a moment for enforcing it ever arrive, was put in such a legal form as
+to admit of no cavilling. He outlived my own father, but none of us
+thought there was any motive for presenting ourselves, as all believed
+that the sons of Baron Wychecombe were legitimate. I can only say, sir,
+that I have complete legal evidence that I am heir at law of Gregory,
+the younger brother of the late Sir Wycherly Wychecombe. Whether the
+fact will give me any rights here, you best can say."</p>
+
+<p>"It will make you heir of entail to this estate, master of this house,
+and of most of what it contains, and the present baronet. You have only
+to prove what you say, to defeat every provision of this will, with the
+exception of that which refers to the personal estate."</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo!" cried Sir Gervaise, fairly rubbing his hands with delight.
+"Bravo, Dick; if we were aboard the Plantagenet, by the Lord, I'd turn
+the hands up, and have three cheers. So then, my brave young seaman, you
+turn out to be Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, after all!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's the way we always does, on board ship," observed Galleygo,
+to the group of domestics; "whenever any thing of a hallooing character
+turns up. Sometimes we makes a signal to Admiral Blue and the rest on
+'em, to 'stand by to cheer,' and all of us sets to, to cheer as if our
+stomachs was lull of hurrahs, and we wanted to get rid on 'em. If Sir
+Jarvy would just pass the word now, you'd have a taste of that 'ere
+custom, that would do your ears good for a twelvemonth. It's a cheering
+matter when the one of the trade falls heir to an estate."</p>
+
+<p>"And would this be a proper mode of settling a question of a right of
+property, Sir Gervaise Oakes?" asked Tom, with more of right and reason
+than he commonly had of his side; "and that, too, with my uncle lying
+dead beneath this roof?"</p>
+
+<p>"I acknowledge the justice of the reproof, young sir, and will say no
+more in the matter&mdash;at least, nothing as indiscreet as my last speech.
+Sir Reginald, you have the affair in hand, and I recommend it to your
+serious attention."</p>
+
+<p>"Fear nothing, Sir Gervaise," answered he of Hertfordshire. "Justice
+shall be done in the premises, if justice rule in England. Your story,
+young gentleman, is probable, and naturally told, and I see a family
+likeness between you and the Wychecombes, generally; a likeness that is
+certainly not to be traced in the person of the other claimant. Did the
+point depend on the legitimacy of Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, it might be
+easily determined, as I have his own mother's declaration to the fact of
+his illegitimacy, as well as of one other material circumstance that may
+possibly unsettle even the late Baron Wychecombe's will. But this
+testamentary devise of Sir Wycherly appears to be perfect, and nothing
+but the entail can defeat it. You speak of your proofs; where are they?
+It is all-important to know which party is entitled to possession."</p>
+
+<p>"Here they are, sir," answered Wycherly, removing a belt from his body,
+and producing his papers; "not in the originals, certainly; for most of
+<i>them</i> are matters of official record, in Virginia; but in, what the
+lawyers call 'exemplified copies,' and which I am told are in a fit
+state to be read as evidence in any court in England, that can take
+cognizance of the matter."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Reginald took the papers, and began to read them, one by one, and
+with deep attention. The evidence of the identity of the grandfather was
+full, and of the clearest nature. He had been recognised as an old
+schoolfellow, by one of the governors of the colony, and it was at this
+gentleman's suggestion that he had taken so much pains to perpetuate the
+evidence of his identity. Both the marriages, one with Jane Beverly, and
+the other with Rebecca Randolph, were fully substantiated, as were the
+two births. The personal identity of the young man, and this too as the
+only son of Wycherly, the <i>eldest</i> son of Gregory, was well certified
+to, and in a way that could leave no doubt as to the person meant. In a
+word, the proofs were such as a careful and experienced lawyer would
+have prepared, in a case that admitted of no doubt, and which was liable
+to be contested in a court of law. Sir Reginald was quite half an hour
+in looking over the papers; and during this time, every eye in the room
+was on him, watching the expression of his countenance with the utmost
+solicitude. At length, he finished his task, when he again turned to
+Wycherly.</p>
+
+<p>"These papers have been prepared with great method, and an acute
+knowledge of what might be required," he said. "Why have they been so
+long suppressed, and why did you permit Sir Wycherly to die in ignorance
+of your near affinity to him, and of your claims?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of my claims I was ignorant myself, believing not only Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, but his two brothers, to stand before me. This was the
+opinion of my grandfather, even when he caused these proofs to be
+perpetuated. They were given to me, that I might claim affinity to the
+family on my arrival in England; and it was the injunction of my
+grandfather that they should be worn on my person, until the moment
+arrived when I could use them."</p>
+
+<p>"This explains your not preferring the claim&mdash;why not prefer the
+relationship?"</p>
+
+<p>"What for, sir? I found America and Americans looked down on, in
+England&mdash;colonists spoken of as a race of inferior beings&mdash;of diminished
+stature, feebler intellects, and a waning spirit, as compared to those
+from whom they had so recently sprung; and I was too proud to confess an
+affinity where I saw it was not desired. When wounded, and expecting to
+die, I was landed here, at my own request, with an intention to state
+the facts; but, falling under the care of ministering angels,"&mdash;here
+Wycherly glanced his eye at Mildred and her mother&mdash;"I less felt the
+want of relatives. Sir Wycherly I honoured; but he too manifestly
+regarded us Americans as inferiors, to leave any wish to tell him I was
+his great-nephew."</p>
+
+<p>"I fear we are not altogether free from this reproach, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Sir Reginald, thoughtfully. "We do appear to think there is
+something in the air of this part of the island, that renders us better
+than common. Nay, if a claim comes from <i>over water</i>, let it be what it
+may, it strikes us as a foreign and inadmissible claim. The fate from
+which even princes are not exempt, humbler men must certainly submit
+to!"</p>
+
+<p>"I can understand the feeling, and I think it honourable to the young
+man. Admiral Bluewater, you and I have had occasion often to rebuke this
+very spirit in our young officers; and you will agree with me when I say
+that this gentleman has acted naturally, in acting as he has."</p>
+
+<p>"I must corroborate what you say, Sir Gervaise," answered Bluewater;
+"and, as one who has seen much of the colonies, and who is getting to be
+an old man, I venture to predict that this very feeling, sooner or
+later, will draw down upon England its own consequences, in the shape of
+condign punishment."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't go as far as that, Dick&mdash;I don't go as far as that. But it is
+unwise and unsound, and we, who know both hemispheres, ought to set our
+faces against it. We have already some gallant fellows from that quarter
+of the world among us, and I hope to live to see more."</p>
+
+<p>This, let it be remembered, was said before the Hallowells, and Coffins,
+and Brentons of our own times, were enrolled in a service that has since
+become foreign to that of the land of their birth; but it was prophetic
+of their appearance, and of that of many other high names from the
+colonies, in the lists of the British marine. Wycherly smiled proudly,
+but he made no answer. All this time, Sir Reginald had been musing on
+what had passed.</p>
+
+<p>"It would seem, gentlemen," the latter now observed, "that, contrary to
+our belief, there is an heir to the baronetcy, as well as to the estate
+of Wychecombe; and all our regrets that the late incumbent did not live
+to execute the will we had drawn at his request, have become useless.
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, I congratulate you, on thus succeeding to the
+honours and estates of your family; and, as a member of the last, I may
+be permitted to congratulate all of the name in being so worthily
+represented. For one of that family I cheerfully recognise you as its
+head and chief."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly bowed his acknowledgments, receiving also the compliments of
+most of the others present. Tom Wychecombe, however, formed an
+exception, and instead of manifesting any disposition to submit to this
+summary disposal of his claims, he was brooding over the means of
+maintaining them. Detecting by the countenances of the upper servants
+that they were effectually bribed by his promise to pay the late
+baronet's legacies, he felt tolerably confident of support from that
+quarter. He well knew that possession was nine points of the law, and
+his thoughts naturally turned towards the means necessary to securing
+this great advantage. As yet, the two claimants were on a par, in this
+respect; for while the executed will might seem to give him a superior
+claim, no authority that was derived from an insufficient source would
+be deemed available in law; and Sir Wycherly had clearly no right to
+devise Wychecombe, so long as there existed an heir of entail. Both
+parties, too, were merely guests in the house; so that neither had any
+possession that would require a legal process to eject him. Tom had been
+entered at the Temple, and had some knowledge of the law of the land;
+more especially as related to real estate; and he was aware that there
+existed some quaint ceremony of taking possession, as it existed under
+the feudal system; but he was ignorant of the precise forms, and had
+some reasonable doubts how far they would benefit him, under the
+peculiar circumstances of this case. On the whole, therefore, he was
+disposed to try the effect of intimidation, by means of the advantages
+he clearly possessed, and of such little reason as the facts connected
+with his claim, allowed him to offer.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Reginald Wychecombe," he said gravely, and with as much
+indifference as he could assume; "you have betrayed a facility of belief
+in this American history, that has surprised me in one with so high a
+reputation for prudence and caution. This sudden revival of the dead may
+answer for the credulous lovers of marvels, but it would hardly do for a
+jury of twelve sober-minded and sworn men. Admitting the whole of this
+gentleman's statement to be true, however, you will not deny the late
+Sir Wycherly's right to make a will, if he only devised his old shoes;
+and, having this right, that of naming his executor necessarily
+accompanied it. Now, sir, I am clearly that executor, and as such I
+demand leave to exercise my functions in this house, as its temporary
+master at least."</p>
+
+<p>"Not so fast&mdash;not so fast, young sir. Wills must be proved and executors
+qualified, before either has any validity. Then, again, Sir Wycherly
+could only give authority over that which was his own. The instant he
+ceased to breathe, his brother Gregory's grandson became the life-tenant
+of this estate, the house included; and I advise him to assert that
+right, trusting to the validity of his claim, for his justification in
+law, should it become necessary. In these matters he who is right is
+safe; while he who is wrong must take the consequences of his own acts.
+Mr. Furlong, your steward-ship ceased with the life of your principal;
+if you have any keys or papers to deliver, I advise your placing them in
+the hands of this gentleman, whom, beyond all cavil, I take to be the
+rightful Sir Wycherly Wychecombe."</p>
+
+<p>Furlong was a cautious, clear-headed, honest man, and with every desire
+to see Tom defeated, he was tenacious of doing his duty. He led Sir
+Reginald aside, therefore, and examined him, at some length, touching
+the nature of the proofs that had been offered; until, quite satisfied
+that there could be no mistake, he declared his willingness to comply
+with the request.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, I hold the keys of the late Sir Wycherly's papers,&mdash;those
+that have just been seen in the search for the will," he said, "and have
+every wish to place them in the hands of their proper owner. Here they
+are, Sir Wycherly; though I would advise you to remove the bags of gold
+that are in the secretary, to some other place; as <i>those</i> your uncle
+had a right to bequeath to whom he saw fit. Every thing else in the
+secretary goes with the estate; as do the plate, furniture, and other
+heir-looms of the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, Mr. Furlong, and I will first use these keys to follow
+your advice," answered the new baronet; "then I will return them to you
+with a request that you will still retain the charge of all your former
+duties."</p>
+
+<p>This was no sooner said than done; Wycherly placing the bags of gold on
+the floor, until some other place of security could be provided.</p>
+
+<p>"All that I legally can, Sir Wycherly, will I cheerfully do, in order to
+aid you in the assertion of your right; though I do not see how I can
+transfer more than I hold. <i>Qui facit per alium, facit per se</i>, is good
+law, Sir Reginald; but the principal must have power to act, before the
+deputy can exercise authority. It appears to me that this is a case, in
+which each party stands on his own rights, at his own peril. The
+possession of the farms is safe enough, for the time being, with the
+tenants; but as to the Hall and Park, there would seem to be no one in
+the legal occupancy. This makes a case in which title is immediately
+available."</p>
+
+<p>"Such is the law, Mr. Furlong, and I advise Sir Wycherly to take
+possession of the key of the outer door at once, as master of the
+tenement."</p>
+
+<p>No sooner was this opinion given, than Wycherly left the room, followed
+by all present to the hall. Here he proceeded alone to the vestibule,
+locked the great door of the building, and put the key in his pocket.
+This act was steadily performed, and in a way to counteract, in a great
+degree, the effect on the domestics, of Tom's promises concerning the
+legacies. At the same moment, Furlong whispered something in the ear of
+Sir Reginald.</p>
+
+<p>"Now you are quietly in possession, Sir Wycherly," said the latter,
+smiling; "there is no necessity of keeping us all prisoners in order to
+maintain your claims. David, the usual porter, Mr. Furlong tells me, is
+a faithful servant, and if he will accept of the key as <i>your</i> agent it
+may be returned to him with perfect legal safety."</p>
+
+<p>As David cheerfully assented to this proposition, the key was put into
+his hands again, and the new Sir Wycherly was generally thought to be in
+possession. Nor did Tom dare to raise the contemplated question of his
+own legitimacy before Sir Reginald, who, he had discovered, possessed a
+clue to the facts; and he consequently suppressed, for the moment at
+least, the certificate of marriage he had so recently forged. Bowing
+round to the whole company, therefore, with a sort of sarcastic
+compliance, he stalked off to his own room with the air of an injured
+man. This left our young hero in possession of the field; but, as the
+condition of the house was not one suitable to an unreasonable display
+of triumph, the party soon separated; some to consult concerning the
+future, some to discourse of the past, and all to wonder, more or less,
+at the present.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I fear not wove nor wind;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet marvel not, Sir Childe, that I<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Am sorrowful of mind."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Childe Harold.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>"Well, Sir Jarvy," said Galleygo, following on the heels of the two
+admirals, as the latter entered the dressing-room of the officer
+addressed; "it has turned out just as I thought; and the County of
+Fairvillain has come out of his hole, like a porpoise coming up to
+breathe, the moment our backs is turned! As soon as we gives the order
+to square-away for England, and I see the old Planter's cabin windows
+turned upon Franco, I foreseed them consequences. Well, gentlemen,
+here's been a heap of prize-money made in this house without much
+fighting. We shall have to give the young lieutenant a leave, for a few
+months, in order that he may take his swing ashore, here, among his
+brother squires!"</p>
+
+<p>"Pray, sir, what may be your pleasure?" demanded Sir Gervaise; "and what
+the devil has brought you at my heels?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, big ships always tows small craft, your honour," returned
+Galleygo, simpering. "Howsever, I never comes without an errand, as
+every body knows. You see, Sir Jarvy,&mdash;you see, Admiral Blue, that our
+signal-officer is ashore, with a report for us; and meeting me in the
+hall, he made it to me first like, that I might bring it up to you
+a'terwards. His news is that the French county is gone to sea, as I has
+just told you, gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"Can it be possible that Bunting has brought any such tidings here!
+Harkee, Galleygo; desire Mr. Bunting to walk up; and then see that you
+behave yourself as is decent in a house of mourning."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay-ay-sir. No fears of I, gentlemen. I can put on as grievous a look as
+the best on 'em, and if they wishes to see sorrow becomingly, and
+ship-shape, let them study my conduct and countenance. We has all seen
+dead men afore now, gentlemen, as we all knows. When we fou't Mounsheer
+Graveland, (Gravelin,) we had forty-seven slain, besides the hurt that
+lived to tell their own pain; and when we had the&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Go to the devil, Master Galleygo, and desire Mr. Bunting to walk up
+stairs," cried Sir Gervaise, impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"Ay-ay-sir. Which will your honour have done first?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let me see the signal-officer, <i>first</i>," answered the vice-admiral,
+laughing; "then be certain of executing the other order."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," muttered Galleygo, as he descended the stairs; "if I was to do
+as he says, now, what would we do with the fleet? Ships wants orders to
+fight; and flags wants food to give orders; and food wants stewards to
+be put upon the table; and stewards wants no devils to help 'em do their
+duty. No&mdash;no&mdash;Sir Jarvy; I'll not pay that visit, till we all goes in
+company, as is suitable for them that has sailed so long together."</p>
+
+<p>"This will be great news, Dick, if de Vervillin has really come out!"
+cried Sir Gervaise, rubbing his hands with delight. "Hang me, if I wait
+for orders from London; but we'll sail with the first wind and tide. Let
+them settle the quarrel at home, as they best can; it is <i>our</i> business
+to catch the Frenchman. How many ships do you really suppose the count
+to have?"</p>
+
+<p>"Twelve of two decks, besides one three-decker, and beating us in
+frigates. Two or three, however, are short vessels, and cannot be quite
+as heavy as our own. I see no reason why we should not engage him."</p>
+
+<p>"I rejoice to hear you say so! How much more honourable is it to seek
+the enemy, than to be intriguing about a court! I hope you intend to let
+me announce that red riband in general orders to-morrow, Dick?"</p>
+
+<p>"Never, with my consent, Sir Gervaise, so long as the house of Hanover
+confers the boon. But what an extraordinary scene we have just had
+below! This young lieutenant is a noble fellow, and I hope, with all my
+heart, he will be enabled to make good his claim."</p>
+
+<p>"Of that Sir Reginald assures me there can be no manner of doubt. His
+papers are in perfect order, and his story simple and probable. Do you
+not remember hearing, when we were midshipmen in the West Indies, of a
+lieutenant of the Sappho's striking a senior officer, ashore; and of his
+having been probably saved from the sentence of death, by the loss of
+the ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"As well as if it were yesterday, now you name the vessel. And this you
+suppose to have been the late Sir Wycherly's brother. Did he belong to
+the Sappho?"</p>
+
+<p>"So they tell me, below; and it leaves no doubt on my mind, of the truth
+of the whole story."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a proof, too, how easy it is for one to return to England, and
+maintain his rights, after an absence of more than half a century. He in
+Scotland has a claim quite as strong as that of this youth!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dick Bluewater, you seem determined to pull a house down about your own
+ears! What have you or I to do with these Scotch adventurers, when a
+gallant enemy invites us to come out and meet him! But, mum&mdash;here is
+Bunting."</p>
+
+<p>At this instant the signal-lieutenant of the Plantagenet was shown into
+the room, by Galleygo, in person.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Bunting; what tidings from the fleet?" demanded Sir Gervaise. "Do
+the ships still ride to the flood?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is slack-water, Sir Gervaise, and the vessels are looking all ways
+at once. Most of us are clearing hawse, for there are more round turns
+in our cables, than I remember ever to have seen in so short a time."</p>
+
+<p>"That comes of there being no wind, and the uselessness of the stay-sails
+and spankers. What has brought you ashore? Galleygo tells us something
+of a cutter's coming in, with information that the French are out; but
+<i>his</i> news is usually <i>galley</i>-news."</p>
+
+<p>"Not always, Sir Gervaise," returned the lieutenant, casting a side-look
+at the steward, who often comforted him with ship's delicacies in the
+admiral's cabin; "this time, he is right, at least. The Active is coming
+in slowly, and has been signalling us all the morning. We make her out
+to say that Monsieur Vervillin is at sea with his whole force."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," muttered Galleygo to the rear-admiral, in a sort of aside; "the
+County of Fairvillain has come out of his hole, just as I told Sir
+Jarvy. Fair-weather-villains they all is, and no bones broken."</p>
+
+<p>"Silence&mdash;and you think, Bunting, you read the signals clearly?"</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt of it, Sir Gervaise. Captain Greenly is of the same opinion,
+and has sent me ashore with the news. He desired me to tell you that the
+ebb would make in half an hour, and that we can then fetch past the
+rocks to the westward, light as the wind is."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that is Greenly, I can swear!&mdash;He'll not sit down until we are all
+aweigh, and standing out. Does the cutter tell us which way the count
+was looking?"</p>
+
+<p>"To the westward, sir; on an easy bowline, and under short canvass."</p>
+
+<p>"The gentleman is in no hurry, it would seem. Has he a convoy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a sail, sir. Nineteen sail, all cruisers, and only twelve of the
+line. He has one two-decker, and two frigates more than we can muster;
+just a Frenchman's odds, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"The count has certainly with him, the seven new ships that were built
+last season," quietly observed Bluewater, leaning back in his
+easy-chair, until his body inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees,
+and stretching a leg on an empty stand, in his usual self-indulgent
+manner. "They are a little heavier than their old vessels, and will give
+us harder work."</p>
+
+<p>"The tougher the job, the more creditable the workmanship. The tide is
+turning, you say, Bunting?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is, Sir Gervaise; and we shall all tend ebb, in twenty minutes. The
+frigates outside are riding down channel already. The Chloe seems to
+think that we shall be moving soon, as she has crossed top-gallant and
+royal-yards. Even Captain Greenly was thinking of stretching along the
+messenger."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! you're a set of uneasy fellows, all round!&mdash;You tire of your native
+land in twenty-four hours, I find. Well, Mr. Bunting; you can go off,
+and say that all is very well. This house is in a sad state of
+confusion, as, I presume, you know. Mention this to Captain Greenly."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay-ay-sir; is it your pleasure I should tell him any thing else, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why&mdash;yes&mdash;Bunting," answered the vice-admiral, smiling; "you may as
+well give him a hint to get all his fresh grub off, as fast as he
+can&mdash;and&mdash;yes; to let no more men quit the ship on liberty."</p>
+
+<p>"Any thing more, Sir Gervaise?" added the pertinacious officer.</p>
+
+<p>"On the whole, you may as well run up a signal to be ready to unmoor.
+The ships can very well ride at single anchors, when the tide has once
+fairly made. What say you, Bluewater?"</p>
+
+<p>"A signal to unmoor, at once, would expedite matters. You know very
+well, you intend to go to sea, and why not do the thing off-hand?"</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say, now, Bunting, you too would like to give the
+commander-in-chief a nudge of some sort or other."</p>
+
+<p>"If I could presume so far, Sir Gervaise. I can only say, sir, that the
+sooner we are off, the sooner we shall flog the French."</p>
+
+<p>"And Master Galleygo, what are your sentiments, on this occasion? It is
+a full council, and all ought to speak, freely."</p>
+
+<p>"You knows, Sir Jarvy, that I never speaks in these matters, unless
+spoken to. Admiral Blue and your honour are quite enough to take care of
+the fleet in most circumstances, though there is some knowledge in the
+tops, as well as in the cabin. My ideas is, gentlemen, that, by casting
+to starboard on this ebb tide, we shall all have our heads off-shore,
+and we shall fetch into the offing as easily as a country wench turns in
+a jig. What we shall do with the fleet, when we gets out, will be shown
+in our ultra movements."</p>
+
+<p>By "ultra," David meant "ulterior," a word he had caught up from hearing
+despatches read, which he understood no better than those who wrote them
+at the admiralty.</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks to you all, my friends!" cried Sir Gervaise, who was so
+delighted at the prospect of a general engagement, that he felt a boyish
+pleasure in this fooling; "and now to business, seriously. Mr. Bunting,
+I would have the signal for sailing shown. Let each ship fire a
+recall-gun for her boats. Half an hour later, show the bunting to
+unmoor; and send my boat ashore as soon as you begin to heave on the
+capstan. So, good-morning, my fine fellow, and show your activity."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Bunting, as you pass the C&aelig;sar, do me the favour to ask for my
+boat, also," said Bluewater, lazily, but half-raising his body to look
+after the retiring lieutenant. "If we are to move, I suppose I shall
+have to go with the rest of them. Of course we shall repeat all your
+signals."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise waited until Bunting was out of the room, when he turned to
+the steward, and said with some dryness of manner&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Galleygo, you have my permission to go on board, bag and baggage."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sir Jarvy, I understands. We are about to get the ships under way,
+and good men ought to be in their places. Good-by, Admiral Blue. We
+shall meet before the face of the French, and then I expects every man
+on us will set an example to himself of courage and devotion."</p>
+
+<p>"That fellow grows worse and worse, each day, and I shall have to send
+him forward, in order to check his impertinence," said Sir Gervaise,
+half-vexed and half-laughing. "I wonder you stand his saucy familiarity
+as well as you appear to do&mdash;with his Admiral Blues!"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall take offence as soon as I find Sir Jarvy really out of humour
+with him. The man is brave, honest, and attached; and these are virtues
+that would atone for a hundred faults."</p>
+
+<p>"Let the fellow go to the devil!&mdash;Do you not think I had better go out,
+without waiting for despatches from town?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is hard to say. Your orders may send us all down into Scotland, to
+face Charles Stuart. Perhaps, too, they may make you a duke, and me a
+baron, in order to secure our fidelity!"</p>
+
+<p>"The blackguards!&mdash;well, say no more of that, just now. If M. de
+Vervillin is steering to the westward, he can hardly be aiming at
+Edinburgh, and the movements in the north."</p>
+
+<p>"That is by no means so certain. Your really politic fellows usually
+look one way and row another."</p>
+
+<p>"It is my opinion, that his object is to effect a diversion, and my wish
+is to give it to him, to his heart's content. So long as this force is
+kept near the chops of the channel, it can do no harm in the north, and,
+in-so-much, must leave the road to Germany open."</p>
+
+<p>"For one, I think it a pity&mdash;not to say a disgrace&mdash;that England cannot
+settle her own quarrels without calling in the aid of either Frenchman
+or Dutchman."</p>
+
+<p>"We must take the world as it is, Dick, and act like two
+straight-forward seamen, without stopping to talk politics. I take it
+for granted, notwithstanding your Stuart fervour, that you are willing
+enough to help me thresh Monsieur de Vervillin."</p>
+
+<p>"Beyond a question. Nothing but the conviction that he was directly
+employed in serving my natural and legitimate prince, could induce me to
+show him any favour. Still, Oakes, it is possible he may have succours
+for the Scotch on board, and be bound to the north by the way of the
+Irish channel!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, pretty succours, truly, for an Englishman to stomach!
+<i>Mousquetaires</i>, and <i>r&eacute;giments de Croy</i>, or <i>de Dillon</i>, or some d&mdash;&mdash;d
+French name or other; and, perhaps, beautiful muskets from the <i>Bois de
+Vincennes</i>; or some other infernal nest of Gallic inventions to put down
+the just ascendency of old England! No&mdash;no&mdash;Dick Bluewater, your
+excellent, loyal, true-hearted English mother, never bore you to be a
+dupe of Bourbon perfidy and trick. I dare say she sickened at the very
+name of Louis!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll not answer for that, Sir Jarvy," returned the rear-admiral, with a
+vacant smile; "for she passed some time at the court of <i>le Grand
+Monarque</i>. But all this is idle; we know each other's opinions, and, by
+this time, ought to know each other's characters. Have you digested any
+plan for your future operations; and what part am I to play in it?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise paced the room, with hands folded behind his back, in an
+air of deep contemplation, for quite five minutes, before he answered.
+All this time, Bluewater remained watching his countenance and
+movements, in anticipation of what was to come. At length, the
+vice-admiral appeared to have made up his mind, and he delivered himself
+of his decision, as follows.</p>
+
+<p>"I have reflected on them, Dick," he said, "even while my thoughts have
+seemed to be occupied with the concerns of others. If de Vervillin is
+out, he must still be to the eastward of us; for, running as the tides
+do on the French coast, he can hardly have made much westing with this
+light south-west wind. We are yet uncertain of his destination, and it
+is all-important that we get immediate sight of him, and keep him in
+view, until he can be brought to action. Now, my plan is this. I will
+send out the ships in succession, with orders to keep on an easy
+bowline, until each reaches the chops of the channel, when she is to go
+about and stand in towards the English coast. Each succeeding vessel,
+however, will weigh as soon as her leader is hull down, and keep within
+signal distance, in order to send intelligence through the whole line.
+Nothing will be easier than to keep in sight of each other, in such fine
+weather; and by these means we shall spread a wide clew,&mdash;quite a
+hundred miles,&mdash;and command the whole of the channel. As soon as
+Monsieur de Vervillin is made, the fleet can close, when we will be
+governed by circumstances Should we see nothing of the French, by the
+time we make their coast, we may be certain they have gone up channel;
+and then, a signal from the van can reverse the order of sailing, and we
+will chase to the eastward, closing to a line abreast as fast as
+possible."</p>
+
+<p>"All this is very well, certainly; and by means of the frigates and
+smaller cruisers we can easily sweep a hundred and fifty miles of
+ocean;&mdash;nevertheless, the fleet will be much scattered."</p>
+
+<p>"You do not think there will be any danger of the French's engaging the
+van, before the rear can close to aid it?" asked Sir Gervaise, with
+interest, for he had the profoundest respect for his friend's
+professional opinions. "I intended to lead out in the Plantagenet,
+myself, and to have five or six of the fastest ships next to me, with a
+view that we might keep off, until you could bring up the rear. If they
+chase, you know we can retire."</p>
+
+<p>"Beyond a doubt, if Sir Gervaise Oakes can make up his mind to <i>retire</i>,
+before any Frenchman who was ever born," returned Bluewater, laughing.
+"All this sounds well; but, in the event of a meeting, I should expect
+to find you, with the whole van dismasted, fighting your hulks like
+bull-dogs, and keeping the Count at bay, leaving the glory of covering
+your retreat to me."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;no&mdash;Dick: I'll give you my honour I'll do nothing so boyish and
+silly. I'm a different man at fifty-five, from what I was at
+twenty-five. You may be certain that I will run, until I think myself
+strong enough to fight."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you allow me to make a suggestion, Admiral Oakes; and this with
+all the frankness that ought to characterize our ancient friendship?"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise stopped short in his walk, looked Bluewater steadily in the
+face, and nodded his head.</p>
+
+<p>"I understand by the expression of your countenance," continued the
+other, "that I am expected to speak. I had no more to say, than to make
+the simple suggestion that your plan would be most likely to be
+executed, were I to lead the van, and were <i>you</i> to bring up the rear."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil you do!&mdash;This comes as near mutiny&mdash;or <i>scandalum
+magnatum</i>&mdash;as one can wish! And why do you suppose that the plan of the
+commander-in-chief will be least in danger of failing, if Admiral
+Bluewater lead on this occasion, instead of Admiral Oakes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Merely because I think Admiral Oakes, when an enemy is pressing him, is
+more apt to take counsel of his heart than of his head; while Admiral
+Bluewater is <i>not</i>. You do not know yourself, Sir Jarvy, if you think it
+so easy a matter to run away."</p>
+
+<p>"I've spoiled you, Dick, by praising your foolish man[oe]uvring so much
+before your face, and that's the whole truth of the matter. No&mdash;my mind
+is made up; and, I believe you know me well enough to feel sure, when
+that is the case, even a council of war could not move it. <i>I</i> lead out,
+in the <i>first</i> two-decked ship that lifts her anchor, and <i>you</i> follow
+in the <i>last</i>. You understand my plan, and will see it executed, as you
+see every thing executed, in face of the enemy."</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater smiled, and not altogether without irony in his
+manner; though he managed, at the same time, to get the leg that had
+been lowest for the last five minutes, raised by an ingenuity peculiar
+to himself, several inches above its fellow.</p>
+
+<p>"Nature never made you for a conspirator, Oakes," he said, as soon as
+this change was effected to his mind; "for you carry a top-light in your
+breast that even the blind can see!"</p>
+
+<p>"What crotchet is uppermost in your mind, now, Dick? Ar'n't the orders
+plain enough to suit you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I confess it;&mdash;as well as the motive for giving them just in this
+form."</p>
+
+<p>"Let's have it, at once. I prefer a full broadside to your minute-guns.
+What is my motive?"</p>
+
+<p>"Simply that you, Sir Jarvy, say to a certain Sir Gervaise Oakes, Bart.,
+Vice-Admiral of the Red, and Member for Bowldero, in your own mind,
+'now, if I can just leave that fellow, Dick Bluewater, behind me, with
+four or five ships, he'll never desert <i>me</i>, when in front of the enemy,
+whatever he might do with <i>King George</i>; and so I'll make sure of him by
+placing the question in such a light that it shall be one of friendship,
+rather than one of loyalty.'"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise coloured to the temples, for the other had penetrated into
+his most secret thoughts; and, yet, spite of his momentary vexation, he
+faced his accuser, and both laughed in the heartfelt manner that the
+circumstance would be likely to excite.</p>
+
+<p>"Harkee, Dick," said the vice-admiral, as soon as he could command
+sufficient gravity to speak; "they made a mistake when they sent you to
+sea; you ought to have been apprenticed to a conjuror. I care not what
+you think about it; my orders are given, and they must be obeyed. Have
+you a clear perception of the plan?"</p>
+
+<p>"One quite as clear, I tell you, as I have of the motive."</p>
+
+<p>"Enough of this, Bluewater; we have serious duties before us."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise now entered more at length into his scheme; explaining to
+his friend all his wishes and hopes, and letting him know, with official
+minuteness, what was expected at his hands. The rear-admiral listened
+with his accustomed respect, whenever any thing grave was in discussion
+between them; and, had any one entered while they were thus engaged, he
+would have seen in the manner of one, nothing but the dignified
+frankness of a friendly superior, and in the other the deference which
+the naval inferior usually pays to rank. As he concluded Sir Gervaise
+rang his bell, and desired the presence of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe.</p>
+
+<p>"I could have wished to remain and see this battle for the succession
+fairly fought," he said; "but a battle of a different sort calls us in
+another quarter. Show him in," he added, as his man intimated that the
+young baronet was in waiting.</p>
+
+<p>"What between the duties of our professional stations, and those of the
+guest to the host," said the vice-admiral, rising and bowing to the
+young man; "it is not easy to settle the question of etiquette between
+us, Sir Wycherly; and I have, from habit, thought more of the admiral
+and the lieutenant, than of the lord of the manor and his obliged
+guests. If I have erred, you will excuse me."</p>
+
+<p>"My new situation is so very novel, that I still remain all sailor, Sir
+Gervaise," answered the other, smiling; "as such I hope <i>you</i> will ever
+consider me. Can I be of any service, here?"</p>
+
+<p>"One of our cutters has just come in with news that will take the fleet
+to sea, again, this morning; or, as soon as the tide begins to run a
+strong ebb. The French are out, and we must go and look for them. It was
+my intention and my hope, to be able to take you to sea with me in the
+Plantagenet. The date of your commission would not put you very high
+among her lieutenants; but, Bunting deserves a first lieutenancy, and I
+meant to give it to him this afternoon, in which case there would be a
+vacancy in the situation of my own signal-officer, a duty you could well
+perform. As it is, you ought not to quit this house, and I must take my
+leave of you with regret it is so."</p>
+
+<p>"Admiral Oakes, what is there that ought to keep one of my station
+ashore, on the eve of a general battle? I sincerely hope and trust you
+will alter the last determination, and return to the first."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget your own important interests&mdash;remember that possession is
+nine points of the law."</p>
+
+<p>"We had heard the news below, and Sir Reginald, Mr. Furlong, and myself,
+were discussing the matter when I received your summons. These gentlemen
+tell me, that possession can be held by deputy, as well as in person. I
+am satisfied we can dispose of this objection."</p>
+
+<p>"Your grandfather's brother, and the late head of your family, lies dead
+in this house; it is proper his successor should be present at his
+funeral obsequies."</p>
+
+<p>"We thought of that, also. Sir Reginald has kindly offered to appear in
+my place; and, then, there is the chance that the meeting with Monsieur
+de Vervillin will take place within the next eight-and-forty hours;
+whereas my uncle cannot be interred certainly for a week or ten days."</p>
+
+<p>"I see you have well calculated all the chances, young sir," said Sir
+Gervaise, smiling. "Bluewater, how does this matter strike you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Leave it in my hands, and I will see to it. You will sail near or quite
+twenty-four hours before me, and there will be time for more reflection.
+Sir Wycherly can remain with me in the C&aelig;sar, in the action; or he can
+be thrown aboard the Plantagenet, when we meet."</p>
+
+<p>After a little reflection, Sir Gervaise, who liked to give every one a
+fair chance, consented to the arrangement, and it was decided that
+Wycherly should come out in the C&aelig;sar, if nothing occurred to render the
+step improper.</p>
+
+<p>This arrangement completed, the vice-admiral declared he was ready to
+quit the Hall. Galleygo and the other servants had already made the
+dispositions necessary for embarking, and it only remained to take leave
+of the inmates of the dwelling. The parting between the baronets was
+friendly; for the common interest they felt in the success of Wycherly,
+had, in a degree, rendered them intimates, and much disposed Sir
+Reginald to overlook the sailor's well-known Whiggery. Dutton and the
+ladies took their departure at the same time, and what passed between
+them and Sir Gervaise on this occasion, took place on the road to the
+head-land, whither all parties proceeded on foot.</p>
+
+<p>A person so important as Sir Gervaise Oakes did not leave the roof that
+had sheltered him, to embark on board his own ship, without a due escort
+to the shore. Bluewater accompanied him, in order to discuss any little
+point of duty that might occur to the mind of either, at the last
+moment; and Wycherly was of the group, partly from professional feeling,
+and more from a desire to be near Mildred. Then there were Atwood, and
+the surgeons, Mr. Rotherham, and two or three of the cabin attendants.
+Lord Geoffrey, too, strolled along with the rest, though it was
+understood that his own ship would not sail that day.</p>
+
+<p>Just as the party issued from the gate of the park into the street of
+the hamlet, a heavy gun was fired from the fleet. It was soon succeeded
+by others, and whiffs and cornets were seen flying from the mast-heads
+that rose above the openings in the cliffs, the signals of recall for
+all boats. This set every one in motion, and, never within the memory of
+man, had Wychecombe presented such a scene of confusion and activity.
+Half-intoxicated seamen were driven down to the boats, by youngsters
+with the cloth diamond in their collars, like swine, who were reluctant
+to go, and yet afraid to stay. Quarters of beeves were trundled along in
+carts or barrows, and were soon seen swinging at different main-stays;
+while the gathering of eggs, butter, poultry, mutton, lamb, and veal,
+menaced the surrounding country with a scarcity. Through this throng of
+the living and the dead, our party held its way, jostled by the eager
+countrymen, and respectfully avoided by all who belonged to the fleet,
+until it reached the point where the roads to the cliffs and the landing
+separated, when the vice-admiral turned to the only midshipman present,
+and courteously lifting his hat, as if reluctant to impose such a duty
+on a "young gentleman" on liberty, he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Do me the favour, Lord Geoffrey, to step down to the landing and
+ascertain if my barge is there. The officer of the boat will find me at
+the signal-station."</p>
+
+<p>The boy cheerfully complied; and this son of an English duke, who, by
+the death of an elder brother, became in time a duke himself, went on a
+service that among gentlemen of the land would be deemed nearly menial,
+with as much alacrity as if he felt honoured by the request. It was by a
+training like this, that England came, in time, to possess a marine that
+has achieved so many memorable deeds; since it taught those who were
+destined to command, the high and useful lesson how to obey.</p>
+
+<p>While the midshipman was gone to look for the boat, the two admirals
+walked the cliff, side by side, discussing their future movements; and
+when all was ready, Sir Gervaise descended to the shore, using the very
+path by which he had ascended the previous day; and, pushing through the
+throng that crowded the landing, almost too much engaged to heed even
+his approach, he entered his barge. In another minute, the measured
+strokes of the oars urged him swiftly towards the Plantagenet.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'Twas not without some reason, for the wind<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Increased at night, until it blew a gale;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And though 'twas not much to a naval mind,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Some landsmen would have look'd a little pale,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For sailors are, in fact, a different kind;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">At sunset they began to take in sail,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For the sky show'd it would come on to blow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And carry away, perhaps, a mast or so."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Byron</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>As it was just past the turn of the day, Bluewater determined to linger
+on the cliffs for several hours, or until it was time to think of his
+dinner. Abstracted as his thoughts were habitually, his mind found
+occupation and pleasure in witnessing the evolutions that succeeded
+among the ships; some of which evolutions it may be well now briefly to
+relate.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes' foot had not been on the deck of the Plantagenet
+five minutes, before a signal for all commanders was flying at that
+vessel's mast-head. In ten minutes more every captain of the fleet, with
+the exception of those belonging to the vessels in the offing, were in
+the flag-ship's cabin, listening to the intentions and instructions of
+the vice-admiral.</p>
+
+<p>"My plan of sailing, gentlemen, is easily comprehended," continued the
+commander-in-chief, after he had explained his general intentions to
+chase and engage; "and everyone of you will implicitly follow it. We
+have the tide strong at ebb, and a good six-knot breeze is coming up at
+south-west. I shall weigh, with my yards square, and keep them so, until
+the ship has drawn out of the fleet, and then I shall luff up on a taut
+bowline and on the starboard tack, bringing the ebb well under my
+lee-bow. This will hawse the ship over towards Morlaix, and bringing us
+quite as far to windward as is desirable. While the ebb lasts, and this
+breeze stands, we shall have plain sailing; the difficulty will come on
+the flood, or with a shift of wind. The ships that come out last must be
+careful to keep their seconds, ahead and astern, in plain sight, and
+regulate their movements, as much as they can, by the leading vessels.
+The object is to spread as wide a clew as possible, while we hold the
+ships within signal-distance of each other. Towards sunset I shall
+shorten sail, and the line will close up within a league from vessel to
+vessel, and I have told Bluewater to use his discretion about coming out
+with the last ships, though I have requested him to hold on as long as
+he shall deem it prudent, in the hope of receiving another express from
+the Admiralty. When the flood makes, I do not intend to go about, but
+shall continue on the starboard tack, and I wish you all to do the same.
+This will bring the leading vessels considerably to windward of those
+astern, and may possibly throw the fleet into a bow and quarter line.
+Being in the van, it will fall to my duty to look to this, and to watch
+for the consequences. But I ask of you to keep an eye on the weather,
+and to hold your ships within plain signal-distance of each other. If it
+come on thick, or to blow very hard, we must close, from van to rear,
+and try our luck, in a search in compact order. Let the man who first
+sees the enemy make himself heard at once, and send the news, with the
+bearings of the French, both ahead and astern, as fast as possible. In
+that case you will all close on the point from which the intelligence
+comes; and, mark me, no cruising to get to windward, in your own
+fashions, as if you sailed with roving commissions. You know I'll not
+stand <i>that</i>. And now, gentlemen, it is probable that we shall all never
+meet again. God bless you! Come and shake hands with me, one by one, and
+then to your boats, for the first lieutenant has just sent Greenly word
+that we are up and down. Let him trip, Greenly, and be off as soon as we
+can."</p>
+
+<p>The leave-taking, a scene in which joyousness and sadness were strangely
+mingled, succeeded, and then the captains disappeared. From that moment
+every mind was bent on sailing.</p>
+
+<p>Although Bluewater did not witness the scene in the Plantagenet's cabin,
+he pictured it, in his mind's eye, and remained on the cliffs to watch
+the succeeding movements. As Wycherly had disappeared in the house, and
+Dutton clung to his flag-staff, the rear-admiral had no one but Lord
+Geoffrey for a companion. The latter, perceiving that his relation did
+not seem disposed to converse, had the tact to be silent himself; a task
+that was less difficult than common, on account of the interest he felt
+in the spectacle.</p>
+
+<p>The boats of the different captains were still shoving off from the
+starboard side of the Plantagenet, whither etiquette had brought them
+together, in a little crowd, when her three top-sails fell, and their
+sheets steadily drew the clews towards the ends of the lower yards. Even
+while this was in process, the yards began to ascend, and rose with that
+steady but graduated movement which marks the operation in a man-of-war.
+All three were fairly mast-headed in two minutes. As the wind struck the
+canvass obliquely, the sails filled as they opened their folds, and, by
+the time their surfaces were flattened by distension, the Plantagenet
+steadily moved from her late berth, advancing slowly against a strong
+tide, out of the group of ships, among which she had been anchored. This
+was a beautiful evolution, resembling that of a sea-fowl, which lazily
+rises on its element, spreads its wings, emerges from the water, and
+glides away to some distant and unseen point.</p>
+
+<p>The movement of the flag-ship was stately, measured, and grand. For five
+minutes she held her way nearly due east, with the wind on her starboard
+quarter, meeting the tide in a direct line; until, having drawn
+sufficiently ahead of the fleet, she let fall her courses, sheeted home
+top-gallant-sails and royals, set her spanker, jibs, and stay-sails, and
+braced up sharp on a wind, with her head at south-southeast. This
+brought the tide well under her lee fore-chains, and set her rapidly off
+the land, and to windward. As she trimmed her sails, and steadied her
+bowlines, she fired a gun, made the numbers of the vessels in the offing
+to weigh, and to pass within hail. All this did Bluewater note, with the
+attention of an <i>amateur</i>, as well as with the critical analysis of a
+<i>connoisseur</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Very handsomely done, Master Geoffrey&mdash;very handsomely done, it must be
+allowed! never did a bird quit a flock with less fuss, or more
+beautifully, than the Plantagenet has drawn out of the fleet. It must be
+admitted that Greenly knows how to handle his ship."</p>
+
+<p>"I fancy Captain Stowel would have done quite as well with the C&aelig;sar,
+sir," answered the boy, with a proper esprit-de-<i>ship</i>. "Don't you
+remember, Admiral Bluewater, the time when we got under way off
+l'Orient, with the wind blowing a gale directly on shore? Even Sir
+Gervaise said, afterwards, that we lost less ground than any ship in the
+fleet, and yet the Plantagenet is the most weatherly two-decker in the
+navy; as every body says."</p>
+
+<p>"Every body!&mdash;She is certainly a weatherly vessel, but not more so than
+several others. Whom did you ever hear give that character to this
+particular ship?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, her reefers are always bragging as much as <i>that</i>; and a
+great deal <i>more</i>, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Her reefers!&mdash;Young gentlemen are particularly struck with the charms
+of their first loves, both ashore and afloat, my boy. Did you ever hear
+an <i>old seaman</i> say that much for the Plantagenet?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think I have, sir," returned Lord Geoffrey, blushing. "Galleygo, Sir
+Gervaise's steward, is commonly repeating some such stuff or other. They
+are furious braggarts, the Plantagenet's, all round, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"That comes honestly," answered Bluewater, smiling, "her namesakes and
+predecessors of old, having some such characteristic, too. Look at that
+ship's yards, boy, and learn how to trim a vessel's sails on a wind. The
+pencil of a painter could not draw lines more accurate!"</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Stowel tells us, sir, that the yards ought not to be braced in
+exactly alike; but that we ought to check the weather-braces, a little,
+as we go aloft, so that the top-sail yard should point a little less
+forward than the lower yard, and the topgallant than the top-sail."</p>
+
+<p>"You are quite right in taking Stowel's opinion in all such matters,
+Geoffrey: but has not Captain Greenly done the same thing in the
+Plantagenet? When I speak of symmetry, I mean the symmetry of a seaman."</p>
+
+<p>The boy was silenced, though exceedingly reluctant to admit that any
+ship could equal his own. In the mean time, there was every appearance
+of a change in the weather. Just about the time the Plantagenet braced
+up, the wind freshened, and in ten minutes it blew a stiff breeze. Some
+time before the admiral spoke the vessels outside, he was compelled to
+take in all his light canvass; and when he filled, again, after giving
+his orders to the frigate and sloop, the topgallant sheets were let fly,
+a single reef was taken in the top-sails, and the lighter sails were set
+over them. This change in the weather, more especially as the night
+threatened to be clouded, if not absolutely dark, would necessarily
+bring about a corresponding change in the plan of sailing, reducing the
+intervals between the departures of the vessels, quite one-half. To such
+vicissitudes are all maritime operations liable, and it is fortunate
+when there is sufficient capacity in the leaders to remedy them.</p>
+
+<p>In less than an hour, the Plantagenet's hull began to sink, to those on
+a level with it, when the Carnatic tripped her anchor, opened her
+canvass, shot out of the fleet, hauled by the wind, and followed in the
+admiral's wake. So accurate was the course she steered, that, half an
+hour after she had braced up, a hawse-bucket, which had been dropped
+from the Plantagenet in hauling water, was picked up. We may add, here,
+though it will be a little anticipating events, that the Thunderer
+followed the Carnatic; the Blenheim the Thunderer; the Achilles the
+Blenheim; the Warspite the Achilles; the Dover the Warspite; the York
+the Dover; the Elizabeth the York; the Dublin the Elizabeth; and the
+C&aelig;sar the Dublin. But hours passed before all these ships were in
+motion, and hours in which we shall have some occurrences to relate that
+took place on shore. Still it will aid the reader in better
+understanding the future incidents of our tale, if we describe, at once,
+some of the circumstances under which all these ships got in motion.</p>
+
+<p>By the time the Plantagenet's top-sails were beginning to dip from the
+cliffs, the Carnatic, the Thunderer, the Blenheim, the Achilles, and the
+Warspite were all stretching out in line, with intervals of quite two
+leagues between them, under as much canvass as they could now bear. The
+admiral had shortened sail the most, and was evidently allowing the
+Carnatic to close, most probably on account of the threatening look of
+the sky, to windward; while he was suffering the frigate and sloop, the
+Chloe and Driver, to pass ahead of him, the one on his weather, and the
+other on his lee bow. When the Dover weighed, the admiral's upper sail
+was not visible from her tops, though the Warspite's hull had not yet
+disappeared from her deck. She left the fleet, or the portions of it
+that still remained at anchor, with her fore-course set, and hauled by
+the wind, under double-reefed top-sails, a single reef in her main-sail,
+and with her main-topgallant sail set over its proper sail. With this
+reduced canvass, she started away on the track of her consorts, the
+brine foaming under her bows, and with a heel that denoted the heavy
+pressure that bore on her sails. By this time, the York was aweigh, the
+tide had turned, and it became necessary to fill on the other tack in
+order to clear the land to the eastward. This altered the formation, but
+we will now revert to the events as they transpired on the shore, with a
+view to relate them more in their regular order.</p>
+
+<p>It is scarcely necessary to say that Bluewater must have remained on, or
+about the cliffs several hours, in order to witness the departure of so
+many of the vessels. Instead of returning to the Hall at the dinner
+hour, agreeably to promise, he profited by the appearance of Wycherly,
+who left the cottage with a flushed, agitated manner, just as he was
+thinking of the necessity of sending a message to Sir Reginald, and
+begged the young man to be the bearer of his excuses. He thought that
+the change in the weather rendered it necessary for him to remain in
+sight of the sea. Dutton overheard this message, and, after a private
+conference with his wife, he ventured to invite his superior to appease
+his appetite under his own humble roof. To this Bluewater cheerfully
+assented; and when the summons came to the table, to his great joy he
+found that his only companion was to be Mildred, who, like himself, for
+some reason known only to her own bosom, had let the ordinary dining
+hour pass without appearing at table, but whom her mother had now
+directed to take some sustenance.</p>
+
+<p>"The late events at the Hall have agitated the poor child, sir," said
+Mrs. Dutton, in the way of apology, "and she has not tasted food since
+morning. I have told her you would excuse the intrusion, and receive her
+carving and attentions as an excuse for her company."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater looked at the pallid countenance of the girl, and never before
+had he found the resemblance to Agnes Hedworth so strong, as that
+moment. The last year or two of his own sweet friend's life had been far
+from happy, and the languid look and tearful eyes of Mildred revived the
+recollection of the dead with painful distinctness.</p>
+
+<p>"Good God!" he murmured to himself; "that two such beings should exist
+only to suffer! my good Mrs. Dutton, make no excuses; but believe me
+when I say that you could not have found in England another that would
+have proved as welcome as my present little messmate."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred struggled for a smile; and she did succeed in looking extremely
+grateful. Beyond this, however, it exceeded her powers to go. Mrs.
+Dutton was gratified, and soon left the two to partake of their neat,
+but simple meal, by themselves; household duties requiring her presence
+elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me persuade you to take a glass of this really excellent port, my
+child," said Bluewater. "If you had cruised as long as I have done, on
+the coast of Portugal, you would know how to value a liquor as pure as
+this. I don't know of an admiral that has as good!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is probably <i>our</i> last, sir," answered Mildred, shaking a tear from
+each of her long dark lashes, by an involuntarily trembling motion, as
+she spoke. "It was a present from dear, old, Sir Wycherly, who never
+left my mother wholly unsupplied with such plain delicacies, as he
+fancied poverty placed beyond our reach. The wine we can easily forget;
+not so easily the donor."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater felt as if he could draw a cheque for one-half the fortune he
+had devised to his companion; and, yet, by a caprice of feeling that is
+not uncommon to persons of the liveliest susceptibility, he answered in
+a way to smother his own emotion.</p>
+
+<p>"There will not soon be another <i>old</i> Sir Wycherly to make his
+neighbours comfortable; but there is a <i>young</i> one, who is not likely to
+forget his uncle's good example. I hope you all here, rejoice at the
+sudden rise in fortune, that has so unexpectedly been placed within the
+reach of our favourite lieutenant?"</p>
+
+<p>A look of anguish passed over Mildred's face, and her companion noted
+it; though surprise and pity&mdash;not to say resentment&mdash;prevented his
+betraying his discovery.</p>
+
+<p>"We <i>endeavour</i> to be glad, sir," answered Mildred, smiling in so
+suffering a manner, as to awaken all her companion's sympathies; "but it
+is not easy for us to rejoice at any thing which is gained by the loss
+of our former valued friend."</p>
+
+<p>"I am aware that a young follow, like the present Sir Wycherly, can be
+no substitute for an old fellow like the last Sir Wycherly, my dear; but
+as one is a sailor, and the other was only a landsman, my professional
+prejudices may not consider the disparity as great as it may possibly
+appear to be to your less partial judgment."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater thought the glance he received was imploring, and he instantly
+regretted that he had taken such means to divert his companion's
+sadness. Some consciousness of this regret probably passed through
+Mildred's mind, for she rallied her spirits, and made a partially
+successful effort to be a more agreeable companion.</p>
+
+<p>"My father thinks, sir," she said, "that our late pleasant weather is
+about to desert us, and that it is likely to blow heavily before
+six-and-thirty hours are over."</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid Mr. Dutton will prove to be too accurate an almanac. The
+weather has a breeding look, and I expect a dirty night. Good or bad, we
+seamen must face it, and that, too, in the narrow seas, where gales of
+wind are no gales of Araby."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, sir, it is a terrible life to lead! By living on this cliff, I have
+learned to pity sailors."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps, my child, you pity us when we are the most happy. Nine seamen
+in ten prefer a respectable gale to a flat calm. There are moments when
+the ocean is terrific; but, on the whole, it is capricious, rather than
+malignant. The night that is before us promises to be just such a one as
+Sir Gervaise Oakes delights in. He is never happier than when he hears a
+gale howling through the cordage of his ship."</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard him spoken of as a very daring and self-relying commander.
+But <i>you</i> cannot entertain such feelings, Admiral Bluewater; for to me
+you seem better fitted for a fireside, well filled with friends and
+relatives, than for the conflicts and hardships of the sea."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred had no difficulty now in forcing a smile, for the sweet one she
+bestowed on the veteran almost tempted him to rise and fold her in his
+arms, as a parent would wrap a beloved daughter to his heart.
+Discretion, however, prevented a betrayal of feelings that might have
+been misinterpreted, and he answered in his original vein.</p>
+
+<p>"I fear I am a wolf in sheep's clothing," he said; "while Oakes admits
+the happiness he feels in seeing his ship ploughing through a raging
+sea, in a dark night, he maintains that my rapture is sought in a
+hurricane. I do not plead guilty to the accusation, but I will allow
+there is a sort of fierce delight in participating, as it might be, in a
+wild strife of the elements. To me, my very nature seems changed at such
+moments, and I forget all that is mild and gentle. That comes of having
+lived so much estranged from your sex, my dear; desolate bachelor, as I
+am."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think sailors ought to marry?" asked Mildred, with a steadiness
+that surprised herself; for, while she put the question, consciousness
+brought the blood to her temples.</p>
+
+<p>"I should be sorry to condemn a whole profession, and that one I so well
+love, to the hopeless misery of single life. There are miseries peculiar
+to the wedded lives of both soldiers and sailors; but are there not
+miseries peculiar to those who never separate? I have heard seamen
+say&mdash;men, too, who loved their wives and families&mdash;that they believed
+the extreme pleasure of meetings after long separations, the delights of
+hope, and the zest of excited feelings, have rendered their years of
+active service more replete with agreeable sensations, than the stagnant
+periods of peace. Never having been married myself, I can only speak on
+report."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! this may be so with <i>men</i>; but&mdash;surely&mdash;surely&mdash;<i>women</i> never can
+feel thus!"</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose, a sailor's daughter yourself, you know Jack's account of his
+wife's domestic creed! 'A good fire, a clean hearth, the children abed,
+and the husband at sea,' is supposed to be the climax of felicity."</p>
+
+<p>"This may do for the sailor's jokes, Admiral Bluewater," answered
+Mildred, smiling; "but it will hardly ease a breaking heart. I fear from
+all I have heard this afternoon, and from the sudden sailing of the
+ships, that a great battle is at hand?"</p>
+
+<p>"And why should you, a British officer's daughter, dread that? Have you
+so little faith in us, as to suppose a battle will necessarily bring
+defeat! I have seen much of my own profession, Miss Dutton, and trust I
+am in some small degree above the rhodomontade of the braggarts; but it
+is <i>not</i> usual for us to meet the enemy, and to give those on shore
+reason to be ashamed of the English flag. It has never yet been my luck
+to meet a Frenchman who did not manifest a manly desire to do his
+country credit; and I have always felt that we must fight hard for him
+before we could get him; nor has the result ever disappointed me. Still,
+fortune, or skill, or <i>right</i>, is commonly of our side, and has given us
+the advantage in the end."</p>
+
+<p>"And to which, sir, do you ascribe a success at sea, so very uniform?"</p>
+
+<p>"As a Protestant, I ought to say to our <i>religion</i>; but, this my own
+knowledge of Protestant <i>vices</i> rejects. Then to say <i>fortune</i> would be
+an exceeding self-abasement&mdash;one, that between us, is not needed; and I
+believe I must impute it to skill. As plain seamen, I do believe we are
+more expert than most of our neighbours; though I am far from being
+positive we have any great advantage over them in tactics. If any, the
+Dutch are our equals."</p>
+
+<p>"Notwithstanding, you are quite certain of success. It must be a great
+encouragement to enter into the fight with a strong confidence in
+victory! I suppose&mdash;that is, it seems to me&mdash;it is a matter of course,
+sir,&mdash;that our new Sir Wycherly will not be able to join in the battle,
+this time?"</p>
+
+<p>Mildred spoke timidly, and she endeavoured to seem unconcerned; but
+Bluewater read her whole heart, and pitied the pain which she had
+inflicted on herself, in asking the question. It struck him, too, that a
+girl of his companion's delicacy and sensibility would not thus advert
+to the young man's movements at all, if the latter had done aught justly
+to awaken censure; and this conviction greatly relieved his mind as to
+the effect of sudden elevation on the handsome lieutenant. As it was
+necessary to answer, however, lest Mildred might detect his
+consciousness of her feelings, not a moment was lost before making a
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not an easy matter to prevent a young, dashing sailor, like this
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, from doing his part in a general engagement,
+and that, too, of the character of the one to which we are looking
+forward," he said. "Oakes has left the matter in my hands; I suppose I
+shall have to grant the young man's request."</p>
+
+<p>"He has then requested to be received in your ship?" asked Mildred, her
+hand shaking as she used the spoon it held.</p>
+
+<p>"That of course. No one who wears the uniform could or would do less. It
+seems a ticklish moment for him to quit Wychecombe, too; where I fancy
+he will have a battle of his own to fight ere long; but professional
+feeling will overshadow all others, in young men. Among us seamen, it is
+said to be even stronger than love."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred made no answer; but her pale cheek and quivering lips, evidences
+of feeling that her artlessness did not enable her to conceal, caused
+Bluewater again to regret the remark. With a view to restore the poor
+girl to her self-command, he changed the subject of conversation, which
+did not again advert to Wycherly. The remainder of the meal was
+consequently eaten in peace, the admiral manifesting to the last,
+however, the sudden and generous interest he had taken in the character
+and welfare of his companion. When they rose from table, Mildred joined
+her mother, and Bluewater walked out upon the cliffs again.</p>
+
+<p>It was now evening, and the waste of water that lay stretched before the
+eye, though the softness of summer was shed upon it, had the wild and
+dreary aspect that the winds and waves lend to a view, as the light of
+day is about to abandon the ocean to the gloom of night. All this had no
+effect on Bluewater, however, who knew that two-decked ships, strongly
+manned, with their heavy canvass reduced, would make light work of
+worrying through hours of darkness that menaced no more than these.
+Still the wind had freshened, and when he stood on the verge of the
+cliff sustained by the breeze, which pressed him back from the
+precipice, rendering his head more steady, and his footing sure, the
+Elizabeth was casting, under close-reefed top-sails, and two reefs in her
+courses, with a heavy stay-sail or two, to ease her helm. He saw that the
+ponderous machine would stagger under even this short canvass, and that
+her captain had made his dispositions for a windy night. The lights that
+the Dover and the York carried in their tops were just beginning to be
+visible in the gathering gloom, the last about a league and a half down
+channel, the ship standing in that direction to get to windward, and the
+former, more to the southward, the vessel having already tacked to
+follow the admiral. A chain of lights connected the whole of the long
+line, and placed the means of communication in the power of the
+captains. At this moment, the Plantagenet was full fifty miles at sea,
+ploughing through a heavy south-west swell, which the wind was driving
+into the chops of the channel, from the direction of the Bay of Biscay,
+and the broad Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater buttoned his coat, and he felt his frame invigorated by a gale
+that came over his person, loaded by the peculiar flavour of the sea.
+But two of the heavy ships remained at their anchors, the Dublin and the
+C&aelig;sar; and his experienced eye could see that Stowel had every thing on
+board the latter ready to trip and be off, as soon as he, himself,
+should give the order. At this moment the midshipman, who had been
+absent for hours, returned, and stood again at his side.</p>
+
+<p>"Our turn will soon come, sir," said the gallant boy, "and, for one, I
+shall not be sorry to be in motion. Those chaps on board the Plantagenet
+will swagger like so many Dons, if they should happen to get a broadside
+at Monsieur de Vervillin, while we are lying here, under the shore, like
+a gentleman's yacht hauled into a bay, that the ladies might eat without
+disturbing their stomachs."</p>
+
+<p>"Little fear of that, Geoffrey. The Active is too light of foot,
+especially in the weather we have had, to suffer heavy ships to be so
+close on her heels. She must have had some fifteen or twenty miles the
+start, and the French have been compelled to double Cape la Hogue and
+Alderney, before they could even look this way. If coming down channel
+at all, they are fully fifty miles to the eastward; and should our van
+stretch far enough by morning to head them off, it will bring us
+handsomely to windward. Sir Gervaise never set a better trap, than he
+has done this very day. The Elizabeth has her hands full, boy, and the
+wind seems to be getting scant for her. If it knock her off much more,
+it will bring the flood on her weather-bow, and compel her to tack. This
+will throw the rear of our line into confusion!"</p>
+
+<p>"What should we do, sir, in such a case? It would never answer to leave
+poor Sir Jarvy out there, by himself!"</p>
+
+<p>"We would try not to do <i>that</i>!" returned Bluewater, smiling at the
+affectionate solicitude of the lad, a solicitude that caused him
+slightly to forget his habitual respect for the commander-in-chief, and
+to adopt the <i>sobriquet</i> of the fleet. "In such a case, it would become
+my duty to collect as many ships as I could, and to make the best of our
+way towards the place where we might hope to fall in with the others, in
+the morning. There is little danger of losing each other, for any length
+of time, in these narrow waters, and I have few apprehensions of the
+French being far enough west, to fall in with our leading vessels before
+morning. If they <i>should</i>, indeed, Geoffrey&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, sir, if they <i>should</i>, I know well enough what would come to pass!"</p>
+
+<p>"What, boy?&mdash;On the supposition that Monsieur de Vervillin <i>did</i> meet
+with Sir Gervaise by day-break, what, in your experienced eyes, seem
+most likely to be the consequences?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, Sir Jarvy, would go at 'em, like a dolphin at a flying-fish;
+and if he <i>should</i> really happen to catch one or two of 'em, there'll be
+no sailing in company with the Plantagenet's, for us C&aelig;sar's!&mdash;When we
+had the last 'bout with Monsieur de Gravelin, they were as saucy as
+peacocks, because we didn't close until their fore-yard and
+mizzen-top-gallant-mast were gone, although the shift of wind brought us
+dead to leeward, and, after all, we had eleven men the most hurt in the
+fight. You don't know them Plantagenet's, sir; for they never <i>dare</i> say
+any thing before <i>you</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not to the discredit of my young C&aelig;sars, I'll answer for it. Yet,
+you'll remember Sir Gervaise gave us full credit, in his despatches."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, all very true. Sir Gervaise knows better; and then <i>he</i>
+understands what the C&aelig;sar <i>is</i>; and what she <i>can</i> do, and <i>has</i> done.
+But it's a very different matter with his youngsters, who fancy because
+they carry a red flag at the fore, they are so many Blakes and Howards,
+themselves. There's Jack Oldcastle, now; he's always talking of our
+reefers as if there was no sea-blood in our veins, and that just because
+his own father happened to be a captain&mdash;a <i>commodore</i>, he says, because
+he happened once to have three frigates under his orders."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that would make a commodore, for the time being. But, surely he
+does not claim privilege for the Oldcastle blood, over that of the
+Clevelands!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, it isn't that sort of thing, at all," returned the fine boy,
+blushing a little, in spite of his contempt for any such womanly
+weakness; "you know we never talk of that nonsense in our squadron. With
+us it's all service, and that sort of thing. Jack Oldcastle says the
+Clevelands are all civilians, as he calls 'em; or <i>soldiers</i>, which
+isn't much better, as you know, sir. Now, I tell him that there is an
+old picture of one of 'em, with an anchor-button, and that was long
+before Queen Anne's time&mdash;Queen Elizabeth's, perhaps,&mdash;and then you
+know, sir, I fetch him up with a yarn about the Hedworths; for I am just
+as much Hedworth as Cleveland."</p>
+
+<p>"And what does the impudent dog say to that, Geoffrey?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sir, he says the name should be spelt Head<i>work</i>, and that they
+were all <i>lawyers</i>. But I gave him as good as he sent for that saucy
+speech, I'm certain!"</p>
+
+<p>"And what did you give him, in return for such a compliment? Did you
+tell him the Oldcastles were just so much stone, and wood, and old iron;
+and that, too, in a tumbledown condition?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, not I," answered the boy, laughing; "I didn't think of any
+answer half so clever; and so I just gave him a dig in the nose, and
+that, laid on with right good will."</p>
+
+<p>"And how did he receive that argument? Was it conclusive;&mdash;or did the
+debate continue?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, of course, sir, we fought it out. 'Twas on board the Dover, and the
+first lieutenant saw fair play. Jack carried too many guns for me, sir,
+for he's more than a year older; but I hulled him so often that he owned
+it was harder work than being mast-headed. After that the Dover's chaps
+took my part, and they said the Hedworths had no Head<i>work</i> at all, but
+they were regular sailors; admirals, and captains, and youngsters, you
+know, sir, like all the rest of us. I told 'em my grandfather Hedworth
+was an admiral, and a good one, too."</p>
+
+<p>"In that you made a small mistake. Your mother's father was only a
+<i>general</i>; but <i>his</i> father was a full admiral of the red,&mdash;for he lived
+before that grade was abolished&mdash;and as good an officer as ever trod a
+plank. He was my mother's brother, and both Sir Gervaise and myself
+served long under his orders. He was a sailor of whom you well might
+boast."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think any of the Plantagenets will chase in that quarter again,
+sir; for we've had an overhauling among our chaps, and we find we can
+muster four admirals, two commodores, and thirteen captains in our two
+messes; that is, counting all sorts of relatives, you know, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, my dear boy, I hope you may live to reckon all that and more too,
+in your own persons, at some future day. Yonder is Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe, coming this way, to my surprise; perhaps he wishes to see me
+alone. Go down to the landing and ascertain if my barge is ashore, and
+let me know it, as soon as is convenient. Remember, Geoffrey, you will
+go off with me; and hunt up Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, who will lose his
+passage, unless ready the instant he is wanted."</p>
+
+<p>The boy touched his cap, and went bounding down the hill to execute the
+order.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"So glozed the Tempter, and his poison tuned;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Into the heart of Eve his words made way,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Though at the voice much marvelling."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Milton.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>It was, probably, a species of presentiment, that induced Bluewater to
+send away the midshipman, when he saw the adherent of the dethroned
+house approaching. Enough had passed between the parties to satisfy each
+of the secret bias of the other; and, by that sort of free-masonry which
+generally accompanies strong feelings of partisanship, the admiral felt
+persuaded that the approaching interview was about to relate to the
+political troubles of the day.</p>
+
+<p>The season and the hour, and the spot, too, were all poetically
+favourable to an interview between conspirators. It was now nearly dark;
+the head-land was deserted, Dutton having retired, first to his bottle,
+and then to his bed; the wind blew heavily athwart the bleak eminence,
+or was heard scuffling in the caverns of the cliffs, while the
+portentous clouds that drove through the air, now veiled entirely, and
+now partially and dimly revealed the light of the moon, in a way to
+render the scene both exciting and wild. No wonder, then, that
+Bluewater, his visiter drawing near, felt a stronger disposition than
+had ever yet come over him to listen to the tale of the tempter, as,
+under all the circumstances, it would scarcely exceed the bounds of
+justice to call Sir Reginald.</p>
+
+<p>"In seeking you at such a spot, and in the midst of this wild
+landscape," said the latter, "I might have been assured I should be
+certain of finding one who really loved the sea and your noble
+profession. The Hall is a melancholy house, just at this moment; and
+when I inquired for you, no one could say whither you had strolled. In
+following what I thought a seaman's instinct, it appears that I did
+well.&mdash;Do my eyes fail me, or are there no more than three vessels at
+anchor yonder?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your eyes are still good, Sir Reginald; Admiral Oakes sailed several
+hours since, and he has been followed by all the fleet, with the
+exception of the two line-of-battle ships, and the frigate you see;
+leaving me to be the last to quit the anchorage."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it a secret of state, or are you permitted to say whither so strong
+a force has so suddenly sailed?" demanded the baronet, glancing his dark
+eye so expressively towards the other as to give him, in the growing
+obscurity, the appearance of an inquisitor. "I had been told the fleet
+would wait for orders from London?"</p>
+
+<p>"Such was the first intention of the commander-in-chief; but
+intelligence of the sailing of the Comte de Vervillin has induced Sir
+Gervaise to change his mind. An English admiral seldom errs when he
+seeks and beats an active and dangerous enemy."</p>
+
+<p>"Is this always true, Admiral Bluewater?" returned Sir Reginald,
+dropping in at the side of the other, and joining in his walk, as he
+paced, to and fro, a short path that Dutton called his own quarter-deck;
+"or is it merely an unmeaning generality that sometimes causes men to
+become the dupes of their own imaginations. Are those <i>always</i> our
+enemies who may seem to be so? or, are we so infallible that every
+feeling or prejudice may be safely set down as an impulse to which we
+ought to submit, without questioning its authority?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you esteem it a prejudice to view France as the natural enemy of
+England, Sir Reginald?"</p>
+
+<p>"By heaven, I do, sir! I can conceive that England may be much more her
+own enemy than France has ever proved to be. Then, conceding that ages
+of warfare have contributed to awaken some such feeling as this you hint
+at, is there not a question of right and wrong that lies behind all?
+Reflect how often England has invaded the French soil, and what serious
+injuries she has committed on the territory of the latter, while France
+has so little wronged us, in the same way; how, even her throne has been
+occupied by our princes, and her provinces possessed by our armies."</p>
+
+<p>"I think you hardly allow for all the equity of the different cases.
+Parts of what is now France, were the just inheritance of those who have
+sat on the English throne, and the quarrels were no more than the usual
+difficulties of neighbourhood. When our claims were just in themselves,
+you surely could not have wished to see them abandoned."</p>
+
+<p>"Far from it; but when claims were disputed, is it not natural for the
+loser to view them as a hardship? I believe we should have had a much
+better neighbourhood, as you call it, with France, had not the modern
+difficulties connected with religious changes, occurred."</p>
+
+<p>"I presume you know. Sir Reginald, that I, and all my family are
+Protestants."</p>
+
+<p>"I do, Admiral Bluewater; and I rejoice to find that a difference of
+opinion on this great interest, does not necessarily produce one on all
+others. From several little allusions that have passed between us
+to-day, I am encouraged to believe that we think alike on certain
+temporal matters, however wide the chasm between us on spiritual
+things."</p>
+
+<p>"I confess I have fallen into the same conclusion; and I should be sorry
+to be undeceived if wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"What occasion, then, for farther ambiguity? Surely two honourable men
+may safely trust each other with their common sentiments, when the times
+call for decision and frankness! I am a Jacobite, Admiral Bluewater; if
+I risk life or fortune by making the avowal, I place both, without
+reserve at your mercy."</p>
+
+<p>"They could not be in safer hands, sir; and I know no better mode of
+giving you every possible assurance that the confidence will not be
+abused, than by telling you in return, that I would cheerfully lay down
+my life could the sacrifice restore the deposed family to the throne."</p>
+
+<p>"This is noble, and manly, and frank, as I had hoped from a sailor!"
+exclaimed Sir Reginald, more delighted than he well knew how to express
+at the moment. "This simple assurance from your lips, carries more
+weight than all the oaths and pledges of vulgar conspiracy. We
+understand each other, and I should be truly sorry to inspire less
+confidence than I feel."</p>
+
+<p>"What better proof can I give you of the reliance placed on your faith,
+than the declaration you have heard, Sir Reginald? My head would answer
+for your treachery in a week; but I have never felt it more securely on
+my shoulders than at this moment."</p>
+
+<p>The baronet grasped the other's hand, and each gave and received a
+pressure that was full of meaning. Then both walked on, thoughtful and
+relieved, for quite a minute, in profound silence.</p>
+
+<p>"This sudden appearance of the prince in Scotland has taken us all a
+little by surprise," Sir Reginald resumed, after the pause; "though a
+few of us knew that his intentions led him this way. Perhaps he has done
+well to come unattended by a foreign force, and to throw himself, as it
+might be singly, into the arms of his subjects; trusting every thing to
+their generosity, loyalty, and courage. Some blame him; but I do not. He
+will awaken interest, now, in every generous heart in the nation,"&mdash;this
+was artfully adapted to the character of the listener;&mdash;"whereas some
+might feel disposed to be lukewarm under a less manly appeal to their
+affections and loyalty. In Scotland, we learn from all directions that
+His Royal Highness is doing wonders, while the friends of his house are
+full of activity in England, though compelled, for a time, to be
+watchful and prudent."</p>
+
+<p>"I rejoice, from the bottom of my heart, to hear this!" said Bluewater,
+drawing a long breath, like one whose mind was unexpectedly relieved
+from a heavy load. "From the bottom of my heart, do I rejoice! I had my
+apprehensions that the sudden appearance of the prince might find his
+well-wishers unprepared and timid."</p>
+
+<p>"As far from that as possible, my dear sir; though much still depends on
+the promptitude and resolution of the master spirits of the party. We
+are strong enough to control the nation, if we can bring those forward
+who have the strength to lead and control ourselves. All we now want are
+some hundred or two of prominent men to step out of their diffidence,
+and show us the way to honourable achievement and certain success."</p>
+
+<p>"Can such men be wanting, at a moment like this?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think we are secure of most of the high nobility, though their great
+risks render them all a little wary in the outset. It is among the
+professional men&mdash;the gallant soldiers, and the bold, ardent seamen of
+the fleet, that we must look for the first demonstrations of loyalty and
+true patriotism. To be honest with you, sir, I tire of being ruled by a
+German."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know of any intention to rally a force in this part of England,
+Sir Reginald? If so, say but the word&mdash;point out the spot where the
+standard is to be raised, and I will rally under it, the instant
+circumstances will permit!"</p>
+
+<p>"This is just what I expected, Mr. Bluewater," answered the baronet,
+more gratified than he thought it prudent to express; "though it is not
+exactly the <i>form</i> in which you can best serve us at this precise
+moment. Cut off from the north, as we are in this part of the island, by
+all the resources of the actual government, it would be the height of
+imprudence in us to show our hands, until all the cards are ready to be
+played. Active and confidential agents are at work in the army; London
+has its proper share of business men, while others are in the counties,
+doing their best to put things in a shape for the consummation we so
+anxiously look for. I have been with several of our friends in this
+vicinity, to bring matters into a combined state; and it was my
+intention to visit this very estate, to see what my own name might do
+with the tenantry, had not the late Sir Wycherly summoned me as he did,
+to attend his death-bed. Have you any clue to the feelings of this new
+and young head of my family, the sea-lieutenant and present baronet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a very plain one, sir, though I doubt if they be favourable to the
+House of Stuart."</p>
+
+<p>"I feared as much; this very evening I have had an anonymous
+communication that I think must come from his competitor, pretty plainly
+intimating that, by asserting <i>his</i> rights, as they are called, the
+whole Wychecombe tenantry and interest could be united, in the present
+struggle, on whichever side I might desire to see them."</p>
+
+<p>"This is a bold and decided stroke, truly! May I inquire as to your
+answer, Sir Reginald?"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall give none. Under all circumstances I will ever refuse to place
+a bastard in the seat of a legitimate descendant of my family. We
+contend for legal and natural rights, my dear admiral, and the means
+employed should not be unworthy of the end. Besides, I know the
+scoundrel to be unworthy of trust, and shall not have the weakness to
+put myself in his power. I could wish the other boy to be of another
+mind; but, by getting him off to sea, whither he tells me he is bound,
+we shall at least send him out of harm's way."</p>
+
+<p>In all this Sir Reginald was perfectly sincere; for, while he did not
+always hesitate about the employment of means, in matters of politics,
+he was rigidly honest in every thing that related to private properly; a
+species of moral contradiction that is sometimes found among men who aim
+at the management of human affairs; since those often yield to a
+besetting weakness who are nearly irreproachable in other matters.
+Bluewater was glad to hear this declaration; his own simplicity of
+character inducing him to fancy it was an indication to the general
+probity of his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," observed the latter, "in all eases, we must maintain the laws of
+the land, in an affair of private right. This young man is not capable,
+perhaps, of forming a just estimate of his political duties, in a crisis
+like this, and it may be well, truly, to get him off to sea, lest by
+taking the losing side, he endangers his estate before he is fairly
+possessed of it. And having now disposed of Sir Wycherly, what can I do
+most to aid the righteous and glorious cause?"</p>
+
+<p>"This is coming to the point manfully, Sir Richard&mdash;I beg pardon for
+thus styling you, but I happen to know that your name has been before
+the prince, for some time, as one of those who are to receive the riband
+from a sovereign really <i>authorized</i> to bestow it; if I have spoken a
+little prematurely, I again entreat your pardon;&mdash;but, this is at once
+coming manfully to the point! Serve us you can, of course, and that most
+effectually, and in an all-important manner. I now greatly regret that
+my father had not put me in the army, in my youth, that I might serve my
+prince as I could wish, in this perilous trial. But we have many friends
+accustomed to arms, and among them your own honourable name will appear
+conspicuous as to the past, and encouraging as to the future."</p>
+
+<p>"I have carried arms from boyhood, it is true, Sir Reginald, but it is
+in a service that will scarcely much avail us in this warfare. Prince
+Edward has no ships, nor do I know he will need any."</p>
+
+<p>"True, my dear sir, but King George has! As for the necessity, permit me
+to say you are mistaken; it will soon be all-important to keep open the
+communication with the continent. No doubt, Monsieur de Vervillin is
+out, with some such object, already."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater started, and he recoiled from the firm grasp which the other
+took of his arm, in the earnestness of discourse, with some such
+instinctive aversion as a man recoils from the touch of the reptile. The
+thought of a treachery like that implied in the remark of his companion
+had never occurred to him, and his honest mind turned with a strong
+disrelish, from even the implied proposition of the other. Still, he was
+not quite certain how far Sir Reginald wished to urge him, and he felt
+it just to ascertain his real views before he answered them. Plausible
+as this appeared, it was a dangerous delay for one so simple-minded,
+when brought in contact with a person so practised as the baronet; Sir
+Reginald having the tact to perceive that his new friend's feelings had
+already taken the alarm, and at once determined to be more wary.</p>
+
+<p>"What am I to understand by this, Sir Reginald Wychecombe?" demanded the
+rear-admiral. "In what manner can I possibly be connected with the naval
+resources of the House of Hanover, when it is my intention to throw off
+its service? King George's fleets will hardly aid the Stuarts; and they
+will, at least, obey the orders of their own officers."</p>
+
+<p>"Not the least doubt in the world of this, Admiral Bluewater! What a
+glorious privilege it was for Monk to have it in his power to put his
+liege sovereign in his rightful seat, and thus to save the empire, by a
+<i>coup de main</i>, from the pains and grievances of a civil contest! Of all
+the glorious names in English history, I esteem that of George Monk as
+the one most to be envied! It is a great thing to be a prince&mdash;one born
+to be set apart as God's substitute on earth, in all that relates to
+human justice and human power;&mdash;yet it is greater, in my eyes, to be the
+subject to <i>restore</i> the order of these almost divine successions, when
+once deranged by lawless and presuming men."</p>
+
+<p>"This is true enough, sir; though I would rather have joined Charles on
+the beach at Dover, armed only with an untainted sword, than followed by
+an army at my heels!"</p>
+
+<p>"What, when that army followed <i>cheerfully</i>, and was equally eager with
+yourself to serve their sovereign!"</p>
+
+<p>"That, indeed, might somewhat qualify the feeling. But soldiers and
+sailors are usually influenced by the opinions of those who have been
+placed over them by the higher authorities."</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt they are; and that is as it should be. We are encouraged to
+believe that some ten or fifteen captains are already well-disposed
+towards us, and will cheerfully take their respective ships to the
+points our wants require, the moment they feel assured of being properly
+led, when collected. By a little timely concert, we can command the
+North Sea, and keep open important communications with the continent. It
+is known the ministry intend to employ as many German troops as they can
+assemble, and a naval force will be all-important in keeping these
+mustachoed foreigners at a distance The quarrel is purely English, sir,
+and ought to be decided by Englishmen only."</p>
+
+<p>"In that, indeed, I fully concur, Sir Reginald," answered Bluewater,
+breathing more freely. "I would cruise a whole winter in the North Sea
+to keep the Dutchmen at home, and let Englishmen decide who is to be
+England's king. To me, foreign interference, in such a matter, is the
+next evil to positive disloyalty to my rightful prince."</p>
+
+<p>"These are exactly my sentiments, dear sir, and I hope to see you act on
+them. By the way, how happens it you are left alone, and in what manner
+do you admirals divide your authority when serving in company?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know I comprehend your question, Sir Reginald. I am left here
+to sail the last with the C&aelig;sar; Sir Gervaise leading out in the
+Plantagenet, with a view to draw a line across the channel that shall
+effectually prevent de Vervillin from getting to the westward."</p>
+
+<p>"To the <i>westward</i>!" repeated the other, smiling ironically, though the
+darkness prevented the admiral from seeing the expression of his
+features. "Does Admiral Oakes then think that the French ships are
+steering in <i>that</i> direction?"</p>
+
+<p>"Such is our information; have you any reason to suppose that the enemy
+intend differently?"</p>
+
+<p>The baronet paused, and he appeared to ruminate. Enough had already
+passed to satisfy him he had not an ordinary mind in that of his
+companion to deal with, and he was slightly at a loss how to answer. To
+bring the other within his lures, he was fully resolved; and the spirits
+that aid the designing just at that moment suggested the plan which, of
+all others, was most likely to be successful. Bluewater had betrayed his
+aversion to the interference of foreign troops in the quarrel, and on
+this subject he intended to strike a chord which he rightly fancied
+would thrill on the rear-admiral's feelings.</p>
+
+<p>"We have our information, certainly," answered Sir Reginald, like one
+who was reluctant to tell all he knew; "though good faith requires it
+should not actually be exposed. Nevertheless, any one can reason on the
+probabilities. The Duke of Cumberland will collect his German
+auxiliaries, and they must get into England the best way that they can.
+Would an intelligent enemy with a well-appointed fleet suffer this
+junction, if he could prevent it? We know he would not; and when we
+remember the precise time of the sailing of the Comte, his probable
+ignorance of the presence of this squadron of yours, in the channel, and
+all the other circumstances of the case, who can suppose otherwise than
+to believe his aim is to intercept the German regiments."</p>
+
+<p>"This does seem plausible; and yet the Active's signals told us that the
+French were steering west; and that, too, with a light westerly wind."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not fleets, like armies, frequently make false demonstrations? Might
+not Monsieur de Vervillin, so long as his vessels were in sight from the
+shore, have turned toward the west, with an intention, as soon as
+covered by the darkness, to incline to the east, again, and sail up
+channel, under English ensigns, perhaps? Is it not possible for him to
+pass the Straits of Dover, even, as an English squadron&mdash;your own, for
+instance&mdash;and thus deceive the Hanoverian cruisers until ready to seize
+or destroy any transports that may be sent?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hardly, Sir Reginald," said Bluewater, smiling. "A French ship can no
+more be mistaken for an English ship, than a Frenchman can pass for a
+Briton. We sailors are not as easily deceived as that would show. It is
+true, however, that a fleet might well stand in one direction, until far
+enough off the land or covered by night, when it might change its course
+suddenly, in an opposite direction; and it <i>is possible</i> the Comte de
+Vervillin has adopted some such stratagem. If he actually knew of the
+intention to throw German troops into the island, it is even quite
+<i>probable</i>. In that case, for one, I could actually wish him success!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, my dear sir, and what is to prevent it?" asked Sir Reginald, with
+a triumph that was not feigned. "Nothing, you will say, unless he fall
+in with Sir Gervaise Oakes. But you have not answered my inquiry, as to
+the manner in which flag-officers divide their commands, at sea?"</p>
+
+<p>"As soldiers divide their commands ashore. The superior orders, and the
+inferior obeys."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, this is true; but it does not meet my question. Here are eleven
+large ships, and two admirals; now what portion of these ships are under
+your particular orders, and what portion under those of Sir Gervaise
+Oakes?"</p>
+
+<p>"The vice-admiral has assigned to himself a division of six of the
+ships, and left me the other five. Each of us has his frigates and
+smaller vessels. But an order that the commander-in-chief may choose to
+give any captain must be obeyed by him, as the inferior submits, as a
+rule, to the last order."</p>
+
+<p>"And <i>you</i>," resumed Sir Reginald, with quickness; "how are <i>you</i>
+situated, as respects these captains?"</p>
+
+<p>"Should I give a direct order to any captain in the fleet, it would
+certainly be his duty to obey it; though circumstances might occur which
+would render it obligatory on him to let me know that he had different
+instructions from our common superior. But, why these questions, Sir
+Reginald?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your patience, my dear admiral;&mdash;and what ships have you specifically
+under your care?"</p>
+
+<p>"The C&aelig;sar, my own; the Dublin, the Elizabeth, the York, and the Dover.
+To these must be added the Druid frigate, the sloop of war, and the
+Gnat. My division numbers eight in all."</p>
+
+<p>"What a magnificent force to possess at a moment as critical as
+this!&mdash;But where are all these vessels? I see but four and a cutter, and
+only two of these seem to be large."</p>
+
+<p>"The light you perceive there, along the land to the westward, is on
+board the Elizabeth; and that broad off here, in the channel, is on
+board the York. The Dover's lantern has disappeared further to the
+southward. Ah! there the Dublin casts, and is off after the others!"</p>
+
+<p>"And you intend to follow, Admiral Bluewater?"</p>
+
+<p>"Within an hour, or I shall lose the division. As it is, I have been
+deliberating on the propriety of calling back the sternmost ships, and
+collecting them in close squadron; for this increase and hauling of the
+wind render it probable they will lose the vice-admiral, and that
+day-light will find the line scattered and in confusion. One mind must
+control the movements of ships, as well as of battalions, Sir Reginald,
+if they are to act in concert."</p>
+
+<p>"With what view would you collect the vessels you have mentioned, and in
+the manner you have named, if you do not deem my inquiry indiscreet?"
+demanded the baronet, with quickness.</p>
+
+<p>"Simply that they might be kept together, and brought in subjection to
+my own particular signals. This is the duty that more especially falls
+to my share, as head of the division."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you the means to effect this, here, on this hill, and by yourself,
+sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"It would be a great oversight to neglect so important a provision. My
+signal-officer is lying under yonder cover, wrapped in his cloak, and
+two quarter-masters are in readiness to make the very signal in
+question; for its necessity has been foreseen, and really would seem to
+be approaching. If done at all, it must be done quickly, too. The light
+of the York grows dim in the distance. It <i>shall</i> be done, sir; prudence
+requires it, and you shall see the manner in which we hold our distant
+ships in command."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater could not have announced more agreeable intelligence to his
+companion. Sir Reginald was afraid to propose the open treason he
+meditated; but he fancied, if the rear-admiral could fairly withdraw his
+own division from the fleet, it would at once weaken the vice-admiral so
+much, as to render an engagement with the French impossible, and might
+lead to such a separation of the commands as to render the final
+defection of the division inshore easier of accomplishment. It is true,
+Bluewater, himself, was actuated by motives directly contrary to these
+wishes; but, as the parties travelled the same road to a certain point,
+the intriguing baronet had his expectations of being able to persuade
+his new friend to continue on in his own route.</p>
+
+<p>Promptitude is a military virtue, and, among seamen, it is a maxim to do
+every thing that is required to be done, with activity and vigour. These
+laws were not neglected on the present occasion. No sooner had the
+rear-admiral determined on his course, than he summoned his agents to
+put it in execution. Lord Geoffrey had returned to the heights and was
+within call, and he carried the orders to the lieutenant and the
+quarter-masters. The lanterns only required lighting, and then they were
+run aloft on Dutton's staff, as regularly as the same duty could have
+been performed on the poop of the C&aelig;sar. Three rockets were thrown up,
+immediately after, and the gun kept on the cliffs for that purpose was
+fired, to draw attention to the signal. It might have been a minute ere
+the heavy ordnance of the C&aelig;sar repeated the summons, and the same
+signal was shown at her mast-head. The Dublin was still so near that no
+time was lost, but according to orders, she too repeated the signal; for
+in the line that night, it was understood that an order of this nature
+was to be sent from ship to ship.</p>
+
+<p>"Now for the Elizabeth!" cried Bluewater; "she cannot fail to have heard
+our guns, and to see our signals."</p>
+
+<p>"The York is ahead of her, sir!" exclaimed the boy; "see; she has the
+signal up already!"</p>
+
+<p>All this passed in a very few minutes, the last ships having sailed in
+the expectation of receiving some such recall. The York preceded the
+ship next to her in the line, in consequence of having gone about, and
+being actually nearer to the rear-admiral than her second astern. It was
+but a minute, before the gun and the lanterns of the Elizabeth, however,
+announced her knowledge of the order, also.</p>
+
+<p>The two ships last named were no longer visible from the cliffs, though
+their positions were known by their lights; but no sign whatever
+indicated the part of the ocean on which the Dover was struggling along
+through the billows. After a pause of several minutes, Bluewater spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"I fear we shall collect no more," he said; "one of my ships must take
+her chance to find the commander-in-chief, alone. Ha!&mdash;that means
+something!"</p>
+
+<p>At this instant a faint, distant flash was seen, for a single moment, in
+the gloom, and then all heads were bent forward to listen, in breathless
+attention. A little time had elapsed, when the dull, smothered report of
+a gun proclaimed that even the Dover had caught the rapidly transmitted
+order.</p>
+
+<p>"What means that, sir?" eagerly demanded Sir Reginald, who had attended
+to every thing with intense expectation.</p>
+
+<p>"It means, sir, that all of the division are still under my command. No
+other ship would note the order. <i>Their</i> directions, unless specifically
+pointed out by their numbers, must come from the vice-admiral. Is my
+barge ashore, Lord Geoffrey Cleveland?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is, sir, as well as the cutter for Mr. Cornet and the
+quarter-masters."</p>
+
+<p>"It is well. Gentlemen, we will go on board; the C&aelig;sar must weigh and
+join the other vessels in the offing. I will follow you to the landing,
+but you will shove off, at once, and desire Captain Stowel to weigh and
+cast to-port. We will fill on the starboard tack, and haul directly off
+the land."</p>
+
+<p>The whole party immediately left the station, hurrying down to the
+boats, leaving Bluewater and Sir Reginald to follow more leisurely. It
+was a critical moment for the baronet, who had so nearly effected his
+purpose, that his disappointment would have been double did he fail of
+his object altogether. He determined, therefore, not to quit the admiral
+while there was the slightest hope of success. The two consequently
+descended together to the shore, walking, for the first minute or two,
+in profound silence.</p>
+
+<p>"A great game is in your hands, Admiral Bluewater," resumed the baronet;
+"rightly played, it may secure the triumph of the good cause. I think I
+may say I <i>know</i> de Vervillin's object, and that his success will reseat
+the Stuarts on the thrones of their ancestors! One who loves them should
+ponder well before he does aught to mar so glorious a result."</p>
+
+<p>This speech was as bold as it was artful. In point of fact, Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe knew no more of the Comte de Vervillin's intended movements
+than his companion; but he did not hesitate to assert what he now did,
+in order to obtain a great political advantage, in a moment of so much
+importance. To commit Bluewater and his captains openly on the side of
+the Stuarts would be a great achievement in itself; to frustrate the
+plans of Sir Gervaise might safely be accounted another; and, then,
+there were all the chances that the Frenchman was not at sea for
+nothing, and that his operations might indeed succour the movements of
+the prince. The baronet, upright as he was in other matters, had no
+scruples of conscience on this occasion; having long since brought
+himself over to the belief that it was justifiable to attain ends as
+great as those he had in view, by the sacrifice of any of the minor
+moral considerations.</p>
+
+<p>The effect on Bluewater was not trifling. The devil had placed the bait
+before his eyes in a most tempting form; for he felt that he had only to
+hold his division in reserve to render an engagement morally improbable.
+Abandon his friend to a superior force he could and would not; but, it
+is our painful duty to avow that his mind had glimpses of the
+possibility of doing the adventurer in Scotland a great good, without
+doing the vice-admiral and the van of the fleet any very essential harm.
+Let us be understood, however. The rear-admiral did not even contemplate
+treason, or serious defection of any sort; but through one of those
+avenues of frailty by which men are environed, he had a glance at
+results that the master-spirit of evil momentarily placed before his
+mental vision as both great and glorious.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish we were really certain of de Vervillin's object," he said; the
+only concession he made to this novel feeling, in words. "It might,
+indeed, throw a great light on the course we ought to take ourselves. I
+do detest this German alliance, and would abandon the service ere I
+would convoy or transport a ragamuffin of them all to England."</p>
+
+<p>Here Sir Reginald proved how truly expert he was in the arts of
+management. A train of thought and feeling had been lighted in the mind
+of his companion, which he felt might lead to all he wished, while he
+was apprehensive that further persuasion would awaken opposition, and
+renew old sentiments. He wisely determined, therefore, to leave things
+as they were, trusting to the strong and declared bias of the admiral in
+favour of the revolution, to work out its own consequences, with a
+visible and all-important advantage so prominently placed before his
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I know nothing of ships," he answered, modestly; "but I do <i>know</i> that
+the Comte has our succour in view. It would ill become me to advise one
+of your experience how to lead a force like this, which is subject to
+your orders; but a friend of the good cause, who is now in the west, and
+who was lately in the presence itself, tells me that the prince
+manifested extreme satisfaction when he learned how much it might be in
+your power to serve him."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you then think my name has reached the royal ear, and that the
+prince has any knowledge of my real feelings?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing but your extreme modesty could cause you to doubt the first,
+sir; as to the last, ask yourself how came I to approach you to-night,
+with my heart in my hand, as it might be, making you master of my life
+as well as of my secret. Love and hatred are emotions that soon betray
+themselves."</p>
+
+<p>It is matter of historical truth that men of the highest principles and
+strongest minds have yielded to the flattery of rank. Bluewater's
+political feelings had rendered him indifferent to the blandishments of
+the court at London, while his imagination, that chivalrous deference to
+antiquity and poetical right, which lay at the root of his Jacobitism,
+and his brooding sympathies, disposed him but too well to become the
+dupe of language like this. Had he been more a man of facts, one less
+under the influence of his own imagination; had it been his good fortune
+to live even in contact with those he now so devoutly worshipped, in a
+political sense at least, their influence over a mind as just and
+clear-sighted as his own, would soon have ceased; but, passing his time
+at sea, they had the most powerful auxiliary possible, in the high
+faculty he possessed of fancying things as he wished them to be. No
+wonder, then, that he heard this false assertion of Sir Reginald with a
+glow of pleasure; with even a thrill at the heart to which he had long
+been a stranger. For a time, his better feelings were smothered in this
+new and treacherous sensation.</p>
+
+<p>The gentlemen, by this time, were at the landing, and it became
+necessary to separate. The barge of the rear-admiral was with difficulty
+kept from leaping on the rock, by means of oars and boat-hooks, and each
+instant rendered the embarkation more and more difficult. The moments
+were precious on more accounts than one, and the leave-taking was short.
+Sir Reginald said but little, though he intended the pressure of the
+hand he gave his companion to express every thing.</p>
+
+<p>"God be with you," he added; "and as you prove true, may you prove
+successful! Remember, 'a lawful prince, and the claims of birth-right.'
+God be with you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Adieu, Sir Reginald; when we next meet, the future will probably be
+more apparent to us all.&mdash;But who comes hither, rushing like a madman
+towards the boat?"</p>
+
+<p>A form came leaping through the darkness; nor was it known, until it
+stood within two feet of Bluewater, it was that of Wycherly. He had
+heard the guns and seen the signals. Guessing at the reasons, he dashed
+from the park, which he was pacing to cool his agitation, and which now
+owned him for a master, and ran the whole distance to the shore, in
+order not to be left. His arrival was most opportune; for, in another
+minute, the barge left the rock.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"O'er the glad waters of the dark-blue sea.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Survey our empire and behold our home."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">The Corsair.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>One is never fully aware of the extent of the movement that agitates the
+bosom of the ocean until fairly subject to its action himself, when
+indeed we all feel its power and reason closely on its dangers. The
+first pitch of his boat told Bluewater that the night threatened to be
+serious. As the lusty oarsmen bent to their stroke, the barge rose on a
+swell, dividing the foam that glanced past it like a marine Aurora
+Borealis, and then plunged into the trough as if descending to the
+bottom. It required several united and vigorous efforts to force the
+little craft from its dangerous vicinity to the rocks, and to get it in
+perfect command. This once done, however, the well-practised crew urged
+the barge slowly but steadily ahead.</p>
+
+<p>"A dirty night!&mdash;a dirty night!" muttered Bluewater, unconsciously to
+himself; "we should have had a wild berth, had we rode out this blow, at
+anchor. Oakes will have a heavy time of it out yonder in the very chops
+of the channel, with a westerly swell heaving in against this ebb."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," answered Wycherly; "the vice-admiral will be looking out for
+us all, anxiously enough, in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>Not another syllable did Bluewater utter until his boat had touched the
+side of the C&aelig;sar. He reflected deeply on his situation, and those who
+know his feelings will easily understand that his reflections were not
+altogether free from pain. Such as they were, he kept them to himself,
+however, and in a man-of-war's boat, when a flag-officer chooses to be
+silent, it is a matter of course for his inferiors to imitate his
+example.</p>
+
+<p>The barge was about a quarter of a mile from the landing, when the heavy
+flap of the C&aelig;sar's main-top-sail was heard, as, close-reefed, it
+struggled for freedom, while her crew drew its sheets down to the blocks
+on the lower yard-arms. A minute later, the Gnat, under the head of her
+fore-and-aft-main-sail, was seen standing slowly off from the land,
+looking in the darkness like some half-equipped shadow of herself. The
+sloop of war, too, was seen bending low to the force of the wind, with
+her mere apology of a top-sail thrown aback, in waiting for the flag-ship
+to cast.</p>
+
+<p>The surface of the waters was a sheet of glancing foam, while the air
+was filled with the blended sounds of the wash of the element, and the
+roar of the winds. Still there was nothing chilling or repulsive in the
+temperature of the air, which was charged with the freshness of the sea,
+and was bracing and animating, bringing with it the flavour that a
+seaman loves. After fully fifteen minutes' severe tugging at the oars,
+the barge drew near enough to permit the black mass of the C&aelig;sar to be
+seen. For some time, Lord Geoffrey, who had seated himself at the
+tiller,&mdash;yoke-lines were not used a century since,&mdash;steered by the
+top-light of the rear-admiral; but now the maze of hamper was seen
+waving slowly to and fro in the lurid heavens, and the huge hull became
+visible, heaving and setting, as if the ocean groaned with the labour of
+lifting such a pile of wood and iron. A light gleamed from the
+cabin-windows, and ever and anon, one glanced athwart an open gun-room
+port. In all other respects, the ship presented but one hue of
+blackness. Nor was it an easy undertaking, even after the barge was
+under the lee of the ship, for those in it, to quit its uneasy support
+and get a firm footing on the cleets that lined the vessel's side like a
+ladder. This was done, however, and all ascended to the deck but two of
+the crew, who remained to hook-on the yard and stay-tackles. This
+effected, the shrill whistle gave the word, and that large boat, built
+to carry at need some twenty souls, was raised from the raging water, as
+it were by some gigantic effort of the ship herself, and safely
+deposited in her bosom.</p>
+
+<p>"We are none too soon, sir," said Stowel, the moment he had received the
+rear-admiral with the customary etiquette of the hour. "It's a cap-full
+of wind already, and it promises to blow harder before morning. We are
+catted and fished, sir, and the forecastle-men are passing the
+shank-painter at this moment."</p>
+
+<p>"Fill, sir, and stretch off, on an easy bowline," was the answer; "when
+a league in the offing, let me know it. Mr. Cornet, I have need of you,
+in my cabin."</p>
+
+<p>As this was said, Bluewater went below, followed by his signal-officer.
+At the same instant the first lieutenant called out to man the
+main-braces, and to fill the top-sail. As soon as this command was
+obeyed, the C&aelig;sar started ahead. Her movement was slow, but it had a
+majesty in it, that set at naught the turbulence of the elements.</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater had paced to and fro in his cabin no less than six times, with
+his head drooping, in a thoughtful attitude, ere his attention was
+called to any external object.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you wish my presence, Admiral Bluewater?" the signal-officer at
+length inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"I ask your pardon, Mr. Cornet; I was really unconscious that you were
+in the cabin. Let me see&mdash;ay&mdash;our last signal was, 'division come within
+hail of rear-admiral.' They must get close to us, to be able to do
+<i>that</i> to-night, Cornet! The winds and waves have begun their song in
+earnest."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet, sir, I'll venture a month's pay that Captain Drinkwater brings
+the Dover so near us, as to put the officer of the watch and the
+quarter-master at the wheel in a fever. We once made that signal, in a
+gale of wind, and he passed his jib-boom-end over our taffrail."</p>
+
+<p>"He is certainly a most literal gentleman, that Captain Drinkwater, but
+he knows how to take care of his ship. Look for the number of 'follow
+the rear-admiral's motions.' 'Tis 211, I think."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; but 212. Blue, red, and white, with the flags. With the
+lanterns, 'tis one of the simplest signals we have."</p>
+
+<p>"We will make it, at once. When that is done, show 'the rear-admiral;
+keep in his wake, in the general order of sailing.' That I am sure is
+204."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; you are quite right. Shall I show the second signal as soon
+as all the vessels have answered the first, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is my intention, Cornet. When all have answered, let me know it."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cornet now left the cabin, and Bluewater took a seat in an
+arm-chair, in deep meditation. For quite half an hour the former was
+busy on the poop, with his two quarter-masters, going through the slow
+and far from easy duty of making night-signals, as they were then
+practised at sea. It was some time before the most distant vessel, the
+Dover, gave any evidence of comprehending the first order, and then the
+same tardy operation had to be gone through with for the second. At
+length the sentinel threw open the cabin-door, and Cornet re-appeared.
+During the whole of his absence on deck, Bluewater had not stirred;
+scarce seemed to breathe. His thoughts were away from his ships, and for
+the first time, in the ten years he had worn a flag, he had forgotten
+the order he had given.</p>
+
+<p>"The signals are made and answered, sir," said Cornet, as soon as he had
+advanced to the edge of the table, on which the rear-admiral's elbow was
+leaning. "The Dublin is already in our wake, and the Elizabeth is
+bearing down fast on our weather-quarter; she will bring herself into
+her station in ten minutes."</p>
+
+<p>"What news of the York and Dover, Cornet?" asked Bluewater, rousing
+himself from a fit of deep abstraction.</p>
+
+<p>"The York's light nears us, quite evidently; though that of the Dover is
+still a fixed star, sir," answered the lieutenant, chuckling a little at
+his own humour; "it seems no larger than it did when we first made it."</p>
+
+<p>"It is something to have made it at all. I was not aware it could be
+seen from deck?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nor can it, sir; but, by going up half-a-dozen ratlins we get a look at
+it. Captain Drinkwater bowses up his lights to the gaff-end, and I can
+see him always ten minutes sooner than any other ship in the fleet,
+under the same circumstances."</p>
+
+<p>"Drinkwater is a careful officer; do the bearings of his light alter
+enough to tell the course he is steering?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think they do, sir, though our standing out athwart his line of
+sailing would make the change slow, of course. Every foot we get to the
+southward, you know, sir, would throw his bearings farther west; while
+every foot he comes east, would counteract that change and throw his
+bearings further south."</p>
+
+<p>"That's very clear; but, as he must go three fathoms to our one, running
+off with square yards before such a breeze, I think we should be
+constantly altering his bearings to the southward."</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt of it, in the world, sir; and that is just what we <i>are</i>
+doing. I think I can see a difference of half a point, already; but,
+when we get his light fairly in view from the poop, we shall be able to
+tell with perfect accuracy."</p>
+
+<p>"All very well, Cornet. Do me the favour to desire Captain Stowel to
+step into the cabin and keep a bright look-out for the ships of the
+division. Stay, for a single instant; what particularly sharp-eyed
+youngster happens to belong to the watch on deck?"</p>
+
+<p>"I know none keener in that way than Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, sir; he
+can see all the roguery that is going on in the whole fleet, at any
+rate, and ought to see other things."</p>
+
+<p>"He will do perfectly well; send the young gentleman to me, sir; but,
+first inform the officer of the watch that I have need of him."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater was unusually fastidious in exercising his authority over
+those who had temporary superiors on the assigned duty of the ship; and
+he never sent an order to any of the watch, without causing it to pass
+through the officer of that watch. He waited but a minute before the boy
+appeared.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you a good gripe to-night, boy?" asked the rear-admiral, smiling;
+"or will it be both hands for yourself and none for the king? I want you
+on the fore-top-gallant-yard, for eight or ten minutes."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, it's a plain road there, and one I've often travelled,"
+returned the lad, cheerfully.</p>
+
+<p>"That I well know; you are certainly no skulk when duty is to be done.
+Go aloft then, and ascertain if the lights of any of Sir Gervaise's
+squadron are to be seen. You will remember that the Dover bears
+somewhere about south-west from us, and that she is still a long way to
+seaward. I should think all of Sir Gervaise's ships must be quite as far
+to windward as that point would bring them, but much further off. By
+looking sharp a point or half a point to windward of the Dover, you may
+possibly see the light of the Warspite, and then we shall get a correct
+idea of the bearings of all the rest of the division&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ay-ay-sir," interrupted the boy; "I think I understand exactly what you
+wish to know, Admiral Bluewater."</p>
+
+<p>"That is a natural gift at sixteen, my lord," returned the admiral,
+smiling; "but it may be improved a little, perhaps, by the experience of
+fifty. Now, it is possible Sir Gervaise may have gone about, as soon as
+the flood made; in which case he ought to bear nearly west of us, and
+you will also look in that direction. On the other hand, Sir Gervaise
+may have stretched so far over towards the French coast before night
+shut in, as to feel satisfied Monsieur de Vervillin is still to the
+eastward of him; in which case he would keep off a little, and may, at
+this moment, be nearly ahead of us. So that, under all the
+circumstances, you will sweep the horizon, from the weather-beam to the
+lee-bow, ranging forward. Am I understood, now, my lord?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, I think you are," answered the boy, blushing at his own
+impetuosity. "You will excuse my indiscretion, Admiral Bluewater; but I
+<i>thought</i> I understood all you desired, when I spoke so hastily."</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt you did, Geoffrey, but you perceive you did not. Nature has
+made you quick of apprehension, but not quick enough to <i>foresee</i> all an
+old man's gossip. Come nearer, now, and let us shake hands. So go aloft,
+and hold on well, for it is a windy night, and I do not desire to lose
+you overboard."</p>
+
+<p>The boy did as told, squeezed Bluewater's hand, and dashed out of the
+cabin to conceal his tears. As for the rear-admiral, he immediately
+relapsed into his fit of forgetfulness, waiting for the arrival of
+Stowel.</p>
+
+<p>A summons to a captain does not as immediately produce a visit, on board
+a vessel of war, as a summons to a midshipman. Captain Stowel was busy
+in looking at the manner in which his boats were stowed, when Cornet
+told him of the rear-admiral's request; and then he had to give some
+orders to the first lieutenant concerning the fresh meat that had been
+got off, and one or two other similar little things, before he was at
+leisure to comply.</p>
+
+<p>"See me, do you say, Mr. Cornet; in his own cabin, as soon as it is
+convenient?" he at length remarked, when all these several offices had
+been duly performed.</p>
+
+<p>The signal-officer repeated the request, word for word as he had heard
+it, when he turned to take another look at the light of the Dover. As
+for Stowel, he cared no more for the Dover, windy and dark as the night
+promised to be, than the burgher is apt to care for his neighbour's
+house when the whole street is threatened with destruction. To him the
+C&aelig;sar was the great centre of attraction, and Cornet paid him off in
+kind; for, of all the vessels in the fleet, the C&aelig;sar was precisely the
+one to which he gave the least attention; and this for the simple reason
+that she was the only ship to which he never gave, or from which he
+never received, a signal.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Mr. Bluff," said Stowel to the first lieutenant; "one of us will
+have to be on deck most of the night, and I'll take a slant below, for
+half an hour first, and see what the admiral wishes."</p>
+
+<p>Thus saying, the captain left the deck, in order to ascertain his
+superior's pleasure. Captain Stowel was several years the senior of
+Bluewater, having actually been a lieutenant in one of the frigates in
+which the rear-admiral had served as a midshipman; a circumstance to
+which he occasionally alluded in their present intercourse. The change
+in the relative positions was the result of the family influence of the
+junior, who had passed his senior in the grade of master and commander;
+a rank that then brought many an honest man up for life, in the English
+marine. At the age of five-and-forty, that at which Bluewater first
+hoisted his flag, Stowell was posted; and soon after he was invited by
+his old shipmate, who had once had him under him as his first lieutenant
+in a sloop of war, to take the command of his flag-ship. From that day
+down to the present moment, the two officers had sailed together,
+whenever they sailed at all, perfectly good friends; though the captain
+never appeared entirely to forget the time when they were in the
+aforesaid frigate; one a gun-room officer, and the other only a
+"youngster."</p>
+
+<p>Stowel must now have been about sixty-five; a square, hard-featured,
+red-faced seaman, who knew all about his ship, from her truck to her
+limber-rope, but who troubled himself very little about any thing else.
+He had married a widow when he was posted, but was childless, and had
+long since permitted his affections to wander back into their former
+channels; from the domestic hearth to his ship. He seldom spoke of
+matrimony, but the little he saw fit to say on the subject was
+comprehensive and to the point. A perfectly sober man, he consumed large
+quantities of both wine and brandy, as well as of tobacco, and never
+seemed to be the worse for either. Loyal he was by political faith, and
+he looked upon a revolution, let its object be what it might, as he
+would have regarded a mutiny in the C&aelig;sar. He was exceedingly
+pertinacious of his rights as "captain of his own ship," both ashore and
+afloat; a disposition that produced less trouble with the mild and
+gentlemanly rear-admiral, than with Mrs. Stowel. If we add that this
+plain sailor never looked into a book, his proper scientific works
+excepted, we shall have said all of him that his connection with our
+tale demands.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-evening, Admiral Bluewater," said this true tar, saluting the
+rear-admiral, as one neighbour would greet another, on dropping in of an
+evening, for they occupied different cabins. "Mr. Cornet told me you
+would like to say a word to me, before I turned in; if, indeed, turn in
+at all, I do this blessed night."</p>
+
+<p>"Take a seat, Stowel, and a glass of this sherry, in the bargain,"
+Bluewater answered, kindly, showing how well he understood his man, by
+the manner in which he shoved both bottle and glass within reach of his
+hand. "How goes the night?&mdash;and is this wind likely to stand?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm of opinion, sir&mdash;we'll drink His Majesty, if you've no objection,
+Admiral Bluewater,&mdash;I'm of opinion, we shall stretch the threads of that
+new main-top-sail, before we've done with the breeze, sir. I believe
+I've not told you, yet, that I've had the new sail bent, since we last
+spoke together on the subject. It's a good fit, sir; and, close-reefed,
+the sails stands like the side of a house."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad to hear it, Stowel; though I think all your canvass usually
+appears to be in its place."</p>
+
+<p>"Why you know, Admiral Bluewater, that I've been long enough at it, to
+understand something about the matter. It is now more than forty years
+since we were in the Calypso together, and ever since that time I've
+borne the commission of an officer. You were then a youngster, and
+thought more of your joke, than of bending sails, or of seeing how they
+would stand."</p>
+
+<p>"There wasn't much of me, certainly, forty years ago, Stowel; but I well
+remember the knack you had of making every robin, sheet, bowline, and
+thread do its duty, then, as you do to-day. By the way, can you tell me
+any thing of the Dover, this evening?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not I, sir; she came out with the rest of us I suppose, and must be
+somewhere in the fleet; though I dare say the log will have it all, if
+she has been anywhere near us, lately. I am sorry we did not go into one
+of the watering-ports, instead of this open roadstead, for we must be at
+least twenty-seven hundred gallons short of what we ought to have, by my
+calculation; and then we want a new set of light spars, pretty much all
+round; and the lower hold hasn't as many barrels of provisions in it, by
+thirty-odd, as I could wish to see there."</p>
+
+<p>"I leave these things to you, entirely, Stowel; you will report in time
+to keep the ship efficient."</p>
+
+<p>"No fear of the C&aelig;sar, sir; for, between Mr. Bluff, the master, and
+myself, we know pretty much all about <i>her</i>, though I dare say there are
+men in the fleet who can tell you more about the Dublin, or the Dover,
+or the York. We will drink the queen, and all the royal family, if you
+please, sir."</p>
+
+<p>As usual, Bluewater merely bowed, for his companion required no further
+acquiescence in his toasts. Just at that moment, too, it would have
+needed a general order, at least, to induce him to drink any of the
+family of the reigning house.</p>
+
+<p>"Oakes must be well off, mid-channel, by this time, Captain Stowel?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should think he might be, sir; though I can't say I took particular
+notice of the time he sailed. I dare say it's all in the log. The
+Plantagenet is a fast ship, sir, and Captain Greenly understands her
+trim, and what she can do on all tacks; and, yet, I do think His Majesty
+has one ship in this fleet that can find a Frenchman quite as soon, and
+deal with him, when found, quite as much to the purpose."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you mean the C&aelig;sar;&mdash;well, I'm quite of your way of thinking,
+though Sir Gervaise manages never to be in a slow ship. I suppose you
+know, Stowel, that Monsieur de Vervillin is out, and that we may expect
+to see or hear something of him, to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, there is some such conversation in the ship, I know; but the
+quantity of galley-news is so great in this squadron, that I never
+attend much to what is said. One of the officers brought off a rumour, I
+believe, that there was a sort of a row in Scotland. By the way, sir,
+there is a supernumerary lieutenant on board, and as he has joined
+entirely without orders, I'm at a loss how to berth or to provision him.
+We can treat the gentleman hospitably to-night; but in the morning I
+shall be obliged to get him regularly on paper."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean Sir Wycherly Wychecombe; he shall come into my mess, rather
+than give you any trouble."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall not presume to meddle with any gentleman you may please to
+invite into your cabin, sir," answered Stowel, with a stiff bow, in the
+way of apology. "That's what I always tell Mrs. Stowel, sir;&mdash;that my
+<i>cabin</i> is my <i>own</i>, and even a wife has no right to shake a broom in
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Which is a great advantage to us seamen; for it gives us a citadel to
+retreat to, when the outworks are pressed. You appear to take but little
+interest in this civil war, Stowel!"</p>
+
+<p>"Then it's true, is it, sir? I didn't know but it might turn out to be
+galley-news. Pray what is the rumpus all about, Admiral Bluewater? for,
+I never could get that story fidded properly, so as to set up the
+rigging, and have the spar well stayed in its place."</p>
+
+<p>"It is merely a war to decide who shall be king of England; nothing
+else, I do assure you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"They're an uneasy set ashore, sir, if the truth must be said of them!
+We've got one king, already; and on what principle does any man wish for
+more? Now, there was Captain Blakely, from the Elizabeth, on board of me
+this afternoon; and we talked the matter over a little, and both of us
+concluded that they got these things up much as a matter of profit among
+the army contractors, and the dealers in warlike stores."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater listened with intense interest, for here was proof how
+completely two of his captains, at least, would be at his own command,
+and how little they would be likely, for a time, at least, to dispute
+any of his orders. He thought of Sir Reginald, and of the rapture with
+which <i>he</i> would have received this trait of nautical character.</p>
+
+<p>"There are people who set their hearts on the result, notwithstanding,"
+carelessly observed the rear-admiral; "and some who see their fortunes
+marred or promoted, by the success or downfall of the parties. They
+think de Vervillin is out on some errand connected with this rising in
+the north."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't see what <i>he</i> has got to do with the matter at all; for,
+I don't suppose that King Louis is such a fool as to expect to be king
+of England as well as king of France!"</p>
+
+<p>"The dignity would be too much for one pair of shoulders to bear. As
+well might one admiral wish to command all the divisions of his own
+fleet, though they were fifty leagues asunder."</p>
+
+<p>"Or one captain two ships; or what is more to the purpose, sir, one ship
+to keep two captains. We'll drink to discipline, if you've no objection,
+sir. 'Tis the soul of order and quiet, ashore or afloat. For my part, I
+want no <i>co-equal</i>&mdash;I believe that's the cant word they use on such
+occasions&mdash;but I want no co-equal, in the C&aelig;sar, and I am unwilling to
+have one in the house at Greenwich; though Mrs. Stowel thinks
+differently. Here's my ship; she's in her place in the line; it's my
+business to see she is fit for any service that a first-class two-decker
+can undertake, and that duty I endeavour to perform; and I make no doubt
+it is all the better performed because there's no wife or co-equal
+aboard here. <i>Where</i> the ship is to <i>go</i>, and <i>what</i> she is to <i>do</i>, are
+other matters, which I take from general orders, special orders, or
+signals. Let them act up to this principle in London, and we should hear
+no more of disturbances, north or south."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, Stowel, your doctrine would make a quiet nation, as well as
+a quiet ship. I hope you do me the justice to think there is no co-equal
+in my commands!"</p>
+
+<p>"That there is not, sir&mdash;and I have the honour to drink your
+health&mdash;that there is not. When we were in the Calypso together, I had
+the advantage; and I must say that I never had a youngster under me who
+ever did his duty more cheerfully. Since that day we've shifted places;
+end for end, as one might say; and I endeavour to pay you, in your own
+coin. There is no man whose orders I obey more willingly or more to my
+own advantage; always excepting those of Admiral Oakes, who, being
+commander-in-chief, overlays us all with his anchor. We must dowse our
+peaks to his signals, though we <i>can</i> maintain, without mutinying, that
+the C&aelig;sar is as good a boat on or off a wind, as the Plantagenet, the
+best day Sir Jarvy ever saw."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no manner of doubt of that. You have all the notions of a true
+sailor, I find, Stowel; obey orders before all other things. I am
+curious to know how our captains, generally, stand affected to this
+claim which the Pretender has set up to the throne."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't tell you, on my soul, sir; though I fancy few of them give
+themselves any great anxiety in the matter. When the wind is fair we can
+run off large, and when it is foul we must haul upon a bowline, let who
+will reign. I was a youngster under Queen Anne, and she was a Stuart, I
+believe; and I have served under the German family ever since; and to be
+frank with you, Admiral Bluewater, I see but little difference in the
+duty, the pay, or the rations. My maxim is to obey orders, and then I
+know the blame will fall on them that give them, if any thing goes
+wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"We have many Scotchmen in the fleet, Stowel," observed the
+rear-admiral, in a musing manner, like one who rather thought aloud than
+spoke. "Several of the captains are from the north of Tweed."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, sir, one is pretty certain of meeting gentlemen from that part of
+the island, in almost all situations in life. I never have understood
+that Scotland had much of a navy in ancient times, and yet the moment
+old England has to pay for it, the lairds are willing enough to send
+their children to sea."</p>
+
+<p>"Nevertheless it must be owned that they make gallant and useful
+officers, Stowel."</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt they do, sir; but gallant and useful men are not scarce
+anywhere. You and I are too old and too experienced, Admiral Bluewater,
+to put any faith in the notion that courage belongs to any particular
+part of the world, or usefulness either. I never fought a Frenchman yet
+that I thought a coward; and, in my judgment, there are brave men enough
+in England, to command all her ships, and to fight them too."</p>
+
+<p>"Let this be so, Stowel, still we must take things as they come. What do
+you think of the night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dirty enough before morning, I should think, sir, though it is a little
+out of rule, that it does not rain with this wind, already. The next
+time we come-to, Admiral Bluewater, I intend to anchor with a shorter
+scope of cable than we have been doing lately; for, I begin to think
+there is no use in wetting so many yarns in the summer months. They tell
+me the York brings up always on forty fathoms."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a short range, I should think, for a heavy ship. But here is a
+visiter."</p>
+
+<p>The sentinel opened the cabin-door, and Lord Geoffrey, with his cap
+fastened to his head by a pocket-handkerchief, and his face red with
+exposure to the wind, entered the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Bluewater, quietly; "what is the report from aloft?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Dover is running down athwart our forefoot, and nearing us fast,
+sir," returned the midshipman. "The York is close on our weather-beam,
+edging in to her station; but I can make out nothing ahead of us, though
+I was on the yard twenty minutes."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you look well on the weather-beam, and thence forward to the
+lee-bow?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did, sir; if any light is in view, better eyes than mine must find
+it."</p>
+
+<p>Stowel looked from one to the other, as this short conversation was
+held; but, as soon as there was a pause, he put in a word in behalf of
+the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"You've been up forward, my lord?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I have, Captain Stowel."</p>
+
+<p>"And did you think of seeing how the heel of the top-gallant-mast stood
+it, in this sea? Bluff tells me 'tis too loose to be fit for very heavy
+weather."</p>
+
+<p>"I did not, sir. I was sent aloft to look out for the ships of the
+commander-in-chief's division, and didn't think of the heel of the
+top-gallant-mast's being too loose, at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that's the way with all the youngsters, now-a-days. In my time, or
+even in <i>yours</i>, Admiral Bluewater, we never put our feet on a ratlin,
+but hands and eyes were at work, until we reached the halting place,
+even though it should be the truck. That is the manner to know what a
+ship is made of!"</p>
+
+<p>"I kept my hands and eyes at work, too, Captain Stowel; but it was to
+hold on well, and to look out well."</p>
+
+<p>"That will never do&mdash;that will never do, if you wish to make yourself a
+sailor. Begin with your own ship first; learn all about <i>her</i>, then,
+when you get to be an admiral, as your father's son, my lord, will be
+certain to become, it will be time enough to be inquiring about the rest
+of the fleet."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget, Captain Stowel&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"That will do, Lord Geoffrey," Bluewater soothingly interposed, for he
+knew that the Captain preached no more than he literally practised; "if
+<i>I</i> am satisfied with your report, no one else has a right to complain.
+Desire Sir Wycherly Wychecombe to meet me on deck, where we will now go,
+Stowel, and take a look at the weather for ourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"With all my heart, Admiral Bluewater, though I'll just drink the First
+Lord's health before we quit this excellent liquor. That youngster has
+stuff in him, in spite of his nobility, and by fetching him up, with
+round turns, occasionally, I hope to make a man of him, yet."</p>
+
+<p>"If he do not grow into that character, physically and morally, within
+the next few years, sir, he will be the first person of his family who
+has ever failed of it."</p>
+
+<p>As Bluewater said this, he and the captain left his cabin, and ascended
+to the quarter-deck. Here Stowel stopped to hold a consultation with his
+first lieutenant, while the admiral went up the poop-ladder, and joined
+Cornet. The last had nothing new to communicate, and as he was permitted
+to go below, he was desired to send Wycherly up to the poop, where the
+young man would be expected by the rear-admiral.</p>
+
+<p>Some little time elapsed before the Virginian could be found; no sooner
+was this effected, however, than he joined Bluewater. They had a private
+conversation of fully half an hour, pacing the poop the whole time, and
+then Cornet was summoned back, again, to his usual station. The latter
+immediately received an order to acquaint Captain Stowel the
+rear-admiral desired that the C&aelig;sar might be hove-to, and to make a
+signal for the Druid 36, to come under the flag-ship's lee, and back her
+main-top-sail. No sooner did this order reach the quarter-deck than the
+watch was sent to the braces, and the main-yard was rounded in, until
+the portion of sail that was still set lay against the mast. This
+deadened the way of the huge body, which rose and fell heavily in the
+seas, as they washed under her, scarcely large enough to lift the
+burthen it imposed upon them. Just at this instant, the signal was made.</p>
+
+<p>The sudden check to the movement of the C&aelig;sar brought the Dublin booming
+up in the darkness, when putting her helm up, that ship surged slowly
+past to leeward, resembling a black mountain moving by in the gloom. She
+was hailed and directed to heave-to, also, as soon as far enough ahead.
+The Elizabeth followed, clearing the flag-ship by merely twenty fathoms,
+and receiving a similar order. The Druid had been on the admiral's
+weather-quarter, but she now came gliding down, with the wind abeam,
+taking room to back her top-sail under the C&aelig;sar's lee-bow. By this time
+a cutter was in the water, rising six or eight feet up the black side of
+the ship, and sinking as low apparently beneath her bottom. Next,
+Wycherly reported himself ready to proceed.</p>
+
+<p>"You will not forget, sir," said Bluewater, "any part of my commission;
+but inform the commander-in-chief of the <i>whole</i>. It may be important
+that we understand each other fully. You will also hand him this letter
+which I have hastily written while the boat was getting ready."</p>
+
+<p>"I think I understand your wishes, sir;&mdash;at least, I <i>hope</i> so;&mdash;and I
+will endeavour to execute them."</p>
+
+<p>"God bless you, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe," added Bluewater, with emotion.
+"We may never meet again; we sailors carry uncertain lives; and we may
+be said to carry them in our hands."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly took his leave of the admiral, and he ran down the poop-ladder
+to descend into the boat. Twice he paused on the quarter-deck, however,
+in the manner of one who felt disposed to return and ask some
+explanation; but each time he moved on, decided to proceed.</p>
+
+<p>It needed all the agility of our young sailor to get safely into the
+boat. This done, the oars fell and the cutter was driven swiftly away to
+leeward. In a few minutes, it shot beneath the lee of the frigate, and
+discharged its freight. Wycherly could not have been three minutes on
+the deck of the Druid, ere her yards were braced up, and her top-sail
+filled with a heavy flap. This caused her to draw slowly ahead. Five
+minutes later, however, a white cloud was seen dimly fluttering over her
+hull, and the reefed main-sail was distended to the wind. The effect was
+so instantaneous that the frigate seemed to glide away from the
+flag-ship, and in a quarter of an hour, under her three top-sails
+double-reefed, and her courses, she was a mile distant on her
+weather-bow. Those who watched her movements without understanding them,
+observed that she lowered her light, and appeared to detach herself from
+the rest of the division.</p>
+
+<p>It was some time before the C&aelig;sar's boat was enabled to pull up against
+the tide, wind, and sea. When this hard task was successfully
+accomplished, the ship filled, passed the Dublin and Elizabeth, and
+resumed her place in the line.</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater paced the poop an hour longer, having dismissed his
+signal-officer and the quarter-masters to their hammocks. Even Stowel
+had turned in, nor did Mr. Bluff deem it necessary to remain on deck any
+longer. At the end of the hour, the rear-admiral bethought him of
+retiring too. Before he quitted the poop, however, he stood at the
+weather-ladder, holding on to the mizzen-rigging, and gazing at the
+scene.</p>
+
+<p>The wind had increased, as had the sea, but it was not yet a gale. The
+York had long before hauled up in her station, a cable's length ahead of
+the C&aelig;sar, and was standing on, under the same canvass as the flag-ship,
+looking stately and black. The Dover was just shooting into her berth,
+under the standing sailing-orders, at the same distance ahead of the
+York; visible, but much less distinct and imposing. The sloop and the
+cutter were running along, under the lee of the heavy snips, a quarter
+of a mile distant, each vessel keeping her relative position, by close
+attention to her canvass. Further than this, nothing was in sight. The
+sea had that wild mixture of brightness and gloom, which belongs to the
+element when much agitated in a dark night, while the heavens were murky
+and threatening.</p>
+
+<p>Within the ship, all was still. Here and there a lantern threw its
+wavering light around, but the shadows of the masts and guns, and other
+objects, rendered this relief to the night trifling. The lieutenant of
+the watch paced the weather side of the quarter-deck, silent but
+attentive. Occasionally he hailed the look-outs, and admonished them to
+be vigilant, also, and at each turn he glanced upward to see how the
+top-sail stood. Four or five old and thoughtful seamen walked the waist
+and forecastle, but most of the watch were stowed between the guns, or
+in the best places they could find, under the lee of the bulwarks,
+catching cat's naps. This was an indulgence denied the young gentlemen,
+of whom one was on the forecastle, leaning against the mast, dreaming of
+home, one in the waist, supporting the nettings, and one walking the
+lee-side of the quarter-deck, his eyes shut, his thoughts confused, and
+his footing uncertain. As Bluewater stepped on the quarter-deck-ladder,
+to descend to his own cabin, the youngster hit his foot against an
+eye-bolt, and fetched way plump up against his superior. Bluewater
+caught the lad in his arms, and saved him from a fall, setting him
+fairly on his feet before he let him go.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tis seven bells, Geoffrey," said the admiral, in an under tone. "Hold
+on for half an hour longer, and then go dream of your dear mother."</p>
+
+<p>Before the boy could recover himself to thank his superior, the latter
+had disappeared.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he's flint;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As humorous as winter, and as sudden<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As flaws congealed in the spring of day.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His temper, therefore, must be well observed."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Shakespeare.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>The reader will remember that the wind had not become fresh when Sir
+Gervaise Oakes got into his barge, with the intention of carrying his
+fleet to sea. A retrospective glance at the state of the weather, will
+become necessary to the reader, therefore, in carrying his mind back to
+that precise period whither it has now become our duty to transport him
+in imagination.</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral governed a fleet on principles very different from
+those of Bluewater. While the last left so much to the commanders of the
+different vessels, his friend looked into every thing himself. The
+details of the service he knew were indispensable to success on a larger
+scale, and his active mind descended into all these minuti&aelig;, to a degree
+sometimes, that annoyed his captains. On the whole, however, he was
+sufficiently observant of that formidable barrier to excessive
+familiarity, and that great promoter of heart-burnings in a squadron,
+naval etiquette, to prevent any thing like serious misunderstandings,
+and the best feelings prevailed between him and the several magnates
+under his orders. Perhaps the circumstance that he was a <i>fighting</i>
+admiral contributed to this internal tranquillity; for, it has been
+often remarked, that armies and fleets will both tolerate more in
+leaders that give them plenty to do with the enemy, than in commanders
+who leave them inactive and less exposed. The constant encounters with
+the foe would seem to let out all the superfluous quarrelsome
+tendencies. Nelson, to a certain extent, was an example of this
+influence in the English marine, Suffren<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> in that of France, and
+Preble, to a much greater degree than in either of the other cases, in
+our own. At all events, while most of his captains sensibly felt
+themselves less of commanders, while Sir Gervaise was on board or around
+their ships, than when he was in the cabin of the Plantagenet, the peace
+was rarely broken between them, and he was generally beloved as well as
+obeyed. Bluewater was a more invariable favourite, perhaps, though
+scarcely as much respected; and certainly not half as much feared.</p>
+
+
+<p>On the present occasion, the vice-admiral did not pull through the
+fleet, without discovering the peculiar propensity to which we have
+alluded. In passing one of the ships, he made a sign to his coxswain to
+cause the boat's crew to lay on their oars, when he hailed the vessel,
+and the following dialogue occurred.</p>
+
+<p>"Carnatic, ahoy!" cried the admiral.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir," exclaimed the officer of the deck, jumping on a quarter-deck gun,
+and raising his hat.</p>
+
+<p>"Is Captain Parker on board, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is, Sir Gervaise; will you see him, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>A nod of the head sufficed to bring the said Captain Parker on deck, and
+to the gangway, where he could converse with his superior, without
+inconvenience to either.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you do, <i>Captain</i> Parker?"&mdash;a certain sign Sir Gervaise meant to
+rap the other over the knuckles, else would it have been <i>Parker</i>."&mdash;How
+do you do, <i>Captain</i> Parker? I am sorry to see you have got your ship
+too much down by the head, sir. She'll steer off the wind, like a colt
+when he first feels the bridle; now with his head on one side, and now
+on the other. You know I like a compact line, and straight wakes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I am well aware of that, Sir Gervaise," returned Parker, a gray-headed,
+meek old man, who had fought his way up from the forecastle to his
+present honourable station, and, who, though brave as a lion before the
+enemy, had a particular dread of all his commanders; "but we have been
+obliged to use more water aft than we could wish, on account of the
+tiers. We shall coil away the cables anew, and come at some of the
+leaguers forward, and bring all right again, in a week, I hope, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"A week?&mdash;the d&mdash;&mdash;l, sir; that will never do, when I expect to see de
+Vervillin <i>to-morrow</i>. Fill all your empty casks aft with salt-water,
+immediately; and if that wont do, shift some of your shot forward. I
+know that craft of yours, well; she is as tender as a fellow with corns,
+and the shoe musn't pinch anywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Sir Gervaise; the ship shall be brought in trim, as soon as
+possible."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, ay, sir, that is what I expect from every vessel, at <i>all</i> times;
+and more especially when we are ready to meet an enemy. And, I say,
+<i>Parker</i>,"&mdash;making a sign to his boat's crew to stop rowing again&mdash;"I
+say, <i>Parker</i>, I know you love brawn;&mdash;I'll send you some that Galleygo
+tells me he has picked up, along-shore here, as soon as I get aboard.
+The fellow has been robbing all the hen-roosts in Devonshire, by his own
+account of the matter."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise waved his hand, <i>Parker</i> smiled and bowed his thanks, and
+the two parted with feelings of perfect kindness, notwithstanding the
+little skirmish with which the interview had commenced.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Williamson," said Captain Parker to his first lieutenant, on
+quitting the gangway, "you hear what the commander-in-chief says; and he
+must be obeyed. I <i>don't</i> think the Carnatic would have sheered out of
+the line, even if she is a little by the head; but have the empty casks
+filled, and bring her down six inches more by the stern."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a good fellow, that old Parker," said Sir Gervaise to his
+purser, whom he was carrying off good-naturedly to the ship, lest he
+might lose his passage; "and I wonder how he let his ship get her nose
+under water, in that fashion. I like to have him for a second astern;
+for I feel sure he'd follow if I stood into Cherbourg, bows on! Yes; a
+good fellow is Parker; and, Locker,"&mdash;to his own man, who was also in
+the boat;&mdash;"mind you send him <i>two</i> of the best pieces of that
+brawn&mdash;hey!&mdash;hey!&mdash;hey!&mdash;what the d&mdash;&mdash;l has Lord Morganic"&mdash;a descendant
+from royalty by the left hand,&mdash;"been doing now! That ship is kept like
+a tailor's jay figure, just to stuff jackets and gim-cracks on
+her&mdash;Achilles, there!"</p>
+
+<p>A quarter-master ran to the edge of the poop, and then turning, he spoke
+to his captain, who was walking the deck, and informed him that the
+commander-in-chief hailed the ship. The Earl of Morganic, a young man of
+four-and-twenty, who had succeeded to the title a few years before by
+the death of an elder brother,&mdash;the usual process by which an <i>old</i> peer
+is brought into the British navy, the work being too discouraging for
+those who have fortune before their eyes from the start,&mdash;now advanced
+to the quarter of the ship, bowed with respectful ease, and spoke with a
+self-possession that not one of the old commanders of the fleet would
+have dared to use. In general, this nobleman's intercourse with his
+superiors in naval rank, betrayed the consciousness of his own
+superiority in civil rank; but Sir Gervaise being of an old family, and
+quite as rich as he was himself, the vice-admiral commanded more of his
+homage than was customary. His ship was full of "nobs," as they term it
+in the British navy, or the sons and relatives of nobles; and it was by
+no means an uncommon thing for her messes to have their jokes at the
+expense of even flag-officers, who were believed to be a little ignorant
+of the peculiar sensibilities that are rightly enough imagined to
+characterize social station.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning, Sir Gervaise," called out this noble captain; "I'm glad
+to see you looking so well, after our long cruise in the Bay; I intended
+to have the honour to inquire after your health in person, this morning,
+but they told me you slept out of your ship. We shall have to hold a
+court on you, sir, if you fall much into that habit!"</p>
+
+<p>All within hearing smiled, even to the rough old tars, who were
+astraddle of the yards; and even Sir Gervaise's lip curled a little,
+though he was not exactly in a joking humour.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come, Morganic, do you let my habits alone, and look out for your
+own fore-top-mast. Why, in the name of seamanship, is that spar stayed
+forward in such a fashion, looking like a xebec's foremast?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you dislike it, Sir Gervaise?&mdash;Now to our fancies aboard here, it
+gives the Achilles a knowing look, and we hope to set a fashion. By
+carrying the head-sails well forward, we help the ship round in a sea,
+you know, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, I know no such thing, my lord. What you gain after being taken
+aback, you lose in coming to the wind. If I had a pair of scales
+suitable to such a purpose, I would have all that hamper you have stayed
+away yonder over your bows, on the end of such a long lever, weighed, in
+order that you might learn what a beautiful contrivance you've invented,
+among you, to make a ship pitch in a head sea. Why, d&mdash;&mdash;e, if I think
+you'd lie-to, at all, with so much stuff aloft to knock you off to
+leeward. Come up, every thing, forward; come up every thing, my lord,
+and bring the mast as near perpendicular as possible. It's a hard
+matter, I find, to make one of your new-fashioned captains keep things
+in their places."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now, Sir Gervaise, I think the Achilles makes as good an
+appearance as most of the other ships; and as to travelling or working,
+I do not know that she is either dull or clumsy!"</p>
+
+<p>"She's pretty well, Morganic, considering how many Bond-street ideas you
+have got among you; but she'll never do in a head sea, with that
+fore-top-mast threatening your knight-heads. So get the mast
+up-and-down, again, as soon as convenient, and come and dine with me,
+without further invitation, the first fine day we have at sea. I'm going
+to send Parker some brawn; but, I'll feed <i>you</i> on some of Galleygo's
+turtle-soup, made out of pig's heads."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank'ee, Sir Gervaise; we'll endeavour to straighten the slick, since
+you <i>will</i> have it so; though, I confess I get tired of seeing every
+thing to-day, just as we had it yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;yes&mdash;that's the way with most of these St. James cruisers,"
+continued the vice-admiral, as he rowed away. "They want a fashionable
+tailor to rig a man-of-war, as they are rigged themselves. There's my
+old friend and neighbour, Lord Scupperton&mdash;he's taken a fancy to
+yachting, lately, and when his new brig was put into the water, Lady
+Scupperton made him send for an upholsterer from town to fit out the
+cabin; and when the blackguard had surveyed the unfortunate craft, as if
+it were a country box, what does he do but give an opinion, that 'this
+here edifice, my lord, in my judgment, should be furnished in cottage
+style,'&mdash;the vagabond!"</p>
+
+<p>This story, which was not particularly original, for Sir Gervaise
+himself had told it at least a dozen times before, put the admiral in a
+good humour, and he found no more fault with his captains, until he
+reached the Plantagenet.</p>
+
+<p>"Daly," said the Earl of Morganic to his first lieutenant, an
+experienced old Irishman of fifty, who still sung a good song and told a
+good story, and what was a little extraordinary for either of these
+accomplishments, knew how to take good care of a ship;&mdash;"Daly, I suppose
+we must humour the old gentleman, or he'll be quarantining me, and that
+I shouldn't particularly like on the eve of a general action; so we'll
+ease off forward, and set up the strings aft, again. Hang me if I think
+he could find it out if we didn't, so long as we kept dead in his wake!"</p>
+
+<p>"That wouldn't be a very safe desait for Sir Jarvy, my lord, for he's a
+wonderful eye for a rope! Were it Admiral Blue, now, I'd engage to
+cruise in his company for a week, with my mizzen-mast stowed in the
+hold, and there should be no bother about the novelty, at all; quite
+likely he'd be hailing us, and ask 'what brig's that?' But none of these
+tricks will answer with t'other, who misses the whipping off the end of
+a gasket, as soon as any first luff of us all. And so I'll just go about
+the business in earnest; get the carpenter up with his plumb-bob, and
+set every thing as straight up-and-down as the back of a grenadier."</p>
+
+<p>Lord Morganic laughed, as was usual with him when his lieutenant saw fit
+to be humorous; and then his caprice in changing the staying of his
+masts, as well as the order which countermanded it, was forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>The arrival of Sir Gervaise on board his own ship was always an event in
+the fleet, even though his absence had lasted no longer than twenty-four
+hours. The effect was like that which is produced on a team of
+high-mettled cattle, when they feel that the reins are in the hands of
+an experienced and spirited coachman.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning, Greenly, good-morning to you all, gentlemen," said the
+vice-admiral, bowing to the quarter-deck in gross, in return for the
+'present-arms,' and rattling of drums, and lowering of hats that greeted
+his arrival; "a fine day, and it is likely we shall have a fresh breeze.
+Captain Greenly, your sprit-sail-yard wants squaring by the lifts; and,
+Bunting, make the Thunderer's signal to get her fore-yard in its place,
+as soon as possible. She's had it down long enough to make a new one,
+instead of merely fishing it. Are your boats all aboard, Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"All but your own barge, Sir Gervaise, and that is hooked on."</p>
+
+<p>"In with it, sir; then trip, and we'll be off. Monsieur de Vervillin has
+got some mischief in his head, gentlemen, and we must go and take it out
+of him."</p>
+
+<p>These orders were promptly obeyed; but, as the manner in which the
+Plantagenet passed out of the fleet, and led the other ships to sea, has
+been already related, it is unnecessary to repeat it. There was the
+usual bustle, the customary orderly confusion, the winding of calls, the
+creaking of blocks, and the swinging of yards, ere the vessels were in
+motion. As the breeze freshened, sail was reduced, as already related,
+until, by the time the leading ship was ten leagues at sea, all were
+under short canvass, and the appearance of a windy, if not a dirty
+night, had set in. Of course, all means of communication between the
+Plantagenet and the vessels still at anchor, had ceased, except by
+sending signals down the line; but, to those Sir Gervaise had no
+recourse, since he was satisfied Bluewater understood his plans, and he
+then entertained no manner of doubt of his friend's willingness to aid
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Little heed was taken of any thing astern, by those on board the
+Plantagenet. Every one saw, it is true, that ship followed ship in due
+succession, as long as the movements of those inshore could be perceived
+at all; but the great interest centred on the horizon to the southward
+and eastward. In that quarter of the channel the French were expected to
+appear, for the cause of this sudden departure was a secret from no one
+in the fleet. A dozen of the best look-outs in the ship were kept aloft
+the whole afternoon, and Captain Greenly, himself, sat in the
+forward-cross-trees, with a glass, for more than an hour, just as the
+sun was setting, in order to sweep the horizon. Two or three sail were
+made, it is true, but they all proved to be English coasters; Guernsey
+or Jerseymen, standing for ports in the west of England, most probably
+laden with prohibited articles from the country of the enemy. Whatever
+may be the dislike of an Englishman for a Frenchman, he has no dislike
+to the labour of his hands; and there probably has not been a period
+since civilization has introduced the art of smuggling among its other
+arts, when French brandies, and laces, and silks, were not exchanged
+against English tobacco and guineas, and that in a contraband way, let
+it be in peace or let it be in war. One of the characteristics of Sir
+Gervaise Oakes was to despise all petty means of annoyance; usually he
+disdained even to turn aside to chase a smuggler. Fishermen he never
+molested at all; and, on the whole, he carried on a marine warfare, a
+century since, in a way that some of his successors might have imitated
+to advantage in our own times. Like that high-spirited Irishman,
+Caldwell,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> who conducted a blockade in the Chesapeake, at the
+commencement of the revolution, with so much liberality, that his
+enemies actually sent him an invitation to a public dinner, Sir Gervaise
+knew how to distinguish between the combatant and the non-combatant, and
+heartily disdained all the money-making parts of his profession, though
+large sums had fallen into his hands, in this way, as pure God-sends. No
+notice was taken, therefore, of any thing that had not a warlike look;
+the noble old ship standing steadily on towards the French coast, as the
+mastiff passes the cur, on his way to encounter another animal, of a
+mould and courage more worthy of his powers.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>"Make nothing of 'em, hey! Greenly," said Sir Gervaise, as the captain
+came down from his perch, in consequence of the gathering obscurity of
+evening, followed by half-a-dozen lieutenants and midshipmen, who had
+been aloft as volunteers. "Well, we know they cannot yet be to the
+westward of us, and by standing on shall be certain of heading them off,
+before this time six months. How beautifully all the ships behave,
+following each other as accurately as if Bluewater himself were aboard
+each vessel to conn her!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, they do keep the line uncommonly well, considering that the
+tides run in streaks in the channel. I <i>do</i> think if we were to drop a
+hammock overboard, that the Carnatic would pick it up, although she must
+be quite four leagues astern of us."</p>
+
+<p>"Let old Parker alone for that! I'll warrant you, <i>he</i> is never out of
+the way. Were it Lord Morganic, now, in the Achilles, I should expect
+him to be away off here on our weather-quarter, just to show us how his
+ship can eat us out of the wind when he <i>tries</i>: or away down yonder,
+under our lee, that we might understand how she falls off, when he
+<i>don't</i> try."</p>
+
+<p>"My lord is a gallant officer, and no bad seaman, for his years,
+notwithstanding, Sir Gervaise," observed Greenly, who generally took the
+part of the absent, whenever his superior felt disposed to berate them.</p>
+
+<p>"I deny neither, Greenly, most particularly the first. I know very well,
+were I to signal Morganic, to run into Brest, he'd do it; but whether he
+would go in, ring-tail-boom, or jib-boom first, I couldn't tell till I
+saw it. Now you are a youngish man yourself. Greenly&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Every day of eight-and-thirty, Sir Gervaise, and a few months to spare;
+and I care not if the ladies know it."</p>
+
+<p>"Poh!&mdash;They like us old fellows, half the time, as well as they do the
+boys. But you are of an age not to feel time in your bones, and can see
+the folly of some of our old-fashioned notions, perhaps; though you are
+not quite as likely to understand the fooleries that have come in, in
+your own day. Nothing is more absurd than to be experimenting on the
+settled principles of ships. They are machines, Greenly, and have their
+laws, just the same as the planets in the heavens. The idea comes from a
+fish,&mdash;head, run, and helm; and all we have to do is to study the fishes
+in order to get the sort of craft we want. If there is occasion for
+bulk, take the whale, and you get a round bottom, full fore-body, and a
+clean run. When you want speed, models are plenty&mdash;take the dolphin, for
+instance,&mdash;and there you find an entrance like a wedge, a lean
+fore-body, and a run as clean as this ship's decks. But some of our
+young captains would spoil a dolphin's sailing, if they could breathe
+under water, so as to get at the poor devils. Look at their fancies! The
+First Lord shall give one of his cousins a frigate, now, that is moulded
+after nature itself, as one might say; with a bottom that would put a
+trout to shame. Well, one of the first things the lad does, when he gets
+on board her, is to lengthen his gaff, perhaps, put a cloth or two in
+his mizzen, and call it a spanker, settle away the peak till it sticks
+out over his taffrail like a sign-post, and then away he goes upon a
+wind, with his helm hard-up, bragging what a weatherly craft he has, and
+how hard it is to make her even <i>look</i> to leeward."</p>
+
+<p>"I have known such sailors, I must confess, Sir Gervaise; but time cures
+them of that folly."</p>
+
+<p>"That is to be hoped; for what would a man think of a fish to which
+nature had fitted a tail athwart-ships, and which was obliged to carry a
+fin, like a lee-board, under its lee-jaw, to prevent falling off dead
+before the wind!"</p>
+
+<p>Here Sir Gervaise laughed heartily at the picture of the awkward
+creature to which his own imagination had given birth; Greenly joining
+in the merriment, partly from the oddity of the conceit, and partly from
+the docility with which commander-in-chief's jokes are usually received.
+The feeling of momentary indignation which had aroused Sir Gervaise to
+such an expression of his disgust at modern inventions, was appeased by
+this little success; and, inviting his captain to sup with him,&mdash;a
+substitute for a dinner,&mdash;he led the way below in high good-humour,
+Galleygo having just announced that the table was ready.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>convives</i> on this occasion were merely the admiral himself,
+Greenly, and Atwood. The fare was substantial, rather than scientific;
+but the service was rich; Sir Gervaise uniformly eating off of plate. In
+addition to Galleygo, no less than five domestics attended to the wants
+of the party. As a ship of the Plantagenet's size was reasonably steady
+at all times, a gale of wind excepted, when the lamps and candles were
+lighted, and the group was arranged, aided by the admixture of rich
+furniture with frowning artillery and the other appliances of war, the
+great cabin of the Plantagenet was not without a certain air of rude
+magnificence. Sir Gervaise kept no less than three servants in livery,
+as a part of his personal establishment, tolerating Galleygo, and one or
+two more of the same stamp, as a homage due to Neptune.</p>
+
+<p>The situation not being novel to either of the party, and the day's work
+having been severe, the first twenty minutes were pretty studiously
+devoted to the duty of "restoration," as it is termed by the great
+masters of the science of the table. By the end of that time, however,
+the glass began to circulate, though moderately, and with it tongues to
+loosen.</p>
+
+<p>"Your health, Captain Greenly&mdash;Atwood, I remember you," said the
+vice-admiral, nodding his head familiarly to his two guests, on the eve
+of tossing off a glass of sherry. "These Spanish wines go directly to
+the heart, and I only wonder why a people who can make them, don't make
+better sailors."</p>
+
+<p>"In the days of Columbus, the Spaniards had something to boast of in
+that way, too, Sir Gervaise," Atwood remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, but that was a long time ago, and they have got bravely over it. I
+account for the deficiencies of both the French and Spanish marines
+something in this way, Greenly. Columbus, and the discovery of America,
+brought ships and sailors into fashion. But a ship without an officer
+fit to command her, is like a body without a soul. Fashion, however,
+brought your young nobles into their services, and men were given
+vessels because their fathers were dukes and counts, and not because
+they knew any thing about them."</p>
+
+<p>"Is our own service entirely free from this sort of favouritism?"
+quietly demanded the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"Far from it, Greenly; else would not Morganic have been made a captain
+at twenty, and old Parker, for instance, one only at fifty. But,
+somehow, our classes slide into each other, in a way that neutralizes,
+in a great degree, the effect of birth. Is it not so, Atwood?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Some</i> of our classes, Sir Gervaise, manage to <i>slide</i> into all the
+best places, if the truth must be said."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that is pretty bold for a Scotchman!" rejoined the vice-admiral,
+good-humouredly. "Ever since the accession of the house of Stuart, we've
+built a bridge across the Tweed that lets people pass in only one
+direction. I make no doubt this Pretender's son will bring down half
+Scotland at his heels, to fill all the berths they may fancy suitable to
+their merits. It's an easy way of paying bounty&mdash;promises."</p>
+
+<p>"This affair in the north, they tell me, seems a little serious," said
+Greenly. "I believe this is Mr. Atwood's opinion?"</p>
+
+<p>"You'll find it serious enough, if Sir Gervaise's notion about the
+bounty be true," answered the immovable secretary. "Scotia is a small
+country, but it's well filled with 'braw sperits,' if there's an opening
+for them to prove it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, this war between England and Scotland is out of place,
+while we have the French and Spaniards on our hands. Most extraordinary
+scenes have we had ashore, yonder, Greenly, with an old Devonshire
+baronet, who slipped and is off for the other world, while we were in
+his house."</p>
+
+<p>"Magrath has told me something of it, sir; and, he tells me the
+<i>fill-us-null-us</i>&mdash;hang me if I can make out his gibberish, five minutes
+after it was told to me."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Filius nullius</i>, you mean; nobody's baby&mdash;the son of nobody&mdash;have you
+forgotten your Latin, man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Faith, Sir Gervaise, I never had any to forget. My father was a captain
+of a man-of-war before me, and he kept me afloat from the time I was
+five, down to the day of his death; Latin was no part of my spoon-meat."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;ay&mdash;my good fellow, I knew your father, and was in the third ship
+from him, in the action in which he fell," returned the vice-admiral,
+kindly. "Bluewater was just ahead of him, and we all loved him, as we
+did an elder brother. You were not promoted, then."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, I was only a midshipman, and didn't happen to be in his own
+ship that day," answered Greenly, sensibly touched with this tribute to
+his parent's merit; "but I was old enough to remember how nobly you all
+behaved on the occasion. Well,"&mdash;slily brushing his eye with his
+hand,&mdash;"Latin may do a schoolmaster good, but it is of little use on
+board ship. I never had but one scholar among all my cronies and
+intimates."</p>
+
+<p>"And who was he, Greenly? You shouldn't despise knowledge, because you
+don't understand it. I dare say your intimate was none the worse for a
+little Latin&mdash;enough to go through <i>nullus, nulla, nullum</i>, for
+instance. Who was this intimate, Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"John Bluewater&mdash;handsome Jack, as he was called; the younger brother of
+the admiral. They sent him to sea, to keep him out of harm's way in some
+love affair; and you may remember that while he was with the admiral, or
+<i>Captain</i> Bluewater, as he was then, I was one of the lieutenants.
+Although poor Jack was a soldier and in the guards, and he was four or
+five years my senior, he took a fancy to me, and we became intimate.
+<i>He</i> understood Latin, better than he did his own interests."</p>
+
+<p>"In what did he fail?&mdash;Bluewater was never very communicative to me
+about that brother."</p>
+
+<p>"There was a private marriage, and cross guardians, and the usual
+difficulties. In the midst of it all, poor John fell in battle, as you
+know, and his widow followed him to the grave, within a month or two.
+'Twas a sad story all round, and I try to think of it as little as
+possible."</p>
+
+<p>"A private marriage!" repeated Sir Gervaise, slowly. "Are you quite sure
+of <i>that</i>? I don't think Bluewater is aware of that circumstance; at
+least, I never heard him allude to it. Could there have been any issue?"</p>
+
+<p>"No one can know it better than myself, as I helped to get the lady off,
+and was present at the ceremony. That much I <i>know</i>. Of issue, I should
+think there was none; though the colonel lived a year after the
+marriage. How far the admiral is familiar with all these circumstances I
+cannot say, as one would not like to introduce the particulars of a
+private marriage of a deceased brother, to his commanding officer."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad there was no issue, Greenly&mdash;particular circumstances make me
+glad of that. But we will change the discourse, as these family
+disasters make one melancholy; and a melancholy dinner is like
+ingratitude to Him who bestows it."</p>
+
+<p>The conversation now grew general, and in due season, in common with the
+feast, it ended. After sitting the usual time, the guests retired. Sir
+Gervaise then went on deck, and paced the poop for an hour, looking
+anxiously ahead, in quest of the French signal; and, failing of
+discovering them, he was fain to seek his berth out of sheer fatigue.
+Before he did this, however, the necessary orders were given; and that
+to call him, should any thing out of the common track occur, was
+repeated no less than four times.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Roll on, thou deep and dark-blue ocean&mdash;roll<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Man marks the earth with ruin&mdash;his control<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Stops with the shore;&mdash;upon the watery plain<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The wrecks are all thy deed."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Childe Harold</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>It was broad day-light, when Sir Gervaise Oakes next appeared on deck.
+As the scene then offered to his view, as well as the impression it made
+on his mind, will sufficiently explain to the reader the state of
+affairs, some six hours later than the time last included in our
+account, we refer him to those for his own impressions. The wind now
+blew a real gale, though the season of the year rendered it less
+unpleasant to the feelings than is usual with wintry tempests. The air
+was even bland, and still charged with the moisture of the ocean; though
+it came sweeping athwart sheets of foam, with a fury, at moments, which
+threatened to carry the entire summits of waves miles from their beds,
+in spray. Even the aquatic birds seemed to be terrified, in the instants
+of the greatest power of the winds, actually wheeling suddenly on their
+wings, and plunging into the element beneath to seek protection from the
+maddened efforts of that to which they more properly belonged.</p>
+
+<p>Still, Sir Gervaise saw that his ships bore up nobly against the fierce
+strife. Each vessel showed the same canvass; viz.&mdash;a reefed fore-sail; a
+small triangular piece of strong, heavy cloth, fitted between the end of
+the bowsprit and the head of the fore-top-mast; a similar sail over the
+quarter-deck, between the mizzen and main masts, and a close-reefed
+main-top-sail Several times that morning, Captain Greenly had thought he
+should be compelled to substitute a lower surface to the wind than that
+of the sail last mentioned. As it was an important auxiliary, however,
+in steadying the ship, and in keeping her under the command of her helm,
+on each occasion the order had been delayed, until he now began to
+question whether the canvass could be reduced, without too great a risk
+to the men whom it would be necessary to send aloft. He had decided to
+let it stand or blow away, as fortune might decide. Similar reasoning
+left nearly all the other vessels under precisely the same canvass.</p>
+
+<p>The ships of the vice-admiral's division had closed in the night,
+agreeably to an order given before quitting the anchorage, which
+directed them to come within the usual sailing distance, in the event of
+the weather's menacing a separation. This command had been obeyed by the
+ships astern carrying sail hard, long after the leading vessels had been
+eased by reducing their canvass. The order of sailing was the
+Plantagenet in the van, and the Carnatic, Achilles, Thunderer, Blenheim,
+and Warspite following, in the order named; some changes having been
+made in the night, in order to bring the ships of the division into
+their fighting-stations, in a line ahead, the vice-admiral leading. The
+superiority of the Plantagenet was a little apparent, notwithstanding;
+the Carnatic alone, and that only by means of the most careful watching,
+being able to keep literally in the commander-in-chief's wake; all the
+other vessels gradually but almost imperceptibly setting to leeward of
+it. These several circumstances struck Sir Gervaise, the moment his foot
+touched the poop, where he found Greenly keeping an anxious look-out on
+the state of the weather and the condition of his own ship; leaning at
+the same time, against the spanker-boom to steady himself in the gusts
+of the gale. The vice-admiral braced his own well-knit and compact
+frame, by spreading his legs; then he turned his handsome but
+weather-beaten face towards the line, scanning each ship in succession,
+as she lay over to the wind, and came wallowing on, shoving aside vast
+mounds of water with her bows, her masts describing short arcs in the
+air, and her hull rolling to windward, and lurching, as if boring her
+way through the ocean. Galleygo, who never regarded himself as a steward
+in a gale of wind, was the only other person on the poop, whither he
+went at pleasure by a sort of imprescriptibly right.</p>
+
+<p>"Well done, old Planter!" cried Sir Gervaise, heartily, as soon as his
+eye had taken in the leading peculiarities of the view. "You see,
+Greenly, she has every body but old Parker to leeward, and she would
+have him there, too, but he would carry every stick he has, out of the
+Carnatic, rather than not keep his berth. Look at Master Morganic; he
+has his main course close-reefed on the Achilles, to luff into his
+station, and I'll warrant you will get a good six months' wear out of
+that ship in this one gale; loosening her knees, and jerking her spars
+like so many whip-handles; and all for love of the new fashion of
+rigging an English two-decker like an Algerian xebec! Well, let him tug
+his way up to windward, Bond-street fashion, if he likes the fun. What
+has become of the Chloe, Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"Here she is, sir, quite a league on our lee-bow, looking out, according
+to orders."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that is her work, and she'll do it effectually.&mdash;But I don't see
+the Driver!"</p>
+
+<p>"She's dead ahead sir," answered Greenly, smiling; "<i>her</i> orders being
+rather more difficult of execution. Her station would be off yonder to
+windward, half a league ahead of us; but it's no easy matter to get into
+that position, Sir Gervaise, when the Plantagenet is really in earnest."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise laughed, and rubbed his hands, then he turned to look for
+the Active, the only other vessel of his division. This little cutter
+was dancing over the seas, half the time under water, notwithstanding,
+under the head of her main-sail, broad off, on the admiral's
+weather-beam; finding no difficulty in maintaining her station there, in
+the absence of all top-hamper, and favoured by the lowness of her hull.
+After this he glanced upward at the sails and spars of the Plantagenet,
+which he studied closely.</p>
+
+<p>"No signs of <i>de Vervillin</i>, hey! Greenly?" the admiral asked, when his
+survey of the whole fleet had ended. "I was in hopes we might see
+something of <i>him</i>, when the light returned this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it is quite as well as it is, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+captain. "We could do little besides look at each other, in this gale,
+and Admiral Bluewater ought to join before I should like even to do
+<i>that</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Think you so, Master Greenly!&mdash;There you are mistaken, then; for I'd
+lie by him, were I alone in this ship, that I might know where he was to
+be found as soon as the weather would permit us to have something to say
+to him."</p>
+
+<p>These words were scarcely uttered, when the look-out in the forward
+cross-trees, shouted at the top of his voice, "sail-ho!" At the next
+instant the Chloe fired a gun, the report of which was just heard amid
+the roaring of the gale, though the smoke was distinctly seen floating
+above the mists of the ocean; she also set a signal at her naked
+mizzen-top-gallant-mast-head.</p>
+
+<p>"Run below, young gentleman," said the vice-admiral, advancing to the
+break of the poop and speaking to a midshipman on the quarter-deck; "and
+desire Mr. Bunting to make his appearance. The Chloe signals us&mdash;tell
+him not to look for his knee-buckles."</p>
+
+<p>A century since, the last injunction, though still so much in use on
+ship-board, was far more literal than it is to-day, nearly all classes
+of men possessing the articles in question, though not invariably
+wearing them when at sea. The midshipman dove below, however, as soon as
+the words were out of his superior's mouth; and, in a very few minutes,
+Bunting appeared, having actually stopped on the main-deck ladder to
+assume his coat, lest he might too unceremoniously invade the sacred
+precincts of the quarter-deck, in his shirt-sleeves.</p>
+
+<p>"There it is, Bunting," said Sir Gervaise, handing the lieutenant the
+glass; "two hundred and twenty-seven&mdash;'a large sail ahead,' if I
+remember right."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Gervaise, '<i>sails</i> ahead;' the number of them to follow. Hoist
+the answering flag, quarter-master."</p>
+
+<p>"So much the better! So much the better, Bunting! The number to follow?
+Well, <i>we'll</i> follow the number, let it be greater or smaller. Come,
+sirrah, bear a hand up with your answering flag."</p>
+
+<p>The usual signal that the message was understood was now run up between
+the masts, and instantly hauled down again, the flags seen in the Chloe
+descending at the same moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Now for the number of the sails, ahead," said Sir Gervaise, as he,
+Greenly, and Bunting, each levelled a glass at the frigate, on board
+which the next signal was momentarily expected. "Eleven, by George!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Gervaise," exclaimed Greenly, "I know better than <i>that</i>. Red
+above, and blue beneath, with the distinguishing pennant <i>beneath</i>, make
+<i>fourteen</i>, in our books, now!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, if they are <i>forty</i>, we'll go nearer and see of what sort of
+stuff they are made. Show your answering flag, Bunting, that we may know
+what else the Chloe has to tell us."</p>
+
+<p>This was done, the frigate hauling down her signals in haste, and
+showing a new set as soon as possible.</p>
+
+<p>"What now, Bunting?&mdash;what now, Greenly?" demanded Sir Gervaise, a sea
+having struck the side of the ship and thrown so much spray into his
+face as to reduce him to the necessity of using his pocket-handkerchief,
+at the very moment he was anxious to be looking through his glass. "What
+do you make of <i>that</i>, gentlemen?"</p>
+
+<p>"I make out the number to be 382," answered Greenly; "but what it means,
+I know not."</p>
+
+<p>"'Strange sails, <i>enemies</i>,'" read Bunting from the book. "Show the
+answer, quarter-master."</p>
+
+<p>"We hardly wanted a signal for <i>that</i>, Greenly, since there can be no
+friendly force, here away; and fourteen sail, on this coast, always
+means mischief. What says the Chloe next?"</p>
+
+<p>"'Strange sails on the larboard tack, heading as follows.'"</p>
+
+<p>"By George, crossing our course!&mdash;We shall soon see them from deck. Do
+the ships astern notice the signals?"</p>
+
+<p>"Every one of them, Sir Gervaise," answered the captain; "the Thunderer
+has just lowered her answering flag, and the Active is repeating. I have
+never seen quarter-masters so nimble!"</p>
+
+<p>"So much the better&mdash;so much the better&mdash;down he comes; stand by for
+another."</p>
+
+<p>After the necessary pause, the signal to denote the point of the compass
+was shown from the Chloe.</p>
+
+<p>"Heading how, Bunting?" the vice-admiral eagerly inquired. "Heading how,
+sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"North-west-and-by-north," or as Bunting pronounced it
+"nor-west-and-by-loathe, I believe, sir,&mdash;no, I am mistaken, Sir
+Gervaise; it is nor-nor-west."</p>
+
+<p>"Jammed up like ourselves, hard on a wind! This gale comes directly from
+the broad Atlantic, and one party is crossing over to the north and the
+other to the south shore. We <i>must</i> meet, unless one of us run
+away&mdash;hey! Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"True enough, Sir Gervaise; though fourteen sail is rather an awkward
+odds for seven."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget the Driver and Active, sir; we've <i>nine</i>; nine hearty,
+substantial British cruisers."</p>
+
+<p>"To wit: six ships of the line, one frigate, a <i>sloop</i>, and a <i>cutter</i>,"
+laying heavy emphasis on the two last vessels.</p>
+
+<p>"What does the Chloe say now, Bunting? That we're enough for the French,
+although they <i>are</i> two to one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not exactly that, I believe, Sir Gervaise. 'Five more sail ahead.' They
+increase fast, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, at that rate, they may indeed grow too strong for us," answered Sir
+Gervaise, with more coolness of manner; "nineteen to nine are rather
+heavy odds. I wish we had Bluewater here!"</p>
+
+<p>"That is what I was about to suggest, Sir Gervaise," observed the
+captain. "If we had the other division, as some of the Frenchmen are
+probably frigates and corvettes, we might do better. Admiral Bluewater
+cannot be far from us; somewhere down here, towards north-east&mdash;or
+nor-nor-east. By warring round, I think we should make his division in
+the course of a couple of hours."</p>
+
+<p>"What, and leave to Monsieur de Vervillin the advantage of swearing he
+frightened us away! No&mdash;no&mdash;Greenly; we will first <i>pass</i> him fairly and
+manfully, and that, too, within reach of shot; and then it will be time
+enough to go round and look after our friends."</p>
+
+<p>"Will not that be putting the French exactly between our two divisions,
+Sir Gervaise, and give him the advantage of dividing our force. If he
+stand far, on a nor-nor-west course, I think he will infallibly get
+between us and Admiral Bluewater."</p>
+
+<p>"And what will he gain by that, Greenly?&mdash;What, according to your
+notions of matters and things, will be the great advantage of having an
+English fleet on each side of him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not much, certainly, Sir Gervaise," answered Greenly, laughing; "if
+these fleets were at all equal to his own. But as they will be much
+inferior to him, the Comte may manage to close with one division, while
+the other is so far off as to be unable to assist; and one hour of a hot
+fire may dispose of the victory."</p>
+
+<p>"All this is apparent enough, Greenly; yet I could hardly brook letting
+the enemy go scathe less. So long as it blows as it does now, there will
+not be much fighting, and there can be no harm in taking a near look at
+M. de Vervillin. In half an hour, or an hour at most, we must get a
+sight of him from off deck, even with this slow headway of the two
+fleets. Let them heave the log, and ascertain how fast we go, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Should we engage the French in such weather, Sir Gervaise," answered
+Greenly, after giving the order just mentioned; "it would be giving them
+the very advantage they like. They usually fire at the spars, and one
+shot would do more mischief, with such a strain on the masts, than
+half-a-dozen in a moderate blow."</p>
+
+<p>"That will do, Greenly&mdash;that will do," said the vice-admiral,
+impatiently; "if I didn't so well know you, and hadn't seen you so often
+engaged, I should think you were afraid of these nineteen sail. You have
+lectured long enough to render me prudent, and we'll say no more."</p>
+
+<p>Here Sir Gervaise turned on his heel, and began to pace the poop, for he
+was slightly vexed, though not angered. Such little dialogues often
+occurred between him and his captain, the latter knowing that his
+commander's greatest professional failing was excess of daring, while he
+felt that his own reputation was too well established to be afraid to
+inculcate prudence. Next to the honour of the flag, and his own perhaps,
+Greenly felt the greatest interest in that of Sir Gervaise Oakes, under
+whom he had served as midshipman, lieutenant, and captain; and this his
+superior knew, a circumstance that would have excused far greater
+liberties. After moving swiftly to and fro several times, the
+vice-admiral began to cool, and he forgot this passing ebullition of
+quick feelings. Greenly, on the other hand, satisfied that the just mind
+of the commander-in-chief would not fail to appreciate facts that had
+been so plainly presented to it, was content to change the subject. They
+conversed together, in a most friendly manner, Sir Gervaise being even
+unusually frank and communicative, in order to prove he was not
+displeased, the matter in discussion being the state of the ship and the
+situation of the crew.</p>
+
+<p>"You are always ready for battle, Greenly," the vice-admiral said,
+smilingly, in conclusion; "when there is a necessity; and always just as
+ready to point out the inexpediency of engaging, where you fancy nothing
+is to be gained by it. You would not have me run away from a shadow,
+however; or a signal; and that is much the same thing: so we will stand
+on, until we make the Frenchmen fairly from off-deck, when it will be
+time enough to determine what shall come next."</p>
+
+<p>"Sail-ho!" shouted one of the look-outs from aloft, a cry that
+immediately drew all eyes towards the mizzen-top-mast-cross-trees,
+whence the sound proceeded.</p>
+
+<p>The wind blew too fresh to render conversation, even by means of a
+trumpet, easy, and the man was ordered down to give an account of what
+he had seen. Of course he first touched the poop-deck, where he was met
+by the admiral and captain, the officer of the watch, to whom he
+properly belonged, giving him up to the examination of his two
+superiors, without a grimace.</p>
+
+<p>"Where-away is the sail you've seen, sir?" demanded Sir Gervaise a
+little sharply, for he suspected it was no more than one of the ships
+ahead, already signaled. "Down yonder to the southward and
+eastward&mdash;hey! sirrah?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Jarvy," answered the top-man, hitching his trowsers with one
+hand, and smoothing the hair on his forehead with the other; "but out
+here, to the forward and westward, on our weather-quarter. It's none o'
+them French chaps as is with the County of Fairvillian,"&mdash;for so all the
+common men of the fleet believed their gallant enemy to be rightly
+named,&mdash;"but is a square-rigged craft by herself, jammed up on a wind,
+pretty much like all on us."</p>
+
+<p>"That alters the matter, Greenly! How do you know she is square-rigged,
+my man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Sir Jarvy, your honour, she's under her fore and main-taw-sails,
+close-reefed, with a bit of the main-sail set, as well as I can make it
+out, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil she is! It must be some fellow in a great hurry, to carry
+that canvass in this blow! Can it be possible, Greenly, that the leading
+vessel of Bluewater is heaving in sight?"</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think not, Sir Gervaise; it would be too far to windward for
+any of his two-deckers. It may turn out to be a look-out ship of the
+French, got round on the other tack to keep her station, and carrying
+sail hard, because she dislikes our appearance."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case she must claw well to windward to escape us! What's your
+name, my lad&mdash;Tom Davis, if I'm not mistaken?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Jarvy, it's Jack Brown; which is much the same, your honour.
+We's no ways partic'lar about names."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Jack, does it blow hard aloft? So as to give you any trouble in
+holding on?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing to speak on, Sir Jarvy. A'ter cruising a winter and spring in
+the Bay of Biscay, I looks on this as no more nor a puff. Half a hand
+will keep a fellow in his berth, aloft."</p>
+
+<p>"Galleygo&mdash;take Jack Brown below to my cabin, and give him a fresh nip
+in his jigger&mdash;he'll hold on all the better for it."</p>
+
+<p>This was Sir Gervaise's mode of atoning for the error in doing the man
+injustice, by supposing he was mistaken about the new sail, and Jack
+Brown went aloft devoted to the commander-in-chief. It costs the great
+and powerful so little to become popular, that one is sometimes
+surprised to find that any are otherwise; but, when we remember that it
+is also their duty to be just, astonishment ceases; justice being
+precisely the quality to which a large portion of the human race are
+most averse.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour passed, and no further reports were received from aloft. In
+a few minutes, however, the Warspite signalled the admiral, to report
+the stranger on her weather-quarter, and, not long after, the Active did
+the same. Still neither told his character; and the course being
+substantially the same, the unknown ship approached but slowly,
+notwithstanding the unusual quantity of sail she had set. At the end of
+the period mentioned, the vessels in the south-eastern board began to be
+visible from the deck. The ocean was so white with foam, that it was not
+easy to distinguish a ship, under short canvass, at any great distance;
+but, by the aid of glasses, both Sir Gervaise and Greenly satisfied
+themselves that the number of the enemy at the southward amounted to
+just twenty; one more having hove in sight, and been signalled by the
+Chloe, since her first report. Several of these vessels, however, were
+small; and, the vice-admiral, after a long and anxious survey, lowered
+his glass and turned to his captain in order to compare opinions.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Greenly," he asked, "what do you make of them, now?&mdash;According to
+my reckoning, there are thirteen of the line, two frigates, four
+corvettes, and a lugger; or twenty sail in all."</p>
+
+<p>"There can be no doubt of the twenty sail, Sir Gervaise, though the
+vessels astern are still too distant to speak of their size. I rather
+think it will turn out <i>fourteen</i> of the line and only three frigates."</p>
+
+<p>"That is rather too much for us, certainly, without Bluewater. His five
+ships, now, and this westerly position, would make a cheering prospect
+for us. We might stick by Mr. de Vervillin until it moderated, and then
+pay our respects to him. What do you say to <i>that</i>, Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"That it is of no great moment, Sir Gervaise, so long as the other
+division is <i>not</i> with us. But yonder are signals flying on board the
+Active, the Warspite, and the Blenheim."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, they've something to tell us of the chap astern and to windward.
+Come, Bunting, give us the news."</p>
+
+<p>"'Stranger in the north-west shows the Druid's number;'" the
+signal-officer read mechanically from the book.</p>
+
+<p>"The deuce he does! Then Bluewater cannot be far off. Let Dick alone for
+keeping in his proper place; he has an instinct for a line of battle,
+and I never knew him fail to be in the very spot I could wish to have
+him, looking as much at home, as if his ships had all been built there!
+The Druid's number! The C&aelig;sar and the rest of them are in a line ahead,
+further north, heading up well to windward even of our own wake. This
+puts the Comte fairly under our lee."</p>
+
+<p>But Greenly was far from being of a temperament as sanguine as that of
+the vice-admiral's. He did not like the circumstance of the Druid's
+being alone visible, and she, too, under what in so heavy a gale, might
+be deemed a press of canvass. There was no apparent reason for the
+division's carrying sail so hard, while the frigate would he obliged to
+do it, did she wish to overtake vessels like the Plantagenet and her
+consorts. He suggested, therefore, the probability that the ship was
+alone, and that her object might be to speak them.</p>
+
+<p>"There is something in what you say, Greenly," answered Sir Gervaise,
+after a minute's reflection; "and we must look into it. If Denham
+doesn't give us any thing new from the Count to change our plans, it may
+be well to learn what the Druid is after."</p>
+
+<p>Denham was the commander of the Chloe, which ship, a neat
+six-and-thirty, was pitching into the heavy seas that now came rolling
+in heavily from the broad Atlantic, the water streaming from her
+hawse-holes, as she rose from each plunge, like the spouts of a whale.
+This vessel, it has been stated, was fully a league ahead and to leeward
+of the Plantagenet, and consequently so much nearer to the French, who
+were approaching from that precise quarter of the ocean, in a long
+single line, like that of the English; a little relieved, however, by
+the look-out vessels, all of which, in their case, were sailing along on
+the weather-beam of their friends. The distance was still so great, as
+to render glasses necessary in getting any very accurate notions of the
+force and the point of sailing of Monsieur de Vervillin's fleet, the
+ships astern being yet so remote as to require long practice to speak
+with any certainty of their characters. In nothing, notwithstanding, was
+the superior practical seamanship of the English more apparent, than in
+the manner in which these respective lines were formed. That of Sir
+Gervaise Oakes was compact, each ship being as near as might be a
+cable's length distant from her seconds, ahead and astern. This was a
+point on which the vice-admiral prided himself; and by compelling his
+captains rigidly to respect their line of sailing, and by keeping the
+same ships and officers, as much as possible, under his orders, each
+captain of the fleet had got to know his own vessel's rate of speed, and
+all the other qualities that were necessary to maintain her precise
+position. All the ships being weatherly, though some, in a slight
+degree, were more so than others, it was easy to keep the line in
+weather like the present, the wind not blowing sufficiently hard to
+render a few cloths more or less of canvass of any very great moment. If
+there was a vessel sensibly out of her place, in the entire line, it was
+the Achilles; Lord Morganic not having had time to get all his forward
+spars as far aft as they should have been; a circumstance that had
+knocked him off a little more than had happened to the other vessels.
+Nevertheless, had an air-line been drawn at this moment, from the
+mizzen-top of the Plantagenet to that of the Warspite, it would have
+been found to pass through the spars of quite half the intermediate
+vessels, and no one of them all would have been a pistol-shot out of the
+way. As there were six intervals between the vessels, and each interval
+as near as could be guessed at was a cable's length, the extent of the
+whole line a little exceeded three-quarters of a mile.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, the French, though they preserved a very respectable
+degree of order, were much less compact, and by no means as methodical
+in their manner of sailing. Some of their ships were a quarter of a mile
+to leeward of the line, and the intervals were irregular and
+ill-observed. These circumstances arose from several causes, neither of
+which proceeded from any fault in the commander-in-chief, who was both
+an experienced seaman and a skilful tactician. But his captains were new
+to each other, and some of them were recently appointed to their ships;
+it being just as much a matter of course that a seaman should ascertain
+the qualities of his vessel, by familiarity, as that a man should learn
+the character of his wife, in the intimacy of wedlock.</p>
+
+<p>At the precise moment of which we are now writing, the Chloe might have
+been about a league from the leading vessel of the enemy, and her
+position to leeward of her own fleet threatened to bring her, half an
+hour later, within range of the Frenchmen's guns. This fact was apparent
+to all in the squadron; still the frigate stood on, having been placed
+in that station, and the whole being under the immediate supervision of
+the commander-in-chief.</p>
+
+<p>"Denham will have a warm berth of it, sir, should he stand on much
+longer," said Greenly, when ten minutes more had passed, during which
+the ships had gradually drawn nearer.</p>
+
+<p>"I was hoping he might get between the most weatherly French frigate and
+her line," answered Sir Gervaise; "when I think, by edging rapidly away,
+we could take her alive, with the Plantagenet."</p>
+
+<p>"In which case we might as well clear for action; such a man[oe]uvre
+being certain to bring on a general engagement."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;no&mdash;I'm not quite mad enough for that, Master Telemachus; but, we
+can wait a little longer for the chances. How many flags can you make
+out among the enemy, Bunting?"</p>
+
+<p>"I see but two, Sir Gervaise; one at the fore, and the other at the
+mizzen, like our own. I can make out, now, only twelve ships of the
+line, too; neither of which is a three-decker."</p>
+
+<p>"So much for rumour; as flagrant a liar as ever wagged a tongue! Twelve
+ships on two decks, and eight frigates, sloops and luggers. There can be
+no great mistake in this."</p>
+
+<p>"I think not, Sir Gervaise; their commander-in-chief is in the fourth
+ship from the head of the line. His flag is just discernible, by means
+of our best glass. Ay, there goes a signal, this instant, at the end of
+his gaff!"</p>
+
+<p>"If one could only read French now, Greenly," said the vice-admiral,
+smiling; "we might get into some of Mr. de Vervillin's secrets. Perhaps
+it's an order to go to quarters or to clear; look out sharp, Bunting,
+for any signs of such a movement. What do you make of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's to the frigates, Sir Gervaise; all of which answer, while the
+other vessels do not."</p>
+
+<p>"We want no French to read that signal, sir," put in Greenly; "the
+frigates themselves telling us what it means. Monsieur de Vervillin has
+no idea of letting the Plantagenet take any thing he has, <i>alive</i>."</p>
+
+<p>This was true enough. Just as the captain spoke, the object of the order
+was made sufficiently apparent, by all the light vessels to windward of
+the French fleet, bearing up together, until they brought the wind abaft
+their beams, when away they glided to leeward, like floating objects
+that have suddenly struck a swift current. Before this change in their
+course, these frigates and corvettes had been struggling along, the seas
+meeting them on their weather-bows, at the rate of about two knots or
+rather less; whereas, their speed was now quadrupled, and in a few
+minutes, the whole of them had sailed through the different intervals in
+their main line, and had formed as before, nearly half a league to
+leeward of it. Here, in the event of an action, their principal duties
+would have been to succour crippled ships that might be forced out of
+their allotted stations during the combat. All this Sir Gervaise viewed
+with disgust. He had hoped that his enemy might have presumed on the
+state of the elements, and suffered his light vessels to maintain their
+original positions.</p>
+
+<p>"It would be a great triumph to us, Greenly," he said, "if Denham could
+pass without shifting his berth. There would be something manly and
+seamanlike in an inferior fleet's passing a superior, in such a style."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, though it <i>might</i> cost us a fine frigate. The count can have
+no difficulty in fighting his weather main-deck guns, and a discharge
+from two or three of his leading vessels might cut away some spar that
+Denham would miss sadly, just at such a moment."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise placed his hands behind his back, paced the deck a minute,
+and then said decidedly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Bunting, make the Chloe's signal to ware&mdash;tacking in this sea, and
+under that short canvass, is out of the question."</p>
+
+<p>Bunting had anticipated this order, and had even ventured clandestinely
+to direct the quarter-masters to bend on the necessary flags; and Sir
+Gervaise had scarcely got the words out of his mouth, before the signal
+was abroad. The Chloe was equally on the alert; for she too each moment
+expected the command, and ere her answering flag was seen, her helm was
+up, the mizen-stay-sail down, and her head falling off rapidly towards
+the enemy. This movement seemed to be expected all round&mdash;and it
+certainly had been delayed to the very last moment&mdash;for the leading
+French ship fell off three or four points, and as the frigate was
+exactly end-on to her, let fly the contents of all the guns on her
+forecastle, as well as of those on her main-deck, as far aft as they
+could be brought to bear. One of the top-sail-sheets of the frigate was
+shot away by this rapid and unexpected fire, and some little damage was
+done to the standing rigging; but luckily, none of immediate moment.
+Captain Denham was active, and the instant he found his top-sail
+flapping, he ordered it clewed up, and the main-sail loosed. The latter
+was set, close-reefed, as the ship came to the wind on the larboard
+tack, and by the time every thing was braced up and hauled aft, on that
+tack, the main-top-sail was ready to be sheeted home, anew. During the
+few minutes that these evolutions required, Sir Gervaise kept his eye
+riveted on the vessel; and when he saw her fairly round, and trimmed by
+the wind, again, with the main-sail dragging her ahead, to own the truth,
+he felt mentally relieved.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a minute too soon, Sir Gervaise," observed the cautious Greenly,
+smiling. "I should not be surprised if Denham hears more from that
+fellow at the head of the French line. His weather chase-guns are
+exactly in a range with the frigate, and the two upper ones might be
+worked, well enough."</p>
+
+<p>"I think not, Greenly. The forecastle gun, possibly; scarcely any thing
+below it."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise proved to be partly right and partly wrong. The Frenchman
+<i>did</i> attempt a fire with his main-deck gun; but, at the first plunge of
+the ship, a sea slapped up against her weather-bow, and sent a column of
+water through the port, that drove half its crew into the lee-scuppers.
+In the midst of this waterspout, the gun exploded, the loggerhead having
+been applied an instant before, giving a sort of chaotic wildness to the
+scene in-board. This satisfied the party below; though that on the
+forecastle fared better. The last fired their gun several times, and
+always without success. This failure proceeded from a cause that is
+seldom sufficiently estimated by nautical gunners; the shot having
+swerved from the line of sight, by the force of the wind against which
+it flew, two or three hundred feet, by the time it had gone the mile
+that lay between the vessels. Sir Gervaise anxiously watched the effect
+of the fire, and perceiving that all the shot fell to leeward of the
+Chloe, he was no longer uneasy about that vessel, and he began to turn
+his attention to other and more important concerns.</p>
+
+<p>As we are now approaching a moment when it is necessary that the reader
+should receive some tolerably distinct impression of the relative
+positions of the two entire fleets, we shall close the present chapter,
+here; reserving the duty of explanation for the commencement of a new
+one.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">&mdash;&mdash;"All were glad,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And laughed, and shouted, as she darted on,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And plunged amid the foam, and tossed it high,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Over the deck, as when a strong, curbed steed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Flings the froth from him in his eager race."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Percival</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>The long twilight of a high latitude had now ended, and the sun, though
+concealed behind clouds, had risen. The additional light contributed to
+lessen the gloomy look of the ocean, though the fury of the winds and
+waves still lent to it a dark and menacing aspect. To windward there
+were no signs of an abatement of the gale, while the heavens continued
+to abstain from letting down their floods, on the raging waters beneath.
+By this lime, the fleet was materially to the southward of Cape la
+Hogue, though far to the westward, where the channel received the winds
+and waves from the whole rake of the Atlantic, and the seas were setting
+in, in the long, regular swells of the ocean, a little disturbed by the
+influence of the tides. Ships as heavy as the two-deckers moved along
+with groaning efforts, their bulk-heads and timbers "complaining," to
+use the language of the sea, as the huge masses, loaded with their iron
+artillery, rose and sunk on the coming and receding billows. But their
+movements were stately and full of majesty; whereas, the cutter, sloop,
+and even the frigates, seemed to be tossed like foam, very much at the
+mercy of the elements. The Chloe was passing the admiral, on the
+opposite tack, quite a mile to leeward, and yet, as she mounted to the
+summit of a wave, her cut-water was often visible nearly to the keel.
+These are the trials of a vessel's strength; for, were a ship always
+water-borne equally on all her lines, there would not be the necessity
+which now exists to make her the well-knit mass of wood and iron she is.</p>
+
+<p>The progress of the two fleets was very much the same, both squadrons
+struggling along through the billows, at the rate of about a marine
+league in the hour. As no lofty sail was carried, and the vessels were
+first made in the haze of a clouded morning, the ships had not become
+visible to each other until nearer than common; and, by the time at
+which we have now arrived in our tale, the leading vessels were
+separated by a space that did not exceed two miles, estimating the
+distance only on their respective lines of sailing; though there would
+be about the same space between them, when abreast, the English being so
+much to windward of their enemies. Any one in the least familiar with
+nautical man[oe]uvres will understand that these circumstances would
+bring the van of the French and the rear of their foes much nearer
+together in passing, both fleets being close-hauled.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes, as a matter of course, watched the progress of the
+two lines with close and intelligent attention. Mons. de Vervillin did
+the same from the poop of le Foudroyant, a noble eighty-gun ship in
+which his flag of <i>vice-admiral</i> was flying, as it might be, in
+defiance. By the side of the former stood Greenly, Bunting, and Bury,
+the Plantagenet's first lieutenant; by the side of the latter his
+capitaine de vaisseau, a man as little like the caricatures of such
+officers, as a hostile feeling has laid before the readers of English
+literature, as Washington was like the man held up to odium in the
+London journals, at the commencement of the great American war. M. de
+Vervillin himself was a man of respectable birth, of a scientific
+education, and of great familiarity with ships, so far as a knowledge of
+their general powers and principles was concerned; but here his
+professional excellence ceased, all that infinity of detail which
+composes the distinctive merit of the practical seaman being, in a great
+degree, unknown to him, rendering it necessary for him to <i>think</i> in
+moments of emergency; periods when the really prime mariner seems more
+to act by a sort of <i>instinct</i> than by any very intelligible process of
+ratiocination. With his fleet drawn out before him, however, and with no
+unusual demands on his resources, this gallant officer was an
+exceedingly formidable foe to contend with in squadron.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes lost all his constitutional and feverish impatience
+while the fleets drew nigher and nigher. As is not unusual with brave
+men, who are naturally excitable, as the crisis approached he grew
+calmer, and obtained a more perfect command over himself; seeing all
+things in their true colours, and feeling more and more equal to control
+them. He continued to walk the poop, but it was with a slower step; and,
+though his hands were still closed behind his back, the fingers were
+passive, while his countenance became grave and his eye thoughtful.
+Greenly knew that his interference would now be hazardous; for
+whenever the vice-admiral assumed that air, he literally became
+commander-in-chief; and any attempt to control or influence him, unless
+sustained by the communication of new facts, could only draw down
+resentment on his own head. Bunting, too, was aware that the "admiral
+was aboard," as the officers, among themselves, used to describe this
+state of their superior's mind, and was prepared to discharge his own
+duty in the most silent and rapid manner in his power. All the others
+present felt more or less of this same influence of an established
+character.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Mr.</i> Bunting," said Sir Gervaise, when the distance between the
+Plantagenet and <i>le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire</i> the leading French vessel, might have
+been about a league, allowing for the difference in the respective lines
+of sailing&mdash;"<i>Mr.</i> Bunting, bend on the signal for the ships to go to
+quarters. We may as well be ready for any turn of the dice."</p>
+
+<p>No one dared to comment on this order: it was obeyed in readiness and
+silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Signal ready, Sir Gervaise," said Bunting, the instant the last flag
+was in its place.</p>
+
+<p>"Run it up at once, sir, and have a bright look-out for the answers.
+Captain Greenly, go to quarters, and see all clear on the main-deck, to
+use the batteries if wanted. The people can stand fast below, as I think
+it might be dangerous to open the ports."</p>
+
+<p>Captain Greenly passed off the poop to the quarter-deck, and in a minute
+the drum and fife struck up the air which is known all over the
+civilized world as the call to arms. In most services this summons is
+made by the drum alone, which emits sounds to which the fancy has
+attached peculiar words; those of the soldiers of France being "<i>prend
+ton sac</i>&mdash;<i>prend ton sac</i>&mdash;<i>prend ton sac</i>," no bad representatives of
+the meaning; but in English and American ships, this appeal is usually
+made in company with the notes of the "ear-piercing fife," which gives
+it a melody that might otherwise be wanting.</p>
+
+<p>"Signal answered throughout the fleet, Sir Gervaise," said Bunting.</p>
+
+<p>No answer was given to this report beyond a quiet inclination of the
+head. After a moment's pause, however, the vice-admiral turned to his
+signal officer and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I should think, Bunting, no captain can need an order to tell him <i>not</i>
+to open his lee-lower-deck ports in such a sea as this?"</p>
+
+<p>"I rather fancy not, Sir Gervaise," answered Bunting, looking drolly at
+the boiling element that gushed up each minute from beneath the bottom
+of the ship, in a way to appear as high as the hammock-cloths. "The
+people at the <i>main</i>-deck guns would have rather a wet time of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Bend on the signal, sir, for the ships astern to keep in the
+vice-admiral's wake. Young gentleman," to the midshipman who always
+acted as his aid in battle, "tell Captain Greenly I desire to see him as
+soon as he has received all the reports."</p>
+
+<p>Down to the moment when the first tap of the drum was heard, the
+Plantagenet had presented a scene of singular quiet and unconcern,
+considering the circumstances in which she was placed. A landsman would
+scarcely credit that men could be so near their enemies, and display so
+much indifference to their vicinity; but this was the result of long
+habit, and a certain marine instinct that tells the sailor when any
+thing serious is in the wind, and when not. The difference in the force
+of the two fleets, the heavy gale, and the weatherly position of the
+English, all conspired to assure the crew that nothing decisive could
+yet occur. Here and there an officer or an old seaman might be seen
+glancing through a port, to ascertain the force and position of the
+French; but, on the whole, their fleet excited little more attention
+than if lying at anchor in Cherbourg. The breakfast hour was
+approaching, and that important event monopolized the principal interest
+of the moment. The officers' boys, in particular, began to make their
+appearance around the galley, provided, as usual, with their pots and
+dishes, and, now and then, one cast a careless glance through the
+nearest opening to see how the strangers looked; but as to warfare there
+was much more the appearance of it between the protectors of the rights
+of the different messes, than between the two great belligerent navies
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Nor was the state of things materially different in the gun-room, or
+cock-pit, or on the orlops. Most of the people of a two-decked ship are
+berthed on the lower gun deck, and the order to "clear ship" is more
+necessary to a vessel of that construction, before going to quarters
+seriously, than to smaller craft; though it is usual in all. So long as
+the bags, mess-chests, and other similar appliances were left in their
+ordinary positions, Jack saw little reason to derange himself; and as
+reports were brought below, from time to time, respecting the approach
+of the enemy, and more especially of his being well to leeward, few of
+those whose duty did not call them on deck troubled themselves about the
+matter at all. This habit of considering his fortune as attached to that
+of his ship, and of regarding himself as a point on her mass, as we all
+look on ourselves as particles of the orb we accompany in its
+revolutions, is sufficiently general among mariners; but it was
+particularly so as respects the sailors of a fleet, who were kept so
+much at sea, and who had been so often, with all sorts of results, in
+the presence of the enemy. The scene that was passing in the gun-room at
+the precise moment at which our tale has arrived, was so characteristic,
+in particular, as to merit a brief description.</p>
+
+<p>All the idlers by this time were out of their berths and cotts; the
+signs of those who "slept in the country," as it is termed, or who were
+obliged, for want of state-rooms, to sling in the common apartment,
+having disappeared. Magrath was reading a treatise on medicine, in good
+Leyden Latin, by a lamp. The purser was endeavouring to decipher his
+steward's hieroglyphics, favoured by the same light, and the captain of
+marines was examining the lock of an aged musket. The third and fourth
+lieutenants were helping each other to untangle one of their
+Bay-of-Biscay reckonings, which had set both plane and spherical
+trigonometry at defiance, by a lamp of their own; and the chaplain was
+hurrying the steward and the boys along with the breakfast&mdash;his usual
+occupation at that "witching time" in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>While things were in this state, the first lieutenant, Mr. Bury,
+appeared in the gun-room. His arrival caused one or two of the mess to
+glance upward at him, though no one spoke but the junior lieutenant,
+who, being an honourable, was at his ease with every one on board, short
+of the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the news from deck, Bury?" asked this officer, a youth of
+twenty, his senior being a man ten years older. "Is Mr. de Vervillin
+thinking of running away yet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not he, sir; there's too much of the game-cock about him for <i>that</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll warrant you he can <i>crow</i>! But what <i>is</i> the news, Bury?"</p>
+
+<p>"The news is that the old Planter is as wet as a wash-tub, forward, and
+I must have a dry jacket&mdash;do you hear, there, Tom? Soundings," turning
+to the master, who just then came in from forward, "have you taken a
+look out of doors this morning?"</p>
+
+<p>"You know I seldom forget that, Mr. Bury. A pretty pickle the ship would
+soon be in, if <i>I</i> forgot to look about me!"</p>
+
+<p>"He swallowed the deep-sea, down in the bay," cried the honourable,
+laughing, "and goes every morning at day-light to look for it out at the
+bridle-ports."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, Soundings, what do you think of the third ship in the
+French line?" continued Bury, disregarding the levity of the youth: "did
+you ever see such top-masts, as she carries, before?"</p>
+
+<p>"I scarce ever saw a Frenchman without them, Mr. Bury. You'd have just
+such sticks in this fleet, if Sir Jarvy would stand them."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, but Sir Jarvy <i>won't</i> stand them. The captain who sent such a stick
+up in his ship, would have to throw it overboard before night. I never
+saw such a pole in the air in my life!"</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter with the mast, Mr. Bury?" put in Magrath, who kept up
+what he called constant scientific skirmishes with the <i>elder</i>
+sea-officers; the <i>junior</i> being too inexperienced in his view to be
+worthy of a contest. "I'll engage the spar is moulded and fashioned
+agreeably to the most approved pheelosphical principles; for in <i>that</i>
+the French certainly excel us."</p>
+
+<p>"Who ever heard of <i>moulding</i> a spar?" interrupted Soundings, laughing
+loudly, "we <i>mould</i> a ship's frame, Doctor, but we <i>lengthen</i> and
+<i>shorten</i>, and <i>scrape</i> and <i>fid</i> her masts."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm answered as usual, gentlemen, and voted down, I suppose by
+acclamation, as they call it in other learned bodies. I would advise no
+creature that has a reason to go to sea; an instinct being all that is
+needed to make a Lord High Admiral of twenty tails."</p>
+
+<p>"I should like Sir Jarvy to hear <i>that</i>, my man of books," cried the
+fourth, who had satisfied himself that a book was not his own forte&mdash;"I
+fancy your instinct, doctor, will prevent you from whispering this in
+the vice-admiral's ear!"</p>
+
+<p>Although Magrath had a profound respect for the commander-in-chief, he
+was averse to giving in, in a gun-room discussion. His answer,
+therefore, partook of the feeling of the moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise," (he pronounced this word Jairvis,) "Sir Gervaise Oakes,
+<i>honourable</i> sir," he said, with a sneer, "may be a good seaman, but
+he's no linguist. Now, there he was, ashore among the dead and dying,
+just as ignorant of the meaning of <i>filius nullius</i>, which is boy's
+Latin, as if he had never seen a horn-book! Nevertheless, gentlemen, it
+is science, and not even the classics, that makes the man; as for a
+creature's getting the sciences by instinct, I shall contend it is
+against the possibilities, whereas the attainment of what you call
+seamanship, is among even the lesser probabilities."</p>
+
+<p>"This is the most marine-ish talk I ever heard from your mouth, doctor,"
+interrupted Soundings. "How the devil can a man tell how to ware ship by
+instinct, as you call it, if one may ask the question?"</p>
+
+<p>"Simply, Soundings, because the process of ratiocination is dispensed
+with. Do you have to <i>think</i> in waring ship, now?&mdash;I'll put it to your
+own honour, for the answer."</p>
+
+<p>"Think!&mdash;I should be a poor creature for a master, indeed, if much
+thinking were wanting in so simple a matter as tacking or veering.
+No&mdash;no&mdash;your real sea-dog has no occasion for much <i>thinking</i>, when he
+has his work before him."</p>
+
+<p>"That'll just be it, gentlemen!&mdash;that'll be just what I'm telling ye,"
+cried the doctor, exulting in the success of his artifice. "Not only
+will Mr. Soundings not <i>think</i>, when he has his ordinary duties to
+perform, but he holds the process itself in merited contempt, ye'll
+obsairve; and so my theory is established, by evidence of a pairty
+concerned; which is more than a postulate logically requires."</p>
+
+<p>Here Magrath dropped his book, and laughed with that sort of hissing
+sound that seems peculiar to the genus of which he formed a part. He was
+still indulging in his triumph, when the first tap of the drum was
+heard. All listened; every ear pricking like that of a deer that hears
+the hound, when there followed&mdash;"r-r-r-ap tap&mdash;r-r-r-ap tap&mdash;r-r-r-ap
+tapa-tap-tap&mdash;rap-a-tap&mdash;a-rap-a-tap a-rap-a-tap&mdash;a-tap-tap."</p>
+
+<p>"Instinct or reason, Sir Jarvy is going to quarters!" exclaimed the
+honourable. "I'd no notion we were near enough to the Monsieurs, for
+<i>that</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said Magrath, with a grinning sneer, as he rose to descend to the
+cock-pit, "there'll may be arise an occasion for a little learning, when
+I'll promise ye all the science that can be mustered in my unworthy
+knowledge. Soundings, I may have to heave the lead in the depths of your
+physical formation, in which case I'll just endeevour to avoid the
+breakers of ignorance."</p>
+
+<p>"Go to the devil, or to the cock-pit, whichever you please, sir,"
+answered the master; "I've served in six general actions, already, and
+have never been obliged to one of your kidney for so much as a bit of
+court-plaster or lint. With me, oakum answers for one, and canvass for
+the other."</p>
+
+<p>While this was saying, all hands were in motion. The sea and marine
+officers looking for their side-arms, the surgeon carefully collecting
+his books, and the chaplain seizing a dish of cold beef, that was
+hurriedly set upon a table, carrying it down with him to his quarters,
+by way of taking it out of harm's way. In a minute, the gun-room was
+cleared of all who usually dwelt there, and their places were supplied
+by the seamen who manned the three or four thirty-two's that were
+mounted in the apartment, together with their opposites. As the
+sea-officers, in particular, appeared among the men, their faces assumed
+an air of authority, and their voices were heard calling out the order
+to "tumble up," as they hastened themselves to their several stations.</p>
+
+<p>All this time, Sir Gervaise Oakes paced the poop. Bunting and the
+quarter-master were in readiness to hoist the new signal, and Greenly
+merely waited for the reports, to join the commander-in-chief. In about
+five minutes after the drum had given its first tap, these were
+completed, and the captain ascended to the poop.</p>
+
+<p>"By standing on, on our present course, Captain Greenly," observed Sir
+Gervaise, anxious to justify to himself the evolution he contemplated,
+"the rear of our line and the van of the French will be brought within
+fair range of shot from each other, and, by an accident, we might lose a
+ship; since any vessel that was crippled, would necessarily sag directly
+down upon the enemy. Now, I propose to keep away in the Plantagenet, and
+just brush past the leading French ships, at about the distance the
+Warspite will <i>have</i> to pass, and so alter the face of matters a little.
+What do you think would be the consequence of such a man[oe]uvre?"</p>
+
+<p>"That the van of our line and the van of the French will be brought as
+near together, as you have just said must happen to the rear, Sir
+Gervaise, in any case."</p>
+
+<p>"It does not require a mathematician to tell that much, sir. You will
+keep away, as soon as Bunting shows the signal, and bring the wind
+abeam. Never mind the braces; let <i>them</i> stand fast; as soon as we have
+passed the French admiral, I shall luff, again. This will cause us to
+lose a little of our weatherly position, but about that I am very
+indifferent. Give the order, sir&mdash;Bunting, run up the signal."</p>
+
+<p>These commands were silently obeyed, and presently the Plantagenet was
+running directly in the troughs of the seas, with quite double her
+former velocity. The other ships answered promptly, each keeping away as
+her second ahead came down to the proper line of sailing, and all
+complying to the letter with an order that was very easy of execution.
+The effect, besides giving every prospect of a distant engagement, was
+to straighten the line to nearly mathematical precision.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it your wish, Sir Gervaise, that we should endeavour to open our lee
+lower ports?" asked Greenly. "Unless we attempt something of the sort,
+we shall have nothing heavier than the eighteens to depend on, should
+Monsieur de Vervillin see fit to begin."</p>
+
+<p>"And will <i>he</i> be any better off?&mdash;It would be next to madness to think
+of fighting the lower-deck guns, in such weather, and we will keep all
+fast. Should the French commence the sport, we shall have the advantage
+of being to windward; and the loss of a few weather shrouds might bring
+down the best mast in their fleet."</p>
+
+<p>Greenly made no answer, though he perfectly understood that the loss of
+a mast would almost certainly ensure the loss of the ship, did one of
+his own heavier spars go. But this was Sir Gervaise's greatest weakness
+as a commander, and he knew it would be useless to attempt persuading
+him to suffer a single ship under his order to pass the enemy nearer
+than he went himself in the Plantagenet. This was what he called
+covering his ships; though it amounted to no more than putting all of
+them in the jeopardy that happened to be unavoidable, as regarded one or
+two.</p>
+
+<p>The Comte de Vervillin seemed at a loss to understand this sudden and
+extraordinary movement in the van of his enemy. His signals followed,
+and his crews went to their guns; but it was not an easy matter for
+ships that persevered in hugging the wind to make any material
+alterations in their relative positions, in such a gale. The rate of
+sailing of the English, however, now menaced a speedy collision, if
+collision were intended, and it was time to be stirring, in order to be
+ready for it.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, all was quiet, and, seemingly, death-like, in the
+English ships. Their people were at their quarters, already, and this is
+a moment of profound stillness in a vessel of war. The lower ports being
+down, the portions of the crews stationed on those decks were buried, as
+it might be, in obscurity, while even those above were still partly
+concealed by the half-ports. There was virtually nothing for the
+sail-trimmers to do, and every thing was apparently left to the
+evolutions of the vast machines themselves, in which they floated. Sir
+Gervaise, Greenly, and the usual attendants still remained on the poop,
+their eyes scarcely turning for an instant from the fleet of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the Plantagenct and <i>le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire</i> were little more than a
+mile apart, each minute lessening this distance. The latter ship was
+struggling along, her bows plunging into the seas to the hawse-holes,
+while the former had a swift, easy motion through the troughs, and along
+the summits of the waves, her flattened sails aiding in steadying her in
+the heavy lurches that unavoidably accompanied such a movement. Still, a
+sea would occasionally break against her weather side, sending its crest
+upward in a brilliant <i>jet-d'eau</i>, and leaving tons of water on the
+decks. Sir Gervaise's manner had now lost every glimmering of
+excitement. When he spoke, it was in a gentle, pleasant tone, such as a
+gentleman might use in the society of women. The truth was, all his
+energy had concentrated in the determination to do a daring deed; and,
+as is not unusual with the most resolute men, the nearer he approached
+to the consummation of his purpose, the more he seemed to reject all the
+spurious aids of manner.</p>
+
+<p>"The French do not open their lower ports, Greenly," observed the
+vice-admiral, dropping the glass after one of his long looks at the
+enemy, "although they have the advantage of being to leeward. I take
+that to be a sign they intend nothing very serious."</p>
+
+<p>"We shall know better five minutes hence, Sir Gervaise. This ship slides
+along like a London coach."</p>
+
+<p>"His line is lubberly, after all, Greenly! Look at those two ships
+astern&mdash;they are near half a mile to windward of the rest of the fleet,
+and at least half a mile astern. Hey! Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>The captain turned towards the rear of the French, and examined the
+positions of the two ships mentioned with sufficient deliberation; but
+Sir Gervaise dropped his head in a musing manner, and began to pace the
+poop again. Once or twice he stopped to look at the rear of the French
+line, then distant from him quite a league, and as often did he resume
+his walk.</p>
+
+<p>"Bunting," said the vice-admiral, mildly, "come this way, a moment. Our
+last signal was to keep in the commander-in-chief's wake, and to follow
+his motions?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was, Sir Gervaise. The old order to follow motions, 'with or without
+signals,' as one might say."</p>
+
+<p>"Bend on the signals to close up in line, as near as safe, and to carry
+sail by the flag-ship."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, ay, Sir Gervaise&mdash;we'll have 'em both up in five minutes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>The commander-in-chief now even seemed pleased. His physical excitement
+returned a little, and a smile struggled round his lip. His eye glanced
+at Greenly, to see if he were suspected, and then all his calmness of
+exterior returned. In the mean time the signals were made and answered.
+The latter circumstance was reported to Sir Gervaise, who cast his eyes
+down the line astern, and saw that the different ships were already
+bracing in, and easing off their sheets, in order to diminish the spaces
+between the different vessels. As soon as it was apparent that the
+Carnatic was drawing ahead, Captain Greenly was told to lay his main and
+fore-yards nearly square, to light up all his stay-sail sheets, and to
+keep away sufficiently to make every thing draw. Although these orders
+occasioned surprise, they were implicitly obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>The moment of meeting had now come. In consequence of having kept away
+so much, the Plantagenet could not be quite three-fourths of a mile on
+the weather-bow of <i>le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire</i>, coming up rapidly, and threatening a
+semi-transverse fire. In order to prevent this, the French ship edged
+off a little, giving herself an easier and more rapid movement through
+the water, and bringing her own broadside more fairly to the shock. This
+evolution was followed by the two next ships, a little prematurely,
+perhaps; but the admiral in <i>le Foudroyant</i>, disdaining to edge off from
+her enemy, kept her luff. The ships astern were governed by the course
+of their superior. This change produced a little disorder in the van of
+the French, menacing still greater, unless one party or the other
+receded from the course taken. But time pressed, and the two fleets were
+closing so fast as to induce other thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>"There's lubberly work for you, Greenly!" said Sir Gervaise, smiling. "A
+commander-in-chief heading up with the bowlines dragged, and his second
+and third ahead&mdash;not to say fourth&mdash;running off with the wind abeam!
+Now, if we can knock the Comte off a couple of points, in passing, all
+his fellows astern will follow, and the Warspite and Blenheim and
+Thunderer will slip by like girls in a country-dance! Send Bury down to
+the main-deck, with orders to be ready with those eighteens."</p>
+
+<p>Greenly obeyed, of course, and he began to think better of audacity in
+naval warfare, than he had done before, that day. This was the usual
+course of things with these two officers; one arguing and deciding
+according to the dictates of a cool judgment, and the other following
+his impulses quite as much as any thing else, until facts supervened to
+prove that human things are as much controlled by adventitious agencies,
+the results of remote and unseen causes, as by any well-digested plans
+laid at the moment. In their cooler hours, when they came to reason on
+the past, the vice-admiral generally consummated his triumphs, by
+reminding his captain that if he had not been in the way of luck, he
+never could have profited by it; no bad creed for a naval officer, who
+is otherwise prudent and vigilant.</p>
+
+<p>The quarter-masters of the fleet were just striking six bells, or
+proclaiming that it was seven o'clock in the morning watch, as the
+Plantagenet and <i>le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire</i> came abeam of each other. Both ships
+lurched heavily in the troughs of the seas, and both rolled to windward
+in stately majesty, and yet both slid through the brine with a momentum
+that resembled the imperceptible motion of a planet. The water rolled
+back from their black sides and shining hammock-cloths, and all the
+other dark panoply that distinguishes a ship-of-war glistened with the
+spray; but no sign of hostility proceeded from either. The French
+admiral made no signal to engage, and Sir Gervaise had reasons of his
+own for wishing to pass the enemy's van, if possible, unnoticed. Minute
+passed after minute, in breathless silence, on board the Plantagenet and
+the Carnatic, the latter vessel being now but half a cable's-length
+astern of the admiral. Every eye that had any outlet for such a purpose,
+was riveted on the main-deck ports of <i>le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire</i> in expectation of
+seeing the fire issue from her guns. Each instant, however, lessened the
+chances, as regarded that particular vessel, which was soon out of the
+line of fire from the Plantagenet, when the same scene was to follow
+with the same result, in connection with <i>le Conquereur</i>, the second
+ship of the French line. Sir Gervaise smiled as he passed the three
+first ships, seemingly unnoticed; but as he drew nearer to the admiral,
+he felt confident this impunity must cease.</p>
+
+<p>"What they <i>mean</i> by it all, Greenly," he observed to his companion, "is
+more than I can say; but we will go nearer, and try to find out. Keep
+her away a little more, sir; keep her away half a point." Greenly was
+not disposed to remonstrate now, for his prudent temperament was
+yielding to the excitement of the moment just reversing the traits of
+Sir Gervaise's character; the one losing his extreme discretion in
+feeling, as the other gained by the pressure of circumstances. The helm
+was eased a little, and the ship sheered nearer to <i>le Foudroyant</i>.</p>
+
+<p>As is usual in all services, the French commander-in-chief was in one of
+the best vessels of his fleet. Not only was the Foudroyant a heavy ship,
+carrying French forty-twos below, a circumstance that made her rate as
+an eighty, but, like the Plantagenet, she was one of the fastest and
+most weatherly vessels of her class known. By "hugging the wind," this
+noble vessel had got, by this time, materially to windward of her second
+and third ahead, and had increased her distance essentially from her
+supports astern. In a word, she was far from being in a position to be
+sustained as she ought to be, unless she edged off herself, a movement
+that no one on board her seemed to contemplate.</p>
+
+<p>"He's a noble fellow, Greenly, that Comte de Vervillin!" murmured Sir
+Gervaise, in a tone of admiration, "and so have I always found him, and
+so have I always <i>reported</i> him, too! The fools about the Gazettes, and
+the knaves about the offices, may splutter as they will; Mr. de
+Vervillin would give them plenty of occupation were they <i>here</i>. I
+question if he mean to keep off in the least, but insists on holding
+every inch he can gain!"</p>
+
+<p>The next moment, however, satisfied Sir Gervaise that he was mistaken in
+his last conjecture, the bows of the Foudroyant gradually falling off,
+until the line of her larboard guns bore, when she made a general
+discharge of the whole of them, with the exception of those on the lower
+deck. The Plantagenets waited until the ship rose on a sea, and then
+they returned the compliment in the same manner. The Carnatic's side
+showed a sheet of flame immediately after; and the Achilles, Lord
+Morganic, luffing briskly to the wind, so as to bring her guns to bear,
+followed up the game, like flashes of lightning. All three of these
+ships had directed their fire at le Foudroyant, and the smoke had not
+yet driven from among her spars, when Sir Gervaise perceived that all
+three of her top-masts were hanging to leeward. At this sight, Greenly
+fairly sprang from the deck, and gave three cheers The men below caught
+up the cry, even to those who were, in a manner, buried on the lower
+deck, and presently, spite of the gale, the Carnatic's were heard
+following their example astern. At this instant the whole French and
+English lines opened their fire, from van to rear, as far as their guns
+would bear, or the shot tell.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, sir, now is our time to close with de Vervillin!" exclaimed
+Greenly, the instant he perceived the manner in which his ship was
+crippled. "In our close order we might hope to make a thorough wreck of
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"Not so, Greenly," returned Sir Gervaise calmly. "You see he edges away
+already, and will be down among his other ships in five minutes; we
+should have a general action with twice our force. What is done, is
+<i>well</i> done, and we will let it stand. It is <i>something</i> to have
+dismasted the enemy's commander-in-chief; do you look to it that the
+enemy don't do the same with ours. I heard shot rattling aloft, and
+every thing now bears a hard strain."</p>
+
+<p>Greenly went to look after his duty, while Sir Gervaise continued to
+pace the poop. The whole of le Foudroyant's fire had been directed at
+the Plantagenet, but so rough was the ocean that not a shot touched the
+hull. A little injury had been done aloft, but nothing that the ready
+skill of the seamen was not able to repair even in that rough weather.
+The fact is, most of the shot had touched the waves, and had flown off
+from their varying surfaces at every angle that offered. One of the
+secrets that Sir Gervaise had taught his captains was to avoid hitting
+the surface of the sea, if possible, unless that surface was reasonably
+smooth, and the object intended to be injured was near at hand. Then the
+French admiral received the <i>first</i> fire&mdash;always the most
+destructive&mdash;of three fresh vessels; and his injuries were in
+proportion.</p>
+
+<p>The scene was now animated, and not without a wild magnificence. The
+gale continued as heavy as ever, and with the raging of the ocean and
+the howling of the winds, mingled the roar of artillery, and the smoky
+canopy of battle. Still the destruction on neither side bore any
+proportion to the grandeur of the accompaniments; the distance and the
+unsteadiness of the ships preventing much accuracy of aim. In that day,
+a large two-decked ship never carried heavier metal than an eighteen
+above her lower batteries; and this gun, efficient as it is on most
+occasions, does not bring with it the fearful destruction that attends a
+more modern broadside. There was a good deal of noise, notwithstanding,
+and some blood shed in passing; but, on the whole, when the Warspite,
+the last of the English ships, ceased her fire, on account of the
+distance of the enemy abreast of her, it would have been difficult to
+tell that any vessel but le Foudroyant, had been doing more than
+saluting. At this instant Greenly re-appeared on the poop, his own ship
+having ceased to fire for several minutes.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Greenly, the main-deck guns are at least scaled," said Sir
+Gervaise, smiling; "and <i>that</i> is not to be done over again for some
+time. You keep every thing ready in the batteries, I trust?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are all ready, Sir Gervaise, but there is nothing to be done. It
+would be useless to waste our ammunition at ships quite two miles under
+our lee."</p>
+
+<p>"Very true&mdash;very true, sir. But <i>all</i> the Frenchmen are not quite so far
+to leeward, Greenly, as you may see by looking ahead. Yonder two, at
+least, are not absolutely out of harm's way!"</p>
+
+<p>Greenly turned, gazed an instant in the direction in which the
+commander-in-chief pointed, and then the truth of what Sir Gervaise had
+really in view in keeping away, flashed on his mind, as it might be, at
+a glance. Without saying a word, he immediately quitted the poop, and
+descending even to the lower deck, passed through the whole of his
+batteries, giving his orders, and examining their condition.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"By Heaven! it is a splendid sight to see,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">(For one who hath no friend, nor brother there,)<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Their rival scarfs of mixed embroidery&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Their various arms that glitter in the air!"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Childe Harold</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>The little conflict between the English ships and the head of the French
+line, the evolutions that had grown out of it, the crippling of le
+Foudroyant, and the continuance of the gale, contributed to produce
+material changes in the relative positions of the two fleets. All the
+English vessels kept their stations with beautiful accuracy, still
+running to the southward in a close line ahead, having the wind a trifle
+abaft the beam, with their yards braced in. Under the circumstances, it
+needed but some seven or eight minutes for these ships to glide a mile
+through the troubled ocean, and this was about the period the most
+exposed of them all had been under the random and slow fire that the
+state of the weather permitted. The trifling damages sustained were
+already repaired, or in a way soon to be so. On the other hand,
+considerable disorder prevailed among the French. Their line had never
+been perfect, extending quite a league; a few of the leading vessels, or
+those near the commander-in-chief, sustaining each other as well as
+could be desired, while long intervals existed between the ships astern.
+Among the latter, too, as has been stated, some were much farther to
+windward than the others; an irregularity that proceeded from a desire
+of the Comte to luff up as near as possible to the enemy&mdash;a desire,
+which, practised on, necessarily threw the least weatherly vessels to
+leeward. Thus the two ships in the extreme rear, as has been hinted at
+already, being jammed up unusually hard upon the wind, had weathered
+materially on their consorts, while their way through the water had been
+proportionably less. It was these combined circumstances which brought
+them so far astern and to windward.</p>
+
+<p>At the time Sir Gervaise pointed out their positions to Greenly, the two
+vessels just mentioned were quite half a mile to the westward of their
+nearest consort, and more than that distance to the southward. When it
+is remembered that the wind was nearly due west, and that all the French
+vessels, these two excepted, were steering north, the relative positions
+of the latter will be understood. Le Foudroyant, too, had kept away,
+after the loss of her top-masts, until fairly in the wake of the ships
+ahead of her, in her own line, and, as the vessels had been running off
+with the wind abeam, for several minutes, this man[oe]uvre threw the
+French still farther to leeward. To make the matter worse, just as the
+Warspite drew out of the range of shot from the French, M. de Vervillin
+showed a signal at the end of his gaff, for his whole fleet to ware in
+succession; an order, which, while it certainly had a gallant semblance,
+as it was bringing his vessels round on the same tack as his enemy, and
+looked like a defiance, was singularly adapted to restoring to the
+latter all the advantage of the wind they had lost by keeping away. As
+it was necessary to take room to execute this evolution, in order to
+clear the ships that were now crowded in the van, when le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire came
+to the wind again on the starboard tack, she was fully half a mile to
+leeward of the admiral, who had just put his helm up. As a matter of
+course, in order to form anew, with the heads of the ships to the
+southward, each vessel had to get into her leader's wake, which would be
+virtually throwing the whole French line, again, two miles to leeward of
+the English. Nevertheless, the stragglers in the rear of the French
+continued to hug the wind, with a pertinacity that denoted a resolution
+to have a brush with their enemies in passing. The vessels were le
+Scipion and la Victoire, each of seventy-four guns. The first of these
+ships was commanded by a young man of very little professional
+experience, but of high court influence; while the second had a captain
+who, like old Parker, had worked his way up to his present station,
+through great difficulties, and by dint of hard knocks, and harder work.
+Unfortunately the first ranked, and the humble <i>capitaine de fr&eacute;gate</i>,
+placed by accident in command of a ship of the line, did not dare to
+desert a <i>capitaine de vaisseau</i>, who had a <i>duc</i> for an elder brother,
+and called himself <i>comte</i>. There was perhaps a redeeming gallantry in
+the spirit which determined the Comte de Ch&eacute;lincourt to incur the risk
+of passing so near six vessels with only two, that might throw a veil
+over the indiscretion; more especially as his own fleet was near enough
+to support him in the event of any disaster, and it was certainly
+possible that the loss of a material spar on board either of his foes,
+might induce the capture of the vessel. At all events, thus reasoned M.
+de Ch&eacute;lincourt; who continued boldly on, with his larboard tacks aboard,
+always hugging the wind, even after the T&eacute;m&eacute;raire was round; and M.
+Comptant chose to follow him in la Victoire. The Plantagenet, by this
+time, being not a mile distant from the Scipio, coming on with steady
+velocity, these intentions and circumstances created every human
+probability that she would soon be passing her weather beam, within a
+quarter of a mile, and, consequently, that a cannonade, far more serious
+than what had yet occurred, must follow. The few intervening minutes
+gave Sir Gervaise time to throw a glance around him, and to come to his
+final decision.</p>
+
+<p>The English fleet was never in better line than at that precise moment.
+The ships were as close to each other as comported with safety, and
+every thing stood and drew as in the trade winds. The leading French
+vessels were waring and increasing their distance to leeward, and it
+would require an hour for them to get up near enough to be at all
+dangerous in such weather, while all the rest were following, regardless
+of the two that continued their luff. The Chloe had already got round,
+and, hugging the wind, was actually coming up to windward of her own
+line, though under a press of canvass that nearly buried her. The Active
+and Driver were in their stations, as usual; one on the weather beam,
+and the other on the weather bow; while the Druid had got so near as to
+show her hull, closing fast, with square yards.</p>
+
+<p>"That is either a very bold, or a very obstinate fellow; he, who
+commands the two ships ahead of us," observed Greenly, as he stood at
+the vice-admiral's side, and just as the latter terminated his survey.
+"What object can he possibly have in braving three times his force in a
+gale like this?"</p>
+
+<p>"If it were an Englishman, Greenly, we should call him a hero! By taking
+a mast out of one of us, he might cause the loss of the ship, or compel
+us to engage double <i>our</i> force. Do not blame him, but help me, rather,
+to disappoint him. Now, listen, and see all done immediately."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise then explained to the captain what his intentions really
+were, first ordering, himself, (a very unusual course for one of his
+habits,) the first lieutenant, to keep the ship off as much as
+practicable, without seeming to wish to do so; but, as the orders will
+be explained incidentally, in the course of the narrative, it is not
+necessary to give them here. Greenly then went below, leaving Sir
+Gervaise, Bunting, and their auxiliaries, in possession of the poop. A
+private signal had been bent on some little time, and it was now
+hoisted. In about five minutes it was read, understood, and answered by
+all the ships of the fleet. Sir Gervaise rubbed his hands like a man who
+was delighted, and he beckoned to Bury, who had the trumpet on the
+quarter-deck, to join him on the poop.</p>
+
+<p>"Did Captain Greenly let you into our plot, Bury," asked the
+vice-admiral, in high good-humour, as soon as obeyed, "I saw he spoke to
+you in going below?"</p>
+
+<p>"He only told me, Sir Gervaise, to edge down upon the Frenchmen as close
+as I could, and this we are doing, I think, as fast as mounsheer"&mdash;Bury
+was an Anglo-Gallican&mdash;"will at all like."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! there old Parker sheers bravely to leeward! Trust to him to be in
+the right place. The Carnatic went fifty fathoms out of the line at that
+one twist. The Thunderer and Warspite too! Never was a signal more
+beautifully obeyed. If the Frenchmen don't take the alarm, now, every
+thing will be to our minds."</p>
+
+<p>By this time, Bury began to understand the man[oe]uvre. Each alternate
+ship of the English was sheering fast to leeward, forming a weather and
+a lee line, with increased intervals between the vessels, while all of
+them were edging rapidly away, so as greatly to near the enemy. It was
+apparent now, indeed, that the Plantagenet herself must pass within a
+hundred fathoms of the Scipio, and that in less than two minutes. The
+delay in issuing the orders for this evolution was in favour of its
+success, inasmuch as it did not give the enemy time for deliberation.
+The Comte de Ch&eacute;lincourt, in fact, did not detect it; or, at least, did
+not foresee the consequences; though both were quite apparent to the
+more experienced <i>capitaine de fr&eacute;gate</i> astern. It was too late, or the
+latter would have signalled his superior to put him on his guard; but,
+as things were, there remained no alternative, apparently, but to run
+the gauntlet, and trust all to the chances of battle.</p>
+
+<p>In a moment like that we are describing, events occur much more rapidly
+than they can be related. The Plantagenet was now within pistol-shot of
+le Scipion, and on her weather bow. At that precise instant, when the
+bow-guns, on both sides, began to play, the Carnatic, then nearly in a
+line with the enemy, made a rank sheer to leeward, and drove on, opening
+in the very act with her weather-bow guns. The Thunderer and Warspite
+imitated this man[oe]uvre, leaving the Frenchman the cheerless prospect
+of being attacked on both sides. It is not to be concealed that M. de
+Ch&eacute;lincourt was considerably disturbed by this sudden change in his
+situation. That which, an instant before, had the prospect of being a
+chivalrous, but extremely hazardous, passage in front of a formidable
+enemy, now began to assume the appearance of something very like
+destruction. It was too late, however, to remedy the evil, and the young
+Comte, as brave a man as existed, determined to face it manfully. He had
+scarcely time to utter a few cheering sentiments, in a dramatic manner,
+to those on the quarter-deck, when the English flag-ship came sweeping
+past in a cloud of smoke, and a blaze of fire. His own broadside was
+nobly returned, or as much of it as the weather permitted, but the smoke
+of both discharges was still driving between his masts, when the dark
+hamper of the Carnatic glided into the drifting canopy, which was made
+to whirl back on the devoted Frenchman in another torrent of flame.
+Three times was this fearful assault renewed on the Scipio, at intervals
+of about a minute, the iron hurricane first coming from to windward, and
+then seeming to be driven back from to leeward, as by its own rebound,
+leaving no breathing time to meet it. The effect was completely to
+silence her own fire; for what between the power of the raging elements,
+and the destruction of the shot, a species of wild and blood-fraught
+confusion took the place of system and order. Her decks were covered
+with killed and wounded, among the latter of whom was the Comte de
+Ch&eacute;lincourt, while orders were given and countermanded in a way to
+render them useless, if not incoherent. From the time when the
+Plantagenet fired her first gun, to that when the Warspite fired her
+last, was just five minutes by the watch. It seemed an hour to the
+French, and but a moment to their enemies. One hundred and eighty-two
+men and boys were included in the casualties of those teeming moments on
+board the Scipio alone; and when that ship issued slowly from the scene
+of havoc, more by the velocity of her assailants in passing than by her
+own, the foremast was all that stood, the remainder of her spars
+dragging under her lee. To cut the last adrift, and to run off nearly
+before the wind, in order to save the spars forward, and to get within
+the cover of her own fleet, was all that could now be done. It may as
+well be said here, that these two objects were effected.</p>
+
+<p>The Plantagenet had received damage from the fire of her opponent. Some
+ten or fifteen men were killed and wounded; her main-top-sail was split
+by a shot, from clew to earing; one of the quarter-masters was carried
+from the poop, literally dragged overboard by the sinews that connected
+head and body; and several of the spars, with a good deal of rigging,
+required to be looked to, on account of injuries. But no one thought of
+these things, except as they were connected with present and pressing
+duties. Sir Gervaise got a sight of la Victoire, some hundred and twenty
+fathoms ahead, just as the roar of the Carnatic's guns was rushing upon
+his ears. The French commander saw and understood the extreme jeopardy
+of his consort, and he had already put his helm hard up.</p>
+
+<p>"Starboard&mdash;starboard hard, Bury!" shouted Sir Gervaise from the poop.
+"Damn him, run him aboard, if he dare hold on long enough to meet us."</p>
+
+<p>The lieutenant signed with his hand that the order was understood, and
+the helm being put up, the ship went whirling off to leeward on the
+summit of a hill of foam. A cheer was heard struggling in the tempest,
+and glancing over his left shoulder, Sir Gervaise perceived the Carnatic
+shooting out of the smoke, and imitating his own movement, by making
+another and still ranker sheer to leeward. At the same moment she set
+her main-sail close-reefed, as if determined to outstrip her antagonist,
+and maintain her station. None but a prime seaman could have done such a
+thing so steadily and so well, in the midst of the wild haste and
+confusion of such a scene. Sir Gervaise, now not a hundred yards from
+the Carnatic, waved high his hat in exultation and praise; and old
+Parker, alone on his own poop, bared his grey hairs in acknowledgment of
+the compliment. All this time the two ships drove madly ahead, while the
+crash and roar of the battle was heard astern.</p>
+
+<p>The remaining French ship was well and nimbly handled. As she came round
+she unavoidably sheered towards her enemies, and Sir Gervaise found it
+necessary to countermand his last order, and to come swiftly up to the
+wind, both to avoid her raking broadside, and to prevent running into
+his own consort. But the Carnatic, having a little more room, first kept
+off, and then came to the wind again, as soon as the Frenchman had
+fired, in a way to compel him to haul up on the other tack, or to fall
+fairly aboard. Almost at the same instant, the Plantagenet closed on his
+weather quarter and raked. Parker had got abeam, and pressing nearer, he
+compelled la Victoire to haul her bowlines, bringing her completely
+between two fires. Spar went after spar, and being left with nothing
+standing but the lower masts, the Plantagenet and Carnatic could not
+prevent themselves from passing their victim, though each shortened
+sail; the first being already without a top-sail. Their places, however,
+were immediately supplied by the Achilles and the Thunderer, both ships
+having hauled down their stay-sails to lessen their way. As the Blenheim
+and Warspite were quite near astern, and an eighteen-pound shot had
+closed the earthly career of the poor <i>capitaine de fr&eacute;gate</i>, his
+successor in command deemed it prudent to lower his ensign; after a
+resistance that in its duration was unequal to the promise of its
+commencement. Still the ship had suffered materially, and had fifty of
+her crew among the casualties. His submission terminated the combat.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes had now leisure and opportunity to look about him.
+Most of the French ships had got round; but, besides being quite as far
+astern, when they should get up abeam, supposing himself to remain where
+he was, they would be at very long gun-shot dead to leeward. To remain
+where he was, however, formed no part of his plan, for he was fully
+resolved to maintain all his advantages. The great difficulty was to
+take possession of his prize, the sea running so high as to render it
+questionable if a boat would live. Lord Morganic, however, was just of
+an age and a temperament to bring that question to a speedy issue. Being
+on the weather-beam of la Victoire, as her flag came down, he ordered
+his own first lieutenant into the larger cutter, and putting
+half-a-dozen marines, with the proper crew, into the boat, it was soon
+seen dangling in the air over the cauldron of the ocean; the oars
+on-end. To lower, let go, and unhook, were the acts of an instant; the
+oars fell, and the boat was swept away to leeward. A commander's
+commission depended on his success, and Daly made desperate efforts to
+obtain it. The prize offered a lee, and the French, with a national
+benevolence, courtesy, and magnanimity, that would scarcely have been
+imitated had matters been reversed, threw ropes to their conquerors, to
+help to rescue them from a very awkward dilemma. The men did succeed in
+getting into the prize; but the boat, in the end, was stove and lost.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the red flag of England, the symbol of his own
+professional rank, and worn by most under his own orders, over the white
+ensign of France, was the sign to Sir Gervaise that the prize-officer
+was in possession. He immediately made the signal for the fleet to
+follow the motions of the commander-in-chief. By this time, his own
+main-sail, close-reefed, had taken the place of the torn top-sail, and
+the Plantagenet led off to the southward again, as if nothing unusual
+had occurred. Daly had a quarter of an hour of extreme exertion on board
+the prize, before he could get her fairly in motion as he desired; but,
+by dint of using the axe freely, he cut the wreck adrift, and soon had
+la Victoire liberated from that incumbrance. The fore-sail and fore and
+mizzen stay-sails were on the ship, and the main-sail, close-reefed also,
+was about to be set, to drag her-from the <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i> of her foes, when her
+ensign came down. By getting the tack of the latter aboard, and the
+sheet aft, he would have all the canvass set the gale would allow, and
+to this all-essential point he directed his wits. To ride down the
+main-tack of a two-decked ship, in a gale of wind, or what fell little
+short of a real gale, was not to be undertaken with twenty men, the
+extent of Daly's command; and he had recourse to the assistance of his
+enemies. A good natured, facetious Irishman, himself, with a smattering
+of French, he soon got forty or fifty of the prisoners in a sufficient
+humour to lend their aid, and the sail was set, though not without great
+risk of its splitting. From this moment, la Victoire was better off, as
+respected the gale and keeping a weatherly position, than any of the
+English ships; inasmuch as she could carry all the canvass the wind
+permitted, while she was relieved from the drift inseparable from hamper
+aloft. The effect, indeed, was visible in the first hour, to Daly's
+great delight and exultation. At the end of that period, he found
+himself quite a cable's-length to windward of the line. But in relating
+this last particular, events have been a little anticipated.</p>
+
+<p>Greenly, who had gone below to attend to the batteries, which were not
+worked without great difficulty in so heavy a sea, and to be in
+readiness to open the lower ports should occasion offer, re-appeared on
+deck just as the commander-in-chief showed the signal for the ships to
+follow his own motions. The line was soon formed, as mentioned, and ere
+long it became apparent that the prize could easily keep in her station.
+As most of the day was still before him, Sir Gervaise had little doubt
+of being able to secure the latter, ere night should come to render it
+indispensable.</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral and his captain shook hands cordially on the poop, and
+the former pointed out to the latter, with honest exultation, the result
+of his own bold man[oe]uvres.</p>
+
+<p>"We've clipped the wings of two of them," added Sir Gervaise, "and have
+fairly bagged a third, my good friend; and, God willing, when Bluewater
+joins, there will not be much difficulty with the remainder. I cannot
+see that any of our vessels have suffered much, and I set them all down
+as sound. There's been time for a signal of inability, that curse to an
+admiral's evolutions, but no one seems disposed to make it. If we really
+escape that nuisance, it will be the first instance in my life!"</p>
+
+<p>"Half-a-dozen yards may be crippled, and no one the worse for it, in
+this heavy weather. Were we under a press of canvass, it would be a
+different matter; but, now, so long as the main sticks stand, we shall
+probably do well enough. I can find no injury in my own ship that may
+not be remedied at sea."</p>
+
+<p>"And she has had the worst of it. 'Twas a decided thing, Greenly, to
+engage such an odds in a gale; but we owe our success, most probably, to
+the audacity of the attack. Had the enemy believed it possible, it is
+probable he would have frustrated it. Well, Master Galleygo, I'm glad to
+see you unhurt! What is your pleasure?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Sir Jarvy, I've two opportunities, as a body might say, on the
+poop, just now. One is to shake hands, as we always does a'ter a brush,
+you knows, sir, and to look a'ter each other's health; and the other is
+to report a misfortin that will bear hard on this day's dinner. You see,
+Sir Jarvy, I had the dead poultry slung in a net, over the live stock,
+to be out of harm's way; well, sir, a shot cut the lanyard, and let all
+the chickens down by the run, in among the gun-room grunters; and as
+they never half feeds them hanimals, there isn't as much left of the
+birds as would make a meal for a sick young gentleman. To my notion, no
+one ought to <i>have</i> live stock but the commanders-in-chief."</p>
+
+<p>"To the devil with you and the stock! Give me a shake of the hand, and
+back into your top&mdash;how came you, sir, to quit your quarters without
+leave?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't, Sir Jarvy. Seeing how things was a going on, among the pigs,
+for our top hoverlooks the awful scene, I axed the young gentleman to
+let me come down to condole with your honour; and as they always lets me
+do as I axes, in such matters, why down I come. We has had one rattler
+in at our top, howsever, that came nigh lo clear us all out on it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is any spar injured?" asked Sir Gervaise, quickly. "This must be looked
+to&mdash;hey! Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not to signify, your honour; not to signify. One of them French
+eighteens aboard the prize just cocked its nose up, as the ship lurched,
+and let fly a round 'un and a grist of grape, right into our faces. I
+see'd it coming and sung out 'scaldings;' and 'twas well I did. We all
+ducked in time, and the round 'un cleared every thing, but a handful of
+the marbles are planted in the head of the mast, making the spar look
+like a plum-pudding, or a fellow with the small-pox."</p>
+
+<p>"Enough of this. You are excused from returning to the top;&mdash;and,
+Greenly, beat the retreat. Bunting, show the signal for the retreat from
+quarters. Let the ships pipe to breakfast, if they will."</p>
+
+<p>This order affords a fair picture of the strange admixture of feelings
+and employments that characterize the ordinary life of a ship. At one
+moment, its inmates find themselves engaged in scenes of wild
+magnificence and fierce confusion, while at the next they revert to the
+most familiar duties of humanity. The crews of the whole fleet now
+retired from the guns, and immediately after they were seated around
+their kids, indulging ravenously in the food for which the exercise of
+the morning had given keen appetites. Still there was something of the
+sternness of battle in the merriment of this meal, and the few jokes
+that passed were seasoned with a bitterness that is not usual among the
+light-hearted followers of the sea. Here and there, a messmate was
+missed, and the vacancy produced some quaint and even pathetic allusion
+to his habits, or to the manner in which he met his death; seamen
+usually treating the ravages of this great enemy of the race, after the
+blow has been struck, with as much solemnity and even tenderness, as
+they regard his approaches with levity. It is when spared themselves,
+that they most regard the destruction of battle. A man's standing in a
+ship, too, carries great weight with it, at such times; the loss of the
+quarter-master, in particular, being much regretted in the Plantagenet.
+This man messed with a portion of the petty officers, a set of men
+altogether more thoughtful and grave than the body of the crew; and who
+met, when they assembled around their mess-chest that morning, with a
+sobriety and even sternness of mien, that showed how much in the
+management of the vessel had depended on their individual exertions.
+Several minutes elapsed in the particular mess of the dead man, before a
+word was spoken; all eating with appetites that were of proof, but no
+one breaking the silence. At length an old quarter-gunner, named Tom
+Sponge, who generally led the discourse, said in a sort of
+half-inquiring, half-regretting, way&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose there's no great use in asking why Jack Glass's spoon is idle
+this morning. They says, them forecastle chaps, that they see'd his body
+streaming out over the starboard quarter, as if it had been the fly of
+one of his own ensigns. How was it, Ned? you was thereaway, and ought to
+know all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure I does," said Ned, who was Bunting's remaining assistant. "I
+was there, as you says, and see'd as much of it as a man can see of what
+passes between a poor fellow and a shot, when they comes together, and
+that not in a very loving manner. It happened just as we come upon the
+weather beam of that first chap&mdash;him as we winged so handsomely among
+us. Well, Sir Jarvy had clapped a stopper on the signals, seeing as we
+had got fairly into the smoke, and Jack and I was looking about us for
+the muskets, not knowing but a chance might turn up to chuck a little
+lead into some of the parly-woos; and so says Jack, says he, 'Ned, you's
+got my musket;&mdash;(as I <i>had</i>, sure enough)&mdash;and says he, 'Ned, you's got
+my musket; but no matter arter all, as they're much of a muchness.' So
+when he'd said this, he lets fly; but whether he hit any body, is more
+than I can say. If he <i>did</i>, 'twas likely a Frenchman, as he shot
+that-a-way. 'Now,' says Jack, says he, 'Ned, as this is your musket, you
+can load it, and hand over mine, and I'll sheet home another of the
+b&mdash;&mdash;s.' Well, at that moment the Frenchman lifted for'ard, on a heavy
+swell, and let drive at us, with all his forecastle guns, fired as it
+might be with one priming&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"That was bad gunnery," growled Tom Sponge, "it racks a ship woundily."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, they'se no judgment in ships, in general. Well, them French
+twelves are spiteful guns; and a <i>little</i> afore they fired, it seemed to
+me I heard something give Jack a rap on the check, that sounded as if a
+fellow's ear was boxed with a clap of thunder. I looked up, and there
+was Jack streaming out like the fly of the ensign, head foremost, with
+the body towing after it by strings in the neck."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought when a fellow's head was shot off," put in another
+quarter-master named Ben Barrel, "that the body was left in the ship
+while only the truck went!"</p>
+
+<p>"That comes of not seeing them things, Ben," rejoined the eye-witness.
+"A fellow's head is staid in its berth just like a ship's mast. There's
+for'ard and back-stays, and shrouds, all's one as aboard here; the only
+difference is that the lanyards are a little looser, so as to give a man
+more play for his head, than it might be safe to give to a mast. When a
+fellow makes a bow, why he only comes up a little aft, and bowses on the
+fore-stay, and now and then you falls in with a chap that is stayed
+altogether too far for'ard, or who's got a list perhaps from having the
+shrouds set up too taut to port or to starboard."</p>
+
+<p>"That sounds reasonable," put in the quarter-gunner, gravely; "I've seen
+such droggers myself."</p>
+
+<p>"If you'd been on the poop an hour or too ago, you'd ha' seen more on
+it! Now, there's all our marines, their back-stays have had a fresh pull
+since they were launched, and, as for their captain, I'll warrant you,
+<i>he</i> had a luff upon luff!"</p>
+
+<p>"I've heard the carpenter overhauling them matters," remarked Sam Wad,
+another quarter-gunner, "and he chalked it all out by the square and
+compass. It seems reasonable, too."</p>
+
+<p>"If you'd seen Jack's head dragging his body overboard, just like the
+Frenchman dragging his wreck under his lee, you'd ha' <i>thought</i> it
+reasonable. What's a fellow's shoulders for, but to give a spread to his
+shrouds, which lead down the neck and are set up under the arms
+somewhere. They says a great deal about the heart, and I reckons it's
+likely every thing is key'd there."</p>
+
+<p>"Harkee, Ned," observed a quarter-master, who knew little more than the
+mess generally, "if what you say is true, why don't these shrouds lead
+straight from the head to the shoulders, instead of being all tucked up
+under a skin in the neck? Answer me that, now."</p>
+
+<p>"Who the devil ever saw a ship's shrouds that wasn't cat-harpened in!"
+exclaimed Ned, with some heat. "A pretty hand a wife would make of it,
+in pulling her arms around a fellow's neck if the rigging spread in the
+way you mean! Them things is all settled according to reason when a
+chap's keel's laid."</p>
+
+<p>This last argument seemed to dispose of the matter, the discourse
+gradually turning on, and confining itself to the merits of the
+deceased.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise had directed Galleygo to prepare his breakfast as soon as
+the people were piped to their own; but he was still detained on deck in
+consequence of a movement in one of his vessels, to which it has now
+become necessary more particularly to recur.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the Druid to the northward, early in the morning, will
+doubtless be remembered by the reader. When near enough to have it made
+out, this frigate had shown her number; after which she rested satisfied
+with carrying sail much harder than any vessel in sight. When the fleets
+engaged, she made an effort to set the fore-top-sail, close-reefed, but
+several of the critics in the other ships, who occasionally noticed her
+movements, fancied that some accident must have befallen her, as the
+canvass was soon taken in, and she appeared disposed to remain content
+with the sail carried when first seen. As this ship was materially to
+windward of the line, and she was running the whole time a little free,
+her velocity was much greater than that of the other vessels, and by
+this time she had got so near that Sir Gervaise observed she was fairly
+abeam of the Plantagenet, and a little to leeward of the Active. Of
+course her hull, even to the bottom, as she rose on a sea, was plainly
+visible, and such of her people as were in the tops and rigging could be
+easily distinguished by the naked eye.</p>
+
+<p>"The Druid must have some communication for us from the other division
+of the fleet," observed the vice-admiral to his signal-officer, as they
+stood watching the movements of the frigate; "it is a little
+extraordinary Blewet does not signal! Look at the book, and find me a
+question to put that will ask his errand?"</p>
+
+<p>Bunting was in the act of turning over the leaves of his little
+vocabulary of questions and answers, when three or four dark balls, that
+Sir Gervaise, by the aid of the glass, saw suspended between the
+frigate's masts, opened into flags, effectually proving that Blewet was
+not absolutely asleep.</p>
+
+<p>"Four hundred and sixteen, ordinary communication," observed the
+vice-admiral, with his eye still at the glass. "Look up that, Bunting,
+and let us know what it means."</p>
+
+<p>"The commander-in-chief&mdash;wish to speak him!" read Bunting, in the
+customary formal manner in which he announced the purport of a signal.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well&mdash;answer; then make the Druid's number to come within hail!
+The fellow has got cloth enough spread to travel two feet to our one;
+let him edge away and come under our lee. Speaking will be rather close
+work to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"I doubt if a ship <i>can</i> come near enough to make herself heard,"
+returned the other, "though the second lieutenant of that ship never
+uses a trumpet in the heaviest weather, they tell me, sir. Our gents say
+his father was a town-crier, and that he has inherited the family
+estate."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, our gents are a set of saucy fellows, as is usually the case when
+there isn't work enough aboard."</p>
+
+<p>"You should make a little allowance, Sir Gervaise, for being in the ship
+of a successful commander-in-chief. That makes us all carry
+weather-helms among the other messes."</p>
+
+<p>"Up with your signal, sir; up with your signal. I shall be obliged to
+order Greenly to put you upon watch-and-watch for a month, in order to
+bring you down to the old level of manners."</p>
+
+<p>"Signal answered, already, Sir Gervaise. By the way, sir, I'll thank you
+to request Captain Greenly to give me another quarter-master. It's
+nimble work for us when there is any thing serious to do."</p>
+
+<p>"You shall have him, Bunting," returned the vice-admiral, a shade
+passing over his face for the moment. "I had missed poor Jack Glass, and
+from seeing a spot of blood on the poop, guessed his fate. I fancied,
+indeed, I heard a shot strike something behind me."</p>
+
+<p>"It struck the poor fellow's head, sir, and made a noise as if a butcher
+were felling an ox."</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;well&mdash;let us try to forget it, until something can be done for
+his son, who is one of the side boys. Ah! there's Blewet keeping away in
+earnest. How the deuce he is to speak us, however, is more than I can
+tell."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise now sent a message to his captain to say that he desired
+his presence. Greenly soon appeared, and was made acquainted with the
+intention of the Druid, as well as with the purport of the last signals.
+By this time, the rent main-top-sail was mended, and the captain
+suggested it should be set again, close-reefed, as before, and that the
+main-sail should be taken in. This would lessen the Plantagenet's way,
+which ship was sensibly drawing ahead of her consorts. Sir Gervaise
+assenting, the change was made, and the effects were soon apparent, not
+only in the movement of the ship, but in her greater ease and steadiness
+of motion.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before the Druid was within a hundred fathoms of the
+flag-ship, on her weather-quarter, shoving the brine before her in a way
+to denote a fearful momentum. It was evidently the intention of Captain
+Blewet to cross the Plantagenet's stern, and to luff up under her lee
+quarter; the safest point at which he could approach, in so heavy a
+swell, provided it were done with discretion. Captain Blewet had a
+reputation for handling his frigate like a boat, and the occasion was
+one which would be likely to awaken all his desire to sustain the
+character he had already earned. Still no one could imagine how he was
+to come near enough to make a communication of any length. The
+stentorian lungs of the second lieutenant, however, might effect it;
+and, as the news of the expected hail passed through the ship, many who
+had remained below, in apathy, while the enemy was close under their
+lee, came on deck, curious to witness what was about to pass.</p>
+
+<p>"Hey! Atwood?" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, for the little excitement had
+brought the secretary up from the commander-in-chief's cabin;&mdash;"what is
+Blewet at! The fellow cannot mean to set a studding-sail!"</p>
+
+<p>"He is running out a boom, nevertheless, Sir Gervaise, or my thirty
+years' experience of nautical things have been thrown away."</p>
+
+<p>"He is truly rigging out his weather fore-topmast-studding-sail-boom,
+sir!" added Greenly, in a tone of wonder.</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>is</i> out," rejoined the vice-admiral, as one would give emphasis to
+the report of a calamity. "Hey!&mdash;what? Isn't that a man they're running
+up to the end of it, Bunting? Level your glass, and let us know at
+once."</p>
+
+<p>"A glass is not necessary to make out that much, Sir Gervaise. It is a
+man, beyond a doubt, and there he hangs at the boom-end, as if sentenced
+by a general court-martial."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise now suppressed every expression of surprise, and his
+reserve was imitated, quite as a matter of course, by the twenty
+officers, who, by this time, had assembled on the poop. The Druid,
+keeping away, approached rapidly, and had soon crossed the flag-ship's
+wake. Here she came by the wind, and favoured by the momentum with which
+she had come down, and the addition of the main-sail, drew heavily but
+steadily up on her lee-quarter. Both vessels being close-hauled, it was
+not difficult steering; and by watching the helms closely, it would have
+been possible, perhaps, notwithstanding the heavy sea, to have brought
+the two hulls within ten yards of each other, and no harm should come of
+it. This was nearer, however, than it was necessary to approach; the
+studding-sail-boom, with the man suspended on the end of it, projecting
+twice that distance, beyond the vessel's bows. Still it was nice work;
+and while yet some thirty or forty feet from the perpendicular, the man
+on the boom-end made a sign for attention, swung a coil of line he hold,
+and when he saw hands raised to catch it, he made a cast. A lieutenant
+caught the rope, and instantly hauled in the slack. As the object was
+now understood, a dozen others laid hold of the line, and, at a common
+signal, when those on board the Plantagenet hauled in strongly, the
+people of the Druid lowered away. By this simple, but united movement,
+the man descended obliquely, leaping out of the bowline in which he had
+sat, and casting the whip adrift. Shaking himself to gain his footing,
+he raised his cap and bowed to Sir Gervaise, who now saw Wycherly
+Wychecombe on his poop.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Yet weep not thou&mdash;the struggle is not o'er,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O victors of Philippi! many a field<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hath yielded palms to us:&mdash;one effort more,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By one stern conflict must our fate be sealed."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Hemans</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>As soon as the people of the Plantagenet, who had so far trespassed on
+discipline, when they perceived a man hanging at the end of the
+studding-sail-boom, as to appear in the rigging, on the booms, and on
+the guns, to watch the result, saw the stranger safely landed on the
+poop, they lifted their hats and caps, and, as one voice, greeted him
+with three cheers. The officers smiled at this outbreak of feeling, and
+the violation of usage was forgotten; the rigid discipline of a
+man-of-war even, giving way occasionally to the sudden impulses of
+natural feeling.</p>
+
+<p>As the Druid approached the flag-ship, Captain Blewet had appeared in
+her weather mizzen-rigging, conning his vessel in person; and the order
+to luff, or keep off, had been given by his own voice, or by a gesture
+of his own hand. As soon as he saw Wycherly's feet on the poop of the
+Plantagenet, and his active form freed from the double-bowline, in which
+it had been seated, the captain made a wide sweep of the arm, to denote
+his desire to edge away; the helm of the frigate was borne up hard, and,
+as the two-decker surged ahead on the bosom of a sea, the Druid's bows
+were knocked off to leeward, leaving a space of about a hundred feet, or
+more, between the two ships, as it might be, in an instant. The same
+causes continuing to operate, the Plantagenet drove still farther ahead,
+while the frigate soon came to the wind again, a cable's-length to
+leeward, and abreast of the space between the admiral and his second,
+astern. Here, Captain Blewet seemed disposed to wait for further orders.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes was not accustomed to betray any surprise he might
+feel at little events that occurred on duty. He returned the bow of
+Wycherly, coolly, and then, without question or play of feature, turned
+his eyes on the further movements of the Druid. Satisfied that all was
+right with the frigate, he directed the messenger to follow him, and
+went below himself, leaving Wycherly to obey as fast as the many
+inquiries he had to answer as he descended the ladders would allow.
+Atwood, an interested observer of what had passed, noted that Captain
+Greenly, of all present, was the only person who seemed indifferent to
+the nature of the communication the stranger might bring, though perhaps
+the only one entitled by rank to put an interrogatory.</p>
+
+<p>"You have come aboard of us in a novel and extraordinary mode, Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe!" observed the vice-admiral, a little severely, as
+soon as he found himself in his own cabin, alone with the lieutenant.</p>
+
+<p>"It was the plan of Captain Blewet, sir, and was really the only one
+that seemed likely to succeed, for a boat could scarcely live. I trust
+the success of the experiment, and the nature of the communications I
+may bring, will be thought sufficient excuses for the want of ceremony."</p>
+
+<p>"It is the first time, since the days of the Conqueror, I fancy, that an
+English vice-admiral's ship has been boarded so cavalierly; but, as you
+say, the circumstances may justify the innovation. What is your errand,
+sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"This letter, I presume, Sir Gervaise, will explain itself. I have
+little to say in addition, except to report that the Druid has sprung
+her foremast in carrying sail to close with you, and that we have not
+lost a moment since Admiral Bluewater ordered us to part company with
+himself."</p>
+
+<p>"You sailed on board the C&aelig;sar, then?" asked Sir Gervaise, a great deal
+mollified by the zeal for service in a youth, situated ashore, as he
+knew Wycherly to be. "You left her, with this letter?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did, Sir Gervaise, at Admiral Bluewater's command."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you go aboard the Druid boom-fashion, or was that peculiar style
+reserved for the commander-in-chief?"</p>
+
+<p>"I left the C&aelig;sar in a boat, Sir Gervaise; and though we were much
+nearer in with the coast, where the wind has not the rake it has here,
+and the strength of the gale had not then come, we were nearly swamped."</p>
+
+<p>"If a true Virginian, you would not have drowned, Wychecombe," answered
+the vice-admiral, in better humour. "You Americans swim like cork.
+Excuse me, while I read what Admiral Bluewater has to say."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise had received Wycherly in the great cabin, standing at the
+table which was lashed in its centre. He would have been puzzled
+himself, perhaps, to have given the real reason why he motioned to the
+young man to take a chair, while he went into what he called his
+"drawing-room;" or the beautiful little apartment between the two
+state-rooms, aft, which was fitted with an elegance that might have been
+admired in a more permanent dwelling, and whither he always withdrew
+when disposed to reflection. It was probably connected, however, with a
+latent apprehension of the rear-admiral's political bias, for, when by
+himself, he paused fully a minute before he opened the letter.
+Condemning this hesitation as unmanly, he broke the seal, however, and
+read the contents of a letter, which was couched in the following terms:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"My dear Oakes:&mdash;Since we parted, my mind has undergone some
+violent misgivings as to the course duty requires of me, in this
+great crisis. One hand&mdash;one heart&mdash;one voice even, may decide the
+fate of England! In such circumstances, all should listen to the
+voice of conscience, and endeavour to foresee the consequences of
+their own acts. Confidential agents are in the west of England, and
+one of them I have seen. By his communications I find more depends
+on myself than I could have imagined, and more on the movements of
+M. de Vervillin. Do not be too sanguine&mdash;take time for your own
+decisions, and grant <i>me</i> time; for I feel like a wretch whose fate
+must soon be sealed. On no account engage, because you think this
+division near enough to sustain you, but at least keep off until
+you hear from me more positively, or we can meet. I find it equally
+hard to strike a blow against my rightful prince, or to desert my
+friend. For God's sake act prudently, and depend on seeing me in
+the course of the next twenty-four hours. I shall keep well to the
+eastward, in the hope of falling in with you, as I feel satisfied
+de Vervillin has nothing to do very far west. I may send some
+verbal message by the bearer, for my thoughts come sluggishly, and
+with great reluctance.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Ever <i>yours</i>,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"<span class="smcap">Richard Bluewater</span>."<br /></span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes read this letter twice with great deliberation; then
+he crushed it in his hand, as one would strangle a deadly serpent. Not
+satisfied with this manifestation of distaste, he tore the letter into
+pieces so small as to render it impossible to imagine its contents,
+opened a cabin-window, and threw the fragments into the ocean. When he
+fancied that every sign of his friend's weakness had thus been
+destroyed, he began to pace the cabin in his usual manner. Wycherly
+heard his step, and wondered at the delay; but his duty compelled him to
+pass an uncomfortable half-hour in silence, ere the door opened, and Sir
+Gervaise appeared. The latter had suppressed the signs of distress,
+though the lieutenant could perceive he was unusually anxious.</p>
+
+<p>"Did the rear-admiral send any message, Sir Wycherly?" inquired Sir
+Gervaise; "in his letter he would seem to refer me to some verbal
+explanations from yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"I am ashamed to say, sir, none that I can render very intelligible.
+Admiral Bluewater, certainly, did make a few communications that I was
+to repeat, but when we had parted, by some extraordinary dullness of my
+own I fear, I find it is out of my power to give them any very great
+distinctness or connection."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps the fault is less your own, sir, than his. Bluewater is
+addicted to fits of absence of mind, and then he has no reason to
+complain that others do not understand him, for he does not always
+understand himself."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise said this with a little glee, delighted at finding his
+friend had not committed himself to his messenger. The latter, however,
+was less disposed to excuse himself by such a process, inasmuch as he
+felt certain that the rear-admiral's feelings were in the matter he
+communicated, let the manner have been what it might.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think we can attribute any thing to Admiral Bluewater's
+absence of mind, on this occasion, sir," answered Wycherly, with
+generous frankness. "His feelings appeared to be strongly enlisted in
+what he said. It might have been owing to the strength of these feelings
+that he was a little obscure, but it could not have been owing to
+indifference."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall best understand the matter, then, by hearing what he did say,
+sir."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly paused, and endeavoured to recall what had passed, in a way to
+make it intelligible.</p>
+
+<p>"I was frequently told to caution you not to engage the French, sir,
+until the other division had closed, and was ready to assist. But,
+really, whether this was owing to some secret information that the
+rear-admiral had obtained, or to a natural desire to have a share in the
+battle, is more than I can say."</p>
+
+<p>"Each may have had its influence. Was any allusion made to secret
+intelligence, that you name it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I never felt more cause to be ashamed of my own dullness, than at this
+present moment, Sir Gervaise Oakes," exclaimed Wycherly, who almost
+writhed under the awkwardness of his situation; for he really began to
+suspect that his own personal grounds of unhappiness had induced him to
+forget some material part of his message;&mdash;"recent events ashore, had
+perhaps disqualified me for this duty."</p>
+
+<p>"It is natural it should be so, my young friend; and as I am acquainted
+with them all, you can rest satisfied with my indulgence."</p>
+
+<p>"All! no&mdash;Sir Gervaise, you know not half&mdash;but, I forget myself, sir,
+and beg your pardon."</p>
+
+<p>"I have no wish to pry into your secrets, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, and
+we will drop the subject. You may say, however, if the rear-admiral was
+in good spirits&mdash;as an English seaman is apt to be, with the prospect of
+a great battle before him."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought not, Sir Gervaise. Admiral Bluewater to me seemed sad, if I
+may presume to mention it&mdash;almost to tears, I thought, sir, one or
+twice."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor Dick!" mentally ejaculated the vice-admiral; "he never could have
+made up his mind to desert <i>me</i> without great anguish of soul. Was there
+any thing said," speaking aloud, "about the fleet of M. de Vervillin?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly a good deal, sir; and yet am I ashamed to say, I scarce know
+what! Admiral Bluewater appeared to think the Comte de Vervillin had no
+intention to strike a blow at any of our colonies, and with this he
+seemed to connect the idea that there would be less necessity for our
+engaging him. At all events, I cannot be mistaken in his wish that you
+would keep off, sir, until he could close."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, and you see how instinctively I have answered to his wishes!" said
+Sir Gervaise, smiling a little bitterly. "Nevertheless, had the rear of
+the fleet been up this morning, Sir Wycherly, it might have been a
+glorious day for England!"</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>has</i> been a glorious day, as it is, sir. We, in the Druid, saw it
+all; and there was not one among us that did not exult in the name of
+Englishman!"</p>
+
+<p>"What, even to the Virginian, Wychecombe!" rejoined Sir Gervaise,
+greatly gratified with the natural commendation conveyed in the manner
+and words of the other, and looking in a smiling, friendly manner, at
+the young man. "I was afraid the hits you got in Devonshire might have
+induced you to separate your nationality from that of old England."</p>
+
+<p>"Even to the Virginian, Sir Gervaise. You have been in the colonies,
+sir, and must know we do not merit all that we sometimes receive, on
+this side of the Atlantic. The king has no subjects more loyal than
+those of America."</p>
+
+<p>"I am fully aware of it, my noble lad, and have told the king as much,
+with my own mouth. But think no more of this. If your old uncle did give
+you an occasional specimen of true John Bullism, he has left you an
+honourable title and a valuable estate. I shall see that Greenly finds a
+berth for you, and you will consent to mess with me, I hope. I trust
+some time to see you at Bowldero. At present we will go on deck; and if
+any thing that Admiral Bluewater has said <i>should</i> recur to your mind
+more distinctly, you will not forget to let me know it."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly now bowed and left the cabin, while Sir Gervaise sat down and
+wrote a note to Greenly to request that he would look a little after the
+comfort of the young man. The latter then went on deck, in person.
+Although he endeavoured to shake off the painful doubts that beset him,
+and to appear as cheerful as became an officer who had just performed a
+brilliant exploit, the vice-admiral found it difficult to conceal the
+shock he had received from Bluewater's communication. Certain as he felt
+of striking a decisive blow at the enemy, could he be reinforced with
+the five ships of the rear division, he would cheerfully forego the
+triumph of such additional success, to be certain his friend did not
+intend to carry his disaffection to overt acts. He found it hard to
+believe that a man like Bluewater could really contemplate carrying off
+with him the ships he commanded; yet he knew the authority his friend
+wielded over his captains, and the possibility of such a step would
+painfully obtrude itself on his mind, at moments. "When a man can
+persuade himself into all the nonsense connected with the <i>jus
+divinum</i>," thought Sir Gervaise, "it is doing no great violence to
+common sense to persuade himself into all its usually admitted
+consequences." Then, again, would interpose his recollections of
+Bluewater's integrity and simplicity of character, to reassure him, and
+give him more cheering hopes for the result. Finding himself thus
+vacillating between hope and dread, the commander-in-chief determined to
+drive the matter temporarily from his mind, by bestowing his attention
+on the part of the fleet he had with him. Just as this wise resolution
+was formed, both Greenly and Wycherly appeared on the poop.</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to see you with a hungry look, Greenly," cried Sir Gervaise,
+cheerfully; "here has Galleygo just been to report his breakfast, and,
+as I know your cabin has not been put in order since the people left the
+guns, I hope for the pleasure of your company. Sir Wycherly, my gallant
+young Virginian, here, will take the third chair, I trust, and then our
+party will be complete."</p>
+
+<p>The two gentlemen assenting, the vice-admiral was about to lead the way
+below, when suddenly arresting his footsteps, on the poop-ladder, he
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Did you not tell me, Wychecombe, that the Druid had sprung her
+foremast?"</p>
+
+<p>"Badly, I believe, Sir Gervaise, in the hounds. Captain Blewet carried
+on his ship fearfully, all night."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, he's a fearful fellow with spars, that Tom Blewet. I never felt
+certain of finding all the sticks in their places, on turning out of a
+morning, when he was with you as a lieutenant, Greenly. How many
+jib-booms and top-gallant yards did he cost us, in that cruise off the
+Cape of Good Hope? By George, it must have been a dozen, at least!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not quite as bad as that, Sir Gervaise, though he did expend two
+jib-booms and three top-gallant yards, for me. Captain Blewet has a fast
+ship, and he wishes people to know it."</p>
+
+<p>"And he has sprung his foremast and he shall see <i>I</i> know it! Harkee,
+Bunting, make the Druid's number to lie by the prize; and when that's
+answered, tell him to take charge of the Frenchman, and to wait for
+further orders. I'll send him to Plymouth to get a new foremast, and to
+see the stranger in. By the way, does any body know the name of the
+Frenchman&mdash;hey! Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot tell you, Sir Gervaise, though some of our gentlemen think it
+is the ship that was the admiral's second ahead, in our brush off Cape
+Finisterre. I am not of the same opinion, however; for that vessel had a
+billet-head, and this has a woman figure-head, that looks a little like
+a Minerva. The French have a <i>la Minerve</i>, I think."</p>
+
+<p>"Not now, Greenly, if this be she, for she is <i>ours</i>." Here Sir Gervaise
+laughed heartily at his own humour, and all near him joined in, as a
+matter of course. "But la Minerve has been a frigate time out of mind.
+The Goddess of Wisdom has never been fool enough to get into a line of
+battle when she has had it in her power to prevent it."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>We</i> thought the figure-head of the prize a Venus, as we passed her in
+the Druid," Wycherly modestly observed.</p>
+
+<p>"There is a way of knowing, and it shall be tried. When you've done with
+the Druid, Bunting, make the prize's signal to repeat her name by
+telegraph. You know how to make a prize's number, I suppose, when she
+has none."</p>
+
+<p>"I confess I do not, Sir Gervaise," answered Bunting, who had shown by
+his manner that he was at a loss. "Having no number in our books, one
+would be at a stand how to get at her, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"How would <i>you</i> do it, young man?" asked Sir Gervaise, who all this
+time was hanging on to the man-rope of the poop-ladder. "Let us see how
+well you've been taught, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe it may be done in different modes, Sir Gervaise," Wycherly
+answered, without any appearance of triumph at his superior readiness,
+"but the simplest I know is to hoist the French flag under the English,
+by way of saying for whom the signal is intended."</p>
+
+<p>"Do it, Bunting," continued Sir Gervaise, nodding his head as he
+descended the ladder, "and I warrant you, Daly will answer. What sort of
+work he will make with the Frenchman's flags, is another matter. I
+doubt, too, if he had the wit to carry one of our books with him, in
+which case he will be at a loss to read our signal. Try him, however,
+Bunting; an Irishman always has <i>something</i> to say, though it be a
+bull."</p>
+
+<p>This order given, Sir Gervaise descended to his cabin. In half an hour
+the party was seated at table, as quietly as if nothing unusual had
+occurred that day.</p>
+
+<p>"The worst of these little brushes which lead to nothing, is that they
+leave as strong a smell of gunpowder in your cabin, Greenly, as if a
+whole fleet had been destroyed," observed the vice-admiral
+good-humouredly, as he began to help his guests. "I hope the odour we
+have here will not disturb your appetites, gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"You do this day's success injustice, Sir Gervaise, in calling it only a
+brush," answered the captain, who, to say the truth, had fallen to as
+heartily upon the delicacies of Galleygo, as if he had not eaten in
+twenty-four hours. "At any rate, it has brushed the spars out of two of
+king Louis's ships, and one of them into our hands; ay, and in a certain
+sense into our pockets."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite true, Greenly&mdash;quite true; but what would it have been if&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The sudden manner in which the commander-in-chief ceased speaking,
+induced his companions to think that he had met with some accident in
+eating or drinking; both looked earnestly at him, as if to offer
+assistance. He <i>was</i> pale in the face, but he smiled, and otherwise
+appeared at his ease.</p>
+
+<p>"It is over, gentlemen," said Sir Gervaise, gently&mdash;"we'll think no more
+of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I sincerely hope you've not been hit, sir?" said Greenly. "I've known
+men hit, who did not discover that they were hurt until some sudden
+weakness has betrayed it."</p>
+
+<p>"I believe the French have let me off this time, my good friend&mdash;yes, I
+think Magrath will be plugging no shot-holes in my hull for this affair.
+Sir Wycherly, those eggs are from your own estate, Galleygo having laid
+the manor under contribution for all sorts of good things. Try them,
+Greenly, as coming from our friend's property."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly is a lucky fellow in <i>having</i> an estate," said the
+captain. "Few officers of his rank can boast of such an advantage;
+though, now and then, an old one is better off."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true enough&mdash;hey! Greenly? The army fetches up most of the
+fortunes; for your rich fellows like good county quarters and county
+balls. I was a younger brother when they sent <i>me</i> to sea, but I became
+a baronet, and a pretty warm one too, while yet a reefer. Poor Josselin
+died when I was only sixteen, and at seventeen they made me an officer."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, and we like you all the better, Sir Gervaise, for not giving us up
+when the money came. Now Lord Morganic was a captain when <i>he</i>
+succeeded, and we think much less of that."</p>
+
+<p>"Morganic remains in service, to teach us how to stay top-masts and
+paint figure-heads;" observed Sir Gervaise, a little drily. "And yet the
+fellow handled his ship well to-day; making much better weather of it
+than I feared he would be able to do."</p>
+
+<p>"I hear we are likely to get another duke in the navy, sir; it's not
+often we catch one of that high rank."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise cared much less for things of this sort than Bluewater, but
+he naturally cast a glance at the speaker, as this was said, as much as
+to ask whom he meant.</p>
+
+<p>"They tell me, sir, that Lord Montresor, the elder brother of the boy in
+the C&aelig;sar, is in a bad way, and Lord Geoffrey stands next to the
+succession. I think there is too much stuff in <i>him</i> to quit us now he
+is almost fit to get his commission."</p>
+
+<p>"True, Bluewater has that boy of high hopes and promise with him, too;"
+answered Sir Gervaise in a musing manner, unconscious of what he said.
+"God send he may not forget <i>that</i>, among other things!"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think rank makes any difference with Admiral Bluewater, or
+Captain Stowel. The nobles are worked up in their ship, as well as the
+humblest reefer of them all. Here is Bunting, sir, to tell us
+something."'</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise started from a fit of abstraction, and, turning, he saw his
+signal-officer ready to report.</p>
+
+<p>"The Druid has answered properly, Sir Gervaise, and has already hauled
+up so close that I think she will luff through the line, though it may
+be astern of the Carnatic."</p>
+
+<p>"And the prize, Bunting? Have you signalled the prize, as I told you to
+do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; and she has answered so properly that I make no question the
+prize-officer took a book with him. The telegraphic signal was answered
+like the other."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what does he say? Have you found out the name of the Frenchman?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's the difficulty, sir; <i>we</i> are understood, but Mr. Daly has shown
+something aboard the prize that the quarter-master swears is a paddy."</p>
+
+<p>"A paddy!&mdash;What, he hasn't had himself run up at a yard-arm, or
+stun'sail-boom end, has he&mdash;hey! Wychecombe? Daly's an Irishman, and has
+only to show <i>himself</i> to show a paddy."</p>
+
+<p>"But this is a sort of an image of some kind or other, Sir Gervaise, and
+yet it isn't Mr. Daly. I rather think he hasn't the flags necessary for
+our words, and has rigged out a sort of a woman, to let us know his
+ship's name; for she <i>has</i> a woman figure-head, you know, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil he has! Well, that will form an era in signals. Galleygo,
+look out at the cabin window and let me know if you can see the prize
+from them&mdash;well, sir, what's the news?"</p>
+
+<p>"I sees her, Sir Jarvy," answered the steward, "and I sees her where no
+French ship as sails in company with British vessels has a right to be.
+If she's a fathom, your honour, she's fifty to windward of our line!
+Quite out of her place, as a body might say, and onreasonable."</p>
+
+<p>"That's owing to our having felled the forests of her masts, Mr.
+Galleygo; every spar that is left helping to put her where she is. That
+prize must be a weatherly ship, though, hey! Greenly? She and her
+consort were well to windward of their own line, or we could never have
+got 'em as we did. These Frenchmen <i>do</i> turn off a weatherly vessel now
+and then, that we must all admit."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sir Jarvy," put in Galleygo, who never let the conversation flag
+when he was invited to take a part in it; "yes, Sir Jarvy, and when
+they've turned 'em off the stocks they turns 'em over to us, commonly,
+to sail 'em. Building a craft is one piece of knowledge, and sailing her
+<i>well</i> is another."</p>
+
+<p>"Enough of your philosophy, sirrah; look and ascertain if there is any
+thing unusual to be seen hanging in the rigging of the prize. Unless you
+show more readiness, I'll send one of the Bowlderos to help you."</p>
+
+<p>These Bowlderos were the servants that Sir Gervaise brought with him
+from his house, having been born on his estate, and educated as
+domestics in his own, or his father's family; and though long accustomed
+to a man-of-war, as their ambition never rose above their ordinary
+service, the steward held them exceedingly cheap. A severer punishment
+could not be offered him, than to threaten to direct one of these common
+menials to do any duty that, in the least, pertained to the profession.
+The present menace had the desired effect, Galleygo losing no time in
+critically examining the prize's rigging.</p>
+
+<p>"I calls nothing extr'ornary in a Frenchman's rigging, Sir Jarvy,"
+answered the steward, as soon as he felt sure of his fact; "their
+dock-men have idees of their own, as to such things. Now there is
+sum'mat hanging at the lee fore-yard-arm of that chap, that looks as if
+it might be a top-gallant-stun'sail made up to be sent aloft and set,
+but which stopped when it got as high as it is, on finding out that
+there's no hamper over-head to spread it to."</p>
+
+<p>"That's it, sir," put in Bunting. "Mr. Daly has run his woman up to the
+fore-yard-arm, like a pirate."</p>
+
+<p>"Woman!" repeated Galleygo&mdash;"do you call that 'ere thing-um-mee a woman,
+Mr. Buntin'? I calls it a bundle of flags, made up to set, if there was
+any thing to set 'em to."</p>
+
+<p>"It's nothing but an Irish woman, Master Galleygo, as you'll see for
+yourself, if you'll level this glass at it."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll do that office myself," cried Sir Gervaise. "Have you any
+curiosity, gentlemen, to read Mr. Daly's signal? Galleygo, open that
+weather window, and clear away the books and writing-desk, that we may
+have a look."</p>
+
+<p>The orders were immediately obeyed, and the vice-admiral was soon seated
+examining the odd figure that was certainly hanging at the lee
+fore-yard-arm of the prize; a perfect nondescript as regarded all
+nautical experience.</p>
+
+<p>"Hang me, if I can make any thing of it. Greenly," said Sir Gervaise,
+after a long look. "Do <i>you</i> take this seat, and try your hand at an
+observation. It resembles a sort of a woman, sure enough."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," observed Bunting, with the earnestness of a man who felt his
+reputation involved in the issue, "I was certain that Mr. Daly has run
+up the figure to let us know the name of the prize, and that for want of
+a telegraph-book to signal the letters; and so I made sure of what I was
+about, before I took the liberty to come below and report."</p>
+
+<p>"And pray what do you make of it, Bunting? The figure-head might tell us
+better, but that seems to be imperfect."</p>
+
+<p>"The figure-head has lost all its bust, and one arm, by a shot," said
+Greenly, turning the glass to the object named; "and I can tell Mr. Daly
+that a part of the gammoning of his bowsprit is gone, too! That ship
+requires looking to, Sir Gervaise; she'll have no foremast to-morrow
+morning, if this wind stand! Another shot has raked the lower side of
+her fore-top, and carried away half the frame. Yes, and there's been a
+fellow at work, too&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind the shot&mdash;never mind the shot, Greenly," interrupted the
+vice-admiral. "A poor devil like him, couldn't have six of us at him, at
+once, and expect to go 'shot free.' Tell us something of the woman."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Sir Gervaise, no doubt Daly has hoisted her as a symbol. Ay, no
+doubt the ship is the Minerva, after all, for there's something on the
+head like a helmet."</p>
+
+<p>"It never can be the Minerva," said the vice-admiral, positively, "for
+<i>she</i>, I feel certain, is a frigate. Hand me the little book with a red
+cover, Bunting; that near your hand; it has a list of the enemy's navy.
+Here it is, '<i>la Minerve</i>, 32, <i>le capitaine de fr&eacute;gate, Mondon</i>. Built
+in 1733, old and dull.' That settles the Minerva, for this list is the
+last sent us by the admiralty."</p>
+
+<p>"Then it must be the Pallas," rejoined Greenly, "for she wears a helmet,
+too, and I am certain there is not only a cap to resemble a helmet, but
+a Guernsey frock on the body to represent armour. Both Minerva and
+Pallas, if I remember right, wore armour."</p>
+
+<p>"This is coming nearer to the point,&mdash;hey! Greenly!" the vice-admiral
+innocently chimed in; "let us look and see if the Pallas is a two-decker
+or not. By George, there's no such name on the list. That's odd, now,
+that the French should have one of these goddesses and not the other!"</p>
+
+<p>"They never has any thing right, Sir Jarvy," Galleygo thrust in, by way
+of commentary on the vice-admiral's and the captain's classical lore;
+"and it's surprising to me that they should have any goddess at all,
+seeing that they has so little respect for religion, in general."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly fidgeted, but respect for his superiors kept him silent. As for
+Bunting, 'twas all the same to him, his father having been a purser in
+the navy, and he himself educated altogether on board ship, and this,
+too, a century since.</p>
+
+<p>"It might not be amiss, Sir Gervaise," observed the captain, "to work
+this rule backwards, and just look over the list until we find a
+two-decked ship that <i>ought</i> to have a woman figure-head, which will
+greatly simplify the matter. I've known difficult problems solved in
+that mode."</p>
+
+<p>The idea struck Sir Gervaise as a good one, and he set about the
+execution of the project in good earnest. Just as he came to <i>l'H&eacute;cate</i>,
+64, an exclamation from Greenly caught his attention, and he inquired
+its cause.</p>
+
+<p>"Look for yourself, Sir Gervaise; unless my eyes are good for nothing,
+Daly is running a kedge up alongside of his woman."</p>
+
+<p>"What, a kedge?&mdash;Ay, that is intended for an anchor, and it means Hope.
+Every body knows that Hope carries an anchor,&mdash;hey! Wychecombe? Upon my
+word, Daly shows ingenuity. Look for the Hope, in that list,
+Bunting,&mdash;you will find the English names printed first, in the end of
+the book."</p>
+
+<p>"'The Hope, or <i>l' Esperance</i>,'" read the signal-officer; "'36, <i>lee
+capitang dee frigate dee Courtraii</i>.'"</p>
+
+<p>"A single-decked ship after all! This affair is as bad as the d&mdash;&mdash;d
+<i>nullus</i>, ashore, there. I'll not be beaten in learning, however, by any
+Frenchman who ever floated. Go below, Locker, and desire Doctor Magrath
+to step up here, if he is not occupied with the wounded. He knows more
+Latin than any man in the ship."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sir Jarvy, but this is French, you knows, your honour, and is'nt
+as Latin, at all. I expects she'll turn out to have some name as no
+modest person wishes to use, and we shall have to halter it."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, he's catted his anchor, sure enough; if the figure be not Hope, it
+must be Faith, or Charity."</p>
+
+<p>"No fear of them, Sir Jarvy; the French has no faith, nor no charity,
+no, nor no bowels, as any poor fellow knows as has ever been wrecked on
+their coast, as once happened to me, when a b'y. I looks upon 'em as no
+better than so many heatheners, and perhaps that's the name of the ship.
+I've seed heatheners, a hundred times, Sir Jarvy, in that sort of
+toggery."</p>
+
+<p>"What, man, did you ever see a heathen with an anchor?&mdash;one that will
+weigh three hundred, if it will weigh a pound?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps not, your honour, with a downright hanchor, but with sum'mat
+like a killog. But, that's no hanchor, a'ter all, but only a kedge,
+catted hanchor-fashion, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Here comes Magrath, to help us out of the difficulty; and we'll
+propound the matter to him."</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral now explained the whole affair to the surgeon, frankly
+admitting that the classics of the cabin were at fault, and throwing
+himself on the gun-room for assistance. Magrath was not a little amused,
+as he listened, for this was one of his triumphs, and he chuckled not a
+little at the dilemma of his superiors.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Sir Jairvis," he answered, "ye might do warse than call a council
+o' war on the matter; but if it's the name ye'll be wanting, I can help
+ye to that, without the aids of symbols, and signs, and hyeroglyphics of
+any sort. As we crossed the vessel's wake, a couple of hours since, I
+read it on her stern, in letters of gold. It's <i>la Victoire</i>, or the
+Victory; a most unfortunate cognomen for an unlucky ship. She's a French
+victory, however, ye'll remember, gentlemen!"</p>
+
+<p>"That must be a mistake, Magrath; for Daly has shown an anchor, yonder;
+and Victory carries no anchor."</p>
+
+<p>"It's hard to say, veece-admiral, one man's victory being another man's
+defeat. As for Mr. Daly's image, it's just an <i>Irish</i> goddess; and
+allowances must be made for the country."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise laughed, invited the gentlemen to help demolish the
+breakfast, and sent orders on deck to hoist the answering flag. At a
+later day, Daly, when called on for an explanation, asserted that the
+armour and helmet belonged to Victory, as a matter of course; though he
+admitted that he had at first forgotten the anchor; "but, when I <i>did</i>
+run it up, they read it aboard the ould Planter, as if it had been just
+so much primmer."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"There's beauty in the deep:&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The wave is bluer than the sky;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And, though the light shines bright on high,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">More softly do the sea-gems glow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That sparkle in the depths below;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The rainbow's tints are only made<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When on the waters they are laid.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And sun and moon most sweetly shine<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Upon the ocean's level brine.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There's beauty in the deep."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Brainard</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>As Daly was the recognised jester of the fleet, his extraordinary
+attempt to announce his vessel's name was received as a characteristic
+joke, and it served to laugh at until something better offered. Under
+the actual circumstances of the two squadrons, however, it was soon
+temporarily forgotten in graver things, for few believed the collision
+that had already taken place was to satisfy a man of the known
+temperament of the commander-in-chief. As the junction of the rear
+division was the only thing wanting to bring on a general engagement, as
+soon as the weather should moderate a little, every ship had careful
+look-outs aloft, sweeping the horizon constantly with glasses, more
+particularly towards the east and north-east. The gale broke about noon,
+though the wind still continued fresh from the same quarter as before.
+The sea began to go down, however, and at eight bells material changes
+had occurred in the situations of both fleets. Some of these it may be
+necessary to mention.</p>
+
+<p>The ship of the French admiral, <i>le Foudroyant</i>, and <i>le Scipion</i>, had
+been received, as it might be, in the arms of their own fleet in the
+manner already mentioned; and from this moment, the movement of the
+whole force was, in a measure, regulated by that of these two crippled
+vessels. The former ship, by means of her lower sails, might have
+continued to keep her station in the line, so long as the gale lasted;
+but the latter unavoidably fell off, compelling her consorts to keep
+near, or to abandon her to her fate. M. de Vervillin preferred the
+latter course. The consequences were, that, by the time the sun was in
+the zenith, his line, a good deal extended, still, and far from regular,
+was quite three leagues to leeward of that of the English. Nor was this
+all: at that important turn in the day, Sir Gervaise Oakes was enabled
+to make sail on all his ships, setting the fore and mizzen-top-sails
+close-reefed; while <i>la Victoire</i>, a fast vessel, was enabled to keep in
+company by carrying whole courses. The French could not imitate this,
+inasmuch as one of their crippled vessels had nothing standing but a
+foremast. Sir Gervaise had ascertained, before the distance became too
+great for such observations, that the enemy was getting ready to send up
+new top-masts, and the other necessary spars on board the admiral, as
+well as jury lower-masts in <i>le Scipion</i>; though the sea would not yet
+permit any very positive demonstrations to be made towards such an
+improvement. He laid his own plans for the approaching night
+accordingly; determining not to worry his people, or notify the enemy of
+his intentions, by attempting any similar improvement in the immediate
+condition of his prize.</p>
+
+<p>About noon, each ship's number was made in succession, and the question
+was put if she had sustained any material injury in the late conflict.
+The answers were satisfactory in general, though one or two of the
+vessels made such replies as induced the commander-in-chief to resort to
+a still more direct mode of ascertaining the real condition of his
+fleet. In order to effect this important object, Sir Gervaise waited two
+hours longer, for the double purpose of letting all the messes get
+through with their dinners, and to permit the wind to abate and the sea
+to fall, as both were now fast doing. At the expiration of that time,
+however, he appeared on the poop, summoning Bunting to his customary
+duty.</p>
+
+<p>At 2 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> it blew a whole top-sail breeze, as it is called; but
+the sea being still high, and the ships close-hauled, the vice-admiral
+did not see fit to order any more sail. Perhaps he was also influenced
+by a desire not to increase his distance from the enemy, it being a part
+of his plan to keep M. de Vervillin in plain sight so long as the day
+continued, in order that he might have a tolerable idea of the position
+of his fleet, during the hours of darkness. His present intention was to
+cause his vessels to pass before him in review, as a general orders his
+battalions to march past a station occupied by himself and staff, with a
+view to judge by his own eye of their steadiness and appearance.
+Vice-Admiral Oakes was the only officer in the British navy who ever
+resorted to this practice; but he did many things of which other men
+never dreamed, and, among the rest, he did not hesitate to attack double
+his force, when an occasion offered, as has just been seen. The officers
+of the fleet called these characteristic reviews "Sir Jarvy's
+field-days," finding a malicious pleasure in comparing any thing out of
+the common nautical track, to some usage of the soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>Bunting got his orders, notwithstanding the jokes of the fleet; and the
+necessary signals were made and the answers given. Captain Greenly then
+received his verbal instructions, when the commander-in-chief went
+below, to prepare himself for the approaching scene. When Sir Gervaise
+re-appeared on the poop, he was in full uniform, wearing the star of the
+Bath, as was usual with him on all solemn official occasions. Atwood and
+Bunting were at his side, while the Bowlderos, in their rich
+shore-liveries, formed a group at hand. Captain Greenly and his first
+lieutenant joined the party as soon as their duty with the ship was
+over. On the opposite side of the poop, the whole of the marines off
+guard were drawn up in triple lines, with their officers at their head.
+The ship herself had hauled up her main-sail, hauled down all her
+stay-sails, and lay with her main-top-sail braced sharp aback, with
+orders to the quarter-master to keep her little off the wind; the object
+being to leave a little way through the water, in order to prolong the
+expected interviews. With these preparations the commander-in-chief
+awaited the successive approach of his ships, the sun, for the first
+time in twenty-four hours, making his appearance in a flood of brilliant
+summer-light, as if purposely to grace the ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>The first ship that drew near the Plantagenet was the Carnatic, as a
+matter of course, she being the next in the line. This vessel,
+remarkable, as the commander-in-chief had observed, for never being out
+of the way, was not long in closing, though as she luffed up on the
+admiral's weather-quarter, to pass to windward, she let go all her
+top-sail bowlines, so as to deaden her way, making a sort of half-board.
+This simple evolution, as she righted her helm, brought her about fifty
+yards to windward of the Plantagenet, past which ship she surged slowly
+but steadily, the weather now permitting a conversation to be held at
+that distance, and by means of trumpets, with little or no effort of the
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the officers of the Carnatic were on her poop, as she came
+sweeping up heavily, casting her shadow on the Plantagenet's decks.
+Captain Parker himself was standing near the ridge-ropes, his head
+uncovered, and the grey hairs floating in the breeze. The countenance of
+this simple-minded veteran was a little anxious, for, had he feared the
+enemy a tenth part as much as he stood in awe of his commanding officer,
+he would have been totally unfit for his station. Now he glanced upward
+at his sails, to see that all was right; then, as he drew nearer, fathom
+by fathom as it might be, he anxiously endeavoured to read the
+expression of the vice-admiral's face.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you do, Captain Parker?" commenced Sir Gervaise, with true
+trumpet formality, making the customary salutation.</p>
+
+<p>"How is Sir Gervaise Oakes to-day? I hope untouched in the late affair
+with the enemy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite well, I thank you, sir. Has the Carnatic received any serious
+injury in the battle?"</p>
+
+<p>"None to mention, Sir Gervaise. A rough scrape of the foremast; but not
+enough to alarm us, now the weather has moderated; a little rigging cut,
+and a couple of raps in the hull."</p>
+
+<p>"Have your people suffered, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Two killed and seven wounded, Sir Gervaise. Good lads, most of 'em; but
+enough like 'em remain."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand, then, Captain Parker, that you report the Carnatic fit
+for any service?"</p>
+
+<p>"As much so as my poor abilities enable me to make her, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes," answered the other, a little alarmed at the formality and
+precision of the question. "Meet her with the helm&mdash;meet her with the
+helm."</p>
+
+<p>All this passed while the Carnatic was making her half-board, and, the
+helm being righted, she now slowly and majestically fell off with her
+broadside to the admiral, gathering way as her canvass began to draw
+again. At this instant, when the yard-arms of the two ships were about a
+hundred feet asunder, and just as the Carnatic drew up fairly abeam, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes raised his hat, stepped quickly to the side of the poop,
+waved his hand for silence, and spoke with a distinctness that rendered
+his words audible to all in both vessels.</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Parker," he said, "I wish, publicly, to thank you for your
+noble conduct this day. I have always said a surer support could never
+follow a commander-in-chief into battle; you have more than proved my
+opinion to be true. I wish, publicly, to thank you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise&mdash;I cannot express&mdash;God bless you, Sir Gervaise!"</p>
+
+<p>"I have but one fault to find with you, sir, and that is easily
+pardoned."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I hope so, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You handled your ship so rapidly and so surely, that <i>we</i> had hardly
+time to get out of the way of your guns!"</p>
+
+<p>Old Parker could not now have answered had his life depended on it; but
+he bowed, and dashed a hand across his eyes. There was but a moment to
+say any more.</p>
+
+<p>"If His Majesty's sword be not laid on <i>your</i> shoulder for this day's
+work, sir, it shall be no fault of mine," added Sir Gervaise, waving his
+hat in adieu.</p>
+
+<p>While this dialogue lasted, so profound was the stillness in the two
+ships, that the wash of the water under the bows of the Carnatic, was
+the only sound to interfere with Sir Gervaise's clarion voice; but the
+instant he ceased to speak, the crews of both vessels rose as one man,
+and cheered. The officers joined heartily, and to complete the
+compliment, the commander-in-chief ordered his own marines to present
+arms to the passing vessel. Then it was that, every sail drawing, again
+the Carnatic took a sudden start, and shot nearly her length ahead, on
+the summit of a sea. In half a minute more, she was ahead of the
+Plantagenet's flying-jib-boom-end, steering a little free, so as not to
+throw the admiral to leeward.</p>
+
+<p>The Carnatic was scarcely out of the way, before the Achilles was ready
+to take her place. This ship, having more room, had easily luffed to
+windward of the Plantagenet, simply letting go her bowlines, as her bows
+doubled on the admiral's stern, in order to check her way.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you do to-day, Sir Gervaise?" called out Lord Morganic, without
+waiting for the commander-in-chief's hail&mdash;"allow me to congratulate
+you, sir, on the exploits of this glorious day!"</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, my lord, and wish to say I am satisfied with the behaviour
+of your ship. You've <i>all</i> done well, and I desire to thank you <i>all</i>.
+Is the Achilles injured?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing to speak of, sir. A little rigging gone, and here and there a
+stick."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you lost any men, my lord? I desire particularly to know the
+condition of each ship."</p>
+
+<p>"Some eight or ten poor fellows, I believe, Sir Gervaise; but we are
+ready to engage this instant."</p>
+
+<p>"It is well, my lord; steady your bowlines, and make room for the
+Thunderer."</p>
+
+<p>Morganic gave the order, but as his ship drew ahead he called out in a
+pertinacious way,&mdash;"I hope, Sir Gervaise, you don't mean to give that
+other lame duck up. I've got my first lieutenant on board one of 'em,
+and confess to a desire to put the second on board another."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;ay&mdash;Morganic, <i>we</i> knock down the birds, and <i>you</i> bag 'em. I'll
+give you more sport in the same way, before I've done with ye."</p>
+
+<p>This little concession, even Sir Gervaise Oakes, a man not accustomed to
+trifle in matters of duty, saw fit to make to the other's rank; and the
+Achilles withdrew from before the flag-ship, as the curtain is drawn
+from before the scene.</p>
+
+<p>"I do believe, Greenleaf," observed Lord Morganic to his surgeon, one of
+his indulged favourites; "that Sir Jarvy is a little jealous of us,
+because Daly got into the prize before he could send one of his own
+boats aboard of her. 'Twill tell well in the gazette, too, will it
+not?&mdash;'The French ship was taken possession of, and brought off, by the
+Achilles, Captain the Earl of Morganic!' I hope the old fellow will have
+the decency to give us our due. I rather think it <i>was</i> our last
+broadside that brought the colours down?"</p>
+
+<p>A suitable answer was returned, but as the ship is drawing ahead, we
+cannot follow her to relate it. The vessel that approached the third,
+was the Thunderer, Captain Foley. This was one of the ships that had
+received the fire of the three leading French vessels, after they had
+brought the wind abeam, and being the leading vessel of the English
+rear, she had suffered more than any other of the British squadron. The
+fact was apparent, as she approached, by the manner in which her rigging
+was knotted, and the attention that had been paid to her spars. Even as
+she closed, the men were on the yard bending a new main-course, the old
+one having been hit on the bolt-rope, and torn nearly from the spar.
+There were also several plugs on her lee-side to mark the spots where
+the French guns had told.</p>
+
+<p>The usual greetings passed between the vice-admiral and his captain, and
+the former put his questions.</p>
+
+<p>"We have not been quite exchanging salutes, Sir Gervaise," answered
+Captain Foley; "but the ship is ready for service again. Should the wind
+moderate a little, I think everything would stand to carry sail <i>hard</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad to hear it, sir&mdash;<i>rejoiced</i> to hear it, sir. I feared more for
+you, than for any other vessel. I hope you've not suffered materially in
+your crew?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nine killed. Sir Gervaise; and the surgeon tells me sixteen wounded."</p>
+
+<p>"That proves you've not been in port, Foley! Well, I dare say, could the
+truth be known, it would be found that M. de Vervillin's vessels bear
+your marks, in revenge. Adieu&mdash;adieu&mdash;God bless you."</p>
+
+<p>The Thunderer glided ahead, making room for the Blenheim, Captain
+Sterling. This was one of your serviceable ships, without any show or
+style about her; but a vessel that was always ready to give and take.
+Her commander was a regular sea-dog, a little addicted to hard and
+outlandish oaths, a great consumer of tobacco and brandy; but who had
+the discrimination never to swear in the presence of the
+commander-in-chief, although he had been known to do so in a church; or
+to drink more than he could well carry, when he was in presence of an
+enemy or a gale of wind. He was too firm a man, and too good a seaman,
+to use the bottle as a refuge; it was the companion of his ease and
+pleasure, and to confess the truth, he then treated it with an
+affectionate benevolence, that rendered it exceedingly difficult for
+others not to entertain some of his own partiality for it. In a word,
+Captain Sterling was a sailor of the "old school;" for there was an "old
+school" in manners, habits, opinions, philosophy, morals, and reason, a
+century since, precisely as there <i>is</i> to-day, and probably <i>will</i> be, a
+century hence.</p>
+
+<p>The Blenheim made a good report, not having sustained any serious injury
+whatever; nor had she a man hurt. The captain reported his ship as fit
+for service as she was the hour she lifted her anchor.</p>
+
+<p>"So much the better, Sterling&mdash;so much the better. You shall take the
+edge off the next affair, by way of giving you another chance. I rely on
+the Blenheim, and on her captain."</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, sir," returned Sterling, as his ship moved on; "by the
+way, Sir Gervaise, would it not be fair-play to rummage the prize's
+lockers before she gets into the hands of the custom-house? Out here on
+the high seas, there can be no smuggling in <i>that</i>: there must be good
+claret aboard her."</p>
+
+<p>"There would be 'plunder of a prize,' Sterling," said the vice-admiral,
+laughing, for he knew that the question was put more as a joke than a
+serious proposition; "and that is death, without benefit of clergy. Move
+on; here is Goodfellow close upon your heels."</p>
+
+<p>The last ship in the English line was the Warspite, Captain Goodfellow,
+an officer remarkable in the service at that day, for a "religious
+turn," as it was called. As is usually the case with men of this stamp,
+Captain Goodfellow was quiet, thoughtful, and attentive to his duty.
+There was less of the real tar in him, perhaps, than in some of his
+companions; but his ship was in good order, always did her duty, and was
+remarkably attentive to signals; a circumstance that rendered her
+commander a marked favourite with the vice-admiral. After the usual
+questions were put and answered, Sir Gervaise informed Goodfellow that
+he intended to change the order of sailing so as to bring him near the
+van.</p>
+
+<p>"We will give old Parker a breathing spell, Goodfellow," added the
+commander-in-chief, "and you will be my second astern. I must go ahead
+of you all, or you'll be running down on the Frenchman without orders;
+pretending you can't see the signals, in the smoke."</p>
+
+<p>The Warspite drove ahead, and the Plantagenet was now left to receive
+the prize and the Druid; the Chloe, Driver, and Active, not being
+included in the signal. Daly had been gradually eating the other ships
+out of the wind, as has been mentioned already, and when the order was
+given to pass within hail, he grumbled not a little at the necessity of
+losing so much of his vantage-ground. Nevertheless, it would not do to
+joke with the commander-in-chief in a matter of this sort, and he was
+fain to haul up his courses, and wait for the moment when he might
+close. By the time the Warspite was out of the way, his ship had drifted
+down so near the admiral, that he had nothing to do but to haul aboard
+his tacks again, and pass as near as was at all desirable. When quite
+near, he hauled up his main-sail, by order of the vice-admiral.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you much in want of any thing, Mr. Daly?" demanded Sir Gervaise, as
+soon as the lieutenant appeared forward to meet his hail. "The sea is
+going down so fast, that we might now send you some boats."</p>
+
+<p>"Many thanks, Sir Gervaise; I want to get rid of a hundred or two
+Frenchmen, and to have a hundred Englishmen in their places. We are but
+twenty-one of the king's subjects here, all told."</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Blewet is ordered to keep company with you, sir; and as soon as
+it is dark, I intend to send you into Plymouth under the frigate's
+convoy. Is she a nice ship, hey! Daly?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Sir Gervaise, she's like a piece of broken crockery, just now, and
+one can't tell all her merits. She's not a bad goer, and weatherly, I
+think, all will call her. But she's thundering French, inside."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll make her English in due time, sir. How are the leaks? do the
+pumps work freely?"</p>
+
+<p>"Deuce the l'ake has she, Sir Gervaise, and the pumps suck like a nine
+months' babby. And if they didn't we're scarce the boys to find out the
+contrary, being but nineteen working hands."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Daly; you can haul aboard your main-tack, now; remember,
+you're to go into Plymouth, as soon as it is dark. If you see any thing
+of Admiral Bluewater, tell him I rely on his support, and only wait for
+his appearance to finish Monsieur de Vervillin's job."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll do all that, with hearty good will, sir. Pray, Sir Gervaise,"
+added Daly, grinning, on the poop of the prize, whither he had got by
+this time, having walked aft as his ship went ahead, "how do you like
+French signals? For want of a better, we were driven to the classics!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, you'd be bothered to explain all your own flags, I fancy. The name
+of the ship is the Victory, I am told; why did you put her in armour,
+and whip a kedge up against the poor woman?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's according to the books, Sir Gervaise. Every word of it out of
+Cicero, and Cordairy, and Cornelius Nepos, and those sort of fellows.
+Oh! I went to school, sir, before I went to sea, as you say yourself,
+sometimes, Sir Gervaise; and literature is the same in Ireland, as it is
+all over the world. Victory needs armour, sir, in order to be
+victorious, and the anchor is to show that she doesn't belong to 'the
+cut and run' family. I am as sure that all was right, as I ever was of
+my moods and tenses."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Daly," answered Sir Gervaise, laughing&mdash;"My lords shall know
+your merits in that way, and it may get you named a professor&mdash;keep your
+luff, or you'll be down on our sprit-sail-yard;&mdash;remember and follow the
+Druid."</p>
+
+<p>Here the gentlemen waved their hands in adieu as usual, and la Victoire,
+clipped as she was of her wings, drew slowly past. The Druid succeeded,
+and Sir Gervaise simply gave Blewet his orders to see the prize into
+port, and to look after his own foremast. This ended the field day; the
+frigate luffing up to windward of the line again, leaving the
+Plantagenet in its rear. A few minutes later, the latter ship filled and
+stood after her consorts.</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral having now ascertained, in the most direct manner, the
+actual condition of his fleet, had <i>data</i> on which to form his plans for
+the future. But for the letter from Bluewater, he would have been
+perfectly happy; the success of the day having infused a spirit into the
+different vessels, that, of itself, was a pledge of more important
+results. Still he determined to act as if that letter had never been
+written, finding it impossible to believe that one who had so long been
+true, could really fail him in the hour of need. "I know his heart
+better than he knows it himself," he caught himself mentally exclaiming,
+"and before either of us is a day older, this will I prove to him, to
+his confusion and my triumph." He had several short and broken
+conversations with Wycherly in the course of the afternoon, with a view
+to ascertain, if possible, the real frame of mind in which his friend
+had written, but without success, the young man frankly admitting that,
+owing to a confusion of thought that he modestly attributed to himself,
+but which Sir Gervaise well knew ought in justice to be imputed to
+Bluewater, he had not been able to bring away with him any very clear
+notions of the rear-admiral's intentions.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean while, the elements were beginning to exhibit another of
+their changeful humours. A gale in summer is seldom of long duration,
+and twenty-four hours would seem to be the period which nature had
+assigned to this. The weather had moderated materially by the time the
+review had taken place, and five hours later, not only had the sea
+subsided to a very reasonable swell, but the wind had hauled several
+points; coming out a fresh top-gallant breeze at north-west. The French
+fleet wore soon after, standing about north-east-by-north, on an easy
+bowline. They had been active in repairing damages, and the admiral was
+all a-tanto again, with every thing set that the other ships carried.
+The plight of le Scipion was not so easily remedied, though even she had
+two jury-masts rigged, assistance having been sent from the other
+vessels as soon as boats could safely pass. As the sun hung in the
+western sky, wanting about an hour of disappearing from one of the long
+summer days of that high latitude, this ship set a mizzen-top-sail in
+the place of a main, and a fore-top-gallant-sail in lieu of a
+mizzen-top-sail. Thus equipped, she was enabled to keep company with her
+consorts, all of which were under easy canvass, waiting for the night to
+cover their movements.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes had made the signal for his fleet to tack in
+succession, from the rear to the van, about an hour before le Scipion
+obtained this additional sail. The order was executed with great
+readiness, and, as the ships had been looking up as high as
+west-south-west before, when they got round, and headed
+north-north-east, their line of sailing was still quite a league to
+windward of that of the enemy. As each vessel filled on the larboard
+tack, she shortened sail to allow the ships astern to keep away, and
+close to her station. It is scarcely necessary to say, that this change
+again brought the Plantagenet to the head of the line, with the
+Warspite, however, instead of the Carnatic, for her second astern; the
+latter vessel being quite in the rear.</p>
+
+<p>It was a glorious afternoon, and there was every promise of as fine a
+night. Still, as there were but about six hours of positive darkness at
+that season of the year, and the moon would rise at midnight, the
+vice-admiral knew he had no time to lose, if he would effect any thing
+under the cover of obscurity. Reefs were no longer used, though all the
+ships were under short canvass, in order to accommodate their movements
+to those of the prize. The latter, however, was now in tow of the Druid,
+and, as this frigate carried her top-gallant-sails, aided by her own
+courses, la Victoire was enabled not only to keep up with the fleet,
+then under whole top-sails, but to maintain her weatherly position. Such
+was the state of things just as the sun dipped, the enemy being on the
+lee bow, distant one and a half leagues, when the Plantagenet showed a
+signal for the whole fleet to heave to, with the main-top-sails to the
+masts. This command was scarcely executed, when the officers on deck
+were surprised to hear a boatswain's mate piping away the crew of the
+vice-admiral's barge, or that of the boat which was appropriated to the
+particular service of the commander-in-chief.</p>
+
+<p>"Did I hear aright, Sir Gervaise?" inquired Greenly, with curiosity and
+interest; "is it your wish to have your barge manned, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"You heard perfectly right, Greenly; and, if disposed for a row this
+fine evening, I shall ask the favour of your company. Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe, as you are an idler here, I have a flag-officer's right to
+press yon into my service. By the way, Greenly, I have made out and
+signed an order to this gentleman to report himself to you, as attached
+to my family, as the soldiers call it; as soon as Atwood has copied it,
+it will be handed to him, when I beg you will consider him as my first
+aid."</p>
+
+<p>To this no one could object, and Wycherly made a bow of acknowledgment.
+At that instant the barge was seen swinging off over the ship's waist,
+and, at the next, the yard tackles were heard overhauling themselves.
+The splash of the boat in the water followed. The crew was in her, with
+oars on end, and poised boat-hooks, in another minute. The guard
+presented, the boatswain piped over, the drum rolled, and Wycherly
+jumped to the gangway and was out of sight quick as thought. Greenly and
+Sir Gervaise followed, when the boat shoved off.</p>
+
+<p>Although the seas had greatly subsided, and their combs were no longer
+dangerous, the Atlantic was far from being as quiet as a lake in a
+summer eventide. At the very first dash of the oars the barge rose on a
+long, heavy swell that buoyed her up like a bubble, and as the water
+glided from under her again, it seemed as if she was about to sink into
+some cavern of the ocean. Few things give more vivid impressions of
+helplessness than boats thus tossed by the waters when not in their
+raging humours; for one is apt to expect better treatment than thus to
+be made the plaything of the element. All, however, who have ever
+floated on even the most quiet ocean, must have experienced more or less
+of this helpless dependence, the stoutest boat, impelled by the lustiest
+crews, appearing half the time like a feather floating in capricious
+currents of the air.</p>
+
+<p>The occupants of the barge, however, were too familiar with their
+situation to think much of these matters; and, as soon as Sir Gervaise
+assented to Wycherly's offer to take the tiller, he glanced upward, with
+a critical eye, in order to scan the Plantagenet's appearance.</p>
+
+<p>"That fellow, Morganic, has got a better excuse for his xebec-rig than I
+had supposed, Greenly," he said, after a minute of observation. "Your
+fore-top-mast is at least six inches too far forward, and I beg you will
+have it stayed aft to-morrow morning, if the weather permit. None of
+your Mediterranean craft for me, in the narrow seas."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Sir Gervaise; the spar shall be righted in the morning
+watch," quietly returned the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, there's Goodfellow, half-parson as he is; the man contrives to
+keep his sticks more upright than any captain in the fleet. You never
+see a spar half an inch out of its place, on board the Warspite."</p>
+
+<p>"That is because her captain trims every thing by his own life, sir,"
+rejoined Greenly, smiling. "Were we half as good as he is, in other
+matters, we might be better than we are in seamanship."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think religion hurts a sailor, Greenly&mdash;no, not in the least.
+That is to say, when he don't wedge his masts too tight, but leaves play
+enough for all weathers. There is no cant in Goodfellow."</p>
+
+<p>"Not the least of it, sir, and that it is which makes him so great a
+favourite. The chaplain of the Warspite is of some use; but one might as
+well have a bowsprit rigged out of a cabin-window, as have our chap."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, we never bury a man, Greenly, without putting him into the water
+as a Christian should be," returned Sir Gervaise, with the simplicity of
+a true believer of the decency school. "I hate to see a seaman tossed in
+the ocean like a bag of old clothes."</p>
+
+<p>"We get along with that part of the duty pretty well; but <i>before</i> a man
+is dead, the parson is of opinion that he belongs altogether to the
+doctor."</p>
+
+<p>"I'd bet a hundred guineas, Magrath has had some influence over him, in
+this matter&mdash;give the Blenheim a wider berth, Sir Wycherly, I wish to
+see how she looks aloft&mdash;he's a d&mdash;&mdash;d fellow, that Magrath,"&mdash;no one
+swore in Sir Gervaise's boat but himself, when the vice-admiral's flag
+was flying in her bows;&mdash;"and he's just the sort of man to put such a
+notion into the chaplain's head."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, there, I believe you're more than half right, Sir Gervaise; I
+overheard a conversation between them one dark night, when they were
+propping the mizzen-mast under the break of the poop, and the surgeon
+<i>did</i> maintain a theory very like that you mention, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!&mdash;he did, did he? It's just like the Scotch rogue, who wanted to
+persuade me that your poor uncle, Sir Wycherly, ought not to have been
+blooded, in as clear a case of apoplexy as ever was met with."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I didn't think he could have carried his impudence as far as
+that," observed Greenly, whose medical knowledge was about on a par with
+that of Sir Gervaise. "I didn't think even a doctor would dare to hold
+such a doctrine! As for the chaplain, to him he laid down the principle
+that religion and medicine never worked well together. He said religion
+was an 'alterative,' and would neutralize a salt as quick as fire."</p>
+
+<p>"He's a great vagabond, that Magrath, when he gets hold of a young hand,
+sir; and I wish with all my heart the Pretender had him, with two or
+three pounds of his favourite medicines with him&mdash;I think, between the
+two, England might reap some advantage, Greenly.&mdash;Now, to my notion,
+Wychecombe, the Blenheim would make better weather, if her masts were
+shortened at least two feet."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps she might, Sir Gervaise; but would she be as certain a ship, in
+coming into action in light winds and at critical moments?"</p>
+
+<p>"Umph! It's time for us old fellows to look about us, Greenly, when the
+boys begin to reason on a line of battle! Don't blush, Wychecombe; don't
+blush. Your remark was sensible, and shows reflection. No country can
+ever have a powerful marine, or, one likely to produce much influence in
+her wars, that does not pay rigid attention to the tactics of fleets.
+Your frigate actions and sailing of single ships, are well enough as
+drill; but the great practice must be in squadron. Ten heavy ships, in
+good <i>fleet</i> discipline, and kept at sea, will do more than a hundred
+single cruisers, in establishing and maintaining discipline; and it is
+only by using vessels <i>together</i>, that we find out what both ships and
+men can do. Now, we owe the success of this day, to our practice of
+sailing in close order, and in knowing how to keep our stations; else
+would six ships never have been able to carry away the palm of victory
+from twelve&mdash;palm!&mdash;Ay, that's the very word. Greenly, I was trying to
+think of this morning. Daly's paddy should have had a palm-branch in its
+hand, as an emblem of victory."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"He that has sailed upon the dark-blue sea,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Has viewed at times, I ween, a full fair sight;<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">When the fresh breeze is fair as breeze may be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">The white sail set, the gallant frigate tight;<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Mast, spires and strand, retiring to the sight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">The glorious main expanding o'er the bow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">The convoy spread like wild swans in their flight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">The dullest sailer waring bravely now,<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">So gaily curl the waves before each dashing prow."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Byron</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>As Sir Gervaise Oakes' active mind was liable to such sudden mutations
+of thought as that described in the close of the last chapter, Greenly
+neither smiled, nor dwelt on the subject at all; he simply pointed out
+to his superior the fact, that they were now abreast of the Thunderer,
+and desired to know whether it was his pleasure to proceed any further.</p>
+
+<p>"To the Carnatic, Greenly, if Sir Wycherly will have the goodness to
+shape his course thither. I have a word to say to my friend Parker,
+before we sleep to-night. Give us room, however, to look at Morganic's
+fancies, for I never pass his ship without learning something new. Lord
+Morganic's vessel is a good school for us old fellows to attend&mdash;hey!
+Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Achilles is certainly a model vessel in some respects, Sir
+Gervaise, though I flatter myself the Plantagenets have no great
+occasion to imitate her, in order to gain a character."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>You</i> imitate Morganic in order to know how to keep a ship in
+order!&mdash;Poh! let Morganic come to school to <i>you</i>. Yet the fellow is not
+bashful in battle neither; keeps his station well, and makes himself
+both heard and felt. Ah! there he is, flourishing his hat on the poop,
+and wondering what the deuce Sir Jarvy's after, now! Sheer in,
+Wychecombe, and let us hear what he has to say."</p>
+
+<p>"Good evening, Sir Gervaise," called out the earl, as usual taking the
+<i>initiative</i> in the discourse; "I was in hopes when I saw your flag in
+the boat, that you were going to do me the favour to open a bottle of
+claret, and to taste some fruit, I have still standing on the table."</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, my lord, but business before pleasure. We have not been
+idle to-day, though to-morrow shall be still more busy. How does the
+Achilles steer; now her foremast is in its place?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yaws like a fellow with his grog aboard, Sir Gervaise, on my honour! We
+shall never do any thing with her, until you consent to let us stay her
+spars, in our own fashion. Do you intend to send me Daly back, or am I
+to play first lieutenant myself, admiral?"</p>
+
+<p>"Daly's shipped for the cruise, and you must do as well as you can
+without him. If you find yourself without a second astern, in the course
+of the night, do not fancy she has gone to the bottom. Keep good
+look-outs, and pay attention to signals."</p>
+
+<p>As Sir Gervaise waved his hand, the young noble did not venture to
+reply, much less to ask a question, though there was not a little
+speculation on the poop of the Achilles, concerning the meaning of his
+words. The boat moved on, and five minutes later Sir Gervaise was on the
+quarter-deck of the Carnatic.</p>
+
+<p>Parker received the commander-in-chief, hat in hand, with a solicitude
+and anxiety that were constitutional, perhaps, and which no
+consciousness of deserving could entirely appease. Habit, however, had
+its share in it, since, accustomed to defer to rank from boyhood, and
+the architect of his own "little fortune," he had ever attached more
+importance to the commendation of his superior, than was usual with
+those who had other props to lean on than their own services. As soon as
+the honours of the quarter-deck had been duly paid&mdash;for these Sir
+Gervaise never neglected himself, nor allowed others to neglect&mdash;the
+vice-admiral intimated to Captain Parker a desire to see him in his
+cabin, requesting Greenly and Wycherly to accompany them below.</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Parker," commenced Sir Gervaise, looking around him at
+the air of singular domestic comfort that the after-cabin of the ship
+presented, "you have the knack of taking a house to sea with you, that
+no other captain of the fleet possesses! No finery, no Morganics, but a
+plain, wholesome, domestic look, that might make a man believe he was in
+his father's house. I would give a thousand pounds if my vagabonds could
+give the cabin of the Plantagenet such a Bowldero look, now!"</p>
+
+<p>"Less than a hundred, sir, have done the little you see here. Mrs.
+Parker makes it a point to look to those matters, herself, and in that
+lies the whole secret, perhaps. A good wife is a great blessing, Sir
+Gervaise, though you have never been able to persuade yourself into the
+notion, I believe."</p>
+
+<p>"I hardly think, Parker, the wife can do it all. Now there's Stowel,
+Bluewater's captain, he is married as well as yourself&mdash;nay, by George,
+I've heard the old fellow say he had as much wife as any man in his
+majesty's service&mdash;but <i>his</i> cabin looks like a cobbler's barn, and his
+state-room like a soldier's bunk! When we were lieutenants together in
+the Eurydice, Parker, your state-room had just the same air of comfort
+about it that this cabin has at this instant. No&mdash;no&mdash;it's in the grain,
+man, or it would never show itself, in all times and places."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget, Sir Gervaise, that when I had the honour to be your
+messmate in the Eurydice, I was a married man."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, my old friend; so you were, indeed! Why, that was a
+confounded long time ago, hey! Parker?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was, truly, sir; but I was poor, and could not afford the
+extravagances of a single life. <i>I</i> married for the sake of economy,
+Admiral Oakes."</p>
+
+<p>"And love&mdash;" answered Sir Gervaise, laughing. "I'll warrant you,
+Greenly, that he persuaded Mrs. Parker into that notion, whether true or
+not. I'll warrant you, he didn't tell <i>her</i> he married for so sneaking a
+thing as economy! I should like to see your state-room now, Parker."</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing easier, Sir Gervaise," answered the captain, rising and opening
+the door. "Here it is, air, though little worthy the attention of the
+owner of Bowldero."</p>
+
+<p>"A notable place, truly!&mdash;and with a housewife-look about it that must
+certainly remind you of Mrs. Parker&mdash;unless, indeed, that picture at the
+foot of your cot puts other notions into your head! What young hussy
+have you got there, my old Eurydice?&mdash;Hey! Parker?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is a picture of my faithful wife, Sir Gervaise; a proper
+companion, I hope, of my cruise?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hey! What, that young thing your wife, Parker! How the d&mdash;l came she to
+have you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Sir Gervaise, she is a young thing no longer, but is well turned
+towards sixty. The picture was taken when she was a bride, and is all
+the dearer to me, now that I know the original has shared my fortunes so
+long. I never look at it, without remembering, with gratitude, how much
+she thinks of me in our cruises, and how often she prays for our
+success. <i>You</i> are not forgotten, either, sir, in her prayers."</p>
+
+<p>"I!" exclaimed the vice-admiral, quite touched at the earnest simplicity
+of the other. "D'ye hear that, Greenly? I'll engage, now, this lady is a
+good woman&mdash;a really excellent creature&mdash;just such another as my poor
+sainted mother was, and a blessing to all around her! Give me your hand,
+Parker; and when you write next to your wife, tell her from me, God
+bless her; and say all you think a man ought to say on such an occasion.
+And now to business. Let us seat ourselves in this snug domestic-looking
+cabin of yours, and talk our matters over."</p>
+
+<p>The two captains and Wycherly followed the vice-admiral into the
+after-cabin, where the latter seated himself on a small sofa, while the
+others took chairs, in respectful attitudes near him, no familiarity or
+jocularity on the part of a naval superior ever lessening the distance
+between him and those who <i>hold subordinate commissions</i>&mdash;a fact that
+legislators would do well to remember, when graduating rank in a
+service. As soon as all were placed, Sir Gervaise opened his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a delicate piece of duty, Captain Parker," he commenced, "which
+I wish entrusted to yourself. You must know that we handled the ship
+which escaped us this morning by running down into her own line, pretty
+roughly, in every respect; besides cutting two of her masts out of her.
+This ship, as you may have seen, has got up jury-masts, already; but
+they are spars that can only be intended to carry her into port.
+Monsieur de Vervillin is not the man I take him to be, if he intends to
+leave the quarrel between us where it is. Still he cannot keep that
+crippled ship in his fleet, any more than we can keep our prize, and I
+make no doubt he will send her off to Cherbourg as soon as it is dark;
+most probably accompanied by one of his corvettes; or perhaps by a
+frigate."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sir Gervaise," returned Parker, thoughtfully, as soon as his
+superior ceased to speak; "what you predict, is quite likely to happen."</p>
+
+<p>"It <i>must</i> happen, Parker, the wind blowing directly for his haven. Now,
+you may easily imagine what I want of the Carnatic."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose I understand you, sir;&mdash;and yet, if I might presume to
+express a wish&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Speak out, old boy&mdash;you're talking to a friend. I have chosen you to
+serve you, both as one I like, and as the oldest captain in the fleet.
+Whoever catches that ship will hear more of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Very true, sir; but are we not likely to have more work, here? and
+would it be altogether prudent to send so fine a ship as the Carnatic
+away, when the enemy will count ten to six, even if she remain?"</p>
+
+<p>"All this has been thought of; and I suppose your own feeling has been
+anticipated. You think it will be more honourable to your vessel, to
+keep her place in the line, than to take a ship already half beaten."</p>
+
+<p>"That's it, indeed, Sir Gervaise. I do confess some such thoughts were
+crossing my mind."</p>
+
+<p>"Then see how easy it is to rose them out of it. I cannot fight the
+French, in this moderate weather, without a reinforcement. When the rear
+joins, we shall be just ten to ten, without you, and with you, should be
+eleven to ten. Now, I confess, I don't wish the least odds, and shall
+send away somebody; especially when I feel certain a noble two-decked
+ship will be the reward. If a frigate accompany the crippled fellow,
+you'll have your hands full, and a very fair fight; and should you get
+either, it will be a handsome thing. What say you <i>now</i>, Parker?"</p>
+
+<p>"I begin to think better of the plan, Sir Gervaise, and am grateful for
+the selection. I wish, however, I knew your own precise wishes&mdash;I've
+always found it safe to follow them, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Here they are, then. Get four or five sets of the sharpest eyes you
+have, and send them aloft to keep a steady look on your chap, while
+there is light enough to be certain of him. In a little while, they'll
+be able to recognise him in the dark; and by keeping your night-glasses
+well levelled, he can scarcely slip off, without your missing him. The
+moment he is gone, ware short round, and make the best of your way for
+Cape la Hogue, or Alderney; you will go three feet to his two, and, my
+life on it, by day-light you'll have him to windward of you, and then
+you'll be certain of him. Wait for no signals from me, but be off, as
+soon as it is dark. When your work is done, make the best of your way to
+the nearest English port, and clap a Scotchman on your shoulder to keep
+the king's sword from chafing it. They thought me fit for knighthood at
+three-and-twenty, and the deuce is in it, Parker, if you are not worthy
+of it at three-and-sixty!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Sir Gervaise, every thing you undertook succeeded! You never yet
+failed in any expedition."</p>
+
+<p>"That has come from attempting much. My <i>plans</i> have often failed; but
+as something good has generally followed from them, I have the credit of
+designing to do, exactly what I've done."</p>
+
+<p>Then followed a long, detailed discourse, on the subject before them, in
+which Greenly joined; the latter making several useful suggestions to
+the veteran commander of the Carnatic. After passing quite an hour in
+the cabin of Parker, Sir Gervaise took his leave and re-entered his
+barge. It was now so dark that small objects could not be distinguished
+a hundred yards, and the piles of ships, as the boat glided past them,
+resembled black hillocks, with clouds floating among their tree-like and
+waving spars. No captain presumed to hail the commander-in-chief, as he
+rowed down the line, again, with the exception of the peer of the realm.
+He indeed had always something to say; and, as he had been conjecturing
+what could induce the vice-admiral to pay so long a visit to the
+Carnatic, he could not refrain from uttering as much aloud, when he
+heard the measured stroke of the oars from the returning barge.</p>
+
+<p>"We shall all be jealous of this compliment to Captain Parker, Sir
+Gervaise," he called out, "unless your favours are occasionally extended
+to some of us less worthy ones."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;ay&mdash;Morganic, you'll be remembered in proper time. In the mean
+while, keep your people's eyes open, so as not to lose sight of the
+French. We shall have something to say to them in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Spare us a night-action, if possible, Sir Gervaise! I do detest
+fighting when sleepy; and I like to see my enemy, too. As much as you
+please in the day-time; but a quiet night, I do beseech you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll warrant you, now, if the opera, or Ranelagh, or a drum, or a
+masquerade, were inviting you, Morganic, you'd think but little of your
+pillow!" answered Sir Gervaise, drily; "whatever you do yourself, my
+lord, don't let the Achilles get asleep on duty; I may have need of her
+to-morrow. Give way, Wychecombe, give way, and let us get home again."</p>
+
+<p>In fifteen minutes from that instant, Sir Gervaise was once more on the
+poop of the Plantagenet, and the barge in its place on deck. Greenly was
+attending to the duties of his ship, and Bunting stood in readiness to
+circulate such orders as it might suit the commander-in-chief to give.</p>
+
+<p>It was now nine o'clock, and it was not easy to distinguish objects on
+the ocean, even as large as a ship, at the distance of half a league. By
+the aid of the glasses, however, a vigilant look-out was kept on the
+French vessels, which, by this time, were quite two leagues distant,
+drawing more ahead. It was necessary to fill away, in order to close
+with them, and a night-signal was made to that effect. The whole British
+line braced forward their main-yards, as it might be, by a common
+impulse, and had there been one there of sufficiently acute senses, he
+might have heard all six of the main-top-sails flapping at the same
+instant. As a matter of course the vessels started ahead, and, the order
+being to follow the vice-admiral in a close line ahead, when the
+Plantagenet edged off, so as to bring the wind abeam, each vessel did
+the same, in succession, or as soon as in the commander-in-chief's wake,
+as if guided by instinct. About ten minutes later, the Carnatic, to the
+surprise of those who witnessed the man[oe]uvre in the Achilles, wore
+short round, and set studding-sails on her starboard side, steering
+large. The darkest portion of the horizon being that which lay to the
+eastward, or, in the direction of the continent, in twenty minutes the
+pyramid of her shadowy outline was swallowed in the gloom. All this
+time, la Victoire, with the Druid leading and towing, kept upon a
+bowline; and an hour later, when Sir Gervaise found himself abeam of the
+French line again, and half a league to windward of it, no traces were
+to be seen of the three ships last mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>"So far, all goes well, gentlemen," observed the vice-admiral to the
+group around him on the poop; "and we will now try to count the enemy,
+to make certain <i>he</i>, too, has no stragglers out to pick up waifs.
+Greenly, try that glass; it is set for the night, and your eyes are the
+best we have. Be particular in looking for the fellow under jury-masts."</p>
+
+<p>"I make out but ten ships in the line, Sir Gervaise," answered the
+captain, after a long examination; "of course the crippled ship must
+have gone to leeward. Of <i>her</i>, certainly, I can find no traces."</p>
+
+<p>"You will oblige me, Sir Wycherly, by seeing what <i>you</i> can make out, in
+the same way."</p>
+
+<p>After a still longer examination than that of the captain, Wycherly made
+the same report, adding that he thought he also missed the frigate that
+had been nearest le Foudroyant, repeating her signals throughout the
+day. This circumstance gratified Sir Gervaise, as he was pleased to find
+his prognostics came true, and he was not sorry to be rid of one of the
+enemy's light cruisers; a species of vessel that often proved
+embarrassing, after a decided affair, even to the conqueror.</p>
+
+<p>"I think, Sir Gervaise," Wycherly modestly added, "that the French have
+boarded their tacks, and are pressing up to windward to near us. Did it
+not appear so to you, Captain Greenly?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all. If they carry courses, the sails have been set within the
+last five minutes&mdash;ha! Sir Gervaise, that is an indication of a busy
+night!"</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke. Greenly pointed to the place where the French admiral was
+known to be, where at that instant appeared a double row of lights;
+proving that the batteries had their lanterns lit, and showing a
+disposition to engage. In less than a minute the whole French line was
+to be traced along the sea, by the double rows of illumination, the
+light resembling that which is seen through the window of a room that
+has a bright fire, rather than one in which lamps or candles are
+actually visible. As this was just the species of engagement in which
+the English had much to risk, and little to gain, Sir Gervaise
+immediately gave orders to brace forward the yards, to board
+fore-and-main tacks, and to set top-gallant-sails. As a matter of
+course, the ships astern made sail in the same manner, and hauled up on
+taut bowlines, following the admiral.</p>
+
+<p>"This is not our play," coolly remarked Sir Gervaise; "a crippled ship
+would drop directly into their arms and as for any success at long-shot,
+in a two-to-one fight, it is not to be looked for. No&mdash;no&mdash;Monsieur de
+Vervillin, show us your teeth if you will, and a pretty sight it is, but
+you do not draw a shot from me. I hope the order to show no lights is
+duly attended to."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think there is a light visible from any ship in the fleet, Sir
+Gervaise," answered Bunting, "though we are so near, there can be no
+great difficulty in telling where we are."</p>
+
+<p>"All but the Carnatic and the prize, Bunting. The more fuss they make
+with us, the less will they think of them."</p>
+
+<p>It is probable the French admiral had been deceived by the near approach
+of his enemy, for whose prowess he had a profound respect. He had made
+his preparations in expectation of an attack, but he did not open his
+fire, although heavy shot would certainly have told with effect.
+Indisposed to the uncertainty of a night-action, he declined bringing it
+on, and the lights disappeared from his ports an hour later; at that
+time the English ships, by carrying sail harder than was usual in so
+stiff a breeze, found themselves out of gun-shot, on the weather-bow of
+their enemies. Then, and not till then, did Sir Gervaise reduce his
+canvass, having, by means of his glasses, first ascertained that the
+French had again hauled up their courses, and were moving along at a
+very easy rate of sailing.</p>
+
+<p>It was now near midnight, and Sir Gervaise prepared to go below.
+Previously to quitting the deck, however, he gave very explicit orders
+to Greenly, who transmitted them to the first lieutenant, that officer
+or the captain intending to be on the look-out through the night; the
+movements of the whole squadron being so dependent on those of the flag
+ship. The vice-admiral then retired, and went coolly to bed. He was not
+a man to lose his rest, because an enemy was just out of gun-shot.
+Accustomed to be man[oe]uvring in front of hostile fleets, the situation
+had lost its novelty, and he had so much confidence in the practice of
+his captains, that he well knew nothing could occur so long as his
+orders were obeyed; to doubt the latter would have been heresy in his
+eyes. In professional nonchalance, no man exceeded our vice-admiral.
+Blow high, or blow low, it never disturbed the economy of his
+cabin-life, beyond what unavoidably was connected with the comfort of
+his ship; nor did any prospect of battle cause a meal to vary a minute
+in time or a particle in form, until the bulk-heads were actually
+knocked down, and the batteries were cleared for action. Although
+excitable in trifles, and sometimes a little irritable, Sir Gervaise, in
+the way of his profession, was a great man on great occasions. His
+temperament was sanguine, and his spirit both decided and bold; and, in
+common with all such men who see the truth at all, when he did see it,
+he saw it so clearly, as to throw all the doubts that beset minds of a
+less masculine order into the shade. On the present occasion, he was
+sure nothing could well occur to disturb his rest; and he took it with
+the composure of one on <i>terra-firma</i>, and in the security of peace.
+Unlike those who are unaccustomed to scenes of excitement, he quietly
+undressed himself, and his head was no sooner on its pillow, than he
+fell into a profound sleep.</p>
+
+<p>It would have been a curious subject of observation to an inexperienced
+person, to note the manner in which the two fleets man[oe]uvred
+throughout that night. After several hours of ineffectual efforts to
+bring their enemies fairly within reach of their guns, after the moon
+had risen, the French gave the matter up for a time, shortening sail
+while most of their superior officers caught a little rest.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was just rising, as Galleygo laid his hand on the shoulder of
+the vice-admiral, agreeably to orders given the previous night. The
+touch sufficed: Sir Gervaise being wide awake in an instant. "Well," he
+said, rising to a sitting attitude, and putting the question which first
+occurs to a seaman, "how's the weather?"</p>
+
+<p>"A good top-gallant breeze, Sir Jarvy, and just what's this ship's play.
+If you'd only let her out, and on them Johnny Crapauds, she'd be down
+among 'em, in half an hour, like a hawk upon a chicken. I ought to
+report to your honour, that the last chicken will be dished for
+breakfast unless we gives an order to the gun-room steward to turn us
+over some of his birds, as pay for what the pigs eat; which were real
+capons."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you pirate, you would not have me commit a robbery, on the high
+seas, would ye?"</p>
+
+<p>"What robbery would it be to order the gun-room to <i>sell</i> us some
+poultry. Lord! Sir Jarvy, I'm as far from wishing to take a thing
+without an order, as the gunner's yeoman; but, let Mr. Atwood put it in
+black and white."</p>
+
+<p>"Tush!" interrupted the master. "How did the French bear from us, when
+you were last on deck?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, there they is, Sir Jarvy," answered Galleygo, drawing the curtain
+from before the state-room window, and allowing the vice-admiral to see
+the rear of the French line for himself, by turning half round; "and
+just where we wants 'em. Their leading ship a little abaft our lee-beam,
+distant one league. That's what I calls satisfactory, now."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that <i>is</i> a good position, Master Galleygo. Was the prize in sight,
+or were you too chicken-headed to look."</p>
+
+<p>"I chicken-headed! Well, Sir Jarvy, of all characters and descriptions
+of <i>me</i>, that your honour has seen fit to put abroad, this is the most
+unjustest; chickens being a food I never thinks on, off soundings.
+Pig-headed you might in reason call me, Sir Jarvy; for I <i>do</i> looks
+arter the pigs, which is the only real stand-by in a ship; but I never
+dreams of a chicken, except for <i>your</i> happetite. When they was eight on
+'em&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Was the prize in sight?" demanded Sir Gervaise, a little sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Jarvy; she had disappeared, and the Druid with her. But this
+isn't all, sir; for they does say, some'at has befallen the Carnatic,
+she having gone out of our line, like a binnacle-lamp at eight bells."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, <i>she</i> is not visible, either."</p>
+
+<p>"Not so much as a hen-coop, Sir Jarvy! We all wonders what has become of
+Captain Parker; no sign of him or of his ship is to be found on the
+briny ocean. The young gentlemen of the watch laugh, and say she must
+have gone up in a waterspout, but they laughs so much at misfortins,
+generally, that I never minds 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you had a good look-out at the ocean, this morning, Master
+Galleygo," asked Sir Gervaise, drawing his head out of a basin of water,
+for, by this time, he was half-dressed, and making his preparations for
+the razor. "You used to have an eye for a chase, when we were in a
+frigate, and ought to be able to tell me if Bluewater is in sight."</p>
+
+<p>"Admiral Blue!&mdash;Well, Sir Jarvy, it <i>is</i> remarkable, but I had just
+rubbed his division out of my log, and forgotten all about it. There
+<i>was</i> a handful of craft, or so, off here to the nor'ard, at day-light,
+but I never thought it was Admiral Blue, it being more nat'ral to
+suppose him in his place, as usual, in the rear of our own line. Let me
+see, Sir Jarvy, how many ships has we absent under Admiral Blue?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the five two-deckers of his own division, to be sure, besides the
+Ranger and the Gnat. Seven sail in all."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's just it! Well, your honour, there <i>was</i> five sail to be
+seen, out here to the nor'ard, as I told you, and, sure enough, it may
+have been Admiral Blue, with all his craft."</p>
+
+<p>By this time, Sir Gervaise had his face covered with lather, but he
+forgot the circumstance in a moment. As the wind was at the north-west,
+and the Plantagenet was on the larboard tack, looking in the direction
+of the Bill of Portland, though much too far to the southward to allow
+the land to be seen, his own larboard quarter-gallery window commanded a
+good view of the whole horizon to windward. Crossing over from the
+starboard state-room, which he occupied <i>ex-officio</i>, he opened the
+window in question, and took a look for himself. There, sure enough, was
+visible a squadron of five ships, in close order, edging leisurely down
+on the two lines, under their top-sails, and just near enough to allow
+it to be ascertained that their courses were not set. This sight
+produced a sudden change in all the vice-admiral's movements. The
+business of the toilet was resumed in haste, and the beard was mowed
+with a slashing hand, that might have been hazardous in the motion of a
+ship, but for the long experience of a sailor. This important part of
+the operation was scarcely through, when Locker announced the presence
+of Captain Greenly in the main cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"What now, Greenly?&mdash;What now?" called out the vice-admiral, puffing as
+he withdrew his head, again, from the basin&mdash;"What now, Greenly? Any
+news from Bluewater?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am happy to tell you, Sir Gervaise, he has been in sight more than an
+hour, and is closing with us, though shyly and slowly. I would not let
+you be called, as all was right, and I knew sleep was necessary to a
+clear head."</p>
+
+<p>"You have done quite right, Greenly; God willing, I intend this to be a
+busy day! The French must see our rear division?"</p>
+
+<p>"Beyond a doubt, sir, but they show no signs of making off. M. de
+Vervillin will fight, I feel certain; though the experience of yesterday
+may render him a little shy as to the mode."</p>
+
+<p>"And his crippled ship?&mdash;Old Parker's friend&mdash;I take it <i>she</i> is not
+visible."</p>
+
+<p>"You were quite right in your conjecture, Sir Gervaise; the crippled
+ship is off, as is one of the frigates, no doubt to see her in. Blewet,
+too, has gone well to windward of the French, though he can fetch into
+no anchorage short of Portsmouth, if this breeze stand."</p>
+
+<p>"Any haven will do. Our little success will animate the king's party,
+and give it more <i>&eacute;clat</i>, perhaps, than it really merits. Let there be
+no delay with the breakfast this morning, Greenly; it will be a busy
+day."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;ay, sir," answered the captain in the sailor's usual manner;
+"<i>that</i> has been seen to already, as I have expected as much. Admiral
+Bluewater keeps his ships in most beautiful order, sir! I do not think
+the C&aelig;sar, which leads, is two cable's-length from the Dublin, the
+sternmost vessel. He is driving four-in-hand, with a tight rein, too,
+depend on it, sir."</p>
+
+<p>At this instant, Sir Gervaise came out of his state-room, his coat in
+his hand, and with a countenance that was thoughtful. He finished
+dressing with an abstracted air, and would not have known the last
+garment was on, had not Galleygo given a violent pull on its skirts, in
+order to smooth the cloth about the shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"It is odd, that Bluewater should come down nearly before the wind, in a
+line ahead, and not in a line abreast!" Sir Gervaise rejoined, as his
+steward did this office for him.</p>
+
+<p>"Let Admiral Blue alone, for doing what's right," put in Galleygo, in
+his usual confident and sell-possessed manner. "By keeping his ships
+astern of hisself, he can tell where to find 'em, and we understands
+from experience, if Admiral Blue knows where to find a ship, he knows
+how to use her."</p>
+
+<p>Instead of rebuking this interference, which went a little further than
+common, Greenly was surprised to see the vice-admiral look his steward
+intently in the face, as if the man had expressed some shrewd and
+comprehensive truth. Then turning to his captain, Sir Gervaise intimated
+an intention of going on deck to survey the state of things with his own
+eyes.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"<i>Thou</i> shouldst have died, O high-soul'd chief!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In those bright days of glory fled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When triumph so prevailed o'er grief,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">We scarce would mourn the dead."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Hemans</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>The eventful day opened with most of the glories of a summer's morning.
+The wind alone prevented it from being one of the finest sun-risings of
+July. That continued fresh, at north-west, and, consequently, cool for
+the season. The seas of the south-west gale had entirely subsided, and
+were already succeeded by the regular but comparatively trilling swell
+of the new breeze. For large ships, it might be called smooth water;
+though the Driver and Active showed by their pitching and unsteadiness,
+and even the two-deckers, by their waving masts, that the unquiet ocean
+was yet in motion. The wind seemed likely to stand, and was what seamen
+would be apt to call a good six-knot breeze.</p>
+
+<p>To leeward, still distant about a league, lay the French vessels, drawn
+up in beautiful array, and in an order so close, and a line so regular,
+as to induce the belief that M. de Vervillin had made his dispositions
+to receive the expected attack, in his present position. All his
+main-top-sails lay flat aback; the top-gallant-sails were flying loose,
+but with buntlings and clew-lines hauled up; the jibs were fluttering to
+leeward of their booms, and the courses were hanging in festoons beneath
+their yards. This was gallant fighting-canvass, and it excited the
+admiration of even his enemies. To increase this feeling, just as Sir
+Gervaise's foot reached the poop, the whole French line displayed their
+ensigns, and <i>le Foudroyant</i> fired a gun to windward.</p>
+
+<p>"Hey! Greenly?" exclaimed the English commander-in-chief; "this is a
+manly defiance, and coming from M. de Vervillin, it means something! He
+wishes to take the day for it; though, as I think half that time will
+answer, we will wash up the cups before we go at it. Make the signals,
+Bunting, for the ships to heave-to, and then to get their breakfasts, as
+fast as possible. Steady breeze&mdash;steady breeze, Greenly, and all we
+want!"</p>
+
+<p>Five minutes later, while Sir Gervaise was running his eye over the
+signal-book, the Plantagenet's calls were piping the people to their
+morning meal, at least an hour earlier than common; the people repaired
+to their messes, with a sort of stern joy; every man in the ship
+understanding the reason of a summons so unusual. The calls of the
+vessels astern were heard soon after, and one of the officers who was
+watching the enemy with a glass, reported that he thought the French
+were breakfasting, also. Orders being given to the officers to employ
+the next half hour in the same manner, nearly everybody was soon engaged
+in eating; few thinking that the meal might probably be their last. Sir
+Gervaise felt a concern, which he succeeded in concealing, however, at
+the circumstance that the ships to windward made no more sail; though he
+refrained from signalling the rear-admiral to that effect, from
+tenderness to his friend, and a vague apprehension of what might be the
+consequences. While the crews were eating, he stood gazing,
+thoughtfully, at the noble spectacle the enemy offered, to leeward,
+occasionally turning wistful glances at the division that was constantly
+drawing nearer to windward. At length Greenly, himself, reported that
+the Plantagenet had "turned the hands-to," again. At this intelligence,
+Sir Gervaise started, as from a reverie, smiled, and spoke. We will here
+remark, that now, as on the previous day, all the natural excitability
+of manner had disappeared from the commander-in-chief, and he was quiet,
+and exceedingly gentle in his deportment. This, all who knew him,
+understood to denote a serious determination to engage.</p>
+
+<p>"I have desired Galleygo to set my little table, half an hour hence, in
+the after-cabin, Greenly, and you will share the meal with me. Sir
+Wycherly will be of our party, and I hope it will not be the last time
+we may meet at the same board. It is necessary every thing should be in
+fighting-order to-day!"</p>
+
+<p>"So I understand it, Sir Gervaise. We are ready to begin, as soon as the
+order shall be received."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait one moment until Bunting comes up from his breakfast. Ah! here he
+is, and we are quite ready for him, having bent-on the signal in his
+absence. Show the order, Bunting; for the day advances."</p>
+
+<p>The little flags were fluttering at the main-top-gallant-mast-head of
+the Plantagenet in less than one minute, and in another it was repeated
+by the Chloe, Driver, and Active, all of which were lying-to, a quarter
+of a mile to windward, charged in particular with this, among other
+duties. So well was this signal known, that not a book in the fleet was
+consulted, but all the ships answered, the instant the flags could be
+seen and understood. Then the shrill whistles were heard along the line,
+calling "All hands" to "clear ship for action, ahoy!"</p>
+
+<p>No sooner was this order given in the Plantagenet, than the ship became
+a scene of active but orderly exertion. The top-men were on the yards,
+stoppering, swinging the yards in chains, and lashing, in order to
+prevent shot from doing more injury than was unavoidable; bulwarks were
+knocked down; mess-chest, bags, and all other domestic appliances,
+disappeared <i>below</i>,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> and the decks were cleared of every thing which
+could be removed, and which would not be necessary in an engagement.
+Fully a quarter of an hour was thus occupied, for there was no haste,
+and as it was no moment of mere parade, it was necessary that the work
+should be effectually done. The officers forbade haste, and nothing
+important was reported as effected, that some one in authority did not
+examine with his own eyes, to see that no proper care had been
+neglected. Then Mr. Bury, the first lieutenant, went on the main-yard,
+in person, to look at the manner in which it had been slung, while he
+sent the boatswain up forward, on the same errand. These were unusual
+precautions, but the word had passed through the ship "that Sir Jarvy
+was in earnest;" and whenever it was known that "Sir Jarvy" was in such
+a humour, every one understood that the day's work was to be hard, if
+not long.</p>
+
+
+<p>"Our breakfast is ready, Sir Jarvy," reported Galleygo, "and as the
+decks is all clear, the b'ys can make a clean run of it from the
+coppers. I only wants to know when to serve it, your honour."</p>
+
+<p>"Serve it now, my good fellow. Tell the Bowlderos to be nimble, and
+expect us below. Come, Greenly&mdash;come, Wychecombe&mdash;we are the last to
+eat&mdash;let us not be the last at our stations."</p>
+
+<p>"Ship's clear, sir," reported Bury to his captain, as the three reached
+the quarter-deck, on their way to the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Bury; when the fleet is signalled to go to quarters, we will
+obey with the rest."</p>
+
+<p>As this was said, Greenly looked at the vice-admiral to catch his
+wishes. But Sir Gervaise had no intention of fatiguing his people
+unnecessarily. He had left his private orders with Bunting, and he
+passed down without an answer or a glance. The arrangements in the
+after-cabin were as snug and as comfortable as if the breakfast-table
+had been set in a private house, and the trio took their seats and
+commenced operations with hearty good will. The vice-admiral ordered the
+doors thrown open, and as the port-lids were up, from the place where he
+sat he could command glimpses, both to leeward and to windward, that
+included a view of the enemy, as well as one of his own expected
+reinforcements. The Bowlderos were in full livery, and more active and
+attentive than usual even. Their station in battle&mdash;for no man on board
+a vessel of war is an "<i>idler</i>" in a combat&mdash;was on the poop, as
+musketeers, near the person of their master, whose colours they wore,
+under the ensign of their prince, like vassals of an ancient baron.
+Notwithstanding the crisis of the morning, however, these men performed
+their customary functions with the precision and method of English
+menials, omitting no luxury or usage of the table. On a sofa behind the
+table, was spread the full dress-coat of a vice-admiral, then a neat but
+plain uniform, without either lace or epaulettes, but decorated with a
+rich star in brilliants, the emblem of the order of the Bath. This coat
+Sir Gervaise always wore in battle, unless the weather rendered a
+"storm-uniform," as he used to term a plainer attire, necessary.</p>
+
+<p>The breakfast passed off pleasantly, the gentlemen eating as if no
+momentous events were near. Just at its close, however, Sir Gervaise
+leaned forward, and looking through one of the weather-ports of the
+main-cabin, an expression of pleasure illuminated his countenance, as he
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! there go Bluewater's signals, at last!&mdash;a certain proof that he is
+about to put himself in communication with us."</p>
+
+<p>"I have been a good deal surprised, sir," observed Greenly, a little
+drily, though with great respect of manner, "that you have not ordered
+the rear-admiral to make more sail. He is jogging along like a heavy
+wagon, and yet I hardly think he can mistake these five ships for
+Frenchmen!"</p>
+
+<p>"He is never in a hurry, and no doubt wishes to let <i>his</i> crews
+breakfast, before he closes. I'll warrant ye, now, gentlemen, that his
+ships are at this moment all as clear as a church five minutes after the
+blessing has been pronounced."</p>
+
+<p>"It will not be one of our Virginian churches, then, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Wycherly, smiling; "<i>they</i> serve for an exchange, to give and
+receive news in, after the service is over."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that's the old rule&mdash;first pray, and then gossip. Well, Bunting,
+what does the rear-admiral say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, I can make nothing of the signal, though it
+is easy enough to make out the flags," answered the puzzled
+signal-officer. "Will you have the goodness to look at the book
+yourself, sir. The number is one hundred and forty."</p>
+
+<p>"One hundred and forty! Why, that must have something to do with
+anchoring!&mdash;ay, here it is. 'Anchor, I cannot, having lost my cables.'
+Who the devil asked him to anchor?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's just it, sir. The signal-officer on board the C&aelig;sar must have
+made some mistake in his flags; for, though the distance is
+considerable, our glasses are good enough to read them."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps Admiral Bluewater has set the private, personal, telegraph at
+work, sir," quietly observed Greenly.</p>
+
+<p>The commander-in-chief actually changed colour at this suggestion. His
+face, at first, flushed to crimson; then it became pale, like the
+countenance of one who suffered under acute bodily pain. Wycherly
+observed this, and respectfully inquired if Sir Gervaise were ill.</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, young sir," answered the vice-admiral, smiling painfully;
+"it is over. I believe I shall have to go into dock, and let Magrath
+look at some of my old hurts, which <i>are</i> sometimes troublesome. Mr.
+Bunting, do me the favour to go on deck, and ascertain, by a careful
+examination, if a short red pennant be not set some ten or twelve feet
+above the uppermost flag. Now, Greenly, we will take the other cup of
+tea, for there is plenty of leisure."</p>
+
+<p>Two or three brooding minutes followed. Then Bunting returned to say the
+pennant <i>was</i> there, a fact he had quite overlooked in his former
+observations, confounding the narrow flag in question with the regular
+pennant of the king. This short red pennant denoted that the
+communication was verbal, according to a method invented by Bluewater
+himself, and by means of which, using the ordinary numbers, he was
+enabled to communicate with his friend, without any of the captains, or,
+indeed, without Sir Gervaise's own signal-officer's knowing what was
+said. In a word, without having recourse to any new flags, but, by
+simply giving new numbers to the old ones, and referring to a prepared
+dictionary, it was possible to hold a conversation in sentences, that
+should be a secret to all but themselves. Sir Gervaise took down the
+number of the signal that was flying, and directed Bunting to show the
+answering flag, with a similar pennant over it, and to continue this
+operation so long as the rear-admiral might make his signals. The
+numbers were to be sent below as fast as received. As soon as Bunting
+disappeared, the vice-admiral unlocked a secretary, the key of which was
+never out of his own possession, took from it a small dictionary, and
+laid it by his plate. All this time the breakfast proceeded, signals of
+this nature frequently occurring between the two admirals. In the course
+of the next ten minutes, a quarter-master brought below a succession of
+numbers written on small pieces of paper; after which Bunting appeared
+himself to say that the C&aelig;sar had stopped signalling.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise now looked out each word by its proper number, and wrote it
+down with his pencil as he proceeded, until the whole read&mdash;"God
+sake&mdash;make no signal. Engage not." No sooner was the communication
+understood, than the paper was torn into minute fragments, the book
+replaced, and the vice-admiral, turning with a calm determined
+countenance to Greenly, ordered him to beat to quarters as soon as
+Bunting could show a signal to the fleet to the same effect. On this
+hint, all but the vice-admiral went on deck, and the Bowlderos instantly
+set about removing the table and all the other appliances. Finding
+himself annoyed by the movements of the servants, Sir Gervaise walked
+out into the great cabin, which, regardless of its present condition, he
+began to pace as was his wont when lost in thought. The bulk-heads being
+down, and the furniture removed, this was in truth walking in sight of
+the crew. All who happened to be on the main-deck could see what passed,
+though no one presumed to enter a spot that was tabooed to vulgar feet,
+even when thus exposed. The aspect and manner of "Sir Jarvy," however,
+were not overlooked, and the men prognosticated a serious time.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the state of things, when the drums beat to quarters,
+throughout the whole line. At the first tap, the great cabin sunk to the
+level of an ordinary battery; the seamen of two guns, with the proper
+officers, entering within the sacred limits, and coolly setting about
+clearing their pieces, and making the other preparations necessary for
+an action. All this time Sir Gervaise continued pacing what would have
+been the centre of his own cabin had the bulk-heads stood, the
+grim-looking sailors avoiding him with great dexterity, and invariably
+touching their hats as they were compelled to glide near his person,
+though every thing went on as if he were not present. Sir Gervaise might
+have remained lost in thought much longer than he did, had not the
+report of a gun recalled him to a consciousness of the scene that was
+enacting around him.</p>
+
+<p>"What's that?" suddenly demanded the vice-admiral&mdash;"Is Blue water
+signalling again?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Gervaise," answered the fourth lieutenant, looking out of a lee
+port; "it is the French admiral giving us another weather-gun; as much
+as to ask why we don't go down. This is the second compliment of the
+same sort that he has paid us already to-day!"</p>
+
+<p>These words were not all spoken before the vice-admiral was on the
+quarter-deck; in half a minute more, he was on the poop. Here he found
+Greenly, Wychecombe, and Bunting, all looking with interest at the
+beautiful line of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur de Vervillin is impatient to wipe off the disgrace of
+yesterday," observed the first, "as is apparent by the invitations he
+gives us to come down. I presume Admiral Bluewater will wake up at this
+last hint."</p>
+
+<p>"By Heaven, he has hauled his wind, and is standing to the northward and
+eastward!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, surprise overcoming all his
+discretion. "Although an extraordinary movement, at such a time, it is
+wonderful in what beautiful order Bluewater keeps his ships!"</p>
+
+<p>All that was said was true enough. The rear-admiral's division having
+suddenly hauled up, in a close line ahead, each ship followed her leader
+as mechanically as if they moved by a common impulse. As no one in the
+least doubted the rear-admiral's loyalty, and his courage was of proof,
+it was the general opinion that this unusual man[oe]uvre had some
+connection with the unintelligible signals, and the young officers
+laughingly inquired among themselves what "Sir Jarvy was likely to do
+next?"</p>
+
+<p>It would seem, however, that Monsieur de Vervillin suspected a
+repetition of some of the scenes of the preceding day; for, no sooner
+did he perceive that the English rear was hugging the wind, than five of
+his leading ships filled, and drew ahead, as if to meet that division,
+man[oe]uvring to double on the head of his line; while the remaining
+five, with the Foudroyant, still lay with their top-sails to the mast,
+waiting for their enemy to come down. Sir Gervaise could not stand this
+long. He determined, if possible, to bring Bluewater to terms, and he
+ordered the Plantagenet to fill. Followed by his own division, he wore
+immediately, and went off under easy sail, quartering, towards Monsieur
+de Vervillin's rear, to avoid being raked.</p>
+
+<p>The quarter of an hour that succeeded was one of intense interest, and
+of material changes; though not a shot was fired. As soon as the Comte
+de Vervillin perceived that the English were disposed to come nearer, he
+signalled his own division to bear up, and to run off dead before the
+wind, under their top-sails, commencing astern; which reversed his order
+of sailing, and brought le Foudroyant in the rear, or nearest to the
+enemy. This was no sooner done, than he settled all his top-sails on the
+caps. There could be no mistaking this man[oe]uvre. It was a direct
+invitation to Sir Gervaise to come down, fairly alongside; the bearing
+up at once removing all risk of being raked in so doing. The English
+commander-in-chief was not a man to neglect such a palpable challenge;
+but, making a few signals to direct the mode of attack he contemplated,
+he set fore-sail and main-top-gallant-sail, and brought the wind directly
+over his own taffrail. The vessels astern followed like clock-work, and
+no one now doubted that the mode of attack was settled for that day.</p>
+
+<p>As the French, with Monsieur de Vervillin, were still half a mile to the
+southward and eastward of the approaching division, of their enemy, the
+Comte collected all his frigates and corvettes on his starboard hand,
+leaving a clear approach to Sir Gervaise on his larboard beam. This hint
+was understood, too, and the Plantagenet steered a course that would
+bring her up on that side of le Foudroyant, and at the distance of about
+one hundred yards from the muzzles of her guns. This threatened to be
+close work, and unusual work in fleets, at that day; but it was the game
+our commander-in-chief was fond of playing, and it was one, also, that
+promised soonest to bring matters to a result.</p>
+
+<p>These preliminaries arranged, there was yet leisure for the respective
+commanders to look about them. The French were still fully a mile ahead
+of their enemies, and as both fleets were going in the same direction,
+the approach of the English was so slow as to leave some twenty minutes
+of that solemn breathing time, which reigns in a disciplined ship,
+previous to the commencement of the combat. The feelings of the two
+commanders-in-chief, at this pregnant instant, were singularly in
+contradiction to each other. The Comte de Vervillin saw that the rear
+division of his force, under the Comte-Amiral le Vicomte des Prez, was
+in the very position he desired it to be, having obtained the advantage
+of the wind by the English division's coming down, and by keeping its
+own luff. Between the two French officers there was a perfect
+understanding as to the course each was to take, and both now felt
+sanguine hopes of being able to obliterate the disgrace of the previous
+day, and that, too, by means very similar to those by which it had been
+incurred. On the other hand, Sir Gervaise was beset with doubts as to
+the course Bluewater might pursue. He could not, however, come to the
+conclusion that he would abandon him to the joint efforts of the two
+hostile divisions; and so long as the French rear-admiral was occupied
+by the English force to windward, it left to himself a clear field and
+no favour in the action with Monsieur de Vervillin. He knew Bluewater's
+generous nature too well not to feel certain his own compliance with the
+request not to signal his inferior would touch his heart, and give him a
+double chance with all his better feelings. Nevertheless, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes did not lead into this action without many and painful misgivings.
+He had lived too long in the world not to know that political prejudice
+was the most demoralising of all our weaknesses, veiling our private
+vices under the plausible concealment of the public weal, and rendering
+even the well-disposed insensible to the wrongs they commit to
+individuals, by means of the deceptive flattery of serving the
+community. As doubt was more painful than the certainty of his worst
+forebodings, however, and it was not in his nature to refuse a combat so
+fairly offered, he was resolved to close with the Comte at every hazard,
+trusting the issue to God, and his own efforts.</p>
+
+<p>The Plantagenet presented an eloquent picture of order and preparation,
+as she drew near the French line, on this memorable occasion. Her people
+were all at quarters, and, as Greenly walked through her batteries, he
+found every gun on the starboard side loose, levelled, and ready to be
+fired; while the opposite merely required a turn or two of the tackles
+to be cast loose, the priming to be applied, and the loggerhead to
+follow, in order to be discharged, also. A death-like stillness reigned
+from the poop to the cock-pit, the older seamen occasionally glancing
+through their ports in order to ascertain the relative positions of the
+two fleets, that they might be ready for the collision. As the English
+got within musket-shot, the French ran their top-sails to the mast-heads,
+and their ships gathered fresher way through the water. Still the former
+moved with the greatest velocity, carrying the most sail, and impelled
+by the greater momentum. When near enough, however, Sir Gervaise gave
+the order to reduce the canvass of his own ship.</p>
+
+<p>"That will do, Greenly," he said, in a mild, quiet tone. "Let run the
+top-gallant-halyards, and haul up the fore-sail. The way you have, will
+bring you fairly alongside."</p>
+
+<p>The captain gave the necessary orders, and the master shortened sail
+accordingly. Still the Plantagenet shot ahead, and, in three or four
+minutes more, her bows doubled so far on le Foudroyant's quarter, as to
+permit a gun to bear. This was the signal for both sides, each ship
+opening as it might be in the same breath. The flash, the roar, and the
+eddying smoke followed in quick succession, and in a period of time that
+seemed nearly instantaneous. The crash of shot, and the shrieks of
+wounded mingled with the infernal din, for nature extorts painful
+concessions of human weaknesses, at such moments, even from the bravest
+and firmest. Bunting was in the act of reporting to Sir Gervaise that no
+signal could yet be seen from the C&aelig;sar, in the midst of this uproar,
+when a small round-shot, discharged from the Frenchman's poop, passed
+through his body, literally driving the heart before it, leaving him
+dead at his commander's feet.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall depend on you, Sir Wycherly, for the discharge of poor
+Bunting's duty, the remainder of the cruise," observed Sir Gervaise,
+with a smile in which courtesy and regret struggled singularly for the
+mastery. "Quarter-masters, lay Mr. Bunting's body a little out of the
+way, and cover it with those signals. They are a suitable pall for so
+brave a man!"</p>
+
+<p>Just as this occurred, the Warspite came clear of the Plantagenet, on
+her outside, according to orders, and she opened with her forward guns,
+taking the second ship in the French line for her target. In two minutes
+more these vessels also were furiously engaged in the hot strife. In
+this manner, ship after ship passed on the outside of the Plantagenet,
+and sheered into her berth ahead of her who had just been her own
+leader, until the Achilles, Lord Morganic, the last of the five, lay
+fairly side by side with le Conquereur, the vessel now at the head of
+the French line. That the reader may understand the incidents more
+readily, we will give the opposing lines in the precise form in which
+they lay, viz.</p>
+
+
+
+<table>
+<tr><td>Plantagenet</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>le Foudroyant</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Warspite</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blenheim</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>le Dugay Trouin</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Thunderer</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>l'Ajax</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Achilles</td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>le Conquereur.</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The constantly recurring discharges of four hundred pieces of heavy
+ordnance, within a space so small, had the effect to repel the regular
+currents of air, and, almost immediately, to lessen a breeze of six or
+seven knots, to one that would not propel a ship more than two or three.
+This was the first observable phenomenon connected with the action, but,
+as it had been expected, Sir Gervaise had used the precaution to lay his
+ships as near as possible in the positions in which he intended them to
+fight the battle. The next great physical consequence, one equally
+expected and natural, but which wrought a great change in the aspect of
+the battle, was the cloud of smoke in which the ten ships were suddenly
+enveloped. At the first broadsides between the two admirals, volumes of
+light, fleecy vapour rolled over the sea, meeting midway, and rising
+thence in curling wreaths, left nothing but the masts and sails of the
+adversary visible in the hostile ship. This, of itself, would have soon
+hidden the combatants in the bosom of a nearly impenetrable cloud; but
+as the vessels drove onward they entered deeper beneath the sulphurous
+canopy, until it spread on each side of them, shutting out the view of
+ocean, skies, and horizon. The burning of the priming below contributed
+to increase the smoke, until, not only was respiration often difficult,
+but those who fought only a few yards apart frequently could not
+recognise each other's faces. In the midst of this scene of obscurity,
+and a din that might well have alarmed the caverns of the ocean, the
+earnest and well-drilled seamen toiled at their ponderous guns, and
+remedied with ready hands the injuries received in the rigging, each man
+as intent on his own particular duty as if he wrought in the occupations
+of an ordinary gale.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly," observed the vice-admiral, when the cannonading had
+continued some twenty minutes, "there is little for a flag-officer to do
+in such a cloud of smoke. I would give much to know the exact positions
+of the divisions of our two rear-admirals."</p>
+
+<p>"There is but one mode of ascertaining that, Sir Gervaise&mdash;if it be your
+pleasure, I will attempt it. By going on the main-top-gallant-yard, one
+might get a clear view, perhaps."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise smiled his approbation, and presently he saw the young man
+ascending the main-rigging, though half concealed in smoke. Just at this
+instant, Greenly ascended to the poop, from making a tour of observation
+below. Without waiting for a question, the captain made his report.</p>
+
+<p>"We are doing pretty well, now, Sir Gervaise, though the first broadside
+of the Comte treated us roughly. I think his fire slackens, and Bury
+says, he is certain that his fore-top-mast is already gone. At all
+events, our lads are in good spirits, and as yet all the sticks keep
+their places."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad of this, Greenly; particularly of the latter, just at this
+moment. I see you are looking at those signals&mdash;they cover the body of
+poor Bunting."</p>
+
+<p>"And this train of blood to the ladder, sir&mdash;I hope our young baronet is
+not hurt?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, it is one of the Bowlderos, who has lost a leg. I shall have to see
+that he wants for nothing hereafter."</p>
+
+<p>There was a pause; then both the gentlemen smiled, as they heard the
+crashing work made by a shot just beneath them, which, by the sounds and
+the direction, they knew had passed through Greenly's crockery. Still
+neither spoke. After a few more minutes of silent observation, Sir
+Gervaise remarked that he thought the flashes of the French guns more
+distant than they had been at first, though, at that instant, not a
+trace of their enemy was to be discovered, except in the roar of the
+guns, and in these very flashes, and their effect on the Plantagenet.</p>
+
+<p>"If so, sir, the Comte begins to find his berth too hot for him; here is
+the wind still directly over <i>our</i> taffrail, such as it is."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;no&mdash;we steer as we began&mdash;I keep my eye on that compass below, and
+am certain we hold a straight course. Go forward, Greenly, and see that
+a sharp look-out is kept ahead. It is time some of our own ships should
+be crippled; we must be careful not to run into them. Should such a
+thing happen sheer hard to starboard, and pass <i>inside</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;ay&mdash;Sir Gervaise; your wishes shall be attended to."</p>
+
+<p>As this was said, Greenly disappeared, and, at the next instant,
+Wycherly stood in his place.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir&mdash;I am glad to see you back safe. If Greenly were here now,
+<i>he</i> would inquire about his <i>masts</i>, but <i>I</i> wish to know the position
+of the <i>ships</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"I am the bearer of bad news, sir. Nothing at all could be seen from the
+top; but in the cross-trees, I got a good look through the smoke, and am
+sorry to say the French rear-admiral is coming down fast on our
+larboard-quarter, with all his force. We shall have him abeam in five
+minutes."</p>
+
+<p>"And Bluewater?" demanded Sir Gervaise, quick as lightning.</p>
+
+<p>"I could see nothing of Admiral Bluewater's ships; but knowing the
+importance of this intelligence, I came down immediately, and by the
+back-stay."</p>
+
+<p>"You have done well, sir. Send a midshipman forward for Captain Greenly;
+then pass below yourself, and let the lieutenants in the batteries hear
+the news. They must divide their people, and by all means give a prompt
+and well-directed <i>first</i> broadside."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly waited for no more. He ran below with the activity of his
+years. The message found Greenly between the knight-heads, but he
+hurried aft to the poop to ascertain its object. It took Sir Gervaise
+but a moment to explain it all to the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"In the name of Heaven, what can the other division be about," exclaimed
+Greenly, "that it lets the French rear-admiral come upon us, in a moment
+like this!"</p>
+
+<p>"Of that, sir, it is unnecessary to speak <i>now</i>," answered the
+commander-in-chief, solemnly. "Our present business is to get ready for
+this new enemy. Go into the batteries again, and, as you prize victory,
+be careful not to throw away the first discharge, in the smoke."</p>
+
+<p>As time pressed, Greenly swallowed his discontent, and departed. The
+five minutes that succeeded were bitter minutes to Sir Gervaise Oakes.
+Beside himself there were but five men on the poop; viz., the
+quarter-master who tended the signals, and three of the Bowlderos. All
+of these were using muskets as usual, though the vice-admiral never
+permitted marines to be stationed at a point which he wished to be as
+clear of smoke, and as much removed from bustle as possible. He began to
+pace this comparatively vacant little deck with a quick step, casting
+wistful glances towards the larboard-quarter; but though the smoke
+occasionally cleared a little in that direction, the firing having much
+slackened from exhaustion in the men, as well as from injuries given and
+received, he was unable to detect any signs of a ship. Such was the
+state of things when Wycherly returned and reported that his orders
+were delivered, and part of the people were already in the
+larboard-batteries.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"And oh, the little warlike world within!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">The well-reeved guns, the netted canopy,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The hoarse command, the busy humming din.<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">When at a word, the tops are manned on high:<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Hark to the boatswain's call, the cheering cry!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">While through the seaman's hand the tackle glides,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Or school-boy midshipman, that, standing by,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Strains his shrill pipe, as good or ill betides,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And well the docile crew that skilful urchin guides."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Byron</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>"Are you quite sure, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, that there is not some
+mistake about the approach of the rear division of the French?" inquired
+the vice-admiral, endeavouring to catch some glimpse of the water,
+through the smoke on the larboard hand. "May not some crippled ship of
+our own have sheered from the line, and been left by us, unknowingly, on
+that side?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Sir Gervaise, there is <i>no</i> mistake; there <i>can</i> be none, unless I
+may have been deceived a little in the distance. I saw nothing but the
+sails and spars, not of a single vessel, but of <i>three</i> ships; and one
+of them wore the flag of a French rear-admiral at the mizzen. As a proof
+that I was not mistaken, sir, there it is this minute!"</p>
+
+<p>The smoke on the off side of the Plantagenet, as a matter of course, was
+much less dense than that on the side engaged, and the wind beginning to
+blow in eddies, as ever happens in a heavy cannonade, there were moments
+in which it cast aside the "shroud of battle." At that instant an
+opening occurred through which a single mast, and a single sail were
+visible, in the precise spot where Wycherly had stated the enemy might
+be looked for. It was a mizzen-top-sail, beyond a question, and above it
+was fluttering the little square flag of the rear-admiral. Sir Gervaise
+decided on the character of the vessel, and on his own course, in an
+instant. Stepping to the edge of the poop, with his natural voice,
+without the aid of a trumpet of any sort, he called out in tones that
+rose above the roar of the contest, the ominous but familiar nautical
+words of "stand by!" Perhaps a call from powerful lungs (and the
+vice-admiral's voice, when he chose to use it, was like the blast of a
+clarion) is clearer and more impressive, when unaided by instruments,
+than when it comes disguised and unnatural through a tube. At any rate,
+these words were heard even on the lower deck, by those who stood near
+the hatches. Taking them up, they were repeated by a dozen voices, with
+such expressions as "Look out, lads; Sir Jarvy's awake!" "Sight your
+guns!" "Wait till she's square!" and other similar admonitions that it
+is usual for the sea-officer to give, as he is about to commence the
+strife. At this critical moment, Sir Gervaise again looked up, and
+caught another glimpse of the little flag, as it passed into a vast
+wreath of smoke; he saw that the ship was fairly abeam, and, as if
+doubling all his powers, he shouted the word "fire!" Greenly was
+standing on the lower-deck ladder, with his head just even with the
+coamings of the hatch, as this order reached him, and he repeated it in
+a voice scarcely less startling. The cloud on the larboard side was
+driven in all directions, like dust scattered by wind. The ship seemed
+on fire, and the missiles of forty-one guns flew on their deadly errand,
+as it might be at a single flash. The old Plantagenet trembled to her
+keel, and even bowed a little at the recoils, but, like one suddenly
+relieved from a burthen, righted and went on her way none the less
+active. That timely broadside saved the English commander-in-chiefs ship
+from an early defeat. It took the crew of le Pluton, her new adversary,
+by surprise; for they had not been able to distinguish the precise
+position of their enemy; and, besides doing vast injury to both hull and
+people, drew her fire at an unpropitious moment. So uncertain and hasty,
+indeed, was the discharge the French ship gave in return, that no small
+portion of the contents of her guns passed ahead of the Plantagenet, and
+went into the larboard quarter of le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire, the French admiral's
+second ahead.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a timely salute," said Sir Gervaise, smiling as soon as the
+fire of his new enemy had been received without material injury. "The
+first blow is always half the battle. We may now work on with some hopes
+of success. Ah! here comes Greenly again, God be praised! unhurt."</p>
+
+<p>The meeting of these two experienced seamen was cordial, but not without
+great seriousness. Both felt that the situation of not only the ship,
+but of the whole fleet, was extremely critical, the odds being much too
+great, and the position of the enemy too favourable, not to render the
+result, to say the very least, exceedingly doubtful. Some advantage had
+certainly been obtained, thus far; but there was little hope of
+preserving it long. The circumstances called for very decided and
+particularly bold measures.</p>
+
+<p>"My mind is made up, Greenly," observed the vice-admiral. "We must go
+aboard of one of these ships, and make it a hand-to-hand affair. We will
+take the French commander-in-chief; he is evidently a good deal cut up
+by the manner in which his fire slackens, and if we can carry him, or
+even force him out of the line, it will give us a better chance with the
+rest. As for Bluewater, God only knows what has become of him! He is not
+here at any rate, and we must help ourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"You have only to order, Sir Gervaise, to be obeyed. I will lead the
+boarders, myself."</p>
+
+<p>"It must be a general thing, Greenly; I rather think we shall all of us
+have to go aboard of le Foudroyant. Go, give the necessary orders, and
+when every thing is ready, round in a little on the larboard braces,
+clap your helm a-port, and give the ship a rank sheer to starboard. This
+will bring matters to a crisis at once. By letting the fore-sail fall,
+and setting the spanker, you might shove the ship ahead a little
+faster."</p>
+
+<p>Greenly instantly left the poop on this new and important duty. He sent
+his orders into the batteries, bidding the people remain at their guns,
+however, to the last moment; and particularly instructing the captain of
+marines, as to the manner in which he was to cover, and then follow the
+boarding-party. This done, he gave orders to brace forward the yards, as
+directed by Sir Gervaise.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will not overlook the material circumstance that all we have
+related occurred amid the din of battle. Guns were exploding at each
+instant, the cloud of smoke was both thickening and extending, fire was
+flashing in the semi-obscurity of its volumes, shot were rending the
+wood and cutting the rigging, and the piercing shrieks of agony, only so
+much the more appalling by being extorted from the stern and resolute,
+blended their thrilling accompaniments. Men seemed to be converted into
+demons, and yet there was a lofty and stubborn resolution to conquer
+mingled with all, that ennobled the strife and rendered it heroic. The
+broadsides that were delivered in succession down the line, as ship
+after ship of the rear division reached her station, however, proclaimed
+that Monsieur des Prez had imitated Sir Gervaise's mode of closing, the
+only one by means of which the leading vessel could escape destruction,
+and that the English were completely doubled on. At this moment, the
+sail-trimmers of the Plantagenet handled their braces. The first pull
+was the last. No sooner were the ropes started, than the fore-top-mast
+went over the bows, dragging after it the main with all its hamper, the
+mizzen snapping like a pipe-stem, at the cap. By this cruel accident,
+the result of many injuries to shrouds, back-stays, and spars, the
+situation of the Plantagenet became worse than ever; for, not only was
+the wreck to be partially cleared, at least, to fight many of the
+larboard guns, but the command of the ship was, in a great measure,
+lost, in the centre of one of the most infernal <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;es</i> that ever
+accompanied a combat at sea.</p>
+
+<p>At no time does the trained seaman ever appear so great, as when he
+meets sudden misfortunes with the steadiness and quiet which it is a
+material part of the <i>morale</i> of discipline to inculcate. Greenly was
+full of ardour for the assault, and was thinking of the best mode of
+running foul of his adversary, when this calamity occurred; but the
+masts were hardly down, when he changed all his thoughts to a new
+current, and called out to the sail-trimmers to "lay over, and clear the
+wreck."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise, too, met with a sudden and violent check to the current of
+his feelings. He had collected his Bowlderos, and was giving his
+instructions as to the manner in which they were to follow, and keep
+near his person, in the expected hand-to-hand encounter, when the heavy
+rushing of the air, and the swoop of the mass from above, announced what
+had occurred. Turning to the men, he calmly ordered them to aid in
+getting rid of the incumbrances, and was in the very act of directing
+Wycherly to join in the same duty, when the latter exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"See, Sir Gervaise, here comes another of the Frenchmen close upon our
+quarter. By heavens, <i>they</i> must mean to board!"</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral instinctively grasped his sword-hilt tighter, and
+turned in the direction mentioned by his companion. There, indeed, came
+a fresh ship, shoving the cloud aside, and, by the clearer atmosphere
+that seemed to accompany her, apparently bringing down a current of air
+stronger than common. When first seen, the jib-boom and bowsprit were
+both enveloped in smoke, but his bellying fore-top-sail, and the canvass
+hanging in festoons, loomed grandly in the vapour, the black yards
+seeming to embrace the wreaths, merely to cast them aside. The
+proximity, too, was fearful, her yard-arms promising to clear those of
+the Plantagenet only by a few feet, as her dark bows brushed along the
+admiral's side.</p>
+
+<p>"This will be fearful work, indeed!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise. "A fresh
+broadside from a ship so near, will sweep all from the spars. Go,
+Wychecombe, tell Greenly to call in&mdash;Hold&mdash;'Tis an English ship! No
+Frenchman's bowsprit stands like that! Almighty God be praised! 'Tis the
+C&aelig;sar&mdash;there is the old Roman's figure-head just shoving out of the
+smoke!"</p>
+
+<p>This was said with a yell, rather than a cry, of delight, and in a voice
+so loud that the words were heard below, and flew through the ship like
+the hissing of an ascending rocket. To confirm the glorious tidings, the
+flash and roar of guns on the off-side of the stranger announced the
+welcome tidings that le Pluton had an enemy of her own to contend with,
+thus enabling the Plantagenet's people to throw all their strength on
+the starboard guns, and pursue their other necessary work without
+further molestation from the French rear-admiral. The gratitude of Sir
+Gervaise, as the rescuing ship thrust herself in between him and his
+most formidable assailant was too deep for language. He placed his hat
+mechanically before his face, and thanked God, with a fervour of spirit
+that never before had attended his thanksgivings. This brief act of
+devotion over, he found the bows of the C&aelig;sar, which ship was advancing
+very slowly, in order not to pass too far ahead, just abreast of the
+spot where he stood, and so near that objects were pretty plainly
+visible. Between her knight-heads stood Bluewater, conning the ship, by
+means of a line of officers, his hat in his hand, waving in
+encouragement to his own people, while Geoffrey Cleveland held the
+trumpet at his elbow. At that moment three noble cheers were given by
+the crews of the two friendly vessels, and mingled with the increasing
+roar of the C&aelig;sar's artillery. Then the smoke rose in a cloud over the
+forecastle of the latter ship, and persons could no longer be
+distinguished.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, like all that thus approached, the relieving ship passed
+slowly ahead, until nearly her whole length protected the undefended
+side of her consort, delivering her fire with fearful rapidity. The
+Plantagenets seemed to imbibe new life from this arrival, and their
+starboard guns spoke out again, as if manned by giants. It was five
+minutes, perhaps, after this seasonable arrival, before the guns of the
+other ships of the English rear announced their presence on the outside
+of Monsieur des Prez's force; thus bringing the whole of the two fleets
+into four lines, all steering dead before the wind, and, as it were,
+interwoven with each other. By that time, the poops of the Plantagenet
+and C&aelig;sar became visible from one to the other, the smoke now driving
+principally off from the vessels. There again were our two admirals each
+anxiously watching to get a glimpse of his friend. The instant the place
+was clear, Sir Gervaise applied the trumpet to his mouth, and called
+out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"God bless you&mdash;Dick! may God for ever bless you&mdash;<i>your</i> ship can do
+it&mdash;clap your helm hard a-starboard, and sheer into M. des Prez; you'll
+have him in five minutes."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater smiled, waved his hand, gave an order, and laid aside his
+trumpet. Two minutes later, the C&aelig;sar sheered into the smoke on her
+larboard beam, and the crash of the meeting vessels was heard. By this
+time, the wreck of the Plantagenet was cut adrift, and she, too, made a
+rank sheer, though in a direction opposite to that of the C&aelig;sar's. As
+she went through the smoke, her guns ceased, and when she emerged into
+the pure air, it was found that le Foudroyant had set courses and
+top-gallant-sails, and was drawing so fast ahead, as to render pursuit,
+under the little sail that could be set, unprofitable. Signals were out
+of the question, but this movement of the two admirals converted the
+whole battle scene into one of inexplicable confusion. Ship after ship
+changed her position, and ceased her fire from uncertainty what that
+position was, until a general silence succeeded the roar of the
+cannonade. It was indispensable to pause and let the smoke blow away.</p>
+
+<p>It did not require many minutes to raise the curtain on the two fleets.
+As soon as the firing stopped, the wind increased, and the smoke was
+driven off to leeward in a vast straggling cloud, that seemed to scatter
+and disperse in the air spontaneously. Then a sight of the havoc and
+destruction that had been done in this short conflict was first
+obtained.</p>
+
+<p>The two squadrons were intermingled, and it required some little time
+for Sir Gervaise to get a clear idea of the state of his own ships.
+Generally, it might be said that the vessels were scattering, the French
+sheering towards their own coast, while the English were principally
+coming by the wind on the larboard tack, or heading in towards England.
+The C&aelig;sar and le Pluton were still foul of each other, though a
+rear-admiral's flag was flying at the mizzen of the first, while that
+which had so lately fluttered at the royal-mast-head of the other, had
+disappeared. The Achilles, Lord Morganic, was still among the French,
+more to leeward than any other English ship, without a single spar
+standing. Her ensigns were flying, notwithstanding, and the Thunderer
+and Dublin, both in tolerable order, were edging away rapidly to cover
+their crippled consort; though the nearest French vessels seemed more
+bent on getting out of the <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i>, and into their own line again, than
+on securing any advantage already obtained. Le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire was in the same
+predicament as the Achilles as to spars, though much more injured in her
+hull, besides having thrice as many casualties. Her flag was down; the
+ship having fairly struck to the Warspite, whose boats were already
+alongside of her. Le Foudroyant, with quite one-third of her crew killed
+and wounded, was running off to leeward, with signals flying for her
+consorts to rally round her; but, within less than ten minutes after she
+became visible, her main and mizzen-masts both went. The Blenheim had
+lost all her top-masts, like the Plantagenet, and neither the Elizabeth
+nor the York had a mizzen-mast standing, although engaged but a very
+short time. Several lower yards were shot away, or so much injured as to
+compel the ships to shorten sail; this accident having occurred in both
+fleets. As for the damage done to the standing and running rigging, and
+to the sails, it is only necessary to say that shrouds, back and
+head-stays, braces, bowlines and lifts, were dangling in all directions,
+while the canvass that was open exhibited all sorts of rents, from that
+which had been torn like cloth in the shopman's hands, to the little
+eyelet holes of the canister and grape. It appeared, by the subsequent
+reports of the two parties, that, in this short but severe conflict, the
+slain and wounded of the English amounted to seven hundred and
+sixty-three, including officers; and that of the French, to one thousand
+four hundred and twelve. The disparity in this respect would probably
+have been greater against the latter, had it not been for the manner in
+which M. des Prez succeeded in doubling on his enemies.</p>
+
+<p>Little need be said in explanation of the parts of this battle that have
+not been distinctly related. M. des Prez had man[oe]uvered in the manner
+he did, at the commencement of the affair, in the hope of drawing Sir
+Gervaise down upon the division of the Comte de Vervillin; and no sooner
+did he see, the first fairly enveloped in smoke, than he wore short
+round and joined in the affair, as has been mentioned. At this sight,
+Bluewater's loyalty to the Stuarts could resist no longer. Throwing out
+a general signal to engage, he squared away, set every thing that would
+draw on the C&aelig;sar, and arrived in time to save his friend. The other
+ships followed, engaging on the outside, for want of room to imitate
+their leader.</p>
+
+<p>Two more of the French ships, at least, in addition to <i>le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire</i>
+and <i>le Pluton</i>, might have been added to the list of prizes, had the
+actual condition of their fleet been known. But, at such moments, a
+combatant sees and feels his own injuries, while he has to conjecture
+many of those of his adversaries; and the English were too much occupied
+in making the provisions necessary to save their remaining spars, to
+risk much in order to swell an advantage that was already so
+considerable. Some distant firing passed between the Thunderer and
+Dublin, and l'Ajax, le Dugay Trouin, and l'Hector, before the two former
+succeeded in getting Lord Morganic out of his difficulties; but it led
+to no material result; merely inflicting new injuries on certain spars
+that were sufficiently damaged before, and killing and wounding some
+fifteen or twenty men quite uselessly. As soon as the vice-admiral saw
+what was likely to be the effects of this episode, he called off Captain
+O'Neil of the Dublin, by signal, he being an officer of a "hot temper,"
+as the soldier said of himself at Waterloo. The compliance with this
+order may be said to have terminated the battle.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will remember that the wind, at the commencement of the
+engagement, was at north-west. It was nearly "killed," as seamen express
+it, by the cannonade; then it revived a little, as the concussions of
+the guns gradually diminished. But the combined effect of the advance of
+the day, and the rushing of new currents of air to fill the vacuums
+produced by the burning of so much powder, was a sudden shift of wind; a
+breeze coming out strong, and as it might be, in an instant, from the
+eastward. This unexpected alteration in the direction and power of the
+wind, cost the Thunderer her foremast, and did other damage to different
+ships; but, by dint of great activity and careful handling, all the
+English vessels got their heads round to the northward, while the French
+filled the other way, and went off free, steering nearly south-east,
+making the best of their way for Brest. The latter suffered still more
+than their enemies, by the change just mentioned; and when they reached
+port, as did all but one the following day, no less than three were
+towed in without a spar standing, bowsprits excepted.</p>
+
+<p>The exception was <i>le Caton</i>, which ship M. de Vervillin set fire to and
+blew up, on account of her damages, in the course of the afternoon. Thus
+of twelve noble two-decked ships with which this officer sailed from
+Cherbourg only two days before, he reached Brest with but seven.</p>
+
+<p>Nor were the English entirely without their embarrassments. Although the
+Warspite had compelled le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire to strike, she was kept afloat
+herself with a good deal of difficulty, and that, too, not without
+considerable assistance from the other vessels. The leaks, however, were
+eventually stopped, and then the ship was given up to the care of her
+own crew. Other vessels suffered of course, but no English ship was in
+as much jeopardy as this.</p>
+
+<p>The first hour after the action ceased, was one of great exertion and
+anxiety to our admiral. He called the Chloe alongside by signal, and,
+attended by Wycherly and his own quarter-masters, Galleygo, who went
+without orders, and the Bowlderos who were unhurt, he shifted his flag
+to that frigate. Then he immediately commenced passing from vessel to
+vessel, in order to ascertain the actual condition of his command. The
+Achilles detained him some time, and he was near her, or to leeward,
+when the wind shifted; which was bringing him to windward in the present
+stale of things. Of this advantage he availed himself, by urging the
+different ships off as fast as possible; and long before the sun was in
+the meridian, all the English vessels were making the best of their way
+towards the land, with the intention of fetching into Plymouth if
+possible; if not, into the nearest and best anchorage to leeward. The
+progress of the fleet was relatively slow, as a matter of course, though
+it got along at the rate of some five knots, by making a free wind of
+it.</p>
+
+<p>The master of the Chloe had just taken the sun, in order to ascertain
+his latitude, when the vice-admiral commanded Denham to set
+top-gallant-sails, and go within hail of the C&aelig;sar. That ship had got
+clear of <i>le Pluton</i> half an hour after the action ceased, and she was
+now leading the fleet, with her three top-sails on the caps. Aloft she
+had suffered comparatively little; but Sir Gervaise knew that there must
+have been a serious loss of men in carrying, hand to hand, a vessel like
+that of M. des Prez. He was anxious to see his friend, and to hear the
+manner in which his success had been obtained, and, we might add, to
+remonstrate with Bluewater on a course that had led the latter to the
+verge of a most dangerous abyss.</p>
+
+<p>The Chloe was half an hour running through the fleet, which was a good
+deal extended, and was sailing without any regard to a line. Sir
+Gervaise had many questions to ask, too, of the different commanders in
+passing. At last the frigate overtook le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire, which vessel was
+following the C&aelig;sar under easy canvass. As the Chloe came up abeam, Sir
+Gervaise appeared in the gangway of the frigate, and, hat in hand, he
+asked with an accent that was intelligible, though it might not have
+absolutely stood the test of criticism,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>"Le Vice-Admiral Oakes demande comment se porte-il, le contre-amiral,
+le Vicomte des Prez?"</i></p>
+
+<p>A little elderly man, dressed with extreme care, with a powdered head,
+but of a firm step and perfectly collected expression of countenance,
+appeared on the verge of le T&eacute;m&eacute;raire's poop, trumpet in hand, to reply.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Le Vicomte des Prez remercie bien Monsieur le Chevalier Oake, et
+d&eacute;sire vivement de savoir comment se porte Monsieur le Vice-Amiral?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>Mutual waves of the trumpets served as replies to the questions, and
+then, after taking a moment to muster his French, Sir Gervaise
+continued&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>"J'esp&egrave;re voir Monsieur le Contre-Amiral &agrave; d&icirc;ner, &agrave; cinq heures,
+pr&eacute;cis."</i></p>
+
+<p>The vicomte smiled at this characteristic manifestation of good-will and
+courtesy; and after pausing an instant to choose an expression to soften
+his refusal, and to express his own sense of the motive of the
+invitation, he called out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>"Veuillez bien recevoir nos excuses pour aujourd'hui, Mons. le
+Chevalier. Nous n'avons pas encore dig&eacute;r&eacute; le repas si noble re&ccedil;u &agrave; vos
+mains comme d&eacute;jeuner."</i></p>
+
+<p>The Chloe passing ahead, bows terminated the interview. Sir Gervaise's
+French was at fault, for what between the rapid, neat, pronunciation of
+the Frenchman, the trumpet, and the turn of the expression, he did not
+comprehend the meaning of the <i>contre-amiral</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"What does he say, Wychecombe?" he asked eagerly of the young man. "Will
+he come, or not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, French is a sealed language to me. Never
+having been a prisoner, no opportunity has offered for acquiring the
+language. As I understood, you intended to ask him to dinner; I rather
+think, from his countenance, he meant to say he was not in spirits for
+the entertainment."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh! we would have put him in spirits, and Bluewater could have talked
+to him in his own tongue, by the fathom. We will close with the C&aelig;sar to
+leeward, Denham; never mind rank on an occasion like this. It's time to
+let the top-gallant-halyards run; you'll have to settle your top-sails
+too, or we shall shoot past her. Bluewater may take it as a salute to
+his gallantry in carrying so fine a ship in so handsome a manner."</p>
+
+<p>Several minutes now passed in silence, during which the frigate was less
+and less rapidly closing with the larger vessel, drawing ahead towards
+the last, as it might be, foot by foot. Sir Gervaise got upon one of the
+quarter-deck guns, and steadying himself against the hammock-cloths, he
+was in readiness to exchange the greetings he was accustomed to give and
+to receive from his friend, in the same heartfelt manner as if nothing
+had occurred to disturb the harmony of their feelings. The single glance
+of the eye, the waving of the hat, and the noble manner in which
+Bluewater interposed between him and his most dangerous enemy, was still
+present to his mind, and disposed him even more than common to the
+kindest feelings of his nature. Stowel was already on the poop of the
+C&aelig;sar, and, as the Chloe came slowly on, he raised his hat in deference
+to the commander-in-chief. It was a point of delicacy with Sir Gervaise
+never to interfere with any subordinate flag-officer's vessel any more
+than duty rigidly required; consequently his communications with the
+captain of the C&aelig;sar had usually been of a general nature, verbal orders
+and criticisms being studiously avoided. This circumstance rendered the
+commander-in-chief even a greater favourite than common with Stowel, who
+had all his own way in his own ship, in consequence of the
+rear-admiral's indifference to such matters.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you do, Stowel?" called out Sir Gervaise, cordially. "I am
+delighted to see you on your legs, and hope the old Roman is not much
+the worse for this day's treatment"</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you, Sir Gervaise, we are both afloat yet, though we have
+passed through warm times. The ship is damaged, sir, as you may suppose;
+and, although it stands so bravely, and looks so upright, that foremast
+of ours is as good as a condemned spar. One thirty-two through the heart
+of it, about ten feet from the deck, an eighteen in the hounds, and a
+double-header sticking in one of the hoops! A spar cannot be counted for
+much that has as many holes in it as those, sir!"</p>
+
+<p>"Deal tenderly with it, my old friend, and spare the canvass; those
+chaps at Plymouth will set all to rights, again, in a week. Hoops can be
+had for asking, and as for holes in the heart, many a poor fellow has
+had them, and lived through it all. You are a case in point; Mrs. Stowel
+not having spared you in that way, I'll answer for it."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Stowel commands ashore, Sir Gervaise, and I command afloat; and in
+that way, we keep a quiet ship and a quiet house, I thank you, sir; and
+I endeavour to think of her at sea, as little as possible."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that's the way with you doting husbands;&mdash;always ashamed of your
+own lively sensibilities. But what has become of Bluewater?&mdash;Does he
+know that we are alongside?"</p>
+
+<p>Stowel looked round, cast his eyes up at the sails, and played with the
+hilt of his sword. The rapid eye of the commander-in-chief detected this
+embarrassment, and quick as thought he demanded what had happened.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Sir Gervaise, you know how it is with some admirals, who like to
+be in every thing. I told our respected and beloved friend, that he had
+nothing to do with boarding; that if either of us was to go, <i>I</i> was the
+proper man; but that we ought both to stick by the ship. He answered
+something about lost honour and duty, and you know, sir, what legs he
+has, when he wishes to use them! One might as well think of stopping a
+deserter by a halloo; away he went, with the first party, sword in hand,
+a sight I never saw before, and never wish to see again! Thus you see
+how it was, sir."</p>
+
+<p>The commander-in-chief compressed his lips, until his features, and
+indeed his whole form was a picture of desperate resolution, though his
+face was as pale as death, and the muscles of his mouth twitched, in
+spite of all his physical self-command.</p>
+
+<p>"I understand you, sir," he said, in a voice that seemed to issue from
+his chest; "you wish to say that Admiral Bluewater is killed."</p>
+
+<p>"No, thank God! Sir Gervaise, not <i>quite</i> as bad as that, though sadly
+hurt; yes, indeed, very sadly hurt!"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise Oakes groaned, and for a few minutes he leaned his head on
+the hammock-cloths, veiling his face from the sight of men. Then he
+raised his person erect, and said steadily&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Run your top-sails to the mast-head, Captain Stowel, and round your
+ship to. I will come on board of you."</p>
+
+<p>An order was given to Denham to take room, when the Chloe came to the
+wind on one tack and the C&aelig;sar on the other. This was contrary to rule,
+as it increased the distance between the ships; but the vice-admiral was
+impatient to be in his barge. In ten minutes he was mounting the C&aelig;sar's
+side, and in two more he was in Bluewater's main-cabin. Geoffrey
+Cleveland was seated by the table, with his face buried in his arms.
+Touching his shoulder, the boy raised his head, and showed a face
+covered with tears.</p>
+
+<p>"How is he, boy?" demanded Sir Gervaise, hoarsely. "Do the surgeons give
+any hopes?"</p>
+
+<p>The midshipman shook his head, and then, as if the question renewed his
+grief, he again buried his face in his arms. At this moment, the surgeon
+of the ship came from the rear-admiral's state-room, and following the
+commander-in-chief into the after-cabin, they had a long conference
+together.</p>
+
+<p>Minute after minute passed, and the C&aelig;sar and Chloe still lay with their
+main-top-sails aback. At the end of half an hour, Denham wore round and
+laid the head of his frigate in the proper direction. Ship after ship
+came up, and went on to the northward, fast as her crippled state would
+allow, yet no sign of movement was seen in the C&aelig;sar. Two sail had
+appeared in the south-eastern board, and they, too, approached and
+passed without bringing the vice-admiral even on deck. These ships
+proved to be the Carnatic and her prize, le Scipion, which latter ship
+had been intercepted and easily captured by the former. The steering of
+M. de Vervillin to the south-west had left a clear passage to the two
+ships, which were coming down with a free wind at a handsome rate of
+sailing. This news was sent into the C&aelig;sar's cabin, but it brought no
+person and no answer out of it. At length, when every thing had gone
+ahead, the barge returned to the Chloe. It merely took a note, however,
+which was no sooner read by Wycherly, than he summoned the Bowlderos and
+Galleygo, had all the vice-admiral's luggage passed into the boat,
+struck his flag, and took his leave of Denham. As soon as the boat was
+clear of the frigate, the latter made all sail after the fleet, to
+resume her ordinary duties of a look-out and a repeating-ship.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Wycherly reached the C&aelig;sar, that ship hoisted in the
+vice-admiral's barge. A report was made to Sir Gervaise of what had been
+done, and then an order came on deck that occasioned all in the fleet to
+stare with surprise. The red flag of Sir Gervaise Oakes was run up at
+the foreroyal-mast-head of the C&aelig;sar, while the white flag of the
+rear-admiral was still flying at her mizzen. Such a thing had never
+before been known to happen, if it has ever happened since; and to the
+time when she was subsequently lost, the C&aelig;sar was known as the double
+flag-ship.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"He spoke; when behold the fair Geraldine's form<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">On the canvass enchantingly glowed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His touches, they flew like the leaves in a storm;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the pure pearly white, and the carnation warm,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Contending in harmony flowed."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Alston.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>We shall now ask permission of the reader to advance the time just
+eight-and-forty hours; a liberty with the unities which, he will do us
+the justice to say, we have not often taken. We must also transfer the
+scene to that already described at Wychecombe, including the Head, the
+station, the roads, and the inland and seaward views. Summer weather had
+returned, too, the pennants of the ships at anchor scarce streaming from
+their masts far enough to form curved lines. Most of the English fleet
+was among these vessels, though the squadron had undergone some changes.
+The Druid had got into Portsmouth with <i>la Victoire</i>; the Driver and
+Active had made the best of their way to the nearest ports; with
+despatches for the admiralty; and the Achilles, in tow of the Dublin,
+with the Chloe to take care of both, had gone to leeward, with square
+yards, in the hope of making Falmouth. The rest of the force was
+present, the crippled ships having been towed into the roads that
+morning. The picture among the shipping was one of extreme activity and
+liveliness. Jury-masts were going up in the Warspite; lower and
+top-sail-yards were down to be fished, or new ones were rigging to be
+sent aloft in their places; the Plantagenet was all a-tanto, again, in
+readiness for another action, with rigging secured and masts fished,
+while none but an instructed eye could have detected, at a short
+distance, that the C&aelig;sar, Carnatic, Dover, York, Elizabeth, and one or
+two more, had been in action at all. The landing was crowded with boats
+as before, and gun-room servants and midshipmen's boys were foraging as
+usual; some with honest intent to find delicacies for the wounded, but
+more with the roguish design of contributing to the comforts of the
+unhurt, by making appeals to the sympathies of the women of the
+neighbourhood, in behalf of the hurt.</p>
+
+<p>The principal transformation that had been brought about by this state
+of things, however, was apparent at the station. This spot had the
+appearance of a place to which the headquarters of an army had been
+transferred, in the vicissitudes of the field; warlike sailors, if not
+soldiers, flocking to it, as the centre of interest and intelligence.
+Still there was a singularity observable in the manner in which these
+heroes of the deck paid their court; the cottage being seemingly
+tabooed, or at most, approached by very few, while the grass at the foot
+of the flag-staff was already beginning to show proofs of the pressure
+of many feet. This particular spot, indeed, was the centre of
+attraction; there, officers of all ranks and ages were constantly
+arriving, and thence they were as often departing; all bearing
+countenances sobered by anxiety and apprehension. Notwithstanding the
+constant mutations, there had been no instant since the rising of the
+sun, when some ten or twelve, at least, including captains, lieutenants,
+masters and idlers, had not been collected around the bench at the foot
+of the signal-staff, and frequently the number reached even to twenty.</p>
+
+<p>A little retired from the crowd, and near the verge of the cliff, a
+large tent had been pitched. A marine paced in its front, as a sentinel.
+Another stood near the gate of the little door-yard of the cottage, and
+all persons who approached either, with the exception of a few of the
+privileged, were referred to the sergeant who commanded the guard. The
+arms of the latter were stacked on the grass, at hand, and the men off
+post were loitering near. These were the usual military signs of the
+presence of officers of rank, and may, in sooth, be taken as clues to
+the actual state of things, on and around the Head.</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater lay in the cottage, while Sir Gervaise Oakes occupied
+the tent. The former had been transferred to the place where he was
+about to breathe his last, at his own urgent request, while his friend
+had refused to be separated from him, so long as life remained. The two
+flags were still flying at the mast-heads of the C&aelig;sar, a sort of
+melancholy memorial of the tie that had so long bound their gallant
+owners in the strong sympathies of an enduring personal and professional
+friendship.</p>
+
+<p>Persons of the education of Mrs. Dutton and her daughter, had not dwelt
+so long on that beautiful head-land, without leaving on the spot some
+lasting impressions of their tastes. Of the cottage, we have already
+spoken. The little garden, too, then bright with flowers, had a grace
+and refinement about it that we would hardly have expected to meet in
+such a place; and even the paths that led athwart the verdant common
+which spread over so much of the upland, had been directed with an eye
+to the picturesque and agreeable. One of these paths, too, led to a
+rustic summer-house&mdash;a sort of small, rude pavilion, constructed, like
+the fences, of fragments of wrecks, and placed on a shelf of the cliff,
+at a dizzy elevation, but in perfect security. So far from there being
+any danger in entering this summer-house, indeed, Wycherly, during his
+six months' residence near the Head, had made a path that descended
+still lower to a point that was utterly concealed from all eyes above,
+and had actually planted a seat on another shelf with so much security,
+that both Mildred and her mother often visited it in company. During the
+young man's recent absence, the poor girl, indeed, had passed much of
+her time there, weeping and suffering in solitude. To this seat, Dutton
+never ventured; the descent, though well protected with ropes, requiring
+greater steadiness of foot and head than intemperance had left him. Once
+or twice, Wycherly had induced Mildred to pass an hour with him alone in
+this romantic place, and some of his sweetest recollections of this
+just-minded and intelligent girl, were connected with the frank
+communications that had there occurred between them. On this bench he
+was seated at the time of the opening of the present chapter. The
+movement on the Head, and about the cottage, was so great, as to deprive
+him of every chance of seeing Mildred alone, and he had hoped that, led
+by some secret sympathy, she, too, might seek this perfectly retired
+seat, to obtain a moment of unobserved solitude, if not from some still
+dearer motive. He had not waited long, ere he heard a heavy foot over
+his head, and a man entered the summer-house. He was yet debating
+whether to abandon all hopes of seeing Mildred, when his acute ear
+caught her light and well-known footstep, as she reached the
+summer-house, also.</p>
+
+<p>"Father, I have come as you desired," said the poor girl, in those
+tremulous tones which Wycherly too well understood, not to imagine the
+condition of Dutton. "Admiral Bluewater dozes, and mother has permitted
+me to steal away."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, Admiral Bluewater is a great man, though but little better than a
+dead one!" answered Dutton, as harshly in manner as the language was
+coarse. "You and your mother are all attention to <i>him</i>; did <i>I</i> lie in
+his place, which of you would be found hanging over my bed, with pale
+cheeks and tearful eyes?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Both</i> of us, father! <i>Do</i> not&mdash;<i>do</i> not think so ill of your wife and
+daughter, as to suppose it possible that either of them could forget her
+duty."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, <i>duty</i> might do something, perhaps; what has duty to do with this
+useless rear-admiral? I <i>hate</i> the scoundrel&mdash;he was one of the court
+that cashiered me; and one, too, that I am told, was the most obstinate
+in refusing to help me into this pitiful berth of a master."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred was silent. She could not vindicate her friend without
+criminating her father. As for Wycherly, he would have given a year's
+income to be at sea; yet he shrunk from wounding the poor daughter's
+feelings by letting her know he overheard the dialogue. This indecision
+made him the unwilling auditor of a conversation that he ought not to
+have heard&mdash;an occurrence which, had there been time for reflection, he
+would have taken means to prevent.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit you down here, Mildred," resumed Dutton, sternly, "and listen to
+what I have to say. It is time that there should no longer be any
+trifling between us. You have the fortunes of your mother and myself in
+your hands; and, as one of the parties so deeply concerned, I am
+determined <i>mine</i> shall be settled at once."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not understand you, father," said Mildred, with a tremour in her
+voice that almost induced the young man to show himself, though, we owe
+it to truth to say, that a lively curiosity <i>now</i> mingled with his other
+sensations. "How can I have the keeping of dear mother's fortunes and
+yours?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dear</i> mother, truly!&mdash;<i>Dear</i> enough has she proved to me; but I intend
+the daughter shall pay for it. Hark you, Mildred; I'll have no more of
+this trifling&mdash;but I ask you in a father's name, if any man has offered
+you his hand? Speak plainly, and conceal nothing&mdash;I <i>will</i> be answered."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish to conceal nothing, father, that ought to be told; but when a
+young woman declines the honour that another does her in this way,
+<i>ought</i> she to reveal the secret, even to her father?"</p>
+
+<p>"She <i>ought</i>; and, in your case, she <i>shall</i>. No more hesitation; name
+<i>one</i> of the offers you have had."</p>
+
+<p>Mildred, after a brief pause, in a low, tremulous voice, pronounced the
+name of "Mr. Rotherham."</p>
+
+<p>"I suspected as much," growled Dutton; "there was a time when even <i>he</i>
+might have answered, but we can do better than that now. Still he may be
+kept as a reserve; the thousand pounds Mr. Thomas says shall be paid,
+and that and the living will make a comfortable port after a stormy
+life. Well, who next, Mildred? Has Mr. Thomas Wychecombe ever come to
+the point?"</p>
+
+<p>"He has asked me to become his wife, within the last twenty-four hours;
+if that is what you mean."</p>
+
+<p>"No affectations, Milly; I can't bear them. You know well enough what I
+mean. What was your answer?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not love him in the least, father, and, of course, I told him I
+could not marry him."</p>
+
+<p>"That don't follow <i>of course</i>, by any means, girl! The marrying is done
+by the priest, and the love is a very different thing. I hope you
+consider Mrs. Dutton as my wife?"</p>
+
+<p>"What a question!" murmured Mildred.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, and do you suppose she <i>loves</i> me; <i>can</i> love me, now I am a
+disgraced, impoverished man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Father!"</p>
+
+<p>"Come&mdash;come&mdash;enough of this. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe may not be
+legitimate&mdash;I rather think he is not, by the proofs Sir Reginald has
+produced within the last day or two; and I understand his own mother is
+dissatisfied with him, and <i>that</i> will knock his claim flat aback.
+Notwithstanding, Mildred, Tom Wychecombe has a good six hundred a year
+already, and Sir Reginald himself admits that he must take all the
+personal property the late baronet could leave."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget, father," said Mildred, conscious of the inefficacy of any
+other appeal, "that Mr. Thomas has promised to pay the legacies that Sir
+Wycherly <i>intended</i> to leave."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't place any expectations on that, Mildred. I dare say he would
+settle ten of the twenty thousand on you to-morrow, if you would consent
+to have him. But, now, as to this new baronet, for it seems he is to
+have both title and estate&mdash;has <i>he</i> ever offered?"</p>
+
+<p>There was a long pause, during which Wycherly thought he heard the hard
+but suppressed breathing of Mildred. To remain quiet any longer, he felt
+was as impossible as, indeed, his conscience told him was dishonourable,
+and he sprang along the path to ascend to the summer-house. At the first
+sound of his footstep, a faint cry escaped Mildred; but when Wycherly
+entered the pavilion, he found her face buried in her hands, and Dutton
+tottering forward, equally in surprise and alarm. As the circumstances
+would not admit of evasion, the young man threw aside all reserve, and
+spoke plainly.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been an unwilling listener to a <i>part</i> of your discourse with
+Mildred, Mr. Dutton," he said, "and can answer your last question for
+myself. I <i>have</i> offered my hand to your daughter, sir; an offer that I
+now renew, and the acceptance of which would make me the happiest man in
+England. If your influence could aid me&mdash;for she has refused my hand."</p>
+
+<p>"Refused!" exclaimed Dutton, in a surprise that overcame the calculated
+amenity of manner he had assumed the instant Wycherly appeared&mdash;"Refused
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe! but it was before your rights had been as well
+established as they are now. Mildred, answer to this&mdash;how <i>could</i>
+you&mdash;nay, how <i>dare</i> you refuse such an offer as this?"</p>
+
+<p>Human nature could not well endure more. Mildred suffered her hands to
+fall helplessly into her lap, and exposed a face that was lovely as that
+of an angel's, though pale nearly to the hue of death. Feeling extorted
+the answer she made, though the words had hardly escaped her, ere she
+repented having uttered them, and had again buried her face in her
+hands&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Father"&mdash;she said&mdash;"<i>could</i> I&mdash;<i>dare</i> I to encourage Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe to unite himself to a family like ours!"</p>
+
+<p>Conscience smote Dutton with a force that nearly sobered him, and what
+explanation might have followed it is hard to say; Wycherly, in an
+under-tone, however, requested to be left alone with the daughter.
+Dutton had sense enough to understand he was <i>de trop</i>, and shame enough
+to wish to escape. In half a minute, he had hobbled up to the summit of
+the cliff and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>"Mildred!&mdash;<i>Dearest</i> Mildred"&mdash;said Wycherly, tenderly, gently
+endeavouring to draw her attention to himself, "we are alone now;
+surely&mdash;surely&mdash;you will not refuse to <i>look</i> at <i>me</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is he gone?" asked Mildred, dropping her hands, and looking wildly
+around. "Thank God! It is over, for this time, at least! Now, let us go
+to the house; Admiral Bluewater may miss me."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Mildred, not yet. You surely can spare me&mdash;me, who have suffered so
+much of late on your account&mdash;nay, by your <i>means</i>&mdash;you can, in mercy,
+spare me a few short minutes. Was <i>this</i> the reason&mdash;the <i>only</i> reason,
+dearest girl, why you so pertinaciously refused my hand?"</p>
+
+<p>"Was it not sufficient, Wycherly?" answered Mildred, afraid the
+chartered air might hear her secret. "Remember <i>who</i> you are, and <i>what</i>
+I am! Could I suffer you to become the husband of one to whom such
+cruel, cruel propositions had been made by her own father!"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall not affect to conceal my horror of such principles, Mildred,
+but your virtues shine all the brighter by having flourished in their
+company. Answer me but one question frankly, and every other difficulty
+can be gotten over. Do you love me well enough to be my wife, were you
+an orphan?"</p>
+
+<p>Mildred's countenance was full of anguish, but this question changed its
+expression entirely. The moment was extraordinary as were the feelings
+it engendered, and, almost unconsciously to herself, she raised the hand
+that held her own to her lips, in a sort of reverence. In the next
+instant she was encircled in the young man's arms, and pressed with
+fervour to his heart.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us go"&mdash;said Mildred, extricating herself from an embrace that was
+too involuntarily bestowed, and too heartfelt to alarm her delicacy. "I
+feel certain Admiral Bluewater will miss me!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Mildred, we cannot part thus. Give me, at least, the poor
+consolation of knowing, that if <i>this</i> difficulty did not exist&mdash;that if
+you were an orphan for instance&mdash;you would be mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Wycherly, how gladly&mdash;how gladly!&mdash;But, say no more&mdash;nay&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>This time the embrace was longer, more fervent even than before, and
+Wycherly was too much of a sailor to let the sweet girl escape from his
+arms without imprinting on her lips a kiss. He had no sooner
+relinquished his hold of the slight person of Mildred, ere it vanished.
+With this characteristic leave-taking, we change the scene to the tent
+of Sir Gervaise Oakes.</p>
+
+<p>"You have seen Admiral Bluewater?" demanded the commander-in-chief, as
+soon as the form of Magrath darkened the entrance, and speaking with the
+sudden earnestness of a man determined to know the worst. "If so, tell
+me at once what hopes there are for him."</p>
+
+<p>"Of all the human passions, Sir Jairvis," answered Magrath, looking
+aside, to avoid the keen glance of the other, "hope is generally
+considered, by all rational men, as the most treacherous and delusive; I
+may add, of all denominations or divisions of hope, that which decides
+on life is the most unsairtain. We all hope to live, I'm thinking, to a
+good old age, and yet how many of us live just long enough to be
+disappointed!"</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise did not move until the surgeon ceased speaking; then he
+began to pace the tent in mournful silence. He understood Magrath's
+manner so well, that the last faint hope he had felt from seeking his
+opinion was gone; he now knew that his friend must die. It required all
+his fortitude to stand up against this blow; for, single, childless, and
+accustomed to each other almost from infancy, these two veteran sailors
+had got to regard themselves as merely isolated parts of the same being.
+Magrath was affected more than he chose to express, and he blew his nose
+several times in a way that an observer would have found suspicious.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you confer on me the favour, Dr. Magrath," said Sir Gervaise, in a
+gentle, subdued manner, "to ask Captain Greenly to come hither, as you
+pass the flag-staff?"</p>
+
+<p>"Most willingly, Sir Jairvis; and I know he'll be any thing but backward
+in complying."</p>
+
+<p>It was not long ere the captain of the Plantagenet made his appearance.
+Like all around him, the recent victory appeared to bring no exultation.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose Magrath told <i>you</i> all," said the vice-admiral, squeezing the
+other's hand.</p>
+
+<p>"He gives no hopes, Sir Gervaise, I sincerely regret to say."</p>
+
+<p>"I knew as much! I knew as much! And yet he is easy, Greenly!&mdash;nay, even
+seems happy. I <i>did</i> feel a little hope that this absence from suffering
+might be a favourable omen."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to hear that much, sir; for I have been thinking that it is
+my duty to speak to the rear-admiral on the subject of his brother's
+marriage. From his own silence on the subject, it is possible&mdash;nay, from
+<i>all</i> circumstances, it is <i>probable</i> he never knew of it, and there may
+be reasons why he ought to be informed of the affair. As you say he is
+so easy, would there be an impropriety in mentioning it to him?"</p>
+
+<p>Greenly could not possibly have made a suggestion that was a greater
+favour to Sir Gervaise. The necessity of doing, his habits of decision,
+and having an object in view, contributed to relieve his mind by
+diverting his thoughts to some active duty; and he seized his hat,
+beckoned Greenly to follow, and moved across the hill with a rapid pace,
+taking the path to the cottage. It was necessary to pass the flag-staff.
+As this was done, every countenance met the vice-admiral's glance, with
+a look of sincere sympathy. The bows that were exchanged, had more in
+them than the naked courtesies of such salutations; they were eloquent
+of feeling on both sides.</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater was awake, and retaining the hand of Mildred affectionately in
+his own, when his friend entered. Relinquishing his hold, however, he
+grasped the hand of the vice-admiral, and looked earnestly at him, as if
+he pitied the sorrow that he knew the survivor must feel.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Bluewater," commenced Sir Gervaise, who acted under a nervous
+excitement, as well as from constitutional decision, "here is Greenly
+with something to tell you that we both think you ought to know, at a
+moment like this."</p>
+
+<p>The rear-admiral regarded his friend intently, as if inviting him to
+proceed.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it's about your brother Jack. I fancy you cannot have known that
+he was ever married, or I think I should have heard you speak of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Married!" repeated Bluewater, with great interest, and speaking with
+very little difficulty. "I think that must be an error. Inconsiderate
+and warm-hearted he was, but there was only one woman he <i>could</i>, nay,
+<i>would</i> have married. She is long since dead, but not as <i>his</i> wife; for
+that her uncle, a man of great wealth, but of unbending will, would
+never have suffered. <i>He</i> survived her, though my poor brother did not."</p>
+
+<p>This was said in a mild voice, for the wounded man spoke equally without
+effort, and without pain.</p>
+
+<p>"You hear, Greenly?" observed Sir Gervaise. "And yet it is not probable
+that you should be mistaken."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, I am not, gentlemen. I saw Colonel Bluewater married, as did
+another officer who is at this moment in this very fleet. Captain
+Blakely is the person I mean, and I know that the priest who performed
+the ceremony is still living, a beneficed clergyman."</p>
+
+<p>"This is wonderful to me! He fervently loved Agnes Hedworth, but his
+poverty was an obstacle to the union; and both died so young, that there
+was little opportunity of conciliating the uncle."</p>
+
+<p>"That, sir, is your mistake. Agnes Hedworth was the bride."</p>
+
+<p>A noise in the room interrupted the dialogue, and the three gentlemen
+saw Wycherly and Mildred stooping to pick up the fragments of a bowl
+that Mrs. Dutton had let fall. The latter, apparently in alarm, at the
+little accident, had sunk back into a seat, pale and trembling.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Mrs. Dutton, take a glass of water," said Sir Gervaise, kindly
+approaching her; "your nerves have been sorely tried of late; else would
+not such a trifle affect you."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not <i>that</i>!" exclaimed the matron, huskily. "It is not <i>that</i>!
+Oh! the fearful moment has come at last; and, from my inmost spirit I
+thank thee, my Lord and my God, that it has come free from shame and
+disgrace!"</p>
+
+<p>The closing words were uttered on bended knees, and with uplifted hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Mother!&mdash;dearest, dearest mother," cried Mildred, falling on her
+mother's neck. "What mean you? What new misery has happened to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Mother!</i> Yes, sweet one, thou art, thou ever <i>shalt</i> be my child! This
+is the pang I have most dreaded; but what is an unknown tie of blood, to
+use, and affection, and to a mother's care? If I did not bear thee,
+Mildred, no natural mother could have loved thee more, or would have
+died for thee, as willingly!"</p>
+
+<p>"Distress has disturbed her, gentlemen," said Mildred, gently
+extricating herself from her mother's arms, and helping her to rise. "A
+few moments of rest will restore her."</p>
+
+<p>"No, darling; it must come now&mdash;it <i>ought</i> to come now&mdash;after what I
+have just heard, it would be unpardonable not to tell it, <i>now</i>. Did I
+understand you to say, sir, that you were present at the marriage of
+Agnes Hedworth, and that, too, with the brother of Admiral Bluewater?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of that fact, there can be no question, madam. I and others will
+testify to it. The marriage took place in London, in the summer of 1725,
+while Blakely and myself were up from Portsmouth, on leave. Colonel
+Bluewater asked us both to be present, under a pledge of secresy."</p>
+
+<p>"And in the summer of 1726, Agnes Hedworth died in my house and my arms,
+an hour after giving birth to this dear, this precious child&mdash;Mildred
+Dutton, as she has ever since been called&mdash;Mildred Bluewater, as it
+would seem her name should be."</p>
+
+<p>It is unnecessary to dwell on the surprise with which all present, or
+the delight with which Bluewater and Wycherly heard this extraordinary
+announcement. A cry escaped Mildred, who threw herself on Mrs. Dutton's
+neck, entwining it with her arms, convulsively, as if refusing to permit
+the tie that had so long bound them together, to be thus rudely torn
+asunder. But half an hour of weeping, and of the tenderest consolations,
+calmed the poor girl a little, and she was able to listen to the
+explanations. These were exceedingly simple, and so clear, as, in
+connection with the other evidence, to put the facts out of all doubt.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Hedworth had become known to Mrs. Dutton, while the latter was an
+inmate of the house of her patron. A year or two after the marriage of
+the lieutenant, and while he was on a distant station, Agnes Hedworth
+threw herself on the protection of his wife, asking a refuge for a woman
+in the most critical circumstances. Like all who knew Agnes Hedworth,
+Mrs. Dutton both respected and loved her; but the distance created
+between them, by birth and station, was such as to prevent any
+confidence. The former, for the few days passed with her humble friend,
+had acted with the quiet dignity of a woman conscious of no wrong; and
+no questions could be asked that implied doubts. A succession of
+fainting fits prevented all communications in the hour of death, and
+Mrs. Dutton found herself left with a child on her hands, and the dead
+body of her friend. Miss Hedworth had come to her dwelling unattended
+and under a false name. These circumstances induced Mrs. Dutton to
+apprehend the worst, and she proceeded to make her arrangements with
+great tenderness for the reputation of the deceased. The body was
+removed to London, and letters were sent to the uncle to inform him
+where it was to be found, with a reference should he choose to inquire
+into the circumstances of his niece's death. Mrs. Dutton ascertained
+that the body was interred in the usual manner, but no inquiry was ever
+made, concerning the particulars. The young duchess, Miss Hedworth's
+sister, was then travelling in Italy, whence she did not return for more
+than a year; and we may add, though Mrs. Dutton was unable to make the
+explanation, that her inquiries after the fate of a beloved sister, were
+met by a simple statement that she had died suddenly, on a visit to a
+watering-place, whither she had gone with a female friend for her
+health. Whether Mr. Hedworth himself had any suspicions of his niece's
+condition, is uncertain; but the probabilities were against it, for she
+had offended him by refusing a match equal in all respects to that made
+by her elder sister, with the single exception that the latter had
+married a man she loved, whereas he exacted of Agnes a very different
+sacrifice. Owing to the alienation produced by this affair, there was
+little communication between the uncle and niece; the latter passing her
+time in retirement, and professedly with friends that the former neither
+knew nor cared to know. In short, such was the mode of life of the
+respective parties, that nothing was easier than for the unhappy young
+widow to conceal her state from her uncle. The motive was the fortune of
+the expected child; this uncle having it in his power to alienate from
+it, by will, if he saw fit, certain family property, that might
+otherwise descend to the issue of the two sisters, as his co-heiresses.
+What might have happened in the end, or what poor Agnes meditated doing,
+can never be known; death closing the secret with his irremovable seal.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dutton was the mother of a girl but three months old, at the time
+this little stranger was left on her hands. A few weeks later her own
+child died; and having waited several months in vain for tidings from
+the Hedworth family, she had the surviving infant christened by the same
+name as that borne by her own daughter, and soon came to love it, as
+much, perhaps, as if she had borne it. Three years passed in this
+manner, when the time drew near for the return of her husband from the
+East Indies. To be ready to meet him, she changed her abode to a naval
+port, and, in so doing, changed her domestics. This left her
+accidentally, but fortunately, as she afterwards thought, completely
+mistress of the secret of Mildreth's birth; the one or two others to
+whom it was known being in stations to render it improbable they should
+ever communicate any thing on the subject, unless it were asked of them.
+Her original intention, however, was to communicate the facts, without
+reserve, to her husband. But he came back an altered man; brutal in
+manners, cold in his affections, and the victim of drunkenness. By this
+time, the wife was too much attached to the child to think of exposing
+it to the wayward caprices of such a being; and Mildred was educated,
+and grew in stature and beauty as the real offspring of her reputed
+parents.</p>
+
+<p>All this Mrs. Dutton related clearly and briefly, refraining, of course,
+from making any allusion to the conduct of her husband, and referring
+all her own benevolence to her attachment to the child. Bluewater had
+strength enough to receive Mildred in his arms, and he kissed her pale
+cheek, again and again, blessing her in the most fervent and solemn
+manner.</p>
+
+<p>"My feelings were not treacherous or unfaithful," he said; "I loved
+thee, sweetest, from the first. Sir Gervaise Oakes has my will, made in
+thy favour, before we sailed on this last cruise, and every shilling I
+leave will be thine. Mr. Atwood, procure that will, and add a codicil
+explaining this recent discovery, and confirming the legacy; let not the
+last be touched, for it is spontaneous and comes from the heart."</p>
+
+<p>"And, now," answered Mrs. Dutton, "enough has passed for once. The
+sick-bed should be more quiet. Give me my child, again:&mdash;I cannot yet
+consent to part with her for ever."</p>
+
+<p>"Mother! mother!" exclaimed Mildred, throwing herself on Mrs. Dutton's
+bosom&mdash;"I am yours, and yours only."</p>
+
+<p>"Not so, I fear. Mildred, if all I suspect be true, and this is as
+proper a moment as another to place that matter also before your
+honoured uncle. Come forward, Sir Wycherly&mdash;I have understood you to
+say, this minute, in my ear, that you hold the pledge of this wilful
+girl to become your wife, should she ever be an orphan. An orphan she
+is, and has been since the first hour of her birth."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;no&mdash;no," murmured Mildred, burying her face still deeper in her
+mother's bosom, "not while <i>you</i> live, <i>can</i> I be an orphan. Not
+now&mdash;another time&mdash;this is unseasonable&mdash;cruel&mdash;nay, it is not what I
+said."'</p>
+
+<p>"Take her away, dearest Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, tears of joy
+forcing themselves from his eyes. "Take her away, lest too much
+happiness come upon me at once. My thoughts should be calmer at such a
+moment."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly removed Mildred from her mother's arms, and gently led her from
+the room. When in Mrs. Dutton's apartment, he whispered something in the
+ear of the agitated girl that caused her to turn on him a look of
+happiness, though it came dimmed with tears; then <i>he</i> had his turn of
+holding her, for another precious instant, to his heart.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Mrs. Dutton&mdash;nay, my dear <i>mother</i>," he said, "Mildred and
+myself have both need of parents. I am an orphan like herself, and we
+can never consent to part with you. Look forward, I entreat you, to
+making one of our family in all things, for never can either Mildred or
+myself cease to consider you as any thing but a parent entitled to more
+than common reverence and affection."</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly had hardly uttered this proper speech, when he received what he
+fancied a ten-fold reward. Mildred, in a burst of natural feeling,
+without affectation or reserve, but yielding to her heart only, threw
+her arms around his neck, murmured the word "thanks" several times, and
+wept freely on his bosom. When Mrs. Dutton received the sobbing girl
+from him, Wycherly kissed the mother's cheek, and he left the room.</p>
+
+<p>Admiral Bluewater would not consent to seek his repose until he had a
+private conference with his friend and Wycherly. The latter was
+frankness and liberality itself, but the former would not wait for
+settlements. These he trusted to the young man's honour. His own time
+was short, and he should die perfectly happy could he leave his niece in
+the care of one like our Virginian. He wished the marriage to take place
+in his presence. On this, he even insisted, and, of course, Wycherly
+make no objections, but went to state the case to Mrs. Dutton and
+Mildred.</p>
+
+<p>"It is singular, Dick," said Sir Gervaise, wiping his eyes, as he looked
+from a window that commanded a view of the sea, "that I have left both
+our flags flying in the C&aelig;sar! I declare, the oddness of the
+circumstance never struck me till this minute."</p>
+
+<p>"Let them float thus a little longer, Gervaise. They have faced many a
+gale and many a battle together, and may endure each other's company a
+few hours longer."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Compound or weakness and of strength,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Mighty, yet ignorant of thy power!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Loftier than earth, or air, or sea,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Yet meaner than the lowliest flower!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Margaret Davidson</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>Not a syllable of explanation, reproach, or self-accusation had passed
+between the commander-in-chief and the rear-admiral, since the latter
+received his wound. Each party appeared to blot out the events of the
+last few days, leaving the long vista of their past services and
+friendship, undisfigured by a single unsightly or unpleasant object. Sir
+Gervaise, while he retained an active superintendence of his fleet, and
+issued the necessary orders right and left, hovered around the bed of
+Bluewater with the assiduity and almost with the tenderness of a woman;
+still not the slightest allusion was made to the recent battles, or to
+any thing that had occurred in the short cruise. The speech recorded at
+the close of the last chapter, was the first words he had uttered which
+might, in any manner, carry the mind of either back to events that both
+might wish forgotten. The rear-admiral felt this forbearance deeply, and
+now that the subject was thus accidentally broached between them, he had
+a desire to say something in continuation. Still he waited until the
+baronet had left the window and taken a seat by his bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Gervaise," Bluewater then commenced, speaking low from weakness, but
+speaking distinctly from feeling, "I cannot die without asking your
+forgiveness. There were several hours when I actually meditated
+treason&mdash;I will not say to my <i>king</i>; on that point my opinions are
+unchanged&mdash;but to <i>you</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Why speak of this, Dick? You did not know yourself when you believed it
+possible to desert me in the face of the enemy. How much better I judged
+of your character, is seen in the fact that I did not hesitate to engage
+double my force, well knowing that you could not fail to come to my
+rescue."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater looked intently at his friend, and a smile of serious
+satisfaction passed over his pallid countenance as he listened to Sir
+Gervaise's words, which were uttered with his usual warmth and sincerity
+of manner.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe you know me better than I know myself," he answered, after a
+thoughtful pause; "yes, better than I know myself. What a glorious close
+to our professional career would it have been, Oakes, had I followed you
+into battle, as was our old practice, and fallen in your wake, imitating
+your own high example!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is better as it is, Dick&mdash;if any thing that has so sad a termination
+can be well&mdash;yes, it is better as it is; you have fallen at my <i>side</i>,
+as it were. We will think or talk no more of this."</p>
+
+<p>"We have been friends, and close friends too, for a long period,
+Gervaise," returned Bluewater, stretching his arm from the bed, with the
+long, thin fingers of the hand extended to meet the other's grasp; "yet,
+I cannot recall an act of yours which I can justly lay to heart, as
+unkind, or untrue."</p>
+
+<p>"God forgive me, if you can&mdash;I hope not, Dick; most sincerely do I hope
+not. It would give me great pain to believe it."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>You</i> have no cause for self-reproach. In no one act or thought can you
+justly accuse yourself with injuring <i>me</i>. I should die much happier
+could I say the same of myself, Oakes!"</p>
+
+<p>"Thought!&mdash;Dick?&mdash;Thought! You never meditated aught against <i>me</i> in
+your whole life. The love you bear <i>me</i>, is the true reason why you lie
+there, at this blessed moment."</p>
+
+<p>"It is grateful to find that I have been understood. I am deeply
+indebted to you, Oakes, for declining to signal me and my division down,
+when I foolishly requested that untimely forbearance. I was then
+suffering an anguish of mind, to which any pain of the body I may now
+endure, is an elysium; your self-denial gave time&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"For the <i>heart</i> to prompt you to that which your feelings yearned to do
+from the first, Bluewater," interrupted Sir Gervaise. "And, now, as your
+commanding officer, I enjoin silence on this subject, <i>for ever</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"I will endeavour to obey. It will not be long, Oakes, that I shall
+remain under your orders," added the rear-admiral, with a painful smile.
+"There should be no charge of mutiny against me in the <i>last</i> act of my
+life. You ought to forgive the one sin of omission, when you remember
+how much and how completely my will has been subject to yours, during
+the last five-and-thirty years,&mdash;how little my mind has matured a
+professional thought that yours has not originated!"</p>
+
+<p>"Speak no more of 'forgive,' I charge you, Dick. That you have shown a
+girl-like docility in obeying all my orders, too, is a truth I will aver
+before God and man; but when it comes to <i>mind</i>, I am far from asserting
+that mine has had the mastery. I do believe, could the truth he
+ascertained, it would be found that I am, at this blessed moment,
+enjoying a professional reputation, which is more than half due to you."</p>
+
+<p>"It matters little, now, Gervaise&mdash;it matters little, now. We were two
+light-hearted and gay lads, Oakes, when we first met as boys, fresh from
+school, and merry as health and spirits could make us."</p>
+
+<p>"We were, indeed, Dick!&mdash;yes, we were; thoughtless as if this sad moment
+were never to arrive!"</p>
+
+<p>"There were George Anson, and Peter Warren, little Charley Saunders,
+Jack Byng, and a set of us, that did, indeed, live as if we were never
+to die! We carried our lives, as it might be, in our hands, Oakes!"</p>
+
+<p>"There is much of that, Dick, in boyhood and youth. But, he is happiest,
+after all, who can meet this moment as you do&mdash;calmly, and yet without
+any dependence on his own merits."</p>
+
+<p>"I had an excellent mother, Oakes! Little do we think, in youth, how
+much we owe to the unextinguishable tenderness, and far-seeing lessons
+of our mothers! Ours both died while we were young, yet I do think we
+were their debtors for far more than we could ever repay."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise simply assented, but making no immediate answer, otherwise,
+a long pause succeeded, during which the vice-admiral fancied that his
+friend was beginning to doze. He was mistaken.</p>
+
+<p>"You will be made Viscount Bowldero, for these last affairs, Gervaise,"
+the wounded man unexpectedly observed, showing how much his thoughts
+were still engrossed with the interests of his friend. "Nor do I see why
+you should again refuse a peerage. Those who remain in this world, may
+well yield to its usages and opinions, while they do not interfere with
+higher obligations."</p>
+
+<p>"I!"&mdash;exclaimed Sir Gervaise, gloomily. "The thought of so commemorating
+what has happened, would be worse than defeat to me! No&mdash;I ask no change
+of name to remind me constantly of my loss!"</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater looked grateful, rather than pleased; but he made no answer.
+Now, he fell into a light slumber, from which he did not awake until the
+time he had himself set for the marriage of Wycherly and Mildred. With
+one uncle dead and still unburied, and another about to quit the world
+for ever, a rite that is usually deemed as joyous as it is solemn, might
+seem unseasonable; but the dying man had made it a request that he might
+have the consolation of knowing ere he expired, that he left his niece
+under the legal protection of one as competent, as he was desirous of
+protecting her. The reader must imagine the arguments that were used for
+the occasion, but they were such as disposed all, in the end, to admit
+the propriety of yielding their ordinary prejudices to the exigencies of
+the moment. It may be well to add, also, to prevent useless cavilling,
+that the laws of England were not as rigid on the subject of the
+celebration of marriages in 1745, as they subsequently became; and that
+it was lawful then to perform the ceremony in a private house without a
+license, and without the publishing of banns, even; restrictions that
+were imposed a few years later. The penalty for dispensing with the
+publication of banns, was a fine of &pound;100, imposed on the clergyman; and
+this fine Bluewater chose to pay, rather than leave the only great
+object of life that now remained before him unaccomplished. This penalty
+in no degree impaired the validity of the contract, though Mrs. Dutton,
+as a woman, felt averse to parting with her beloved, without a rigid
+observance of all the customary forms. The point had finally been
+disposed of, by recourse to arguments addressed to the reason of this
+respectable woman, and by urging the necessity of the case. Her consent,
+however, was not given without a proviso, that a license should be
+subsequently procured, and a second marriage be had at a more fitting
+moment, should the ecclesiastical authorities consent to the same; a
+most improbable thing in itself.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rotherham availed himself of the statute inflicting the penalty, as
+an excuse for not officiating. His real motive, however, was understood,
+and the chaplain of the Plantagenet, a divine of character and piety,
+was substituted in his place. Bluewater had requested that as many of
+the captains of the fleet should be present as could be collected, and
+it was the assembling of these warriors of the deep, together with the
+arrival of the clergyman, that first gave notice of the approach of the
+appointed hour.</p>
+
+<p>It is not our intention to dwell on the details of a ceremony that had
+so much that was painful in its solemnities. Neither Wycherly nor
+Mildred made any change in their attire, and the lovely bride wept from
+the time the service began, to the moment when she left the arms of her
+uncle, to be received in those of her husband, and was supported from
+the room. All seemed sad, indeed, but Bluewater; to him the scene was
+exciting, but it brought great relief to his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"I am now ready to die, gentlemen," he said, as the door closed on the
+new-married couple. "My last worldly care is disposed of, and it were
+better for me to turn all my thoughts to another state of being. My
+niece, Lady Wychecombe, will inherit the little I have to leave; nor do
+I know that it is of much importance to substantiate her birth, as her
+uncle clearly bestowed what would have been her mother's property, on
+her aunt, the duchess. If my dying declaration can be of any use,
+however, you hear it, and can testify to it. Now, come and take leave of
+me, one by one, that I may bless you all, and thank you for much
+undeserved, and, I fear, unrequited love."</p>
+
+<p>The scene that followed was solemn and sad. One by one, the captains
+drew near the bed, and to each the dying man had something kind and
+affectionate to say. Even the most cold-hearted looked grave, and
+O'Neil, a man remarkable for a <i>gait&eacute; de c[oe]ur</i> that rendered the
+excitement of battle some of the pleasantest moments of his life,
+literally shed tears on the hand he kissed.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! my old friend," said the rear-admiral, as Parker, of the Carnatic,
+drew near in his customary meek and subdued manner, "you perceive it is
+not years alone that bring us to our graves! They tell me you have
+behaved as usual in these late affairs; I trust that, after a long life
+of patient and arduous services, you are about to receive a proper
+reward."</p>
+
+<p>"I will acknowledge, Admiral Bluewater," returned Parker, earnestly,
+"that it would be peculiarly grateful to receive some mark of the
+approbation of my sovereign; principally on account of my dear wife and
+children. We are not, like yourself, descended from a noble family; but
+must carve our rights to distinction, and they who have never known
+honours of this nature, prize them highly."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, my good Parker," interrupted the rear-admiral, "and they who have
+ever known them, know their emptiness; most especially as they approach
+that verge of existence whence the eye looks in a near and fearful
+glance, over the vast and unknown range of eternity."</p>
+
+<p>"No doubt, sir; nor am I so vain as to suppose that hairs which have got
+to be grey as mine, can last for ever. But, what I was about to say is,
+that precious as honours are to the humble, I would cheerfully yield
+every hope of the sort I have, to see you on the poop of the C&aelig;sar
+again, with Mr. Cornet at your elbow, leading the fleet, or following
+the motions of the vice-admiral."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, my good Parker; that can never be; nor can I say, now, that
+I wish it might. When we have cast off from the world, there is less
+pleasure in looking back, than in looking ahead. God bless you, Parker,
+and keep you, as you ever have been, an honest man."</p>
+
+<p>Stowel was the last to approach the bed, nor did he do it until all had
+left the room but Sir Gervaise and himself.</p>
+
+<p>The indomitable good-nature, and the professional nonchalance of
+Bluewater, by leaving every subordinate undisturbed in the enjoyment of
+his own personal caprices, had rendered the rear-admiral a greater
+favourite, in one sense at least, than the commander-in-chief. Stowel,
+by his near connection with Bluewater, had profited more by these
+peculiarities than any other officer under him, and the effect on his
+feelings had been in a very just proportion to the benefits. He could
+not refrain, it is true, from remembering the day when he himself had
+been a lieutenant in the ship in which the rear-admiral had been a
+midshipman, but he no longer recollected the circumstance with the
+bitterness that it sometimes drew after it. On the contrary, it was now
+brought to his mind merely as the most distant of the many land-marks in
+their long and joint services.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Stowel," observed Bluewater, smiling sadly, "even the old C&aelig;sar
+must be left behind. It is seldom a flag-captain has not some
+heart-burnings on account of his superior, and most sincerely do I beg
+you to forget and forgive any I may have occasioned yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Heaven help me, sir!&mdash;I was far, just then, from thinking of any such
+thing! I was fancying how little I should have thought it probable, when
+we were together in the Calypso, that I should ever be thus standing at
+<i>your</i> bed-side. Really, Admiral Bluewater, I would rejoice to share
+with you the remnant of life that is left me."</p>
+
+<p>"I do believe you would, Stowel; but that can never be. I have just
+performed my last act in this world, in giving my niece to Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir;&mdash;yes, sir&mdash;marriage is no doubt honourable, as I often tell
+Mrs. Stowel, and therefore not to be despised; and yet it <i>is</i> singular,
+that a gentleman who has lived a bachelor himself, should fancy to see a
+marriage ceremony performed, and that, too, at the cost of &pound;100, if any
+person choose to complain, just at the close of his own cruise! However,
+men are no more alike in such matters, than women in their domestic
+qualities; and I sincerely hope this young Sir Wycherly may find as much
+comfort, in the old house I understand he has a little inland here, as
+you and I have had together, sir, in the old C&aelig;sar. I suppose there'll
+be no co-equals in Wychecombe Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"I trust not, Stowel. But you must now receive my last orders, as to the
+C&aelig;sar&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"The commander-in-chief has his own flag flying aboard of us, sir!"
+interrupted the methodical captain, in a sort of admonitory way.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind that, Stowel;&mdash;I'll answer for his acquiescence. My body
+must be received on board, and carried round in the ship to Plymouth.
+Place it on the main-deck, where the people can see the coffin; I would
+pass my last hours above ground, in their midst."</p>
+
+<p>"It shall be done, sir&mdash;yes, sir, to the letter, Sir Gervaise not
+countermanding. And I'll write this evening to Mrs. Stowel to say she
+needn't come down, as usual, as soon as she hears the ship is in, but
+that she must wait until your flag is fairly struck."</p>
+
+<p>"I should be sorry, Stowel, to cause a moment's delay in the meeting of
+husband and wife!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't name it, Admiral Bluewater;&mdash;Mrs. Stowel will understand that
+it's duty; and when we married, I fully explained to her that duty, with
+a sailor, came before matrimony."</p>
+
+<p>A little pause succeeded, then Bluewater took a final and affectionate
+leave of his captain. Some twenty minutes elapsed in a profound silence,
+during which Sir Gervaise did not stir, fancying that his friend again
+dozed. But it was ordered that Bluewater was never to sleep again, until
+he took the final rest of the dead. It was the mind, which had always
+blazed above the duller lethargy of his body, that buoyed him thus up,
+giving an unnatural impulse to his physical powers; an impulse, however,
+that was but momentary, and which, by means of the reaction,
+contributed, in the end, to his more speedy dissolution. Perceiving, at
+length, that his friend did not sleep, Sir Gervaise drew near his bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Richard," he said, gently, "there is one without, who pines to be
+admitted. I have refused even his tears, under the impression that you
+felt disposed to sleep."</p>
+
+<p>"Never less so. My mind appears to become brighter and clearer, instead
+of fading; I think I shall never sleep, in the sense you mean. Whoever
+the person is, let him be admitted."</p>
+
+<p>Receiving this permission, Sir Gervaise opened the door, and Geoffrey
+Cleveland entered. At the same moment, Galleygo, who came and went at
+pleasure, thrust in his own ungainly form. The boy's face betrayed the
+nature and the extent of his grief. In his mind, Admiral Bluewater was
+associated with all the events of his own professional life; and, though
+the period had in truth been so short, in his brief existence, the vista
+through which he looked back, seemed quite as long as that which marked
+the friendship of the two admirals, themselves. Although he struggled
+manfully for self-control, feeling got the better of the lad, and he
+threw himself on his knees, at the side of his bed, sobbing as if his
+heart would break. Bluewater's eye glistened, and he laid a hand
+affectionately on the head of his young relative.</p>
+
+<p>"Gervaise, you will take charge of this boy, when I'm gone," he said;
+"receive him in your own ship. I leave him to you, as a very near and
+dear professional legacy. Cheer up&mdash;cheer up&mdash;my brave boy; look upon
+all this as a sailor's fortune. Our lives are the&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The word "king's," which should have succeeded, seemed to choke the
+speaker. Casting a glance of meaning at his friend, with a painful smile
+on his face, he continued silent.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! dear sir," answered the midshipman, ingenuously; "I knew that <i>we</i>
+might all be killed, but it never occurred to me that an admiral could
+lose his life in battle. I'm sure&mdash;I'm sure you are the very first that
+has met with this accident!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not by many, my poor Geoffrey. As there are but few admirals, few fall;
+but we are as much exposed as others."</p>
+
+<p>"If I had only run that Monsieur des Prez through the body, when we
+closed with him," returned the boy, grating his teeth, and looking all
+the vengeance for which, at the passing instant, he felt the desire; "it
+would have been <i>something</i>! I might have done it, too, for he was quite
+unguarded!"</p>
+
+<p>"It would have been a very bad <i>thing</i>, boy, to have injured a brave
+man, uselessly."</p>
+
+<p>"Of what use was it to shoot you, sir? We took their ship, just the same
+as if you had not been hurt."</p>
+
+<p>"I rather think, Geoffrey, their ship was virtually taken before I was
+wounded," returned Bluewater, smiling. "But I was shot by a French
+marine, who did no more than his duty."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," exclaimed the boy, impatiently; "and <i>he</i> escaped without a
+scratch. <i>He</i>, at least, ought to have been <i>massacred</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Thou art bloody-minded, child; I scarce know thee. <i>Massacred</i> is not a
+word for either a British nobleman or a British sailor. I saved the life
+of that marine; and, when you come to lie, like me, on your death-bed,
+Geoffrey, you will learn how sweet a consolation can be derived from the
+consciousness of such an act; we all need mercy, and none ought to
+expect it, for themselves, who do not yield it to others."</p>
+
+<p>The boy was rebuked, and his feelings took a better, though scarcely a
+more natural direction. Bluewater now spoke to him of his
+newly-discovered cousin, and had a melancholy satisfaction in creating
+an interest in behalf of Mildred, in the breast of the noble-hearted and
+ingenuous boy. The latter listened with respectful attention, as had
+been his wont, until, deceived by the tranquil and benevolent manner of
+Bluewater, he permitted himself to fall into the natural delusion of
+believing the wound of the rear-admiral less serious than he had
+supposed, and to begin to entertain hopes that the wounded man might yet
+survive. Calmed by these feelings, he soon ceased to weep; and,
+promising discretion, was permitted by Sir Gervaise to remain in the
+room, where he busied himself in the offices of a nurse.</p>
+
+<p>Another long pause succeeded this exciting little scene, during which
+Bluewater lay quietly communing with himself and his God. Sir Gervaise
+wrote orders, and read reports, though his eye was never off the
+countenance of his friend more than a minute or two at a time. At
+length, the rear-admiral aroused himself, again, and began to take an
+interest once more, in the persons and things around him.</p>
+
+<p>"Galleygo, my old fellow-cruiser," he said, "I leave Sir Gervaise more
+particularly in your care. As we advance in life, our friends decrease
+in numbers; it is only those that have been well tried that we can rely
+on."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Admiral Blue, I knows that, and so does Sir Jarvy. Yes, old
+shipmates afore young 'uns, any day, and old sailors, too, afore green
+hands. Sir Jarvy's Bowlderos are good plate-holders, and the likes of
+that; but when it comes to heavy weather, and a hard strain, I thinks
+but little on 'em, all put together."</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Oakes," said Bluewater, with a sudden interest in such a
+subject, that he never expected to feel again, "I have heard nothing of
+the first day's work, in which, through the little I have gleaned, by
+listening to those around me, I understand you took a two-decker,
+besides dismasting the French admiral?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me, Dick; you had better try and catch a little sleep; the
+subject of those two days' work is really painful to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, Sir Jarvy, if you has an avarsion to telling the story to
+Admiral Blue, I can do it, your honour," put in Galleygo, who gloried in
+giving a graphic description of a sea-fight. "I thinks, now, a history
+of that day will comfort a flag-hofficer as has been so badly wounded
+himself."</p>
+
+<p>Bluewater offering no opposition, Galleygo proceeded with his account of
+the evolutions of the ships, as we have already described them,
+succeeding surprisingly well in rendering the narrative interesting, and
+making himself perfectly intelligible and clear, by his thorough
+knowledge, and ready use, of the necessary nautical terms. When he came
+to the moment in which the English line separated, part passing to
+windward, and part to leeward of the two French ships, he related the
+incident in so clear and spirited a manner, that the commander-in-chief
+himself dropped his pen, and sat listening with pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>"Who could imagine, Dick," Sir Gervaise observed, "that those fellows in
+the tops watch us so closely, and could give so accurate an account of
+what passes!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Gervaise, and what is the vigilance of Galleygo to that of the
+All-seeing eye! It is a terrible thought, at an hour like this, to
+remember that nothing can be forgotten. I have somewhere read that not
+an oath is uttered that does not continue to vibrate through all time,
+in the wide-spreading currents of sound&mdash;not a prayer lisped, that its
+record is not also to be found stamped on the laws of nature, by the
+indelible seal of the Almighty's will!"</p>
+
+<p>There was little in common between the religious impressions of the two
+friends. They were both sailors, and though the word does not
+necessarily imply that they were sinners in an unusual degree, neither
+does it rigidly imply that they were saints. Each had received the usual
+elementary education, and then each had been turned adrift, as it might
+be on the ocean of life, to suffer the seed to take root, and the fruit
+to ripen as best they might. Few of those "who go down to the great deep
+in ships," and who escape the more brutalizing effects of lives so rude,
+are altogether without religious impressions. Living so much, as it
+were, in the immediate presence of the power of God, the sailor is much
+disposed to reverence his omnipotence, even while he transgresses his
+laws; but in nearly all those instances in which nature has implanted a
+temperament inclining to deep feeling, as was the case with Bluewater,
+not even the harsh examples, nor the loose or irresponsible lives of men
+thus separated from the customary ties of society, can wholly extinguish
+the reverence for God which is created by constantly dwelling in the
+presence of his earthly magnificence. This sentiment in Bluewater had
+not been altogether without fruits, for he both read and reflected much.
+Sometimes, though at isolated and distant intervals, he even prayed; and
+that fervently, and with a strong and full sense of his own demerits. As
+a consequence of this general disposition, and of the passing
+convictions, his mind was better attuned for the crisis before him, than
+would have been the case with most of his brethren in arms, who, when
+overtaken with the fate so common to the profession, are usually left to
+sustain their last moments with the lingering enthusiasm of strife and
+victory.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, Sir Gervaise was as simple as a child in matters of
+this sort. He had a reverence for his Creator, and such general notions
+of his goodness and love, as the well-disposed are apt to feel; but all
+the dogmas concerning the lost condition of the human race, the
+mediation, and the power of faith, floated in his mind as opinions not
+to be controverted, and yet as scarcely to be felt. In short, the
+commander-in-chief admitted the practical heresy, which overshadows the
+faith of millions, while he deemed himself to be a stout advocate of
+church and king. Still, Sir Gervaise Oakes, on occasions, was more than
+usually disposed to seriousness, and was even inclined to be devout; but
+it was without much regard to theories or revelation. At such moments,
+while his opinions would not properly admit him within the pale of any
+Christian church, in particular, his feelings might have identified him
+with all. In a word, we apprehend he was a tolerably fair example of
+what vague generalities, when acting on a temperament not indisposed to
+moral impressions, render the great majority of men; who flit around the
+mysteries of a future state, without alighting either on the
+consolations of faith, or discovering any of those logical conclusions
+which, half the time unconsciously to themselves, they seem to expect.
+When Bluewater made his last remark, therefore, the vice-admiral looked
+anxiously at his friend; and religion for the first time since the other
+received his hurt, mingled with his reflections. He had devoutly, though
+mentally, returned thanks to God for his victory, but it had never
+occurred to him that Bluewater might need some preparation for death.</p>
+
+<p>"Would you like to see the Plantagenet's chaplain, again, Dick?" he
+said, tenderly; "you are no <i>Papist</i>; of <i>that</i> I am certain."</p>
+
+<p>"In that you are quite right, Gervaise. I consider all churches&mdash;<i>the</i>
+one holy <i>Catholic</i> church, if you will, as but a means furnished by
+divine benevolence to aid weak men in their pilgrimage; but I also
+believe that there is even a shorter way to his forgiveness than through
+these common avenues. How far I am right," he added, smiling, "none will
+probably know better than myself, a few hours hence."</p>
+
+<p>"Friends <i>must</i> meet again, hereafter, Bluewater; it is irrational to
+suppose that they who have loved each other so well in this state of
+being, are to be for ever separated in the other."</p>
+
+<p>"We will hope so, Oakes," taking the vice-admiral's hand; "we will hope
+so. Still, there will be no ships for us&mdash;no cruises&mdash;no victories&mdash;no
+triumphs! It is only at moments like this, at which I have arrived, that
+we come to view these things in their proper light. Of all the past,
+your constant, unwavering friendship, gives me the most pleasure!"</p>
+
+<p>The vice-admiral could resist no longer. He turned aside and wept. This
+tribute to nature, in one so manly, was imposing even to the dying man,
+and Galleygo regarded it with awe. Familiar as the latter had become
+with his master, by use and indulgence, no living being, in his
+estimation, was as authoritative or as formidable as the
+commander-in-chief; and the effect of the present spectacle, was to
+induce him to hide his own face in self-abasement. Bluewater saw it all,
+but he neither spoke, nor gave any token of his observation. He merely
+prayed, and that right fervently, not only for his friend, but for his
+humble and uncouth follower.</p>
+
+<p>A reaction took place in the system of the wounded man, about nine
+o'clock that night. At this time he believed himself near his end, and
+he sent for Wycherly and his niece, to take his leave of them. Mrs.
+Dutton was also present, as was Magrath, who remained on shore, in
+attendance. Mildred lay for half an hour, bathing her uncle's pillow
+with her tears, until she was removed at the surgeon's suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>"Ye'll see, Sir Gervaise," he whispered&mdash;(or "Sir Jairvis," as he always
+pronounced the name,)&mdash;"ye'll see, Sir Jairvis, that it's a duty of the
+faculty to <i>prolong</i> life, even when there's no hope of <i>saving</i> it; and
+if ye'll be regairding the judgment of a professional man, Lady
+Wychecombe had better withdraw. It would really be a matter of honest
+exultation for us Plantagenets to get the rear-admiral through the
+night, seeing that the surgeon of the C&aelig;sar said he could no survive the
+setting sun."</p>
+
+<p>At the moment of final separation, Bluewater had little to say to his
+niece. Ho kissed and blessed her again and again, and then signed that
+she should be taken away. Mrs. Dutton, also, came in for a full share of
+his notice, he having desired her to remain after Wycherly and Mildred
+had quitted the room.</p>
+
+<p>"To your care and affection, excellent woman," he said, in a voice that
+had now sunk nearly to a whisper&mdash;"we owe it, that Mildred is not unfit
+for her station. Her recovery would have been even more painful than her
+loss, had she been restored to her proper family, uneducated, vulgar,
+and coarse."</p>
+
+<p>"That could hardly have happened to Mildred, sir, in any circumstances,"
+answered the weeping woman. "Nature has done too much for the dear
+child, to render her any thing but delicate and lovely, under any
+tolerable circumstances of depression."</p>
+
+<p>"She is better as she is, and God be thanked that he raised up such a
+protector for her childhood. You have been all in all to her in her
+infancy, and she will strive to repay it to your age."</p>
+
+<p>Of this Mrs. Dutton felt too confident to need assurances; and receiving
+the dying man's blessing, she knelt at his bed-side, prayed fervently
+for a few minutes, and withdrew. After this, nothing out of the ordinary
+track occurred until past midnight, and Magrath, more than once,
+whispered his joyful anticipations that the rear-admiral would survive
+until morning. An hour before day, however, the wounded man revived, in
+a way that the surgeon distrusted. He knew that no physical change of
+this sort could well happen that did not arise from the momentary
+ascendency of mind over matter, as the spirit is on the point of finally
+abandoning its earthly tenement; a circumstance of no unusual occurrence
+in patients of strong and active intellectual properties, whose
+faculties often brighten for an instant, in their last moments, as the
+lamp flashes and glares as it is about to become extinct. Going to the
+bed, he examined his patient attentively, and was satisfied that the
+final moment was near.</p>
+
+<p>"You're a man and a soldier, Sir Jairvis," he said, in a low voice, "and
+it'll no be doing good to attempt misleading your judgment in a case of
+this sort. Our respectable friend, the rear-admiral, is <i>articulo
+mortis</i>, as one might almost say; he cannot possibly survive half an
+hour."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise started. He looked around him a little wistfully; for, at
+that moment, he would have given much to be alone with his dying friend.
+But he hesitated to make a request, which, it struck him, might seem
+improper. From this embarrassment, however, he was relieved by
+Bluewater, himself, who had the same desire, without the same scruples
+about confessing it. <i>He</i> drew the surgeon to his side, and whispered a
+wish to be left alone with the commander-in-chief.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there will be no trespass on the rules of practice in indulging
+the poor man in his desire," muttered Magrath, as he looked about him to
+gather the last of his professional instruments, like the workman who is
+about to quit one place of toil to repair to another; "and I'll just be
+indulging him."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he pushed Galleygo and Geoffrey from the room before him,
+left it himself, and closed the door.</p>
+
+<p>Finding himself alone, Sir Gervaise knelt at the side of the bed and
+prayed, holding the hand of his friend in both his own. The example of
+Mrs. Dutton, and the yearnings of his own heart, exacted this sacrifice;
+when it was over he felt a great relief from sensations that nearly
+choked him.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you forgive me, Gervaise?" whispered Bluewater.</p>
+
+<p>"Name it not&mdash;name it not, my best friend. We all have our moments of
+weakness, and our need of pardon. May God forget all <i>my</i> sins, as
+freely as I forget your errors!"</p>
+
+<p>"God bless you, Oakes, and keep you the same simple-minded, true-hearted
+man, you have ever been."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise buried his face in the bed-clothes, and groaned.</p>
+
+<p>"Kiss me, Oakes," murmured the rear-admiral.</p>
+
+<p>In order to do this, the commander-in-chief rose from his knees and bent
+over the body of his friend. As he raised himself from the cheek he had
+saluted, a benignant smile gleamed on the face of the dying man, and he
+ceased to breathe. Near half a minute followed, however, before the last
+and most significant breath that is ever drawn from man, was given. The
+remainder of that night Sir Gervaise Oakes passed in the chamber alone,
+pacing the floor, recalling the many scenes of pleasure, danger, pain,
+and triumph, through which he and the dead had passed in company. With
+the return of light, he summoned the attendants, and retired to his
+tent.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI"></a>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"And they came for the buried king that lay<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">At rest in that ancient fane;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For he must be armed on the battle day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With them to deliver Spain!&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then the march went sounding on,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the Moors by noontide sun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Were dust on Tolosa's plain."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Hemans.</span><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p>It remains only to give a rapid sketch of the fortunes of our principal
+characters, and of the few incidents that are more immediately connected
+with what has gone before. The death of Bluewater was announced to the
+fleet, at sunrise, by hauling down his flag from the mizzen of the
+C&aelig;sar. The vice-admiral's flag came down with it, and re-appeared at the
+next minute at the fore of the Plantagenet. But the little white emblem
+of rank never went aloft again in honour of the deceased. At noon, it
+was spread over his coffin, on the main-deck of the ship, agreeably to
+his own request; and more than once that day, did some rough old tar use
+it, to wipe the tear from his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon of the day after the death of one of our heroes, the
+wind came round to the westward, and all the vessels lifted their
+anchors, and proceeded to Plymouth. The crippled ships, by this time,
+were in a state to carry more or less sail, and a stranger who had seen
+the melancholy-looking line, as it rounded the Start, would have fancied
+it a beaten fleet on its return to port. The only signs of exultation
+that appeared, were the jacks that were flying over the white flags of
+the prizes; and even when all had anchored, the same air of sadness
+reigned among these victorious mariners. The body was landed, with the
+usual forms; but the procession of warriors of the deep that followed
+it, was distinguished by a gravity that exceeded the ordinary aspects of
+mere form. Many of the captains, and Greenly in particular, had viewed
+the man[oe]uvring of Bluewater with surprise, and the latter not
+altogether without displeasure; but his subsequent conduct completely
+erased these impressions, leaving no other recollection connected with
+his conduct that morning than the brilliant courage, and admirable
+handling of his vessels, by which the fortunes of a nearly desperate day
+were retrieved. Those who did reflect any longer on the subject,
+attributed the singularity of the course pursued by the rear-admiral, to
+some private orders communicated in the telegraphic signal, as already
+mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>It is unnecessary for us to dwell on the particular movements of the
+fleet, after it reached Plymouth. The ships were repaired, the prizes
+received into the service, and, in due time, all took the sea again,
+ready and anxious to encounter their country's enemies. They ran the
+careers usual to English heavy cruisers in that age; and as ships form
+characters in this work, perhaps it may not be amiss to take a general
+glance at their several fortunes, together with those of their
+respective commanders. Sir Gervaise fairly wore out the Plantagenet,
+which vessel was broken up three years later, though not until she had
+carried a blue flag at her main, more than two years. Greenly lived to
+be a rear-admiral of the red, and died of yellow-fever in the Island of
+Barbadoes. The C&aelig;sar, with Stowel still in command of her, foundered at
+sea in a winter's cruise in the Baltic, every soul perishing. This
+calamity occurred the winter succeeding the summer of our legend, and
+the only relieving circumstance connected with the disaster, was the
+fact that her commander got rid of Mrs. Stowel altogether, from that day
+forward. The Thunderer had her share in many a subsequent battle, and
+Foley, her captain, died rear-admiral of England, and a vice-admiral of
+the red, thirty years later. The Carnatic was commanded by Parker, until
+the latter got a right to hoist a blue flag at the mizzen; which was
+done for just one day, to comply with form, when both ship and admiral
+were laid aside, as too old for further use. It should be added,
+however, that Parker was knighted by the king on board his own ship; a
+circumstance that cast a halo of sunshine over the close of the life of
+one, who had commenced his career so humbly, as to render this happy
+close more than equal to his expectations. In direct opposition to this,
+it may be said here, that Sir Gervaise refused, for the third time, to
+be made Viscount Bowldero, with a feeling just the reverse of that of
+Parker's; for, secure of his social position, and careless of politics,
+he viewed the elevation with an indifference that was a natural
+consequence enough of his own birth, fortune, and high character. On
+this occasion,&mdash;it was after another victory,&mdash;George II. personally
+alluded to the subject, remarking that the success we have recorded had
+never met with its reward; when the old seaman let out the true secret
+of his pertinaciously declining an honour, about which he might
+otherwise have been supposed to be as indifferent to the acceptance, as
+to the refusal. "Sir," he answered to the remark of the king, "I am duly
+sensible of your majesty's favour; but, I can never consent to receive a
+patent of nobility that, in my eyes, will always seem to be sealed with
+the blood of my closest and best friend." This reply was remembered, and
+the subject was never adverted to again.</p>
+
+<p>The fate of the Blenheim was one of those impressive blanks that dot the
+pages of nautical history. She sailed for the Mediterranean alone, and
+after she had discharged her pilot, was never heard of again. This did
+not occur, however, until Captain Sterling had been killed on her decks,
+in one of Sir Gervaise's subsequent actions. The Achilles was suffered
+to drift in, too near to some heavy French batteries, before the treaty
+of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed; and, after every stick had been again cut
+out of her, she was compelled to lower her flag. His earldom and his
+courage, saved Lord Morganic from censure; but, being permitted to go up
+to Paris, previously to his exchange, he contracted a matrimonial
+engagement with a celebrated <i>danseuse</i>, a craft that gave him so much
+future employment, that he virtually abandoned his profession.
+Nevertheless, his name was on the list of vice-admirals of the blue,
+when he departed this life. The Warspite and Captain Goodfellow both
+died natural deaths; one as a receiving-ship, and the other as a
+rear-admiral of the white. The Dover, Captain Drinkwater, was lost in
+attempting to weather Scilly in a gale, when her commander, and quite
+half her crew, were drowned. The York did many a hard day's duty, before
+her time arrived; but, in the end, she was so much injured in a general
+action as to be abandoned and set fire to, at sea. Her commander was
+lost overboard, in the very first cruise she took, after that related in
+this work. The Elizabeth rotted as a guard-ship, in the Medway; and
+Captain Blakely retired from the service with one arm, a yellow admiral.
+The Dublin laid her bones in the cove of Cork, having been condemned
+after a severe winter passed on the north coast. Captain O'Neil was
+killed in a duel with a French officer, after the peace; the latter
+having stated that his ship had run away from two frigates commanded by
+the <i>Chevalier</i>. The Chloe was taken by an enemy's fleet, in the next
+war; but Captain Denham worked his way up to a white flag at the main,
+and a peerage. The Druid was wrecked that very summer, chasing inshore,
+near Bordeaux; and Blewet, in a professional point of view, never
+regained the ground he lost, on this occasion. As for the sloops and
+cutters, they went the way of all small cruisers, while their nameless
+commanders shared the usual fates of mariners.</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly remained at Wychecombe until the interment of his uncle took
+place; at which, aided by Sir Reginald's influence and knowledge, and,
+in spite of Tom's intrigues, he appeared as chief mourner. The affair of
+the succession was also so managed as to give him very little trouble.
+Tom, discovering that his own illegitimacy was known, and seeing the
+hopelessness of a contest against such an antagonist as Sir Reginald,
+who knew quite as much of the facts as he did of the law of the case,
+was fain to retire from the field. From that moment, no one heard any
+thing more of the legacies. In the end he received the &pound;20,000 in the
+five per cents, and the few chattels Sir Wycherly had a right to give
+away; but his enjoyment of them was short, as he contracted a severe
+cold that very autumn, and died of a malignant fever, in a few weeks.
+Leaving no will, his property escheated; but it was all restored to his
+two uterine brothers, by the liberality of the ministry, and out of
+respect to the long services of the baron, which two brothers, it will
+he remembered, alone had any of the blood of Wychecombe in their veins
+to boast of. This was disposing of the savings of both the baronet and
+the judge, with a very suitable regard to moral justice.</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly also appeared, though it was in company with Sir Gervaise
+Oakes, as one of the principal mourners at the funeral obsequies of
+Admiral Bluewater. These were of a public character, and took place in
+Westminster Abbey. The carriages of that portion of the royal personages
+who were not restrained by the laws of court-etiquette, appeared in the
+procession; and several members of that very family that the deceased
+regarded as intruders, were present incog. at his last rites. This,
+however, was but one of the many illusions that the great masquerade of
+life is constantly offering to the public gaze.</p>
+
+<p>There was little difficulty in establishing the claims of Mildred, to be
+considered the daughter of Colonel Bluewater and Agnes Hedworth. Lord
+Bluewater was soon satisfied; and, as he was quite indifferent to the
+possession of his kinsman's money, an acquisition he neither wished nor
+expected, the most perfect good-will existed between the parties. There
+was more difficulty with the Duchess of Glamorgan, who had acquired too
+many of the notions of very high rank, to look with complacency on a
+niece that had been educated as the daughter of a sailing-master in the
+navy. She raised many objections, while she admitted that she had been
+the confidant of her sister's attachment to John Bluewater. Her second
+son, Geoffrey, did more to remove her scruples than all the rest united;
+and when Sir Gervaise Oakes, in person, condescended to make a journey
+to the Park, to persuade her to examine the proofs, she could not well
+decline. As soon as one of her really candid mind entered into the
+inquiry, the evidence was found to be irresistible, and she at once
+yielded to the feelings of nature. Wycherly had been indefatigable in
+establishing his wife's claims&mdash;more so, indeed, than in establishing
+his own; and, at the suggestion of the vice-admiral&mdash;or, admiral of the
+white, as he had become by a recent general promotion&mdash;he consented to
+accompany the latter in this visit, waiting at the nearest town,
+however, for a summons to the Park, as soon as it could be ascertained
+that his presence would be agreeable to its mistress.</p>
+
+<p>"If my niece prove but half as acceptable in appearance, as my <i>nephew</i>,
+Sir Gervaise," observed the duchess, when the young Virginian was
+introduced to her, and laying stress on the word we have
+italicised&mdash;"nothing can be wanting to the agreeables of this new
+connection. I am impatient, now, to see my niece; Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe has prepared me to expect a young woman of more than common
+merit."</p>
+
+<p>"My life on it, duchess, he has not raised your expectations too high.
+The poor girl is still dwelling in her cottage, the companion of her
+reputed mother; but it is time, Wychecombe, that you had claimed your
+bride."</p>
+
+<p>"I expect to find her and Mrs. Dutton at the Hall, on my return, Sir
+Gervaise; it having been thus arranged between us. The sad ceremonies
+through which we have lately been, were unsuited to the introduction of
+the new mistress to her abode, and the last had been deferred to a more
+fitting occasion."</p>
+
+<p>"Let the first visit that Lady Wychecombe pays, be to this place," said
+the duchess. "I do not command it, Sir Wycherly, as one who has some
+slight claims to her duty; but I solicit it, as one who wishes to
+possess every hold upon her love. Her mother was an <i>only</i> sister; and
+an <i>only</i> sister's child must be very near to one."</p>
+
+<p>It would have been impossible for the Duchess of Glamorgan to have said
+as much as this before she saw the young Virginian; but, now he had
+turned out a person so very different from what she expected, she had
+lively hopes in behalf of her niece.</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly returned to Wychecombe, after this short visit to Mildred's
+aunt, and found his lovely bride in quiet possession, accompanied by her
+mother. Dutton still remained at the station, for he had the sagacity to
+see that he might not be welcome, and modesty enough to act with a
+cautious reserve. But Wycherly respected his excellent wife too
+profoundly not to have a due regard to her feelings, in all things; and
+the master was invited to join the party. Brutality and meanness united,
+like those which belonged to the character of Dutton, are not easily
+abashed, and he accepted the invitation, in the hope that, after all, he
+was to reap as many advantages by the marriage of Mildred with the
+affluent baronet, as if she had actually been his daughter.</p>
+
+<p>After passing a few weeks in sober happiness at home, Wycherly felt it
+due to all parties, to carry his wife to the Park, in order that she
+might make the acquaintance of the near relatives who dwelt there. Mrs.
+Dutton, by invitation, was of the party; but Dutton was left behind,
+having no necessary connection with the scenes and the feelings that
+were likely to occur. It would be painting the duchess too much <i>en
+beau</i>, were we to say that she met Mildred without certain misgivings
+and fears. But the first glimpse of her lovely niece completely put
+natural feelings in the ascendency. The resemblance to her sister was so
+strong as to cause a piercing cry to escape her, and, bursting into
+tears, she folded the trembling young woman to her heart, with a fervour
+and sincerity that set at naught all conventional manners. This was the
+commencement of a close intimacy; which lasted but a short time,
+however, the duchess dying two years later.</p>
+
+<p>Wycherly continued in the service until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle,
+when he finally quitted the sea. His strong native attachments led him
+back to Virginia, where all his own nearest relatives belonged, and
+where his whole heart might be said to be, when he saw Mildred and his
+children at his side. With him, early associations and habits had more
+strength, than traditions and memorials of the past. He erected a
+spacious dwelling on the estate inherited from his father, where he
+passed most of his time; consigning Wychecombe to the care of a careful
+steward. With the additions and improvements that he was now enabled to
+make, his Virginian estate produced even a larger income than his
+English, and his interests really pointed to the choice he had made. But
+no pecuniary considerations lay at the bottom of his selection. He
+really preferred the graceful and courteous ease of the intercourse
+which characterized the manners of James' river. In that age, they were
+equally removed from the coarse and boisterous jollity of the English
+country-squire, and the heartless conventionalities of high life. In
+addition to this, his sensitive feelings rightly enough detected that he
+was regarded in the mother-country as a sort of intruder. He was spoken
+of, alluded to in the journals, and viewed even by his tenants as the
+<i>American</i> landlord; and he never felt truly at home in the country for
+which he had fought and bled. In England, his rank as a baronet was not
+sufficient to look down these little peculiarities; whereas, in
+Virginia, it gave him a certain <i>&eacute;clat</i>, that was grateful to one of the
+main weaknesses of human nature. "At home," as the mother-country was
+then affectionately termed, he had no hope of becoming a privy
+councillor; while, in his native colony, his rank and fortune, almost as
+a matter of course, placed him in the council of the governor. In a
+word, while Wycherly found most of those worldly considerations which
+influence men in the choice of their places of residence, in favour of
+the region in which he happened to be born, his election was made more
+from feeling and taste than from any thing else. His mind had taken an
+early bias in favour of the usages and opinions of the people among whom
+he had received his first impressions, and this bias he retained to the
+hour of his death.</p>
+
+<p>Like a true woman, Mildred found her happiness with her husband and
+children. Of the latter she had but three; a boy and two girls. The care
+of the last was early committed to Mrs. Dutton. This excellent woman had
+remained at Wychecombe with her husband, until death put an end to his
+vices, though the close of his career was exempt from those scenes of
+brutal dictation and interference that had rendered the earlier part of
+her life so miserable. Apprehension of what might be the consequences to
+himself, acted as a check, and he had sagacity enough to see that the
+physical comforts he now possessed were all owing to the influence of
+his wife. He lived but four years, however. On his death, his widow
+immediately took her departure for America.</p>
+
+<p>It would be substituting pure images of the fancy for a picture of sober
+realities, were we to say that Lady Wychecombe and her adopted mother
+never regretted the land of <i>their</i> birth. This negation of feeling,
+habits, and prejudices, is not to be expected even in an Esquimaux. They
+both had occasional strictures to make on the <i>climate</i>, (and this to
+Wycherly's great surprise, for <i>he</i> conscientiously believed that of
+England to be just the worst in the world,) on the fruits, the servants,
+the roads, and the difficulty of procuring various little comforts. But,
+as this was said good-naturedly and in pleasantry, rather than in the
+way of complaint, it led to no unpleasant scenes or feelings. As all
+three made occasional voyages to England, where his estates, and more
+particularly settlements with his factor, compelled the baronet to go
+once in about a lustrum, the fruits and the climate were finally given
+up by the ladies. After many years, even the slip-shod, careless, but
+hearty attendance of the negroes, came to be preferred to the dogged
+mannerism of the English domestics, perfect as were the latter in their
+parts; and the whole subject got to be one of amusement, instead of one
+of complaint. There is no greater mistake than to suppose that the
+traveller who passes <i>once</i> through a country, with his home-bred, and
+quite likely <i>provincial</i> notions thick upon him, is competent to
+describe, with due discrimination, even the usages of which he is
+actually a witness. This truth all the family came, in time, to
+discover; and while it rendered them more strictly critical in their
+remarks, it also rendered them more tolerant. As it was, few happier
+families were to be found in the British empire, than that of Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe; its head retaining his manly and protecting
+affection for all dependent on him, while his wife, beautiful as a
+matron, as she had been lovely as a girl, clung to him with the tenacity
+of the vine to its own oak.</p>
+
+<p>Of the result of the rising in the north, it is unnecessary to say much.
+The history of the <i>Chevalier's</i> successes in the first year, and of his
+final overthrow at Culloden, is well known. Sir Reginald Wychecombe,
+like hundreds of others, played his cards so skilfully that he avoided
+committing himself; and, although he lived and eventually died a
+suspected man, he escaped forfeitures and attainder. With Sir Wycherly,
+as the head of his house, he maintained a friendly correspondence to the
+last, even taking charge of the paternal estate in its owner's absence;
+manifesting to the hour of his death, a scrupulous probity in matters of
+money, mingled with an inherent love of management and intrigue, in
+things that related to politics and the succession. Sir Reginald lived
+long enough to see the hopes of the Jacobites completely extinguished,
+and the throne filled by a native Englishman.</p>
+
+<p>Many long years after the events which rendered the week of its opening
+incidents so memorable among its actors, must now be imagined. Time had
+advanced with its usual unfaltering tread, and the greater part of a
+generation had been gathered to their fathers. George III. had been on
+the throne not less than three lustrums, and most of the important
+actors of the period of '45, were dead;&mdash;many of them, in a degree,
+forgotten. But each age has its own events and its own changes. Those
+colonies, which in 1745 were so loyal, so devoted to the house of
+Hanover, in the belief that political and religious liberty depended on
+the issue, had revolted against the supremacy of the parliament of the
+empire. America was already in arms against the mother country, and the
+very day before the occurrence of the little scene we are about to
+relate, the intelligence of the battle of Bunker Hill had reached
+London. Although the gazette and national pride had, in a degree,
+lessened the characteristics of this most remarkable of all similar
+combats, by exaggerating the numbers of the colonists engaged, and
+lessening the loss of the royal troops, the impression produced by the
+news is said to have been greater than any known to that age. It had
+been the prevalent opinion of England&mdash;an opinion that was then general
+in Europe, and which descended even to our own times&mdash;that the animals
+of the new continent, man included, had less courage and physical force,
+than those of the old; and astonishment, mingled with the forebodings of
+the intelligent, when it was found that a body of ill-armed countrymen
+had dared to meet, in a singularly bloody combat, twice their number of
+regular troops, and that, too, under the guns of the king's shipping and
+batteries. Rumours, for the moment, were rife in London, and the
+political world was filled with gloomy anticipations of the future.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the day alluded to, Westminster Abbey, as usual, was
+open to the inspection of the curious and interested. Several parties
+were scattered among its aisles and chapels, some reading the
+inscriptions on the simple tablets of the dead which illustrate a
+nation, in illustrating themselves; others listening to the names of
+princes who derived their consequence from their thrones and alliances;
+and still other sets, who were wandering among the more elaborate
+memorials that have been raised equally to illustrate insignificance,
+and to mark the final resting-places of more modern heroes and
+statesmen. The beauty of the weather had brought out more visiters than
+common, and not less than half-a-dozen equipages were in waiting, in and
+about Palace Yard. Among others, one had a ducal coronet. This carriage
+did not fail to attract the attention that is more than usually bestowed
+on rank, in England. All were empty, however, and more than one party of
+pedestrians entered the venerable edifice, rejoicing that the view of a
+duke or a duchess, was to be thrown in, among the other sights,
+gratuitously. All who passed on foot, however, were not influenced by
+this vulgar feeling; for, one group went by, that did not even cast a
+glance at the collection of carriages; the seniors of the party being
+too much accustomed to such things to lend them a thought, and the
+juniors too full of anticipations of what they were about to see, to
+think of other matters. This party consisted of a handsome man of
+fifty-odd, a lady some three or four years his junior well preserved and
+still exceedingly attractive; a young man of twenty-six, and two lovely
+girls, that looked like twins; though one was really twenty-one, and the
+other but nineteen. These were Sir Wycherly and Lady Wychecombe,
+Wycherly their only son, then just returned from a five years'
+peregrination on the continent of Europe, and Mildred and Agnes, their
+daughters. The rest of the family had arrived in England about a
+fortnight before, to greet the heir on his return from the <i>grand tour</i>,
+as it was then termed. The meeting had been one of love, though Lady
+Wychecombe had to reprove a few innocent foreign affectations, as she
+fancied them to be, in her son; and the baronet, himself, laughed at the
+scraps of French, Italian, and German, that quite naturally mingled in
+the young man's discourse. All this, however, cast no cloud over the
+party, for it had ever been a family of entire confidence and unbroken
+love.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a most solemn place to me," observed Sir Wycherly, as they
+entered at the Poets' corner, "and one in which a common man unavoidably
+feels his own insignificance. But, we will first make our pilgrimage,
+and look at these remarkable inscriptions as we come out. The tomb we
+seek is in a chapel on the other side of the church, near to the great
+doors. When I last saw it, it was quite alone."</p>
+
+<p>On hearing this, the whole party moved on; though the two lovely young
+Virginians cast wistful and curious eyes behind them, at the wonders by
+which they were surrounded.</p>
+
+<p>"Is not this an extraordinary edifice, Wycherly?" half whispered Agnes,
+the youngest of the sisters, as she clung to one arm of her brother,
+Mildred occupying the other. "Can the whole world furnish such another?"</p>
+
+<p>"So much for hominy and James' river!" answered the young man,
+laughing&mdash;"now could you but see the pile at Rouen, or that at Rheims,
+or that at Antwerp, or even that at York, in this good kingdom, old
+Westminster would have to fall back upon its little tablets and big
+names. But Sir Wycherly stops; he must see what he calls his land-fall."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Wycherly had indeed stopped. It was in consequence of having reached
+the head of the <i>ch[oe]ur</i>, whence he could see the interior of the
+recess, or chapel, towards which he had been moving. It still contained
+but a single monument, and that was adorned with an anchor and other
+nautical emblems. Even at that distance, the words "<span class="smcap">Richard
+Bluewater, Rear-Admiral of the White</span>," might be read. But the
+baronet had come to a sudden halt, in consequence of seeing a party of
+three enter the chapel, in which he wished to be alone with his own
+family. The party consisted of an old man, who walked with tottering
+steps, and this so much the more from the circumstance that he leaned on
+a domestic nearly as old as himself, though of a somewhat sturdier
+frame, and of a tall imposing-looking person of middle age, who followed
+the two with patient steps. Several attendants of the cathedral watched
+this party from a distance with an air of curiosity and respect; but
+they had been requested not to accompany it to the chapel.</p>
+
+<p>"They must be some old brother-officers of my poor uncle's, visiting his
+tomb!" whispered Lady Wychecombe. "The very venerable gentleman has
+naval emblems about his attire."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Do</i> you&mdash;<i>can</i> you forget him, love? 'Tis Sir Gervaise Oakes, the
+pride of England! yet how changed! It is now five-and-twenty years since
+we last met; still I knew him at a glance. The servant is old Galleygo,
+his steward; but the gentleman with him is a stranger. Let us advance;
+<i>we</i> cannot be intruders in such a place."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gervaise paid no attention to the entrance of the Wychecombes. It
+was evident, by the vacant look of his countenance, that time and hard
+service had impaired his faculties, though his body remained entire; an
+unusual thing for one who had been so often engaged. Still there were
+glimmerings of lively recollections, and even of strong sensibilities
+about his eyes, as sudden fancies crossed his mind. Once a year, the
+anniversary of his friend's interment, he visited that chapel; and he
+had now been brought here as much from habit, as by his own desire. A
+chair was provided for him, and he sat facing the tomb, with the large
+letters before his eyes. He regarded neither, though he bowed
+courteously to the salute of the strangers. His companion at first
+seemed a little surprised, if not offended at the intrusion; but when
+Wycherly mentioned that they were relatives of the deceased, he also
+bowed complacently, and made way for the ladies.</p>
+
+<p>"This it is as what you wants to see, Sir Jarvy," observed Galleygo,
+jogging his master's shoulder by way of jogging his memory. "Them 'ere
+cables and hanchors, and that 'ere mizzen-mast, with a rear-admiral's
+flag a-flying, is rigged in this old church, in honour of our friend
+Admiral Blue, as was; but as is now dead and gone this many a long
+year."</p>
+
+<p>"Admiral of the Blue," repeated Sir Gervaise coldly. "You're mistaken,
+Galleygo, I'm an admiral of the white, and admiral of the fleet in the
+bargain. I know my own rank, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I knows that as well as you does yourself, Sir Jarvy," answered
+Galleygo, whose grammar had rather become confirmed than improved, by
+time, "or as well as the First Lord himself. But Admiral Blue was once
+your best friend, and I doesn't at all admire at your forgetting
+him&mdash;one of these long nights you'll be forgetting <i>me</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, Galleygo; I rather think not. I remember <i>you</i>, when
+a very young man."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, and so you mought remember Admiral Blue, if you'd just try. I
+know'd ye both when young luffs, myself."</p>
+
+<p>"This is a painful scene," observed the stranger to Sir Wycherly, with a
+melancholy smile. "This gentleman is now at the tomb of his dearest
+friend; and yet, as you see, he appears to have lost all recollection
+that such a person ever existed. For what do we live, if a few brief
+years are to render our memories such vacant spots!"</p>
+
+<p>"Has he been long in this way?" asked Lady Wychecombe, with interest.</p>
+
+<p>The stranger started at the sound of her voice. He looked intently into
+the face of the still fair speaker, before he answered; then he bowed,
+and replied&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"He has been failing these five years, though his last visit here was
+much less painful than this. But are our own memories perfect?&mdash;Surely,
+I have seen that face before!&mdash;These young ladies, too&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Geoffrey&mdash;<i>dear</i> cousin Geoffrey!" exclaimed Lady Wychecombe, holding
+out both her hands. "It is&mdash;it must be the Duke of Glamorgan, Wycherly!"</p>
+
+<p>No further explanations were needed. All the parties recognised each
+other in an instant. They had not met for many&mdash;many years, and each had
+passed the period of life when the greatest change occurs in the
+physical appearance; but, now that the ice was broken, a flood of
+recollections poured in. The duke, or Geoffrey Cleveland, as we prefer
+to call him, kissed his cousin and her daughters with frank affection,
+for no change of condition had altered his simple sea-habits, and he
+shook hands with the gentlemen, with a cordiality like that of old
+times. All this, however, was unheeded by Sir Gervaise, who sat looking
+at the monument, in a dull apathy.</p>
+
+<p>"Galleygo," he said; but Galleygo had placed himself before Sir
+Wycherly, and thrust out a hand that looked like a bunch of knuckles.</p>
+
+<p>"I knows ye!" exclaimed the steward, with a grin. "I know'd ye in the
+offing yonder, but I couldn't make out your number. Lord, sir, if this
+doesn't brighten Sir Jarvy up, again, and put him in mind of old times,
+I shall begin to think we have run out cable to the better end."</p>
+
+<p>"I will speak to him, duke, if you think it advisable?" said Sir
+Wycherly, in an inquiring manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Galleygo," put in Sir Gervaise, "what lubber fitted that cable?&mdash;he has
+turned in the clench the wrong way."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay&mdash;ay, sir, they <i>is</i> great lubbers, them stone-cutters, Sir Jarvy;
+and they knows about as much of ships, as ships knows of them. But here
+is <i>young</i> Sir Wycherly Wychecombe come to see you&mdash;the <i>old</i> 'un's
+nevy."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly, you are a very welcome guest. Bowldero is a poor place
+for a gentleman of your merit; but such as it is, it is entirely at your
+service. What did you say the gentleman's name was, Galleygo?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, the <i>young</i> 'un&mdash;the <i>old</i> 'un slipped the
+night as we moored in his house."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope, Sir Gervaise, I have not entirely passed from your
+recollection; it would grieve me sadly to think so. And my poor uncle,
+too; he who died of apoplexy in your presence!"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Nullus, nulla, nullum.</i> That's good Latin, hey! Duke? <i>Nullius,
+nullius, nullius.</i> My memory <i>is</i> excellent, gentlemen; nominative,
+<i>penna</i>; genitive, <i>penn&aelig;</i>, and so on."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Sir Jarvy, since you're veering out your Latin, <i>I</i> should likes
+to know if you can tell a 'clove-hitch' from a 'carrick-bend?'"</p>
+
+<p>"That is an extraordinary question, Galleygo, to put to an old seaman!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, if you remembers <i>that</i>, why can't you just as reasonably
+remember your old friend, Admiral Blue?"</p>
+
+<p>"Admiral of the blue! I do recollect <i>many</i> admirals of the blue. They
+ought to make me an admiral of the blue, duke; I've been a rear-admiral
+long enough."</p>
+
+<p>"You've <i>been</i> an admiral of the blue <i>once</i>; and that's enough for any
+man," interrupted Galleygo, again in his positive manner; "and it isn't
+five minutes since you know'd your own rank as well as the Secretary to
+the Admiralty himself. He veers and hauls, in this fashion, on an idee,
+gentlemen, until he doesn't know one end of it from t'other."</p>
+
+<p>"This is not uncommon with men of great age," observed the duke. "They
+sometimes remember the things of their youth, while the whole of later
+life is a blank. I have remarked this with our venerable friend, in
+whose mind I think it will not be difficult, however, to revive the
+recollection of Admiral Bluewater, and even of yourself, Sir Wycherly.
+Let <i>me</i> make the effort, Galleygo."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Lord Geoffrey," for so the steward always called the quondam
+reefer, "you does handle him more like a quick-working boat, than any on
+us; and so I'll take an hopportunity of just overhauling our old
+lieutenant's young 'uns, and of seeing what sort of craft he has set
+afloat for the next generation."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Gervaise," said the Duke, leaning over the chair, "here is Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe, who once served a short time with us as a
+lieutenant; it was when you were in the Plantagenet. You remember the
+Plantagenet, I trust, my dear sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Plantagenets? Certainly, duke; I read all about them when a boy.
+Edwards, and Henrys, and <i>Richards</i>&mdash;" at the last name he stopped; the
+muscles of his face twitched; memory had touched a sensitive chord. But
+it was too faintly, to produce more than a pause.</p>
+
+<p>"There, now," growled Galleygo, in Agnes' face, he being just then
+employed in surveying her through a pair of silver spectacles that were
+a present from his master, "you see, he has forgotten the old Planter;
+and the next thing, he'll forget to eat his dinner. It's <i>wicked</i>, Sir
+Jarvy, to forget <i>such</i> a ship."</p>
+
+<p>"I trust, at least, you have not forgotten Richard Bluewater?" continued
+the Duke, "he who fell in our last action with the Comte de Vervillin?"</p>
+
+<p>A gleam of intelligence shot into the rigid and wrinkled face; the eye
+lighted, and a painful smile struggled around the lips.</p>
+
+<p>"What, <i>Dick</i>!" he exclaimed, in a voice stronger than that in which he
+had previously spoken. "<i>Dick!</i> hey! duke? <i>good, excellent Dick?</i> We
+were midshipmen together, my lord duke; and I loved him like a brother!"</p>
+
+<p>"I <i>knew</i> you did! and I dare say now you can recollect the melancholy
+occasion of his death?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is Dick <i>dead</i>?" asked the admiral, with a vacant gaze.</p>
+
+<p>"Lord&mdash;Lord, Sir Jarvy, you knows he is, and that 'ere marvel
+constructure is his monerment&mdash;now you <i>must</i> remember the old Planter,
+and the County of Fairvillian, and the threshing we guv'd him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me, Galleygo; there is no occasion for warmth. When I was a
+midshipman, warmth of expression was disapproved of by all the elder
+officers."</p>
+
+<p>"You cause me to lose ground," said the Duke, looking at the steward by
+way of bidding him be silent: "is it not extraordinary, Sir Wycherly,
+how his mind reverts to his youth, overlooking the scenes of latter
+life! Yes, <i>Dick is</i> dead, Sir Gervaise. He fell in that battle in which
+you were doubled on by the French&mdash;when you had le Foudroyant on one
+side of you, and le Pluton on the other&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>I remember it!</i>" interrupted Sir Gervaise, in a clear strong voice,
+his eye flashing with something like the fire of youth&mdash;"I remember it!
+Le Foudroyant was on our starboard beam; le Pluton a little on our
+larboard bow&mdash;Bunting had gone aloft to look out for Bluewater&mdash;no&mdash;poor
+Bunting was killed&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, who afterwards married Mildred Bluewater,
+Dick's niece," put in the baronet, himself, almost as eager as the
+admiral had now become; "Sir Wycherly Wychecombe <i>had</i> been aloft, but
+was returned to report the Pluton coming down!"</p>
+
+<p>"So he did!&mdash;God bless him! A clever youth, and he <i>did</i> marry Dick's
+niece. God bless them <i>both</i>. Well, sir, you're a stranger, but the
+story will interest you. There we lay, almost smothered in the smoke,
+with one two-decker at work on our starboard beam, and another hammering
+away on the larboard bow, with our top-masts over the side, and the guns
+firing through the wreck."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, now you're getting it like a book!" exclaimed Galleygo exultingly,
+flourishing his stick, and strutting about the little chapel; "that's
+just the way things was, as I knows from seeing 'em!"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm quite certain I'm right, Galleygo?"</p>
+
+<p>"Right! your honour's righter than any log-book in the fleet. Give it to
+'em, Sir Jarvy, larboard and starboard!"</p>
+
+<p>"That we did&mdash;that we did"&mdash;continued the old man earnestly, becoming
+even grand in aspect, as he rose, always gentleman-like and graceful,
+but filled with native fire, "that did we! de Vervillin was on our
+right, and des Prez on our left&mdash;the smoke was choking us
+all&mdash;Bunting&mdash;no; young Wychecombe was at my side; he said a fresh
+Frenchman was shoving in between us and le Pluton, sir&mdash;God forbid! I
+<i>thought</i>; for we had enough of them, us it was. There she comes! See,
+here is her flying-jib-boom-end&mdash;and there&mdash;hey! Wychecombe?&mdash;<i>That's</i>
+the <i>old Roman</i>, shoving through the smoke!&mdash;C&aelig;sar himself! and there
+stands Dick and young Geoffrey Cleveland&mdash;<i>he</i> was of your family,
+duke&mdash;there stands Dick Bluewater, between the knight-heads, waving his
+hat&mdash;<i>HURRAH!</i>&mdash;He's true, at last!&mdash;He's true, at last&mdash;<i>HURRAH!
+HURRAH!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>The clarion tones rose like a trumpet's blast, and the cheering of the
+old sailor rang in the arches of the Abbey Church, causing all within
+hearing to start, as if a voice spoke from the tombs. Sir Gervaise,
+himself, seemed surprised; he looked up at the vaulted roof, with a gaze
+half-bewildered, half-delighted.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this Bowldero, or Glamorgan House, my Lord Duke," he asked, in a
+whisper.</p>
+
+<p>"It is neither, Admiral Oakes, but Westminster Abbey; and this is the
+tomb of your friend, rear-admiral Richard Bluewater."</p>
+
+<p>"Galleygo, help me to kneel," the old man added in the manner of a
+corrected school-boy. "The stoutest of us all, should kneel to God, in
+his own temple. I beg pardon, gentlemen; I wish to pray."</p>
+
+<p>The Duke of Glamorgan and Sir Wycherly Wychecombe helped the admiral to
+his knees, and Galleygo, as was his practice, knelt beside his master,
+who bowed his head on his man's shoulders. This touching spectacle
+brought all the others into the same humble attitude. Wycherly, Mildred,
+and their children, with the noble, kneeling and praying in company. One
+by one, the latter arose; still Galleygo and his master continued on the
+pavement. At length Geoffrey Cleveland stepped forward, and raised the
+old man, placing him, with Wycherly's assistance, in the chair. Here he
+sat, with a calm smile on his aged features, his open eyes riveted
+seemingly on the name of his friend, perfectly dead. There had been a
+reaction, which suddenly stopped the current of life, at the heart.</p>
+
+<p>Thus expired Sir Gervaise Oakes, full of years and of honours; one of
+the bravest and most successful of England's sea-captains. He had lived
+his time, and supplied an instance of the insufficiency of worldly
+success to complete the destiny of man; having, in a degree, survived
+his faculties, and the consciousness of all he had done, and all he
+merited. As a small offset to this failing of nature, he had regained a
+glimmering view of one of the most striking scenes, and of much the most
+enduring sentiment, of a long life, which God, in mercy, permitted to be
+terminated in the act of humble submission to his own greatness and
+glory.</p>
+
+<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> Suffren, though one of the best sea-captains France ever
+possessed, was a man of extreme severity and great roughness of manner.
+Still he must have been a man of family, as his title of <i>Bailli</i> de
+Suffren, was derived from his being a Knight of Malta. It is a singular
+circumstance connected with the death of this distinguished officer,
+which occurred not long before the French revolution, that he
+disappeared in an extraordinary manner, and is buried no one knows
+where. It is supposed that he was killed by one of his own officers, in
+a rencontre in the streets of Paris, at night, and that the influence of
+the friends of the victor was sufficiently great to suppress inquiry.
+The cause of the quarrel is attributed to harsh treatment on service.</p></div>
+
+
+
+<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> The writer believes this noble-minded sailor to have been
+the late Admiral Sir Benjamin Caldwell. It is scarcely necessary to say
+that the invitation could not be accepted, though quite seriously
+given.</p></div>
+
+
+<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> In the action of the Nile, many of the French ships, under
+the impression that the enemy <i>must</i> engage on the <i>outside</i>, put their
+lumber, bags, &amp;c., into the ports, and between the guns, in the
+larboard, or <i>inshore</i> batteries; and when the British anchored
+<i>inshore</i> of them, these batteries could not be used.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Two Admirals, by J. Fenimore Cooper
+
+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 Two Admirals
+
+Author: J. Fenimore Cooper
+
+Release Date: January 29, 2007 [EBook #20475]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWO ADMIRALS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from scanned images of public domain
+material from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          THE TWO ADMIRALS.
+
+                   A Tale BY James Fenimore Cooper
+
+                            THE AUTHOR OF
+
+     "THE PILOT," "RED ROVER," "WATER-WITCH," "HOMEWARD BOUND," ETC.
+
+
+
+
+COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME
+REVISED AND CORRECTED
+WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION, NOTES, &c,
+By the Author.
+
+NEW YORK:
+GEORGE P. PUTNAM & Co., 10 PARK PLACE.
+1852.
+
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
+STRINGER & TOWNSEND,
+In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for
+the Southern District of New York.
+
+STEREOTYPED BY
+BILLIN & BROTHERS,
+10 NORTH WILLIAM STREET, N.Y.
+R. CRAIGHEAD, PRINTER
+
+
+
+
+    Come, all ye kindred chieftains of the deep,
+      In mighty phalanx round your brother bend;
+    Hush every murmur that invades his sleep,
+      And guard the laurel that o'ershades your friend.
+
+    _Lines on Trippe._
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+It is a strong proof of the diffusive tendency of every thing in this
+country, that America never yet collected a fleet. Nothing is wanting to
+this display of power but the will. But a fleet requires only one
+commander, and a feeling is fast spreading in the country that we ought
+to be all commanders; unless the spirit of unconstitutional innovation,
+and usurpation, that is now so prevalent, at Washington, be controlled,
+we may expect to hear of proposals to send a committee of Congress to
+sea, in command of a squadron. We sincerely hope that their first
+experiment may be made on the coast of Africa.
+
+It has been said of Napoleon that he never could be made to understand
+why his fleets did not obey his orders with the same accuracy, as to
+time and place, as his _corps d'armee_. He made no allowances for the
+winds and currents, and least of all, did he comprehend that all
+important circumstance, that the efficiency of a fleet is necessarily
+confined to the rate of sailing of the dullest of its ships. More may be
+expected from a squadron of ten sail, all of which shall be average
+vessels, in this respect, than from the same number of vessels, of which
+one half are fast and the remainder dull. One brigade can march as fast
+as another, but it is not so with vessels. The efficiency of a marine,
+therefore, depends rather on its working qualities, than on its number
+of ships.
+
+Perhaps the best fleet that ever sailed under the English flag, was that
+with which Nelson fought the battle of the Nile. It consisted of twelve
+or thirteen small seventy-fours, each of approved qualities, and
+commanded by an officer of known merit. In all respects it was efficient
+and reliable. With such men as Hallowell, Hood, Trowbridge, Foley, Ball,
+and others, and with such ships, the great spirit of Nelson was
+satisfied. He knew that whatever seamen could do, his comparatively
+little force could achieve. When his enemy was discovered at anchor,
+though night was approaching and his vessels were a good deal scattered,
+he at once determined to put the qualities we have mentioned to the
+highest proof, and to attack. This was done without any other order of
+battle than that which directed each commander to get as close alongside
+of an enemy as possible, the best proof of the high confidence he had in
+his ships and in their commanders.
+
+It is now known that all the early accounts of the man[oe]uvring at the
+Nile, and of Nelson's reasoning on the subject of anchoring inside and
+of doubling on his enemies, is pure fiction. The "Life" by Southey, in
+all that relates to this feature of the day, is pure fiction, as,
+indeed, are other portions of the work of scarcely less importance. This
+fact came to the writer, through the late Commodore (Charles Valentine)
+Morris, from Sir Alexander Ball, in the early part of the century. In
+that day it would not have done to proclaim it, so tenacious is public
+opinion of its errors; but since that time, naval officers of rank have
+written on the subject, and stripped the Nile, Trafalgar, &c, of their
+poetry, to give the world plain, nautical, and probable accounts of both
+those great achievements. The truth, as relates to both battles, was
+just as little like the previously published accounts, as well could be.
+
+Nelson knew the great superiority of the English seamen, their facility
+in repairing damages, and most of all the high advantage possessed by
+the fleets of his country, in the exercise of the assumed right to
+impress, a practice that put not only the best seamen of his own
+country, but those of the whole world, more or less, at his mercy. His
+great merit, at the Nile, was in the just appreciation of these
+advantages, and in the extraordinary decision which led him to go into
+action just at nightfall, rather than give his enemy time to prepare to
+meet the shock.
+
+It is now known that the French were taken, in a great measure, by
+surprise. A large portion of their crews were on shore, and did not get
+off to their ships at all, and there was scarce a vessel that did not
+clear the decks, by tumbling the mess-chests, bags, &c, into the inside
+batteries, rendering them, in a measure, useless, when the English
+doubled on their line.
+
+It was this doubling on the French line, by anchoring inside, and
+putting two ships upon one, that gave Nelson so high a reputation as a
+tactician. The merit of this man[oe]uvre belongs exclusively to one of
+his captains. As the fleet went in, without any order, keeping as much
+to windward as the shoals would permit, Nelson ordered the Vanguard
+hove-to, to take a pilot out of a fisherman. This enabled Foley, Hood,
+and one or two more to pass that fast ship. It was at this critical
+moment that the thought occurred to Foley (we think this was the
+officer) to pass the head of the French line, keep dead away, and anchor
+inside. Others followed, completely placing their enemies between two
+fires. Sir Samuel Hood anchored his ship (the Zealous) on the inner bow
+of the most weatherly French ship, where he poured his fire into,
+virtually; an unresisting enemy. Notwithstanding the great skill
+manifested by the English in their mode of attack, this was the only
+two-decked ship in the English fleet that was able to make sail on the
+following morning.
+
+Had Nelson led in upon an American fleet, as he did upon the French at
+the Nile, he would have seen reason to repent the boldness of the
+experiment. Something like it _was_ attempted on Lake Champlain, though
+on a greatly diminished scale, and the English were virtually defeated
+before they anchored.
+
+The reader who feels an interest in such subjects, will probably detect
+the secret process of the mind, by which some of the foregoing facts
+have insinuated themselves into this fiction.
+
+
+
+
+THE TWO ADMIRALS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+                    "Then, if he were my brother's.
+    My brother might not claim him; nor your father,
+    Being none of his, refuse him: This concludes--
+    My mother's son did get your father's heir;
+    Your father's heir must have your father's land."
+
+         KING JOHN.
+
+
+The events we are about to relate, occurred near the middle of the last
+century, previously even to that struggle, which it is the fashion of
+America to call "the old French War." The opening scene of our tale,
+however, must be sought in the other hemisphere, and on the coast of the
+mother country. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the American
+colonies were models of loyalty; the very war, to which there has just
+been allusion, causing the great expenditure that induced the ministry
+to have recourse to the system of taxation, which terminated in the
+revolution. The family quarrel had not yet commenced. Intensely occupied
+with the conflict, which terminated not more gloriously for the British
+arms, than advantageously for the British American possessions, the
+inhabitants of the provinces were perhaps never better disposed to the
+metropolitan state, than at the very period of which we are about to
+write. All their early predilections seemed to be gaining strength,
+instead of becoming weaker; and, as in nature, the calm is known to
+succeed the tempest, the blind attachment of the colony to the parent
+country, was but a precursor of the alienation and violent disunion that
+were so soon to follow.
+
+Although the superiority of the English seamen was well established, in
+the conflicts that took place between the years 1740, and that of 1763,
+the naval warfare of the period by no means possessed the very decided
+character with which it became stamped, a quarter of a century later. In
+our own times, the British marine appears to have improved in quality,
+as its enemies, deteriorated. In the year 1812, however, "Greek met
+Greek," when, of a verity, came "the tug of war." The great change that
+came over the other navies of Europe, was merely a consequence of the
+revolutions, which drove experienced men into exile, and which, by
+rendering armies all-important even to the existence of the different
+states, threw nautical enterprises into the shade, and gave an
+engrossing direction to courage and talent, in another quarter. While
+France was struggling, first for independence, and next for the mastery
+of the continent, a marine was a secondary object; for Vienna, Berlin,
+and Moscow, were as easily entered without, as with its aid. To these,
+and other similar causes, must be referred the explanation of the
+seeming invincibility of the English arms at sea, during the late great
+conflicts of Europe; an invincibility that was more apparent than real,
+however, as many well-established defeats were, even then, intermingled
+with her thousand victories.
+
+From the time when her numbers could furnish succour of this nature,
+down to the day of separation, America had her full share in the
+exploits of the English marine. The gentry of the colonies willingly
+placed their sons in the royal navy, and many a bit of square bunting
+has been flying at the royal mast-heads of King's ships, in the
+nineteenth century, as the distinguishing symbols of flag-officers, who
+had to look for their birth-places among ourselves. In the course of a
+chequered life, in which we have been brought in collision with as great
+a diversity of rank, professions, and characters, as often falls to the
+lot of any one individual, we have been thrown into contact with no less
+than eight English admirals, of American birth; while, it has never yet
+been our good fortune to meet with a countryman, who has had this rank
+bestowed on him by his own government. On one occasion, an Englishman,
+who had filled the highest civil office connected with the marine of his
+nation, observed to us, that the only man he then knew, in the British
+navy, in whom he should feel an entire confidence in entrusting an
+important command, was one of these translated admirals; and the thought
+unavoidably passed through our mind, that this favourite commander had
+done well in adhering to the conventional, instead of clinging to his
+natural allegiance, inasmuch as he might have toiled for half a century,
+in the service of his native land, and been rewarded with a rank that
+would merely put him on a level with a colonel in the army! How much
+longer this short-sighted policy, and grievous injustice, are to
+continue, no man can say; but it is safe to believe, that it is to last
+until some legislator of influence learns the simple truth, that the
+fancied reluctance of popular constituencies to do right, oftener exists
+in the apprehensions of their representatives, than in reality.--But to
+our tale.
+
+England enjoys a wide-spread reputation for her fogs; but little do they
+know how much a fog may add to natural scenery, who never witnessed its
+magical effects, as it has caused a beautiful landscape to coquette with
+the eye, in playful and capricious changes. Our opening scene is in one
+of these much derided fogs; though, let it always be remembered, it was
+a fog of June, and not of November. On a high head-land of the coast of
+Devonshire, stood a little station-house, which had been erected with a
+view to communicate by signals, with the shipping, that sometimes lay at
+anchor in an adjacent roadstead. A little inland, was a village, or
+hamlet, that it suits our purposes to call Wychecombe; and at no great
+distance from the hamlet itself, surrounded by a small park, stood a
+house of the age of Henry VII., which was the abode of Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe, a baronet of the creation of King James I., and the
+possessor of an improveable estate of some three or four thousand a
+year, which had been transmitted to him, through a line of ancestors,
+that ascended as far back as the times of the Plantagenets. Neither
+Wychecombe, nor the head-land, nor the anchorage, was a place of note;
+for much larger and more favoured hamlets, villages, and towns, lay
+scattered about that fine portion of England; much better roadsteads and
+bays could generally be used by the coming or the parting vessel; and
+far more important signal-stations were to be met with, all along that
+coast. Nevertheless, the roadstead was entered when calms or adverse
+winds rendered it expedient; the hamlet had its conveniences, and, like
+most English hamlets, its beauties; and the hall and park were not
+without their claims to state and rural magnificence. A century since,
+whatever the table of precedency or Blackstone may say, an English
+baronet, particularly one of the date of 1611, was a much greater
+personage than he is to-day; and an estate of L4000 a year, more
+especially if not rack-rented, was of an extent, and necessarily of a
+local consequence, equal to one of near, or quite three times the same
+amount, in our own day. Sir Wycherly, however, enjoyed an advantage that
+was of still greater importance, and which was more common in 1745, than
+at the present moment. He had no rival within fifteen miles of him, and
+the nearest potentate was a nobleman of a rank and fortune that put all
+competition out of the question; one who dwelt in courts, the favourite
+of kings; leaving the baronet, as it might be, in undisturbed enjoyment
+of all the local homage. Sir Wycherly had once been a member of
+Parliament, and only once. In his youth, he had been a fox-hunter; and a
+small property in Yorkshire had long been in the family, as a sort of
+foothold on such enjoyments; but having broken a leg, in one of his
+leaps, he had taken refuge against _ennui_, by sitting a single session
+in the House of Commons, as the member of a borough that lay adjacent to
+his hunting-box. This session sufficed for his whole life; the good
+baronet having taken the matter so literally, as to make it a point to
+be present at all the sittings; a sort of tax on his time, which, as it
+came wholly unaccompanied by profit, was very likely soon to tire out
+the patience of an old fox-hunter. After resigning his seat, he retired
+altogether to Wychecombe, where he passed the last fifty years,
+extolling England, and most especially that part of it in which his own
+estates lay; in abusing the French, with occasional inuendoes against
+Spain and Holland; and in eating and drinking. He had never travelled;
+for, though Englishmen of his station often did visit the continent, a
+century ago, they oftener did not. It was the courtly and the noble, who
+then chiefly took this means of improving their minds and manners; a
+class, to which a baronet by no means necessarily belonged. To conclude,
+Sir Wycherly was now eighty-four; hale, hearty, and a bachelor. He had
+been born the oldest of five brothers; the cadets taking refuge, as
+usual, in the inns of court, the church, the army, and the navy; and
+precisely in the order named. The lawyer had actually risen to be a
+judge, by the style and appellation of Baron Wychecombe; had three
+illegitimate children by his housekeeper, and died, leaving to the
+eldest thereof, all his professional earnings, after buying commissions
+for the two younger in the army. The divine broke his neck, while yet a
+curate, in a fox-hunt; dying unmarried, and so far as is generally
+known, childless. This was Sir Wycherly's favourite brother; who, he was
+accustomed to say, "lost his life, in setting an example of field-sports
+to his parishioners." The soldier was fairly killed in battle, before he
+was twenty; and the name of the sailor suddenly disappeared from the
+list of His Majesty's lieutenants, about half a century before the time
+when our tale opens, by shipwreck. Between the sailor and the head of
+the family, however, there had been no great sympathy; in consequence,
+as it was rumoured, of a certain beauty's preference for the latter,
+though this preference produced no _suites_, inasmuch as the lady died a
+maid. Mr. Gregory Wychecombe, the lieutenant in question, was what is
+termed a "wild boy;" and it was the general impression, when his parents
+sent him to sea, that the ocean would now meet with its match. The hopes
+of the family centred in the judge, after the death of the curate, and
+it was a great cause of regret, to those who took an interest in its
+perpetuity and renown, that this dignitary did not marry; since the
+premature death of all the other sons had left the hall, park, and
+goodly farms, without any known legal heir. In a word, this branch of
+the family of Wychecombe would be extinct, when Sir Wycherly died, and
+the entail become useless. Not a female inheritor, even, or a male
+inheritor through females, could be traced; and it had become imperative
+on Sir Wycherly to make a will, lest the property should go off, the
+Lord knew where; or, what was worse, it should escheat. It is true, Tom
+Wychecombe, the judge's eldest son, often gave dark hints about a
+secret, and a timely marriage between his parents, a fact that would
+have superseded the necessity for all devises, as the property was
+strictly tied up, so far as the lineal descendants of a certain _old_
+Sir Wycherly were concerned; but the present Sir Wycherly had seen his
+brother, in his last illness, on which occasion, the following
+conversation had taken place.
+
+"And now, brother Thomas," said the baronet, in a friendly and consoling
+manner; "having, as one may say, prepared your soul for heaven, by these
+prayers and admissions of your sins, a word may be prudently said,
+concerning the affairs of this world. You know I am childless--that is
+to say,--"
+
+"I understand you, Wycherly," interrupted the dying man, "you're a
+_bachelor_."
+
+"That's it, Thomas; and bachelors _ought_ not to have children. Had our
+poor brother James escaped that mishap, he might have been sitting at
+your bed-side at this moment, and _he_ could have told us all about it.
+St. James I used to call him; and well did he deserve the name!"
+
+"St. James the Least, then, it must have been, Wycherly."
+
+"It's a dreadful thing to have no heir, Thomas! Did you ever know a case
+in your practice, in which another estate was left so completely without
+an heir, as this of ours?"
+
+"It does not often happen, brother; heirs are usually more abundant than
+estates."
+
+"So I thought. Will the king get the title as well as the estate,
+brother, if it should escheat, as you call it?"
+
+"Being the fountain of honour, he will be rather indifferent about the
+baronetcy."
+
+"I should care less if it went to the next sovereign, who is English
+born. Wychecombe has always belonged to Englishmen."
+
+"That it has; and ever will, I trust. You have only to select an heir,
+when I am gone, and by making a will, with proper devises, the property
+will not escheat. Be careful to use the full terms of perpetuity."
+
+"Every thing was so comfortable, brother, while you were in health,"
+said Sir Wycherly, fidgeting; "you were my natural heir--"
+
+"Heir of entail," interrupted the judge.
+
+"Well, well, _heir_, at all events; and _that_ was a prodigious comfort
+to a man like myself, who has a sort of religious scruples about making
+a will. I have heard it whispered that you were actually married to
+Martha; in which case, Tom might drop into our shoes, so readily,
+without any more signing and sealing."
+
+"A _filius nullius_," returned the other, too conscientious to lend
+himself to a deception of that nature.
+
+"Why, brother, Tom often seems to me to favour such an idea, himself."
+
+"No wonder, Wycherly, for the idea would greatly favour him. Tom and his
+brothers are all _filii nullorum_, God forgive me for that same wrong."
+
+"I wonder neither Charles nor Gregory thought of marrying before they
+lost their lives for their king and country," put in Sir Wycherly, in an
+upbraiding tone, as if he thought his penniless brethren had done him an
+injury in neglecting to supply him with an heir, though he had been so
+forgetful himself of the same great duty. "I did think of bringing in a
+bill for providing heirs for unmarried persons, without the trouble and
+responsibility of making wills."
+
+"That would have been a great improvement on the law of descents--I hope
+you wouldn't have overlooked the ancestors."
+
+"Not I--everybody would have got his rights. They tell me poor Charles
+never spoke after he was shot; but I dare say, did we know the truth, he
+regretted sincerely that he never married."
+
+"There, for once, Wycherly, I think you are likely to be wrong. A _femme
+sole_ without food, is rather a helpless sort of a person."
+
+"Well, well, I wish he had married. What would it have been to me, had
+he left a dozen widows?"
+
+"It might have raised some awkward questions as to dowry; and if each
+left a son, the title and estates would have been worse off than they
+are at present, without widows or legitimate children."
+
+"Any thing would be better than having no heir. I believe I'm the first
+baronet of Wychecombe who has been obliged to make a will!"
+
+"Quite likely," returned the brother, drily; "I remember to have got
+nothing from the last one, in that way. Charles and Gregory fared no
+better. Never mind, Wycherly, you behaved like a father to us all."
+
+"I don't mind signing cheques, in the least; but wills have an
+irreligious appearance, in my eyes. There are a good many Wychecombes,
+in England; I wonder some of them are not of our family! They tell me a
+hundredth cousin is just as good an heir, as a first-born son."
+
+"Failing nearer of kin. But we have no hundredth cousins of the _whole
+blood_."
+
+"There are the Wychecombes of Surrey, brother Thomas--?"
+
+"Descended from a bastard of the second baronet, and out of the line of
+descent, altogether."
+
+"But the Wychecombes of Hertfordshire, I have always heard were of our
+family, and legitimate."
+
+"True, as regards matrimony--rather too much of it, by the way. They
+branched off in 1487, long before the creation, and have nothing to do
+with the entail; the first of their line coming from old Sir Michael
+Wychecombe, Kt. and Sheriff of Devonshire, by his second wife Margery;
+while we are derived from the same male ancestor, through Wycherly, the
+only son by Joan, the first wife. Wycherly, and Michael, the son of
+Michael and Margery, were of the half-blood, as respects each other, and
+could not be heirs of blood. What was true of the ancestors is true of
+the descendants."
+
+"But we came of the same ancestor, and the estate is far older than
+1487."
+
+"Quite true, brother; nevertheless, the half-blood can't take; so says
+the perfection of human reason."
+
+"I never could understand these niceties of the law," said Sir Wycherly,
+sighing; "but I suppose they are all right. There are so many
+Wychecombes scattered about England, that I should think some one among
+them all might be my heir!"
+
+"Every man of them bears a bar in his arms, or is of the half-blood."
+
+"You are quite sure, brother, that Tom is a _filius nullus_?" for the
+baronet had forgotten most of the little Latin he ever knew, and
+translated this legal phrase into "no son."
+
+"_Filius nullius_, Sir Wycherly, the son of nobody; your reading would
+literally make Tom nobody; whereas, he is only the son of nobody."
+
+"But, brother, he is your son, and as like you, as two hounds of the
+same litter."
+
+"I am _nullus_, in the eye of the law, as regards poor Tom; who, until
+he marries, and has children of his own, is altogether without legal
+kindred. Nor do I know that legitimacy would make Tom any better; for he
+is presuming and confident enough for the heir apparent to the throne,
+as it is."
+
+"Well, there's this young sailor, who has been so much at the station
+lately, since he was left ashore for the cure of his wounds. 'Tis a most
+gallant lad; and the First Lord has sent him a commission, as a reward
+for his good conduct, in cutting out the Frenchman. I look upon him as a
+credit to the name; and I make no question, he is, some way or other, of
+our family."
+
+"Does he claim to be so?" asked the judge, a little quickly, for he
+distrusted men in general, and thought, from all he had heard, that some
+attempt might have been made to practise on his brother's simplicity. "I
+thought you told me that he came from the American colonies?"
+
+"So he does; he's a native of Virginia, as was his father before him."
+
+"A convict, perhaps; or a servant, quite likely, who has found the name
+of his former master, more to his liking than his own. Such things are
+common, they tell me, beyond seas."
+
+"Yes, if he were anything but an American, I might wish he were my
+heir," returned Sir Wycherly, in a melancholy tone; "but it would be
+worse than to let the lands escheat, as you call it, to place an
+American in possession of Wychecombe. The manors have always had English
+owners, down to the present moment, thank God!"
+
+"Should they have any other, it will be your own fault, Wycherly. When I
+am dead, and that will happen ere many weeks, the human being will not
+be living, who can take that property, after your demise, in any other
+manner than by escheat, or by devise. There will then be neither heir of
+entail, nor heir at law; and you may make whom you please, master of
+Wychecombe, provided he be not an alien."
+
+"Not an American, I suppose, brother; an American is an alien, of
+course."
+
+"Humph!--why, not in law, whatever he may be according to our English
+notions. Harkee, brother Wycherly; I've never asked you, or wished you
+to leave the estate to Tom, or his younger brothers; for one, and all,
+are _filii nullorum_--as I term 'em, though my brother Record will have
+it, it ought to be _filii nullius_, as well as _filius nullius_. Let
+that be as it may; no bastard should lord it at Wychecombe; and rather
+than the king; should get the lands, to bestow on some favourite, I
+would give it to the half-blood."
+
+"Can that be done without making a will, brother Thomas?"
+
+"It cannot, Sir Wycherly; nor with a will, so long as an heir of entail
+can be found."
+
+"Is there no way of making Tom a _filius somebody_, so that _he_ can
+succeed?"
+
+"Not under our laws. By the civil law, such a thing might have been
+done, and by the Scotch law; but not under the perfection of reason."
+
+"I wish you knew this young Virginian! The lad bears both of my names,
+Wycherly Wychecombe."
+
+"He is not a _filius Wycherly_--is he, baronet?"
+
+"Fie upon thee, brother Thomas! Do you think I have less candour than
+thyself, that I would not acknowledge my own flesh and blood. I never
+saw the youngster, until within the last six months, when he was landed
+from the roadstead, and brought to Wychecombe, to be cured of his
+wounds; nor ever heard of him before. When they told me his name was
+Wycherly Wychecombe, I could do no less than call and see him. The poor
+fellow lay at death's door for a fortnight; and it was while we had
+little or no hope of saving him, that I got the few family anecdotes
+from him. Now, that would be good evidence in law, I believe, Thomas."
+
+"For certain things, had the lad really died. Surviving, he must be
+heard on his _voire dire_, and under oath. But what was his tale?"
+
+"A very short one. He told me his father was a Wycherly Wychecombe, and
+that his grandfather had been a Virginia planter. This was all he seemed
+to know of his ancestry."
+
+"And probably all there was of them. My Tom is not the only _filius nullius_
+that has been among us, and this grandfather, if he has not actually
+stolen the name, has got it by these doubtful means. As for the
+Wycherly, it should pass for nothing. Learning that there is a line of
+baronets of this name, every pretender to the family would be apt to
+call a son Wycherly."
+
+"The line will shortly be ended, brother," returned Sir Wycherly,
+sighing. "I wish you might be mistaken; and, after all, Tom shouldn't
+prove to be that _filius_ you call him."
+
+Mr. Baron Wychecombe, as much from _esprit de corps_ as from moral
+principle, was a man of strict integrity, in all things that related to
+_meum_ and _tuum_. He was particularly rigid in his notions concerning
+the transmission of real estate, and the rights of primogeniture. The
+world had taken little interest in the private history of a lawyer, and
+his sons having been born before his elevation to the bench, he passed
+with the public for a widower, with a family of promising boys. Not one
+in a hundred of his acquaintances even, suspected the fact; and nothing
+would have been easier for him, than to have imposed on his brother, by
+inducing him to make a will under some legal mystification or other, and
+to have caused Tom Wychecombe to succeed to the property in question, by
+an indisputable title. There would have been no great difficulty even,
+in his son's assuming and maintaining his right to the baronetcy,
+inasmuch as there would be no competitor, and the crown officers were
+not particularly rigid in inquiring into the claims of those who assumed
+a title that brought with it no political privileges. Still, he was far
+from indulging in any such project. To him it appeared that the
+Wychecombe estate ought to go with the principles that usually governed
+such matters; and, although he submitted to the dictum of the common
+law, as regarded the provision which excluded the half-blood from
+inheriting, with the deference of an English common-law lawyer, he saw
+and felt, that, failing the direct line, Wychecombe ought to revert to
+the descendants of Sir Michael by his second son, for the plain reason
+that they were just as much derived from the person who had acquired the
+estate, as his brother Wycherly and himself. Had there been descendants
+of females, even, to interfere, no such opinion would have existed; but,
+as between an escheat, or a devise in favour of a _filius nillius_, or
+of the descendant of a _filius nullius_, the half-blood possessed every
+possible advantage. In his legal eyes, legitimacy was everything,
+although he had not hesitated to be the means of bringing into the world
+seven illegitimate children, that being the precise number Martha had
+the credit of having borne him, though three only survived. After
+reflecting a moment, therefore, he turned to the baronet, and addressed
+him more seriously than he had yet done, in the present dialogue; first
+taking a draught of cordial to give him strength for the occasion.
+
+"Listen to me, brother Wycherly," said the judge, with a gravity that at
+once caught the attention of the other. "You know something of the
+family history, and I need do no more than allude to it. Our ancestors
+were the knightly possessors of Wychecombe, centuries before King James
+established the rank of baronet. When our great-grandfather, Sir
+Wycherly, accepted the patent of 1611, he scarcely did himself honour;
+for, by aspiring higher, he might have got a peerage. However, a baronet
+he became, and for the first time since Wychecombe was Wychecombe, the
+estate was entailed, to do credit to the new rank. Now, the first Sir
+Wycherly had three sons, and no daughter. Each of these sons succeeded;
+the two eldest as bachelors, and the youngest was our grandfather. Sir
+Thomas, the fourth baronet, left an only child, Wycherly, our father.
+Sir Wycherly, our father, had five sons, Wycherly his successor,
+yourself, and the sixth baronet; myself; James; Charles; and Gregory.
+James broke his neck at your side. The two last lost their lives in the
+king's service, unmarried; and neither you, nor I, have entered into the
+holy state of matrimony. I cannot survive a month, and the hopes of
+perpetuating the direct line of the family, rests with yourself. This
+accounts for all the descendants of Sir Wycherly, the first baronet; and
+it also settles the question of heirs of entail, of whom there are none
+after myself. To go back beyond the time of King James I.: Twice did the
+elder lines of the Wychecombes fail, between the reign of King Richard
+II. and King Henry VII., when Sir Michael succeeded. Now, in each of
+these cases, the law disposed of the succession; the youngest branches
+of the family, in both instances, getting the estate. It follows that
+agreeably to legal decisions had at the time, when the facts must have
+been known, that the Wychecombes were reduced to these younger lines.
+Sir Michael had two wives. From the first _we_ are derived--from the
+last, the Wychecombes of Hertfordshire--since known as baronets of that
+county, by the style and title of Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, Herts."
+
+"The present Sir Reginald can have no claim, being of the half-blood,"
+put in Sir Wycherly, with a brevity of manner that denoted feeling. "The
+half-blood is as bad as a _nullius_, as you call Tom."
+
+"Not quite. A person of the half-blood may be as legitimate as the
+king's majesty; whereas, a nullius is of _no_ blood. Now, suppose for a
+moment, Sir Wycherly, that you had been a son by a first wife, and I had
+been a son by a second--would there have been no relationship between
+us?"
+
+"What a question, Tom, to put to your own brother!"
+
+"But I should not be your _own_ brother, my good sir; only your _half_
+brother; of the _half_, and not of the _whole_ blood."
+
+"What of that--what of that?--your father would have been my father--we
+would have had the same name--the same family history--the same family
+_feelings_--poh! poh!--we should have been both Wychecombes, exactly as
+we are to-day."
+
+"Quite true, and yet I could not have been your heir, nor you mine. The
+estate would escheat to the king, Hanoverian or Scotchman, before it
+came to me. Indeed, to _me_ it could never come."
+
+"Thomas, you are trifling with my ignorance, and making matters worse
+than they really are. Certainly, as long as you lived, you would be _my_
+heir!"
+
+"Very true, as to the L20,000 in the funds, but not as to the baronetcy
+and Wychecombe. So far as the two last are concerned, I am heir of
+blood, and of entail, of the body of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, the first
+baronet, and the maker of the entail."
+
+"Had there been no entail, and had I died a child, who would have
+succeeded our father, supposing there had been two mothers?"
+
+"I, as the next surviving son."
+
+"There!--I knew it must be so!" exclaimed Sir Wycherly, in triumph; "and
+all this time you have been joking with me!"
+
+"Not so fast, brother of mine--not so fast. I should be of the _whole_
+blood, as respected our father, and all the Wychecombes that have gone
+before him; but of the _half_-blood, as respected _you_. From our father
+I might have taken, as his heir-at-law: but from _you_, never, having
+been of the _half_-blood."
+
+"I would have made a will, in that case, Thomas, and left you every
+farthing," said Sir Wycherly, with feeling.
+
+"That is just what I wish you to do with Sir Reginald Wychecombe. You
+must take him; a _filius nullius_, in the person of my son Tom; a
+stranger; or let the property escheat; for, we are so peculiarly placed
+as not to have a known relative, by either the male or female lines; the
+maternal ancestors being just as barren of heirs as the paternal. Our
+good mother was the natural daughter of the third Earl of Prolific; our
+grandmother was the last of her race, so far as human ken can discover;
+our great-grandmother is said to have had semi-royal blood in her veins,
+without the aid of the church, and beyond that it would be hopeless to
+attempt tracing consanguinity on that side of the house. No, Wycherly;
+it is Sir Reginald who has the best right to the land; Tom, or one of
+his brothers, an utter stranger, or His Majesty, follow. Remember that
+estates of L4000 a year, don't often escheat, now-a-days."
+
+"If you'll draw up a will, brother, I'll leave it all to Tom," cried the
+baronet, with sudden energy. "Nothing need be said about the _nullius_;
+and when I'm gone, he'll step quietly into my place."
+
+Nature triumphed a moment in the bosom of the father; but habit, and the
+stern sense of right, soon overcame the feeling. Perhaps certain doubts,
+and a knowledge of his son's real character, contributed their share
+towards the reply.
+
+"It ought not to be, Sir Wycherly," returned the judge, musing, "Tom has
+no right to Wychecombe, and Sir Reginald has the best moral right
+possible, though the law cuts him off. Had Sir Michael made the entail,
+instead of our great-grandfather, he would have come in, as a matter of
+course."
+
+"I never liked Sir Reginald Wychecombe," said the baronet, stubbornly.
+
+"What of that?--He will not trouble you while living, and when dead it
+will be all the same. Come--come--I will draw the will myself, leaving
+blanks for the name; and when it is once done, you will sign it,
+cheerfully. It is the last legal act I shall ever perform, and it will
+be a suitable one, death being constantly before me."
+
+This ended the dialogue. The will was drawn according to promise; Sir
+Wycherly took it to his room to read, carefully inserted the name of Tom
+Wychecombe in all the blank spaces, brought it back, duly executed the
+instrument in his brother's presence, and then gave the paper to his
+nephew to preserve, with a strong injunction on him to keep the secret,
+until the instrument should have force by his own death. Mr. Baron
+Wychecombe died in six weeks, and the baronet returned to his residence,
+a sincere mourner for the loss of an only brother. A more unfortunate
+selection of an heir could not have been made, as Tom Wychecombe was, in
+reality, the son of a barrister in the Temple; the fancied likeness to
+the reputed father existing only in the imagination of his credulous
+uncle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+                            ----"How fearful
+    And dizzy 'tis, to cast one's eyes so low!
+    The crows, and choughs, that wing the midway air,
+    Show scarce so gross as beetles! Half-way down
+    Hangs one that gathers samphire! dreadful trade!"
+
+         KING LEAR.
+
+
+This digression on the family of Wychecombe has led us far from the
+signal-station, the head-land, and the fog, with which the tale opened.
+The little dwelling connected with the station stood at a short distance
+from the staff, sheltered, by the formation of the ground, from the
+bleak winds of the channel, and fairly embowered in shrubs and flowers.
+It was a humble cottage, that had been ornamented with more taste than
+was usual in England at that day. Its whitened walls, thatched roof,
+picketed garden, and trellised porch, bespoke care, and a mental
+improvement in the inmates, that were scarcely to be expected in persons
+so humbly employed as the keeper of the signal-staff, and his family.
+All near the house, too, was in the same excellent condition; for while
+the head-land itself lay in common, this portion of it was enclosed in
+two or three pretty little fields, that were grazed by a single horse,
+and a couple of cows. There were no hedges, however, the thorn not
+growing willingly in a situation so exposed; but the fields were divided
+by fences, neatly enough made of wood, that declared its own origin,
+having in fact been part of the timbers and planks of a wreck. As the
+whole was whitewashed, it had a rustic, and in a climate where the sun
+is seldom oppressive, by no means a disagreeable appearance.
+
+The scene with which we desire to commence the tale, opens about seven
+o'clock on a July morning. On a bench at the foot of the signal-staff,
+was seated one of a frame that was naturally large and robust, but which
+was sensibly beginning to give way, either by age or disease. A glance
+at the red, bloated face, would suffice to tell a medical man, that the
+habits had more to do with the growing failure of the system, than any
+natural derangement of the physical organs. The face, too, was
+singularly manly, and had once been handsome, even; nay, it was not
+altogether without claims to be so considered still; though intemperance
+was making sad inroads on its comeliness. This person was about fifty
+years old, and his air, as well as his attire, denoted a mariner; not a
+common seaman, nor yet altogether an officer; but one of those of a
+middle station, who in navies used to form a class by themselves; being
+of a rank that entitled them to the honours of the quarter-deck, though
+out of the regular line of promotion. In a word, he wore the
+unpretending uniform of a master. A century ago, the dress of the
+English naval officer was exceedingly simple, though more appropriate to
+the profession perhaps, than the more showy attire that has since been
+introduced. Epaulettes were not used by any, and the anchor button, with
+the tint that is called navy blue, and which is meant to represent the
+deep hue of the ocean, with white facings, composed the principal
+peculiarities of the dress. The person introduced to the reader, whose
+name was Dutton, and who was simply the officer in charge of the
+signal-station, had a certain neatness about his well-worn uniform, his
+linen, and all of his attire, which showed that some person more
+interested in such matters than one of his habits was likely to be, had
+the care of his wardrobe. In this respect, indeed, his appearance was
+unexceptionable; and there was an air about the whole man which showed
+that nature, if not education, had intended him for something far better
+than the being he actually was.
+
+Dutton was waiting, at that early hour, to ascertain, as the veil of
+mist was raised from the face of the sea, whether a sail might be in
+sight, that required of him the execution of any of his simple
+functions. That some one was near by, on the head-land, too, was quite
+evident, by the occasional interchange of speech; though no person but
+himself was visible. The direction of the sounds would seem to indicate
+that a man was actually over the brow of the cliff, perhaps a hundred
+feet removed from the seat occupied by the master.
+
+"Recollect the sailor's maxim, Mr. Wychecombe," called out Dutton, in a
+warning voice; "one hand for the king, and the other for self! Those
+cliffs are ticklish places; and really it does seem a little unnatural
+that a sea-faring person like yourself, should have so great a passion
+for flowers, as to risk his neck in order to make a posy!"
+
+"Never fear for me, Mr. Dutton," answered a full, manly voice, that one
+could have sworn issued from the chest of youth; "never fear for me; we
+sailors are used to hanging in the air."
+
+"Ay, with good three-stranded ropes to hold on by, young gentleman. Now
+His Majesty's government has just made you an officer, there is a sort
+of obligation to take care of your life, in order that it may be used,
+and, at need, given away, in his service."
+
+"Quite true--quite true, Mr. Dutton--so true, I wonder you think it
+necessary to remind me of it. I am very grateful to His Majesty's
+government, and--"
+
+While speaking, the voice seemed to descend, getting at each instant
+less and less distinct, until, in the end, it became quite inaudible.
+Dutton looked uneasy, for at that instant a noise was heard, and then it
+was quite clear some heavy object was falling down the face of the
+cliff. Now it was that the mariner felt the want of good nerves, and
+experienced the sense of humiliation which accompanied the consciousness
+of having destroyed them by his excesses. He trembled in every limb,
+and, for the moment, was actually unable to rise. A light step at his
+side, however, drew a glance in that direction, and his eye fell on the
+form of a lovely girl of nineteen, his own daughter, Mildred.
+
+"I heard you calling to some one, father," said the latter, looking
+wistfully, but distrustfully at her parent, as if wondering at his
+yielding to his infirmity so early in the day; "can I be of service to
+you?"
+
+"Poor Wychecombe!" exclaimed Dutton. "He went over the cliff in search
+of a nosegay to offer to yourself, and--and--I fear--greatly fear--"
+
+"What, father?" demanded Mildred, in a voice of horror, the rich color
+disappearing from a face which it left of the hue of death.
+"No--no--no--he _cannot_ have fallen."
+
+Dutton bent his head down, drew a long breath, and then seemed to gain
+more command of his nerves. He was about to rise, when the sound of a
+horse's feet was heard, and then Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, mounted on a
+quiet pony, rode slowly up to the signal-staff. It was a common thing
+for the baronet to appear on the cliffs early in the morning, but it was
+not usual for him to come unattended. The instant her eyes fell on the
+fine form of the venerable old man, Mildred, who seemed to know him
+well, and to use the familiarity of one confident of being a favourite,
+exclaimed--
+
+"Oh! Sir Wycherly, how fortunate--where is Richard?"
+
+"Good morrow, my pretty Milly," answered the baronet, cheerfully;
+"fortunate or not, here I am, and not a bit flattered that your first
+question should be after the groom, instead of his master. I have sent
+Dick on a message to the vicar's. Now my poor brother, the judge, is
+dead and gone, I find Mr. Rotherham more and more necessary to me."
+
+"Oh! dear Sir Wycherly--Mr. Wychecombe--Lieutenant Wychecombe, I
+mean--the young officer from Virginia--he who was so desperately
+wounded--in whose recovery we all took so deep an interest--"
+
+"Well--what of him, child?--you surely do not mean to put him on a level
+with Mr. Rotherham, in the way of religious consolation--and, as for
+anything else, there is no consanguinity between the Wychecombes of
+Virginia and my family. He may be a _filius nullius_ of the Wychecombes
+of Wychecombe-Regis, Herts, but has no connection with those of
+Wychecombe-Hall, Devonshire."
+
+"There--there--the cliff!--the cliff!" added Mildred, unable, for the
+moment, to be more explicit.
+
+As the girl pointed towards the precipice, and looked the very image of
+horror, the good-hearted old baronet began to get some glimpses of the
+truth; and, by means of a few words with Dutton, soon knew quite as much
+as his two companions. Descending from his pony with surprising activity
+for one of his years, Sir Wycherly was soon on his feet, and a sort of
+confused consultation between the three succeeded. Neither liked to
+approach the cliff, which was nearly perpendicular at the extremity of
+the head-land, and was always a trial to the nerves of those who shrunk
+from standing on the verge of precipices. They stood like persons
+paralyzed, until Dutton, ashamed of his weakness, and recalling the
+thousand lessons in coolness and courage he had received in his own
+manly profession, made a movement towards advancing to the edge of the
+cliff, in order to ascertain the real state of the case. The blood
+returned to the cheeks of Mildred, too, and she again found a portion of
+her natural spirit raising her courage.
+
+"Stop, father," she said, hastily; "you are infirm, and are in a tremour
+at this moment. My head is steadier--let me go to the verge of the hill,
+and learn what has happened."
+
+This was uttered with a forced calmness that deceived her auditors, both
+of whom, the one from age, and the other from shattered nerves, were
+certainly in no condition to assume the same office. It required the
+all-seeing eye, which alone can scan the heart, to read all the agonized
+suspense with which that young and beautiful creature approached the
+spot, where she might command a view of the whole of the side of the
+fearful declivity, from its giddy summit to the base, where it was
+washed by the sea. The latter, indeed, could not literally be seen from
+above, the waves having so far undermined the cliff, as to leave a
+projection that concealed the point where the rocks and the water came
+absolutely in contact; the upper portion of the weather-worn rocks
+falling a little inwards, so as to leave a ragged surface that was
+sufficiently broken to contain patches of earth, and verdure, sprinkled
+with the flowers peculiar to such an exposure. The fog, also,
+intercepted the sight, giving to the descent the appearance of a
+fathomless abyss. Had the life of the most indifferent person been in
+jeopardy, under the circumstances named, Mildred would have been filled
+with deep awe; but a gush of tender sensations, which had hitherto been
+pent up in the sacred privacy of her virgin affections, struggled with
+natural horror, as she trod lightly on the very verge of the declivity,
+and cast a timid but eager glance beneath. Then she recoiled a step,
+raised her hands in alarm, and hid her face, as if to shut out some
+frightful spectacle.
+
+By this time, Dutton's practical knowledge and recollection had
+returned. As is common with seamen, whose minds contain vivid pictures
+of the intricate tracery of their vessel's rigging in the darkest
+nights, his thoughts had flashed athwart all the probable circumstances,
+and presented a just image of the facts.
+
+"The boy could not be seen had he absolutely fallen, and were there no
+fog; for the cliff tumbles home, Sir Wycherly," he said, eagerly,
+unconsciously using a familiar nautical phrase to express his meaning.
+"He must be clinging to the side of the precipice, and that, too, above
+the swell of the rocks."
+
+Stimulated by a common feeling, the two men now advanced hastily to the
+brow of the hill, and there, indeed, as with Mildred herself, a single
+look sufficed to tell them the whole truth. Young Wychecombe, in leaning
+forward to pluck a flower, had pressed so hard upon the bit of rock on
+which a foot rested, as to cause it to break, thereby losing his
+balance. A presence of mind that amounted almost to inspiration, and a
+high resolution, alone saved him from being dashed to pieces. Perceiving
+the rock to give way, he threw himself forward, and alighted on a narrow
+shelf, a few feet beneath the place where he had just stood, and at
+least ten feet removed from it, laterally. The shelf on which he
+alighted was ragged, and but two or three feet wide. It would have
+afforded only a check to his fall, had there not fortunately been some
+shrubs among the rocks above it. By these shrubs the young man caught,
+actually swinging off in the air, under the impetus of his leap.
+Happily, the shrubs were too well rooted to give way; and, swinging
+himself round, with the address of a sailor, the youthful lieutenant was
+immediately on his feet, in comparative safety. The silence that
+succeeded was the consequence of the shock he felt, in finding him so
+suddenly thrown into this perilous situation. The summit of the cliff
+was now about six fathoms above his head, and the shelf on which he
+stood, impended over a portion of the cliff that was absolutely
+perpendicular, and which might be said to be out of the line of those
+projections along which he had so lately been idly gathering flowers. It
+was physically impossible for any human being to extricate himself from
+such a situation, without assistance. This Wychecombe understood at a
+glance, and he had passed the few minutes that intervened between his
+fall and the appearance of the party above him, in devising the means
+necessary to his liberation. As it was, few men, unaccustomed to the
+giddy elevations of the mast, could have mustered a sufficient command
+of nerve to maintain a position on the ledge where he stood. Even he
+could not have continued there, without steadying his form by the aid of
+the bushes.
+
+As soon as the baronet and Dutton got a glimpse of the perilous position
+of young Wychecombe, each recoiled in horror from the sight, as if
+fearful of being precipitated on top of him. Both, then, actually lay
+down on the grass, and approached the edge of the cliff again, in that
+humble attitude, even trembling as they lay at length, with their chins
+projecting over the rocks, staring downwards at the victim. The young
+man could see nothing of all this; for, as he stood with his back
+against the cliff, he had not room to turn, with safety, or even to look
+upwards. Mildred, however, seemed to lose all sense of self and of
+danger, in view of the extremity in which the youth beneath was placed.
+She stood on the very verge of the precipice, and looked down with
+steadiness and impunity that would have been utterly impossible for her
+to attain under less exciting circumstances; even allowing the young man
+to catch a glimpse of her rich locks, as they hung about her beautiful
+face.
+
+"For God's sake, Mildred," called out the youth, "keep further from the
+cliff--I see you, and we can now hear each other without so much risk."
+
+"What can we do to rescue you, Wychecombe?" eagerly asked the girl.
+"Tell me, I entreat you; for Sir Wycherly and my father are both
+unnerved!"
+
+"Blessed creature! and _you_ are mindful of my danger! But, be not
+uneasy, Mildred; do as I tell you, and all will yet be well. I hope you
+hear and understand what I say, dearest girl?"
+
+"Perfectly," returned Mildred, nearly choked by the effort to be calm.
+"I hear every syllable--speak on."
+
+"Go you then to the signal-halyards--let one end fly loose, and pull
+upon the other, until the whole line has come down--when that is done,
+return here, and I will tell you more--but, for heaven's sake, keep
+farther from the cliff."
+
+The thought that the rope, small and frail as it seemed, might be of
+use, flashed on the brain of the girl; and in a moment she was at the
+staff. Time and again, when liquor incapacitated her father to perform
+his duty, had Mildred bent-on, and hoisted the signals for him; and
+thus, happily, she was expert in the use of the halyards. In a minute
+she had unrove them, and the long line lay in a little pile at her feet.
+
+"'Tis done, Wycherly," she said, again looking over the cliff; "shall I
+throw you down one end of the rope?--but, alas! I have not strength to
+raise you; and Sir Wycherly and father seem unable to assist me!"
+
+"Do not hurry yourself, Mildred, and all will be well. Go, and put one
+end of the line around the signal-staff, then put the two ends together,
+tie them in a knot, and drop them down over my head. Be careful not to
+come too near the cliff, for--"
+
+The last injunction was useless, Mildred having flown to execute her
+commission. Her quick mind readily comprehended what was expected of
+her, and her nimble fingers soon performed their task. Tying a knot in
+the ends of the line, she did as desired, and the small rope was soon
+dangling within reach of Wychecombe's arm. It is not easy to make a
+landsman understand the confidence which a sailor feels in a rope. Place
+but a frail and rotten piece of twisted hemp in his hand, and he will
+risk his person in situations from which he would otherwise recoil in
+dread. Accustomed to hang suspended in the air, with ropes only for his
+foothold, or with ropes to grasp with his hand, his eye gets an
+intuitive knowledge of what will sustain him, and he unhesitatingly
+trusts his person to a few seemingly slight strands, that, to one
+unpractised, appear wholly unworthy of his confidence. Signal-halyards
+are ropes smaller than the little finger of a man of any size; but they
+are usually made with care, and every rope-yarn tells. Wychecombe, too,
+was aware that these particular halyards were new, for he had assisted
+in reeving them himself, only the week before. It was owing to this
+circumstance that they were long enough to reach him; a large allowance
+for wear and tear having been made in cutting them from the coil. As it
+was, the ends dropped some twenty feet below the ledge on which he
+stood.
+
+"All safe, now, Mildred!" cried the young man, in a voice of exultation
+the moment his hand caught the two ends of the line, which he
+immediately passed around his body, beneath the arms, as a precaution
+against accidents. "All safe, now, dearest girl; have no further concern
+about me."
+
+Mildred drew back, for worlds could not have tempted her to witness the
+desperate effort that she knew must follow. By this time, Sir Wycherly,
+who had been an interested witness of all that passed, found his voice,
+and assumed the office of director.
+
+"Stop, my young namesake," he eagerly cried, when he found that the
+sailor was about to make an effort to drag his own body up the cliff;
+"stop; that will never do; let Dutton and me do that much for you, at
+least. We have seen all that has passed, and are now able to do
+something."
+
+"No--no, Sir Wycherly--on no account touch the halyards. By hauling them
+over the top of the rocks you will probably cut them, or part them, and
+then I'm lost, without hope!"
+
+"Oh! Sir Wycherly," said Mildred, earnestly, clasping her hands
+together, as if to enforce the request with prayer; "do not--do not
+touch the line."
+
+"We had better let the lad manage the matter in his own way," put in
+Dutton; "he is active, resolute, and a seaman, and will do better for
+himself than I fear we can do for him. He has got a turn round his body,
+and is tolerably safe against any slip, or mishap."
+
+As the words were uttered, the whole three drew back a short distance
+and watched the result, in intense anxiety. Dutton, however, so far
+recollected himself, as to take an end of the old halyards, which were
+kept in a chest at the foot of the staff, and to make, an attempt to
+stopper together the two parts of the little rope on which the youth
+depended, for should one of the parts of it break, without this
+precaution, there was nothing to prevent the halyards from running round
+the staff, and destroying the hold. The size of the halyards rendered
+this expedient very difficult of attainment, but enough was done to give
+the arrangement a little more of the air of security. All this time
+young Wychecombe was making his own preparations on the ledge, and quite
+out of view; but the tension on the halyards soon announced that his
+weight was now pendent from them. Mildred's heart seemed ready to leap
+from her mouth, as she noted each jerk on the lines; and her father
+watched every new pull, as if he expected the next moment would produce
+the final catastrophe. It required a prodigious effort in the young man
+to raise his own weight for such a distance, by lines so small. Had the
+rope been of any size, the achievement would have been trifling for one
+of the frame and habits of the sailor, more especially as he could
+slightly avail himself of his feet, by pressing them against the rocks;
+but, as it was, he felt as if he were dragging the mountain up after
+him. At length, his head appeared a few inches above the rocks, but with
+his feet pressed against the cliff, and his body inclining outward, at
+an angle of forty-five degrees.
+
+"Help him--help him, father!" exclaimed Mildred, covering her face with
+her hands, to exclude the sight of Wychecombe's desperate struggles. "If
+he fall now, he will be destroyed. Oh! save him, save him, Sir
+Wycherly!"
+
+But neither of those to whom she appealed, could be of any use. The
+nervous trembling again came over the father; and as for the baronet,
+age and inexperience rendered him helpless.
+
+"Have you no rope, Mr. Dutton, to throw over my shoulders," cried
+Wychecombe, suspending his exertions in pure exhaustion, still keeping
+all he had gained, with his head projecting outward, over the abyss
+beneath, and his face turned towards heaven. "Throw a rope over my
+shoulders, and drag my body in to the cliff."
+
+Dutton showed an eager desire to comply, but his nerves had not yet been
+excited by the usual potations, and his hands shook in a way to render
+it questionable whether he could perform even this simple service. But
+for his daughter, indeed, he would hardly have set about it
+intelligently. Mildred, accustomed to using the signal-halyards,
+procured the old line, and handed it to her father, who discovered some
+of his professional knowledge in his manner of using it. Doubling the
+halyards twice, he threw the bight over Wychecombe's shoulders, and
+aided by Mildred, endeavoured to draw the body of the young man upwards
+and towards the cliff. But their united strength was unequal to the
+task, and wearied with holding on, and, indeed, unable to support his
+own weight any longer by so small a rope, Wychecombe felt compelled to
+suffer his feet to drop beneath him, and slid down again upon the ledge.
+Here, even his vigorous frame shook with its prodigious exertions; and
+he was compelled to seat himself on the shelf, and rest with his back
+against the cliff, to recover his self-command and strength. Mildred
+uttered a faint shriek as he disappeared, but was too much
+horror-stricken to approach the verge of the precipice to ascertain his
+fate.
+
+"Be composed, Milly," said her father, "he is safe, as you may see by
+the halyards; and to say the truth, the stuff holds on well. So long as
+the line proves true, the boy can't fall; he has taken a double turn
+with the end of it round his body. Make your mind easy, girl, for I feel
+better now, and see my way clear. Don't be uneasy, Sir Wycherly; we'll
+have the lad safe on _terra firma_ again, in ten minutes. I scarce know
+what has come over me, this morning; but I've not had the command of my
+limbs as in common. It cannot be fright, for I've seen too many men in
+danger to be disabled by _that_; and I think, Milly, it must be the
+rheumatism, of which I've so often spoken, and which I've inherited from
+my poor mother, dear old soul. Do you know, Sir Wycherly, that
+rheumatism can be inherited like gout?"
+
+"I dare say it may--I dare say it may, Dutton--but never mind the
+disease, now; get my young namesake back here on the grass, and I will
+hear all about it. I would give the world that I had not sent Dick to
+Mr. Rotherham's this morning. Can't we contrive to make the pony pull
+the boy up?"
+
+"The traces are hardly strong enough for such work, Sir Wycherly. Have a
+little patience, and I will manage the whole thing, 'ship-shape, and
+Brister fashion,' as we say at sea. Halloo there, Master
+Wychecombe--answer my hail, and I will soon get you into deep water."
+
+"I'm safe on the ledge," returned the voice of Wychecombe, from below;
+"I wish you would look to the signal-halyards, and see they do not chafe
+against the rocks, Mr. Dutton."
+
+"All right, sir; all right. Slack up, if you please, and let me have all
+the line you can, without casting off from your body. Keep fast the end
+for fear of accidents."
+
+In an instant the halyards slackened, and Dutton, who by this time had
+gained his self-command, though still weak and unnerved by the habits of
+the last fifteen years, forced the bight along the edge of the cliff,
+until he had brought it over a projection of the rocks, where it
+fastened itself. This arrangement caused the line to lead down to the
+part of the cliffs from which the young man had fallen, and where it was
+by no means difficult for a steady head and active limbs to move about
+and pluck flowers. It consequently remained for Wychecombe merely to
+regain a footing on that part of the hill-side, to ascend to the summit
+without difficulty. It is true he was now below the point from which he
+had fallen, but by swinging himself off laterally, or even by springing,
+aided by the line, it was not a difficult achievement to reach it, and
+he no sooner understood the nature of the change that had been made,
+than he set about attempting it. The confident manner of Dutton
+encouraged both the baronet and Mildred, and they drew to the cliff,
+again; standing near the verge, though on the part where the rocks might
+be descended, with less apprehension of consequences.
+
+As soon as Wychecombe had made all his preparations, he stood on the end
+of the ledge, tightened the line, looked carefully for a foothold on the
+other side of the chasm, and made his leap. As a matter of course, the
+body of the young man swung readily across the space, until the line
+became perpendicular, and then he found a surface so broken, as to
+render his ascent by no means difficult, aided as he was by the
+halyards. Scrambling upwards, he soon rejected the aid of the line, and
+sprang upon the head-land. At the same instant, Mildred fell senseless
+on the grass.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+    "I want a hero:--an uncommon want,
+       When every year and month send forth a new one;
+    'Till, after cloying the gazelles with cant,
+       The age discovers he is not the true one;--"
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+In consequence of the unsteadiness of the father's nerves, the duty of
+raising Mildred in his arms, and of carrying her to the cottage,
+devolved on the young man. This he did with a readiness and concern
+which proved how deep an interest he took in her situation, and with a
+power of arm which showed that his strength was increased rather than
+lessened by the condition into which she had fallen. So rapid was his
+movement, that no one saw the kiss he impressed on the palid cheek of
+the sweet girl, or the tender pressure with which he grasped the
+lifeless form. By the time he reached the door, the motion and air had
+begun to revive her, and Wychecombe committed her to the care of her
+alarmed mother, with a few hurried words of explanation. He did not
+leave the house, however, for a quarter of an hour, except to call out
+to Dutton that Mildred was reviving, and that he need be under no
+uneasiness on her account. Why he remained so long, we leave the reader
+to imagine, for the girl had been immediately taken to her own little
+chamber, and he saw her no more for several hours.
+
+When our young sailor came out upon the head-land again, he found the
+party near the flag-staff increased to four. Dick, the groom, had
+returned from his errand, and Tom Wychecombe, the intended heir of the
+baronet, was also there, in mourning for his reputed father, the judge.
+This young man had become a frequent visiter to the station, of late,
+affecting to imbibe his uncle's taste for sea air, and a view of the
+ocean. There had been several meetings between himself and his namesake,
+and each interview was becoming less amicable than the preceding, for a
+reason that was sufficiently known to the parties. When they met on the
+present occasion, therefore, the bows they exchanged were haughty and
+distant, and the glances cast at each other might have been termed
+hostile, were it not that a sinister irony was blended with that of Tom
+Wychecombe. Still, the feelings that were uppermost did not prevent the
+latter from speaking in an apparently friendly manner.
+
+"They tell me, Mr. Wychecombe," observed the judge's heir, (for this Tom
+Wychecombe might legally claim to be;) "they tell me, Mr. Wychecombe,
+that you have been taking a lesson in your trade this morning, by
+swinging over the cliffs at the end of a rope? Now, that is an exploit,
+more to the taste of an American than to that of an Englishman, I should
+think. But, I dare say one is compelled to do many things in the
+colonies, that we never dream of at home."
+
+This was said with seeming indifference, though with great art. Sir
+Wycherly's principal weakness was an overweening and an ignorant
+admiration of his own country, and all it contained. He was also
+strongly addicted to that feeling of contempt for the dependencies of
+the empire, which seems to be inseparable from the political connection
+between the people of the metropolitan country and their colonies. There
+must be entire equality, for perfect respect, in any situation in life;
+and, as a rule, men always appropriate to their own shares, any admitted
+superiority that may happen to exist on the part of the communities to
+which they belong. It is on this principle, that the tenant of a
+cock-loft in Paris or London, is so apt to feel a high claim to
+superiority over the occupant of a comfortable abode in a village. As
+between England and her North American colonies in particular, this
+feeling was stronger than is the case usually, on account of the early
+democratical tendencies of the latter; not, that these tendencies had
+already become the subject of political jealousies, but that they left
+social impressions, which were singularly adapted to bringing the
+colonists into contempt among a people predominant for their own
+factitious habits, and who are so strongly inclined to view everything,
+even to principles, through the medium of arbitrary, conventional
+customs. It must be confessed that the Americans, in the middle of the
+eighteenth century, were an exceedingly provincial, and in many
+particulars a narrow-minded people, as well in their opinions as in
+their habits; nor is the reproach altogether removed at the present day;
+but the country from which they are derived had not then made the vast
+strides in civilization, for which it has latterly become so
+distinguished. The indifference, too, with which all Europe regarded the
+whole American continent, and to which England, herself, though she
+possessed so large a stake on this side of the Atlantic, formed no
+material exception, constantly led that quarter of the world into
+profound mistakes in all its reasoning that was connected with this
+quarter of the world, and aided in producing the state of feeling to
+which we have alluded. Sir Wycherly felt and reasoned on the subject of
+America much as the great bulk of his countrymen felt and reasoned in
+1745; the exceptions existing only among the enlightened, and those
+whose particular duties rendered more correct knowledge necessary, and
+not always among them. It is said that the English minister conceived
+the idea of taxing America, from the circumstance of seeing a wealthy
+Virginian lose a large sum at play, a sort of _argumentum ad hominem_
+that brought with it a very dangerous conclusion to apply to the sort of
+people with whom he had to deal. Let this be as it might, there is no
+more question, that at the period of our tale, the profoundest ignorance
+concerning America existed generally in the mother country, than there
+is that the profoundest respect existed in America for nearly every
+thing English. Truth compels us to add, that in despite of all that has
+passed, the cis-atlantic portion of the weakness has longest endured the
+assaults of time and of an increased intercourse.
+
+Young Wycherly, as is ever the case, was keenly alive to any
+insinuations that might be supposed to reflect on the portion of the
+empire of which he was a native. He considered himself an Englishman, it
+is true; was thoroughly loyal; and was every way disposed to sustain the
+honour and interests of the seat of authority; but when questions were
+raised between Europe and America, he was an American; as, in America
+itself, he regarded himself as purely a Virginian, in contradistinction
+to all the other colonies. He understood the intended sarcasm of Tom
+Wychecombe, but smothered his resentment, out of respect to the baronet,
+and perhaps a little influenced by the feelings in which he had been so
+lately indulging.
+
+"Those gentlemen who are disposed to fancy such things of the colonies,
+would do well to visit that part of the world," he answered, calmly,
+"before they express their opinions too loudly, lest they should say
+something that future observation might make them wish to recall."
+
+"True, my young friend--quite true," put in the baronet, with the
+kindest possible intentions. "True as gospel. We never know any thing of
+matters about which we know nothing; that we old men must admit, Master
+Dutton; and I should think Tom must see its force. It would be
+unreasonable to expect to find every thing as comfortable in America as
+we have it here, in England; nor do I suppose the Americans, in general,
+would be as likely to get over a cliff as an Englishman. However, there
+are exceptions to all general rules, as my poor brother James used to
+say, when he saw occasion to find fault with the sermon of a prelate. I
+believe you did not know my poor brother, Dutton; he must have been
+killed about the time you were born--St. James, I used to call him,
+although my brother Thomas, the judge that was Tom's father, there--said
+he was St. James the Less."
+
+"I believe the Rev. Mr. Wychecombe was dead before I was of an age to
+remember his virtues, Sir Wycherly," said Dutton, respectfully; "though
+I have often heard my own father speak of all your honoured family."
+
+"Yes, your father, Dutton, was the attorney of the next town, and we all
+knew him well. You have done quite right to come back among us to spend
+the close of your own days. A man is never as well off as when he is
+thriving in his native soil; more especially when that soil is old
+England, and Devonshire. You are not one of us, young gentleman, though
+your name happens to be Wychecombe; but, then we are none of us
+accountable for our own births, or birth-places."
+
+This truism, which is in the mouths of thousands while it is in the
+hearts of scarcely any, was well meant by Sir Wycherly, however plainly
+expressed. It merely drew from the youth the simple answer that--"he was
+born in the colonies, and had colonists for his parents;" a fact that
+the others had heard already, some ten or a dozen times.
+
+"It is a little singular, Mr. Wychecombe, that you should bear both of
+my names, and yet be no relative," continued the baronet. "Now, Wycherly
+came into our family from old Sir Hildebrand Wycherly, who was slain at
+Bosworth Field, and whose only daughter, my ancestor, and Tom's
+ancestor, there, married. Since that day, Wycherly has been a favourite
+name among us. I do not think that the Wychecombes of Herts, ever
+thought of calling a son Wycherly, although, as my poor brother the
+judge used to say, _they_ were related, but of the half-blood, only. I
+suppose your father taught you what is meant by being of the half-blood,
+Thomas?"
+
+Tom Wychecombe's face became the colour of scarlet, and he cast an
+uneasy glance at all present; expecting in particular, to meet with a
+look of exultation in the eyes of the lieutenant. He was greatly
+relieved, however, at finding that neither of the three meant or
+understood more than was simply expressed. As for his uncle, he had not
+the smallest intention of making any allusion to the peculiarity of his
+nephew's birth; and the other two, in common with the world, supposed
+the reputed heir to be legitimate. Gathering courage from the looks of
+those around him, Tom answered with a steadiness that prevented his
+agitation from being detected:
+
+"Certainly, my dear sir; my excellent parent forgot nothing that he
+thought might be useful to me, in maintaining my rights, and the honour
+of the family, hereafter. I very well understand that the Wychecombes of
+Hertfordshire have no claims on us; nor, indeed, any Wychecombe who is
+not descended from my respectable grandfather, the late Sir Wycherly."
+
+"He must have been an _early_, instead of a _late_ Sir Wycherly, rather,
+Mr. Thomas," put in Dutton, laughing at his own conceit; "for I can
+remember no other than the honourable baronet before us, in the last
+fifty years."
+
+"Quite true, Dutton--very true," rejoined the person last alluded to.
+"As true as that 'time and tide wait for no man.' We understand the
+meaning of such things on the coast here. It was half a century, last
+October, since I succeeded my respected parent; but, it will not be
+another half century before some one will succeed me!"
+
+Sir Wycherly was a hale, hearty man for his years, but he had no unmanly
+dread of his end. Still he felt it could not be very distant, having
+already numbered fourscore and four years. Nevertheless, there were
+certain phrases of usage, that Dutton did not see fit to forget on such
+an occasion, and he answered accordingly, turning to look at and admire
+the still ruddy countenance of the baronet, by way of giving emphasis to
+his words.
+
+"You will yet see half of us into our graves, Sir Wycherly," he said,
+"and still remain an active man. Though I dare say another half century
+will bring most of us up. Even Mr. Thomas, here, and your young namesake
+can hardly hope to run out more line than that. Well, as for myself, I
+only desire to live through this war, that I may again see His Majesty's
+arms triumphant; though they do tell me that we are in for a good thirty
+years' struggle. Wars _have_ lasted as long as _that_, Sir Wycherly, and
+I don't see why this may not, as well as another."
+
+"Very true, Dutton; it is not only possible, but probable; and I trust
+both you and I may live to see our flower-hunter here, a post-captain,
+at least--though it would be wishing almost too much to expect to see
+him an admiral. There has been _one_ admiral of the name, and I confess
+I should like to see another!"
+
+"Has not Mr. Thomas a brother in the service?" demanded the master; "I
+had thought that my lord, the judge, had given us one of his young
+gentlemen."
+
+"He thought of it; but the army got both of the boys, as it turned out.
+Gregory was to be the midshipman; my poor brother intending him for a
+sailor from the first, and so giving him the name that was once borne by
+the unfortunate relative we lost by shipwreck. I wished him to call one
+of the lads James, after St. James; but, somehow, I never could persuade
+Thomas to see all the excellence of that pious young man."
+
+Dutton was a little embarrassed, for St. James had left any thing but a
+godly savour behind him; and he was about to fabricate a tolerably bold
+assertion to the contrary, rather than incur the risk of offending the
+lord of the manor, when, luckily, a change in the state of the fog
+afforded him a favourable opportunity of bringing about an apposite
+change in the subject. During the whole of the morning the sea had been
+invisible from the head-land, a dense body of vapour resting on it, far
+as eye could reach; veiling the whole expanse with a single white cloud.
+The lighter portions of the vapour had at first floated around the
+head-land, which could not have been seen at any material distance; but
+all had been gradually settling down into a single mass, that now rose
+within twenty feet of the summit of the cliffs. The hour was still quite
+early, but the sun was gaining force, and it speedily drank up all the
+lighter particles of the mist, leaving a clear, bright atmosphere above
+the feathery bank, through which objects might be seen for miles. There
+was what seamen call a "fanning breeze," or just wind enough to cause
+the light sails of a ship to swell and collapse, under the double
+influence of the air and the motion of the hull, imitating in a slight
+degree the vibrations of that familiar appliance of the female toilet.
+Dutton's eye had caught a glance of the loftiest sail of a vessel, above
+the fog, going through this very movement; and it afforded him the
+release he desired, by enabling him to draw the attention of his
+companions to the same object.
+
+"See, Sir Wycherly--see, Mr. Wychecombe," he cried, eagerly, pointing in
+the direction of the sail; "yonder is some of the king's canvass coming
+into our roadstead, or I am no judge of the set of a man-of-war's royal.
+It is a large bit of cloth, too, Mr. Lieutenant, for a sail so lofty!"
+
+"It is a two-decker's royal, Master Dutton," returned the young sailor;
+"and now you see the fore and main, separately, as the ship keeps away."
+
+"Well," put in Sir Wycherly, in a resigned manner; "here have I lived
+fourscore years on this coast, and, for the life of me, I have never
+been able to tell a fore-royal from a back-royal; or a mizzen head-stay
+from a head mizzen-stay. They are the most puzzling things imaginable;
+and now I cannot discover how you know that yonder sail, which I see
+plain enough, is a royal, any more than that it is a jib!"
+
+Dutton and the lieutenant smiled, but Sir Wycherly's simplicity had a
+cast of truth and nature about it, that deterred most people from
+wishing to ridicule him. Then, the rank, fortune, and local interest of
+the baronet, counted for a good deal on all such occasions.
+
+"Here is another fellow, farther east," cried Dutton, still pointing
+with a finger; "and every inch as big as his consort! Ah! it does my
+eyes good to see our roadstead come into notice, in this manner, after
+all I have said and done in its behalf--But, who have we here--a brother
+chip, by his appearance; I dare say some idler who has been sent ashore
+with despatches."
+
+"There is another fellow further east, and every inch as big as his
+consort," said Wychecombe, as we shall call our lieutenant, in order to
+distinguish him from Tom of the same name, repeating the very words of
+Dutton, with an application and readiness that almost amounted to wit,
+pointing, in his turn, at two strangers who were ascending to the
+station by a path that led from the beach. "Certainly both these
+gentlemen are in His Majesty's service, and they have probably just
+landed from the ships in the offing."
+
+The truth of this conjecture was apparent to Dutton at a glance. As the
+strangers joined each other, the one last seen proceeded in advance; and
+there was something in his years, the confident manner in which he
+approached, and his general appearance, that induced both the sailors to
+believe he might be the commander of one of the ships that had just come
+in view.
+
+"Good-morrow, gentlemen," commenced this person, as soon as near enough
+to salute the party at the foot of the flag-staff; "good-morrow to ye
+all. I'm glad to meet you, for it's but a Jacob's ladder, this path of
+yours, through the ravine in the cliffs. Hey! why Atwood," looking
+around him at the sea of vapour, in surprise, "what the devil has become
+of the fleet?"
+
+"It is lost in the fog, sir; we are above it, here; when more on a level
+with the ships, we could see, or fancy we saw, more of them than we do
+now."
+
+"Here are the upper sails of two heavy ships, sir," observed Wychecombe,
+pointing in the direction of the vessels already seen; "ay, and yonder
+are two more--nothing but the royals are visible."
+
+"Two more!--I left eleven two-deckers, three frigates, a sloop, and a
+cutter in sight, when I got into the boat. You might have covered 'em
+all with a pocket-handkerchief, hey! Atwood!"
+
+"They were certainly in close order, sir, but I'll not take it on myself
+to say quite as near together as that."
+
+"Ay, you're a dissenter by trade, and never will believe in a miracle.
+Sharp work, gentlemen, to get up such a hill as this, after fifty."
+
+"It is, indeed, sir," answered Sir Wycherly, kindly. "Will you do us the
+favour to take a seat among us, and rest yourself after so violent an
+exertion? The cliff is hard enough to ascend, even when one keeps the
+path; though here is a young gentleman who had a fancy just now to go
+down it, without a path; and that, too, merely that a pretty girl might
+have a nosegay on her breakfast-table."
+
+The stranger looked intently at Sir Wycherly for a moment, then glanced
+his eye at the groom and the pony, after which he took a survey of Tom
+Wychecombe, the lieutenant, and the master. He was a man accustomed to
+look about him, and he understood, by that rapid glance, the characters
+of all he surveyed, with perhaps the exception of that of Tom
+Wychecombe; and even of that he formed a tolerably shrewd conjecture.
+Sir Wycherly he immediately set down as the squire of the adjacent
+estate; Dutton's situation he hit exactly, conceiving him to be a
+worn-out master, who was employed to keep the signal-station; while he
+understood Wychecombe, by his undress, and air, to be a sea-lieutenant
+in the king's service. Tom Wychecombe he thought it quite likely might
+be the son, and heir of the lord of the manor, both being in mourning;
+though he decided in his own mind that there was not the smallest family
+likeness between them. Bowing with the courtesy of a man who knew how to
+acknowledge a civility, he took the proffered seat at Sir Wycherly's
+side without farther ceremony.
+
+"We must carry the young fellow to sea with us, sir," rejoined the
+stranger, "and that will cure him of looking for flowers in such
+ticklish places. His Majesty has need of us all, in this war; and I
+trust, young gentleman, you have not been long ashore, among the girls."
+
+"Only long enough to make a cure of a pretty smart hurt, received in
+cutting out a lugger from the opposite coast," answered Wychecombe, with
+sufficient modesty, and yet with sufficient spirit.
+
+"Lugger!--ha! what Atwood? You surely do not mean, young gentleman, la
+Voltigeuse?"
+
+"That was the name of the craft, sir--we found her in the roads of
+Groix."
+
+"And then I've the pleasure of seeing Mr. Wychecombe, the young officer
+who led in that gallant attack?"
+
+This was said with a most flattering warmth of manner, the stranger even
+rising and removing his hat, as he uttered the words with a heartiness
+that showed how much his feelings were in unison with what he said.
+
+"I am Mr. Wychecombe, sir," answered the other, blushing to the temples,
+and returning the salute; "though I had not the honour of leading; one
+of the lieutenants of our ship being in another boat."
+
+"Yes--I know all that--but he was beaten off, while you boarded and did
+the work. What have my lords commissioners done in the matter?"
+
+"All that is necessary, so far as I am concerned, sir, I do assure you;
+having sent me a commission the very next week. I only wish they had
+been equally generous to Mr. Walton, who received a severe wound also,
+and behaved as well as man could behave."
+
+"That would not be so wise, Mr. Wychecombe, since it would be rewarding
+a failure," returned the stranger, coldly. "Success is all in all, in
+war. Ah! there the fellows begin to show themselves, Atwood."
+
+This remark drew all eyes, again, towards the sea, where a sight now
+presented itself that was really worthy of a passing notice. The vapour
+appeared to have become packed into a mass of some eighty or a hundred
+feet in height, leaving a perfectly clear atmosphere above it. In the
+clear air, were visible the upper spars and canvass of the entire fleet
+mentioned by the stranger; sixteen sail in all. There were the eleven
+two-deckers, and the three frigates, rising in pyramids of canvass,
+still fanning in towards the anchorage, which in that roadstead was
+within pistol-shot of the shore; while the royals and upper part of the
+topgallant sails of the sloop seemed to stand on the surface of the fog,
+like a monument. After a moment's pause, Wychecombe discovered even the
+head of the cutter's royal-mast, with the pennant lazily fluttering
+ahead of it, partly concealed in vapour. The fog seemed to settle,
+instead of rising, though it evidently rolled along the face of the
+waters, putting the whole scene in motion. It was not long ere the tops
+of the ships of the line became visible, and then living beings were for
+the first time seen in the moving masses.
+
+"I suppose we offer just such a sight to the top-men of the ships, as
+they offer to us," observed the stranger. "They _must_ see this
+head-land and flag-staff, Mr. Wychecombe; and there can be no danger of
+their standing in too far!"
+
+"I should think not, sir; certainly the men aloft can see the cliffs
+above the fog, as we see the vessels' spars. Ha! Mr. Dutton, there is a
+rear-admiral's flag flying on board the ship farthest to the eastward."
+
+"So I see, sir; and by looking at the third vessel on the western side
+of the line, you will find a bit of square bunting at the fore, which
+will tell you there is a vice-admiral beneath it."
+
+"Quite true!" exclaimed Wychecombe, who was ever enthusiastic on matters
+relating to his profession; "a vice-admiral of the red, too; which is
+the next step to being a full admiral. This must be the fleet of Sir
+Digby Downes!"
+
+"No, young gentleman," returned the stranger, who perceived by the
+glance of the other's eye, that a question was indirectly put to
+himself; "it is the southern squadron; and the vice-admiral's flag you
+see, belongs to Sir Gervaise Oakes. Admiral Bluewater is on board the
+ship that carries a flag at the mizzen."
+
+"Those two officers always go together, Sir Wycherly," added the young
+man. "Whenever we hear the name of Sir Gervaise, that of Bluewater is
+certain to accompany it. Such a union in service is delightful to
+witness."
+
+"Well may they go in company, Mr. Wychecombe," returned the stranger,
+betraying a little emotion. "Oakes and Bluewater were reefers together,
+under old Breasthook, in the Mermaid; and when the first was made a
+lieutenant into the Squid, the last followed as a mate. Oakes was first
+of the Briton, in her action with the Spanish frigates, and Bluewater
+third. For that affair Oakes got a sloop, and his friend went with him
+as his first. The next year they had the luck to capture a heavier ship
+than their own, when, for the first time in their service, the two young
+men were separated; Oakes getting a frigate, and Bluewater getting the
+Squid. Still they cruised in company, until the senior was sent in
+command of a flying squadron, with a broad pennant, when the junior, who
+by this time was post, received his old messmate on board his own
+frigate. In that manner they served together, down to the hour when the
+first hoisted his flag. From that time, the two old seamen have never
+been parted; Bluewater acting as the admiral's captain, until he got the
+square bunting himself. The vice-admiral has never led the van of a
+fleet, that the rear-admiral did not lead the rear-division; and, now
+that Sir Gervaise is a commander-in-chief, you see his friend, Dick
+Bluewater, is cruising in his company."
+
+While the stranger was giving this account of the Two Admirals, in a
+half-serious, half-jocular manner, the eyes of his companions were on
+him. He was a middle-sized, red-faced man, with an aquiline nose, a
+light-blue animated eye, and a mouth, which denoted more of the habits
+and care of refinement than either his dress or his ordinary careless
+mien. A great deal is said about the aristocracy of the ears, and the
+hands, and the feet; but of all the features, or other appliances of the
+human frame, the mouth and the nose have the greatest influence in
+producing an impression of gentility. This was peculiarly the case with
+the stranger, whose beak, like that of an ancient galley, gave the
+promise of a stately movement, and whose beautiful teeth and winning
+smile, often relieved the expression of a countenance that was not
+unfrequently stern. As he ceased speaking, Dutton rose, in a studied
+manner, raised his hat entirely from his head, bowed his body nearly to
+a right angle, and said,
+
+"Unless my memory is treacherous, I believe I have the honor to see
+Rear-Admiral Bluewater, himself; I was a mate in the Medway, when he
+commanded the Chloe; and, unless five-and-twenty years have made more
+changes than I think probable, he is now on this hill."
+
+"Your memory is a bad one, Mr. Dutton, and your hill has on it a much
+worse man, in all respects, than Admiral Bluewater. They say that man
+and wife, from living together, and thinking alike, having the same
+affections, loving the same objects, or sometimes hating them, get in
+time to look alike; hey! Atwood? It may be that I am growing like
+Bluewater, on the same principle; but this is the first time I ever
+heard the thing suggested. I am Sir Gervaise Oakes, at your service,
+sir."
+
+The bow of Dutton was now much lower than before, while young Wychecombe
+uncovered himself, and Sir Wycherly arose and paid his compliments
+cordially, introducing himself, and offering the admiral and all his
+officers the hospitality of the Hall.
+
+"Ay, this is straight-forward and hearty, and in the good old English
+manner!" exclaimed the admiral, when he had returned the salutes, and
+cordially thanked the baronet. "One might land in Scotland, now,
+anywhere between the Tweed and John a'Groat's house, and not be asked so
+much as to eat an oaten cake; hey! Atwood?--always excepting the
+mountain dew."
+
+"You will have your fling at my poor countrymen, Sir Gervaise, and so
+there is no more to be said on the subject," returned the secretary, for
+such was the rank of the admiral's companion. "I might feel hurt at
+times, did I not know that you get as many Scotsmen about you, in your
+own ship, as you can; and that a fleet is all the better in your
+judgment, for having every other captain from the land o' cakes."
+
+"Did you ever hear the like of that, Sir Wycherly? Because I stick to a
+man I like, he accuses me of having a predilection for his whole
+country. Here's Atwood, now; he was my clerk, when in a sloop; and he
+has followed me to the Plantagenet, and because I do not throw him
+overboard, he wishes to make it appear half Scotland is in her hold."
+
+"Well, there are the surgeon, the purser, one of the mates, one of the
+marine officers, and the fourth lieutenant, to keep me company, Sir
+Gervaise," answered the secretary, smiling like one accustomed to his
+superior's jokes, and who cared very little about them. "When you send
+us all back to Scotland, I'm thinking there will be many a good vacancy
+to fill."
+
+"The Scotch make themselves very useful, Sir Gervaise," put in Sir
+Wycherly, by way of smoothing the matter over; "and now we have a
+Brunswick prince on the throne, we Englishmen have less jealousy of them
+than formerly. I am sure I should be happy to see all the gentlemen
+mentioned by Mr. Atwood, at Wychecombe Hall."
+
+"There, you're all well berthed while the fleet lies in these roads. Sir
+Wycherly, in the name of Scotland, I thank you. But what an extr'ornary
+(for so admirals pronounced the word a hundred years ago) scene this is,
+hey! Atwood? Many a time have I seen the hulls of ships when their spars
+were hid in the fog; but I do not remember ever to have seen before,
+sixteen sets of masts and sails moving about on vapour, without a single
+hull to uphold them. The tops of all the two-decked ships are as plainly
+to be seen, as if the air were without a particle of vapour, while all
+below the cat-harpings is hid in a cloud as thick as the smoke of
+battle. I do not half like Bluewater's standing in so far; perhaps, Mr.
+Dutton, they cannot see the cliffs, for I assure you we did not, until
+quite close under them. We went altogether by the lead, the masters
+feeling their way like so many blind beggars!"
+
+"We always keep that nine-pounder loaded, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+master, "in order to warn vessels when they are getting near enough in;
+and if Mr. Wychecombe, who is younger than I, will run to the house and
+light this match, I will prime, and we may give 'em warning where they
+are, in less than a minute."
+
+The admiral gave a ready assent to this proposition, and the respective
+parties immediately set about putting it in execution. Wychecombe
+hastened to the house to light the match, glad of an opportunity to
+inquire after Mildred; while Dutton produced a priming-horn from a sort
+of arm-chest that stood near the gun, and put the latter in a condition
+to be discharged. The young man was absent but a minute, and when all
+was ready, he turned towards the admiral, in order to get the signal to
+proceed.
+
+"Let 'em have it, Mr. Wychecombe," cried Sir Gervaise, smiling; "it will
+wake Bluewater up; perhaps he may favour us with a broadside, by way of
+retort."
+
+The match was applied, and the report of the gun succeeded. Then
+followed a pause of more than a minute; when the fog lifted around the
+Caesar, the ship that wore a rear-admiral's flag, a flash like lightning
+was seen glancing in the mist, and then came the bellowing of a piece of
+heavy ordnance. Almost at the same instant, three little flags appeared
+at the mast-head of the Caesar, for previously to quitting his own ship,
+Sir Gervaise had sent a message to his friend, requesting him to take
+care of the fleet. This was the signal to anchor. The effect of all
+this, as seen from the height, was exceedingly striking. As yet not a
+single hull had become visible, the fog remaining packed upon the water,
+in a way to conceal even the lower yards of the two-deckers. All above
+was bright, distinct, and so near, as almost to render it possible to
+distinguish persons. There every thing was vivid, while a sort of
+supernatural mystery veiled all beneath. Each ship had an officer aloft
+to look out for signals, and no sooner had the Caesar opened her three
+little flags, which had long been suspended in black balls, in readiness
+for this service, than the answers were seen floating at the mast-head
+of each of the vessels. Then commenced a spectacle still more curious
+than that which those on the cliff had so long been regarding with
+interest. Ropes began to move, and the sails were drawn up in festoons,
+apparently without the agency of hands. Cut off from a seeming
+communication with the ocean, or the hulls, the spars of the different
+ships appeared to be instinct with life; each machine playing its own
+part independently of the others, but all having the same object in
+view. In a very few minutes the canvass was hauled up, and the whole
+fleet was swinging to the anchors. Presently head after head was thrown
+out of the fog, the upper yards were alive with men, and the sails were
+handed. Next came the squaring of the yards, though this was imperfectly
+done, and a good deal by guess-work. The men came down, and there lay a
+noble fleet at anchor, with nothing visible to those on the cliffs, but
+their top-hamper and upper spars.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had been so much struck and amused with a sight that
+to him happened to be entirely novel, that he did not speak during the
+whole process of anchoring. Indeed, many a man might pass his life at
+sea, and never witness such a scene; but those who have, know that it is
+one of the most beautiful and striking spectacles connected with the
+wonders of the great deep.
+
+By this time the sun had got so high, as to begin to stir the fog, and
+streams of vapour were shooting up from the beach, like smoke rising
+from coal-pits. The wind increased, too, and rolled the vapour before
+it, and in less than ten minutes, the veil was removed; ship after ship
+coming out in plain view, until the entire fleet was seen riding in the
+roadstead, in its naked and distinct proportions.
+
+"Now, Bluewater is a happy fellow," exclaimed Sir Gervaise. "He sees his
+great enemy, the land, and knows how to deal with it."
+
+"I thought the French were the great and natural enemies of every
+British sailor," observed Sir Wycherly, simply, but quite to the point.
+
+"Hum--there's truth in that, too. But the land is an enemy to be feared,
+while the Frenchman is not--hey! Atwood?"
+
+It was, indeed, a goodly sight to view the fine fleet that now lay
+anchored beneath the cliffs of Wychecombe. Sir Gervaise Oakes was, in
+that period, considered a successful naval commander, and was a
+favourite, both at the admiralty and with the nation. His popularity
+extended to the most distant colonies of England, in nearly all of which
+he had served with zeal and credit. But we are not writing of an age of
+nautical wonders, like that which succeeded at the close of the century.
+The French and Dutch, and even the Spaniards, were then all formidable
+as naval powers; for revolutions and changes had not destroyed their
+maritime corps, nor had the consequent naval ascendency of England
+annihilated their navigation; the two great causes of the subsequent
+apparent invincibility of the latter power. Battles at sea, in that day,
+were warmly contested, and were frequently fruitless; more especially
+when fleets were brought in opposition. The single combats were usually
+more decisive, though the absolute success of the British flag, was far
+from being as much a matter of course as it subsequently became. In a
+word, the science of naval warfare had not made those great strides,
+which marked the career of England in the end, nor had it retrograded
+among her enemies, to the point which appears to have rendered their
+defeat nearly certain. Still Sir Gervaise was a successful officer;
+having captured several single ships, in bloody encounters, and having
+actually led fleets with credit, in four or five of the great battles of
+the times; besides being second and third in command, on various similar
+occasions. His own ship was certain to be engaged, let what would happen
+to the others. Equally as captains and as flag-officers, the nation had
+become familiar with the names of Oakes and Bluewater, as men ever to be
+found sustaining each other in the thickest of the fight. It may be well
+to add here, that both these favourite seamen were men of family, or at
+least what was considered men of family among the mere gentry of
+England; Sir Gervaise being a baronet by inheritance, while his friend
+actually belonged to one of those naval lines which furnishes admirals
+for generations; his father having worn a white flag at the main; and
+his grandfather having been actually ennobled for his services, dying
+vice-admiral of England. These fortuitous circumstances perhaps rendered
+both so much the greater favourites at court.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+        ----"All with you; except three
+    On duty, and our leader Israel,
+    Who is expected momently."
+
+         MARINO FALIERO.
+
+
+As his fleet was safely anchored, and that too, in beautiful order, in
+spite of the fog, Sir Gervaise Oakes showed a disposition to pursue what
+are termed ulterior views.
+
+"This has been a fine sight--certainly a very fine sight; such as an old
+seaman loves; but there must be an end to it," he said. "You will excuse
+me, Sir Wycherly, but the movements of a fleet always have interest in
+my eyes, and it is seldom that I get such a bird's-eye view of those of
+my own; no wonder it has made me a somewhat unreflecting intruder."
+
+"Make no apologies, Sir Gervaise, I beg of you; for none are needed, on
+any account. Though this head-land does belong to the Wychecombe
+property, it is fairly leased to the crown, and none have a better right
+to occupy it than His Majesty's servants. The Hall is a little more
+private, it is true, but even that has no door that will close upon our
+gallant naval defenders. It is but a short walk, and nothing will make
+me happier than to show you the way to my poor dwelling, and to see you
+as much at home under its roof, as you could be in the cabin of the
+Plantagenet."
+
+"If any thing could make me as much at home in a house as in a ship, it
+would be so hearty a welcome; and I intend to accept your hospitality in
+the very spirit in which it is offered. Atwood and I have landed to send
+off some important despatches to the First Lord, and we will thank you
+for putting us in the way of doing it, in the safest and most
+expeditious manner. Curiosity and surprise have already occasioned the
+loss of half an hour; while a soldier, or a sailor, should never lose
+half a minute."
+
+"Is a courier who knows the country well, needed, Sir Gervaise?" the
+lieutenant demanded, modestly, though with an interest that showed he
+was influenced only by zeal for the service.
+
+The admiral looked at him, intently, for a moment, and seemed pleased
+with the hint implied in the question.
+
+"Can you ride?" asked Sir Gervaise, smiling. "I could have brought
+half-a-dozen youngsters ashore with me; but, besides the doubts about
+getting a horse--a chaise I take it is out of the question here--I was
+afraid the lads might disgrace themselves on horseback."
+
+"This must be said in pleasantry, Sir Gervaise," returned Wychecombe;
+"he would be a strange Virginian at least, who does not know how to
+ride!"
+
+"And a strange Englishman, too, Bluewater would say; and yet I never see
+the fellow straddle a horse that I do not wish it were a
+studding-sail-boom run out to leeward! We sailors _fancy_ we ride, Mr.
+Wychecombe, but it is some such fancy as a marine has for the
+fore-topmast-cross-trees. Can a horse be had, to go as far as the
+nearest post-office that sends off a daily mail?"
+
+"That can it, Sir Gervaise," put in Sir Wycherly. "Here is Dick mounted
+on as good a hunter as is to be found in England; and I'll answer for my
+young namesake's willingness to put the animal's mettle to the proof.
+Our little mail has just left Wychecombe for the next twenty-four hours,
+but by pushing the beast, there will be time to reach the high road in
+season for the great London mail, which passes the nearest market-town
+at noon. It is but a gallop of ten miles and back, and that I'll answer
+for Mr. Wychecombe's ability to do, and to join us at dinner by four."
+
+Young Wychecombe expressing his readiness to perform all this, and even
+more at need, the arrangement was soon made. Dick was dismounted, the
+lieutenant got his despatches and his instructions, took his leave, and
+had galloped out of sight, in the next five minutes. The admiral then
+declared himself at liberty for the day, accepting the invitation of Sir
+Wycherly to breakfast and dine at the Hall, in the same spirit of
+frankness as that in which it had been given. Sir Wycherly was so
+spirited as to refuse the aid of his pony, but insisted on walking
+through the village and park to his dwelling, though the distance was
+more than a mile. Just as they were quitting the signal-station, the old
+man took the admiral aside, and in an earnest, but respectful manner,
+disburthened his mind to the following effect.
+
+"Sir Gervaise," he said, "I am no sailor, as you know, and least of all
+do I bear His Majesty's commission in the navy, though I am in the
+county commission as a justice of the peace; so, if I make any little
+mistake you will have the goodness to overlook it, for I know that the
+etiquette of the quarter-deck is a very serious matter, and is not to be
+trifled with;--but here is Dutton, as good a fellow in his way as
+lives--his father was a sort of a gentleman too, having been the
+attorney of the neighbourhood, and the old man was accustomed to dine
+with me forty years ago--"
+
+"I believe I understand you, Sir Wycherly," interrupted the admiral;
+"and I thank you for the attention you wish to pay my prejudices; but,
+you are master of Wychecombe, and I should feel myself a troublesome
+intruder, indeed, did you not ask whom you please to dine at your own
+table."
+
+"That's not quite it, Sir Gervaise, though you have not gone far wide of
+the mark. Dutton is only a master, you know; and it seems that a master
+on board ship is a very different thing from a master on shore; so
+Dutton, himself, has often told me."
+
+"Ay, Dutton is right enough as regards a king's ship, though the two
+offices are pretty much the same, when other craft are alluded to. But,
+my dear Sir Wycherly, an admiral is not disgraced by keeping company
+with a boatswain, if the latter is an honest man. It is true we have our
+customs, and what we call our quarter-deck and forward officers; which
+is court end and city, on board ship; but a master belongs to the first,
+and the master of the Plantagenet, Sandy McYarn, dines with me once a
+month, as regularly as he enters a new word at the top of his log-book.
+I beg, therefore, you will extend your hospitality to whom you
+please--or--" the admiral hesitated, as he cast a good-natured glance at
+the master, who stood still uncovered, waiting for his superior to move
+away; "or, perhaps, Sir Wycherly, you would permit _me_ to ask a friend
+to make one of our party."
+
+"That's just it, Sir Gervaise," returned the kind-hearted baronet; "and
+Dutton will be one of the happiest fellows in Devonshire. I wish we
+could have Mrs. Dutton and Milly, and then the table would look what my
+poor brother James--St. James I used to call him--what the Rev. James
+Wychecombe was accustomed to term, mathematical. He said a table should
+have all its sides and angles duly filled. James was a most agreeable
+companion, Sir Gervaise, and, in divinity, he would not have turned his
+back on one of the apostles, I do verily believe!"
+
+The admiral bowed, and turning to the master, he invited him to be of
+the party at the Hall, in the manner which one long accustomed to render
+his civilities agreeable by a sort of professional off-handed way, well
+knew how to assume.
+
+"Sir Wycherly has insisted that I shall consider his table as set in my
+own cabin," he continued; "and I know of no better manner of proving my
+gratitude, than by taking him at his word, and filling it with guests
+that will be agreeable to us both. I believe there is a Mrs. Dutton, and
+a Miss--a--a--a--"
+
+"Milly," put in the baronet, eagerly; "Miss Mildred Dutton--the daughter
+of our good friend Dutton, here, and a young lady who would do credit to
+the gayest drawing-room in London."
+
+"You perceive, sir, that our kind host anticipates the wishes of an old
+bachelor, as it might be by instinct, and desires the company of the
+ladies, also. Miss Mildred will, at least, have two young men to do
+homage to her beauty, and _three_ old ones to sigh in the distance--hey!
+Atwood?"
+
+"Mildred, as Sir Wycherly knows, sir, has been a little disturbed this
+morning," returned Dutton, putting on his best manner for the occasion;
+"but, I feel no doubt, will be too grateful for this honour, not to
+exert herself to make a suitable return. As for my wife, gentlemen--"
+
+"And what is to prevent Mrs. Dutton from being one of the party,"
+interrupted Sir Wycherly, as he observed the husband to hesitate; "she
+sometimes favours me with her company."
+
+"I rather think she will to-day, Sir Wycherly, if Mildred is well enough
+to go; the good woman seldom lets her daughter stray far from her
+apron-strings. She keeps her, as I tell her, within the sweep of her own
+hawse, Sir Gervaise."
+
+"So much the wiser she, Master Dutton," returned the admiral, pointedly.
+"The best pilot for a young woman is a good mother; and now you have a
+fleet in your roadstead, I need not tell a seaman of your experience
+that you are on pilot-ground;--hey! Atwood?"
+
+Here the parties separated, Dutton remaining uncovered until his
+superior had turned the corner of his little cottage, and was fairly out
+of sight. Then the master entered his dwelling to prepare his wife and
+daughter for the honours they had in perspective. Before he executed
+this duty, however, the unfortunate man opened what he called a
+locker--what a housewife would term a cupboard--and fortified his nerves
+with a strong draught of pure Nantes; a liquor that no hostilities,
+custom-house duties, or national antipathies, has ever been able to
+bring into general disrepute in the British Islands. In the mean time
+the party of the two baronets pursued its way towards the Hall.
+
+The village, or hamlet of Wychecombe, lay about half-way between the
+station and the residence of the lord of the manor. It was an
+exceedingly rural and retired collection of mean houses, possessing
+neither physician, apothecary, nor attorney, to give it importance. A
+small inn, two or three shops of the humblest kind, and some twenty
+cottages of labourers and mechanics, composed the place, which, at that
+early day, had not even a chapel, or a conventicle; dissent not having
+made much progress then in England. The parish church, one of the old
+edifices of the time of the Henrys, stood quite alone, in a field, more
+than a mile from the place; and the vicarage, a respectable abode, was
+just on the edge of the park, fully half a mile more distant. In short,
+Wychecombe was one of those places which was so far on the decline, that
+few or no traces of any little importance it may have once possessed,
+were any longer to be discovered; and it had sunk entirely into a hamlet
+that owed its allowed claims to be marked on the maps, and to be noted
+in the gazetteers, altogether to its antiquity, and the name it had
+given to one of the oldest knightly families in England.
+
+No wonder then, that the arrival of a fleet under the head, produced a
+great excitement in the little village. The anchorage was excellent, so
+far as the bottom was concerned, but it could scarcely be called a
+roadstead in any other point of view, since there was shelter against no
+wind but that which blew directly off shore, which happened to be a wind
+that did not prevail in that part of the island. Occasionally, a small
+cruiser would come-to, in the offing, and a few frigates had lain at
+single anchors in the roads, for a tide or so, in waiting for a change
+of weather; but this was the first fleet that had been known to moor
+under the cliffs within the memory of man. The fog had prevented the
+honest villagers from ascertaining the unexpected honour that had been
+done them, until the reports of the two guns reached their ears, when
+the important intelligence spread with due rapidity over the entire
+adjacent country. Although Wychecombe did not lie in actual view of the
+sea, by the time the party of Sir Wycherly entered the hamlet, its
+little street was already crowded with visiters from the fleet; every
+vessel having sent at least one boat ashore, and many of them some three
+or four. Captain's and gun-room stewards, midshipmen's foragers,
+loblolly boys, and other similar harpies, were out in scores; for this
+was a part of the world in which bum-boats were unknown; and if the
+mountain would not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must fain go to the
+mountain. Half an hour had sufficed to exhaust all the unsophisticated
+simplicity of the hamlet; and milk, eggs, fresh butter, soft-tommy,
+vegetables, and such fruits as were ripe, had already risen quite one
+hundred per cent. in the market.
+
+Sir Gervaise had called his force the southern squadron, from the
+circumstance of its having been cruising in the Bay of Biscay, for the
+last six months. This was a wild winter-station, the danger from the
+elements greatly surpassing any that could well be anticipated from the
+enemy. The duty notwithstanding had been well and closely performed;
+several West India, and one valuable East India convoy having been
+effectually protected, as well as a few straggling frigates of the enemy
+picked up; but the service had been excessively laborious to all engaged
+in it, and replete with privations. Most of those who now landed, had
+not trod terra firma for half a year, and it was not wonderful that all
+the officers whose duties did not confine them to the vessels, gladly
+seized the occasion to feast their senses with the verdure and odours of
+their native island. Quite a hundred guests of this character were also
+pouring into the street of Wychecombe, or spreading themselves among the
+surrounding farm-houses; flirting with the awkward and blushing girls,
+and keeping an eye at the same time to the main chance of the
+mess-table.
+
+"Our boys have already found out your village, Sir Wycherly, in spite of
+the fog," the vice-admiral remarked, good-humouredly, as he cast his
+eyes around at the movement of the street; "and the locusts of Egypt
+will not come nearer to breeding a famine. One would think there was a
+great dinner _in petto_, in every cabin of the fleet, by the number of
+the captain's stewards that are ashore, hey! Atwood? I have seen nine of
+the harpies, myself, and the other seven can't be far off."
+
+"Here is Galleygo, Sir Gervaise," returned the secretary, smiling;
+"though _he_ can scarcely be called a captain's steward, having the
+honour to serve a vice-admiral and a commander-in-chief."
+
+"Ay, but _we_ feed the whole fleet at times, and have some excuse for
+being a little exacting--harkee, Galleygo--get a horse-cart, and push
+off at once, four or five miles further into the country; you might as
+well expect to find real pearls in fishes' eyes, as hope to pick up any
+thing nice among so many gun-room and cock-pit boys. I dine ashore
+to-day, but Captain Greenly is fond of mutton-chops, you'll remember."
+
+This was said kindly, and in the manner of a man accustomed to treat his
+domestics with the familiarity of humble friends. Galleygo was as
+unpromising a looking butler as any gentleman ashore would be at all
+likely to tolerate; but he had been with his present master, and in his
+present capacity, ever since the latter had commanded a sloop of war.
+All his youth had been passed as a top-man, and he was really a prime
+seaman; but accident having temporarily placed him in his present
+station, Captain Oakes was so much pleased with his attention to his
+duty, and particularly with his order, that he ever afterwards retained
+him in his cabin, notwithstanding the strong desire the honest fellow
+himself had felt to remain aloft. Time and familiarity, at length
+reconciled the steward to his station, though he did not formally accept
+it, until a clear agreement had been made that he was not to be
+considered an idler on any occasion that called for the services of the
+best men. In this manner David, for such was his Christian name, had
+become a sort of nondescript on board of a man-of-war; being foremost in
+all the cuttings out, a captain of a gun, and was frequently seen on a
+yard in moments of difficulty, just to keep his hand in, as he expressed
+it, while he descended to the duties of the cabin in peaceable times and
+good weather. Near thirty years had he thus been half-steward,
+half-seaman when afloat, while on land he was rather a counsellor and
+minister of the closet, than a servant; for out of a ship he was utterly
+useless, though he never left his master for a week at a time, ashore or
+afloat. The name of Galleygo was a _sobriquet_ conferred by his brother
+top-men, but had been so generally used, that for the last twenty years
+most of his shipmates believed it to be his patronymic. When this
+compound of cabin and forecastle received the order just related, he
+touched the lock of hair on his forehead, a ceremony he always used
+before he spoke to Sir Gervaise, the hat being removed at some three or
+four yards' distance, and made his customary answer of--
+
+"Ay-ay-sir--your honour has been a young gentleman yourself, and knows
+what a young gentleman's stomach gets to be, a'ter a six months' fast in
+the Bay of Biscay; and a young gentleman's _boy's_ stomach, too. I
+always thinks there's but a small chance for us, sir, when I sees six or
+eight of them light cruisers in my neighbourhood. They're som'mat like
+the sloops and cutters of a fleet, which picks up all the prizes."
+
+"Quite true, Master Galleygo; but if the light cruisers get the prizes,
+you should recollect that the admiral always has his share of the
+prize-money."
+
+"Yes, sir, I knows we has our share, but that's accordin' to law, and
+because the commanders of the light craft can't help it. Let 'em once
+get the law on their side, and not a ha'pence would bless our pockets!
+No, sir, what we gets, we gets by the law; and as there is no law to
+fetch up young gentlemen or their boys, that pays as they goes, we never
+gets any thing they or their boys puts hands on."
+
+"I dare say you are right, David, as you always are. It wouldn't be a
+bad thing to have an Act of Parliament to give an admiral his twentieth
+in the reefers' foragings. The old fellows would sometimes get back some
+of their own poultry and fruit in that way, hey! Atwood?"
+
+The secretary smiled his assent, and then Sir Gervaise apologized to his
+host, repeated the order to the steward, and the party proceeded.
+
+"This fellow of mine, Sir Wycherly, is no respecter of persons, beyond
+the etiquette of a man-of-war," the admiral continued, by way of further
+excuse. "I believe His Majesty himself would be favoured with an essay
+on some part of the economy of the cabin, were Galleygo to get an
+opportunity of speaking his mind to him. Nor is the fool without his
+expectations of some day enjoying this privilege; for the last lime I
+went to court, I found honest David rigged, from stem to stern, in a
+full suit of claret and steel, under the idea that he was 'to sail in
+company with me,' as he called it, 'with or without signal!'"
+
+"There was nothing surprising in that, Sir Gervaise," observed the
+secretary. "Galleygo has sailed in company with you so long, and to so
+many strange lands; has been through so many dangers at your side, and
+has got so completely to consider himself as part of the family, that it
+was the most natural thing in the world he should expect to go to court
+with you."
+
+"True enough. The fellow would face the devil, at my side, and I don't
+see why he should hesitate to face the king. I sometimes call him Lady
+Oakes, Sir Wycherly, for he appears to think he has a right of dower, or
+to some other lawyer-like claim on my estate; and as for the fleet, he
+always speaks of _that_, as if we commanded it in common. I wonder how
+Bluewater tolerates the blackguard; for he never scruples to allude to
+him as under _our_ orders! If any thing should befal me, Dick and David
+would have a civil war for the succession, hey! Atwood?"
+
+"I think military subordination would bring Galleygo to his senses, Sir
+Gervaise, should such an unfortunate accident occur--which Heaven avert
+for many years to come! There is Admiral Bluewater coming up the street,
+at this very moment, sir."
+
+At this sudden announcement, the whole party turned to look in the
+direction intimated by the secretary. It was by this time at one end of
+the short street, and all saw a man just entering the other, who, in his
+walk, air, attire, and manner, formed a striking contrast to the active,
+merry, bustling, youthful young sailors who thronged the hamlet. In
+person, Admiral Bluewater was exceedingly tall and exceedingly thin.
+Like most seamen who have that physical formation, he stooped; a
+circumstance that gave his years a greater apparent command over his
+frame, than they possessed in reality. While this bend in his figure
+deprived it, in a great measure, of the sturdy martial air that his
+superior presented to the observer, it lent to his carriage a quiet and
+dignity that it might otherwise have wanted. Certainly, were this
+officer attired like an ordinary civilian, no one would have taken him
+for one of England's bravest and most efficient sea-captains; he would
+have passed rather as some thoughtful, well-educated, and refined
+gentleman, of retired habits, diffident of himself, and a stranger to
+ambition. He wore an undress rear-admiral's uniform, as a matter of
+course; but he wore it carelessly, as if from a sense of duty only; or
+conscious that no arrangement could give him a military air. Still all
+about his person was faultlessly neat, and perfectly respectable. In a
+word, no one but a man accustomed to the sea, were it not for his
+uniform, would suspect the rear-admiral of being a sailor; and even the
+seaman himself might be often puzzled to detect any other signs of the
+profession about him, than were to be found in a face, which, fair,
+gentlemanly, handsome, and even courtly as it was, in expression and
+outline, wore the tint that exposure invariably stamps on the mariner's
+countenance. Here, however, his unseaman-like character ceased. Admiral
+Oakes had often declared that "Dick Bluewater knew more about a ship
+than any man in England;" and as for a fleet, his mode of man[oe]uvring
+one had got to be standard in the service.
+
+As soon as Sir Gervaise recognised his friend, he expressed a wish to
+wait for him, which was courteously converted by Sir Wycherly into a
+proposition to return and meet him. So abstracted was Admiral Bluewater,
+however, that he did not see the party that was approaching him, until
+he was fairly accosted by Sir Gervaise, who led the advance by a few
+yards.
+
+"Good-day to you, Bluewater," commenced the latter, in his familiar,
+off-hand way; "I'm glad you have torn yourself away from your ship;
+though I must say the manner in which you came-to, in that fog, was more
+like instinct, than any thing human! I determined to tell you as much,
+the moment we met; for I don't think there is a ship, half her length
+out of mathematical order, notwithstanding the tide runs, here, like a
+race-horse."
+
+"That is owing to your captains, Sir Gervaise," returned the other,
+observing the respect of manner, that the inferior never loses with his
+superior, on service, and in a navy; let their relative rank and
+intimacy be what they may on all other occasions; "good captains make
+handy ships. Our gentlemen have now been together so long, that they
+understand each other's movements; and every vessel in the fleet has her
+character as well as her commander!"
+
+"Very true, Admiral Bluewater, and yet there is not another officer in
+His Majesty's service, that could have brought a fleet to anchor, in so
+much order, and in such a fog; and I ask your leave, sir, most
+particularly to thank you for the lesson you have given, not only to the
+captains, but to the commander-in-chief. I presume I may admire that
+which I cannot exactly imitate."
+
+The rear-admiral merely smiled and touched his hat in acknowledgment of
+the compliment, but he made no direct answer in words. By this time Sir
+Wycherly and the others had approached, and the customary introductions
+took place. Sir Wycherly now pressed his new acquaintance to join his
+guests, with so much heartiness, that there was no such thing as
+refusing.
+
+"Since you and Sir Gervaise both insist on it so earnestly, Sir
+Wycherly," returned the rear-admiral, "I must consent; but as it is
+contrary to our practice, when on foreign service--and I call this
+roadstead a foreign station, as to any thing we know about it--as it is
+contrary to our practice for both flag-officers to sleep out of the
+fleet, I shall claim the privilege to be allowed to go off to my ship
+before midnight. I think the weather looks settled, Sir Gervaise, and we
+may trust that many hours, without apprehension."
+
+"Pooh--pooh--Bluewater, you are always fancying the ships in a gale, and
+clawing off a lee-shore. Put your heart at rest, and let us go and take
+a comfortable dinner with Sir Wycherly, who has a London paper, I dare
+to say, that may let us into some of the secrets of state. Are there any
+tidings from our people in Flanders?"
+
+"Things remain pretty much as they have been," returned Sir Wycherly,
+"since that last terrible affair, in which the Duke got the better of
+the French at--I never can remember an outlandish name; but it sounds
+something like a Christian baptism. If my poor brother, St. James, were
+living, now, he could tell us all about it."
+
+"Christian baptism! That's an odd allusion for a field of battle. The
+armies can't have got to Jerusalem; hey! Atwood?"
+
+"I rather think, Sir Gervaise," the secretary coolly remarked, "that Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe refers to the battle that took place last spring--it
+was fought at Font-something; and a font certainly has something to do
+with Christian baptism."
+
+"That's it--that's it," cried Sir Wycherly, with some eagerness;
+"Fontenoi was the name of the place, where the Duke would have carried
+all before him, and brought Marshal Saxe, and all his frog-eaters
+prisoners to England, had our Dutch and German allies behaved better
+than they did. So it is with poor old England, gentlemen; whatever _she_
+gains, her allies always _lose_ for her--the Germans, or the colonists,
+are constantly getting us into trouble!"
+
+Both Sir Gervaise and his friend were practical men, and well knew that
+they never fought the Dutch or the French, without meeting with
+something that was pretty nearly their match. They had no faith in
+general national superiority. The courts-martial that so often succeeded
+general actions, had taught them that there were all degrees of spirit,
+as well as all degrees of a want of spirit; and they knew too much, to
+be the dupes of flourishes of the pen, or of vapid declamation at
+dinner-speeches, and in the House of Commons. Men, well led and
+commanded, they had ascertained by experience, were worth twice as much
+as the same men when ill led and ill commanded; and they were not to be
+told that the moral tone of an army or a fleet, from which all its
+success was derived, depended more on the conventional feeling that had
+been got up through moral agencies, than on birth-place, origin, or
+colour. Each glanced his eye significantly at the other, and a sarcastic
+smile passed over the face of Sir Gervaise, though his friend maintained
+his customary appearance of gravity.
+
+"I believe le Grand Monarque and Marshal Saxe give a different account
+of that matter, Sir Wycherly," drily observed the former; "and it may be
+well to remember that there are two sides to every story. Whatever may
+be said of Dettingen, I fancy history will set down Fontenoi as any
+thing but a feather in His Royal Highness' cap."
+
+"You surely do not consider it possible for the French arms to overthrow
+a British army, Sir Gervaise Oakes!" exclaimed the simple-minded
+provincial--for such was Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, though he had sat in
+parliament, had four thousand a year, and was one of the oldest families
+in England--"It sounds like treason to admit the possibility of such a
+thing."
+
+"God bless us, my dear sir, I am as far from supposing any such thing,
+as the Duke of Cumberland himself; who, by the way, has as much English
+blood in his veins, as the Baltic may have of the water of the
+Mediterranean--hey! Atwood? By the way, Sir Wycherly, I must ask a
+little tenderness of you in behalf of my friend the secretary, here, who
+has a national weakness in favour of the Pretender, and all of the clan
+Stuart."
+
+"I hope not--I sincerely hope not, Sir Gervaise!" exclaimed Sir
+Wycherly, with a warmth that was not entirely free from alarm; his own
+loyalty to the new house being altogether without reproach. "Mr. Atwood
+has the air of a gentleman of too good principles not to see on which
+side real religious and political liberty lie. I am sure you are pleased
+to be jocular, Sir Gervaise; the very circumstance that he is in your
+company is a pledge of his loyalty."
+
+"Well, well, Sir Wycherly, I would not give you a false idea of my
+friend Atwood, if possible; and so I may as well confess, that, while
+his Scotch blood inclines him to toryism, his English reason makes him a
+whig. If Charles Stuart never gets the throne until Stephen Atwood helps
+him to a seat on it, he may take leave of ambition for ever."
+
+"I thought as much, Sir Gervaise--I thought _your_ secretary could never
+lean to the doctrine of 'passive obedience and non-resistance.' That's a
+principle which would hardly suit sailors, Admiral Bluewater."
+
+Admiral Bluewater's line, full, blue eye, lighted with an expression
+approaching irony; but he made no other answer than a slight inclination
+of the head. In point of fact, _he_ was a Jacobite: though no one was
+acquainted with the circumstance but his immediate commanding officer.
+As a seaman, he was called on only to serve his country; and, as often
+happens to military men, he was willing to do this under any superior
+whom circumstances might place over his head, let his private sentiments
+be what they might. During the civil war of 1715, he was too young in
+years, and too low in rank to render his opinions of much importance;
+and, kept on foreign stations, his services could only affect the
+general interests of the nation, without producing any influence on the
+contest at home. Since that period, nothing had occurred to require one,
+whose duty kept him on the ocean, to come to a very positive decision
+between the two masters that claimed his allegiance. Sir Gervaise had
+always been able to persuade him that he was sustaining the honour and
+interests of his country, and that ought to be sufficient to a patriot,
+let who would rule. Notwithstanding this wide difference in political
+feeling between the two admirals--Sir Gervaise being as decided a whig,
+as his friend was a tory--their personal harmony had been without a
+shade. As to confidence, the superior knew the inferior so well, that he
+believed the surest way to prevent his taking sides openly with the
+Jacobites, or of doing them secret service, was to put it in his power
+to commit a great breach of trust. So long as faith were put in his
+integrity, Sir Gervaise felt certain his friend Bluewater might be
+relied on; and he also knew that, should the moment ever come when the
+other really intended to abandon the service of the house of Hanover, he
+would frankly throw up his employments, and join the hostile standard,
+without profiting, in any manner, by the trusts he had previously
+enjoyed. It is also necessary that the reader should understand that
+Admiral Bluewater had never communicated his political opinions to any
+person but his friend; the Pretender and his counsellors being as
+ignorant of them, as George II. and his ministers. The only practical
+effect, therefore, that they had ever produced was to induce him to
+decline separate commands, several of which had been offered to him;
+one, quite equal to that enjoyed by Sir Gervaise Oakes, himself.
+
+"No," the latter answered to Sir Wycherly's remark; though the grave,
+thoughtful expression of his face, showed how little his feelings chimed
+in, at the moment, with the ironical language of his tongue. "No--Sir
+Wycherly, a man-of-war's man, in particular, has not the slightest idea
+of 'passive obedience and non-resistance,'--that is a doctrine which is
+intelligible only to papists and tories. Bluewater is in a brown study;
+thinking no doubt of the manner in which he intends to lead down on
+Monsieur de Gravelin, should we ever have the luck to meet that
+gentleman again; so we will, if it's agreeable to all parties, change
+the subject."
+
+"With all my heart, Sir Gervaise," answered the baronet, cordially;
+"and, after all, there is little use in discussing the affair of the
+Pretender any longer, for he appears to be quite out of men's minds,
+since that last failure of King Louis XV."
+
+"Yes, Norris rather crushed the young viper in its shell, and we may
+consider the thing at an end."
+
+"So my late brother, Baron Wychecombe, always treated it, Sir Gervaise.
+He once assured me that the twelve judges were clearly against the
+claim, and that the Stuarts had nothing to expect from _them_."
+
+"Did he tell you, sir, on what ground these learned gentlemen had come
+to this decision?" quietly asked Admiral Bluewater.
+
+"He did, indeed; for he knew my strong desire to make out a good case
+against the tories so well, that he laid all the law before me. I am a
+bad hand, however, to repeat even what I hear; though my poor brother,
+the late Rev. James Wychecombe--St. James as I used to call him--could
+go over a discourse half an hour long, and not miss a word. Thomas and
+James appear to have run away with the memories of the rest of the
+family. Nevertheless, I recollect it all depended on an act of
+Parliament, which is supreme; and the house of Hanover reigning by an
+act of Parliament, no court could set aside the claim."
+
+"Very clearly explained, sir," continued Bluewater; "and you will permit
+me to say that there was no necessity for an apology on account of the
+memory. Your brother, however, might not have exactly explained what an
+act of Parliament is. King, Lords, and Commons, are all necessary to an
+act of Parliament."
+
+"Certainly--we all know that, my dear admiral; we poor fellows ashore
+here, as well as you mariners at sea. The Hanoverian succession had all
+three to authorize it."
+
+"Had it a king?"
+
+"A king! Out of dispute--or what we bachelors ought to consider as much
+better, it had a _queen_. Queen Anne approved of the act, and that made
+it an act of Parliament. I assure you, I learned a good deal of law in
+the Baron's visits to Wychecombe; and in the pleasant hours we used to
+chat together in his chambers!"
+
+"And who signed the act of Parliament that made Anne a queen? or did she
+ascend the throne by regular succession? Both Mary and Anne were
+sovereigns by acts of Parliament, and we must look back until we get the
+approval of a prince who took the crown by legal descent."
+
+"Come--come, Bluewater," put in Sir Gervaise, gravely; "we may persuade
+Sir Wycherly, in this manner, that he has a couple of furious Jacobites
+in company. The Stuarts were dethroned by a revolution, which is a law
+of nature, and enacted by God, and which of course overshadows all other
+laws when it gets into the ascendant, as it clearly has done in this
+case. I take it, Sir Wycherly, these are your park-gates, and that
+yonder is the Hall."
+
+This remark changed the discourse, and the whole party proceeded towards
+the house, discussing the beauty of its position, its history, and its
+advantages, until they reached its door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+    "Monarch and ministers, are awful names:
+    Whoever wear them, challenge our devoir."
+
+         YOUNG.
+
+
+Our plan does not require an elaborate description of the residence of
+Sir Wycherly. The house had been neither priory, abbey, nor castle; but
+it was erected as a dwelling for himself and his posterity, by a Sir
+Michael Wychecombe, two or three centuries before, and had been kept in
+good serviceable condition ever since. It had the usual long, narrow
+windows, a suitable hall, wainscoted rooms, battlemented walls, and
+turreted angles. It was neither large, nor small; handsome, nor ugly;
+grand, nor mean; but it was quaint, respectable in appearance, and
+comfortable as an abode.
+
+The admirals were put each in possession of bed-chambers and
+dressing-rooms, as soon as they arrived; and Atwood was _berthed_ not
+far from his commanding-officer, in readiness for service, if required.
+Sir Wycherly was naturally hospitable; but his retired situation had
+given him a zest for company, that greatly increased the inborn
+disposition. Sir Gervaise, it was understood, was to pass the night with
+him, and he entertained strong hopes of including his friend in the same
+arrangement. Beds were ordered, too, for Dutton, his wife, and daughter;
+and his namesake, the lieutenant, was expected also to sleep under his
+roof, that night.
+
+The day passed in the customary manner; the party having breakfasted,
+and then separated to attend to their several occupations, agreeably to
+the usages of all country houses, in all parts of the world, and, we
+believe, in all time. Sir Gervaise, who had sent a messenger off to the
+Plantagenet for certain papers, spent the morning in writing; Admiral
+Bluewater walked in the park, by himself; Atwood was occupied with his
+superior; Sir Wycherly rode among his labourers; and Tom Wychecombe took
+a rod, and pretended to go forth to fish, though he actually held his
+way back to the head-land, lingering in and around the cottage until it
+was time to return home. At the proper hour, Sir Wycherly sent his
+chariot for the ladies; and a few minutes before the appointed moment,
+the party began to assemble in the drawing-room.
+
+When Sir Wycherly appeared, he found the Duttons already in possession,
+with Tom doing the honours of the house. Of the sailing-master and his
+daughter, it is unnecessary to say more than that the former was in his
+best uniform--an exceedingly plain one, as was then the case with the
+whole naval wardrobe--and that the last had recovered from her illness,
+as was evident by the bloom that the sensitive blushes constantly cast
+athwart her lovely face. Her attire was exactly what it ought to have
+been; neat, simple, and becoming. In honour of the host, she wore her
+best; but this was what became her station, though a little jewelry that
+rather surpassed what might have been expected in a girl of her rank of
+life, threw around her person an air of modest elegance. Mrs. Dutton was
+a plain, matronly woman--the daughter of a land-steward of a nobleman in
+the same county--with an air of great mental suffering, from griefs she
+had never yet exposed to the heartless sympathy of the world.
+
+The baronet was so much in the habit of seeing his humble neighbours,
+that an intimacy had grown up between them. Sir Wycherly, who was
+anything but an acute observer, felt an interest in the
+melancholy-looking, and almost heart-broken mother, without knowing why;
+or certainly without suspecting the real character of her habitual
+sadness; while Mildred's youth and beauty had not failed of producing
+the customary effect of making a friend of the old bachelor. He shook
+hands all round, therefore, with great cordiality; expressing his joy at
+meeting Mrs. Dutton, and congratulating the daughter on her complete
+recovery.
+
+"I see Tom has been attentive to his duty," he added, "while I've been
+detained by a silly fellow about a complaint against a poacher. My
+namesake, young Wycherly, has not got back yet, though it is quite two
+hours past his time; and Mr. Atwood tells me the admiral is a little
+uneasy about his despatches. I tell him Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe, though
+I have not the honour of ranking him among my relatives, and he is only
+a Virginian by birth, is a young man to be relied on; and that the
+despatches are safe, let what may detain the courier."
+
+"And why should not a Virginian be every way as trustworthy and prompt
+as an Englishman, Sir Wycherly?" asked Mrs. Dutton. "He _is_ an
+Englishman, merely separated from us by the water."
+
+This was said mildly, or in the manner of one accustomed to speak under
+a rebuked feeling; but it was said earnestly, and perhaps a little
+reproachfully, while the speaker's eye glanced with natural interest
+towards the beautiful face of her daughter.
+
+"Why not, sure enough, my dear Mrs. Dutton!" echoed the baronet. "They
+_are_ Englishmen, like ourselves, only born out of the realm, as it
+might be, and no doubt a little different on that account. They are
+fellow-subjects, Mrs. Dutton, and that is a great deal. Then they are
+miracles of loyalty, there being scarcely a Jacobite, as they tell me,
+in all the colonies."
+
+"Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe is a very respectable young gentleman," said
+Dutton; "and I hear he is a prime seaman for his years. He has not the
+honour of being related to this distinguished family, like Mr. Thomas,
+here, it is true; but he is likely to make a name for himself. Should he
+get a ship, and do as handsome things in her, as he has done already,
+His Majesty would probably knight him; and then we should have _two_ Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombes!"
+
+"I hope not--I hope not!" exclaimed the baronet; "I think there must be
+a law against _that_. As it is, I shall be obliged to put Bart. after my
+name, as my worthy grandfather used to do, in order to prevent
+confusion; but England can't bear two Sir Wycherlys, any more than the
+world can bear two suns. Is not that your opinion, Miss Mildred?"
+
+The baronet had laughed at his own allusion, showing he spoke half
+jocularly; but, as his question was put in too direct a manner to escape
+general attention, the confused girl was obliged to answer.
+
+"I dare say Mr. Wychecombe will never reach a rank high enough to cause
+any such difficulty," she said; and it was said in all sincerity; for,
+unconsciously perhaps, she secretly hoped that no difference so wide
+might ever be created between the youth and herself. "If he should, I
+suppose his rights would be as good as another's, and he must keep his
+name."
+
+"In such a case, which is improbable enough, as Miss Mildred has so well
+observed," put in Tom Wychecombe, "we should have to submit to the
+_knighthood_, for that comes from the king, who might knight a
+chimney-sweep, if he see fit; but a question might be raised as to the
+_name_. It is bad enough as it is; but if it really got to be _two_ Sir
+Wycherlys, I think my dear uncle would be wrong to submit to such an
+invasion of what one might call his individuality, without making some
+inquiry as to the right of the gentleman to one or both his names. The
+result might show that the king had made a Sir Something Nobody."
+
+The sneer and spite with which this was uttered, were too marked to
+escape notice; and both Dutton and his wife felt it would be unpleasant
+to mingle farther in the discourse. Still the last, submissive, rebuked,
+and heart-broken as she was, felt a glow on her own pale cheek, as she
+saw the colour mount in the face of Mildred, and she detected the strong
+impulses that urged the generous girl herself to answer.
+
+"We have now known Mr. Wychecombe several months," observed Mildred,
+fastening her full, blue eye calmly on Tom's sinister-looking face; "and
+we have never known any thing to cause us to think he would bear a
+name--or names--that he does not at least think he has a right to."
+
+This was said gently, but so distinctly, that every word entered fairly
+into Tom Wychecombe's soul; who threw a quick, suspicious glance at the
+lovely speaker, as if to ascertain how far she intended any allusion to
+himself. Meeting with no other expression than that of generous
+interest, he recovered his self-command, and made his reply with
+sufficient coolness.
+
+"Upon my word, Mrs. Dutton," he cried, laughing; "we young men will all
+of us have to get over the cliff, and hang dangling at the end of a
+rope, in order to awaken an interest in Miss Mildred, to defend us when
+our backs are turned. So eloquent--and most especially, so lovely, so
+charming an advocate, is almost certain of success; and my uncle and
+myself must admit the absent gentleman's right to our name; though,
+heaven be praised, he has not yet got either the title or the estate."
+
+"I hope I have said nothing, Sir Wycherly, to displease _you_," returned
+Mildred, with emphasis; though her face was a thousand times handsomer
+than ever, with the blushes that suffused it. "Nothing would pain me
+more, than to suppose I had done so improper a thing. I merely meant
+that we cannot believe Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe would willingly take a
+name he had no right to."
+
+"My little dear," said the baronet, taking the hand of the distressed
+girl, and kissing her cheek, as he had often done before, with fatherly
+tenderness; "it is not an easy matter for _you_ to offend _me_; and I'm
+sure the young fellow is quite welcome to both my names, if you wish him
+to have 'em."
+
+"And I merely meant, Miss Mildred," resumed Tom, who feared he might
+have gone too far; "that the young gentleman--quite without any fault of
+his own--is probably ignorant how he came by two names that have so long
+pertained to the head of an ancient and honourable family. There is many
+a young man born, who is worthy of being an earl, but whom the law
+considers--" here Tom paused to choose terms suitable for his auditor,
+when the baronet added,
+
+"A _filius nullius_--that's the phrase, Tom--I had it from your own
+father's mouth."
+
+Tom Wychecombe started, and looked furtively around him, as if to
+ascertain who suspected the truth. Then he continued, anxious to regain
+the ground he feared he had lost in Mildred's favour.
+
+"_Filius nullius_ means, Miss Mildred, exactly what I wish to express; a
+family without any legal origin. They tell me, however, that in the
+colonies, nothing is more common than for people to take the names of
+the great families at home, and after a while they fancy themselves
+related."
+
+"I never heard Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe say a word to lead us to suppose
+that he was, in any manner, connected with this family, sir," returned
+Mildred, calmly, but quite distinctly.
+
+"Did you ever hear him say he was _not_, Miss Mildred?"
+
+"I cannot say I ever did, Mr. Wychecombe. It is a subject that has
+seldom been introduced in my hearing."
+
+"But it has often been introduced in his! I declare, Sir Wycherly, it
+has struck me as singular, that while you and I have so very frequently
+stated in the presence of this gentleman, that our families are in no
+way connected, he has never, in any manner, not even by a nod or a look
+of approbation, assented to what he must certainly know to be the case.
+But I suppose, like a true colonist, he was unwilling to give up his
+hold on the old stock."
+
+Here the entrance of Sir Gervaise Oakes changed the discourse. The
+vice-admiral joined the party in good spirits, as is apt to be the case
+with men who have been much occupied with affairs of moment, and who
+meet relaxation with a consciousness of having done their duty.
+
+"If one could take with him to sea, the comforts of such a house as
+this, Sir Wycherly, and such handsome faces as your own, young lady,"
+cried Sir Gervaise, cheerfully, after he had made his salutations;
+"there would be an end of our exclusiveness, for every _petit maitre_ of
+Paris and London would turn sailor, as a matter of course. Six months in
+the Bay of Biscay gives an old fellow, like myself, a keen relish for
+these enjoyments, as hunger makes any meat palatable; though I am far,
+very far, indeed, from putting this house or this company, on a level
+with an indifferent feast, even for an epicure."
+
+"Such as it is, Sir Gervaise, the first is quite at your service, in all
+things," rejoined the host; "and the last will do all in its power to
+make itself agreeable."
+
+"Ah--here comes Bluewater to echo all I have said and feel. I am telling
+Sir Wycherly and the ladies, of the satisfaction we grampuses experience
+when we get berthed under such a roof as this, with woman's sweet face
+to throw a gleam of happiness around her."
+
+Admiral Bluewater had already saluted the mother, but when his eye fell
+on the face and person of Mildred, it was riveted, for an instant, with
+an earnestness and intentness of surprise and admiration that all noted,
+though no one saw fit to comment on it.
+
+"Sir Gervaise is so established an admirer of the sex," said the
+rear-admiral, recovering himself, after a pause; "that I am never
+astonished at any of his raptures. Salt water has the usual effect on
+him, however; for I have now known him longer than he might wish to be
+reminded of, and yet the only mistress who can keep him true, is his
+ship."
+
+"And to that I believe I may be said to be constant. I don't know how it
+is with you, Sir Wycherly, but every thing I am accustomed to I like.
+Now, here I have sailed with both these gentlemen, until I should as
+soon think of going to sea without a binnacle, as to go to sea without
+'em both--hey! Atwood? Then, as to the ship, my flag has been flying in
+the Plantagenet these ten years, and I can't bear to give the old craft
+up, though Bluewater, here, would have turned her over to an inferior
+after three years' service. I tell all the young men they don't stay
+long enough in any one vessel to find out her good qualities. I never
+was in a slow ship yet."
+
+"For the simple reason that you never get into a fast one, that you do
+not wear her fairly out, before you give her up. The Plantagenet, Sir
+Wycherly, is the fastest two-decker in His Majesty's service, and the
+vice-admiral knows it too well to let any of us get foot in her, while
+her timbers will hang together."
+
+"Let it be so, if you will; it only shows, Sir Wycherly, that I do not
+choose my friends for their bad qualities. But, allow me to ask, young
+lady, if you happen to know a certain Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe--a
+namesake, but no relative, I understand, of our respectable host--and
+one who holds a commission in His Majesty's service?"
+
+"Certainly, Sir Gervaise," answered Mildred, dropping her eyes to the
+floor, and trembling, though she scarce knew why; "Mr. Wychecombe has
+been about here, now, for some months, and we all know something of
+him."
+
+"Then, perhaps you can tell me whether he is generally a loiterer on
+duty. I do not inquire whether he is a laggard in his duty to you, but
+whether, mounted on a good hunter, he could get over twenty miles, in
+eight or ten hours, for instance?"
+
+"I think Sir Wycherly would tell you that he could, sir."
+
+"He may be a Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly, but he is no Plantagenet, in the
+way of sailing. Surely the young gentleman ought to have returned some
+hours since!"
+
+"It's quite surprising to me that he is not back before this," returned
+the kind-hearted baronet. "He is active, and understands himself, and
+there is not a better horseman in the county--is there, Miss Mildred?"
+
+Mildred did not think it necessary to reply to this direct appeal; but
+spite of the manner in which she had been endeavouring to school her
+feelings, since the accident on the cliff, she could not prevent the
+deadly paleness that dread of some accident had produced, or the rush of
+colour to her cheeks that followed from the unexpected question of Sir
+Wycherly. Turning to conceal her confusion, she met the eye of Tom
+Wychecombe riveted on her face, with an expression so sinister, that it
+caused her to tremble. Fortunately, at this moment, Sir Gervaise turned
+away, and drawing near his friend, on the other side of the large
+apartment, he said in an under tone--
+
+"Luckily, Atwood has brought ashore a duplicate of my despatches,
+Bluewater, and if this dilatory gentleman does not return by the time we
+have dined, I will send off a second courier. The intelligence is too
+important to be trifled with; and after having brought the fleet north,
+to be in readiness to serve the state in this emergency, it would be
+rare folly to leave the ministry in ignorance of the reasons why I have
+done it."
+
+"Nevertheless, they would be almost as well-informed, as I am myself,"
+returned the rear-admiral, with a little point, but quite without any
+bitterness of manner. "The only advantage I have over them is that I
+_do_ know where the fleet is, which is more than the First Lord can
+boast of."
+
+"True--I had forgot, my friend--but you must feel that there _is_ a
+subject on which I had better not consult you. I have received some
+important intelligence, that my duty, as a commander-in-chief, renders
+it necessary I should--keep to myself."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed as he concluded, though he seemed vexed and
+embarrassed. Admiral Bluewater betrayed neither chagrin, nor
+disappointment; but strong, nearly ungovernable curiosity, a feeling
+from which he was singularly exempt in general, glowed in his eyes, and
+lighted his whole countenance. Still, habitual submission to his
+superior, and the self-command of discipline, enabled him to wait for
+any thing more that his friend might communicate. At this moment, the
+door opened, and Wycherly entered the room, in the state in which he had
+just dismounted. It was necessary to throw but a single glance at his
+hurried manner, and general appearance, to know that he had something of
+importance to communicate, and Sir Gervaise made a sign for him not to
+speak.
+
+"This is public service, Sir Wycherly," said the vice-admiral, "and I
+hope you will excuse us for a few minutes. I beg this good company will
+be seated at table, as soon as dinner is served, and that you will treat
+us as old friends--as I should treat you, if we were on board the
+Plantagenet. Admiral Bluewater, will you be of our conference?"
+
+Nothing more was said until the two admirals and the young lieutenant
+were in the dressing-room of Sir Gervaise Oakes. Then the latter turned,
+and addressed Wycherly, with the manner of a superior.
+
+"I should have met you with a reproof, for this delay, young gentleman,"
+he commenced, "did I not suspect, from your appearance, that something
+of moment has occurred to produce it. Had the mail passed the
+market-town, before you reached it, sir?"
+
+"It had not, Admiral Oakes; and I have the satisfaction of knowing that
+your despatches are now several hours on their way to London. I reached
+the office just in season to see them mailed."
+
+"Humph! On board the Plantagenet, it is the custom for an officer to
+report any important duty done, as soon as it is in a condition to be
+thus laid before the superior!"
+
+"I presume that is the usage in all His Majesty's ships, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes: but I have been taught that a proper discretion, when it does not
+interfere with positive orders, and sometimes when it does, is a surer
+sign of a useful officer, than even the most slavish attention to
+rules."
+
+"That is a just distinction, young gentleman, though safer in the hands
+of a captain, perhaps, than in those of a lieutenant," returned the
+vice-admiral, glancing at his friend, though he secretly admired the
+youth's spirit. "Discretion is a comparative term; meaning different
+things with different persons. May I presume to ask what Mr. Wycherly
+Wychecombe calls discretion, in the present instance?"
+
+"You have every right, sir, to know, and I only wanted your permission
+to tell my whole story. While waiting to see the London mail start with
+your despatches, and to rest my horse, a post-chaise arrived that was
+carrying a gentleman, who is suspected of being a Jacobite, to his
+country-seat, some thirty miles further west. This gentleman held a
+secret conference with another person of the same way of thinking as
+himself; and there was so much running and sending of messages, that I
+could not avoid suspecting something was in the wind. Going to the
+stable to look after Sir Wycherly's hunter, for I knew how much he
+values the animal, I found one of the stranger's servants in discourse
+with the ostler. The latter told me, when the chaise had gone, that
+great tidings had reached Exeter, before the travellers quitted the
+town. These tidings he described as news that 'Charley was no longer
+over the water.' It was useless, Sir Gervaise, to question one so
+stupid; and, at the inn, though all observed the manner of the traveller
+and his visiter, no one could tell me any thing positive. Under the
+circumstances, therefore, I threw myself into the return chaise, and
+went as far as Fowey, where I met the important intelligence that Prince
+Charles has actually landed, and is at this moment up, in Scotland!"
+
+"The Pretender is then really once more among us!" exclaimed Sir
+Gervaise, like one who had half suspected the truth.
+
+"Not the Pretender, Sir Gervaise, as I understand the news; but his
+young son, Prince Charles Edward, one much more likely to give the
+kingdom trouble. The fact is certain, I believe; and as it struck me
+that it might be important to the commander of so fine a fleet as this
+which lies under Wychecombe Head, to know it, I lost no time in getting
+back with the intelligence."
+
+"You have done well, young gentleman, and have proved that discretion
+_is_ quite as useful and respectable in a lieutenant, as it can possibly
+prove to be in a full admiral of the white. Go, now, and make yourself
+fit to take a seat by the side of one of the sweetest girls in England,
+where I shall expect to see you, in fifteen minutes. Well, Bluewater,"
+he continued, as soon as the door closed on Wycherly; "this _is_ news,
+of a certainty!"
+
+"It is, indeed; and I take it to be the news, or connected with the
+news, that you have sent to the First Lord, in the late despatches. It
+has not taken you altogether by surprise, if the truth were said?"
+
+"It has not, I confess. You know what excellent intelligence we have
+had, the past season, from the Bordeaux agent; he sent me off such
+proofs of this intended expedition, that I thought it advisable to bring
+the fleet north on the strength of it, that the ships might be used as
+the exigency should require."
+
+"Thank God, it is a long way to Scotland, and it is not probable we can
+reach the coast of that country until all is over! I wish we had
+inquired of this young man with what sort of, and how large a naval
+force the prince was accompanied with. Shall I send for him, that we may
+put the question?"
+
+"It is better that you remain passive, Admiral Bluewater. I now promise
+you that you shall learn all I hear; and that, under the circumstances,
+I think ought to content you."
+
+The two admirals now separated, though neither returned to the company
+for some little time. The intelligence they had just learned was too
+important to be lightly received, and each of these veteran seamen paced
+his room, for near a quarter of an hour, reflecting on what might be the
+probable consequences to the country and to himself. Sir Gervaise Oakes
+expected some event of this nature, and was less taken by surprise than
+his friend; still he viewed the crisis as exceedingly serious, and as
+one likely to destroy the prosperity of the nation, as well as the peace
+of families. There was then in England, as there is to-day, and as there
+probably will be throughout all time, two parties; one of which clung to
+the past with its hereditary and exclusive privileges, while the other
+looked more towards change for anticipated advantages, and created
+honours. Religion, in that age, was made the stalking-horse of
+politicians; as is liberty on one side, and order on the other, in our
+own times; and men just as blindly, as vehemently, and as regardlessly
+of principle, submitted to party in the middle of the eighteenth
+century, as we know they do in the middle of the nineteenth. The mode of
+acting was a little changed, and the watchwords and rallying points were
+not exactly the same, it is true; but, in all that relates to ignorant
+confidence, ferocious denunciation, and selfishness but half concealed
+under the cloak of patriotism, the England of the original whigs and
+tories, was the England of conservatism and reform, and the America of
+1776, the America of 1841.
+
+Still thousands always act, in political struggles, with the fairest
+intentions, though they act in bitter opposition to each other. When
+prejudice becomes the stimulant of ignorance, no other result may be
+hoped for; and the experience of the world, in the management of human
+affairs, has left the upright and intelligent, but one conclusion as the
+reward of all the pains and penalties with which political revolutions
+have been effected--the conviction that no institutions can be invented,
+which a short working does not show will be perverted from their
+original intention, by the ingenuity of those entrusted with power. In a
+word, the physical constitution of man does not more infallibly tend to
+decrepitude and imbecility, imperiously requiring a new being, and a new
+existence, to fulfil the objects of his creation, than the moral
+constitutions which are the fruits of his wisdom, contain the seeds of
+abuses and decay, that human selfishness will be as certain to
+cultivate, as human indulgence is to aid the course of nature, in
+hastening the approaches of death. Thus, while on the one hand, there
+exists the constant incentive of abuses and hopes to induce us to wish
+for modifications of the social structure, on the other there stands the
+experience of ages to demonstrate their insufficiency to produce the
+happiness we aim at. If the world advances in civilization and humanity,
+it is because knowledge will produce its fruits in every soil, and under
+every condition of cultivation and improvement.
+
+Both Sir Gervaise Oakes and Admiral Bluewater believed themselves to be
+purely governed by principles, in submitting to the bias that each felt
+towards the conflicting claims of the houses of Brunswick and Stuart.
+Perhaps no two men in England were in fact less influenced by motives
+that they ought to feel ashamed to own; and yet, as has been seen, while
+they thought so much alike on most other things, on this they were
+diametrically opposed to each other. During the many years of arduous
+and delicate duties that they had served together, jealousy, distrust,
+and discontent had been equally strangers to their bosoms; for each had
+ever felt the assurance that his own honour, happiness, and interests
+were as much ruling motives with his friend, as they could well be with
+himself Their lives had been constant scenes of mutual but unpretending
+kindnesses; and this under circumstances that naturally awakened all the
+most generous and manly sentiments of their natures. When young men,
+their laughing messmates had nick-named them Pylades and Orestes; and
+later in life, on account of their cruising so much in company, they
+were generally known in the navy as the "twin captains." On several
+occasions had they fought enemies' frigates, and captured them; on these
+occasions, as a matter of course, the senior of the two became most
+known to the nation; but Sir Gervaise had made the most generous efforts
+to give his junior a full share of the credit, while Captain Bluewater
+never spoke of the affairs without mentioning them as victories of the
+commodore. In a word, on all occasions, and under all circumstances, it
+appeared to be the aim of these generous-minded and gallant seamen, to
+serve each other; nor was this attempted with any effort, or striving
+for effect; all that was said, or done, coming naturally and
+spontaneously from the heart. But, for the first time in their lives,
+events had now occurred which threatened a jarring of the feelings
+between them, if they did not lead to acts which must inevitably place
+them in open and declared hostility to each other. No wonder, then, that
+both looked at the future with gloomy forebodings, and a distrust,
+which, if it did not render them unhappy, at least produced uneasiness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+    "The circle form'd, we sit in silent state,
+    Like figures drawn upon a dial-plate;
+    Yes ma'am, and no ma'am, uttered softly show,
+    Every five minutes how the minutes go."
+
+         COWPER.
+
+
+It is scarcely necessary to tell the reader that England, as regarded
+material civilization, was a very different country a hundred years
+since, from what it is to-day. We are writing of an age of heavy wagons,
+coaches and six, post-chaises and four; and not of an era of
+MacAdam-roads, or of cars flying along by steam. A man may now post down
+to a country-house, some sixty or eighty miles, to dinner; and this,
+too, by the aid of only a pair of horses; but, in 1745 such an
+engagement would have required at least a start on the previous day;
+and, in many parts of the island, it would have been safer to have taken
+two days' grace. Scotland was then farther from Devonshire, in effect,
+than Geneva is now; and news travelled slowly, and with the usual
+exaggerations and uncertainties of delay. It was no wonder, then, that a
+Jacobite who was posting off to his country-house--the focus of an
+English landlord's influence and authority--filled with intelligence
+that had reached him through the activity of zealous political
+partisans, preceded the more regular tidings of the mail, by several
+hours. The little that had escaped this individual, or his servants
+rather, for the gentleman was tolerably discreet himself, confiding in
+only one or two particular friends at each relay, had not got out to the
+world, either very fully, or very clearly. Wycherly had used
+intelligence in making his inquiries, and he had observed an officer's
+prudence in keeping his news for the ears of his superior alone. When
+Sir Gervaise joined the party in the drawing-room, therefore, he saw
+that Sir Wycherly knew nothing of what had occurred at the north; and he
+intended the glance which he directed at the lieutenant to convey a
+hearty approval of his discretion. This forbearance did more to raise
+the young officer in the opinion of the practised and thoughtful
+admiral, than the gallantry with which the youth had so recently
+purchased his commission; for while many were brave, few had the
+self-command, and prudence, under circumstances like the present, that
+alone can make a man safe in the management of important public
+interests. The approbation that Sir Gervaise felt, and which he desired
+to manifest, for Wycherly's prudence, was altogether a principle,
+however; since there existed no sufficient reason for keeping the secret
+from as confirmed a whig as his host. On the contrary, the sooner those
+opinions, which both of them would be apt to term sound, were
+promulgated in the neighbourhood, the better it might prove for the good
+cause. The vice-admiral, therefore, determined to communicate himself,
+as soon as the party was seated at table, the very secret which he so
+much commended the youth for keeping. Admiral Bluewater joining the
+company, at this instant, Sir Wycherly led Mrs. Dutton to the table. No
+alteration had taken place among the guests, except that Sir Gervaise
+wore the red riband; a change in his dress that his friend considered to
+be openly hoisting the standard of the house of Hanover.
+
+"One would not think, Sir Wycherly," commenced the vice-admiral,
+glancing his eyes around him, as soon as all were sealed; "that this
+good company has taken its place at your hospitable table, in the midst
+of a threatened civil war, if not of an actual revolution."
+
+Every hand was arrested, and every eye turned towards the speaker; even
+Admiral Bluewater earnestly regarding his friend, anxious to know what
+would come next.
+
+"I believe my household is in due subjection," answered Sir Wycherly,
+gazing to the right and left, as if he expected to see his butler
+heading a revolt; "and I fancy the only change we shall see to-day, will
+be the removal of the courses, and the appearance of their successors."
+
+"Ay, so says the hearty, comfortable Devonshire baronet, while seated at
+his own board, favoured by abundance and warm friends. But it would seem
+the snake was only scotched; not killed."
+
+"Sir Gervaise Oaken has grown figurative; with his _snakes_ and
+_scotch_ings," observed the rear-admiral, a little drily.
+
+"It is _Scotch_-ing, as you say with so much emphasis, Bluewater. I
+suppose, Sir Wycherly--I suppose, Mr. Dutton, and you, my pretty young
+lady--I presume all of you have heard of such a person as the
+Pretender;--some of you may possibly have _seen_ him."
+
+Sir Wycherly now dropt his knife and fork, and sat gazing at the speaker
+in amazement. To him the Christian religion, the liberties of the
+subject--more especially of the baronet and lord of the manor, who had
+four thousand a year--and the Protestant succession, all seemed to be in
+sudden danger.
+
+"I always told my brother, the judge--Mr. Baron Wychecombe, who is dead
+and gone--that what between the French, that rogue the Pope, and the
+spurious offspring of King James II., we should yet see troublesome
+times in England! And now, sir, my predictions are verified!"
+
+"Not as to England, yet, my good sir. Of Scotland I have not quite so
+good news to tell you; as your namesake, here, brings us the tidings
+that the son of the Pretender has landed in that kingdom, and is
+rallying the clans. He has come unattended by any Frenchmen, it would
+seem, and has thrown himself altogether on the misguided nobles and
+followers of his house."
+
+"'Tis, at least, a chivalrous and princely act!" exclaimed Admiral
+Bluewater.
+
+"Yes--inasmuch as it is a heedless and mad one. England is not to be
+conquered by a rabble of half-dressed Scotchmen."
+
+"True; but England may be conquered by England, notwithstanding."
+
+Sir Gervaise now chose to remain silent, for never before had Bluewater
+come so near betraying his political bias, in the presence of third
+persons. This pause enabled Sir Wycherly to find his voice.
+
+"Let me see, Tom," said the baronet, "fifteen and ten are twenty-five,
+and ten are thirty, and ten are forty-five--it is just thirty years
+since the Jacobites were up before! It would seem that half a human life
+is not sufficient to fill the cravings of a Scotchman's maw, for English
+gold."
+
+"Twice thirty years would hardly quell the promptings of a noble spirit,
+when his notions of justice showed him the way to the English throne,"
+observed Bluewater, coolly. "For my part, I like the spirit of this
+young prince, for he who nobly dares, nobly deserves. What say you, my
+beautiful neighbour?"
+
+"If you mean to address me, sir, by that compliment," answered Mildred,
+modestly, but with the emphasis that the gentlest of her sex are apt to
+use when they feel strongly; "I must be suffered to say that I hope
+every Englishman will dare as nobly, and deserve as well in defence of
+his liberties."
+
+"Come--come, Bluewater," interrupted Sir Gervaise, with a gravity that
+almost amounted to reproof; "I cannot permit such innuendoes before one
+so young and unpractised. The young lady might really suppose that His
+Majesty's fleet was entrusted to men unworthy to enjoy his confidence,
+by the cool way in which you carry on the joke. I propose, now, Sir
+Wycherly, that we eat our dinner in peace, and say no more about this
+mad expedition, until the cloth is drawn, at least. It's a long road to
+Scotland, and there is little danger that this adventurer will find his
+way into Devonshire before the nuts are placed before us."
+
+"It would be nuts to us, if he did, Sir Gervaise," put in Tom Wycherly,
+laughing heartily at his own wit. "My uncle would enjoy nothing more
+than to see the spurious sovereign on his own estate, here, and in the
+hands of his own tenants. I think, sir, that Wychecombe and one or two
+of the adjoining manors, would dispose of him."
+
+"That might depend on circumstances," the admiral answered, a little
+drily. "These Scots have such a thing as a claymore, and are desperate
+fellows, they tell me, at a charge. The very fact of arming a soldier
+with a short sword, shows a most bloody-minded disposition."
+
+"You forget, Sir Gervaise, that we have our Cornish hug, here in the
+west of England; and I will put our fellows against any Scotch regiment
+that ever charged an enemy."
+
+Tom laughed again at his own allusion to a proverbial mode of grappling,
+familiar to the adjoining county.
+
+"This is all very well, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, so long as Devonshire is
+in the west of England, and Scotland lies north of the Tweed. Sir
+Wycherly might as well leave the matter in the hands of the Duke and his
+regulars, if it were only in the way of letting every man follow his own
+trade."
+
+"It strikes me as so singularly insolent in a base-born boy like this,
+pretending to the English crown, that I can barely speak of him with
+patience! We all know that his father was a changeling, and the son of a
+changeling can have no more right than the father himself. I do not
+remember what the law terms such pretenders; but I dare say it is
+something sufficiently odious."
+
+"_Filius nullius_, Thomas," said Sir Wycherly, with a little eagerness
+to show his learning. "That's the very phrase. I have it from the first
+authority; my late brother, Baron Wychecombe, giving it to me with his
+own mouth, on an occasion that called for an understanding of such
+matters. The judge was a most accurate lawyer, particularly in all that
+related to names; and I'll engage, if he were living at this moment, he
+would tell you the legal appellation of a changeling ought to be _filius
+nullius_."
+
+In spite of his native impudence, and an innate determination to make
+his way in the world, without much regard to truth, Tom Wychecombe felt
+his cheek burn so much, at this innocent allusion of his reputed uncle,
+that he was actually obliged to turn away his face, in order to conceal
+his confusion. Had any moral delinquency of his own been implicated in
+the remark, he might have found means to steel himself against its
+consequences; but, as is only too often the case, he was far more
+ashamed of a misfortune over which he had no possible control, than he
+would have been of a crime for which he was strictly responsible in
+morals. Sir Gervaise smiled at Sir Wycherly's knowledge of law terms,
+not to say of Latin; and turning good-humouredly to his friend the
+rear-admiral, anxious to re-establish friendly relations with him, he
+said with well-concealed irony--
+
+"Sir Wycherly must be right, Bluewater. A changeling is _nobody_--that
+is to say, he is not the _body_ he pretends to be, which is
+substantially being nobody--and the son of nobody, is clearly a _filius
+nullius_. And now having settled what may be called the law of the case,
+I demand a truce, until we get our nuts--for as to Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe's having _his_ nut to crack, at least to-day, I take it there
+are too many loyal subjects in the north."
+
+When men know each other as well as was the case with our two admirals,
+there are a thousand secret means of annoyance, as well as of
+establishing amity. Admiral Bluewater was well aware that Sir Gervaise
+was greatly superior to the vulgar whig notion of the day, which
+believed in the fabricated tale of the Pretender's spurious birth; and
+the secret and ironical allusion he had made to his impression on that
+subject, acted as oil to his own chafed spirit, disposing him to
+moderation. This had been the intention of the other; and the smiles
+they exchanged, sufficiently proved that their usual mental intercourse
+was temporarily restored at least.
+
+Deference to his guests made Sir Wycherly consent to change the subject,
+though he was a little mystified with the obvious reluctance of the two
+admirals to speak of an enterprise that ought to be uppermost, according
+to his notion of the matter, in every Englishman's mind. Tom had
+received a rebuke that kept him silent during the rest of the dinner;
+while the others were content to eat and drink, as if nothing had
+happened.
+
+It is seldom that a party takes its seat at table without some secret
+man[oe]uvring, as to the neighbourhood, when the claims of rank and
+character do not interfere with personal wishes. Sir Wycherly had placed
+Sir Gervaise on his right and Mrs. Dutton on his left. But Admiral
+Bluewater had escaped from his control, and taken his seat next to
+Mildred, who had been placed by Tom Wychecombe close to himself, at the
+foot of the table. Wycherly occupied the seat opposite, and this
+compelled Dutton, and Mr. Rotherham, the vicar, to fill the other two
+chairs. The good baronet had made a wry face, at seeing a rear-admiral
+so unworthily bestowed; but Sir Gervaise assuring him that his friend
+was never so happy as when in the service of beauty, he was fain to
+submit to the arrangement.
+
+That Admiral Bluewater was struck with Mildred's beauty, and pleased
+with her natural and feminine manner, one altogether superior to what
+might have been expected from her station in life, was very apparent to
+all at table; though it was quite impossible to mistake his parental and
+frank air for any other admiration than that which was suitable to the
+difference in years, and in unison with their respective conditions and
+experience. Mrs. Dutton, so far from taking the alarm at the
+rear-admiral's attentions, felt gratification in observing them; and
+perhaps she experienced a secret pride in the consciousness of their
+being so well merited. It has been said, already, that she was, herself,
+the daughter of a land-steward of a nobleman, in an adjoining county;
+but it may be well to add, here, that she had been so great a favourite
+with the daughters of her father's employer, as to have been admitted,
+in a measure, to their society; and to have enjoyed some of the
+advantages of their education. Lady Wilmeter, the mother of the young
+ladies, to whom she was admitted as a sort of humble companion, had
+formed the opinion it might be an advantage to the girl to educate her
+for a governess; little conceiving, in her own situation, that she was
+preparing a course of life for Martha Ray, for such was Mrs. Dutton's
+maiden name, that was perhaps the least enviable of all the careers that
+a virtuous and intelligent female can run. This was, as education and
+governesses were appreciated a century ago; the world, with all its
+faults and sophisms, having unquestionably made a vast stride towards
+real civilization, and moral truths, in a thousand important interests,
+since that time. Nevertheless, the education was received, together with
+a good many tastes, and sentiments, and opinions, which it may well be
+questioned, whether they contributed most to the happiness or
+unhappiness of the pupil, in her future life. Frank Dutton, then a
+handsome, though far from polished young sea-lieutenant, interfered with
+the arrangement, by making Martha Ray his wife, when she was
+two-and-twenty. This match was suitable, in all respects, with the
+important exception of the educations and characters of the parties.
+Still, as a woman may well be more refined, and in some things, even
+more intelligent than her husband; and as sailors, in the commencement
+of the eighteenth century, formed a class of society much more distinct
+than they do to-day, there would have been nothing absolutely
+incompatible with the future well-being of the young couple, had each
+pursued his, or her own career, in a manner suitable to their respective
+duties. Young Dutton took away his bride, with the two thousand pounds
+she had received from her father, and for a long time he was seen no
+more in his native county. After an absence of some twenty years,
+however, he returned, broken in constitution, and degraded in rank. Mrs.
+Dutton brought with her one child, the beautiful girl introduced to the
+reader, and to whom she was studiously imparting all she had herself
+acquired in the adventitious manner mentioned. Such were the means, by
+which Mildred, like her mother, had been educated above her condition in
+life; and it had been remarked that, though Mrs. Dutton had probably no
+cause to felicitate herself on the possession of manners and sentiments
+that met with so little sympathy, or appreciation, in her actual
+situation, she assiduously cultivated the same manners and opinions in
+her daughter; frequently manifesting a sort of sickly fastidiousness on
+the subject of Mildred's deportment and tastes. It is probable the girl
+owed her improvement in both, however, more to the circumstance of her
+being left so much alone with her mother, than to any positive lessons
+she received; the influence of example, for years, producing its usual
+effects.
+
+No one in Wychecombe positively knew the history of Dutton's
+professional degradation. He had never risen higher than to be a
+lieutenant; and from this station he had fallen by the sentence of a
+court-martial. His restoration to the service, in the humbler and almost
+hopeless rank of a master, was believed to have been brought about by
+Mrs. Dutton's influence with the present Lord Wilmeter, who was the
+brother of her youthful companions. That the husband had wasted his
+means, was as certain as that his habits, on the score of temperance at
+least, were bad, and that his wife, if not positively broken-hearted,
+was an unhappy woman; one to be pitied, and admired. Sir Wycherly was
+little addicted to analysis, but he could not fail to discover the
+superiority of the wife and daughter, over the husband and father; and
+it is due to his young namesake to add, that his obvious admiration of
+Mildred was quite as much owing to her mind, deportment, character, and
+tastes, as to her exceeding personal charms.
+
+This little digression may perhaps, in the reader's eyes, excuse the
+interest Admiral Bluewater took in our heroine. With the indulgence of
+years and station, and the tact of a man of the world, he succeeded in
+drawing Mildred out, without alarming her timidity; and he was surprised
+at discovering the delicacy of her sentiments, and the accuracy of her
+knowledge. He was too conversant with society, and had too much good
+taste, to make any deliberate parade of opinions; but in the quiet
+manner that is so easy to those who are accustomed to deal with truths
+and tastes as familiar things, he succeeded in inducing her to answer
+his own remarks, to sympathize with his feelings, to laugh when he
+laughed, and to assume a look of disapproval, when he felt that
+disapprobation was just. To all this Wycherly was a delighted witness,
+and in some respects he participated in the conversation; for there was
+evidently no wish on the part of the rear-admiral to monopolize his
+beautiful companion to himself. Perhaps the position of the young man,
+directly opposite to her, aided in inducing Mildred to bestow so many
+grateful looks and sweet smiles, on the older officer; for she could not
+glance across the table, without meeting the admiring gaze of Wycherly,
+fastened on her own blushing face.
+
+It is certain, if our heroine did not, during this repast, make a
+conquest of Admiral Bluewater, in the ordinary meaning of the term, that
+she made him a friend. Sir Gervaise, even, was struck with the singular
+and devoted manner in which his old messmate gave all his attention to
+the beautiful girl at his side; and, once or twice, he caught himself
+conjecturing whether it were possible, that one as practised, as
+sensible, and as much accustomed to the beauties of the court, as
+Bluewater, had actually been caught, by the pretty face of a country
+girl, when so well turned of fifty, himself! Then discarding the notion
+as preposterous, he gave his attention to the discourse of Sir Wycherly;
+a dissertation on rabbits, and rabbit-warrens. In this manner the dinner
+passed away.
+
+Mrs. Dutton asked her host's permission to retire, with her daughter, at
+the earliest moment permitted by propriety. In quitting the room she
+cast an anxious glance at the face of her husband, which was already
+becoming flushed with his frequent applications of port; and spite of an
+effort to look smiling and cheerful, her lips quivered, and by the time
+she and Mildred reached the drawing-room, tears were fast falling down
+her cheeks. No explanation was asked, or needed, by the daughter, who
+threw herself into her mother's arms, and for several minutes they wept
+together, in silence. Never had Mrs. Dutton spoken, even to Mildred, of
+the besetting and degrading vice of her husband; but it had been
+impossible to conceal its painful consequences from the world; much less
+from one who lived in the bosom of her family. On that failing which the
+wife treated so tenderly, the daughter of course could not touch; but
+the silent communion of tears had got to be so sweet to both, that,
+within the last year, it was of very frequent occurrence.
+
+"Really, Mildred," said the mother, at length, after having succeeded in
+suppressing her emotion, and in drying her eyes, while she smiled fondly
+in the face of the lovely and affectionate girl; "this Admiral Bluewater
+is getting to be so particular, I hardly know how to treat the matter."
+
+"Oh! mother, he is a delightful old gentleman! and he is so gentle,
+while he is so frank, that he wins your confidence almost before you
+know it. I wonder if he could have been serious in what he said about
+the noble daring and noble deserving of Prince Edward!"
+
+"That must pass for trifling, of course; the ministry would scarcely
+employ any but a true whig, in command of a fleet. I saw several of his
+family, when a girl, and have always heard them spoken of with esteem
+and respect. Lord Bluewater, this gentleman's cousin, was very intimate
+with the present Lord Wilmeter, and was often at the castle. I remember
+to have heard that he had a disappointment in love, when quite a young
+man, and that he has ever since been considered a confirmed bachelor. So
+you will take heed, my love."
+
+"The warning was unnecessary, dear mother," returned Mildred, laughing;
+"I could dote on the admiral as a father, but must be excused from
+considering him young enough for a nearer tie."
+
+"And yet he has the much admired profession, Mildred," said the mother,
+smiling fondly, and yet a little archly. "I have often heard you speak
+of your passion for the sea."
+
+"That was formerly, mother, when I spoke as a sailor's daughter, and as
+girls are apt to speak, without much reflection. I do not know that I
+think better of a seaman's profession, now, than I do of any other. I
+fear there is often much misery in store for soldiers' and sailors'
+wives."
+
+Mrs. Dutton's lip quivered again; but hearing a foot at the door, she
+made an effort to be composed, just as Admiral Bluewater entered.
+
+"I have run away from the bottle, Mrs. Dutton, to join you and your fair
+daughter, as I would run from an enemy of twice my force," he said,
+giving each lady a hand, in a manner so friendly, as to render the act
+more than gracious; for it was kind. "Oakes is bowsing out his jib with
+his brother baronet, as we sailors say, and I have hauled out of the
+line, without a signal."
+
+"I hope Sir Gervaise Oakes does not consider it necessary to drink more
+wine than is good for the mind and body," observed Mrs. Dutton, with a
+haste that she immediately regretted.
+
+"Not he. Gervaise Oakes is as discreet a man, in all that relates to the
+table, as an anchorite; and yet he has a faculty of _seeming_ to drink,
+that makes him a boon companion for a four-bottle man. How the deuce he
+does it, is more than I can tell you; but he does it so well, that he
+does not more thoroughly get the better of the king's enemies, on the
+high seas, than he floors his friends under the table. Sir Wycherly has
+begun his libations in honour of the house of Hanover, and they will be
+likely to make a long sitting."
+
+Mrs. Dutton sighed, and walked away to a window, to conceal the paleness
+of her cheeks. Admiral Bluewater, though perfectly abstemious himself,
+regarded license with the bottle after dinner, like most men of that
+age, as a very venial weakness, and he quietly took a seat by the side
+of Mildred, and began to converse.
+
+"I hope, young lady, as a sailor's child, you feel an hereditary
+indulgence for a seaman's gossip," he said. "We, who are so much shut up
+in our ships, have a poverty of ideas on most subjects; and as to always
+talking of the winds and waves, that would fatigue even a poet."
+
+"As a sailor's daughter, I honour my father's calling, sir; and as an
+English girl, I venerate the brave defenders of the island. Nor do I
+know that seamen have less to say, than other men."
+
+"I am glad to hear you confess this, for--shall I be frank with you, and
+take a liberty that would better become a friend of a dozen years, than
+an acquaintance of a day;--and, yet, I know not why it is so, my dear
+child, but I feel as if I had long known you, though I am certain we
+never met before."
+
+"Perhaps, sir, it is an omen that we are long to know each other, in
+future," said Mildred, with the winning confidence of unsuspecting and
+innocent girlhood. "I hope you will use no reserve."
+
+"Well, then, at the risk of making a sad blunder, I will just say, that
+'my nephew Tom' is any thing but a prepossessing youth; and that I hope
+all eyes regard him exactly as he appears to a sailor of fifty-five."
+
+"I cannot answer for more than those of a girl of nineteen, Admiral
+Bluewater," said Mildred, laughing; "but, for her, I think I may say
+that she does not look on him as either an Adonis, or a Crichton."
+
+"Upon my soul! I am right glad to hear this, for the fellow has
+accidental advantages enough to render him formidable. He is the heir to
+the baronetcy, and this estate, I believe?"
+
+"I presume he is. Sir Wycherly has no other nephew--or at least this is
+the eldest of three brothers, I am told--and, being childless himself,
+it _must_ be so. My father tells me Sir Wycherly speaks of Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe as his future heir."
+
+"Your father!--Ay, fathers look on these matters with eyes very
+different from their daughters!"
+
+"There is one thing about seamen that renders them at least safe
+acquaintances," said Mildred, smiling; "I mean their frankness."
+
+"That is a failing of mine, as I have heard. But you will pardon an
+indiscretion that arises in the interest I feel in yourself. The eldest
+of three brothers--is the lieutenant, then, a younger son?"
+
+"_He_ does not belong to the family at all, I believe," Mildred
+answered, colouring slightly, in spite of a resolute determination to
+appear unconcerned. "Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe is no relative of our host,
+I hear; though he bears both of his names. He is from the colonies; born
+in Virginia."
+
+"_He_ is a noble, and a noble-looking fellow! Were I the baronet, I
+would break the entail, rather than the acres should go to that
+sinister-looking nephew, and bestow them on the namesake. From Virginia,
+and not even a relative, at all?"
+
+"That is what Mr. Thomas Wychecombe says; and even Sir Wycherly confirms
+it. I have never heard Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe speak on the subject,
+himself."
+
+"A weakness of poor human nature! The lad finds an honourable, ancient,
+and affluent family here, and has not the courage to declare his want of
+affinity to it; happening to bear the same name."
+
+Mildred hesitated about replying; but a generous feeling got the better
+of her diffidence. "I have never seen any thing in the conduct of Mr.
+Wycherly Wychecombe to induce me to think that he feels any such
+weakness," she said, earnestly. "He seems rather to take pride in, than
+to feel ashamed of, his being a colonial; and you know, we, in England,
+hardly look on the people of the colonies as our equals."
+
+"And have you, young lady, any of that overweening prejudice in favour
+of your own island?"
+
+"I hope not; but I think most persons have. Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe
+admits that Virginia is inferior to England, in a thousand things; and
+yet he seems to take pride in his birth-place."
+
+"Every sentiment of this nature is to be traced to self. We know that
+the fact is irretrievable, and struggle to be proud of what we cannot
+help. The Turk will tell you he has the honour to be a native of
+Stamboul; the Parisian will boast of his Faubourg; and the cockney
+exults in Wapping. Personal conceit lies at the bottom of all; for we
+fancy that places to which _we_ belong, are not places to be ashamed
+of."
+
+"And yet I do not think Mr. Wycherly at all remarkable for conceit. On
+the contrary, he is rather diffident and unassuming."
+
+This was said simply, but so sincerely, as to induce the listener to
+fasten his penetrating blue eye on the speaker, who now first took the
+alarm, and felt that she might have said too much. At this moment the
+two young men entered, and a servant appeared to request that Admiral
+Bluewater would do Sir Gervaise Oakes the favour to join him, in the
+dressing-room of the latter.
+
+Tom Wychecombe reported the condition of the dinner-table to be such, as
+to render it desirable for all but three and four-bottle men to retire.
+Hanoverian toasts and sentiments were in the ascendant, and there was
+every appearance that those who remained intended to make a night of it.
+This was sad intelligence for Mrs. Dutton, who had come forward eagerly
+to hear the report, but who now returned to the window, apparently
+irresolute as to the course she ought to take. As both the young men
+remained near Mildred, she had sufficient opportunity to come to her
+decision, without interruption, or hindrance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+              ----"Somewhat we will do.
+    And, look, when I am king, claim thou of me
+    The earldom of Hereford, and all the moveables
+    Whereof the king my brother was possessed."
+
+         RICHARD III.
+
+
+Rear-Admiral Bluewater found Sir Gervaise Oakes pacing a large
+dressing-room, quarter-deck fashion, with as much zeal, as if just
+released from a long sitting, on official duty, in his own cabin. As the
+two officers were perfectly familiar with each other's personal habits,
+neither deviated from his particular mode of indulging his ease; but the
+last comer quietly took his seat in a large chair, disposing of his
+person in a way to show he intended to consult his comfort, let what
+would happen.
+
+"Bluewater," commenced Sir Gervaise, "this is a very foolish affair of
+the Pretender's son, and can only lead to his destruction. I look upon
+it as altogether unfortunate."
+
+"That, as it may terminate. No man can tell what a day, or an hour, may
+bring forth. I am sure, such a rising was one of the last things _I_
+have been anticipating, down yonder, in the Bay of Biscay."
+
+"I wish, with all my heart, we had never left it," muttered Sir
+Gervaise, so low that his companion did not hear him. Then he added, in
+a louder tone, "_Our_ duty, however, is very simple. We have only to
+obey orders; and it seems that the young man has no naval force to
+sustain him. We shall probably be sent to watch Brest, or l'Orient, or
+some other port. Monsieur must be kept in, let what will happen."
+
+"I rather think it would be better to let him out, our chances on the
+high seas being at least as good as his own. I am no friend to
+blockades, which strike me as an un-English mode of carrying on a war."
+
+"You are right enough, Dick, in the main," returned Sir Gervaise,
+laughing.
+
+"Ay, and _on_ the main, Oakes. I sincerely hope the First Lord will not
+send a man like you, who are every way so capable of giving an account
+of your enemy with plenty of sea-room, on duly so scurvy as a blockade."
+
+"A man like _me_! Why a man like _me_ in particular? I trust I am to
+have the pleasure of Admiral Bluewater's company, advice and
+assistance?"
+
+"An inferior never can know, Sir Gervaise, where it may suit the
+pleasure of his superiors to order him."
+
+"That distinction of superior and inferior, Bluewater, will one day lead
+you into a confounded scrape, I fear. If you consider Charles Stuart
+your sovereign, it is not probable that orders issued by a servant of
+King George will be much respected. I hope you will do nothing hastily,
+or without consulting your oldest and truest friend!"
+
+"You know my sentiments, and there is little use in dwelling on them,
+now. So long as the quarrel was between my own country and a foreign
+land, I have been content to serve; but when my lawful prince, or his
+son and heir, comes in this gallant and chivalrous manner, throwing
+himself, as it might be, into the very arms of his subjects, confiding
+all to their loyalty and spirit; it makes such an appeal to every nobler
+feeling, that the heart finds it difficult to repulse. I could have
+joined Norris, with right good will, in dispersing and destroying the
+armament that Louis XV. was sending against us, in this very cause; but
+here every thing is English, and Englishmen have the quarrel entirely to
+themselves. I do not see how, as a loyal subject of my hereditary
+prince, I can well refrain from joining his standard."
+
+"And would _you_, Dick Bluewater, who, to my certain knowledge, were
+sent on board ship at twelve years of age, and who, for more than forty
+years, have been a man-of-war's-man, body and soul; would you now strip
+your old hulk of the sea-blue that has so long covered and become it,
+rig yourself out like a soldier, with a feather in your hat,--ay,
+d----e, and a camp-kettle on your arm, and follow a drummer, like one of
+your kinsmen, Lord Bluewater's fellows of the guards?--for of sailors,
+your lawful prince, as you call him, hasn't enough to stopper his
+conscience, or to whip the tail of his coat, to keep it from being torn
+to tatters by the heather of Scotland. If you _do_ follow the
+adventurer, it must be in some such character, since I question if he
+can muster a seaman, to tell him the bearings of London from Perth."
+
+"When I join him, he will be better off."
+
+"And what could even _you_ do alone, among a parcel of Scotchmen,
+running about their hills under bare poles? Your signals will not
+man[oe]uvre regiments, and as for man[oe]uvring in any other manner, you
+know nothing. No--no; stay where you are, and help an old friend with
+knowledge that is useful to him.--I should be afraid to do a dashing
+thing, unless I felt the certainty of having you in my van, to strike
+the first blow; or in my rear, to bring me off, handsomely.
+
+"You would be afraid of nothing, Gervaise Oakes, whether I stood at your
+elbow, or were off in Scotland. Fear is not your failing, though
+temerity may be."
+
+"Then I want your presence to keep me within the bounds of reason," said
+Sir Gervaise, stopping short in his walk, and looking his friend
+smilingly in the face. "In some mode, or other, I always need your aid."
+
+"I understand the meaning of your words, Sir Gervaise, and appreciate
+the feeling that dictates them. You must have a perfect conviction that
+I will do nothing hastily, and that I will betray no trust. When I turn
+my back on King George, it will be loyalty, in one sense, whatever he
+may think of it in another; and when I join Prince Charles Edward, it
+will be with a conscience that he need not be ashamed to probe. What
+names he bears! They are the designations of ancient English sovereigns,
+and ought of themselves, to awaken the sensibilities of Englishmen."
+
+"Ay, Charles in particular," returned the vice-admiral, with something
+like a sneer. "There's the second Charles, for instance--St. Charles, as
+our good host, Sir Wycherly, might call him--he is a pattern prince for
+Englishmen to admire. Then his father was of the school of the
+Star-Chamber martyrs!"
+
+"Both were lineal descendants of the Conqueror, and of the Saxon
+princes; and both united the double titles to the throne, in their
+sacred persons. I have always considered Charles II. as the victim of
+the rebellious conduct of his subjects, rather than vicious. He was
+driven abroad into a most corrupt state of society, and was perverted by
+our wickedness. As to the father, he was the real St. Charles, and a
+martyred saint he was; dying for true religion, as well as for his legal
+rights. Then the Edwards--glorious fellows!--remember that they were all
+but one Plantagenets; a name, of itself, to rouse an Englishman's fire!"
+
+"And yet the only difference between the right of these very
+Plantagenets to the throne, and that of the reigning prince, is, that
+one produced a revolution by the strong hand, and the other was produced
+by a revolution that came from the nation. I do not know that your
+Plantagenets ever did any thing for a navy; the only real source of
+England's power and glory. D----e, Dick, if I think so much of your
+Plantagenets, after all!"
+
+"And yet the name of Oakes is to be met with among their bravest
+knights, and most faithful followers."
+
+"The Oakes, like the pines, have been timbers in every ship that has
+floated," returned the vice-admiral, half-unconscious himself, of the
+pun he was making.
+
+For more than a minute Sir Gervaise continued his walk, his head a
+little inclined forward, like a man who pondered deeply on some matter
+of interest. Then, suddenly stopping, he turned towards his friend, whom
+he regarded for near another minute, ere he resumed the discourse.
+
+"I wish I could fairly get you to exercise your excellent reason on this
+matter, Dick," he said, after the pause; "then I should be certain of
+having secured you on the side of liberty."
+
+Admiral Bluewater merely shook his head, but he continued silent, as if
+he deemed discussion altogether supererogatory. During this pause, a
+gentle tap at the door announced a visiter; and, at the request to
+enter, Atwood made his appearance. He held in his hand a large package,
+which bore on the envelope the usual stamp that indicated it was sent on
+public service.
+
+"I beg pardon, Sir Gervaise," commenced the secretary, who always
+proceeded at once to business, when business was to be done; "but His
+Majesty's service will not admit of delay. This packet has just come to
+hand, by the arrival of an express, which left the admiralty only
+yesterday noon."
+
+"And how the devil did he know where to find me!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, holding out a hand to receive the communication.
+
+"It is all owing to this young lieutenant's forethought in following up
+the Jacobite intelligence to a market-town. The courier was bound to
+Falmouth, as fast as post-horses could carry him, when he heard,
+luckily, that the fleet lay at anchor, under Wychecombe Head; and, quite
+as luckily, he is an officer who had the intelligence to know that you
+would sooner get the despatches, if he turned aside, and came hither by
+land, than if he went on to Falmouth, got aboard the sloop that was to
+sail with him, for the Bay of Biscay, and came round here by water."
+
+Sir Gervaise smiled at this sally, which was one in keeping with all
+Atwood's feelings; for the secretary had matured a system of expresses,
+which, to his great mortification, his patron laughed at, and the
+admiralty entirely overlooked. No time was lost, however, in the way of
+business; the secretary having placed the candles on a table, where Sir
+Gervaise took a chair, and had already broken a seal. The process of
+reading, nevertheless, was suddenly interrupted by the vice-admiral's
+looking up, and exclaiming--
+
+"Why, you are not about to leave us, Bluewater?"
+
+"You may have private business with Mr. Atwood, Sir Gervaise, and
+perhaps I had better retire."
+
+Now, it so happened that while Sir Gervaise Oakes had never, by look or
+syllable, as he confidently believed, betrayed the secret of his
+friend's Jacobite propensities, Atwood was perfectly aware of their
+existence. Nor had the latter obtained his knowledge by any unworthy
+means. He had been neither an eavesdropper, nor an inquirer into private
+communications, as so often happens around the persons of men in high
+trusts; all his knowledge having been obtained through native sagacity
+and unavoidable opportunities. On the present occasion, the secretary,
+with the tact of a man of experience, felt that his presence might be
+dispensed with; and he cut short the discussion between the two
+admirals, by a very timely remark of his own.
+
+"I have left the letters uncopied, Sir Gervaise," he said, "and will go
+and finish them. A message by Locker"--this was Sir Gervaise's
+body-servant--"will bring me back at a moment's notice, should you need
+me again to-night."
+
+"That Atwood has a surprising instinct, for a Scotchman!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, as soon as the door was closed on the secretary. "He not
+only knows when he _is_ wanted, but when he is _not_ wanted. The last is
+an extraordinary attainment, for one of his nation."
+
+"And one that an Englishman may do well to emulate," returned Bluewater.
+"It is possible my company may be dispensed with, also, just at this
+important moment."
+
+"You are not so much afraid of the Hanoverians, Dick, as to run away
+from their hand-writing, are ye? Ha--what's this?--As I live, a packet
+for yourself, and directed to 'Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bluewater, K.B.'
+By the Lord, my old boy, they've given you the red riband at last! This
+is an honour well earned, and which may be fitly worn."
+
+"'Tis rather unexpected, I must own. The letter, however, cannot be
+addressed to me, as I am not a Knight of the Bath."
+
+"This is rank nonsense. Open the packet, at once, or I will do it for
+you. Are there two Dick Bluewaters in the world, or another rear-admiral
+of the same name?"
+
+"I would rather not receive a letter that does not strictly bear my
+address," returned the other, coldly.
+
+"As I'll be sworn this does. But hand it to me, since you are so
+scrupulous, and I will do that small service for you."
+
+As this was said, Sir Gervaise tore aside the seals; and, as he
+proceeded rather summarily, a red riband was soon uncased and fell upon
+the carpet. The other usual insignia of the Bath made their appearance,
+and a letter was found among them, to explain the meaning of all. Every
+thing was in due form, and went to acquaint Rear-Admiral Bluewater, that
+His Majesty had been graciously pleased to confer on him one of the
+vacant red ribands of the day, as a reward for his eminent services on
+different occasions. There was even a short communication from the
+premier, expressing the great satisfaction of the ministry in thus being
+able to second the royal pleasure with hearty good will.
+
+"Well, what do you think of that, Richard Bluewater?" asked Sir
+Gervaise, triumphantly. "Did I not always tell you, that sooner or
+later, it _must_ come?"
+
+"It has come too late, then," coldly returned the other, laying the
+riband, jewels, and letters, quietly on the table. "This is an honour, I
+can receive, _now_, only from my rightful prince. None other can legally
+create a knight of the Bath."
+
+"And pray, Mr. Richard Bluewater, who made you a captain, a commander, a
+rear-admiral? Do you believe me an impostor, because I wear this riband
+on authority no better than that of the house of Hanover? Am I, or am I
+not, in your judgment, a vice-admiral of the red?"
+
+"I make a great distinction, Oakes, between rank in the navy, and a mere
+personal dignity. In the one case, you serve your country, and give
+quite as much as you receive; whereas, in the other, it is a grace to
+confer consideration on the person honoured, without such an equivalent
+as can find an apology for accepting a rank illegally conferred."
+
+"The devil take your distinctions, which would unsettle every thing, and
+render the service a Babel. If I am a vice-admiral of the red, I am a
+knight of the Bath; and, if you are a rear-admiral of the white, you are
+also a knight of that honourable order. All comes from the same source
+of authority, and the same fountain of honour."
+
+"I do not view it thus. Our commissions are from the admiralty, which
+represents the country; but dignities come from the prince who happens
+to reign, let _his_ title be what it may."
+
+"Do you happen to think Richard III. a usurper, or a lawful prince?"
+
+"A usurper, out of all question; and a murderer to boot. His name should
+be struck from the list of English kings. I never hear it, without
+execrating him, and his deeds."
+
+"Pooh--pooh, Dick, this is talking more like a poet than a seaman. If
+only one-half the sovereigns who deserve to be execrated had their names
+erased, the list of even our English kings would be rather short; and
+some countries would be without historical kings at all. However much
+Richard III. may deserve cashiering in this summary manner, his peers
+and laws are just as good as any other prince's peers and laws. Witness
+the Duke of Norfolk, for instance."
+
+"Ay, that cannot be helped by me; but it _is_ in my power to prevent
+Richard Bluewater's being made a knight or the Bath, by George II.; and
+the power shall be used."
+
+"It would seem not, as he is already created; and I dare to say,
+gazetted."
+
+"The oaths are not yet taken, and it is, at least, an Englishman's
+birth-right, to decline an honour; if, indeed, this can be esteemed an
+honour, at all."
+
+"Upon my word, Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bluewater, you are disposed to
+be complimentary, to-night! The unworthy knight present, and all the
+rest of the order, are infinitely indebted to you!"
+
+"Your case and mine, Oakes, are essentially different," returned the
+other, with some emotion in his voice and manner. "Your riband was
+fairly won, fighting the battles of England, and can be worn with credit
+to yourself and to your country; but these baubles are sent to me, at a
+moment when a rising was foreseen, and as a sop to keep me in
+good-humour, as well as to propitiate the whole Bluewater interest."
+
+"That is pure conjecture, and I dare say will prove to be altogether a
+mistake. Here are the despatches to speak for themselves; and, as it is
+scarcely possible that the ministry should have known of this rash
+movement of the Pretender's son, more than a few days, my life on it,
+the dates will show that your riband was bestowed before the enterprise
+was even suspected."
+
+As Sir Gervaise commenced, with his constitutional ardour, to turn over
+the letters, as soon as his mind was directed to this particular object,
+Admiral Bluewater resumed his seat, awaiting the result, with not a
+little curiosity; though, at the same time, with a smile of incredulity.
+The examination disappointed Sir Gervaise Oakes. The dates proved that
+the ministers were better informed than he had supposed; for it appeared
+they had been apprised about the time he was himself of the intended
+movement. His orders were to bring the fleet north, and in substance to
+do the very thing his own sagacity had dictated. So far every thing was
+well; and he could not entertain a doubt about receiving the hearty
+approbation of his superiors, for the course he had taken. But here his
+gratification ended; for, on looking at the dates of the different
+communications, it was evident that the red riband was bestowed after
+the intelligence of the Pretender's movement had reached London. A
+private letter, from a friend at the Board of Admiralty, too, spoke of
+his own probable promotion to the rank of admiral of the blue; and
+mentioned several other similar preferments, in a way to show that the
+government was fortifying itself, in the present crisis, as much as
+possible, by favours. This was a politic mode of procedure, with
+ordinary men, it is true; but with officers of the elevation of mind,
+and of the independence of character of our two admirals, it was most
+likely to produce disgust.
+
+"D--n 'em, Dick," cried Sir Gervaise, as he threw down the last letter
+of the package, with no little sign of feeling; "you might take St.
+Paul, or even Wychecombe's dead brother, St. James the Less, and put him
+at court, and he would come out a thorough blackguard, in a week!"
+
+"That is not the common opinion concerning a court education," quietly
+replied the friend; "most people fancying that the place gives
+refinement of manners, if not of sentiment."
+
+"Poh--poh--you and I have no need of a dictionary to understand each
+other. I call a man who never trusts to a generous motive--who thinks it
+always necessary to bribe or cajole--who has no idea of any thing's
+being done without its direct _quid pro quo_, a scurvy blackguard,
+though he has the airs and graces of Phil. Stanhope, or Chesterfield, as
+he is now. What do you think those chaps at the Board, talk of doing, by
+way of clinching my loyalty, at this blessed juncture?"
+
+"No doubt to get you raised to the peerage. I see nothing so much out of
+the way in the thing. You are of one of the oldest families of England,
+and the sixth baronet by inheritance, and have a noble landed estate,
+which is none the worse for prize-money. Sir Gervaise Oakes of Bowldero,
+would make a very suitable Lord Bowldero."
+
+"If it were only that, I shouldn't mind it; for nothing is easier than
+to refuse a peerage. I've done _that_ twice already, and can do it a
+third time, at need. But one can't very well refuse promotion in his
+regular profession; and, here, just as a true gentleman would depend on
+the principles of an officer, the hackneyed consciences of your
+courtiers have suggested the expediency of making Gervaise Oakes an
+admiral of the blue, by way of sop!--me, who was made vice-admiral of
+the red, only six months since, and who take an honest pride in boasting
+that every commission, from the lowest to the highest, has been fairly
+earned in battle!"
+
+"They think it a more delicate service, perhaps, for a gentleman to be
+true to the reigning house, when so loud an appeal is made to his
+natural loyalty; and therefore class the self-conquest with a victory at
+sea!"
+
+"They are so many court-lubbers, and I should like to have an
+opportunity of speaking my mind to them. I'll not take the new
+commission; for every one must see, Dick, that it is a sop."
+
+"Ay, that's just my notion, too, about the red riband; and I'll not take
+_that_. You have had the riband these ten years, have declined the
+peerage twice, and their only chance is the promotion. Take it you
+ought, and must, however, as it will be the means of pushing on some
+four or five poor devils, who have been wedged up to honours, in this
+manner, ever since they were captains. I am glad they do not talk of
+promoting _me_, for I should hardly know how to refuse such a grace.
+There is great virtue in parchment, with all us military men."
+
+"Still it must be parchment fairly won. I think you are wrong,
+notwithstanding, Bluewater, in talking of refusing the riband, which is
+so justly your due, for a dozen different acts. There is not a man in
+the service, who has been less rewarded for what he has done, than
+yourself."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you give this as your opinion; for just at this
+moment, I would rather think that I have no cause of complaint, in this
+way, against the reigning family, or its ministers. I'm sure I was
+posted when quite a young man, and since that time, no one has been
+lifted over my head."
+
+The vice-admiral looked intently at his friend; for never before had he
+detected a feeling which betrayed, as he fancied, so settled a
+determination in him to quit the service of the powers that were.
+Acquainted from boyhood with all the workings of the other's mind, he
+perceived that the rear-admiral had been endeavouring to persuade
+himself that no selfish or unworthy motive could be assigned to an act
+which he felt to proceed from disinterested chivalry, just as he himself
+broke out with his expression of an opinion that no officer had been
+less liberally rewarded for his professional services than his friend.
+While there is no greater mystery to a selfish manager, than a man of
+disinterested temperament, they who feel and submit to generous
+impulses, understand each other with an instinctive facility. When any
+particular individual is prone to believe that there is a predominance
+of good over evil in the world he inhabits, it is a sign of
+inexperience, or of imbecility; but when one acts and reasons as if
+_all_ honour and virtue are extinct, he furnishes the best possible
+argument against his own tendencies and character. It has often been
+remarked that stronger friendships are made between those who have
+different personal peculiarities, than between those whose sameness of
+feeling and impulses would be less likely to keep interest alive; but,
+in all cases of intimacies, there must be great identity of principles,
+and even of tastes in matters at all connected with motives, in order to
+ensure respect, among those whose standard of opinion is higher than
+common, or sympathy among those with whom it is lower. Such was the
+fact, as respected Admirals Oakes and Bluewater. No two men could be
+less alike in temperament, or character, physically, and in some senses,
+morally considered; but, when it came to principles, or all those tastes
+or feelings that are allied to principles, there was a strong native, as
+well as acquired affinity. This union of sentiment was increased by
+common habits, and professional careers so long and so closely united,
+as to be almost identical. Nothing was easier, consequently, than for
+Sir Gervaise Oakes to comprehend the workings of Admiral Bluewater's
+mind, as the latter endeavoured to believe he had been fairly treated by
+the existing government. Of course, the reasoning which passed through
+the thoughts of Sir Gervaise, on this occasion, required much less time
+than we have taken to explain its nature; and, after regarding his
+friend intently, as already related, for a few seconds, he answered as
+follows; a good deal influenced, unwittingly to himself, with the wish
+to check the other's Jacobite propensities.
+
+"I am sorry not to be able to agree with you, Dick," he said, with some
+warmth. "So far from thinking you _well_ treated, by any ministry, these
+twenty years, I think you have been very _ill_ treated. Your rank you
+have, beyond a question; for of that no brave officer can well be
+deprived in a regulated service; but, have you had the _commands_ to
+which you are entitled?--I was a commander-in-chief when only a
+rear-admiral of the blue; and then how long did I wear a broad pennant,
+before I got a flag at all!"
+
+"You forget how much I have been with you. When two serve together, one
+must command, and the other must obey. So far from complaining of these
+Hanoverian Boards, and First Lords, it seems to me that they have always
+kept in view the hollowness of their claims to the throne, and have felt
+a desire to purchase honest men by their favours."
+
+"You are the strangest fellow, Dick Bluewater, it has ever been my lot
+to fall in with! D----e me, if I believe you know always, when you _are_
+ill treated. There are a dozen men in service, who have had separate
+commands, and who are not half as well entitled to them, as you are
+yourself."
+
+"Come, come, Oakes, this is getting to be puerile, for two old fellows,
+turned of fifty. You very well know that I was offered just as good a
+fleet, as this of your own, with a choice of the whole list of
+flag-officers below me, to pick a junior from; and, so, we'll say no
+more about it. As respects their red riband, however, it may go
+a-begging for me."
+
+Sir Gervaise was about to answer in his former vein, when a tap at the
+door announced the presence of another visiter. This time the door
+opened on the person of Galleygo, who had been included in Sir
+Wycherly's hospitable plan of entertaining every soul who immediately
+belonged to the suite of Sir Gervaise.
+
+"What the d----l has brought _you_ here!" exclaimed the vice-admiral, a
+little warmly; for he did not relish an interruption just at this
+moment. "Recollect you're not on board the Plantagenet, but in the
+dwelling of a gentleman, where there are both butler and housekeeper,
+and who have no occasion for your advice, or authority, to keep things
+in order."
+
+"Well, there, Sir Gervaise I doesn't agree with you the least bit; for I
+thinks as a ship's steward--I mean a _cabin_ steward, and a good 'un of
+the quality--might do a great deal of improvement in this very house.
+The cook and I has had a partic'lar dialogue on them matters, already;
+and I mentioned to her the names of seven different dishes, every one of
+which she quite as good as admitted to me, was just the same as so much
+gospel to _her_."
+
+"I shall have to quarantine this fellow, in the long run, Bluewater! I
+do believe if I were to take him to Lambeth Palace, or even to St.
+James's, he'd thrust his oar into the archbishop's benedictions, or the
+queen's caudle-cup!"
+
+"Well, Sir Gervaise, where would be the great harm, if I did? A man as
+knows the use of an oar, may be trusted with one, even in a church, or
+an abbey. When your honour comes to hear what the dishes was, as Sir
+Wycherly's cook had never heard on, you'll think it as great a cur'osity
+as I do myself. If I had just leave to name 'em over, I think as both
+you gentlemen would look at it as remarkable."
+
+"What are they, Galleygo?" inquired Bluewater, putting one of his long
+legs over an arm of the adjoining chair, in order to indulge himself in
+a yarn with his friend's steward, with greater freedom; for he greatly
+delighted in Galleygo's peculiarities; seeing just enough of the fellow
+to find amusement, without annoyance in them. "I'll answer for Sir
+Gervaise, who is always a little diffident about boasting of the
+superiority of a ship, over a house."
+
+"Yes, your honour, that he is--that is just one of Sir Jarvy's weak
+p'ints, as a body might say. Now, I never goes ashore, without trimming
+sharp up, and luffing athwart every person's hawse, I fall in with;
+which is as much as to tell 'em, I belongs to a flag-ship, and a racer,
+and a craft as hasn't her equal on salt-water; no disparagement to the
+bit of bunting at the mizzen-topgallant-mast-head of the Caesar, or to
+the ship that carries it. I hopes, as we are so well acquainted, Admiral
+Bluewater, no offence will be taken."
+
+"Where none is meant, none ought to be taken, my friend. Now let us hear
+your bill-of-fare."
+
+"Well, sir, the very first dish I mentioned to Mrs. Larder, Sir
+Wycherly's cook, was lobscous; and, would you believe it, gentlemen, the
+poor woman had never heard of it! I began with a light hand, as it might
+be, just not to overwhelm her with knowledge, at a blow, as Sir Jarvy
+captivated the French frigate with the upper tier of guns, that he might
+take her alive, like."
+
+"And the lady knew nothing of a lobscous--neither of its essence, nor
+nature?"
+
+"There's no essences as is ever put in a lobscous, besides potaties,
+Admiral Bluewater; thof we make 'em in the old Planter"--_nautice_ for
+Plantagenet--"in so liquorish a fashion, you might well think they even
+had Jamaiky, in 'em. No, potaties is the essence of lobscous; and a very
+good thing is a potatie, Sir Jarvy, when a ship's company has been on
+salted oakum for a few months."
+
+"Well, what was the next dish the good woman broke down under?" asked
+the rear-admiral, fearful the master might order the servant to quit the
+room; while he, himself, was anxious to get rid of any further political
+discussion.
+
+"Well, sir, she knowed no more of a chowder, than if the sea wern't in
+the neighbourhood, and there wern't such a thing as a fish in all
+England. When I talked to her of a chowder, she gave in, like a Spaniard
+at the fourth or fifth broadside."
+
+"Such ignorance is disgraceful, and betokens a decline in civilization!
+But, you hoisted out more knowledge for her benefit, Galleygo--small
+doses of learning are poor things."
+
+"Yes, your honour; just like weak grog--burning the priming, without
+starting the shot. To be sure, I did, Admiral Blue. I just named to her
+burgoo, and then I mentioned duff (_anglice_ dough) to her, but she
+denied that there was any such things in the cookery-book. Do you know,
+Sir Jarvy, as these here shore craft get their dinners, as our master
+gets the sun; all out of a book as it might be. Awful tidings, too,
+gentlemen, about the Pretender's son; and I s'pose we shall have to take
+the fleet up into Scotland, as I fancy them 'ere sogers will not make
+much of a hand in settling law?"
+
+"And have you honoured us with a visit, just to give us an essay on
+dishes, and to tell us what you intend to do with the fleet?" demanded
+Sir Gervaise, a little more sternly than he was accustomed to speak to
+the steward.
+
+"Lord bless you, Sir Jarvy, I didn't dream of one or t'other! As for
+telling you, or Admiral Blue, (so the seamen used to call the second in
+rank,) here, any thing about lobscous, or chowder, why, it would be
+carrying coals to New Market. I've fed ye both with all such articles,
+when ye was nothing but young gentlemen; and when you was no longer
+young gentlemen, too, but a couple of sprightly luffs, of nineteen. And
+as for moving the fleet, I know, well enough, that will never happen,
+without our talking it over in the old Planter's cabin; which is a much
+more nat'ral place for such a discourse, than any house in England!"
+
+"May I take the liberty of inquiring, then, what _did_ bring you here?"
+
+"That you may, with all my heart, Sir Jarvy, for I likes to answer your
+questions. My errand is not to your honour this time, though you are my
+master. It's no great matter, after all, being just to hand this bit of
+a letter over to Admiral Blue."
+
+"And where did this letter come from, and how did it happen to fall into
+your hands?" demanded Bluewater, looking at the superscription, the
+writing of which he appeared to recognise.
+
+"It hails from Lun'nun, I hear; and they tell me it's to be a great
+secret that you've got it, at all. The history of the matter is just
+this. An officer got in to-night, with orders for us, carrying sail as
+hard as his shay would bear. It seems he fell in with Master Atwood, as
+he made his land-fall, and being acquainted with that gentleman, he just
+whipped out his orders, and sent 'em off to the right man. Then he laid
+his course for the landing, wishing to get aboard of the Dublin, to
+which he is ordered; but falling in with our barge, as I landed, he
+wanted to know the where-away of Admiral Blue, here; believing him to be
+afloat. Some 'un telling him as I was a friend and servant of both
+admirals, as it might be, he turned himself over to me for advice. So I
+promised to deliver the letter, as I had a thousand afore, and knowed
+the way of doing such things; and he gives me the letter, under special
+orders, like; that is to say, it was to be handed to the rear-admiral as
+it might be under the lee of the mizzen-stay-sail, or in a private
+fashion. Well, gentlemen, you both knows I understand that, too, and so
+I undertook the job."
+
+"And I have got to be so insignificant a person that I pass for no one,
+in your discriminating mind, Master Galleygo!" exclaimed the
+vice-admiral, sharply. "I have suspected as much, these five-and-twenty
+years."
+
+"Lord bless you, Sir Jarvy, how flag-officers will make mistakes
+sometimes! They're mortal, I says to the people of the galley, and have
+their appetites false, just like the young gentlemen, when they get
+athwart-hawse of a body, I says. Now, I count Admiral Blue and yourself
+pretty much as one man, seeing that you keep few, or no secrets from
+each other. I know'd ye both as young gentlemen, and then you loved one
+another like twins; and then I know'd ye as luffs, when ye'd walk the
+deck the whole watch, spinning yarns; and then I know'd ye as Pillardees
+and Arrestee, though one pillow might have answered for both; and as for
+Arrest, I never know'd either of ye to got into that scrape. As for
+telling a secret to one, I've always looked upon it as pretty much
+telling it to t'other."
+
+The two admirals exchanged glances, and the look of kindness that each
+met in the eyes of his friend removed every shadow that had been cast
+athwart their feelings, by the previous discourse.
+
+"That will do, Galleygo," returned Sir Gervaise, mildly. "You're a good
+fellow in the main, though a villanously rough one--"
+
+"A little of old Boreus, Sir Jarvy," interrupted the steward, with a
+grim smile: "but it blows harder at sea than it does ashore. These chaps
+on land, ar'n't battened down, and caulked for such weather, as we sons
+of Neptun' is obligated to face."
+
+"Quite true, and so good-night. Admiral Bluewater and myself wish to
+confer together, for half an hour; all that it is proper for you to
+know, shall be communicated another time."
+
+"Good-night, and God bless your honour. Good-night, Admiral Blue: we
+three is the men as can keep any secret as ever floated, let it draw as
+much water as it pleases."
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes stopped in his walk, and gazed at his friend with
+manifest interest, as he perceived that Admiral Bluewater was running
+over his letter for the third time. Being now without a witness, he did
+not hesitate to express his apprehensions.
+
+"'Tis as I feared, Dick!" he cried. "That letter is from some prominent
+partisan of Edward Stuart?"
+
+The rear-admiral turned his eyes on the face of his friend, with an
+expression that was difficult to read; and then he ran over the contents
+of the epistle, for the fourth time.
+
+"A set of precious rascals they are, Gervaise!" at length the
+rear-admiral exclaimed. "If the whole court was culled, I question if
+enough honesty could be found to leaven one puritan scoundrel. Tell me
+if you know this hand, Oakes? I question if you ever saw it before."
+
+The superscription of the letter was held out to Sir Gervaise, who,
+after a close examination, declared himself unacquainted with the
+writing.
+
+"I thought as much," resumed Bluewater, carefully tearing the signature
+from the bottom of the page, and burning it in a candle; "let this
+disgraceful part of the secret die, at least. The fellow who wrote this,
+has put 'confidential' at the top of his miserable scrawl: and a most
+confident scoundrel he is, for his pains. However, no man has a right to
+thrust himself, in this rude manner, between me and my oldest friend;
+and least of all will I consent to keep this piece of treachery from
+your knowledge. I do more than the rascal merits in concealing his name;
+nevertheless, I shall not deny myself the pleasure of sending him such
+an answer as he deserves. Read that, Oakes, and then say if keelhauling
+would be too good for the writer."
+
+Sir Gervaise took the letter in silence, though not without great
+surprise, and began to peruse it. As he proceeded, the colour mounted to
+his temples, and once he dropped his hand, to cast a look of wonder and
+indignation towards his companion. That the reader may see how much
+occasion there was for both these feelings, we shall give the
+communication entire. It was couched in the following words:
+
+     "DEAR ADMIRAL BLUEWATER:
+
+     "Our ancient friendship, and I am proud to add, affinity of blood,
+     unite in inducing me to write a line, at this interesting moment.
+     Of the result of this rash experiment of the Pretender's son, no
+     prudent man can entertain a doubt. Still, the boy may give us some
+     trouble, before he is disposed of altogether. We look to all our
+     friends, therefore, for their most efficient exertions, and most
+     prudent co-operation. On _you_, every reliance is placed; and I
+     wish I could say as much for _every flag-officer afloat_. Some
+     distrust--unmerited, I sincerely hope--exists in a very high
+     quarter, touching the loyalty of a certain commander-in-chief, who
+     is so completely under your observation, that it is felt enough is
+     done in hinting the fact to one of your political tendencies. The
+     king said, this morning, 'Vell, dere isht Bluevater; of _him_ we
+     are shure asht of ter sun.' You stand excellently well _there_, to
+     my great delight; and I need only say, be watchful and prompt.
+
+     "Yours, with the most sincere faith and attachment, my dear
+     Bluewater, &c., &c.
+
+     "REAR-ADMIRAL BLUEWATER.
+
+     "P. S.--I have just heard that they have sent you the red riband.
+     The king himself, was in this."
+
+When Sir Gervaise had perused this precious epistle to himself, he read
+it slowly, and in a steady, clear voice, aloud. When he had ended, he
+dropped the paper, and stood gazing at his friend.
+
+"One would think the fellow some exquisite satirist," said Bluewater,
+laughing. "_I_ am to be vigilant, and see that _you_ do not mutiny, and
+run away with the fleet to the Highlands, one of these foggy mornings!
+Carry it up into Scotland, as Galleygo has it! Now, what is your opinion
+of that letter?"
+
+"That all courtiers are knaves, and all princes ungrateful. I should
+think my loyalty to the good _cause_, if not to the _man_, the last in
+England to be suspected."
+
+"Nor is it suspected, in the smallest degree. My life on it, neither the
+reigning monarch, nor his confidential servants, are such arrant dunces,
+as to be guilty of so much weakness. No, this masterly move is intended
+to secure _me_, by creating a confidence that they think no
+generous-minded man would betray. It is a hook, delicately baited to
+catch a gudgeon, and not an order to watch a whale."
+
+"Can the scoundrels be so mean--nay, dare they be so bold! They must
+have known you would show me the letter."
+
+"Not they--they have reasoned on my course, as they would on their own.
+Nothing catches a weak man sooner than a pretended confidence of this
+nature; and I dare say this blackguard rates me just high enough to
+fancy I may be duped in this flimsy manner. Put your mind at rest; King
+George knows he may confide in _you_, while I think it probable _I_ am
+distrusted."
+
+"I hope, Dick, you do not suspect _my_ discretion! My own secret would
+not be half so sacred to me."
+
+"I know that, full well. Of _you_, I entertain no distrust, either in
+heart or head; of myself, I am not quite so certain. When we _feel_, we
+do not always _reason_; and there is as much feeling, as any thing else,
+in this matter."
+
+"Not a line is there, in all my despatches, that go to betray the
+slightest distrust of me, or any one else. You are spoken of, but it is
+in a manner to gratify you, rather than to alarm. Take, and read them
+all; I intended to show them to you, as soon as we had got through with
+that cursed discussion"
+
+As Sir Gervaise concluded, he threw the whole package of letters on the
+table, before his friend.
+
+"It will be time enough, when you summon me regularly to a council of
+war," returned Bluewater, laying the letters gently aside. "Perhaps we
+had better sleep on this affair; in the morning we shall meet with
+cooler heads, and just as warm hearts."
+
+"Good-night, Dick," said Sir Gervaise, holding out both hands for the
+other to shake as he passed him, in quitting the room.
+
+"Good-night, Gervaise; let this miserable devil go overboard, and think
+no more of him. I have half a mind to ask you for a leave, to-morrow,
+just to run up to London, and cut off his ears."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed and nodded his head, and the two friends parted,
+with feelings as kind as ever had distinguished their remarkable career.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+    "Look to't, think on't, I do not use to jest.
+    Thursday is near; lay hand on heart, advise;
+    An' you be mine, I'll give you to my friend;
+    An' you be not, hang, beg, starve, die i' the streets."
+
+         ROMEO AND JULIET.
+
+
+Wychecombe Hall, had most of the peculiarities of a bachelor's dwelling,
+in its internal government; nor was it, in any manner, behind, or, it
+might be better to say, before, the age, in its modes and customs
+connected with jollifications. When its master relaxed a little, the
+servants quite uniformly imitated his example. Sir Wycherly kept a
+plentiful table, and the servants' hall fared nearly as well as the
+dining-room; the single article of wine excepted. In lieu of the latter,
+however, was an unlimited allowance of double-brewed ale; and the
+difference in the potations was far more in the name, than in the
+quality of the beverages. The master drank port; for, in the middle of
+the last century, few Englishmen had better wine--and port, too, that
+was by no means of a very remarkable delicacy, but which, like those who
+used it, was rough, honest, and strong; while the servant had his malt
+liquor of the very highest stamp and flavour. Between indifferent wine
+and excellent ale, the distance is not interminable; and Sir Wycherly's
+household, was well aware of the fact, having frequently instituted
+intelligent practical comparisons, by means of which, all but the butler
+and Mrs. Larder had come to the conclusion to stand by the home-brewed.
+
+On the present occasion, not a soul in the house was ignorant of the
+reason why the baronet was making a night of it. Every man, woman, and
+child, in or about the Hall, was a devoted partisan of the house of
+Hanover; and as soon as it was understood that this feeling was to be
+manifested by drinking "success to King George, and God bless him," on
+the one side; and "confusion to the Pretender, and his mad son," on the
+other; all under the roof entered into the duty, with a zeal that might
+have seated a usurper on a throne, if potations could do it.
+
+When Admiral Bluewater, therefore, left the chamber of his friend, the
+signs of mirth and of a regular debauch were so very obvious, that a
+little curiosity to watch the result, and a disinclination to go off to
+his ship so soon, united to induce him to descend into the rooms below,
+with a view to get a more accurate knowledge of the condition of the
+household. In crossing the great hall, to enter the drawing-room, he
+encountered Galleygo, when the following discourse took place.
+
+"I should think the master-at-arms has not done his duty, and dowsed the
+glim below, Master Steward," said the rear-admiral, in his quiet way, as
+they met; "the laughing, and singing, and hiccupping, are all upon a
+very liberal scale for a respectable country-house."
+
+Galleygo touched the lock of hair on his forehead, with one hand, and
+gave his trowsers a slue with the other, before he answered; which he
+soon did, however, though with a voice a little thicker than was usual
+with him, on account of his having added a draught or two to those he
+had taken previously to visiting Sir Gervaise's dressing-room; and which
+said additional draught or two, had produced some such effect on his
+system, as the fresh drop produces on the cup that is already full.
+
+"That's just it, Admiral Blue," returned the steward, in passing
+good-humour, though still sober enough to maintain the decencies, after
+his own fashion; "that's just it, your honour. They've passed the word
+below to let the lights stand for further orders, and have turned the
+hands up for a frolic. Such ale as they has, stowed in the lower hold of
+this house, like leaguers in the ground-tier, it does a body's heart
+good to conter'plate. All hands is bowsing out their jibs on it, sir,
+and the old Hall will soon be carrying as much sail as she can stagger
+under. It's nothing but loose-away and sheet-home."
+
+"Ay, ay, Galleygo, this may be well enough for the people of the
+household, if Sir Wycherly allows it; but it ill becomes the servants of
+guests to fall into this disorder. If I find Tom has done any thing
+amiss, he will hear more of it; and as your own master is not here to
+admonish _you_, I'll just take the liberty of doing it for him, since I
+know it would mortify him exceedingly to learn that his steward had done
+any thing to disgrace himself."
+
+"Lord bless your dear soul, Admiral Blue, take just as many liberties as
+you think fit, and I'll never pocket one on 'em. I know'd you, when you
+was only a young gentleman, and now you're a rear. You're close on our
+heels; and by the time we are a full admiral, you'll be something like a
+vice. I looks upon you as bone of our bone, and flesh of our
+flesh,--Pillardees and Arrestees--and I no more minds a setting-down
+from your honour, than I does from Sir Jarvy, hisself."
+
+"I believe that is true enough, Galleygo; but take my advice, and knock
+off with the ale for to-night. Can you tell me how the land lies, with
+the rest of the company?"
+
+"You couldn't have asked a better person, your honour, as I've just been
+passing through all the rooms, from a sort of habit I has, sir; for,
+d'ye see, I thought I was in the old Planter, and that it was my duty to
+overlook every thing, as usual. The last pull at the ale, put that
+notion in my head; but it's gone now, and I see how matters is. Yes,
+sir, the mainmast of a church isn't stiffer and more correct-like, than
+my judgment is, at this blessed moment. Sir Wycherly guv' me a glass of
+his black-strap, as I ran through the dining-room, and told me to drink
+'Confusion to the Pretender,' which I did, with hearty good-will; but
+his liquor will no more lay alongside of the ale they've down on the
+orlop, than a Frenchman will compare with an Englishman. What's your
+opinion, Admiral Blue, consarning this cruise of the Pretender's son, up
+in the Highlands of Scotland?"
+
+Bluewater gave a quick, distrustful glance at the steward, for he knew
+that the fellow was half his time in the outer cabin and pantries of the
+Plantagenet, and he could not tell how much of his many private
+dialogues with Sir Gervaise, might have been overheard. Meeting with
+nothing but the unmeaning expression of one half-seas-over, his
+uneasiness instantly subsided.
+
+"I think it a gallant enterprise, Galleygo," he answered; too manly even
+to feign what he did not believe; "but I fear as a _cruise_, it will not
+bring much prize-money. You have forgotten you were about to tell me how
+the land lies. Sir Wycherly, Mr. Dutton, Mr. Rotherham, are still at the
+table, I fancy--are these all? What have become of the two young
+gentlemen?"
+
+"There's none ashore, sir," said Galleygo, promptly, accustomed to give
+that appellation only to midshipmen.
+
+"I mean the two Mr. Wychecombes; one of whom, I had forgot, is actually
+an officer."
+
+"Yes, sir, and a most partic'lar fine officer he is, as every body says.
+Well, sir, _he's_ with the ladies; while his namesake has gone back to
+the table, and has put luff upon luff, to fetch up leeway."
+
+"And the ladies--what have they done with themselves, in this scene of
+noisy revelry?"
+
+"They'se in yonder state-room, your honour. As soon as they found how
+the ship was heading, like all women-craft, they both makes for the best
+harbour they could run into. Yes, they'se yonder."
+
+As Galleygo pointed to the door of the room he meant, Bluewater
+proceeded towards it, parting with the steward after a few more words of
+customary, but very useless caution. The tap of the admiral was answered
+by Wycherly in person, who opened the door, and made way for his
+superior to enter, with a respectful obeisance. There was but a single
+candle in the little parlour, in which the two females had taken refuge
+from the increasing noise of the debauch; and this was due to a pious
+expedient of Mildred's, in extinguishing the others, with a view to
+conceal the traces of tears that were still visible on her own and her
+mother's cheeks. The rear-admiral was, at first, struck with this
+comparative obscurity; but it soon appeared to him appropriate to the
+feelings of the party assembled in the room. Mrs. Dutton received him
+with the ease she had acquired in her early life, and the meeting passed
+as a matter of course, with persons temporarily residing under the same
+roof.
+
+"Our friends appear to be enjoying themselves," said Bluewater, when a
+shout from the dining-room forced itself on the ears of all present.
+"The loyalty of Sir Wycherly seems to be of proof."
+
+"Oh! Admiral Bluewater," exclaimed the distressed wife, feeling,
+momentarily, getting the better of discretion; "_do_ you--_can_ you
+call such a desecration of God's image enjoyment?"
+
+"Not justly, perhaps, Mrs. Dutton; and yet it is what millions mistake
+for it. This mode of celebrating any great event, and even of
+illustrating what we think our principles, is, I fear, a vice not only
+of our age, but of our country."
+
+"And yet, neither you, nor Sir Gervaise Oakes, I see, find it necessary
+to give such a proof of your attachment to the house of Hanover, or of
+your readiness to serve it with your time and persons."
+
+"You will remember, my good, lady, that both Oakes and myself are
+flag-officers in command, and it would never do for us to fall into a
+debauch in sight of our own ships. I am glad to see, however, that Mr.
+Wychecombe, here, prefers such society as I find him in, to the
+pleasures of the table."
+
+Wycherly bowed, and Mildred cast an expressive, not to say grateful,
+glance towards the speaker; but her mother pursued the discourse, in
+which she found a little relief to her suppressed emotion.
+
+"God be thanked for that!" she exclaimed, half-unconscious of the
+interpretation that might be put on her words; "All that we have seen of
+Mr. Wychecombe would lead us to believe that this is not an unusual, or
+an accidental forbearance."
+
+"So much the more fortunate for him. I congratulate you, young sir, on
+this triumph of principle, or of temperament, or of both. We belong to a
+profession, in which the bottle is an enemy more to be feared, than any
+that the king can give us. A sailor can call in no ally as efficient in
+subduing this mortal foe, as an intelligent and cultivated mind. The man
+who really _thinks_ much, seldom _drinks_ much; but there are
+hours--nay, weeks and months of idleness in a ship, in which the
+temptation to resort to unnatural excitement in quest of pleasure, is
+too strong for minds, that are not well fortified, to resist. This is
+particularly the case with commanders, who find themselves isolated by
+their rank, and oppressed with responsibility, in the privacy of their
+own cabins, and get to make a companion of the bottle, by way of seeking
+relief from uncomfortable thoughts, and of creating a society of their
+own. I deem the critical period of a sailor's life, to be the first few
+years of solitary command."
+
+"How true!--how true!" murmured Mrs. Dutton. "Oh! that cutter--that
+cruel cutter!"
+
+The truth flashed upon the recollection of Bluewater, at this unguarded,
+and instantly regretted exclamation. Many years before, when only a
+captain himself, he had been a member of a court-martial which cashiered
+a lieutenant of the name of Dutton, for grievous misconduct, while in
+command of a cutter; the fruits of the bottle. From the first, he
+thought the name familiar to him; but so many similar things had
+happened in the course of forty years' service, that this particular
+incident had been partially lost in the obscurity of time. It was now
+completely recalled, however; and that, too, with all its attendant
+circumstances. The recollection served to give the rear-admiral renewed
+interest in the unhappy wife, and lovely daughter, of the miserable
+delinquent. He had been applied to, at the time, for his interest in
+effecting the restoration of the guilty officer, or even to procure for
+him, the hopeless station he now actually occupied; but he had sternly
+refused to be a party in placing any man in authority, who was the
+victim of a propensity that not only disgraced himself, but which, in
+the peculiar position of a sailor, equally jeoparded the honour of the
+country, and risked the lives of all around him. He was aware that the
+last application had been successful, by means of a court influence it
+was very unusual to exert in cases so insignificant; and, then, he had,
+for years, lost sight of the criminal and his fortunes. This unexpected
+revival of his old impressions, caused him to feel like an ancient
+friend of the wife and daughter; for well could he recall a scene he had
+with both, in which the struggle between his humanity and his principles
+had been so violent as actually to reduce him to tears. Mildred had
+forgotten the name of this particular officer, having been merely a
+child; but well did Mrs. Dutton remember it, and with fear and trembling
+had she come that day, to meet him at the Hall. The first look satisfied
+her that she was forgotten, and she had struggled herself, to bury in
+oblivion, a scene which was one of the most painful of her life. The
+unguarded expression, mentioned, entirely changed the state of affairs.
+
+"Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, kindly taking a hand of the distressed
+wife; "I believe we are old friends; if, after what has passed, you will
+allow me so to consider myself."
+
+"Ah! Admiral Bluewater, my memory needed no admonisher to tell me
+_that_. Your sympathy and kindness are as grateful to me, now, as they
+were in that dreadful moment, when we met before."
+
+"And I had the pleasure of seeing this young lady, more than once, on
+that unpleasant occasion. This accounts for a fancy that has fairly
+haunted me throughout the day; for, from the instant my eye fell on Miss
+Mildred, it struck me that the face, and most of all, its expression,
+was familiar to me. Certainly it is not a countenance, once seen, easily
+to be forgotten."
+
+"Mildred was then but a child, sir, and your recollection must have been
+a fancy, indeed, as children of her age seldom make any lasting
+impression on the mind, particularly in the way of features."
+
+"It is not the features that I recognize, but the expression; and that,
+I need not tell the young lady's mother, is an expression not so very
+easily forgotten. I dare say Mr. Wychecombe is ready enough to vouch for
+the truth of what I say."
+
+"Hark!" exclaimed Mrs. Dutton, who was sensitively alive to any
+indication of the progress of the debauch. "There is great confusion in
+the dining-room!--I hope the gentlemen are of one mind as respects this
+rising in Scotland!"
+
+"If there is a Jacobite among them, he will have a warm time of it; with
+Sir Wycherly, his nephew, and the vicar--all three of whom are raging
+lions, in the way of loyalty. There does, indeed, seem something out of
+the way, for those sounds, I should think, are the feet of servants,
+running to and fro. If the servants'-hall is in the condition I suspect,
+it will as much need the aid of the parlour, as the parlour can
+possibly--"
+
+A tap at the door caused Bluewater to cease speaking; and as Wycherly
+threw open the entrance, Galleygo appeared on the threshold, by this
+time reduced to the necessity of holding on by the casings.
+
+"Well, sir," said the rear-admiral, sternly, for he was no longer
+disposed to trifle with any of the crapulous set; "well, sir, what
+impertinence has brought you here?"
+
+"No impertinence at all, your honour; we carries none of _that_, in the
+old Planter. There being no young gentlemen, hereabouts, to report
+proceedings, I thought I'd just step in and do the duty with my own
+tongue. We has so many reports in our cabin, that there isn't an officer
+in the fleet that can make 'em better, as myself, sir."
+
+"There are a hundred who would spend fewer words on any thing. What is
+your business?"
+
+"Why, sir, just to report one flag struck, and a commander-in-chief on
+his beam-ends."
+
+"Good God! Nothing has happened to Sir Gervaise--speak, fellow, or I'll
+have you sent out of this Babel, and off to the ship, though it were
+midnight."
+
+"It be pretty much that, Admiral Blue; or past six bells; as any one may
+see by the ship's clock on the great companion ladder; six bells, going
+well on to seven--"
+
+"Your business, sir! what has happened to Sir Gervaise?" repeated
+Bluewater, shaking his long fore-finger menacingly, at the steward.
+
+"We are as well, Admiral Blue, as the hour we came over the Planter's
+side. Sir Jarvy will carry sail with the best on 'em, I'll answer for
+it, whether the ship floats in old Port Oporto, or in a brewer's vat.
+Let Sir Jarvy alone for them tricks--he wasn't a young gentleman, for
+nothing."
+
+"Have a moment's patience, sir," put in Wycherly, "and I will go myself,
+and ascertain the truth."
+
+"I shall make but another inquiry," continued Admiral Bluewater, as
+Wycherly left the room.
+
+"Why, d'ye see, your honour, old Sir Wycherly, who is
+commander-in-chief, along shore here, has capsized in consequence of
+carrying sail too hard, in company with younger craft; and they're now
+warping him into dock to be overhauled."
+
+"Is this all!--that was a result to be expected, in such a debauch. You
+need not have put on so ominous a face, for this, Galleygo."
+
+"No, sir, so I thought, myself; and I only tried to look as melancholy
+as a young gentleman who is sent below to report a topgallant-mast over
+the side, or a studding-sail-boom gone in the iron. D'ye remember the
+time, Admiral Blue, when you thought to luff up on the old Planter's
+weather-quarter, and get between her and the French ninety on three
+decks, and how your stu'n-sails went, one a'ter another, just like so
+many musherrooms breaking in peeling?"
+
+Galleygo, who was apt to draw his images from his two trades, might have
+talked on an hour, without interruption; for, while he was uttering the
+above sentence, Wycherly returned, and reported that their host was
+seriously, even dangerously ill. While doing the honours of his table,
+he had been seized with a fit, which the vicar, a noted three-bottle
+man, feared was apoplexy. Mr. Rotherham had bled the patient, who was
+already a little better, and an express had been sent for a medical man.
+As a matter of course, the _convives_ had left the table, and alarm was
+frightening the servants into sobriety. At Mrs. Dutton's earnest
+request, Wycherly immediately left the room again, forcing Galleygo out
+before him, with a view to get more accurate information concerning the
+baronet's real situation; both the mother and daughter feeling a real
+affection for Sir Wycherly; the kind old man having won their hearts by
+his habitual benevolence, and a constant concern for their welfare.
+
+"_Sic transit gloria mundi_," muttered Admiral Bluewater, as he threw
+his tall person, in his own careless manner, on a chair, in a dark
+corner of the room. "This baronet has fallen from his throne, in a
+moment of seeming prosperity and revelry; why may not another do the
+same?"
+
+Mrs. Dutton heard the voice, without distinguishing the words, and she
+felt distressed at the idea that one whom she so much respected and
+loved, might be judged of harshly, by a man of the rear-admiral's
+character.
+
+"Sir Wycherly is one of the kindest-hearted men, breathing," she said, a
+little hurriedly; "and there is not a better landlord in England. Then
+he is by no means addicted to indulgence at table, more than is
+customary with gentlemen of his station. His loyalty has, no doubt,
+carried him this evening farther than was prudent, or than we could have
+wished."
+
+"I have every disposition to think favourably of our poor host, my dear
+Mrs. Dutton; and we seamen are not accustomed to judge a _bon vivant_
+too harshly."
+
+"Ah! Admiral Bluewater, _you_, who have so wide-spread a reputation for
+sobriety and correct deportment! Well do I remember how I trembled, when
+I heard your name mentioned as one of the leading members of that
+dreadful court!"
+
+"You let your recollections dwell too much on these unpleasant subjects,
+Mrs. Dutton, and I should like to see you setting an example of greater
+cheerfulness to your sweet daughter. I could not befriend you, _then_,
+for my oath and my duty were both against it; but, _now_, there exists
+no possible reason, why I should not; while there does exist almost
+every possible disposition, why I should. This sweet child interests me
+in a way I can hardly describe."
+
+Mrs. Dutton was silent and thoughtful. The years of Admiral Bluewater
+did not absolutely forbid his regarding Mildred's extreme beauty, with
+the eyes of ordinary admiration; but his language, and most of all, his
+character, ought to repel the intrusive suspicion. Still Mildred was
+surpassingly lovely, and men were surpassingly weak in matters of love.
+Many a hero had passed a youth of self-command and discretion, to
+consummate some act of exceeding folly, of this very nature, in the
+decline of life; and bitter experience had taught her to be distrustful.
+Nevertheless, she could not, at once, bring herself to think ill of one,
+whose character she had so long respected; and, with all the
+rear-admiral's directness of manner, there was so much real and feeling
+delicacy, blended with the breeding of a gentleman-like sailor, that it
+was not easy to suppose he had any other motives than those he saw fit
+to avow. Mildred had made many a friend, by a sweetness of countenance,
+that was even more winning, than her general beauty of face and form was
+attractive; and why should not this respectable old seaman be of the
+number.
+
+This train of thought was interrupted by the sudden and unwelcome
+appearance of Dutton. He had just returned from the bed-side of Sir
+Wycherly, and now came to seek his wife and daughter, to bid them
+prepare to enter the chariot, which was in waiting to convey them home.
+The miserable man was not intoxicated, in the sense which deprives a man
+of the use of speech and limbs; but he had drunk quite enough to awaken
+the demon within him, and to lay bare the secrets of his true character.
+If any thing, his nerves were better strung than common; but the wine
+had stirred up all the energies of a being, whose resolutions seldom
+took the direction of correct feeling, or of right doing. The darkness
+of the room, and a slight confusion which nevertheless existed in his
+brain, prevented him from noticing the person of his superior, seated,
+as the latter was, in the dark corner; and he believed himself once more
+alone with those who were so completely dependent on his mercy, and who
+had so long been the subjects of his brutality and tyranny.
+
+"I hope Sir Wycherly is better, Dutton," the wife commenced, fearful
+that her husband might expose himself and her, before he was aware of
+the presence in which he stood. "Admiral Bluewater is as anxious, as we
+are ourselves, to know his real state."
+
+"Ay, you women are all pity and feeling for baronets and rear-admirals,"
+answered Dutton, throwing himself rudely into a chair, with his back
+towards the stranger, in an attitude completely to exclude the latter
+from his view; "while a husband, or father, might die a hundred deaths,
+and not draw a look of pity from your beautiful eyes, or a kind word
+from your devilish tongues."
+
+"Neither Mildred nor I, merit this from _you_, Dutton!"
+
+"No, you're both perfection; like mother, like child. Haven't I been,
+fifty times, at death's door, with this very complaint of Sir
+Wycherly's, and did either of you ever send for an apothecary, even?"
+
+"You have been occasionally indisposed, Dutton, but never apoplectic;
+and we have always thought a little sleep would restore you; as, indeed,
+it always has."
+
+"What business had you to _think_? Surgeons think, and medical men, and
+it was your duty to send for the nearest professional man, to look after
+one you're bound both to honour and obey. You are your own mistress,
+Martha, I do suppose, in a certain degree; and what can't be cured must
+be endured; but Mildred is my child; and I'll have her respect and love,
+if I break both your hearts in order to get at them."
+
+"A pious daughter always respects her parent, Dutton," said the wife,
+trembling from head to foot; "but love must come willingly, or, it will
+not come at all."
+
+"We'll see as to that, Mrs. Martha Dutton; we'll see as to that. Come
+hither, Mildred; I have a word to say to you, which may as well be said
+at once."
+
+Mildred, trembling like her mother, drew near; but with a feeling of
+filial piety, that no harshness could entirely smother, she felt anxious
+to prevent the father from further exposing himself, in the presence of
+Admiral Bluewater. With this view, then, and with this view only, she
+summoned firmness enough to speak.
+
+"Father," she said, "had we not better defer our family matters, until
+we are alone?"
+
+Under ordinary circumstances, Bluewater would not have waited for so
+palpable a hint, for he would have retired on the first appearance of
+any thing so disagreeable as a misunderstanding between man and wife.
+But, an ungovernable interest in the lovely girl, who stood trembling at
+her father's knee, caused him to forget his habitual delicacy of
+feeling, and to overlook what might perhaps be termed almost a law of
+society. Instead of moving, therefore, as Mildred had both hoped and
+expected, he remained motionless in his seat. Dutton's mind was too
+obtuse to comprehend his daughter's allusions, in the absence, of ocular
+evidence of a stranger's presence, and his wrath was too much excited to
+permit him to think much of any thing but his own causes of indignation.
+
+"Stand more in front of me, Mildred," he answered, angrily. "More before
+my face, as becomes one who don't know her duty to her parent, and needs
+be taught it."
+
+"Oh! Dutton," exclaimed the afflicted wife; "do not--do not--accuse
+Mildred of being undutiful! You know not what you say--know not her
+obliga--you cannot know her _heart_, or you would not use these cruel
+imputations!"
+
+"Silence, Mrs. Martha Dutton--my business is not with _you_, at present,
+but with this young lady, to whom, I hope, I may presume to speak a
+little plainly, as she is my own child. Silence, then, Mrs. Martha
+Dutton. If my memory is not treacherous, you once stood up before God's
+altar with me, and there vow'd to love, honour, and _obey_. Yes, that
+was the word; _obey_, Mrs. Martha Dutton."
+
+"And what did _you_ promise, at the same time, Frank?" exclaimed the
+wife, from whose bruised spirit this implied accusation was torn in an
+agony of mental suffering.
+
+"Nothing but what I have honestly and manfully performed. I promised to
+provide for you; to give you food and raiment; to let you hear my name,
+and stand before the world in the honourable character of honest Frank
+Dutton's wife."
+
+"Honourable!" murmured the wife, loud enough to be heard by both the
+Admiral and Mildred, and yet in a tone so smothered, as to elude the
+obtuse sense of hearing, that long excess had left her husband. When
+this expressive word had broken out of her very heart, however, she
+succeeded in suppressing her voice, and sinking into a chair, concealed
+her face in her hands, in silence.
+
+"Mildred, come hither," resumed the brutalized parent. "_You_ are my
+daughter, and whatever others have promised at the altar, and forgotten,
+a law of nature teaches you to obey me. You have two admirers, either of
+whom you ought to be glad to secure, though there is a great preference
+between them--"
+
+"Father!" exclaimed Mildred, every feeling of her sensitive nature
+revolting at this coarse allusion to a connection, and to sentiments,
+that she was accustomed to view as among the most sacred and private of
+her moral being. "Surely, you cannot mean what you say!"
+
+"Like mother, like child! Let but disobedience and disrespect get
+possession of a wife, and they are certain to run through a whole
+family, even though there were a dozen children! Harkee, Miss Mildred,
+it is _you_ who don't happen to know what you say, while I understand
+myself as well as most parents. Your mother would never acquaint you
+with what I feel it a duty to put plainly before your judgment; and,
+therefore, I expect you to listen as becomes a dutiful and affectionate
+child. You can secure either of these young Wychecombes, and either of
+them would be a good match for a poor, disgraced, sailing-master's
+daughter."
+
+"Father, I shall sink through the floor, if you say another word, in
+this cruel manner!"
+
+"No, dear; you'll neither sink nor swim, unless it be by making a bad,
+or a good choice. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe is Sir Wycherly's heir, and must
+be the next baronet, and possessor of this estate. Of course he is much
+the best thing, and you ought to give him a preference."
+
+"Dutton, _can_ you, as a father and a Christian, give such heartless
+counsel to your own child!" exclaimed Mrs. Dutton, inexpressibly shocked
+at the want of principle, as well as at the want of feeling, discovered
+in her husband's advice.
+
+"Mrs. Martha Dutton, I can; and believe the counsel to be any thing but
+heartless, too. Do you wish your daughter to be the wife of a miserable
+signal-station keeper, when she may become Lady Wychecombe, with a
+little prudent management, and the mistress of this capital old house,
+and noble estate?"
+
+"Father--father," interrupted Mildred, soothingly, though ready to sink
+with shame at the idea of Admiral Bluewater's being an auditor of such a
+conversation; "you forget yourself, and overlook my wishes. There is
+little probability of Mr. Thomas Wychecombe's ever thinking of me as a
+wife--or, indeed of anyone else's entertaining such thoughts."
+
+"That will turn out, as you manage matters, Milly. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe
+does not think of you as a _wife_, quite likely, just at this moment;
+but the largest whales are taken by means of very small lines, when the
+last are properly handled. This young lieutenant would have you
+to-morrow; though a more silly thing than for you two to marry, could
+not well be hit upon. He is only a lieutenant; and though his name is so
+good a one, it does not appear that he has any particular right to it."
+
+"And yet, Dutton, you were only a lieutenant when _you_ married, and
+your name was _nothing_ in the way of interest, or preferment," observed
+the mother, anxious to interpose some new feeling between her daughter,
+and the cruel inference left by the former part of her husband's speech.
+"We _then_ thought all lay bright before us!"
+
+"And so all would lie to this hour, Mrs. Dutton, but for that one silly
+act of mine. A man with the charges of a family on him, little pay, and
+no fortune, is driven to a thousand follies to hide his misery. You do
+not strengthen your case by reminding me of _that_ imprudence. But,
+Mildred, I do not tell you to cut adrift this young Virginian, for he
+may he of use in more ways than one. In the first place, you can play
+him off against Mr. Thomas Wychecombe; and, in the second place, a
+lieutenant is likely, one day, to be a captain; and the wife of a
+captain in His Majesty's navy, is no disreputable birth. I advise you,
+girl, to use this youngster as a bait to catch the heir with; and,
+failing a good bite, to take up with the lad himself."
+
+This was said dogmatically, but with a coarseness of manner that fully
+corresponded with the looseness of the principles, and the utter want of
+delicacy of feeling that alone could prompt such advice. Mrs. Dutton
+fairly groaned, as she listened to her husband, for never before had he
+so completely thrown aside the thin mask of decency that he ordinarily
+wore; but Mildred, unable to control the burst of wild emotion that came
+over her, broke away from the place she occupied at her father's knee,
+and, as if blindly seeking protection in any asylum that she fancied
+safe, found herself sobbing, as if her heart would break, in Admiral
+Bluewater's arms.
+
+Dutton followed the ungovernable, impulsive movement, with his eye, and
+for the first time he became aware in whose presence he had been
+exposing his native baseness. Wine had not so far the mastery of him, as
+to blind him to all the consequences, though it did stimulate him to a
+point that enabled him to face the momentary mortification of his
+situation.
+
+"I beg a thousand pardons, sir," he said, rising, and bowing low to his
+superior; "I was totally ignorant that I had the honour to be in the
+company of Admiral Bluewater--Admiral Blue, I find Jack calls you, sir;
+ha-ha-ha--a familiarity which is a true sign of love and respect. I
+never knew a captain, or a flag-officer, that got a regular, expressive
+ship's name, that he wasn't the delight of the whole service. Yes, sir;
+I find the people call Sir Gervaise, Little Jarvy, and yourself, Admiral
+Blue--ha-ha-ha--an infallible sign of merit in the superior, and of love
+in the men."
+
+"I ought to apologize, Mr. Dutton, for making one, so unexpectedly to
+myself, in a family council," returned the rear-admiral. "As for the
+men, they are no great philosophers, though tolerable judges of when
+they are well commanded, and well treated.--But, the hour is late, and
+it was my intention to sleep in my own ship, to-night. The coach of Sir
+Wycherly has been ordered to carry me to the landing, and I hope to have
+your permission to see these ladies home in it."
+
+The answer of Dutton was given with perfect self-possession, and in a
+manner to show that he knew how to exercise the courtesies of life, or
+to receive them, when in the humour.
+
+"It is an honour, sir, they will not think of declining, if my wishes
+are consulted," he said. "Come, Milly, foolish girl, dry your tears,
+and smile on Admiral Bluewater, for his condescension. Young women, sir,
+hardly know how to take a joke; and our ship's humours are sometimes a
+little strong for them. I tell my dear wife, sometimes--'Wife,' I say,
+'His Majesty can't have stout-hearted and stout-handed seamen, and the
+women poets and die-away swains, and all in the same individual,' says
+I. Mrs. Dutton understands me, sir; and so does little Milly; who is an
+excellent girl in the main; though a little addicted to using the
+eye-pumps, as we have it aboard ship, sir."
+
+"And, now, Mr. Dutton, it being understood that I am to see the ladies
+home, will you do me the favour to inquire after the condition of Sir
+Wycherly. One would not wish to quit his hospitable roof, in uncertainty
+as to his actual situation."
+
+Dutton was duly sensible of an awkwardness in the presence of his
+superior, and he gladly profited by this commission to quit the room;
+walking more steadily than if he had not been drinking.
+
+All this time, Mildred hung on Admiral Bluewater's shoulder, weeping,
+and unwilling to quit a place that seemed to her, in her fearful
+agitation, a sort of sanctuary.
+
+"Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, first kissing the cheek of his lovely
+burthen, in a manner so parental, that the most sensitive delicacy could
+not have taken the alarm; "you will succeed better than myself, in
+quieting the feelings of this little trembler. I need hardly say that if
+I have accidentally overheard more than I ought, it is as much a secret
+with me, as it would be with your own brother. The characters of all
+cannot be affected by the mistaken and excited calculations of one; and
+this occasion has served to make me better acquainted with you, and your
+admirable daughter, than I might otherwise have been, by means of years
+of ordinary intercourse."
+
+"Oh! Admiral Bluewater, do not judge him _too_ harshly! He has been too
+long at that fatal table, which I fear has destroyed poor dear Sir
+Wycherly, and knew not what he said. Never before have I seen him in
+such a fearful humour, or in the least disposed to trifle with, or to
+wound the feelings of this sweet child!"
+
+"Her extreme agitation is a proof of this, my good madam, and shows all
+you can wish to say. View me as your sincere friend, and place every
+reliance on my discretion."
+
+The wounded mother listened with gratitude, and Mildred withdrew from
+her extraordinary situation, wondering by what species of infatuation
+she could have been led to adopt it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+                    ----"Ah, Montague,
+    If thou be there, sweet brother, take my hand,
+    And with thy lips keep in my soul awhile!
+    Thou lov'st me not; for, brother, if thou didst,
+    Thy tears would wash this cold congealed blood
+    That glues my lips, and will not let me speak.
+    Come quickly, Montague, or I am dead."
+
+         KING HENRY VI.
+
+
+Sir Wycherly had actually been seized with a fit of apoplexy. It was the
+first serious disease he had experienced in a long life of health and
+prosperity; and the sight of their condescending, good-humored, and
+indulgent master, in a plight so miserable, had a surprising effect on
+the heated brains of all the household. Mr. Rotherham, a good
+three-bottle man, on emergency, had learned to bleed, and fortunately
+the vein he struck, as his patient still lay on the floor, where he had
+fallen, sent out a stream that had the effect not only to restore the
+baronet to life, but, in a great measure, to consciousness. Sir Wycherly
+was not a _hard_ drinker, like Dutton; but he was a _fair_ drinker, like
+Mr. Rotherham, and most of the beneficed clergy of that day. Want of
+exercise, as he grew older, had as much influence in producing his
+attack as excess of wine; and there were already, strong hopes of his
+surviving it, aided as he was, by a good constitution. The apothecary
+had reached the Hall, within five minutes after the attack, having
+luckily been prescribing to the gardener; and the physician and surgeon
+of the family were both expected in the course of the morning.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had been acquainted with the state of his host, by
+his own valet, as soon as it was known in the servants'-hall, and being
+a man of action, he did not hesitate to proceed at once to the chamber
+of the sick, to offer his own aid, in the absence of that which might be
+better. At the door of the chamber, he met Atwood, who had been summoned
+from his pen, and they entered together, the vice-admiral feeling for a
+lancet in his pocket, for he, too, had acquired the art of the
+blood-letter. They now learned the actual state of things.
+
+"Where is Bluewater?" demanded Sir Gervaise, after regarding his host a
+moment with commiseration and concern. "I hope he has not yet left the
+house."
+
+"He is still here, Sir Gervaise, but I should think on the point of
+quitting us. I heard him say, that, notwithstanding all Sir Wycherly's
+kind plans to detain him, he intended to sleep in his own ship."
+
+"That I've never doubted, though I've affected to believe otherwise. Go
+to him, Atwood, and say I beg he will pull within hail of the
+Plantagenet, as he goes off, and desire Mr. Magrath to come ashore, as
+soon as possible. There shall be a conveyance at the landing to bring
+him here; and he may order his own surgeon to come also, if it be
+agreeable to himself."
+
+With these instructions the secretary left the room; while Sir Gervaise
+turned to Tom Wychecombe, and said a few of the words customary on such
+melancholy occasions.
+
+"I think there is hope, sir," he added, "yes, sir, I think there is
+hope; though your honoured relative is no longer young--still, this
+early bleeding has been a great thing; and if we can gain a little time
+for poor Sir Wycherly, our efforts will not be thrown away. Sudden death
+is awful, sir, and few of us are prepared for it, either in mind, or
+affairs. We sailors have to hold our lives in our hands, it is true, but
+then it is for king and country; and we hope for mercy on all who fall
+in the discharge of their duties. For my part, I am never unprovided
+with a will, and that disposes of all the interests of this world, while
+I humbly trust in the Great Mediator, for the hereafter. I hope Sir
+Wycherly is equally provident as to his worldly affairs?"
+
+"No doubt my dear uncle could wish to leave certain trifling memorials
+behind him to a few of his intimates," returned Tom, with a dejected
+countenance; "but he has not been without a will, I believe, for some
+time; and I presume you will agree with me in thinking he is not in a
+condition to make one, now, were he unprovided in that way?"
+
+"Perhaps not exactly at this moment, though a rally might afford an
+opportunity. The estate is entailed, I think Mr. Dutton told me, at
+dinner."
+
+"It is, Sir Gervaise, and I am the unworthy individual who is to profit
+by it, according to the common notions of men, though Heaven knows I
+shall consider it any thing but a gain; still, I am the unworthy
+individual who is to be benefited by my uncle's death."
+
+"Your father was the baronet's next brother?" observed Sir Gervaise,
+casually, a shade of distrust passing athwart his mind, though coming
+from what source, or directed to what point, he was himself totally
+unable to say. "Mr. Baron Wychecombe, I believe, was your parent?"
+
+"He was, Sir Gervaise, and a most tender and indulgent father, I ever
+found him. He left me his earnings, some seven hundred a year, and I am
+sure the death of Sir Wycherly is as far from my necessities, as it is
+from my wishes."
+
+"Of course you will succeed to the baronetcy, as well as to the estate?"
+mechanically asked Sir Gervaise, led on by the supererogatory
+expressions of Tom, himself, rather than by a vulgar curiosity, to ask
+questions that, under other circumstances, he might have thought
+improper.
+
+"Of course, sir. My father was the only surviving brother of Sir
+Wycherly; the only one who ever married; and I am _his_ eldest child.
+Since this melancholy event has occurred, it is quite fortunate that I
+lately obtained this certificate of the marriage of my parents--is it
+not, sir?"
+
+Here Tom drew from his pocket a soiled piece of paper, which professed
+to be a certificate of the marriage of Thomas Wychecombe, barrister,
+with Martha Dodd, spinster, &c. &c. The document was duly signed by the
+rector of a parish church in Westminster, and bore a date sufficiently
+old to establish the legitimacy of the person who held it. This
+extraordinary precaution produced the very natural effect of increasing
+the distrust of the vice-admiral, and, in a slight degree, of giving it
+a direction.
+
+"You go well armed, sir," observed Sir Gervaise, drily. "Is it your
+intention, when you succeed, to carry the patent of the baronetcy, and
+the title-deeds, in your pocket?"
+
+"Ah! I perceive my having this document strikes you as odd, Sir
+Gervaise, but it can be easily explained. There was a wide difference in
+rank between my parents, and some ill-disposed persons have presumed so
+far to reflect on the character of my mother, as to assert she was not
+married at all."
+
+"In which case, sir, you would do well to cut off half-a-dozen of their
+ears."
+
+"The law is not to be appeased in that way, Sir Gervaise. My dear parent
+used to inculcate on me the necessity of doing every thing according to
+law; and I endeavour to remember his precepts. He avowed his marriage on
+his death-bed, made all due atonement to my respected and injured
+mother, and informed me in whose hands I should find this very
+certificate; I only obtained it this morning, which fact will account
+for its being in my pocket, at this melancholy and unexpected crisis, in
+my beloved uncle's constitution."
+
+The latter part of Tom's declaration was true enough; for, after having
+made all the necessary inquiries, and obtained the hand-writing of a
+clergyman who was long since dead, he had actually forged the
+certificate that day, on a piece of soiled paper, that bore the
+water-mark of 1720. His language, however, contributed to alienate the
+confidence of his listener; Sir Gervaise being a man who was so much
+accustomed to directness and fair-dealing, himself, as to feel disgust
+at any thing that had the semblance of cant or hypocrisy. Nevertheless,
+he had his own motives for pursuing the subject; the presence of neither
+at the bed-side of the sufferer, being just then necessary.
+
+"And this Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe," he said; "he who has so much
+distinguished himself of late; your uncle's namesake;--is it true that
+he is not allied to your family?"
+
+"Not in the least, Sir Gervaise," answered Tom, with one of his sinister
+smiles. "He is only a Virginian, you know, sir, and cannot well belong
+to us. I have heard my uncle say, often, that the young gentleman must
+be descended from an old servant of his father's, who was transported
+for stealing silver out of a shop on Ludgate Hill, and who was arrested
+for passing himself off, as one of the Wychecombe family. They tell me,
+Sir Gervaise, that the colonies are pretty much made of persons
+descended from that sort of ancestors?"
+
+"I cannot say that I have found it so; though, when I commanded a
+frigate, I served several years on the North American station. The
+larger portion of the Americans, like much the larger portion of the
+English, are humble labourers, established in a remote colony, where
+civilization is not far advanced, wants are many, and means few; but, in
+the way of character, I am not certain that they are not quite on a
+level with those they left behind them; and, as to the gentry of the
+colonies, I have seen many men of the best blood of the mother country
+among them;--younger sons, and their descendants, as a matter of course,
+but of an honourable and respected ancestry."
+
+"Well, sir, this surprises me; and it is not the general opinion, I am
+persuaded! Certainly, it is not the fact as respects the
+gentleman--stranger, I might call him, for stranger he is at
+Wychecombe--who has not the least right to pretend to belong to us."
+
+"Did you ever know him to lay claim to that honour, sir?"
+
+"Not directly, Sir Gervaise; though I am told he has made many hints to
+that effect, since he landed here to be cured of his wound. It would
+have been better had he presented his rights to the landlord, than to
+present them to the tenants, I think you will allow, as a man of honour,
+yourself, Sir Gervaise?"
+
+"I can approve of nothing clandestine in matters that require open and
+fair dealing, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe. But I ought to apologize for thus
+dwelling on your family affairs, which concern me only as I feel an
+interest in the wishes and happiness of my new acquaintance, my
+excellent host."
+
+"Sir Wycherly has property in the funds that is not entailed--quite
+L1000 a year, beyond the estates--and I know he has left a will,"
+continued Tom; who, with the short-sightedness of a rogue, flattered
+himself with having made a favourable impression on his companion, and
+who was desirous of making him useful to himself, in an emergency that
+he felt satisfied must terminate in the speedy death of his uncle. "Yes,
+a good L1000 a year, in the fives; money saved from his rents, in a long
+life. This will probably has some provision in favour of my younger
+brothers; and perhaps of this namesake of his,"--Tom was well aware that
+it devised every shilling, real and personal, to himself;--"for a kinder
+heart does not exist on earth. In fact, this will my uncle put in my
+possession, as heir at law, feeling it due to my pretensions, I suppose;
+but I have never presumed to look into it."
+
+Here was another instance of excessive finesse, in which Tom awakened
+suspicion by his very efforts to allay it. It seemed highly improbable
+to Sir Gervaise, that a man like the nephew could long possess his
+uncle's will, and feel no desire to ascertain its contents. The language
+of the young man was an indirect admission, that he might have examined
+the will if he would; and the admiral felt disposed to suspect that what
+he might thus readily have done, he actually had done. The dialogue,
+however, terminated here; Dutton, just at that moment, entering the room
+on the errand on which he had been sent by Admiral Bluewater, and Tom
+joining his old acquaintance, as soon as the latter made his appearance.
+Sir Gervaise Oakes was too much concerned for the condition of his host,
+and had too many cares of his own, to think deeply or long on what had
+just passed between himself and Tom Wychecombe. Had they separated that
+night, what had been said, and the unfavourable impressions it had made,
+would have been soon forgotten; but circumstances subsequently conspired
+to recall the whole to his mind, of which the consequences will be
+related in the course of our narrative.
+
+Dutton appeared to be a little shocked as he gazed upon the pallid
+features of Sir Wycherly, and he was not sorry when Tom led him aside,
+and began to speak confidentially of the future, and of the probable
+speedy death of his uncle. Had there been one present, gifted with the
+power of reading the thoughts and motives of men, a deep disgust of
+human frailties must have come over him, as these two impure spirits
+betrayed to him their cupidity and cunning. Outwardly, they were friends
+mourning over a mutual probable loss; while inwardly, Dutton was
+endeavouring to obtain such a hold of his companion's confidence, as
+might pave the way to his own future preferment to the high and
+unhoped-for station of a rich baronet's father-in-law; while Tom thought
+only of so far mystifying the master, as to make use of him, on an
+emergency, as a witness to establish his own claims. The manner in which
+he endeavoured to effect his object, however, must be left to the
+imagination of the reader, as we have matters of greater moment to
+record at this particular juncture.
+
+From the time Sir Wycherly was laid on his bed, Mr. Rotherham had been
+seated at the sick man's side, watching the course of his attack, and
+ready to interpret any of the patient's feebly and indistinctly
+expressed wishes. We say indistinctly, because the baronet's speech was
+slightly affected with that species of paralysis which reduces the
+faculty to the state that is vulgarly called thick-tongued. Although a
+three-bottle man, Mr. Rotherham was far from being without his devout
+feelings, on occasions, discharging all the clerical functions with as
+much unction as the habits of the country, and the opinions of the day,
+ordinarily exacted of divines. He had even volunteered to read the
+prayers for the sick, as soon as he perceived that the patient's
+recollection had returned; but this kind offer had been declined by Sir
+Wycherly, under the clearer views of fitness, that the near approach of
+death is apt to give, and which views left a certain consciousness that
+the party assembled was not in the best possible condition for that
+sacred office. Sir Wycherly revived so much, at last, as to look about
+him with increasing consciousness; and, at length, his eyes passed
+slowly over the room, scanning each person singly, and with marked
+deliberation.
+
+"I know you all--now," said the kind-hearted baronet, though always
+speaking thick, and with a little difficulty; "am sorry to give--much
+trouble. I have--little time to spare."
+
+"I hope not, Sir Wycherly," put in the vicar, in a consolatory manner;
+"you have had a sharp attack, but then there is a good constitution to
+withstand it."
+
+"My time--short--feel it here," rejoined the patient, passing his hand
+over his forehead.
+
+"Note that, Dutton," whispered Tom Wycherly. "My poor uncle intimates
+himself that his mind is a little shaken. Under such circumstances, it
+would be cruel to let him injure himself with business."
+
+"It cannot be done _legally_, Mr. Thomas--I should think Admiral Oakes
+would interfere to prevent it."
+
+"Rotherham," continued the patient, "I will--settle with--world; then,
+give--thoughts--to God. Have we--guests--the house?--Men of
+family--character?"
+
+"Certainly, Sir Wycherly; Admiral Oakes is in the room, even; and
+Admiral Bluewater, is, I believe, still in the house. You invited both
+to pass the night with you."
+
+"I remember it--now; my mind--still--confused,"--here Tom Wychecombe
+again nudged the master--"Sir Gervaise Oakes--an Admiral--ancient
+baronet--man of high honour. Admiral Bluewater, too--relative--Lord
+Bluewater; gentleman--universal esteem. You, too, Rotherham; wish my
+poor brother James--St. James--used to call him--had been
+living;--you--good neighbour--Rotherham."
+
+"Can I do any thing to prove it, my dear Sir Wycherly? Nothing would
+make me happier than to know, and to comply with, all your wishes, at a
+moment so important!"
+
+"Let all quit--room--but yourself--head feels worse--I cannot delay--"
+
+"'Tis cruel to distress my beloved uncle with business, or conversation,
+in his present state," interposed Tom Wychecombe, with emphasis, and, in
+a slight degree, with authority.
+
+All not only felt the truth of this, but all felt that the speaker, by
+his consanguinity, had a clear right to interfere, in the manner he had.
+Still Sir Gervaise Oakes had great reluctance in yielding to this
+remonstrance; for, to the distrust he had imbibed of Tom Wychecombe, was
+added an impression that his host wished to reveal something of
+interest, in connection with his new favourite, the lieutenant. He felt
+compelled, notwithstanding, to defer to the acknowledged nephew's better
+claims, and he refrained from interfering. Fortunately, Sir Wycherly was
+yet in a state to enforce his own wishes.
+
+"Let all quit--room," he repeated, in a voice that was startling by its
+unexpected firmness, and equally unexpected distinctness. "All but Sir
+Gervaise Oakes--Admiral Bluewater--Mr. Rotherham, Gentlemen--favour to
+remain--rest depart."
+
+Accustomed to obey their master's orders, more especially when given in
+a tone so decided, the domestics quitted the room, accompanied by
+Dutton; but Tom Wychecombe saw fit to remain, as if his presence were to
+be a matter of course.
+
+"Do me--favour--withdraw,--Mr. Wychecombe," resumed the baronet, after
+fixing his gaze on his nephew for some time, as if expecting him to
+retire without this request.
+
+"My beloved uncle, it is I--Thomas, your own brother's son--your next of
+kin--waiting anxiously by your respected bed-side. Do not--do
+not--confound me with strangers. Such a forgetfulness would break my
+heart!"
+
+"Forgive me, nephew--but I wish--alone with these
+gentle----head--getting--confused--"
+
+"You see how it is, Sir Gervaise Oakes--you see how it is, Mr.
+Rotherham. Ah! there goes the coach that is to take Admiral Bluewater to
+his boat. My uncle wished for three witnesses to something, and I can
+remain as one of the three."
+
+"Is it your pleasure, Sir Wycherly, to wish to see us alone?" asked Sir
+Gervaise, in a manner that showed authority would be exercised to
+enforce his request, should the uncle still desire the absence of his
+nephew.
+
+A sign from the sick man indicated the affirmative, and that in a manner
+too decided to admit of mistake.
+
+"You perceive, Mr. Wychecombe, what are your uncle's wishes," observed
+Sir Gervaise, very much in the way that a well-bred superior intimates
+to an inferior the compliance he expects; "I trust his desire will not
+be disregarded, at a moment like this."
+
+"I am Sir Wycherly Wychecombe's next of kin," said Tom, in a slightly
+bullying tone; "and no one has the same right as a relative, and, I may
+say, his heir, to be at his bed-side."
+
+"That depends on the pleasure of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe himself, sir.
+_He_ is master here; and, having done me the honour to invite me under
+his roof as a guest, and, now, having requested to see me alone, with
+others he has expressly named--one of whom you are not--I shall conceive
+it my duty to see his wishes obeyed."
+
+This was said in the firm, quiet way, that the habit of command had
+imparted to Sir Gervaise's manner; and Tom began to see it might be
+dangerous to resist. It was important, too, that one of the
+vice-admiral's character and station should have naught to say against
+him, in the event of any future controversy; and, making a few
+professions of respect, and of his desire to please his uncle, Tom
+quitted the room.
+
+A gleam of satisfaction shot over the sick man's countenance, as his
+nephew disappeared; and then his eye turned slowly towards the faces of
+those who remained.
+
+"Bluewater," he said, the thickness of his speech, and the general
+difficulty of utterance, seeming to increase; "the rear-admiral--I want
+all--respectable--witnesses in the house."
+
+"My friend has left us, I understand," returned Sir Gervaise, "insisting
+on his habit of never sleeping out of his ship; but Atwood must soon be
+back; I hope _he_ will answer!"
+
+A sign of assent was given; and, then, there was the pause of a minute,
+or two, ere the secretary made his appearance. As soon, however, as he
+had returned, the three collected around the baronet's bed, not without
+some of the weakness which men are supposed to have inherited from their
+common mother Eve, in connection with the motive for this singular
+proceeding of the baronet.
+
+"Sir Gervaise--Rotherham--Mr. Atwood," slowly repeated the patient, his
+eye passing from the face of one to that of another, as he uttered the
+name of each; "three witnesses--that will do--Thomas said--must have
+_three_--three _good_ names."
+
+"What can we do to serve you, Sir Wycherly?" inquired the admiral, with
+real interest. "You have only to name your requests, to have them
+faithfully attended to."
+
+"Old Sir Michael Wychecombe, Kt.--two wives--Margery and Joan. Two
+wives--two sons--half-blood--Thomas, James, Charles, and Gregory,
+_whole_--Sir Reginald Wychecombe, _half_. Understand--hope--gentlemen?"
+
+"This is not being very clear, certainly," whispered Sir Gervaise; "but,
+perhaps by getting hold of the other end of the rope, we may under-run
+it, as we sailors say, and come at the meaning--we will let the poor man
+proceed, therefore. Quite plain, my dear sir, and what have you next to
+tell us. You left off without saying only _half_ about Sir Reginald."
+
+"Half-blood; only _half_--Tom and the rest, whole. Sir Reginald, no
+_nullius_--young Tom, a _nullius_."
+
+"A _nullius_, Mr. Rotherham! You understand Latin, sir; what can a
+_nullius_, mean? No such rope in the ship, hey! Atwood?"
+
+"_Nullius_, or _nullius_, as it ought sometimes to be pronounced, is the
+genitive case, singular, of the pronoun _nullus; nullus, nulla, nullum_;
+which means, 'no man,' 'no woman,' 'no thing.' _Nullius_ means, 'of no
+man,' 'of no woman,' 'of no thing.'"
+
+The vicar gave this explanation, much in the way a pedagogue would have
+explained the matter to a class.
+
+"Ay-ay--any school-boy could have told that, which is the first form
+learning. But what the devil can 'Nom. _nullus, nulla, nullum_; Gen.
+_nullius, nullius, nullius_,' have to do with Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, the
+nephew and heir of the present baronet?"
+
+"That is more than I can inform you, Sir Gervaise," answered the vicar,
+stiffly; "but, for the Latin, I will take upon myself to answer, that it
+is good."
+
+Sir Gervaise was too-well bred to laugh, but he found it difficult to
+suppress a smile.
+
+"Well, Sir Wycherly," resumed the vice-admiral, "this is quite
+plain--Sir Reginald is only _half_, while your nephew Tom, and the rest,
+are _whole_--Margery and Joan, and all that. Any thing more to tell us,
+my dear sir?"
+
+"Tom _not_ whole--_nullus_, I wish to say. Sir Reginald _half_--no
+_nullus_."
+
+"This is like being at sea a week, without getting a sight of the sun! I
+am all adrift, now, gentlemen."
+
+"Sir Wycherly does not attend to his cases," put in Atwood, drily. "At
+one time, he is in the _genitive_, and then he gets back to the
+_nominative_; which is leaving us in the _vocative_"
+
+"Come--come--Atwood, none of your gun-room wit, on an occasion so solemn
+as this. My dear Sir Wycherly, have you any thing more to tell us? I
+believe we perfectly understand you, now. Tom is not _whole_--you wish
+to say _nullus_, and not to say _nullius_. Sir Reginald is only _half_,
+but he is no _nullus_."
+
+"Yes, sir--that is it," returned the old man, smiling. "_Half_, but no
+_nullus_. Change my mind--seen too much of the other, lately--Tom, my
+nephew--want to make _him_ my heir."
+
+"This is getting clearer, out of all question. You wish to make your
+nephew, Tom, your heir. But the law does that already, does it not my
+dear sir? Mr. Baron Wychecombe was the next brother of the baronet; was
+he not, Mr. Rotherham?"
+
+"So I have always understood, sir; and Mr. Thomas Wychecombe must be the
+heir at law."
+
+"No--no--_nullus_--_nullus_," repeated Sir Wycherly, with so much
+eagerness as to make his voice nearly indistinct; "Sir Reginald--Sir
+Reginald--Sir Reginald."
+
+"And pray, Mr. Rotherham, who may this Sir Reginald be? Some old baronet
+of the family, I presume."
+
+"Not at all, sir; it is Sir Reginald Wychecombe of Wychecombe-Regis,
+Herts; a baronet of Queen Anne's time, and a descendant from a cadet of
+this family, I am told."
+
+"This is getting on soundings--I had taken it into my head this Sir
+Reginald was some old fellow of the reign of one of the Plantagenets.
+Well, Sir Wycherly, do you wish us to send an express into
+Hertfordshire, in quest of Sir Reginald Wychecombe, who is quite likely
+your executor? Do not give yourself the pain to speak; a sign will
+answer."
+
+Sir Wycherly seemed struck with the suggestion, which, the reader will
+readily understand, was far from being his real meaning; and then he
+smiled, and nodded his head in approbation.
+
+Sir Gervaise, with the prompitude of a man of business, turned to the
+table where the vicar had written notes to the medical men, and dictated
+a short letter to his secretary. This letter he signed, and in five
+minutes Atwood left the room, to order it to be immediately forwarded by
+express. When this was done, the admiral rubbed his hands, in
+satisfaction, like a man who felt he had got himself cleverly out of a
+knotty difficulty.
+
+"I don't see, after all, Mr. Rotherham," he observed to the vicar, as
+they stood together, in a corner of the room, waiting the return of the
+secretary; "what he lugged in that school-boy Latin for--_nullus, nulla,
+nullum_! Can you possibly explain _that_?"
+
+"Not unless it was Sir Wycherly's desire to say, that Sir Reginald,
+being descended from a younger son, was nobody--as yet, had no
+woman--and I believe he is not married--and was poor, or had 'no
+_thing_.'"
+
+"And is Sir Wycherly such a desperate scholar, that he would express
+himself in this hieroglyphical manner, on what I fear will prove to be
+his death-bed?"
+
+"Why, Sir Gervaise, Sir Wycherly was educated like all other young
+gentlemen, but has forgotten most of his classics, in the course of a
+long life of ease and affluence. Is it not probable, now, that his
+recollection has returned to him suddenly, in consequence of this
+affection of the head? I think I have read of some curious instances of
+these reviving memories, on a death-bed, or after a fit of sickness."
+
+"Ay, that you may have done!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, smiling; "and
+poor, good Sir Wycherly, must have begun afresh, at the very place where
+he left off. But here is Atwood, again."
+
+After a short consultation, the three chosen witnesses returned to the
+bed-side, the admiral being spokesman.
+
+"The express will be off in ten minutes. Sir Wycherly," he said; "and
+you may hope to see your relative, in the course of the next two or
+three days."
+
+"Too late--too late," murmured the patient, who had an inward
+consciousness of his true situation; "too late--turn the will round--Sir
+Reginald, Tom;--Tom, Sir Reginald. Turn the will round."
+
+"Turn the will round!--this is very explicit, gentlemen, to those who
+can understand it. Sir Reginald, Tom;--Tom, Sir Reginald. At all events,
+it is clear that his mind is dwelling on the disposition of his
+property, since he speaks of wills. Atwood, make a note of these words,
+that there need be no mistake. I wonder he has said nothing of our brave
+young lieutenant, his namesake. There can be no harm, Mr. Rotherham, in
+just mentioning that fine fellow to him, in a moment like this?"
+
+"I see none, sir. It is _our_ duty to remind the sick of _their_
+duties."
+
+"Do you not wish to see your young namesake, Lieutenant _Wycherly_
+Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly?" asked the admiral; sufficiently emphasizing
+the Christian name. "He must be in the house, and I dare say would be
+happy to obey your wishes."
+
+"I hope he is well, sir--fine young gentleman--honour to the name, sir."
+
+"Quite true, Sir Wycherly; and an honour to the _nation_, too."
+
+"Didn't know Virginia was a _nation_--so much the better--fine young
+_Virginian_, sir."
+
+"Of your _family_, no doubt, Sir Wycherly, as well as of your name,"
+added the admiral, who secretly suspected the young sailor of being a
+son of the baronet, notwithstanding all he had heard to the contrary.
+"An exceedingly fine young man, and an honour to any house in England!"
+
+"I suppose they _have_ houses in Virginia--bad climate; houses
+necessary. No relative, sir;--probably a _nullus_. Many
+Wychecombes, _nulluses_. Tom, a _nullus_--this young gentleman, a
+_nullus_--Wychecombes of Surrey, all _nulluses_--Sir Reginald no
+_nullus_; but a _half_--Thomas, James, Charles, and Gregory, all
+_whole_. My brother, Baron Wychecombe, told me--before died."
+
+"_Whole what_, Sir Wycherly?" asked the admiral, a little vexed at the
+obscurity of the other's language.
+
+"Blood--_whole blood_, sir. Capital law, Sir Gervaise; had it from the
+baron--first hand."
+
+Now, one of the peculiarities of England is, that, in the division of
+labour, few know any thing material about the law, except the
+professional men. Even their knowledge is divided and sub-divided, in a
+way that makes a very fair division of profit. Thus the conveyancer is
+not a barrister; the barrister is not an attorney; and the chancery
+practitioner would be an unsafe adviser for one of the purely law
+courts. That particular provision of the common law, which Baron
+Wychecombe had mentioned to his brother, as the rule of the
+_half-blood_, has been set aside, or modified, by statute, within the
+last ten years; but few English laymen would be at all likely to know of
+such a law of descent even when it existed; for while it did violence to
+every natural sentiment of right, it lay hidden in the secrets of the
+profession. Were a case stated to a thousand intelligent Englishmen, who
+had not read law, in which it was laid down that brothers, by different
+mothers, though equally sons of the founder of the estate, could not
+take from each other, unless by devise or entail, the probability is
+that quite nine in ten would deny the existence of any rule so absurd;
+and this, too, under the influence of feelings that were creditable to
+their sense of natural justice. Nevertheless, such was one of the
+important provisions of the "perfection of reason," until the recent
+reforms in English law; and it has struck us as surprising, that an
+ingenious writer of fiction, who has recently charmed his readers with a
+tale, the interest of which turns principally on the vicissitudes of
+practice, did not bethink him of this peculiar feature of his country's
+laws; inasmuch as it would have supplied mystery sufficient for a dozen
+ordinary romances, and improbabilities enough for a hundred. That Sir
+Gervaise and his companions should be ignorant of the "law of the
+half-blood," is, consequently, very much a matter of course; and no one
+ought to be surprised that the worthy baronet's repeated allusions to
+the "whole," and the "half," were absolutely enigmas, which neither had
+the knowledge necessary to explain.
+
+"What _can_ the poor fellow mean?" demanded the admiral, more concerned
+than he remembered ever before to have been, on any similar occasion.
+"One could wish to serve him as much as possible, but all this about
+'_nullus_,' and 'whole blood,' and 'half,' is so much gibberish to
+me--can you make any thing of it,--hey! Atwood?"
+
+"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, it seems a matter for a judge, rather than
+for man-of-war's men, like ourselves."
+
+"It certainly can have no connection with this rising of the Jacobites?
+_That_ is an affair likely to trouble a loyal subject, in his last
+moments, Mr. Rotherham!"
+
+"Sir Wycherly's habits and age forbid the idea that he knows more of
+_that_, sir, than is known to us all. His request, however, to 'turn the
+will round,' I conceive to be altogether explicit. Several capital
+treatises have appeared lately on the 'human will,' and I regret to say,
+my honoured friend and patron has not always been quite as orthodox on
+that point, as I could wish. I, therefore, consider his words as
+evidence of a hearty repentance."
+
+Sir Gervaise looked about him, as was his habit when any droll idea
+crossed his mind; but again suppressing the inclination to smile, he
+answered with suitable gravity--
+
+"I understand you, sir; you think all these inexplicable terms are
+connected with Sir Wycherly's religious feelings. You may certainly be
+right, for it exceeds my knowledge to connect them with any thing else.
+I wish, notwithstanding, he had not disowned this noble young lieutenant
+of ours! Is it quite certain the young man is a Virginian?"
+
+"So I have always understood it, sir. He has never been known in this
+part of England, until he was landed from a frigate in the roads, to be
+cured of a serious wound. I think none of Sir Wycherly's allusions have
+the least reference to _him_."
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes now joined his hands behind his back, and walked
+several times, quarter-deck fashion, to and fro, in the room. At each
+turn, his eyes glanced towards the bed, and he ever found the gaze of
+the sick man anxiously fastened on himself. This satisfied him that
+religion had nothing to do with his host's manifest desire to make
+himself understood; and his own trouble was greatly increased. It seemed
+to him, as if the dying man was making incessant appeals to his aid,
+without its being in his power to afford it. It was not possible for a
+generous man, like Sir Gervaise, to submit to such a feeling without an
+effort; and he soon went to the side of the bed, again, determined to
+bring the affair to some intelligible issue.
+
+"Do you think, Sir Wycherly, you could write a few lines, if we put pen,
+ink, and paper before you?" he asked, as a sort of desperate remedy.
+
+"Impossible--can hardly see; have got no strength--stop--will try--if
+you please."
+
+Sir Gervaise was delighted with this, and he immediately directed his
+companions to lend their assistance. Atwood and the vicar bolstered the
+old man up, and the admiral put the writing materials before him,
+substituting a large quarto bible for a desk. Sir Wycherly, after
+several abortive attempts, finally got the pen in his hand, and with
+great difficulty traced six or seven nearly illegible words, running the
+line diagonally across the paper. By this time his powers failed him
+altogether, and he sunk back, dropping the pen, and closing his eyes in
+a partial insensibility. At this critical instant, the surgeon entered,
+and at once put an end to the interview, by taking charge of the
+patient, and directing all but one or two necessary attendants, to quit
+the room.
+
+The three chosen witnesses of what had just past, repaired together to a
+parlour; Atwood, by a sort of mechanical habit, taking with him the
+paper on which the baronet had scrawled the words just mentioned. This,
+by a sort of mechanical use, also, he put into the hands of Sir
+Gervaise, as soon as they entered the room; much as he would have laid
+before his superior, an order to sign, or a copy of a letter to the
+secretary of the Navy Board.
+
+"This is as bad as the '_nullus_!'" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, after
+endeavouring to decipher the scrawl in vain. "What is this first word,
+Mr. Rotherham--'Irish,' is it not,--hey! Atwood?"
+
+"I believe it is no move than 'I-n,' stretched over much more paper than
+is necessary."
+
+"You are right enough, vicar; and the next word is 'the,' though it
+looks like a _chevaux de frise_--what follows? It looks like
+'man-of-war.' Atwood?"
+
+"I beg your pardon, Sir Gervaise; this first letter is what I should
+call an elongated n--the next is certainly an a--the third looks like
+the waves of a river--ah! it is an m--and the last is an
+e--n-a-m-e--that makes 'name,' gentlemen."
+
+"Yes," eagerly added the vicar, "and the two next words are, 'of God.'"
+
+"Then it is religion, after all, that was on the poor man's mind!"
+exclaimed Sir Gervaise, in a slight degree disappointed, if the truth
+must be told. "What's this A-m-e-n--'Amen'--why it's a sort of prayer."
+
+"This is the form in which it is usual to commence wills, I believe, Sir
+Gervaise," observed the secretary, who had written many a one, on board
+ship, in his day. "'In the name of God, Amen.'"
+
+"By George, you're right, Atwood; and the poor man was trying, all the
+while, to let us know how he wished to dispose of his property! What
+could he mean by the _nullus_--it is not possible that the old gentleman
+has nothing to leave?"
+
+"I'll answer for it, Sir Gervaise, _that_ is not the true explanation,"
+the vicar replied. "Sir Wycherly's affairs are in the best order; and,
+besides the estate, he has a large sum in the funds."
+
+"Well, gentlemen, we can do no more to-night. A medical man is already
+in the house, and Bluewater will send ashore one or two others from the
+fleet. In the morning, if Sir Wycherly is in a state to converse, this
+matter shall be attended to."
+
+The party now separated; a bed being provided for the vicar, and the
+admiral and his secretary retiring to their respective rooms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+    "Bid physicians talk our veins to temper,
+    And with an argument new-set a pulse;
+    Then think, my lord, of reasoning into love."
+
+         YOUNG.
+
+
+While the scene just related, took place in the chamber of the sick man,
+Admiral Bluewater, Mrs. Dutton, and Mildred left the house, in the old
+family-coach. The rear-admiral had pertinaciously determined to adhere
+to his practice of sleeping in his ship; and the manner in which he had
+offered seats to his two fair companions--for Mrs. Dutton still deserved
+to be thus termed--has already been seen. The motive was simply to
+remove them from any further brutal exhibitions of Dutton's cupidity,
+while he continued in his present humour; and, thus influenced, it is
+not probable that the gallant old sailor would be likely to dwell, more
+than was absolutely necessary, on the unpleasant scene of which he had
+been a witness. In fact, no allusion was made to it, during the quarter
+of an hour the party was driving from the Hall to the station-house.
+They all spoke, with regret,--Mildred with affectionate tenderness,
+even,--of poor Sir Wycherly; and several anecdotes, indicative of his
+goodness of heart, were eagerly related to Bluewater, by the two
+females, as the carriage moved heavily along. In the time mentioned, the
+vehicle drew up before the door of the cottage, and all three alighted.
+
+If the morning of that day had been veiled in mist, the sun had set in
+as cloudless a sky, as is often arched above the island of Great
+Britain. The night was, what in that region, is termed a clear
+moonlight. It was certainly not the mimic day that is so often enjoyed
+in purer atmospheres, but the panorama of the head-land was clothed in a
+soft, magical sort of semi-distinctness, that rendered objects
+sufficiently obvious, and exceedingly beautiful. The rounded, shorn
+swells of the land, hove upward to the eye, verdant and smooth; while
+the fine oaks of the park formed a shadowy background to the picture,
+inland. Seaward, the ocean was glittering, like a reversed plane of the
+firmament, far as eye could reach. If our own hemisphere, or rather this
+latitude, may boast of purer skies than are enjoyed by the mother
+country, the latter has a vast superiority in the tint of the water.
+While the whole American coast is bounded by a dull-looking sheet of
+sea-green, the deep blue of the wide ocean appears to be carried close
+home to the shores of Europe. This glorious tint, from which the term of
+"ultramarine" has been derived, is most remarkable in the Mediterranean,
+that sea of delights; but it is met with, all along the rock-bound
+coasts of the Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, extending through the
+British Channel, until it is in a measure, lost on the shoals of the
+North Sea; to be revived, however, in the profound depths of the ocean
+that laves the wild romantic coast of Norway.
+
+"'Tis a glorious night!" exclaimed Bluewater, as he handed Mildred, the
+last, from the carriage; "and one can hardly wish to enter a cot, let it
+swing ever so lazily."
+
+"Sleep is out of the question," returned Mildred, sorrowfully. "These
+are nights in which even the weary are reluctant to lose their
+consciousness; but who can sleep while there is this uncertainty about
+dear Sir Wycherly."
+
+"I rejoice to hear you say this, Mildred,"--for so the admiral had
+unconsciously, and unrepelled, begun to call his sweet companion--"I
+rejoice to hear you say this, for I am an inveterate star-gazer and
+moon-ite; and I shall hope to persuade you and Mrs. Dutton to waste yet
+another hour, with me, in walking on this height. Ah! yonder is Sam
+Yoke, my coxswain, waiting to report the barge; I can send Sir
+Gervaise's message to the surgeons, by deputy, and there will be no
+occasion for my hastening from this lovely spot, and pleasant company."
+
+The orders were soon given to the coxswain. A dozen boats, it would
+seem, were in waiting for officers ashore, notwithstanding the lateness
+of the hour; and directions were sent for two of them to pull off, and
+obtain the medical men. The coach was sent round to receive the latter,
+and then all was tranquil, again, on the height. Mrs. Dutton entered the
+house, to attend to some of her domestic concerns, while the
+rear-admiral took the arm of Mildred, and they walked, together, to the
+verge of the cliffs.
+
+A fairer moonlight picture seldom offered itself to a seaman's eye, than
+that which now lay before the sight of Admiral Bluewater and Mildred.
+Beneath them rode the fleet; sixteen sail of different rigs, eleven of
+which, however, were two-decked ships of the largest size then known in
+naval warfare; and all of which were in that perfect order, that an
+active and intelligent commander knows how to procure, even from the
+dilatory and indifferent. If Admiral Bluewater was conspicuous in
+man[oe]uvring a fleet, and in rendering every vessel of a line that
+extended a league, efficient, and that too, in her right place, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes had the reputation of being one of the best seamen, in
+the ordinary sense of the word, in England. No vessel under his command,
+ever had a lubberly look; and no ship that had any sailing in her,
+failed to have it brought out of her. The vice-admiral was familiar with
+that all-important fact--one that members equally of Congress and of
+Parliament are so apt to forgot, or rather not to know at all--that the
+efficiency of a whole fleet, as a fleet, is necessarily brought down to
+the level of its worst ships. Of little avail is it, that four or five
+vessels of a squadron sail fast, and work well, if the eight or ten that
+remain, behave badly, and are dull. A separation of the vessels is the
+inevitable consequence, when the properties of all are thoroughly tried;
+and the division of a force, is the first step towards its defeat; as
+its proper concentration, is a leading condition of victory. As the
+poorer vessels cannot imitate the better, the good are compelled to
+regulate their movements by the bad; which is at once essentially
+bringing down the best ships of a fleet to the level of its worst; the
+proposition with which we commenced.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes was so great a favourite, that all he asked was
+usually conceded to him. One of his conditions was, that his vessels
+should sail equally well; "If you give me fast ships," he said, "I can
+overtake the enemy; if dull, the enemy can overtake me; and I leave you
+to say which course will be most likely to bring on an action. At any
+rate, give me _consorts_; not one flyer, and one drag; but vessels that
+can keep within hail of each other, without anchoring." The admiralty
+professed every desire to oblige the gallant commander; and, as he was
+resolved never to quit the Plantagenet until she was worn out, it was
+indispensably necessary to find as many fast vessels as possible, to
+keep her company. The result was literally a fleet of "horses," as
+Galleygo used to call it; and it was generally said in the service, that
+"Oakes had a squadron of flyers, if not a flying-squadron."
+
+Vessels like these just mentioned, are usually symmetrical and graceful
+to the eye, as well as fast. This fact was apparent to Mildred,
+accustomed as she was to the sight of ships and she ventured to express
+as much, after she and her companion had stood quite a minute on the
+cliff, gazing at the grand spectacle beneath them.
+
+"Your vessels look even handsomer than common, Admiral Bluewater," she
+said, "though a ship, to me, is always an attractive sight."
+
+"This is because they _are_ handsomer than common, my pretty critic.
+Vice-Admiral Oakes is an officer who will no more tolerate an ugly ship
+in his fleet, than a peer of the realm will marry any woman but one who
+is handsome; unless indeed she happen to be surpassingly rich."
+
+"I have heard that men are accustomed to lose their hearts under such an
+influence," said Mildred, laughing; "but I did not know before, that
+they were ever frank enough to avow it!"
+
+"The knowledge has been imparted by a prudent mother, I suppose,"
+returned the rear-admiral, in a musing manner; "I wish I stood
+sufficiently in the parental relation to you, my young friend, to
+venture to give a little advice, also. Never, before, did I feel so
+strong a wish to warn a human being of a great danger that I fear is
+impending over her, could I presume to take the liberty."
+
+"It is not a liberty, but a duty, to warn any one of a danger that is
+known to ourselves, and not to the person who incurs the risk. At least
+so it appears to the eyes of a very young girl."
+
+"Yes, if the danger was of falling from these cliffs, or of setting fire
+to a house, or of any other visible calamity. The case is different,
+when young ladies, and setting fire to the heart, are concerned."
+
+"Certainly, I can perceive the distinction," answered Mildred, after a
+short pause; "and can understand that the same person who would not
+scruple to give the alarm against any physical danger, would hesitate
+even at hinting at one of a moral character. Nevertheless, if Admiral
+Bluewater think a simple girl, like me, of sufficient importance to take
+the trouble to interest himself in her welfare, I should hope he would
+not shrink from pointing out this danger. It is a terrible word to sleep
+on; and I confess, besides a little uneasiness, to a good deal of
+curiosity to know more."
+
+"This is said, Mildred, because you are unaccustomed to the shocks which
+the tongue of rude man may give your sensitive feelings."
+
+"Unaccustomed!" said Mildred, trembling so that the weakness was
+apparent to her companion. "Unaccustomed! Alas! Admiral Bluewater, can
+this be so, after what you have seen and heard!"
+
+"Pardon me, dear child: nothing was farther from my thoughts, than to
+wish to revive those unpleasant recollections. If I thought I should be
+forgiven, I might venture, yet, to reveal my secret; for never
+before--though I cannot tell the reason of so sudden and so
+extraordinary an interest in one who is almost a stranger--"
+
+"No--no--not a stranger, dear sir. After all that has passed to-day;
+after you have been admitted, though it were by accident, to one most
+sacred secret;--after all that was said in the carriage, and the
+terrible scenes my beloved mother went through in your presence so many
+years since, you can never be a stranger to _us_, whatever may be your
+own desire to fancy yourself one."
+
+"Girl, you do not fascinate--you do not charm me, but you _bind_ me to
+you in a way I did not think it in the power of any human being to
+subjugate my feelings!"
+
+This was said with so much energy, that Mildred dropped the arm she
+held, and actually recoiled a step, if not in alarm, at least in
+surprise. But, on looking up into the face of her companion, and
+perceiving large tears actually glistening on his cheek, and seeing the
+hair that exposure and mental cares had whitened more than time, all her
+confidence returned, and she resumed the place she had abandoned, of her
+own accord, and as naturally as a daughter would have clung to the side
+of a father.
+
+"I am sure, sir, my gratitude for this interest ought to be quite equal
+to the honour it does me," Mildred said, earnestly. "And, now, Admiral
+Bluewater, do not hesitate to speak to me with the frankness that a
+parent might use. I will listen with the respect and deference of a
+daughter."
+
+"Then do listen to what I have to say, and make no answer, if you find
+yourself wounded at the freedom I am taking. It would seem that there is
+but one subject on which a man, old fellow or young fellow, can speak to
+a lovely young girl, when he gets her alone, under the light of a fine
+moon;--and that is love. Nay, start not again, my dear, for, if I am
+about to speak on so awkward a subject, it is not in my own behalf I
+hardly know whether you will think it in behalf of any one; as what I
+have to say, is not an appeal to your affections, but a warning against
+bestowing them."
+
+"A warning, Admiral Bluewater! Do you really think that can be
+necessary?"
+
+"Nay, my child, that is best known to yourself. Of one thing I am
+certain; the young man I have in my eye, affects to admire you, whether
+he does or not; and when young women are led to believe they are loved,
+it is a strong appeal to all their generous feelings to answer the
+passion, if not with equal warmth, at least with something very like
+it."
+
+"Affects to admire, sir!--And why should any one be at the pains of
+_affecting_ feelings towards me, that they do not actually entertain? I
+have neither rank, nor money, to bribe any one to be guilty of an
+hypocrisy so mean, and which, in my ease, would be so motiveless."
+
+"Yes, if it _were_ motiveless to win the most beautiful creature in
+England! But, no matter. We will not stop to analyze motives, when
+_facts_ are what we aim at. I should think there must be some passion in
+this youth's suit, and that will only make it so much the more dangerous
+to its object. At all events, I feel a deep conviction that he is
+altogether unworthy of you. This is a bold expression of opinion on an
+acquaintance of a day; but there are such reasons for it, that a man of
+my time of life, if unprejudiced, can scarcely be deceived."
+
+"All this is very singular, sir, and I had almost used your own word of
+'alarming,'" replied Mildred, slightly agitated by curiosity, but more
+amused. "I shall be as frank as yourself, and say that you judge the
+gentleman harshly. Mr. Rotherham may not have all the qualities that a
+clergyman ought to possess, but he is far from being a bad man. Good or
+bad, however, it is not probable that he will carry his transient
+partiality any farther than he has gone already."
+
+"Mr. Rotherham!--I have neither thought nor spoken of the pious vicar at
+all!"
+
+Mildred was now sadly confused. Mr. Rotherham had made his proposals for
+her, only the day before, and he had been mildly, but firmly refused.
+The recent occurrence was naturally uppermost in her mind; and the
+conjecture that her rejected suitor, under the influence of wine, might
+have communicated the state of his wishes, or what he fancied to be the
+state of his wishes, to her companion, was so very easy, that she had
+fallen into the error, almost without reflection.
+
+"I beg pardon, sir--I really imagined," the confused girl answered;
+"but, it was a natural mistake for me to suppose you meant Mr.
+Rotherham, as he is the only person who has ever spoken to my mother on
+the subject of any thing like a preference for me."
+
+"I should have less fear of those who spoke to your mother, Mildred,
+than of those who spoke only to _you_. As I hate ambiguity, however, I
+will say, at once, that my allusion was to Mr. Wychecombe."
+
+"Mr. Wychecombe, Admiral Bluewater!"--and the veteran felt the arm that
+leaned on him tremble violently, a sad confirmation of even more than he
+apprehended, or he would not have been so abrupt. "Surely--surely--the
+warning you mean, cannot, _ought_ not to apply to a gentleman of Mr.
+Wychecombe's standing and character!"
+
+"Such is the world, Miss Dutton, and we old seamen, in particular, get
+to know it, whether willingly or not. My sudden interest in you, the
+recollection of former, but painful scenes, and the events of the day,
+have made me watchful, and, you will add, bold--but I am resolved to
+speak, even at the risk of disobliging you for ever--and, in speaking, I
+must say that I never met with a young man who has made so unfavourable
+an impression on me, as this same Mr. Wychecombe."
+
+Mildred, unconsciously to herself, withdrew her arm, and she felt
+astonished at her own levity, in so suddenly becoming sufficiently
+intimate with a stranger to permit him thus to disparage a confirmed
+friend.
+
+"I am sorry, sir, that you entertain so indifferent an opinion of one
+who is, I believe, a general favourite, in this part of the country,"
+she answered, with a coldness that rendered her manner marked.
+
+"I perceive I shall share the fate of all unwelcome counsellors, but can
+only blame my own presumption. Mildred, we live in momentous times, and
+God knows what is to happen to myself, in the next few months; but, so
+strong is the inexplicable interest that I feel in your welfare, that I
+shall venture still to offend. I like not this Mr. Wychecombe, who is so
+devout an admirer of yours--real or affected--and, as to the liking of
+dependants for the heir of a considerable estate, it is so much a matter
+of course, that I count it nothing."
+
+"The heir of a considerable estate!" repeated Mildred, in a voice to
+which the natural sweetness returned, quietly resuming the arm, she had
+so unceremoniously dropped--"Surely, dear sir, you are not speaking of
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly's nephew."
+
+"Of whom else should I speak?--Has he not been your shadow the whole
+day?--so marked in his attentions, as scarce to deem it necessary to
+conceal his suit?"
+
+"Has it really struck you thus, sir?--I confess I did not so consider
+it. We are so much at home at the Hall, that we rather expect all of
+that family to be kind to us. But, whether you are right in your
+conjecture, or not, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe can never be ought to me--and
+as proof, Admiral Bluewater, that I take your warning, as it is meant,
+in kindness and sincerity, I will add, that he is not a very particular
+favourite."
+
+"I rejoice to hear it! Now there is his namesake, our young lieutenant,
+as gallant and as noble a fellow as ever lived--would to Heaven be was
+not so wrapt up in his profession, as to be insensible to any beauties,
+but those of a ship. Were you my own daughter, Mildred, I could give you
+to that lad, with as much freedom as I would give him my estate, were he
+my son."
+
+Mildred smiled--and it was archly, though not without a shade of sorrow,
+too--but she had sufficient self-command, to keep her feelings to
+herself, and too much maiden reserve not to shrink from betraying her
+weakness to one who, after all, was little more than a stranger.
+
+"I dare say, sir," she answered, with an equivocation which was perhaps
+venial, "that your knowledge of the world has judged both these
+gentlemen, rightly. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, notwithstanding all you heard
+from my poor father, is not likely to think seriously of me; and I will
+answer for my own feelings as regards _him_. I am, in no manner, a
+proper person to become Lady Wychecombe; and, I trust, I should have the
+prudence to decline the honour were it even offered to me. Believe me,
+sir, my father would have held a different language to-night, had it not
+been for Sir Wycherly's wine, and the many loyal toasts that were drunk.
+He _must_ be conscious, in his reflecting moments, that a child of his
+is unsuited to so high a station. Our prospects in life were once better
+than they are now, Admiral Bluewater; but they have never been such as
+to raise these high expectations in us."
+
+"An officer's daughter may always claim to be a gentlewoman, my dear;
+and, as such, you might become the wife of a duke, did he love you.
+Since I find my warning unnecessary, however, we will change the
+discourse. Did not something extraordinary occur at this cliff, this
+morning, and in connection with this very Mr. Thomas Wychecombe? Sir
+Gervaise was my informant; but he did not relate the matter very
+clearly."
+
+Mildred explained the mistake, and then gave a vivid description of the
+danger in which the young lieutenant had been placed, as well as of the
+manner in which he had extricated himself. She particularly dwelt on the
+extraordinary presence of mind and resolution, by means of which he had
+saved his life, when the stone first gave way beneath his foot.
+
+"All this is well, and what I should have expected from so active and
+energetic a youth," returned the rear-admiral, a little gravely; "but, I
+confess I would rather it had not happened. Your inconsiderate and
+reckless young men, who risk their necks idly, in places of this sort,
+seldom have much in them, after all. Had there been a motive, it would
+have altered the case."
+
+"Oh! but there _was_ a motive, sir; he was far from doing so silly a
+thing for nothing!"
+
+"And what was the motive, pray?--I can see no sufficient reason why a
+man of sense should trust his person over a cliff as menacing as this.
+One may approach it, by moonlight; but in the day, I confess to you I
+should not fancy standing as near it, as we do at this moment."
+
+Mildred was much embarrassed for an answer. Her own heart told her
+Wycherly's motive, but that it would never do to avow to her companion,
+great as was the happiness she felt in avowing it to herself. Gladly
+would she have changed the discourse; but, as this could not be done,
+she yielded to her native integrity of character, and told the truth, as
+far as she told any thing.
+
+"The flowers that grow on the sunny side of these rocks, Admiral
+Bluewater, are singularly fragrant and beautiful," she said; "and
+hearing my mother and myself speaking of them, and how much the former
+delighted in them, though they were so seldom to be had, he just
+ventured over the cliff--not here, where it is so _very_ perpendicular,
+but yonder, where one _may_ cling to it, very well, with a little
+care--and it was in venturing a little--just a _very_ little too far, he
+told me, himself, sir, to-day, after dinner,--that the stone broke, and
+the accident occurred, I do not think Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe in the
+least fool-hardy, and not at all disposed to seek a silly admiration, by
+a silly exploit."
+
+"He has a most lovely and a most eloquent advocate," returned the
+admiral, smiling, though the expression of his countenance was
+melancholy, even to sadness; "and he is acquitted. I think few men of
+his years would hesitate about risking their necks for flowers so
+fragrant and beautiful, and so much coveted by _your_ mother, Mildred."
+
+"And he a sailor, sir, who thinks so little of standing on giddy places,
+and laughs at fears of this nature?"
+
+"Quite true; though there are few cliffs on board ship. Ropes are our
+sources of courage."
+
+"So I should think, by what passed to-day," returned Mildred, laughing.
+"Mr. Wycherly called out for a rope, and we just threw him one, to help
+him out of his difficulty. The moment he got his rope, though it was
+only yonder small signal-halyards, he felt himself as secure as if he
+stood up here, on the height, with acres of level ground around him. I
+do not think he was frightened, at any time; but when he got hold of
+that little rope, he was fairly valiant!"
+
+Mildred endeavoured to laugh at her own history, by way of veiling her
+interest in the event; but her companion was too old, and too
+discerning, to be easily deceived. He continued silent, as he led her
+away from the cliff; and when he entered the cottage, Mildred saw, by
+the nearer light of the candles, that his countenance was still sad.
+
+Admiral Bluewater remained half an hour longer in the cottage, when he
+tore himself away, from a society which, for him, possessed a charm that
+he could not account for, nor yet scarcely estimate. It was past one,
+when he bid Mrs. Dutton and her daughter adieu; promising, however, to
+see them again, before the fleet sailed. Late as it was, the mother and
+Mildred felt no disposition to retire, after the exciting scenes they
+had gone through; but, feeling a calm on their spirits, succeeding the
+rude interruption produced by Dutton's brutality, they walked out on the
+cliff, to enjoy the cool air, and the bland scenery of the head-land, at
+that witching hour.
+
+"I should feel alarm at this particularity of attention, from most men,
+my child," observed the prudent mother, as they left the house: "but the
+years, and especially the character of Admiral Bluewater, are pledges
+that he meditates nothing foolish, nor wrong."
+
+"His _years_ would be sufficient, mother," cried Mildred, laughing--for
+her laugh came easily, since the opinion she had just before heard of
+Wycherly's merit--"leaving the character out of the question."
+
+"For you, perhaps, Mildred, but not for himself. Men rarely seem to
+think themselves too old to win the young of our sex; and what they want
+in attraction, they generally endeavour to supply by flattery and
+artifice. But, I acquit our new friend of all that."
+
+"Had he been my own father, dearest mother, his language, and the
+interest he took in me, could not have been more paternal. I have found
+it truly delightful to listen to such counsel, from one of his sex; for,
+in general, they do not treat me in so sincere and fatherly a manner."
+
+Mrs. Dutton's lip quivered, her eye-lids trembled too, and a couple of
+tears fell on her cheeks.
+
+"It _is_ new to you, Mildred, to listen to the language of disinterested
+affection and wisdom from one of his years and sex. I do not censure
+your listening with pleasure, but merely tell you to remember the proper
+reserve of your years and character. Hist! there are the sounds of his
+barge's oars."
+
+Mildred listened, and the measured but sudden jerk of oars in the
+rullocks, ascended on the still night-air, as distinctly as they might
+have been heard in the boat. At the next instant, an eight-oared barge
+moved swiftly out from under the cliff, and glided steadily on towards a
+ship, that had one lantern suspended from the end of her gaff, another
+in her mizzen-top, and the small night-flag of a rear-admiral,
+fluttering at her mizzen-royal-mast-head. The cutter lay nearest to the
+landing, and, as the barge approached her, the ladies heard the loud
+hail of "boat-ahoy!" The answer was also audible; though given in the
+mild gentleman-like voice of Bluewater, himself. It was simply,
+"rear-admiral's flag." A death-like stillness succeeded this
+annunciation of the rank of the officer in the passing boat, interrupted
+only by the measured jerk of the oars. Once or twice, indeed, the keen
+hearing of Mildred made her fancy she heard the common dip of the eight
+oars, and the wash of the water, as they rose from the element, to gain
+a renewed purchase. As each vessel was approached, however, the hail and
+the answer were renewed, the quiet of midnight, in every instance,
+succeeding. At length the barge was seen shooting along on the quarter
+of the Caesar, the rear-admiral's own ship, and the last hail was given.
+This time, there was a slight stir in the vessel; and, soon after the
+sound of the oars ceased, the lanterns descended from the stations they
+had held, since nightfall. Two or three other lanterns were still
+displayed at the gaffs of other vessels, the signs that their captains
+were not on board; though whether they were ashore, or visiting in the
+fleet, were facts best known to themselves. The Plantagenet, however,
+had no light; it being known that Sir Gervaise did not intend to come
+off that night.
+
+When all this was over, Mrs. Dutton and Mildred sought their pillows,
+after an exciting day, and, to them, one far more momentous than they
+were then aware of.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+    "When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat;
+    Yet fool'd with hope, men favour the deceit;
+    Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay;
+    To-morrow's falser than the former day."
+
+         DRYDEN.
+
+
+Although Admiral Bluewater devoted the minimum of time to sleep, he was
+not what the French term _matinal_. There is a period in the morning, on
+board of a ship of war,--that of washing decks,--which can best be
+compared to the discomfort of the American purification, yelep'd "a
+house-cleaning." This occurs daily, about the rising of the sun; and no
+officer, whose rank raises him above mingling with the duty, ever
+thinks, except on extraordinary occasions that may require his presence
+for other purposes, of intruding on its sacred mysteries. It is a rabid
+hour in a ship, and the wisest course, for all idlers, and all
+watch-officers, who are not on duty, is to keep themselves under
+hatches, if their convenience will possibly allow it. He who wears a
+flag, however, is usually reposing in his cot, at this critical moment;
+or, if risen at all, he is going through similar daily ablutions of his
+own person.
+
+Admiral Bluewater was in the act of opening his eyes, when the splash of
+the first bucket of water was heard on the deck of the Caesar, and he lay
+in the species of enjoyment which is so peculiar to naval men, after
+they have risen to the station of commander; a sort of semi-trance, in
+which the mind summons all the ancient images, connected with squalls;
+reefing top-sails in the rain; standing on the quarter of a yard,
+shouting "haul out to leeward;" peering over the weather hammock-cloths
+to eye the weather, with the sleet pricking the face like needles;--and,
+washing decks! These dreamy images of the past, however, are summoned
+merely to increase the sense of present enjoyment. They are so many
+well-contrived foils, to give greater brilliancy to the diamonds of a
+comfortable cot, and the entire consciousness of being no longer exposed
+to an untimely summons on deck.
+
+Our rear-admiral, nevertheless, was not a vulgar dreamer, on such
+occasions. He thought little of personal comforts at any time, unless
+indeed when personal discomforts obtruded themselves on his attention;
+he knew little, or nothing, of the table, whereas his friend was a
+knowing cook, and in his days of probation had been a distinguished
+caterer; but he was addicted to a sort of dreaming of his own, even when
+the sun stood in the zenith, and he was walking the poop, in the midst
+of a circle of his officers. Still, he could not refrain from glancing
+back at the past, that morning, as plash after plash was heard,
+and recalling the time when _magna pars quorum_ FUIT. At this
+delectable instant, the ruddy face of a "young gentleman" appeared in
+his state-room door, and, first ascertaining that the eyes of his
+superior were actually open, the youngster said--
+
+"A note from Sir Gervaise, Admiral Bluewater."
+
+"Very well, sir,"--taking the note.--"How's the wind, Lord Geoffrey?"
+
+"An Irishman's hurricane, sir; right up and down. Our first says, sir,
+he never knew finer channel weather."
+
+"Our first is a great astrologer. Is the fleet riding flood yet?"
+
+"No, sir; it's slack-water; or, rather, the ebb is just beginning to
+make."
+
+"Go on deck, my lord, and see if the Dover has hove in any upon her
+larboard bower, so as to bring her more on our quarter."
+
+"Ay-ay-sir," and this cadet of one of the most illustrious houses of
+England, skipped up the ladder to ascertain this fact.
+
+In the mean while, Bluewater stretched out an arm, drew a curtain from
+before his little window, fumbled for some time among his clothes before
+he got his spectacles, and then opened the note. This early epistle was
+couched in the following words--
+
+     "DEAR BLUE:--
+
+     "I write this in a bed big enough to ware a ninety in. I've been
+     athwart ships half the night, without knowing it. Galleygo has just
+     been in to report 'our fleet' all well, and the ships riding flood.
+     It seems there is a good look-out from the top of the house, where
+     part of the roads are visible. Magrath, and the rest of them, have
+     been at poor Sir Wycherly all night. I learn, but he remains down
+     by the head, yet. I am afraid the good old man will never be in
+     trim again. I shall remain here, until something is decided; and as
+     we cannot expect our orders until next day after to-morrow, at the
+     soonest, one might as well be here, as on board. Come ashore and
+     breakfast with us; when we can consult about the propriety of
+     remaining, or of abandoning the wreck. Adieu,
+
+     "OAKES.
+     "REAR-ADMIRAL BLUEWATER.
+
+     "P.S.--There was a little occurrence last night, connected with Sir
+     Thomas Wycherly's will, that makes me particularly anxious to see
+     you, as early as possible, this morning.
+
+     "O."
+
+Sir Gervaise, like a woman, had written his mind in his postscript. The
+scene of the previous night had forcibly presented itself to his
+recollection on awakening, and calling for his writing-desk, he had sent
+off this note, at the dawn of day, with the wish of having as many
+important witnesses as he could well obtain, at the interview he
+intended to demand, at the earliest practicable hour.
+
+"What the deuce can Oakes have to do with Sir Wycherly Wychecombe's
+will?" thought the rear-admiral. "By the way, that puts me in mind of my
+own; and of my own recent determination. What are my poor L30,000 to a
+man with the fortune of Lord Bluewater. Having neither a wife nor child,
+brother nor sister of my own, I'll do what I please with my money. Oakes
+_won't_ have it; besides, he's got enough of his own, and to spare. An
+estate of L7000 a year, besides heaps of prize-money funded. I dare say,
+he has a good L12,000 a year, and nothing but a nephew to inherit it
+all. I'm determined to do as I please with my money. I made every
+shilling of it, and I'll give it to whom I please."
+
+The whole time, Admiral Bluewater lay with his eyes shut, and with a
+tongue as motionless as if it couldn't stir. With all his _laissez
+aller_ manner, however, he had the promptitude of a sailor, when his
+mind was made up to do a thing, though he always performed it in his own
+peculiar mode. To rise, dress, and prepare to quit his state-room,
+occupied him but a short time; and he was seated before his own
+writing-desk, in the after-cabin, within twenty minutes after the
+thoughts just recorded, had passed through his mind. His first act was
+to take a folded paper from a private drawer, and glance his eye
+carelessly over it. This was the will in favour of Lord Bluewater: It
+was expressed in very concise terms, filling only the first side of a
+page. This will he copied, _verbatim et literatim_, leaving blanks for
+the name of the legatee, and appointing Sir Gervaise Oakes his executor,
+as in the will already executed. When finished in this manner, he set
+about filling up the blanks. For a passing instant, he felt tempted to
+insert the name of the Pretender; but, smiling at his own folly, he
+wrote that of "Mildred Dutton, daughter of Francis Dutton, a master in
+His Majesty's Navy," in all the places that it was requisite so to do.
+Then he affixed the seal, and, folding all the upper part of the sheet
+over, so as to conceal the contents, he rang a little silver bell, which
+always stood at his elbow. The outer cabin-door was opened by the
+sentry, who thrust his head in at the opening.
+
+"I want one of the young gentlemen, sentry," said the rear-admiral.
+
+The door closed, and, in another minute, the smiling face of Lord
+Geoffrey was at the entrance of the after-cabin.
+
+"Who's on deck, my lord," demanded Bluewater, "beside the watch?"
+
+"No one, sir. All the idlers keep as close as foxes, when the decks are
+getting it; and as for any of our snorers showing their faces before six
+bells, it's quite out of the question, sir."
+
+"Some one must surely be stirring in the gun-room, by this time! Go and
+ask the chaplain and the captain of marines to do me the favour to step
+into the cabin--or the first lieutenant; or the master; or any of the
+idlers."
+
+The midshipman was gone two or three minutes, when he returned with the
+purser and the chaplain.
+
+"The first lieutenant is in the forehold, sir; all the marines have got
+their dead-lights still in, and the master is working-up his log, the
+gun-room steward says. I hope these will do, sir; they are the greatest
+idlers in the ship, I believe."
+
+Lord Geoffrey Cleveland was the second son of the third duke in the
+English empire, and he knew it, as well as any one on board. Admiral
+Bluewater had no slavish respect for rank; nevertheless, like all men
+educated under an aristocratic system, he was influenced by the feeling
+to a degree of which he himself was far from being conscious. This young
+scion of nobility was not in the least favoured in matters of duty, for
+this his own high spirit would have resented; but he dined in the cabin
+twice as often as any other midshipman on board, and had obtained for
+himself a sort of license for the tongue, that emboldened him to utter
+what passed for smart things in the cock-pit and gun-room, and which,
+out of all doubt, were pert things everywhere. Neither the chaplain nor
+the purser took offence at his liberties on the present occasion; and,
+as for the rear-admiral, he had not attended to what had been uttered.
+As soon, however, as he found others in his cabin, he motioned to them
+to approach his desk, and pointed to the paper, folded down, as
+mentioned.
+
+"Every prudent man," he said, "and, especially every prudent sailor and
+soldier, in a time of war, ought to be provided with a will. This is
+mine, just drawn up, by myself; and that instrument is an old one, which
+I now destroy in your presence. I acknowledge this to be my hand and
+seal," writing his name, and touching the seal with a finger as he
+spoke; "affixed to this my last will and testament. Will you have the
+kindness to act as witnesses?"
+
+When the chaplain and purser had affixed their names, there still
+remained a space for a third signature. This, by a sign from his
+superior, the laughing midshipman filled with his own signature.
+
+"I hope you've recollected, sir," cried the boy, with glee, as he took
+his seat to obey; "that the Bluewaters and Clevelands are related. I
+shall be grievously disappointed, when this will is proved, if my name
+be not found somewhere in it!"
+
+"So shall I, too, my lord," drily returned Bluewater; "for, I fully
+expect it will appear as a witness; a character that is at once fatal to
+all claims as a legatee."
+
+"Well, sir, I suppose flag-officers can do pretty much as they please
+with their money, since they do pretty much as they please with the
+ships, and all in them. I must lean so much the harder on my two old
+aunts, as I appear to have laid myself directly athwart-hawse of
+fortune, in this affair!"
+
+"Gentlemen," said the rear-admiral, with easy courtesy, "I regret it is
+not in my power to have your company at dinner, to-day, as I am summoned
+ashore by Sir Gervaise, and it is uncertain when I can get off, again;
+but to-morrow I shall hope to enjoy that pleasure."
+
+The officers bowed, expressed their acknowledgments, accepted the
+invitation, bowed once or twice more each, and left the cabin, with the
+exception of the midshipman.
+
+"Well, sir," exclaimed Bluewater, a little surprised at finding he was
+not alone, after a minute of profound reverie; "to what request am I
+indebted still for the pleasure of your presence?"
+
+"Why, sir, it's just forty miles to my father's house in Cornwall, and I
+know the whole family is there; so I just fancied, that by bending on
+two extra horses, a chaise might make the Park gates in about five
+hours; and by getting under way on the return passage, to-morrow about
+this time, the old Caesar would never miss a crazy reefer, more or less."
+
+"Very ingeniously put, young gentleman, and quite plausible. When I was
+of your age, I was four years without once seeing either father or
+mother."
+
+"Yes, sir, but that was such a long time ago! Boys can't stand it, half
+as well now, as they did then, as all old people say."
+
+The rear-admiral's lips moved slightly, as if a smile struggled about
+his mouth; then his face suddenly lost the expression, in one
+approaching to sadness.
+
+"You know, Geoffrey, I am not commander-in-chief. Sir Gervaise alone can
+give a furlough."
+
+"Very true, sir; but whatever you ask of Sir Gervaise, he always does;
+more especially as concerns us of your flag-ship."
+
+"Perhaps that is true. But, my boy, we live in serious times, and we may
+sail at an hour's notice. Are you ignorant that Prince Charles Edward
+has landed in Scotland, and that the Jacobites are up and doing? If the
+French back him, we may have our hands full here, in the channel."
+
+"Then my dear mother must go without a kiss, for the next twelvemonth!"
+cried the gallant boy, dashing a hand furtively across his eyes, in
+spite of his resolution. "The throne of old England must be upheld, even
+though not a mother nor a sister in the island, see a midshipman in
+years!"
+
+"Nobly said, Lord Geoffrey, and it shall be known at head-quarters.
+_Your_ family is whig; and you do well, at your time of life, to stick
+to the family politics."
+
+"A small run on the shore, sir, would be a great pleasure, after six
+months at sea?"
+
+"You must ask Captain Stowel's leave for that. You know I never
+interfere with the duty of the ship."
+
+"Yes, sir, but there are so many of us, and all have a hankering after
+_terra firma_. Might I just say, that I have your permission, to ask
+Captain Stowel, to let me have a run on the cliffs?"
+
+"You may do _that_, my lord, if you wish it; but Stowel knows that he
+can do as he pleases."
+
+"He would be a queer captain of a man-of-war, if he didn't sir! Thank
+you, Admiral Bluewater; I will write to my mother, and I know she'll be
+satisfied with the reason I shall give her, for not coming to see her.
+Good-morning, sir."
+
+"Good-morning,"--then, when the boy's hand was on the lock of the
+cabin-door--"my lord?"
+
+"Did you wish to say any thing more, sir?"
+
+"When you write, remember me kindly to the Duchess. We were intimate,
+when young people; and, I might say, loved each other."
+
+The midshipman promised to do as desired; then the rear-admiral was left
+alone. He walked the cabin, for half an hour, musing on what he had done
+in relation to his property, and on what he ought to do, in relation to
+the Pretender; when he suddenly summoned his coxswain, gave a few
+directions, and sent an order on deck to have his barge manned. The
+customary reports went their usual rounds, and reached the cabin in
+about three minutes more; Lord Geoffrey bringing them down, again.
+
+"The barge is manned, sir," said the lad, standing near the cabin-door,
+rigged out in the neat, go-ashore-clothes of a midshipman.
+
+"Have you seen Captain Stowel, my lord?" demanded the rear-admiral.
+
+"I have, sir; and he has given me permission to drift along shore, until
+sunset; to be off with the evening gun of the vice-admiral."
+
+"Then do me the favour to take a seat in my barge, if you are quite
+ready."
+
+This offer was accepted, and, in a few minutes, all the ceremonies of
+the deck had been observed, and the rear-admiral was seated in his
+barge. It was now so late, that etiquette had fair play, and no point
+was omitted on the occasion. The captain was on deck, in person, as well
+as gun-room officers enough to represent their body; the guard was
+paraded, under its officers; the drums rolled; the boatswain piped six
+side boys over, and Lord Geoffrey skipped down first into the boat,
+remaining respectfully standing, until his superior was seated. All
+these punctilios observed, the boat was shoved off from the vessel's
+side, the eight oars dropped, as one, and the party moved towards the
+shore. Every cutter, barge, yawl, or launch that was met, and which did
+not contain an officer of rank itself, tossed its oars, as this barge,
+with the rear-admiral's flag fluttering in its bow, passed, while the
+others lay on theirs, the gentlemen saluting with their hats. In this
+manner the barge passed the fleet, and approached the shore. At the
+landing, a little natural quay formed by a low flat rock, there was a
+general movement, as the rear-admiral's flag was seen to draw near; and
+even the boats of captains were shoved aside, to give the naval _pas_.
+As soon, however, as the foot of Bluewater touched the rock, the little
+flag was struck; and, a minute later, a cutter, with only a lieutenant
+in her, coming in, that officer ordered the barge to make way for _him_,
+with an air of high and undisputed authority.
+
+Perhaps there was not a man in the British marine, to whom the etiquette
+of the service gave less concern, than to Bluewater. In this respect, he
+was the very reverse of his friend; for Sir Gervaise was a punctilious
+observer, and a rigid enforcer of all the prescribed ceremonials. This
+was by no means the only professional point on which these two
+distinguished officers differed. It has already been mentioned, that the
+rear-admiral was the best tactician in England, while the vice-admiral
+was merely respectable in that branch of his duty. On the other hand,
+Sir Gervaise was deemed the best practical seaman afloat, so far as a
+single ship was concerned, while Bluewater had no particular reputation
+in that way. Then, as to discipline, the same distinction existed. The
+commander-in-chief was a little of a _martinet_, exacting compliance
+with the most minute regulations; while his friend, even when a captain,
+had thrown the police duty of his ship very much on what is called the
+executive officer: or the first lieutenant; leaving to that important
+functionary, the duty of devising, as well as of executing the system by
+which order and cleanliness were maintained in the vessel. Nevertheless,
+Bluewater had his merit even in this peculiar feature of the profession.
+He had made the best captain of the fleet to his friend, that had ever
+been met with. This office, which, in some measure, corresponds to that
+of an adjutant-general on shore, was suited to his generalizing and
+philosophical turn of mind; and he had brought all its duties within the
+circle and control of clear and simple principles, which rendered them
+pleasant and easy. Then, too, whenever he commanded in chief, as
+frequently happened, for a week or two at a time, Sir Gervaise being
+absent, it was remarked that the common service of the fleet went on
+like clock-work; his mind seeming to embrace generals, when it refused
+to descend to details. In consequence of these personal peculiarities,
+the captains often observed, that Bluewater ought to have been the
+senior, and Oakes the junior; and then, their joint commands would have
+produced perfection; but these criticisms must be set down, in a great
+measure, to the natural propensity to find fault, and an inherent desire
+in men, even when things are perfectly well in themselves, to prove
+their own superiority, by pointing out modes and means by which they
+might be made much better. Had the service been on land, this opinion
+might possibly have had more practical truth in it; but, the impetuosity
+and daring of Sir Gervaise, were not bad substitutes for tactics, in the
+straight-forward combats of ships. To resume the narrative.
+
+When Bluewater landed, he returned the profound and general salute of
+all on or near the rock, by a sweeping, but courteous bow, which was
+nevertheless given in a vacant, slovenly manner; and immediately began
+to ascend the ravine. He had actually reached the grassy acclivity
+above, before he was at all aware of any person's being near him.
+Turning, he perceived that the midshipman was at his heels, respect
+alone preventing one of the latter's active limbs and years from
+skipping past his superior on the ascent. The admiral recollected how
+little there was to amuse one of the boy's habits in a place like
+Wychecombe, and he good-naturedly determined to take him along with
+himself.
+
+"You are little likely to find any diversion here, Lord Geoffrey," he
+said; "if you will accept of the society of a dull old fellow, like
+myself, you shall see all I see, be it more or less."
+
+"I've shipped for the cruise, sir, and am ready and happy, too, to
+follow your motions, with or without signals," returned the laughing
+youngster. "I suppose Wychecombe is about as good as Portsmouth, or
+Plymouth; and I'm sure these green fields are handsomer than the streets
+of any dirty town I ever entered."
+
+"Ay, green fields are, indeed, pleasant to the eyes of us sailors, who
+see nothing but water, for months at a time. Turn to the right, if you
+please, my lord; I wish to call at yonder signal-station, on my way to
+the Hall."
+
+The boy, as is not usual with lads of his age, inclined in "the way he
+was told to go," and in a few minutes both stood on the head-land. As it
+would not have done for the master to be absent from his staff, during
+the day, with a fleet in the roads, Dutton was already at his post,
+cleanly dressed as usual, but trembling again with the effect of the
+last night's debauch on his nerves. He arose, with great deference of
+manner, to receive the rear-admiral, and not without many misgivings of
+conscience; for, while memory furnished a tolerable outline of what had
+occurred in the interview between himself and his wife and daughter,
+wine had lost its influence, and no longer helped to sustain his
+self-command. He was much relieved, however, by the discreet manner in
+which he was met by Bluewater.
+
+"How is Sir Wycherly?" inquired the admiral saluting the master, as if
+nothing had happened; "a note from Sir Gervaise, written about
+day-break, tells me he was not, then, essentially better."
+
+"I wish it were in my power to give you any good news, sir. He must be
+conscious, notwithstanding; for Dick, his groom, has just ridden over
+with a note from Mr. Rotherham, to say that the excellent old baronet
+particularly desires to see my wife and daughter; and that the coach
+will be here, to take them over in a few minutes. If you are bound to
+the Hall, this morning, sir, I'm certain the ladies would be delighted
+to give you a seat."
+
+"Then I will profit by their kindness," returned Bluewater, seating
+himself on the bench at the foot of the staff; "more especially, if you
+think they will excuse my adding Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, one of
+Stowel's midshipmen, to the party. He has entered, to follow my motions,
+with or without signals."
+
+Dutton uncovered again, and bowed profoundly, at this announcement of
+the lad's name and rank; the boy himself, taking the salute in an
+off-hand and indifferent way, like one already wearied with vulgar
+adulation, while he gazed about him, with some curiosity, at the
+head-land and flag-staff.
+
+"This a good look-out, sir," observed the midshipman; "and one that is
+somewhat loftier than our cross-trees. A pair of sharp eyes might see
+every thing that passes within twenty miles; and, as a proof of it, I
+shall be the first to sing out, 'sail, ho!'"
+
+"Where-away, my young lord?" said Dutton, fidgeting, as if he had
+neglected his duty, in the presence of a superior; "I'm sure, your
+lordship can see nothing but the fleet at anchor, and a few boats
+passing between the different ships and the landing!"
+
+"Where-away, sure enough, youngster?" added the admiral. "I see some
+gulls glancing along the surface of the water, a mile or two outside the
+ships, but nothing like a sail."
+
+The boy caught up Dutton's glass, which lay on the seat, and, in a
+minute, he had it levelled at the expanse of water. It was some little
+time, and not without much sighting along the barrel of the instrument,
+that he got it to suit himself.
+
+"Well, Master Sharp-eyes," said Bluewater, drily, "is it a Frenchman, or
+a Spaniard?"
+
+"Hold on, a moment, sir, until I can get this awkward glass to bear on
+it.--Ay--now I have her--she's but a speck, at the best--royals and head
+of top-gallant-sails--no, sir, by George, it's our own cutter, the
+Active, with her square-sail set, and the heads of her lower sails just
+rising. I know her by the way she carries her gaff."
+
+"The Active!--that betokens news," observed Bluewater, thoughtfully--for
+the march of events, at that moment, must necessarily brink on a crisis
+in his own career. "Sir Gervaise sent her to look into Cherbourg."
+
+"Yes, sir; we all know that--and, there she comes to tell us, I hope,
+that Monsieur de Vervillin, has, at last, made up his mind to come out
+and face us, like a man. Will you look at the sail, sir?"
+
+Bluewater took the glass, and sweeping the horizon, he soon caught a
+view of his object. A short survey sufficed, for one so experienced, and
+he handed the glass back to the boy.
+
+"You have quick eyes, sir," he said, as he did so; "that is a cutter,
+certainly, standing in for the roads, and I believe you may be right in
+taking her for the Active."
+
+"'Tis a long way to know so small a craft!" observed Dutton, who also
+took his look at the stranger.
+
+"Very true, sir," answered the boy; "but one ought to tell a friend as
+far as he can see him. The Active carries a longer and a lower gaff,
+than any other cutter in the navy, which is the way we all tell her from
+the Gnat, the cutter we have with us."
+
+"I am glad to find your lordship is so close an observer," returned the
+complaisant Dutton; "a certain sign, my lord, that your lordship will
+make a good sailor, in time."
+
+"Geoffrey is a good sailor, already," observed the admiral, who knew
+that the youngster was never better pleased, than when he dropped the
+distance of using his title, and spoke to, or of him, as of a
+connection; which, in truth, he was. "He has now been with me four
+years; having joined when he was only twelve. Two more years will make
+an officer of him."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Dutton, bowing first to one, and then to the other.
+"Yes, sir; his lordship may well look forward to that, with _his_
+particular merit, _your_ esteemed favour, and his _own_ great name. Ah!
+sir, they've caught a sight of the stranger in the fleet, and bunting is
+at work, already."
+
+In anchoring his ships, Admiral Bluewater had kept them as close
+together, as the fog rendered safe; for one of the great difficulties of
+a naval commander is to retain his vessels in compact order, in thick or
+heavy weather. Orders had been given, however, for a sloop and a frigate
+to weigh, and stretch out into the offing a league or two, as soon as
+the fog left them, the preceding day, in order to sweep as wide a reach
+of the horizon as was convenient. In order to maintain their ground in a
+light wind, and with a strong tide running, these two cruisers had
+anchored; one, at the distance of a league from the fleet, and the
+other, a mile or two farther outside, though more to the eastward. The
+sloop lay nearest to the stranger, and signals were flying at her
+main-royal-mast-head, which the frigate was repeating, and transmitting
+to the flag-ship of the commander-in-chief. Bluewater was so familiar
+with all the ordinary signals, that it was seldom he had recourse to his
+book for the explanations; and, in the present instance, he saw at once
+that it was the Active's number that was shown. Other signals, however,
+followed, which it surpassed the rear-admiral's knowledge to read,
+without assistance; from all which he was satisfied that the stranger
+brought intelligence of importance, and which could only be understood
+by referring to the private signal-book.
+
+While these facts were in the course of occurrence, the coach arrived to
+convey Mrs. Dutton and Mildred to the Hall. Bluewater now presented
+himself to the ladies, and was received as kindly as they had separated
+from him a few hours before; nor were the latter displeased at hearing
+he was to be their companion back to the dwelling of Sir Wycherly.
+
+"I fear this summons bodes evil tidings," said Mrs. Dutton; "he would
+hardly think of desiring to see us, unless something quite serious were
+on his mind; and the messenger said he was no better."
+
+"We shall learn all, my dear lady, when we reach the Hall," returned
+Bluewater; "and the sooner we reach it, the sooner our doubts will be
+removed. Before we enter the carriage, let me make you acquainted with
+my young friend, Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, whom I have presumed to invite
+to be of the party."
+
+The handsome young midshipman was well received, though Mrs. Dutton had
+been too much accustomed, in early life, to see people of condition, to
+betray the same deference as her husband for the boy's rank. The ladies
+occupied, as usual, the hind seat of the coach, leaving that in front to
+their male companions. The arrangement accidentally brought Mildred and
+the midshipman opposite each other; a circumstance that soon attracted
+the attention of the admiral, in a way that was a little odd; if not
+remarkable. There is a charm in youth, that no other period of life
+possesses; infancy, with its helpless beauty, scarcely seizing upon the
+imagination and senses with an equal force. Both the young persons in
+question, possessed this advantage in a high degree; and had there been
+no other peculiarity, the sight might readily have proved pleasing to
+one of Bluewater's benevolence and truth of feeling. The boy was turned
+of sixteen; an age in England when youth does not yet put on the
+appearance of manhood; and he retained all the evidences of a gay,
+generous boyhood, rendered a little _piquant_, by the dash of archness,
+roguery, and fun, that a man-of-war is tolerably certain to impart to a
+lad of spirit. Nevertheless, his countenance retained an expression of
+ingenuousness and of sensitive feeling, that was singularly striking in
+one of his sex, and which, in spite of her beauty of feature, hair, and
+complexion, formed the strongest attraction in the loveliness of
+Mildred; that expression, which had so much struck and charmed
+Bluewater--haunted him, we might add--since the previous day, by
+appearing so familiar, even while so extraordinary, and for which he had
+been unable to recollect a counterpart. As she now sat, face to face
+with Lord Geoffrey, to his great surprise, the rear-admiral found much
+of the same character of this very expression in the handsome boy, as in
+the lovely girl. It is true, the look of ingenuousness and of sensitive
+feeling, was far less marked in young Cleveland, than in Mildred, and
+there was little general resemblance of feature or countenance between
+the two; still, the first was to be found in both, and so distinctly, as
+to be easily traced, when placed in so close contact. Geoffrey Cleveland
+had the reputation of being like his mother; and, furnished with this
+clue, the fact suddenly flashed on Bluewater's mind, that the being whom
+Mildred so nearly and strikingly resembled, was a deceased sister of the
+Duchess, and a beloved cousin of his own. Miss Hedworth, the young lady
+in question, had long been dead; but, all who had known her, retained
+the most pleasing impressions equally of her charms of person and of
+mind. Between her and Bluewater there had existed a tender friendship,
+in which, however, no shade of passion had mingled; a circumstance that
+was in part owing to the difference in their years, Captain Bluewater
+having been nearly twice his young relative's age; and in part,
+probably, to the invincible manner in which the latter seemed wedded to
+his profession, and his ship. Agnes Hedworth, notwithstanding, had been
+very dear to our sailor, from a variety of causes,--far more so, than
+her sister, the Duchess, though _she_ was a favourite--and the
+rear-admiral, when his mind glanced rapidly through the chain of
+association, that traced the accidental resemblance of Mildred to this
+esteemed object, had a sincere delight in finding he had thus been
+unconsciously attracted by one whose every look and smile now forcibly
+reminded him of the countenance of a being whom, in her day, he had
+thought so near perfection. This delight, however, was blended with
+sadness, on various accounts; and the short excursion proved to be so
+melancholy, that no one was sorry when it terminated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+    "Nath. Truly, Master Holofernes, the epithets are sweetly varied,
+    like a scholar at the least. But, sir, I assure ye, it was a buck of
+    the first head.
+
+    _Hol._ Sir Nathaniel, _haud credo_.
+
+    _Bull. 'Twas not a _haud credo_, 'twas a pricket."
+
+         LOVER'S LABOUR LOST.
+
+
+Every appearance of the jolly negligence which had been so
+characteristic of life at Wychecombe-Hall, had vanished, when the old
+coach drew up in the court, to permit the party it had brought from the
+station to alight. As no one was expected but Mrs. Dutton and her
+daughter, not even a footman appeared to open the door of the carriage;
+the vulgar-minded usually revenging their own homage to the powerful, by
+manifesting as many slights as possible to the weak. Galleygo let the
+new-comers out, and, consequently, he was the first person of whom
+inquiries were made, as to the state of things in the house.
+
+"Well," said Admiral Bluewater, looking earnestly at the steward; "how
+is Sir Wycherly, and what is the news?"
+
+"Sir Wycherly is still on the doctor's list, your honour; and I expects
+his case is set down as a hard 'un. We's as well as can be expected, and
+altogether in good heart. Sir Jarvy turned out with the sun, thof he
+didn't turn in 'till the middle-watch was half gone--or _two_ bells, as
+they calls 'em aboard this house--_four_ bells, as we should say in the
+old Planter--and chickens, I hears, has riz, a shillin' a head, since
+our first boat landed."
+
+"It's a melancholy business, Mrs. Dutton; I fear there can be little
+hope."
+
+"Yes, it's all _that_, Admiral Blue," continued Galleygo, following the
+party into the house, no one but himself hearing a word he uttered; "and
+'twill be worse, afore it's any better. They tells me potaties has taken
+a start, too; and, as all the b'ys of all the young gentlemen in the
+fleet is out, like so many wild locusts of Hegypt, I expects nothing
+better than as our mess will fare as bad as sogers on a retreat."
+
+In the hall, Tom Wychecombe, and his namesake, the lieutenant, met the
+party. From the formal despondency of the first, every thing they
+apprehended was confirmed. The last, however, was more cheerful, and not
+altogether without hope; as he did not hesitate openly to avow.
+
+"For myself, I confess I think Sir Wycherly much better," he said;
+"although the opinion is not sanctioned by that of the medical men. His
+desiring to see these ladies is favourable; and then cheering news for
+him has been brought back, already, by the messenger sent, only eight
+hours since, for his kinsman, Sir Reginald Wychecombe. He has sensibly
+revived since that report was brought in."
+
+"Ah! my dear namesake," rejoined Tom, shaking his head, mournfully; "you
+cannot know my beloved uncle's constitution and feelings as well as I!
+Rely on it, the medical men are right; and your hopes deceive you. The
+sending for Mrs. Dutton and Miss Mildred, both of whom my honoured uncle
+respects and esteems, looks more like leave-taking than any thing else;
+and, as to Sir Reginald Wychecombe,--though a relative, beyond a
+question,--I think there has been some mistake in sending for him; since
+he is barely an acquaintance of the elder branch of the family, and he
+is of the half-blood."
+
+"_Half_ what, Mr. Thomas Wychecombe?" demanded the vice-admiral so
+suddenly, behind the speaker, as to cause all to start; Sir Gervaise
+having hastened to meet the ladies and his friend, as soon as he knew of
+their arrival. "I ask pardon, sir, for my abrupt inquiry; but, as _I_
+was the means of sending for Sir Reginald Wychecombe, I feel an interest
+in knowing his exact relationship to my host?"
+
+Tom started, and even paled, at this sudden question; then the colour
+rushed into his temples; he became calmer, and replied:
+
+"_Half-blood_, Sir Gervaise," he said, steadily. "This is an affinity
+that puts a person altogether out of the line of succession; and, of
+course, removes any necessity, or wish, to see Sir Reginald."
+
+"Half-_blood_--hey! Atwood?" muttered the vice-admiral, turning away
+towards his secretary, who had followed him down stairs. "This may be
+the solution, after all! Do you happen to know what half-_blood_ means?
+It cannot signify that Sir Reginald comes from one of those, who have no
+father--all their ancestry consisting only of a mother?"
+
+"I should think not, Sir Gervaise; in that case, Sir Reiginald would
+scarcely be considered of so honourable a lineage, as he appears to be.
+I have not the smallest idea, sir, what half-_blood_ means; and,
+perhaps, it may not be amiss to inquire of the medical gentlemen.
+Magrath is up stairs; possibly he can tell us."
+
+"I rather think it has something to do with the law. If this
+out-of-the-way place, now, could furnish even a lubberly attorney, we
+might learn all about it. Harkee, Atwood; you must stand by to make Sir
+Wycherly's will, if he says any thing more about it--have you got the
+heading all written out, as I desired."
+
+"It is quite ready, Sir Gervaise--beginning, as usual, 'In the name of
+God, Amen.' I have even ventured so far as to describe the testator's
+style and residence, &c. &c.--'I, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, Bart., of
+Wychecombe Hall, Devon, do make and declare this to be my last will and
+testament, &c. &c.' Nothing is wanting but the devises, as the lawyers
+call them. I can manage a will, well enough, Sir Gervaise, I believe.
+One of mine has been in the courts, now, these five years, and they tell
+me it sticks there, as well as if it had been drawn in the Middle
+Temple."
+
+"Ay, I know your skill. Still, there can be no harm in just asking
+Magrath; though I think it must be law, after all! Run up and ask him,
+Atwood, and bring me the answer in the drawing-room, where I see
+Bluewater has gone with his convoy; and--harkee--tell the surgeons to
+let us know the instant the patient says any thing about his temporal
+affairs. The twenty thousand in the funds are his, to do what he pleases
+with; let the land be tied up, as it may."
+
+While this "aside," was going on in the hall, Bluewater and the rest of
+the party had entered a small parlour, that was in constant use, still
+conversing of the state of Sir Wycherly. As all of them, but the two
+young men, were ignorant of the nature of the message to Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe, and of the intelligence in connection with that gentleman,
+which had just been received, Mrs. Dutton ventured to ask an
+explanation, which was given by Wycherly, with a readiness that proved
+_he_ felt no apprehensions on the subject.
+
+"Sir Wycherly desired to see his distant relative, Sir Reginald," said
+the lieutenant; "and the messenger who was sent to request his
+attendance, fortunately learned from a post-boy, that the Hertfordshire
+baronet, in common with many other gentlemen, is travelling in the west,
+just at this moment; and that he slept last night, at a house only
+twenty miles distant. The express reached him several hours since, and
+an answer has been received, informing us that we may expect to see him,
+in an hour or two."
+
+Thus much was related by Wycherly; but, we may add that Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe was a Catholic, as it was then usual to term the Romanists,
+and in secret, a Jacobite; and, in common with many of that religious
+persuasion, he was down in the west, to see if a rising could not be
+organized in that part of the kingdom, as a diversion to any attempt to
+repel the young Pretender in the north. As the utmost caution was used
+by the conspirators, this fact was not even suspected by any who were
+not in the secret of the whole proceeding. Understanding that his
+relation was an inefficient old man, Sir Reginald, himself an active and
+sagacious intriguer, had approached thus near to the old paternal
+residence of his family, in order to ascertain if his own name and
+descent might not aid him in obtaining levies among the ancient tenantry
+of the estate. That day he had actually intended to appear at
+Wychecombe, disguised, and under an assumed name. He proposed venturing
+on this step, because circumstances put it in his power, to give what he
+thought would be received as a sufficient excuse, should his conduct
+excite comment.
+
+Sir Reginald Wychecombe was a singular, but by no means an unnatural
+compound of management and integrity. His position as a Papist had
+disposed him to intrigue, while his position as one proscribed by
+religious hostility, had disposed him to be a Papist. Thousands are made
+men of activity, and even of importance, by persecution and
+proscription, who would pass through life quietly and unnoticed, if the
+meddling hand of human forethought did not force them into situations
+that awaken their hostility, and quicken their powers. This gentleman
+was a firm believer in all the traditions of his church, though his
+learning extended little beyond his missal; and he put the most implicit
+reliance on the absurd, because improbable, fiction of the Nag's Head
+consecration, without having even deemed it necessary to look into a
+particle of that testimony by which alone such a controversy could be
+decided. In a word, he was an instance of what religious intolerance has
+ever done, and will probably for ever continue to do, with so wayward a
+being as man.
+
+Apart from this weakness, Sir Reginald Wychecombe had both a shrewd and
+an inquiring mind. His religion he left very much to the priests; but of
+his temporal affairs he assumed a careful and prudent supervision. He
+was much richer than the head of the family; but, while he had no
+meannesses connected with money, he had no objection to be the possessor
+of the old family estates. Of his own relation to the head of this
+family, he was perfectly aware, and the circumstance of the half-blood,
+with all its legal consequences, was no secret to him. Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe was not a man to be so situated, without having recourse to
+all proper means, in order, as it has become the fashion of the day to
+express it, "to define his position." By means of a shrewd attorney, if
+not of his own religious, at least of his own political opinions, he had
+ascertained the fact, and this from the mouth of Martha herself, that
+Baron Wychecombe had never married; and that, consequently, Tom and his
+brothers were no more heirs at law to the Wychecombe estate, than he was
+in his own person. He fully understood, too, that there _was_ no heir at
+law; and that the lands must escheat, unless the present owner made a
+will; and to this last act, his precise information told him that Sir
+Wycherly had an unconquerable reluctance. Under such circumstances, it
+is not at all surprising, that when the Hertfordshire baronet was thus
+unexpectedly summoned to the bed-side of his distant kinsman, he
+inferred that his own claims were at length to be tardily acknowledged,
+and that he was about to be put in possession of the estates of his
+legitimate ancestors. It is still less wonderful, that, believing this,
+he promptly promised to lose no time in obeying the summons, determining
+momentarily to forget his political, in order to look a little after his
+personal interests.
+
+The reader will understand, of course, that all these details were
+unknown to the inmates of the Hall, beyond the fact of the expected
+arrival of Sir Reginald Wychecombe, and that of the circumstance of the
+half-blood; which, in its true bearing, was known alone to Tom. Their
+thoughts were directed towards the situation of their host, and little
+was said, or done, that had not his immediate condition for the object.
+It being understood, however, that the surgeons kept the sick chamber
+closed against all visiters, a silent and melancholy breakfast was taken
+by the whole party, in waiting for the moment when they might be
+admitted. When this cheerless meal was ended, Sir Gervaise desired
+Bluewater to follow him to his room, whither he led the way in person.
+
+"It is possible, certainly, that Vervillin is out," commenced the
+vice-admiral, when they were alone; "but we shall know more about it,
+when the cutter gets in, and reports. You saw nothing but her number, I
+think you told me?"
+
+"She was at work with private signals, when I left the head-land; of
+course I was unable to read them without the book."
+
+"That Vervillin is a good fellow," returned Sir Gervaise, rubbing his
+hands; a way he had when much pleased; "and has stuff in him. He has
+thirteen two-decked ships, Dick, and that will be one apiece for our
+captains, and a spare one for each of our flags. I believe there is no
+three-decker in that squadron?"
+
+"There you've made a small mistake, Sir Gervaise, as the Comte de
+Vervillin had his flag in the largest three-decker of France; _le
+Bourbon_ 120. The rest of his ships are like our own, though much fuller
+manned."
+
+"Never mind, Blue--never mind:--we'll put two on the Bourbon, and try to
+make our frigates of use. Besides, you have a knack at keeping the fleet
+so compact, that it is nearly a single battery."
+
+"May I venture to ask, then, if it's your intention to go out, should
+the news by the Active prove to be what you anticipate?"
+
+Sir Gervaise cast a quick, distrustful glance at the other, anxious to
+read the motive for the question, at the same time that he did not wish
+to betray his own feelings; then he appeared to meditate on the answer.
+
+"It is not quite agreeable to lie here, chafing our cables, with a
+French squadron roving the channel," he said; "but I rather think it's
+my duty to wait for orders from the Admiralty, under present
+circumstances."
+
+"Do you expect my lords will send you through the Straits of Dover, to
+blockade the Frith?"
+
+"If they do, Bluewater, I shall hope for your company. I trust, a
+night's rest has given you different views of what ought to be a
+seaman's duty, when his country is at open war with her ancient and most
+powerful enemies."
+
+"It is the prerogative of the _crown_ to declare war, Oakes. No one but
+a _lawful_ sovereign can make a _lawful_ war."
+
+"Ay, here come your cursed distinctions about _de jure_ and _de facto_,
+again. By the way, Dick, you are something of a scholar--can you tell me
+what is understood by calling a man a _nullus_?"
+
+Admiral Bluewater, who had taken his usual lolling attitude in the most
+comfortable chair he could find, while his more mercurial friend kept
+pacing the room, now raised his head in surprise, following the quick
+motions of the other, with his eyes, as if he doubted whether he had
+rightly heard the question.
+
+"It's plain English, is it not?--or plain _Latin_, if you will--what is
+meant by calling a man a _nullus_?" repeated Sir Gervaise, observing the
+other's manner.
+
+"The Latin is _plain_ enough, certainly," returned Bluewater, smiling;
+"you surely do not mean _nullus, nulla, nullum_?"
+
+"Exactly that--you've hit it to a gender.--_Nullus_, nulla, nullum_.
+No _man_, no _woman_, no _thing_. Masculine, feminine, neuter."
+
+"I never heard the saying. If ever used, it must be some silly play on
+sounds, and mean a numskull--or, perhaps, a fling at a fellow's
+position, by saying he is a 'nobody.' Who the deuce has been calling
+another a _nullus_, in the presence of the commander-in-chief of the
+southern squadron?"
+
+"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe--our unfortunate host, here: the poor man who
+is on his death-bed, on this very floor."
+
+Again Bluewater raised his head, and once more his eye sought the face
+of his friend. Sir Gervaise had now stopped short, with his hands
+crossed behind his back, looking intently at the other, in expectation
+of the answer.
+
+"I thought it might be some difficulty from the fleet--some silly fellow
+complaining of another still more silly for using such a word. Sir
+Wycherly!--the poor man's mind must have failed him."
+
+"I rather think not; if it has, there is 'method in his madness,' for he
+persevered most surprisingly, in the use of the term. His nephew, Tom
+Wychecombe, the presumptive heir, he insists on it, is a _nullus_; while
+this Sir Reginald, who is expected to arrive every instant, he says is
+only _half_--or half-_blood_, as it has since been explained to us."
+
+"I am afraid this nephew will prove to be any thing but _nullus_, when
+he succeeds to the estate and title," answered Bluewater, gravely. "A
+more sinister-looking scoundrel, I never laid eyes on."
+
+"That is just my way of thinking; and not in the least like the family."
+
+"This matter of likenesses is not easily explained, Oakes. We see
+parents and children without any visible resemblance to each other; and
+then we find startling likenesses between utter strangers."
+
+"_Bachelor's children_ may be in that predicament, certainly; but I
+should think few others. I never yet studied a child, that I did not
+find some resemblance to both parents; covert and only transitory,
+perhaps; but a likeness so distinct as to establish the relationship.
+What an accursed chance it is, that our noble young lieutenant should
+have no claim on this old baronet; while this d----d _nullus_ is both
+heir at law, and heir of entail! I never took half as much interest in
+any other man's estate, as I take in the succession to this of our poor
+host!"
+
+"There you are mistaken, Oakes; you took more in _mine_; for, when I
+made a will in your own favour, and gave it to you to read, you tore it
+in two, and threw it overboard, with your own hand."
+
+"Ay, that was an act of lawful authority. As your superior, I
+countermanded that will! I hope you've made another, and given your
+money, as I told you, to your cousin, the Viscount."
+
+"I did, but _that_ will has shared the fate of the first. It appearing
+to me, that we are touching on serious times, and Bluewater being rich
+already, I destroyed the devise in his favour, and made a new one, this
+very morning. As you are my executor, as usual, it may be well to let
+you know it."
+
+"Dick, you have not been mad enough to cut off the head of your own
+family--your own flesh and blood, as it might be--to leave the few
+thousands you own, to this mad adventurer in Scotland!"
+
+Bluewater smiled at this evidence of the familiarity of his friend with
+his own way of thinking and feeling; and, for a single instant, he
+regretted that he had not put his first intention in force, in order
+that the conformity of views might have been still more perfect; but,
+putting a hand in his pocket he drew out the document itself, and
+leaning forward, gave it carelessly to Sir Gervaise.
+
+"There is the will; and by looking it over, you will know what I've
+done," he said. "I wish you would keep it; for, if 'misery makes us
+acquainted with strange bed-fellows,' revolutions reduce us, often, to
+strange plights, and the paper will be safer with you than with me. Of
+course, you will keep my secret, until the proper time to reveal it
+shall arrive."
+
+The vice-admiral, who knew that he had no direct interest in his
+friend's disposition of his property, took the will, with a good deal of
+curiosity to ascertain its provisions. So short a testament was soon
+read; and his eye rested intently on the paper until it had taken in the
+last word. Then his hand dropped, and he regarded Bluewater with a
+surprise he neither affected, nor wished to conceal. He did not doubt
+his friend's sanity, but he greatly questioned his discretion.
+
+"This is a very simple, but a very ingenious arrangement, to disturb the
+order of society," he said; "and to convert a very modest and
+unpretending, though lovely girl, into a forward and airs-taking old
+woman! What is this Mildred Dutton to you, that you should bequeath to
+her L30,000?"
+
+"She is one of the meekest, most ingenuous, purest, and loveliest, of
+her meek, ingenuous, pure, and lovely sex, crushed to the earth by the
+curse of a brutal, drunken father; and, I am resolute to see that this
+world, for once, afford some compensation for its own miseries."
+
+"Never doubt that, Richard Bluewater; never doubt _that_. So certain is
+vice, or crime, to bring its own punishment in this life, that one may
+well question if any other hell is needed. And, depend on it, your meek,
+modest ingenuousness, in its turn, will not go unrewarded."
+
+"Quite true, so far as the spirit is concerned; but, I mean to provide a
+little for the comfort of the body. You remember Agnes Hedworth, I take
+it for granted?"
+
+"Remember her!--out of all question. Had the war left me leisure for
+making love, she was the only woman I ever knew, who could have brought
+me to her feet--I mean as a dog, Dick."
+
+"Do you see any resemblance between her and this Mildred Dutton? It is
+in the expression rather than in the features--but, it is the expression
+which alone denotes the character."
+
+"By George, you're right, Bluewater; and this relieves me from some
+embarrassment I've felt about that very expression of which you speak.
+She _is_ like poor Agnes, who became a saint earlier than any of us
+could have wished. Living or dead, Agnes Hedworth must be an angel! You
+were fonder of her, than of any other woman, I believe. At one time, I
+thought you might propose for her hand."
+
+"It was not that sort of affection, and you could not have known her
+private history, or you would not have fancied this. I was so situated
+in the way of relatives, that Agnes, though only the child of a
+cousin-german, was the nearest youthful female relative I had on earth;
+and I regarded her more as a sister, than as a creature who could ever
+become my wife. She was sixteen years my junior; and by the time she had
+become old enough to marry, I was accustomed to think of her only as one
+destined for another station. The same feeling existed as to her sister,
+the Duchess, though in a greatly lessened degree."
+
+"Poor, sweet Agnes!--and it is on account of this accidental
+resemblance, that you have determined to make the daughter of a drunken
+sailing-master your heiress?"
+
+"Not altogether so; the will was drawn before I was conscious that the
+likeness existed. Still, it has probably, unknown to myself, greatly
+disposed me to view her with favour. But, Gervaise, Agnes herself was
+not fairer in person, or more lovely in mind, than this very Mildred
+Dutton."
+
+"Well, you have not been accustomed to regard _her_ as a sister; and
+_she_ has become marriageable, without there having been any opportunity
+for your regarding her as so peculiarly sacred, Dick!" returned Sir
+Gervaise, half suppressing a smile as he threw a quiet glance at his
+friend.
+
+"You know this to be idle, Oakes. Some one must inherit my money; my
+brother is long since dead; even poor, poor Agnes is gone; her sister
+don't need it; Bluewater is an over-rich bachelor, already; _you_ won't
+take it, and what better can I do with it? If you could have seen the
+cruel manner in which the spirits of both mother and daughter were
+crushed to the earth last night, by that beast of a husband and father,
+you would have felt a desire to relieve their misery, even though it had
+cost you Bowldero, and half your money in the funds."
+
+"Umph! Bowldero has been in my family five centuries, and is likely to
+remain there, Master Bluewater, five more; unless, indeed, your dashing
+Pretender should succeed, and take it away by confiscation."
+
+"There, again, was another inducement. Should I leave my cash to a rich
+person, and should chance put me on the wrong side in this struggle, the
+king, _de facto_, would get it all; whereas, even a German would not
+have the heart to rob a poor creature like Mildred of her support."
+
+"The _Scotch_ are notorious for bowels, in such matters! Well, have it
+your own way, Dick. It's of no great moment what you do with your
+prize-money; though I had supposed it would fall into the hands of this
+boy, Geoffrey Cleveland, who is no discredit to your blood."
+
+"He will have a hundred thousand pounds, at five-and-twenty, that were
+left him by old Lady Greenfield, his great-aunt, and that is more than
+he will know what to do with. But, enough of this. Have you received
+further tidings from the north, during the night?"
+
+"Not a syllable. This is a retired part of the country, and half
+Scotland might be capsized in one of its loughs, and we not know of it,
+for a week, down here in Devonshire. Should I get no intelligence or
+orders, in the next thirty-six hours, I think of posting up to London,
+leaving you in command of the fleet."
+
+"That may not be wise. You would scarcely confide so important a trust,
+in such a crisis, to a man of my political feelings--I will not say
+_opinions_; since you attribute all to sentiment."
+
+"I would confide my life and honour to you, Richard Bluewater, with the
+utmost confidence in the security of both, so long as it depended on
+your own acts or inclinations. We must first see, however, what news the
+Active brings us; for, if de Vervillin is really out, I shall assume
+that the duty of an English sailor is to beat a Frenchman, before all
+other considerations."
+
+"If he _can_," drily observed the other, raising his right leg so high
+as to place the foot on the top of an old-fashioned chair; an effort
+that nearly brought his back in a horizontal line.
+
+"I am far from regarding it as a matter of course, Admiral Bluewater;
+but, it _has_ been done sufficiently often, to render it an event of no
+very violent _possibility_. Ah, here is Magrath to tell us the condition
+of his patient."
+
+The surgeon of the Plantagenet entering the room, at that moment, the
+conversation was instantly changed.
+
+"Well, Magrath," said Sir Gervaise, stopping suddenly in his
+quarter-deck pace; "what news of the poor man?"
+
+"He is reviving, Admiral Oakes," returned the phlegmatic surgeon; "but
+it is like the gleaming of sunshine that streams through clouds, as the
+great luminary sets behind the hills--"
+
+"Oh! hang your poetry, doctor; let us have nothing but plain
+matter-of-fact, this morning."
+
+"Well, then, Sir Gervaise, as commander-in-chief, you'll be obeyed, I
+think. Sir Wycherly Wychecombe is suffering under an attack of
+apoplexy--or [Greek: apoplexis], as the Greeks had it. The diagnosis of
+the disease is not easily mistaken, though it has its affinities as well
+as other maladies. The applications for gout, or _arthritis_--sometimes
+produce apoplexy; though one disease is seated in the head, while the
+other usually takes refuge in the feet. Ye'll understand this the more
+readily, gentlemen, when ye reflect that as a thief is chased from one
+hiding-place, he commonly endeavours to get into another. I much misgive
+the prudence of the phlebotomy ye practised among ye, on the first
+summons to the patient."
+
+"What the d---l does the man mean by phlebotomy?" exclaimed Sir
+Gervaise, who had an aversion to medicine, and knew scarcely any of the
+commonest terms of practice, though expert in bleeding.
+
+"I'm thinking it's what you and Admiral Bluewater so freely administer
+to His Majesty's enemies, whenever ye fall in with 'em at
+sea;--he-he-he--" answered Magrath, chuckling at his own humour; which,
+as the quantity was small, was all the better in quality.
+
+"Surely he does not mean powder and shot! We give the French shot; Sir
+Wycherly has not been shot?"
+
+"Varra true, Sir Gervaise, but ye've let him blood, amang ye: a measure
+that has been somewhat precipitately practised, I've my misgivings!"
+
+"Now, any old woman can tell us better than that, doctor. Blood-letting
+is the every-day remedy for attacks of this sort."
+
+"I do not dispute the dogmas of elderly persons of the other sex, Sir
+Gervaise, or your _every-day remedia_. If 'every-day' doctors would save
+life and alleviate pain, diplomas would be unnecessary; and we might,
+all of us, practise on the principle of the 'de'el tak' the hindmaist,'
+as ye did yoursel', Sir Gervaise, when ye cut and slash'd amang the
+Dons, in boarding El Lirio. I was there, ye'll both remember, gentlemen;
+and was obleeged to sew up the gashes ye made with your own irreverent
+and ungodly hands."
+
+This speech referred to one of the most desperate, hand-to-hand
+struggles, in which the two flag-officers had ever been engaged; and, as
+it afforded them the means of exhibiting their personal gallantry, when
+quite young men, both usually looked back upon the exploit with great
+self-complacency; Sir Gervaise, in particular, his friend having often
+declared since, that they ought to have been laid on the shelf for life,
+as a punishment for risking their men in so mad an enterprise, though it
+did prove to be brilliantly successful.
+
+"That was an affair in which one might engage at twenty-two, Magrath,"
+observed Bluewater; "but which he ought to hesitate about thinking of
+even, after thirty."
+
+"I'd do it again, this blessed day, if you would give us a chance!"
+exclaimed Sir Gervaise, striking the back of one hand into the palm of
+the other, with a sudden energy, that showed how much he was excited by
+the mere recollection of the scene.
+
+"That w'ud ye!--that w'ud ye!" said Magrath, growing more and more
+Scotch, as he warmed in the discourse; "ye'd board a mackerel-hoy,
+rather than not have an engagement. Ye'r a varra capital vice-admiral of
+the red, Sir Gervaise, but I'm judging ye'd mak' a varra indeeferent
+loblolly-boy."
+
+"Bluewater, I shall be compelled to change ships with you, in order to
+get rid of the old stand-by's of the Plantagenets! They stick to me like
+leeches; and have got to be so familiar, that they criticise all my
+orders, and don't more than half obey them, in the bargain."
+
+"No one will criticise your nautical commands, Sir Gervaise; though, in
+the way of the healing airt,--science, it should be called--ye're no
+mair to be trusted, than one of the young gentlemen. I'm told ye drew
+ye'r lancet on this poor gentleman, as ye'd draw ye'r sword on an
+enemy!"
+
+"I did, indeed, sir; though Mr. Rotherham had rendered the application
+of the instrument unnecessary. Apoplexy is a rushing of the blood to the
+head; and by diminishing the quantity in the veins of the arms or
+temples, you lessen the pressure on the brain."
+
+"Just layman's practice, sir--just layman's practice. Will ye tell me
+now if the patient's face was red or white? Every thing depends on
+_that_; which is the true diagnosis of the malady."
+
+"Red, I think; was it not, Bluewater? Red, like old port, of which I
+fancy the poor man had more than his share."
+
+"Weel, in that case, you were not so varra wrong; but, they tell me his
+countenance was pallid and death-like; in which case ye came near to
+committing murder. There is one principle that controls the diagnosis of
+all cases of apoplexy among ye'r true country gentlemen--and that is,
+that the system is reduced and enfeebled, by habitual devotion to the
+decanter. In such attacks ye canna' do warse, than to let blood. But,
+I'll no be hard upon you, Sir Gervaise; and so we'll drop the
+subject--though, truth to say, I do not admire your poaching on my
+manor. Sir Wycherly is materially better, and expresses, as well as a
+man who has not the use of his tongue, _can_ express a thing, his
+besetting desire to make his last will and testament. In ordinary cases
+of _apoplexia_, it is good practice to oppose this craving; though, as
+it is my firm opinion that nothing can save the patient's life, I do not
+set myself against the measure, in this particular case. Thar' was a
+curious discussion at Edinbro', in my youth, gentlemen, on the question
+whether the considerations connected with the disposition of the
+property, or the considerations connected with the patient's health,
+ought to preponderate in the physician's mind, when it might be
+reasonably doubted whether the act of making a will, would or would not
+essentially affect the nervous system, and otherwise derange the
+functions of the body. A very pretty argument, in excellent Edinbro'
+Latin, was made on each side of the question. I think, on the whole, the
+physicos had the best o' it; for they could show a plausible present
+evil, as opposed to a possible remote good."
+
+"Has Sir Wycherly mentioned my name this morning?" asked the
+vice-admiral, with interest.
+
+"He has, indeed, Sir Gervaise; and that in a way so manifestly connected
+with his will, that I'm opining ye'll no be forgotten in the legacies.
+The name of Bluewater was in his mouth, also."
+
+"In which case no time should be lost; for, never before have I felt
+half the interest in the disposition of a stranger's estate. Hark! Are
+not those wheels rattling in the court-yard?"
+
+"Ye'r senses are most pairfect, Sir Gervaise, and that I've always said
+was one reason why ye'r so great an admiral," returned Magrath. "Mind,
+only _one_, Sir Gervaise; for many qualities united, are necessary to
+make a truly great man. I see a middle-aged gentleman alighting, and
+servants around him, who wear the same liveries as those of this house.
+Some relative, no doubt, come to look after the legacies, also."
+
+"This must be Sir Reginald Wychecombe; it may not be amiss if we go
+forward to receive him, Bluewater."
+
+At this suggestion, the rear-admiral drew in his legs, which had not
+changed their position on account of the presence of the surgeon, arose,
+and followed Sir Gervaise, as the latter left the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+    "_Videsne quis venit?_"
+    "_Video, et gaudeo._"
+
+         NATHANIEL ET HOLOFERNES.
+
+
+Tom Wychecombe had experienced an uneasiness that it is unnecessary to
+explain, ever since he learned that his reputed uncle had sent a
+messenger to bring the "half-blood" to the Hall. From the moment he got
+a clue to the fact, he took sufficient pains to ascertain what was in
+the wind; and when Sir Reginald Wychecombe entered the house, the first
+person he met was this spurious supporter of the honours of his name.
+
+"Sir Reginald Wychecombe, I presume, from the arms and the liveries,"
+said Tom, endeavouring to assume the manner of a host. "It is grateful
+to find that, though we are separated by quite two centuries, all the
+usages and the bearings of the family are equally preserved and
+respected, by both its branches."
+
+"I am Sir Reginald Wychecombe, sir, and endeavour not to forget the
+honourable ancestry from which I am derived. May I ask what kinsman I
+have the pleasure now to meet?"
+
+"Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, sir, at your command; the _eldest_ son of Sir
+Wycherly's next brother, the late Mr. Baron Wychecombe. I trust, Sir
+Reginald, you have not considered us as so far removed in blood, as to
+have entirely overlooked our births, marriages, and deaths."
+
+"I have _not_, sir," returned the baronet, drily, and with an emphasis
+that disturbed his listener, though the cold jesuitical smile that
+accompanied the words, had the effect to calm his vivid apprehensions.
+"_All_ that relates to the house of Wychecombe has interest in my eyes;
+and I have endeavoured, successfully I trust, to ascertain _all_ that
+relates to its births, _marriages_, and deaths. I greatly regret that
+the second time I enter this venerable dwelling, should be on an
+occasion as melancholy as this, on which I am now summoned. How is your
+respectable--how is Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, I wish to say?"
+
+There was sufficient in this answer, taken in connection with the
+deliberate, guarded, and yet expressive manner of the speaker to make
+Tom extremely uncomfortable, though there was also sufficient to leave
+him in doubts as to his namesake's true meaning. The words emphasized by
+the latter, were touched lightly, though distinctly; and the cold,
+artificial smile with which they were uttered, completely baffled the
+sagacity of a rogue, as common-place as the heir-expectant. Then the
+sudden change in the construction of the last sentence, and the
+substitution of the name of the person mentioned, for the degree of
+affinity in which he was supposed to stand to Tom, might be merely a
+rigid observance of the best tone of society, or it might be equivocal.
+All these little distinctions gleamed across the mind of Tom Wychecombe;
+but that was not the moment to pursue the investigation. Courtesy
+required that he should make an immediate answer, which he succeeded in
+doing steadily enough as to general appearances, though his sagacious
+and practised questioner perceived that his words had not failed of
+producing the impression he intended; for he had looked to their
+establishing a species of authority over the young man.
+
+"My honoured and beloved uncle has revived a little, they tell me," said
+Tom; "but I fear these appearances are delusive. After eighty-four,
+death has a fearful hold upon us, sir! The worst of it is, that my poor,
+dear uncle's mind is sensibly affected; and it is quite impossible to
+get at any of his little wishes, in the way of memorials and messages--"
+
+"How then, sir, came Sir Wycherly to honour _me_ with a request to visit
+him?" demanded the other, with an extremely awkward pertinency.
+
+"I suppose, sir, he has succeeded in muttering your name, and that a
+natural construction has been put on its use, at such a moment. His will
+has been made some time, I understand; though I am ignorant of even the
+name of the executor, as it is closed in an envelope, and sealed with
+Sir Wycherly's arms. It cannot be, then, on account of a _will_, that he
+has wished to see you. I rather think, as the next of the family, _out
+of the direct line of succession_, he may have ventured to name you as
+the executor of the will in existence, and has thought it proper to
+notify you of the same."
+
+"Yes, sir," returned Sir Reginald, in his usual cold, wary manner;
+"though it would have been more in conformity with usage, had the
+notification taken the form of a request to serve, previously to making
+the testament. My letter was signed 'Gervaise Oakes,' and, as they tell
+me a fleet is in the neighbourhood, I have supposed that the celebrated
+admiral of that name, has done me the honour to write it."
+
+"You are not mistaken, sir; Sir Gervaise Oakes is in the house--ah--here
+he comes to receive you, accompanied by Rear-Admiral Bluewater, whom the
+sailors call his mainmast."
+
+The foregoing conversation had taken place in a little parlour that led
+off from the great hall, whither Tom had conducted his guest, and in
+which the two admirals now made their appearance. Introductions were
+scarcely necessary, the uniform and star--for in that age officers
+usually appeared in their robes--the uniform and star of Sir Gervaise at
+once proclaiming his rank and name; while, between Sir Reginald and
+Bluewater there existed a slight personal acquaintance, which had grown
+out of their covert, but deep, Jacobite sympathies.
+
+"Sir Gervaise Oakes," and "Sir Reginald Wychecombe," passed between the
+gentlemen, with a hearty shake of the hand from the admiral, which was
+met by a cold touch of the fingers on the part of the other, that might
+very well have passed for the great model of the sophisticated
+manipulation of the modern salute, but which, in fact, was the result of
+temperament rather than of fashion. As soon as this ceremony was gone
+through, and a few brief expressions of courtesy were exchanged, the new
+comer turned to Bluewater, with an air of greater freedom, and
+continued--
+
+"And you, too, Sir Richard Bluewater! I rejoice to meet an acquaintance
+in this melancholy scene."
+
+"I am happy to see you, Sir Reginald; though you have conferred on me a
+title to which I have no proper claim."
+
+"No!--the papers tell us that you have received one of the lately vacant
+red ribands?"
+
+"I believe some such honour has been in contemplation--"
+
+"Contemplation!--I do assure you, sir, your name is fairly and
+distinctly gazetted--as, by sending to my carriage, it will be in my
+power to show you. I am, then, the first to call you Sir Richard."
+
+"Excuse me, Sir Reginald--there is some little misapprehension in this
+matter; I prefer to remain plain Rear-Admiral Bluewater. In due season,
+all will be explained."
+
+The parties exchanged looks, which, in times like those in which they
+lived, were sufficiently intelligible to both; and the conversation was
+instantly changed. Before Sir Reginald relinquished the hand he held,
+however, he gave it a cordial squeeze, an intimation that was returned
+by a warm pressure from Bluewater. The party then began to converse of
+Sir Wycherly, his actual condition, and his probable motive in desiring
+to see his distant kinsman. This motive, Sir Gervaise, regardless of the
+presence of Tom Wychecombe, declared to be a wish to make a will; and,
+as he believed, the intention of naming Sir Reginald his executor, if
+not in some still more interesting capacity.
+
+"I understand Sir Wycherly has a considerable sum entirely at his own
+disposal," continued the vice-admiral; "and I confess I like to see a
+man remember his friends and servants, generously, in his last moments.
+The estate is entailed, I hear; and I suppose Mr. Thomas Wychecombe
+here, will be none the worse for that precaution in his ancestor; let
+the old gentleman do as he pleases with his savings."
+
+Sir Gervaise was so much accustomed to command, that he did not feel the
+singularity of his own interference in the affairs of a family of what
+might be called strangers, though the circumstance struck Sir Reginald,
+as a little odd. Nevertheless, the last had sufficient penetration to
+understand the vice-admiral's character at a glance, and the peculiarity
+made no lasting impression. When the allusion was made to Tom's
+succession, as a matter of course, however, he cast a cold, but
+withering look, at the reputed heir, which almost chilled the marrow in
+the bones of the jealous rogue.
+
+"Might I say a word to you, in your own room, Sir Gervaise?" asked Sir
+Reginald, in an aside. "These matters ought not to be indecently
+hurried; and I wish to understand the ground better, before I advance."
+
+This question was overheard by Bluewater; who, begging the gentlemen to
+remain where they were, withdrew himself, taking Tom Wychecombe with
+him. As soon as they were alone, Sir Reginald drew from his companion,
+by questions warily but ingeniously put, a history of all that had
+occurred within the last twenty-four hours; a knowledge of the really
+helpless state of Sir Wycherly, and of the manner in which he himself
+had been summoned, included. When satisfied, he expressed a desire to
+see the sick man.
+
+"By the way, Sir Reginald," said the vice-admiral, with his hand on the
+lock of the door, arresting his own movement to put the question; "I
+see, by your manner of expressing yourself, that the law has not been
+entirely overlooked in your education. Do you happen to know what
+'half-blood' means? it is either a medical or a legal term, and I
+understand few but nautical."
+
+"You could not apply to any man in England, Sir Gervaise, better
+qualified to tell you," answered the Hertfordshire baronet, smiling
+expressively. "I am a barrister of the Middle Temple, having been
+educated as a younger son, and having since succeeded an elder brother,
+at the age of twenty-seven; I stand in the unfortunate relation of the
+'half-blood' myself, to this very estate, on which we are now
+conversing."
+
+Sir Reginald then proceeded to explain the law to the other, as we have
+already pointed it out to the reader; performing the duty succinctly,
+but quite clearly.
+
+"Bless me!--bless me! Sir Reginald," exclaimed the direct-minded and
+_just_-minded sailor--"here must be some mistake! A fortieth cousin, or
+the king, take this estate before yourself, though you are directly
+descended from all the old Wychecombes of the times of the
+Plantagenets!"
+
+"Such is the common law, Sir Gervaise. Were I Sir Wycherly's
+half-brother, or a son by a second wife of our common father, I could
+not take from _him_, although that common father had earned the estate
+by his own hands, or services."
+
+"This is damnable, sir--damnable--and you'll pardon me, but I can hardly
+believe we have such a monstrous principle in the good, honest,
+well-meaning laws, of good, honest, well-meaning old England!"
+
+Sir Reginald was one of the few lawyers of his time, who did not
+recognize the virtue of this particular provision of the common law; a
+circumstance that probably arose from his having so _small_ an interest
+now in the mysteries of the profession, and so _large_ an interest in
+the family estate of Wychecombe, destroyed by its _dictum_. He was,
+consequently, less surprised, and not at all hurt, at the evident manner
+in which the sailor repudiated his statement, as doing violence equally
+to reason, justice, and probability.
+
+"Good, honest, well-meaning old England tolerates many grievous things,
+notwithstanding, Sir Gervaise," he answered; "among others, it tolerates
+the law of the half-blood. Much depends on the manner in which men view
+these things; that which seems gold to one, resembling silver in the
+eyes of another. Now, I dare say,"--this was said as a feeler, and with
+a smile that might pass for ironical or confiding, as the listener
+pleased to take it--"Now, I dare say, the clans would tell us that
+England tolerates an usurper, while her lawful prince was in banishment;
+though _you_ and _I_ might not feel disposed to allow it."
+
+Sir Gervaise started, and cast a quick, suspicious glance at the
+speaker; but there the latter stood, with as open and guileless an
+expression on his handsome features, as was ever seen in the countenance
+of confiding sixteen.
+
+"Your supposititious case is no parallel," returned the vice-admiral,
+losing every shade of suspicion, at this appearance of careless
+frankness; "since men often follow their feelings in their allegiance,
+while the law is supposed to be governed by reason and justice. But, now
+we are on the subject, will you tell me. Sir Reginald, if you also know
+what a _nullus_ is?"
+
+"I have no farther knowledge of the subject, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+other, smiling, this time, quite naturally; "than is to be found in the
+Latin dictionaries and grammars."
+
+"Ay--you mean _nullus, nulla, nullum_. Even we sailors know _that_;
+as we all go to school before we go to sea. But, Sir Wycherly, in
+efforts to make himself understood, called you a 'half-blood.'"
+
+"And quite correctly--I admit such to be the fact; and that I have no
+more _legal_ claim, whatever on this estate, than you have yourself. My
+_moral_ right, however, may be somewhat better."
+
+"It is much to your credit, that you so frankly admit it, Sir Reginald;
+for, hang me, if I think even the judges would dream of raising such an
+objection to your succeeding, unless reminded of it."
+
+"Therein you do them injustice, Sir Gervaise; as it is their duty to
+administer the laws, let them be what they may."
+
+"Perhaps you are right, sir. But the reason for my asking what a
+_nullus_ is, was the circumstance that Sir Wycherly, in the course of
+his efforts to speak, repeatedly called his nephew and heir, Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, by that epithet."
+
+"Did he, indeed?--Was the epithet, as you well term it, _filius
+nullius_?"
+
+"I rather think it was _nullus_--though I do believe the word _filius_
+was muttered, once or twice, also."
+
+"Yes, sir, this has been the case; and I am not sorry Sir Wycherly is
+aware of the fact, as I hear that the young man affects to consider
+himself in a different point of view. A _filius nullius_ is the legal
+term for a bastard--the 'son of nobody,' as you will at once understand.
+I am fully aware that such is the unfortunate predicament of Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, whose father, I possess complete evidence to show, was never
+married to his mother."
+
+"And yet, Sir Reginald, the impudent rascal carries in his pocket even,
+a certificate, signed by some parish priest in London, to prove the
+contrary."
+
+The civil baronet seemed surprised at this assertion of his military
+brother; but Sir Gervaise explaining what had passed between himself and
+the young man, he could no longer entertain any doubt of the fact.
+
+"Since you have seen the document," resumed Sir Reginald, "it must,
+indeed, be so; and this misguided boy is prepared to take any desperate
+step in order to obtain the title and the estate. All that he has said
+about a will must be fabulous, as no man in his senses would risk his
+neck to obtain so hollow a distinction as a baronetcy--we are equally
+members of the class, and may speak frankly, Sir Gervaise--and the will
+would secure the estate, if there were one. I cannot think, therefore,
+that there is a will at all."
+
+"If this will were not altogether to the fellow's liking, would not the
+marriage, beside the hollow honour of which you have spoken, put the
+whole of the landed property in his possession, under the entail?"
+
+"It would, indeed; and I thank you for the suggestion. If, however, Sir
+Wycherly is desirous, _now_, of making a _new_ will, and has strength
+and mind sufficient to execute his purpose, the _old_ one need give us
+no concern. This is a most delicate affair for one in my situation to
+engage in, sir; and I greatly rejoice that I find such honourable and
+distinguished witnesses, in the house, to clear my reputation, should
+any thing occur to require such exculpation. On the one side, Sir
+Gervaise, there is the danger of an ancient estate's falling into the
+hands of the crown, and this, too, while one of no _stain_ of blood,
+derived from the same honourable ancestors as the last possessor, is in
+existence; or, on the other, of its becoming the prey of one of base
+blood, and of but very doubtful character. The circumstance that Sir
+Wycherly desired my presence, is a great deal; and I trust to you, and
+to those with you, to vindicate the fairness of my course. If it's your
+pleasure, sir, we will now go to the sick chamber."
+
+"With all my heart. I think, however, Sir Reginald," said the
+vice-admiral, as he approached the door; "that even in the event of an
+escheat, you would find these Brunswick princes sufficiently liberal to
+restore the property. I could not answer for those wandering Scotchmen;
+who have so many breechless nobles to enrich; but, I think, with the
+Hanoverians, you would be safe."
+
+"The last have certainly one recommendation the most," returned the
+other, smiling courteously, but in a way so equivocal that even Sir
+Gervaise was momentarily struck by it; "they have fed so well, now, at
+the crib, that they may not have the same voracity, as those who have
+been long fasting. It would be, however, more pleasant to take these
+lands from a Wychecombe--a Wychecombe to a Wychecombe--than to receive
+them anew from even the Plantagenet who made the first grant."
+
+This terminated the private dialogue, as the colloquists entered the
+hall, just as the last speaker concluded. Wycherly was conversing,
+earnestly, with Mrs. Dutton and Mildred, at the far end of the hall,
+when the baronets appeared; but, catching the eye of the admiral, he
+said a few words hastily to his companions, and joined the two
+gentlemen, who were now on their way to the sick man's chamber.
+
+"Here is a namesake, if not a relative, Sir Reginald," observed Sir
+Gervaise, introducing the lieutenant; "and one, I rejoice to say, of
+whom all of even your honourable name have reason to be proud."
+
+Sir Reginald's bow was courteous and bland, as the admiral proceeded to
+complete the introduction; but Wycherly felt that the keen, searching
+look he bestowed on himself, was disagreeable.
+
+"I am not at all aware, that I have the smallest claim to the honour of
+being Sir Reginald Wychecombe's relative," he said, with cold reserve.
+"Indeed, until last evening, I was ignorant of the existence of the
+Hertfordshire branch of this family; and you will remember, Sir
+Gervaise, that I am a Virginian."
+
+"A Virginian!" exclaimed his namesake, taken so much by surprise as to
+lose a little of his self-command, "I did not know, indeed, that any who
+bear the name had found their way to the colonies."
+
+"And if they had, sir, they would have met with a set of fellows every
+way fit to be their associates, Sir Reginald. We English are a little
+clannish--I hate the word, too; it has such a narrow Scotch sound--but
+we _are_ clannish, although generally provided with garments to our
+nether limbs; and we sometimes look down upon even a son, whom the love
+of adventure has led into that part of the world. In my view an
+Englishman is an Englishman, let him come from what part of the empire
+he may. That is what I call genuine liberality, Sir Reginald."
+
+"Quite true, Sir Gervaise; and a Scotchman is a Scotchman, even though
+he come from the north of Tweed."
+
+This was quietly said, but the vice-admiral felt the merited rebuke it
+contained, and he had the good-nature and the good sense to laugh at it,
+and to admit his own prejudices. This little encounter brought the party
+to Sir Wycherly's door, where all three remained until it was
+ascertained that they might enter.
+
+The next quarter of an hour brought about a great change in the
+situation of all the principal inmates of Wychecombe Hall. The interdict
+was taken off the rooms of Sir Wycherly, and in them had collected all
+the gentlemen, Mrs. Dutton and her daughter, with three or four of the
+upper servants of the establishment. Even Galleygo contrived to thrust
+his ungainly person in, among the rest, though he had the discretion to
+keep in the background among his fellows. In a word, both dressing-room
+and bed-room had their occupants, though the last was principally filled
+by the medical men, and those whose rank gave them claims to be near the
+person of the sick.
+
+It was now past a question known that poor Sir Wycherly was on his
+death-bed. His mind had sensibly improved, nor was his speech any worse;
+but his physical system generally had received a shock that rendered
+recovery hopeless. It was the opinion of the physicians that he might
+possibly survive several days; or, that he might be carried off, in a
+moment, by a return of the paralytic affection.
+
+The baronet, himself, appeared to be perfectly conscious of his
+situation; as was apparent by the anxiety he expressed to get his
+friends together, and more especially the concern he felt to make a due
+disposition of his worldly affairs. The medical men had long resisted
+both wishes, until, convinced that the question was reduced to one of a
+few hours more or less of life, and that denial was likely to produce
+worse effects than compliance, they finally and unanimously consented.
+
+"It's no a great concession to mortal infirmity to let a dying man have
+his way," whispered Magrath to the two admirals, as the latter entered
+the room. "Sir Wycherly is a hopeless case, and we'll just consent to
+let him make a few codicils, seeing that he so fairvently desires it;
+and then there may be fewer hopeless deevils left behind him, when he's
+gathered to his forefathers."
+
+"Here we are, my dear Sir Wycherly," said the vice-admiral, who never
+lost an occasion to effect his purpose, by any unnecessary delay; "here
+we all are anxious to comply with your wishes. Your kinsman, Sir
+Reginald Wychecombe, is also present, and desirous of doing your
+pleasure."
+
+It was a painful sight to see a man on his death-bed, so anxious to
+discharge the forms of the world, as the master of the Hall now appeared
+to be. There had been an unnecessary alienation between the heads of the
+two branches of the family; not arising from any quarrel, or positive
+cause of disagreement, but from a silent conviction in both parties,
+that each was unsuited to the other. They had met a few times, and
+always parted without regret. The case was now different; the separation
+was, in one sense at least, to be eternal; and all minor considerations,
+all caprices of habits or despotism of tastes, faded before the solemn
+impressions of the moment. Still, Sir Wycherly could not forget that he
+was master of Wychecombe, and that his namesake was esteemed a man of
+refinement; and, in his simple way of thinking he would fain have
+arisen, in order to do him honour. A little gentle violence, even, was
+necessary to keep the patient quiet.
+
+"Much honoured, sir--greatly pleased," muttered Sir Wycherly, the
+words coming from him with difficulty. "Same ancestors--same
+name--Plantagenets--old house, sir--head go, new one come--none better,
+than--"
+
+"Do not distress yourself to speak, unnecessarily, my dear sir,"
+interrupted Sir Reginald, with more tenderness for the patient than
+consideration for his own interest, as the next words promised to relate
+to the succession. "Sir Gervaise Oakes tells me, he understands your
+wishes, generally, and that he is now prepared to gratify them. First
+relieve your mind, in matters of business; and, then, I shall be most
+happy to exchange with you the feelings of kindred."
+
+"Yes, Sir Wycherly," put in Sir Gervaise, on this hint; "I believe I
+have now found the clue to all you wish to say. The few words written by
+you, last night, were the commencement of a will, which it is your
+strong desire to make. Do not speak, but raise your right hand, if I am
+not mistaken."
+
+The sick man actually stretched his right arm above the bed-clothes, and
+his dull eyes lighted with an expression of pleasure, that proved how
+strongly his feelings were enlisted in the result.
+
+"You see, gentlemen!" said Sir Gervaise, with emphasis. "No one can
+mistake the meaning of this! Come nearer, doctor--Mr. Rotherham--all who
+have no probable interest in the affair--I wish it to be seen that Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe is desirous of making his will."
+
+The vice-admiral now went through the ceremony of repeating his request,
+and got the same significant answer.
+
+"So I understood it, Sir Wycherly, and I believe now I also understand
+all about the 'half,' and the 'whole,' and the '_nullus_.' You meant to
+tell us that your kinsman, Sir Reginald Wychecombe, was of the
+'half-blood' as respects yourself, and that Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, your
+nephew, is what is termed in law--however painful this may be,
+gentlemen, at such solemn moments the truth must be plainly spoken--that
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe is what the law terms a '_filius nullius_.' If we
+have understood you in this, also, have the goodness to give this
+company the same sign of assent."
+
+The last words were scarcely spoken, before Sir Wycherly again raised
+his arm, and nodded his head.
+
+"Here there can be no mistake, and no one rejoices in it more than I do
+myself; for, the unintelligible words gave me a great deal of vexation.
+Well, my dear sir, understanding your wishes, my secretary, Mr. Atwood,
+has drawn the commencement of a will, in the usual form, using your own
+pious and proper language of--'In the name of God, Amen,' as the
+commencement; and he stands ready to write down your bequests, as you
+may see fit to name them. We will take them, first, on a separate piece
+of paper; then read them to you, for your approbation; and afterwards,
+transcribe them into the will. I believe, Sir Reginald, that mode would
+withstand the subtleties of all the gentlemen of all the Inns of Court?"
+
+"It is a very proper and prudent mode for executing a will, sir, under
+the peculiar circumstances," returned he of Hertfordshire. "But, Sir
+Gervaise, my situation, here, is a little delicate, as may be that of
+Mr. Thomas Wychecombe--others of the name and family, if any such there
+be. Would it not be well to inquire if our presence is actually desired
+by the intended testator?"
+
+"Is it your wish, Sir Wycherly, that your kinsmen and namesakes remain
+in the room, or shall they retire until the will is executed? I will
+call over the names of the company, and when you wish any one, in
+particular, to stay in the room, you will nod your head."
+
+"All--all stay," muttered Sir Wycherly; "Sir
+Reginald--Tom--Wycherly--all--"
+
+"This seems explicit enough, gentlemen," resumed the vice-admiral. "You
+are _all_ requested to stay; and, if I might venture an opinion, our
+poor friend has named those on whom he intends his bequests to fall--and
+pretty much, too, in the order in which they will come."
+
+"That will appear more unanswerably when Sir Wycherly has expressed his
+intentions in words," observed Sir Reginald, very desirous that there
+should not be the smallest appearance of dictation or persuasion offered
+to his kinsman, at a moment so grave. "Let me entreat that no leading
+questions be put."
+
+"Sir Gervaise understands leading in battle, much better than in a
+cross-examination, Sir Reginald," Bluewater observed, in a tone so low,
+that none heard him but the person to whom the words were addressed. "I
+think we shall sooner get at Sir Wycherly's wishes, by allowing him to
+take his own course."
+
+The other bowed, and appeared disposed to acquiesce. In the mean time
+preparations were making for the construction of the will. Atwood seated
+himself at a table near the bed, and commenced nibbing his pens; the
+medical men administered a cordial; Sir Gervaise caused all the
+witnesses to range themselves around the room, in a way that each might
+fairly see, and be seen; taking care, however, so to dispose of
+Wycherly, as to leave no doubt of his handsome person's coming into the
+sick man's view. The lieutenant's modesty might have rebelled at this
+arrangement, had he not found himself immediately at the side of
+Mildred.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+    "Yet, all is o'er!--fear, doubt, suspense, are fled,
+    Let brighter thoughts be with the virtuous dead!
+    The final ordeal of the soul is past,
+    And the pale brow is sealed to Heaven at last."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+It will be easily supposed that Tom Wychecombe witnessed the proceedings
+related in the preceding chapter with dismay. The circumstance that he
+actually possessed a _bona fide_ will of his uncle, which left him heir
+of all the latter owned, real or personal, had made him audacious, and
+first induced him to take the bold stand of asserting his legitimacy,
+and of claiming all its consequences. He had fully determined to assume
+the title on the demise of Sir Wycherly; plausibly enough supposing
+that, as there was no heir to the baronetcy, the lands once in his quiet
+possession, no one would take sufficient interest in the matter to
+dispute his right to the rank. Here, however, was a blow that menaced
+death to all his hopes. His illegitimacy seemed to be known to others,
+and there was every prospect of a new will's supplanting the old one, in
+its more important provisions, at least. He was at a loss to imagine
+what had made this sudden change in his uncle's intentions; for he did
+not sufficiently understand himself, to perceive that the few months of
+close communion which had succeeded the death of his reputed father, had
+sufficed to enlighten Sir Wycherly on the subject of his own true
+character, and to awaken a disgust that had remained passive, until
+suddenly aroused by the necessity of acting; and, least of all, could he
+understand how surprisingly the moral vision of men is purified and
+enlarged, as respects both the past and the future, by the near approach
+of death. Although symptoms of strong dissatisfaction escaped him, he
+quieted his feelings as much as possible, cautiously waiting for any
+occurrence that might be used in setting aside the contemplated
+instrument, hereafter; or, what would be still better, to defeat its
+execution, now.
+
+As soon as the necessary preparations were made, Atwood, his pen nibbed,
+ink at hand, and paper spread, was ready to proceed: and a breathless
+stillness existing in the chamber, Sir Gervaise resumed the subject on
+which they were convened.
+
+"Atwood will read to you what he has already written, Sir Wycherly," he
+said; "should the phraseology be agreeable to you, you will have the
+goodness to make a sign to that effect. Well, if all is ready, you can
+now commence--hey! Atwood?"
+
+"'In the name of God, Amen,'" commenced the methodical secretary; "'I,
+Wycherly Wychecombe, Bart., of Wychecombe-Hall, in the county of Devon,
+being of sound mind, but of a feeble state of health, and having the
+view of death before my eyes, revoking all other wills, codicils, or
+testamentary devises, whatsoever, do make and declare this instrument to
+be my last will and testament: that is to say, Imprimis, I do hereby
+constitute and appoint ---- ---- of ----, the executor of this my said
+will, with all the powers and authority that the law gives, or may
+hereafter give to said executor. Secondly, I give and bequeath to ----.'
+This is all that is yet written, Sir Gervaise, blanks being left for the
+name or names of the executor or executors, as well for the 's' at the
+end of 'executor,' should the testator see fit to name more than one."
+
+"There, Sir Reginald," said the vice-admiral, not altogether without
+exultation; "this is the way we prepare these things on board a
+man-of-war! A flag-officer's secretary needs have himself qualified to
+do any thing, short of a knowledge of administering to the cure of
+souls!"
+
+"And the cure of bodies, ye'll be permitting me to add, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Magrath, taking an enormous pinch of a strong yellow snuff.
+
+"Our secretary would make but a lubberly fist at turning off a delicate
+turtle-soup out of pig's-head; such as we puts on our table at sea, so
+often," muttered Galleygo in the ear of Mrs. Larder.
+
+"I see nothing to object to, Sir Gervaise, if the language is agreeable
+to Sir Wycherly," answered the barrister by profession, though not by
+practice. "It would be advisable to get his approbation of even the
+language."
+
+"That we intend to do, of course, sir. Sir Wycherly, do you find the
+terms of this will to your liking?"
+
+Sir Wycherly smiled, and very clearly gave the sign of assent.
+
+"I thought as much--for, Atwood has made the wills of two admirals, and
+of three captains, to my knowledge; and my Lord Chief Justice said that
+one of the last would have done credit to the best conveyancer in
+England, and that it was a pity the testator had nothing to bequeath.
+Now, Sir Wycherly, will you have one executor, or more? If _one_, hold
+up a single finger; and a finger for each additional executor you wish
+us to insert in these blanks. One, Atwood--you perceive, gentlemen, that
+Sir Wycherly raises but _one_ finger; and so you can give a flourish at
+the end of the 'r,' as the word will be in the singular;--hey! Atwood?"
+
+The secretary did as directed, and then reported himself ready to
+proceed.
+
+"It will be necessary for you now to _name_ your executor, Sir
+Wycherly--make as little effort as possible, as we shall understand the
+name, alone."
+
+Sir Wycherly succeeded in uttering the name of "Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe," quite audibly.
+
+"This is plain enough," resumed the vice-admiral; "how does the sentence
+read now, Atwood?"
+
+"'_Imprimis:_--I do hereby constitute and appoint Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe of Wychecombe-Regis, in the county of Herts, Baronet, the
+executor of this my said will, &c.'"
+
+"If that clause is to your liking, Sir Wycherly, have the goodness to
+give the sign agreed on."
+
+The sick man smiled, nodded his head, raised his hand, and looked
+anxiously at his kinsman.
+
+"I consent to serve, Sir Wycherly, if such is your desire," observed the
+nominee, who detected the meaning of his kinsman's look.
+
+"And now, sir," continued the vice-admiral; "it is necessary to ask you
+a few questions, in order that Atwood may know what next to write. Is it
+your desire to bequeath any real estate?" Sir Wycherly assented. "Do you
+wish to bequeath _all_ your real estate?" The same sign of assent was
+given. "Do you wish to bequeath _all_ to one person?" The sign of assent
+was given to this also. "This makes plain sailing, and a short
+run,--hey! Atwood?"
+
+The secretary wrote as fast as possible, and in two or three minutes he
+read aloud, as follows--
+
+"'Secondly, I make and declare the following bequests or devises--that
+is to say, I give and bequeath to ---- ---- of ------, all the real
+estate of which I may die seised, together with all the houses,
+tenements, hereditaments, and appurtenances thereunto belonging, and all
+my rights to the same, whether in law or equity, to be possessed and
+enjoyed by the said ---- ---- of ------ in fee, by ---- heirs,
+executors, administrators, or assigns, for ever.' There are blanks for
+the name and description, as well as for the sex of the devisee," added
+the secretary.
+
+"All very proper and legal, I believe, Sir Reginald?--I am glad you
+think so, sir. Now, Sir Wycherly, we wait for the name of the lucky
+person you mean thus to favour."
+
+"Sir Reginald Wychecombe," the sick man uttered, painfully;
+"half-blood--no _nullus_. Sir Michael's heir--_my_ heir."
+
+"This is plain English!" cried Sir Gervaise, in the way of a man who is
+not displeased; "put in the name of 'Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, Herts,' Atwood--ay--that justs fills the blank
+handsomely--you want '_his_ heirs, executors, &c.' in the other blank."
+
+"I beg your pardon, Sir Gervaise; it should read 'by _himself, his_
+heirs, &c.'"
+
+"Very true--very true, Atwood. Now read it slowly, and Sir Wycherly will
+assent, if he approve."
+
+This was done, and Sir Wycherly not only approved, but it was apparent
+to all present, the abashed and confounded Tom himself not excepted,
+that he approved, with a feeling akin to delight.
+
+"That gives a black eye to all the land,--hey! Atwood?" said Sir
+Gervaise; who, by this time, had entered into the business in hand, with
+all the interest of a regular notary--or, rather, with that of one, on
+whose shoulders rested the responsibility of success or failure. "We
+come next to the personals. Do you wish to bequeath your furniture,
+wines, horses, carriages, and other things of that sort, to any
+particular person, Sir Wycherly?"
+
+"All--Sir Reginald--Wychecombe--half-blood--old Sir Michael's heir,"
+answered the testator.
+
+"Good--clap that down, Atwood, for it is doing the thing, as I like to
+see family affairs settled. As soon as you are ready, let us hear how it
+sounds in writing."
+
+"I furthermore bequeath to the said Sir Reginald Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe-Regis, as aforesaid, baronet, all my personal property,
+whatsoever,'" read Atwood, as soon as ready; "'including furniture,
+wines, pictures, books, horses and carriages, and all other goods and
+chattels, of which I may die possessed, excepting thereout and
+therefrom, nevertheless, such sums in money, stocks, bonds, notes, or
+other securities for debts, or such articles as I may in this instrument
+especially devise to any other person.' We can now go to especial
+legacies, Sir Gervaise, and then another clause may make Sir Reginald
+residuary legatee, if such be Sir Wycherly's pleasure."
+
+"If you approve of that clause, my dear sir, make the usual sign of
+assent."
+
+Sir Wycherly both raised his hand and nodded his head, evidently quite
+satisfied.
+
+"Now, my good sir, we come to the pounds--no--guineas? You like that
+better--well, I confess that it sounds better on the ear, and is more in
+conformity with the habits of gentlemen. Will you now bequeath guineas?
+Good--first name the legatee--is that right, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"Quite right, Sir Gervaise; and Sir Wycherly will understand that he now
+names the first person to whom he wishes to bequeath any thing else."
+
+"Milly," muttered the sick man.
+
+"What? Mills!--the mills go with the lands, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"He means Miss Mildred Dutton," eagerly interposed Wycherly, though with
+sufficient modesty.
+
+"Yes--right--right," added the testator. "Little Milly--Milly
+Dutton--good little Milly."
+
+Sir Gervaise hesitated, and looked round at Bluewater, as much as to say
+"this is bringing coals to Newcastle;" but Atwood took the idea, and
+wrote the bequest, in the usual form.
+
+"'I give and bequeath to Mildred Dutton,'" he read aloud, "'daughter of
+Francis Dutton of the Royal Navy, the sum of ----' what sum shall I fill
+the blank with, Sir Wycherly?"
+
+"Three--three--yes, three."
+
+"Hundreds or thousands, my good sir?" asked Sir Gervaise, a little
+surprised at the amount of the bequest.
+
+"Guineas--three--thousand--guineas--five per cents."
+
+"That's as plain as logarithms. Give the young lady three thousand
+guineas in the fives, Atwood."
+
+"'I give and bequeath to Mildred Dutton, daughter of Francis Dutton of
+the Royal Navy, the sum of three thousand guineas in the five per cent.
+stocks of this kingdom.' Will that do, Sir Wycherly?"
+
+The old man looked at Mildred and smiled benevolently; for, at that
+moment, he felt he was placing the pure and lovely girl above the
+ordinary contingencies of her situation, by rendering her independent.
+
+"Whose name shall we next insert, Sir Wycherly?" resumed the
+vice-admiral. "There must be many more of these guineas left."
+
+"Gregory--and--James--children of my brother Thomas--Baron
+Wychecombe--five thousand guineas each," added the testator, making a
+great effort to express his meaning as clearly as possible.
+
+He was understood; and, after a short consultation with the
+vice-admiral, Atwood wrote out the devise at length.
+
+"'I give and bequeath to my nephews, Gregory and James Wychecombe, the
+reputed sons of my late brother, Thomas Wychecombe, one of the Barons of
+His Majesty's Exchequer, the sum of five thousand guineas, each, in the
+five per cent. funded debt of this kingdom.'"
+
+"Do you approve of the devise, Sir Wycherly? if so, make the usual sign
+of assent?"
+
+Sir Wycherly complied, as in all the previous cases of his approval.
+
+"Whose name shall we next insert, in readiness for a legacy, Sir
+Wycherly?" asked the admiral.
+
+Here was a long pause, the baronet evidently turning over in his mind,
+what he had done, and what yet remained to do.
+
+"Spread yourselves, my friends, in such a way as to permit the testator
+to see you all," continued the vice-admiral, motioning with his hand to
+widen the circle around the bed, which had been contracted a little by
+curiosity and interest; "stand more this way, _Lieutenant Wycherly
+Wychecombe_, that the ladies may see and be seen; and you, too, Mr.
+Thomas Wychecombe, come further in front, where your uncle will observe
+you."
+
+This speech pretty exactly reflected the workings of the speaker's mind.
+The idea that Wycherly was a natural child of the baronet's,
+notwithstanding the Virginian story, was uppermost in his thoughts; and,
+taking the supposed fact in connection with the young man's merit, he
+earnestly desired to obtain a legacy for him. As for Tom, he cared
+little whether his name appeared in the will or not. Justice was now
+substantially done, and the judge's property being sufficient for his
+wants, the present situation of the lately reputed heir excited but
+little sympathy. Nevertheless, Sir Gervaise thought it would be
+generous, under the circumstances, to remind the testator that such a
+being as Tom Wychecombe existed.
+
+"Here is your nephew, Mr. Thomas, Sir Wycherly," he said; "is it your
+wish to let his name appear in your will?"
+
+The sick man smiled coldly; but he moved his head, as much as to imply
+assent.
+
+"'I give and bequeath to Thomas Wychecombe, the eldest reputed son of my
+late brother, Thomas, one of the Barons of His Majesty's Exchequer,'"
+read Atwood, when the clause was duly written; "'the sum of ----, in the
+five per cent. stocks of this kingdom.'"
+
+"What sum will you have inserted, Sir Wycherly?" asked the vice-admiral.
+
+"Fifty--fifty--_pounds_" said the testator, in a voice clearer and
+fuller than he had before used that day.
+
+The necessary words were immediately inserted; the clause, as completed,
+was read again, and the approval was confirmed by a distinctly
+pronounced "yes." Tom started, but, as all the others maintained their
+self-command, the business of the moment did not the less proceed.
+
+"Do you wish any more names introduced into your will, Sir Wycherly?"
+asked the vice-admiral. "You have bequeathed but--a-a-a--how much--hey!
+Atwood?--ay, ten and three are thirteen, and fifty _pounds_, make
+L13,180; and I hear you have L20,000 funded, besides loose cash, beyond
+a doubt."
+
+"Ann Larder--Samuel Cork--Richard Bitts--David Brush--Phoebe Keys," said
+Sir Wycherly, slowly, giving time after each pause, for Atwood to write;
+naming his cook, butler, groom, valet or body-servant, and housekeeper,
+in the order they have been laid before the reader.
+
+"How much to each, Sir Wycherly?--I see Atwood has made short work, and
+put them all in the same clause--that will never do, unless the legacies
+are the same."
+
+"Good--good--right," muttered the testator;
+"L200--each--L1000--all--money--money."
+
+This settled the point, and the clause was regularly written, read, and
+approved.
+
+"This raises the money bequests to L14,180, Sir Wycherly--some 6 or
+L7000 more must remain to be disposed of. Stand a little further this
+way, if you please, Mr. _Wycherly_ Wychecombe, and allow the ladies more
+room. Whose name shall we insert next, sir?"
+
+Sir Wycherly, thus directed by the eager desire of the admiral to serve
+the gallant lieutenant, fastened his eyes on the young man, regarding
+him quite a minute in silent attention.
+
+"Virginian--same name--American--colonies--good lad--_brave_
+lad--L1000," muttered the sick man between his teeth; and, yet so
+breathless was the quiet of the chamber, at that moment, every syllable
+was heard by all present. "Yes--L1000--Wycherly Wychecombe--royal
+navy--"
+
+Atwood's pen was running rapidly over the paper, and had just reached
+the name of the contemplated legatee, when his hand was arrested by the
+voice of the young man himself.
+
+"Stop, Mr. Atwood--do not insert any clause in my favour!" cried
+Wycherly, his face the colour of crimson, and his chest heaving with the
+emotions he felt it so difficult to repress. "I decline the legacy--it
+will be useless to write it, as I will not receive a shilling."
+
+"Young sir," said Sir Gervaise, with a little of the severity of a
+superior, when he rebukes an interior, in his manner; "you speak
+hastily. It is not the office of an auditor or of a spectator, to repel
+the kindness of a man about to pass from the face of the earth, into the
+more immediate presence of his God!"
+
+"I have every sentiment of respect for Sir Wycherly Wychecombe,
+sir;--every friendly wish for his speedy recovery, and a long evening to
+his life; but, I will accept of the money of no man who holds my country
+in such obvious distaste, as, it is apparent, the testator holds mine."
+
+"You are an Englishman, I believe, _Lieutenant_ Wychecombe; and a
+servant of King George II.?"
+
+"I am _not_ an Englishman, Sir Gervaise Oakes--but an American; a
+Virginian, entitled to all the rights and privileges of a British
+subject. I am no more an Englishman, than Dr. Magrath may lay claim to
+the same character."
+
+"This is putting the case strongly,--hey! Atwood?" answered the
+vice-admiral, smiling in spite of the occasion. "I am far from saying
+that you are an Englishman, in all senses, sir; but you are one in the
+sense that gives you national character and national rights. You are a
+_subject_ of _England_."
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise; your pardon. I am the subject of George II., but in
+no manner a subject of _England_. I am, in one sense, perhaps, a subject
+of the British empire; but I am not the less a Virginian, and an
+American. Not a shilling of any man's money will I ever touch, who
+expresses his contempt for either."
+
+"You forget yourself, young man, and overlook the future. The hundred or
+two of prize-money, bought at the expense of your blood, in the late
+affair at Groix, will not last for ever."
+
+"It is gone, already, sir, every shilling of it having been sent to the
+widow of the boatswain who was killed at my side. I am no beggar, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes, though only an American. I am the owner of a plantation,
+which affords me a respectable independence, already; and I do not serve
+from necessity, but from choice. Perhaps, if Sir Wycherly knew this, he
+would consent to omit my name. I honour and respect him; would gladly
+relieve his distress, either of body or mind; but I cannot consent to
+accept his money when offered on terms I consider humiliating."
+
+This was said modestly, but with a warmth and sincerity which left no
+doubt that the speaker was in earnest. Sir Gervaise too much respected
+the feelings of the young man to urge the matter any further, and he
+turned towards the bed, in expectation of what the sick man might next
+say. Sir Wycherly heard and understood all that passed, and it did not
+fail to produce an impression, even in the state to which he was
+reduced. Kind-hearted, and indisposed to injure even a fly, all the
+natural feelings of the old man resumed their ascendency, and he would
+gladly have given every shilling of his funded property to be able
+freely to express his compunction at having ever uttered a syllable that
+could offend sensibilities so noble and generous. But this exceeded his
+powers, and he was fain to do the best he could, in the painful
+situation in which he was placed.
+
+"Noble fellow!" he stuttered out; "honour to name--come here--Sir
+Gervaise--bring here--"
+
+"I believe it is the wish of Sir Wycherly, that you would draw near the
+bed, Mr. Wychecombe of _Virginia_," said the vice-admiral, pithily,
+though he extended a hand to, and smiled kindly on, the youth as the
+latter passed him in compliance.
+
+The sick man now succeeded, with a good deal of difficulty, in drawing a
+valuable signet-ring from a finger.--This ring bore the Wychecombe arms,
+engraved on it. It was without the bloody hand, however; for it was far
+older than the order of baronets, having, as Wycherly well knew, been
+given by one of the Plantagenet Dukes to an ancestor of the family,
+during the French wars of Henry VI., and that, too, in commemoration of
+some signal act of gallantry in the field.
+
+"Wear this--noble fellow--honour to name," said Sir Wycherly. "_Must_ be
+descended--all Wychecombes descended--him--"
+
+"I thank you, Sir Wycherly, for this present, which I prize as it ought
+to be prized," said Wycherly, every trace of any other feeling than that
+of gratitude having vanished from his countenance. "I may have no claims
+to your honours or money; but this ring I need not be ashamed to wear,
+since it was bestowed on one who was as much _my_ ancestor, as he was
+the ancestor of any Wychecombe in England."
+
+"Legitimate?" cried Tom, a fierce feeling of resentment upsetting his
+caution and cunning.
+
+"Yes, sir, _legitimate_," answered Wycherly, turning to his
+interrogator, with the calmness of one conscious of his own truth, and
+with a glance of the eye that caused Tom to shrink back again into the
+circle. "I need no _bar_, to enable me to use this seal, which, you may
+perceive, Sir Gervaise Oakes, is a _fac simile_ of the one I ordinarily
+wear, and which was transmitted to me from my direct ancestors."
+
+The vice-admiral compared the seal on Wycherly's watch-chain with that
+on the ring, and, the bearings being principally griffins, he was
+enabled to see that one was the exact counterpart of the other. Sir
+Reginald advanced a step, and when the admiral had satisfied himself, he
+also took the two seals and compared them. As all the known branches of
+the Wychecombes of Wychecombe, bore the same arms, viz., griffins for
+Wychecombe, with three battering-rams quartered, for Wycherly,--he saw,
+at once, that the young man habitually carried about his person, this
+proof of a common origin. Sir Reginald knew very well that arms were
+often assumed, as well as names, and the greater the obscurity of the
+individual who took these liberties, the greater was his impunity; but
+the seal was a very ancient one, and innovations on personal rights were
+far less frequent a century since, than they are to-day. Then the
+character and appearance of Wycherly put fraud out of the question, so
+far as the young lieutenant himself was concerned. Although the elder
+branch of the family, legitimately speaking, was reduced to the helpless
+old man who was now stretched upon his death-bed, his own had been
+extensive; and it well might be that some cadet of the Wychecombes of
+Wychecombe-Regis, had strayed into the colonies and left descendants.
+Secretly resolving to look more closely into these facts, he gravely
+returned the seals, and intimated to Sir Gervaise that the more
+important business before them had better proceed. On this hint, Atwood
+resumed the pen, and the vice-admiral his duties.
+
+"There want yet some 6 or L7000 to make up L20,000, Sir Wycherly, which
+I understand is the sum you have in the funds. Whose name or names will
+you have next inserted?"
+
+"Rotherham--vicar--poor St. James--gone; yes--Mr.--Rotherham--vicar."
+
+The clause was written, the sum of L1000 was inserted, and the whole was
+read and approved.
+
+"This still leaves us some L5000 more to deal with, my dear sir?"
+
+A long pause succeeded, during which time Sir Wycherly was deliberating
+what to do with the rest of his ready money. At length his wandering eye
+rested on the pale features of Mrs. Dutton; and, while he had a sort of
+liking, that proceeded from habit, for her husband, he remembered that
+she had many causes for sorrow. With a feeling that was creditable to
+his own heart, he uttered her name, and the sum of L2000. The clause was
+written, accordingly, read and approved.
+
+"We have still L3000 certainly, if not L4000," added Sir Gervaise.
+
+"Milly--dear little--Milly--pretty Milly," stammered out the baronet,
+affectionately.
+
+"This must go into a codicil, Sir Gervaise," interrupted Atwood; "there
+being already one legacy in the young lady's favour. Shall it be one,
+two, three, or four thousand pounds, Sir Wycherly, in favour of Miss
+Mildred, to whom you have already bequeathed L3000."
+
+The sick man muttered the words "three thousand," after a short pause,
+adding "codicil."
+
+His wishes were complied with, and the whole was read and approved.
+After this, Sir Gervaise inquired if the testator wished to make any
+more devises. Sir Wycherly, who had in effect bequeathed, within a few
+hundred pounds, all he had to bestow, bethought himself, for a few
+moments, of the state of his affairs, and then he signified his
+satisfaction with what had been done.
+
+"As it is possible, Sir Wycherly, that you may have overlooked
+something," said Sir Gervaise, "and it is better that nothing should
+escheat to the crown, I will suggest the expediency of your making some
+one residuary legatee."
+
+The poor old man smiled an assent, and then he succeeded in muttering
+the name of "Sir Reginald Wychecombe."
+
+This clause, like all the others, was written, read, and approved. The
+will was now completed, and preparations were made to read it carefully
+over to the intended testator. In order that this might be done with
+sufficient care for future objections, the two admirals and Atwood, who
+were selected for the witnesses, each read the testament himself, in
+order to say that nothing was laid before the testator but that which
+was fairly contained in the instrument, and that nothing was omitted.
+When all was ready, the will was audibly and slowly read to Sir
+Wycherly, by the secretary, from the beginning to the end. The old man
+listened with great attention; smiled when Mildred's name was mentioned;
+and clearly expressed, by signs and words, his entire satisfaction when
+all was ended. It remained only to place a pen in his hand, and to give
+him such assistance as would enable him to affix his name twice; once to
+the body of the instrument; and, when this was duly witnessed, then
+again to the codicil. By this time, Tom Wychecombe thought that the
+moment for interposing had arrived. He had been on thorns during the
+whole proceeding, forming desperate resolutions to sustain the bold
+fraud of his legitimacy, and thus take all the lands and heirlooms of
+the estate, under the entail; still he well knew that a subordinate but
+important question might arise, as between the validity of the two
+wills, in connection with Sir Wycherly's competency to make the last. It
+was material, therefore, in his view of the case, to enter a protest.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, advancing to the foot of the bed; "I call on you
+all to observe the nature of this whole transaction. My poor, beloved,
+but misled uncle, no longer ago than last night, was struck with a fit
+of apoplexy, or something so very near it as to disqualify him to judge
+in these matters; and here he is urged to make a will--"
+
+"By whom, sir?" demanded Sir Gervaise, with a severity of tone that
+induced the speaker to fall back a step.
+
+"Why, sir, in my judgment, by all in the room. If not with their
+tongues, at least with their eyes."
+
+"And why should all in the room do this? Am I a legatee?--is Admiral
+Bluewater to be a gainer by this will?--_can_ witnesses to a will be
+legatees?"
+
+"I do not wish to dispute the matter with you, Sir Gervaise Oakes; but I
+solemnly protest against this irregular and most extraordinary manner of
+making a will. Let all who hear me, remember this, and be ready to
+testify to it when called on in a court of justice."
+
+Here Sir Wycherly struggled to rise in the bed, in evident excitement,
+gesticulating strongly to express his disgust, and his wish for his
+nephew to withdraw. But the physicians endeavoured to pacify him, while
+Atwood, with the paper spread on a port-folio, and a pen in readiness,
+coolly proceeded to obtain the necessary signatures. Sir Wycherly's hand
+trembled so much when it received the pen, that, for the moment, writing
+was out of the question, and it became necessary to administer a
+restorative in order to strengthen his nerves.
+
+"Away--out of sight," muttered the excited baronet, leaving no doubt on
+all present, that the uppermost feeling of the moment was the strong
+desire to rid himself of the presence of the offensive object. "Sir
+Reginald--little Milly--poor servants--brothers--all the rest, stay."
+
+"Just be calming the mind, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe," put in Magrath,
+"and ye'll be solacing the body by the same effort. When the mind is in
+a state of exaltation, the nervous system is apt to feel the influence
+of sympathy. By bringing the two in harmonious co-operation, the
+testamentary devises will have none the less of validity, either in
+reality or in appearances."
+
+Sir Wycherly understood the surgeon, and he struggled for self-command.
+He raised the pen, and succeeded in getting its point on the proper
+place. Then his dim eye lighted, and shot a reproachful glance at Tom;
+he smiled in a ghastly manner, looked towards the paper, passed a hand
+across his brow, closed his eyes, and fell back on the pillow, utterly
+unconscious of all that belonged to life, its interests, its duties, or
+its feelings. In ten minutes, he ceased to breathe.
+
+Thus died Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, after a long life, in which general
+qualities of a very negative nature, had been somewhat relieved, by
+kindness of feeling, a passive if not an active benevolence, and such a
+discharge of his responsible duties as is apt to flow from an absence of
+any qualities that are positively bad; as well as of many of material
+account, that are affirmatively good.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+    "Come ye, who still the cumbrous load of life
+      Push hard up hill; but at the farthest steep
+    You trust to gain, and put on end to strife,
+      Down thunders back the stone with mighty sweep,
+      And hurls your labours to the valley deep;--"
+
+         THOMSON.
+
+
+The sudden, and, in some measure, unlooked-for event, related in the
+close of the last chapter, produced a great change in the condition of
+things at Wychecombe Hall. The first step was to make sure that the
+baronet was actually dead; a fact that Sir Gervaise Oakes, in
+particular, was very unwilling to believe, in the actual state of his
+feelings. Men often fainted, and apoplexy required _three_ blows to
+kill; the sick man might still revive, and at least be able to execute
+his so clearly expressed intentions.
+
+"Ye'll never have act of any sort, testamentary or matrimonial, legal or
+illegal, in this life, from the late Sir Wycherly Wychecombe of
+Wychecombe Hall, Devonshire," coolly observed Magrath, as he collected
+the different medicines and instruments he had himself brought forth for
+the occasion. "He's far beyond the jurisdiction of My Lord High
+Chancellor of the college of Physicians and Surgeons; and therefore,
+ye'll be acting prudently to consider him as deceased; or, in the light
+in which the human body is placed by the cessation of all the animal
+functions."
+
+This decided the matter, and the necessary orders were given; all but
+the proper attendants quitting the chamber of death. It would be far
+from true to say that no one lamented Sir Wycherly Wychecombe. Both Mrs.
+Dutton and Mildred grieved for his sudden end, and wept sincerely for
+his loss; though totally without a thought of its consequences to
+themselves. The daughter did not even once think how near she had been
+to the possession of L6000, and how unfortunately the cup of comparative
+affluence had been dashed from her lips; though truth compels us to avow
+that the mother did once recall this circumstance, with a feeling akin
+to regret. A similar recollection had its influence on the
+manifestations of sorrow that flowed from others. The domestics, in
+particular, were too much astounded to indulge in any very abstracted
+grief, and Sir Gervaise and Atwood were both extremely vexed. In short,
+the feelings, usual to such occasions were but little indulged in,
+though there was a strict observance of decorum.
+
+Sir Reginald Wychecombe noted these circumstances attentively, and he
+took his measures accordingly. Seizing a favourable moment to consult
+with the two admirals, his decision was soon made; and, within an hour
+after his kinsman's death, all the guests and most of the upper servants
+were assembled in the room, which it was the usage of the house to call
+the library; though the books were few, and seldom read. Previously,
+there had been a consultation between Sir Reginald and the two admirals,
+to which Atwood had been admitted, _ex officio_. As every thing,
+therefore, had been arranged in advance, there was no time lost
+unnecessarily, when the company was collected; the Hertfordshire baronet
+coming to the point at once, and that in the clearest manner.
+
+"Gentlemen, and you, good people, domestics of the late Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe," he commenced; "you are all acquainted with the unfortunate
+state of this household. By the recent death of its master, it is left
+without a head; and the deceased departing this life a bachelor, there
+is no child to assume his place, as the natural and legal successor. In
+one sense, I might be deemed the next of kin; though, by a _dictum_ of
+the common law I have no claim to the succession. Nevertheless, you all
+know it was the intention of our late friend to constitute me his
+executor, and I conceive it proper that search should now be made for a
+will, which, by being duly executed, must dispose of all in this house,
+and let us know who is entitled to command at this solemn and important
+moment. It strikes me, Sir Gervaise Oakes, that the circumstances are so
+peculiar as to call for prompt proceedings."
+
+"I fully agree with you, Sir Reginald," returned the vice-admiral; "but
+before we proceed any further, I would suggest the propriety of having
+as many of those present as possible, who have an interest in the
+result. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, the reputed nephew of the deceased, I do
+not see among us."
+
+On examination, this was found to be true, and the man of Tom
+Wychecombe, who had been ordered by his master to be present as a spy,
+was immediately sent to the latter, with a request that he would attend.
+After a delay of two or three minutes, the fellow returned with the
+answer.
+
+"Sir Thomas Wychecombe's compliments, gentlemen," he said, "and he
+desires to know the object of your request. He is in his room, indulging
+in natural grief for his recent loss; and he prefers to be left alone
+with his sorrows, just at this moment, if it be agreeable to you."
+
+This was taking high ground in the commencement; and, as the man had his
+cue, and delivered his message with great distinctness and steadiness,
+the effect on the dependants of the household was very evident. Sir
+Reginald's face flushed, while Sir Gervaise bit his lip; Bluewater
+played with the hilt of his sword, very indifferent to all that was
+passing; while Atwood and the surgeons shrugged their shoulders and
+smiled. The first of these persons well knew that Tom had no shadow of a
+claim to the title he had been in so much haste to assume, however, and
+he hoped that the feebleness of his rights in all particulars, was
+represented by the mixed feebleness and impudence connected with this
+message. Determined not to be bullied from his present purpose,
+therefore, he turned to the servant and sent him back with a second
+message, that did not fail of its object. The man was directed to inform
+his master, that Sir Reginald Wychecombe was in possession of facts
+that, in his opinion, justified the course he was taking, and if "Mr.
+Thomas Wychecombe" did not choose to appear, in order to look after his
+own interests, he should proceed without him. This brought Tom into the
+room, his face pale with uncertainty, rather than with grief, and his
+mind agitated with such apprehensions as are apt to beset even the most
+wicked, when they take their first important step in evil. He bowed,
+however, to the company with an air that he intended to represent the
+manner of a well-bred man acknowledging his duties to respected guests.
+
+"If I appear remiss in any of the duties of a host, gentlemen," he said,
+"you will overlook it, I trust, in consideration of my present feelings.
+Sir Wycherly was my father's elder brother, and was very dear, as he was
+very _near_ to me. By this melancholy death, Sir Reginald, I am suddenly
+and unexpectedly elevated to be the head of our ancient and honourable
+family; but I know my own personal unworthiness to occupy that
+distinguished place, and feel how much better it would be filled by
+yourself. Although the law has placed a wide and impassable barrier
+between all of your branch of the family and ourselves, I shall ever be
+ready to acknowledge the affinity, and to confess that it does us quite
+as much honour as it bestows."
+
+Sir Reginald, by a great effort, commanded himself so far as to return
+the bow, and apparently to receive the condescending admissions of the
+speech, with a proper degree of respect.
+
+"Sir, I thank you," he answered, with formal courtesy; "no affinity that
+can be properly and legally established, will ever be disavowed by me.
+Under present circumstances, however, summoned as I have been to the
+side of his death-bed, by the late Sir Wycherly, himself, and named by
+him, as one might say, with his dying breath, as his executor, I feel it
+a duty to inquire into the rights of all parties, and, if possible, to
+ascertain who is the successor, and consequently who has the best claim
+to command here."
+
+"You surely do not attach any validity, Sir Reginald, to the pretended
+will that was so singularly drawn up in my dear uncle's presence, an
+hour before he died! Had that most extraordinary instrument been duly
+signed and sealed, I cannot think that the Doctor's Commons would
+sustain it; but _unsigned_ and _unsealed_, it is no better than so much
+waste paper."
+
+"As respects the real estate, sir, though so great a loser by the delay
+of five minutes, I am willing to admit that you are right. With regard
+to the personals, a question in equity--one of clearly-expressed
+intention--might possibly arise; though even of that I am by no means
+certain."
+
+"No, sir; no--" cried Tom, a glow of triumph colouring his cheek, in
+spite of every effort to appear calm; "no English court would ever
+disturb the natural succession to the personals! I am the last man to
+wish to disturb some of these legacies--particularly that to Mr.
+Rotherham, and those to the poor, faithful domestics,"--Tom saw the
+prudence of conciliating allies, at such a critical moment, and his
+declaration had an instant and strong effect, as was evident by the
+countenances of many of the listeners;--"and I may say, that to Miss
+Mildred Dutton; all of which will be duly paid, precisely as if my
+beloved uncle had been in his right mind, and had actually made the
+bequests; for this mixture of reason and justice, with wild and
+extraordinary conceits, is by no means uncommon among men of great age,
+and in their last moments. However, Sir Reginald, I beg you will
+proceed, and act as in your judgment the extraordinary circumstances of
+what may be called a very peculiar case, require."
+
+"I conceive it to be our duty, sir, to search for a will. If Sir
+Wycherly has actually died intestate, it will be time enough to inquire
+into the question of the succession at common law. I have here the keys
+of his private secretary; and Mr. Furlong, the land-steward, who has
+just arrived, and whom you see in the room, tells me Sir Wycherly was
+accustomed to keep all his valuable papers in this piece of furniture. I
+shall now proceed to open it."
+
+"Do so, Sir Reginald; no one can have a stronger desire than myself to
+ascertain my beloved uncle's pleasure. Those to whom he _seemed_ to wish
+to give, even, shall not be losers for the want of his name."
+
+Tom was greatly raised in the opinions of half in the room, by this
+artful declaration, which was effectually securing just so many friends,
+in the event of any occurrence that might render such support necessary.
+In the mean time, Sir Reginald, assisted by the steward, opened the
+secretary, and found the deposite of papers. The leases were all in
+order; the title-deeds were properly arranged; the books and accounts
+appeared to be exactly kept: ordinary bills and receipts were filed with
+method; two or three bags of guineas proved that ready cash was not
+wanting; and, in short, every thing showed that the deceased had left
+his affairs in perfect order, and in a very intelligible condition.
+Paper after paper, however, was opened, and nothing like a will, rough
+draft or copied, was to be found. Disappointment was strongly painted on
+the faces of all the gentlemen present; for, they had ignorantly imbibed
+the opinion, that the production of a will would, in some unknown
+manner, defeat the hopes of the _soi-disant_ Sir Thomas Wychecombe. Nor
+was Tom, himself, altogether without concern; for, since the recent
+change in his uncle's feelings towards himself, he had a secret
+apprehension that some paper might be found, to defeat all his hopes.
+Triumph, however, gradually assumed the place of fear, in the expression
+of his countenance; and when Mr. Furlong, a perfectly honest man,
+declared that, from the late baronet's habits, as well as from the
+result of this search, he did not believe that any such instrument
+existed, his feelings overflowed in language.
+
+"Not so fast, Master Furlong--not so fast," he cried; "here is something
+that possibly even your legal acumen may be willing to term a will. You
+perceive, gentlemen, I have it in my possession on good authority, as it
+is addressed to me by name, and that, too, in Sir Wycherly's own
+hand-writing; the envelope is sealed with his private seal. You will
+pronounce this to be my dear uncle's hand. Furlong,"--showing the
+superscription of the letter--"and this to be his seal?"
+
+"Both are genuine, gentlemen," returned the steward, with a sigh. "Thus
+far, Mr. Thomas is in the right."
+
+"_Mr._ Thomas, sirrah!--and why not _Sir_ Thomas? Are baronets addressed
+as other men, in England? But, no matter! There is a time for all
+things. Sir Gervaise Oakes, as you are perfectly indifferent in this
+affair, I ask of you the favour to break the seal, and to inquire into
+the contents of the paper?"
+
+The vice-admiral was not slow in complying; for, by this time, he began
+to feel an intense interest in the result. The reader will readily
+understand that Tom had handed to Sir Gervaise the will drawn up by his
+father, and which, after inserting his reputed nephew's name, Sir
+Wycherly had duly executed, and delivered to the person most interested.
+The envelope, address, and outer seal, Tom had obtained the very day the
+will was signed, after assuring himself of the contents of the latter,
+by six or eight careful perusals. The vice-admiral read the instrument
+from beginning to end, before he put it into the hands of Sir Reginald
+to examine. The latter fully expected to meet with a clumsy forgery; but
+the instant his eyes fell on the phraseology, he perceived that the will
+had been drawn by one expert in the law. A second look satisfied him
+that the hand was that of Mr. Baron Wychecombe. It has already been
+said, that in this instrument, Sir Wycherly bequeathed all he had on
+earth, to "his nephew, Thomas Wychecombe, son, &c., &c.," making his
+heir, also, his executor.
+
+"This will appears to me to have been drawn up by a very skilful lawyer;
+the late Baron Wychecombe," observed the baronet.
+
+"It was, Sir Reginald," answered Tom, endeavouring to appear
+unconcerned. "He did it to oblige my respected uncle, leaving blanks for
+the name of the devisee, not liking to make a will so very decidedly in
+favour of his own son. The writing in the blanks is by Sir Wycherly
+himself, leaving no doubts of _his_ intentions."
+
+"I do not see but you may claim to be the heir of Wychecombe, sir, as
+well as of the personals; though your claims to the baronetcy shall
+certainly be contested and defeated."
+
+"And why defeated?" demanded Wycherly, stepping forward for the first
+time, and speaking with a curiosity he found it difficult to control.
+"Is not Mr. Thomas--_Sir_ Thomas, I ought rather to say,--the eldest son
+of the late Sir Wycherly's next brother; and, as a matter of course,
+heir to the title, as well as to the estate?"
+
+"Not he, as I can answer from a careful examination of proofs. Mr. Baron
+Wychecombe was never married, and thus _could have_ no heir at law."
+
+"Is this possible!--How have we all been deceived then, in America!"
+
+"Why do you say this, young gentleman? Can _you_ have any legal claims
+here?"
+
+"I am Wycherly, the _only_ son of Wycherly, who was the eldest son of
+Gregory, the younger brother of the late baronet; and if what you say be
+true, the next in succession to the baronetcy, at least."
+
+"This is--" Tom's words stuck in his throat; for the quiet, stern eye of
+the young sailor met his look and warned him to be prudent.--"This is a
+_mistake_," he resumed. "My uncle Gregory was lost at sea, and died a
+bachelor. He can have left no lawful issue."
+
+"I must say, young gentleman," added Sir Reginald, gravely, "that such
+has always been the history of his fate. I have had too near an interest
+in this family, to neglect its annals."
+
+"I know, sir, that such has been the opinion here for more than half a
+century; but it was founded in error. The facts are simply these. My
+grandfather, a warm-hearted but impetuous young man, struck an older
+lieutenant, when ashore and on duty, in one of the West India Islands.
+The penalty was death; but, neither the party injured nor the commander
+of the vessel, wished to push matters to extremity, and the offender was
+advised to absent himself from the ship, at the moment of sailing. The
+injured party was induced to take this course, as in a previous quarrel,
+my grandfather had received his fire, without returning it; frankly
+admitting his fault. The ship did sail without Mr. Gregory Wychecombe,
+and was lost, every soul on board perishing. My grandfather passed into
+Virginia, where he remained a twelvemonth, suppressing his story, lest
+its narration might lead to military punishment. Love next sealed his
+future fate. He married a woman of fortune, and though his history was
+well known in his own retired circle, it never spread beyond it. No one
+supposed him near the succession, and there was no motive for stating
+the fact, on account of his interests. Once he wrote to Sir Wycherly,
+but he suppressed the letter, as likely to give more pain than pleasure.
+That letter I now have, and in his own hand-writing. I have also his
+commission, and all the other proofs of identity that such a person
+would be apt to possess. They are as complete as any court in
+Christendom would be likely to require, for he never felt a necessity
+for changing his name. He has been dead but two years, and previously to
+dying he saw that every document necessary to establish my claim, should
+a moment for enforcing it ever arrive, was put in such a legal form as
+to admit of no cavilling. He outlived my own father, but none of us
+thought there was any motive for presenting ourselves, as all believed
+that the sons of Baron Wychecombe were legitimate. I can only say, sir,
+that I have complete legal evidence that I am heir at law of Gregory,
+the younger brother of the late Sir Wycherly Wychecombe. Whether the
+fact will give me any rights here, you best can say."
+
+"It will make you heir of entail to this estate, master of this house,
+and of most of what it contains, and the present baronet. You have only
+to prove what you say, to defeat every provision of this will, with the
+exception of that which refers to the personal estate."
+
+"Bravo!" cried Sir Gervaise, fairly rubbing his hands with delight.
+"Bravo, Dick; if we were aboard the Plantagenet, by the Lord, I'd turn
+the hands up, and have three cheers. So then, my brave young seaman, you
+turn out to be Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, after all!"
+
+"Yes, that's the way we always does, on board ship," observed Galleygo,
+to the group of domestics; "whenever any thing of a hallooing character
+turns up. Sometimes we makes a signal to Admiral Blue and the rest on
+'em, to 'stand by to cheer,' and all of us sets to, to cheer as if our
+stomachs was lull of hurrahs, and we wanted to get rid on 'em. If Sir
+Jarvy would just pass the word now, you'd have a taste of that 'ere
+custom, that would do your ears good for a twelvemonth. It's a cheering
+matter when the one of the trade falls heir to an estate."
+
+"And would this be a proper mode of settling a question of a right of
+property, Sir Gervaise Oakes?" asked Tom, with more of right and reason
+than he commonly had of his side; "and that, too, with my uncle lying
+dead beneath this roof?"
+
+"I acknowledge the justice of the reproof, young sir, and will say no
+more in the matter--at least, nothing as indiscreet as my last speech.
+Sir Reginald, you have the affair in hand, and I recommend it to your
+serious attention."
+
+"Fear nothing, Sir Gervaise," answered he of Hertfordshire. "Justice
+shall be done in the premises, if justice rule in England. Your story,
+young gentleman, is probable, and naturally told, and I see a family
+likeness between you and the Wychecombes, generally; a likeness that is
+certainly not to be traced in the person of the other claimant. Did the
+point depend on the legitimacy of Mr. Thomas Wychecombe, it might be
+easily determined, as I have his own mother's declaration to the fact of
+his illegitimacy, as well as of one other material circumstance that may
+possibly unsettle even the late Baron Wychecombe's will. But this
+testamentary devise of Sir Wycherly appears to be perfect, and nothing
+but the entail can defeat it. You speak of your proofs; where are they?
+It is all-important to know which party is entitled to possession."
+
+"Here they are, sir," answered Wycherly, removing a belt from his body,
+and producing his papers; "not in the originals, certainly; for most of
+_them_ are matters of official record, in Virginia; but in, what the
+lawyers call 'exemplified copies,' and which I am told are in a fit
+state to be read as evidence in any court in England, that can take
+cognizance of the matter."
+
+Sir Reginald took the papers, and began to read them, one by one, and
+with deep attention. The evidence of the identity of the grandfather was
+full, and of the clearest nature. He had been recognised as an old
+schoolfellow, by one of the governors of the colony, and it was at this
+gentleman's suggestion that he had taken so much pains to perpetuate the
+evidence of his identity. Both the marriages, one with Jane Beverly, and
+the other with Rebecca Randolph, were fully substantiated, as were the
+two births. The personal identity of the young man, and this too as the
+only son of Wycherly, the _eldest_ son of Gregory, was well certified
+to, and in a way that could leave no doubt as to the person meant. In a
+word, the proofs were such as a careful and experienced lawyer would
+have prepared, in a case that admitted of no doubt, and which was liable
+to be contested in a court of law. Sir Reginald was quite half an hour
+in looking over the papers; and during this time, every eye in the room
+was on him, watching the expression of his countenance with the utmost
+solicitude. At length, he finished his task, when he again turned to
+Wycherly.
+
+"These papers have been prepared with great method, and an acute
+knowledge of what might be required," he said. "Why have they been so
+long suppressed, and why did you permit Sir Wycherly to die in ignorance
+of your near affinity to him, and of your claims?"
+
+"Of my claims I was ignorant myself, believing not only Mr. Thomas
+Wychecombe, but his two brothers, to stand before me. This was the
+opinion of my grandfather, even when he caused these proofs to be
+perpetuated. They were given to me, that I might claim affinity to the
+family on my arrival in England; and it was the injunction of my
+grandfather that they should be worn on my person, until the moment
+arrived when I could use them."
+
+"This explains your not preferring the claim--why not prefer the
+relationship?"
+
+"What for, sir? I found America and Americans looked down on, in
+England--colonists spoken of as a race of inferior beings--of diminished
+stature, feebler intellects, and a waning spirit, as compared to those
+from whom they had so recently sprung; and I was too proud to confess an
+affinity where I saw it was not desired. When wounded, and expecting to
+die, I was landed here, at my own request, with an intention to state
+the facts; but, falling under the care of ministering angels,"--here
+Wycherly glanced his eye at Mildred and her mother--"I less felt the
+want of relatives. Sir Wycherly I honoured; but he too manifestly
+regarded us Americans as inferiors, to leave any wish to tell him I was
+his great-nephew."
+
+"I fear we are not altogether free from this reproach, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Sir Reginald, thoughtfully. "We do appear to think there is
+something in the air of this part of the island, that renders us better
+than common. Nay, if a claim comes from _over water_, let it be what it
+may, it strikes us as a foreign and inadmissible claim. The fate from
+which even princes are not exempt, humbler men must certainly submit
+to!"
+
+"I can understand the feeling, and I think it honourable to the young
+man. Admiral Bluewater, you and I have had occasion often to rebuke this
+very spirit in our young officers; and you will agree with me when I say
+that this gentleman has acted naturally, in acting as he has."
+
+"I must corroborate what you say, Sir Gervaise," answered Bluewater;
+"and, as one who has seen much of the colonies, and who is getting to be
+an old man, I venture to predict that this very feeling, sooner or
+later, will draw down upon England its own consequences, in the shape of
+condign punishment."
+
+"I don't go as far as that, Dick--I don't go as far as that. But it is
+unwise and unsound, and we, who know both hemispheres, ought to set our
+faces against it. We have already some gallant fellows from that quarter
+of the world among us, and I hope to live to see more."
+
+This, let it be remembered, was said before the Hallowells, and Coffins,
+and Brentons of our own times, were enrolled in a service that has since
+become foreign to that of the land of their birth; but it was prophetic
+of their appearance, and of that of many other high names from the
+colonies, in the lists of the British marine. Wycherly smiled proudly,
+but he made no answer. All this time, Sir Reginald had been musing on
+what had passed.
+
+"It would seem, gentlemen," the latter now observed, "that, contrary to
+our belief, there is an heir to the baronetcy, as well as to the estate
+of Wychecombe; and all our regrets that the late incumbent did not live
+to execute the will we had drawn at his request, have become useless.
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, I congratulate you, on thus succeeding to the
+honours and estates of your family; and, as a member of the last, I may
+be permitted to congratulate all of the name in being so worthily
+represented. For one of that family I cheerfully recognise you as its
+head and chief."
+
+Wycherly bowed his acknowledgments, receiving also the compliments of
+most of the others present. Tom Wychecombe, however, formed an
+exception, and instead of manifesting any disposition to submit to this
+summary disposal of his claims, he was brooding over the means of
+maintaining them. Detecting by the countenances of the upper servants
+that they were effectually bribed by his promise to pay the late
+baronet's legacies, he felt tolerably confident of support from that
+quarter. He well knew that possession was nine points of the law, and
+his thoughts naturally turned towards the means necessary to securing
+this great advantage. As yet, the two claimants were on a par, in this
+respect; for while the executed will might seem to give him a superior
+claim, no authority that was derived from an insufficient source would
+be deemed available in law; and Sir Wycherly had clearly no right to
+devise Wychecombe, so long as there existed an heir of entail. Both
+parties, too, were merely guests in the house; so that neither had any
+possession that would require a legal process to eject him. Tom had been
+entered at the Temple, and had some knowledge of the law of the land;
+more especially as related to real estate; and he was aware that there
+existed some quaint ceremony of taking possession, as it existed under
+the feudal system; but he was ignorant of the precise forms, and had
+some reasonable doubts how far they would benefit him, under the
+peculiar circumstances of this case. On the whole, therefore, he was
+disposed to try the effect of intimidation, by means of the advantages
+he clearly possessed, and of such little reason as the facts connected
+with his claim, allowed him to offer.
+
+"Sir Reginald Wychecombe," he said gravely, and with as much
+indifference as he could assume; "you have betrayed a facility of belief
+in this American history, that has surprised me in one with so high a
+reputation for prudence and caution. This sudden revival of the dead may
+answer for the credulous lovers of marvels, but it would hardly do for a
+jury of twelve sober-minded and sworn men. Admitting the whole of this
+gentleman's statement to be true, however, you will not deny the late
+Sir Wycherly's right to make a will, if he only devised his old shoes;
+and, having this right, that of naming his executor necessarily
+accompanied it. Now, sir, I am clearly that executor, and as such I
+demand leave to exercise my functions in this house, as its temporary
+master at least."
+
+"Not so fast--not so fast, young sir. Wills must be proved and executors
+qualified, before either has any validity. Then, again, Sir Wycherly
+could only give authority over that which was his own. The instant he
+ceased to breathe, his brother Gregory's grandson became the life-tenant
+of this estate, the house included; and I advise him to assert that
+right, trusting to the validity of his claim, for his justification in
+law, should it become necessary. In these matters he who is right is
+safe; while he who is wrong must take the consequences of his own acts.
+Mr. Furlong, your steward-ship ceased with the life of your principal;
+if you have any keys or papers to deliver, I advise your placing them in
+the hands of this gentleman, whom, beyond all cavil, I take to be the
+rightful Sir Wycherly Wychecombe."
+
+Furlong was a cautious, clear-headed, honest man, and with every desire
+to see Tom defeated, he was tenacious of doing his duty. He led Sir
+Reginald aside, therefore, and examined him, at some length, touching
+the nature of the proofs that had been offered; until, quite satisfied
+that there could be no mistake, he declared his willingness to comply
+with the request.
+
+"Certainly, I hold the keys of the late Sir Wycherly's papers,--those
+that have just been seen in the search for the will," he said, "and have
+every wish to place them in the hands of their proper owner. Here they
+are, Sir Wycherly; though I would advise you to remove the bags of gold
+that are in the secretary, to some other place; as _those_ your uncle
+had a right to bequeath to whom he saw fit. Every thing else in the
+secretary goes with the estate; as do the plate, furniture, and other
+heir-looms of the Hall."
+
+"I thank you, Mr. Furlong, and I will first use these keys to follow
+your advice," answered the new baronet; "then I will return them to you
+with a request that you will still retain the charge of all your former
+duties."
+
+This was no sooner said than done; Wycherly placing the bags of gold on
+the floor, until some other place of security could be provided.
+
+"All that I legally can, Sir Wycherly, will I cheerfully do, in order to
+aid you in the assertion of your right; though I do not see how I can
+transfer more than I hold. _Qui facit per alium, facit per se_, is good
+law, Sir Reginald; but the principal must have power to act, before the
+deputy can exercise authority. It appears to me that this is a case, in
+which each party stands on his own rights, at his own peril. The
+possession of the farms is safe enough, for the time being, with the
+tenants; but as to the Hall and Park, there would seem to be no one in
+the legal occupancy. This makes a case in which title is immediately
+available."
+
+"Such is the law, Mr. Furlong, and I advise Sir Wycherly to take
+possession of the key of the outer door at once, as master of the
+tenement."
+
+No sooner was this opinion given, than Wycherly left the room, followed
+by all present to the hall. Here he proceeded alone to the vestibule,
+locked the great door of the building, and put the key in his pocket.
+This act was steadily performed, and in a way to counteract, in a great
+degree, the effect on the domestics, of Tom's promises concerning the
+legacies. At the same moment, Furlong whispered something in the ear of
+Sir Reginald.
+
+"Now you are quietly in possession, Sir Wycherly," said the latter,
+smiling; "there is no necessity of keeping us all prisoners in order to
+maintain your claims. David, the usual porter, Mr. Furlong tells me, is
+a faithful servant, and if he will accept of the key as _your_ agent it
+may be returned to him with perfect legal safety."
+
+As David cheerfully assented to this proposition, the key was put into
+his hands again, and the new Sir Wycherly was generally thought to be in
+possession. Nor did Tom dare to raise the contemplated question of his
+own legitimacy before Sir Reginald, who, he had discovered, possessed a
+clue to the facts; and he consequently suppressed, for the moment at
+least, the certificate of marriage he had so recently forged. Bowing
+round to the whole company, therefore, with a sort of sarcastic
+compliance, he stalked off to his own room with the air of an injured
+man. This left our young hero in possession of the field; but, as the
+condition of the house was not one suitable to an unreasonable display
+of triumph, the party soon separated; some to consult concerning the
+future, some to discourse of the past, and all to wonder, more or less,
+at the present.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+    "Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high,
+    I fear not wove nor wind;
+    Yet marvel not, Sir Childe, that I
+    Am sorrowful of mind."
+
+         CHILDE HAROLD.
+
+
+"Well, Sir Jarvy," said Galleygo, following on the heels of the two
+admirals, as the latter entered the dressing-room of the officer
+addressed; "it has turned out just as I thought; and the County of
+Fairvillain has come out of his hole, like a porpoise coming up to
+breathe, the moment our backs is turned! As soon as we gives the order
+to square-away for England, and I see the old Planter's cabin windows
+turned upon Franco, I foreseed them consequences. Well, gentlemen,
+here's been a heap of prize-money made in this house without much
+fighting. We shall have to give the young lieutenant a leave, for a few
+months, in order that he may take his swing ashore, here, among his
+brother squires!"
+
+"Pray, sir, what may be your pleasure?" demanded Sir Gervaise; "and what
+the devil has brought you at my heels?"
+
+"Why, big ships always tows small craft, your honour," returned
+Galleygo, simpering. "Howsever, I never comes without an errand, as
+every body knows. You see, Sir Jarvy,--you see, Admiral Blue, that our
+signal-officer is ashore, with a report for us; and meeting me in the
+hall, he made it to me first like, that I might bring it up to you
+a'terwards. His news is that the French county is gone to sea, as I has
+just told you, gentlemen."
+
+"Can it be possible that Bunting has brought any such tidings here!
+Harkee, Galleygo; desire Mr. Bunting to walk up; and then see that you
+behave yourself as is decent in a house of mourning."
+
+"Ay-ay-sir. No fears of I, gentlemen. I can put on as grievous a look as
+the best on 'em, and if they wishes to see sorrow becomingly, and
+ship-shape, let them study my conduct and countenance. We has all seen
+dead men afore now, gentlemen, as we all knows. When we fou't Mounsheer
+Graveland, (Gravelin,) we had forty-seven slain, besides the hurt that
+lived to tell their own pain; and when we had the--"
+
+"Go to the devil, Master Galleygo, and desire Mr. Bunting to walk up
+stairs," cried Sir Gervaise, impatiently.
+
+"Ay-ay-sir. Which will your honour have done first?"
+
+"Let me see the signal-officer, _first_," answered the vice-admiral,
+laughing; "then be certain of executing the other order."
+
+"Well," muttered Galleygo, as he descended the stairs; "if I was to do
+as he says, now, what would we do with the fleet? Ships wants orders to
+fight; and flags wants food to give orders; and food wants stewards to
+be put upon the table; and stewards wants no devils to help 'em do their
+duty. No--no--Sir Jarvy; I'll not pay that visit, till we all goes in
+company, as is suitable for them that has sailed so long together."
+
+"This will be great news, Dick, if de Vervillin has really come out!"
+cried Sir Gervaise, rubbing his hands with delight. "Hang me, if I wait
+for orders from London; but we'll sail with the first wind and tide. Let
+them settle the quarrel at home, as they best can; it is _our_ business
+to catch the Frenchman. How many ships do you really suppose the count
+to have?"
+
+"Twelve of two decks, besides one three-decker, and beating us in
+frigates. Two or three, however, are short vessels, and cannot be quite
+as heavy as our own. I see no reason why we should not engage him."
+
+"I rejoice to hear you say so! How much more honourable is it to seek
+the enemy, than to be intriguing about a court! I hope you intend to let
+me announce that red riband in general orders to-morrow, Dick?"
+
+"Never, with my consent, Sir Gervaise, so long as the house of Hanover
+confers the boon. But what an extraordinary scene we have just had
+below! This young lieutenant is a noble fellow, and I hope, with all my
+heart, he will be enabled to make good his claim."
+
+"Of that Sir Reginald assures me there can be no manner of doubt. His
+papers are in perfect order, and his story simple and probable. Do you
+not remember hearing, when we were midshipmen in the West Indies, of a
+lieutenant of the Sappho's striking a senior officer, ashore; and of his
+having been probably saved from the sentence of death, by the loss of
+the ship?"
+
+"As well as if it were yesterday, now you name the vessel. And this you
+suppose to have been the late Sir Wycherly's brother. Did he belong to
+the Sappho?"
+
+"So they tell me, below; and it leaves no doubt on my mind, of the truth
+of the whole story."
+
+"It is a proof, too, how easy it is for one to return to England, and
+maintain his rights, after an absence of more than half a century. He in
+Scotland has a claim quite as strong as that of this youth!"
+
+"Dick Bluewater, you seem determined to pull a house down about your own
+ears! What have you or I to do with these Scotch adventurers, when a
+gallant enemy invites us to come out and meet him! But, mum--here is
+Bunting."
+
+At this instant the signal-lieutenant of the Plantagenet was shown into
+the room, by Galleygo, in person.
+
+"Well, Bunting; what tidings from the fleet?" demanded Sir Gervaise. "Do
+the ships still ride to the flood?"
+
+"It is slack-water, Sir Gervaise, and the vessels are looking all ways
+at once. Most of us are clearing hawse, for there are more round turns
+in our cables, than I remember ever to have seen in so short a time."
+
+"That comes of there being no wind, and the uselessness of the stay-sails
+and spankers. What has brought you ashore? Galleygo tells us something
+of a cutter's coming in, with information that the French are out; but
+_his_ news is usually _galley_-news."
+
+"Not always, Sir Gervaise," returned the lieutenant, casting a side-look
+at the steward, who often comforted him with ship's delicacies in the
+admiral's cabin; "this time, he is right, at least. The Active is coming
+in slowly, and has been signalling us all the morning. We make her out
+to say that Monsieur Vervillin is at sea with his whole force."
+
+"Yes," muttered Galleygo to the rear-admiral, in a sort of aside; "the
+County of Fairvillain has come out of his hole, just as I told Sir
+Jarvy. Fair-weather-villains they all is, and no bones broken."
+
+"Silence--and you think, Bunting, you read the signals clearly?"
+
+"No doubt of it, Sir Gervaise. Captain Greenly is of the same opinion,
+and has sent me ashore with the news. He desired me to tell you that the
+ebb would make in half an hour, and that we can then fetch past the
+rocks to the westward, light as the wind is."
+
+"Ay, that is Greenly, I can swear!--He'll not sit down until we are all
+aweigh, and standing out. Does the cutter tell us which way the count
+was looking?"
+
+"To the westward, sir; on an easy bowline, and under short canvass."
+
+"The gentleman is in no hurry, it would seem. Has he a convoy?"
+
+"Not a sail, sir. Nineteen sail, all cruisers, and only twelve of the
+line. He has one two-decker, and two frigates more than we can muster;
+just a Frenchman's odds, sir."
+
+"The count has certainly with him, the seven new ships that were built
+last season," quietly observed Bluewater, leaning back in his
+easy-chair, until his body inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees,
+and stretching a leg on an empty stand, in his usual self-indulgent
+manner. "They are a little heavier than their old vessels, and will give
+us harder work."
+
+"The tougher the job, the more creditable the workmanship. The tide is
+turning, you say, Bunting?"
+
+"It is, Sir Gervaise; and we shall all tend ebb, in twenty minutes. The
+frigates outside are riding down channel already. The Chloe seems to
+think that we shall be moving soon, as she has crossed top-gallant and
+royal-yards. Even Captain Greenly was thinking of stretching along the
+messenger."
+
+"Ah! you're a set of uneasy fellows, all round!--You tire of your native
+land in twenty-four hours, I find. Well, Mr. Bunting; you can go off,
+and say that all is very well. This house is in a sad state of
+confusion, as, I presume, you know. Mention this to Captain Greenly."
+
+"Ay-ay-sir; is it your pleasure I should tell him any thing else, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes?"
+
+"Why--yes--Bunting," answered the vice-admiral, smiling; "you may as
+well give him a hint to get all his fresh grub off, as fast as he
+can--and--yes; to let no more men quit the ship on liberty."
+
+"Any thing more, Sir Gervaise?" added the pertinacious officer.
+
+"On the whole, you may as well run up a signal to be ready to unmoor.
+The ships can very well ride at single anchors, when the tide has once
+fairly made. What say you, Bluewater?"
+
+"A signal to unmoor, at once, would expedite matters. You know very
+well, you intend to go to sea, and why not do the thing off-hand?"
+
+"I dare say, now, Bunting, you too would like to give the
+commander-in-chief a nudge of some sort or other."
+
+"If I could presume so far, Sir Gervaise. I can only say, sir, that the
+sooner we are off, the sooner we shall flog the French."
+
+"And Master Galleygo, what are your sentiments, on this occasion? It is
+a full council, and all ought to speak, freely."
+
+"You knows, Sir Jarvy, that I never speaks in these matters, unless
+spoken to. Admiral Blue and your honour are quite enough to take care of
+the fleet in most circumstances, though there is some knowledge in the
+tops, as well as in the cabin. My ideas is, gentlemen, that, by casting
+to starboard on this ebb tide, we shall all have our heads off-shore,
+and we shall fetch into the offing as easily as a country wench turns in
+a jig. What we shall do with the fleet, when we gets out, will be shown
+in our ultra movements."
+
+By "ultra," David meant "ulterior," a word he had caught up from hearing
+despatches read, which he understood no better than those who wrote them
+at the admiralty.
+
+"Thanks to you all, my friends!" cried Sir Gervaise, who was so
+delighted at the prospect of a general engagement, that he felt a boyish
+pleasure in this fooling; "and now to business, seriously. Mr. Bunting,
+I would have the signal for sailing shown. Let each ship fire a
+recall-gun for her boats. Half an hour later, show the bunting to
+unmoor; and send my boat ashore as soon as you begin to heave on the
+capstan. So, good-morning, my fine fellow, and show your activity."
+
+"Mr. Bunting, as you pass the Caesar, do me the favour to ask for my
+boat, also," said Bluewater, lazily, but half-raising his body to look
+after the retiring lieutenant. "If we are to move, I suppose I shall
+have to go with the rest of them. Of course we shall repeat all your
+signals."
+
+Sir Gervaise waited until Bunting was out of the room, when he turned to
+the steward, and said with some dryness of manner--
+
+"Mr. Galleygo, you have my permission to go on board, bag and baggage."
+
+"Yes, Sir Jarvy, I understands. We are about to get the ships under way,
+and good men ought to be in their places. Good-by, Admiral Blue. We
+shall meet before the face of the French, and then I expects every man
+on us will set an example to himself of courage and devotion."
+
+"That fellow grows worse and worse, each day, and I shall have to send
+him forward, in order to check his impertinence," said Sir Gervaise,
+half-vexed and half-laughing. "I wonder you stand his saucy familiarity
+as well as you appear to do--with his Admiral Blues!"
+
+"I shall take offence as soon as I find Sir Jarvy really out of humour
+with him. The man is brave, honest, and attached; and these are virtues
+that would atone for a hundred faults."
+
+"Let the fellow go to the devil!--Do you not think I had better go out,
+without waiting for despatches from town?"
+
+"It is hard to say. Your orders may send us all down into Scotland, to
+face Charles Stuart. Perhaps, too, they may make you a duke, and me a
+baron, in order to secure our fidelity!"
+
+"The blackguards!--well, say no more of that, just now. If M. de
+Vervillin is steering to the westward, he can hardly be aiming at
+Edinburgh, and the movements in the north."
+
+"That is by no means so certain. Your really politic fellows usually
+look one way and row another."
+
+"It is my opinion, that his object is to effect a diversion, and my wish
+is to give it to him, to his heart's content. So long as this force is
+kept near the chops of the channel, it can do no harm in the north, and,
+in-so-much, must leave the road to Germany open."
+
+"For one, I think it a pity--not to say a disgrace--that England cannot
+settle her own quarrels without calling in the aid of either Frenchman
+or Dutchman."
+
+"We must take the world as it is, Dick, and act like two
+straight-forward seamen, without stopping to talk politics. I take it
+for granted, notwithstanding your Stuart fervour, that you are willing
+enough to help me thresh Monsieur de Vervillin."
+
+"Beyond a question. Nothing but the conviction that he was directly
+employed in serving my natural and legitimate prince, could induce me to
+show him any favour. Still, Oakes, it is possible he may have succours
+for the Scotch on board, and be bound to the north by the way of the
+Irish channel!"
+
+"Ay, pretty succours, truly, for an Englishman to stomach!
+_Mousquetaires_, and _regiments de Croy_, or _de Dillon_, or some d----d
+French name or other; and, perhaps, beautiful muskets from the _Bois de
+Vincennes_; or some other infernal nest of Gallic inventions to put down
+the just ascendency of old England! No--no--Dick Bluewater, your
+excellent, loyal, true-hearted English mother, never bore you to be a
+dupe of Bourbon perfidy and trick. I dare say she sickened at the very
+name of Louis!"
+
+"I'll not answer for that, Sir Jarvy," returned the rear-admiral, with a
+vacant smile; "for she passed some time at the court of _le Grand
+Monarque_. But all this is idle; we know each other's opinions, and, by
+this time, ought to know each other's characters. Have you digested any
+plan for your future operations; and what part am I to play in it?"
+
+Sir Gervaise paced the room, with hands folded behind his back, in an
+air of deep contemplation, for quite five minutes, before he answered.
+All this time, Bluewater remained watching his countenance and
+movements, in anticipation of what was to come. At length, the
+vice-admiral appeared to have made up his mind, and he delivered himself
+of his decision, as follows.
+
+"I have reflected on them, Dick," he said, "even while my thoughts have
+seemed to be occupied with the concerns of others. If de Vervillin is
+out, he must still be to the eastward of us; for, running as the tides
+do on the French coast, he can hardly have made much westing with this
+light south-west wind. We are yet uncertain of his destination, and it
+is all-important that we get immediate sight of him, and keep him in
+view, until he can be brought to action. Now, my plan is this. I will
+send out the ships in succession, with orders to keep on an easy
+bowline, until each reaches the chops of the channel, when she is to go
+about and stand in towards the English coast. Each succeeding vessel,
+however, will weigh as soon as her leader is hull down, and keep within
+signal distance, in order to send intelligence through the whole line.
+Nothing will be easier than to keep in sight of each other, in such fine
+weather; and by these means we shall spread a wide clew,--quite a
+hundred miles,--and command the whole of the channel. As soon as
+Monsieur de Vervillin is made, the fleet can close, when we will be
+governed by circumstances Should we see nothing of the French, by the
+time we make their coast, we may be certain they have gone up channel;
+and then, a signal from the van can reverse the order of sailing, and we
+will chase to the eastward, closing to a line abreast as fast as
+possible."
+
+"All this is very well, certainly; and by means of the frigates and
+smaller cruisers we can easily sweep a hundred and fifty miles of
+ocean;--nevertheless, the fleet will be much scattered."
+
+"You do not think there will be any danger of the French's engaging the
+van, before the rear can close to aid it?" asked Sir Gervaise, with
+interest, for he had the profoundest respect for his friend's
+professional opinions. "I intended to lead out in the Plantagenet,
+myself, and to have five or six of the fastest ships next to me, with a
+view that we might keep off, until you could bring up the rear. If they
+chase, you know we can retire."
+
+"Beyond a doubt, if Sir Gervaise Oakes can make up his mind to _retire_,
+before any Frenchman who was ever born," returned Bluewater, laughing.
+"All this sounds well; but, in the event of a meeting, I should expect
+to find you, with the whole van dismasted, fighting your hulks like
+bull-dogs, and keeping the Count at bay, leaving the glory of covering
+your retreat to me."
+
+"No--no--Dick: I'll give you my honour I'll do nothing so boyish and
+silly. I'm a different man at fifty-five, from what I was at
+twenty-five. You may be certain that I will run, until I think myself
+strong enough to fight."
+
+"Will you allow me to make a suggestion, Admiral Oakes; and this with
+all the frankness that ought to characterize our ancient friendship?"
+
+Sir Gervaise stopped short in his walk, looked Bluewater steadily in the
+face, and nodded his head.
+
+"I understand by the expression of your countenance," continued the
+other, "that I am expected to speak. I had no more to say, than to make
+the simple suggestion that your plan would be most likely to be
+executed, were I to lead the van, and were _you_ to bring up the rear."
+
+"The devil you do!--This comes as near mutiny--or _scandalum
+magnatum_--as one can wish! And why do you suppose that the plan of the
+commander-in-chief will be least in danger of failing, if Admiral
+Bluewater lead on this occasion, instead of Admiral Oakes?"
+
+"Merely because I think Admiral Oakes, when an enemy is pressing him, is
+more apt to take counsel of his heart than of his head; while Admiral
+Bluewater is _not_. You do not know yourself, Sir Jarvy, if you think it
+so easy a matter to run away."
+
+"I've spoiled you, Dick, by praising your foolish man[oe]uvring so much
+before your face, and that's the whole truth of the matter. No--my mind
+is made up; and, I believe you know me well enough to feel sure, when
+that is the case, even a council of war could not move it. _I_ lead out,
+in the _first_ two-decked ship that lifts her anchor, and _you_ follow
+in the _last_. You understand my plan, and will see it executed, as you
+see every thing executed, in face of the enemy."
+
+Admiral Bluewater smiled, and not altogether without irony in his
+manner; though he managed, at the same time, to get the leg that had
+been lowest for the last five minutes, raised by an ingenuity peculiar
+to himself, several inches above its fellow.
+
+"Nature never made you for a conspirator, Oakes," he said, as soon as
+this change was effected to his mind; "for you carry a top-light in your
+breast that even the blind can see!"
+
+"What crotchet is uppermost in your mind, now, Dick? Ar'n't the orders
+plain enough to suit you?"
+
+"I confess it;--as well as the motive for giving them just in this
+form."
+
+"Let's have it, at once. I prefer a full broadside to your minute-guns.
+What is my motive?"
+
+"Simply that you, Sir Jarvy, say to a certain Sir Gervaise Oakes, Bart.,
+Vice-Admiral of the Red, and Member for Bowldero, in your own mind,
+'now, if I can just leave that fellow, Dick Bluewater, behind me, with
+four or five ships, he'll never desert _me_, when in front of the enemy,
+whatever he might do with _King George_; and so I'll make sure of him by
+placing the question in such a light that it shall be one of friendship,
+rather than one of loyalty.'"
+
+Sir Gervaise coloured to the temples, for the other had penetrated into
+his most secret thoughts; and, yet, spite of his momentary vexation, he
+faced his accuser, and both laughed in the heartfelt manner that the
+circumstance would be likely to excite.
+
+"Harkee, Dick," said the vice-admiral, as soon as he could command
+sufficient gravity to speak; "they made a mistake when they sent you to
+sea; you ought to have been apprenticed to a conjuror. I care not what
+you think about it; my orders are given, and they must be obeyed. Have
+you a clear perception of the plan?"
+
+"One quite as clear, I tell you, as I have of the motive."
+
+"Enough of this, Bluewater; we have serious duties before us."
+
+Sir Gervaise now entered more at length into his scheme; explaining to
+his friend all his wishes and hopes, and letting him know, with official
+minuteness, what was expected at his hands. The rear-admiral listened
+with his accustomed respect, whenever any thing grave was in discussion
+between them; and, had any one entered while they were thus engaged, he
+would have seen in the manner of one, nothing but the dignified
+frankness of a friendly superior, and in the other the deference which
+the naval inferior usually pays to rank. As he concluded Sir Gervaise
+rang his bell, and desired the presence of Sir Wycherly Wychecombe.
+
+"I could have wished to remain and see this battle for the succession
+fairly fought," he said; "but a battle of a different sort calls us in
+another quarter. Show him in," he added, as his man intimated that the
+young baronet was in waiting.
+
+"What between the duties of our professional stations, and those of the
+guest to the host," said the vice-admiral, rising and bowing to the
+young man; "it is not easy to settle the question of etiquette between
+us, Sir Wycherly; and I have, from habit, thought more of the admiral
+and the lieutenant, than of the lord of the manor and his obliged
+guests. If I have erred, you will excuse me."
+
+"My new situation is so very novel, that I still remain all sailor, Sir
+Gervaise," answered the other, smiling; "as such I hope _you_ will ever
+consider me. Can I be of any service, here?"
+
+"One of our cutters has just come in with news that will take the fleet
+to sea, again, this morning; or, as soon as the tide begins to run a
+strong ebb. The French are out, and we must go and look for them. It was
+my intention and my hope, to be able to take you to sea with me in the
+Plantagenet. The date of your commission would not put you very high
+among her lieutenants; but, Bunting deserves a first lieutenancy, and I
+meant to give it to him this afternoon, in which case there would be a
+vacancy in the situation of my own signal-officer, a duty you could well
+perform. As it is, you ought not to quit this house, and I must take my
+leave of you with regret it is so."
+
+"Admiral Oakes, what is there that ought to keep one of my station
+ashore, on the eve of a general battle? I sincerely hope and trust you
+will alter the last determination, and return to the first."
+
+"You forget your own important interests--remember that possession is
+nine points of the law."
+
+"We had heard the news below, and Sir Reginald, Mr. Furlong, and myself,
+were discussing the matter when I received your summons. These gentlemen
+tell me, that possession can be held by deputy, as well as in person. I
+am satisfied we can dispose of this objection."
+
+"Your grandfather's brother, and the late head of your family, lies dead
+in this house; it is proper his successor should be present at his
+funeral obsequies."
+
+"We thought of that, also. Sir Reginald has kindly offered to appear in
+my place; and, then, there is the chance that the meeting with Monsieur
+de Vervillin will take place within the next eight-and-forty hours;
+whereas my uncle cannot be interred certainly for a week or ten days."
+
+"I see you have well calculated all the chances, young sir," said Sir
+Gervaise, smiling. "Bluewater, how does this matter strike you?"
+
+"Leave it in my hands, and I will see to it. You will sail near or quite
+twenty-four hours before me, and there will be time for more reflection.
+Sir Wycherly can remain with me in the Caesar, in the action; or he can
+be thrown aboard the Plantagenet, when we meet."
+
+After a little reflection, Sir Gervaise, who liked to give every one a
+fair chance, consented to the arrangement, and it was decided that
+Wycherly should come out in the Caesar, if nothing occurred to render the
+step improper.
+
+This arrangement completed, the vice-admiral declared he was ready to
+quit the Hall. Galleygo and the other servants had already made the
+dispositions necessary for embarking, and it only remained to take leave
+of the inmates of the dwelling. The parting between the baronets was
+friendly; for the common interest they felt in the success of Wycherly,
+had, in a degree, rendered them intimates, and much disposed Sir
+Reginald to overlook the sailor's well-known Whiggery. Dutton and the
+ladies took their departure at the same time, and what passed between
+them and Sir Gervaise on this occasion, took place on the road to the
+head-land, whither all parties proceeded on foot.
+
+A person so important as Sir Gervaise Oakes did not leave the roof that
+had sheltered him, to embark on board his own ship, without a due escort
+to the shore. Bluewater accompanied him, in order to discuss any little
+point of duty that might occur to the mind of either, at the last
+moment; and Wycherly was of the group, partly from professional feeling,
+and more from a desire to be near Mildred. Then there were Atwood, and
+the surgeons, Mr. Rotherham, and two or three of the cabin attendants.
+Lord Geoffrey, too, strolled along with the rest, though it was
+understood that his own ship would not sail that day.
+
+Just as the party issued from the gate of the park into the street of
+the hamlet, a heavy gun was fired from the fleet. It was soon succeeded
+by others, and whiffs and cornets were seen flying from the mast-heads
+that rose above the openings in the cliffs, the signals of recall for
+all boats. This set every one in motion, and, never within the memory of
+man, had Wychecombe presented such a scene of confusion and activity.
+Half-intoxicated seamen were driven down to the boats, by youngsters
+with the cloth diamond in their collars, like swine, who were reluctant
+to go, and yet afraid to stay. Quarters of beeves were trundled along in
+carts or barrows, and were soon seen swinging at different main-stays;
+while the gathering of eggs, butter, poultry, mutton, lamb, and veal,
+menaced the surrounding country with a scarcity. Through this throng of
+the living and the dead, our party held its way, jostled by the eager
+countrymen, and respectfully avoided by all who belonged to the fleet,
+until it reached the point where the roads to the cliffs and the landing
+separated, when the vice-admiral turned to the only midshipman present,
+and courteously lifting his hat, as if reluctant to impose such a duty
+on a "young gentleman" on liberty, he said--
+
+"Do me the favour, Lord Geoffrey, to step down to the landing and
+ascertain if my barge is there. The officer of the boat will find me at
+the signal-station."
+
+The boy cheerfully complied; and this son of an English duke, who, by
+the death of an elder brother, became in time a duke himself, went on a
+service that among gentlemen of the land would be deemed nearly menial,
+with as much alacrity as if he felt honoured by the request. It was by a
+training like this, that England came, in time, to possess a marine that
+has achieved so many memorable deeds; since it taught those who were
+destined to command, the high and useful lesson how to obey.
+
+While the midshipman was gone to look for the boat, the two admirals
+walked the cliff, side by side, discussing their future movements; and
+when all was ready, Sir Gervaise descended to the shore, using the very
+path by which he had ascended the previous day; and, pushing through the
+throng that crowded the landing, almost too much engaged to heed even
+his approach, he entered his barge. In another minute, the measured
+strokes of the oars urged him swiftly towards the Plantagenet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+    "'Twas not without some reason, for the wind
+      Increased at night, until it blew a gale;
+    And though 'twas not much to a naval mind,
+      Some landsmen would have look'd a little pale,
+    For sailors are, in fact, a different kind;
+      At sunset they began to take in sail,
+    For the sky show'd it would come on to blow,
+      And carry away, perhaps, a mast or so."
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+As it was just past the turn of the day, Bluewater determined to linger
+on the cliffs for several hours, or until it was time to think of his
+dinner. Abstracted as his thoughts were habitually, his mind found
+occupation and pleasure in witnessing the evolutions that succeeded
+among the ships; some of which evolutions it may be well now briefly to
+relate.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes' foot had not been on the deck of the Plantagenet
+five minutes, before a signal for all commanders was flying at that
+vessel's mast-head. In ten minutes more every captain of the fleet, with
+the exception of those belonging to the vessels in the offing, were in
+the flag-ship's cabin, listening to the intentions and instructions of
+the vice-admiral.
+
+"My plan of sailing, gentlemen, is easily comprehended," continued the
+commander-in-chief, after he had explained his general intentions to
+chase and engage; "and everyone of you will implicitly follow it. We
+have the tide strong at ebb, and a good six-knot breeze is coming up at
+south-west. I shall weigh, with my yards square, and keep them so, until
+the ship has drawn out of the fleet, and then I shall luff up on a taut
+bowline and on the starboard tack, bringing the ebb well under my
+lee-bow. This will hawse the ship over towards Morlaix, and bringing us
+quite as far to windward as is desirable. While the ebb lasts, and this
+breeze stands, we shall have plain sailing; the difficulty will come on
+the flood, or with a shift of wind. The ships that come out last must be
+careful to keep their seconds, ahead and astern, in plain sight, and
+regulate their movements, as much as they can, by the leading vessels.
+The object is to spread as wide a clew as possible, while we hold the
+ships within signal-distance of each other. Towards sunset I shall
+shorten sail, and the line will close up within a league from vessel to
+vessel, and I have told Bluewater to use his discretion about coming out
+with the last ships, though I have requested him to hold on as long as
+he shall deem it prudent, in the hope of receiving another express from
+the Admiralty. When the flood makes, I do not intend to go about, but
+shall continue on the starboard tack, and I wish you all to do the same.
+This will bring the leading vessels considerably to windward of those
+astern, and may possibly throw the fleet into a bow and quarter line.
+Being in the van, it will fall to my duty to look to this, and to watch
+for the consequences. But I ask of you to keep an eye on the weather,
+and to hold your ships within plain signal-distance of each other. If it
+come on thick, or to blow very hard, we must close, from van to rear,
+and try our luck, in a search in compact order. Let the man who first
+sees the enemy make himself heard at once, and send the news, with the
+bearings of the French, both ahead and astern, as fast as possible. In
+that case you will all close on the point from which the intelligence
+comes; and, mark me, no cruising to get to windward, in your own
+fashions, as if you sailed with roving commissions. You know I'll not
+stand _that_. And now, gentlemen, it is probable that we shall all never
+meet again. God bless you! Come and shake hands with me, one by one, and
+then to your boats, for the first lieutenant has just sent Greenly word
+that we are up and down. Let him trip, Greenly, and be off as soon as we
+can."
+
+The leave-taking, a scene in which joyousness and sadness were strangely
+mingled, succeeded, and then the captains disappeared. From that moment
+every mind was bent on sailing.
+
+Although Bluewater did not witness the scene in the Plantagenet's cabin,
+he pictured it, in his mind's eye, and remained on the cliffs to watch
+the succeeding movements. As Wycherly had disappeared in the house, and
+Dutton clung to his flag-staff, the rear-admiral had no one but Lord
+Geoffrey for a companion. The latter, perceiving that his relation did
+not seem disposed to converse, had the tact to be silent himself; a task
+that was less difficult than common, on account of the interest he felt
+in the spectacle.
+
+The boats of the different captains were still shoving off from the
+starboard side of the Plantagenet, whither etiquette had brought them
+together, in a little crowd, when her three top-sails fell, and their
+sheets steadily drew the clews towards the ends of the lower yards. Even
+while this was in process, the yards began to ascend, and rose with that
+steady but graduated movement which marks the operation in a man-of-war.
+All three were fairly mast-headed in two minutes. As the wind struck the
+canvass obliquely, the sails filled as they opened their folds, and, by
+the time their surfaces were flattened by distension, the Plantagenet
+steadily moved from her late berth, advancing slowly against a strong
+tide, out of the group of ships, among which she had been anchored. This
+was a beautiful evolution, resembling that of a sea-fowl, which lazily
+rises on its element, spreads its wings, emerges from the water, and
+glides away to some distant and unseen point.
+
+The movement of the flag-ship was stately, measured, and grand. For five
+minutes she held her way nearly due east, with the wind on her starboard
+quarter, meeting the tide in a direct line; until, having drawn
+sufficiently ahead of the fleet, she let fall her courses, sheeted home
+top-gallant-sails and royals, set her spanker, jibs, and stay-sails, and
+braced up sharp on a wind, with her head at south-southeast. This
+brought the tide well under her lee fore-chains, and set her rapidly off
+the land, and to windward. As she trimmed her sails, and steadied her
+bowlines, she fired a gun, made the numbers of the vessels in the offing
+to weigh, and to pass within hail. All this did Bluewater note, with the
+attention of an _amateur_, as well as with the critical analysis of a
+_connoisseur_.
+
+"Very handsomely done, Master Geoffrey--very handsomely done, it must be
+allowed! never did a bird quit a flock with less fuss, or more
+beautifully, than the Plantagenet has drawn out of the fleet. It must be
+admitted that Greenly knows how to handle his ship."
+
+"I fancy Captain Stowel would have done quite as well with the Caesar,
+sir," answered the boy, with a proper esprit-de-_ship_. "Don't you
+remember, Admiral Bluewater, the time when we got under way off
+l'Orient, with the wind blowing a gale directly on shore? Even Sir
+Gervaise said, afterwards, that we lost less ground than any ship in the
+fleet, and yet the Plantagenet is the most weatherly two-decker in the
+navy; as every body says."
+
+"Every body!--She is certainly a weatherly vessel, but not more so than
+several others. Whom did you ever hear give that character to this
+particular ship?"
+
+"Why, sir, her reefers are always bragging as much as _that_; and a
+great deal _more_, too."
+
+"Her reefers!--Young gentlemen are particularly struck with the charms
+of their first loves, both ashore and afloat, my boy. Did you ever hear
+an _old seaman_ say that much for the Plantagenet?"
+
+"I think I have, sir," returned Lord Geoffrey, blushing. "Galleygo, Sir
+Gervaise's steward, is commonly repeating some such stuff or other. They
+are furious braggarts, the Plantagenet's, all round, sir."
+
+"That comes honestly," answered Bluewater, smiling, "her namesakes and
+predecessors of old, having some such characteristic, too. Look at that
+ship's yards, boy, and learn how to trim a vessel's sails on a wind. The
+pencil of a painter could not draw lines more accurate!"
+
+"Captain Stowel tells us, sir, that the yards ought not to be braced in
+exactly alike; but that we ought to check the weather-braces, a little,
+as we go aloft, so that the top-sail yard should point a little less
+forward than the lower yard, and the topgallant than the top-sail."
+
+"You are quite right in taking Stowel's opinion in all such matters,
+Geoffrey: but has not Captain Greenly done the same thing in the
+Plantagenet? When I speak of symmetry, I mean the symmetry of a seaman."
+
+The boy was silenced, though exceedingly reluctant to admit that any
+ship could equal his own. In the mean time, there was every appearance
+of a change in the weather. Just about the time the Plantagenet braced
+up, the wind freshened, and in ten minutes it blew a stiff breeze. Some
+time before the admiral spoke the vessels outside, he was compelled to
+take in all his light canvass; and when he filled, again, after giving
+his orders to the frigate and sloop, the topgallant sheets were let fly,
+a single reef was taken in the top-sails, and the lighter sails were set
+over them. This change in the weather, more especially as the night
+threatened to be clouded, if not absolutely dark, would necessarily
+bring about a corresponding change in the plan of sailing, reducing the
+intervals between the departures of the vessels, quite one-half. To such
+vicissitudes are all maritime operations liable, and it is fortunate
+when there is sufficient capacity in the leaders to remedy them.
+
+In less than an hour, the Plantagenet's hull began to sink, to those on
+a level with it, when the Carnatic tripped her anchor, opened her
+canvass, shot out of the fleet, hauled by the wind, and followed in the
+admiral's wake. So accurate was the course she steered, that, half an
+hour after she had braced up, a hawse-bucket, which had been dropped
+from the Plantagenet in hauling water, was picked up. We may add, here,
+though it will be a little anticipating events, that the Thunderer
+followed the Carnatic; the Blenheim the Thunderer; the Achilles the
+Blenheim; the Warspite the Achilles; the Dover the Warspite; the York
+the Dover; the Elizabeth the York; the Dublin the Elizabeth; and the
+Caesar the Dublin. But hours passed before all these ships were in
+motion, and hours in which we shall have some occurrences to relate that
+took place on shore. Still it will aid the reader in better
+understanding the future incidents of our tale, if we describe, at once,
+some of the circumstances under which all these ships got in motion.
+
+By the time the Plantagenet's top-sails were beginning to dip from the
+cliffs, the Carnatic, the Thunderer, the Blenheim, the Achilles, and the
+Warspite were all stretching out in line, with intervals of quite two
+leagues between them, under as much canvass as they could now bear. The
+admiral had shortened sail the most, and was evidently allowing the
+Carnatic to close, most probably on account of the threatening look of
+the sky, to windward; while he was suffering the frigate and sloop, the
+Chloe and Driver, to pass ahead of him, the one on his weather, and the
+other on his lee bow. When the Dover weighed, the admiral's upper sail
+was not visible from her tops, though the Warspite's hull had not yet
+disappeared from her deck. She left the fleet, or the portions of it
+that still remained at anchor, with her fore-course set, and hauled by
+the wind, under double-reefed top-sails, a single reef in her main-sail,
+and with her main-topgallant sail set over its proper sail. With this
+reduced canvass, she started away on the track of her consorts, the
+brine foaming under her bows, and with a heel that denoted the heavy
+pressure that bore on her sails. By this time, the York was aweigh, the
+tide had turned, and it became necessary to fill on the other tack in
+order to clear the land to the eastward. This altered the formation, but
+we will now revert to the events as they transpired on the shore, with a
+view to relate them more in their regular order.
+
+It is scarcely necessary to say that Bluewater must have remained on, or
+about the cliffs several hours, in order to witness the departure of so
+many of the vessels. Instead of returning to the Hall at the dinner
+hour, agreeably to promise, he profited by the appearance of Wycherly,
+who left the cottage with a flushed, agitated manner, just as he was
+thinking of the necessity of sending a message to Sir Reginald, and
+begged the young man to be the bearer of his excuses. He thought that
+the change in the weather rendered it necessary for him to remain in
+sight of the sea. Dutton overheard this message, and, after a private
+conference with his wife, he ventured to invite his superior to appease
+his appetite under his own humble roof. To this Bluewater cheerfully
+assented; and when the summons came to the table, to his great joy he
+found that his only companion was to be Mildred, who, like himself, for
+some reason known only to her own bosom, had let the ordinary dining
+hour pass without appearing at table, but whom her mother had now
+directed to take some sustenance.
+
+"The late events at the Hall have agitated the poor child, sir," said
+Mrs. Dutton, in the way of apology, "and she has not tasted food since
+morning. I have told her you would excuse the intrusion, and receive her
+carving and attentions as an excuse for her company."
+
+Bluewater looked at the pallid countenance of the girl, and never before
+had he found the resemblance to Agnes Hedworth so strong, as that
+moment. The last year or two of his own sweet friend's life had been far
+from happy, and the languid look and tearful eyes of Mildred revived the
+recollection of the dead with painful distinctness.
+
+"Good God!" he murmured to himself; "that two such beings should exist
+only to suffer! my good Mrs. Dutton, make no excuses; but believe me
+when I say that you could not have found in England another that would
+have proved as welcome as my present little messmate."
+
+Mildred struggled for a smile; and she did succeed in looking extremely
+grateful. Beyond this, however, it exceeded her powers to go. Mrs.
+Dutton was gratified, and soon left the two to partake of their neat,
+but simple meal, by themselves; household duties requiring her presence
+elsewhere.
+
+"Let me persuade you to take a glass of this really excellent port, my
+child," said Bluewater. "If you had cruised as long as I have done, on
+the coast of Portugal, you would know how to value a liquor as pure as
+this. I don't know of an admiral that has as good!"
+
+"It is probably _our_ last, sir," answered Mildred, shaking a tear from
+each of her long dark lashes, by an involuntarily trembling motion, as
+she spoke. "It was a present from dear, old, Sir Wycherly, who never
+left my mother wholly unsupplied with such plain delicacies, as he
+fancied poverty placed beyond our reach. The wine we can easily forget;
+not so easily the donor."
+
+Bluewater felt as if he could draw a cheque for one-half the fortune he
+had devised to his companion; and, yet, by a caprice of feeling that is
+not uncommon to persons of the liveliest susceptibility, he answered in
+a way to smother his own emotion.
+
+"There will not soon be another _old_ Sir Wycherly to make his
+neighbours comfortable; but there is a _young_ one, who is not likely to
+forget his uncle's good example. I hope you all here, rejoice at the
+sudden rise in fortune, that has so unexpectedly been placed within the
+reach of our favourite lieutenant?"
+
+A look of anguish passed over Mildred's face, and her companion noted
+it; though surprise and pity--not to say resentment--prevented his
+betraying his discovery.
+
+"We _endeavour_ to be glad, sir," answered Mildred, smiling in so
+suffering a manner, as to awaken all her companion's sympathies; "but it
+is not easy for us to rejoice at any thing which is gained by the loss
+of our former valued friend."
+
+"I am aware that a young follow, like the present Sir Wycherly, can be
+no substitute for an old fellow like the last Sir Wycherly, my dear; but
+as one is a sailor, and the other was only a landsman, my professional
+prejudices may not consider the disparity as great as it may possibly
+appear to be to your less partial judgment."
+
+Bluewater thought the glance he received was imploring, and he instantly
+regretted that he had taken such means to divert his companion's
+sadness. Some consciousness of this regret probably passed through
+Mildred's mind, for she rallied her spirits, and made a partially
+successful effort to be a more agreeable companion.
+
+"My father thinks, sir," she said, "that our late pleasant weather is
+about to desert us, and that it is likely to blow heavily before
+six-and-thirty hours are over."
+
+"I am afraid Mr. Dutton will prove to be too accurate an almanac. The
+weather has a breeding look, and I expect a dirty night. Good or bad, we
+seamen must face it, and that, too, in the narrow seas, where gales of
+wind are no gales of Araby."
+
+"Ah, sir, it is a terrible life to lead! By living on this cliff, I have
+learned to pity sailors."
+
+"Perhaps, my child, you pity us when we are the most happy. Nine seamen
+in ten prefer a respectable gale to a flat calm. There are moments when
+the ocean is terrific; but, on the whole, it is capricious, rather than
+malignant. The night that is before us promises to be just such a one as
+Sir Gervaise Oakes delights in. He is never happier than when he hears a
+gale howling through the cordage of his ship."
+
+"I have heard him spoken of as a very daring and self-relying commander.
+But _you_ cannot entertain such feelings, Admiral Bluewater; for to me
+you seem better fitted for a fireside, well filled with friends and
+relatives, than for the conflicts and hardships of the sea."
+
+Mildred had no difficulty now in forcing a smile, for the sweet one she
+bestowed on the veteran almost tempted him to rise and fold her in his
+arms, as a parent would wrap a beloved daughter to his heart.
+Discretion, however, prevented a betrayal of feelings that might have
+been misinterpreted, and he answered in his original vein.
+
+"I fear I am a wolf in sheep's clothing," he said; "while Oakes admits
+the happiness he feels in seeing his ship ploughing through a raging
+sea, in a dark night, he maintains that my rapture is sought in a
+hurricane. I do not plead guilty to the accusation, but I will allow
+there is a sort of fierce delight in participating, as it might be, in a
+wild strife of the elements. To me, my very nature seems changed at such
+moments, and I forget all that is mild and gentle. That comes of having
+lived so much estranged from your sex, my dear; desolate bachelor, as I
+am."
+
+"Do you think sailors ought to marry?" asked Mildred, with a steadiness
+that surprised herself; for, while she put the question, consciousness
+brought the blood to her temples.
+
+"I should be sorry to condemn a whole profession, and that one I so well
+love, to the hopeless misery of single life. There are miseries peculiar
+to the wedded lives of both soldiers and sailors; but are there not
+miseries peculiar to those who never separate? I have heard seamen
+say--men, too, who loved their wives and families--that they believed
+the extreme pleasure of meetings after long separations, the delights of
+hope, and the zest of excited feelings, have rendered their years of
+active service more replete with agreeable sensations, than the stagnant
+periods of peace. Never having been married myself, I can only speak on
+report."
+
+"Ah! this may be so with _men_; but--surely--surely--_women_ never can
+feel thus!"
+
+"I suppose, a sailor's daughter yourself, you know Jack's account of his
+wife's domestic creed! 'A good fire, a clean hearth, the children abed,
+and the husband at sea,' is supposed to be the climax of felicity."
+
+"This may do for the sailor's jokes, Admiral Bluewater," answered
+Mildred, smiling; "but it will hardly ease a breaking heart. I fear from
+all I have heard this afternoon, and from the sudden sailing of the
+ships, that a great battle is at hand?"
+
+"And why should you, a British officer's daughter, dread that? Have you
+so little faith in us, as to suppose a battle will necessarily bring
+defeat! I have seen much of my own profession, Miss Dutton, and trust I
+am in some small degree above the rhodomontade of the braggarts; but it
+is _not_ usual for us to meet the enemy, and to give those on shore
+reason to be ashamed of the English flag. It has never yet been my luck
+to meet a Frenchman who did not manifest a manly desire to do his
+country credit; and I have always felt that we must fight hard for him
+before we could get him; nor has the result ever disappointed me. Still,
+fortune, or skill, or _right_, is commonly of our side, and has given us
+the advantage in the end."
+
+"And to which, sir, do you ascribe a success at sea, so very uniform?"
+
+"As a Protestant, I ought to say to our _religion_; but, this my own
+knowledge of Protestant _vices_ rejects. Then to say _fortune_ would be
+an exceeding self-abasement--one, that between us, is not needed; and I
+believe I must impute it to skill. As plain seamen, I do believe we are
+more expert than most of our neighbours; though I am far from being
+positive we have any great advantage over them in tactics. If any, the
+Dutch are our equals."
+
+"Notwithstanding, you are quite certain of success. It must be a great
+encouragement to enter into the fight with a strong confidence in
+victory! I suppose--that is, it seems to me--it is a matter of course,
+sir,--that our new Sir Wycherly will not be able to join in the battle,
+this time?"
+
+Mildred spoke timidly, and she endeavoured to seem unconcerned; but
+Bluewater read her whole heart, and pitied the pain which she had
+inflicted on herself, in asking the question. It struck him, too, that a
+girl of his companion's delicacy and sensibility would not thus advert
+to the young man's movements at all, if the latter had done aught justly
+to awaken censure; and this conviction greatly relieved his mind as to
+the effect of sudden elevation on the handsome lieutenant. As it was
+necessary to answer, however, lest Mildred might detect his
+consciousness of her feelings, not a moment was lost before making a
+reply.
+
+"It is not an easy matter to prevent a young, dashing sailor, like this
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, from doing his part in a general engagement,
+and that, too, of the character of the one to which we are looking
+forward," he said. "Oakes has left the matter in my hands; I suppose I
+shall have to grant the young man's request."
+
+"He has then requested to be received in your ship?" asked Mildred, her
+hand shaking as she used the spoon it held.
+
+"That of course. No one who wears the uniform could or would do less. It
+seems a ticklish moment for him to quit Wychecombe, too; where I fancy
+he will have a battle of his own to fight ere long; but professional
+feeling will overshadow all others, in young men. Among us seamen, it is
+said to be even stronger than love."
+
+Mildred made no answer; but her pale cheek and quivering lips, evidences
+of feeling that her artlessness did not enable her to conceal, caused
+Bluewater again to regret the remark. With a view to restore the poor
+girl to her self-command, he changed the subject of conversation, which
+did not again advert to Wycherly. The remainder of the meal was
+consequently eaten in peace, the admiral manifesting to the last,
+however, the sudden and generous interest he had taken in the character
+and welfare of his companion. When they rose from table, Mildred joined
+her mother, and Bluewater walked out upon the cliffs again.
+
+It was now evening, and the waste of water that lay stretched before the
+eye, though the softness of summer was shed upon it, had the wild and
+dreary aspect that the winds and waves lend to a view, as the light of
+day is about to abandon the ocean to the gloom of night. All this had no
+effect on Bluewater, however, who knew that two-decked ships, strongly
+manned, with their heavy canvass reduced, would make light work of
+worrying through hours of darkness that menaced no more than these.
+Still the wind had freshened, and when he stood on the verge of the
+cliff sustained by the breeze, which pressed him back from the
+precipice, rendering his head more steady, and his footing sure, the
+Elizabeth was casting, under close-reefed top-sails, and two reefs in her
+courses, with a heavy stay-sail or two, to ease her helm. He saw that the
+ponderous machine would stagger under even this short canvass, and that
+her captain had made his dispositions for a windy night. The lights that
+the Dover and the York carried in their tops were just beginning to be
+visible in the gathering gloom, the last about a league and a half down
+channel, the ship standing in that direction to get to windward, and the
+former, more to the southward, the vessel having already tacked to
+follow the admiral. A chain of lights connected the whole of the long
+line, and placed the means of communication in the power of the
+captains. At this moment, the Plantagenet was full fifty miles at sea,
+ploughing through a heavy south-west swell, which the wind was driving
+into the chops of the channel, from the direction of the Bay of Biscay,
+and the broad Atlantic.
+
+Bluewater buttoned his coat, and he felt his frame invigorated by a gale
+that came over his person, loaded by the peculiar flavour of the sea.
+But two of the heavy ships remained at their anchors, the Dublin and the
+Caesar; and his experienced eye could see that Stowel had every thing on
+board the latter ready to trip and be off, as soon as he, himself,
+should give the order. At this moment the midshipman, who had been
+absent for hours, returned, and stood again at his side.
+
+"Our turn will soon come, sir," said the gallant boy, "and, for one, I
+shall not be sorry to be in motion. Those chaps on board the Plantagenet
+will swagger like so many Dons, if they should happen to get a broadside
+at Monsieur de Vervillin, while we are lying here, under the shore, like
+a gentleman's yacht hauled into a bay, that the ladies might eat without
+disturbing their stomachs."
+
+"Little fear of that, Geoffrey. The Active is too light of foot,
+especially in the weather we have had, to suffer heavy ships to be so
+close on her heels. She must have had some fifteen or twenty miles the
+start, and the French have been compelled to double Cape la Hogue and
+Alderney, before they could even look this way. If coming down channel
+at all, they are fully fifty miles to the eastward; and should our van
+stretch far enough by morning to head them off, it will bring us
+handsomely to windward. Sir Gervaise never set a better trap, than he
+has done this very day. The Elizabeth has her hands full, boy, and the
+wind seems to be getting scant for her. If it knock her off much more,
+it will bring the flood on her weather-bow, and compel her to tack. This
+will throw the rear of our line into confusion!"
+
+"What should we do, sir, in such a case? It would never answer to leave
+poor Sir Jarvy out there, by himself!"
+
+"We would try not to do _that_!" returned Bluewater, smiling at the
+affectionate solicitude of the lad, a solicitude that caused him
+slightly to forget his habitual respect for the commander-in-chief, and
+to adopt the _sobriquet_ of the fleet. "In such a case, it would become
+my duty to collect as many ships as I could, and to make the best of our
+way towards the place where we might hope to fall in with the others, in
+the morning. There is little danger of losing each other, for any length
+of time, in these narrow waters, and I have few apprehensions of the
+French being far enough west, to fall in with our leading vessels before
+morning. If they _should_, indeed, Geoffrey--"
+
+"Ay, sir, if they _should_, I know well enough what would come to pass!"
+
+"What, boy?--On the supposition that Monsieur de Vervillin _did_ meet
+with Sir Gervaise by day-break, what, in your experienced eyes, seem
+most likely to be the consequences?"
+
+"Why, sir, Sir Jarvy, would go at 'em, like a dolphin at a flying-fish;
+and if he _should_ really happen to catch one or two of 'em, there'll be
+no sailing in company with the Plantagenet's, for us Caesar's!--When we
+had the last 'bout with Monsieur de Gravelin, they were as saucy as
+peacocks, because we didn't close until their fore-yard and
+mizzen-top-gallant-mast were gone, although the shift of wind brought us
+dead to leeward, and, after all, we had eleven men the most hurt in the
+fight. You don't know them Plantagenet's, sir; for they never _dare_ say
+any thing before _you_!"
+
+"Not to the discredit of my young Caesars, I'll answer for it. Yet,
+you'll remember Sir Gervaise gave us full credit, in his despatches."
+
+"Yes, sir, all very true. Sir Gervaise knows better; and then _he_
+understands what the Caesar _is_; and what she _can_ do, and _has_ done.
+But it's a very different matter with his youngsters, who fancy because
+they carry a red flag at the fore, they are so many Blakes and Howards,
+themselves. There's Jack Oldcastle, now; he's always talking of our
+reefers as if there was no sea-blood in our veins, and that just because
+his own father happened to be a captain--a _commodore_, he says, because
+he happened once to have three frigates under his orders."
+
+"Well, that would make a commodore, for the time being. But, surely he
+does not claim privilege for the Oldcastle blood, over that of the
+Clevelands!"
+
+"No, sir, it isn't that sort of thing, at all," returned the fine boy,
+blushing a little, in spite of his contempt for any such womanly
+weakness; "you know we never talk of that nonsense in our squadron. With
+us it's all service, and that sort of thing. Jack Oldcastle says the
+Clevelands are all civilians, as he calls 'em; or _soldiers_, which
+isn't much better, as you know, sir. Now, I tell him that there is an
+old picture of one of 'em, with an anchor-button, and that was long
+before Queen Anne's time--Queen Elizabeth's, perhaps,--and then you
+know, sir, I fetch him up with a yarn about the Hedworths; for I am just
+as much Hedworth as Cleveland."
+
+"And what does the impudent dog say to that, Geoffrey?"
+
+"Why, sir, he says the name should be spelt Head_work_, and that they
+were all _lawyers_. But I gave him as good as he sent for that saucy
+speech, I'm certain!"
+
+"And what did you give him, in return for such a compliment? Did you
+tell him the Oldcastles were just so much stone, and wood, and old iron;
+and that, too, in a tumbledown condition?"
+
+"No, sir, not I," answered the boy, laughing; "I didn't think of any
+answer half so clever; and so I just gave him a dig in the nose, and
+that, laid on with right good will."
+
+"And how did he receive that argument? Was it conclusive;--or did the
+debate continue?"
+
+"Oh, of course, sir, we fought it out. 'Twas on board the Dover, and the
+first lieutenant saw fair play. Jack carried too many guns for me, sir,
+for he's more than a year older; but I hulled him so often that he owned
+it was harder work than being mast-headed. After that the Dover's chaps
+took my part, and they said the Hedworths had no Head_work_ at all, but
+they were regular sailors; admirals, and captains, and youngsters, you
+know, sir, like all the rest of us. I told 'em my grandfather Hedworth
+was an admiral, and a good one, too."
+
+"In that you made a small mistake. Your mother's father was only a
+_general_; but _his_ father was a full admiral of the red,--for he lived
+before that grade was abolished--and as good an officer as ever trod a
+plank. He was my mother's brother, and both Sir Gervaise and myself
+served long under his orders. He was a sailor of whom you well might
+boast."
+
+"I don't think any of the Plantagenets will chase in that quarter again,
+sir; for we've had an overhauling among our chaps, and we find we can
+muster four admirals, two commodores, and thirteen captains in our two
+messes; that is, counting all sorts of relatives, you know, sir."
+
+"Well, my dear boy, I hope you may live to reckon all that and more too,
+in your own persons, at some future day. Yonder is Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe, coming this way, to my surprise; perhaps he wishes to see me
+alone. Go down to the landing and ascertain if my barge is ashore, and
+let me know it, as soon as is convenient. Remember, Geoffrey, you will
+go off with me; and hunt up Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, who will lose his
+passage, unless ready the instant he is wanted."
+
+The boy touched his cap, and went bounding down the hill to execute the
+order.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+    "So glozed the Tempter, and his poison tuned;
+    Into the heart of Eve his words made way,
+    Though at the voice much marvelling."
+
+         MILTON.
+
+
+It was, probably, a species of presentiment, that induced Bluewater to
+send away the midshipman, when he saw the adherent of the dethroned
+house approaching. Enough had passed between the parties to satisfy each
+of the secret bias of the other; and, by that sort of free-masonry which
+generally accompanies strong feelings of partisanship, the admiral felt
+persuaded that the approaching interview was about to relate to the
+political troubles of the day.
+
+The season and the hour, and the spot, too, were all poetically
+favourable to an interview between conspirators. It was now nearly dark;
+the head-land was deserted, Dutton having retired, first to his bottle,
+and then to his bed; the wind blew heavily athwart the bleak eminence,
+or was heard scuffling in the caverns of the cliffs, while the
+portentous clouds that drove through the air, now veiled entirely, and
+now partially and dimly revealed the light of the moon, in a way to
+render the scene both exciting and wild. No wonder, then, that
+Bluewater, his visiter drawing near, felt a stronger disposition than
+had ever yet come over him to listen to the tale of the tempter, as,
+under all the circumstances, it would scarcely exceed the bounds of
+justice to call Sir Reginald.
+
+"In seeking you at such a spot, and in the midst of this wild
+landscape," said the latter, "I might have been assured I should be
+certain of finding one who really loved the sea and your noble
+profession. The Hall is a melancholy house, just at this moment; and
+when I inquired for you, no one could say whither you had strolled. In
+following what I thought a seaman's instinct, it appears that I did
+well.--Do my eyes fail me, or are there no more than three vessels at
+anchor yonder?"
+
+"Your eyes are still good, Sir Reginald; Admiral Oakes sailed several
+hours since, and he has been followed by all the fleet, with the
+exception of the two line-of-battle ships, and the frigate you see;
+leaving me to be the last to quit the anchorage."
+
+"Is it a secret of state, or are you permitted to say whither so strong
+a force has so suddenly sailed?" demanded the baronet, glancing his dark
+eye so expressively towards the other as to give him, in the growing
+obscurity, the appearance of an inquisitor. "I had been told the fleet
+would wait for orders from London?"
+
+"Such was the first intention of the commander-in-chief; but
+intelligence of the sailing of the Comte de Vervillin has induced Sir
+Gervaise to change his mind. An English admiral seldom errs when he
+seeks and beats an active and dangerous enemy."
+
+"Is this always true, Admiral Bluewater?" returned Sir Reginald,
+dropping in at the side of the other, and joining in his walk, as he
+paced, to and fro, a short path that Dutton called his own quarter-deck;
+"or is it merely an unmeaning generality that sometimes causes men to
+become the dupes of their own imaginations. Are those _always_ our
+enemies who may seem to be so? or, are we so infallible that every
+feeling or prejudice may be safely set down as an impulse to which we
+ought to submit, without questioning its authority?"
+
+"Do you esteem it a prejudice to view France as the natural enemy of
+England, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"By heaven, I do, sir! I can conceive that England may be much more her
+own enemy than France has ever proved to be. Then, conceding that ages
+of warfare have contributed to awaken some such feeling as this you hint
+at, is there not a question of right and wrong that lies behind all?
+Reflect how often England has invaded the French soil, and what serious
+injuries she has committed on the territory of the latter, while France
+has so little wronged us, in the same way; how, even her throne has been
+occupied by our princes, and her provinces possessed by our armies."
+
+"I think you hardly allow for all the equity of the different cases.
+Parts of what is now France, were the just inheritance of those who have
+sat on the English throne, and the quarrels were no more than the usual
+difficulties of neighbourhood. When our claims were just in themselves,
+you surely could not have wished to see them abandoned."
+
+"Far from it; but when claims were disputed, is it not natural for the
+loser to view them as a hardship? I believe we should have had a much
+better neighbourhood, as you call it, with France, had not the modern
+difficulties connected with religious changes, occurred."
+
+"I presume you know. Sir Reginald, that I, and all my family are
+Protestants."
+
+"I do, Admiral Bluewater; and I rejoice to find that a difference of
+opinion on this great interest, does not necessarily produce one on all
+others. From several little allusions that have passed between us
+to-day, I am encouraged to believe that we think alike on certain
+temporal matters, however wide the chasm between us on spiritual
+things."
+
+"I confess I have fallen into the same conclusion; and I should be sorry
+to be undeceived if wrong."
+
+"What occasion, then, for farther ambiguity? Surely two honourable men
+may safely trust each other with their common sentiments, when the times
+call for decision and frankness! I am a Jacobite, Admiral Bluewater; if
+I risk life or fortune by making the avowal, I place both, without
+reserve at your mercy."
+
+"They could not be in safer hands, sir; and I know no better mode of
+giving you every possible assurance that the confidence will not be
+abused, than by telling you in return, that I would cheerfully lay down
+my life could the sacrifice restore the deposed family to the throne."
+
+"This is noble, and manly, and frank, as I had hoped from a sailor!"
+exclaimed Sir Reginald, more delighted than he well knew how to express
+at the moment. "This simple assurance from your lips, carries more
+weight than all the oaths and pledges of vulgar conspiracy. We
+understand each other, and I should be truly sorry to inspire less
+confidence than I feel."
+
+"What better proof can I give you of the reliance placed on your faith,
+than the declaration you have heard, Sir Reginald? My head would answer
+for your treachery in a week; but I have never felt it more securely on
+my shoulders than at this moment."
+
+The baronet grasped the other's hand, and each gave and received a
+pressure that was full of meaning. Then both walked on, thoughtful and
+relieved, for quite a minute, in profound silence.
+
+"This sudden appearance of the prince in Scotland has taken us all a
+little by surprise," Sir Reginald resumed, after the pause; "though a
+few of us knew that his intentions led him this way. Perhaps he has done
+well to come unattended by a foreign force, and to throw himself, as it
+might be singly, into the arms of his subjects; trusting every thing to
+their generosity, loyalty, and courage. Some blame him; but I do not. He
+will awaken interest, now, in every generous heart in the nation,"--this
+was artfully adapted to the character of the listener;--"whereas some
+might feel disposed to be lukewarm under a less manly appeal to their
+affections and loyalty. In Scotland, we learn from all directions that
+His Royal Highness is doing wonders, while the friends of his house are
+full of activity in England, though compelled, for a time, to be
+watchful and prudent."
+
+"I rejoice, from the bottom of my heart, to hear this!" said Bluewater,
+drawing a long breath, like one whose mind was unexpectedly relieved
+from a heavy load. "From the bottom of my heart, do I rejoice! I had my
+apprehensions that the sudden appearance of the prince might find his
+well-wishers unprepared and timid."
+
+"As far from that as possible, my dear sir; though much still depends on
+the promptitude and resolution of the master spirits of the party. We
+are strong enough to control the nation, if we can bring those forward
+who have the strength to lead and control ourselves. All we now want are
+some hundred or two of prominent men to step out of their diffidence,
+and show us the way to honourable achievement and certain success."
+
+"Can such men be wanting, at a moment like this?"
+
+"I think we are secure of most of the high nobility, though their great
+risks render them all a little wary in the outset. It is among the
+professional men--the gallant soldiers, and the bold, ardent seamen of
+the fleet, that we must look for the first demonstrations of loyalty and
+true patriotism. To be honest with you, sir, I tire of being ruled by a
+German."
+
+"Do you know of any intention to rally a force in this part of England,
+Sir Reginald? If so, say but the word--point out the spot where the
+standard is to be raised, and I will rally under it, the instant
+circumstances will permit!"
+
+"This is just what I expected, Mr. Bluewater," answered the baronet,
+more gratified than he thought it prudent to express; "though it is not
+exactly the _form_ in which you can best serve us at this precise
+moment. Cut off from the north, as we are in this part of the island, by
+all the resources of the actual government, it would be the height of
+imprudence in us to show our hands, until all the cards are ready to be
+played. Active and confidential agents are at work in the army; London
+has its proper share of business men, while others are in the counties,
+doing their best to put things in a shape for the consummation we so
+anxiously look for. I have been with several of our friends in this
+vicinity, to bring matters into a combined state; and it was my
+intention to visit this very estate, to see what my own name might do
+with the tenantry, had not the late Sir Wycherly summoned me as he did,
+to attend his death-bed. Have you any clue to the feelings of this new
+and young head of my family, the sea-lieutenant and present baronet?"
+
+"Not a very plain one, sir, though I doubt if they be favourable to the
+House of Stuart."
+
+"I feared as much; this very evening I have had an anonymous
+communication that I think must come from his competitor, pretty plainly
+intimating that, by asserting _his_ rights, as they are called, the
+whole Wychecombe tenantry and interest could be united, in the present
+struggle, on whichever side I might desire to see them."
+
+"This is a bold and decided stroke, truly! May I inquire as to your
+answer, Sir Reginald?"
+
+"I shall give none. Under all circumstances I will ever refuse to place
+a bastard in the seat of a legitimate descendant of my family. We
+contend for legal and natural rights, my dear admiral, and the means
+employed should not be unworthy of the end. Besides, I know the
+scoundrel to be unworthy of trust, and shall not have the weakness to
+put myself in his power. I could wish the other boy to be of another
+mind; but, by getting him off to sea, whither he tells me he is bound,
+we shall at least send him out of harm's way."
+
+In all this Sir Reginald was perfectly sincere; for, while he did not
+always hesitate about the employment of means, in matters of politics,
+he was rigidly honest in every thing that related to private properly; a
+species of moral contradiction that is sometimes found among men who aim
+at the management of human affairs; since those often yield to a
+besetting weakness who are nearly irreproachable in other matters.
+Bluewater was glad to hear this declaration; his own simplicity of
+character inducing him to fancy it was an indication to the general
+probity of his companion.
+
+"Yes," observed the latter, "in all eases, we must maintain the laws of
+the land, in an affair of private right. This young man is not capable,
+perhaps, of forming a just estimate of his political duties, in a crisis
+like this, and it may be well, truly, to get him off to sea, lest by
+taking the losing side, he endangers his estate before he is fairly
+possessed of it. And having now disposed of Sir Wycherly, what can I do
+most to aid the righteous and glorious cause?"
+
+"This is coming to the point manfully, Sir Richard--I beg pardon for
+thus styling you, but I happen to know that your name has been before
+the prince, for some time, as one of those who are to receive the riband
+from a sovereign really _authorized_ to bestow it; if I have spoken a
+little prematurely, I again entreat your pardon;--but, this is at once
+coming manfully to the point! Serve us you can, of course, and that most
+effectually, and in an all-important manner. I now greatly regret that
+my father had not put me in the army, in my youth, that I might serve my
+prince as I could wish, in this perilous trial. But we have many friends
+accustomed to arms, and among them your own honourable name will appear
+conspicuous as to the past, and encouraging as to the future."
+
+"I have carried arms from boyhood, it is true, Sir Reginald, but it is
+in a service that will scarcely much avail us in this warfare. Prince
+Edward has no ships, nor do I know he will need any."
+
+"True, my dear sir, but King George has! As for the necessity, permit me
+to say you are mistaken; it will soon be all-important to keep open the
+communication with the continent. No doubt, Monsieur de Vervillin is
+out, with some such object, already."
+
+Bluewater started, and he recoiled from the firm grasp which the other
+took of his arm, in the earnestness of discourse, with some such
+instinctive aversion as a man recoils from the touch of the reptile. The
+thought of a treachery like that implied in the remark of his companion
+had never occurred to him, and his honest mind turned with a strong
+disrelish, from even the implied proposition of the other. Still, he was
+not quite certain how far Sir Reginald wished to urge him, and he felt
+it just to ascertain his real views before he answered them. Plausible
+as this appeared, it was a dangerous delay for one so simple-minded,
+when brought in contact with a person so practised as the baronet; Sir
+Reginald having the tact to perceive that his new friend's feelings had
+already taken the alarm, and at once determined to be more wary.
+
+"What am I to understand by this, Sir Reginald Wychecombe?" demanded the
+rear-admiral. "In what manner can I possibly be connected with the naval
+resources of the House of Hanover, when it is my intention to throw off
+its service? King George's fleets will hardly aid the Stuarts; and they
+will, at least, obey the orders of their own officers."
+
+"Not the least doubt in the world of this, Admiral Bluewater! What a
+glorious privilege it was for Monk to have it in his power to put his
+liege sovereign in his rightful seat, and thus to save the empire, by a
+_coup de main_, from the pains and grievances of a civil contest! Of all
+the glorious names in English history, I esteem that of George Monk as
+the one most to be envied! It is a great thing to be a prince--one born
+to be set apart as God's substitute on earth, in all that relates to
+human justice and human power;--yet it is greater, in my eyes, to be the
+subject to _restore_ the order of these almost divine successions, when
+once deranged by lawless and presuming men."
+
+"This is true enough, sir; though I would rather have joined Charles on
+the beach at Dover, armed only with an untainted sword, than followed by
+an army at my heels!"
+
+"What, when that army followed _cheerfully_, and was equally eager with
+yourself to serve their sovereign!"
+
+"That, indeed, might somewhat qualify the feeling. But soldiers and
+sailors are usually influenced by the opinions of those who have been
+placed over them by the higher authorities."
+
+"No doubt they are; and that is as it should be. We are encouraged to
+believe that some ten or fifteen captains are already well-disposed
+towards us, and will cheerfully take their respective ships to the
+points our wants require, the moment they feel assured of being properly
+led, when collected. By a little timely concert, we can command the
+North Sea, and keep open important communications with the continent. It
+is known the ministry intend to employ as many German troops as they can
+assemble, and a naval force will be all-important in keeping these
+mustachoed foreigners at a distance The quarrel is purely English, sir,
+and ought to be decided by Englishmen only."
+
+"In that, indeed, I fully concur, Sir Reginald," answered Bluewater,
+breathing more freely. "I would cruise a whole winter in the North Sea
+to keep the Dutchmen at home, and let Englishmen decide who is to be
+England's king. To me, foreign interference, in such a matter, is the
+next evil to positive disloyalty to my rightful prince."
+
+"These are exactly my sentiments, dear sir, and I hope to see you act on
+them. By the way, how happens it you are left alone, and in what manner
+do you admirals divide your authority when serving in company?"
+
+"I do not know I comprehend your question, Sir Reginald. I am left here
+to sail the last with the Caesar; Sir Gervaise leading out in the
+Plantagenet, with a view to draw a line across the channel that shall
+effectually prevent de Vervillin from getting to the westward."
+
+"To the _westward_!" repeated the other, smiling ironically, though the
+darkness prevented the admiral from seeing the expression of his
+features. "Does Admiral Oakes then think that the French ships are
+steering in _that_ direction?"
+
+"Such is our information; have you any reason to suppose that the enemy
+intend differently?"
+
+The baronet paused, and he appeared to ruminate. Enough had already
+passed to satisfy him he had not an ordinary mind in that of his
+companion to deal with, and he was slightly at a loss how to answer. To
+bring the other within his lures, he was fully resolved; and the spirits
+that aid the designing just at that moment suggested the plan which, of
+all others, was most likely to be successful. Bluewater had betrayed his
+aversion to the interference of foreign troops in the quarrel, and on
+this subject he intended to strike a chord which he rightly fancied
+would thrill on the rear-admiral's feelings.
+
+"We have our information, certainly," answered Sir Reginald, like one
+who was reluctant to tell all he knew; "though good faith requires it
+should not actually be exposed. Nevertheless, any one can reason on the
+probabilities. The Duke of Cumberland will collect his German
+auxiliaries, and they must get into England the best way that they can.
+Would an intelligent enemy with a well-appointed fleet suffer this
+junction, if he could prevent it? We know he would not; and when we
+remember the precise time of the sailing of the Comte, his probable
+ignorance of the presence of this squadron of yours, in the channel, and
+all the other circumstances of the case, who can suppose otherwise than
+to believe his aim is to intercept the German regiments."
+
+"This does seem plausible; and yet the Active's signals told us that the
+French were steering west; and that, too, with a light westerly wind."
+
+"Do not fleets, like armies, frequently make false demonstrations? Might
+not Monsieur de Vervillin, so long as his vessels were in sight from the
+shore, have turned toward the west, with an intention, as soon as
+covered by the darkness, to incline to the east, again, and sail up
+channel, under English ensigns, perhaps? Is it not possible for him to
+pass the Straits of Dover, even, as an English squadron--your own, for
+instance--and thus deceive the Hanoverian cruisers until ready to seize
+or destroy any transports that may be sent?"
+
+"Hardly, Sir Reginald," said Bluewater, smiling. "A French ship can no
+more be mistaken for an English ship, than a Frenchman can pass for a
+Briton. We sailors are not as easily deceived as that would show. It is
+true, however, that a fleet might well stand in one direction, until far
+enough off the land or covered by night, when it might change its course
+suddenly, in an opposite direction; and it _is possible_ the Comte de
+Vervillin has adopted some such stratagem. If he actually knew of the
+intention to throw German troops into the island, it is even quite
+_probable_. In that case, for one, I could actually wish him success!"
+
+"Well, my dear sir, and what is to prevent it?" asked Sir Reginald, with
+a triumph that was not feigned. "Nothing, you will say, unless he fall
+in with Sir Gervaise Oakes. But you have not answered my inquiry, as to
+the manner in which flag-officers divide their commands, at sea?"
+
+"As soldiers divide their commands ashore. The superior orders, and the
+inferior obeys."
+
+"Ay, this is true; but it does not meet my question. Here are eleven
+large ships, and two admirals; now what portion of these ships are under
+your particular orders, and what portion under those of Sir Gervaise
+Oakes?"
+
+"The vice-admiral has assigned to himself a division of six of the
+ships, and left me the other five. Each of us has his frigates and
+smaller vessels. But an order that the commander-in-chief may choose to
+give any captain must be obeyed by him, as the inferior submits, as a
+rule, to the last order."
+
+"And _you_," resumed Sir Reginald, with quickness; "how are _you_
+situated, as respects these captains?"
+
+"Should I give a direct order to any captain in the fleet, it would
+certainly be his duty to obey it; though circumstances might occur which
+would render it obligatory on him to let me know that he had different
+instructions from our common superior. But, why these questions, Sir
+Reginald?"
+
+"Your patience, my dear admiral;--and what ships have you specifically
+under your care?"
+
+"The Caesar, my own; the Dublin, the Elizabeth, the York, and the Dover.
+To these must be added the Druid frigate, the sloop of war, and the
+Gnat. My division numbers eight in all."
+
+"What a magnificent force to possess at a moment as critical as
+this!--But where are all these vessels? I see but four and a cutter, and
+only two of these seem to be large."
+
+"The light you perceive there, along the land to the westward, is on
+board the Elizabeth; and that broad off here, in the channel, is on
+board the York. The Dover's lantern has disappeared further to the
+southward. Ah! there the Dublin casts, and is off after the others!"
+
+"And you intend to follow, Admiral Bluewater?"
+
+"Within an hour, or I shall lose the division. As it is, I have been
+deliberating on the propriety of calling back the sternmost ships, and
+collecting them in close squadron; for this increase and hauling of the
+wind render it probable they will lose the vice-admiral, and that
+day-light will find the line scattered and in confusion. One mind must
+control the movements of ships, as well as of battalions, Sir Reginald,
+if they are to act in concert."
+
+"With what view would you collect the vessels you have mentioned, and in
+the manner you have named, if you do not deem my inquiry indiscreet?"
+demanded the baronet, with quickness.
+
+"Simply that they might be kept together, and brought in subjection to
+my own particular signals. This is the duty that more especially falls
+to my share, as head of the division."
+
+"Have you the means to effect this, here, on this hill, and by yourself,
+sir?"
+
+"It would be a great oversight to neglect so important a provision. My
+signal-officer is lying under yonder cover, wrapped in his cloak, and
+two quarter-masters are in readiness to make the very signal in
+question; for its necessity has been foreseen, and really would seem to
+be approaching. If done at all, it must be done quickly, too. The light
+of the York grows dim in the distance. It _shall_ be done, sir; prudence
+requires it, and you shall see the manner in which we hold our distant
+ships in command."
+
+Bluewater could not have announced more agreeable intelligence to his
+companion. Sir Reginald was afraid to propose the open treason he
+meditated; but he fancied, if the rear-admiral could fairly withdraw his
+own division from the fleet, it would at once weaken the vice-admiral so
+much, as to render an engagement with the French impossible, and might
+lead to such a separation of the commands as to render the final
+defection of the division inshore easier of accomplishment. It is true,
+Bluewater, himself, was actuated by motives directly contrary to these
+wishes; but, as the parties travelled the same road to a certain point,
+the intriguing baronet had his expectations of being able to persuade
+his new friend to continue on in his own route.
+
+Promptitude is a military virtue, and, among seamen, it is a maxim to do
+every thing that is required to be done, with activity and vigour. These
+laws were not neglected on the present occasion. No sooner had the
+rear-admiral determined on his course, than he summoned his agents to
+put it in execution. Lord Geoffrey had returned to the heights and was
+within call, and he carried the orders to the lieutenant and the
+quarter-masters. The lanterns only required lighting, and then they were
+run aloft on Dutton's staff, as regularly as the same duty could have
+been performed on the poop of the Caesar. Three rockets were thrown up,
+immediately after, and the gun kept on the cliffs for that purpose was
+fired, to draw attention to the signal. It might have been a minute ere
+the heavy ordnance of the Caesar repeated the summons, and the same
+signal was shown at her mast-head. The Dublin was still so near that no
+time was lost, but according to orders, she too repeated the signal; for
+in the line that night, it was understood that an order of this nature
+was to be sent from ship to ship.
+
+"Now for the Elizabeth!" cried Bluewater; "she cannot fail to have heard
+our guns, and to see our signals."
+
+"The York is ahead of her, sir!" exclaimed the boy; "see; she has the
+signal up already!"
+
+All this passed in a very few minutes, the last ships having sailed in
+the expectation of receiving some such recall. The York preceded the
+ship next to her in the line, in consequence of having gone about, and
+being actually nearer to the rear-admiral than her second astern. It was
+but a minute, before the gun and the lanterns of the Elizabeth, however,
+announced her knowledge of the order, also.
+
+The two ships last named were no longer visible from the cliffs, though
+their positions were known by their lights; but no sign whatever
+indicated the part of the ocean on which the Dover was struggling along
+through the billows. After a pause of several minutes, Bluewater spoke.
+
+"I fear we shall collect no more," he said; "one of my ships must take
+her chance to find the commander-in-chief, alone. Ha!--that means
+something!"
+
+At this instant a faint, distant flash was seen, for a single moment, in
+the gloom, and then all heads were bent forward to listen, in breathless
+attention. A little time had elapsed, when the dull, smothered report of
+a gun proclaimed that even the Dover had caught the rapidly transmitted
+order.
+
+"What means that, sir?" eagerly demanded Sir Reginald, who had attended
+to every thing with intense expectation.
+
+"It means, sir, that all of the division are still under my command. No
+other ship would note the order. _Their_ directions, unless specifically
+pointed out by their numbers, must come from the vice-admiral. Is my
+barge ashore, Lord Geoffrey Cleveland?"
+
+"It is, sir, as well as the cutter for Mr. Cornet and the
+quarter-masters."
+
+"It is well. Gentlemen, we will go on board; the Caesar must weigh and
+join the other vessels in the offing. I will follow you to the landing,
+but you will shove off, at once, and desire Captain Stowel to weigh and
+cast to-port. We will fill on the starboard tack, and haul directly off
+the land."
+
+The whole party immediately left the station, hurrying down to the
+boats, leaving Bluewater and Sir Reginald to follow more leisurely. It
+was a critical moment for the baronet, who had so nearly effected his
+purpose, that his disappointment would have been double did he fail of
+his object altogether. He determined, therefore, not to quit the admiral
+while there was the slightest hope of success. The two consequently
+descended together to the shore, walking, for the first minute or two,
+in profound silence.
+
+"A great game is in your hands, Admiral Bluewater," resumed the baronet;
+"rightly played, it may secure the triumph of the good cause. I think I
+may say I _know_ de Vervillin's object, and that his success will reseat
+the Stuarts on the thrones of their ancestors! One who loves them should
+ponder well before he does aught to mar so glorious a result."
+
+This speech was as bold as it was artful. In point of fact, Sir Reginald
+Wychecombe knew no more of the Comte de Vervillin's intended movements
+than his companion; but he did not hesitate to assert what he now did,
+in order to obtain a great political advantage, in a moment of so much
+importance. To commit Bluewater and his captains openly on the side of
+the Stuarts would be a great achievement in itself; to frustrate the
+plans of Sir Gervaise might safely be accounted another; and, then,
+there were all the chances that the Frenchman was not at sea for
+nothing, and that his operations might indeed succour the movements of
+the prince. The baronet, upright as he was in other matters, had no
+scruples of conscience on this occasion; having long since brought
+himself over to the belief that it was justifiable to attain ends as
+great as those he had in view, by the sacrifice of any of the minor
+moral considerations.
+
+The effect on Bluewater was not trifling. The devil had placed the bait
+before his eyes in a most tempting form; for he felt that he had only to
+hold his division in reserve to render an engagement morally improbable.
+Abandon his friend to a superior force he could and would not; but, it
+is our painful duty to avow that his mind had glimpses of the
+possibility of doing the adventurer in Scotland a great good, without
+doing the vice-admiral and the van of the fleet any very essential harm.
+Let us be understood, however. The rear-admiral did not even contemplate
+treason, or serious defection of any sort; but through one of those
+avenues of frailty by which men are environed, he had a glance at
+results that the master-spirit of evil momentarily placed before his
+mental vision as both great and glorious.
+
+"I wish we were really certain of de Vervillin's object," he said; the
+only concession he made to this novel feeling, in words. "It might,
+indeed, throw a great light on the course we ought to take ourselves. I
+do detest this German alliance, and would abandon the service ere I
+would convoy or transport a ragamuffin of them all to England."
+
+Here Sir Reginald proved how truly expert he was in the arts of
+management. A train of thought and feeling had been lighted in the mind
+of his companion, which he felt might lead to all he wished, while he
+was apprehensive that further persuasion would awaken opposition, and
+renew old sentiments. He wisely determined, therefore, to leave things
+as they were, trusting to the strong and declared bias of the admiral in
+favour of the revolution, to work out its own consequences, with a
+visible and all-important advantage so prominently placed before his
+eyes.
+
+"I know nothing of ships," he answered, modestly; "but I do _know_ that
+the Comte has our succour in view. It would ill become me to advise one
+of your experience how to lead a force like this, which is subject to
+your orders; but a friend of the good cause, who is now in the west, and
+who was lately in the presence itself, tells me that the prince
+manifested extreme satisfaction when he learned how much it might be in
+your power to serve him."
+
+"Do you then think my name has reached the royal ear, and that the
+prince has any knowledge of my real feelings?"
+
+"Nothing but your extreme modesty could cause you to doubt the first,
+sir; as to the last, ask yourself how came I to approach you to-night,
+with my heart in my hand, as it might be, making you master of my life
+as well as of my secret. Love and hatred are emotions that soon betray
+themselves."
+
+It is matter of historical truth that men of the highest principles and
+strongest minds have yielded to the flattery of rank. Bluewater's
+political feelings had rendered him indifferent to the blandishments of
+the court at London, while his imagination, that chivalrous deference to
+antiquity and poetical right, which lay at the root of his Jacobitism,
+and his brooding sympathies, disposed him but too well to become the
+dupe of language like this. Had he been more a man of facts, one less
+under the influence of his own imagination; had it been his good fortune
+to live even in contact with those he now so devoutly worshipped, in a
+political sense at least, their influence over a mind as just and
+clear-sighted as his own, would soon have ceased; but, passing his time
+at sea, they had the most powerful auxiliary possible, in the high
+faculty he possessed of fancying things as he wished them to be. No
+wonder, then, that he heard this false assertion of Sir Reginald with a
+glow of pleasure; with even a thrill at the heart to which he had long
+been a stranger. For a time, his better feelings were smothered in this
+new and treacherous sensation.
+
+The gentlemen, by this time, were at the landing, and it became
+necessary to separate. The barge of the rear-admiral was with difficulty
+kept from leaping on the rock, by means of oars and boat-hooks, and each
+instant rendered the embarkation more and more difficult. The moments
+were precious on more accounts than one, and the leave-taking was short.
+Sir Reginald said but little, though he intended the pressure of the
+hand he gave his companion to express every thing.
+
+"God be with you," he added; "and as you prove true, may you prove
+successful! Remember, 'a lawful prince, and the claims of birth-right.'
+God be with you!"
+
+"Adieu, Sir Reginald; when we next meet, the future will probably be
+more apparent to us all.--But who comes hither, rushing like a madman
+towards the boat?"
+
+A form came leaping through the darkness; nor was it known, until it
+stood within two feet of Bluewater, it was that of Wycherly. He had
+heard the guns and seen the signals. Guessing at the reasons, he dashed
+from the park, which he was pacing to cool his agitation, and which now
+owned him for a master, and ran the whole distance to the shore, in
+order not to be left. His arrival was most opportune; for, in another
+minute, the barge left the rock.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+    "O'er the glad waters of the dark-blue sea.
+    Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free.
+    Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,
+    Survey our empire and behold our home."
+
+         THE CORSAIR.
+
+
+One is never fully aware of the extent of the movement that agitates the
+bosom of the ocean until fairly subject to its action himself, when
+indeed we all feel its power and reason closely on its dangers. The
+first pitch of his boat told Bluewater that the night threatened to be
+serious. As the lusty oarsmen bent to their stroke, the barge rose on a
+swell, dividing the foam that glanced past it like a marine Aurora
+Borealis, and then plunged into the trough as if descending to the
+bottom. It required several united and vigorous efforts to force the
+little craft from its dangerous vicinity to the rocks, and to get it in
+perfect command. This once done, however, the well-practised crew urged
+the barge slowly but steadily ahead.
+
+"A dirty night!--a dirty night!" muttered Bluewater, unconsciously to
+himself; "we should have had a wild berth, had we rode out this blow, at
+anchor. Oakes will have a heavy time of it out yonder in the very chops
+of the channel, with a westerly swell heaving in against this ebb."
+
+"Yes, sir," answered Wycherly; "the vice-admiral will be looking out for
+us all, anxiously enough, in the morning."
+
+Not another syllable did Bluewater utter until his boat had touched the
+side of the Caesar. He reflected deeply on his situation, and those who
+know his feelings will easily understand that his reflections were not
+altogether free from pain. Such as they were, he kept them to himself,
+however, and in a man-of-war's boat, when a flag-officer chooses to be
+silent, it is a matter of course for his inferiors to imitate his
+example.
+
+The barge was about a quarter of a mile from the landing, when the heavy
+flap of the Caesar's main-top-sail was heard, as, close-reefed, it
+struggled for freedom, while her crew drew its sheets down to the blocks
+on the lower yard-arms. A minute later, the Gnat, under the head of her
+fore-and-aft-main-sail, was seen standing slowly off from the land,
+looking in the darkness like some half-equipped shadow of herself. The
+sloop of war, too, was seen bending low to the force of the wind, with
+her mere apology of a top-sail thrown aback, in waiting for the flag-ship
+to cast.
+
+The surface of the waters was a sheet of glancing foam, while the air
+was filled with the blended sounds of the wash of the element, and the
+roar of the winds. Still there was nothing chilling or repulsive in the
+temperature of the air, which was charged with the freshness of the sea,
+and was bracing and animating, bringing with it the flavour that a
+seaman loves. After fully fifteen minutes' severe tugging at the oars,
+the barge drew near enough to permit the black mass of the Caesar to be
+seen. For some time, Lord Geoffrey, who had seated himself at the
+tiller,--yoke-lines were not used a century since,--steered by the
+top-light of the rear-admiral; but now the maze of hamper was seen
+waving slowly to and fro in the lurid heavens, and the huge hull became
+visible, heaving and setting, as if the ocean groaned with the labour of
+lifting such a pile of wood and iron. A light gleamed from the
+cabin-windows, and ever and anon, one glanced athwart an open gun-room
+port. In all other respects, the ship presented but one hue of
+blackness. Nor was it an easy undertaking, even after the barge was
+under the lee of the ship, for those in it, to quit its uneasy support
+and get a firm footing on the cleets that lined the vessel's side like a
+ladder. This was done, however, and all ascended to the deck but two of
+the crew, who remained to hook-on the yard and stay-tackles. This
+effected, the shrill whistle gave the word, and that large boat, built
+to carry at need some twenty souls, was raised from the raging water, as
+it were by some gigantic effort of the ship herself, and safely
+deposited in her bosom.
+
+"We are none too soon, sir," said Stowel, the moment he had received the
+rear-admiral with the customary etiquette of the hour. "It's a cap-full
+of wind already, and it promises to blow harder before morning. We are
+catted and fished, sir, and the forecastle-men are passing the
+shank-painter at this moment."
+
+"Fill, sir, and stretch off, on an easy bowline," was the answer; "when
+a league in the offing, let me know it. Mr. Cornet, I have need of you,
+in my cabin."
+
+As this was said, Bluewater went below, followed by his signal-officer.
+At the same instant the first lieutenant called out to man the
+main-braces, and to fill the top-sail. As soon as this command was
+obeyed, the Caesar started ahead. Her movement was slow, but it had a
+majesty in it, that set at naught the turbulence of the elements.
+
+Bluewater had paced to and fro in his cabin no less than six times, with
+his head drooping, in a thoughtful attitude, ere his attention was
+called to any external object.
+
+"Do you wish my presence, Admiral Bluewater?" the signal-officer at
+length inquired.
+
+"I ask your pardon, Mr. Cornet; I was really unconscious that you were
+in the cabin. Let me see--ay--our last signal was, 'division come within
+hail of rear-admiral.' They must get close to us, to be able to do
+_that_ to-night, Cornet! The winds and waves have begun their song in
+earnest."
+
+"And yet, sir, I'll venture a month's pay that Captain Drinkwater brings
+the Dover so near us, as to put the officer of the watch and the
+quarter-master at the wheel in a fever. We once made that signal, in a
+gale of wind, and he passed his jib-boom-end over our taffrail."
+
+"He is certainly a most literal gentleman, that Captain Drinkwater, but
+he knows how to take care of his ship. Look for the number of 'follow
+the rear-admiral's motions.' 'Tis 211, I think."
+
+"No, sir; but 212. Blue, red, and white, with the flags. With the
+lanterns, 'tis one of the simplest signals we have."
+
+"We will make it, at once. When that is done, show 'the rear-admiral;
+keep in his wake, in the general order of sailing.' That I am sure is
+204."
+
+"Yes, sir; you are quite right. Shall I show the second signal as soon
+as all the vessels have answered the first, sir?"
+
+"That is my intention, Cornet. When all have answered, let me know it."
+
+Mr. Cornet now left the cabin, and Bluewater took a seat in an
+arm-chair, in deep meditation. For quite half an hour the former was
+busy on the poop, with his two quarter-masters, going through the slow
+and far from easy duty of making night-signals, as they were then
+practised at sea. It was some time before the most distant vessel, the
+Dover, gave any evidence of comprehending the first order, and then the
+same tardy operation had to be gone through with for the second. At
+length the sentinel threw open the cabin-door, and Cornet re-appeared.
+During the whole of his absence on deck, Bluewater had not stirred;
+scarce seemed to breathe. His thoughts were away from his ships, and for
+the first time, in the ten years he had worn a flag, he had forgotten
+the order he had given.
+
+"The signals are made and answered, sir," said Cornet, as soon as he had
+advanced to the edge of the table, on which the rear-admiral's elbow was
+leaning. "The Dublin is already in our wake, and the Elizabeth is
+bearing down fast on our weather-quarter; she will bring herself into
+her station in ten minutes."
+
+"What news of the York and Dover, Cornet?" asked Bluewater, rousing
+himself from a fit of deep abstraction.
+
+"The York's light nears us, quite evidently; though that of the Dover is
+still a fixed star, sir," answered the lieutenant, chuckling a little at
+his own humour; "it seems no larger than it did when we first made it."
+
+"It is something to have made it at all. I was not aware it could be
+seen from deck?"
+
+"Nor can it, sir; but, by going up half-a-dozen ratlins we get a look at
+it. Captain Drinkwater bowses up his lights to the gaff-end, and I can
+see him always ten minutes sooner than any other ship in the fleet,
+under the same circumstances."
+
+"Drinkwater is a careful officer; do the bearings of his light alter
+enough to tell the course he is steering?"
+
+"I think they do, sir, though our standing out athwart his line of
+sailing would make the change slow, of course. Every foot we get to the
+southward, you know, sir, would throw his bearings farther west; while
+every foot he comes east, would counteract that change and throw his
+bearings further south."
+
+"That's very clear; but, as he must go three fathoms to our one, running
+off with square yards before such a breeze, I think we should be
+constantly altering his bearings to the southward."
+
+"No doubt of it, in the world, sir; and that is just what we _are_
+doing. I think I can see a difference of half a point, already; but,
+when we get his light fairly in view from the poop, we shall be able to
+tell with perfect accuracy."
+
+"All very well, Cornet. Do me the favour to desire Captain Stowel to
+step into the cabin and keep a bright look-out for the ships of the
+division. Stay, for a single instant; what particularly sharp-eyed
+youngster happens to belong to the watch on deck?"
+
+"I know none keener in that way than Lord Geoffrey Cleveland, sir; he
+can see all the roguery that is going on in the whole fleet, at any
+rate, and ought to see other things."
+
+"He will do perfectly well; send the young gentleman to me, sir; but,
+first inform the officer of the watch that I have need of him."
+
+Bluewater was unusually fastidious in exercising his authority over
+those who had temporary superiors on the assigned duty of the ship; and
+he never sent an order to any of the watch, without causing it to pass
+through the officer of that watch. He waited but a minute before the boy
+appeared.
+
+"Have you a good gripe to-night, boy?" asked the rear-admiral, smiling;
+"or will it be both hands for yourself and none for the king? I want you
+on the fore-top-gallant-yard, for eight or ten minutes."
+
+"Well, sir, it's a plain road there, and one I've often travelled,"
+returned the lad, cheerfully.
+
+"That I well know; you are certainly no skulk when duty is to be done.
+Go aloft then, and ascertain if the lights of any of Sir Gervaise's
+squadron are to be seen. You will remember that the Dover bears
+somewhere about south-west from us, and that she is still a long way to
+seaward. I should think all of Sir Gervaise's ships must be quite as far
+to windward as that point would bring them, but much further off. By
+looking sharp a point or half a point to windward of the Dover, you may
+possibly see the light of the Warspite, and then we shall get a correct
+idea of the bearings of all the rest of the division--"
+
+"Ay-ay-sir," interrupted the boy; "I think I understand exactly what you
+wish to know, Admiral Bluewater."
+
+"That is a natural gift at sixteen, my lord," returned the admiral,
+smiling; "but it may be improved a little, perhaps, by the experience of
+fifty. Now, it is possible Sir Gervaise may have gone about, as soon as
+the flood made; in which case he ought to bear nearly west of us, and
+you will also look in that direction. On the other hand, Sir Gervaise
+may have stretched so far over towards the French coast before night
+shut in, as to feel satisfied Monsieur de Vervillin is still to the
+eastward of him; in which case he would keep off a little, and may, at
+this moment, be nearly ahead of us. So that, under all the
+circumstances, you will sweep the horizon, from the weather-beam to the
+lee-bow, ranging forward. Am I understood, now, my lord?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I think you are," answered the boy, blushing at his own
+impetuosity. "You will excuse my indiscretion, Admiral Bluewater; but I
+_thought_ I understood all you desired, when I spoke so hastily."
+
+"No doubt you did, Geoffrey, but you perceive you did not. Nature has
+made you quick of apprehension, but not quick enough to _foresee_ all an
+old man's gossip. Come nearer, now, and let us shake hands. So go aloft,
+and hold on well, for it is a windy night, and I do not desire to lose
+you overboard."
+
+The boy did as told, squeezed Bluewater's hand, and dashed out of the
+cabin to conceal his tears. As for the rear-admiral, he immediately
+relapsed into his fit of forgetfulness, waiting for the arrival of
+Stowel.
+
+A summons to a captain does not as immediately produce a visit, on board
+a vessel of war, as a summons to a midshipman. Captain Stowel was busy
+in looking at the manner in which his boats were stowed, when Cornet
+told him of the rear-admiral's request; and then he had to give some
+orders to the first lieutenant concerning the fresh meat that had been
+got off, and one or two other similar little things, before he was at
+leisure to comply.
+
+"See me, do you say, Mr. Cornet; in his own cabin, as soon as it is
+convenient?" he at length remarked, when all these several offices had
+been duly performed.
+
+The signal-officer repeated the request, word for word as he had heard
+it, when he turned to take another look at the light of the Dover. As
+for Stowel, he cared no more for the Dover, windy and dark as the night
+promised to be, than the burgher is apt to care for his neighbour's
+house when the whole street is threatened with destruction. To him the
+Caesar was the great centre of attraction, and Cornet paid him off in
+kind; for, of all the vessels in the fleet, the Caesar was precisely the
+one to which he gave the least attention; and this for the simple reason
+that she was the only ship to which he never gave, or from which he
+never received, a signal.
+
+"Well, Mr. Bluff," said Stowel to the first lieutenant; "one of us will
+have to be on deck most of the night, and I'll take a slant below, for
+half an hour first, and see what the admiral wishes."
+
+Thus saying, the captain left the deck, in order to ascertain his
+superior's pleasure. Captain Stowel was several years the senior of
+Bluewater, having actually been a lieutenant in one of the frigates in
+which the rear-admiral had served as a midshipman; a circumstance to
+which he occasionally alluded in their present intercourse. The change
+in the relative positions was the result of the family influence of the
+junior, who had passed his senior in the grade of master and commander;
+a rank that then brought many an honest man up for life, in the English
+marine. At the age of five-and-forty, that at which Bluewater first
+hoisted his flag, Stowell was posted; and soon after he was invited by
+his old shipmate, who had once had him under him as his first lieutenant
+in a sloop of war, to take the command of his flag-ship. From that day
+down to the present moment, the two officers had sailed together,
+whenever they sailed at all, perfectly good friends; though the captain
+never appeared entirely to forget the time when they were in the
+aforesaid frigate; one a gun-room officer, and the other only a
+"youngster."
+
+Stowel must now have been about sixty-five; a square, hard-featured,
+red-faced seaman, who knew all about his ship, from her truck to her
+limber-rope, but who troubled himself very little about any thing else.
+He had married a widow when he was posted, but was childless, and had
+long since permitted his affections to wander back into their former
+channels; from the domestic hearth to his ship. He seldom spoke of
+matrimony, but the little he saw fit to say on the subject was
+comprehensive and to the point. A perfectly sober man, he consumed large
+quantities of both wine and brandy, as well as of tobacco, and never
+seemed to be the worse for either. Loyal he was by political faith, and
+he looked upon a revolution, let its object be what it might, as he
+would have regarded a mutiny in the Caesar. He was exceedingly
+pertinacious of his rights as "captain of his own ship," both ashore and
+afloat; a disposition that produced less trouble with the mild and
+gentlemanly rear-admiral, than with Mrs. Stowel. If we add that this
+plain sailor never looked into a book, his proper scientific works
+excepted, we shall have said all of him that his connection with our
+tale demands.
+
+"Good-evening, Admiral Bluewater," said this true tar, saluting the
+rear-admiral, as one neighbour would greet another, on dropping in of an
+evening, for they occupied different cabins. "Mr. Cornet told me you
+would like to say a word to me, before I turned in; if, indeed, turn in
+at all, I do this blessed night."
+
+"Take a seat, Stowel, and a glass of this sherry, in the bargain,"
+Bluewater answered, kindly, showing how well he understood his man, by
+the manner in which he shoved both bottle and glass within reach of his
+hand. "How goes the night?--and is this wind likely to stand?"
+
+"I'm of opinion, sir--we'll drink His Majesty, if you've no objection,
+Admiral Bluewater,--I'm of opinion, we shall stretch the threads of that
+new main-top-sail, before we've done with the breeze, sir. I believe
+I've not told you, yet, that I've had the new sail bent, since we last
+spoke together on the subject. It's a good fit, sir; and, close-reefed,
+the sails stands like the side of a house."
+
+"I'm glad to hear it, Stowel; though I think all your canvass usually
+appears to be in its place."
+
+"Why you know, Admiral Bluewater, that I've been long enough at it, to
+understand something about the matter. It is now more than forty years
+since we were in the Calypso together, and ever since that time I've
+borne the commission of an officer. You were then a youngster, and
+thought more of your joke, than of bending sails, or of seeing how they
+would stand."
+
+"There wasn't much of me, certainly, forty years ago, Stowel; but I well
+remember the knack you had of making every robin, sheet, bowline, and
+thread do its duty, then, as you do to-day. By the way, can you tell me
+any thing of the Dover, this evening?"
+
+"Not I, sir; she came out with the rest of us I suppose, and must be
+somewhere in the fleet; though I dare say the log will have it all, if
+she has been anywhere near us, lately. I am sorry we did not go into one
+of the watering-ports, instead of this open roadstead, for we must be at
+least twenty-seven hundred gallons short of what we ought to have, by my
+calculation; and then we want a new set of light spars, pretty much all
+round; and the lower hold hasn't as many barrels of provisions in it, by
+thirty-odd, as I could wish to see there."
+
+"I leave these things to you, entirely, Stowel; you will report in time
+to keep the ship efficient."
+
+"No fear of the Caesar, sir; for, between Mr. Bluff, the master, and
+myself, we know pretty much all about _her_, though I dare say there are
+men in the fleet who can tell you more about the Dublin, or the Dover,
+or the York. We will drink the queen, and all the royal family, if you
+please, sir."
+
+As usual, Bluewater merely bowed, for his companion required no further
+acquiescence in his toasts. Just at that moment, too, it would have
+needed a general order, at least, to induce him to drink any of the
+family of the reigning house.
+
+"Oakes must be well off, mid-channel, by this time, Captain Stowel?"
+
+"I should think he might be, sir; though I can't say I took particular
+notice of the time he sailed. I dare say it's all in the log. The
+Plantagenet is a fast ship, sir, and Captain Greenly understands her
+trim, and what she can do on all tacks; and, yet, I do think His Majesty
+has one ship in this fleet that can find a Frenchman quite as soon, and
+deal with him, when found, quite as much to the purpose."
+
+"Of course you mean the Caesar;--well, I'm quite of your way of thinking,
+though Sir Gervaise manages never to be in a slow ship. I suppose you
+know, Stowel, that Monsieur de Vervillin is out, and that we may expect
+to see or hear something of him, to-morrow."
+
+"Yes, sir, there is some such conversation in the ship, I know; but the
+quantity of galley-news is so great in this squadron, that I never
+attend much to what is said. One of the officers brought off a rumour, I
+believe, that there was a sort of a row in Scotland. By the way, sir,
+there is a supernumerary lieutenant on board, and as he has joined
+entirely without orders, I'm at a loss how to berth or to provision him.
+We can treat the gentleman hospitably to-night; but in the morning I
+shall be obliged to get him regularly on paper."
+
+"You mean Sir Wycherly Wychecombe; he shall come into my mess, rather
+than give you any trouble."
+
+"I shall not presume to meddle with any gentleman you may please to
+invite into your cabin, sir," answered Stowel, with a stiff bow, in the
+way of apology. "That's what I always tell Mrs. Stowel, sir;--that my
+_cabin_ is my _own_, and even a wife has no right to shake a broom in
+it."
+
+"Which is a great advantage to us seamen; for it gives us a citadel to
+retreat to, when the outworks are pressed. You appear to take but little
+interest in this civil war, Stowel!"
+
+"Then it's true, is it, sir? I didn't know but it might turn out to be
+galley-news. Pray what is the rumpus all about, Admiral Bluewater? for,
+I never could get that story fidded properly, so as to set up the
+rigging, and have the spar well stayed in its place."
+
+"It is merely a war to decide who shall be king of England; nothing
+else, I do assure you, sir."
+
+"They're an uneasy set ashore, sir, if the truth must be said of them!
+We've got one king, already; and on what principle does any man wish for
+more? Now, there was Captain Blakely, from the Elizabeth, on board of me
+this afternoon; and we talked the matter over a little, and both of us
+concluded that they got these things up much as a matter of profit among
+the army contractors, and the dealers in warlike stores."
+
+Bluewater listened with intense interest, for here was proof how
+completely two of his captains, at least, would be at his own command,
+and how little they would be likely, for a time, at least, to dispute
+any of his orders. He thought of Sir Reginald, and of the rapture with
+which _he_ would have received this trait of nautical character.
+
+"There are people who set their hearts on the result, notwithstanding,"
+carelessly observed the rear-admiral; "and some who see their fortunes
+marred or promoted, by the success or downfall of the parties. They
+think de Vervillin is out on some errand connected with this rising in
+the north."
+
+"Well, I don't see what _he_ has got to do with the matter at all; for,
+I don't suppose that King Louis is such a fool as to expect to be king
+of England as well as king of France!"
+
+"The dignity would be too much for one pair of shoulders to bear. As
+well might one admiral wish to command all the divisions of his own
+fleet, though they were fifty leagues asunder."
+
+"Or one captain two ships; or what is more to the purpose, sir, one ship
+to keep two captains. We'll drink to discipline, if you've no objection,
+sir. 'Tis the soul of order and quiet, ashore or afloat. For my part, I
+want no _co-equal_--I believe that's the cant word they use on such
+occasions--but I want no co-equal, in the Caesar, and I am unwilling to
+have one in the house at Greenwich; though Mrs. Stowel thinks
+differently. Here's my ship; she's in her place in the line; it's my
+business to see she is fit for any service that a first-class two-decker
+can undertake, and that duty I endeavour to perform; and I make no doubt
+it is all the better performed because there's no wife or co-equal
+aboard here. _Where_ the ship is to _go_, and _what_ she is to _do_, are
+other matters, which I take from general orders, special orders, or
+signals. Let them act up to this principle in London, and we should hear
+no more of disturbances, north or south."
+
+"Certainly, Stowel, your doctrine would make a quiet nation, as well as
+a quiet ship. I hope you do me the justice to think there is no co-equal
+in my commands!"
+
+"That there is not, sir--and I have the honour to drink your
+health--that there is not. When we were in the Calypso together, I had
+the advantage; and I must say that I never had a youngster under me who
+ever did his duty more cheerfully. Since that day we've shifted places;
+end for end, as one might say; and I endeavour to pay you, in your own
+coin. There is no man whose orders I obey more willingly or more to my
+own advantage; always excepting those of Admiral Oakes, who, being
+commander-in-chief, overlays us all with his anchor. We must dowse our
+peaks to his signals, though we _can_ maintain, without mutinying, that
+the Caesar is as good a boat on or off a wind, as the Plantagenet, the
+best day Sir Jarvy ever saw."
+
+"There is no manner of doubt of that. You have all the notions of a true
+sailor, I find, Stowel; obey orders before all other things. I am
+curious to know how our captains, generally, stand affected to this
+claim which the Pretender has set up to the throne."
+
+"Can't tell you, on my soul, sir; though I fancy few of them give
+themselves any great anxiety in the matter. When the wind is fair we can
+run off large, and when it is foul we must haul upon a bowline, let who
+will reign. I was a youngster under Queen Anne, and she was a Stuart, I
+believe; and I have served under the German family ever since; and to be
+frank with you, Admiral Bluewater, I see but little difference in the
+duty, the pay, or the rations. My maxim is to obey orders, and then I
+know the blame will fall on them that give them, if any thing goes
+wrong."
+
+"We have many Scotchmen in the fleet, Stowel," observed the
+rear-admiral, in a musing manner, like one who rather thought aloud than
+spoke. "Several of the captains are from the north of Tweed."
+
+"Ay, sir, one is pretty certain of meeting gentlemen from that part of
+the island, in almost all situations in life. I never have understood
+that Scotland had much of a navy in ancient times, and yet the moment
+old England has to pay for it, the lairds are willing enough to send
+their children to sea."
+
+"Nevertheless it must be owned that they make gallant and useful
+officers, Stowel."
+
+"No doubt they do, sir; but gallant and useful men are not scarce
+anywhere. You and I are too old and too experienced, Admiral Bluewater,
+to put any faith in the notion that courage belongs to any particular
+part of the world, or usefulness either. I never fought a Frenchman yet
+that I thought a coward; and, in my judgment, there are brave men enough
+in England, to command all her ships, and to fight them too."
+
+"Let this be so, Stowel, still we must take things as they come. What do
+you think of the night?"
+
+"Dirty enough before morning, I should think, sir, though it is a little
+out of rule, that it does not rain with this wind, already. The next
+time we come-to, Admiral Bluewater, I intend to anchor with a shorter
+scope of cable than we have been doing lately; for, I begin to think
+there is no use in wetting so many yarns in the summer months. They tell
+me the York brings up always on forty fathoms."
+
+"That's a short range, I should think, for a heavy ship. But here is a
+visiter."
+
+The sentinel opened the cabin-door, and Lord Geoffrey, with his cap
+fastened to his head by a pocket-handkerchief, and his face red with
+exposure to the wind, entered the cabin.
+
+"Well," said Bluewater, quietly; "what is the report from aloft?"
+
+"The Dover is running down athwart our forefoot, and nearing us fast,
+sir," returned the midshipman. "The York is close on our weather-beam,
+edging in to her station; but I can make out nothing ahead of us, though
+I was on the yard twenty minutes."
+
+"Did you look well on the weather-beam, and thence forward to the
+lee-bow?"
+
+"I did, sir; if any light is in view, better eyes than mine must find
+it."
+
+Stowel looked from one to the other, as this short conversation was
+held; but, as soon as there was a pause, he put in a word in behalf of
+the ship.
+
+"You've been up forward, my lord?" he said.
+
+"Yes, I have, Captain Stowel."
+
+"And did you think of seeing how the heel of the top-gallant-mast stood
+it, in this sea? Bluff tells me 'tis too loose to be fit for very heavy
+weather."
+
+"I did not, sir. I was sent aloft to look out for the ships of the
+commander-in-chief's division, and didn't think of the heel of the
+top-gallant-mast's being too loose, at all."
+
+"Ay, that's the way with all the youngsters, now-a-days. In my time, or
+even in _yours_, Admiral Bluewater, we never put our feet on a ratlin,
+but hands and eyes were at work, until we reached the halting place,
+even though it should be the truck. That is the manner to know what a
+ship is made of!"
+
+"I kept my hands and eyes at work, too, Captain Stowel; but it was to
+hold on well, and to look out well."
+
+"That will never do--that will never do, if you wish to make yourself a
+sailor. Begin with your own ship first; learn all about _her_, then,
+when you get to be an admiral, as your father's son, my lord, will be
+certain to become, it will be time enough to be inquiring about the rest
+of the fleet."
+
+"You forget, Captain Stowel--"
+
+"That will do, Lord Geoffrey," Bluewater soothingly interposed, for he
+knew that the Captain preached no more than he literally practised; "if
+_I_ am satisfied with your report, no one else has a right to complain.
+Desire Sir Wycherly Wychecombe to meet me on deck, where we will now go,
+Stowel, and take a look at the weather for ourselves."
+
+"With all my heart, Admiral Bluewater, though I'll just drink the First
+Lord's health before we quit this excellent liquor. That youngster has
+stuff in him, in spite of his nobility, and by fetching him up, with
+round turns, occasionally, I hope to make a man of him, yet."
+
+"If he do not grow into that character, physically and morally, within
+the next few years, sir, he will be the first person of his family who
+has ever failed of it."
+
+As Bluewater said this, he and the captain left his cabin, and ascended
+to the quarter-deck. Here Stowel stopped to hold a consultation with his
+first lieutenant, while the admiral went up the poop-ladder, and joined
+Cornet. The last had nothing new to communicate, and as he was permitted
+to go below, he was desired to send Wycherly up to the poop, where the
+young man would be expected by the rear-admiral.
+
+Some little time elapsed before the Virginian could be found; no sooner
+was this effected, however, than he joined Bluewater. They had a private
+conversation of fully half an hour, pacing the poop the whole time, and
+then Cornet was summoned back, again, to his usual station. The latter
+immediately received an order to acquaint Captain Stowel the
+rear-admiral desired that the Caesar might be hove-to, and to make a
+signal for the Druid 36, to come under the flag-ship's lee, and back her
+main-top-sail. No sooner did this order reach the quarter-deck than the
+watch was sent to the braces, and the main-yard was rounded in, until
+the portion of sail that was still set lay against the mast. This
+deadened the way of the huge body, which rose and fell heavily in the
+seas, as they washed under her, scarcely large enough to lift the
+burthen it imposed upon them. Just at this instant, the signal was made.
+
+The sudden check to the movement of the Caesar brought the Dublin booming
+up in the darkness, when putting her helm up, that ship surged slowly
+past to leeward, resembling a black mountain moving by in the gloom. She
+was hailed and directed to heave-to, also, as soon as far enough ahead.
+The Elizabeth followed, clearing the flag-ship by merely twenty fathoms,
+and receiving a similar order. The Druid had been on the admiral's
+weather-quarter, but she now came gliding down, with the wind abeam,
+taking room to back her top-sail under the Caesar's lee-bow. By this time
+a cutter was in the water, rising six or eight feet up the black side of
+the ship, and sinking as low apparently beneath her bottom. Next,
+Wycherly reported himself ready to proceed.
+
+"You will not forget, sir," said Bluewater, "any part of my commission;
+but inform the commander-in-chief of the _whole_. It may be important
+that we understand each other fully. You will also hand him this letter
+which I have hastily written while the boat was getting ready."
+
+"I think I understand your wishes, sir;--at least, I _hope_ so;--and I
+will endeavour to execute them."
+
+"God bless you, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe," added Bluewater, with emotion.
+"We may never meet again; we sailors carry uncertain lives; and we may
+be said to carry them in our hands."
+
+Wycherly took his leave of the admiral, and he ran down the poop-ladder
+to descend into the boat. Twice he paused on the quarter-deck, however,
+in the manner of one who felt disposed to return and ask some
+explanation; but each time he moved on, decided to proceed.
+
+It needed all the agility of our young sailor to get safely into the
+boat. This done, the oars fell and the cutter was driven swiftly away to
+leeward. In a few minutes, it shot beneath the lee of the frigate, and
+discharged its freight. Wycherly could not have been three minutes on
+the deck of the Druid, ere her yards were braced up, and her top-sail
+filled with a heavy flap. This caused her to draw slowly ahead. Five
+minutes later, however, a white cloud was seen dimly fluttering over her
+hull, and the reefed main-sail was distended to the wind. The effect was
+so instantaneous that the frigate seemed to glide away from the
+flag-ship, and in a quarter of an hour, under her three top-sails
+double-reefed, and her courses, she was a mile distant on her
+weather-bow. Those who watched her movements without understanding them,
+observed that she lowered her light, and appeared to detach herself from
+the rest of the division.
+
+It was some time before the Caesar's boat was enabled to pull up against
+the tide, wind, and sea. When this hard task was successfully
+accomplished, the ship filled, passed the Dublin and Elizabeth, and
+resumed her place in the line.
+
+Bluewater paced the poop an hour longer, having dismissed his
+signal-officer and the quarter-masters to their hammocks. Even Stowel
+had turned in, nor did Mr. Bluff deem it necessary to remain on deck any
+longer. At the end of the hour, the rear-admiral bethought him of
+retiring too. Before he quitted the poop, however, he stood at the
+weather-ladder, holding on to the mizzen-rigging, and gazing at the
+scene.
+
+The wind had increased, as had the sea, but it was not yet a gale. The
+York had long before hauled up in her station, a cable's length ahead of
+the Caesar, and was standing on, under the same canvass as the flag-ship,
+looking stately and black. The Dover was just shooting into her berth,
+under the standing sailing-orders, at the same distance ahead of the
+York; visible, but much less distinct and imposing. The sloop and the
+cutter were running along, under the lee of the heavy snips, a quarter
+of a mile distant, each vessel keeping her relative position, by close
+attention to her canvass. Further than this, nothing was in sight. The
+sea had that wild mixture of brightness and gloom, which belongs to the
+element when much agitated in a dark night, while the heavens were murky
+and threatening.
+
+Within the ship, all was still. Here and there a lantern threw its
+wavering light around, but the shadows of the masts and guns, and other
+objects, rendered this relief to the night trifling. The lieutenant of
+the watch paced the weather side of the quarter-deck, silent but
+attentive. Occasionally he hailed the look-outs, and admonished them to
+be vigilant, also, and at each turn he glanced upward to see how the
+top-sail stood. Four or five old and thoughtful seamen walked the waist
+and forecastle, but most of the watch were stowed between the guns, or
+in the best places they could find, under the lee of the bulwarks,
+catching cat's naps. This was an indulgence denied the young gentlemen,
+of whom one was on the forecastle, leaning against the mast, dreaming of
+home, one in the waist, supporting the nettings, and one walking the
+lee-side of the quarter-deck, his eyes shut, his thoughts confused, and
+his footing uncertain. As Bluewater stepped on the quarter-deck-ladder,
+to descend to his own cabin, the youngster hit his foot against an
+eye-bolt, and fetched way plump up against his superior. Bluewater
+caught the lad in his arms, and saved him from a fall, setting him
+fairly on his feet before he let him go.
+
+"'Tis seven bells, Geoffrey," said the admiral, in an under tone. "Hold
+on for half an hour longer, and then go dream of your dear mother."
+
+Before the boy could recover himself to thank his superior, the latter
+had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+    "Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he's flint;
+    As humorous as winter, and as sudden
+    As flaws congealed in the spring of day.
+    His temper, therefore, must be well observed."
+
+         SHAKESPEARE.
+
+
+The reader will remember that the wind had not become fresh when Sir
+Gervaise Oakes got into his barge, with the intention of carrying his
+fleet to sea. A retrospective glance at the state of the weather, will
+become necessary to the reader, therefore, in carrying his mind back to
+that precise period whither it has now become our duty to transport him
+in imagination.
+
+The vice-admiral governed a fleet on principles very different from
+those of Bluewater. While the last left so much to the commanders of the
+different vessels, his friend looked into every thing himself. The
+details of the service he knew were indispensable to success on a larger
+scale, and his active mind descended into all these minutiae, to a degree
+sometimes, that annoyed his captains. On the whole, however, he was
+sufficiently observant of that formidable barrier to excessive
+familiarity, and that great promoter of heart-burnings in a squadron,
+naval etiquette, to prevent any thing like serious misunderstandings,
+and the best feelings prevailed between him and the several magnates
+under his orders. Perhaps the circumstance that he was a _fighting_
+admiral contributed to this internal tranquillity; for, it has been
+often remarked, that armies and fleets will both tolerate more in
+leaders that give them plenty to do with the enemy, than in commanders
+who leave them inactive and less exposed. The constant encounters with
+the foe would seem to let out all the superfluous quarrelsome
+tendencies. Nelson, to a certain extent, was an example of this
+influence in the English marine, Suffren[1] in that of France, and
+Preble, to a much greater degree than in either of the other cases, in
+our own. At all events, while most of his captains sensibly felt
+themselves less of commanders, while Sir Gervaise was on board or around
+their ships, than when he was in the cabin of the Plantagenet, the peace
+was rarely broken between them, and he was generally beloved as well as
+obeyed. Bluewater was a more invariable favourite, perhaps, though
+scarcely as much respected; and certainly not half as much feared.
+
+[Footnote 1: Suffren, though one of the best sea-captains France ever
+possessed, was a man of extreme severity and great roughness of manner.
+Still he must have been a man of family, as his title of _Bailli_ de
+Suffren, was derived from his being a Knight of Malta. It is a singular
+circumstance connected with the death of this distinguished officer,
+which occurred not long before the French revolution, that he
+disappeared in an extraordinary manner, and is buried no one knows
+where. It is supposed that he was killed by one of his own officers, in
+a rencontre in the streets of Paris, at night, and that the influence of
+the friends of the victor was sufficiently great to suppress inquiry.
+The cause of the quarrel is attributed to harsh treatment on service.]
+
+On the present occasion, the vice-admiral did not pull through the
+fleet, without discovering the peculiar propensity to which we have
+alluded. In passing one of the ships, he made a sign to his coxswain to
+cause the boat's crew to lay on their oars, when he hailed the vessel,
+and the following dialogue occurred.
+
+"Carnatic, ahoy!" cried the admiral.
+
+"Sir," exclaimed the officer of the deck, jumping on a quarter-deck gun,
+and raising his hat.
+
+"Is Captain Parker on board, sir?"
+
+"He is, Sir Gervaise; will you see him, sir?"
+
+A nod of the head sufficed to bring the said Captain Parker on deck, and
+to the gangway, where he could converse with his superior, without
+inconvenience to either.
+
+"How do you do, _Captain_ Parker?"--a certain sign Sir Gervaise meant to
+rap the other over the knuckles, else would it have been _Parker_."--How
+do you do, _Captain_ Parker? I am sorry to see you have got your ship
+too much down by the head, sir. She'll steer off the wind, like a colt
+when he first feels the bridle; now with his head on one side, and now
+on the other. You know I like a compact line, and straight wakes, sir."
+
+"I am well aware of that, Sir Gervaise," returned Parker, a gray-headed,
+meek old man, who had fought his way up from the forecastle to his
+present honourable station, and, who, though brave as a lion before the
+enemy, had a particular dread of all his commanders; "but we have been
+obliged to use more water aft than we could wish, on account of the
+tiers. We shall coil away the cables anew, and come at some of the
+leaguers forward, and bring all right again, in a week, I hope, sir."
+
+"A week?--the d----l, sir; that will never do, when I expect to see de
+Vervillin _to-morrow_. Fill all your empty casks aft with salt-water,
+immediately; and if that wont do, shift some of your shot forward. I
+know that craft of yours, well; she is as tender as a fellow with corns,
+and the shoe musn't pinch anywhere."
+
+"Very well, Sir Gervaise; the ship shall be brought in trim, as soon as
+possible."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir, that is what I expect from every vessel, at _all_ times;
+and more especially when we are ready to meet an enemy. And, I say,
+_Parker_,"--making a sign to his boat's crew to stop rowing again--"I
+say, _Parker_, I know you love brawn;--I'll send you some that Galleygo
+tells me he has picked up, along-shore here, as soon as I get aboard.
+The fellow has been robbing all the hen-roosts in Devonshire, by his own
+account of the matter."
+
+Sir Gervaise waved his hand, _Parker_ smiled and bowed his thanks, and
+the two parted with feelings of perfect kindness, notwithstanding the
+little skirmish with which the interview had commenced.
+
+"Mr. Williamson," said Captain Parker to his first lieutenant, on
+quitting the gangway, "you hear what the commander-in-chief says; and he
+must be obeyed. I _don't_ think the Carnatic would have sheered out of
+the line, even if she is a little by the head; but have the empty casks
+filled, and bring her down six inches more by the stern."
+
+"That's a good fellow, that old Parker," said Sir Gervaise to his
+purser, whom he was carrying off good-naturedly to the ship, lest he
+might lose his passage; "and I wonder how he let his ship get her nose
+under water, in that fashion. I like to have him for a second astern;
+for I feel sure he'd follow if I stood into Cherbourg, bows on! Yes; a
+good fellow is Parker; and, Locker,"--to his own man, who was also in
+the boat;--"mind you send him _two_ of the best pieces of that
+brawn--hey!--hey!--hey!--what the d----l has Lord Morganic"--a descendant
+from royalty by the left hand,--"been doing now! That ship is kept like
+a tailor's jay figure, just to stuff jackets and gim-cracks on
+her--Achilles, there!"
+
+A quarter-master ran to the edge of the poop, and then turning, he spoke
+to his captain, who was walking the deck, and informed him that the
+commander-in-chief hailed the ship. The Earl of Morganic, a young man of
+four-and-twenty, who had succeeded to the title a few years before by
+the death of an elder brother,--the usual process by which an _old_ peer
+is brought into the British navy, the work being too discouraging for
+those who have fortune before their eyes from the start,--now advanced
+to the quarter of the ship, bowed with respectful ease, and spoke with a
+self-possession that not one of the old commanders of the fleet would
+have dared to use. In general, this nobleman's intercourse with his
+superiors in naval rank, betrayed the consciousness of his own
+superiority in civil rank; but Sir Gervaise being of an old family, and
+quite as rich as he was himself, the vice-admiral commanded more of his
+homage than was customary. His ship was full of "nobs," as they term it
+in the British navy, or the sons and relatives of nobles; and it was by
+no means an uncommon thing for her messes to have their jokes at the
+expense of even flag-officers, who were believed to be a little ignorant
+of the peculiar sensibilities that are rightly enough imagined to
+characterize social station.
+
+"Good-morning, Sir Gervaise," called out this noble captain; "I'm glad
+to see you looking so well, after our long cruise in the Bay; I intended
+to have the honour to inquire after your health in person, this morning,
+but they told me you slept out of your ship. We shall have to hold a
+court on you, sir, if you fall much into that habit!"
+
+All within hearing smiled, even to the rough old tars, who were
+astraddle of the yards; and even Sir Gervaise's lip curled a little,
+though he was not exactly in a joking humour.
+
+"Come, come, Morganic, do you let my habits alone, and look out for your
+own fore-top-mast. Why, in the name of seamanship, is that spar stayed
+forward in such a fashion, looking like a xebec's foremast?"
+
+"Do you dislike it, Sir Gervaise?--Now to our fancies aboard here, it
+gives the Achilles a knowing look, and we hope to set a fashion. By
+carrying the head-sails well forward, we help the ship round in a sea,
+you know, sir."
+
+"Indeed, I know no such thing, my lord. What you gain after being taken
+aback, you lose in coming to the wind. If I had a pair of scales
+suitable to such a purpose, I would have all that hamper you have stayed
+away yonder over your bows, on the end of such a long lever, weighed, in
+order that you might learn what a beautiful contrivance you've invented,
+among you, to make a ship pitch in a head sea. Why, d----e, if I think
+you'd lie-to, at all, with so much stuff aloft to knock you off to
+leeward. Come up, every thing, forward; come up every thing, my lord,
+and bring the mast as near perpendicular as possible. It's a hard
+matter, I find, to make one of your new-fashioned captains keep things
+in their places."
+
+"Well, now, Sir Gervaise, I think the Achilles makes as good an
+appearance as most of the other ships; and as to travelling or working,
+I do not know that she is either dull or clumsy!"
+
+"She's pretty well, Morganic, considering how many Bond-street ideas you
+have got among you; but she'll never do in a head sea, with that
+fore-top-mast threatening your knight-heads. So get the mast
+up-and-down, again, as soon as convenient, and come and dine with me,
+without further invitation, the first fine day we have at sea. I'm going
+to send Parker some brawn; but, I'll feed _you_ on some of Galleygo's
+turtle-soup, made out of pig's heads."
+
+"Thank'ee, Sir Gervaise; we'll endeavour to straighten the slick, since
+you _will_ have it so; though, I confess I get tired of seeing every
+thing to-day, just as we had it yesterday."
+
+"Yes--yes--that's the way with most of these St. James cruisers,"
+continued the vice-admiral, as he rowed away. "They want a fashionable
+tailor to rig a man-of-war, as they are rigged themselves. There's my
+old friend and neighbour, Lord Scupperton--he's taken a fancy to
+yachting, lately, and when his new brig was put into the water, Lady
+Scupperton made him send for an upholsterer from town to fit out the
+cabin; and when the blackguard had surveyed the unfortunate craft, as if
+it were a country box, what does he do but give an opinion, that 'this
+here edifice, my lord, in my judgment, should be furnished in cottage
+style,'--the vagabond!"
+
+This story, which was not particularly original, for Sir Gervaise
+himself had told it at least a dozen times before, put the admiral in a
+good humour, and he found no more fault with his captains, until he
+reached the Plantagenet.
+
+"Daly," said the Earl of Morganic to his first lieutenant, an
+experienced old Irishman of fifty, who still sung a good song and told a
+good story, and what was a little extraordinary for either of these
+accomplishments, knew how to take good care of a ship;--"Daly, I suppose
+we must humour the old gentleman, or he'll be quarantining me, and that
+I shouldn't particularly like on the eve of a general action; so we'll
+ease off forward, and set up the strings aft, again. Hang me if I think
+he could find it out if we didn't, so long as we kept dead in his wake!"
+
+"That wouldn't be a very safe desait for Sir Jarvy, my lord, for he's a
+wonderful eye for a rope! Were it Admiral Blue, now, I'd engage to
+cruise in his company for a week, with my mizzen-mast stowed in the
+hold, and there should be no bother about the novelty, at all; quite
+likely he'd be hailing us, and ask 'what brig's that?' But none of these
+tricks will answer with t'other, who misses the whipping off the end of
+a gasket, as soon as any first luff of us all. And so I'll just go about
+the business in earnest; get the carpenter up with his plumb-bob, and
+set every thing as straight up-and-down as the back of a grenadier."
+
+Lord Morganic laughed, as was usual with him when his lieutenant saw fit
+to be humorous; and then his caprice in changing the staying of his
+masts, as well as the order which countermanded it, was forgotten.
+
+The arrival of Sir Gervaise on board his own ship was always an event in
+the fleet, even though his absence had lasted no longer than twenty-four
+hours. The effect was like that which is produced on a team of
+high-mettled cattle, when they feel that the reins are in the hands of
+an experienced and spirited coachman.
+
+"Good-morning, Greenly, good-morning to you all, gentlemen," said the
+vice-admiral, bowing to the quarter-deck in gross, in return for the
+'present-arms,' and rattling of drums, and lowering of hats that greeted
+his arrival; "a fine day, and it is likely we shall have a fresh breeze.
+Captain Greenly, your sprit-sail-yard wants squaring by the lifts; and,
+Bunting, make the Thunderer's signal to get her fore-yard in its place,
+as soon as possible. She's had it down long enough to make a new one,
+instead of merely fishing it. Are your boats all aboard, Greenly?"
+
+"All but your own barge, Sir Gervaise, and that is hooked on."
+
+"In with it, sir; then trip, and we'll be off. Monsieur de Vervillin has
+got some mischief in his head, gentlemen, and we must go and take it out
+of him."
+
+These orders were promptly obeyed; but, as the manner in which the
+Plantagenet passed out of the fleet, and led the other ships to sea, has
+been already related, it is unnecessary to repeat it. There was the
+usual bustle, the customary orderly confusion, the winding of calls, the
+creaking of blocks, and the swinging of yards, ere the vessels were in
+motion. As the breeze freshened, sail was reduced, as already related,
+until, by the time the leading ship was ten leagues at sea, all were
+under short canvass, and the appearance of a windy, if not a dirty
+night, had set in. Of course, all means of communication between the
+Plantagenet and the vessels still at anchor, had ceased, except by
+sending signals down the line; but, to those Sir Gervaise had no
+recourse, since he was satisfied Bluewater understood his plans, and he
+then entertained no manner of doubt of his friend's willingness to aid
+them.
+
+Little heed was taken of any thing astern, by those on board the
+Plantagenet. Every one saw, it is true, that ship followed ship in due
+succession, as long as the movements of those inshore could be perceived
+at all; but the great interest centred on the horizon to the southward
+and eastward. In that quarter of the channel the French were expected to
+appear, for the cause of this sudden departure was a secret from no one
+in the fleet. A dozen of the best look-outs in the ship were kept aloft
+the whole afternoon, and Captain Greenly, himself, sat in the
+forward-cross-trees, with a glass, for more than an hour, just as the
+sun was setting, in order to sweep the horizon. Two or three sail were
+made, it is true, but they all proved to be English coasters; Guernsey
+or Jerseymen, standing for ports in the west of England, most probably
+laden with prohibited articles from the country of the enemy. Whatever
+may be the dislike of an Englishman for a Frenchman, he has no dislike
+to the labour of his hands; and there probably has not been a period
+since civilization has introduced the art of smuggling among its other
+arts, when French brandies, and laces, and silks, were not exchanged
+against English tobacco and guineas, and that in a contraband way, let
+it be in peace or let it be in war. One of the characteristics of Sir
+Gervaise Oakes was to despise all petty means of annoyance; usually he
+disdained even to turn aside to chase a smuggler. Fishermen he never
+molested at all; and, on the whole, he carried on a marine warfare, a
+century since, in a way that some of his successors might have imitated
+to advantage in our own times. Like that high-spirited Irishman,
+Caldwell,[2] who conducted a blockade in the Chesapeake, at the
+commencement of the revolution, with so much liberality, that his
+enemies actually sent him an invitation to a public dinner, Sir Gervaise
+knew how to distinguish between the combatant and the non-combatant, and
+heartily disdained all the money-making parts of his profession, though
+large sums had fallen into his hands, in this way, as pure God-sends. No
+notice was taken, therefore, of any thing that had not a warlike look;
+the noble old ship standing steadily on towards the French coast, as the
+mastiff passes the cur, on his way to encounter another animal, of a
+mould and courage more worthy of his powers.
+
+[Footnote 2: The writer believes this noble-minded sailor to have been
+the late Admiral Sir Benjamin Caldwell. It is scarcely necessary to say
+that the invitation could not be accepted, though quite seriously
+given.]
+
+"Make nothing of 'em, hey! Greenly," said Sir Gervaise, as the captain
+came down from his perch, in consequence of the gathering obscurity of
+evening, followed by half-a-dozen lieutenants and midshipmen, who had
+been aloft as volunteers. "Well, we know they cannot yet be to the
+westward of us, and by standing on shall be certain of heading them off,
+before this time six months. How beautifully all the ships behave,
+following each other as accurately as if Bluewater himself were aboard
+each vessel to conn her!"
+
+"Yes, sir, they do keep the line uncommonly well, considering that the
+tides run in streaks in the channel. I _do_ think if we were to drop a
+hammock overboard, that the Carnatic would pick it up, although she must
+be quite four leagues astern of us."
+
+"Let old Parker alone for that! I'll warrant you, _he_ is never out of
+the way. Were it Lord Morganic, now, in the Achilles, I should expect
+him to be away off here on our weather-quarter, just to show us how his
+ship can eat us out of the wind when he _tries_: or away down yonder,
+under our lee, that we might understand how she falls off, when he
+_don't_ try."
+
+"My lord is a gallant officer, and no bad seaman, for his years,
+notwithstanding, Sir Gervaise," observed Greenly, who generally took the
+part of the absent, whenever his superior felt disposed to berate them.
+
+"I deny neither, Greenly, most particularly the first. I know very well,
+were I to signal Morganic, to run into Brest, he'd do it; but whether he
+would go in, ring-tail-boom, or jib-boom first, I couldn't tell till I
+saw it. Now you are a youngish man yourself. Greenly--"
+
+"Every day of eight-and-thirty, Sir Gervaise, and a few months to spare;
+and I care not if the ladies know it."
+
+"Poh!--They like us old fellows, half the time, as well as they do the
+boys. But you are of an age not to feel time in your bones, and can see
+the folly of some of our old-fashioned notions, perhaps; though you are
+not quite as likely to understand the fooleries that have come in, in
+your own day. Nothing is more absurd than to be experimenting on the
+settled principles of ships. They are machines, Greenly, and have their
+laws, just the same as the planets in the heavens. The idea comes from a
+fish,--head, run, and helm; and all we have to do is to study the fishes
+in order to get the sort of craft we want. If there is occasion for
+bulk, take the whale, and you get a round bottom, full fore-body, and a
+clean run. When you want speed, models are plenty--take the dolphin, for
+instance,--and there you find an entrance like a wedge, a lean
+fore-body, and a run as clean as this ship's decks. But some of our
+young captains would spoil a dolphin's sailing, if they could breathe
+under water, so as to get at the poor devils. Look at their fancies! The
+First Lord shall give one of his cousins a frigate, now, that is moulded
+after nature itself, as one might say; with a bottom that would put a
+trout to shame. Well, one of the first things the lad does, when he gets
+on board her, is to lengthen his gaff, perhaps, put a cloth or two in
+his mizzen, and call it a spanker, settle away the peak till it sticks
+out over his taffrail like a sign-post, and then away he goes upon a
+wind, with his helm hard-up, bragging what a weatherly craft he has, and
+how hard it is to make her even _look_ to leeward."
+
+"I have known such sailors, I must confess, Sir Gervaise; but time cures
+them of that folly."
+
+"That is to be hoped; for what would a man think of a fish to which
+nature had fitted a tail athwart-ships, and which was obliged to carry a
+fin, like a lee-board, under its lee-jaw, to prevent falling off dead
+before the wind!"
+
+Here Sir Gervaise laughed heartily at the picture of the awkward
+creature to which his own imagination had given birth; Greenly joining
+in the merriment, partly from the oddity of the conceit, and partly from
+the docility with which commander-in-chief's jokes are usually received.
+The feeling of momentary indignation which had aroused Sir Gervaise to
+such an expression of his disgust at modern inventions, was appeased by
+this little success; and, inviting his captain to sup with him,--a
+substitute for a dinner,--he led the way below in high good-humour,
+Galleygo having just announced that the table was ready.
+
+The _convives_ on this occasion were merely the admiral himself,
+Greenly, and Atwood. The fare was substantial, rather than scientific;
+but the service was rich; Sir Gervaise uniformly eating off of plate. In
+addition to Galleygo, no less than five domestics attended to the wants
+of the party. As a ship of the Plantagenet's size was reasonably steady
+at all times, a gale of wind excepted, when the lamps and candles were
+lighted, and the group was arranged, aided by the admixture of rich
+furniture with frowning artillery and the other appliances of war, the
+great cabin of the Plantagenet was not without a certain air of rude
+magnificence. Sir Gervaise kept no less than three servants in livery,
+as a part of his personal establishment, tolerating Galleygo, and one or
+two more of the same stamp, as a homage due to Neptune.
+
+The situation not being novel to either of the party, and the day's work
+having been severe, the first twenty minutes were pretty studiously
+devoted to the duty of "restoration," as it is termed by the great
+masters of the science of the table. By the end of that time, however,
+the glass began to circulate, though moderately, and with it tongues to
+loosen.
+
+"Your health, Captain Greenly--Atwood, I remember you," said the
+vice-admiral, nodding his head familiarly to his two guests, on the eve
+of tossing off a glass of sherry. "These Spanish wines go directly to
+the heart, and I only wonder why a people who can make them, don't make
+better sailors."
+
+"In the days of Columbus, the Spaniards had something to boast of in
+that way, too, Sir Gervaise," Atwood remarked.
+
+"Ay, but that was a long time ago, and they have got bravely over it. I
+account for the deficiencies of both the French and Spanish marines
+something in this way, Greenly. Columbus, and the discovery of America,
+brought ships and sailors into fashion. But a ship without an officer
+fit to command her, is like a body without a soul. Fashion, however,
+brought your young nobles into their services, and men were given
+vessels because their fathers were dukes and counts, and not because
+they knew any thing about them."
+
+"Is our own service entirely free from this sort of favouritism?"
+quietly demanded the captain.
+
+"Far from it, Greenly; else would not Morganic have been made a captain
+at twenty, and old Parker, for instance, one only at fifty. But,
+somehow, our classes slide into each other, in a way that neutralizes,
+in a great degree, the effect of birth. Is it not so, Atwood?"
+
+"_Some_ of our classes, Sir Gervaise, manage to _slide_ into all the
+best places, if the truth must be said."
+
+"Well, that is pretty bold for a Scotchman!" rejoined the vice-admiral,
+good-humouredly. "Ever since the accession of the house of Stuart, we've
+built a bridge across the Tweed that lets people pass in only one
+direction. I make no doubt this Pretender's son will bring down half
+Scotland at his heels, to fill all the berths they may fancy suitable to
+their merits. It's an easy way of paying bounty--promises."
+
+"This affair in the north, they tell me, seems a little serious," said
+Greenly. "I believe this is Mr. Atwood's opinion?"
+
+"You'll find it serious enough, if Sir Gervaise's notion about the
+bounty be true," answered the immovable secretary. "Scotia is a small
+country, but it's well filled with 'braw sperits,' if there's an opening
+for them to prove it."
+
+"Well, well, this war between England and Scotland is out of place,
+while we have the French and Spaniards on our hands. Most extraordinary
+scenes have we had ashore, yonder, Greenly, with an old Devonshire
+baronet, who slipped and is off for the other world, while we were in
+his house."
+
+"Magrath has told me something of it, sir; and, he tells me the
+_fill-us-null-us_--hang me if I can make out his gibberish, five minutes
+after it was told to me."
+
+"_Filius nullius_, you mean; nobody's baby--the son of nobody--have you
+forgotten your Latin, man?"
+
+"Faith, Sir Gervaise, I never had any to forget. My father was a captain
+of a man-of-war before me, and he kept me afloat from the time I was
+five, down to the day of his death; Latin was no part of my spoon-meat."
+
+"Ay--ay--my good fellow, I knew your father, and was in the third ship
+from him, in the action in which he fell," returned the vice-admiral,
+kindly. "Bluewater was just ahead of him, and we all loved him, as we
+did an elder brother. You were not promoted, then."
+
+"No, sir, I was only a midshipman, and didn't happen to be in his own
+ship that day," answered Greenly, sensibly touched with this tribute to
+his parent's merit; "but I was old enough to remember how nobly you all
+behaved on the occasion. Well,"--slily brushing his eye with his
+hand,--"Latin may do a schoolmaster good, but it is of little use on
+board ship. I never had but one scholar among all my cronies and
+intimates."
+
+"And who was he, Greenly? You shouldn't despise knowledge, because you
+don't understand it. I dare say your intimate was none the worse for a
+little Latin--enough to go through _nullus, nulla, nullum_, for
+instance. Who was this intimate, Greenly?"
+
+"John Bluewater--handsome Jack, as he was called; the younger brother of
+the admiral. They sent him to sea, to keep him out of harm's way in some
+love affair; and you may remember that while he was with the admiral, or
+_Captain_ Bluewater, as he was then, I was one of the lieutenants.
+Although poor Jack was a soldier and in the guards, and he was four or
+five years my senior, he took a fancy to me, and we became intimate.
+_He_ understood Latin, better than he did his own interests."
+
+"In what did he fail?--Bluewater was never very communicative to me
+about that brother."
+
+"There was a private marriage, and cross guardians, and the usual
+difficulties. In the midst of it all, poor John fell in battle, as you
+know, and his widow followed him to the grave, within a month or two.
+'Twas a sad story all round, and I try to think of it as little as
+possible."
+
+"A private marriage!" repeated Sir Gervaise, slowly. "Are you quite sure
+of _that_? I don't think Bluewater is aware of that circumstance; at
+least, I never heard him allude to it. Could there have been any issue?"
+
+"No one can know it better than myself, as I helped to get the lady off,
+and was present at the ceremony. That much I _know_. Of issue, I should
+think there was none; though the colonel lived a year after the
+marriage. How far the admiral is familiar with all these circumstances I
+cannot say, as one would not like to introduce the particulars of a
+private marriage of a deceased brother, to his commanding officer."
+
+"I am glad there was no issue, Greenly--particular circumstances make me
+glad of that. But we will change the discourse, as these family
+disasters make one melancholy; and a melancholy dinner is like
+ingratitude to Him who bestows it."
+
+The conversation now grew general, and in due season, in common with the
+feast, it ended. After sitting the usual time, the guests retired. Sir
+Gervaise then went on deck, and paced the poop for an hour, looking
+anxiously ahead, in quest of the French signal; and, failing of
+discovering them, he was fain to seek his berth out of sheer fatigue.
+Before he did this, however, the necessary orders were given; and that
+to call him, should any thing out of the common track occur, was
+repeated no less than four times.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+    "Roll on, thou deep and dark-blue ocean--roll
+      Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
+    Man marks the earth with ruin--his control
+      Stops with the shore;--upon the watery plain
+    The wrecks are all thy deed."
+
+         CHILDE HAROLD.
+
+
+It was broad day-light, when Sir Gervaise Oakes next appeared on deck.
+As the scene then offered to his view, as well as the impression it made
+on his mind, will sufficiently explain to the reader the state of
+affairs, some six hours later than the time last included in our
+account, we refer him to those for his own impressions. The wind now
+blew a real gale, though the season of the year rendered it less
+unpleasant to the feelings than is usual with wintry tempests. The air
+was even bland, and still charged with the moisture of the ocean; though
+it came sweeping athwart sheets of foam, with a fury, at moments, which
+threatened to carry the entire summits of waves miles from their beds,
+in spray. Even the aquatic birds seemed to be terrified, in the instants
+of the greatest power of the winds, actually wheeling suddenly on their
+wings, and plunging into the element beneath to seek protection from the
+maddened efforts of that to which they more properly belonged.
+
+Still, Sir Gervaise saw that his ships bore up nobly against the fierce
+strife. Each vessel showed the same canvass; viz.--a reefed fore-sail; a
+small triangular piece of strong, heavy cloth, fitted between the end of
+the bowsprit and the head of the fore-top-mast; a similar sail over the
+quarter-deck, between the mizzen and main masts, and a close-reefed
+main-top-sail Several times that morning, Captain Greenly had thought he
+should be compelled to substitute a lower surface to the wind than that
+of the sail last mentioned. As it was an important auxiliary, however,
+in steadying the ship, and in keeping her under the command of her helm,
+on each occasion the order had been delayed, until he now began to
+question whether the canvass could be reduced, without too great a risk
+to the men whom it would be necessary to send aloft. He had decided to
+let it stand or blow away, as fortune might decide. Similar reasoning
+left nearly all the other vessels under precisely the same canvass.
+
+The ships of the vice-admiral's division had closed in the night,
+agreeably to an order given before quitting the anchorage, which
+directed them to come within the usual sailing distance, in the event of
+the weather's menacing a separation. This command had been obeyed by the
+ships astern carrying sail hard, long after the leading vessels had been
+eased by reducing their canvass. The order of sailing was the
+Plantagenet in the van, and the Carnatic, Achilles, Thunderer, Blenheim,
+and Warspite following, in the order named; some changes having been
+made in the night, in order to bring the ships of the division into
+their fighting-stations, in a line ahead, the vice-admiral leading. The
+superiority of the Plantagenet was a little apparent, notwithstanding;
+the Carnatic alone, and that only by means of the most careful watching,
+being able to keep literally in the commander-in-chief's wake; all the
+other vessels gradually but almost imperceptibly setting to leeward of
+it. These several circumstances struck Sir Gervaise, the moment his foot
+touched the poop, where he found Greenly keeping an anxious look-out on
+the state of the weather and the condition of his own ship; leaning at
+the same time, against the spanker-boom to steady himself in the gusts
+of the gale. The vice-admiral braced his own well-knit and compact
+frame, by spreading his legs; then he turned his handsome but
+weather-beaten face towards the line, scanning each ship in succession,
+as she lay over to the wind, and came wallowing on, shoving aside vast
+mounds of water with her bows, her masts describing short arcs in the
+air, and her hull rolling to windward, and lurching, as if boring her
+way through the ocean. Galleygo, who never regarded himself as a steward
+in a gale of wind, was the only other person on the poop, whither he
+went at pleasure by a sort of imprescriptibly right.
+
+"Well done, old Planter!" cried Sir Gervaise, heartily, as soon as his
+eye had taken in the leading peculiarities of the view. "You see,
+Greenly, she has every body but old Parker to leeward, and she would
+have him there, too, but he would carry every stick he has, out of the
+Carnatic, rather than not keep his berth. Look at Master Morganic; he
+has his main course close-reefed on the Achilles, to luff into his
+station, and I'll warrant you will get a good six months' wear out of
+that ship in this one gale; loosening her knees, and jerking her spars
+like so many whip-handles; and all for love of the new fashion of
+rigging an English two-decker like an Algerian xebec! Well, let him tug
+his way up to windward, Bond-street fashion, if he likes the fun. What
+has become of the Chloe, Greenly?"
+
+"Here she is, sir, quite a league on our lee-bow, looking out, according
+to orders."
+
+"Ay, that is her work, and she'll do it effectually.--But I don't see
+the Driver!"
+
+"She's dead ahead sir," answered Greenly, smiling; "_her_ orders being
+rather more difficult of execution. Her station would be off yonder to
+windward, half a league ahead of us; but it's no easy matter to get into
+that position, Sir Gervaise, when the Plantagenet is really in earnest."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed, and rubbed his hands, then he turned to look for
+the Active, the only other vessel of his division. This little cutter
+was dancing over the seas, half the time under water, notwithstanding,
+under the head of her main-sail, broad off, on the admiral's
+weather-beam; finding no difficulty in maintaining her station there, in
+the absence of all top-hamper, and favoured by the lowness of her hull.
+After this he glanced upward at the sails and spars of the Plantagenet,
+which he studied closely.
+
+"No signs of _de Vervillin_, hey! Greenly?" the admiral asked, when his
+survey of the whole fleet had ended. "I was in hopes we might see
+something of _him_, when the light returned this morning."
+
+"Perhaps it is quite as well as it is, Sir Gervaise," returned the
+captain. "We could do little besides look at each other, in this gale,
+and Admiral Bluewater ought to join before I should like even to do
+_that_."
+
+"Think you so, Master Greenly!--There you are mistaken, then; for I'd
+lie by him, were I alone in this ship, that I might know where he was to
+be found as soon as the weather would permit us to have something to say
+to him."
+
+These words were scarcely uttered, when the look-out in the forward
+cross-trees, shouted at the top of his voice, "sail-ho!" At the next
+instant the Chloe fired a gun, the report of which was just heard amid
+the roaring of the gale, though the smoke was distinctly seen floating
+above the mists of the ocean; she also set a signal at her naked
+mizzen-top-gallant-mast-head.
+
+"Run below, young gentleman," said the vice-admiral, advancing to the
+break of the poop and speaking to a midshipman on the quarter-deck; "and
+desire Mr. Bunting to make his appearance. The Chloe signals us--tell
+him not to look for his knee-buckles."
+
+A century since, the last injunction, though still so much in use on
+ship-board, was far more literal than it is to-day, nearly all classes
+of men possessing the articles in question, though not invariably
+wearing them when at sea. The midshipman dove below, however, as soon as
+the words were out of his superior's mouth; and, in a very few minutes,
+Bunting appeared, having actually stopped on the main-deck ladder to
+assume his coat, lest he might too unceremoniously invade the sacred
+precincts of the quarter-deck, in his shirt-sleeves.
+
+"There it is, Bunting," said Sir Gervaise, handing the lieutenant the
+glass; "two hundred and twenty-seven--'a large sail ahead,' if I
+remember right."
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise, '_sails_ ahead;' the number of them to follow. Hoist
+the answering flag, quarter-master."
+
+"So much the better! So much the better, Bunting! The number to follow?
+Well, _we'll_ follow the number, let it be greater or smaller. Come,
+sirrah, bear a hand up with your answering flag."
+
+The usual signal that the message was understood was now run up between
+the masts, and instantly hauled down again, the flags seen in the Chloe
+descending at the same moment.
+
+"Now for the number of the sails, ahead," said Sir Gervaise, as he,
+Greenly, and Bunting, each levelled a glass at the frigate, on board
+which the next signal was momentarily expected. "Eleven, by George!"
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise," exclaimed Greenly, "I know better than _that_. Red
+above, and blue beneath, with the distinguishing pennant _beneath_, make
+_fourteen_, in our books, now!"
+
+"Well, sir, if they are _forty_, we'll go nearer and see of what sort of
+stuff they are made. Show your answering flag, Bunting, that we may know
+what else the Chloe has to tell us."
+
+This was done, the frigate hauling down her signals in haste, and
+showing a new set as soon as possible.
+
+"What now, Bunting?--what now, Greenly?" demanded Sir Gervaise, a sea
+having struck the side of the ship and thrown so much spray into his
+face as to reduce him to the necessity of using his pocket-handkerchief,
+at the very moment he was anxious to be looking through his glass. "What
+do you make of _that_, gentlemen?"
+
+"I make out the number to be 382," answered Greenly; "but what it means,
+I know not."
+
+"'Strange sails, _enemies_,'" read Bunting from the book. "Show the
+answer, quarter-master."
+
+"We hardly wanted a signal for _that_, Greenly, since there can be no
+friendly force, here away; and fourteen sail, on this coast, always
+means mischief. What says the Chloe next?"
+
+"'Strange sails on the larboard tack, heading as follows.'"
+
+"By George, crossing our course!--We shall soon see them from deck. Do
+the ships astern notice the signals?"
+
+"Every one of them, Sir Gervaise," answered the captain; "the Thunderer
+has just lowered her answering flag, and the Active is repeating. I have
+never seen quarter-masters so nimble!"
+
+"So much the better--so much the better--down he comes; stand by for
+another."
+
+After the necessary pause, the signal to denote the point of the compass
+was shown from the Chloe.
+
+"Heading how, Bunting?" the vice-admiral eagerly inquired. "Heading how,
+sir?"
+
+"North-west-and-by-north," or as Bunting pronounced it
+"nor-west-and-by-loathe, I believe, sir,--no, I am mistaken, Sir
+Gervaise; it is nor-nor-west."
+
+"Jammed up like ourselves, hard on a wind! This gale comes directly from
+the broad Atlantic, and one party is crossing over to the north and the
+other to the south shore. We _must_ meet, unless one of us run
+away--hey! Greenly?"
+
+"True enough, Sir Gervaise; though fourteen sail is rather an awkward
+odds for seven."
+
+"You forget the Driver and Active, sir; we've _nine_; nine hearty,
+substantial British cruisers."
+
+"To wit: six ships of the line, one frigate, a _sloop_, and a _cutter_,"
+laying heavy emphasis on the two last vessels.
+
+"What does the Chloe say now, Bunting? That we're enough for the French,
+although they _are_ two to one?"
+
+"Not exactly that, I believe, Sir Gervaise. 'Five more sail ahead.' They
+increase fast, sir."
+
+"Ay, at that rate, they may indeed grow too strong for us," answered Sir
+Gervaise, with more coolness of manner; "nineteen to nine are rather
+heavy odds. I wish we had Bluewater here!"
+
+"That is what I was about to suggest, Sir Gervaise," observed the
+captain. "If we had the other division, as some of the Frenchmen are
+probably frigates and corvettes, we might do better. Admiral Bluewater
+cannot be far from us; somewhere down here, towards north-east--or
+nor-nor-east. By warring round, I think we should make his division in
+the course of a couple of hours."
+
+"What, and leave to Monsieur de Vervillin the advantage of swearing he
+frightened us away! No--no--Greenly; we will first _pass_ him fairly and
+manfully, and that, too, within reach of shot; and then it will be time
+enough to go round and look after our friends."
+
+"Will not that be putting the French exactly between our two divisions,
+Sir Gervaise, and give him the advantage of dividing our force. If he
+stand far, on a nor-nor-west course, I think he will infallibly get
+between us and Admiral Bluewater."
+
+"And what will he gain by that, Greenly?--What, according to your
+notions of matters and things, will be the great advantage of having an
+English fleet on each side of him?"
+
+"Not much, certainly, Sir Gervaise," answered Greenly, laughing; "if
+these fleets were at all equal to his own. But as they will be much
+inferior to him, the Comte may manage to close with one division, while
+the other is so far off as to be unable to assist; and one hour of a hot
+fire may dispose of the victory."
+
+"All this is apparent enough, Greenly; yet I could hardly brook letting
+the enemy go scathe less. So long as it blows as it does now, there will
+not be much fighting, and there can be no harm in taking a near look at
+M. de Vervillin. In half an hour, or an hour at most, we must get a
+sight of him from off deck, even with this slow headway of the two
+fleets. Let them heave the log, and ascertain how fast we go, sir."
+
+"Should we engage the French in such weather, Sir Gervaise," answered
+Greenly, after giving the order just mentioned; "it would be giving them
+the very advantage they like. They usually fire at the spars, and one
+shot would do more mischief, with such a strain on the masts, than
+half-a-dozen in a moderate blow."
+
+"That will do, Greenly--that will do," said the vice-admiral,
+impatiently; "if I didn't so well know you, and hadn't seen you so often
+engaged, I should think you were afraid of these nineteen sail. You have
+lectured long enough to render me prudent, and we'll say no more."
+
+Here Sir Gervaise turned on his heel, and began to pace the poop, for he
+was slightly vexed, though not angered. Such little dialogues often
+occurred between him and his captain, the latter knowing that his
+commander's greatest professional failing was excess of daring, while he
+felt that his own reputation was too well established to be afraid to
+inculcate prudence. Next to the honour of the flag, and his own perhaps,
+Greenly felt the greatest interest in that of Sir Gervaise Oakes, under
+whom he had served as midshipman, lieutenant, and captain; and this his
+superior knew, a circumstance that would have excused far greater
+liberties. After moving swiftly to and fro several times, the
+vice-admiral began to cool, and he forgot this passing ebullition of
+quick feelings. Greenly, on the other hand, satisfied that the just mind
+of the commander-in-chief would not fail to appreciate facts that had
+been so plainly presented to it, was content to change the subject. They
+conversed together, in a most friendly manner, Sir Gervaise being even
+unusually frank and communicative, in order to prove he was not
+displeased, the matter in discussion being the state of the ship and the
+situation of the crew.
+
+"You are always ready for battle, Greenly," the vice-admiral said,
+smilingly, in conclusion; "when there is a necessity; and always just as
+ready to point out the inexpediency of engaging, where you fancy nothing
+is to be gained by it. You would not have me run away from a shadow,
+however; or a signal; and that is much the same thing: so we will stand
+on, until we make the Frenchmen fairly from off-deck, when it will be
+time enough to determine what shall come next."
+
+"Sail-ho!" shouted one of the look-outs from aloft, a cry that
+immediately drew all eyes towards the mizzen-top-mast-cross-trees,
+whence the sound proceeded.
+
+The wind blew too fresh to render conversation, even by means of a
+trumpet, easy, and the man was ordered down to give an account of what
+he had seen. Of course he first touched the poop-deck, where he was met
+by the admiral and captain, the officer of the watch, to whom he
+properly belonged, giving him up to the examination of his two
+superiors, without a grimace.
+
+"Where-away is the sail you've seen, sir?" demanded Sir Gervaise a
+little sharply, for he suspected it was no more than one of the ships
+ahead, already signaled. "Down yonder to the southward and
+eastward--hey! sirrah?"
+
+"No, Sir Jarvy," answered the top-man, hitching his trowsers with one
+hand, and smoothing the hair on his forehead with the other; "but out
+here, to the forward and westward, on our weather-quarter. It's none o'
+them French chaps as is with the County of Fairvillian,"--for so all the
+common men of the fleet believed their gallant enemy to be rightly
+named,--"but is a square-rigged craft by herself, jammed up on a wind,
+pretty much like all on us."
+
+"That alters the matter, Greenly! How do you know she is square-rigged,
+my man?"
+
+"Why, Sir Jarvy, your honour, she's under her fore and main-taw-sails,
+close-reefed, with a bit of the main-sail set, as well as I can make it
+out, sir."
+
+"The devil she is! It must be some fellow in a great hurry, to carry
+that canvass in this blow! Can it be possible, Greenly, that the leading
+vessel of Bluewater is heaving in sight?"
+
+"I rather think not, Sir Gervaise; it would be too far to windward for
+any of his two-deckers. It may turn out to be a look-out ship of the
+French, got round on the other tack to keep her station, and carrying
+sail hard, because she dislikes our appearance."
+
+"In that case she must claw well to windward to escape us! What's your
+name, my lad--Tom Davis, if I'm not mistaken?"
+
+"No, Sir Jarvy, it's Jack Brown; which is much the same, your honour.
+We's no ways partic'lar about names."
+
+"Well, Jack, does it blow hard aloft? So as to give you any trouble in
+holding on?"
+
+"Nothing to speak on, Sir Jarvy. A'ter cruising a winter and spring in
+the Bay of Biscay, I looks on this as no more nor a puff. Half a hand
+will keep a fellow in his berth, aloft."
+
+"Galleygo--take Jack Brown below to my cabin, and give him a fresh nip
+in his jigger--he'll hold on all the better for it."
+
+This was Sir Gervaise's mode of atoning for the error in doing the man
+injustice, by supposing he was mistaken about the new sail, and Jack
+Brown went aloft devoted to the commander-in-chief. It costs the great
+and powerful so little to become popular, that one is sometimes
+surprised to find that any are otherwise; but, when we remember that it
+is also their duty to be just, astonishment ceases; justice being
+precisely the quality to which a large portion of the human race are
+most averse.
+
+Half an hour passed, and no further reports were received from aloft. In
+a few minutes, however, the Warspite signalled the admiral, to report
+the stranger on her weather-quarter, and, not long after, the Active did
+the same. Still neither told his character; and the course being
+substantially the same, the unknown ship approached but slowly,
+notwithstanding the unusual quantity of sail she had set. At the end of
+the period mentioned, the vessels in the south-eastern board began to be
+visible from the deck. The ocean was so white with foam, that it was not
+easy to distinguish a ship, under short canvass, at any great distance;
+but, by the aid of glasses, both Sir Gervaise and Greenly satisfied
+themselves that the number of the enemy at the southward amounted to
+just twenty; one more having hove in sight, and been signalled by the
+Chloe, since her first report. Several of these vessels, however, were
+small; and, the vice-admiral, after a long and anxious survey, lowered
+his glass and turned to his captain in order to compare opinions.
+
+"Well, Greenly," he asked, "what do you make of them, now?--According to
+my reckoning, there are thirteen of the line, two frigates, four
+corvettes, and a lugger; or twenty sail in all."
+
+"There can be no doubt of the twenty sail, Sir Gervaise, though the
+vessels astern are still too distant to speak of their size. I rather
+think it will turn out _fourteen_ of the line and only three frigates."
+
+"That is rather too much for us, certainly, without Bluewater. His five
+ships, now, and this westerly position, would make a cheering prospect
+for us. We might stick by Mr. de Vervillin until it moderated, and then
+pay our respects to him. What do you say to _that_, Greenly?"
+
+"That it is of no great moment, Sir Gervaise, so long as the other
+division is _not_ with us. But yonder are signals flying on board the
+Active, the Warspite, and the Blenheim."
+
+"Ay, they've something to tell us of the chap astern and to windward.
+Come, Bunting, give us the news."
+
+"'Stranger in the north-west shows the Druid's number;'" the
+signal-officer read mechanically from the book.
+
+"The deuce he does! Then Bluewater cannot be far off. Let Dick alone for
+keeping in his proper place; he has an instinct for a line of battle,
+and I never knew him fail to be in the very spot I could wish to have
+him, looking as much at home, as if his ships had all been built there!
+The Druid's number! The Caesar and the rest of them are in a line ahead,
+further north, heading up well to windward even of our own wake. This
+puts the Comte fairly under our lee."
+
+But Greenly was far from being of a temperament as sanguine as that of
+the vice-admiral's. He did not like the circumstance of the Druid's
+being alone visible, and she, too, under what in so heavy a gale, might
+be deemed a press of canvass. There was no apparent reason for the
+division's carrying sail so hard, while the frigate would he obliged to
+do it, did she wish to overtake vessels like the Plantagenet and her
+consorts. He suggested, therefore, the probability that the ship was
+alone, and that her object might be to speak them.
+
+"There is something in what you say, Greenly," answered Sir Gervaise,
+after a minute's reflection; "and we must look into it. If Denham
+doesn't give us any thing new from the Count to change our plans, it may
+be well to learn what the Druid is after."
+
+Denham was the commander of the Chloe, which ship, a neat
+six-and-thirty, was pitching into the heavy seas that now came rolling
+in heavily from the broad Atlantic, the water streaming from her
+hawse-holes, as she rose from each plunge, like the spouts of a whale.
+This vessel, it has been stated, was fully a league ahead and to leeward
+of the Plantagenet, and consequently so much nearer to the French, who
+were approaching from that precise quarter of the ocean, in a long
+single line, like that of the English; a little relieved, however, by
+the look-out vessels, all of which, in their case, were sailing along on
+the weather-beam of their friends. The distance was still so great, as
+to render glasses necessary in getting any very accurate notions of the
+force and the point of sailing of Monsieur de Vervillin's fleet, the
+ships astern being yet so remote as to require long practice to speak
+with any certainty of their characters. In nothing, notwithstanding, was
+the superior practical seamanship of the English more apparent, than in
+the manner in which these respective lines were formed. That of Sir
+Gervaise Oakes was compact, each ship being as near as might be a
+cable's length distant from her seconds, ahead and astern. This was a
+point on which the vice-admiral prided himself; and by compelling his
+captains rigidly to respect their line of sailing, and by keeping the
+same ships and officers, as much as possible, under his orders, each
+captain of the fleet had got to know his own vessel's rate of speed, and
+all the other qualities that were necessary to maintain her precise
+position. All the ships being weatherly, though some, in a slight
+degree, were more so than others, it was easy to keep the line in
+weather like the present, the wind not blowing sufficiently hard to
+render a few cloths more or less of canvass of any very great moment. If
+there was a vessel sensibly out of her place, in the entire line, it was
+the Achilles; Lord Morganic not having had time to get all his forward
+spars as far aft as they should have been; a circumstance that had
+knocked him off a little more than had happened to the other vessels.
+Nevertheless, had an air-line been drawn at this moment, from the
+mizzen-top of the Plantagenet to that of the Warspite, it would have
+been found to pass through the spars of quite half the intermediate
+vessels, and no one of them all would have been a pistol-shot out of the
+way. As there were six intervals between the vessels, and each interval
+as near as could be guessed at was a cable's length, the extent of the
+whole line a little exceeded three-quarters of a mile.
+
+On the other hand, the French, though they preserved a very respectable
+degree of order, were much less compact, and by no means as methodical
+in their manner of sailing. Some of their ships were a quarter of a mile
+to leeward of the line, and the intervals were irregular and
+ill-observed. These circumstances arose from several causes, neither of
+which proceeded from any fault in the commander-in-chief, who was both
+an experienced seaman and a skilful tactician. But his captains were new
+to each other, and some of them were recently appointed to their ships;
+it being just as much a matter of course that a seaman should ascertain
+the qualities of his vessel, by familiarity, as that a man should learn
+the character of his wife, in the intimacy of wedlock.
+
+At the precise moment of which we are now writing, the Chloe might have
+been about a league from the leading vessel of the enemy, and her
+position to leeward of her own fleet threatened to bring her, half an
+hour later, within range of the Frenchmen's guns. This fact was apparent
+to all in the squadron; still the frigate stood on, having been placed
+in that station, and the whole being under the immediate supervision of
+the commander-in-chief.
+
+"Denham will have a warm berth of it, sir, should he stand on much
+longer," said Greenly, when ten minutes more had passed, during which
+the ships had gradually drawn nearer.
+
+"I was hoping he might get between the most weatherly French frigate and
+her line," answered Sir Gervaise; "when I think, by edging rapidly away,
+we could take her alive, with the Plantagenet."
+
+"In which case we might as well clear for action; such a man[oe]uvre
+being certain to bring on a general engagement."
+
+"No--no--I'm not quite mad enough for that, Master Telemachus; but, we
+can wait a little longer for the chances. How many flags can you make
+out among the enemy, Bunting?"
+
+"I see but two, Sir Gervaise; one at the fore, and the other at the
+mizzen, like our own. I can make out, now, only twelve ships of the
+line, too; neither of which is a three-decker."
+
+"So much for rumour; as flagrant a liar as ever wagged a tongue! Twelve
+ships on two decks, and eight frigates, sloops and luggers. There can be
+no great mistake in this."
+
+"I think not, Sir Gervaise; their commander-in-chief is in the fourth
+ship from the head of the line. His flag is just discernible, by means
+of our best glass. Ay, there goes a signal, this instant, at the end of
+his gaff!"
+
+"If one could only read French now, Greenly," said the vice-admiral,
+smiling; "we might get into some of Mr. de Vervillin's secrets. Perhaps
+it's an order to go to quarters or to clear; look out sharp, Bunting,
+for any signs of such a movement. What do you make of it?"
+
+"It's to the frigates, Sir Gervaise; all of which answer, while the
+other vessels do not."
+
+"We want no French to read that signal, sir," put in Greenly; "the
+frigates themselves telling us what it means. Monsieur de Vervillin has
+no idea of letting the Plantagenet take any thing he has, _alive_."
+
+This was true enough. Just as the captain spoke, the object of the order
+was made sufficiently apparent, by all the light vessels to windward of
+the French fleet, bearing up together, until they brought the wind abaft
+their beams, when away they glided to leeward, like floating objects
+that have suddenly struck a swift current. Before this change in their
+course, these frigates and corvettes had been struggling along, the seas
+meeting them on their weather-bows, at the rate of about two knots or
+rather less; whereas, their speed was now quadrupled, and in a few
+minutes, the whole of them had sailed through the different intervals in
+their main line, and had formed as before, nearly half a league to
+leeward of it. Here, in the event of an action, their principal duties
+would have been to succour crippled ships that might be forced out of
+their allotted stations during the combat. All this Sir Gervaise viewed
+with disgust. He had hoped that his enemy might have presumed on the
+state of the elements, and suffered his light vessels to maintain their
+original positions.
+
+"It would be a great triumph to us, Greenly," he said, "if Denham could
+pass without shifting his berth. There would be something manly and
+seamanlike in an inferior fleet's passing a superior, in such a style."
+
+"Yes, sir, though it _might_ cost us a fine frigate. The count can have
+no difficulty in fighting his weather main-deck guns, and a discharge
+from two or three of his leading vessels might cut away some spar that
+Denham would miss sadly, just at such a moment."
+
+Sir Gervaise placed his hands behind his back, paced the deck a minute,
+and then said decidedly--
+
+"Bunting, make the Chloe's signal to ware--tacking in this sea, and
+under that short canvass, is out of the question."
+
+Bunting had anticipated this order, and had even ventured clandestinely
+to direct the quarter-masters to bend on the necessary flags; and Sir
+Gervaise had scarcely got the words out of his mouth, before the signal
+was abroad. The Chloe was equally on the alert; for she too each moment
+expected the command, and ere her answering flag was seen, her helm was
+up, the mizen-stay-sail down, and her head falling off rapidly towards
+the enemy. This movement seemed to be expected all round--and it
+certainly had been delayed to the very last moment--for the leading
+French ship fell off three or four points, and as the frigate was
+exactly end-on to her, let fly the contents of all the guns on her
+forecastle, as well as of those on her main-deck, as far aft as they
+could be brought to bear. One of the top-sail-sheets of the frigate was
+shot away by this rapid and unexpected fire, and some little damage was
+done to the standing rigging; but luckily, none of immediate moment.
+Captain Denham was active, and the instant he found his top-sail
+flapping, he ordered it clewed up, and the main-sail loosed. The latter
+was set, close-reefed, as the ship came to the wind on the larboard
+tack, and by the time every thing was braced up and hauled aft, on that
+tack, the main-top-sail was ready to be sheeted home, anew. During the
+few minutes that these evolutions required, Sir Gervaise kept his eye
+riveted on the vessel; and when he saw her fairly round, and trimmed by
+the wind, again, with the main-sail dragging her ahead, to own the truth,
+he felt mentally relieved.
+
+"Not a minute too soon, Sir Gervaise," observed the cautious Greenly,
+smiling. "I should not be surprised if Denham hears more from that
+fellow at the head of the French line. His weather chase-guns are
+exactly in a range with the frigate, and the two upper ones might be
+worked, well enough."
+
+"I think not, Greenly. The forecastle gun, possibly; scarcely any thing
+below it."
+
+Sir Gervaise proved to be partly right and partly wrong. The Frenchman
+_did_ attempt a fire with his main-deck gun; but, at the first plunge of
+the ship, a sea slapped up against her weather-bow, and sent a column of
+water through the port, that drove half its crew into the lee-scuppers.
+In the midst of this waterspout, the gun exploded, the loggerhead having
+been applied an instant before, giving a sort of chaotic wildness to the
+scene in-board. This satisfied the party below; though that on the
+forecastle fared better. The last fired their gun several times, and
+always without success. This failure proceeded from a cause that is
+seldom sufficiently estimated by nautical gunners; the shot having
+swerved from the line of sight, by the force of the wind against which
+it flew, two or three hundred feet, by the time it had gone the mile
+that lay between the vessels. Sir Gervaise anxiously watched the effect
+of the fire, and perceiving that all the shot fell to leeward of the
+Chloe, he was no longer uneasy about that vessel, and he began to turn
+his attention to other and more important concerns.
+
+As we are now approaching a moment when it is necessary that the reader
+should receive some tolerably distinct impression of the relative
+positions of the two entire fleets, we shall close the present chapter,
+here; reserving the duty of explanation for the commencement of a new
+one.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+            ----"All were glad,
+    And laughed, and shouted, as she darted on,
+    And plunged amid the foam, and tossed it high,
+    Over the deck, as when a strong, curbed steed
+    Flings the froth from him in his eager race."
+
+         PERCIVAL
+
+
+The long twilight of a high latitude had now ended, and the sun, though
+concealed behind clouds, had risen. The additional light contributed to
+lessen the gloomy look of the ocean, though the fury of the winds and
+waves still lent to it a dark and menacing aspect. To windward there
+were no signs of an abatement of the gale, while the heavens continued
+to abstain from letting down their floods, on the raging waters beneath.
+By this lime, the fleet was materially to the southward of Cape la
+Hogue, though far to the westward, where the channel received the winds
+and waves from the whole rake of the Atlantic, and the seas were setting
+in, in the long, regular swells of the ocean, a little disturbed by the
+influence of the tides. Ships as heavy as the two-deckers moved along
+with groaning efforts, their bulk-heads and timbers "complaining," to
+use the language of the sea, as the huge masses, loaded with their iron
+artillery, rose and sunk on the coming and receding billows. But their
+movements were stately and full of majesty; whereas, the cutter, sloop,
+and even the frigates, seemed to be tossed like foam, very much at the
+mercy of the elements. The Chloe was passing the admiral, on the
+opposite tack, quite a mile to leeward, and yet, as she mounted to the
+summit of a wave, her cut-water was often visible nearly to the keel.
+These are the trials of a vessel's strength; for, were a ship always
+water-borne equally on all her lines, there would not be the necessity
+which now exists to make her the well-knit mass of wood and iron she is.
+
+The progress of the two fleets was very much the same, both squadrons
+struggling along through the billows, at the rate of about a marine
+league in the hour. As no lofty sail was carried, and the vessels were
+first made in the haze of a clouded morning, the ships had not become
+visible to each other until nearer than common; and, by the time at
+which we have now arrived in our tale, the leading vessels were
+separated by a space that did not exceed two miles, estimating the
+distance only on their respective lines of sailing; though there would
+be about the same space between them, when abreast, the English being so
+much to windward of their enemies. Any one in the least familiar with
+nautical man[oe]uvres will understand that these circumstances would
+bring the van of the French and the rear of their foes much nearer
+together in passing, both fleets being close-hauled.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes, as a matter of course, watched the progress of the
+two lines with close and intelligent attention. Mons. de Vervillin did
+the same from the poop of le Foudroyant, a noble eighty-gun ship in
+which his flag of _vice-admiral_ was flying, as it might be, in
+defiance. By the side of the former stood Greenly, Bunting, and Bury,
+the Plantagenet's first lieutenant; by the side of the latter his
+capitaine de vaisseau, a man as little like the caricatures of such
+officers, as a hostile feeling has laid before the readers of English
+literature, as Washington was like the man held up to odium in the
+London journals, at the commencement of the great American war. M. de
+Vervillin himself was a man of respectable birth, of a scientific
+education, and of great familiarity with ships, so far as a knowledge of
+their general powers and principles was concerned; but here his
+professional excellence ceased, all that infinity of detail which
+composes the distinctive merit of the practical seaman being, in a great
+degree, unknown to him, rendering it necessary for him to _think_ in
+moments of emergency; periods when the really prime mariner seems more
+to act by a sort of _instinct_ than by any very intelligible process of
+ratiocination. With his fleet drawn out before him, however, and with no
+unusual demands on his resources, this gallant officer was an
+exceedingly formidable foe to contend with in squadron.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes lost all his constitutional and feverish impatience
+while the fleets drew nigher and nigher. As is not unusual with brave
+men, who are naturally excitable, as the crisis approached he grew
+calmer, and obtained a more perfect command over himself; seeing all
+things in their true colours, and feeling more and more equal to control
+them. He continued to walk the poop, but it was with a slower step; and,
+though his hands were still closed behind his back, the fingers were
+passive, while his countenance became grave and his eye thoughtful.
+Greenly knew that his interference would now be hazardous; for
+whenever the vice-admiral assumed that air, he literally became
+commander-in-chief; and any attempt to control or influence him, unless
+sustained by the communication of new facts, could only draw down
+resentment on his own head. Bunting, too, was aware that the "admiral
+was aboard," as the officers, among themselves, used to describe this
+state of their superior's mind, and was prepared to discharge his own
+duty in the most silent and rapid manner in his power. All the others
+present felt more or less of this same influence of an established
+character.
+
+"_Mr._ Bunting," said Sir Gervaise, when the distance between the
+Plantagenet and _le Temeraire_ the leading French vessel, might have
+been about a league, allowing for the difference in the respective lines
+of sailing--"_Mr._ Bunting, bend on the signal for the ships to go to
+quarters. We may as well be ready for any turn of the dice."
+
+No one dared to comment on this order: it was obeyed in readiness and
+silence.
+
+"Signal ready, Sir Gervaise," said Bunting, the instant the last flag
+was in its place.
+
+"Run it up at once, sir, and have a bright look-out for the answers.
+Captain Greenly, go to quarters, and see all clear on the main-deck, to
+use the batteries if wanted. The people can stand fast below, as I think
+it might be dangerous to open the ports."
+
+Captain Greenly passed off the poop to the quarter-deck, and in a minute
+the drum and fife struck up the air which is known all over the
+civilized world as the call to arms. In most services this summons is
+made by the drum alone, which emits sounds to which the fancy has
+attached peculiar words; those of the soldiers of France being "_prend
+ton sac_--_prend ton sac_--_prend ton sac_," no bad representatives of
+the meaning; but in English and American ships, this appeal is usually
+made in company with the notes of the "ear-piercing fife," which gives
+it a melody that might otherwise be wanting.
+
+"Signal answered throughout the fleet, Sir Gervaise," said Bunting.
+
+No answer was given to this report beyond a quiet inclination of the
+head. After a moment's pause, however, the vice-admiral turned to his
+signal officer and said--
+
+"I should think, Bunting, no captain can need an order to tell him _not_
+to open his lee-lower-deck ports in such a sea as this?"
+
+"I rather fancy not, Sir Gervaise," answered Bunting, looking drolly at
+the boiling element that gushed up each minute from beneath the bottom
+of the ship, in a way to appear as high as the hammock-cloths. "The
+people at the _main_-deck guns would have rather a wet time of it."
+
+"Bend on the signal, sir, for the ships astern to keep in the
+vice-admiral's wake. Young gentleman," to the midshipman who always
+acted as his aid in battle, "tell Captain Greenly I desire to see him as
+soon as he has received all the reports."
+
+Down to the moment when the first tap of the drum was heard, the
+Plantagenet had presented a scene of singular quiet and unconcern,
+considering the circumstances in which she was placed. A landsman would
+scarcely credit that men could be so near their enemies, and display so
+much indifference to their vicinity; but this was the result of long
+habit, and a certain marine instinct that tells the sailor when any
+thing serious is in the wind, and when not. The difference in the force
+of the two fleets, the heavy gale, and the weatherly position of the
+English, all conspired to assure the crew that nothing decisive could
+yet occur. Here and there an officer or an old seaman might be seen
+glancing through a port, to ascertain the force and position of the
+French; but, on the whole, their fleet excited little more attention
+than if lying at anchor in Cherbourg. The breakfast hour was
+approaching, and that important event monopolized the principal interest
+of the moment. The officers' boys, in particular, began to make their
+appearance around the galley, provided, as usual, with their pots and
+dishes, and, now and then, one cast a careless glance through the
+nearest opening to see how the strangers looked; but as to warfare there
+was much more the appearance of it between the protectors of the rights
+of the different messes, than between the two great belligerent navies
+themselves.
+
+Nor was the state of things materially different in the gun-room, or
+cock-pit, or on the orlops. Most of the people of a two-decked ship are
+berthed on the lower gun deck, and the order to "clear ship" is more
+necessary to a vessel of that construction, before going to quarters
+seriously, than to smaller craft; though it is usual in all. So long as
+the bags, mess-chests, and other similar appliances were left in their
+ordinary positions, Jack saw little reason to derange himself; and as
+reports were brought below, from time to time, respecting the approach
+of the enemy, and more especially of his being well to leeward, few of
+those whose duty did not call them on deck troubled themselves about the
+matter at all. This habit of considering his fortune as attached to that
+of his ship, and of regarding himself as a point on her mass, as we all
+look on ourselves as particles of the orb we accompany in its
+revolutions, is sufficiently general among mariners; but it was
+particularly so as respects the sailors of a fleet, who were kept so
+much at sea, and who had been so often, with all sorts of results, in
+the presence of the enemy. The scene that was passing in the gun-room at
+the precise moment at which our tale has arrived, was so characteristic,
+in particular, as to merit a brief description.
+
+All the idlers by this time were out of their berths and cotts; the
+signs of those who "slept in the country," as it is termed, or who were
+obliged, for want of state-rooms, to sling in the common apartment,
+having disappeared. Magrath was reading a treatise on medicine, in good
+Leyden Latin, by a lamp. The purser was endeavouring to decipher his
+steward's hieroglyphics, favoured by the same light, and the captain of
+marines was examining the lock of an aged musket. The third and fourth
+lieutenants were helping each other to untangle one of their
+Bay-of-Biscay reckonings, which had set both plane and spherical
+trigonometry at defiance, by a lamp of their own; and the chaplain was
+hurrying the steward and the boys along with the breakfast--his usual
+occupation at that "witching time" in the morning.
+
+While things were in this state, the first lieutenant, Mr. Bury,
+appeared in the gun-room. His arrival caused one or two of the mess to
+glance upward at him, though no one spoke but the junior lieutenant,
+who, being an honourable, was at his ease with every one on board, short
+of the captain.
+
+"What's the news from deck, Bury?" asked this officer, a youth of
+twenty, his senior being a man ten years older. "Is Mr. de Vervillin
+thinking of running away yet?"
+
+"Not he, sir; there's too much of the game-cock about him for _that_."
+
+"I'll warrant you he can _crow_! But what _is_ the news, Bury?"
+
+"The news is that the old Planter is as wet as a wash-tub, forward, and
+I must have a dry jacket--do you hear, there, Tom? Soundings," turning
+to the master, who just then came in from forward, "have you taken a
+look out of doors this morning?"
+
+"You know I seldom forget that, Mr. Bury. A pretty pickle the ship would
+soon be in, if _I_ forgot to look about me!"
+
+"He swallowed the deep-sea, down in the bay," cried the honourable,
+laughing, "and goes every morning at day-light to look for it out at the
+bridle-ports."
+
+"Well, then, Soundings, what do you think of the third ship in the
+French line?" continued Bury, disregarding the levity of the youth: "did
+you ever see such top-masts, as she carries, before?"
+
+"I scarce ever saw a Frenchman without them, Mr. Bury. You'd have just
+such sticks in this fleet, if Sir Jarvy would stand them."
+
+"Ay, but Sir Jarvy _won't_ stand them. The captain who sent such a stick
+up in his ship, would have to throw it overboard before night. I never
+saw such a pole in the air in my life!"
+
+"What's the matter with the mast, Mr. Bury?" put in Magrath, who kept up
+what he called constant scientific skirmishes with the _elder_
+sea-officers; the _junior_ being too inexperienced in his view to be
+worthy of a contest. "I'll engage the spar is moulded and fashioned
+agreeably to the most approved pheelosphical principles; for in _that_
+the French certainly excel us."
+
+"Who ever heard of _moulding_ a spar?" interrupted Soundings, laughing
+loudly, "we _mould_ a ship's frame, Doctor, but we _lengthen_ and
+_shorten_, and _scrape_ and _fid_ her masts."
+
+"I'm answered as usual, gentlemen, and voted down, I suppose by
+acclamation, as they call it in other learned bodies. I would advise no
+creature that has a reason to go to sea; an instinct being all that is
+needed to make a Lord High Admiral of twenty tails."
+
+"I should like Sir Jarvy to hear _that_, my man of books," cried the
+fourth, who had satisfied himself that a book was not his own forte--"I
+fancy your instinct, doctor, will prevent you from whispering this in
+the vice-admiral's ear!"
+
+Although Magrath had a profound respect for the commander-in-chief, he
+was averse to giving in, in a gun-room discussion. His answer,
+therefore, partook of the feeling of the moment.
+
+"Sir Gervaise," (he pronounced this word Jairvis,) "Sir Gervaise Oakes,
+_honourable_ sir," he said, with a sneer, "may be a good seaman, but
+he's no linguist. Now, there he was, ashore among the dead and dying,
+just as ignorant of the meaning of _filius nullius_, which is boy's
+Latin, as if he had never seen a horn-book! Nevertheless, gentlemen, it
+is science, and not even the classics, that makes the man; as for a
+creature's getting the sciences by instinct, I shall contend it is
+against the possibilities, whereas the attainment of what you call
+seamanship, is among even the lesser probabilities."
+
+"This is the most marine-ish talk I ever heard from your mouth, doctor,"
+interrupted Soundings. "How the devil can a man tell how to ware ship by
+instinct, as you call it, if one may ask the question?"
+
+"Simply, Soundings, because the process of ratiocination is dispensed
+with. Do you have to _think_ in waring ship, now?--I'll put it to your
+own honour, for the answer."
+
+"Think!--I should be a poor creature for a master, indeed, if much
+thinking were wanting in so simple a matter as tacking or veering.
+No--no--your real sea-dog has no occasion for much _thinking_, when he
+has his work before him."
+
+"That'll just be it, gentlemen!--that'll be just what I'm telling ye,"
+cried the doctor, exulting in the success of his artifice. "Not only
+will Mr. Soundings not _think_, when he has his ordinary duties to
+perform, but he holds the process itself in merited contempt, ye'll
+obsairve; and so my theory is established, by evidence of a pairty
+concerned; which is more than a postulate logically requires."
+
+Here Magrath dropped his book, and laughed with that sort of hissing
+sound that seems peculiar to the genus of which he formed a part. He was
+still indulging in his triumph, when the first tap of the drum was
+heard. All listened; every ear pricking like that of a deer that hears
+the hound, when there followed--"r-r-r-ap tap--r-r-r-ap tap--r-r-r-ap
+tapa-tap-tap--rap-a-tap--a-rap-a-tap a-rap-a-tap--a-tap-tap."
+
+"Instinct or reason, Sir Jarvy is going to quarters!" exclaimed the
+honourable. "I'd no notion we were near enough to the Monsieurs, for
+_that_!"
+
+"Now," said Magrath, with a grinning sneer, as he rose to descend to the
+cock-pit, "there'll may be arise an occasion for a little learning, when
+I'll promise ye all the science that can be mustered in my unworthy
+knowledge. Soundings, I may have to heave the lead in the depths of your
+physical formation, in which case I'll just endeevour to avoid the
+breakers of ignorance."
+
+"Go to the devil, or to the cock-pit, whichever you please, sir,"
+answered the master; "I've served in six general actions, already, and
+have never been obliged to one of your kidney for so much as a bit of
+court-plaster or lint. With me, oakum answers for one, and canvass for
+the other."
+
+While this was saying, all hands were in motion. The sea and marine
+officers looking for their side-arms, the surgeon carefully collecting
+his books, and the chaplain seizing a dish of cold beef, that was
+hurriedly set upon a table, carrying it down with him to his quarters,
+by way of taking it out of harm's way. In a minute, the gun-room was
+cleared of all who usually dwelt there, and their places were supplied
+by the seamen who manned the three or four thirty-two's that were
+mounted in the apartment, together with their opposites. As the
+sea-officers, in particular, appeared among the men, their faces assumed
+an air of authority, and their voices were heard calling out the order
+to "tumble up," as they hastened themselves to their several stations.
+
+All this time, Sir Gervaise Oakes paced the poop. Bunting and the
+quarter-master were in readiness to hoist the new signal, and Greenly
+merely waited for the reports, to join the commander-in-chief. In about
+five minutes after the drum had given its first tap, these were
+completed, and the captain ascended to the poop.
+
+"By standing on, on our present course, Captain Greenly," observed Sir
+Gervaise, anxious to justify to himself the evolution he contemplated,
+"the rear of our line and the van of the French will be brought within
+fair range of shot from each other, and, by an accident, we might lose a
+ship; since any vessel that was crippled, would necessarily sag directly
+down upon the enemy. Now, I propose to keep away in the Plantagenet, and
+just brush past the leading French ships, at about the distance the
+Warspite will _have_ to pass, and so alter the face of matters a little.
+What do you think would be the consequence of such a man[oe]uvre?"
+
+"That the van of our line and the van of the French will be brought as
+near together, as you have just said must happen to the rear, Sir
+Gervaise, in any case."
+
+"It does not require a mathematician to tell that much, sir. You will
+keep away, as soon as Bunting shows the signal, and bring the wind
+abeam. Never mind the braces; let _them_ stand fast; as soon as we have
+passed the French admiral, I shall luff, again. This will cause us to
+lose a little of our weatherly position, but about that I am very
+indifferent. Give the order, sir--Bunting, run up the signal."
+
+These commands were silently obeyed, and presently the Plantagenet was
+running directly in the troughs of the seas, with quite double her
+former velocity. The other ships answered promptly, each keeping away as
+her second ahead came down to the proper line of sailing, and all
+complying to the letter with an order that was very easy of execution.
+The effect, besides giving every prospect of a distant engagement, was
+to straighten the line to nearly mathematical precision.
+
+"Is it your wish, Sir Gervaise, that we should endeavour to open our lee
+lower ports?" asked Greenly. "Unless we attempt something of the sort,
+we shall have nothing heavier than the eighteens to depend on, should
+Monsieur de Vervillin see fit to begin."
+
+"And will _he_ be any better off?--It would be next to madness to think
+of fighting the lower-deck guns, in such weather, and we will keep all
+fast. Should the French commence the sport, we shall have the advantage
+of being to windward; and the loss of a few weather shrouds might bring
+down the best mast in their fleet."
+
+Greenly made no answer, though he perfectly understood that the loss of
+a mast would almost certainly ensure the loss of the ship, did one of
+his own heavier spars go. But this was Sir Gervaise's greatest weakness
+as a commander, and he knew it would be useless to attempt persuading
+him to suffer a single ship under his order to pass the enemy nearer
+than he went himself in the Plantagenet. This was what he called
+covering his ships; though it amounted to no more than putting all of
+them in the jeopardy that happened to be unavoidable, as regarded one or
+two.
+
+The Comte de Vervillin seemed at a loss to understand this sudden and
+extraordinary movement in the van of his enemy. His signals followed,
+and his crews went to their guns; but it was not an easy matter for
+ships that persevered in hugging the wind to make any material
+alterations in their relative positions, in such a gale. The rate of
+sailing of the English, however, now menaced a speedy collision, if
+collision were intended, and it was time to be stirring, in order to be
+ready for it.
+
+On the other hand, all was quiet, and, seemingly, death-like, in the
+English ships. Their people were at their quarters, already, and this is
+a moment of profound stillness in a vessel of war. The lower ports being
+down, the portions of the crews stationed on those decks were buried, as
+it might be, in obscurity, while even those above were still partly
+concealed by the half-ports. There was virtually nothing for the
+sail-trimmers to do, and every thing was apparently left to the
+evolutions of the vast machines themselves, in which they floated. Sir
+Gervaise, Greenly, and the usual attendants still remained on the poop,
+their eyes scarcely turning for an instant from the fleet of the enemy.
+
+By this time the Plantagenct and _le Temeraire_ were little more than a
+mile apart, each minute lessening this distance. The latter ship was
+struggling along, her bows plunging into the seas to the hawse-holes,
+while the former had a swift, easy motion through the troughs, and along
+the summits of the waves, her flattened sails aiding in steadying her in
+the heavy lurches that unavoidably accompanied such a movement. Still, a
+sea would occasionally break against her weather side, sending its crest
+upward in a brilliant _jet-d'eau_, and leaving tons of water on the
+decks. Sir Gervaise's manner had now lost every glimmering of
+excitement. When he spoke, it was in a gentle, pleasant tone, such as a
+gentleman might use in the society of women. The truth was, all his
+energy had concentrated in the determination to do a daring deed; and,
+as is not unusual with the most resolute men, the nearer he approached
+to the consummation of his purpose, the more he seemed to reject all the
+spurious aids of manner.
+
+"The French do not open their lower ports, Greenly," observed the
+vice-admiral, dropping the glass after one of his long looks at the
+enemy, "although they have the advantage of being to leeward. I take
+that to be a sign they intend nothing very serious."
+
+"We shall know better five minutes hence, Sir Gervaise. This ship slides
+along like a London coach."
+
+"His line is lubberly, after all, Greenly! Look at those two ships
+astern--they are near half a mile to windward of the rest of the fleet,
+and at least half a mile astern. Hey! Greenly?"
+
+The captain turned towards the rear of the French, and examined the
+positions of the two ships mentioned with sufficient deliberation; but
+Sir Gervaise dropped his head in a musing manner, and began to pace the
+poop again. Once or twice he stopped to look at the rear of the French
+line, then distant from him quite a league, and as often did he resume
+his walk.
+
+"Bunting," said the vice-admiral, mildly, "come this way, a moment. Our
+last signal was to keep in the commander-in-chief's wake, and to follow
+his motions?"
+
+"It was, Sir Gervaise. The old order to follow motions, 'with or without
+signals,' as one might say."
+
+"Bend on the signals to close up in line, as near as safe, and to carry
+sail by the flag-ship."
+
+"Ay, ay, Sir Gervaise--we'll have 'em both up in five minutes, sir."
+
+The commander-in-chief now even seemed pleased. His physical excitement
+returned a little, and a smile struggled round his lip. His eye glanced
+at Greenly, to see if he were suspected, and then all his calmness of
+exterior returned. In the mean time the signals were made and answered.
+The latter circumstance was reported to Sir Gervaise, who cast his eyes
+down the line astern, and saw that the different ships were already
+bracing in, and easing off their sheets, in order to diminish the spaces
+between the different vessels. As soon as it was apparent that the
+Carnatic was drawing ahead, Captain Greenly was told to lay his main and
+fore-yards nearly square, to light up all his stay-sail sheets, and to
+keep away sufficiently to make every thing draw. Although these orders
+occasioned surprise, they were implicitly obeyed.
+
+The moment of meeting had now come. In consequence of having kept away
+so much, the Plantagenet could not be quite three-fourths of a mile on
+the weather-bow of _le Temeraire_, coming up rapidly, and threatening a
+semi-transverse fire. In order to prevent this, the French ship edged
+off a little, giving herself an easier and more rapid movement through
+the water, and bringing her own broadside more fairly to the shock. This
+evolution was followed by the two next ships, a little prematurely,
+perhaps; but the admiral in _le Foudroyant_, disdaining to edge off from
+her enemy, kept her luff. The ships astern were governed by the course
+of their superior. This change produced a little disorder in the van of
+the French, menacing still greater, unless one party or the other
+receded from the course taken. But time pressed, and the two fleets were
+closing so fast as to induce other thoughts.
+
+"There's lubberly work for you, Greenly!" said Sir Gervaise, smiling. "A
+commander-in-chief heading up with the bowlines dragged, and his second
+and third ahead--not to say fourth--running off with the wind abeam!
+Now, if we can knock the Comte off a couple of points, in passing, all
+his fellows astern will follow, and the Warspite and Blenheim and
+Thunderer will slip by like girls in a country-dance! Send Bury down to
+the main-deck, with orders to be ready with those eighteens."
+
+Greenly obeyed, of course, and he began to think better of audacity in
+naval warfare, than he had done before, that day. This was the usual
+course of things with these two officers; one arguing and deciding
+according to the dictates of a cool judgment, and the other following
+his impulses quite as much as any thing else, until facts supervened to
+prove that human things are as much controlled by adventitious agencies,
+the results of remote and unseen causes, as by any well-digested plans
+laid at the moment. In their cooler hours, when they came to reason on
+the past, the vice-admiral generally consummated his triumphs, by
+reminding his captain that if he had not been in the way of luck, he
+never could have profited by it; no bad creed for a naval officer, who
+is otherwise prudent and vigilant.
+
+The quarter-masters of the fleet were just striking six bells, or
+proclaiming that it was seven o'clock in the morning watch, as the
+Plantagenet and _le Temeraire_ came abeam of each other. Both ships
+lurched heavily in the troughs of the seas, and both rolled to windward
+in stately majesty, and yet both slid through the brine with a momentum
+that resembled the imperceptible motion of a planet. The water rolled
+back from their black sides and shining hammock-cloths, and all the
+other dark panoply that distinguishes a ship-of-war glistened with the
+spray; but no sign of hostility proceeded from either. The French
+admiral made no signal to engage, and Sir Gervaise had reasons of his
+own for wishing to pass the enemy's van, if possible, unnoticed. Minute
+passed after minute, in breathless silence, on board the Plantagenet and
+the Carnatic, the latter vessel being now but half a cable's-length
+astern of the admiral. Every eye that had any outlet for such a purpose,
+was riveted on the main-deck ports of _le Temeraire_ in expectation of
+seeing the fire issue from her guns. Each instant, however, lessened the
+chances, as regarded that particular vessel, which was soon out of the
+line of fire from the Plantagenet, when the same scene was to follow
+with the same result, in connection with _le Conquereur_, the second
+ship of the French line. Sir Gervaise smiled as he passed the three
+first ships, seemingly unnoticed; but as he drew nearer to the admiral,
+he felt confident this impunity must cease.
+
+"What they _mean_ by it all, Greenly," he observed to his companion, "is
+more than I can say; but we will go nearer, and try to find out. Keep
+her away a little more, sir; keep her away half a point." Greenly was
+not disposed to remonstrate now, for his prudent temperament was
+yielding to the excitement of the moment just reversing the traits of
+Sir Gervaise's character; the one losing his extreme discretion in
+feeling, as the other gained by the pressure of circumstances. The helm
+was eased a little, and the ship sheered nearer to _le Foudroyant_.
+
+As is usual in all services, the French commander-in-chief was in one of
+the best vessels of his fleet. Not only was the Foudroyant a heavy ship,
+carrying French forty-twos below, a circumstance that made her rate as
+an eighty, but, like the Plantagenet, she was one of the fastest and
+most weatherly vessels of her class known. By "hugging the wind," this
+noble vessel had got, by this time, materially to windward of her second
+and third ahead, and had increased her distance essentially from her
+supports astern. In a word, she was far from being in a position to be
+sustained as she ought to be, unless she edged off herself, a movement
+that no one on board her seemed to contemplate.
+
+"He's a noble fellow, Greenly, that Comte de Vervillin!" murmured Sir
+Gervaise, in a tone of admiration, "and so have I always found him, and
+so have I always _reported_ him, too! The fools about the Gazettes, and
+the knaves about the offices, may splutter as they will; Mr. de
+Vervillin would give them plenty of occupation were they _here_. I
+question if he mean to keep off in the least, but insists on holding
+every inch he can gain!"
+
+The next moment, however, satisfied Sir Gervaise that he was mistaken in
+his last conjecture, the bows of the Foudroyant gradually falling off,
+until the line of her larboard guns bore, when she made a general
+discharge of the whole of them, with the exception of those on the lower
+deck. The Plantagenets waited until the ship rose on a sea, and then
+they returned the compliment in the same manner. The Carnatic's side
+showed a sheet of flame immediately after; and the Achilles, Lord
+Morganic, luffing briskly to the wind, so as to bring her guns to bear,
+followed up the game, like flashes of lightning. All three of these
+ships had directed their fire at le Foudroyant, and the smoke had not
+yet driven from among her spars, when Sir Gervaise perceived that all
+three of her top-masts were hanging to leeward. At this sight, Greenly
+fairly sprang from the deck, and gave three cheers The men below caught
+up the cry, even to those who were, in a manner, buried on the lower
+deck, and presently, spite of the gale, the Carnatic's were heard
+following their example astern. At this instant the whole French and
+English lines opened their fire, from van to rear, as far as their guns
+would bear, or the shot tell.
+
+"Now, sir, now is our time to close with de Vervillin!" exclaimed
+Greenly, the instant he perceived the manner in which his ship was
+crippled. "In our close order we might hope to make a thorough wreck of
+him."
+
+"Not so, Greenly," returned Sir Gervaise calmly. "You see he edges away
+already, and will be down among his other ships in five minutes; we
+should have a general action with twice our force. What is done, is
+_well_ done, and we will let it stand. It is _something_ to have
+dismasted the enemy's commander-in-chief; do you look to it that the
+enemy don't do the same with ours. I heard shot rattling aloft, and
+every thing now bears a hard strain."
+
+Greenly went to look after his duty, while Sir Gervaise continued to
+pace the poop. The whole of le Foudroyant's fire had been directed at
+the Plantagenet, but so rough was the ocean that not a shot touched the
+hull. A little injury had been done aloft, but nothing that the ready
+skill of the seamen was not able to repair even in that rough weather.
+The fact is, most of the shot had touched the waves, and had flown off
+from their varying surfaces at every angle that offered. One of the
+secrets that Sir Gervaise had taught his captains was to avoid hitting
+the surface of the sea, if possible, unless that surface was reasonably
+smooth, and the object intended to be injured was near at hand. Then the
+French admiral received the _first_ fire--always the most
+destructive--of three fresh vessels; and his injuries were in
+proportion.
+
+The scene was now animated, and not without a wild magnificence. The
+gale continued as heavy as ever, and with the raging of the ocean and
+the howling of the winds, mingled the roar of artillery, and the smoky
+canopy of battle. Still the destruction on neither side bore any
+proportion to the grandeur of the accompaniments; the distance and the
+unsteadiness of the ships preventing much accuracy of aim. In that day,
+a large two-decked ship never carried heavier metal than an eighteen
+above her lower batteries; and this gun, efficient as it is on most
+occasions, does not bring with it the fearful destruction that attends a
+more modern broadside. There was a good deal of noise, notwithstanding,
+and some blood shed in passing; but, on the whole, when the Warspite,
+the last of the English ships, ceased her fire, on account of the
+distance of the enemy abreast of her, it would have been difficult to
+tell that any vessel but le Foudroyant, had been doing more than
+saluting. At this instant Greenly re-appeared on the poop, his own ship
+having ceased to fire for several minutes.
+
+"Well, Greenly, the main-deck guns are at least scaled," said Sir
+Gervaise, smiling; "and _that_ is not to be done over again for some
+time. You keep every thing ready in the batteries, I trust?"
+
+"We are all ready, Sir Gervaise, but there is nothing to be done. It
+would be useless to waste our ammunition at ships quite two miles under
+our lee."
+
+"Very true--very true, sir. But _all_ the Frenchmen are not quite so far
+to leeward, Greenly, as you may see by looking ahead. Yonder two, at
+least, are not absolutely out of harm's way!"
+
+Greenly turned, gazed an instant in the direction in which the
+commander-in-chief pointed, and then the truth of what Sir Gervaise had
+really in view in keeping away, flashed on his mind, as it might be, at
+a glance. Without saying a word, he immediately quitted the poop, and
+descending even to the lower deck, passed through the whole of his
+batteries, giving his orders, and examining their condition.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+    "By Heaven! it is a splendid sight to see,
+      (For one who hath no friend, nor brother there,)
+    Their rival scarfs of mixed embroidery--
+      Their various arms that glitter in the air!"
+
+         CHILDE HAROLD.
+
+
+The little conflict between the English ships and the head of the French
+line, the evolutions that had grown out of it, the crippling of le
+Foudroyant, and the continuance of the gale, contributed to produce
+material changes in the relative positions of the two fleets. All the
+English vessels kept their stations with beautiful accuracy, still
+running to the southward in a close line ahead, having the wind a trifle
+abaft the beam, with their yards braced in. Under the circumstances, it
+needed but some seven or eight minutes for these ships to glide a mile
+through the troubled ocean, and this was about the period the most
+exposed of them all had been under the random and slow fire that the
+state of the weather permitted. The trifling damages sustained were
+already repaired, or in a way soon to be so. On the other hand,
+considerable disorder prevailed among the French. Their line had never
+been perfect, extending quite a league; a few of the leading vessels, or
+those near the commander-in-chief, sustaining each other as well as
+could be desired, while long intervals existed between the ships astern.
+Among the latter, too, as has been stated, some were much farther to
+windward than the others; an irregularity that proceeded from a desire
+of the Comte to luff up as near as possible to the enemy--a desire,
+which, practised on, necessarily threw the least weatherly vessels to
+leeward. Thus the two ships in the extreme rear, as has been hinted at
+already, being jammed up unusually hard upon the wind, had weathered
+materially on their consorts, while their way through the water had been
+proportionably less. It was these combined circumstances which brought
+them so far astern and to windward.
+
+At the time Sir Gervaise pointed out their positions to Greenly, the two
+vessels just mentioned were quite half a mile to the westward of their
+nearest consort, and more than that distance to the southward. When it
+is remembered that the wind was nearly due west, and that all the French
+vessels, these two excepted, were steering north, the relative positions
+of the latter will be understood. Le Foudroyant, too, had kept away,
+after the loss of her top-masts, until fairly in the wake of the ships
+ahead of her, in her own line, and, as the vessels had been running off
+with the wind abeam, for several minutes, this man[oe]uvre threw the
+French still farther to leeward. To make the matter worse, just as the
+Warspite drew out of the range of shot from the French, M. de Vervillin
+showed a signal at the end of his gaff, for his whole fleet to ware in
+succession; an order, which, while it certainly had a gallant semblance,
+as it was bringing his vessels round on the same tack as his enemy, and
+looked like a defiance, was singularly adapted to restoring to the
+latter all the advantage of the wind they had lost by keeping away. As
+it was necessary to take room to execute this evolution, in order to
+clear the ships that were now crowded in the van, when le Temeraire came
+to the wind again on the starboard tack, she was fully half a mile to
+leeward of the admiral, who had just put his helm up. As a matter of
+course, in order to form anew, with the heads of the ships to the
+southward, each vessel had to get into her leader's wake, which would be
+virtually throwing the whole French line, again, two miles to leeward of
+the English. Nevertheless, the stragglers in the rear of the French
+continued to hug the wind, with a pertinacity that denoted a resolution
+to have a brush with their enemies in passing. The vessels were le
+Scipion and la Victoire, each of seventy-four guns. The first of these
+ships was commanded by a young man of very little professional
+experience, but of high court influence; while the second had a captain
+who, like old Parker, had worked his way up to his present station,
+through great difficulties, and by dint of hard knocks, and harder work.
+Unfortunately the first ranked, and the humble _capitaine de fregate_,
+placed by accident in command of a ship of the line, did not dare to
+desert a _capitaine de vaisseau_, who had a _duc_ for an elder brother,
+and called himself _comte_. There was perhaps a redeeming gallantry in
+the spirit which determined the Comte de Chelincourt to incur the risk
+of passing so near six vessels with only two, that might throw a veil
+over the indiscretion; more especially as his own fleet was near enough
+to support him in the event of any disaster, and it was certainly
+possible that the loss of a material spar on board either of his foes,
+might induce the capture of the vessel. At all events, thus reasoned M.
+de Chelincourt; who continued boldly on, with his larboard tacks aboard,
+always hugging the wind, even after the Temeraire was round; and M.
+Comptant chose to follow him in la Victoire. The Plantagenet, by this
+time, being not a mile distant from the Scipio, coming on with steady
+velocity, these intentions and circumstances created every human
+probability that she would soon be passing her weather beam, within a
+quarter of a mile, and, consequently, that a cannonade, far more serious
+than what had yet occurred, must follow. The few intervening minutes
+gave Sir Gervaise time to throw a glance around him, and to come to his
+final decision.
+
+The English fleet was never in better line than at that precise moment.
+The ships were as close to each other as comported with safety, and
+every thing stood and drew as in the trade winds. The leading French
+vessels were waring and increasing their distance to leeward, and it
+would require an hour for them to get up near enough to be at all
+dangerous in such weather, while all the rest were following, regardless
+of the two that continued their luff. The Chloe had already got round,
+and, hugging the wind, was actually coming up to windward of her own
+line, though under a press of canvass that nearly buried her. The Active
+and Driver were in their stations, as usual; one on the weather beam,
+and the other on the weather bow; while the Druid had got so near as to
+show her hull, closing fast, with square yards.
+
+"That is either a very bold, or a very obstinate fellow; he, who
+commands the two ships ahead of us," observed Greenly, as he stood at
+the vice-admiral's side, and just as the latter terminated his survey.
+"What object can he possibly have in braving three times his force in a
+gale like this?"
+
+"If it were an Englishman, Greenly, we should call him a hero! By taking
+a mast out of one of us, he might cause the loss of the ship, or compel
+us to engage double _our_ force. Do not blame him, but help me, rather,
+to disappoint him. Now, listen, and see all done immediately."
+
+Sir Gervaise then explained to the captain what his intentions really
+were, first ordering, himself, (a very unusual course for one of his
+habits,) the first lieutenant, to keep the ship off as much as
+practicable, without seeming to wish to do so; but, as the orders will
+be explained incidentally, in the course of the narrative, it is not
+necessary to give them here. Greenly then went below, leaving Sir
+Gervaise, Bunting, and their auxiliaries, in possession of the poop. A
+private signal had been bent on some little time, and it was now
+hoisted. In about five minutes it was read, understood, and answered by
+all the ships of the fleet. Sir Gervaise rubbed his hands like a man who
+was delighted, and he beckoned to Bury, who had the trumpet on the
+quarter-deck, to join him on the poop.
+
+"Did Captain Greenly let you into our plot, Bury," asked the
+vice-admiral, in high good-humour, as soon as obeyed, "I saw he spoke to
+you in going below?"
+
+"He only told me, Sir Gervaise, to edge down upon the Frenchmen as close
+as I could, and this we are doing, I think, as fast as mounsheer"--Bury
+was an Anglo-Gallican--"will at all like."
+
+"Ah! there old Parker sheers bravely to leeward! Trust to him to be in
+the right place. The Carnatic went fifty fathoms out of the line at that
+one twist. The Thunderer and Warspite too! Never was a signal more
+beautifully obeyed. If the Frenchmen don't take the alarm, now, every
+thing will be to our minds."
+
+By this time, Bury began to understand the man[oe]uvre. Each alternate
+ship of the English was sheering fast to leeward, forming a weather and
+a lee line, with increased intervals between the vessels, while all of
+them were edging rapidly away, so as greatly to near the enemy. It was
+apparent now, indeed, that the Plantagenet herself must pass within a
+hundred fathoms of the Scipio, and that in less than two minutes. The
+delay in issuing the orders for this evolution was in favour of its
+success, inasmuch as it did not give the enemy time for deliberation.
+The Comte de Chelincourt, in fact, did not detect it; or, at least, did
+not foresee the consequences; though both were quite apparent to the
+more experienced _capitaine de fregate_ astern. It was too late, or the
+latter would have signalled his superior to put him on his guard; but,
+as things were, there remained no alternative, apparently, but to run
+the gauntlet, and trust all to the chances of battle.
+
+In a moment like that we are describing, events occur much more rapidly
+than they can be related. The Plantagenet was now within pistol-shot of
+le Scipion, and on her weather bow. At that precise instant, when the
+bow-guns, on both sides, began to play, the Carnatic, then nearly in a
+line with the enemy, made a rank sheer to leeward, and drove on, opening
+in the very act with her weather-bow guns. The Thunderer and Warspite
+imitated this man[oe]uvre, leaving the Frenchman the cheerless prospect
+of being attacked on both sides. It is not to be concealed that M. de
+Chelincourt was considerably disturbed by this sudden change in his
+situation. That which, an instant before, had the prospect of being a
+chivalrous, but extremely hazardous, passage in front of a formidable
+enemy, now began to assume the appearance of something very like
+destruction. It was too late, however, to remedy the evil, and the young
+Comte, as brave a man as existed, determined to face it manfully. He had
+scarcely time to utter a few cheering sentiments, in a dramatic manner,
+to those on the quarter-deck, when the English flag-ship came sweeping
+past in a cloud of smoke, and a blaze of fire. His own broadside was
+nobly returned, or as much of it as the weather permitted, but the smoke
+of both discharges was still driving between his masts, when the dark
+hamper of the Carnatic glided into the drifting canopy, which was made
+to whirl back on the devoted Frenchman in another torrent of flame.
+Three times was this fearful assault renewed on the Scipio, at intervals
+of about a minute, the iron hurricane first coming from to windward, and
+then seeming to be driven back from to leeward, as by its own rebound,
+leaving no breathing time to meet it. The effect was completely to
+silence her own fire; for what between the power of the raging elements,
+and the destruction of the shot, a species of wild and blood-fraught
+confusion took the place of system and order. Her decks were covered
+with killed and wounded, among the latter of whom was the Comte de
+Chelincourt, while orders were given and countermanded in a way to
+render them useless, if not incoherent. From the time when the
+Plantagenet fired her first gun, to that when the Warspite fired her
+last, was just five minutes by the watch. It seemed an hour to the
+French, and but a moment to their enemies. One hundred and eighty-two
+men and boys were included in the casualties of those teeming moments on
+board the Scipio alone; and when that ship issued slowly from the scene
+of havoc, more by the velocity of her assailants in passing than by her
+own, the foremast was all that stood, the remainder of her spars
+dragging under her lee. To cut the last adrift, and to run off nearly
+before the wind, in order to save the spars forward, and to get within
+the cover of her own fleet, was all that could now be done. It may as
+well be said here, that these two objects were effected.
+
+The Plantagenet had received damage from the fire of her opponent. Some
+ten or fifteen men were killed and wounded; her main-top-sail was split
+by a shot, from clew to earing; one of the quarter-masters was carried
+from the poop, literally dragged overboard by the sinews that connected
+head and body; and several of the spars, with a good deal of rigging,
+required to be looked to, on account of injuries. But no one thought of
+these things, except as they were connected with present and pressing
+duties. Sir Gervaise got a sight of la Victoire, some hundred and twenty
+fathoms ahead, just as the roar of the Carnatic's guns was rushing upon
+his ears. The French commander saw and understood the extreme jeopardy
+of his consort, and he had already put his helm hard up.
+
+"Starboard--starboard hard, Bury!" shouted Sir Gervaise from the poop.
+"Damn him, run him aboard, if he dare hold on long enough to meet us."
+
+The lieutenant signed with his hand that the order was understood, and
+the helm being put up, the ship went whirling off to leeward on the
+summit of a hill of foam. A cheer was heard struggling in the tempest,
+and glancing over his left shoulder, Sir Gervaise perceived the Carnatic
+shooting out of the smoke, and imitating his own movement, by making
+another and still ranker sheer to leeward. At the same moment she set
+her main-sail close-reefed, as if determined to outstrip her antagonist,
+and maintain her station. None but a prime seaman could have done such a
+thing so steadily and so well, in the midst of the wild haste and
+confusion of such a scene. Sir Gervaise, now not a hundred yards from
+the Carnatic, waved high his hat in exultation and praise; and old
+Parker, alone on his own poop, bared his grey hairs in acknowledgment of
+the compliment. All this time the two ships drove madly ahead, while the
+crash and roar of the battle was heard astern.
+
+The remaining French ship was well and nimbly handled. As she came round
+she unavoidably sheered towards her enemies, and Sir Gervaise found it
+necessary to countermand his last order, and to come swiftly up to the
+wind, both to avoid her raking broadside, and to prevent running into
+his own consort. But the Carnatic, having a little more room, first kept
+off, and then came to the wind again, as soon as the Frenchman had
+fired, in a way to compel him to haul up on the other tack, or to fall
+fairly aboard. Almost at the same instant, the Plantagenet closed on his
+weather quarter and raked. Parker had got abeam, and pressing nearer, he
+compelled la Victoire to haul her bowlines, bringing her completely
+between two fires. Spar went after spar, and being left with nothing
+standing but the lower masts, the Plantagenet and Carnatic could not
+prevent themselves from passing their victim, though each shortened
+sail; the first being already without a top-sail. Their places, however,
+were immediately supplied by the Achilles and the Thunderer, both ships
+having hauled down their stay-sails to lessen their way. As the Blenheim
+and Warspite were quite near astern, and an eighteen-pound shot had
+closed the earthly career of the poor _capitaine de fregate_, his
+successor in command deemed it prudent to lower his ensign; after a
+resistance that in its duration was unequal to the promise of its
+commencement. Still the ship had suffered materially, and had fifty of
+her crew among the casualties. His submission terminated the combat.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had now leisure and opportunity to look about him.
+Most of the French ships had got round; but, besides being quite as far
+astern, when they should get up abeam, supposing himself to remain where
+he was, they would be at very long gun-shot dead to leeward. To remain
+where he was, however, formed no part of his plan, for he was fully
+resolved to maintain all his advantages. The great difficulty was to
+take possession of his prize, the sea running so high as to render it
+questionable if a boat would live. Lord Morganic, however, was just of
+an age and a temperament to bring that question to a speedy issue. Being
+on the weather-beam of la Victoire, as her flag came down, he ordered
+his own first lieutenant into the larger cutter, and putting
+half-a-dozen marines, with the proper crew, into the boat, it was soon
+seen dangling in the air over the cauldron of the ocean; the oars
+on-end. To lower, let go, and unhook, were the acts of an instant; the
+oars fell, and the boat was swept away to leeward. A commander's
+commission depended on his success, and Daly made desperate efforts to
+obtain it. The prize offered a lee, and the French, with a national
+benevolence, courtesy, and magnanimity, that would scarcely have been
+imitated had matters been reversed, threw ropes to their conquerors, to
+help to rescue them from a very awkward dilemma. The men did succeed in
+getting into the prize; but the boat, in the end, was stove and lost.
+
+The appearance of the red flag of England, the symbol of his own
+professional rank, and worn by most under his own orders, over the white
+ensign of France, was the sign to Sir Gervaise that the prize-officer
+was in possession. He immediately made the signal for the fleet to
+follow the motions of the commander-in-chief. By this time, his own
+main-sail, close-reefed, had taken the place of the torn top-sail, and
+the Plantagenet led off to the southward again, as if nothing unusual
+had occurred. Daly had a quarter of an hour of extreme exertion on board
+the prize, before he could get her fairly in motion as he desired; but,
+by dint of using the axe freely, he cut the wreck adrift, and soon had
+la Victoire liberated from that incumbrance. The fore-sail and fore and
+mizzen stay-sails were on the ship, and the main-sail, close-reefed also,
+was about to be set, to drag her-from the _melee_ of her foes, when her
+ensign came down. By getting the tack of the latter aboard, and the
+sheet aft, he would have all the canvass set the gale would allow, and
+to this all-essential point he directed his wits. To ride down the
+main-tack of a two-decked ship, in a gale of wind, or what fell little
+short of a real gale, was not to be undertaken with twenty men, the
+extent of Daly's command; and he had recourse to the assistance of his
+enemies. A good natured, facetious Irishman, himself, with a smattering
+of French, he soon got forty or fifty of the prisoners in a sufficient
+humour to lend their aid, and the sail was set, though not without great
+risk of its splitting. From this moment, la Victoire was better off, as
+respected the gale and keeping a weatherly position, than any of the
+English ships; inasmuch as she could carry all the canvass the wind
+permitted, while she was relieved from the drift inseparable from hamper
+aloft. The effect, indeed, was visible in the first hour, to Daly's
+great delight and exultation. At the end of that period, he found
+himself quite a cable's-length to windward of the line. But in relating
+this last particular, events have been a little anticipated.
+
+Greenly, who had gone below to attend to the batteries, which were not
+worked without great difficulty in so heavy a sea, and to be in
+readiness to open the lower ports should occasion offer, re-appeared on
+deck just as the commander-in-chief showed the signal for the ships to
+follow his own motions. The line was soon formed, as mentioned, and ere
+long it became apparent that the prize could easily keep in her station.
+As most of the day was still before him, Sir Gervaise had little doubt
+of being able to secure the latter, ere night should come to render it
+indispensable.
+
+The vice-admiral and his captain shook hands cordially on the poop, and
+the former pointed out to the latter, with honest exultation, the result
+of his own bold man[oe]uvres.
+
+"We've clipped the wings of two of them," added Sir Gervaise, "and have
+fairly bagged a third, my good friend; and, God willing, when Bluewater
+joins, there will not be much difficulty with the remainder. I cannot
+see that any of our vessels have suffered much, and I set them all down
+as sound. There's been time for a signal of inability, that curse to an
+admiral's evolutions, but no one seems disposed to make it. If we really
+escape that nuisance, it will be the first instance in my life!"
+
+"Half-a-dozen yards may be crippled, and no one the worse for it, in
+this heavy weather. Were we under a press of canvass, it would be a
+different matter; but, now, so long as the main sticks stand, we shall
+probably do well enough. I can find no injury in my own ship that may
+not be remedied at sea."
+
+"And she has had the worst of it. 'Twas a decided thing, Greenly, to
+engage such an odds in a gale; but we owe our success, most probably, to
+the audacity of the attack. Had the enemy believed it possible, it is
+probable he would have frustrated it. Well, Master Galleygo, I'm glad to
+see you unhurt! What is your pleasure?"
+
+"Why, Sir Jarvy, I've two opportunities, as a body might say, on the
+poop, just now. One is to shake hands, as we always does a'ter a brush,
+you knows, sir, and to look a'ter each other's health; and the other is
+to report a misfortin that will bear hard on this day's dinner. You see,
+Sir Jarvy, I had the dead poultry slung in a net, over the live stock,
+to be out of harm's way; well, sir, a shot cut the lanyard, and let all
+the chickens down by the run, in among the gun-room grunters; and as
+they never half feeds them hanimals, there isn't as much left of the
+birds as would make a meal for a sick young gentleman. To my notion, no
+one ought to _have_ live stock but the commanders-in-chief."
+
+"To the devil with you and the stock! Give me a shake of the hand, and
+back into your top--how came you, sir, to quit your quarters without
+leave?"
+
+"I didn't, Sir Jarvy. Seeing how things was a going on, among the pigs,
+for our top hoverlooks the awful scene, I axed the young gentleman to
+let me come down to condole with your honour; and as they always lets me
+do as I axes, in such matters, why down I come. We has had one rattler
+in at our top, howsever, that came nigh lo clear us all out on it!"
+
+"Is any spar injured?" asked Sir Gervaise, quickly. "This must be looked
+to--hey! Greenly?"
+
+"Not to signify, your honour; not to signify. One of them French
+eighteens aboard the prize just cocked its nose up, as the ship lurched,
+and let fly a round 'un and a grist of grape, right into our faces. I
+see'd it coming and sung out 'scaldings;' and 'twas well I did. We all
+ducked in time, and the round 'un cleared every thing, but a handful of
+the marbles are planted in the head of the mast, making the spar look
+like a plum-pudding, or a fellow with the small-pox."
+
+"Enough of this. You are excused from returning to the top;--and,
+Greenly, beat the retreat. Bunting, show the signal for the retreat from
+quarters. Let the ships pipe to breakfast, if they will."
+
+This order affords a fair picture of the strange admixture of feelings
+and employments that characterize the ordinary life of a ship. At one
+moment, its inmates find themselves engaged in scenes of wild
+magnificence and fierce confusion, while at the next they revert to the
+most familiar duties of humanity. The crews of the whole fleet now
+retired from the guns, and immediately after they were seated around
+their kids, indulging ravenously in the food for which the exercise of
+the morning had given keen appetites. Still there was something of the
+sternness of battle in the merriment of this meal, and the few jokes
+that passed were seasoned with a bitterness that is not usual among the
+light-hearted followers of the sea. Here and there, a messmate was
+missed, and the vacancy produced some quaint and even pathetic allusion
+to his habits, or to the manner in which he met his death; seamen
+usually treating the ravages of this great enemy of the race, after the
+blow has been struck, with as much solemnity and even tenderness, as
+they regard his approaches with levity. It is when spared themselves,
+that they most regard the destruction of battle. A man's standing in a
+ship, too, carries great weight with it, at such times; the loss of the
+quarter-master, in particular, being much regretted in the Plantagenet.
+This man messed with a portion of the petty officers, a set of men
+altogether more thoughtful and grave than the body of the crew; and who
+met, when they assembled around their mess-chest that morning, with a
+sobriety and even sternness of mien, that showed how much in the
+management of the vessel had depended on their individual exertions.
+Several minutes elapsed in the particular mess of the dead man, before a
+word was spoken; all eating with appetites that were of proof, but no
+one breaking the silence. At length an old quarter-gunner, named Tom
+Sponge, who generally led the discourse, said in a sort of
+half-inquiring, half-regretting, way--
+
+"I suppose there's no great use in asking why Jack Glass's spoon is idle
+this morning. They says, them forecastle chaps, that they see'd his body
+streaming out over the starboard quarter, as if it had been the fly of
+one of his own ensigns. How was it, Ned? you was thereaway, and ought to
+know all about it."
+
+"To be sure I does," said Ned, who was Bunting's remaining assistant. "I
+was there, as you says, and see'd as much of it as a man can see of what
+passes between a poor fellow and a shot, when they comes together, and
+that not in a very loving manner. It happened just as we come upon the
+weather beam of that first chap--him as we winged so handsomely among
+us. Well, Sir Jarvy had clapped a stopper on the signals, seeing as we
+had got fairly into the smoke, and Jack and I was looking about us for
+the muskets, not knowing but a chance might turn up to chuck a little
+lead into some of the parly-woos; and so says Jack, says he, 'Ned, you's
+got my musket;--(as I _had_, sure enough)--and says he, 'Ned, you's got
+my musket; but no matter arter all, as they're much of a muchness.' So
+when he'd said this, he lets fly; but whether he hit any body, is more
+than I can say. If he _did_, 'twas likely a Frenchman, as he shot
+that-a-way. 'Now,' says Jack, says he, 'Ned, as this is your musket, you
+can load it, and hand over mine, and I'll sheet home another of the
+b----s.' Well, at that moment the Frenchman lifted for'ard, on a heavy
+swell, and let drive at us, with all his forecastle guns, fired as it
+might be with one priming--"
+
+"That was bad gunnery," growled Tom Sponge, "it racks a ship woundily."
+
+"Yes, they'se no judgment in ships, in general. Well, them French
+twelves are spiteful guns; and a _little_ afore they fired, it seemed to
+me I heard something give Jack a rap on the check, that sounded as if a
+fellow's ear was boxed with a clap of thunder. I looked up, and there
+was Jack streaming out like the fly of the ensign, head foremost, with
+the body towing after it by strings in the neck."
+
+"I thought when a fellow's head was shot off," put in another
+quarter-master named Ben Barrel, "that the body was left in the ship
+while only the truck went!"
+
+"That comes of not seeing them things, Ben," rejoined the eye-witness.
+"A fellow's head is staid in its berth just like a ship's mast. There's
+for'ard and back-stays, and shrouds, all's one as aboard here; the only
+difference is that the lanyards are a little looser, so as to give a man
+more play for his head, than it might be safe to give to a mast. When a
+fellow makes a bow, why he only comes up a little aft, and bowses on the
+fore-stay, and now and then you falls in with a chap that is stayed
+altogether too far for'ard, or who's got a list perhaps from having the
+shrouds set up too taut to port or to starboard."
+
+"That sounds reasonable," put in the quarter-gunner, gravely; "I've seen
+such droggers myself."
+
+"If you'd been on the poop an hour or too ago, you'd ha' seen more on
+it! Now, there's all our marines, their back-stays have had a fresh pull
+since they were launched, and, as for their captain, I'll warrant you,
+_he_ had a luff upon luff!"
+
+"I've heard the carpenter overhauling them matters," remarked Sam Wad,
+another quarter-gunner, "and he chalked it all out by the square and
+compass. It seems reasonable, too."
+
+"If you'd seen Jack's head dragging his body overboard, just like the
+Frenchman dragging his wreck under his lee, you'd ha' _thought_ it
+reasonable. What's a fellow's shoulders for, but to give a spread to his
+shrouds, which lead down the neck and are set up under the arms
+somewhere. They says a great deal about the heart, and I reckons it's
+likely every thing is key'd there."
+
+"Harkee, Ned," observed a quarter-master, who knew little more than the
+mess generally, "if what you say is true, why don't these shrouds lead
+straight from the head to the shoulders, instead of being all tucked up
+under a skin in the neck? Answer me that, now."
+
+"Who the devil ever saw a ship's shrouds that wasn't cat-harpened in!"
+exclaimed Ned, with some heat. "A pretty hand a wife would make of it,
+in pulling her arms around a fellow's neck if the rigging spread in the
+way you mean! Them things is all settled according to reason when a
+chap's keel's laid."
+
+This last argument seemed to dispose of the matter, the discourse
+gradually turning on, and confining itself to the merits of the
+deceased.
+
+Sir Gervaise had directed Galleygo to prepare his breakfast as soon as
+the people were piped to their own; but he was still detained on deck in
+consequence of a movement in one of his vessels, to which it has now
+become necessary more particularly to recur.
+
+The appearance of the Druid to the northward, early in the morning, will
+doubtless be remembered by the reader. When near enough to have it made
+out, this frigate had shown her number; after which she rested satisfied
+with carrying sail much harder than any vessel in sight. When the fleets
+engaged, she made an effort to set the fore-top-sail, close-reefed, but
+several of the critics in the other ships, who occasionally noticed her
+movements, fancied that some accident must have befallen her, as the
+canvass was soon taken in, and she appeared disposed to remain content
+with the sail carried when first seen. As this ship was materially to
+windward of the line, and she was running the whole time a little free,
+her velocity was much greater than that of the other vessels, and by
+this time she had got so near that Sir Gervaise observed she was fairly
+abeam of the Plantagenet, and a little to leeward of the Active. Of
+course her hull, even to the bottom, as she rose on a sea, was plainly
+visible, and such of her people as were in the tops and rigging could be
+easily distinguished by the naked eye.
+
+"The Druid must have some communication for us from the other division
+of the fleet," observed the vice-admiral to his signal-officer, as they
+stood watching the movements of the frigate; "it is a little
+extraordinary Blewet does not signal! Look at the book, and find me a
+question to put that will ask his errand?"
+
+Bunting was in the act of turning over the leaves of his little
+vocabulary of questions and answers, when three or four dark balls, that
+Sir Gervaise, by the aid of the glass, saw suspended between the
+frigate's masts, opened into flags, effectually proving that Blewet was
+not absolutely asleep.
+
+"Four hundred and sixteen, ordinary communication," observed the
+vice-admiral, with his eye still at the glass. "Look up that, Bunting,
+and let us know what it means."
+
+"The commander-in-chief--wish to speak him!" read Bunting, in the
+customary formal manner in which he announced the purport of a signal.
+
+"Very well--answer; then make the Druid's number to come within hail!
+The fellow has got cloth enough spread to travel two feet to our one;
+let him edge away and come under our lee. Speaking will be rather close
+work to-day."
+
+"I doubt if a ship _can_ come near enough to make herself heard,"
+returned the other, "though the second lieutenant of that ship never
+uses a trumpet in the heaviest weather, they tell me, sir. Our gents say
+his father was a town-crier, and that he has inherited the family
+estate."
+
+"Ay, our gents are a set of saucy fellows, as is usually the case when
+there isn't work enough aboard."
+
+"You should make a little allowance, Sir Gervaise, for being in the ship
+of a successful commander-in-chief. That makes us all carry
+weather-helms among the other messes."
+
+"Up with your signal, sir; up with your signal. I shall be obliged to
+order Greenly to put you upon watch-and-watch for a month, in order to
+bring you down to the old level of manners."
+
+"Signal answered, already, Sir Gervaise. By the way, sir, I'll thank you
+to request Captain Greenly to give me another quarter-master. It's
+nimble work for us when there is any thing serious to do."
+
+"You shall have him, Bunting," returned the vice-admiral, a shade
+passing over his face for the moment. "I had missed poor Jack Glass, and
+from seeing a spot of blood on the poop, guessed his fate. I fancied,
+indeed, I heard a shot strike something behind me."
+
+"It struck the poor fellow's head, sir, and made a noise as if a butcher
+were felling an ox."
+
+"Well--well--let us try to forget it, until something can be done for
+his son, who is one of the side boys. Ah! there's Blewet keeping away in
+earnest. How the deuce he is to speak us, however, is more than I can
+tell."
+
+Sir Gervaise now sent a message to his captain to say that he desired
+his presence. Greenly soon appeared, and was made acquainted with the
+intention of the Druid, as well as with the purport of the last signals.
+By this time, the rent main-top-sail was mended, and the captain
+suggested it should be set again, close-reefed, as before, and that the
+main-sail should be taken in. This would lessen the Plantagenet's way,
+which ship was sensibly drawing ahead of her consorts. Sir Gervaise
+assenting, the change was made, and the effects were soon apparent, not
+only in the movement of the ship, but in her greater ease and steadiness
+of motion.
+
+It was not long before the Druid was within a hundred fathoms of the
+flag-ship, on her weather-quarter, shoving the brine before her in a way
+to denote a fearful momentum. It was evidently the intention of Captain
+Blewet to cross the Plantagenet's stern, and to luff up under her lee
+quarter; the safest point at which he could approach, in so heavy a
+swell, provided it were done with discretion. Captain Blewet had a
+reputation for handling his frigate like a boat, and the occasion was
+one which would be likely to awaken all his desire to sustain the
+character he had already earned. Still no one could imagine how he was
+to come near enough to make a communication of any length. The
+stentorian lungs of the second lieutenant, however, might effect it;
+and, as the news of the expected hail passed through the ship, many who
+had remained below, in apathy, while the enemy was close under their
+lee, came on deck, curious to witness what was about to pass.
+
+"Hey! Atwood?" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, for the little excitement had
+brought the secretary up from the commander-in-chief's cabin;--"what is
+Blewet at! The fellow cannot mean to set a studding-sail!"
+
+"He is running out a boom, nevertheless, Sir Gervaise, or my thirty
+years' experience of nautical things have been thrown away."
+
+"He is truly rigging out his weather fore-topmast-studding-sail-boom,
+sir!" added Greenly, in a tone of wonder.
+
+"It _is_ out," rejoined the vice-admiral, as one would give emphasis to
+the report of a calamity. "Hey!--what? Isn't that a man they're running
+up to the end of it, Bunting? Level your glass, and let us know at
+once."
+
+"A glass is not necessary to make out that much, Sir Gervaise. It is a
+man, beyond a doubt, and there he hangs at the boom-end, as if sentenced
+by a general court-martial."
+
+Sir Gervaise now suppressed every expression of surprise, and his
+reserve was imitated, quite as a matter of course, by the twenty
+officers, who, by this time, had assembled on the poop. The Druid,
+keeping away, approached rapidly, and had soon crossed the flag-ship's
+wake. Here she came by the wind, and favoured by the momentum with which
+she had come down, and the addition of the main-sail, drew heavily but
+steadily up on her lee-quarter. Both vessels being close-hauled, it was
+not difficult steering; and by watching the helms closely, it would have
+been possible, perhaps, notwithstanding the heavy sea, to have brought
+the two hulls within ten yards of each other, and no harm should come of
+it. This was nearer, however, than it was necessary to approach; the
+studding-sail-boom, with the man suspended on the end of it, projecting
+twice that distance, beyond the vessel's bows. Still it was nice work;
+and while yet some thirty or forty feet from the perpendicular, the man
+on the boom-end made a sign for attention, swung a coil of line he hold,
+and when he saw hands raised to catch it, he made a cast. A lieutenant
+caught the rope, and instantly hauled in the slack. As the object was
+now understood, a dozen others laid hold of the line, and, at a common
+signal, when those on board the Plantagenet hauled in strongly, the
+people of the Druid lowered away. By this simple, but united movement,
+the man descended obliquely, leaping out of the bowline in which he had
+sat, and casting the whip adrift. Shaking himself to gain his footing,
+he raised his cap and bowed to Sir Gervaise, who now saw Wycherly
+Wychecombe on his poop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+    "Yet weep not thou--the struggle is not o'er,
+    O victors of Philippi! many a field
+    Hath yielded palms to us:--one effort more,
+    By one stern conflict must our fate be sealed."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+As soon as the people of the Plantagenet, who had so far trespassed on
+discipline, when they perceived a man hanging at the end of the
+studding-sail-boom, as to appear in the rigging, on the booms, and on
+the guns, to watch the result, saw the stranger safely landed on the
+poop, they lifted their hats and caps, and, as one voice, greeted him
+with three cheers. The officers smiled at this outbreak of feeling, and
+the violation of usage was forgotten; the rigid discipline of a
+man-of-war even, giving way occasionally to the sudden impulses of
+natural feeling.
+
+As the Druid approached the flag-ship, Captain Blewet had appeared in
+her weather mizzen-rigging, conning his vessel in person; and the order
+to luff, or keep off, had been given by his own voice, or by a gesture
+of his own hand. As soon as he saw Wycherly's feet on the poop of the
+Plantagenet, and his active form freed from the double-bowline, in which
+it had been seated, the captain made a wide sweep of the arm, to denote
+his desire to edge away; the helm of the frigate was borne up hard, and,
+as the two-decker surged ahead on the bosom of a sea, the Druid's bows
+were knocked off to leeward, leaving a space of about a hundred feet, or
+more, between the two ships, as it might be, in an instant. The same
+causes continuing to operate, the Plantagenet drove still farther ahead,
+while the frigate soon came to the wind again, a cable's-length to
+leeward, and abreast of the space between the admiral and his second,
+astern. Here, Captain Blewet seemed disposed to wait for further orders.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes was not accustomed to betray any surprise he might
+feel at little events that occurred on duty. He returned the bow of
+Wycherly, coolly, and then, without question or play of feature, turned
+his eyes on the further movements of the Druid. Satisfied that all was
+right with the frigate, he directed the messenger to follow him, and
+went below himself, leaving Wycherly to obey as fast as the many
+inquiries he had to answer as he descended the ladders would allow.
+Atwood, an interested observer of what had passed, noted that Captain
+Greenly, of all present, was the only person who seemed indifferent to
+the nature of the communication the stranger might bring, though perhaps
+the only one entitled by rank to put an interrogatory.
+
+"You have come aboard of us in a novel and extraordinary mode, Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe!" observed the vice-admiral, a little severely, as
+soon as he found himself in his own cabin, alone with the lieutenant.
+
+"It was the plan of Captain Blewet, sir, and was really the only one
+that seemed likely to succeed, for a boat could scarcely live. I trust
+the success of the experiment, and the nature of the communications I
+may bring, will be thought sufficient excuses for the want of ceremony."
+
+"It is the first time, since the days of the Conqueror, I fancy, that an
+English vice-admiral's ship has been boarded so cavalierly; but, as you
+say, the circumstances may justify the innovation. What is your errand,
+sir?"
+
+"This letter, I presume, Sir Gervaise, will explain itself. I have
+little to say in addition, except to report that the Druid has sprung
+her foremast in carrying sail to close with you, and that we have not
+lost a moment since Admiral Bluewater ordered us to part company with
+himself."
+
+"You sailed on board the Caesar, then?" asked Sir Gervaise, a great deal
+mollified by the zeal for service in a youth, situated ashore, as he
+knew Wycherly to be. "You left her, with this letter?"
+
+"I did, Sir Gervaise, at Admiral Bluewater's command."
+
+"Did you go aboard the Druid boom-fashion, or was that peculiar style
+reserved for the commander-in-chief?"
+
+"I left the Caesar in a boat, Sir Gervaise; and though we were much
+nearer in with the coast, where the wind has not the rake it has here,
+and the strength of the gale had not then come, we were nearly swamped."
+
+"If a true Virginian, you would not have drowned, Wychecombe," answered
+the vice-admiral, in better humour. "You Americans swim like cork.
+Excuse me, while I read what Admiral Bluewater has to say."
+
+Sir Gervaise had received Wycherly in the great cabin, standing at the
+table which was lashed in its centre. He would have been puzzled
+himself, perhaps, to have given the real reason why he motioned to the
+young man to take a chair, while he went into what he called his
+"drawing-room;" or the beautiful little apartment between the two
+state-rooms, aft, which was fitted with an elegance that might have been
+admired in a more permanent dwelling, and whither he always withdrew
+when disposed to reflection. It was probably connected, however, with a
+latent apprehension of the rear-admiral's political bias, for, when by
+himself, he paused fully a minute before he opened the letter.
+Condemning this hesitation as unmanly, he broke the seal, however, and
+read the contents of a letter, which was couched in the following terms:
+
+     "My dear Oakes:--Since we parted, my mind has undergone some
+     violent misgivings as to the course duty requires of me, in this
+     great crisis. One hand--one heart--one voice even, may decide the
+     fate of England! In such circumstances, all should listen to the
+     voice of conscience, and endeavour to foresee the consequences of
+     their own acts. Confidential agents are in the west of England, and
+     one of them I have seen. By his communications I find more depends
+     on myself than I could have imagined, and more on the movements of
+     M. de Vervillin. Do not be too sanguine--take time for your own
+     decisions, and grant _me_ time; for I feel like a wretch whose fate
+     must soon be sealed. On no account engage, because you think this
+     division near enough to sustain you, but at least keep off until
+     you hear from me more positively, or we can meet. I find it equally
+     hard to strike a blow against my rightful prince, or to desert my
+     friend. For God's sake act prudently, and depend on seeing me in
+     the course of the next twenty-four hours. I shall keep well to the
+     eastward, in the hope of falling in with you, as I feel satisfied
+     de Vervillin has nothing to do very far west. I may send some
+     verbal message by the bearer, for my thoughts come sluggishly, and
+     with great reluctance.
+
+     "Ever _yours_,
+     "RICHARD BLUEWATER."
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes read this letter twice with great deliberation; then
+he crushed it in his hand, as one would strangle a deadly serpent. Not
+satisfied with this manifestation of distaste, he tore the letter into
+pieces so small as to render it impossible to imagine its contents,
+opened a cabin-window, and threw the fragments into the ocean. When he
+fancied that every sign of his friend's weakness had thus been
+destroyed, he began to pace the cabin in his usual manner. Wycherly
+heard his step, and wondered at the delay; but his duty compelled him to
+pass an uncomfortable half-hour in silence, ere the door opened, and Sir
+Gervaise appeared. The latter had suppressed the signs of distress,
+though the lieutenant could perceive he was unusually anxious.
+
+"Did the rear-admiral send any message, Sir Wycherly?" inquired Sir
+Gervaise; "in his letter he would seem to refer me to some verbal
+explanations from yourself."
+
+"I am ashamed to say, sir, none that I can render very intelligible.
+Admiral Bluewater, certainly, did make a few communications that I was
+to repeat, but when we had parted, by some extraordinary dullness of my
+own I fear, I find it is out of my power to give them any very great
+distinctness or connection."
+
+"Perhaps the fault is less your own, sir, than his. Bluewater is
+addicted to fits of absence of mind, and then he has no reason to
+complain that others do not understand him, for he does not always
+understand himself."
+
+Sir Gervaise said this with a little glee, delighted at finding his
+friend had not committed himself to his messenger. The latter, however,
+was less disposed to excuse himself by such a process, inasmuch as he
+felt certain that the rear-admiral's feelings were in the matter he
+communicated, let the manner have been what it might.
+
+"I do not think we can attribute any thing to Admiral Bluewater's
+absence of mind, on this occasion, sir," answered Wycherly, with
+generous frankness. "His feelings appeared to be strongly enlisted in
+what he said. It might have been owing to the strength of these feelings
+that he was a little obscure, but it could not have been owing to
+indifference."
+
+"I shall best understand the matter, then, by hearing what he did say,
+sir."
+
+Wycherly paused, and endeavoured to recall what had passed, in a way to
+make it intelligible.
+
+"I was frequently told to caution you not to engage the French, sir,
+until the other division had closed, and was ready to assist. But,
+really, whether this was owing to some secret information that the
+rear-admiral had obtained, or to a natural desire to have a share in the
+battle, is more than I can say."
+
+"Each may have had its influence. Was any allusion made to secret
+intelligence, that you name it?"
+
+"I never felt more cause to be ashamed of my own dullness, than at this
+present moment, Sir Gervaise Oakes," exclaimed Wycherly, who almost
+writhed under the awkwardness of his situation; for he really began to
+suspect that his own personal grounds of unhappiness had induced him to
+forget some material part of his message;--"recent events ashore, had
+perhaps disqualified me for this duty."
+
+"It is natural it should be so, my young friend; and as I am acquainted
+with them all, you can rest satisfied with my indulgence."
+
+"All! no--Sir Gervaise, you know not half--but, I forget myself, sir,
+and beg your pardon."
+
+"I have no wish to pry into your secrets, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, and
+we will drop the subject. You may say, however, if the rear-admiral was
+in good spirits--as an English seaman is apt to be, with the prospect of
+a great battle before him."
+
+"I thought not, Sir Gervaise. Admiral Bluewater to me seemed sad, if I
+may presume to mention it--almost to tears, I thought, sir, one or
+twice."
+
+"Poor Dick!" mentally ejaculated the vice-admiral; "he never could have
+made up his mind to desert _me_ without great anguish of soul. Was there
+any thing said," speaking aloud, "about the fleet of M. de Vervillin?"
+
+"Certainly a good deal, sir; and yet am I ashamed to say, I scarce know
+what! Admiral Bluewater appeared to think the Comte de Vervillin had no
+intention to strike a blow at any of our colonies, and with this he
+seemed to connect the idea that there would be less necessity for our
+engaging him. At all events, I cannot be mistaken in his wish that you
+would keep off, sir, until he could close."
+
+"Ay, and you see how instinctively I have answered to his wishes!" said
+Sir Gervaise, smiling a little bitterly. "Nevertheless, had the rear of
+the fleet been up this morning, Sir Wycherly, it might have been a
+glorious day for England!"
+
+"It _has_ been a glorious day, as it is, sir. We, in the Druid, saw it
+all; and there was not one among us that did not exult in the name of
+Englishman!"
+
+"What, even to the Virginian, Wychecombe!" rejoined Sir Gervaise,
+greatly gratified with the natural commendation conveyed in the manner
+and words of the other, and looking in a smiling, friendly manner, at
+the young man. "I was afraid the hits you got in Devonshire might have
+induced you to separate your nationality from that of old England."
+
+"Even to the Virginian, Sir Gervaise. You have been in the colonies,
+sir, and must know we do not merit all that we sometimes receive, on
+this side of the Atlantic. The king has no subjects more loyal than
+those of America."
+
+"I am fully aware of it, my noble lad, and have told the king as much,
+with my own mouth. But think no more of this. If your old uncle did give
+you an occasional specimen of true John Bullism, he has left you an
+honourable title and a valuable estate. I shall see that Greenly finds a
+berth for you, and you will consent to mess with me, I hope. I trust
+some time to see you at Bowldero. At present we will go on deck; and if
+any thing that Admiral Bluewater has said _should_ recur to your mind
+more distinctly, you will not forget to let me know it."
+
+Wycherly now bowed and left the cabin, while Sir Gervaise sat down and
+wrote a note to Greenly to request that he would look a little after the
+comfort of the young man. The latter then went on deck, in person.
+Although he endeavoured to shake off the painful doubts that beset him,
+and to appear as cheerful as became an officer who had just performed a
+brilliant exploit, the vice-admiral found it difficult to conceal the
+shock he had received from Bluewater's communication. Certain as he felt
+of striking a decisive blow at the enemy, could he be reinforced with
+the five ships of the rear division, he would cheerfully forego the
+triumph of such additional success, to be certain his friend did not
+intend to carry his disaffection to overt acts. He found it hard to
+believe that a man like Bluewater could really contemplate carrying off
+with him the ships he commanded; yet he knew the authority his friend
+wielded over his captains, and the possibility of such a step would
+painfully obtrude itself on his mind, at moments. "When a man can
+persuade himself into all the nonsense connected with the _jus
+divinum_," thought Sir Gervaise, "it is doing no great violence to
+common sense to persuade himself into all its usually admitted
+consequences." Then, again, would interpose his recollections of
+Bluewater's integrity and simplicity of character, to reassure him, and
+give him more cheering hopes for the result. Finding himself thus
+vacillating between hope and dread, the commander-in-chief determined to
+drive the matter temporarily from his mind, by bestowing his attention
+on the part of the fleet he had with him. Just as this wise resolution
+was formed, both Greenly and Wycherly appeared on the poop.
+
+"I am glad to see you with a hungry look, Greenly," cried Sir Gervaise,
+cheerfully; "here has Galleygo just been to report his breakfast, and,
+as I know your cabin has not been put in order since the people left the
+guns, I hope for the pleasure of your company. Sir Wycherly, my gallant
+young Virginian, here, will take the third chair, I trust, and then our
+party will be complete."
+
+The two gentlemen assenting, the vice-admiral was about to lead the way
+below, when suddenly arresting his footsteps, on the poop-ladder, he
+said--
+
+"Did you not tell me, Wychecombe, that the Druid had sprung her
+foremast?"
+
+"Badly, I believe, Sir Gervaise, in the hounds. Captain Blewet carried
+on his ship fearfully, all night."
+
+"Ay, he's a fearful fellow with spars, that Tom Blewet. I never felt
+certain of finding all the sticks in their places, on turning out of a
+morning, when he was with you as a lieutenant, Greenly. How many
+jib-booms and top-gallant yards did he cost us, in that cruise off the
+Cape of Good Hope? By George, it must have been a dozen, at least!"
+
+"Not quite as bad as that, Sir Gervaise, though he did expend two
+jib-booms and three top-gallant yards, for me. Captain Blewet has a fast
+ship, and he wishes people to know it."
+
+"And he has sprung his foremast and he shall see _I_ know it! Harkee,
+Bunting, make the Druid's number to lie by the prize; and when that's
+answered, tell him to take charge of the Frenchman, and to wait for
+further orders. I'll send him to Plymouth to get a new foremast, and to
+see the stranger in. By the way, does any body know the name of the
+Frenchman--hey! Greenly?"
+
+"I cannot tell you, Sir Gervaise, though some of our gentlemen think it
+is the ship that was the admiral's second ahead, in our brush off Cape
+Finisterre. I am not of the same opinion, however; for that vessel had a
+billet-head, and this has a woman figure-head, that looks a little like
+a Minerva. The French have a _la Minerve_, I think."
+
+"Not now, Greenly, if this be she, for she is _ours_." Here Sir Gervaise
+laughed heartily at his own humour, and all near him joined in, as a
+matter of course. "But la Minerve has been a frigate time out of mind.
+The Goddess of Wisdom has never been fool enough to get into a line of
+battle when she has had it in her power to prevent it."
+
+"_We_ thought the figure-head of the prize a Venus, as we passed her in
+the Druid," Wycherly modestly observed.
+
+"There is a way of knowing, and it shall be tried. When you've done with
+the Druid, Bunting, make the prize's signal to repeat her name by
+telegraph. You know how to make a prize's number, I suppose, when she
+has none."
+
+"I confess I do not, Sir Gervaise," answered Bunting, who had shown by
+his manner that he was at a loss. "Having no number in our books, one
+would be at a stand how to get at her, sir."
+
+"How would _you_ do it, young man?" asked Sir Gervaise, who all this
+time was hanging on to the man-rope of the poop-ladder. "Let us see how
+well you've been taught, sir."
+
+"I believe it may be done in different modes, Sir Gervaise," Wycherly
+answered, without any appearance of triumph at his superior readiness,
+"but the simplest I know is to hoist the French flag under the English,
+by way of saying for whom the signal is intended."
+
+"Do it, Bunting," continued Sir Gervaise, nodding his head as he
+descended the ladder, "and I warrant you, Daly will answer. What sort of
+work he will make with the Frenchman's flags, is another matter. I
+doubt, too, if he had the wit to carry one of our books with him, in
+which case he will be at a loss to read our signal. Try him, however,
+Bunting; an Irishman always has _something_ to say, though it be a
+bull."
+
+This order given, Sir Gervaise descended to his cabin. In half an hour
+the party was seated at table, as quietly as if nothing unusual had
+occurred that day.
+
+"The worst of these little brushes which lead to nothing, is that they
+leave as strong a smell of gunpowder in your cabin, Greenly, as if a
+whole fleet had been destroyed," observed the vice-admiral
+good-humouredly, as he began to help his guests. "I hope the odour we
+have here will not disturb your appetites, gentlemen."
+
+"You do this day's success injustice, Sir Gervaise, in calling it only a
+brush," answered the captain, who, to say the truth, had fallen to as
+heartily upon the delicacies of Galleygo, as if he had not eaten in
+twenty-four hours. "At any rate, it has brushed the spars out of two of
+king Louis's ships, and one of them into our hands; ay, and in a certain
+sense into our pockets."
+
+"Quite true, Greenly--quite true; but what would it have been if--"
+
+The sudden manner in which the commander-in-chief ceased speaking,
+induced his companions to think that he had met with some accident in
+eating or drinking; both looked earnestly at him, as if to offer
+assistance. He _was_ pale in the face, but he smiled, and otherwise
+appeared at his ease.
+
+"It is over, gentlemen," said Sir Gervaise, gently--"we'll think no more
+of it."
+
+"I sincerely hope you've not been hit, sir?" said Greenly. "I've known
+men hit, who did not discover that they were hurt until some sudden
+weakness has betrayed it."
+
+"I believe the French have let me off this time, my good friend--yes, I
+think Magrath will be plugging no shot-holes in my hull for this affair.
+Sir Wycherly, those eggs are from your own estate, Galleygo having laid
+the manor under contribution for all sorts of good things. Try them,
+Greenly, as coming from our friend's property."
+
+"Sir Wycherly is a lucky fellow in _having_ an estate," said the
+captain. "Few officers of his rank can boast of such an advantage;
+though, now and then, an old one is better off."
+
+"That is true enough--hey! Greenly? The army fetches up most of the
+fortunes; for your rich fellows like good county quarters and county
+balls. I was a younger brother when they sent _me_ to sea, but I became
+a baronet, and a pretty warm one too, while yet a reefer. Poor Josselin
+died when I was only sixteen, and at seventeen they made me an officer."
+
+"Ay, and we like you all the better, Sir Gervaise, for not giving us up
+when the money came. Now Lord Morganic was a captain when _he_
+succeeded, and we think much less of that."
+
+"Morganic remains in service, to teach us how to stay top-masts and
+paint figure-heads;" observed Sir Gervaise, a little drily. "And yet the
+fellow handled his ship well to-day; making much better weather of it
+than I feared he would be able to do."
+
+"I hear we are likely to get another duke in the navy, sir; it's not
+often we catch one of that high rank."
+
+Sir Gervaise cared much less for things of this sort than Bluewater, but
+he naturally cast a glance at the speaker, as this was said, as much as
+to ask whom he meant.
+
+"They tell me, sir, that Lord Montresor, the elder brother of the boy in
+the Caesar, is in a bad way, and Lord Geoffrey stands next to the
+succession. I think there is too much stuff in _him_ to quit us now he
+is almost fit to get his commission."
+
+"True, Bluewater has that boy of high hopes and promise with him, too;"
+answered Sir Gervaise in a musing manner, unconscious of what he said.
+"God send he may not forget _that_, among other things!"
+
+"I don't think rank makes any difference with Admiral Bluewater, or
+Captain Stowel. The nobles are worked up in their ship, as well as the
+humblest reefer of them all. Here is Bunting, sir, to tell us
+something."'
+
+Sir Gervaise started from a fit of abstraction, and, turning, he saw his
+signal-officer ready to report.
+
+"The Druid has answered properly, Sir Gervaise, and has already hauled
+up so close that I think she will luff through the line, though it may
+be astern of the Carnatic."
+
+"And the prize, Bunting? Have you signalled the prize, as I told you to
+do?"
+
+"Yes, sir; and she has answered so properly that I make no question the
+prize-officer took a book with him. The telegraphic signal was answered
+like the other."
+
+"Well, what does he say? Have you found out the name of the Frenchman?"
+
+"That's the difficulty, sir; _we_ are understood, but Mr. Daly has shown
+something aboard the prize that the quarter-master swears is a paddy."
+
+"A paddy!--What, he hasn't had himself run up at a yard-arm, or
+stun'sail-boom end, has he--hey! Wychecombe? Daly's an Irishman, and has
+only to show _himself_ to show a paddy."
+
+"But this is a sort of an image of some kind or other, Sir Gervaise, and
+yet it isn't Mr. Daly. I rather think he hasn't the flags necessary for
+our words, and has rigged out a sort of a woman, to let us know his
+ship's name; for she _has_ a woman figure-head, you know, sir."
+
+"The devil he has! Well, that will form an era in signals. Galleygo,
+look out at the cabin window and let me know if you can see the prize
+from them--well, sir, what's the news?"
+
+"I sees her, Sir Jarvy," answered the steward, "and I sees her where no
+French ship as sails in company with British vessels has a right to be.
+If she's a fathom, your honour, she's fifty to windward of our line!
+Quite out of her place, as a body might say, and onreasonable."
+
+"That's owing to our having felled the forests of her masts, Mr.
+Galleygo; every spar that is left helping to put her where she is. That
+prize must be a weatherly ship, though, hey! Greenly? She and her
+consort were well to windward of their own line, or we could never have
+got 'em as we did. These Frenchmen _do_ turn off a weatherly vessel now
+and then, that we must all admit."
+
+"Yes, Sir Jarvy," put in Galleygo, who never let the conversation flag
+when he was invited to take a part in it; "yes, Sir Jarvy, and when
+they've turned 'em off the stocks they turns 'em over to us, commonly,
+to sail 'em. Building a craft is one piece of knowledge, and sailing her
+_well_ is another."
+
+"Enough of your philosophy, sirrah; look and ascertain if there is any
+thing unusual to be seen hanging in the rigging of the prize. Unless you
+show more readiness, I'll send one of the Bowlderos to help you."
+
+These Bowlderos were the servants that Sir Gervaise brought with him
+from his house, having been born on his estate, and educated as
+domestics in his own, or his father's family; and though long accustomed
+to a man-of-war, as their ambition never rose above their ordinary
+service, the steward held them exceedingly cheap. A severer punishment
+could not be offered him, than to threaten to direct one of these common
+menials to do any duty that, in the least, pertained to the profession.
+The present menace had the desired effect, Galleygo losing no time in
+critically examining the prize's rigging.
+
+"I calls nothing extr'ornary in a Frenchman's rigging, Sir Jarvy,"
+answered the steward, as soon as he felt sure of his fact; "their
+dock-men have idees of their own, as to such things. Now there is
+sum'mat hanging at the lee fore-yard-arm of that chap, that looks as if
+it might be a top-gallant-stun'sail made up to be sent aloft and set,
+but which stopped when it got as high as it is, on finding out that
+there's no hamper over-head to spread it to."
+
+"That's it, sir," put in Bunting. "Mr. Daly has run his woman up to the
+fore-yard-arm, like a pirate."
+
+"Woman!" repeated Galleygo--"do you call that 'ere thing-um-mee a woman,
+Mr. Buntin'? I calls it a bundle of flags, made up to set, if there was
+any thing to set 'em to."
+
+"It's nothing but an Irish woman, Master Galleygo, as you'll see for
+yourself, if you'll level this glass at it."
+
+"I'll do that office myself," cried Sir Gervaise. "Have you any
+curiosity, gentlemen, to read Mr. Daly's signal? Galleygo, open that
+weather window, and clear away the books and writing-desk, that we may
+have a look."
+
+The orders were immediately obeyed, and the vice-admiral was soon seated
+examining the odd figure that was certainly hanging at the lee
+fore-yard-arm of the prize; a perfect nondescript as regarded all
+nautical experience.
+
+"Hang me, if I can make any thing of it. Greenly," said Sir Gervaise,
+after a long look. "Do _you_ take this seat, and try your hand at an
+observation. It resembles a sort of a woman, sure enough."
+
+"Yes, sir," observed Bunting, with the earnestness of a man who felt his
+reputation involved in the issue, "I was certain that Mr. Daly has run
+up the figure to let us know the name of the prize, and that for want of
+a telegraph-book to signal the letters; and so I made sure of what I was
+about, before I took the liberty to come below and report."
+
+"And pray what do you make of it, Bunting? The figure-head might tell us
+better, but that seems to be imperfect."
+
+"The figure-head has lost all its bust, and one arm, by a shot," said
+Greenly, turning the glass to the object named; "and I can tell Mr. Daly
+that a part of the gammoning of his bowsprit is gone, too! That ship
+requires looking to, Sir Gervaise; she'll have no foremast to-morrow
+morning, if this wind stand! Another shot has raked the lower side of
+her fore-top, and carried away half the frame. Yes, and there's been a
+fellow at work, too--"
+
+"Never mind the shot--never mind the shot, Greenly," interrupted the
+vice-admiral. "A poor devil like him, couldn't have six of us at him, at
+once, and expect to go 'shot free.' Tell us something of the woman."
+
+"Well, Sir Gervaise, no doubt Daly has hoisted her as a symbol. Ay, no
+doubt the ship is the Minerva, after all, for there's something on the
+head like a helmet."
+
+"It never can be the Minerva," said the vice-admiral, positively, "for
+_she_, I feel certain, is a frigate. Hand me the little book with a red
+cover, Bunting; that near your hand; it has a list of the enemy's navy.
+Here it is, '_la Minerve_, 32, _le capitaine de fregate, Mondon_. Built
+in 1733, old and dull.' That settles the Minerva, for this list is the
+last sent us by the admiralty."
+
+"Then it must be the Pallas," rejoined Greenly, "for she wears a helmet,
+too, and I am certain there is not only a cap to resemble a helmet, but
+a Guernsey frock on the body to represent armour. Both Minerva and
+Pallas, if I remember right, wore armour."
+
+"This is coming nearer to the point,--hey! Greenly!" the vice-admiral
+innocently chimed in; "let us look and see if the Pallas is a two-decker
+or not. By George, there's no such name on the list. That's odd, now,
+that the French should have one of these goddesses and not the other!"
+
+"They never has any thing right, Sir Jarvy," Galleygo thrust in, by way
+of commentary on the vice-admiral's and the captain's classical lore;
+"and it's surprising to me that they should have any goddess at all,
+seeing that they has so little respect for religion, in general."
+
+Wycherly fidgeted, but respect for his superiors kept him silent. As for
+Bunting, 'twas all the same to him, his father having been a purser in
+the navy, and he himself educated altogether on board ship, and this,
+too, a century since.
+
+"It might not be amiss, Sir Gervaise," observed the captain, "to work
+this rule backwards, and just look over the list until we find a
+two-decked ship that _ought_ to have a woman figure-head, which will
+greatly simplify the matter. I've known difficult problems solved in
+that mode."
+
+The idea struck Sir Gervaise as a good one, and he set about the
+execution of the project in good earnest. Just as he came to _l'Hecate_,
+64, an exclamation from Greenly caught his attention, and he inquired
+its cause.
+
+"Look for yourself, Sir Gervaise; unless my eyes are good for nothing,
+Daly is running a kedge up alongside of his woman."
+
+"What, a kedge?--Ay, that is intended for an anchor, and it means Hope.
+Every body knows that Hope carries an anchor,--hey! Wychecombe? Upon my
+word, Daly shows ingenuity. Look for the Hope, in that list,
+Bunting,--you will find the English names printed first, in the end of
+the book."
+
+"'The Hope, or _l' Esperance_,'" read the signal-officer; "'36, _lee
+capitang dee frigate dee Courtraii_.'"
+
+"A single-decked ship after all! This affair is as bad as the d----d
+_nullus_, ashore, there. I'll not be beaten in learning, however, by any
+Frenchman who ever floated. Go below, Locker, and desire Doctor Magrath
+to step up here, if he is not occupied with the wounded. He knows more
+Latin than any man in the ship."
+
+"Yes, Sir Jarvy, but this is French, you knows, your honour, and is'nt
+as Latin, at all. I expects she'll turn out to have some name as no
+modest person wishes to use, and we shall have to halter it."
+
+"Ay, he's catted his anchor, sure enough; if the figure be not Hope, it
+must be Faith, or Charity."
+
+"No fear of them, Sir Jarvy; the French has no faith, nor no charity,
+no, nor no bowels, as any poor fellow knows as has ever been wrecked on
+their coast, as once happened to me, when a b'y. I looks upon 'em as no
+better than so many heatheners, and perhaps that's the name of the ship.
+I've seed heatheners, a hundred times, Sir Jarvy, in that sort of
+toggery."
+
+"What, man, did you ever see a heathen with an anchor?--one that will
+weigh three hundred, if it will weigh a pound?"
+
+"Perhaps not, your honour, with a downright hanchor, but with sum'mat
+like a killog. But, that's no hanchor, a'ter all, but only a kedge,
+catted hanchor-fashion, sir."
+
+"Here comes Magrath, to help us out of the difficulty; and we'll
+propound the matter to him."
+
+The vice-admiral now explained the whole affair to the surgeon, frankly
+admitting that the classics of the cabin were at fault, and throwing
+himself on the gun-room for assistance. Magrath was not a little amused,
+as he listened, for this was one of his triumphs, and he chuckled not a
+little at the dilemma of his superiors.
+
+"Well, Sir Jairvis," he answered, "ye might do warse than call a council
+o' war on the matter; but if it's the name ye'll be wanting, I can help
+ye to that, without the aids of symbols, and signs, and hyeroglyphics of
+any sort. As we crossed the vessel's wake, a couple of hours since, I
+read it on her stern, in letters of gold. It's _la Victoire_, or the
+Victory; a most unfortunate cognomen for an unlucky ship. She's a French
+victory, however, ye'll remember, gentlemen!"
+
+"That must be a mistake, Magrath; for Daly has shown an anchor, yonder;
+and Victory carries no anchor."
+
+"It's hard to say, veece-admiral, one man's victory being another man's
+defeat. As for Mr. Daly's image, it's just an _Irish_ goddess; and
+allowances must be made for the country."
+
+Sir Gervaise laughed, invited the gentlemen to help demolish the
+breakfast, and sent orders on deck to hoist the answering flag. At a
+later day, Daly, when called on for an explanation, asserted that the
+armour and helmet belonged to Victory, as a matter of course; though he
+admitted that he had at first forgotten the anchor; "but, when I _did_
+run it up, they read it aboard the ould Planter, as if it had been just
+so much primmer."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+    "There's beauty in the deep:--
+    The wave is bluer than the sky;
+    And, though the light shines bright on high,
+    More softly do the sea-gems glow,
+    That sparkle in the depths below;
+    The rainbow's tints are only made
+    When on the waters they are laid.
+    And sun and moon most sweetly shine
+    Upon the ocean's level brine.
+    There's beauty in the deep."
+
+         BRAINARD.
+
+
+As Daly was the recognised jester of the fleet, his extraordinary
+attempt to announce his vessel's name was received as a characteristic
+joke, and it served to laugh at until something better offered. Under
+the actual circumstances of the two squadrons, however, it was soon
+temporarily forgotten in graver things, for few believed the collision
+that had already taken place was to satisfy a man of the known
+temperament of the commander-in-chief. As the junction of the rear
+division was the only thing wanting to bring on a general engagement, as
+soon as the weather should moderate a little, every ship had careful
+look-outs aloft, sweeping the horizon constantly with glasses, more
+particularly towards the east and north-east. The gale broke about noon,
+though the wind still continued fresh from the same quarter as before.
+The sea began to go down, however, and at eight bells material changes
+had occurred in the situations of both fleets. Some of these it may be
+necessary to mention.
+
+The ship of the French admiral, _le Foudroyant_, and _le Scipion_, had
+been received, as it might be, in the arms of their own fleet in the
+manner already mentioned; and from this moment, the movement of the
+whole force was, in a measure, regulated by that of these two crippled
+vessels. The former ship, by means of her lower sails, might have
+continued to keep her station in the line, so long as the gale lasted;
+but the latter unavoidably fell off, compelling her consorts to keep
+near, or to abandon her to her fate. M. de Vervillin preferred the
+latter course. The consequences were, that, by the time the sun was in
+the zenith, his line, a good deal extended, still, and far from regular,
+was quite three leagues to leeward of that of the English. Nor was this
+all: at that important turn in the day, Sir Gervaise Oakes was enabled
+to make sail on all his ships, setting the fore and mizzen-top-sails
+close-reefed; while _la Victoire_, a fast vessel, was enabled to keep in
+company by carrying whole courses. The French could not imitate this,
+inasmuch as one of their crippled vessels had nothing standing but a
+foremast. Sir Gervaise had ascertained, before the distance became too
+great for such observations, that the enemy was getting ready to send up
+new top-masts, and the other necessary spars on board the admiral, as
+well as jury lower-masts in _le Scipion_; though the sea would not yet
+permit any very positive demonstrations to be made towards such an
+improvement. He laid his own plans for the approaching night
+accordingly; determining not to worry his people, or notify the enemy of
+his intentions, by attempting any similar improvement in the immediate
+condition of his prize.
+
+About noon, each ship's number was made in succession, and the question
+was put if she had sustained any material injury in the late conflict.
+The answers were satisfactory in general, though one or two of the
+vessels made such replies as induced the commander-in-chief to resort to
+a still more direct mode of ascertaining the real condition of his
+fleet. In order to effect this important object, Sir Gervaise waited two
+hours longer, for the double purpose of letting all the messes get
+through with their dinners, and to permit the wind to abate and the sea
+to fall, as both were now fast doing. At the expiration of that time,
+however, he appeared on the poop, summoning Bunting to his customary
+duty.
+
+At 2 P.M. it blew a whole top-sail breeze, as it is called; but
+the sea being still high, and the ships close-hauled, the vice-admiral
+did not see fit to order any more sail. Perhaps he was also influenced
+by a desire not to increase his distance from the enemy, it being a part
+of his plan to keep M. de Vervillin in plain sight so long as the day
+continued, in order that he might have a tolerable idea of the position
+of his fleet, during the hours of darkness. His present intention was to
+cause his vessels to pass before him in review, as a general orders his
+battalions to march past a station occupied by himself and staff, with a
+view to judge by his own eye of their steadiness and appearance.
+Vice-Admiral Oakes was the only officer in the British navy who ever
+resorted to this practice; but he did many things of which other men
+never dreamed, and, among the rest, he did not hesitate to attack double
+his force, when an occasion offered, as has just been seen. The officers
+of the fleet called these characteristic reviews "Sir Jarvy's
+field-days," finding a malicious pleasure in comparing any thing out of
+the common nautical track, to some usage of the soldiers.
+
+Bunting got his orders, notwithstanding the jokes of the fleet; and the
+necessary signals were made and the answers given. Captain Greenly then
+received his verbal instructions, when the commander-in-chief went
+below, to prepare himself for the approaching scene. When Sir Gervaise
+re-appeared on the poop, he was in full uniform, wearing the star of the
+Bath, as was usual with him on all solemn official occasions. Atwood and
+Bunting were at his side, while the Bowlderos, in their rich
+shore-liveries, formed a group at hand. Captain Greenly and his first
+lieutenant joined the party as soon as their duty with the ship was
+over. On the opposite side of the poop, the whole of the marines off
+guard were drawn up in triple lines, with their officers at their head.
+The ship herself had hauled up her main-sail, hauled down all her
+stay-sails, and lay with her main-top-sail braced sharp aback, with
+orders to the quarter-master to keep her little off the wind; the object
+being to leave a little way through the water, in order to prolong the
+expected interviews. With these preparations the commander-in-chief
+awaited the successive approach of his ships, the sun, for the first
+time in twenty-four hours, making his appearance in a flood of brilliant
+summer-light, as if purposely to grace the ceremony.
+
+The first ship that drew near the Plantagenet was the Carnatic, as a
+matter of course, she being the next in the line. This vessel,
+remarkable, as the commander-in-chief had observed, for never being out
+of the way, was not long in closing, though as she luffed up on the
+admiral's weather-quarter, to pass to windward, she let go all her
+top-sail bowlines, so as to deaden her way, making a sort of half-board.
+This simple evolution, as she righted her helm, brought her about fifty
+yards to windward of the Plantagenet, past which ship she surged slowly
+but steadily, the weather now permitting a conversation to be held at
+that distance, and by means of trumpets, with little or no effort of the
+voice.
+
+Most of the officers of the Carnatic were on her poop, as she came
+sweeping up heavily, casting her shadow on the Plantagenet's decks.
+Captain Parker himself was standing near the ridge-ropes, his head
+uncovered, and the grey hairs floating in the breeze. The countenance of
+this simple-minded veteran was a little anxious, for, had he feared the
+enemy a tenth part as much as he stood in awe of his commanding officer,
+he would have been totally unfit for his station. Now he glanced upward
+at his sails, to see that all was right; then, as he drew nearer, fathom
+by fathom as it might be, he anxiously endeavoured to read the
+expression of the vice-admiral's face.
+
+"How do you do, Captain Parker?" commenced Sir Gervaise, with true
+trumpet formality, making the customary salutation.
+
+"How is Sir Gervaise Oakes to-day? I hope untouched in the late affair
+with the enemy?"
+
+"Quite well, I thank you, sir. Has the Carnatic received any serious
+injury in the battle?"
+
+"None to mention, Sir Gervaise. A rough scrape of the foremast; but not
+enough to alarm us, now the weather has moderated; a little rigging cut,
+and a couple of raps in the hull."
+
+"Have your people suffered, sir?"
+
+"Two killed and seven wounded, Sir Gervaise. Good lads, most of 'em; but
+enough like 'em remain."
+
+"I understand, then, Captain Parker, that you report the Carnatic fit
+for any service?"
+
+"As much so as my poor abilities enable me to make her, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes," answered the other, a little alarmed at the formality and
+precision of the question. "Meet her with the helm--meet her with the
+helm."
+
+All this passed while the Carnatic was making her half-board, and, the
+helm being righted, she now slowly and majestically fell off with her
+broadside to the admiral, gathering way as her canvass began to draw
+again. At this instant, when the yard-arms of the two ships were about a
+hundred feet asunder, and just as the Carnatic drew up fairly abeam, Sir
+Gervaise Oakes raised his hat, stepped quickly to the side of the poop,
+waved his hand for silence, and spoke with a distinctness that rendered
+his words audible to all in both vessels.
+
+"Captain Parker," he said, "I wish, publicly, to thank you for your
+noble conduct this day. I have always said a surer support could never
+follow a commander-in-chief into battle; you have more than proved my
+opinion to be true. I wish, publicly, to thank you, sir."
+
+"Sir Gervaise--I cannot express--God bless you, Sir Gervaise!"
+
+"I have but one fault to find with you, sir, and that is easily
+pardoned."
+
+"I'm sure I hope so, sir."
+
+"You handled your ship so rapidly and so surely, that _we_ had hardly
+time to get out of the way of your guns!"
+
+Old Parker could not now have answered had his life depended on it; but
+he bowed, and dashed a hand across his eyes. There was but a moment to
+say any more.
+
+"If His Majesty's sword be not laid on _your_ shoulder for this day's
+work, sir, it shall be no fault of mine," added Sir Gervaise, waving his
+hat in adieu.
+
+While this dialogue lasted, so profound was the stillness in the two
+ships, that the wash of the water under the bows of the Carnatic, was
+the only sound to interfere with Sir Gervaise's clarion voice; but the
+instant he ceased to speak, the crews of both vessels rose as one man,
+and cheered. The officers joined heartily, and to complete the
+compliment, the commander-in-chief ordered his own marines to present
+arms to the passing vessel. Then it was that, every sail drawing, again
+the Carnatic took a sudden start, and shot nearly her length ahead, on
+the summit of a sea. In half a minute more, she was ahead of the
+Plantagenet's flying-jib-boom-end, steering a little free, so as not to
+throw the admiral to leeward.
+
+The Carnatic was scarcely out of the way, before the Achilles was ready
+to take her place. This ship, having more room, had easily luffed to
+windward of the Plantagenet, simply letting go her bowlines, as her bows
+doubled on the admiral's stern, in order to check her way.
+
+"How do you do to-day, Sir Gervaise?" called out Lord Morganic, without
+waiting for the commander-in-chief's hail--"allow me to congratulate
+you, sir, on the exploits of this glorious day!"
+
+"I thank you, my lord, and wish to say I am satisfied with the behaviour
+of your ship. You've _all_ done well, and I desire to thank you _all_.
+Is the Achilles injured?"
+
+"Nothing to speak of, sir. A little rigging gone, and here and there a
+stick."
+
+"Have you lost any men, my lord? I desire particularly to know the
+condition of each ship."
+
+"Some eight or ten poor fellows, I believe, Sir Gervaise; but we are
+ready to engage this instant."
+
+"It is well, my lord; steady your bowlines, and make room for the
+Thunderer."
+
+Morganic gave the order, but as his ship drew ahead he called out in a
+pertinacious way,--"I hope, Sir Gervaise, you don't mean to give that
+other lame duck up. I've got my first lieutenant on board one of 'em,
+and confess to a desire to put the second on board another."
+
+"Ay--ay--Morganic, _we_ knock down the birds, and _you_ bag 'em. I'll
+give you more sport in the same way, before I've done with ye."
+
+This little concession, even Sir Gervaise Oakes, a man not accustomed to
+trifle in matters of duty, saw fit to make to the other's rank; and the
+Achilles withdrew from before the flag-ship, as the curtain is drawn
+from before the scene.
+
+"I do believe, Greenleaf," observed Lord Morganic to his surgeon, one of
+his indulged favourites; "that Sir Jarvy is a little jealous of us,
+because Daly got into the prize before he could send one of his own
+boats aboard of her. 'Twill tell well in the gazette, too, will it
+not?--'The French ship was taken possession of, and brought off, by the
+Achilles, Captain the Earl of Morganic!' I hope the old fellow will have
+the decency to give us our due. I rather think it _was_ our last
+broadside that brought the colours down?"
+
+A suitable answer was returned, but as the ship is drawing ahead, we
+cannot follow her to relate it. The vessel that approached the third,
+was the Thunderer, Captain Foley. This was one of the ships that had
+received the fire of the three leading French vessels, after they had
+brought the wind abeam, and being the leading vessel of the English
+rear, she had suffered more than any other of the British squadron. The
+fact was apparent, as she approached, by the manner in which her rigging
+was knotted, and the attention that had been paid to her spars. Even as
+she closed, the men were on the yard bending a new main-course, the old
+one having been hit on the bolt-rope, and torn nearly from the spar.
+There were also several plugs on her lee-side to mark the spots where
+the French guns had told.
+
+The usual greetings passed between the vice-admiral and his captain, and
+the former put his questions.
+
+"We have not been quite exchanging salutes, Sir Gervaise," answered
+Captain Foley; "but the ship is ready for service again. Should the wind
+moderate a little, I think everything would stand to carry sail _hard_."
+
+"I'm glad to hear it, sir--_rejoiced_ to hear it, sir. I feared more for
+you, than for any other vessel. I hope you've not suffered materially in
+your crew?"
+
+"Nine killed. Sir Gervaise; and the surgeon tells me sixteen wounded."
+
+"That proves you've not been in port, Foley! Well, I dare say, could the
+truth be known, it would be found that M. de Vervillin's vessels bear
+your marks, in revenge. Adieu--adieu--God bless you."
+
+The Thunderer glided ahead, making room for the Blenheim, Captain
+Sterling. This was one of your serviceable ships, without any show or
+style about her; but a vessel that was always ready to give and take.
+Her commander was a regular sea-dog, a little addicted to hard and
+outlandish oaths, a great consumer of tobacco and brandy; but who had
+the discrimination never to swear in the presence of the
+commander-in-chief, although he had been known to do so in a church; or
+to drink more than he could well carry, when he was in presence of an
+enemy or a gale of wind. He was too firm a man, and too good a seaman,
+to use the bottle as a refuge; it was the companion of his ease and
+pleasure, and to confess the truth, he then treated it with an
+affectionate benevolence, that rendered it exceedingly difficult for
+others not to entertain some of his own partiality for it. In a word,
+Captain Sterling was a sailor of the "old school;" for there was an "old
+school" in manners, habits, opinions, philosophy, morals, and reason, a
+century since, precisely as there _is_ to-day, and probably _will_ be, a
+century hence.
+
+The Blenheim made a good report, not having sustained any serious injury
+whatever; nor had she a man hurt. The captain reported his ship as fit
+for service as she was the hour she lifted her anchor.
+
+"So much the better, Sterling--so much the better. You shall take the
+edge off the next affair, by way of giving you another chance. I rely on
+the Blenheim, and on her captain."
+
+"I thank you, sir," returned Sterling, as his ship moved on; "by the
+way, Sir Gervaise, would it not be fair-play to rummage the prize's
+lockers before she gets into the hands of the custom-house? Out here on
+the high seas, there can be no smuggling in _that_: there must be good
+claret aboard her."
+
+"There would be 'plunder of a prize,' Sterling," said the vice-admiral,
+laughing, for he knew that the question was put more as a joke than a
+serious proposition; "and that is death, without benefit of clergy. Move
+on; here is Goodfellow close upon your heels."
+
+The last ship in the English line was the Warspite, Captain Goodfellow,
+an officer remarkable in the service at that day, for a "religious
+turn," as it was called. As is usually the case with men of this stamp,
+Captain Goodfellow was quiet, thoughtful, and attentive to his duty.
+There was less of the real tar in him, perhaps, than in some of his
+companions; but his ship was in good order, always did her duty, and was
+remarkably attentive to signals; a circumstance that rendered her
+commander a marked favourite with the vice-admiral. After the usual
+questions were put and answered, Sir Gervaise informed Goodfellow that
+he intended to change the order of sailing so as to bring him near the
+van.
+
+"We will give old Parker a breathing spell, Goodfellow," added the
+commander-in-chief, "and you will be my second astern. I must go ahead
+of you all, or you'll be running down on the Frenchman without orders;
+pretending you can't see the signals, in the smoke."
+
+The Warspite drove ahead, and the Plantagenet was now left to receive
+the prize and the Druid; the Chloe, Driver, and Active, not being
+included in the signal. Daly had been gradually eating the other ships
+out of the wind, as has been mentioned already, and when the order was
+given to pass within hail, he grumbled not a little at the necessity of
+losing so much of his vantage-ground. Nevertheless, it would not do to
+joke with the commander-in-chief in a matter of this sort, and he was
+fain to haul up his courses, and wait for the moment when he might
+close. By the time the Warspite was out of the way, his ship had drifted
+down so near the admiral, that he had nothing to do but to haul aboard
+his tacks again, and pass as near as was at all desirable. When quite
+near, he hauled up his main-sail, by order of the vice-admiral.
+
+"Are you much in want of any thing, Mr. Daly?" demanded Sir Gervaise, as
+soon as the lieutenant appeared forward to meet his hail. "The sea is
+going down so fast, that we might now send you some boats."
+
+"Many thanks, Sir Gervaise; I want to get rid of a hundred or two
+Frenchmen, and to have a hundred Englishmen in their places. We are but
+twenty-one of the king's subjects here, all told."
+
+"Captain Blewet is ordered to keep company with you, sir; and as soon as
+it is dark, I intend to send you into Plymouth under the frigate's
+convoy. Is she a nice ship, hey! Daly?"
+
+"Why, Sir Gervaise, she's like a piece of broken crockery, just now, and
+one can't tell all her merits. She's not a bad goer, and weatherly, I
+think, all will call her. But she's thundering French, inside."
+
+"We'll make her English in due time, sir. How are the leaks? do the
+pumps work freely?"
+
+"Deuce the l'ake has she, Sir Gervaise, and the pumps suck like a nine
+months' babby. And if they didn't we're scarce the boys to find out the
+contrary, being but nineteen working hands."
+
+"Very well, Daly; you can haul aboard your main-tack, now; remember,
+you're to go into Plymouth, as soon as it is dark. If you see any thing
+of Admiral Bluewater, tell him I rely on his support, and only wait for
+his appearance to finish Monsieur de Vervillin's job."
+
+"I'll do all that, with hearty good will, sir. Pray, Sir Gervaise,"
+added Daly, grinning, on the poop of the prize, whither he had got by
+this time, having walked aft as his ship went ahead, "how do you like
+French signals? For want of a better, we were driven to the classics!"
+
+"Ay, you'd be bothered to explain all your own flags, I fancy. The name
+of the ship is the Victory, I am told; why did you put her in armour,
+and whip a kedge up against the poor woman?"
+
+"It's according to the books, Sir Gervaise. Every word of it out of
+Cicero, and Cordairy, and Cornelius Nepos, and those sort of fellows.
+Oh! I went to school, sir, before I went to sea, as you say yourself,
+sometimes, Sir Gervaise; and literature is the same in Ireland, as it is
+all over the world. Victory needs armour, sir, in order to be
+victorious, and the anchor is to show that she doesn't belong to 'the
+cut and run' family. I am as sure that all was right, as I ever was of
+my moods and tenses."
+
+"Very well, Daly," answered Sir Gervaise, laughing--"My lords shall know
+your merits in that way, and it may get you named a professor--keep your
+luff, or you'll be down on our sprit-sail-yard;--remember and follow the
+Druid."
+
+Here the gentlemen waved their hands in adieu as usual, and la Victoire,
+clipped as she was of her wings, drew slowly past. The Druid succeeded,
+and Sir Gervaise simply gave Blewet his orders to see the prize into
+port, and to look after his own foremast. This ended the field day; the
+frigate luffing up to windward of the line again, leaving the
+Plantagenet in its rear. A few minutes later, the latter ship filled and
+stood after her consorts.
+
+The vice-admiral having now ascertained, in the most direct manner, the
+actual condition of his fleet, had _data_ on which to form his plans for
+the future. But for the letter from Bluewater, he would have been
+perfectly happy; the success of the day having infused a spirit into the
+different vessels, that, of itself, was a pledge of more important
+results. Still he determined to act as if that letter had never been
+written, finding it impossible to believe that one who had so long been
+true, could really fail him in the hour of need. "I know his heart
+better than he knows it himself," he caught himself mentally exclaiming,
+"and before either of us is a day older, this will I prove to him, to
+his confusion and my triumph." He had several short and broken
+conversations with Wycherly in the course of the afternoon, with a view
+to ascertain, if possible, the real frame of mind in which his friend
+had written, but without success, the young man frankly admitting that,
+owing to a confusion of thought that he modestly attributed to himself,
+but which Sir Gervaise well knew ought in justice to be imputed to
+Bluewater, he had not been able to bring away with him any very clear
+notions of the rear-admiral's intentions.
+
+In the mean while, the elements were beginning to exhibit another of
+their changeful humours. A gale in summer is seldom of long duration,
+and twenty-four hours would seem to be the period which nature had
+assigned to this. The weather had moderated materially by the time the
+review had taken place, and five hours later, not only had the sea
+subsided to a very reasonable swell, but the wind had hauled several
+points; coming out a fresh top-gallant breeze at north-west. The French
+fleet wore soon after, standing about north-east-by-north, on an easy
+bowline. They had been active in repairing damages, and the admiral was
+all a-tanto again, with every thing set that the other ships carried.
+The plight of le Scipion was not so easily remedied, though even she had
+two jury-masts rigged, assistance having been sent from the other
+vessels as soon as boats could safely pass. As the sun hung in the
+western sky, wanting about an hour of disappearing from one of the long
+summer days of that high latitude, this ship set a mizzen-top-sail in
+the place of a main, and a fore-top-gallant-sail in lieu of a
+mizzen-top-sail. Thus equipped, she was enabled to keep company with her
+consorts, all of which were under easy canvass, waiting for the night to
+cover their movements.
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes had made the signal for his fleet to tack in
+succession, from the rear to the van, about an hour before le Scipion
+obtained this additional sail. The order was executed with great
+readiness, and, as the ships had been looking up as high as
+west-south-west before, when they got round, and headed
+north-north-east, their line of sailing was still quite a league to
+windward of that of the enemy. As each vessel filled on the larboard
+tack, she shortened sail to allow the ships astern to keep away, and
+close to her station. It is scarcely necessary to say, that this change
+again brought the Plantagenet to the head of the line, with the
+Warspite, however, instead of the Carnatic, for her second astern; the
+latter vessel being quite in the rear.
+
+It was a glorious afternoon, and there was every promise of as fine a
+night. Still, as there were but about six hours of positive darkness at
+that season of the year, and the moon would rise at midnight, the
+vice-admiral knew he had no time to lose, if he would effect any thing
+under the cover of obscurity. Reefs were no longer used, though all the
+ships were under short canvass, in order to accommodate their movements
+to those of the prize. The latter, however, was now in tow of the Druid,
+and, as this frigate carried her top-gallant-sails, aided by her own
+courses, la Victoire was enabled not only to keep up with the fleet,
+then under whole top-sails, but to maintain her weatherly position. Such
+was the state of things just as the sun dipped, the enemy being on the
+lee bow, distant one and a half leagues, when the Plantagenet showed a
+signal for the whole fleet to heave to, with the main-top-sails to the
+masts. This command was scarcely executed, when the officers on deck
+were surprised to hear a boatswain's mate piping away the crew of the
+vice-admiral's barge, or that of the boat which was appropriated to the
+particular service of the commander-in-chief.
+
+"Did I hear aright, Sir Gervaise?" inquired Greenly, with curiosity and
+interest; "is it your wish to have your barge manned, sir?"
+
+"You heard perfectly right, Greenly; and, if disposed for a row this
+fine evening, I shall ask the favour of your company. Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe, as you are an idler here, I have a flag-officer's right to
+press yon into my service. By the way, Greenly, I have made out and
+signed an order to this gentleman to report himself to you, as attached
+to my family, as the soldiers call it; as soon as Atwood has copied it,
+it will be handed to him, when I beg you will consider him as my first
+aid."
+
+To this no one could object, and Wycherly made a bow of acknowledgment.
+At that instant the barge was seen swinging off over the ship's waist,
+and, at the next, the yard tackles were heard overhauling themselves.
+The splash of the boat in the water followed. The crew was in her, with
+oars on end, and poised boat-hooks, in another minute. The guard
+presented, the boatswain piped over, the drum rolled, and Wycherly
+jumped to the gangway and was out of sight quick as thought. Greenly and
+Sir Gervaise followed, when the boat shoved off.
+
+Although the seas had greatly subsided, and their combs were no longer
+dangerous, the Atlantic was far from being as quiet as a lake in a
+summer eventide. At the very first dash of the oars the barge rose on a
+long, heavy swell that buoyed her up like a bubble, and as the water
+glided from under her again, it seemed as if she was about to sink into
+some cavern of the ocean. Few things give more vivid impressions of
+helplessness than boats thus tossed by the waters when not in their
+raging humours; for one is apt to expect better treatment than thus to
+be made the plaything of the element. All, however, who have ever
+floated on even the most quiet ocean, must have experienced more or less
+of this helpless dependence, the stoutest boat, impelled by the lustiest
+crews, appearing half the time like a feather floating in capricious
+currents of the air.
+
+The occupants of the barge, however, were too familiar with their
+situation to think much of these matters; and, as soon as Sir Gervaise
+assented to Wycherly's offer to take the tiller, he glanced upward, with
+a critical eye, in order to scan the Plantagenet's appearance.
+
+"That fellow, Morganic, has got a better excuse for his xebec-rig than I
+had supposed, Greenly," he said, after a minute of observation. "Your
+fore-top-mast is at least six inches too far forward, and I beg you will
+have it stayed aft to-morrow morning, if the weather permit. None of
+your Mediterranean craft for me, in the narrow seas."
+
+"Very well, Sir Gervaise; the spar shall be righted in the morning
+watch," quietly returned the captain.
+
+"Now, there's Goodfellow, half-parson as he is; the man contrives to
+keep his sticks more upright than any captain in the fleet. You never
+see a spar half an inch out of its place, on board the Warspite."
+
+"That is because her captain trims every thing by his own life, sir,"
+rejoined Greenly, smiling. "Were we half as good as he is, in other
+matters, we might be better than we are in seamanship."
+
+"I do not think religion hurts a sailor, Greenly--no, not in the least.
+That is to say, when he don't wedge his masts too tight, but leaves play
+enough for all weathers. There is no cant in Goodfellow."
+
+"Not the least of it, sir, and that it is which makes him so great a
+favourite. The chaplain of the Warspite is of some use; but one might as
+well have a bowsprit rigged out of a cabin-window, as have our chap."
+
+"Why, we never bury a man, Greenly, without putting him into the water
+as a Christian should be," returned Sir Gervaise, with the simplicity of
+a true believer of the decency school. "I hate to see a seaman tossed in
+the ocean like a bag of old clothes."
+
+"We get along with that part of the duty pretty well; but _before_ a man
+is dead, the parson is of opinion that he belongs altogether to the
+doctor."
+
+"I'd bet a hundred guineas, Magrath has had some influence over him, in
+this matter--give the Blenheim a wider berth, Sir Wycherly, I wish to
+see how she looks aloft--he's a d----d fellow, that Magrath,"--no one
+swore in Sir Gervaise's boat but himself, when the vice-admiral's flag
+was flying in her bows;--"and he's just the sort of man to put such a
+notion into the chaplain's head."
+
+"Why, there, I believe you're more than half right, Sir Gervaise; I
+overheard a conversation between them one dark night, when they were
+propping the mizzen-mast under the break of the poop, and the surgeon
+_did_ maintain a theory very like that you mention, sir."
+
+"Ah!--he did, did he? It's just like the Scotch rogue, who wanted to
+persuade me that your poor uncle, Sir Wycherly, ought not to have been
+blooded, in as clear a case of apoplexy as ever was met with."
+
+"Well, I didn't think he could have carried his impudence as far as
+that," observed Greenly, whose medical knowledge was about on a par with
+that of Sir Gervaise. "I didn't think even a doctor would dare to hold
+such a doctrine! As for the chaplain, to him he laid down the principle
+that religion and medicine never worked well together. He said religion
+was an 'alterative,' and would neutralize a salt as quick as fire."
+
+"He's a great vagabond, that Magrath, when he gets hold of a young hand,
+sir; and I wish with all my heart the Pretender had him, with two or
+three pounds of his favourite medicines with him--I think, between the
+two, England might reap some advantage, Greenly.--Now, to my notion,
+Wychecombe, the Blenheim would make better weather, if her masts were
+shortened at least two feet."
+
+"Perhaps she might, Sir Gervaise; but would she be as certain a ship, in
+coming into action in light winds and at critical moments?"
+
+"Umph! It's time for us old fellows to look about us, Greenly, when the
+boys begin to reason on a line of battle! Don't blush, Wychecombe; don't
+blush. Your remark was sensible, and shows reflection. No country can
+ever have a powerful marine, or, one likely to produce much influence in
+her wars, that does not pay rigid attention to the tactics of fleets.
+Your frigate actions and sailing of single ships, are well enough as
+drill; but the great practice must be in squadron. Ten heavy ships, in
+good _fleet_ discipline, and kept at sea, will do more than a hundred
+single cruisers, in establishing and maintaining discipline; and it is
+only by using vessels _together_, that we find out what both ships and
+men can do. Now, we owe the success of this day, to our practice of
+sailing in close order, and in knowing how to keep our stations; else
+would six ships never have been able to carry away the palm of victory
+from twelve--palm!--Ay, that's the very word. Greenly, I was trying to
+think of this morning. Daly's paddy should have had a palm-branch in its
+hand, as an emblem of victory."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+      "He that has sailed upon the dark-blue sea,
+         Has viewed at times, I ween, a full fair sight;
+       When the fresh breeze is fair as breeze may be,
+         The white sail set, the gallant frigate tight;
+         Mast, spires and strand, retiring to the sight,
+       The glorious main expanding o'er the bow,
+         The convoy spread like wild swans in their flight,
+       The dullest sailer waring bravely now,
+     So gaily curl the waves before each dashing prow."
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+As Sir Gervaise Oakes' active mind was liable to such sudden mutations
+of thought as that described in the close of the last chapter, Greenly
+neither smiled, nor dwelt on the subject at all; he simply pointed out
+to his superior the fact, that they were now abreast of the Thunderer,
+and desired to know whether it was his pleasure to proceed any further.
+
+"To the Carnatic, Greenly, if Sir Wycherly will have the goodness to
+shape his course thither. I have a word to say to my friend Parker,
+before we sleep to-night. Give us room, however, to look at Morganic's
+fancies, for I never pass his ship without learning something new. Lord
+Morganic's vessel is a good school for us old fellows to attend--hey!
+Greenly?"
+
+"The Achilles is certainly a model vessel in some respects, Sir
+Gervaise, though I flatter myself the Plantagenets have no great
+occasion to imitate her, in order to gain a character."
+
+"_You_ imitate Morganic in order to know how to keep a ship in
+order!--Poh! let Morganic come to school to _you_. Yet the fellow is not
+bashful in battle neither; keeps his station well, and makes himself
+both heard and felt. Ah! there he is, flourishing his hat on the poop,
+and wondering what the deuce Sir Jarvy's after, now! Sheer in,
+Wychecombe, and let us hear what he has to say."
+
+"Good evening, Sir Gervaise," called out the earl, as usual taking the
+_initiative_ in the discourse; "I was in hopes when I saw your flag in
+the boat, that you were going to do me the favour to open a bottle of
+claret, and to taste some fruit, I have still standing on the table."
+
+"I thank you, my lord, but business before pleasure. We have not been
+idle to-day, though to-morrow shall be still more busy. How does the
+Achilles steer; now her foremast is in its place?"
+
+"Yaws like a fellow with his grog aboard, Sir Gervaise, on my honour! We
+shall never do any thing with her, until you consent to let us stay her
+spars, in our own fashion. Do you intend to send me Daly back, or am I
+to play first lieutenant myself, admiral?"
+
+"Daly's shipped for the cruise, and you must do as well as you can
+without him. If you find yourself without a second astern, in the course
+of the night, do not fancy she has gone to the bottom. Keep good
+look-outs, and pay attention to signals."
+
+As Sir Gervaise waved his hand, the young noble did not venture to
+reply, much less to ask a question, though there was not a little
+speculation on the poop of the Achilles, concerning the meaning of his
+words. The boat moved on, and five minutes later Sir Gervaise was on the
+quarter-deck of the Carnatic.
+
+Parker received the commander-in-chief, hat in hand, with a solicitude
+and anxiety that were constitutional, perhaps, and which no
+consciousness of deserving could entirely appease. Habit, however, had
+its share in it, since, accustomed to defer to rank from boyhood, and
+the architect of his own "little fortune," he had ever attached more
+importance to the commendation of his superior, than was usual with
+those who had other props to lean on than their own services. As soon as
+the honours of the quarter-deck had been duly paid--for these Sir
+Gervaise never neglected himself, nor allowed others to neglect--the
+vice-admiral intimated to Captain Parker a desire to see him in his
+cabin, requesting Greenly and Wycherly to accompany them below.
+
+"Upon my word, Parker," commenced Sir Gervaise, looking around him at
+the air of singular domestic comfort that the after-cabin of the ship
+presented, "you have the knack of taking a house to sea with you, that
+no other captain of the fleet possesses! No finery, no Morganics, but a
+plain, wholesome, domestic look, that might make a man believe he was in
+his father's house. I would give a thousand pounds if my vagabonds could
+give the cabin of the Plantagenet such a Bowldero look, now!"
+
+"Less than a hundred, sir, have done the little you see here. Mrs.
+Parker makes it a point to look to those matters, herself, and in that
+lies the whole secret, perhaps. A good wife is a great blessing, Sir
+Gervaise, though you have never been able to persuade yourself into the
+notion, I believe."
+
+"I hardly think, Parker, the wife can do it all. Now there's Stowel,
+Bluewater's captain, he is married as well as yourself--nay, by George,
+I've heard the old fellow say he had as much wife as any man in his
+majesty's service--but _his_ cabin looks like a cobbler's barn, and his
+state-room like a soldier's bunk! When we were lieutenants together in
+the Eurydice, Parker, your state-room had just the same air of comfort
+about it that this cabin has at this instant. No--no--it's in the grain,
+man, or it would never show itself, in all times and places."
+
+"You forget, Sir Gervaise, that when I had the honour to be your
+messmate in the Eurydice, I was a married man."
+
+"I beg your pardon, my old friend; so you were, indeed! Why, that was a
+confounded long time ago, hey! Parker?"
+
+"It was, truly, sir; but I was poor, and could not afford the
+extravagances of a single life. _I_ married for the sake of economy,
+Admiral Oakes."
+
+"And love--" answered Sir Gervaise, laughing. "I'll warrant you,
+Greenly, that he persuaded Mrs. Parker into that notion, whether true or
+not. I'll warrant you, he didn't tell _her_ he married for so sneaking a
+thing as economy! I should like to see your state-room now, Parker."
+
+"Nothing easier, Sir Gervaise," answered the captain, rising and opening
+the door. "Here it is, air, though little worthy the attention of the
+owner of Bowldero."
+
+"A notable place, truly!--and with a housewife-look about it that must
+certainly remind you of Mrs. Parker--unless, indeed, that picture at the
+foot of your cot puts other notions into your head! What young hussy
+have you got there, my old Eurydice?--Hey! Parker?"
+
+"That is a picture of my faithful wife, Sir Gervaise; a proper
+companion, I hope, of my cruise?"
+
+"Hey! What, that young thing your wife, Parker! How the d--l came she to
+have you?"
+
+"Ah, Sir Gervaise, she is a young thing no longer, but is well turned
+towards sixty. The picture was taken when she was a bride, and is all
+the dearer to me, now that I know the original has shared my fortunes so
+long. I never look at it, without remembering, with gratitude, how much
+she thinks of me in our cruises, and how often she prays for our
+success. _You_ are not forgotten, either, sir, in her prayers."
+
+"I!" exclaimed the vice-admiral, quite touched at the earnest simplicity
+of the other. "D'ye hear that, Greenly? I'll engage, now, this lady is a
+good woman--a really excellent creature--just such another as my poor
+sainted mother was, and a blessing to all around her! Give me your hand,
+Parker; and when you write next to your wife, tell her from me, God
+bless her; and say all you think a man ought to say on such an occasion.
+And now to business. Let us seat ourselves in this snug domestic-looking
+cabin of yours, and talk our matters over."
+
+The two captains and Wycherly followed the vice-admiral into the
+after-cabin, where the latter seated himself on a small sofa, while the
+others took chairs, in respectful attitudes near him, no familiarity or
+jocularity on the part of a naval superior ever lessening the distance
+between him and those who _hold subordinate commissions_--a fact that
+legislators would do well to remember, when graduating rank in a
+service. As soon as all were placed, Sir Gervaise opened his mind.
+
+"I have a delicate piece of duty, Captain Parker," he commenced, "which
+I wish entrusted to yourself. You must know that we handled the ship
+which escaped us this morning by running down into her own line, pretty
+roughly, in every respect; besides cutting two of her masts out of her.
+This ship, as you may have seen, has got up jury-masts, already; but
+they are spars that can only be intended to carry her into port.
+Monsieur de Vervillin is not the man I take him to be, if he intends to
+leave the quarrel between us where it is. Still he cannot keep that
+crippled ship in his fleet, any more than we can keep our prize, and I
+make no doubt he will send her off to Cherbourg as soon as it is dark;
+most probably accompanied by one of his corvettes; or perhaps by a
+frigate."
+
+"Yes, Sir Gervaise," returned Parker, thoughtfully, as soon as his
+superior ceased to speak; "what you predict, is quite likely to happen."
+
+"It _must_ happen, Parker, the wind blowing directly for his haven. Now,
+you may easily imagine what I want of the Carnatic."
+
+"I suppose I understand you, sir;--and yet, if I might presume to
+express a wish--"
+
+"Speak out, old boy--you're talking to a friend. I have chosen you to
+serve you, both as one I like, and as the oldest captain in the fleet.
+Whoever catches that ship will hear more of it."
+
+"Very true, sir; but are we not likely to have more work, here? and
+would it be altogether prudent to send so fine a ship as the Carnatic
+away, when the enemy will count ten to six, even if she remain?"
+
+"All this has been thought of; and I suppose your own feeling has been
+anticipated. You think it will be more honourable to your vessel, to
+keep her place in the line, than to take a ship already half beaten."
+
+"That's it, indeed, Sir Gervaise. I do confess some such thoughts were
+crossing my mind."
+
+"Then see how easy it is to rose them out of it. I cannot fight the
+French, in this moderate weather, without a reinforcement. When the rear
+joins, we shall be just ten to ten, without you, and with you, should be
+eleven to ten. Now, I confess, I don't wish the least odds, and shall
+send away somebody; especially when I feel certain a noble two-decked
+ship will be the reward. If a frigate accompany the crippled fellow,
+you'll have your hands full, and a very fair fight; and should you get
+either, it will be a handsome thing. What say you _now_, Parker?"
+
+"I begin to think better of the plan, Sir Gervaise, and am grateful for
+the selection. I wish, however, I knew your own precise wishes--I've
+always found it safe to follow them, sir."
+
+"Here they are, then. Get four or five sets of the sharpest eyes you
+have, and send them aloft to keep a steady look on your chap, while
+there is light enough to be certain of him. In a little while, they'll
+be able to recognise him in the dark; and by keeping your night-glasses
+well levelled, he can scarcely slip off, without your missing him. The
+moment he is gone, ware short round, and make the best of your way for
+Cape la Hogue, or Alderney; you will go three feet to his two, and, my
+life on it, by day-light you'll have him to windward of you, and then
+you'll be certain of him. Wait for no signals from me, but be off, as
+soon as it is dark. When your work is done, make the best of your way to
+the nearest English port, and clap a Scotchman on your shoulder to keep
+the king's sword from chafing it. They thought me fit for knighthood at
+three-and-twenty, and the deuce is in it, Parker, if you are not worthy
+of it at three-and-sixty!"
+
+"Ah! Sir Gervaise, every thing you undertook succeeded! You never yet
+failed in any expedition."
+
+"That has come from attempting much. My _plans_ have often failed; but
+as something good has generally followed from them, I have the credit of
+designing to do, exactly what I've done."
+
+Then followed a long, detailed discourse, on the subject before them, in
+which Greenly joined; the latter making several useful suggestions to
+the veteran commander of the Carnatic. After passing quite an hour in
+the cabin of Parker, Sir Gervaise took his leave and re-entered his
+barge. It was now so dark that small objects could not be distinguished
+a hundred yards, and the piles of ships, as the boat glided past them,
+resembled black hillocks, with clouds floating among their tree-like and
+waving spars. No captain presumed to hail the commander-in-chief, as he
+rowed down the line, again, with the exception of the peer of the realm.
+He indeed had always something to say; and, as he had been conjecturing
+what could induce the vice-admiral to pay so long a visit to the
+Carnatic, he could not refrain from uttering as much aloud, when he
+heard the measured stroke of the oars from the returning barge.
+
+"We shall all be jealous of this compliment to Captain Parker, Sir
+Gervaise," he called out, "unless your favours are occasionally extended
+to some of us less worthy ones."
+
+"Ay--ay--Morganic, you'll be remembered in proper time. In the mean
+while, keep your people's eyes open, so as not to lose sight of the
+French. We shall have something to say to them in the morning."
+
+"Spare us a night-action, if possible, Sir Gervaise! I do detest
+fighting when sleepy; and I like to see my enemy, too. As much as you
+please in the day-time; but a quiet night, I do beseech you, sir."
+
+"I'll warrant you, now, if the opera, or Ranelagh, or a drum, or a
+masquerade, were inviting you, Morganic, you'd think but little of your
+pillow!" answered Sir Gervaise, drily; "whatever you do yourself, my
+lord, don't let the Achilles get asleep on duty; I may have need of her
+to-morrow. Give way, Wychecombe, give way, and let us get home again."
+
+In fifteen minutes from that instant, Sir Gervaise was once more on the
+poop of the Plantagenet, and the barge in its place on deck. Greenly was
+attending to the duties of his ship, and Bunting stood in readiness to
+circulate such orders as it might suit the commander-in-chief to give.
+
+It was now nine o'clock, and it was not easy to distinguish objects on
+the ocean, even as large as a ship, at the distance of half a league. By
+the aid of the glasses, however, a vigilant look-out was kept on the
+French vessels, which, by this time, were quite two leagues distant,
+drawing more ahead. It was necessary to fill away, in order to close
+with them, and a night-signal was made to that effect. The whole British
+line braced forward their main-yards, as it might be, by a common
+impulse, and had there been one there of sufficiently acute senses, he
+might have heard all six of the main-top-sails flapping at the same
+instant. As a matter of course the vessels started ahead, and, the order
+being to follow the vice-admiral in a close line ahead, when the
+Plantagenet edged off, so as to bring the wind abeam, each vessel did
+the same, in succession, or as soon as in the commander-in-chief's wake,
+as if guided by instinct. About ten minutes later, the Carnatic, to the
+surprise of those who witnessed the man[oe]uvre in the Achilles, wore
+short round, and set studding-sails on her starboard side, steering
+large. The darkest portion of the horizon being that which lay to the
+eastward, or, in the direction of the continent, in twenty minutes the
+pyramid of her shadowy outline was swallowed in the gloom. All this
+time, la Victoire, with the Druid leading and towing, kept upon a
+bowline; and an hour later, when Sir Gervaise found himself abeam of the
+French line again, and half a league to windward of it, no traces were
+to be seen of the three ships last mentioned.
+
+"So far, all goes well, gentlemen," observed the vice-admiral to the
+group around him on the poop; "and we will now try to count the enemy,
+to make certain _he_, too, has no stragglers out to pick up waifs.
+Greenly, try that glass; it is set for the night, and your eyes are the
+best we have. Be particular in looking for the fellow under jury-masts."
+
+"I make out but ten ships in the line, Sir Gervaise," answered the
+captain, after a long examination; "of course the crippled ship must
+have gone to leeward. Of _her_, certainly, I can find no traces."
+
+"You will oblige me, Sir Wycherly, by seeing what _you_ can make out, in
+the same way."
+
+After a still longer examination than that of the captain, Wycherly made
+the same report, adding that he thought he also missed the frigate that
+had been nearest le Foudroyant, repeating her signals throughout the
+day. This circumstance gratified Sir Gervaise, as he was pleased to find
+his prognostics came true, and he was not sorry to be rid of one of the
+enemy's light cruisers; a species of vessel that often proved
+embarrassing, after a decided affair, even to the conqueror.
+
+"I think, Sir Gervaise," Wycherly modestly added, "that the French have
+boarded their tacks, and are pressing up to windward to near us. Did it
+not appear so to you, Captain Greenly?"
+
+"Not at all. If they carry courses, the sails have been set within the
+last five minutes--ha! Sir Gervaise, that is an indication of a busy
+night!"
+
+As he spoke. Greenly pointed to the place where the French admiral was
+known to be, where at that instant appeared a double row of lights;
+proving that the batteries had their lanterns lit, and showing a
+disposition to engage. In less than a minute the whole French line was
+to be traced along the sea, by the double rows of illumination, the
+light resembling that which is seen through the window of a room that
+has a bright fire, rather than one in which lamps or candles are
+actually visible. As this was just the species of engagement in which
+the English had much to risk, and little to gain, Sir Gervaise
+immediately gave orders to brace forward the yards, to board
+fore-and-main tacks, and to set top-gallant-sails. As a matter of
+course, the ships astern made sail in the same manner, and hauled up on
+taut bowlines, following the admiral.
+
+"This is not our play," coolly remarked Sir Gervaise; "a crippled ship
+would drop directly into their arms and as for any success at long-shot,
+in a two-to-one fight, it is not to be looked for. No--no--Monsieur de
+Vervillin, show us your teeth if you will, and a pretty sight it is, but
+you do not draw a shot from me. I hope the order to show no lights is
+duly attended to."
+
+"I do not think there is a light visible from any ship in the fleet, Sir
+Gervaise," answered Bunting, "though we are so near, there can be no
+great difficulty in telling where we are."
+
+"All but the Carnatic and the prize, Bunting. The more fuss they make
+with us, the less will they think of them."
+
+It is probable the French admiral had been deceived by the near approach
+of his enemy, for whose prowess he had a profound respect. He had made
+his preparations in expectation of an attack, but he did not open his
+fire, although heavy shot would certainly have told with effect.
+Indisposed to the uncertainty of a night-action, he declined bringing it
+on, and the lights disappeared from his ports an hour later; at that
+time the English ships, by carrying sail harder than was usual in so
+stiff a breeze, found themselves out of gun-shot, on the weather-bow of
+their enemies. Then, and not till then, did Sir Gervaise reduce his
+canvass, having, by means of his glasses, first ascertained that the
+French had again hauled up their courses, and were moving along at a
+very easy rate of sailing.
+
+It was now near midnight, and Sir Gervaise prepared to go below.
+Previously to quitting the deck, however, he gave very explicit orders
+to Greenly, who transmitted them to the first lieutenant, that officer
+or the captain intending to be on the look-out through the night; the
+movements of the whole squadron being so dependent on those of the flag
+ship. The vice-admiral then retired, and went coolly to bed. He was not
+a man to lose his rest, because an enemy was just out of gun-shot.
+Accustomed to be man[oe]uvring in front of hostile fleets, the situation
+had lost its novelty, and he had so much confidence in the practice of
+his captains, that he well knew nothing could occur so long as his
+orders were obeyed; to doubt the latter would have been heresy in his
+eyes. In professional nonchalance, no man exceeded our vice-admiral.
+Blow high, or blow low, it never disturbed the economy of his
+cabin-life, beyond what unavoidably was connected with the comfort of
+his ship; nor did any prospect of battle cause a meal to vary a minute
+in time or a particle in form, until the bulk-heads were actually
+knocked down, and the batteries were cleared for action. Although
+excitable in trifles, and sometimes a little irritable, Sir Gervaise, in
+the way of his profession, was a great man on great occasions. His
+temperament was sanguine, and his spirit both decided and bold; and, in
+common with all such men who see the truth at all, when he did see it,
+he saw it so clearly, as to throw all the doubts that beset minds of a
+less masculine order into the shade. On the present occasion, he was
+sure nothing could well occur to disturb his rest; and he took it with
+the composure of one on _terra-firma_, and in the security of peace.
+Unlike those who are unaccustomed to scenes of excitement, he quietly
+undressed himself, and his head was no sooner on its pillow, than he
+fell into a profound sleep.
+
+It would have been a curious subject of observation to an inexperienced
+person, to note the manner in which the two fleets man[oe]uvred
+throughout that night. After several hours of ineffectual efforts to
+bring their enemies fairly within reach of their guns, after the moon
+had risen, the French gave the matter up for a time, shortening sail
+while most of their superior officers caught a little rest.
+
+The sun was just rising, as Galleygo laid his hand on the shoulder of
+the vice-admiral, agreeably to orders given the previous night. The
+touch sufficed: Sir Gervaise being wide awake in an instant. "Well," he
+said, rising to a sitting attitude, and putting the question which first
+occurs to a seaman, "how's the weather?"
+
+"A good top-gallant breeze, Sir Jarvy, and just what's this ship's play.
+If you'd only let her out, and on them Johnny Crapauds, she'd be down
+among 'em, in half an hour, like a hawk upon a chicken. I ought to
+report to your honour, that the last chicken will be dished for
+breakfast unless we gives an order to the gun-room steward to turn us
+over some of his birds, as pay for what the pigs eat; which were real
+capons."
+
+"Why, you pirate, you would not have me commit a robbery, on the high
+seas, would ye?"
+
+"What robbery would it be to order the gun-room to _sell_ us some
+poultry. Lord! Sir Jarvy, I'm as far from wishing to take a thing
+without an order, as the gunner's yeoman; but, let Mr. Atwood put it in
+black and white."
+
+"Tush!" interrupted the master. "How did the French bear from us, when
+you were last on deck?"
+
+"Why, there they is, Sir Jarvy," answered Galleygo, drawing the curtain
+from before the state-room window, and allowing the vice-admiral to see
+the rear of the French line for himself, by turning half round; "and
+just where we wants 'em. Their leading ship a little abaft our lee-beam,
+distant one league. That's what I calls satisfactory, now."
+
+"Ay, that _is_ a good position, Master Galleygo. Was the prize in sight,
+or were you too chicken-headed to look."
+
+"I chicken-headed! Well, Sir Jarvy, of all characters and descriptions
+of _me_, that your honour has seen fit to put abroad, this is the most
+unjustest; chickens being a food I never thinks on, off soundings.
+Pig-headed you might in reason call me, Sir Jarvy; for I _do_ looks
+arter the pigs, which is the only real stand-by in a ship; but I never
+dreams of a chicken, except for _your_ happetite. When they was eight on
+'em--"
+
+"Was the prize in sight?" demanded Sir Gervaise, a little sharply.
+
+"No, Sir Jarvy; she had disappeared, and the Druid with her. But this
+isn't all, sir; for they does say, some'at has befallen the Carnatic,
+she having gone out of our line, like a binnacle-lamp at eight bells."
+
+"Ay, _she_ is not visible, either."
+
+"Not so much as a hen-coop, Sir Jarvy! We all wonders what has become of
+Captain Parker; no sign of him or of his ship is to be found on the
+briny ocean. The young gentlemen of the watch laugh, and say she must
+have gone up in a waterspout, but they laughs so much at misfortins,
+generally, that I never minds 'em."
+
+"Have you had a good look-out at the ocean, this morning, Master
+Galleygo," asked Sir Gervaise, drawing his head out of a basin of water,
+for, by this time, he was half-dressed, and making his preparations for
+the razor. "You used to have an eye for a chase, when we were in a
+frigate, and ought to be able to tell me if Bluewater is in sight."
+
+"Admiral Blue!--Well, Sir Jarvy, it _is_ remarkable, but I had just
+rubbed his division out of my log, and forgotten all about it. There
+_was_ a handful of craft, or so, off here to the nor'ard, at day-light,
+but I never thought it was Admiral Blue, it being more nat'ral to
+suppose him in his place, as usual, in the rear of our own line. Let me
+see, Sir Jarvy, how many ships has we absent under Admiral Blue?"
+
+"Why, the five two-deckers of his own division, to be sure, besides the
+Ranger and the Gnat. Seven sail in all."
+
+"Yes, that's just it! Well, your honour, there _was_ five sail to be
+seen, out here to the nor'ard, as I told you, and, sure enough, it may
+have been Admiral Blue, with all his craft."
+
+By this time, Sir Gervaise had his face covered with lather, but he
+forgot the circumstance in a moment. As the wind was at the north-west,
+and the Plantagenet was on the larboard tack, looking in the direction
+of the Bill of Portland, though much too far to the southward to allow
+the land to be seen, his own larboard quarter-gallery window commanded a
+good view of the whole horizon to windward. Crossing over from the
+starboard state-room, which he occupied _ex-officio_, he opened the
+window in question, and took a look for himself. There, sure enough, was
+visible a squadron of five ships, in close order, edging leisurely down
+on the two lines, under their top-sails, and just near enough to allow
+it to be ascertained that their courses were not set. This sight
+produced a sudden change in all the vice-admiral's movements. The
+business of the toilet was resumed in haste, and the beard was mowed
+with a slashing hand, that might have been hazardous in the motion of a
+ship, but for the long experience of a sailor. This important part of
+the operation was scarcely through, when Locker announced the presence
+of Captain Greenly in the main cabin.
+
+"What now, Greenly?--What now?" called out the vice-admiral, puffing as
+he withdrew his head, again, from the basin--"What now, Greenly? Any
+news from Bluewater?"
+
+"I am happy to tell you, Sir Gervaise, he has been in sight more than an
+hour, and is closing with us, though shyly and slowly. I would not let
+you be called, as all was right, and I knew sleep was necessary to a
+clear head."
+
+"You have done quite right, Greenly; God willing, I intend this to be a
+busy day! The French must see our rear division?"
+
+"Beyond a doubt, sir, but they show no signs of making off. M. de
+Vervillin will fight, I feel certain; though the experience of yesterday
+may render him a little shy as to the mode."
+
+"And his crippled ship?--Old Parker's friend--I take it _she_ is not
+visible."
+
+"You were quite right in your conjecture, Sir Gervaise; the crippled
+ship is off, as is one of the frigates, no doubt to see her in. Blewet,
+too, has gone well to windward of the French, though he can fetch into
+no anchorage short of Portsmouth, if this breeze stand."
+
+"Any haven will do. Our little success will animate the king's party,
+and give it more _eclat_, perhaps, than it really merits. Let there be
+no delay with the breakfast this morning, Greenly; it will be a busy
+day."
+
+"Ay--ay, sir," answered the captain in the sailor's usual manner;
+"_that_ has been seen to already, as I have expected as much. Admiral
+Bluewater keeps his ships in most beautiful order, sir! I do not think
+the Caesar, which leads, is two cable's-length from the Dublin, the
+sternmost vessel. He is driving four-in-hand, with a tight rein, too,
+depend on it, sir."
+
+At this instant, Sir Gervaise came out of his state-room, his coat in
+his hand, and with a countenance that was thoughtful. He finished
+dressing with an abstracted air, and would not have known the last
+garment was on, had not Galleygo given a violent pull on its skirts, in
+order to smooth the cloth about the shoulders.
+
+"It is odd, that Bluewater should come down nearly before the wind, in a
+line ahead, and not in a line abreast!" Sir Gervaise rejoined, as his
+steward did this office for him.
+
+"Let Admiral Blue alone, for doing what's right," put in Galleygo, in
+his usual confident and sell-possessed manner. "By keeping his ships
+astern of hisself, he can tell where to find 'em, and we understands
+from experience, if Admiral Blue knows where to find a ship, he knows
+how to use her."
+
+Instead of rebuking this interference, which went a little further than
+common, Greenly was surprised to see the vice-admiral look his steward
+intently in the face, as if the man had expressed some shrewd and
+comprehensive truth. Then turning to his captain, Sir Gervaise intimated
+an intention of going on deck to survey the state of things with his own
+eyes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+    "_Thou_ shouldst have died, O high-soul'd chief!
+      In those bright days of glory fled,
+    When triumph so prevailed o'er grief,
+      We scarce would mourn the dead."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+The eventful day opened with most of the glories of a summer's morning.
+The wind alone prevented it from being one of the finest sun-risings of
+July. That continued fresh, at north-west, and, consequently, cool for
+the season. The seas of the south-west gale had entirely subsided, and
+were already succeeded by the regular but comparatively trilling swell
+of the new breeze. For large ships, it might be called smooth water;
+though the Driver and Active showed by their pitching and unsteadiness,
+and even the two-deckers, by their waving masts, that the unquiet ocean
+was yet in motion. The wind seemed likely to stand, and was what seamen
+would be apt to call a good six-knot breeze.
+
+To leeward, still distant about a league, lay the French vessels, drawn
+up in beautiful array, and in an order so close, and a line so regular,
+as to induce the belief that M. de Vervillin had made his dispositions
+to receive the expected attack, in his present position. All his
+main-top-sails lay flat aback; the top-gallant-sails were flying loose,
+but with buntlings and clew-lines hauled up; the jibs were fluttering to
+leeward of their booms, and the courses were hanging in festoons beneath
+their yards. This was gallant fighting-canvass, and it excited the
+admiration of even his enemies. To increase this feeling, just as Sir
+Gervaise's foot reached the poop, the whole French line displayed their
+ensigns, and _le Foudroyant_ fired a gun to windward.
+
+"Hey! Greenly?" exclaimed the English commander-in-chief; "this is a
+manly defiance, and coming from M. de Vervillin, it means something! He
+wishes to take the day for it; though, as I think half that time will
+answer, we will wash up the cups before we go at it. Make the signals,
+Bunting, for the ships to heave-to, and then to get their breakfasts, as
+fast as possible. Steady breeze--steady breeze, Greenly, and all we
+want!"
+
+Five minutes later, while Sir Gervaise was running his eye over the
+signal-book, the Plantagenet's calls were piping the people to their
+morning meal, at least an hour earlier than common; the people repaired
+to their messes, with a sort of stern joy; every man in the ship
+understanding the reason of a summons so unusual. The calls of the
+vessels astern were heard soon after, and one of the officers who was
+watching the enemy with a glass, reported that he thought the French
+were breakfasting, also. Orders being given to the officers to employ
+the next half hour in the same manner, nearly everybody was soon engaged
+in eating; few thinking that the meal might probably be their last. Sir
+Gervaise felt a concern, which he succeeded in concealing, however, at
+the circumstance that the ships to windward made no more sail; though he
+refrained from signalling the rear-admiral to that effect, from
+tenderness to his friend, and a vague apprehension of what might be the
+consequences. While the crews were eating, he stood gazing,
+thoughtfully, at the noble spectacle the enemy offered, to leeward,
+occasionally turning wistful glances at the division that was constantly
+drawing nearer to windward. At length Greenly, himself, reported that
+the Plantagenet had "turned the hands-to," again. At this intelligence,
+Sir Gervaise started, as from a reverie, smiled, and spoke. We will here
+remark, that now, as on the previous day, all the natural excitability
+of manner had disappeared from the commander-in-chief, and he was quiet,
+and exceedingly gentle in his deportment. This, all who knew him,
+understood to denote a serious determination to engage.
+
+"I have desired Galleygo to set my little table, half an hour hence, in
+the after-cabin, Greenly, and you will share the meal with me. Sir
+Wycherly will be of our party, and I hope it will not be the last time
+we may meet at the same board. It is necessary every thing should be in
+fighting-order to-day!"
+
+"So I understand it, Sir Gervaise. We are ready to begin, as soon as the
+order shall be received."
+
+"Wait one moment until Bunting comes up from his breakfast. Ah! here he
+is, and we are quite ready for him, having bent-on the signal in his
+absence. Show the order, Bunting; for the day advances."
+
+The little flags were fluttering at the main-top-gallant-mast-head of
+the Plantagenet in less than one minute, and in another it was repeated
+by the Chloe, Driver, and Active, all of which were lying-to, a quarter
+of a mile to windward, charged in particular with this, among other
+duties. So well was this signal known, that not a book in the fleet was
+consulted, but all the ships answered, the instant the flags could be
+seen and understood. Then the shrill whistles were heard along the line,
+calling "All hands" to "clear ship for action, ahoy!"
+
+No sooner was this order given in the Plantagenet, than the ship became
+a scene of active but orderly exertion. The top-men were on the yards,
+stoppering, swinging the yards in chains, and lashing, in order to
+prevent shot from doing more injury than was unavoidable; bulwarks were
+knocked down; mess-chest, bags, and all other domestic appliances,
+disappeared _below_,[3] and the decks were cleared of every thing which
+could be removed, and which would not be necessary in an engagement.
+Fully a quarter of an hour was thus occupied, for there was no haste,
+and as it was no moment of mere parade, it was necessary that the work
+should be effectually done. The officers forbade haste, and nothing
+important was reported as effected, that some one in authority did not
+examine with his own eyes, to see that no proper care had been
+neglected. Then Mr. Bury, the first lieutenant, went on the main-yard,
+in person, to look at the manner in which it had been slung, while he
+sent the boatswain up forward, on the same errand. These were unusual
+precautions, but the word had passed through the ship "that Sir Jarvy
+was in earnest;" and whenever it was known that "Sir Jarvy" was in such
+a humour, every one understood that the day's work was to be hard, if
+not long.
+
+[Footnote 3: In the action of the Nile, many of the French ships, under
+the impression that the enemy _must_ engage on the _outside_, put their
+lumber, bags, &c., into the ports, and between the guns, in the
+larboard, or _inshore_ batteries; and when the British anchored
+_inshore_ of them, these batteries could not be used.]
+
+"Our breakfast is ready, Sir Jarvy," reported Galleygo, "and as the
+decks is all clear, the b'ys can make a clean run of it from the
+coppers. I only wants to know when to serve it, your honour."
+
+"Serve it now, my good fellow. Tell the Bowlderos to be nimble, and
+expect us below. Come, Greenly--come, Wychecombe--we are the last to
+eat--let us not be the last at our stations."
+
+"Ship's clear, sir," reported Bury to his captain, as the three reached
+the quarter-deck, on their way to the cabin.
+
+"Very well, Bury; when the fleet is signalled to go to quarters, we will
+obey with the rest."
+
+As this was said, Greenly looked at the vice-admiral to catch his
+wishes. But Sir Gervaise had no intention of fatiguing his people
+unnecessarily. He had left his private orders with Bunting, and he
+passed down without an answer or a glance. The arrangements in the
+after-cabin were as snug and as comfortable as if the breakfast-table
+had been set in a private house, and the trio took their seats and
+commenced operations with hearty good will. The vice-admiral ordered the
+doors thrown open, and as the port-lids were up, from the place where he
+sat he could command glimpses, both to leeward and to windward, that
+included a view of the enemy, as well as one of his own expected
+reinforcements. The Bowlderos were in full livery, and more active and
+attentive than usual even. Their station in battle--for no man on board
+a vessel of war is an "_idler_" in a combat--was on the poop, as
+musketeers, near the person of their master, whose colours they wore,
+under the ensign of their prince, like vassals of an ancient baron.
+Notwithstanding the crisis of the morning, however, these men performed
+their customary functions with the precision and method of English
+menials, omitting no luxury or usage of the table. On a sofa behind the
+table, was spread the full dress-coat of a vice-admiral, then a neat but
+plain uniform, without either lace or epaulettes, but decorated with a
+rich star in brilliants, the emblem of the order of the Bath. This coat
+Sir Gervaise always wore in battle, unless the weather rendered a
+"storm-uniform," as he used to term a plainer attire, necessary.
+
+The breakfast passed off pleasantly, the gentlemen eating as if no
+momentous events were near. Just at its close, however, Sir Gervaise
+leaned forward, and looking through one of the weather-ports of the
+main-cabin, an expression of pleasure illuminated his countenance, as he
+said--
+
+"Ah! there go Bluewater's signals, at last!--a certain proof that he is
+about to put himself in communication with us."
+
+"I have been a good deal surprised, sir," observed Greenly, a little
+drily, though with great respect of manner, "that you have not ordered
+the rear-admiral to make more sail. He is jogging along like a heavy
+wagon, and yet I hardly think he can mistake these five ships for
+Frenchmen!"
+
+"He is never in a hurry, and no doubt wishes to let _his_ crews
+breakfast, before he closes. I'll warrant ye, now, gentlemen, that his
+ships are at this moment all as clear as a church five minutes after the
+blessing has been pronounced."
+
+"It will not be one of our Virginian churches, then, Sir Gervaise,"
+observed Wycherly, smiling; "_they_ serve for an exchange, to give and
+receive news in, after the service is over."
+
+"Ay, that's the old rule--first pray, and then gossip. Well, Bunting,
+what does the rear-admiral say?"
+
+"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, I can make nothing of the signal, though it
+is easy enough to make out the flags," answered the puzzled
+signal-officer. "Will you have the goodness to look at the book
+yourself, sir. The number is one hundred and forty."
+
+"One hundred and forty! Why, that must have something to do with
+anchoring!--ay, here it is. 'Anchor, I cannot, having lost my cables.'
+Who the devil asked him to anchor?"
+
+"That's just it, sir. The signal-officer on board the Caesar must have
+made some mistake in his flags; for, though the distance is
+considerable, our glasses are good enough to read them."
+
+"Perhaps Admiral Bluewater has set the private, personal, telegraph at
+work, sir," quietly observed Greenly.
+
+The commander-in-chief actually changed colour at this suggestion. His
+face, at first, flushed to crimson; then it became pale, like the
+countenance of one who suffered under acute bodily pain. Wycherly
+observed this, and respectfully inquired if Sir Gervaise were ill.
+
+"I thank you, young sir," answered the vice-admiral, smiling painfully;
+"it is over. I believe I shall have to go into dock, and let Magrath
+look at some of my old hurts, which _are_ sometimes troublesome. Mr.
+Bunting, do me the favour to go on deck, and ascertain, by a careful
+examination, if a short red pennant be not set some ten or twelve feet
+above the uppermost flag. Now, Greenly, we will take the other cup of
+tea, for there is plenty of leisure."
+
+Two or three brooding minutes followed. Then Bunting returned to say the
+pennant _was_ there, a fact he had quite overlooked in his former
+observations, confounding the narrow flag in question with the regular
+pennant of the king. This short red pennant denoted that the
+communication was verbal, according to a method invented by Bluewater
+himself, and by means of which, using the ordinary numbers, he was
+enabled to communicate with his friend, without any of the captains, or,
+indeed, without Sir Gervaise's own signal-officer's knowing what was
+said. In a word, without having recourse to any new flags, but, by
+simply giving new numbers to the old ones, and referring to a prepared
+dictionary, it was possible to hold a conversation in sentences, that
+should be a secret to all but themselves. Sir Gervaise took down the
+number of the signal that was flying, and directed Bunting to show the
+answering flag, with a similar pennant over it, and to continue this
+operation so long as the rear-admiral might make his signals. The
+numbers were to be sent below as fast as received. As soon as Bunting
+disappeared, the vice-admiral unlocked a secretary, the key of which was
+never out of his own possession, took from it a small dictionary, and
+laid it by his plate. All this time the breakfast proceeded, signals of
+this nature frequently occurring between the two admirals. In the course
+of the next ten minutes, a quarter-master brought below a succession of
+numbers written on small pieces of paper; after which Bunting appeared
+himself to say that the Caesar had stopped signalling.
+
+Sir Gervaise now looked out each word by its proper number, and wrote it
+down with his pencil as he proceeded, until the whole read--"God
+sake--make no signal. Engage not." No sooner was the communication
+understood, than the paper was torn into minute fragments, the book
+replaced, and the vice-admiral, turning with a calm determined
+countenance to Greenly, ordered him to beat to quarters as soon as
+Bunting could show a signal to the fleet to the same effect. On this
+hint, all but the vice-admiral went on deck, and the Bowlderos instantly
+set about removing the table and all the other appliances. Finding
+himself annoyed by the movements of the servants, Sir Gervaise walked
+out into the great cabin, which, regardless of its present condition, he
+began to pace as was his wont when lost in thought. The bulk-heads being
+down, and the furniture removed, this was in truth walking in sight of
+the crew. All who happened to be on the main-deck could see what passed,
+though no one presumed to enter a spot that was tabooed to vulgar feet,
+even when thus exposed. The aspect and manner of "Sir Jarvy," however,
+were not overlooked, and the men prognosticated a serious time.
+
+Such was the state of things, when the drums beat to quarters,
+throughout the whole line. At the first tap, the great cabin sunk to the
+level of an ordinary battery; the seamen of two guns, with the proper
+officers, entering within the sacred limits, and coolly setting about
+clearing their pieces, and making the other preparations necessary for
+an action. All this time Sir Gervaise continued pacing what would have
+been the centre of his own cabin had the bulk-heads stood, the
+grim-looking sailors avoiding him with great dexterity, and invariably
+touching their hats as they were compelled to glide near his person,
+though every thing went on as if he were not present. Sir Gervaise might
+have remained lost in thought much longer than he did, had not the
+report of a gun recalled him to a consciousness of the scene that was
+enacting around him.
+
+"What's that?" suddenly demanded the vice-admiral--"Is Blue water
+signalling again?"
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise," answered the fourth lieutenant, looking out of a lee
+port; "it is the French admiral giving us another weather-gun; as much
+as to ask why we don't go down. This is the second compliment of the
+same sort that he has paid us already to-day!"
+
+These words were not all spoken before the vice-admiral was on the
+quarter-deck; in half a minute more, he was on the poop. Here he found
+Greenly, Wychecombe, and Bunting, all looking with interest at the
+beautiful line of the enemy.
+
+"Monsieur de Vervillin is impatient to wipe off the disgrace of
+yesterday," observed the first, "as is apparent by the invitations he
+gives us to come down. I presume Admiral Bluewater will wake up at this
+last hint."
+
+"By Heaven, he has hauled his wind, and is standing to the northward and
+eastward!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise, surprise overcoming all his
+discretion. "Although an extraordinary movement, at such a time, it is
+wonderful in what beautiful order Bluewater keeps his ships!"
+
+All that was said was true enough. The rear-admiral's division having
+suddenly hauled up, in a close line ahead, each ship followed her leader
+as mechanically as if they moved by a common impulse. As no one in the
+least doubted the rear-admiral's loyalty, and his courage was of proof,
+it was the general opinion that this unusual man[oe]uvre had some
+connection with the unintelligible signals, and the young officers
+laughingly inquired among themselves what "Sir Jarvy was likely to do
+next?"
+
+It would seem, however, that Monsieur de Vervillin suspected a
+repetition of some of the scenes of the preceding day; for, no sooner
+did he perceive that the English rear was hugging the wind, than five of
+his leading ships filled, and drew ahead, as if to meet that division,
+man[oe]uvring to double on the head of his line; while the remaining
+five, with the Foudroyant, still lay with their top-sails to the mast,
+waiting for their enemy to come down. Sir Gervaise could not stand this
+long. He determined, if possible, to bring Bluewater to terms, and he
+ordered the Plantagenet to fill. Followed by his own division, he wore
+immediately, and went off under easy sail, quartering, towards Monsieur
+de Vervillin's rear, to avoid being raked.
+
+The quarter of an hour that succeeded was one of intense interest, and
+of material changes; though not a shot was fired. As soon as the Comte
+de Vervillin perceived that the English were disposed to come nearer, he
+signalled his own division to bear up, and to run off dead before the
+wind, under their top-sails, commencing astern; which reversed his order
+of sailing, and brought le Foudroyant in the rear, or nearest to the
+enemy. This was no sooner done, than he settled all his top-sails on the
+caps. There could be no mistaking this man[oe]uvre. It was a direct
+invitation to Sir Gervaise to come down, fairly alongside; the bearing
+up at once removing all risk of being raked in so doing. The English
+commander-in-chief was not a man to neglect such a palpable challenge;
+but, making a few signals to direct the mode of attack he contemplated,
+he set fore-sail and main-top-gallant-sail, and brought the wind directly
+over his own taffrail. The vessels astern followed like clock-work, and
+no one now doubted that the mode of attack was settled for that day.
+
+As the French, with Monsieur de Vervillin, were still half a mile to the
+southward and eastward of the approaching division, of their enemy, the
+Comte collected all his frigates and corvettes on his starboard hand,
+leaving a clear approach to Sir Gervaise on his larboard beam. This hint
+was understood, too, and the Plantagenet steered a course that would
+bring her up on that side of le Foudroyant, and at the distance of about
+one hundred yards from the muzzles of her guns. This threatened to be
+close work, and unusual work in fleets, at that day; but it was the game
+our commander-in-chief was fond of playing, and it was one, also, that
+promised soonest to bring matters to a result.
+
+These preliminaries arranged, there was yet leisure for the respective
+commanders to look about them. The French were still fully a mile ahead
+of their enemies, and as both fleets were going in the same direction,
+the approach of the English was so slow as to leave some twenty minutes
+of that solemn breathing time, which reigns in a disciplined ship,
+previous to the commencement of the combat. The feelings of the two
+commanders-in-chief, at this pregnant instant, were singularly in
+contradiction to each other. The Comte de Vervillin saw that the rear
+division of his force, under the Comte-Amiral le Vicomte des Prez, was
+in the very position he desired it to be, having obtained the advantage
+of the wind by the English division's coming down, and by keeping its
+own luff. Between the two French officers there was a perfect
+understanding as to the course each was to take, and both now felt
+sanguine hopes of being able to obliterate the disgrace of the previous
+day, and that, too, by means very similar to those by which it had been
+incurred. On the other hand, Sir Gervaise was beset with doubts as to
+the course Bluewater might pursue. He could not, however, come to the
+conclusion that he would abandon him to the joint efforts of the two
+hostile divisions; and so long as the French rear-admiral was occupied
+by the English force to windward, it left to himself a clear field and
+no favour in the action with Monsieur de Vervillin. He knew Bluewater's
+generous nature too well not to feel certain his own compliance with the
+request not to signal his inferior would touch his heart, and give him a
+double chance with all his better feelings. Nevertheless, Sir Gervaise
+Oakes did not lead into this action without many and painful misgivings.
+He had lived too long in the world not to know that political prejudice
+was the most demoralising of all our weaknesses, veiling our private
+vices under the plausible concealment of the public weal, and rendering
+even the well-disposed insensible to the wrongs they commit to
+individuals, by means of the deceptive flattery of serving the
+community. As doubt was more painful than the certainty of his worst
+forebodings, however, and it was not in his nature to refuse a combat so
+fairly offered, he was resolved to close with the Comte at every hazard,
+trusting the issue to God, and his own efforts.
+
+The Plantagenet presented an eloquent picture of order and preparation,
+as she drew near the French line, on this memorable occasion. Her people
+were all at quarters, and, as Greenly walked through her batteries, he
+found every gun on the starboard side loose, levelled, and ready to be
+fired; while the opposite merely required a turn or two of the tackles
+to be cast loose, the priming to be applied, and the loggerhead to
+follow, in order to be discharged, also. A death-like stillness reigned
+from the poop to the cock-pit, the older seamen occasionally glancing
+through their ports in order to ascertain the relative positions of the
+two fleets, that they might be ready for the collision. As the English
+got within musket-shot, the French ran their top-sails to the mast-heads,
+and their ships gathered fresher way through the water. Still the former
+moved with the greatest velocity, carrying the most sail, and impelled
+by the greater momentum. When near enough, however, Sir Gervaise gave
+the order to reduce the canvass of his own ship.
+
+"That will do, Greenly," he said, in a mild, quiet tone. "Let run the
+top-gallant-halyards, and haul up the fore-sail. The way you have, will
+bring you fairly alongside."
+
+The captain gave the necessary orders, and the master shortened sail
+accordingly. Still the Plantagenet shot ahead, and, in three or four
+minutes more, her bows doubled so far on le Foudroyant's quarter, as to
+permit a gun to bear. This was the signal for both sides, each ship
+opening as it might be in the same breath. The flash, the roar, and the
+eddying smoke followed in quick succession, and in a period of time that
+seemed nearly instantaneous. The crash of shot, and the shrieks of
+wounded mingled with the infernal din, for nature extorts painful
+concessions of human weaknesses, at such moments, even from the bravest
+and firmest. Bunting was in the act of reporting to Sir Gervaise that no
+signal could yet be seen from the Caesar, in the midst of this uproar,
+when a small round-shot, discharged from the Frenchman's poop, passed
+through his body, literally driving the heart before it, leaving him
+dead at his commander's feet.
+
+"I shall depend on you, Sir Wycherly, for the discharge of poor
+Bunting's duty, the remainder of the cruise," observed Sir Gervaise,
+with a smile in which courtesy and regret struggled singularly for the
+mastery. "Quarter-masters, lay Mr. Bunting's body a little out of the
+way, and cover it with those signals. They are a suitable pall for so
+brave a man!"
+
+Just as this occurred, the Warspite came clear of the Plantagenet, on
+her outside, according to orders, and she opened with her forward guns,
+taking the second ship in the French line for her target. In two minutes
+more these vessels also were furiously engaged in the hot strife. In
+this manner, ship after ship passed on the outside of the Plantagenet,
+and sheered into her berth ahead of her who had just been her own
+leader, until the Achilles, Lord Morganic, the last of the five, lay
+fairly side by side with le Conquereur, the vessel now at the head of
+the French line. That the reader may understand the incidents more
+readily, we will give the opposing lines in the precise form in which
+they lay, viz.
+
+    Plantagenet    le Foudroyant
+
+    Warspite       le Temeraire
+
+    Blenheim       le Dugay Trouin
+
+    Thunderer      l'Ajax
+
+    Achilles       le Conquereur.
+
+The constantly recurring discharges of four hundred pieces of heavy
+ordnance, within a space so small, had the effect to repel the regular
+currents of air, and, almost immediately, to lessen a breeze of six or
+seven knots, to one that would not propel a ship more than two or three.
+This was the first observable phenomenon connected with the action, but,
+as it had been expected, Sir Gervaise had used the precaution to lay his
+ships as near as possible in the positions in which he intended them to
+fight the battle. The next great physical consequence, one equally
+expected and natural, but which wrought a great change in the aspect of
+the battle, was the cloud of smoke in which the ten ships were suddenly
+enveloped. At the first broadsides between the two admirals, volumes of
+light, fleecy vapour rolled over the sea, meeting midway, and rising
+thence in curling wreaths, left nothing but the masts and sails of the
+adversary visible in the hostile ship. This, of itself, would have soon
+hidden the combatants in the bosom of a nearly impenetrable cloud; but
+as the vessels drove onward they entered deeper beneath the sulphurous
+canopy, until it spread on each side of them, shutting out the view of
+ocean, skies, and horizon. The burning of the priming below contributed
+to increase the smoke, until, not only was respiration often difficult,
+but those who fought only a few yards apart frequently could not
+recognise each other's faces. In the midst of this scene of obscurity,
+and a din that might well have alarmed the caverns of the ocean, the
+earnest and well-drilled seamen toiled at their ponderous guns, and
+remedied with ready hands the injuries received in the rigging, each man
+as intent on his own particular duty as if he wrought in the occupations
+of an ordinary gale.
+
+"Sir Wycherly," observed the vice-admiral, when the cannonading had
+continued some twenty minutes, "there is little for a flag-officer to do
+in such a cloud of smoke. I would give much to know the exact positions
+of the divisions of our two rear-admirals."
+
+"There is but one mode of ascertaining that, Sir Gervaise--if it be your
+pleasure, I will attempt it. By going on the main-top-gallant-yard, one
+might get a clear view, perhaps."
+
+Sir Gervaise smiled his approbation, and presently he saw the young man
+ascending the main-rigging, though half concealed in smoke. Just at this
+instant, Greenly ascended to the poop, from making a tour of observation
+below. Without waiting for a question, the captain made his report.
+
+"We are doing pretty well, now, Sir Gervaise, though the first broadside
+of the Comte treated us roughly. I think his fire slackens, and Bury
+says, he is certain that his fore-top-mast is already gone. At all
+events, our lads are in good spirits, and as yet all the sticks keep
+their places."
+
+"I'm glad of this, Greenly; particularly of the latter, just at this
+moment. I see you are looking at those signals--they cover the body of
+poor Bunting."
+
+"And this train of blood to the ladder, sir--I hope our young baronet is
+not hurt?"
+
+"No, it is one of the Bowlderos, who has lost a leg. I shall have to see
+that he wants for nothing hereafter."
+
+There was a pause; then both the gentlemen smiled, as they heard the
+crashing work made by a shot just beneath them, which, by the sounds and
+the direction, they knew had passed through Greenly's crockery. Still
+neither spoke. After a few more minutes of silent observation, Sir
+Gervaise remarked that he thought the flashes of the French guns more
+distant than they had been at first, though, at that instant, not a
+trace of their enemy was to be discovered, except in the roar of the
+guns, and in these very flashes, and their effect on the Plantagenet.
+
+"If so, sir, the Comte begins to find his berth too hot for him; here is
+the wind still directly over _our_ taffrail, such as it is."
+
+"No--no--we steer as we began--I keep my eye on that compass below, and
+am certain we hold a straight course. Go forward, Greenly, and see that
+a sharp look-out is kept ahead. It is time some of our own ships should
+be crippled; we must be careful not to run into them. Should such a
+thing happen sheer hard to starboard, and pass _inside_."
+
+"Ay--ay--Sir Gervaise; your wishes shall be attended to."
+
+As this was said, Greenly disappeared, and, at the next instant,
+Wycherly stood in his place.
+
+"Well, sir--I am glad to see you back safe. If Greenly were here now,
+_he_ would inquire about his _masts_, but _I_ wish to know the position
+of the _ships_."
+
+"I am the bearer of bad news, sir. Nothing at all could be seen from the
+top; but in the cross-trees, I got a good look through the smoke, and am
+sorry to say the French rear-admiral is coming down fast on our
+larboard-quarter, with all his force. We shall have him abeam in five
+minutes."
+
+"And Bluewater?" demanded Sir Gervaise, quick as lightning.
+
+"I could see nothing of Admiral Bluewater's ships; but knowing the
+importance of this intelligence, I came down immediately, and by the
+back-stay."
+
+"You have done well, sir. Send a midshipman forward for Captain Greenly;
+then pass below yourself, and let the lieutenants in the batteries hear
+the news. They must divide their people, and by all means give a prompt
+and well-directed _first_ broadside."
+
+Wycherly waited for no more. He ran below with the activity of his
+years. The message found Greenly between the knight-heads, but he
+hurried aft to the poop to ascertain its object. It took Sir Gervaise
+but a moment to explain it all to the captain.
+
+"In the name of Heaven, what can the other division be about," exclaimed
+Greenly, "that it lets the French rear-admiral come upon us, in a moment
+like this!"
+
+"Of that, sir, it is unnecessary to speak _now_," answered the
+commander-in-chief, solemnly. "Our present business is to get ready for
+this new enemy. Go into the batteries again, and, as you prize victory,
+be careful not to throw away the first discharge, in the smoke."
+
+As time pressed, Greenly swallowed his discontent, and departed. The
+five minutes that succeeded were bitter minutes to Sir Gervaise Oakes.
+Beside himself there were but five men on the poop; viz., the
+quarter-master who tended the signals, and three of the Bowlderos. All
+of these were using muskets as usual, though the vice-admiral never
+permitted marines to be stationed at a point which he wished to be as
+clear of smoke, and as much removed from bustle as possible. He began to
+pace this comparatively vacant little deck with a quick step, casting
+wistful glances towards the larboard-quarter; but though the smoke
+occasionally cleared a little in that direction, the firing having much
+slackened from exhaustion in the men, as well as from injuries given and
+received, he was unable to detect any signs of a ship. Such was the
+state of things when Wycherly returned and reported that his orders
+were delivered, and part of the people were already in the
+larboard-batteries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+      "And oh, the little warlike world within!
+        The well-reeved guns, the netted canopy,
+      The hoarse command, the busy humming din.
+        When at a word, the tops are manned on high:
+        Hark to the boatswain's call, the cheering cry!
+      While through the seaman's hand the tackle glides,
+        Or school-boy midshipman, that, standing by,
+      Strains his shrill pipe, as good or ill betides,
+    And well the docile crew that skilful urchin guides."
+
+         BYRON.
+
+
+"Are you quite sure, Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, that there is not some
+mistake about the approach of the rear division of the French?" inquired
+the vice-admiral, endeavouring to catch some glimpse of the water,
+through the smoke on the larboard hand. "May not some crippled ship of
+our own have sheered from the line, and been left by us, unknowingly, on
+that side?"
+
+"No, Sir Gervaise, there is _no_ mistake; there _can_ be none, unless I
+may have been deceived a little in the distance. I saw nothing but the
+sails and spars, not of a single vessel, but of _three_ ships; and one
+of them wore the flag of a French rear-admiral at the mizzen. As a proof
+that I was not mistaken, sir, there it is this minute!"
+
+The smoke on the off side of the Plantagenet, as a matter of course, was
+much less dense than that on the side engaged, and the wind beginning to
+blow in eddies, as ever happens in a heavy cannonade, there were moments
+in which it cast aside the "shroud of battle." At that instant an
+opening occurred through which a single mast, and a single sail were
+visible, in the precise spot where Wycherly had stated the enemy might
+be looked for. It was a mizzen-top-sail, beyond a question, and above it
+was fluttering the little square flag of the rear-admiral. Sir Gervaise
+decided on the character of the vessel, and on his own course, in an
+instant. Stepping to the edge of the poop, with his natural voice,
+without the aid of a trumpet of any sort, he called out in tones that
+rose above the roar of the contest, the ominous but familiar nautical
+words of "stand by!" Perhaps a call from powerful lungs (and the
+vice-admiral's voice, when he chose to use it, was like the blast of a
+clarion) is clearer and more impressive, when unaided by instruments,
+than when it comes disguised and unnatural through a tube. At any rate,
+these words were heard even on the lower deck, by those who stood near
+the hatches. Taking them up, they were repeated by a dozen voices, with
+such expressions as "Look out, lads; Sir Jarvy's awake!" "Sight your
+guns!" "Wait till she's square!" and other similar admonitions that it
+is usual for the sea-officer to give, as he is about to commence the
+strife. At this critical moment, Sir Gervaise again looked up, and
+caught another glimpse of the little flag, as it passed into a vast
+wreath of smoke; he saw that the ship was fairly abeam, and, as if
+doubling all his powers, he shouted the word "fire!" Greenly was
+standing on the lower-deck ladder, with his head just even with the
+coamings of the hatch, as this order reached him, and he repeated it in
+a voice scarcely less startling. The cloud on the larboard side was
+driven in all directions, like dust scattered by wind. The ship seemed
+on fire, and the missiles of forty-one guns flew on their deadly errand,
+as it might be at a single flash. The old Plantagenet trembled to her
+keel, and even bowed a little at the recoils, but, like one suddenly
+relieved from a burthen, righted and went on her way none the less
+active. That timely broadside saved the English commander-in-chiefs ship
+from an early defeat. It took the crew of le Pluton, her new adversary,
+by surprise; for they had not been able to distinguish the precise
+position of their enemy; and, besides doing vast injury to both hull and
+people, drew her fire at an unpropitious moment. So uncertain and hasty,
+indeed, was the discharge the French ship gave in return, that no small
+portion of the contents of her guns passed ahead of the Plantagenet, and
+went into the larboard quarter of le Temeraire, the French admiral's
+second ahead.
+
+"That was a timely salute," said Sir Gervaise, smiling as soon as the
+fire of his new enemy had been received without material injury. "The
+first blow is always half the battle. We may now work on with some hopes
+of success. Ah! here comes Greenly again, God be praised! unhurt."
+
+The meeting of these two experienced seamen was cordial, but not without
+great seriousness. Both felt that the situation of not only the ship,
+but of the whole fleet, was extremely critical, the odds being much too
+great, and the position of the enemy too favourable, not to render the
+result, to say the very least, exceedingly doubtful. Some advantage had
+certainly been obtained, thus far; but there was little hope of
+preserving it long. The circumstances called for very decided and
+particularly bold measures.
+
+"My mind is made up, Greenly," observed the vice-admiral. "We must go
+aboard of one of these ships, and make it a hand-to-hand affair. We will
+take the French commander-in-chief; he is evidently a good deal cut up
+by the manner in which his fire slackens, and if we can carry him, or
+even force him out of the line, it will give us a better chance with the
+rest. As for Bluewater, God only knows what has become of him! He is not
+here at any rate, and we must help ourselves."
+
+"You have only to order, Sir Gervaise, to be obeyed. I will lead the
+boarders, myself."
+
+"It must be a general thing, Greenly; I rather think we shall all of us
+have to go aboard of le Foudroyant. Go, give the necessary orders, and
+when every thing is ready, round in a little on the larboard braces,
+clap your helm a-port, and give the ship a rank sheer to starboard. This
+will bring matters to a crisis at once. By letting the fore-sail fall,
+and setting the spanker, you might shove the ship ahead a little
+faster."
+
+Greenly instantly left the poop on this new and important duty. He sent
+his orders into the batteries, bidding the people remain at their guns,
+however, to the last moment; and particularly instructing the captain of
+marines, as to the manner in which he was to cover, and then follow the
+boarding-party. This done, he gave orders to brace forward the yards, as
+directed by Sir Gervaise.
+
+The reader will not overlook the material circumstance that all we have
+related occurred amid the din of battle. Guns were exploding at each
+instant, the cloud of smoke was both thickening and extending, fire was
+flashing in the semi-obscurity of its volumes, shot were rending the
+wood and cutting the rigging, and the piercing shrieks of agony, only so
+much the more appalling by being extorted from the stern and resolute,
+blended their thrilling accompaniments. Men seemed to be converted into
+demons, and yet there was a lofty and stubborn resolution to conquer
+mingled with all, that ennobled the strife and rendered it heroic. The
+broadsides that were delivered in succession down the line, as ship
+after ship of the rear division reached her station, however, proclaimed
+that Monsieur des Prez had imitated Sir Gervaise's mode of closing, the
+only one by means of which the leading vessel could escape destruction,
+and that the English were completely doubled on. At this moment, the
+sail-trimmers of the Plantagenet handled their braces. The first pull
+was the last. No sooner were the ropes started, than the fore-top-mast
+went over the bows, dragging after it the main with all its hamper, the
+mizzen snapping like a pipe-stem, at the cap. By this cruel accident,
+the result of many injuries to shrouds, back-stays, and spars, the
+situation of the Plantagenet became worse than ever; for, not only was
+the wreck to be partially cleared, at least, to fight many of the
+larboard guns, but the command of the ship was, in a great measure,
+lost, in the centre of one of the most infernal _melees_ that ever
+accompanied a combat at sea.
+
+At no time does the trained seaman ever appear so great, as when he
+meets sudden misfortunes with the steadiness and quiet which it is a
+material part of the _morale_ of discipline to inculcate. Greenly was
+full of ardour for the assault, and was thinking of the best mode of
+running foul of his adversary, when this calamity occurred; but the
+masts were hardly down, when he changed all his thoughts to a new
+current, and called out to the sail-trimmers to "lay over, and clear the
+wreck."
+
+Sir Gervaise, too, met with a sudden and violent check to the current of
+his feelings. He had collected his Bowlderos, and was giving his
+instructions as to the manner in which they were to follow, and keep
+near his person, in the expected hand-to-hand encounter, when the heavy
+rushing of the air, and the swoop of the mass from above, announced what
+had occurred. Turning to the men, he calmly ordered them to aid in
+getting rid of the incumbrances, and was in the very act of directing
+Wycherly to join in the same duty, when the latter exclaimed--
+
+"See, Sir Gervaise, here comes another of the Frenchmen close upon our
+quarter. By heavens, _they_ must mean to board!"
+
+The vice-admiral instinctively grasped his sword-hilt tighter, and
+turned in the direction mentioned by his companion. There, indeed, came
+a fresh ship, shoving the cloud aside, and, by the clearer atmosphere
+that seemed to accompany her, apparently bringing down a current of air
+stronger than common. When first seen, the jib-boom and bowsprit were
+both enveloped in smoke, but his bellying fore-top-sail, and the canvass
+hanging in festoons, loomed grandly in the vapour, the black yards
+seeming to embrace the wreaths, merely to cast them aside. The
+proximity, too, was fearful, her yard-arms promising to clear those of
+the Plantagenet only by a few feet, as her dark bows brushed along the
+admiral's side.
+
+"This will be fearful work, indeed!" exclaimed Sir Gervaise. "A fresh
+broadside from a ship so near, will sweep all from the spars. Go,
+Wychecombe, tell Greenly to call in--Hold--'Tis an English ship! No
+Frenchman's bowsprit stands like that! Almighty God be praised! 'Tis the
+Caesar--there is the old Roman's figure-head just shoving out of the
+smoke!"
+
+This was said with a yell, rather than a cry, of delight, and in a voice
+so loud that the words were heard below, and flew through the ship like
+the hissing of an ascending rocket. To confirm the glorious tidings, the
+flash and roar of guns on the off-side of the stranger announced the
+welcome tidings that le Pluton had an enemy of her own to contend with,
+thus enabling the Plantagenet's people to throw all their strength on
+the starboard guns, and pursue their other necessary work without
+further molestation from the French rear-admiral. The gratitude of Sir
+Gervaise, as the rescuing ship thrust herself in between him and his
+most formidable assailant was too deep for language. He placed his hat
+mechanically before his face, and thanked God, with a fervour of spirit
+that never before had attended his thanksgivings. This brief act of
+devotion over, he found the bows of the Caesar, which ship was advancing
+very slowly, in order not to pass too far ahead, just abreast of the
+spot where he stood, and so near that objects were pretty plainly
+visible. Between her knight-heads stood Bluewater, conning the ship, by
+means of a line of officers, his hat in his hand, waving in
+encouragement to his own people, while Geoffrey Cleveland held the
+trumpet at his elbow. At that moment three noble cheers were given by
+the crews of the two friendly vessels, and mingled with the increasing
+roar of the Caesar's artillery. Then the smoke rose in a cloud over the
+forecastle of the latter ship, and persons could no longer be
+distinguished.
+
+Nevertheless, like all that thus approached, the relieving ship passed
+slowly ahead, until nearly her whole length protected the undefended
+side of her consort, delivering her fire with fearful rapidity. The
+Plantagenets seemed to imbibe new life from this arrival, and their
+starboard guns spoke out again, as if manned by giants. It was five
+minutes, perhaps, after this seasonable arrival, before the guns of the
+other ships of the English rear announced their presence on the outside
+of Monsieur des Prez's force; thus bringing the whole of the two fleets
+into four lines, all steering dead before the wind, and, as it were,
+interwoven with each other. By that time, the poops of the Plantagenet
+and Caesar became visible from one to the other, the smoke now driving
+principally off from the vessels. There again were our two admirals each
+anxiously watching to get a glimpse of his friend. The instant the place
+was clear, Sir Gervaise applied the trumpet to his mouth, and called
+out--
+
+"God bless you--Dick! may God for ever bless you--_your_ ship can do
+it--clap your helm hard a-starboard, and sheer into M. des Prez; you'll
+have him in five minutes."
+
+Bluewater smiled, waved his hand, gave an order, and laid aside his
+trumpet. Two minutes later, the Caesar sheered into the smoke on her
+larboard beam, and the crash of the meeting vessels was heard. By this
+time, the wreck of the Plantagenet was cut adrift, and she, too, made a
+rank sheer, though in a direction opposite to that of the Caesar's. As
+she went through the smoke, her guns ceased, and when she emerged into
+the pure air, it was found that le Foudroyant had set courses and
+top-gallant-sails, and was drawing so fast ahead, as to render pursuit,
+under the little sail that could be set, unprofitable. Signals were out
+of the question, but this movement of the two admirals converted the
+whole battle scene into one of inexplicable confusion. Ship after ship
+changed her position, and ceased her fire from uncertainty what that
+position was, until a general silence succeeded the roar of the
+cannonade. It was indispensable to pause and let the smoke blow away.
+
+It did not require many minutes to raise the curtain on the two fleets.
+As soon as the firing stopped, the wind increased, and the smoke was
+driven off to leeward in a vast straggling cloud, that seemed to scatter
+and disperse in the air spontaneously. Then a sight of the havoc and
+destruction that had been done in this short conflict was first
+obtained.
+
+The two squadrons were intermingled, and it required some little time
+for Sir Gervaise to get a clear idea of the state of his own ships.
+Generally, it might be said that the vessels were scattering, the French
+sheering towards their own coast, while the English were principally
+coming by the wind on the larboard tack, or heading in towards England.
+The Caesar and le Pluton were still foul of each other, though a
+rear-admiral's flag was flying at the mizzen of the first, while that
+which had so lately fluttered at the royal-mast-head of the other, had
+disappeared. The Achilles, Lord Morganic, was still among the French,
+more to leeward than any other English ship, without a single spar
+standing. Her ensigns were flying, notwithstanding, and the Thunderer
+and Dublin, both in tolerable order, were edging away rapidly to cover
+their crippled consort; though the nearest French vessels seemed more
+bent on getting out of the _melee_, and into their own line again, than
+on securing any advantage already obtained. Le Temeraire was in the same
+predicament as the Achilles as to spars, though much more injured in her
+hull, besides having thrice as many casualties. Her flag was down; the
+ship having fairly struck to the Warspite, whose boats were already
+alongside of her. Le Foudroyant, with quite one-third of her crew killed
+and wounded, was running off to leeward, with signals flying for her
+consorts to rally round her; but, within less than ten minutes after she
+became visible, her main and mizzen-masts both went. The Blenheim had
+lost all her top-masts, like the Plantagenet, and neither the Elizabeth
+nor the York had a mizzen-mast standing, although engaged but a very
+short time. Several lower yards were shot away, or so much injured as to
+compel the ships to shorten sail; this accident having occurred in both
+fleets. As for the damage done to the standing and running rigging, and
+to the sails, it is only necessary to say that shrouds, back and
+head-stays, braces, bowlines and lifts, were dangling in all directions,
+while the canvass that was open exhibited all sorts of rents, from that
+which had been torn like cloth in the shopman's hands, to the little
+eyelet holes of the canister and grape. It appeared, by the subsequent
+reports of the two parties, that, in this short but severe conflict, the
+slain and wounded of the English amounted to seven hundred and
+sixty-three, including officers; and that of the French, to one thousand
+four hundred and twelve. The disparity in this respect would probably
+have been greater against the latter, had it not been for the manner in
+which M. des Prez succeeded in doubling on his enemies.
+
+Little need be said in explanation of the parts of this battle that have
+not been distinctly related. M. des Prez had man[oe]uvered in the manner
+he did, at the commencement of the affair, in the hope of drawing Sir
+Gervaise down upon the division of the Comte de Vervillin; and no sooner
+did he see, the first fairly enveloped in smoke, than he wore short
+round and joined in the affair, as has been mentioned. At this sight,
+Bluewater's loyalty to the Stuarts could resist no longer. Throwing out
+a general signal to engage, he squared away, set every thing that would
+draw on the Caesar, and arrived in time to save his friend. The other
+ships followed, engaging on the outside, for want of room to imitate
+their leader.
+
+Two more of the French ships, at least, in addition to _le Temeraire_
+and _le Pluton_, might have been added to the list of prizes, had the
+actual condition of their fleet been known. But, at such moments, a
+combatant sees and feels his own injuries, while he has to conjecture
+many of those of his adversaries; and the English were too much occupied
+in making the provisions necessary to save their remaining spars, to
+risk much in order to swell an advantage that was already so
+considerable. Some distant firing passed between the Thunderer and
+Dublin, and l'Ajax, le Dugay Trouin, and l'Hector, before the two former
+succeeded in getting Lord Morganic out of his difficulties; but it led
+to no material result; merely inflicting new injuries on certain spars
+that were sufficiently damaged before, and killing and wounding some
+fifteen or twenty men quite uselessly. As soon as the vice-admiral saw
+what was likely to be the effects of this episode, he called off Captain
+O'Neil of the Dublin, by signal, he being an officer of a "hot temper,"
+as the soldier said of himself at Waterloo. The compliance with this
+order may be said to have terminated the battle.
+
+The reader will remember that the wind, at the commencement of the
+engagement, was at north-west. It was nearly "killed," as seamen express
+it, by the cannonade; then it revived a little, as the concussions of
+the guns gradually diminished. But the combined effect of the advance of
+the day, and the rushing of new currents of air to fill the vacuums
+produced by the burning of so much powder, was a sudden shift of wind; a
+breeze coming out strong, and as it might be, in an instant, from the
+eastward. This unexpected alteration in the direction and power of the
+wind, cost the Thunderer her foremast, and did other damage to different
+ships; but, by dint of great activity and careful handling, all the
+English vessels got their heads round to the northward, while the French
+filled the other way, and went off free, steering nearly south-east,
+making the best of their way for Brest. The latter suffered still more
+than their enemies, by the change just mentioned; and when they reached
+port, as did all but one the following day, no less than three were
+towed in without a spar standing, bowsprits excepted.
+
+The exception was _le Caton_, which ship M. de Vervillin set fire to and
+blew up, on account of her damages, in the course of the afternoon. Thus
+of twelve noble two-decked ships with which this officer sailed from
+Cherbourg only two days before, he reached Brest with but seven.
+
+Nor were the English entirely without their embarrassments. Although the
+Warspite had compelled le Temeraire to strike, she was kept afloat
+herself with a good deal of difficulty, and that, too, not without
+considerable assistance from the other vessels. The leaks, however, were
+eventually stopped, and then the ship was given up to the care of her
+own crew. Other vessels suffered of course, but no English ship was in
+as much jeopardy as this.
+
+The first hour after the action ceased, was one of great exertion and
+anxiety to our admiral. He called the Chloe alongside by signal, and,
+attended by Wycherly and his own quarter-masters, Galleygo, who went
+without orders, and the Bowlderos who were unhurt, he shifted his flag
+to that frigate. Then he immediately commenced passing from vessel to
+vessel, in order to ascertain the actual condition of his command. The
+Achilles detained him some time, and he was near her, or to leeward,
+when the wind shifted; which was bringing him to windward in the present
+stale of things. Of this advantage he availed himself, by urging the
+different ships off as fast as possible; and long before the sun was in
+the meridian, all the English vessels were making the best of their way
+towards the land, with the intention of fetching into Plymouth if
+possible; if not, into the nearest and best anchorage to leeward. The
+progress of the fleet was relatively slow, as a matter of course, though
+it got along at the rate of some five knots, by making a free wind of
+it.
+
+The master of the Chloe had just taken the sun, in order to ascertain
+his latitude, when the vice-admiral commanded Denham to set
+top-gallant-sails, and go within hail of the Caesar. That ship had got
+clear of _le Pluton_ half an hour after the action ceased, and she was
+now leading the fleet, with her three top-sails on the caps. Aloft she
+had suffered comparatively little; but Sir Gervaise knew that there must
+have been a serious loss of men in carrying, hand to hand, a vessel like
+that of M. des Prez. He was anxious to see his friend, and to hear the
+manner in which his success had been obtained, and, we might add, to
+remonstrate with Bluewater on a course that had led the latter to the
+verge of a most dangerous abyss.
+
+The Chloe was half an hour running through the fleet, which was a good
+deal extended, and was sailing without any regard to a line. Sir
+Gervaise had many questions to ask, too, of the different commanders in
+passing. At last the frigate overtook le Temeraire, which vessel was
+following the Caesar under easy canvass. As the Chloe came up abeam, Sir
+Gervaise appeared in the gangway of the frigate, and, hat in hand, he
+asked with an accent that was intelligible, though it might not have
+absolutely stood the test of criticism,--
+
+_"Le Vice-Admiral Oakes demande comment se porte-il, le contre-amiral,
+le Vicomte des Prez?"_
+
+A little elderly man, dressed with extreme care, with a powdered head,
+but of a firm step and perfectly collected expression of countenance,
+appeared on the verge of le Temeraire's poop, trumpet in hand, to reply.
+
+"_Le Vicomte des Prez remercie bien Monsieur le Chevalier Oake, et
+desire vivement de savoir comment se porte Monsieur le Vice-Amiral?_"
+
+Mutual waves of the trumpets served as replies to the questions, and
+then, after taking a moment to muster his French, Sir Gervaise
+continued--
+
+_"J'espere voir Monsieur le Contre-Amiral a diner, a cinq heures,
+precis."_
+
+The vicomte smiled at this characteristic manifestation of good-will and
+courtesy; and after pausing an instant to choose an expression to soften
+his refusal, and to express his own sense of the motive of the
+invitation, he called out--
+
+_"Veuillez bien recevoir nos excuses pour aujourd'hui, Mons. le
+Chevalier. Nous n'avons pas encore digere le repas si noble recu a vos
+mains comme dejeuner."_
+
+The Chloe passing ahead, bows terminated the interview. Sir Gervaise's
+French was at fault, for what between the rapid, neat, pronunciation of
+the Frenchman, the trumpet, and the turn of the expression, he did not
+comprehend the meaning of the _contre-amiral_.
+
+"What does he say, Wychecombe?" he asked eagerly of the young man. "Will
+he come, or not?"
+
+"Upon my word, Sir Gervaise, French is a sealed language to me. Never
+having been a prisoner, no opportunity has offered for acquiring the
+language. As I understood, you intended to ask him to dinner; I rather
+think, from his countenance, he meant to say he was not in spirits for
+the entertainment."
+
+"Pooh! we would have put him in spirits, and Bluewater could have talked
+to him in his own tongue, by the fathom. We will close with the Caesar to
+leeward, Denham; never mind rank on an occasion like this. It's time to
+let the top-gallant-halyards run; you'll have to settle your top-sails
+too, or we shall shoot past her. Bluewater may take it as a salute to
+his gallantry in carrying so fine a ship in so handsome a manner."
+
+Several minutes now passed in silence, during which the frigate was less
+and less rapidly closing with the larger vessel, drawing ahead towards
+the last, as it might be, foot by foot. Sir Gervaise got upon one of the
+quarter-deck guns, and steadying himself against the hammock-cloths, he
+was in readiness to exchange the greetings he was accustomed to give and
+to receive from his friend, in the same heartfelt manner as if nothing
+had occurred to disturb the harmony of their feelings. The single glance
+of the eye, the waving of the hat, and the noble manner in which
+Bluewater interposed between him and his most dangerous enemy, was still
+present to his mind, and disposed him even more than common to the
+kindest feelings of his nature. Stowel was already on the poop of the
+Caesar, and, as the Chloe came slowly on, he raised his hat in deference
+to the commander-in-chief. It was a point of delicacy with Sir Gervaise
+never to interfere with any subordinate flag-officer's vessel any more
+than duty rigidly required; consequently his communications with the
+captain of the Caesar had usually been of a general nature, verbal orders
+and criticisms being studiously avoided. This circumstance rendered the
+commander-in-chief even a greater favourite than common with Stowel, who
+had all his own way in his own ship, in consequence of the
+rear-admiral's indifference to such matters.
+
+"How do you do, Stowel?" called out Sir Gervaise, cordially. "I am
+delighted to see you on your legs, and hope the old Roman is not much
+the worse for this day's treatment"
+
+"I thank you, Sir Gervaise, we are both afloat yet, though we have
+passed through warm times. The ship is damaged, sir, as you may suppose;
+and, although it stands so bravely, and looks so upright, that foremast
+of ours is as good as a condemned spar. One thirty-two through the heart
+of it, about ten feet from the deck, an eighteen in the hounds, and a
+double-header sticking in one of the hoops! A spar cannot be counted for
+much that has as many holes in it as those, sir!"
+
+"Deal tenderly with it, my old friend, and spare the canvass; those
+chaps at Plymouth will set all to rights, again, in a week. Hoops can be
+had for asking, and as for holes in the heart, many a poor fellow has
+had them, and lived through it all. You are a case in point; Mrs. Stowel
+not having spared you in that way, I'll answer for it."
+
+"Mrs. Stowel commands ashore, Sir Gervaise, and I command afloat; and in
+that way, we keep a quiet ship and a quiet house, I thank you, sir; and
+I endeavour to think of her at sea, as little as possible."
+
+"Ay, that's the way with you doting husbands;--always ashamed of your
+own lively sensibilities. But what has become of Bluewater?--Does he
+know that we are alongside?"
+
+Stowel looked round, cast his eyes up at the sails, and played with the
+hilt of his sword. The rapid eye of the commander-in-chief detected this
+embarrassment, and quick as thought he demanded what had happened.
+
+"Why, Sir Gervaise, you know how it is with some admirals, who like to
+be in every thing. I told our respected and beloved friend, that he had
+nothing to do with boarding; that if either of us was to go, _I_ was the
+proper man; but that we ought both to stick by the ship. He answered
+something about lost honour and duty, and you know, sir, what legs he
+has, when he wishes to use them! One might as well think of stopping a
+deserter by a halloo; away he went, with the first party, sword in hand,
+a sight I never saw before, and never wish to see again! Thus you see
+how it was, sir."
+
+The commander-in-chief compressed his lips, until his features, and
+indeed his whole form was a picture of desperate resolution, though his
+face was as pale as death, and the muscles of his mouth twitched, in
+spite of all his physical self-command.
+
+"I understand you, sir," he said, in a voice that seemed to issue from
+his chest; "you wish to say that Admiral Bluewater is killed."
+
+"No, thank God! Sir Gervaise, not _quite_ as bad as that, though sadly
+hurt; yes, indeed, very sadly hurt!"
+
+Sir Gervaise Oakes groaned, and for a few minutes he leaned his head on
+the hammock-cloths, veiling his face from the sight of men. Then he
+raised his person erect, and said steadily--
+
+"Run your top-sails to the mast-head, Captain Stowel, and round your
+ship to. I will come on board of you."
+
+An order was given to Denham to take room, when the Chloe came to the
+wind on one tack and the Caesar on the other. This was contrary to rule,
+as it increased the distance between the ships; but the vice-admiral was
+impatient to be in his barge. In ten minutes he was mounting the Caesar's
+side, and in two more he was in Bluewater's main-cabin. Geoffrey
+Cleveland was seated by the table, with his face buried in his arms.
+Touching his shoulder, the boy raised his head, and showed a face
+covered with tears.
+
+"How is he, boy?" demanded Sir Gervaise, hoarsely. "Do the surgeons give
+any hopes?"
+
+The midshipman shook his head, and then, as if the question renewed his
+grief, he again buried his face in his arms. At this moment, the surgeon
+of the ship came from the rear-admiral's state-room, and following the
+commander-in-chief into the after-cabin, they had a long conference
+together.
+
+Minute after minute passed, and the Caesar and Chloe still lay with their
+main-top-sails aback. At the end of half an hour, Denham wore round and
+laid the head of his frigate in the proper direction. Ship after ship
+came up, and went on to the northward, fast as her crippled state would
+allow, yet no sign of movement was seen in the Caesar. Two sail had
+appeared in the south-eastern board, and they, too, approached and
+passed without bringing the vice-admiral even on deck. These ships
+proved to be the Carnatic and her prize, le Scipion, which latter ship
+had been intercepted and easily captured by the former. The steering of
+M. de Vervillin to the south-west had left a clear passage to the two
+ships, which were coming down with a free wind at a handsome rate of
+sailing. This news was sent into the Caesar's cabin, but it brought no
+person and no answer out of it. At length, when every thing had gone
+ahead, the barge returned to the Chloe. It merely took a note, however,
+which was no sooner read by Wycherly, than he summoned the Bowlderos and
+Galleygo, had all the vice-admiral's luggage passed into the boat,
+struck his flag, and took his leave of Denham. As soon as the boat was
+clear of the frigate, the latter made all sail after the fleet, to
+resume her ordinary duties of a look-out and a repeating-ship.
+
+As soon as Wycherly reached the Caesar, that ship hoisted in the
+vice-admiral's barge. A report was made to Sir Gervaise of what had been
+done, and then an order came on deck that occasioned all in the fleet to
+stare with surprise. The red flag of Sir Gervaise Oakes was run up at
+the foreroyal-mast-head of the Caesar, while the white flag of the
+rear-admiral was still flying at her mizzen. Such a thing had never
+before been known to happen, if it has ever happened since; and to the
+time when she was subsequently lost, the Caesar was known as the double
+flag-ship.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+    "He spoke; when behold the fair Geraldine's form
+      On the canvass enchantingly glowed;
+    His touches, they flew like the leaves in a storm;
+    And the pure pearly white, and the carnation warm,
+      Contending in harmony flowed."
+
+         ALSTON.
+
+
+We shall now ask permission of the reader to advance the time just
+eight-and-forty hours; a liberty with the unities which, he will do us
+the justice to say, we have not often taken. We must also transfer the
+scene to that already described at Wychecombe, including the Head, the
+station, the roads, and the inland and seaward views. Summer weather had
+returned, too, the pennants of the ships at anchor scarce streaming from
+their masts far enough to form curved lines. Most of the English fleet
+was among these vessels, though the squadron had undergone some changes.
+The Druid had got into Portsmouth with _la Victoire_; the Driver and
+Active had made the best of their way to the nearest ports; with
+despatches for the admiralty; and the Achilles, in tow of the Dublin,
+with the Chloe to take care of both, had gone to leeward, with square
+yards, in the hope of making Falmouth. The rest of the force was
+present, the crippled ships having been towed into the roads that
+morning. The picture among the shipping was one of extreme activity and
+liveliness. Jury-masts were going up in the Warspite; lower and
+top-sail-yards were down to be fished, or new ones were rigging to be
+sent aloft in their places; the Plantagenet was all a-tanto, again, in
+readiness for another action, with rigging secured and masts fished,
+while none but an instructed eye could have detected, at a short
+distance, that the Caesar, Carnatic, Dover, York, Elizabeth, and one or
+two more, had been in action at all. The landing was crowded with boats
+as before, and gun-room servants and midshipmen's boys were foraging as
+usual; some with honest intent to find delicacies for the wounded, but
+more with the roguish design of contributing to the comforts of the
+unhurt, by making appeals to the sympathies of the women of the
+neighbourhood, in behalf of the hurt.
+
+The principal transformation that had been brought about by this state
+of things, however, was apparent at the station. This spot had the
+appearance of a place to which the headquarters of an army had been
+transferred, in the vicissitudes of the field; warlike sailors, if not
+soldiers, flocking to it, as the centre of interest and intelligence.
+Still there was a singularity observable in the manner in which these
+heroes of the deck paid their court; the cottage being seemingly
+tabooed, or at most, approached by very few, while the grass at the foot
+of the flag-staff was already beginning to show proofs of the pressure
+of many feet. This particular spot, indeed, was the centre of
+attraction; there, officers of all ranks and ages were constantly
+arriving, and thence they were as often departing; all bearing
+countenances sobered by anxiety and apprehension. Notwithstanding the
+constant mutations, there had been no instant since the rising of the
+sun, when some ten or twelve, at least, including captains, lieutenants,
+masters and idlers, had not been collected around the bench at the foot
+of the signal-staff, and frequently the number reached even to twenty.
+
+A little retired from the crowd, and near the verge of the cliff, a
+large tent had been pitched. A marine paced in its front, as a sentinel.
+Another stood near the gate of the little door-yard of the cottage, and
+all persons who approached either, with the exception of a few of the
+privileged, were referred to the sergeant who commanded the guard. The
+arms of the latter were stacked on the grass, at hand, and the men off
+post were loitering near. These were the usual military signs of the
+presence of officers of rank, and may, in sooth, be taken as clues to
+the actual state of things, on and around the Head.
+
+Admiral Bluewater lay in the cottage, while Sir Gervaise Oakes occupied
+the tent. The former had been transferred to the place where he was
+about to breathe his last, at his own urgent request, while his friend
+had refused to be separated from him, so long as life remained. The two
+flags were still flying at the mast-heads of the Caesar, a sort of
+melancholy memorial of the tie that had so long bound their gallant
+owners in the strong sympathies of an enduring personal and professional
+friendship.
+
+Persons of the education of Mrs. Dutton and her daughter, had not dwelt
+so long on that beautiful head-land, without leaving on the spot some
+lasting impressions of their tastes. Of the cottage, we have already
+spoken. The little garden, too, then bright with flowers, had a grace
+and refinement about it that we would hardly have expected to meet in
+such a place; and even the paths that led athwart the verdant common
+which spread over so much of the upland, had been directed with an eye
+to the picturesque and agreeable. One of these paths, too, led to a
+rustic summer-house--a sort of small, rude pavilion, constructed, like
+the fences, of fragments of wrecks, and placed on a shelf of the cliff,
+at a dizzy elevation, but in perfect security. So far from there being
+any danger in entering this summer-house, indeed, Wycherly, during his
+six months' residence near the Head, had made a path that descended
+still lower to a point that was utterly concealed from all eyes above,
+and had actually planted a seat on another shelf with so much security,
+that both Mildred and her mother often visited it in company. During the
+young man's recent absence, the poor girl, indeed, had passed much of
+her time there, weeping and suffering in solitude. To this seat, Dutton
+never ventured; the descent, though well protected with ropes, requiring
+greater steadiness of foot and head than intemperance had left him. Once
+or twice, Wycherly had induced Mildred to pass an hour with him alone in
+this romantic place, and some of his sweetest recollections of this
+just-minded and intelligent girl, were connected with the frank
+communications that had there occurred between them. On this bench he
+was seated at the time of the opening of the present chapter. The
+movement on the Head, and about the cottage, was so great, as to deprive
+him of every chance of seeing Mildred alone, and he had hoped that, led
+by some secret sympathy, she, too, might seek this perfectly retired
+seat, to obtain a moment of unobserved solitude, if not from some still
+dearer motive. He had not waited long, ere he heard a heavy foot over
+his head, and a man entered the summer-house. He was yet debating
+whether to abandon all hopes of seeing Mildred, when his acute ear
+caught her light and well-known footstep, as she reached the
+summer-house, also.
+
+"Father, I have come as you desired," said the poor girl, in those
+tremulous tones which Wycherly too well understood, not to imagine the
+condition of Dutton. "Admiral Bluewater dozes, and mother has permitted
+me to steal away."
+
+"Ay, Admiral Bluewater is a great man, though but little better than a
+dead one!" answered Dutton, as harshly in manner as the language was
+coarse. "You and your mother are all attention to _him_; did _I_ lie in
+his place, which of you would be found hanging over my bed, with pale
+cheeks and tearful eyes?"
+
+"_Both_ of us, father! _Do_ not--_do_ not think so ill of your wife and
+daughter, as to suppose it possible that either of them could forget her
+duty."
+
+"Yes, _duty_ might do something, perhaps; what has duty to do with this
+useless rear-admiral? I _hate_ the scoundrel--he was one of the court
+that cashiered me; and one, too, that I am told, was the most obstinate
+in refusing to help me into this pitiful berth of a master."
+
+Mildred was silent. She could not vindicate her friend without
+criminating her father. As for Wycherly, he would have given a year's
+income to be at sea; yet he shrunk from wounding the poor daughter's
+feelings by letting her know he overheard the dialogue. This indecision
+made him the unwilling auditor of a conversation that he ought not to
+have heard--an occurrence which, had there been time for reflection, he
+would have taken means to prevent.
+
+"Sit you down here, Mildred," resumed Dutton, sternly, "and listen to
+what I have to say. It is time that there should no longer be any
+trifling between us. You have the fortunes of your mother and myself in
+your hands; and, as one of the parties so deeply concerned, I am
+determined _mine_ shall be settled at once."
+
+"I do not understand you, father," said Mildred, with a tremour in her
+voice that almost induced the young man to show himself, though, we owe
+it to truth to say, that a lively curiosity _now_ mingled with his other
+sensations. "How can I have the keeping of dear mother's fortunes and
+yours?"
+
+"_Dear_ mother, truly!--_Dear_ enough has she proved to me; but I intend
+the daughter shall pay for it. Hark you, Mildred; I'll have no more of
+this trifling--but I ask you in a father's name, if any man has offered
+you his hand? Speak plainly, and conceal nothing--I _will_ be answered."
+
+"I wish to conceal nothing, father, that ought to be told; but when a
+young woman declines the honour that another does her in this way,
+_ought_ she to reveal the secret, even to her father?"
+
+"She _ought_; and, in your case, she _shall_. No more hesitation; name
+_one_ of the offers you have had."
+
+Mildred, after a brief pause, in a low, tremulous voice, pronounced the
+name of "Mr. Rotherham."
+
+"I suspected as much," growled Dutton; "there was a time when even _he_
+might have answered, but we can do better than that now. Still he may be
+kept as a reserve; the thousand pounds Mr. Thomas says shall be paid,
+and that and the living will make a comfortable port after a stormy
+life. Well, who next, Mildred? Has Mr. Thomas Wychecombe ever come to
+the point?"
+
+"He has asked me to become his wife, within the last twenty-four hours;
+if that is what you mean."
+
+"No affectations, Milly; I can't bear them. You know well enough what I
+mean. What was your answer?"
+
+"I do not love him in the least, father, and, of course, I told him I
+could not marry him."
+
+"That don't follow _of course_, by any means, girl! The marrying is done
+by the priest, and the love is a very different thing. I hope you
+consider Mrs. Dutton as my wife?"
+
+"What a question!" murmured Mildred.
+
+"Well, and do you suppose she _loves_ me; _can_ love me, now I am a
+disgraced, impoverished man?"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Come--come--enough of this. Mr. Thomas Wychecombe may not be
+legitimate--I rather think he is not, by the proofs Sir Reginald has
+produced within the last day or two; and I understand his own mother is
+dissatisfied with him, and _that_ will knock his claim flat aback.
+Notwithstanding, Mildred, Tom Wychecombe has a good six hundred a year
+already, and Sir Reginald himself admits that he must take all the
+personal property the late baronet could leave."
+
+"You forget, father," said Mildred, conscious of the inefficacy of any
+other appeal, "that Mr. Thomas has promised to pay the legacies that Sir
+Wycherly _intended_ to leave."
+
+"Don't place any expectations on that, Mildred. I dare say he would
+settle ten of the twenty thousand on you to-morrow, if you would consent
+to have him. But, now, as to this new baronet, for it seems he is to
+have both title and estate--has _he_ ever offered?"
+
+There was a long pause, during which Wycherly thought he heard the hard
+but suppressed breathing of Mildred. To remain quiet any longer, he felt
+was as impossible as, indeed, his conscience told him was dishonourable,
+and he sprang along the path to ascend to the summer-house. At the first
+sound of his footstep, a faint cry escaped Mildred; but when Wycherly
+entered the pavilion, he found her face buried in her hands, and Dutton
+tottering forward, equally in surprise and alarm. As the circumstances
+would not admit of evasion, the young man threw aside all reserve, and
+spoke plainly.
+
+"I have been an unwilling listener to a _part_ of your discourse with
+Mildred, Mr. Dutton," he said, "and can answer your last question for
+myself. I _have_ offered my hand to your daughter, sir; an offer that I
+now renew, and the acceptance of which would make me the happiest man in
+England. If your influence could aid me--for she has refused my hand."
+
+"Refused!" exclaimed Dutton, in a surprise that overcame the calculated
+amenity of manner he had assumed the instant Wycherly appeared--"Refused
+Sir Wycherly Wychecombe! but it was before your rights had been as well
+established as they are now. Mildred, answer to this--how _could_
+you--nay, how _dare_ you refuse such an offer as this?"
+
+Human nature could not well endure more. Mildred suffered her hands to
+fall helplessly into her lap, and exposed a face that was lovely as that
+of an angel's, though pale nearly to the hue of death. Feeling extorted
+the answer she made, though the words had hardly escaped her, ere she
+repented having uttered them, and had again buried her face in her
+hands--
+
+"Father"--she said--"_could_ I--_dare_ I to encourage Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe to unite himself to a family like ours!"
+
+Conscience smote Dutton with a force that nearly sobered him, and what
+explanation might have followed it is hard to say; Wycherly, in an
+under-tone, however, requested to be left alone with the daughter.
+Dutton had sense enough to understand he was _de trop_, and shame enough
+to wish to escape. In half a minute, he had hobbled up to the summit of
+the cliff and disappeared.
+
+"Mildred!--_Dearest_ Mildred"--said Wycherly, tenderly, gently
+endeavouring to draw her attention to himself, "we are alone now;
+surely--surely--you will not refuse to _look_ at _me_!"
+
+"Is he gone?" asked Mildred, dropping her hands, and looking wildly
+around. "Thank God! It is over, for this time, at least! Now, let us go
+to the house; Admiral Bluewater may miss me."
+
+"No, Mildred, not yet. You surely can spare me--me, who have suffered so
+much of late on your account--nay, by your _means_--you can, in mercy,
+spare me a few short minutes. Was _this_ the reason--the _only_ reason,
+dearest girl, why you so pertinaciously refused my hand?"
+
+"Was it not sufficient, Wycherly?" answered Mildred, afraid the
+chartered air might hear her secret. "Remember _who_ you are, and _what_
+I am! Could I suffer you to become the husband of one to whom such
+cruel, cruel propositions had been made by her own father!"
+
+"I shall not affect to conceal my horror of such principles, Mildred,
+but your virtues shine all the brighter by having flourished in their
+company. Answer me but one question frankly, and every other difficulty
+can be gotten over. Do you love me well enough to be my wife, were you
+an orphan?"
+
+Mildred's countenance was full of anguish, but this question changed its
+expression entirely. The moment was extraordinary as were the feelings
+it engendered, and, almost unconsciously to herself, she raised the hand
+that held her own to her lips, in a sort of reverence. In the next
+instant she was encircled in the young man's arms, and pressed with
+fervour to his heart.
+
+"Let us go"--said Mildred, extricating herself from an embrace that was
+too involuntarily bestowed, and too heartfelt to alarm her delicacy. "I
+feel certain Admiral Bluewater will miss me!"
+
+"No, Mildred, we cannot part thus. Give me, at least, the poor
+consolation of knowing, that if _this_ difficulty did not exist--that if
+you were an orphan for instance--you would be mine."
+
+"Oh! Wycherly, how gladly--how gladly!--But, say no more--nay--"
+
+This time the embrace was longer, more fervent even than before, and
+Wycherly was too much of a sailor to let the sweet girl escape from his
+arms without imprinting on her lips a kiss. He had no sooner
+relinquished his hold of the slight person of Mildred, ere it vanished.
+With this characteristic leave-taking, we change the scene to the tent
+of Sir Gervaise Oakes.
+
+"You have seen Admiral Bluewater?" demanded the commander-in-chief, as
+soon as the form of Magrath darkened the entrance, and speaking with the
+sudden earnestness of a man determined to know the worst. "If so, tell
+me at once what hopes there are for him."
+
+"Of all the human passions, Sir Jairvis," answered Magrath, looking
+aside, to avoid the keen glance of the other, "hope is generally
+considered, by all rational men, as the most treacherous and delusive; I
+may add, of all denominations or divisions of hope, that which decides
+on life is the most unsairtain. We all hope to live, I'm thinking, to a
+good old age, and yet how many of us live just long enough to be
+disappointed!"
+
+Sir Gervaise did not move until the surgeon ceased speaking; then he
+began to pace the tent in mournful silence. He understood Magrath's
+manner so well, that the last faint hope he had felt from seeking his
+opinion was gone; he now knew that his friend must die. It required all
+his fortitude to stand up against this blow; for, single, childless, and
+accustomed to each other almost from infancy, these two veteran sailors
+had got to regard themselves as merely isolated parts of the same being.
+Magrath was affected more than he chose to express, and he blew his nose
+several times in a way that an observer would have found suspicious.
+
+"Will you confer on me the favour, Dr. Magrath," said Sir Gervaise, in a
+gentle, subdued manner, "to ask Captain Greenly to come hither, as you
+pass the flag-staff?"
+
+"Most willingly, Sir Jairvis; and I know he'll be any thing but backward
+in complying."
+
+It was not long ere the captain of the Plantagenet made his appearance.
+Like all around him, the recent victory appeared to bring no exultation.
+
+"I suppose Magrath told _you_ all," said the vice-admiral, squeezing the
+other's hand.
+
+"He gives no hopes, Sir Gervaise, I sincerely regret to say."
+
+"I knew as much! I knew as much! And yet he is easy, Greenly!--nay, even
+seems happy. I _did_ feel a little hope that this absence from suffering
+might be a favourable omen."
+
+"I am glad to hear that much, sir; for I have been thinking that it is
+my duty to speak to the rear-admiral on the subject of his brother's
+marriage. From his own silence on the subject, it is possible--nay, from
+_all_ circumstances, it is _probable_ he never knew of it, and there may
+be reasons why he ought to be informed of the affair. As you say he is
+so easy, would there be an impropriety in mentioning it to him?"
+
+Greenly could not possibly have made a suggestion that was a greater
+favour to Sir Gervaise. The necessity of doing, his habits of decision,
+and having an object in view, contributed to relieve his mind by
+diverting his thoughts to some active duty; and he seized his hat,
+beckoned Greenly to follow, and moved across the hill with a rapid pace,
+taking the path to the cottage. It was necessary to pass the flag-staff.
+As this was done, every countenance met the vice-admiral's glance, with
+a look of sincere sympathy. The bows that were exchanged, had more in
+them than the naked courtesies of such salutations; they were eloquent
+of feeling on both sides.
+
+Bluewater was awake, and retaining the hand of Mildred affectionately in
+his own, when his friend entered. Relinquishing his hold, however, he
+grasped the hand of the vice-admiral, and looked earnestly at him, as if
+he pitied the sorrow that he knew the survivor must feel.
+
+"My dear Bluewater," commenced Sir Gervaise, who acted under a nervous
+excitement, as well as from constitutional decision, "here is Greenly
+with something to tell you that we both think you ought to know, at a
+moment like this."
+
+The rear-admiral regarded his friend intently, as if inviting him to
+proceed.
+
+"Why, it's about your brother Jack. I fancy you cannot have known that
+he was ever married, or I think I should have heard you speak of it."
+
+"Married!" repeated Bluewater, with great interest, and speaking with
+very little difficulty. "I think that must be an error. Inconsiderate
+and warm-hearted he was, but there was only one woman he _could_, nay,
+_would_ have married. She is long since dead, but not as _his_ wife; for
+that her uncle, a man of great wealth, but of unbending will, would
+never have suffered. _He_ survived her, though my poor brother did not."
+
+This was said in a mild voice, for the wounded man spoke equally without
+effort, and without pain.
+
+"You hear, Greenly?" observed Sir Gervaise. "And yet it is not probable
+that you should be mistaken."
+
+"Certainly, I am not, gentlemen. I saw Colonel Bluewater married, as did
+another officer who is at this moment in this very fleet. Captain
+Blakely is the person I mean, and I know that the priest who performed
+the ceremony is still living, a beneficed clergyman."
+
+"This is wonderful to me! He fervently loved Agnes Hedworth, but his
+poverty was an obstacle to the union; and both died so young, that there
+was little opportunity of conciliating the uncle."
+
+"That, sir, is your mistake. Agnes Hedworth was the bride."
+
+A noise in the room interrupted the dialogue, and the three gentlemen
+saw Wycherly and Mildred stooping to pick up the fragments of a bowl
+that Mrs. Dutton had let fall. The latter, apparently in alarm, at the
+little accident, had sunk back into a seat, pale and trembling.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Dutton, take a glass of water," said Sir Gervaise, kindly
+approaching her; "your nerves have been sorely tried of late; else would
+not such a trifle affect you."
+
+"It is not _that_!" exclaimed the matron, huskily. "It is not _that_!
+Oh! the fearful moment has come at last; and, from my inmost spirit I
+thank thee, my Lord and my God, that it has come free from shame and
+disgrace!"
+
+The closing words were uttered on bended knees, and with uplifted hands.
+
+"Mother!--dearest, dearest mother," cried Mildred, falling on her
+mother's neck. "What mean you? What new misery has happened to-day?"
+
+"_Mother!_ Yes, sweet one, thou art, thou ever _shalt_ be my child! This
+is the pang I have most dreaded; but what is an unknown tie of blood, to
+use, and affection, and to a mother's care? If I did not bear thee,
+Mildred, no natural mother could have loved thee more, or would have
+died for thee, as willingly!"
+
+"Distress has disturbed her, gentlemen," said Mildred, gently
+extricating herself from her mother's arms, and helping her to rise. "A
+few moments of rest will restore her."
+
+"No, darling; it must come now--it _ought_ to come now--after what I
+have just heard, it would be unpardonable not to tell it, _now_. Did I
+understand you to say, sir, that you were present at the marriage of
+Agnes Hedworth, and that, too, with the brother of Admiral Bluewater?"
+
+"Of that fact, there can be no question, madam. I and others will
+testify to it. The marriage took place in London, in the summer of 1725,
+while Blakely and myself were up from Portsmouth, on leave. Colonel
+Bluewater asked us both to be present, under a pledge of secresy."
+
+"And in the summer of 1726, Agnes Hedworth died in my house and my arms,
+an hour after giving birth to this dear, this precious child--Mildred
+Dutton, as she has ever since been called--Mildred Bluewater, as it
+would seem her name should be."
+
+It is unnecessary to dwell on the surprise with which all present, or
+the delight with which Bluewater and Wycherly heard this extraordinary
+announcement. A cry escaped Mildred, who threw herself on Mrs. Dutton's
+neck, entwining it with her arms, convulsively, as if refusing to permit
+the tie that had so long bound them together, to be thus rudely torn
+asunder. But half an hour of weeping, and of the tenderest consolations,
+calmed the poor girl a little, and she was able to listen to the
+explanations. These were exceedingly simple, and so clear, as, in
+connection with the other evidence, to put the facts out of all doubt.
+
+Miss Hedworth had become known to Mrs. Dutton, while the latter was an
+inmate of the house of her patron. A year or two after the marriage of
+the lieutenant, and while he was on a distant station, Agnes Hedworth
+threw herself on the protection of his wife, asking a refuge for a woman
+in the most critical circumstances. Like all who knew Agnes Hedworth,
+Mrs. Dutton both respected and loved her; but the distance created
+between them, by birth and station, was such as to prevent any
+confidence. The former, for the few days passed with her humble friend,
+had acted with the quiet dignity of a woman conscious of no wrong; and
+no questions could be asked that implied doubts. A succession of
+fainting fits prevented all communications in the hour of death, and
+Mrs. Dutton found herself left with a child on her hands, and the dead
+body of her friend. Miss Hedworth had come to her dwelling unattended
+and under a false name. These circumstances induced Mrs. Dutton to
+apprehend the worst, and she proceeded to make her arrangements with
+great tenderness for the reputation of the deceased. The body was
+removed to London, and letters were sent to the uncle to inform him
+where it was to be found, with a reference should he choose to inquire
+into the circumstances of his niece's death. Mrs. Dutton ascertained
+that the body was interred in the usual manner, but no inquiry was ever
+made, concerning the particulars. The young duchess, Miss Hedworth's
+sister, was then travelling in Italy, whence she did not return for more
+than a year; and we may add, though Mrs. Dutton was unable to make the
+explanation, that her inquiries after the fate of a beloved sister, were
+met by a simple statement that she had died suddenly, on a visit to a
+watering-place, whither she had gone with a female friend for her
+health. Whether Mr. Hedworth himself had any suspicions of his niece's
+condition, is uncertain; but the probabilities were against it, for she
+had offended him by refusing a match equal in all respects to that made
+by her elder sister, with the single exception that the latter had
+married a man she loved, whereas he exacted of Agnes a very different
+sacrifice. Owing to the alienation produced by this affair, there was
+little communication between the uncle and niece; the latter passing her
+time in retirement, and professedly with friends that the former neither
+knew nor cared to know. In short, such was the mode of life of the
+respective parties, that nothing was easier than for the unhappy young
+widow to conceal her state from her uncle. The motive was the fortune of
+the expected child; this uncle having it in his power to alienate from
+it, by will, if he saw fit, certain family property, that might
+otherwise descend to the issue of the two sisters, as his co-heiresses.
+What might have happened in the end, or what poor Agnes meditated doing,
+can never be known; death closing the secret with his irremovable seal.
+
+Mrs. Dutton was the mother of a girl but three months old, at the time
+this little stranger was left on her hands. A few weeks later her own
+child died; and having waited several months in vain for tidings from
+the Hedworth family, she had the surviving infant christened by the same
+name as that borne by her own daughter, and soon came to love it, as
+much, perhaps, as if she had borne it. Three years passed in this
+manner, when the time drew near for the return of her husband from the
+East Indies. To be ready to meet him, she changed her abode to a naval
+port, and, in so doing, changed her domestics. This left her
+accidentally, but fortunately, as she afterwards thought, completely
+mistress of the secret of Mildreth's birth; the one or two others to
+whom it was known being in stations to render it improbable they should
+ever communicate any thing on the subject, unless it were asked of them.
+Her original intention, however, was to communicate the facts, without
+reserve, to her husband. But he came back an altered man; brutal in
+manners, cold in his affections, and the victim of drunkenness. By this
+time, the wife was too much attached to the child to think of exposing
+it to the wayward caprices of such a being; and Mildred was educated,
+and grew in stature and beauty as the real offspring of her reputed
+parents.
+
+All this Mrs. Dutton related clearly and briefly, refraining, of course,
+from making any allusion to the conduct of her husband, and referring
+all her own benevolence to her attachment to the child. Bluewater had
+strength enough to receive Mildred in his arms, and he kissed her pale
+cheek, again and again, blessing her in the most fervent and solemn
+manner.
+
+"My feelings were not treacherous or unfaithful," he said; "I loved
+thee, sweetest, from the first. Sir Gervaise Oakes has my will, made in
+thy favour, before we sailed on this last cruise, and every shilling I
+leave will be thine. Mr. Atwood, procure that will, and add a codicil
+explaining this recent discovery, and confirming the legacy; let not the
+last be touched, for it is spontaneous and comes from the heart."
+
+"And, now," answered Mrs. Dutton, "enough has passed for once. The
+sick-bed should be more quiet. Give me my child, again:--I cannot yet
+consent to part with her for ever."
+
+"Mother! mother!" exclaimed Mildred, throwing herself on Mrs. Dutton's
+bosom--"I am yours, and yours only."
+
+"Not so, I fear. Mildred, if all I suspect be true, and this is as
+proper a moment as another to place that matter also before your
+honoured uncle. Come forward, Sir Wycherly--I have understood you to
+say, this minute, in my ear, that you hold the pledge of this wilful
+girl to become your wife, should she ever be an orphan. An orphan she
+is, and has been since the first hour of her birth."
+
+"No--no--no," murmured Mildred, burying her face still deeper in her
+mother's bosom, "not while _you_ live, _can_ I be an orphan. Not
+now--another time--this is unseasonable--cruel--nay, it is not what I
+said."'
+
+"Take her away, dearest Mrs. Dutton," said Bluewater, tears of joy
+forcing themselves from his eyes. "Take her away, lest too much
+happiness come upon me at once. My thoughts should be calmer at such a
+moment."
+
+Wycherly removed Mildred from her mother's arms, and gently led her from
+the room. When in Mrs. Dutton's apartment, he whispered something in the
+ear of the agitated girl that caused her to turn on him a look of
+happiness, though it came dimmed with tears; then _he_ had his turn of
+holding her, for another precious instant, to his heart.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Dutton--nay, my dear _mother_," he said, "Mildred and
+myself have both need of parents. I am an orphan like herself, and we
+can never consent to part with you. Look forward, I entreat you, to
+making one of our family in all things, for never can either Mildred or
+myself cease to consider you as any thing but a parent entitled to more
+than common reverence and affection."
+
+Wycherly had hardly uttered this proper speech, when he received what he
+fancied a ten-fold reward. Mildred, in a burst of natural feeling,
+without affectation or reserve, but yielding to her heart only, threw
+her arms around his neck, murmured the word "thanks" several times, and
+wept freely on his bosom. When Mrs. Dutton received the sobbing girl
+from him, Wycherly kissed the mother's cheek, and he left the room.
+
+Admiral Bluewater would not consent to seek his repose until he had a
+private conference with his friend and Wycherly. The latter was
+frankness and liberality itself, but the former would not wait for
+settlements. These he trusted to the young man's honour. His own time
+was short, and he should die perfectly happy could he leave his niece in
+the care of one like our Virginian. He wished the marriage to take place
+in his presence. On this, he even insisted, and, of course, Wycherly
+make no objections, but went to state the case to Mrs. Dutton and
+Mildred.
+
+"It is singular, Dick," said Sir Gervaise, wiping his eyes, as he looked
+from a window that commanded a view of the sea, "that I have left both
+our flags flying in the Caesar! I declare, the oddness of the
+circumstance never struck me till this minute."
+
+"Let them float thus a little longer, Gervaise. They have faced many a
+gale and many a battle together, and may endure each other's company a
+few hours longer."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+    "Compound or weakness and of strength,
+      Mighty, yet ignorant of thy power!
+    Loftier than earth, or air, or sea,
+      Yet meaner than the lowliest flower!
+
+         MARGARET DAVIDSON.
+
+
+Not a syllable of explanation, reproach, or self-accusation had passed
+between the commander-in-chief and the rear-admiral, since the latter
+received his wound. Each party appeared to blot out the events of the
+last few days, leaving the long vista of their past services and
+friendship, undisfigured by a single unsightly or unpleasant object. Sir
+Gervaise, while he retained an active superintendence of his fleet, and
+issued the necessary orders right and left, hovered around the bed of
+Bluewater with the assiduity and almost with the tenderness of a woman;
+still not the slightest allusion was made to the recent battles, or to
+any thing that had occurred in the short cruise. The speech recorded at
+the close of the last chapter, was the first words he had uttered which
+might, in any manner, carry the mind of either back to events that both
+might wish forgotten. The rear-admiral felt this forbearance deeply, and
+now that the subject was thus accidentally broached between them, he had
+a desire to say something in continuation. Still he waited until the
+baronet had left the window and taken a seat by his bed.
+
+"Gervaise," Bluewater then commenced, speaking low from weakness, but
+speaking distinctly from feeling, "I cannot die without asking your
+forgiveness. There were several hours when I actually meditated
+treason--I will not say to my _king_; on that point my opinions are
+unchanged--but to _you_."
+
+"Why speak of this, Dick? You did not know yourself when you believed it
+possible to desert me in the face of the enemy. How much better I judged
+of your character, is seen in the fact that I did not hesitate to engage
+double my force, well knowing that you could not fail to come to my
+rescue."
+
+Bluewater looked intently at his friend, and a smile of serious
+satisfaction passed over his pallid countenance as he listened to Sir
+Gervaise's words, which were uttered with his usual warmth and sincerity
+of manner.
+
+"I believe you know me better than I know myself," he answered, after a
+thoughtful pause; "yes, better than I know myself. What a glorious close
+to our professional career would it have been, Oakes, had I followed you
+into battle, as was our old practice, and fallen in your wake, imitating
+your own high example!"
+
+"It is better as it is, Dick--if any thing that has so sad a termination
+can be well--yes, it is better as it is; you have fallen at my _side_,
+as it were. We will think or talk no more of this."
+
+"We have been friends, and close friends too, for a long period,
+Gervaise," returned Bluewater, stretching his arm from the bed, with the
+long, thin fingers of the hand extended to meet the other's grasp; "yet,
+I cannot recall an act of yours which I can justly lay to heart, as
+unkind, or untrue."
+
+"God forgive me, if you can--I hope not, Dick; most sincerely do I hope
+not. It would give me great pain to believe it."
+
+"_You_ have no cause for self-reproach. In no one act or thought can you
+justly accuse yourself with injuring _me_. I should die much happier
+could I say the same of myself, Oakes!"
+
+"Thought!--Dick?--Thought! You never meditated aught against _me_ in
+your whole life. The love you bear _me_, is the true reason why you lie
+there, at this blessed moment."
+
+"It is grateful to find that I have been understood. I am deeply
+indebted to you, Oakes, for declining to signal me and my division down,
+when I foolishly requested that untimely forbearance. I was then
+suffering an anguish of mind, to which any pain of the body I may now
+endure, is an elysium; your self-denial gave time--"
+
+"For the _heart_ to prompt you to that which your feelings yearned to do
+from the first, Bluewater," interrupted Sir Gervaise. "And, now, as your
+commanding officer, I enjoin silence on this subject, _for ever_."
+
+"I will endeavour to obey. It will not be long, Oakes, that I shall
+remain under your orders," added the rear-admiral, with a painful smile.
+"There should be no charge of mutiny against me in the _last_ act of my
+life. You ought to forgive the one sin of omission, when you remember
+how much and how completely my will has been subject to yours, during
+the last five-and-thirty years,--how little my mind has matured a
+professional thought that yours has not originated!"
+
+"Speak no more of 'forgive,' I charge you, Dick. That you have shown a
+girl-like docility in obeying all my orders, too, is a truth I will aver
+before God and man; but when it comes to _mind_, I am far from asserting
+that mine has had the mastery. I do believe, could the truth he
+ascertained, it would be found that I am, at this blessed moment,
+enjoying a professional reputation, which is more than half due to you."
+
+"It matters little, now, Gervaise--it matters little, now. We were two
+light-hearted and gay lads, Oakes, when we first met as boys, fresh from
+school, and merry as health and spirits could make us."
+
+"We were, indeed, Dick!--yes, we were; thoughtless as if this sad moment
+were never to arrive!"
+
+"There were George Anson, and Peter Warren, little Charley Saunders,
+Jack Byng, and a set of us, that did, indeed, live as if we were never
+to die! We carried our lives, as it might be, in our hands, Oakes!"
+
+"There is much of that, Dick, in boyhood and youth. But, he is happiest,
+after all, who can meet this moment as you do--calmly, and yet without
+any dependence on his own merits."
+
+"I had an excellent mother, Oakes! Little do we think, in youth, how
+much we owe to the unextinguishable tenderness, and far-seeing lessons
+of our mothers! Ours both died while we were young, yet I do think we
+were their debtors for far more than we could ever repay."
+
+Sir Gervaise simply assented, but making no immediate answer, otherwise,
+a long pause succeeded, during which the vice-admiral fancied that his
+friend was beginning to doze. He was mistaken.
+
+"You will be made Viscount Bowldero, for these last affairs, Gervaise,"
+the wounded man unexpectedly observed, showing how much his thoughts
+were still engrossed with the interests of his friend. "Nor do I see why
+you should again refuse a peerage. Those who remain in this world, may
+well yield to its usages and opinions, while they do not interfere with
+higher obligations."
+
+"I!"--exclaimed Sir Gervaise, gloomily. "The thought of so commemorating
+what has happened, would be worse than defeat to me! No--I ask no change
+of name to remind me constantly of my loss!"
+
+Bluewater looked grateful, rather than pleased; but he made no answer.
+Now, he fell into a light slumber, from which he did not awake until the
+time he had himself set for the marriage of Wycherly and Mildred. With
+one uncle dead and still unburied, and another about to quit the world
+for ever, a rite that is usually deemed as joyous as it is solemn, might
+seem unseasonable; but the dying man had made it a request that he might
+have the consolation of knowing ere he expired, that he left his niece
+under the legal protection of one as competent, as he was desirous of
+protecting her. The reader must imagine the arguments that were used for
+the occasion, but they were such as disposed all, in the end, to admit
+the propriety of yielding their ordinary prejudices to the exigencies of
+the moment. It may be well to add, also, to prevent useless cavilling,
+that the laws of England were not as rigid on the subject of the
+celebration of marriages in 1745, as they subsequently became; and that
+it was lawful then to perform the ceremony in a private house without a
+license, and without the publishing of banns, even; restrictions that
+were imposed a few years later. The penalty for dispensing with the
+publication of banns, was a fine of L100, imposed on the clergyman; and
+this fine Bluewater chose to pay, rather than leave the only great
+object of life that now remained before him unaccomplished. This penalty
+in no degree impaired the validity of the contract, though Mrs. Dutton,
+as a woman, felt averse to parting with her beloved, without a rigid
+observance of all the customary forms. The point had finally been
+disposed of, by recourse to arguments addressed to the reason of this
+respectable woman, and by urging the necessity of the case. Her consent,
+however, was not given without a proviso, that a license should be
+subsequently procured, and a second marriage be had at a more fitting
+moment, should the ecclesiastical authorities consent to the same; a
+most improbable thing in itself.
+
+Mr. Rotherham availed himself of the statute inflicting the penalty, as
+an excuse for not officiating. His real motive, however, was understood,
+and the chaplain of the Plantagenet, a divine of character and piety,
+was substituted in his place. Bluewater had requested that as many of
+the captains of the fleet should be present as could be collected, and
+it was the assembling of these warriors of the deep, together with the
+arrival of the clergyman, that first gave notice of the approach of the
+appointed hour.
+
+It is not our intention to dwell on the details of a ceremony that had
+so much that was painful in its solemnities. Neither Wycherly nor
+Mildred made any change in their attire, and the lovely bride wept from
+the time the service began, to the moment when she left the arms of her
+uncle, to be received in those of her husband, and was supported from
+the room. All seemed sad, indeed, but Bluewater; to him the scene was
+exciting, but it brought great relief to his mind.
+
+"I am now ready to die, gentlemen," he said, as the door closed on the
+new-married couple. "My last worldly care is disposed of, and it were
+better for me to turn all my thoughts to another state of being. My
+niece, Lady Wychecombe, will inherit the little I have to leave; nor do
+I know that it is of much importance to substantiate her birth, as her
+uncle clearly bestowed what would have been her mother's property, on
+her aunt, the duchess. If my dying declaration can be of any use,
+however, you hear it, and can testify to it. Now, come and take leave of
+me, one by one, that I may bless you all, and thank you for much
+undeserved, and, I fear, unrequited love."
+
+The scene that followed was solemn and sad. One by one, the captains
+drew near the bed, and to each the dying man had something kind and
+affectionate to say. Even the most cold-hearted looked grave, and
+O'Neil, a man remarkable for a _gaite de c[oe]ur_ that rendered the
+excitement of battle some of the pleasantest moments of his life,
+literally shed tears on the hand he kissed.
+
+"Ah! my old friend," said the rear-admiral, as Parker, of the Carnatic,
+drew near in his customary meek and subdued manner, "you perceive it is
+not years alone that bring us to our graves! They tell me you have
+behaved as usual in these late affairs; I trust that, after a long life
+of patient and arduous services, you are about to receive a proper
+reward."
+
+"I will acknowledge, Admiral Bluewater," returned Parker, earnestly,
+"that it would be peculiarly grateful to receive some mark of the
+approbation of my sovereign; principally on account of my dear wife and
+children. We are not, like yourself, descended from a noble family; but
+must carve our rights to distinction, and they who have never known
+honours of this nature, prize them highly."
+
+"Ay, my good Parker," interrupted the rear-admiral, "and they who have
+ever known them, know their emptiness; most especially as they approach
+that verge of existence whence the eye looks in a near and fearful
+glance, over the vast and unknown range of eternity."
+
+"No doubt, sir; nor am I so vain as to suppose that hairs which have got
+to be grey as mine, can last for ever. But, what I was about to say is,
+that precious as honours are to the humble, I would cheerfully yield
+every hope of the sort I have, to see you on the poop of the Caesar
+again, with Mr. Cornet at your elbow, leading the fleet, or following
+the motions of the vice-admiral."
+
+"Thank you, my good Parker; that can never be; nor can I say, now, that
+I wish it might. When we have cast off from the world, there is less
+pleasure in looking back, than in looking ahead. God bless you, Parker,
+and keep you, as you ever have been, an honest man."
+
+Stowel was the last to approach the bed, nor did he do it until all had
+left the room but Sir Gervaise and himself.
+
+The indomitable good-nature, and the professional nonchalance of
+Bluewater, by leaving every subordinate undisturbed in the enjoyment of
+his own personal caprices, had rendered the rear-admiral a greater
+favourite, in one sense at least, than the commander-in-chief. Stowel,
+by his near connection with Bluewater, had profited more by these
+peculiarities than any other officer under him, and the effect on his
+feelings had been in a very just proportion to the benefits. He could
+not refrain, it is true, from remembering the day when he himself had
+been a lieutenant in the ship in which the rear-admiral had been a
+midshipman, but he no longer recollected the circumstance with the
+bitterness that it sometimes drew after it. On the contrary, it was now
+brought to his mind merely as the most distant of the many land-marks in
+their long and joint services.
+
+"Well, Stowel," observed Bluewater, smiling sadly, "even the old Caesar
+must be left behind. It is seldom a flag-captain has not some
+heart-burnings on account of his superior, and most sincerely do I beg
+you to forget and forgive any I may have occasioned yourself."
+
+"Heaven help me, sir!--I was far, just then, from thinking of any such
+thing! I was fancying how little I should have thought it probable, when
+we were together in the Calypso, that I should ever be thus standing at
+_your_ bed-side. Really, Admiral Bluewater, I would rejoice to share
+with you the remnant of life that is left me."
+
+"I do believe you would, Stowel; but that can never be. I have just
+performed my last act in this world, in giving my niece to Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe."
+
+"Yes, sir;--yes, sir--marriage is no doubt honourable, as I often tell
+Mrs. Stowel, and therefore not to be despised; and yet it _is_ singular,
+that a gentleman who has lived a bachelor himself, should fancy to see a
+marriage ceremony performed, and that, too, at the cost of L100, if any
+person choose to complain, just at the close of his own cruise! However,
+men are no more alike in such matters, than women in their domestic
+qualities; and I sincerely hope this young Sir Wycherly may find as much
+comfort, in the old house I understand he has a little inland here, as
+you and I have had together, sir, in the old Caesar. I suppose there'll
+be no co-equals in Wychecombe Hall."
+
+"I trust not, Stowel. But you must now receive my last orders, as to the
+Caesar--"
+
+"The commander-in-chief has his own flag flying aboard of us, sir!"
+interrupted the methodical captain, in a sort of admonitory way.
+
+"Never mind that, Stowel;--I'll answer for his acquiescence. My body
+must be received on board, and carried round in the ship to Plymouth.
+Place it on the main-deck, where the people can see the coffin; I would
+pass my last hours above ground, in their midst."
+
+"It shall be done, sir--yes, sir, to the letter, Sir Gervaise not
+countermanding. And I'll write this evening to Mrs. Stowel to say she
+needn't come down, as usual, as soon as she hears the ship is in, but
+that she must wait until your flag is fairly struck."
+
+"I should be sorry, Stowel, to cause a moment's delay in the meeting of
+husband and wife!"
+
+"Don't name it, Admiral Bluewater;--Mrs. Stowel will understand that
+it's duty; and when we married, I fully explained to her that duty, with
+a sailor, came before matrimony."
+
+A little pause succeeded, then Bluewater took a final and affectionate
+leave of his captain. Some twenty minutes elapsed in a profound silence,
+during which Sir Gervaise did not stir, fancying that his friend again
+dozed. But it was ordered that Bluewater was never to sleep again, until
+he took the final rest of the dead. It was the mind, which had always
+blazed above the duller lethargy of his body, that buoyed him thus up,
+giving an unnatural impulse to his physical powers; an impulse, however,
+that was but momentary, and which, by means of the reaction,
+contributed, in the end, to his more speedy dissolution. Perceiving, at
+length, that his friend did not sleep, Sir Gervaise drew near his bed.
+
+"Richard," he said, gently, "there is one without, who pines to be
+admitted. I have refused even his tears, under the impression that you
+felt disposed to sleep."
+
+"Never less so. My mind appears to become brighter and clearer, instead
+of fading; I think I shall never sleep, in the sense you mean. Whoever
+the person is, let him be admitted."
+
+Receiving this permission, Sir Gervaise opened the door, and Geoffrey
+Cleveland entered. At the same moment, Galleygo, who came and went at
+pleasure, thrust in his own ungainly form. The boy's face betrayed the
+nature and the extent of his grief. In his mind, Admiral Bluewater was
+associated with all the events of his own professional life; and, though
+the period had in truth been so short, in his brief existence, the vista
+through which he looked back, seemed quite as long as that which marked
+the friendship of the two admirals, themselves. Although he struggled
+manfully for self-control, feeling got the better of the lad, and he
+threw himself on his knees, at the side of his bed, sobbing as if his
+heart would break. Bluewater's eye glistened, and he laid a hand
+affectionately on the head of his young relative.
+
+"Gervaise, you will take charge of this boy, when I'm gone," he said;
+"receive him in your own ship. I leave him to you, as a very near and
+dear professional legacy. Cheer up--cheer up--my brave boy; look upon
+all this as a sailor's fortune. Our lives are the--"
+
+The word "king's," which should have succeeded, seemed to choke the
+speaker. Casting a glance of meaning at his friend, with a painful smile
+on his face, he continued silent.
+
+"Ah! dear sir," answered the midshipman, ingenuously; "I knew that _we_
+might all be killed, but it never occurred to me that an admiral could
+lose his life in battle. I'm sure--I'm sure you are the very first that
+has met with this accident!"
+
+"Not by many, my poor Geoffrey. As there are but few admirals, few fall;
+but we are as much exposed as others."
+
+"If I had only run that Monsieur des Prez through the body, when we
+closed with him," returned the boy, grating his teeth, and looking all
+the vengeance for which, at the passing instant, he felt the desire; "it
+would have been _something_! I might have done it, too, for he was quite
+unguarded!"
+
+"It would have been a very bad _thing_, boy, to have injured a brave
+man, uselessly."
+
+"Of what use was it to shoot you, sir? We took their ship, just the same
+as if you had not been hurt."
+
+"I rather think, Geoffrey, their ship was virtually taken before I was
+wounded," returned Bluewater, smiling. "But I was shot by a French
+marine, who did no more than his duty."
+
+"Yes, sir," exclaimed the boy, impatiently; "and _he_ escaped without a
+scratch. _He_, at least, ought to have been _massacred_."
+
+"Thou art bloody-minded, child; I scarce know thee. _Massacred_ is not a
+word for either a British nobleman or a British sailor. I saved the life
+of that marine; and, when you come to lie, like me, on your death-bed,
+Geoffrey, you will learn how sweet a consolation can be derived from the
+consciousness of such an act; we all need mercy, and none ought to
+expect it, for themselves, who do not yield it to others."
+
+The boy was rebuked, and his feelings took a better, though scarcely a
+more natural direction. Bluewater now spoke to him of his
+newly-discovered cousin, and had a melancholy satisfaction in creating
+an interest in behalf of Mildred, in the breast of the noble-hearted and
+ingenuous boy. The latter listened with respectful attention, as had
+been his wont, until, deceived by the tranquil and benevolent manner of
+Bluewater, he permitted himself to fall into the natural delusion of
+believing the wound of the rear-admiral less serious than he had
+supposed, and to begin to entertain hopes that the wounded man might yet
+survive. Calmed by these feelings, he soon ceased to weep; and,
+promising discretion, was permitted by Sir Gervaise to remain in the
+room, where he busied himself in the offices of a nurse.
+
+Another long pause succeeded this exciting little scene, during which
+Bluewater lay quietly communing with himself and his God. Sir Gervaise
+wrote orders, and read reports, though his eye was never off the
+countenance of his friend more than a minute or two at a time. At
+length, the rear-admiral aroused himself, again, and began to take an
+interest once more, in the persons and things around him.
+
+"Galleygo, my old fellow-cruiser," he said, "I leave Sir Gervaise more
+particularly in your care. As we advance in life, our friends decrease
+in numbers; it is only those that have been well tried that we can rely
+on."
+
+"Yes, Admiral Blue, I knows that, and so does Sir Jarvy. Yes, old
+shipmates afore young 'uns, any day, and old sailors, too, afore green
+hands. Sir Jarvy's Bowlderos are good plate-holders, and the likes of
+that; but when it comes to heavy weather, and a hard strain, I thinks
+but little on 'em, all put together."
+
+"By the way, Oakes," said Bluewater, with a sudden interest in such a
+subject, that he never expected to feel again, "I have heard nothing of
+the first day's work, in which, through the little I have gleaned, by
+listening to those around me, I understand you took a two-decker,
+besides dismasting the French admiral?"
+
+"Pardon me, Dick; you had better try and catch a little sleep; the
+subject of those two days' work is really painful to me."
+
+"Well, then, Sir Jarvy, if you has an avarsion to telling the story to
+Admiral Blue, I can do it, your honour," put in Galleygo, who gloried in
+giving a graphic description of a sea-fight. "I thinks, now, a history
+of that day will comfort a flag-hofficer as has been so badly wounded
+himself."
+
+Bluewater offering no opposition, Galleygo proceeded with his account of
+the evolutions of the ships, as we have already described them,
+succeeding surprisingly well in rendering the narrative interesting, and
+making himself perfectly intelligible and clear, by his thorough
+knowledge, and ready use, of the necessary nautical terms. When he came
+to the moment in which the English line separated, part passing to
+windward, and part to leeward of the two French ships, he related the
+incident in so clear and spirited a manner, that the commander-in-chief
+himself dropped his pen, and sat listening with pleasure.
+
+"Who could imagine, Dick," Sir Gervaise observed, "that those fellows in
+the tops watch us so closely, and could give so accurate an account of
+what passes!"
+
+"Ah! Gervaise, and what is the vigilance of Galleygo to that of the
+All-seeing eye! It is a terrible thought, at an hour like this, to
+remember that nothing can be forgotten. I have somewhere read that not
+an oath is uttered that does not continue to vibrate through all time,
+in the wide-spreading currents of sound--not a prayer lisped, that its
+record is not also to be found stamped on the laws of nature, by the
+indelible seal of the Almighty's will!"
+
+There was little in common between the religious impressions of the two
+friends. They were both sailors, and though the word does not
+necessarily imply that they were sinners in an unusual degree, neither
+does it rigidly imply that they were saints. Each had received the usual
+elementary education, and then each had been turned adrift, as it might
+be on the ocean of life, to suffer the seed to take root, and the fruit
+to ripen as best they might. Few of those "who go down to the great deep
+in ships," and who escape the more brutalizing effects of lives so rude,
+are altogether without religious impressions. Living so much, as it
+were, in the immediate presence of the power of God, the sailor is much
+disposed to reverence his omnipotence, even while he transgresses his
+laws; but in nearly all those instances in which nature has implanted a
+temperament inclining to deep feeling, as was the case with Bluewater,
+not even the harsh examples, nor the loose or irresponsible lives of men
+thus separated from the customary ties of society, can wholly extinguish
+the reverence for God which is created by constantly dwelling in the
+presence of his earthly magnificence. This sentiment in Bluewater had
+not been altogether without fruits, for he both read and reflected much.
+Sometimes, though at isolated and distant intervals, he even prayed; and
+that fervently, and with a strong and full sense of his own demerits. As
+a consequence of this general disposition, and of the passing
+convictions, his mind was better attuned for the crisis before him, than
+would have been the case with most of his brethren in arms, who, when
+overtaken with the fate so common to the profession, are usually left to
+sustain their last moments with the lingering enthusiasm of strife and
+victory.
+
+On the other hand, Sir Gervaise was as simple as a child in matters of
+this sort. He had a reverence for his Creator, and such general notions
+of his goodness and love, as the well-disposed are apt to feel; but all
+the dogmas concerning the lost condition of the human race, the
+mediation, and the power of faith, floated in his mind as opinions not
+to be controverted, and yet as scarcely to be felt. In short, the
+commander-in-chief admitted the practical heresy, which overshadows the
+faith of millions, while he deemed himself to be a stout advocate of
+church and king. Still, Sir Gervaise Oakes, on occasions, was more than
+usually disposed to seriousness, and was even inclined to be devout; but
+it was without much regard to theories or revelation. At such moments,
+while his opinions would not properly admit him within the pale of any
+Christian church, in particular, his feelings might have identified him
+with all. In a word, we apprehend he was a tolerably fair example of
+what vague generalities, when acting on a temperament not indisposed to
+moral impressions, render the great majority of men; who flit around the
+mysteries of a future state, without alighting either on the
+consolations of faith, or discovering any of those logical conclusions
+which, half the time unconsciously to themselves, they seem to expect.
+When Bluewater made his last remark, therefore, the vice-admiral looked
+anxiously at his friend; and religion for the first time since the other
+received his hurt, mingled with his reflections. He had devoutly, though
+mentally, returned thanks to God for his victory, but it had never
+occurred to him that Bluewater might need some preparation for death.
+
+"Would you like to see the Plantagenet's chaplain, again, Dick?" he
+said, tenderly; "you are no _Papist_; of _that_ I am certain."
+
+"In that you are quite right, Gervaise. I consider all churches--_the_
+one holy _Catholic_ church, if you will, as but a means furnished by
+divine benevolence to aid weak men in their pilgrimage; but I also
+believe that there is even a shorter way to his forgiveness than through
+these common avenues. How far I am right," he added, smiling, "none will
+probably know better than myself, a few hours hence."
+
+"Friends _must_ meet again, hereafter, Bluewater; it is irrational to
+suppose that they who have loved each other so well in this state of
+being, are to be for ever separated in the other."
+
+"We will hope so, Oakes," taking the vice-admiral's hand; "we will hope
+so. Still, there will be no ships for us--no cruises--no victories--no
+triumphs! It is only at moments like this, at which I have arrived, that
+we come to view these things in their proper light. Of all the past,
+your constant, unwavering friendship, gives me the most pleasure!"
+
+The vice-admiral could resist no longer. He turned aside and wept. This
+tribute to nature, in one so manly, was imposing even to the dying man,
+and Galleygo regarded it with awe. Familiar as the latter had become
+with his master, by use and indulgence, no living being, in his
+estimation, was as authoritative or as formidable as the
+commander-in-chief; and the effect of the present spectacle, was to
+induce him to hide his own face in self-abasement. Bluewater saw it all,
+but he neither spoke, nor gave any token of his observation. He merely
+prayed, and that right fervently, not only for his friend, but for his
+humble and uncouth follower.
+
+A reaction took place in the system of the wounded man, about nine
+o'clock that night. At this time he believed himself near his end, and
+he sent for Wycherly and his niece, to take his leave of them. Mrs.
+Dutton was also present, as was Magrath, who remained on shore, in
+attendance. Mildred lay for half an hour, bathing her uncle's pillow
+with her tears, until she was removed at the surgeon's suggestion.
+
+"Ye'll see, Sir Gervaise," he whispered--(or "Sir Jairvis," as he always
+pronounced the name,)--"ye'll see, Sir Jairvis, that it's a duty of the
+faculty to _prolong_ life, even when there's no hope of _saving_ it; and
+if ye'll be regairding the judgment of a professional man, Lady
+Wychecombe had better withdraw. It would really be a matter of honest
+exultation for us Plantagenets to get the rear-admiral through the
+night, seeing that the surgeon of the Caesar said he could no survive the
+setting sun."
+
+At the moment of final separation, Bluewater had little to say to his
+niece. Ho kissed and blessed her again and again, and then signed that
+she should be taken away. Mrs. Dutton, also, came in for a full share of
+his notice, he having desired her to remain after Wycherly and Mildred
+had quitted the room.
+
+"To your care and affection, excellent woman," he said, in a voice that
+had now sunk nearly to a whisper--"we owe it, that Mildred is not unfit
+for her station. Her recovery would have been even more painful than her
+loss, had she been restored to her proper family, uneducated, vulgar,
+and coarse."
+
+"That could hardly have happened to Mildred, sir, in any circumstances,"
+answered the weeping woman. "Nature has done too much for the dear
+child, to render her any thing but delicate and lovely, under any
+tolerable circumstances of depression."
+
+"She is better as she is, and God be thanked that he raised up such a
+protector for her childhood. You have been all in all to her in her
+infancy, and she will strive to repay it to your age."
+
+Of this Mrs. Dutton felt too confident to need assurances; and receiving
+the dying man's blessing, she knelt at his bed-side, prayed fervently
+for a few minutes, and withdrew. After this, nothing out of the ordinary
+track occurred until past midnight, and Magrath, more than once,
+whispered his joyful anticipations that the rear-admiral would survive
+until morning. An hour before day, however, the wounded man revived, in
+a way that the surgeon distrusted. He knew that no physical change of
+this sort could well happen that did not arise from the momentary
+ascendency of mind over matter, as the spirit is on the point of finally
+abandoning its earthly tenement; a circumstance of no unusual occurrence
+in patients of strong and active intellectual properties, whose
+faculties often brighten for an instant, in their last moments, as the
+lamp flashes and glares as it is about to become extinct. Going to the
+bed, he examined his patient attentively, and was satisfied that the
+final moment was near.
+
+"You're a man and a soldier, Sir Jairvis," he said, in a low voice, "and
+it'll no be doing good to attempt misleading your judgment in a case of
+this sort. Our respectable friend, the rear-admiral, is _articulo
+mortis_, as one might almost say; he cannot possibly survive half an
+hour."
+
+Sir Gervaise started. He looked around him a little wistfully; for, at
+that moment, he would have given much to be alone with his dying friend.
+But he hesitated to make a request, which, it struck him, might seem
+improper. From this embarrassment, however, he was relieved by
+Bluewater, himself, who had the same desire, without the same scruples
+about confessing it. _He_ drew the surgeon to his side, and whispered a
+wish to be left alone with the commander-in-chief.
+
+"Well, there will be no trespass on the rules of practice in indulging
+the poor man in his desire," muttered Magrath, as he looked about him to
+gather the last of his professional instruments, like the workman who is
+about to quit one place of toil to repair to another; "and I'll just be
+indulging him."
+
+So saying, he pushed Galleygo and Geoffrey from the room before him,
+left it himself, and closed the door.
+
+Finding himself alone, Sir Gervaise knelt at the side of the bed and
+prayed, holding the hand of his friend in both his own. The example of
+Mrs. Dutton, and the yearnings of his own heart, exacted this sacrifice;
+when it was over he felt a great relief from sensations that nearly
+choked him.
+
+"Do you forgive me, Gervaise?" whispered Bluewater.
+
+"Name it not--name it not, my best friend. We all have our moments of
+weakness, and our need of pardon. May God forget all _my_ sins, as
+freely as I forget your errors!"
+
+"God bless you, Oakes, and keep you the same simple-minded, true-hearted
+man, you have ever been."
+
+Sir Gervaise buried his face in the bed-clothes, and groaned.
+
+"Kiss me, Oakes," murmured the rear-admiral.
+
+In order to do this, the commander-in-chief rose from his knees and bent
+over the body of his friend. As he raised himself from the cheek he had
+saluted, a benignant smile gleamed on the face of the dying man, and he
+ceased to breathe. Near half a minute followed, however, before the last
+and most significant breath that is ever drawn from man, was given. The
+remainder of that night Sir Gervaise Oakes passed in the chamber alone,
+pacing the floor, recalling the many scenes of pleasure, danger, pain,
+and triumph, through which he and the dead had passed in company. With
+the return of light, he summoned the attendants, and retired to his
+tent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+    "And they came for the buried king that lay
+      At rest in that ancient fane;
+    For he must be armed on the battle day,
+      With them to deliver Spain!--
+    Then the march went sounding on,
+    And the Moors by noontide sun,
+      Were dust on Tolosa's plain."
+
+         MRS. HEMANS.
+
+
+It remains only to give a rapid sketch of the fortunes of our principal
+characters, and of the few incidents that are more immediately connected
+with what has gone before. The death of Bluewater was announced to the
+fleet, at sunrise, by hauling down his flag from the mizzen of the
+Caesar. The vice-admiral's flag came down with it, and re-appeared at the
+next minute at the fore of the Plantagenet. But the little white emblem
+of rank never went aloft again in honour of the deceased. At noon, it
+was spread over his coffin, on the main-deck of the ship, agreeably to
+his own request; and more than once that day, did some rough old tar use
+it, to wipe the tear from his eyes.
+
+In the afternoon of the day after the death of one of our heroes, the
+wind came round to the westward, and all the vessels lifted their
+anchors, and proceeded to Plymouth. The crippled ships, by this time,
+were in a state to carry more or less sail, and a stranger who had seen
+the melancholy-looking line, as it rounded the Start, would have fancied
+it a beaten fleet on its return to port. The only signs of exultation
+that appeared, were the jacks that were flying over the white flags of
+the prizes; and even when all had anchored, the same air of sadness
+reigned among these victorious mariners. The body was landed, with the
+usual forms; but the procession of warriors of the deep that followed
+it, was distinguished by a gravity that exceeded the ordinary aspects of
+mere form. Many of the captains, and Greenly in particular, had viewed
+the man[oe]uvring of Bluewater with surprise, and the latter not
+altogether without displeasure; but his subsequent conduct completely
+erased these impressions, leaving no other recollection connected with
+his conduct that morning than the brilliant courage, and admirable
+handling of his vessels, by which the fortunes of a nearly desperate day
+were retrieved. Those who did reflect any longer on the subject,
+attributed the singularity of the course pursued by the rear-admiral, to
+some private orders communicated in the telegraphic signal, as already
+mentioned.
+
+It is unnecessary for us to dwell on the particular movements of the
+fleet, after it reached Plymouth. The ships were repaired, the prizes
+received into the service, and, in due time, all took the sea again,
+ready and anxious to encounter their country's enemies. They ran the
+careers usual to English heavy cruisers in that age; and as ships form
+characters in this work, perhaps it may not be amiss to take a general
+glance at their several fortunes, together with those of their
+respective commanders. Sir Gervaise fairly wore out the Plantagenet,
+which vessel was broken up three years later, though not until she had
+carried a blue flag at her main, more than two years. Greenly lived to
+be a rear-admiral of the red, and died of yellow-fever in the Island of
+Barbadoes. The Caesar, with Stowel still in command of her, foundered at
+sea in a winter's cruise in the Baltic, every soul perishing. This
+calamity occurred the winter succeeding the summer of our legend, and
+the only relieving circumstance connected with the disaster, was the
+fact that her commander got rid of Mrs. Stowel altogether, from that day
+forward. The Thunderer had her share in many a subsequent battle, and
+Foley, her captain, died rear-admiral of England, and a vice-admiral of
+the red, thirty years later. The Carnatic was commanded by Parker, until
+the latter got a right to hoist a blue flag at the mizzen; which was
+done for just one day, to comply with form, when both ship and admiral
+were laid aside, as too old for further use. It should be added,
+however, that Parker was knighted by the king on board his own ship; a
+circumstance that cast a halo of sunshine over the close of the life of
+one, who had commenced his career so humbly, as to render this happy
+close more than equal to his expectations. In direct opposition to this,
+it may be said here, that Sir Gervaise refused, for the third time, to
+be made Viscount Bowldero, with a feeling just the reverse of that of
+Parker's; for, secure of his social position, and careless of politics,
+he viewed the elevation with an indifference that was a natural
+consequence enough of his own birth, fortune, and high character. On
+this occasion,--it was after another victory,--George II. personally
+alluded to the subject, remarking that the success we have recorded had
+never met with its reward; when the old seaman let out the true secret
+of his pertinaciously declining an honour, about which he might
+otherwise have been supposed to be as indifferent to the acceptance, as
+to the refusal. "Sir," he answered to the remark of the king, "I am duly
+sensible of your majesty's favour; but, I can never consent to receive a
+patent of nobility that, in my eyes, will always seem to be sealed with
+the blood of my closest and best friend." This reply was remembered, and
+the subject was never adverted to again.
+
+The fate of the Blenheim was one of those impressive blanks that dot the
+pages of nautical history. She sailed for the Mediterranean alone, and
+after she had discharged her pilot, was never heard of again. This did
+not occur, however, until Captain Sterling had been killed on her decks,
+in one of Sir Gervaise's subsequent actions. The Achilles was suffered
+to drift in, too near to some heavy French batteries, before the treaty
+of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed; and, after every stick had been again cut
+out of her, she was compelled to lower her flag. His earldom and his
+courage, saved Lord Morganic from censure; but, being permitted to go up
+to Paris, previously to his exchange, he contracted a matrimonial
+engagement with a celebrated _danseuse_, a craft that gave him so much
+future employment, that he virtually abandoned his profession.
+Nevertheless, his name was on the list of vice-admirals of the blue,
+when he departed this life. The Warspite and Captain Goodfellow both
+died natural deaths; one as a receiving-ship, and the other as a
+rear-admiral of the white. The Dover, Captain Drinkwater, was lost in
+attempting to weather Scilly in a gale, when her commander, and quite
+half her crew, were drowned. The York did many a hard day's duty, before
+her time arrived; but, in the end, she was so much injured in a general
+action as to be abandoned and set fire to, at sea. Her commander was
+lost overboard, in the very first cruise she took, after that related in
+this work. The Elizabeth rotted as a guard-ship, in the Medway; and
+Captain Blakely retired from the service with one arm, a yellow admiral.
+The Dublin laid her bones in the cove of Cork, having been condemned
+after a severe winter passed on the north coast. Captain O'Neil was
+killed in a duel with a French officer, after the peace; the latter
+having stated that his ship had run away from two frigates commanded by
+the _Chevalier_. The Chloe was taken by an enemy's fleet, in the next
+war; but Captain Denham worked his way up to a white flag at the main,
+and a peerage. The Druid was wrecked that very summer, chasing inshore,
+near Bordeaux; and Blewet, in a professional point of view, never
+regained the ground he lost, on this occasion. As for the sloops and
+cutters, they went the way of all small cruisers, while their nameless
+commanders shared the usual fates of mariners.
+
+Wycherly remained at Wychecombe until the interment of his uncle took
+place; at which, aided by Sir Reginald's influence and knowledge, and,
+in spite of Tom's intrigues, he appeared as chief mourner. The affair of
+the succession was also so managed as to give him very little trouble.
+Tom, discovering that his own illegitimacy was known, and seeing the
+hopelessness of a contest against such an antagonist as Sir Reginald,
+who knew quite as much of the facts as he did of the law of the case,
+was fain to retire from the field. From that moment, no one heard any
+thing more of the legacies. In the end he received the L20,000 in the
+five per cents, and the few chattels Sir Wycherly had a right to give
+away; but his enjoyment of them was short, as he contracted a severe
+cold that very autumn, and died of a malignant fever, in a few weeks.
+Leaving no will, his property escheated; but it was all restored to his
+two uterine brothers, by the liberality of the ministry, and out of
+respect to the long services of the baron, which two brothers, it will
+he remembered, alone had any of the blood of Wychecombe in their veins
+to boast of. This was disposing of the savings of both the baronet and
+the judge, with a very suitable regard to moral justice.
+
+Wycherly also appeared, though it was in company with Sir Gervaise
+Oakes, as one of the principal mourners at the funeral obsequies of
+Admiral Bluewater. These were of a public character, and took place in
+Westminster Abbey. The carriages of that portion of the royal personages
+who were not restrained by the laws of court-etiquette, appeared in the
+procession; and several members of that very family that the deceased
+regarded as intruders, were present incog. at his last rites. This,
+however, was but one of the many illusions that the great masquerade of
+life is constantly offering to the public gaze.
+
+There was little difficulty in establishing the claims of Mildred, to be
+considered the daughter of Colonel Bluewater and Agnes Hedworth. Lord
+Bluewater was soon satisfied; and, as he was quite indifferent to the
+possession of his kinsman's money, an acquisition he neither wished nor
+expected, the most perfect good-will existed between the parties. There
+was more difficulty with the Duchess of Glamorgan, who had acquired too
+many of the notions of very high rank, to look with complacency on a
+niece that had been educated as the daughter of a sailing-master in the
+navy. She raised many objections, while she admitted that she had been
+the confidant of her sister's attachment to John Bluewater. Her second
+son, Geoffrey, did more to remove her scruples than all the rest united;
+and when Sir Gervaise Oakes, in person, condescended to make a journey
+to the Park, to persuade her to examine the proofs, she could not well
+decline. As soon as one of her really candid mind entered into the
+inquiry, the evidence was found to be irresistible, and she at once
+yielded to the feelings of nature. Wycherly had been indefatigable in
+establishing his wife's claims--more so, indeed, than in establishing
+his own; and, at the suggestion of the vice-admiral--or, admiral of the
+white, as he had become by a recent general promotion--he consented to
+accompany the latter in this visit, waiting at the nearest town,
+however, for a summons to the Park, as soon as it could be ascertained
+that his presence would be agreeable to its mistress.
+
+"If my niece prove but half as acceptable in appearance, as my _nephew_,
+Sir Gervaise," observed the duchess, when the young Virginian was
+introduced to her, and laying stress on the word we have
+italicised--"nothing can be wanting to the agreeables of this new
+connection. I am impatient, now, to see my niece; Sir Wycherly
+Wychecombe has prepared me to expect a young woman of more than common
+merit."
+
+"My life on it, duchess, he has not raised your expectations too high.
+The poor girl is still dwelling in her cottage, the companion of her
+reputed mother; but it is time, Wychecombe, that you had claimed your
+bride."
+
+"I expect to find her and Mrs. Dutton at the Hall, on my return, Sir
+Gervaise; it having been thus arranged between us. The sad ceremonies
+through which we have lately been, were unsuited to the introduction of
+the new mistress to her abode, and the last had been deferred to a more
+fitting occasion."
+
+"Let the first visit that Lady Wychecombe pays, be to this place," said
+the duchess. "I do not command it, Sir Wycherly, as one who has some
+slight claims to her duty; but I solicit it, as one who wishes to
+possess every hold upon her love. Her mother was an _only_ sister; and
+an _only_ sister's child must be very near to one."
+
+It would have been impossible for the Duchess of Glamorgan to have said
+as much as this before she saw the young Virginian; but, now he had
+turned out a person so very different from what she expected, she had
+lively hopes in behalf of her niece.
+
+Wycherly returned to Wychecombe, after this short visit to Mildred's
+aunt, and found his lovely bride in quiet possession, accompanied by her
+mother. Dutton still remained at the station, for he had the sagacity to
+see that he might not be welcome, and modesty enough to act with a
+cautious reserve. But Wycherly respected his excellent wife too
+profoundly not to have a due regard to her feelings, in all things; and
+the master was invited to join the party. Brutality and meanness united,
+like those which belonged to the character of Dutton, are not easily
+abashed, and he accepted the invitation, in the hope that, after all, he
+was to reap as many advantages by the marriage of Mildred with the
+affluent baronet, as if she had actually been his daughter.
+
+After passing a few weeks in sober happiness at home, Wycherly felt it
+due to all parties, to carry his wife to the Park, in order that she
+might make the acquaintance of the near relatives who dwelt there. Mrs.
+Dutton, by invitation, was of the party; but Dutton was left behind,
+having no necessary connection with the scenes and the feelings that
+were likely to occur. It would be painting the duchess too much _en
+beau_, were we to say that she met Mildred without certain misgivings
+and fears. But the first glimpse of her lovely niece completely put
+natural feelings in the ascendency. The resemblance to her sister was so
+strong as to cause a piercing cry to escape her, and, bursting into
+tears, she folded the trembling young woman to her heart, with a fervour
+and sincerity that set at naught all conventional manners. This was the
+commencement of a close intimacy; which lasted but a short time,
+however, the duchess dying two years later.
+
+Wycherly continued in the service until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle,
+when he finally quitted the sea. His strong native attachments led him
+back to Virginia, where all his own nearest relatives belonged, and
+where his whole heart might be said to be, when he saw Mildred and his
+children at his side. With him, early associations and habits had more
+strength, than traditions and memorials of the past. He erected a
+spacious dwelling on the estate inherited from his father, where he
+passed most of his time; consigning Wychecombe to the care of a careful
+steward. With the additions and improvements that he was now enabled to
+make, his Virginian estate produced even a larger income than his
+English, and his interests really pointed to the choice he had made. But
+no pecuniary considerations lay at the bottom of his selection. He
+really preferred the graceful and courteous ease of the intercourse
+which characterized the manners of James' river. In that age, they were
+equally removed from the coarse and boisterous jollity of the English
+country-squire, and the heartless conventionalities of high life. In
+addition to this, his sensitive feelings rightly enough detected that he
+was regarded in the mother-country as a sort of intruder. He was spoken
+of, alluded to in the journals, and viewed even by his tenants as the
+_American_ landlord; and he never felt truly at home in the country for
+which he had fought and bled. In England, his rank as a baronet was not
+sufficient to look down these little peculiarities; whereas, in
+Virginia, it gave him a certain _eclat_, that was grateful to one of the
+main weaknesses of human nature. "At home," as the mother-country was
+then affectionately termed, he had no hope of becoming a privy
+councillor; while, in his native colony, his rank and fortune, almost as
+a matter of course, placed him in the council of the governor. In a
+word, while Wycherly found most of those worldly considerations which
+influence men in the choice of their places of residence, in favour of
+the region in which he happened to be born, his election was made more
+from feeling and taste than from any thing else. His mind had taken an
+early bias in favour of the usages and opinions of the people among whom
+he had received his first impressions, and this bias he retained to the
+hour of his death.
+
+Like a true woman, Mildred found her happiness with her husband and
+children. Of the latter she had but three; a boy and two girls. The care
+of the last was early committed to Mrs. Dutton. This excellent woman had
+remained at Wychecombe with her husband, until death put an end to his
+vices, though the close of his career was exempt from those scenes of
+brutal dictation and interference that had rendered the earlier part of
+her life so miserable. Apprehension of what might be the consequences to
+himself, acted as a check, and he had sagacity enough to see that the
+physical comforts he now possessed were all owing to the influence of
+his wife. He lived but four years, however. On his death, his widow
+immediately took her departure for America.
+
+It would be substituting pure images of the fancy for a picture of sober
+realities, were we to say that Lady Wychecombe and her adopted mother
+never regretted the land of _their_ birth. This negation of feeling,
+habits, and prejudices, is not to be expected even in an Esquimaux. They
+both had occasional strictures to make on the _climate_, (and this to
+Wycherly's great surprise, for _he_ conscientiously believed that of
+England to be just the worst in the world,) on the fruits, the servants,
+the roads, and the difficulty of procuring various little comforts. But,
+as this was said good-naturedly and in pleasantry, rather than in the
+way of complaint, it led to no unpleasant scenes or feelings. As all
+three made occasional voyages to England, where his estates, and more
+particularly settlements with his factor, compelled the baronet to go
+once in about a lustrum, the fruits and the climate were finally given
+up by the ladies. After many years, even the slip-shod, careless, but
+hearty attendance of the negroes, came to be preferred to the dogged
+mannerism of the English domestics, perfect as were the latter in their
+parts; and the whole subject got to be one of amusement, instead of one
+of complaint. There is no greater mistake than to suppose that the
+traveller who passes _once_ through a country, with his home-bred, and
+quite likely _provincial_ notions thick upon him, is competent to
+describe, with due discrimination, even the usages of which he is
+actually a witness. This truth all the family came, in time, to
+discover; and while it rendered them more strictly critical in their
+remarks, it also rendered them more tolerant. As it was, few happier
+families were to be found in the British empire, than that of Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe; its head retaining his manly and protecting
+affection for all dependent on him, while his wife, beautiful as a
+matron, as she had been lovely as a girl, clung to him with the tenacity
+of the vine to its own oak.
+
+Of the result of the rising in the north, it is unnecessary to say much.
+The history of the _Chevalier's_ successes in the first year, and of his
+final overthrow at Culloden, is well known. Sir Reginald Wychecombe,
+like hundreds of others, played his cards so skilfully that he avoided
+committing himself; and, although he lived and eventually died a
+suspected man, he escaped forfeitures and attainder. With Sir Wycherly,
+as the head of his house, he maintained a friendly correspondence to the
+last, even taking charge of the paternal estate in its owner's absence;
+manifesting to the hour of his death, a scrupulous probity in matters of
+money, mingled with an inherent love of management and intrigue, in
+things that related to politics and the succession. Sir Reginald lived
+long enough to see the hopes of the Jacobites completely extinguished,
+and the throne filled by a native Englishman.
+
+Many long years after the events which rendered the week of its opening
+incidents so memorable among its actors, must now be imagined. Time had
+advanced with its usual unfaltering tread, and the greater part of a
+generation had been gathered to their fathers. George III. had been on
+the throne not less than three lustrums, and most of the important
+actors of the period of '45, were dead;--many of them, in a degree,
+forgotten. But each age has its own events and its own changes. Those
+colonies, which in 1745 were so loyal, so devoted to the house of
+Hanover, in the belief that political and religious liberty depended on
+the issue, had revolted against the supremacy of the parliament of the
+empire. America was already in arms against the mother country, and the
+very day before the occurrence of the little scene we are about to
+relate, the intelligence of the battle of Bunker Hill had reached
+London. Although the gazette and national pride had, in a degree,
+lessened the characteristics of this most remarkable of all similar
+combats, by exaggerating the numbers of the colonists engaged, and
+lessening the loss of the royal troops, the impression produced by the
+news is said to have been greater than any known to that age. It had
+been the prevalent opinion of England--an opinion that was then general
+in Europe, and which descended even to our own times--that the animals
+of the new continent, man included, had less courage and physical force,
+than those of the old; and astonishment, mingled with the forebodings of
+the intelligent, when it was found that a body of ill-armed countrymen
+had dared to meet, in a singularly bloody combat, twice their number of
+regular troops, and that, too, under the guns of the king's shipping and
+batteries. Rumours, for the moment, were rife in London, and the
+political world was filled with gloomy anticipations of the future.
+
+On the morning of the day alluded to, Westminster Abbey, as usual, was
+open to the inspection of the curious and interested. Several parties
+were scattered among its aisles and chapels, some reading the
+inscriptions on the simple tablets of the dead which illustrate a
+nation, in illustrating themselves; others listening to the names of
+princes who derived their consequence from their thrones and alliances;
+and still other sets, who were wandering among the more elaborate
+memorials that have been raised equally to illustrate insignificance,
+and to mark the final resting-places of more modern heroes and
+statesmen. The beauty of the weather had brought out more visiters than
+common, and not less than half-a-dozen equipages were in waiting, in and
+about Palace Yard. Among others, one had a ducal coronet. This carriage
+did not fail to attract the attention that is more than usually bestowed
+on rank, in England. All were empty, however, and more than one party of
+pedestrians entered the venerable edifice, rejoicing that the view of a
+duke or a duchess, was to be thrown in, among the other sights,
+gratuitously. All who passed on foot, however, were not influenced by
+this vulgar feeling; for, one group went by, that did not even cast a
+glance at the collection of carriages; the seniors of the party being
+too much accustomed to such things to lend them a thought, and the
+juniors too full of anticipations of what they were about to see, to
+think of other matters. This party consisted of a handsome man of
+fifty-odd, a lady some three or four years his junior well preserved and
+still exceedingly attractive; a young man of twenty-six, and two lovely
+girls, that looked like twins; though one was really twenty-one, and the
+other but nineteen. These were Sir Wycherly and Lady Wychecombe,
+Wycherly their only son, then just returned from a five years'
+peregrination on the continent of Europe, and Mildred and Agnes, their
+daughters. The rest of the family had arrived in England about a
+fortnight before, to greet the heir on his return from the _grand tour_,
+as it was then termed. The meeting had been one of love, though Lady
+Wychecombe had to reprove a few innocent foreign affectations, as she
+fancied them to be, in her son; and the baronet, himself, laughed at the
+scraps of French, Italian, and German, that quite naturally mingled in
+the young man's discourse. All this, however, cast no cloud over the
+party, for it had ever been a family of entire confidence and unbroken
+love.
+
+"This is a most solemn place to me," observed Sir Wycherly, as they
+entered at the Poets' corner, "and one in which a common man unavoidably
+feels his own insignificance. But, we will first make our pilgrimage,
+and look at these remarkable inscriptions as we come out. The tomb we
+seek is in a chapel on the other side of the church, near to the great
+doors. When I last saw it, it was quite alone."
+
+On hearing this, the whole party moved on; though the two lovely young
+Virginians cast wistful and curious eyes behind them, at the wonders by
+which they were surrounded.
+
+"Is not this an extraordinary edifice, Wycherly?" half whispered Agnes,
+the youngest of the sisters, as she clung to one arm of her brother,
+Mildred occupying the other. "Can the whole world furnish such another?"
+
+"So much for hominy and James' river!" answered the young man,
+laughing--"now could you but see the pile at Rouen, or that at Rheims,
+or that at Antwerp, or even that at York, in this good kingdom, old
+Westminster would have to fall back upon its little tablets and big
+names. But Sir Wycherly stops; he must see what he calls his land-fall."
+
+Sir Wycherly had indeed stopped. It was in consequence of having reached
+the head of the _ch[oe]ur_, whence he could see the interior of the
+recess, or chapel, towards which he had been moving. It still contained
+but a single monument, and that was adorned with an anchor and other
+nautical emblems. Even at that distance, the words "RICHARD
+BLUEWATER, REAR-ADMIRAL OF THE WHITE," might be read. But the
+baronet had come to a sudden halt, in consequence of seeing a party of
+three enter the chapel, in which he wished to be alone with his own
+family. The party consisted of an old man, who walked with tottering
+steps, and this so much the more from the circumstance that he leaned on
+a domestic nearly as old as himself, though of a somewhat sturdier
+frame, and of a tall imposing-looking person of middle age, who followed
+the two with patient steps. Several attendants of the cathedral watched
+this party from a distance with an air of curiosity and respect; but
+they had been requested not to accompany it to the chapel.
+
+"They must be some old brother-officers of my poor uncle's, visiting his
+tomb!" whispered Lady Wychecombe. "The very venerable gentleman has
+naval emblems about his attire."
+
+"_Do_ you--_can_ you forget him, love? 'Tis Sir Gervaise Oakes, the
+pride of England! yet how changed! It is now five-and-twenty years since
+we last met; still I knew him at a glance. The servant is old Galleygo,
+his steward; but the gentleman with him is a stranger. Let us advance;
+_we_ cannot be intruders in such a place."
+
+Sir Gervaise paid no attention to the entrance of the Wychecombes. It
+was evident, by the vacant look of his countenance, that time and hard
+service had impaired his faculties, though his body remained entire; an
+unusual thing for one who had been so often engaged. Still there were
+glimmerings of lively recollections, and even of strong sensibilities
+about his eyes, as sudden fancies crossed his mind. Once a year, the
+anniversary of his friend's interment, he visited that chapel; and he
+had now been brought here as much from habit, as by his own desire. A
+chair was provided for him, and he sat facing the tomb, with the large
+letters before his eyes. He regarded neither, though he bowed
+courteously to the salute of the strangers. His companion at first
+seemed a little surprised, if not offended at the intrusion; but when
+Wycherly mentioned that they were relatives of the deceased, he also
+bowed complacently, and made way for the ladies.
+
+"This it is as what you wants to see, Sir Jarvy," observed Galleygo,
+jogging his master's shoulder by way of jogging his memory. "Them 'ere
+cables and hanchors, and that 'ere mizzen-mast, with a rear-admiral's
+flag a-flying, is rigged in this old church, in honour of our friend
+Admiral Blue, as was; but as is now dead and gone this many a long
+year."
+
+"Admiral of the Blue," repeated Sir Gervaise coldly. "You're mistaken,
+Galleygo, I'm an admiral of the white, and admiral of the fleet in the
+bargain. I know my own rank, sir."
+
+"I knows that as well as you does yourself, Sir Jarvy," answered
+Galleygo, whose grammar had rather become confirmed than improved, by
+time, "or as well as the First Lord himself. But Admiral Blue was once
+your best friend, and I doesn't at all admire at your forgetting
+him--one of these long nights you'll be forgetting _me_."
+
+"I beg your pardon, Galleygo; I rather think not. I remember _you_, when
+a very young man."
+
+"Well, and so you mought remember Admiral Blue, if you'd just try. I
+know'd ye both when young luffs, myself."
+
+"This is a painful scene," observed the stranger to Sir Wycherly, with a
+melancholy smile. "This gentleman is now at the tomb of his dearest
+friend; and yet, as you see, he appears to have lost all recollection
+that such a person ever existed. For what do we live, if a few brief
+years are to render our memories such vacant spots!"
+
+"Has he been long in this way?" asked Lady Wychecombe, with interest.
+
+The stranger started at the sound of her voice. He looked intently into
+the face of the still fair speaker, before he answered; then he bowed,
+and replied--
+
+"He has been failing these five years, though his last visit here was
+much less painful than this. But are our own memories perfect?--Surely,
+I have seen that face before!--These young ladies, too--"
+
+"Geoffrey--_dear_ cousin Geoffrey!" exclaimed Lady Wychecombe, holding
+out both her hands. "It is--it must be the Duke of Glamorgan, Wycherly!"
+
+No further explanations were needed. All the parties recognised each
+other in an instant. They had not met for many--many years, and each had
+passed the period of life when the greatest change occurs in the
+physical appearance; but, now that the ice was broken, a flood of
+recollections poured in. The duke, or Geoffrey Cleveland, as we prefer
+to call him, kissed his cousin and her daughters with frank affection,
+for no change of condition had altered his simple sea-habits, and he
+shook hands with the gentlemen, with a cordiality like that of old
+times. All this, however, was unheeded by Sir Gervaise, who sat looking
+at the monument, in a dull apathy.
+
+"Galleygo," he said; but Galleygo had placed himself before Sir
+Wycherly, and thrust out a hand that looked like a bunch of knuckles.
+
+"I knows ye!" exclaimed the steward, with a grin. "I know'd ye in the
+offing yonder, but I couldn't make out your number. Lord, sir, if this
+doesn't brighten Sir Jarvy up, again, and put him in mind of old times,
+I shall begin to think we have run out cable to the better end."
+
+"I will speak to him, duke, if you think it advisable?" said Sir
+Wycherly, in an inquiring manner.
+
+"Galleygo," put in Sir Gervaise, "what lubber fitted that cable?--he has
+turned in the clench the wrong way."
+
+"Ay--ay, sir, they _is_ great lubbers, them stone-cutters, Sir Jarvy;
+and they knows about as much of ships, as ships knows of them. But here
+is _young_ Sir Wycherly Wychecombe come to see you--the _old_ 'un's
+nevy."
+
+"Sir Wycherly, you are a very welcome guest. Bowldero is a poor place
+for a gentleman of your merit; but such as it is, it is entirely at your
+service. What did you say the gentleman's name was, Galleygo?"
+
+"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, the _young_ 'un--the _old_ 'un slipped the
+night as we moored in his house."
+
+"I hope, Sir Gervaise, I have not entirely passed from your
+recollection; it would grieve me sadly to think so. And my poor uncle,
+too; he who died of apoplexy in your presence!"
+
+"_Nullus, nulla, nullum._ That's good Latin, hey! Duke? _Nullius,
+nullius, nullius._ My memory _is_ excellent, gentlemen; nominative,
+_penna_; genitive, _pennae_, and so on."
+
+"Now, Sir Jarvy, since you're veering out your Latin, _I_ should likes
+to know if you can tell a 'clove-hitch' from a 'carrick-bend?'"
+
+"That is an extraordinary question, Galleygo, to put to an old seaman!"
+
+"Well, if you remembers _that_, why can't you just as reasonably
+remember your old friend, Admiral Blue?"
+
+"Admiral of the blue! I do recollect _many_ admirals of the blue. They
+ought to make me an admiral of the blue, duke; I've been a rear-admiral
+long enough."
+
+"You've _been_ an admiral of the blue _once_; and that's enough for any
+man," interrupted Galleygo, again in his positive manner; "and it isn't
+five minutes since you know'd your own rank as well as the Secretary to
+the Admiralty himself. He veers and hauls, in this fashion, on an idee,
+gentlemen, until he doesn't know one end of it from t'other."
+
+"This is not uncommon with men of great age," observed the duke. "They
+sometimes remember the things of their youth, while the whole of later
+life is a blank. I have remarked this with our venerable friend, in
+whose mind I think it will not be difficult, however, to revive the
+recollection of Admiral Bluewater, and even of yourself, Sir Wycherly.
+Let _me_ make the effort, Galleygo."
+
+"Yes, Lord Geoffrey," for so the steward always called the quondam
+reefer, "you does handle him more like a quick-working boat, than any on
+us; and so I'll take an hopportunity of just overhauling our old
+lieutenant's young 'uns, and of seeing what sort of craft he has set
+afloat for the next generation."
+
+"Sir Gervaise," said the Duke, leaning over the chair, "here is Sir
+Wycherly Wychecombe, who once served a short time with us as a
+lieutenant; it was when you were in the Plantagenet. You remember the
+Plantagenet, I trust, my dear sir?"
+
+"The Plantagenets? Certainly, duke; I read all about them when a boy.
+Edwards, and Henrys, and _Richards_--" at the last name he stopped; the
+muscles of his face twitched; memory had touched a sensitive chord. But
+it was too faintly, to produce more than a pause.
+
+"There, now," growled Galleygo, in Agnes' face, he being just then
+employed in surveying her through a pair of silver spectacles that were
+a present from his master, "you see, he has forgotten the old Planter;
+and the next thing, he'll forget to eat his dinner. It's _wicked_, Sir
+Jarvy, to forget _such_ a ship."
+
+"I trust, at least, you have not forgotten Richard Bluewater?" continued
+the Duke, "he who fell in our last action with the Comte de Vervillin?"
+
+A gleam of intelligence shot into the rigid and wrinkled face; the eye
+lighted, and a painful smile struggled around the lips.
+
+"What, _Dick_!" he exclaimed, in a voice stronger than that in which he
+had previously spoken. "_Dick!_ hey! duke? _good, excellent Dick?_ We
+were midshipmen together, my lord duke; and I loved him like a brother!"
+
+"I _knew_ you did! and I dare say now you can recollect the melancholy
+occasion of his death?"
+
+"Is Dick _dead_?" asked the admiral, with a vacant gaze.
+
+"Lord--Lord, Sir Jarvy, you knows he is, and that 'ere marvel
+constructure is his monerment--now you _must_ remember the old Planter,
+and the County of Fairvillian, and the threshing we guv'd him?"
+
+"Pardon me, Galleygo; there is no occasion for warmth. When I was a
+midshipman, warmth of expression was disapproved of by all the elder
+officers."
+
+"You cause me to lose ground," said the Duke, looking at the steward by
+way of bidding him be silent: "is it not extraordinary, Sir Wycherly,
+how his mind reverts to his youth, overlooking the scenes of latter
+life! Yes, _Dick is_ dead, Sir Gervaise. He fell in that battle in which
+you were doubled on by the French--when you had le Foudroyant on one
+side of you, and le Pluton on the other--"
+
+"_I remember it!_" interrupted Sir Gervaise, in a clear strong voice,
+his eye flashing with something like the fire of youth--"I remember it!
+Le Foudroyant was on our starboard beam; le Pluton a little on our
+larboard bow--Bunting had gone aloft to look out for Bluewater--no--poor
+Bunting was killed--"
+
+"Sir Wycherly Wychecombe, who afterwards married Mildred Bluewater,
+Dick's niece," put in the baronet, himself, almost as eager as the
+admiral had now become; "Sir Wycherly Wychecombe _had_ been aloft, but
+was returned to report the Pluton coming down!"
+
+"So he did!--God bless him! A clever youth, and he _did_ marry Dick's
+niece. God bless them _both_. Well, sir, you're a stranger, but the
+story will interest you. There we lay, almost smothered in the smoke,
+with one two-decker at work on our starboard beam, and another hammering
+away on the larboard bow, with our top-masts over the side, and the guns
+firing through the wreck."
+
+"Ay, now you're getting it like a book!" exclaimed Galleygo exultingly,
+flourishing his stick, and strutting about the little chapel; "that's
+just the way things was, as I knows from seeing 'em!"
+
+"I'm quite certain I'm right, Galleygo?"
+
+"Right! your honour's righter than any log-book in the fleet. Give it to
+'em, Sir Jarvy, larboard and starboard!"
+
+"That we did--that we did"--continued the old man earnestly, becoming
+even grand in aspect, as he rose, always gentleman-like and graceful,
+but filled with native fire, "that did we! de Vervillin was on our
+right, and des Prez on our left--the smoke was choking us
+all--Bunting--no; young Wychecombe was at my side; he said a fresh
+Frenchman was shoving in between us and le Pluton, sir--God forbid! I
+_thought_; for we had enough of them, us it was. There she comes! See,
+here is her flying-jib-boom-end--and there--hey! Wychecombe?--_That's_
+the _old Roman_, shoving through the smoke!--Caesar himself! and there
+stands Dick and young Geoffrey Cleveland--_he_ was of your family,
+duke--there stands Dick Bluewater, between the knight-heads, waving his
+hat--_HURRAH!_--He's true, at last!--He's true, at last--_HURRAH!
+HURRAH!_"
+
+The clarion tones rose like a trumpet's blast, and the cheering of the
+old sailor rang in the arches of the Abbey Church, causing all within
+hearing to start, as if a voice spoke from the tombs. Sir Gervaise,
+himself, seemed surprised; he looked up at the vaulted roof, with a gaze
+half-bewildered, half-delighted.
+
+"Is this Bowldero, or Glamorgan House, my Lord Duke," he asked, in a
+whisper.
+
+"It is neither, Admiral Oakes, but Westminster Abbey; and this is the
+tomb of your friend, rear-admiral Richard Bluewater."
+
+"Galleygo, help me to kneel," the old man added in the manner of a
+corrected school-boy. "The stoutest of us all, should kneel to God, in
+his own temple. I beg pardon, gentlemen; I wish to pray."
+
+The Duke of Glamorgan and Sir Wycherly Wychecombe helped the admiral to
+his knees, and Galleygo, as was his practice, knelt beside his master,
+who bowed his head on his man's shoulders. This touching spectacle
+brought all the others into the same humble attitude. Wycherly, Mildred,
+and their children, with the noble, kneeling and praying in company. One
+by one, the latter arose; still Galleygo and his master continued on the
+pavement. At length Geoffrey Cleveland stepped forward, and raised the
+old man, placing him, with Wycherly's assistance, in the chair. Here he
+sat, with a calm smile on his aged features, his open eyes riveted
+seemingly on the name of his friend, perfectly dead. There had been a
+reaction, which suddenly stopped the current of life, at the heart.
+
+Thus expired Sir Gervaise Oakes, full of years and of honours; one of
+the bravest and most successful of England's sea-captains. He had lived
+his time, and supplied an instance of the insufficiency of worldly
+success to complete the destiny of man; having, in a degree, survived
+his faculties, and the consciousness of all he had done, and all he
+merited. As a small offset to this failing of nature, he had regained a
+glimmering view of one of the most striking scenes, and of much the most
+enduring sentiment, of a long life, which God, in mercy, permitted to be
+terminated in the act of humble submission to his own greatness and
+glory.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Two Admirals, by J. Fenimore Cooper
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