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- text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: dashed 1px; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 3em; - padding-bottom: 1em;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 90%;} -.footnote p {text-indent: 0em;} -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: none; -} - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} -.poetry {display: inline-block; font-size: 80%;} -.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em; line-height: 1.3em;} -.poetry .indentq {text-indent: -3.5em;} - -/* large inline blocks don't split well on paged devices */ -@media handheld, print { .poetry {display: block; margin-left: 4.5em;} } - - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -.transnote p {text-indent: 0em;} - - -/* custom cover.jpg */ -.customcover {visibility: hidden; display: none;} -@media handheld { - .customcover {visibility: visible; display: block;} -} - -/* Poetry indents */ -.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em;} -.poetry .indent2 {text-indent: -2em;} - -/* Illustration classes */ -.illowp100 {width: 100%;} @media handheld { .illowp100 {width: 100%;} } - - </style> - </head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Thirty Years from Home, by Samuel Leech - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Thirty Years from Home - or, a voice from the main deck, being the experience of Samuel Leech - -Author: Samuel Leech - -Release Date: September 23, 2020 [EBook #63273] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THIRTY YEARS FROM HOME *** - - - - -Produced by MWS, John Campbell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="transnote"> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Footnote anchors are denoted by <span class="fnanchor">[number]</span>, -and the footnotes have been placed at the end of the book.</p> - -<p>The warship USS <i>Syren</i> is referred to as <i>Siren</i> throughout -the book (except for the title page); this has not been changed.</p> - -<p class="customcover">The cover image was created by the transcriber -and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -<p>Some minor changes to the text are noted at the <a href="#TN">end of the book.</a></p> -</div> - - -<p class="pfs120 pg-brk">THE</p> - -<p class="p1 pfs240">MAGAZINE OF HISTORY</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs120">WITH</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs135">NOTES AND QUERIES</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs135 antiqua">Extra Number—No. 9</p> - -<p class="p4 pfs70">COMPRISING</p> - -<p class="p2 ttl">THIRTY YEARS FROM HOME, OR A VOICE<br /> -FROM THE MAIN DECK: BEING THE<br /> -EXPERIENCE OF SAMUEL LEECH.</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs120">WILLIAM ABBATT</p> -<p class="pfs90">EAST 25th STREET, <span class="pad2">⁂</span> <span class="pad2">⁂</span> <span class="pad2">NEW YORK</span> </p> -<p class="pfs90">1909</p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="ifrontis" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i_frontis.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">THIS REPRESENTATION OF THE U. S. FRIGATE UNITED STATES, STEPHEN DECATUR ESQ<sup>R</sup> COMMANDER, -CAPTURING HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S FRIGATE MACEDONIAN, JOHN S. CARDEN ESQ^R COMMANDER<br /> -<em>Is respectfully inscribed to Captain Stephen Decatur his Officers and Gallant Crew by their devoted humble Servant</em><br /> -<p class="right">James Webster.</p> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<h1> -<span class="fs70">THIRTY YEARS FROM HOME</span><br /> -<span class="fs40 lsp">OR</span><br /> -A VOICE FROM THE<br /> -MAIN DECK</h1> - -<p class="p1 pfs100">BEING THE EXPERIENCE OF</p> - -<p class="p1 pfs150">SAMUEL LEECH</p> - -<p class="p2 noindent fs80">WHO WAS FOR SIX YEARS IN THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN -NAVIES: WAS CAPTURED IN THE BRITISH FRIGATE <i>MACEDONIAN</i>: -AFTERWARDS ENTERED THE AMERICAN NAVY, -AND WAS TAKEN IN THE UNITED STATES BRIG <i>SYREN</i>, BY -THE BRITISH SHIP <i>MEDWAY</i> -<span class="nowrap"> :: :: :: ::</span></p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="p1 pfs80">BOSTON<br /> -PUBLISHED BY TAPPAN & DENNET<br /> -<span class="smcap">114 Washington Street</span><br /> -1843</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p class="p1 pfs80">NEW YORK<br /> -Reprinted<br /> -WILLIAM ABBATT<br /> -1909</p> - -<p class="p1 pfs80">(Being Extra No. 9 of <span class="smcap">The Magazine of History</span> with Notes and Queries)</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[Pg 3]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p>I have often been solicited, by my personal friends, to commit -the incidents of my life to paper. It was thought that they contained -sufficient interest to command public attention. At any rate, there -is a novelty in the fact of an unlettered sailor’s appearance before -the public, detailing the secrets of the naval Main Deck. The -Quarter Deck has long and often told its own story, and has given -its own coloring to naval life. Here, however, is a voice from the -main deck, revealing life in a man of war as it appears to the sailor -himself. As such, this work has some claim on the attention of the -public.</p> - -<p>I have endeavored to state facts as they were when I was a sailor, -and in the ships to which I belonged. My object is to give a true -picture. That, I have done, as far as a remarkably strong memory -enabled me. I kept no journals, and consequently some slight mistakes -in names, dates and places, may be found in my book; but I -have been careful to state nothing as <em>facts</em>, of which I was not certain.</p> - -<p>That the naval service has improved since I belonged to it, is, I -believe, universally admitted. I rejoice at it. Still, it is not yet -what it should be. If this work should, in any degree, stir up the -public mind to amend the condition of seamen, I shall feel gratified, -and fully repaid for the labor of placing these facts on record.</p> - -<p>With many prayers that the perusal of these pages may do good, -I leave the reader to pursue his way along the track of my experience: -assuring him, that what may afford him pleasure to read, has -cost me much pain to suffer.</p> - -<p class="right smcap">Samuel Leech.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak fs100" id="RECOMMENDATIONS">RECOMMENDATIONS</h2> -</div> - - - <div class="fs85"> -<p class="center"><em>From the Hon. Erastus Corning.</em></p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Albany, N. Y.</span>, December 3, 1842.</p> - -<p class="noindent smcap">To whom it may concern:</p> - -<p class="in2">I have known and have had intercourse with Mr. Samuel Leech, for the last -twenty years, and have always found him honorable in his dealings, and consider -him entitled to the confidence of the public as a man of strict integrity.</p> - -<p class="right">ERASTUS CORNING.</p> - - -<p class="p2 in2">The undersigned, being acquainted with Mr. Samuel Leech, the author of the -following work, do cheerfully vouch for his moral and Christian character; and -assure the public, that the interesting volume, which he here presents to the world, -may be relied upon as an honest statement of facts, with which the writer was -personally conversant; and as having no fellowship whatever with those fictitious -tales of the sea, which, under the garb and professions of truth, have been proffered -to the reading community.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="padr2">CHARLES ADAMS,</span><br /> -<em>Principal Wes. Academy.</em></p> - -<p class="right"><span class="padr2">JOHN BOWERS,</span><br /> -<em>Pastor Cong. Church, Wilbraham, Mass.</em></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Wilbraham</span>, May 4, 1843.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="padr2">DAVID PATTEN,</span><br /> -<em>Pastor, Providence, R. I.</em></p> - -<p class="right"><span class="padr2">REUBEN RANSOM,</span><br /> -<em>Presiding Elder, Springfield Dis. N. E. C.</em></p> - -<p class="right"><span class="padr2">HENRY CHASE,</span><br /> -<em>Preacher to Seamen, N. Y.</em></p> - </div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE2">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">Narratives of service, a century ago, written by private -soldiers, are rare, but such by common sailors are -almost unknown.</p> - -<p>Samuel Leech’s narrative “Thirty Years from Home, a voice -from the Main-Deck” is a unique book, and now scarce. It is a -valuable contribution to our history, giving a sailor’s experience in -both British and American navies, and being the sole account by a -British seaman of the capture of the <i>Macedonian</i> by the <i>United -States</i>, in 1812.</p> - -<p>The revelations he makes of the cruel treatment of their men -by British naval officers are unfortunately matched by the similar -account of life on the same frigate <i>United States</i>, then under command -of “<em>Captain Claret</em>” in 1843-44, given by Herman Melville -in his remarkable book <cite><span class="fsnormal">“White Jacket, or the World in a Man of -War.”</span></cite> Though he is writing of an era thirty years later than -Leech’s, the picture is equally distressing.</p> - -<p>Leech also gives almost as bad a character to Captain David -Porter (father of the late Admiral David D. Porter) as to the -British tyrants.</p> - -<p>It should be recorded in this connection, that flogging was -abolished in the United States navy in 1851, through the efforts of -Commodore Robert P. Stockton.</p> - -<p>The book has never been reprinted before since its original appearance -(1843.)</p> - -<p class="right smcap">Editor.</p> - -<p class="fs80 negin2 pad3">—The late Rear Admiral S. R. Franklin (<cite>Memories of a Rear Admiral</cite>, 1898), who -was midshipman on the <i>United States</i> when Herman Melville was of the crew, -says <em>Captain Claret</em> was Captain James Armstrong, and the <em>Commodore</em> Thomas -Ap Catesby Jones. He adds: “Melville’s <cite>White Jacket</cite> had more influence in -abolishing corporal punishment in the Navy than anything else. A copy of it -was placed on the desk of every member of Congress, and was a most eloquent -appeal to the humane sentiment of the country.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="pfs150">A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">Were it not that the most common of all inquiries, respecting -every man who comes before the public, is, -“who is he? whence did he proceed? who were his -parents?” &c., I would not detain the reader with any account of -my humble ancestors and their circumstances. But, since men naturally -expect this information, and would hence consider my narrative -imperfect without it, I shall take the liberty to introduce them.</p> - -<p>My father’s occupation was that of <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">valet de chambre</i> to Lord -William Fitzroy, son of the Duke of Grafton. My recollections -concerning him are few and indistinct, as he died while I was yet -scarcely three years old. One little incident alone reminds me of -wearing a mourning dress as a memento of sorrow for his death. -Returning from the parish church in Walthamstow, I observed the -larger boys amusing themselves by swinging across the rails of the -fences; endeavoring to join in their amusement, my hands slipped, -and falling into a muddy ditch, I nearly finished my course, ere it -was well begun, by a violent death. A benevolent stranger, however, -rescued me, and once safe, my grief for the sad condition of -my little black frock was excessive and inconsolable. A trifling -cause for sorrow, to be sure, yet men and women often grieve for -causes equally contemptible.</p> - -<p>Although my personal remembrances of my father’s death are -so indistinct, yet the frequent mention made of him by my mother, -has left the pleasing impression on my mind that he died a Christian. -“I have thought of my numerous sins, but God has forgiven -them all. Be not troubled, for the Lord will provide for you and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -your children. You need not fear to leave me, for I am not alone; -God is with me, though you are out of the room,” were among his -dying expressions; when, after fourteen months endurance of the -pains which accompany a slow consumption, he approached “that -bourne from which no traveller returns.” I expect to find my honored -father in heaven.</p> - -<p>Wanstead, in Essex, about seven miles from the great metropolis -of England, was the town, and 1798 the year, of my birth. Were -it necessary to designate the place more particularly, it might be -said that the part of Wanstead where I first struggled into being, -was called Nightingale Place; a most musical name, conferred in -honor of the nightingales which abounded in the vicinity.</p> - -<p>Two years subsequently to my father’s demise, my mother became -an inmate of the family of Lady Francis Spencer, daughter of -the Duke of Grafton, and wife of Lord Spencer. As a consequence -of this event, I was deprived of a mother’s care and consigned -to the charge of my aunt Turner, whose family amounted to -the very respectable number of twenty-two sons and two daughters. -The transfer of a child from the care of its parent to that of another -person, may appear, at first sight, to be a very unimportant -incident; but trifling as it seems, it often exerts an influence which -very materially changes the destiny of the child: it was so in my -case. Most of my cousins were sailors, and some of them were constantly -returning home, bringing, with true sailors’ munificence, -the pleasing and curious productions of distant climes as presents -to their parents and friends; then, seated round the bright hearth-side, -they used to tell of wild adventures and hair-breadth escapes, -spinning out the winter evening’s tale to the infinite delight of -their willing listeners. Poor fellows! three of them died at sea; two -more, John and Richard, perished in the ill-fated <i>Blenheim</i>, a seventy-four -gun ship of the British navy, which went down off the -Cape of Good Hope, with seven hundred as brave men on board as -ever trod a plank. Notwithstanding these sad recollections, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -though none perceived it, my three years’ residence among these -“sailors bold” decided the nature of my future calling; it captivated -my imagination and begat a curiosity, which ultimately led -me to make my “home upon the bounding deep.”</p> - -<p>An orphan is ever exposed to changes. The loss of either parent -calls for a degree of sympathy and kindness from others, which they -are rarely willing to expend except on their own. Such is the almost -universal selfishness of human nature. My experience affords -a verification of the truthfulness of the remark. For some cause -or other, it became inconvenient for me to remain with my kind aunt -Turner, and my next home was with a widowed aunt, at Wanstead, -where I did not meet with the same kindness of treatment. The -breaking of a cup, or any of the thousand-and-one offences found in -the list of juvenile defects, was sure to bring upon me the infliction -of the rod; and, what was equally painful, my most economical aunt -exacted the full payment for all these losses from the little pocket -money I obtained by holding a horse, running errands, or as new-year -and Christmas presents; thus gratifying her temper and her -covetousness at once, besides embittering, to some extent, the boyish -hours of my unfortunate self.</p> - -<p>There is no evil in the management of children to be more deprecated -than that species of treatment which tends to destroy their -happiness. Correction for obvious faults, in a proper manner, is -essential to their proper moral training; but a habit of incessantly -scolding them for every little accident or offence, only serves to excite -the growth of evil passions and to make them dislike their home; -things to be avoided as much as Scylla and Charybdis by the careful -mariner. The influence of such mal-treatment follows the child -through life, like an evil genius, materially affecting his views of life -and the temper of his mind. For aught that now occurs to me, but -for this unkindness, my early predilection for the sea would have -died within me; while, as it was, I panted to enjoy the freedom -my fancy painted in its pictures of sailor life. To add to my sor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span>rows, -my mother removed my sister, who had been my cheerful companion -and true friend, to a lady’s school at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, -for the twofold purpose of affording her greater literary advantages, -and of being able to see her more frequently.</p> - -<p>Several incidents occurred during my abode here, which tended -to increase my growing desire. A smart, active sailor, over six feet -in height, and well-proportioned, one day presented himself at my -aunt’s door. He told us he had been to America, where he had -seen a young man named George Turner, who was her nephew and -my cousin. He proceeded to tell many fine stories about him, and -at last inquired if she should not like to see him, and if she should -know him.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know as I should,” said my aunt, “he has been away so -long.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” replied he, “I am George Turner!”</p> - -<p>This fine, bold seaman, then, was my own cousin, son to my -aunt Turner; he had been eleven years at sea, and, after visiting -his parents, took this method of surprising his aunt. Most likely -he has made this adventure the subject of many a forecastle yarn -since then. While he remained he was so jolly, so liberal, and so -full of pleasant stories, that I began to feel quite sure that sailors -were noble fellows.</p> - -<p>We were also favored with a visit from an uncle, then visiting -Europe from the West Indies. He was one of two brothers, who -were educated at Greenwich for the navy. One of them had entered -the British navy, and by dint of merit and hard service rose -to the possession of a commission in the service, but ultimately perished -at sea. This one had chosen the merchant service, but afterwards -settled at Antigua. He took me with him to London, and -carried me over the West India docks; he being well acquainted -with many of the captains, they treated me with playful attention, -inquiring if I did not wish to be a cabin-boy, and the like. When I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -returned to Wanstead, it was with a stronger desire than ever to be -a sailor. My uncle went to Trinidad, and died shortly after.</p> - -<p>A very pleasant piece of intelligence greeted me soon after -these incidents; it was nothing less than my removal from the care -of my unkind aunt to the roof of my mother. Weary of her widowhood, -she had again become a wife. My new parent was a widower -with one son; a carpenter by occupation, in the employ of the Duke -of Marlborough. Great was my joy when this fact was communicated -to my young mind. I hailed it as a deliverance from bondage, -and with beaming eyes and cheerful face hurried to bid adieu -to my classmates in the day and in the Sunday school—a sad proof -of the unfitness of my aunt for her task; since a child properly -treated, will love its <em>home</em> too well to quit it without a tear; and if -parents and guardians wish to prevent their children from being -wanderers and stragglers through the wide world, let me bid them -exert the utmost effort to make their home pleasant. Throw a -charm round it, make it enchanted ground, cause it to become, in -the language of a living poet,</p> - -<p class="pfs80">“The fairy ring of bliss”</p> - -<p class="noindent">and then your children will love it too well to wander.</p> - -<p>But I was now about to leave Wanstead, and, although delighted -to be rid of the surveillance of a cross old relation, there were -some things which threw an air of sadness occasionally over my -mind. There were many pleasant associations connected with the -place; its beautiful park, with herds of timid deer grazing under its -tall oaks, upon whose green old heads the sun had shone for centuries; -the venerable mansion, seated like a queen amid the sylvan -scene; the old parish church, with its gorgeously painted windows, -to which I had often walked on the Sabbath with my fellow-scholars -in the Sabbath school, and beside whose deep-toned organ I had sat -listening to the learned priest; the annual hunt at Easter, in which -I had often joined the crew of idle lads that gave chase to the dis<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span>tracted -deer; and the pleasant walks, made cheerful by the songs of -innumerable birds, in Epping forest, were all to be left—perhaps -forever. This thought made me somewhat sad, but it was swallowed -up in the joy I felt when my mother appeared to conduct me -to Bladen, some sixty miles from London, which was the place of -her abode since her marriage.</p> - -<p>Behold me then, gentle reader, seated with my mother on the -outside of a stage-coach, with some ten fellow-passengers. The -stage-coach of England is quite a different vehicle from the carriage -known by that name in America. True, it is drawn by four -horses, and it runs on four wheels, but here the likeness ends; instead -of being built to carry twelve persons inside, it carries but six, -while outside it has seats for twelve. Three or four passengers ride -very comfortably behind, in what is called the basket, which is the -territory of the guard, as the boot before is of the coachman. All -mail coaches, and all others travelling in the night, carry a guard, -or an armed man, for the purpose of protecting the coach from the -attacks of footpads or highway robbers.</p> - -<p>The dullness of our journey was somewhat relieved, after a long -season of silence, by the distress of an unfortunate passenger, who, -falling asleep, nodded so violently, that his hat, supposing it was receiving -notice to quit, very unceremoniously took leave of the skull -it covered, and plunged into the mud. The outcry of the poor passenger, -who was soon waked by the wind sporting amid his hair, -and his unavailing requests to stop the stage, put us all into good -humor with ourselves and with each other.</p> - -<p>We had another source of relief in the antics of a wild, hair-brained -sailor. From spinning yarns, which looked amazingly like -new inventions, he would take to dancing on the roof of the coach; -at the foot of a hill he would leap off, and then spring up again with -the agility of a monkey, to the no small amusement of the passengers. -The more I saw of this reckless, thoughtless tar, the more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -enamored I became with the idea of a sea life; and thus this journey -to my mother’s new abode was another link in the chain that decided -my future destiny in the drama of life. How strangely and -imperceptibly do small events tend to unexpected results. A match -may fire a city and lay desolate the work of ages; a single leak may -sink a bark and carry desolation to a hundred firesides—and trifles -in the daily scenes of human life, give character to our immortality. -We cannot, therefore, too carefully watch the influence of small -events, especially on young minds.</p> - -<p>At Woodstock, famed in the annals of England as the scene -of the loves of King Henry and Rosamond Clifford, we quitted our -stage companions, and proceeded on foot to Bladen, two miles distant. -Our road lay through Blenheim or Woodstock park, which -we entered through the triumphal arch, a spacious portal, erected -to the memory of John, Duke of Marlborough, by Sarah, his duchess. -On entering the park, which is nearly twelve miles in circumference, -one of the most beautiful prospects imaginable disclosed -itself. Blenheim Palace, which is among the most magnificent piles -of architecture in England, appeared in front; on the left were to -be seen a part of the village of Woodstock, and on the right a broad -and spacious lake, crossed by a superb bridge;<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> a lofty column on -the rising ground, erected in honor of John, Duke of Marlborough, -on which is the statue of that noble warrior; a delightful valley, -hills, plantations, herds of deer feeding, shady groves and ancient -trees, all conspired to render the scene enchantingly beautiful.</p> - -<p>Blenheim Palace, or Castle, was built at the public expense, -in the reign of Queen Anne, and was given, with its annexed demesnes, -in concurrence with the voice of parliament, to John, Duke -of Marlborough, as a testimony of royal favor and national gratitude<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -for his successes over the French and Bavarians; particularly -for his victory at Blenheim, on the banks of the Danube, on the 2d -of August, 1704.</p> - -<p>Crossing the park towards Bladen, we were met by my -father-in-law,<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> who received me with a kindness which prepossessed -me at once in his favor; he conducted us home, where, to my no -small gratification, I met my sister.</p> - -<p>My father-in-law appeared to be in comfortable circumstances. -He resided in a very neat house, built of stone, shaded by a noble -apricot tree, and ornamented with a small but pretty garden. This, -together with another similar tenement, was his own property. To -add to my satisfaction, I perceived that he was very kind to my -mother, and also to myself. She one day expressed a desire to have -the cold stone floor of the kitchen removed, and boarded instead; -my father, at considerable expense, gratified her wish; this assured -me of his regard for her comfort.</p> - -<p>With the village itself, I was equally well pleased. Though -containing few houses, it was delightfully pleasant. Fine farms, -with large flocks of quiet sheep grazing on their hill-sides; expansive -fields, surrounded with fragrant hawthorn hedges; and old -farm-houses, with their thatched roofs, and massive wheat ricks, met -the pleased eye on all sides; while cultivated gardens and numerous -wild flowers, especially the modest cowslip and humble violet, -scented the air and perfumed the breeze. Thus far, perhaps, Bladen -was equal to Wanstead; but in its moral aspects it was inferior. -There was far less regard for the Sabbath; less attention to the -moral culture of the young, than at the latter place. That blessed -institution, which has vivified and renewed the church, which has -filled her with the vigorous pulsations of youth—from which, as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -from some prolific nursery, she has obtained the plants, which now -stand on her mountain-tops like the tall cedars of Lebanon—the -modest, unassuming Sabbath school was not there. Consequently, -the Sabbath was spent in roaming about the fields, in amusements, -in visiting, in taking excursions to a place called Ramsden, some -seven miles distant. True, there was a parish church, with two -clergymen belonging to its altars, but there was service only once -every Sunday within its ancient walls. During Lent, however, -both priests and people were more religious; the church was better -attended; the children were examined as to their knowledge of the -church catechism! They were even excited to diligence in committing -it to memory by the inducement of reward. A Bible and two -prayer books were given to the lads who excelled in answering the -questions. At the first Lent examination after my coming to Bladen, -the Bible, the highest prize, was awarded to me, and the second -year the minister assigned me the task of hearing the others recite—a -striking proof of the benefit of Sunday school instruction; it gave -me both a moral and mental superiority over all my compeers in the -little village of Bladen. This <ins class="corr" id="tn-15" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'special attenton to'"> -special attention to</ins> religion only -lasted during the term of Lent; when, with a return to the use of -meat, the people returned to the neglect of the Sabbath.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of Bladen were very social in their habits. -They held an annual feast, called Bladen feast, to which they invited -their friends from other towns; it commenced on Sabbath and -continued three days. Eating, drinking, talking, fortune-telling, -gambling, occupied three days of wassail and jollity; after which -the visitors returned to their respective towns, and the people to -their occupations. The neighboring villages gave similar feasts in -their turn. They were occasions of much evil and folly.</p> - -<p>My time flew very rapidly and pleasantly away for two or -three years, until, like most children, I began to sigh for deliverance -from the restraints of home. I had already left school, and for -some time, being now about thirteen years of age, had been em<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span>ployed -in the pleasure-grounds of Blenheim Palace. This, however, -was too tame a business for a lad of my spirits. I had heard -tales of the sea from my cousins; my mother had filled my mind -with the exploits of my grandfather; my imagination painted a life -on the great deep in the most glowing colors; my mind grew uneasy; -every day, my ordinary pursuits became more and more irksome, -and I was continually talking about going to sea; indeed, I -had made myself unhappy by being so discontented.</p> - -<p>Little do lads and young men know of the difference between -the comfort of a parent’s roof and the indifference, unkindness, and -trouble they invariably experience, who go out into the world, until -they have made the experiment. They paint everything in bright -colors; they fancy the future to be all sunshine, all sweets, all -flowers, but are sure to be wofully disappointed, when once away -from the fireside of their infancy. Let me advise young people, if -they wish to escape hardships, to be contented, to remain quietly at -home, abiding the openings of Providence, obeying the wishes of -their parents, who not only have their best good at heart, but, however -they may think to the contrary, actually know what is most -for their advantage.</p> - -<p>My passion for a seaman’s life was not a little increased by a -soldier, who was sergeant to a company in Lord Francis Spencer’s -regiment of cavalry. Seated by my father’s hearth-side, this old -soldier, who had once been a sailor, would beguile many an evening -hour with his endless tale, while I sat listening in enrapt attention. -My mother, too, heedlessly fanned the flame by her descriptions of -the noble appearance of the ships she had seen when at Brighton. -Besides this, a footman at Blenheim House used to sing a song -called “the poor little sailor boy;” which, although somewhat -gloomy in its descriptions, only served to heighten the flame of desire -within me, until I could think of nothing else, day or night, but -of going to sea.</p> - -<p>Finding my desires so strong, my kind-hearted mother men<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span>tioned -them to Lady Spencer. Just at that time, her brother, Lord -William Fitzroy, who was then expecting the command of a frigate, -and with whom my departed father had lived as valet, happened to -visit Blenheim, previously to going to sea. Anxious to serve my -mother, Lady Spencer mentioned me to Lord Fitzroy. He sent -for me. Trembling in every joint, I was ushered into his presence. -He inquired if I should like to go to sea. “Yes, my lord, I should,” -was my ready answer. He dismissed me, after some further questionings; -but was heard to say, before he left, that he would take -me under his care, and see to my future advancement.</p> - -<p>These dazzling prospects not only well nigh turned my brain, -but decided my parents to send me to sea. To have their son an -<em>officer</em> in the navy was an unlooked-for honor; and they now entered -into my plans and feelings with almost as much ardor as myself. -Alas! We were all doomed to learn how little confidence can be -placed in the promises of nobles!</p> - -<p>Not long after Lord Fitzroy’s departure, we received a letter -stating the fact of his appointment to his majesty’s frigate <i>Macedonian</i>, -which, being out of dock, was rapidly preparing for sea. This -intelligence was the signal for bustle, excitement, preparation, and -I know not what. Friends and gossips constantly crowded in to -administer their gratuitous advice; some predicting, to my infinite -delight, that certainly so smart a boy would make a great man; -others wore very grave countenances, and gave certain expressive -shrugs of the shoulders, while they told of flogging through the -fleet, or of being “seized up” for merely a look or a word; in short, -but for a strong conviction in my own breast that this was all said -for effect, it is doubtful whether they would not have succeeded in -deterring me from my purpose.</p> - -<p>At last, after much ado, the long-expected day arrived when I -was to bid farewell to home and friends, to venture abroad upon an -unknown future. It would only vex the reader by its common<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span>place -character, or I would reveal all the nice little acts of parental, -brotherly and neighborly affection which took place. Suffice it to -say, that my parting was very much the same as that of all other -boys of twelve, when they leave home for the first time—a mixture -of hopes and fears, of tears and smiles, of sunshine and cloud.</p> - -<p>Attended by my mother and her infant daughter, on the -12th day of July, 1810, I turned my back on the quiet hamlet of -Bladen. Henceforth my lot was to be cast amid noise, dissipation, -storms and danger. This, however, disturbed my mind but little; -brushing away a tear, I leaped gaily on to the outside of the coach, -and in a few minutes, enveloped in a cloud of dust, was on my way -to London, filled with the one absorbing idea, “I am going to sea! -I am going to sea!” Should the reader take the trouble to read the -following chapters, he will learn the mishaps, hardships, pleasures -and successes that befell me there; and though my narrative may -not be filled with the witching tales, and romantic descriptions, that -abound in the works of the novelist, it shall at least commend itself -to his notice for its truthfulness.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">Before we sought the decks of the <i>Macedonian</i> we paid a -short visit to Wanstead, where we met with very pleasant -reception, very hospitable entertainment, very affectionate -adieus. Returning to London, we hired a boat and sailed down the -Thames, on whose bosom reposed the commerce of the world, to -Gravesend, where we spent the night. The next morning I experienced -a new gratification, which was nothing less than being arrayed -in a complete suit of sailor apparel; a tarpaulin hat, round -blue jacket and wide pantaloons. Never did young knight swell -with loftier emotion when donning for the first time his iron dress, -than I did when in sea dress I trod the streets of Gravesend. This -had always been my highest ambition. The gaudily dressed soldier -never had charms for me; but a sailor, how nice he looked! Well, -here I stood, at last, in the often coveted dress; it was the first luxury -connected with my life at sea. Pity that each successive step -had not yielded me equal delight. But it was mine to learn that -anticipation and reality were not born twins; that in fact there are -scarcely any two existences so essentially different in their characteristics. -That I should not lack the means of comfort, my good -mother purchased me a chest of clothing, and, as her last token of -maternal care, presented me with a Bible, a prayer book, and, -strangely inconsistent companions, a pack of cards! Thus equipped, -we once more hired a boat and descended the river two miles below -Gravesend, where lay the <i>Macedonian</i>, in graceful majesty on the -sparkling waters.</p> - -<p>The first guest we met on board was <em>disappointment</em>. From -the promises of Lord Fitzroy, we very strangely supposed that he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span> -felt my importance nearly as much as did my mother or father. -Judge then how we felt, when we learned that no one knew anything -in particular about my veritable self; yet, as his Lordship was -absent, they said I might remain on board until his return. This -was rather a damper on my spirits, but flattering myself that all -would be right on his return, I soon rallied again, and, aided by the -presence of my mother, passed a very agreeable day.</p> - -<p>Towards night, my mother left me; it scarcely need be said, she -wept when we parted. What mother would not? She did weep, -she strained me to her heart, and impressed affection’s purest kiss -upon my cheek. How like a dream that moment fled! Now, she -held me in her arms; a moment after, she was seated in the light boat -and gliding along the turbid Thames, on her homeward way. I -leaned over the taffrail and gazed on the departing boat, and when -it disappeared, I turned away and wept.</p> - -<p>The morning after my arrival, I was put into a “mess.” The -crew of a man of war is divided into little communities of about -eight, called <em>messes</em>. These eat and drink together, and are, as it -were, so many families. The mess to which I was introduced, was -composed of your genuine, weather-beaten, old tars. But for one -of its members, it would have suited me very well; this one, a real -gruff old “bull-dog,” named Hudson, took into his head to hate me -at first sight. He treated me with so much abuse and unkindness, -that my messmates soon advised me to change my mess, a privilege -which is wisely allowed, and which tends very much to the good fellowship -of a ship’s crew; for if there are disagreeable men among -them, they can in this way be got rid of; it is no unfrequent case to -find a few, who have been spurned from all the messes in the ship, -obliged to mess by themselves.</p> - -<p>This unkindness from the brutal Hudson rather chilled my -enthusiasm. The crew, too, by some means had an impression that -my mother had brought me on board to get rid of me, and therefore<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -bestowed their bitterest curses on her in the most profuse manner -imaginable. Swearing I had heard before, but never such as I -heard there. Nor was this all; in performing the work assigned -me, which consisted in helping the seamen take in provisions, powder, -shot, etc., I felt the insults and tyranny of the midshipmen. -These little minions of power ordered and drove me round like a -dog, nor did I and the other boys dare interpose a word. They -were <em>officers</em>; their word was our law, and woe betide the presumptuous -boy that dared refuse implicit obedience.</p> - -<p>These things reminded me of what had been said to me of the -hardships of sea life in a man of war. I began to wish myself back -in my father’s house at Bladen. This, however, was impossible, -and to add to my discouragement they told me I was entered on the -ship’s books for life. Dreary prospect! I felt more than half disposed, -as I went to my tasks, to use the language of the Irishman, -as sung by my shipmates. Tempted and beguiled while intoxicated, -he had enlisted for a soldier, but found the sergeant at the -<em>recruiting office</em> and the sergeant on the <em>drill-field</em> very different -personages. He is hence made to say,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="verse indentq">“It was early next morning to drill I was sent,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And its och to my soul! I began to lament;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Cannot you be aisy and let me alone?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Don’t you see I’ve got arms, legs, and feet of my own?”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But although somewhat grieved with my first experience of -sailor life, I secretly struggled against my feelings, and with the -most philosophic desperation resolved to make the best of my condition. -We were kept busily at work every day until the ship’s -stores were all on board, and our frigate was ready for sea. Then -two hundred more men, draughted from receiving ships, came on -board, to complete the number of our crew, which, after this addition, -numbered full three hundred men. The jocularity, pleasantry, -humor and good feeling that now prevailed on board our<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -frigate, somewhat softened the unpleasantness of my lot, and cultivated -a feeling of reconciliation to my circumstances. Various little -friendships, which sprang up between me and my shipmates, -threw a gleam of gladness across my path; a habit of attention, respect -and obedience in a short time secured me universal good will. -I began to be tolerably satisfied.</p> - -<p>Many boys complain of ill usage at sea. I know they are subjected -to it in many instances; yet, in most cases, they owe it to -their own boldness. A boy on shipboard, who is habitually saucy, -will be kicked and cuffed by all with whom he has to do; he will be -made miserable. The reason is, I imagine, that sailors, being -treated as inferiors themselves, love to find opportunity to act the -<em>superior</em> over some one. They do this over the boys, and if they -find a saucy, insolent one, they show him no mercy. Permit me, -then, to advise boys who go to sea, to be civil and obliging to all; -they will be amply repaid for the effort it may cost them to make -the trial, especially if they gain the reputation, as I did, of being -among the best boys in the ship.</p> - -<p>A vessel of war contains a little community of human beings, -isolated, for the time being, from the rest of mankind. This community -is governed by laws peculiar to itself; it is arranged and divided -in a manner suitable to its circumstances. Hence, when its -members first come together, each one is assigned his respective station -and duty. For every task, from getting up the anchor to unbending -the sails, aloft and below, at the mess-tub or in the hammock, -each task has its man, and each man his place. A ship contains -a set of human machinery, in which every man is a wheel, a -band, or a crank, all moving with wonderful regularity and precision -to the will of its machinist—the all-powerful captain.</p> - -<p>The men are distributed in all parts of the vessel; those in the -tops are called fore-top-men, main-top-men, and mizzen-top-men, -with two captains to each top, one for each watch. These top-men<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -have to loose, take in, reef and furl the sails aloft, such as the top-gallant -sails, top-sails, top-gallant royal, and top-sail studding-sails. -Others are called forecastle men, waisters, and the after-guard; -these have to loose, tend, and furl the courses, that is, the -fore-sail, the main-sail and lower studding-sails; they also have to -set the jib, flying-jib, and spanker; the after-guard have a special -charge to coil up all ropes in the after part of the ship. Others are -called <em>scavengers</em>; these, as their not very attractive name imports, -have to sweep and pick up the dirt that may chance to gather -through the day, and throw it overboard. Then come the boys, who -are mostly employed as servants to the officers. Our captain had -a steward and a boy; these acted as his domestic servants in his large -and stately cabin, which, to meet the ideas of landsmen, may be -called his house. The lieutenants, purser, surgeon, and sailing-master, -had each a boy; they, together with the two lieutenants of -marines, who were waited upon by two marines, form what is called -the ward-room officers. The ward-room is a large cabin, (I mean -large for a ship, of course,) below the captain’s, where they all mess -together; aft of this cabin is a smaller one, which serves as a species -of store-room. Besides these accommodations, every ward-room -officer has his state-room, containing his cot, wash-stand, writing-desk, -clothes, etc. The gunner, boatswain, and some others, are -also allowed a boy; and a man and boy are appointed to be the servants -of a certain number of midshipmen.</p> - -<p>Another arrangement is that of forming the ship’s company -into watches. The captain, first lieutenant, surgeon, purser, boatswain, -gunner, carpenter, armorer, together with the stewards and -boys, are excused from belonging to them, but are liable to be called -out to take in sail; some of the last mentioned are called <em>idlers</em>. All -others are in watches, called the larboard and starboard watches.</p> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<p>Stations are also assigned at the guns, to the whole crew. -When at sea, the drummer beats to quarters every night. This -beat, by which the men are summoned to quarters, is a regular tune.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -I have often heard the words sung which belong to it; this is the -chorus:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="verse indentq">“Hearts of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">We always are ready, steady, boys, steady,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To fight and to conquer again and again.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">At the roll of this evening drum, all hands hurry to the guns. -Eight men and a boy are stationed at each gun, one of whom is captain -of the gun, another sponges and loads it, the rest take hold of -the side tackle-falls, to run the gun in and out; while the boy is employed -in handing the cartridges, for which he is honored with the -singularly euphonious cognomen of powder-monkey.</p> - -<p>Besides these arrangements among the men, there are from -thirty to forty marines to be disposed of. These do duty as sentries -at the captain’s cabin, the ward-room, and at the galley during -the time of cooking. They are also stationed at the large guns at -night, as far as their numbers run. When a ship is in action, and -small arms can be brought to bear on the enemy, they are stationed -on the spar-deck; they are also expected to assist in boarding, in -conjunction with several seamen from each gun, who are armed -with pistols and pikes, and called boarders.</p> - -<p>The great disparity of numbers between the crew of a merchant -ship and that of a man of war, occasions a difference in their -internal arrangements and mode of life, scarcely conceivable by -those who have not seen both. This is seen throughout, from the -act of rousing the hands in the morning to that of taking in sail. -In the merchantman, the watch below is called up by a few strokes -of the handspike on the forecastle; in the man of war, by the boatswain -and his mates. The boatswain is a petty officer, of considerable -importance in his way; he and his mates carry a small silver -whistle or pipe, suspended from the neck by a small cord. He receives -word from the officer of the watch to call the hands up. You -immediately hear a sharp, shrill whistle; this is succeeded by an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span>other -and another from his mates. Then follows his hoarse, rough -cry of “All hands ahoy!” which is forthwith repeated by his mates. -Scarcely has this sound died upon the ear, before the cry of “Up all -hammocks ahoy!” succeeds it, to be repeated in like manner. As -the first tones of the whistle penetrate between decks, signs of life -make their appearance. Rough, uncouth forms are seen tumbling -out of their hammocks on all sides, and before its last sounds have -died upon the air, the whole company of sleepers are hurriedly preparing -for the duties of the day. No delay is permitted, for as -soon as the before-mentioned officers have uttered their imperative -commands, they run below, each armed with a rope’s end, with -which they belabor the shoulders of any luckless wight upon whose -eyes sleep yet hangs heavily, or whose slow-moving limbs show him -to be but half awake.</p> - -<p>With a rapidity which would surprise a landsman, the crew -dress themselves, lash their hammocks and carry them on deck, -where they are stowed for the day. There is system even in this -arrangement; every hammock has its appropriate place. Below, -the beams are all marked, each hammock is marked with a corresponding -number, and in the darkest night, a sailor will go unhesitatingly -to his own hammock. They are also kept exceeding clean. -Every man is provided with two, so that while he is scrubbing and -cleaning one, he may have another to use. Nothing but such precautions -could enable so many men to live in so small a space.</p> - -<p>A similar rapidity attends the performance of every duty. -The word of command is given in the same manner, and its prompt -obedience enforced by the same unceremonious rope’s-end. To -skulk is therefore next to impossible; the least tardiness is rebuked -by the cry of “Hurrah my hearty! bear a hand! heave along! heave -along!” This system of driving is far from being agreeable; it -perpetually reminds you of your want of liberty; it makes you feel, -sometimes, as if the hardest crust, the most ragged garments, with -the freedom of your own native hills, would be preferable to John<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span> -Bull’s “beef and duff,” joined as it is with the rope’s-end of the -driving boatswain.</p> - -<p>We had one poor fellow, an Irishman, named Billy Garvy, who -felt very uneasy and unhappy. He was the victim of that mortifying -system of impressment, prevalent in Great Britain in time of -war. He came on board perfectly unacquainted with the mysteries -of sea life. One of his first inquiries was, where he should find his -bed, supposing they slept on shipboard on beds the same as on shore. -His messmates, with true sailor roguishness, sent him to the boatswain. -“And where shall I find a bed, sir?” asked he of this -rugged son of the ocean.</p> - -<p>The boatswain looked at him very contemptuously for a moment, -then, rolling his lump of tobacco into another apartment of -his ample mouth, replied,</p> - -<p>“Have you got a knife?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, stick it into the softest plank in the ship, and take that -for a bed!”</p> - -<p>Poor fellow! what was sport for others was pain to him. He -had been used to kind treatment at home. After he had received -his hammock, when turning out in the morning, with the boatswain’s -mates at his heels, he used to exclaim, “When I was at home, I -would walk in my father’s garden in the morning, until the maid -would come and say, ‘William, will you come to your ta, or your -coffee ta, or your chocolarata?’ But, oh! the case is altered now; -it’s nothing but bear a hand, lash and carry. Oh, dear!”</p> - -<p>I confess that Billy Garvy was not the only one who contrasted -the present with the past, or who found the balance to be greatly -in favor of the former. I often looked back to the village of Bladen, -and thought how preferable would be the bright hearth-side<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -and pleasant voices of that quiet home, to the profane, rough, uncomfortable -life we led on shipboard. As these reflections were -anything but pleasurable, I banished them as quickly as possible, -with a determination to be as happy as I could in my station of -servant to the surgeon of His Britannic Majesty’s frigate <i>Macedonian</i>: -a resolution which I commend to all lads, who, like me, are -foolish enough to quit the quiet scenes of a native village, for the -noisy, profane atmosphere of a man of war.</p> - -<p>As our fare was novel and so different from shore living, it -was some time before I could get fully reconciled to it: it was composed -of hard sea biscuit, fresh beef while in port, but salt pork and -salt beef at sea, pea soup and burgoo. Burgoo, or, as it was sportively -called, skillagallee, was oatmeal boiled in water to the consistency -of hasty pudding. Sometimes we had cocoa instead of burgoo. -Once a week we had flour and raisins served out, with which -we made “duff” or pudding. To prepare these articles, each mess -had its cook, who drew the provisions, made the duff, washed the -mess kids, etc. He also drew the grog for the mess, which consisted -of a gill of rum mixed with two gills of water for each man. This -was served out at noon every day: at four o’clock, P. M., each man -received half a pint of wine. The boys only drew half this quantity, -but were allowed pay for the remainder, a regulation which -could have been profitably applied to the whole supply of grog -and wine for both boys and men. But those were not days in -which Temperance triumphed as she does now; though, I believe, -the British navy has not yet ceased to dispense the “drink that’s -in the drunkard’s bowl” to her seamen.</p> - -<p>Shortly after our captain came on board, his servant died somewhat -suddenly, so that I had an early opportunity of seeing how -sailors are disposed of in this sad hour. The corpse was laid out on -the grating, covered with a flag; as we were yet in the river, the -body was taken on shore and buried, without the beautiful burial-service -of the church of England being read at his grave—a cere<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span>mony -which is not omitted at the interment of the veriest pauper in -that country.</p> - -<p>I have purposely dwelt on these particulars, that the reader -may feel himself initiated at once into the secrets of man-of-war -usages. He has doubtless seen ships of war with their trim rigging -and frowning ports, and his heart has swelled with pride as he has -gazed upon these floating cities—the representatives of his nation’s -character in foreign countries: to their internal arrangements, -however, he has been a stranger. I have endeavored to introduce -him into the interior: a desire to make him feel at home there, is my -apology for dwelling so long on these descriptions.</p> - -<p>After various delays, we were at last ready for sea and under -sailing orders. The tide and wind were both propitious; then came -the long-expected cry of the boatswain, “All hands up anchor -ahoy!” The crew manned the capstan in a trice, and running -round to the tune of a lively air played by the fifer, the huge anchor -rapidly left the mud of the Thames, and hung at the bows of our -taut frigate. Then came the cry of “All hands make sail ahoy!” -As if by magic, she was immediately covered with canvas; the -favoring breeze at once filled our sails, and the form that had lain -for weeks inert and motionless on the waters, now bounded along -the waves like a thing of life. Rapidly we ran down the Channel, -and before we had well got under weigh came to an anchor again -at Spithead, under shelter of the garden of England—the Isle of -Wight.</p> - -<p>Short as was the period between weighing anchor off Gravesend -and our arrival at Spithead, it gave opportunity for one of -those occurrences which are a disgrace to the naval service of any -nation, and a degradation to our common humanity, which the public -opinion of the civilized world should frown out of existence: I -allude to the brutal practice of flogging.</p> - -<p>A poor fellow had fallen into the very sailorlike offence of get<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span>ting -drunk. For this the captain sentenced him to the punishment -of four dozen lashes. He was first placed in <em>irons</em> all night: the -irons used for this purpose were shackles fitting round the ankles, -through the ends of which was passed an iron bar some ten or twelve -feet in length: it was thus long because it was no unfrequent case -for half a dozen men to be ironed at once. A padlock at the end -of the bar held the prisoner securely. Thus placed in “duress -vile,” he was guarded by a marine until the captain bade the first -lieutenant prepare the hands to witness the punishment. Upon -this the lieutenant transmitted the order to the master at arms. -He then ordered the grating or hatch full of square holes to be -rigged: it was placed accordingly between the main and spar decks, -not far from the mainmast.</p> - -<p>While these preparations were going on, the officers were dressing -themselves in full uniform and arming themselves with their -dirks: the prisoner’s messmates carried him his best clothes, to -make him appear in as decent a manner as possible. This is always -done, in the hope of moving the feelings of the captain favorably -towards the prisoner.</p> - -<p>This done, the hoarse, dreaded cry of “All hands ahoy to -witness punishment!” from the lips of the boatswain, peals along -the ship as mournfully as the notes of a funeral knell. At this -signal the officers muster on the spar deck, the men on the main -deck. Next came the prisoner; guarded by a marine on one side -and the master at arms on the other, he was marched up to the -grating. His back was made bare and his shirt laid loosely upon -his back; the two quartermasters proceeded to seize him up; that is, -they tied his hands and feet with spun-yarns, called the seizings, -to the grating. The boatswain’s mates, whose office it is to flog on -board a man of war, stood ready with their dreadful weapon of -punishment, the cat-o’-nine-tails. This instrument of torture was -composed of nine cords, a quarter of an inch round and about two -feet long, the ends whipt with fine twine. To these cords was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -affixed a stock, two feet in length, covered with red baize. The -reader may be sure that it is a most formidable instrument in the -hands of a strong, skilful man. Indeed, any man who should whip -his horse with it would commit an outrage on humanity, which -the moral feeling of any community would not tolerate; he would -be prosecuted for cruelty; yet it is used to whip <span class="allsmcap">MEN</span> on board ships -of war!</p> - -<p>The boatswain’s mate is ready, with coat off and whip in hand. -The captain gives the word. Carefully spreading the cords with -the fingers of his left hand, the executioner throws the cat over his -right shoulder; it is brought down upon the now uncovered herculean -shoulders of the <span class="allsmcap">MAN</span>. His flesh creeps—it reddens as if -blushing at the indignity; the sufferer groans; lash follows lash, -until the first mate, wearied with the cruel employment, gives place -to a second. Now two dozen of these dreadful lashes have been -inflicted: the lacerated back looks inhuman; it resembles roasted -meat burnt nearly black before a scorching fire; yet still the lashes -fall; the captain continues merciless. Vain are the cries and -prayers of the wretched man. “I would not forgive the Saviour,” -was the blasphemous reply of one of these naval demi-gods, or -rather demi-fiends, to a plea for mercy. The executioners keep on. -Four dozen strokes have cut up his flesh and robbed him of all -self-respect; there he hangs, a pitied, self-despised, groaning, bleeding -wretch; and now the captain cries, forbear! His shirt is thrown -over his shoulders; the seizings are loosed; he is led away, staining -his path with red drops of blood, and the hands, “piped down” by -the boatswain, sullenly return to their duties.</p> - -<p>Such was the scene witnessed on board the <i>Macedonian</i>, on the -passage from London to Spithead; such, substantially, is every -punishment scene at sea; only carried, sometimes, to a greater -length of severity. Sad and sorrowful were my feelings on witnessing -it; thoughts of the friendly warnings of my old acquaintance -filled my mind, and I inwardly wished myself once more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -under the friendly roof of my father, at Bladen. Vain wish! I -should have believed the warning voice when it was given. Believe -me, young man, you will often breathe that wish, if ever you -wander from a father’s house.</p> - -<p>Flogging in the navy is more severe than in the army, though -it is too bad to be tolerated there, or indeed anywhere. Other modes -of punishment might be successfully substituted, which would deter -from misconduct, without destroying the self-respect of the man. -I hope the day will come, when a captain will no more be allowed -to use the “cat” than he is now to use poison. It should be an -interdicted weapon.</p> - -<p>Though I have spoken severely of the officers of the navy, let -it not be thought that the whole class of naval officers are lost to -the finer feelings of humanity. There are many humane, considerate -men among them, who deserve our highest respect. This -was the case with the first lieutenant of the <i>Macedonian</i>, Mr. Scott. -He abhorred flogging. Once, when a poor marine was under sentence, -he plead <ins class="corr" id="tn-31" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'hard and succesfully'"> -hard and successfully</ins> with the captain for his respite. -This was a great victory; for the captain had a profound hatred -of marines. The poor soldier was extremely grateful for his intercession, -and would do anything for him to show his sense of the -obligation; indeed, the sailors, in their odd way, showed their preference -for him by describing him as a man who had a soul to be -saved, and who ought to go to heaven; while of the captain, they -whispered that if he did not go to perdition, “the devil would be -cheated of his due.” These are, in a manner, proverbial expressions -of like and dislike, on board a British man of war.</p> - -<p>One of the effects of this exhibition of cruelty was seen during -the short time we lay at Spithead. The two boys, who were servants -to the first and second lieutenants, conceiving a special dislike -to the idea of being flogged, took it into their heads to run -away. Being sent on shore, they shaped their course for the country. -It was well for them that they were not re-taken.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span></p> - -<p>Our frigate had orders to convey between two and three hundred -troops from Portsmouth to Lisbon, to assist the Portuguese -against the French. The soldiers were stowed on the main decks, -with very few conveniences for the voyage; their officers messed -and berthed in the ward-room. Having taken them on board, we -again weighed anchor, and were soon careering before the breeze -on our way to Lisbon.</p> - -<p>As usual, we who were landsmen had our share of that merciless, -nondescript, hateful, stultifying disease, yclept sea-sickness; -as usual, we wished the foolish wish that we had never come -to sea; as usual, we got over it, and laughed at ourselves for our -sea-sick follies. Our good ship paid little attention, however, to -our feelings; she kept along on her bounding way, and, after a -week at sea, we were greeted with the pleasant cry of “Land ho!” -from the mast-head. As it was now near night, we lay off and on -until morning; at day-break we fired a gun for a pilot. The wind -being nearly dead ahead, we had to beat about nearly all day. -Towards night it became fair, and we ascended the Tagus. This -river is about nine miles wide at its mouth, and is four hundred -and fifty miles in length; it has a very rapid current, with steep, -fertile banks. Aided by a fine breeze, we ascended it in splendid -style, passed a half-moon battery, then shot past Belem Castle -into the port of Lisbon, about ten miles from its mouth. Here we -found a spacious harbor, filled with shipping. Besides numerous -merchantmen, there were two ships of a hundred guns, several -seventy-fours, frigates and sloops of war, with a large number of -transports; all designed for the defence of Lisbon against the -French.</p> - -<p>Lisbon has a fine appearance from the harbor. A stranger, -after a long sea-voyage, <ins class="corr" id="tn-32" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'whle standing on'"> -while standing on</ins> the deck of his vessel, -and gazing on its battlements and towers, might fancy it to be -a terrestrial paradise; but, on landing, his admiration would cer<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span>tainly -sink below zero, as he plodded his way, beset by saucy beggars -at almost every step, through its narrow, filthy streets. Such, -at least, was my impression, as I perambulated the city. Among -other things, I noticed a great variety of churches and convents, -which furnished swarms of plump, good-natured friars, under -whose spiritual domination the good people of Lisbon were content -to rest. I also counted thirteen large squares. One of them contained -a huge black horse, standing in its centre, with the figure -of a man upon his back, both much larger than life. What this -monument represented, <ins class="corr" id="tn-33" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'I dd not learn'"> -I did not learn</ins>. That square is denominated -Black Horse Square.</p> - -<p>On the day after our arrival, the <i>Macedonian</i> was the scene -of considerable bustle. The troops, who seemed to forget their -proximity to a field of carnage, in the delight they felt at escaping -from the confinement on shipboard, were landed; several boats’ -crews were also sent up the river to assist in the defence of the -place.</p> - -<p>While we lay here, our ship was well supplied with fruits from -the shore. Large bunches of delicious grapes, abundance of sweet -oranges, water-melons, chestnuts, and also a bountiful supply of -gigantic onions, of peculiar flavor, enabled our crew to gratify -their palates in true English style. Poor fellows! they feasted, -laughed, and joked, as if the future had nothing to develop but -fairy scenes of unmixed delight. Little thought, indeed, does -your true tar take of the morrow.</p> - -<p>Amid these feastings, however, there rose something to trouble -Macbeth, in the shape of an order from the admiral to prepare for -a cruise. This was peremptory;—for a cruise, therefore, we prepared. -Our boats’ crews came on board; the officers stored their -larder with the means of gustatory gratifications; and we stood out -to sea again.</p> - -<p>The port of Corunna, in Spain, was the next place at which we<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -anchored. While lying in this spacious and safe harbor, our little -world was thrown into temporary confusion by the loss of the ward-room -steward, Mr. Sanders. This man could speak in the Spanish -tongue; he had accumulated a considerable sum of money by long -service, prize money, and an economy little known among sailors. -For some cause or other he had become dissatisfied; so, one day, he -engaged a Spaniard to run his boat under the stern of our frigate; -dropping from one of the stern ports into the boat, unperceived by -the officers, the wily Spaniards covered him with their loose garments -and sails, and then conveyed him to the shore. This was -running a great risk; for had he been detected in the act, or taken -afterwards, he would have felt the cruel strokes of the lash. Fortunately -for himself, he escaped without detection.</p> - -<p>From Corunna, we returned to Lisbon, where, at the cheerful -cry of “All hands bring the ship to an anchor, ahoy!” we once -more placed our frigate, taut and trim, under the battlements of -the city.</p> - -<p>As servant to the surgeon, it was one part of my duty to perform -the task of carrying his clothes to be washed. As great attention -to cleanliness, in frequently changing their linen, is observed -among naval officers, a good washerwoman is considered quite a -desideratum. In attending to this matter for my master, I had -frequent opportunities to go on shore. This gave me some means -of observation. On one of my visits to our pretty laundress, I saw -several Portuguese running along, gesticulating and talking with -great earnestness. Being ignorant of their language, my washerwoman, -who spoke good English, told me that a man had been -stabbed, in consequence of some ground for jealousy, afforded by -the conduct of the deceased. Hastening to the spot, I saw the -wounded man, stretched out on a bed, with two gaping wounds in -his side, the long knife, the instrument of the deed, lying by his side. -The poor sufferer soon died. What was done to the murderer, I -could not discover.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span></p> - -<p>Though very passionate, and addicted to the use of the knife, -for the purpose of taking summary vengeance, the Portuguese are -nevertheless arrant cowards. Indeed, it is a question by no means -settled, whether all classes of men, in any country, who fly to cold -steel or to fire-arms in every petty quarrel, are not cowards at -heart. We had an evidence of Portuguese cowardice in an affray -which occurred between some of the citizens of Lisbon and a party -of our marines. Six of the latter, ignorant of the palace or municipal -regulations, wandered into the queen’s gardens. Some -twenty of the Portuguese, on witnessing this bold intrusion on the -privacy of the queen, rushed upon them with long knives. The -marines, though so inferior in number, faced about with their bayonets, -and, after much cursing and chattering, their enemies, considering -perhaps that the better part of valor is discretion, took to -their heels, leaving the six marines masters of a bloodless field. -These recontres were quite common between them and our men; the -result, though sometimes more serious, was uniformly the same.</p> - -<p>As an illustration of the manners of this people, I cannot forbear -the insertion of another fact. I was one day walking leisurely -along the streets, quite at my ease, when the gathering of a noisy -multitude arrested my attention. Looking up, I was shocked at -seeing a human head, with a pair of hands beneath it, nailed to a -pole! They had just been taken from the body of a barber, who, -when in the act of shaving a gentleman, was seized with a sudden -desire to possess a beautiful watch, which glittered in his pocket; to -gain this brilliant bauble, the wretched man cut his victim’s throat. -He was arrested, his hands were cut off, then his head, and both -were fastened to the pole as I have described them. Upon inquiry, -I ascertained that this was the ordinary method of punishing murder -in Portugal; a striking evidence that civilization had not fully -completed its great work among them. Civilization humanizes -the feelings of society, throwing a veil of refinement and mercy over -even the sterner acts of justice; at any rate, it never tolerates such -barbarism as I saw at Lisbon.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span></p> - -<p>While in port we experienced a change of officers by no means -agreeable to the crew. Mr. Scott, our first lieutenant, an amiable -man, decidedly hostile to the practice of flogging, left us; for what -cause, we could not ascertain. His successor, Mr. Hope, though -bearing a very pleasant name, was an entirely different person, in -manners and conduct, from his predecessor. He was harsh, severe, -and fond of seeing the men flogged. Of course, floggings became -more frequent than before; for, although a lieutenant cannot flog -upon his own authority, yet, such is the influence he exerts over a -captain, that he has the utmost opportunity to gratify a thirst for -punishment. It may appear strange to the reader that any gentleman—and -all officers of the navy consider themselves <em>gentlemen</em>—should -possess such a thirst; yet such was the case with Mr. Hope. -Nor was his a solitary example; many a man, who, on shore, in -presence of ladies of fashion, appeared too gentle to harm an enemy, -too kind to injure an insect, was strangely metamorphosed into a -genuine unprincipled tyrant, upon assuming command in a man of -war.</p> - -<p>We had already witnessed a number of punishments, especially -at sea: in port, the officers were more condescending, lest their men -should desert; but at sea, when this was impossible, they flogged -without mercy. Cases of offence which occurred while in the harbor, -were looked up; sometimes a half dozen were flogged at once; -every man trembled lest he should be a victim; the ship’s crew were -made wretched; a sword seemed impending over every head. Who, -in such a case, could be happy? Not even a sailor, with all his habitual -thoughtlessness. Yet it is said we must flog, to maintain discipline -among sailors. Pshaw! Flogging may be needful to awe -a slave writhing under a sense of unmerited wrong, but never -should a lash fall on a freeman’s back, especially if he holds the -safety and honor of his country in his keeping.</p> - -<p>Poor old Bob Hammond! Never was man more reckless than -this honest-hearted Irishman; never was sailor more courageous<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -under punishment. For being drunk he received four dozen -lashes; he bore the infliction with profound silence, uttering neither -groan nor sigh; neither casting one imploring look at his tormentors. -On being taken down, he applied himself most lustily to his bottle, -and before night was drunk again. Rushing to the quarter deck, -with a madness peculiar to a phrensied drunkard, he ran up against -the captain with such force that he nearly knocked him down. -With a boldness that seemed to strike the great man dumb, Bob -hiccupped and said,</p> - -<p>“Halloo, Billy, my boy, is that you? You are young and foolish; -just fit for the launch. You are like a young lion—all your -sorrows are to come.”</p> - -<p>The captain was excessively proud; even his officers scarcely -dared walk the quarter deck on the same side with him. He never -allowed himself to be addressed but by his title of “my Lord.” -Should a sailor, through design or forgetfulness, reply to a command, -“Yes, sir,” the lordly man would look at him with a glance -full of dignity, and sternly reply, “What, sir?” This, of course, -would put the offender in mind to correct himself by saying, “Yes, -my <em>Lord</em>.” Judge then of his surprise, indignation, nay, of his -lordly horror, when poor old drunken Bob Hammond called him -“Billy, my boy!” Doubtless it stirred up his nobility within him, -for, with a voice of thunder, he exclaimed, “Put this man in irons!” -It was done. The next morning, his back yet sore, poor Bob received -five dozen more strokes of the hated cat-o’-nine-tails. Most -heroically was it borne. No sound escaped him; the most profound -silence was observed by all, broken only by the dead sound of the -whip, as it fell every few moments on the wounded back. The -scene was sickening in the extreme. Let me throw a veil over its -details, simply remarking that it is questionable which of the two -appears to the best advantage; poor drunken Bob, suffering degrading -torture with heroic firmness, or my Lord Fitzroy, gloating<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -on the scene with the appetite of a vulture! Let the reader decide -for himself.</p> - -<p>These statements may at first sight appear incredible. It may -be asked how a man could endure whippings which would destroy -an ox or a horse. This is a very natural question, and but for the -consciousness I feel of being supported in my statements by the -universal testimony of old men-of-war’s-men, I should hesitate to -publish them. The <em>worst</em> species of this odious torture, however, -remains to be described—flogging through the fleet.</p> - -<p>This punishment is never inflicted without due trial and sentence -by a court-martial, for some aggravated offence. After the -offender is thus sentenced, and the day arrives appointed by his -judges for its execution, the unhappy wretch is conducted into the -ship’s launch—a large boat—which has been previously rigged up -with poles and grating, to which he is seized up; he is attended by -the ship’s surgeon, whose duty it is to decide when the power of -nature’s endurance has been taxed to its utmost. A boat from -every ship in the fleet is also present, each carrying one or two officers -and two marines fully armed. These boats are connected by -tow lines to the launch.</p> - -<p>These preparations made, the crew of the victim’s ship are ordered -to man the rigging, while the boatswain commences the tragedy. -When he has administered one, two or three dozen lashes, -according to the number of ships in the fleet, the prisoner’s shirt is -thrown over his gory back; the boatswain returns on board, the -hands are piped down, the drummer beats a mournful melody, -called the rogue’s march, and the melancholy procession moves on. -Arriving at the side of another ship, the brutal scene is repeated, -until every crew in the fleet has witnessed it, and from one to three -hundred lashes have lacerated the back of the broken-spirited tar to -a bleeding pulp. He is then placed under the surgeon’s care, to be -fitted for duty—<em>a ruined man</em>—broken in spirit! all sense of self-respect<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -gone, forever gone! If he survive, it is only to be like his -own brave bark, when winds and waves conspire to dash her on the -pitiless strand, a wretched, hopeless wreck; a living, walking -shadow of his former self. Shameful blot! most foul and disgraceful -stain on the humanity of England! How long before this -worse than barbarism will disappear before the mild influences of -civilization and Christianity?</p> - -<p>No plea of necessity can be successfully urged in behalf of -whipping men; for, if subordination or faithful adhesion to orders -is expected to follow such terrible examples, I know, from my acquaintance -with the sufferers themselves, that the expectation is -vain. One of two results always follows. The victim either lives -on, a lone, dark-minded, broken-spirited man, despising himself -and hating every one, because he thinks every one hates him; or he -lives with one fearful, unyielding purpose; a purpose on which he -feeds and nourishes his galled mind, as food affords life and energy -to his physical constitution—that purpose is <span class="allsmcap">REVENGE</span>. I have -heard them swear—and the wild flashing eye, the darkly frowning -brow, told how firm was that intent—that if ever they should be in -battle, they would shoot their officers. I have seen them rejoice -over the misfortunes of their persecutors, but more especially at -their death. That it has frequently led to mutiny, is well verified. -I have known such severity to result in actual murder. While we -lay at Lisbon, a sergeant of marines, on board a seventy-four, made -himself obnoxious by repeated acts of tyranny. Two marines determined -upon his death. One night, unperceived by any, they -seized him, hurried him to the gangway, and pitched him overboard. -The tide was running strong; the man was drowned! But for -themselves his fate would have remained a secret until the great -day of judgment; it was discovered by an officer, who accidentally -overheard them congratulating each other on their achievement. -He betrayed them. A court-martial sentenced them. They were -placed on deck with halters on their necks. Two guns were fired,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span> -and, when the smoke cleared away, two men were seen dangling -from the foreyard-arm. Only one day previous, a letter had -brought a discharge from the service for one of them. Poor fellow! -it came too late. He was fated to a summary discharge from -all service, in a manner appalling and repulsive to every finer human -feeling.</p> - -<p>Such are the actual consequences of severity of discipline on -board men of war. Punishment leads to revenge; revenge to punishment. -What is intended to cure, only aggravates the disease; -the evil enlarges under the remedy; <em>voluntary</em> subordination -ceases; gloom overspreads the crew; fear fills the breasts of the officers; -the ship becomes a miniature of the house of fiends. While, on -the other hand, mild regulations, enforced without an appeal to -brute force, are easily carried into operation. The sailor has a warm -heart; show him personal kindness, treat him as a man, he will then -be a man; he will do anything for a <em>kind</em> officer. He will peril his -life for him; nay, he will cheerfully rush between him and danger. -This was done at Tripoli, when the brave James<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> offered his own -arm to receive the fell stroke of a Turkish scimitar, aimed at the life -of the bold Decatur, on board the frigate <i>Philadelphia</i>. Let naval -officers, let all ship-masters, once fairly test the effect of kind treatment, -and I am sure they will never desire to return to severity; -unless, indeed, they are tyrants at heart, in which case, the sooner -they lose their commands the better for their country; for no tyrant -is truly brave or trustworthy. Cowardice and meanness lie curled -up in the heart of every tyrant. He is too despicable, too unsafe -to be trusted with the responsibilities of a naval command. Such, -at least, is the opinion of an old sailor.</p> - -<p>One of the greatest enemies to order and happiness in ships of -war is drunkenness. To be drunk is considered by almost every -sailor as the <em>acme</em> of sensual bliss; while many fancy that swearing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> -and drinking are necessary accomplishments in a genuine man-of-war’s-man. -Hence it almost universally prevails. In our ship the -men would get drunk, in defiance of every restriction. Were it not -for the moral and physical ruin which follows its use, one might -laugh at the various contrivances adopted to elude the vigilance of -officers in their efforts to procure rum. Some of our men who belonged -to the boats’ crews provided themselves with bladders; if -left ashore by their officers a few moments, they would slip into the -first grocery, fill their bladders, and return with the spoil. Once -by the ship’s side, the favorable moment was seized to pass the interdicted -bladders into the port-holes, to some watchful shipmate, by -whom it was carefully secreted, to be drunk at the first opportunity. -The liberty to go on shore, which is always granted while in port, -was sure to be abused for drunken purposes. The Sabbath was -also a day of sensuality. True, we sometimes had the semblance -of religious services, when the men were summoned aft to hear the -captain read the morning service from the church prayer-book; -but usually it was observed more as a day of revelry than of worship. -But at Christmas our ship presented a scene such as I had -never imagined. The men were permitted to have their “full -swing.” Drunkenness ruled the ship. Nearly every man, with -most of the officers, was in a state of beastly intoxication at night. -Here, some were fighting, but were so insensibly drunk, they hardly -knew whether they struck the guns or their opponents; yonder, a -party were singing libidinous or bacchanalian songs, while all were -laughing, cursing, swearing or hallooing; confusion reigned in glorious -triumph; it was the very chaos of humanity. Had we been -at sea, a sudden gale of wind must have proved our destruction; -had we been exposed to a sudden attack from an enemy’s vessel, we -should have fallen an easy prey to the victor; just as the poor Hessians, -at Trenton, fell before the well-timed blow of the sage Washington, -during the war of the revolution.</p> - -<p>Of all places, the labors of temperance men are most needed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -among sailors; and I am glad to know that much has been accomplished -among them already. From what I <em>know</em> of the sufferings -and difficulties growing out of intemperance at sea, I most -heartily desire to see a temperance flag floating at the mast-head -of every ship in the world. When this is seen, sailors will be a -happier class than ever they have yet been, from the time when the -cautious Phenicians crept timidly round the shores of the Mediterranean, -to the present day of bold and fearless navigation.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="endchap1" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="p4 w100" src="images/endchap.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">Shortly after the Christmas debauch, mentioned in the -preceding chapter, news was brought to the admiral that nine -French frigates were cruising on the Spanish coast: immediately, -all was excitement, bustle, preparation through the fleet. The -<i>Hannibal</i> and <i>Northumberland</i>, both seventy-four gun ships, the -<i>Cæsar</i> of eighty guns, called by the sailors the Old Bull-dog, a gun -brig, and some others, I forget the names, and the <i>Macedonian</i>, -were ordered to sail in pursuit of the French. This formidable -force dropped down the river, every man composing it eagerly desiring -to meet the enemy. The enterprise however, was unsuccessful; -after cruising in vain for several days, the admiral signalled -the fleet to return. Before reaching port we fell in with a Scotch -ship from Greenock, in a most perilous condition; her masts and -rudder were gone, while her numerous leaks were fast gaining on -the labors of the already exhausted crew at the pumps. Finding -it utterly impossible to save the vessel, we took off the crew; and -thus our cruise, though defeated in its main design, proved the -means of rescuing several poor wretches from a watery grave. It -is a question worthy of consideration, whether this was not a really -higher result than if we had found and beaten the French, and had -returned in a crippled state, leaving some hundreds killed and -wounded. Humanity would answer, yea.</p> - -<p>So far as the effects of this cruise concerned our own little -frigate, they were really quite serious. We were reefing topsails -one night, at sea, when the sailing-master, Mr. Lewis, in a fit of -ill-humor, threatened to flog some of the men. The captain overheard -him. Feeling himself hurt by this assumption of his own<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -prerogative, he told Mr. Lewis that he was captain in the ship, and -it was his business to flog the men. Sharp words followed; the -captain was exasperated; he ordered the sailing-master to be put -in irons. Here, however, he exceeded his own power, for, though -he might place the common sailor in irons, he might not do so by -an officer with impunity. Accordingly, when we reached Lisbon, -a court-martial sat on the case, which resulted in their both being -broken or cashiered.</p> - -<p>This was a hard blow for Lord Fitzroy, and he obviously felt -it most keenly. It also cut off my expectations of being elevated -to the quarter deck; for, although I had never received any direct -encouragement from his Lordship, yet I had always nourished the -hope that ultimately he would keep the promise he made to my -mother, and do something for my advancement. Now, however, -my hopes were destroyed. I was doomed to the forecastle for life.</p> - -<p>Lord Fitzroy was succeeded by Captain Carson. He however, -was soon removed to make way for Captain Waldegrave, who -proved to be far more severe than Fitzroy. He and Lieutenant -Hope were kindred spirits: cruelty seemed to be their delight, for -at the presence of culprits tied to the gratings, a gleam of savage -animation stole over their faces. Punishment was now an almost -every-day scene; even the boys were not permitted to escape. A lad -was appointed boatswain over them, and they were consigned to -the care of Mr. Hope, who took especial delight in seeing them -flogged. What a mean, dastardly spirit for a British officer! -How utterly contemptible he appears engaged in whipping a few -helpless sailor boys! Yet thus he did constantly appear, causing -them to be flogged for every trifling offence. One poor little fellow, -unable to tolerate the thought of the lash, hid himself in the -cable tier for several days. He was discovered, only to be most -shamefully punished.</p> - -<p>These severities filled our crew with discouragement. A sailor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -dreads the dishonor of the lash. Some, urged by a nice sense of -honor, have preferred death to its endurance. I have heard of one -man who actually loaded himself with shot and deliberately walked -overboard. Among our ship’s company the effects of these severe -measures showed themselves in frequent desertions, notwithstanding -the great risk run by such a bold measure; for, if taken, they -were sure to meet with a fearful retribution. Still, many preferred -the chance of freedom; some ran off when on shore with the boats, -others dropped overboard in the night, and either swam on shore or -were drowned. Many others were kept from running away by the -strength of their attachment to their old messmates and by the hope -of better days. Of those who escaped, some were retaken by the -Portuguese, who delighted to hunt them up for a small sum of -money. Two of my messmates, named Robert Bell and James -Stokes, were taken in this manner. I felt greatly affected at losing -their company, for they were pleasant fellows. I felt a peculiar -attachment to poor Stokes; he had taught me many things -which appertain to seamanship, and had cared for my interests with -the faithfulness of a parent. O how anxiously did I desire they -might not be detected, because I knew, if they were, that they were -doomed men. But they were taken by a band of armed Portuguese; -barefooted, desponding, broken in spirit, they were brought -on board, only to be put in irons immediately. By a fortunate -chance they escaped with <em>fifty</em> lashes, instead of being flogged -through the fleet.</p> - -<p>We had another man who escaped, named Richard Suttonwood; -he was very profane, and was much in the habit of using the -word “bloody;” hence he was nicknamed “Bloody Dick” by his -shipmates. Well, Dick ran off. He succeeded in getting on board -an English brig in the merchant service. But how chop-fallen was -poor Dick when he found that this brig was laden with powder for -his own frigate! Resolving to make the best of the matter, he said -nothing of his relation to our frigate, but as soon as the brig dropped<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -alongside of the <i>Macedonian</i>, he came on board and surrendered -himself; by this means he escaped being flogged, as it was usual to -pardon a runaway who voluntarily returned to his duty. The -crew were all delighted at his return, as he was quite popular -among them for his lively disposition and his talents as a comic -singer, which last gift is highly prized in a man of war. So joyous -were we all at his escape from punishment, that we insisted -on his giving a concert, which went off well. Seated on a gun -surrounded by scores of the men, he sung a variety of favorite -songs, amid the plaudits and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">encores</i> of his rough auditors.</p> - -<p>By such means as these, sailors contrive to keep up their spirits -amidst constant causes of depression and misery. One is a good -singer, another can spin tough forecastle yarns, while a third can -crack a joke with sufficient point to call out roars of laughter. But -for these interludes, life in a man of war, with severe officers, would -be absolutely intolerable; mutiny or desertion would mark the voyages -of every such ship. Hence, officers in general highly value -your jolly, merry-making, don’t-care sort of seamen. They know -the effect of their influence in keeping away discontented thought -from the minds of a ship’s company. One of these official favorites -paid our frigate a visit while we lay in Lisbon. We had just finished -breakfast, when a number of our men were seen running in -high glee towards the main hatchway. Wondering what was going -forward, I watched their proceedings with a curious eye. The -cause of their joy soon appeared in the person of a short, round-faced, -merry-looking tar, who descended the hatchway amid cries -of “Hurrah! here’s happy Jack!” As soon as the jovial little man -had set his foot on the berth deck, he began a specimen of his vocal -powers. The voice of song was as triumphant on board the <i>Macedonian</i>, -as it was in days of yore in the halls of Ossian. Every -voice was hushed, all work was brought to a standstill, while the -crew gathered round their favorite, in groups, to listen to his unequalled -performances. Happy Jack succeeded, while his visit<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -lasted, in communicating his own joyous feelings to our people, and -they parted from him at night with deep regret.</p> - -<p>A casual visitor in a man of war, beholding the song, the dance, -the revelry of the crew, might judge them to be happy. But I -know that these things are often resorted to, because they feel miserable, -just to drive away dull care. They do it on the same principle -as the slave population in the South, to drown in sensual gratification -the voice of misery that groans in the inner man—that lives -within, speaking of the indignity offered to its high nature by the -chain that eats beyond the flesh—discoursing of the rights of man, -of liberty on the free hills of a happier clime: while amidst the -gayest negro dance, not a heart among the laughing gang but -would beat with high emotions and seize the boon with indescribable -avidity, should it be offered its freedom on the spot. -So in a man of war, where severe discipline prevails, though -cheerfulness smiles at times, it is only the forced merriment of -minds ill at ease; minds that would gladly escape the thraldom of -the hated service to which they are bound.</p> - -<p>Nor is this forced submission to circumstances universal. -There are individuals who cannot be reached by these pleasantries; -in spite of everything, their spirits will writhe under the gripe of -merciless authority. We had a melancholy instance of this species -of mind on board our frigate. His name was Hill, the ward-room -steward. This man came on board with a resolute purpose to give -satisfaction, if possible, to his superiors. He tried his utmost in -vain. He was still scolded and cursed, until his condition seemed -unendurable. One morning a boy entered the after ward-room, -when the first object that met his astonished eye was the body of -the steward, all ghastly and bleeding. He had cut his throat, and -lay weltering in his gore. The surgeon was called, who pronounced -him to be yet alive. The wound was sewed up, the poor sufferer -carried to the hospital-ship, which was in attendance on the fleet,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -where he recovered, to be returned to his former ship, though in -another and worse capacity, that of common sailor.</p> - -<p>We had on board a colored man whose name was Nugent, who -possessed a remarkably fine person, was very intelligent, exceedingly -polite in his manners, and easy in his address. He soon grew -weary of the caprices of our officers, and ran away. He was taken, -however, in rather a curious manner. The officers frequently -walked the deck with their spy-glasses. As one of them was spending -a few leisure moments in looking at the surrounding shipping, -what should appear within the field of his glass, but the person of -the fugitive Nugent on the deck of an American vessel! Upon -this, a boat was despatched, which soon returned with the crestfallen -deserter, who was <ins class="corr" id="tn-48" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'unceremonously thrown'"> -unceremoniously thrown</ins> into irons. By -some fortunate chance, however, he escaped a flogging.</p> - -<p>Of course, my situation was as unpleasant as that of any other -person on board. I could not witness the discomfort and ill-usage -of others, without trembling for my own back. I, too, had thoughts -of running away, as opportunities frequently offered themselves. -But, being ignorant of the Portuguese language, I wisely concluded -that my condition among them, if I got clear, would, in respect to -my present state, bear about the same analogy as the fire does to the -frying-pan. My little adventures on shore gave me full assurance -of this fact. I remember going ashore on Good Friday. Like good -Catholics, the Portuguese had the masts of their vessels crossed, -with effigies of the traitor Judas hanging very significantly at their -jib-booms. On shore, they were exhibiting the blasphemous mimicry -of the solemn scene of the crucifixion. One was bearing the -cross, another a sponge, a third the vinegar. The streets were -crowded with images of the saints, to which all reverently bowed. -Woe betide that sacrilegious wretch who refused this tribute to their -darling images. He <em>was</em> sure of being knocked down; he was <em>not</em> -sure of getting home alive. I was fain to yield my knees to save<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -my skull; so for the time I was as good a Catholic as any of them, -at least in the matter of bowing and crossing: it was done, however, -with true Protestant mental reservation, and with a sincere determination -to prefer my man-of-war’s life to a life in Portugal.</p> - -<p>On another occasion, some of our officers took me on shore to -help them attend to some purchases. After following them a considerable -distance, they gave me a small commission to execute, with -directions to return to the ship as soon as it was attended to. This -was no easy task, however: they had conducted me to a strange -part of the city, and I knew scarcely a word of Portuguese. There -I stood, then, surrounded only by foreigners, who neither understood -my language nor I theirs. All I knew of my destination was, -that our boat lay near the Fish-market; so, for Fish-market I inquired. -Speaking in English, I asked the first man I met to direct -me. He looked at me with the empty stare of an idiot, and passed -on. To the next, I said, partly in broken Portuguese and partly in -my own tongue, “John,” (they call everybody John, whose true -name they do not know,) “do show me the fish-market.” He could -not understand me; so, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “No entender -Englis,” and passed on. I asked several others, but invariably -received a shrug of the shoulder, a shake of the head, and a -“no entender Englis,” for an answer. I grew desperate, and began -to feel as if I had lost myself, when, to my unutterable satisfaction, -I saw an English soldier. I ran up to him and said, “Good -luck to you; do tell me where the fish-market is, for these stupid -Portuguese, bad luck to them, can’t understand a word I say; but -it is all, no entender Englis.” My countryman laughed at seeing -my English temper ruffled, and placed me in the way of reaching -the fish-market. I hurried thither, when, to my chagrin, the boats -were all gone. Here, then, was another difficulty; for, though -there were plenty of Portuguese boatmen, they could not understand -which ship I wished to reach. Here, however, my fingers did -what my tongue refused; our ship had its mainmast out, so, holding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span> -up two fingers and pointing to the mast, they at last comprehended -me and conveyed me on board. Coming alongside, I gave them -what I thought was right; but they and I differed in opinion on -that point; they demanded more, with considerable bluster, but the -sentry shouted, “Shove off there!” and pointed his musket at them. -Whether they thought a reasonable fee, and a timely retreat, better -than a contest which might give them the taste of a musket-ball, I -cannot determine; at all events, I know that boat never left ship -faster than theirs, when they beheld the gleam of the sentry’s musket -flashing in their dark faces.</p> - -<p>Just after this adventure, I came very near being flogged, to my -no small alarm. Happening on shore with two more of the officers’ -servants, named Yates and Skinner, we stayed so late, the -ship’s boats had all gone off. Finding the boats gone, we strayed -back into the city; night came on, and our return until morning was -impossible. We had to wander about the city all night, in constant -fear of being apprehended by the Portuguese as deserters. To -prevent this no very desirable result, my comrades made me a midshipman; -for the satisfactory reason, that if an officer was supposed -to be in our company, no one would trouble us. The summary -process by which I was inducted into my new station, was by means -of a stripe carefully marked on my collar with a piece of chalk, to -imitate the silver lace on a middy’s coat. Thus exalted, I marched -my company about Lisbon until dawn, when I again found myself -the self-same Samuel Leech, servant to the surgeon of H. M. frigate -<i>Macedonian</i>, that I was the previous evening, with this additional -fact, however, I was now liable to be flogged. So, in the true -spirit of a <em>Jeremy Sneak</em>, we went on board, where, with due ceremony, -we were parted for separate examinations. What tale my -fellow-wanderers invented, I know not; for my own part, I told -the truth of the matter, excepting that I suppressed that part of it -which related to my transformation into an officer. Luckily for us -all, one of the party was the first lieutenant’s servant; if he flogged<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -one, he must flog the whole. To save the back of his own boy, he -let us all escape.</p> - -<p>We were now ordered on another cruise. Being in want of -men, we resorted to the press-gang which was made up of our most -loyal men, armed to the teeth; by their aid we obtained our full -numbers. Among them were a few Americans; they were taken -without respect to their protections, which were often taken from -them and destroyed. Some were released through the influence of -the American consul; others, less fortunate, were carried to sea, to -their no small chagrin.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p>The duties of the press-gang completed, we once more weighed -anchor, and were soon careering before the gales of the bay of Biscay. -Our reception in this proverbially stormy bay was by no -means a civil one. We met with an extraordinarily severe gale, in -which we came very near foundering. We had just finished dinner, -when a tremendous sea broke over us, pouring down the hatchway, -sweeping the galley of all its half-cooked contents, then being -prepared for the officers’ dinner, and covering the berth deck with -a perfect flood. It seemed as if old Neptune really intended that -wave to sink us to Davy Jones’ locker. As the water rolled from -side to side within, and the rude waves without beat against her, our -good ship trembled from stem to stern, and seemed like a human -being gasping for breath in a struggle with death. The women -(there were several on board) set up a shriek, a thing they had -never done before; some of the men turned pale; others cursed and -tried to say witty things; the officers started; orders ran along the -ship to man the chain-pumps, and to cut holes through the berth -deck to let the water into the hold. These orders <ins class="corr" id="tn-51" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'being rapdly'"> -being rapidly</ins> obeyed, the ship was freed from her danger. The confusion of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -moment was followed by laughing and pleasantries. That gale -was long spoken of as one of great danger.</p> - -<p>It is strange that sailors, who see so much peril, should treat -religion with such neglect as it is usual for them to do. When -danger is imminent, they send up a cry for help; when it is past, -they rarely return a grateful thank-offering. Yet how truly and -eloquently has the Psalmist shown, in the 107th Psalm, what should -be the moral effect of the wonders of the deep. What but a deep-rooted -spiritual perversity prevents such an effect?</p> - -<p>The next incident that disturbed the monotony of our sea-life, -was of a melancholy character. We had been giving chase to two -West Indiamen the whole of one Sabbath afternoon; at night it -blew so hard we had to reef top-sails; when a poor fellow, named -John Thomson, was knocked from the yard. In falling, he struck -some part of the ship, and the wave which opened to receive him, -never disclosed his form again. He was a pressed man, an American -by birth, greatly beloved by his messmates, by whom his death -was as severely felt as when a member of a family dies on shore. -His loss created a dull and gloomy atmosphere throughout the ship: -it was several days before the hands regained their wonted elasticity -of mind and appearance.</p> - -<p>My recollections of this cruise are very feeble and indistinct, -owing to a severe injury which confined me to my hammock nearly -the whole period. The accident which ended in a severe illness had -its origin in the following manner. The duty of cleaning knives, -plates, dish-covers, &c., for the ward-room, devolved alternately on -the boys employed in the ward-room. Having finished this task, -one day, in my regular turn, the ward-room steward, a little hot-headed -Malay, came to me at dinner-time to inquire for the knives. -Not recollecting for the moment, I made no reply; when he angrily -pushed me over a sack of bread. In falling my head came in contact -with the corner of a locker. Feeling much pain, and the blood<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -flowing freely, I went to Mr. Marsh, the surgeon’s mate, who -dressed it, and bade me take care of it. Probably it would have -healed speedily but for the freak of a sailor a few days after, while -holy-stoning the decks. By holy-stoning, I mean cleaning them -with stones, which are used for this purpose in men of war. These -stones are, some of them, large, with a ring at each end with a rope -attached, by which it is pulled backwards and forwards on the wet -decks. These large stones are called holy bibles; the smaller hand -ones are also called holy-stones, or prayer-books, their shape being -something like a book. After the decks are well rubbed with these -stones, they are wiped dry with swabs made of rope-yarns. By -this means the utmost cleanliness is preserved in the ship. It was -customary in our ship, during this scrubbing process, for the boys -to wash themselves in a large tub provided for the purpose on the -main deck. The men delighted in sousing us with water during -this operation. After being wounded, as just mentioned, I endeavored -to avoid their briny libations; but one morning, one of the sailors, -seeing my anxiety, crept slily up behind me, and emptied a pail -of water directly over my head. That night I began both to look -and to feel sick. My messmates said I was sea-sick, and laughed -at me. Feeling violent pains in my head, ears and neck, I felt relieved -when it was time to turn in. The next morning, being rather -behind my usual time in waiting upon the surgeon, he began to scold -me. I told him I was unwell. He felt my pulse, examined my -tongue, and excused me. Growing worse, my messmates got down -my hammock. I entered it very sick; my head and face swelling -very large, and my eyes so sunken I could scarcely see.</p> - -<p>I remained in this sad situation several weeks, carefully attended -by the surgeon, and watched by the men as tenderly as their -rough hands could perform the office of nurse. My destiny was -considered as being sealed, both by the crew and by myself. I was -much troubled at the thought of dying: it seemed dark and dreary -to enter the valley of the shadow of death without the presence<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -of a Saviour. To relieve my feelings, I frequently repeated the -Lord’s prayer, taught me by my indulgent mother in my earlier and -brighter years. But my mind was dark and disconsolate; there -were none among that kind-hearted but profligate crew to point -my soul to its proper rest.</p> - -<p>While lying in this state, my life hanging in a doubtful balance, -one of the crew, named Black Tom, an African, was taken -sick. His hammock was hung up in the sick bay, a part of the main -deck appropriated to hospital purposes. Poor Tom, having a constitution -already undermined by former excesses, soon fell under -the attack of disease. He was then sewed up in his hammock, with -some shot at his feet: at sundown the ship’s bell pealed a melancholy -note, the ship was “hove to,” all hands mustered on deck, but myself; -and, amid the most profound silence, the body of the departed -sailor was laid upon the grating and launched into the great deep, -the resting-place of many a bold head. A plunge, a sudden opening -in the water, followed by an equally sudden return of the disparted -waves, and Black Tom was gone forever from his shipmates! -In a few moments the yards were braced round, and our frigate was -cutting her way again through the wide ocean waste. It seemed -to me that she was soon destined to heave to again, that I might -also be consigned to an ocean grave. But in this I was happily disappointed. -By the blessing of a watchful Providence, the aid of a -sound constitution, assisted by the skill of our surgeon and the kindness -of my shipmates, I was at last able to leave my hammock. -Shortly after our return to Lisbon, I was pronounced fit for duty, -and the surgeon having obtained another boy, I was placed on the -quarter deck, in the capacity of messenger, or errand boy for the -captain and his officers.</p> - -<p>With my return to active life, came my exposure to hardships, -and, what I dreaded still more, to punishment. Some of the boys -were to be punished on the main deck; the rest were ordered forward -to witness it, as usual. Being so far aft that I could not hear<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -the summons, as a matter of course, I remained at my post. The -hawk-eye of the lieutenant missed me, and in a rage he ordered me -to be sent for to receive a flogging for my absence. Excuse was -vain; for, such was the fiendish temper of this brutal officer, he only -wanted the shadow of a reason for dragging the poor helpless boys -of his charge to the grating. While I stood in trembling expectation -of being degraded by the hated cat, a summons from the captain -providentially called off our <em>brave</em> boy-flogger, and I escaped. -The <em>offence</em> was never mentioned afterwards. The reader can -easily perceive how such a constant exposure to the lash must embitter -a seaman’s life.</p> - -<p>Already, since the <i>Macedonian</i> had been in commission, had -she changed captains twice. Why it so happened, it is not in my -power to explain; but while at Lisbon, after the cruise last mentioned, -our present captain was superseded by Captain John S. Carden. -His arrival excited a transitory hope of a brighter lot, as he -was an older man than the others, and, as we vainly trusted, a kinder -one. Here, however, we were mistaken; he was like all the rest, -the same heartless, unfeeling lover of whip discipline. At first the -men under sentence tried their powers at flattery with the grave old -man; but he was too experienced a sea-dog to be cajoled by a long-faced -sailor under sentence: when, therefore, they told him he was -a kind-hearted <em>fatherly</em> gentleman, he only replied by a most provoking -laugh, and by saying they were a set of very undutiful sons.</p> - -<p>Captain Carden was mercilessly severe in punishing theft. He -would on no account forgive any man for this crime, but would flog -the thief almost to death. Of this, we soon had a cruel instance. -A midshipman named Gale, a most rascally, unprincipled fellow, -found his pocket handkerchief in possession of one of the crew. He -charged the man with stealing it. It was in vain that the poor -wretch asserted that he found it under his hammock. He was reported -as a thief; a court-martial sat upon him, and returned the -shamefully disproportionate sentence of three hundred lashes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -through the fleet, and one year’s imprisonment! Any of my shipmates -who are living, will certify to the truth of this statement, brutal -and improbable as it may appear.</p> - -<p>Nor was that sentence a dead letter; the unhappy man endured -it to the letter. Fifty were laid on alongside of the <i>Macedonian</i>, -in conformity with a common practice of inflicting the most strokes -at the first ship, in order that the gory back of the criminal may -strike the more terror into the crews of the other ships. This poor -tortured man bore two hundred and twenty, and was pronounced -by the attending surgeon unfit to receive the rest. Galled, bruised, -and agonized as he was, he besought him to suffer the infliction of -the remaining eighty, that he might not be called to pass through -the degrading scene again; but this prayer was denied! He was -brought on board, and when his wounds were healed, the captain, -Shylock-like, determined to have the whole pound of flesh, ordered -him to receive the remainder.</p> - -<p>But for my desire to present the reader with a true exhibition -of life on board a British man of war, it would be my choice to suppress -these disgusting details of cruelty and punishment. But this -is impossible; I must either draw a false picture or describe them. -I choose the latter, in the hope that giving publicity to these facts -will exert a favorable influence on the already improving discipline -of ships of war.</p> - -<p>The case of our ship’s drummer will illustrate the hopelessness -of our situation under such officers as commanded our ship; it will -show that implicit, uncomplaining submission was our only resource. -This drummer, being seized up for some petty offence, demanded, -what no captain can refuse, to be tried by a court-martial; in the -hope, probably, of escaping altogether. The officers laughed -among each other, and when, a few days afterwards, the poor, affrighted -man offered to withdraw the demand and take six dozen -lashes, they coolly remarked, “The drummer is sick of his bargain.”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -He would have been a wiser man had he never made it; for the -court-martial sentenced him to receive two hundred lashes through -the fleet:—a punishment ostensibly for his first offence, but really -for his insolence (?) in demanding a trial by court-martial. Such -was the administration of justice (?) on board the <i>Macedonian</i>.</p> - -<p>“Why did not your crew rise in resistance to such cruelty?” is a -question which has often been proposed to me, when relating these -facts to my American friends. To talk of mutiny on shore is an -easy matter; but to excite it on shipboard is to rush on to certain -death. Let it be known that a man has dared to breathe the idea, -and he is sure to swing at the yard-arm. Some of our men once -saw six mutineers hanging at the yard-arm at once, in a ship whose -crew exhibited the incipient beginnings of mutiny. Let mutiny be -successful, the government will employ its whole force, if needful, -in hunting down the mutineers; their blood, to the last drop, is the -terrible retribution it demands for this offence. That demand is -sure to be met, as was the case with the crew of the <i>Hermione</i><a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> frigate, -and with the crew of the ill-fated <i>Bounty</i>, whose history is imprinted -on the memory of the whole civilized world. With such -tragedies flitting before our eyes, who need ask why we did not resist?</p> - -<p>Just before we left Lisbon for another cruise, my position was -once more changed by my appointment to the post of servant to -the sailing-master; whose boy, for some offence or other, was -flogged and turned away. Here, too, the captain procured a fine -band, composed of Frenchmen, Italians and Germans, taken by the -Portuguese from a French vessel. These musicians consented to -serve, on condition of being excused from fighting, and on a pledge -of exemption from being flogged. They used to play to the captain<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -during his dinner hour; the party to be amused usually consisting -of the captain and one or two invited guests from the ward-room; -except on Sundays, when he chose to honor the ward-room -with his august presence. The band then played for the ward-room. -They also played on deck whenever we entered or left a -port. On the whole, their presence was an advantage to the crew, -since their spirit-stirring strains served to spread an occasional -cheerful influence over them. Soon after they came on board, we -had orders to proceed to sea again on another cruise.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="endchap2" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="p4 w100" src="images/endchap.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">A few days after we had fairly got out to sea, the thrilling -cry of “A man overboard!” ran through the ship with electrical -effect; it was followed by another cry of, “Heave out -a rope!” then by still another, of “Cut away the life buoy!” Then -came the order, “Lower a boat!” Notwithstanding the rapidity -of these commands, and the confusion occasioned by the anticipated -loss of a man, they were rapidly obeyed. The ship was then hove -to. But that time, however, the cause of all this excitement was at -a considerable distance from the ship. It was a poor Swede, named -Logholm, who, while engaged in lashing the larboard anchor stock, -lost his hold and fell into the sea. He could not swim; but, somehow, -he managed to keep afloat until the boat reached him, when he -began to sink. The man at the bow ran his boat hook down, and -caught the drowning man by his clothes: his clothes tearing, the man -lost his hold, and the Swede once more sunk. Again the active -bowsman ran the hook down, leaning far over the side; fortunately, -he got hold of his shirt collar: dripping, and apparently lifeless, -they drew him into the boat. He was soon under the surgeon’s -care, whose skill restored him to animation and to life. It was a -narrow escape!</p> - -<p>Rising one morning, I heard the men talking about having been -called to quarters during the night. They said a strange vessel having -appeared, the drums beat to quarters, the guns were got ready, -those great lanterns, which are placed on the main deck, called -battle lanterns, were got out, and the officers began to muster the -men at each division; when they discovered the supposed vessel of -war to be nothing more than a large merchant ship. Upon this the -hands were sent below. All this was news to me; I had slept<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -through all the noise, confusion and bustle of the night, utterly ignorant -of the whole matter. It was fortunate for me that the real -character of the strange ship was discovered before my name was -called, otherwise the morning would have found me at the gratings -under punishment. Never was boy happier than myself, when -made acquainted with my hair-breadth escape from the lash.</p> - -<p>We had now reached the island of Madeira, occupied by the -Portuguese, and producing fine oranges, grapes and wine. It is -some sixty miles in length, about forty in breadth; the climate is -hot, but salubrious; its harbor, or rather roadstead, is by no means -commodious or safe—so that our stay was short. Here, the Portuguese -lad who had supplied my place as servant to the surgeon, was -sent on shore, for attempting a crime unfit to be mentioned in these -pages, but quite common among the Spaniards and Portuguese. -My old master made an effort to obtain me again, but did not succeed.</p> - -<p>Sailing from Madeira, we next made St. Michael’s. At this -pace we had an increase to our crew, in the person of a fine, plump -boy—born to the wife of one of our men. The captain christened -the new comer, Michael, naming him after the island. This birth -was followed by another. Whether the captain did not like the -idea of such interesting episodes in sea life, or whether any other -motive inspired him, I cannot tell; but when, shortly after, we returned -to Lisbon, he ordered all the women home to England, by a -ship just returning thither. Before this, however, one of our little -Tritons had died, and found a grave under the billows, leaving its -disconsolate mother in a state little short of distraction. A man of -war is no place for a woman.</p> - -<p>Short cruises are very popular with man-of-war’s men. On -many accounts they love being in harbor; on others they prefer being -at sea. In harbor they have to work all day, but in return for -this they have the whole night for sleep. At sea, the whole time is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span> -divided into five watches of four hours each, and two shorter ones, -called dog watches, of two hours each, or from four to six and from -six to eight, P. M. The design of these dog watches is to alternate -the time, so that each watch may have a fair proportion of every -night below.</p> - -<p>While at our station this time, our old friend, Bob Hammond, -met with some little difficulty, which we will here make matter of -record. He was below, and one of his messmates did something -that vexed him exceedingly. Now Bob was not a man to bear vexations -tamely, where he had the power to resist them; so, lifting his -huge fist, he struck at the offender; missing his real opponent, the -blow fell upon another who stood near him. Bob was too much of -a bully to offer any apology; he merely laughed, and remarked that -he had “killed two birds with one stone.”</p> - -<p>Whether the bird, who, in Bob’s figurative language, was killed, -did not like being called a bird, or whether he conceived a strong dislike -to being a mark for Bob to shoot at, is not for me to say; but he -certainly disliked the one or the other, for the next morning he reported -the matter to the officers, which complaint was considered a -most unsailor-like act by the whole crew.</p> - -<p>Fighting was a punishable offence, so Bob was called up the -next morning. The captain mentioned what was reported concerning -him. He acknowledged it was all true, and without any -signs of contrition said, “I only killed two birds with one stone.” -The angry captain ordered two dozen lashes to be laid on; it was -done without extorting a sigh or a groan. He was then loosed from -the grating, and questioned; but he merely replied, in a gruff tone, -that “the man who reported him was a blackguard!” For this, -he was seized up again and another dozen lashes inflicted; he bore -them with the same dogged and imperturbable air. Finding it impossible -to extort any acknowledgment from the stubborn tar, the -captain ordered him below.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span></p> - -<p>About the same time one of our crew, named Jack Sadler, a -fine, noble-hearted seaman, growing weary of the service, determined -to desert. Dropping into the water, he began swimming -towards the shore. It was not very dark, and he was discovered; -the sentry was ordered to fire at him, which he did, but missed his -prey. A boat was next lowered, which soon overtook and dragged -him on board. The officer commanding the boat said, “Well, Mr. -Sadler, you thought you had got away, did you?” “You are not -so sure that you have me now,” replied Sadler, as he sprung over -the side of the boat. Nor would they have captured him, had not -another ship’s boat arrived to their assistance.</p> - -<p>The next day, he was seized up and received three dozen lashes, -which, considering his offence, was a very light punishment. I suppose -that his noble bearing, his lion-hearted courage, and his undaunted -manner, produced a favorable feeling in the captain’s -mind; especially as he afterwards became his favorite—a fancy man—as -those men are called who win the favor of their superior officer.</p> - -<p>One of Sadler’s failings was that too prevalent evil among seamen, -drunkenness. Soon after the above affair, he got drunk. Being -seen by the captain, he was ordered to be put in irons. Sadler was -Bob Hammond’s messmate; this worthy, finding his comrade in -trouble, made himself drunk, and purposely placed himself in the -way of the officers, that he might be put in irons also, to keep his -friend Sadler company. The plan succeeded. Bob had his wish, -and the two fearless tars were soon ironed together. Nothing -daunted, they began to sing, and through the whole night they kept -up such a hallooing, shouting and singing as might have served for -a whole company of idle roysterers. Being near the ward-room, -they prevented the officers from sleeping nearly all night.</p> - -<p>As usual, after being in irons, they were brought up for punishment -the next morning. “Well, Mr. Sadler,” said the captain, -“you were drunk, were you, last night?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span></p> - -<p>“I was, sir,” replied the offender.</p> - -<p>Had he been any other man, he would have been ordered to -strip: as it was, the captain proceeded,—</p> - -<p>“Do you feel sorry for it, sir?”</p> - -<p>“I do, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Will you try to keep sober if I forgive you?” continued -Captain Carden.</p> - -<p>“I will try, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Then, sir, I forgive you:” and no doubt he was glad to witness -that contrition in his favorite which made it consistent to forgive -him. Having dismissed Sadler, he turned to Hammond: assuming -a sterner look and a harsher voice, he said, in a tone of irony, -“Well, Mr. Hammond, you got drunk last night, did you, sir?”</p> - -<p>Bob shrugged up his shoulders, and removed his enormous quid -into a convenient position for speaking, and then replied, “I can’t -say but that I had a horn of malt.”</p> - -<p>The captain looked thunder at the stalwart man, as he answered, -“A horn of malt, you rascal! what do you call a horn of -malt?”</p> - -<p>“When I was in Bengal, Madras, and Batavia,” said he, “I -used to get some stuff called arrack—we used to call it a horn of -malt; but this was some good rum.”</p> - -<p>Bob’s manner was so exquisitely ridiculous while delivering this -harangue, that both officers and men broke out into an involuntary -laugh. The captain looked confounded, but recovering himself, he -said to Mr. Hope, the first lieutenant, “Put that rascal in irons; it -is of no use to flog him.”</p> - -<p>One of the peculiarities of Captain Carden was an ardent de<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span>sire -to have a crew of picked, first-rate men. The shiftless, slovenly -seaman was his abhorrence. Had he dared, he would gladly have -given all such their discharge; as it was, he never attempted their -recovery, by offering a reward for their detection, if they ran away; -while he spared no pains to catch an able, active, valuable man like -Sadler. He even gave these drones opportunity to escape, by -sending them on shore at Lisbon, to cut stuff to make brooms for -sweeping the deck. The men sent out on these expeditions were -nicknamed “broomers.” Now, although Bob Hammond was as -expert a sailor as any man in the ship, yet his unconquerable audacity -made the captain fear his influence, and wish to get rid of -him; hence, a few days after this drunken spree, Bob was called on -deck to go with the broomers. “You may go, Mr. Hammond,” -said the captain, eyeing him in a very expressive manner, “with -these fellows to cut broom.”</p> - -<p>Bob understood the hint perfectly, and replied, “Aye, aye, sir, -and I will cut a long handle to it.” I scarcely need remark that the -broomers returned without Bob. Whether he remained on shore to -cut the long handle, or for some other purpose, he never informed -us: certain it is, however, that the presence of Bob Hammond never -darkened the decks of the <i>Macedonian</i> again.</p> - -<p>About this time the prevailing topic of conversation among our -men and officers was the probability of a war with America. The -prevailing feeling through the whole fleet was that of confidence in -our own success, and of contempt for the inferior naval force of our -anticipated enemies. Every man, and especially the officers, predicted, -as his eye glanced proudly on the fine fleet which was anchored -off Lisbon, a speedy and successful issue to the approaching -conflict.</p> - -<p>We now received orders to sail to Norfolk, Virginia, with despatches. -The voyage was accomplished without any occurrence of -note. We found ourselves on the American coast, with no very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -pleasant impressions. It was late in the fall, and the transition -from the mild, soft climate of Spain and Portugal, to the bleak, -sharp atmosphere of the coast of Virginia, was anything but delightful.</p> - -<p>The most disagreeable duty in the ship was that of holy-stoning -the decks on cold, frosty mornings. Our movements were never -more elastic than when at this really severe task. As usual, it gave -occasion to a variety of forecastle yarns about cold stations. -Among these was one which was attested by many witnesses, and -there can be no doubt of its truth:</p> - -<p>A British frigate was once stationed in a cold climate. The -first lieutenant was a complete tyrant, delighting in everything that -caused the crew to suffer. Among other things, he took especial -care to make the work of holy-stoning as painful as possible, by -forcing them to continue at it much longer than was necessary. Although -he had no watch on deck, he would contrive to be up in season -to annoy the men with his hated presence. One morning, the -weather being unusually severe, the men sprang to their task with -unwonted agility, and contrived to finish it before the appearance of -their persecutor. To their vexation, however, just as they had -completed their work, he bounced on deck, with a peremptory order -to wash the decks all over a second time.</p> - -<p>The men dropped on their knees with the holy-stones, and -prayed, as the tyrant went below, that he might never come on deck -again alive. Whether God heard the cry of the oppressed crew, or -whether it was the action of the ordinary natural laws, the reader -must determine for himself; but when the lieutenant again appeared -on deck, he was brought up “feet foremost,” to be buried. He was -taken sick that morning: his disease baffled the skill of the surgeon, -and in a few days he was a corpse. The opinion that he died a -monument of the divine displeasure against cruel, hard-hearted men -of power, and of disregard for the miseries and tears of the oppressed -poor, is at least worthy of serious consideration.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span></p> - -<p>Soon after we had descried land, an American pilot came on -board to pilot us into Hampton Roads. The sound of our own -familiar tongue from a stranger, was very agreeable to men who -had been accustomed to hear the semi-barbarous lingo of the Portuguese, -and a thrill of home remembrances shot through our hearts, -as, stepping on deck, the pilot exclaimed, “It is very cold!”</p> - -<p>While at anchor in Hampton Roads, we fared well. Boats -were alongside every day with plenty of beef and pork, which was -declared, by universal consent, to be infinitely superior to what we -obtained from Portugal. Our men said that the Yankee pork -would swell in the pot, which they very sagely accounted for on the -supposition that the pigs were killed at the full of the moon. But -I suppose that Virginia corn had more to do in this matter than -lunar influences; though our men most doggedly maintained the -contrary and more mystical opinion.</p> - -<p>The principal draw-back on the enjoyment of our stay at Norfolk, -was the denial of liberty to go on shore. The strictest care -was taken to prevent all communication with the shore, either personally -or by letter. The reason of this prohibition was a fear lest -we should desert. Many of our crew were Americans: some of -these were pressed men; others were much dissatisfied with the severity, -not to say cruelty, of our discipline; so that a multitude of -the crew were ready to give “leg bail,” as they termed it, could they -have planted their feet on American soil. Hence our liberty was -restrained.</p> - -<p>Our officers never enjoyed better cheer than during our stay at -this port. Besides feasting among themselves on the fine fat beef, -geese and turkeys, which came alongside in abundance, they exchanged -visits with Commodore Decatur and his officers, of the frigate -<i>United States</i>, then lying at Norfolk. These visits were seasons -of much wassail and feasting. I remember overhearing Commodore -Decatur and the captain of the <i>Macedonian</i> joking about<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -taking each other’s ship, in case of a war; and some of the crew said -that a bet of a beaver hat passed between them on the issue of such -a conflict. They probably little thought that this joking over a -wine-cup, would afterwards be cracked in earnest, in a scene of -blood and carnage.</p> - -<p>It was at this port that the difficulty between the British ship -<i>Leopard</i> and the American frigate <i>Chesapeake</i> took place. Several -American seamen, having escaped from the former, took refuge -on board the latter. The captain of the <i>Leopard</i> demanded their -restoration; the captain of the <i>Chesapeake</i> refused submission to the -demand. The <i>Leopard</i> fired into the frigate, which, being of inferior -force, struck to her opponent. As it was a time of peace, -the <i>Chesapeake</i> was not kept as a prize; the claimed men were taken -from her, and she was restored. This was among the circumstances -which led to the war of 1812.</p> - -<p>The despatches delivered, and the object of the voyage accomplished, -we once more put to sea; having first laid in a liberal store -of our favorite beef, together with a quantity of Virginia beans, -called Calavances, which were in high favor with our men. To -those of our crew who were Americans, this was rather an unpleasant -event. Like the fabled Tantalus, they had the cup at their -mouths, but it receded before they could taste its contents. They -had been at the threshold of “home, sweet home,” but had not been -permitted to step within its doors. Some of them felt this very -keenly, especially a boy, who belonged to New York, named Jesse -Lloyd. In truth, it was a hard lot.</p> - -<p>A quick winter passage brought us to Lisbon, where the arrival -of the English mail-bag, and orders to proceed to England with a -convoy of merchantmen, put us all into a tolerably good humor.</p> - -<p>The arrival of the mail-bag is a season of peculiar interest on -board a man of war. It calls the finer feelings of human nature -into exercise. It awakens conjugal, fraternal, and filial affection<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -in almost every breast. The men crowd around, as the letters are -distributed, and he was pronounced a happy fellow whose name was -read off by the distributor; while those who had none, to hide their -disappointment, would jocularly offer to buy those belonging to -their more fortunate messmates.</p> - -<p>During the two years of our absence I had received several letters -from my mother, which afforded me much satisfaction. To -these I had faithfully replied. I now experienced the advantage -of the primary education I had received when a boy. Many of my -shipmates could neither read nor write, and were, in consequence -either altogether deprived of the privilege of intercourse with their -friends, or were dependent on the kindness of others, to read and -write for them. For these I acted as a sort of scribe. I also solaced -many weary hours by reading such works as could be obtained -from the officers; and sometimes I perused the Bible and prayer -book which my mother so wisely placed in my chest, on the eve of -my departure. The pack of cards, which so inappropriately accompanied -them, I had loaned to one of the officers, who took the -liberty to keep them. This was, perhaps, more fortunate than -otherwise, since their possession might have led to their use, and -their use might have excited a propensity to gambling, which would -have ended in my ruin.</p> - -<p>After remaining a very short time at Lisbon, we one morning -fired a gun to give notice to our convoy to get under weigh. Immediately -the harbor was alive with noise and activity. The song of -the sailors weighing anchor, the creaking of pulleys, the flapping of -the sails, the loud, gruff voices of the officers, and the splashing of -the waters, created what was to us, now that we were “homeward -bound,” a sweet harmony of sounds. Amid all this animation, our -own stately frigate spread her bellying sails to a light but favoring -breeze; with colors flying, our band playing lively airs, and the captain -with his speaking trumpet urging the lagging merchant-ships -to more activity, we passed gaily through the large fleet consigned<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -to our care. In this gallant style we scudded past the straggling -ruins of old Lisbon, which still bore marks of the earthquake that -destroyed it. Very soon the merry fishermen, who abound in the -Tagus, were far at our stern. Next, we glided past the tall granite -pinnacles of towering mount Cintra; the high-lands passed from our -vision like the scenes in a panorama, and in a few hours, instead of -the companionship of the large flocks of gulls, which abound in this -river, we were attended by only here and there one of these restless -wanderers of the deep. We were fairly at sea, and, what was the -more inspiring, we were enjoying the luxury of fond anticipation. -Visions of many an old fire-side, of many a humble hearth-stone, -poor, but precious, flitted across the visions of our crew that night. -Hardships, severe discipline, were for the time forgotten in the -dreams of hope. Would that I could say that everything in every -mind was thus absorbed in pleasure! There were minds that -writhed under what is never forgotten. Like the scar, that time -may heal, but not remove, the flogged man forgets not that he has -been degraded; the whip, when it scarred the flesh, went farther; it -wounded the spirit; it struck the <em>man</em>; it begat a sense of degradation -he must carry with him to his grave. We had many such on -board our frigate; their laugh sounded empty, and sometimes their -look became suddenly vacant in the midst of hilarity. <span class="smcap">It was the -whip entering the soul anew.</span> But the most of our crew were, -for the time, happy. They were homeward bound!</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">After running a few days before a fair wind, the delightful -cry of “Land ho!” was heard from the mast-head; a cry -always pleasant to the inhabitant of a ship, but most especially -so when the distant hills are those of his native land. Soon -after the cry of the man aloft, the land became dimly visible from -the deck, and our eyes glistened, as the bright, emerald fields of old -England, in all the glory of their summer beauty, lay spread out -before us. Ascending the British Channel, we soon made the spacious -harbor of Plymouth, where we came to an anchor. One of -our convoy, however, by some unskilful management, ran ashore -at the mouth of the harbor, where she went to pieces.</p> - -<p>We found Plymouth to be a naval station of considerable importance, -well fortified, possessing extensive barracks for the accommodation -of the military, and having a magnificent dock-yard, -abundantly supplied with the means of building and refitting the -wooden walls.</p> - -<p>Nothing would have afforded me a higher gratification, than a -trip to the pleasant fields and quiet hearth-sides of dear old Bladen. -I longed to pour out my pent-up griefs into the bosom of my -mother, and to find that sympathy which is sought in vain in the -cold, unfeeling world. This privilege was, however, denied to all. -No one could obtain either leave of absence or money, since a man -of war is never “paid off” until just before she proceeds to sea. -But, feeling heartily tired of the service, I wrote to my mother, requesting -her to endeavor to procure my discharge. This, with the -promptitude of maternal affection, she pledged herself to do at the -earliest possible opportunity. How undying is a mother’s love!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span></p> - -<p>When a man of war is in port, it is usual to grant the crew occasional -liberty to go on shore. These indulgences are almost invariably -abused for purposes of riot, drunkenness and debauchery; -rarely does it happen, but that these shore sprees end in bringing -“poor Jack” into difficulty of some sort; for, once on shore, he is -like an uncaged bird, as gay and quite as thoughtless. He will then -follow out the dictates of passions and appetites, let them lead him -whither they may. Still, there are exceptions; there are a few who -spend their time more rationally. Were the principles of modern -temperance fully triumphant among sailors, they would all do so.</p> - -<p>I resolved not to abuse my liberty as I saw others doing; so -when, one fine Sabbath morning, I had obtained leave from our -surly first lieutenant, I chose the company of a brother to a messmate, -named Rowe, who lived at Plymouth. At the request of my -messmate, I called to see him. He received me very kindly, and -took me in company with his children into the fields, where the -merry notes of the numerous birds, the rich perfume of the blooming -trees, the tall, green hedges, and the modest primroses, cowslips -and violets, which adorned the banks on the road-side, filled me with -inexpressible delight. True, this was not the proper manner of -spending a Sabbath day, but it was better than it would have been -to follow the example of my shipmates generally, who were carousing -in the tap-rooms of the public houses.</p> - -<p>At sunset I went on board and walked aft to the lieutenant, -to report myself. He appeared surprised to see me on board so -early and so perfectly sober, and jocosely asked me why I did not -get drunk and be like a sailor. Merely smiling, I retired to my -berth, thinking it was very queer for an officer to laugh at a boy for -doing right, and feeling happy within myself because I had escaped -temptation.</p> - -<p>By and by, three other boys, who had been ashore, returned, in -a state which a sailor would call “three sheets in the wind.” They<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -blustered, boasted of the high time they had enjoyed, and roundly -laughed at me for being so unlike a man-of-war’s-man; while they -felt as big as any man on board. The next morning, however, they -looked rather chop-fallen, when the captain, who had accidentally -seen their drunken follies on shore, ordered them to be flogged, and -forbade their masters to send them ashore while we remained at -Plymouth. Now, then, it was pretty evident who had the best -cruise; the joke was on the other side; for while their drunken behavior -cost them a terrible whipping and a loss of liberty, my temperance -gained me the <em>real</em> approbation of my officers, and more -liberty than ever, since after that day I had to go on shore to do errands -for their masters, as well as for my own. The young sailor -may learn from this fact the benefit of temperance, and the folly of -getting drunk, for the sake of being called a fine fellow.</p> - -<p>My frequent visits to the shore gave me many opportunities -to run away; while my dislike of everything about the <i>Macedonian</i> -inspired me with the disposition to improve them. Against this -measure my judgment wisely remonstrated, and, happily for my -well being, succeeded. Such an attempt would inevitably have -been followed by my recovery, since a handsome bounty was paid -for the delivery of every runaway. There are always a sufficient -number to be found who will engage in pursuit for the sake of -money—such men as the Canadian landlord, described by Rev. -Wm. Lighton, in his interesting narrative,<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> a work with which, no -doubt, most of my readers are acquainted, since it has enjoyed an -immense circulation. Endurance, therefore, was the only rational -purpose I could form.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the hope of a speedy discharge, through my mother’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -efforts, tended somewhat to this result in my case; besides, my situation -had become somewhat more tolerable from the fact, that by -dint of perseverance in a civil and respectful behavior, I had gained -the good will both of the officers and crew. Yet, with this advantage, -it was a miserable situation.</p> - -<p>There are few worse places than a man of war, for the favorable -development of the moral character in a boy. Profanity, in its -most revolting aspect; licentiousness, in its most shameful and -beastly garb; vice, in the worst of its Proteus-like shapes, abound -there. While scarcely a moral restraint is thrown round the victim, -the meshes of temptation are spread about his path in every direction. -Bad as things are at sea, they are worse in port. There, -boat-loads of defiled and defiling women are permitted to come -alongside; the men, looking over the side, select whoever best pleases -his lustful fancy, and by paying her fare, he is allowed to take and -keep her on board as his paramour, until the ship is once more ordered -to sea. Many of these lost, unfortunate creatures are in the -springtime of life, some of them are not without pretensions to -beauty. The ports of Plymouth and Portsmouth are crowded with -these fallen beings. How can a boy be expected to escape pollution, -surrounded by such works of darkness? Yet, some parents -send their children to sea because they are ungovernable ashore! -Better send them to the house of correction.</p> - -<p>There is one aspect in which life at sea and life in port materially -differ. At sea, a sense of danger, an idea of insecurity, is -ever present to the mind; in harbor, a sense of security lulls the -sailor into indulgence. He feels perfectly safe. Yet, even in harbor, -danger sometimes visits the fated ship, stealing upon her like -the spirit of evil. This remark was fearfully illustrated in the loss -of the <i>Royal George</i>, which sunk at Spithead, near Portsmouth, on -the 29th of August, 1782.</p> - -<p>This splendid line of battle ship of one hundred and eight<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -guns, had arrived at Spithead. Needing some repairs, she was -“<em>heeled down</em>,” or inclined on one side, to allow the workmen to -work on her sides. Finding more needed to be done to the copper -sheathing than was expected, the sailors were induced to heel her -too much. While in this state, she was struck by a slight squall; -the cannon rolled over to the depressed side; her ports were open, -she filled with water, and sunk to the bottom!</p> - -<p>This dreadful catastrophe occurred about ten o’clock in the -morning. The brave Admiral Kempenfeldt was writing in his -cabin; most of the crew, together with some three hundred women, -were between decks: these nearly all perished. Captain Waghorn, -her commander, was saved; his son, one of her lieutenants, was lost. -Those who were on the upper deck were picked up by the boats of -the fleet, but nearly one thousand souls met with a sudden and untimely -end. The poet Cowper has celebrated this melancholy event -in the following beautiful lines:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Toll for the brave!</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The brave that are no more!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">All sunk beneath the wave,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Fast by their native shore.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Eight hundred of the brave,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Whose courage well was tried,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Had made the vessel heel,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And laid her on her side.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">A land breeze shook the shrouds,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And she was overset;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Down went the <i>Royal George</i>,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">With all her crew complete.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Toll for the brave—</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Brave Kempenfeldt is gone,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">His last sea fight is fought—</div> - <div class="verse indent2">His work of glory done.</div><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">It was not in the battle;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">No tempest gave the shock;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">She sprang no fatal leak;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">She ran upon no rock.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">His sword was in its sheath;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">His fingers held the pen,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">When Kempenfeldt went down,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">With twice four hundred men.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Weigh the vessel up,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Once dreaded by our foes!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And mingle with our cup</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The tear that England owes.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Her timbers yet are sound,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And she may float again,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Full charged with England’s thunder,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And plough the distant main.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">But Kempenfeldt is gone,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">His victories are o’er;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And he, and his eight hundred,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Shall plough the wave no more.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>To return to my narrative: Our ship, having been at sea two -years, needed overhauling. She was therefore taken into one of the -splendid dry docks in the Plymouth dock-yard, while the crew were -placed, for the time being, on board an old hulk. A week or two -sufficed for this task, when we returned to our old quarters. She -looked like a new ship, having been gaily painted within and without. -We, too, soon got newly rigged; for orders had reached us -from the Admiralty office to prepare for sea, and we were paid off. -Most of the men laid out part of their money in getting new clothing; -some of it went to buy pictures, looking-glasses, crockery ware,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -&c., to ornament our berths, so that they bore some resemblance to a -cabin. The women were ordered ashore, and we were once more -ready for sea.</p> - -<p>The practice of paying seamen at long intervals, is the source -of many evils. Among these, is the opportunity given to pursers -to practise extortion on the men—an opportunity they are not slow -in improving. The spendthrift habits of most sailors leave them -with a barely sufficient quantity of clothing, for present purposes, -when they ship. If the cruise is long, they are, consequently, -obliged to draw from the purser. This gentleman is ever ready -to supply them, but at ruinous prices. Poor articles with high -prices are to be found in his hands; these poor Jack must take of -necessity, because he cannot get his wages until he is paid off. -Hence, what with poor articles, high charges and <em>false</em> charges, the -purser almost always has a claim which makes Jack’s actual receipts -for two or three years’ service, wofully small. Were he paid at -stated periods, he could make his own purchases as he needed them. -The sailor is aware of this evil, but he only shows his apprehension -of it in his usually good-humored manner. If he sees a poor, ill-cut -garment, he will laugh, and say it “looks like a purser’s shirt -on a handspike.” These are small matters, but they go to make up -the sum total of a seaman’s life, and should therefore be remedied -as far as possible.</p> - -<p>Our preparations all completed, the hoarse voice of the boatswain -rang through the ship, crying, “All hands up anchor, ahoy!” -In a trice, the capstan bars were shipped, the fifer was at his station -playing a lively tune, the boys were on the main deck holding -on to the “nippers,” ready to pass them to the men, who put them -round the “messenger” and cable; then, amid the cries of “Walk -round! heave away, my lads!” accompanied by the shrill music of -the fife, the anchor rose from its bed, and was soon dangling under -our bows. The sails were then shaken out, the ship brought before -the wind, and we were once more on our way to sea. We were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> -directed to cruise off the coast of France this time; where, as we -were then at war with the French, we were likely to find active -service.</p> - -<p>We first made the French port of Rochelle; from thence, we -sailed to Brest, which was closely blockaded by a large British -fleet, consisting of one three-decker, with several seventy-fours, besides -frigates and small craft. We joined this fleet, and came to -an anchor in Basque Roads, to assist in the blockade. Our first -object was to bring a large French fleet, greatly superior to us in -size and numbers, to an engagement. With all our manœuvring, we -could not succeed in enticing them from their snug berth in the harbor -of Brest, where they were safely moored, defended by a heavy -fort, and by a chain crossing the harbor, to prevent the ingress of -any force that might be bold enough to attempt to cut them out. -Sometimes we sent a frigate or two as near their fort as they dared -to venture, in order to entice them out; at other times, the whole -fleet would get under weigh and stand out to sea; but without success. -The Frenchmen were either afraid we had a larger armament -than was visible to them, or they had not forgotten the splendid -victories of Nelson at the Nile and Trafalgar. Whatever they -thought, they kept their ships beyond the reach of our guns. -Sometimes, however, their frigates would creep outside the forts, -when we gave them chase, but seldom went beyond the exchange -of a few harmless shots. This was what our men called “boy’s -play;” and they were heartily glad when we were ordered to -return to Plymouth.</p> - -<p>After just looking into Plymouth harbor, our orders were -countermanded, and we returned to the coast of France. Having -accomplished about one half the distance, the man at the mast-head -cried out, “Sail ho!”</p> - -<p>“Where away?” (what direction?) responded the officer of -the deck. The man having replied, the officer again asked, “What -does she look like?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span></p> - -<p>“She looks small; I cannot tell, sir.”</p> - -<p>In a few minutes the officer hailed again, by shouting, “Mast-head, -there! what does she look like?”</p> - -<p>“She looks like a small sail-boat, sir.”</p> - -<p>This was rather a novel announcement; for what could a small -sail-boat do out on the wide ocean? But a few minutes convinced -us that it was even so; for, from the deck, we could see a small boat, -with only a man and a boy on board. They proved to be two -French prisoners of war, who had escaped from an English prison, -and, having stolen a small boat, were endeavoring to make this perilous -voyage to their native home. Poor fellows! they looked sadly -disappointed at finding themselves once more in British hands. -They had already been in prison for some time; they were now -doomed to go with us, in sight of their own sunny France, and then -be torn away again, carried to England, and imprisoned until the -close of the war. No wonder they looked sorrowful, when, after -having hazarded life for home and liberty, they found both snatched -from them in a moment, by their unlucky rencontre with our frigate. -I am sure we should all have been glad to have missed them. -But this is only one of the consequences of war.</p> - -<p>Having joined the blockading fleet again, we led the same sort -of life as before: now at anchor, then giving chase; now standing in -shore, and anon standing out to sea; firing, and being fired at, without -once coming into action.</p> - -<p>Determined to accomplish some exploit or other, our captain -ordered an attempt to be made at cutting out some of the French -small craft that lay in shore. We were accustomed to send out -our barges almost every night, in search of whatever prey they -might capture. But on this occasion the preparations were more -formidable than usual. The oars were muffled; the boat’s crew increased, -and every man was armed to the teeth. The cots were got<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -ready on board, in case any of the adventurers should return -wounded. Cots are used to sleep in by ward-room officers and captains; -midshipmen and sailors using hammocks. But a number of -cots are always kept in a vessel of war, for the benefit of wounded -men; they differ from a hammock, in being square at the bottom, -and consequently more easy. The service on which the barge was -sent being extremely dangerous, the cots were got ready to receive -the wounded, should there be any; but notwithstanding these expressive -preparations, the brave fellows went off in as fine spirits -as if they had been going on shore for a drunken spree. Such is the -contempt of danger that prevails among sailors.</p> - -<p>We had no tidings of this adventure until morning, when I -was startled by hearing three cheers from the watch on deck; these -were answered by three more from a party that seemed approaching -us. I ran on deck just as our men came alongside with their -bloodless prize—a lugger, laden with French brandy, wine and -Castile soap. They had made this capture without difficulty; for -the crew of the lugger made their escape in a boat, on the first intimation -of danger. As this was our first prize, we christened her -the <i>Young Macedonian</i>. She was sent to the admiral; but what -became of her, I never heard.</p> - -<p>Before sending her away, however, the officers, having a peculiar -itching for some of the brandy, took the liberty of replenishing -their empty bottles from the hold. This, with true aristocratic -liberality, they kept to themselves, without offering the smallest -portion to the crew. Some of them showed, by their conduct afterwards, -that this brandy possessed considerable strength. We had -no further opportunity to signalize either ourselves or our frigate -by our heroism at Brest; for we were soon after ordered back to -Plymouth, where, for a short time, we lay at our old anchorage -ground.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1">At Plymouth we heard some vague rumors of a declaration -of war against America. More than this, we could not -learn, since the utmost care was taken to prevent our being -fully informed. The reason of this secrecy was, probably, because -we had several Americans in our crew, most of whom were pressed -men, as before stated. These men, had they been certain that war -had broken out, would have given themselves up as prisoners of -war, and claimed exemption from that unjust service, which compelled -them to act with the enemies of their country. This was a -privilege which the magnanimity of our officers ought to have offered -them. They had already perpetrated a grievous wrong upon -them in impressing them; it was adding cruelty to injustice, to compel -their service in a war against their own nation. But the difficulty -with naval officers is, that they do not treat with a sailor as -with a <em>man</em>. They know what is fitting between each other as -officers; but they treat their crews on another principle; they are -apt to look at them as pieces of living mechanism, born to serve, -to obey their orders, and administer to their wishes without complaint. -This is alike a bad morality and a bad philosophy. There -is often more real manhood in the forecastle than in the ward-room; -and until the common sailor is treated <em>as a man</em>, until every feeling -of human nature is conceded to him in naval discipline—perfect, -rational subordination will never be attained in ships of war, or in -merchant vessels. It is needless to tell of the intellectual degradation -of the mass of seamen. “A man’s a man for a’ that;” and -it is this very system of discipline, this treating them as automatons, -which keeps them degraded. When will human nature put more -confidence in itself?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span></p> - -<p>Leaving Plymouth, we next anchored, for a brief space, at -Torbay, a small port in the British Channel. We were ordered -thence to convoy a huge East India merchant vessel, much larger -than our frigate, and having five hundred troops on board, bound -to the East Indies, with money to pay the troops stationed there. -We set sail in a tremendous gale of wind. Both ships stopped two -days at Madeira to take in wine and a few other articles. After -leaving this island, we kept her company two days more; and then, -according to orders, having wished her success, we left her to pursue -her voyage, while we returned to finish our cruise.</p> - -<p>Though without any positive information, we now felt pretty -certain that our government was at war with America. Among -other things, our captain appeared more anxious than usual; he was -on deck almost all the time; the “look-out” aloft was more rigidly -observed; and every little while the cry of “Mast-head there!” arrested -our attention.</p> - -<p>It is customary in men of war to keep men at the fore and main -mast-heads, whose duty it is to give notice of every new object that -may appear. They are stationed on the royal yards, if they are -up, but if not, on the top-gallant yards: at night a look-out is kept -on the fore-yard only.</p> - -<p>Thus we passed several days; the captain running up and -down, and constantly hailing the man at the mast-head: early in -the morning he began his charge “to keep a good look-out,” and -continued to repeat it until night. Indeed, he seemed almost crazy -with some pressing anxiety. The men felt there was something -anticipated, of which they were ignorant; and had the captain heard -all their remarks upon his conduct, he would not have felt very -highly flattered. Still, everything went on as usual; the day was -spent in the ordinary duties of man-of-war life, and the evening -in telling stories of things most rare and wonderful; for your genuine -old tar is an adept in spinning yarns, and some of them, in re<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span>spect -to variety and length, might safely aspire to a place beside -the great magician of the north, Sir Walter Scott, or any of those -prolific heads that now bring forth such abundance of fiction to feed -a greedy public, who read as eagerly as our men used to listen. To -this yarn-spinning was added the most humorous singing, sometimes -dashed with a streak of the pathetic, which I assure my readers -was most touching; especially one very plaintive melody, with a -chorus beginning with,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="verse indentq">“Now if our ship should be cast away,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">It would be our lot to see old England no more,”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">which made rather a melancholy impression on my boyish mind, -and gave rise to a sort of presentiment that the <i>Macedonian</i> would -never return home again; a presentiment which had its fulfilment -in a manner totally unexpected to us all. The presence of a shark -for several days, with its attendant pilot fish, tended to strengthen -this prevalent idea.</p> - -<p>The Sabbath came, and it brought with it a stiff breeze. We -usually made a sort of holiday of this sacred day. After breakfast -it was common to muster the entire crew on the spar deck, dressed -as the fancy of the captain might dictate; sometimes in blue jackets -and white trousers, or blue jackets and blue trousers; at other times -in blue jackets, scarlet vests, and blue or white trousers; with our -bright anchor buttons glancing in the sun, and our black, glossy -hats, ornamented with black ribbons, and with the name of our ship -painted on them. After muster, we frequently had church service -read by the captain; the rest of the day was devoted to idleness. -But we were destined to spend the Sabbath, just introduced to the -reader, in a very different manner.</p> - -<p>We had scarcely finished breakfast, before the man at the -mast-head shouted, “Sail ho!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span></p> - -<p>The captain rushed upon deck, exclaiming, “Mast-head -there!”</p> - -<p>“Sir!”</p> - -<p>“Where away is the sail?”</p> - -<p>The precise answer to this question I do not recollect, but the -captain proceeded to ask, “What does she look like?”</p> - -<p>“A square-rigged vessel, sir,” was the reply of the look-out.</p> - -<p>After a few minutes, the captain shouted again, “Mast-head -there!”</p> - -<p>“Sir!”</p> - -<p>“What does she look like?”</p> - -<p>“A large ship, sir, standing toward us!”</p> - -<p>By this time, most of the crew were on deck, eagerly straining -their eyes to obtain a glimpse of the approaching ship, and murmuring -their opinions to each other on her probable character. -Then came the voice of the captain, shouting, “Keep silence, fore -and aft!” Silence being secured, he hailed the look-out, who, to -his question of “What does she look like?” replied, “A large frigate, -bearing down upon us, sir!”</p> - -<p>A whisper ran along the crew that the stranger ship was a -Yankee frigate. The thought was confirmed by the command of -“All hands clear the ship for action, ahoy!” The drum and fife -beat to quarters; bulk-heads were knocked away; the guns were -released from their confinement; the whole dread paraphernalia of -battle was produced; and after the lapse of a few minutes of hurry -and confusion, every man and boy was at his post, ready to do his -best service for his country, except the band, who, claiming exemption -from the affray, safely stowed themselves away in the cable -tier. We had only one sick man<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> on the list, and he, at the cry of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -battle, hurried from his cot, feeble as he was, to take his post of -danger. A few of the junior midshipmen were stationed below, on -the berth deck, with orders, given in our hearing, to shoot any man -who attempted to run from his quarters.</p> - -<p>Our men were all in good spirits; though they did not scruple -to express the wish that the coming foe was a Frenchman rather -than a Yankee. We had been told, by the Americans on board, -that frigates in the American service carried more and heavier -metal than ours. This, together with our consciousness of superiority -over the French at sea, led us to a preference for a French antagonist.</p> - -<p>The Americans among our number felt quite disconcerted, at -the necessity which compelled them to fight against their own countrymen. -One of them, named John Card, as brave a seaman as -ever trod a plank, ventured to present himself to the captain, as a -prisoner, frankly declaring his objections to fight. That officer, -very ungenerously, ordered him to his quarters, threatening to -shoot him if he made the request again. Poor fellow! He obeyed -the unjust command, and was killed by a shot from his own countrymen. -This fact is more disgraceful to the captain of the <i>Macedonian</i>, -than even the loss of his ship. It was a gross and a palpable -violation of the rights of man.</p> - -<p>As the approaching ship showed American colors, all doubt of -her character was at an end. “We must fight her,” was the conviction -of every breast. Every possible arrangement that could insure -success, was accordingly made. The guns were shotted; the -matches lighted; for, although our guns were all furnished with -first-rate locks, they were also provided with matches, attached by -lanyards, in case the lock should miss fire. A lieutenant then -passed through the ship, directing the marines and boarders, who -were furnished with pikes, cutlasses, and pistols, how to proceed if -it should be necessary to board the enemy. He was followed by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -the captain, who extorted the men to fidelity and courage, urging -upon their consideration the well-known motto of the brave Nelson, -“England expects every man to do his duty.” In addition to -all these preparations on deck, some men were stationed in the tops -with small-arms, whose duty it was to attend to trimming the sails, -and to use their muskets, provided we came to close action. There -were others also below, called sail trimmers, to assist in working the -ship, should it be necessary to shift her position during the battle.</p> - -<p>My station was at the fifth gun on the main deck. It was my -duty to supply my gun with powder, a boy being appointed to each -gun in the ship on the side we engaged, for this purpose. A woollen -screen was placed before the entrance to the magazine, with a -hole in it, through which the cartridges were passed to the boys; we -received them there, and covering them with our jackets, hurried to -our respective guns. These precautions are observed to prevent -the powder taking fire before it reaches the gun.</p> - -<p>Thus we all stood, awaiting orders, in motionless suspense. -At last we fired three guns from the larboard side of the main deck; -this was followed by the command, “Cease firing; you are throwing -away your shot!”</p> - -<p>Then came the order to “wear ship,” and prepare to attack -the enemy with our starboard guns. Soon after this I heard a firing -from some other quarter, which I at first supposed to be a discharge -from our quarter deck guns; though it proved to be the roar -of the enemy’s cannon.</p> - -<p>A strange noise, such as I had never heard before, next arrested -my attention; it sounded like the tearing of sails, just over -our heads. This I soon ascertained to be the wind of the enemy’s -shot. The firing, after a few minutes’ cessation, recommenced. -The roaring of cannon could now be heard from all parts of our -trembling ship, and, mingling as it did with that of our foes, it -made a most hideous noise. By-and-by I heard the shot strike the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -sides of our ship; the whole scene grew indescribably confused and -horrible; it was like some awfully tremendous thunder-storm, whose -deafening roar is attended by incessant streaks of lightning, carrying -death in every flash, and strewing the ground with the victims -of its wrath: only, in our case, the scene was rendered more horrible -than that, by the presence of torrents of blood which dyed our -decks.</p> - -<p>Though the recital may be painful, yet, as it will reveal the -horrors of war, and show at what a fearful price a victory is won -or lost, I will present the reader with things as they met my eye -during the progress of this dreadful fight. I was busily supplying -my gun with powder, when I saw blood suddenly fly from the -arm of a man stationed at our gun. I saw nothing strike him; the -effect alone was visible; in an instant, the third lieutenant tied his -handkerchief round the wounded arm, and sent the groaning -wretch below to the surgeon.</p> - -<p>The cries of the wounded now rang through all parts of the -ship. These were carried to the cockpit as fast as they fell, while -those more fortunate men, who were killed outright, were immediately -thrown overboard. As I was stationed but a short distance -from the main hatchway, I could catch a glance at all who were -carried below. A glance was all I could indulge in, for the boys -belonging to the guns next to mine were wounded in the early part -of the action, and I had to spring with all my might to keep three -or four guns supplied with cartridges. I saw two of these lads fall -nearly together. One of them was struck in the leg by a large -shot; he had to suffer amputation above the wound. The other -had a grape or canister shot sent through his ankle. A stout Yorkshireman -lifted him in his arms, and hurried him to the cockpit. He -had his foot cut off, and was thus made lame for life. Two of the -boys stationed on the quarter deck were killed. They were both -Portuguese. A man, who saw one of them killed, afterwards told -me that his powder caught fire and burnt the flesh almost off his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -face. In this pitiable situation, the agonized boy lifted up both -hands, as if imploring relief, when a passing shot instantly cut him -in two.</p> - -<p>I was an eye-witness to a sight equally revolting. A man -named Aldrich had one of his hands cut off by a shot, and almost at -the same moment he received another shot, which tore open his -bowels in a terrible manner. As he fell, two or three men caught -him in their arms, and, as he could not live, threw him overboard.</p> - -<p>One of the officers in my division also fell in my sight. He -was a noble-hearted fellow, named Nan Kivell.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> A grape or canister -shot struck him near the heart: exclaiming, “Oh! my God!” -he fell, and was carried below, where he shortly after died.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hope, our first lieutenant, was also slightly wounded by -a grummet, or small iron ring, probably torn from a hammock clew -by a shot. He went below, shouting to the men to fight on. Having -had his wound dressed, he came up again, shouting to us at the -top of his voice, and bidding us fight with all our might. There -was not a man in the ship but would have rejoiced had he been in -the place of our master’s mate, the unfortunate Nan Kivell.</p> - -<p>The battle went on. Our men kept cheering with all their might. -I cheered with them, though I confess I scarcely knew for what. -Certainly there was nothing very inspiriting in the aspect of things -where I was stationed. So terrible had been the work of destruction -round us, it was termed the slaughter-house. Not only had we -had several boys and men killed or wounded, but several of the guns -were disabled. The one I belonged to had a piece of the muzzle -knocked out; and when the ship rolled, it struck a beam of the upper -deck with such force as to become jammed and fixed in that position. -A twenty-four pound shot had also passed through the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -screen of the magazine, immediately over the orifice through which -we passed our powder. The schoolmaster<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> received a death wound. -The brave boatswain, who came from the sick bay to the din of battle, -was fastening a stopper on a back-stay which had been shot -away, when his head was smashed to pieces by a cannon-ball; another -man, going to complete the unfinished task, was also struck -down. Another of our midshipmen also received a severe wound. -The unfortunate ward-room steward, who, the reader will recollect, -attempted to cut his throat on a former occasion, was killed. A -fellow named John, who, for some petty offence, had been sent on -board as a punishment, was carried past me, wounded. I distinctly -heard the large blood-drops fall pat, pat, pat, on the deck; his -wounds were mortal. Even a poor goat, kept by the officers for -her milk, did not escape the general carnage; her hind legs were -shot off, and poor Nan was thrown overboard.</p> - -<p>Such was the terrible scene, amid which we kept on our shouting -and firing. Our men fought like tigers. Some of them pulled -off their jackets, others their jackets and vests; while some, still -more determined, had taken off their shirts, and, with nothing but -a handkerchief tied round the waistbands of their trousers, fought -like heroes. Jack Sadler, whom the reader will recollect, was one -of these. I also observed a boy, named Cooper, stationed at a gun -some distance from the magazine. He came to and fro on the full -run, and appeared to be as “merry as a cricket.” The third lieutenant -cheered him along, occasionally, by saying, “Well done, my -boy, you are worth your weight in gold.”</p> - -<p>I have often been asked what were my feelings during this -fight. I felt pretty much as I suppose every one does at such a -time. That men are without thought when they stand amid the -dying and the dead, is too absurd an idea to be entertained a moment. -We all appeared cheerful, but I know that many a serious<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -thought ran through my mind: still, what could we do but keep up -a semblance, at least, of animation? To run from our quarters -would have been certain death from the hands of our own officers; -to give way to gloom, or to show fear, would do no good, and might -brand us with the name of cowards, and ensure certain defeat. Our -only true philosophy, therefore, was to make the best of our situation, -by fighting bravely and cheerfully. I thought a great deal, -however, of the other world; every groan, every falling man, told -me that the next instant I might be before the Judge of all the -earth. For this, I felt unprepared; but being without any particular -knowledge of religious truth, I satisfied myself by repeating -again and again the Lord’s Prayer, and promising that if spared I -would be more attentive to religious duties than ever before. This -promise I had no doubt, at the time, of keeping; but I have learned -since that it is easier to make promises amidst the roar of the battle’s -thunder, or in the horrors of shipwreck, than to keep them -when danger is absent, and safety smiles upon our path.</p> - -<p>While these thoughts secretly agitated my bosom, the din of -battle continued. Grape and canister shot were pouring through -our port-holes like leaden rain, carrying death in their trail. The -large shot came against the ship’s side like iron hail, shaking her to -the very keel, or passing through her timbers, and scattering terrific -splinters, which did a more appalling work than even their own -death-giving blows. The reader may form an idea of the effect of -grape and canister, when he is told that grape shot is formed by -seven or eight balls confined to an iron and tied in a cloth. These -balls are scattered by the explosion of the powder. Canister shot -is made by filling a powder canister with balls, each as large as two -or three musket balls; these also scatter with direful effect when -discharged. What then with splinters, cannon balls, grape and -canister poured incessantly upon us, the reader may be assured that -the work of death went on in a manner which must have been satisfactory -even to the King of Terrors himself.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span></p> - -<p>Suddenly, the rattling of the iron hail ceased. We were ordered -to cease firing. A profound silence ensued, broken only by -the stifled groans of the brave sufferers below. It was soon ascertained -that the enemy had shot ahead to repair damages, for she -was not so disabled but she could sail without difficulty; while we -were so cut up that we lay utterly helpless. Our head braces were -shot away; the fore and main top-masts were gone; the mizzen mast -hung over the stern, having carried several men over in its fall: we -were in the state of a complete wreck.</p> - -<p>A council was now held among the officers on the quarter deck. -Our condition was perilous in the extreme: victory or escape was -alike hopeless. Our ship was disabled; many of our men were -killed, and many more wounded. The enemy would without doubt -bear down upon us in a few moments, and, as she could now choose -her own position, would without doubt rake us fore and aft. Any -further resistance was therefore folly. So, in spite of the hot-brained -lieutenant, Mr. Hope, who advised them not to strike, but -to sink alongside, it was determined to strike our bunting.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> This -was done by the hands of a brave fellow named Watson, whose saddened -brow told how severely it pained his lion heart to do it. To -me it was a pleasing sight, for I had seen fighting enough for one -Sabbath; more than I wished to see again on a week day. His -Britannic Majesty’s frigate <i>Macedonian</i> was now the prize of the -American frigate <i>United States</i>.</p> - -<p>Before detailing the subsequent occurrences in my history, I -will present the curious reader with a copy of Captain Carden’s letter<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -to the government, describing this action. It will serve to show -how he excused himself for his defeat, as well as throw some light -on those parts of the contest which were invisible to me at my station. -My mother presented me with this document, on my return -to England. She had received it from Lord Churchill, and had -carefully preserved it for twenty years.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="right">“<span class="smcap">Admiralty Office</span>, Dec. 29, 1812.</p> - -<p>Copy of a letter from Captain John Surman Carden, -late commander of His Majesty’s ship the <i>Macedonian</i>, -to John Wilson Croker, Esq., dated on board the American -ship <i>United States</i>, at sea, the 28th October, 1812:—</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>: It is with the deepest regret, I have to acquaint -you, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of -the Admiralty, that His Majesty’s late ship <i>Macedonian</i> -was captured on the 25th instant, by the United -States ship <i>United States</i>, Commodore Decatur commander. -The detail is as follows:</p> - -<p>A short time after daylight, steering N. W. by W., with -the wind from the southward, in latitude 29° N., and -longitude 29° 30′ W., in the execution of their Lordships’ -orders, a sail was seen on the lee beam, which I immediately -stood for, and made her out to be a large frigate, -under American colors. At nine o’clock I closed with -her, and she commenced the action, which we returned; -but from the enemy keeping two points off the wind, I -was not enabled to get as close to her as I could have -wished. After an hour’s action, the enemy backed and -came to the wind, and I was then enabled to bring her to -close battle. In this situation I soon found the enemy’s -force too superior to expect success, unless some very -fortunate chance occurred in our favor; and with this hope<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -I continued the battle to two hours and ten minutes; -when, having the mizzen mast shot away by the board, -topmasts shot away by the caps, main yard shot in pieces, -lower masts badly wounded, lower rigging all cut to -pieces, a small proportion only of the fore-sail left to the -fore-yard, all the guns on the quarter deck and forecastle -disabled but two, and filled with wreck, two also on the -main deck disabled, and several shot between wind and -water, a very great proportion of the crew killed and -wounded, and the enemy comparatively in good order, -who had now shot ahead, and was about to place himself -in a raking position, without our being enabled to return -the fire, being a perfect wreck and unmanageable log; -I deemed it prudent, though a painful extremity, to surrender -His Majesty’s ship; nor was this dreadful alternative -resorted to till every hope of success was removed, -even beyond the reach of chance; nor till, I trust their -Lordships will be aware, every effort had been made -against the enemy by myself, and my brave officers and -men, nor should she have been surrendered whilst a man -lived on board, had she been manageable. I am sorry to -say our loss is very severe; I find by this day’s muster, -thirty-six killed, three of whom lingered a short time -after the battle; thirty-six severely wounded, many of -whom cannot recover, and thirty-two slightly wounded, -who may all do well; total, one hundred and four.</p> - -<p>The truly noble and animating conduct of my officers, -and the steady bravery of my crew, to the last moment -of the battle, must ever render them dear to their -country.</p> - -<p>My first lieutenant, David Hope, was severely wounded -in the head, towards the close of the battle, and taken below; -but was soon again on deck, displaying that greatness<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -of mind and exertion, which, though it may be -equalled, can never be excelled. The third lieutenant, -John Bulford, was also wounded, but not obliged to quit -his quarters; second lieutenant, Samuel Mottley, and he -deserves my highest acknowledgments. The cool and -steady conduct of Mr. Walker, the master, was very great -during the battle, as also that of Lieutenants Wilson and -Magill, of the marines.</p> - -<p>On being taken on board the enemy’s ship, I ceased to -wonder at the result of the battle. The <i>United States</i> -is built with the scantling of a seventy-four gun-ship, -mounting thirty long twenty-four pounders (English -ship-guns) on her main deck, and twenty-two forty-two -pounders, carronades, with two long twenty-four -pounders, on her quarter deck and forecastle, howitzer -guns in her tops, and a travelling carronade on her upper -deck, with a complement of four hundred and seventy-eight -picked men.</p> - -<p>The enemy has suffered much in masts, rigging, and -hull, above and below water. Her loss in killed and -wounded I am not aware of; but I know a lieutenant and -six men have been thrown overboard.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Jno. S. Carden.</span></p> - -<p>To <span class="smcap">J. W. Croker</span>, Esq., Admiralty.”</p></div> - -<p>Lord Churchill sent the above letter, with a list of the killed -and wounded annexed, to inform my mother that the name of her -son was not among the number. The act shows how much he -could sympathize with a mother’s feelings.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">I now went below, to see how matters appeared there. The -first object I met was a man bearing a limb, which had just -been detached from some suffering wretch. Pursuing my -way to the ward-room, I necessarily passed through the steerage, -which was strewed with the wounded: it was a sad spectacle, made -more appalling by the groans and cries which rent the air. Some -were groaning, others were swearing most bitterly, a few were -praying, while those last arrived were begging most piteously to -have their wounds dressed next. The surgeon and his mate were -smeared with blood from head to foot: they looked more like butchers -than doctors. Having so many patients, they had once shifted -their quarters from the cockpit to the steerage; they now removed -to the ward-room, and the long table, round which the officers had -sat over many a merry feast, was soon covered with the bleeding -forms of maimed and mutilated seamen.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span></p> - -<p>While looking round the ward-room, I heard a noise above, -occasioned by the arrival of the boats from the conquering frigate. -Very soon a lieutenant, I think his name was Nicholson,<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> came into -the ward-room, and said to the busy surgeon, “How do you do, -doctor?”</p> - -<p>“I have enough to do,” replied he, shaking his head thoughtfully; -“you have made wretched work for us!” These officers -were not strangers to each other, for the reader will recollect that -the commanders and officers of these two frigates, had exchanged -visits when we were lying at Norfolk, some months before.</p> - -<p>I now set to work to render all the aid in my power to the -sufferers. Our carpenter, named Reed, had his leg cut off. I -helped to carry him to the after ward-room; but he soon breathed -out his life there, and then I assisted in throwing his mangled remains -overboard. We got out the cots as fast as possible; for most -of them were stretched out on the gory deck. One poor fellow -who lay with a broken thigh, begged me to give him water. I -gave him some. He looked unutterable gratitude, drank, and -died. It was with exceeding difficulty I moved through the steerage, -it was so covered with mangled men, and so slippery with -streams of blood. There was a poor boy there crying as if his heart -would break. He had been servant to the bold boatswain, whose -head was dashed to pieces. Poor boy! he felt that he had lost a -friend. I tried to comfort him by reminding him that he ought to -be thankful for having escaped death himself.</p> - -<p>Here, also, I met one of my messmates, who showed the utmost -joy at seeing me alive, for, he said, he had heard that I was -killed. He was looking up his messmates, which he said was always -done by sailors. We found two of our mess wounded. One -was the Swede, Logholm, who fell overboard, as mentioned in a -former chapter, and was nearly lost. We held him while the surgeon<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -cut off his leg above the knee. The task was most painful to -behold, the surgeon using his knife and saw on human flesh and -bones, as freely as the butcher at the shambles does on the carcass -of the beast! Our other messmate suffered still more than the -Swede; he was sadly mutilated about the legs and thighs with -splinters. Such scenes of suffering as I saw in that ward-room, -I hope never to witness again. Could the civilized world behold -them as they were, and as they often are, infinitely worse than on -that occasion, it seems to me they would forever put down the barbarous -practices of war, by universal consent.</p> - -<p>Most of our officers and men were taken on board the victor -ship. I was left, with a few others, to take care of the wounded. -My master, the sailing-master, was also among the officers, who -continued in their ship. Most of the men who remained were unfit -for any service, having broken into the spirit-room and made themselves -drunk; some of them broke into the purser’s room and helped -themselves to clothing; while others, by previous agreement, took -possession of their dead messmates’ property. For my own part -I was content to help myself to a little of the officers’ provisions, -which did me more good than could be obtained from rum. What -was worse than all, however, was the folly of the sailors in giving -spirit to their wounded messmates, since it only served to aggravate -their distress.</p> - -<p>Among the wounded, was a brave fellow named Wells. After -the surgeon had amputated and dressed his arm, he walked about -in fine spirits, as if he had received only a slight injury. Indeed, -while under the operation, he manifested a similar heroism—observing -to the surgeon, “I have lost my arm in the service of my -country; but I don’t mind it, doctor, it’s the fortune of war.” -Cheerful and gay as he was, he soon died. His companions gave -him rum; he was attacked by fever and died. Thus his messmates -actually killed him with kindness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span></p> - -<p>We had all sorts of dispositions and temperaments among our -crew. To me it was a matter of great interest to watch their various -manifestations. Some who had lost their messmates appeared -to care nothing about it, while others were grieving with all the tenderness -of women. Of these, was the survivor of two seamen, who -had formerly been soldiers in the same regiment; he bemoaned the -loss of his comrade with expressions of profoundest grief. There -were, also, two boatswain’s mates, named Adams and Brown, who -had been messmates for several years in the same ship. Brown -was killed, or so wounded that he died soon after the battle. It -was really a touching spectacle to see the rough, hardy features of -the brave old sailor streaming with tears, as he picked out the dead -body of his friend from among the wounded, and gently carried it -to the ship’s side, saying to the inanimate form he bore, “O Bill, -we have sailed together in a number of ships, we have been in -many gales and some battles, but this is the worst day I have seen! -We must now part!” Here he dropped the body into the deep, -and then, a fresh torrent of tears streaming over his weather-beaten -face, he added, “I can do no more for you. Farewell! God -be with you!” Here was an instance of genuine friendship, worth -more than the heartless professions of thousands, who, in the fancied -superiority of their elevated position in the social circle, will -deign nothing but a silly sneer at this record of a sailor’s grief.</p> - -<p>The circumstance was rather a singular one, that in both the -contending frigates the second boatswain’s mate bore the name of -William Brown, and that they both were killed; yet such was the -fact.</p> - -<p>The great number of the wounded kept our surgeon and his -mate busily employed at their horrid work until late at night; and -it was a long time before they had much leisure. I remember passing -round the ship the day after the battle. Coming to a hammock, -I found some one in it apparently asleep. I spoke; he made -no answer. I looked into the hammock; he was dead. My mess<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span>mates -coming up, we threw the corpse overboard; that was no time -for useless ceremony. The man had probably crawled to his hammock -the day before, and, not being perceived in the general distress, -bled to death! O War! who can reveal thy miseries!</p> - -<p>When the crew of the <i>United States</i> first boarded our frigate, -to take possession of her as their prize, our men, heated with the -fury of the battle, exasperated with the sight of their dead and -wounded shipmates, and rendered furious by the rum they had obtained -from the spirit-room, felt and exhibited some disposition to -fight their captors. But after the confusion had subsided, and -part of our men were snugly stowed away in the American ship, -and the remainder found themselves kindly used in their own, the -utmost good feeling began to prevail. We took hold and cleansed -the ship, using hot vinegar to take out the scent of the blood that -had dyed the white of our planks with crimson. We also took hold -and aided in fitting our disabled frigate for her voyage. This being -accomplished, both ships sailed in company toward the American -coast.</p> - -<p>I soon felt myself perfectly at home with the American seamen; -so much so, that I chose to mess with them. My shipmates -also participated in similar feelings in both ships. All idea that -we had been trying to shoot out each other’s brains so shortly before, -seemed forgotten. <ins class="corr" id="tn-98" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'We eat together'"> -We ate together</ins>, drank together, joked, -sung, laughed, told yarns; in short, a perfect union of ideas, feelings, -and purposes, seemed to exist among all hands.</p> - -<p>A corresponding state of unanimity existed, I was told, among -the officers. Commodore Decatur showed himself to be a gentleman -as well as a hero in his treatment of the officers of the <i>Macedonian</i>. -When Captain Carden offered his sword to the commodore, -remarking, as he did so, “I am an undone man. I am the -first British naval officer that has struck his flag to an American:” -the noble commodore either refused to receive the sword, or imme<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span>diately -returned it, smiling as he said, “You are mistaken, sir; -your <i>Guerrière</i> has been taken by us, and the flag of a frigate<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> was -struck before yours.” This somewhat revived the spirits of the -old captain; but, no doubt, he still felt his soul stung with shame -and mortification at the loss of his ship. Participating as he did -in the haughty spirit of the British aristocracy, it was natural for -him to feel galled and wounded to the quick, in the position of a -conquered man.</p> - -<p>We were now making the best of our way to America. Notwithstanding -the patched-up condition of the <i>Macedonian</i>,<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> she was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -far superior, in a sailing capacity, to her conqueror. The <i>United -States</i> had always been a dull sailer, and had been christened by -the name of the Old Wagon. Whenever a boat came alongside of -our frigate, and the boatswain’s mate was ordered to “pipe away” -the boat’s crew, he used to sound his shrill call on the whistle, and -bawl out, “Away, Wagoners, away,” instead of “away, <i>United -States</i> men, away.” This piece of pleasantry used to be rebuked -by the officers, but in a manner that showed they enjoyed the joke. -They usually replied, “Boatswain’s mate, you rascal, pipe away -<i>United States</i> men, not Wagoners. We have no wagoners on -board of a ship.” Still, in spite of rebuke, the joke went on, until -it grew stale by repetition. One thing was made certain however -by the sailing qualities of the <i>Macedonian</i>; which was, that if we -had been disposed to escape from our foe before the action, we -could have done so with all imaginable ease. This, however, would -have justly exposed us to disgrace, while our capture did not.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span> -There was every reason why the <i>United States</i> should beat us. -She was larger in size, heavier in metal, more numerous in men, -and stronger built than the <i>Macedonian</i>. Another fact in her -favor was, that our captain at first mistook her for the <i>Essex</i>, which -carried short carronades, hence he engaged her at long shot at first; -for, as we had the weather gage, we could take what position we -pleased. But this manœuvre only wasted our shot, and gave her -the advantage, as she actually carried larger metal than we did. -When we came to close action, the shot from the <i>United States</i> -went through and through our ship, while ours struck her sides, -and fell harmlessly into the water. This is to be accounted for -both by the superiority of the metal and of the ship. Her guns -were heavier and her sides thicker than ours. Some have said that -her sides were stuffed with cork. Of this, however, I am not certain. -Her superiority, both in number of men and guns, may -easily be seen by the following statistics. We carried forty-nine -guns; long eighteen-pounders on the main deck, and thirty-two -pound carronades on the quarter deck and forecastle. Our whole -number of hands, including officers, men and boys, was three hundred. -The <i>United States</i> carried four hundred and fifty men and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> -fifty-four guns: long twenty-four pounders on the main deck, and -forty-two pound carronades on the quarter deck and forecastle. -So that in actual force she was immensely our superior.</p> - -<p>To these should be added the consideration that the men in the -two ships fought under the influence of different motives. Many -of our hands were in the service against their will; some of them -were Americans, wrongfully impressed, and inwardly hoping for -defeat: while nearly every man in our ship sympathized with the -great principle for which the American nation so nobly contended -in the war of 1812. What that was, I suppose all my readers understand. -The British, at war with France, had denied the Americans -the right to trade thither. She had impressed American seamen, -and forcibly compelled their service in her navy; she had violated -the American flag by insolently searching their vessels for -her runaway seamen. Free trade and sailors’ rights, therefore, -were the objects contended for by the Americans. With these objects -our <em>men</em> could but sympathize, whatever our officers might do.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the crew of our opponent had all shipped<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -<em>voluntarily</em> for the term of two years only; (most of our men were -shipped for life.) They understood what they fought for; they -were better used in the service. What wonder, then, that victory -adorned the brows of the American commander? To have been -defeated under such circumstances would have been a source of -lasting infamy to any naval officer in the world. In the matter of -fighting, I think there is but little difference in either nation. Place -them in action under equal circumstances and motives, and who -could predict which would be victor? Unite them together, they -would subject the whole world. So close are the alliances of -blood, however, between England and America, that it is to be -earnestly desired, they may never meet in mortal strife again. If -either will fight, which is to be deprecated as a crime and a folly, -let it choose an enemy less connected by the sacred ties of consanguinity.</p> - -<p>Our voyage was one of considerable excitement. The seas -swarmed with British cruisers, and it was extremely doubtful -whether the <i>United States</i> would elude their grasp, and reach the -protection of an American port with her prize. I hoped most sincerely -to avoid them, as did most of my old shipmates; in this we -agreed with our captors, who wisely desired to dispose of one conquest -before they attempted another. Our former officers, of -course, were anxious for the sight of a British flag. But we saw -none, and, after a prosperous voyage from the scene of conflict, -we heard the welcome cry of “Land ho!” The <i>United States</i> entered -the port of New London; but, owing to a sudden shift of the -wind, the <i>Macedonian</i> had to lay off and on for several hours. Had -an English cruiser found us in this situation, we should have been -easily recovered; and, as it was extremely probable we should fall -in with one, I felt quite uneasy, until, after several hours, we made -out to run into the pretty harbor of Newport. We fired a salute -as we came to an anchor, which was promptly returned by the people -on shore.</p> - -<p>With a few exceptions, our wounded men were in a fair way<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -to recover by the time we reached Newport. The last of them, -who died of their wounds on board, was buried just before we got -in. His name was Thomas Whittaker; he had been badly wounded -by splinters. While he lived, he endured excessive torture. At -last his sufferings rendered him crazy, in which sad state he died. -He was sewed up in his hammock, by his messmates, and carried on -a grating to the larboard bow port. There Mr. Archer, a midshipman -of the <i>Macedonian</i>, read the beautiful burial service of the -church of England. When he came to that most touching passage, -“we commit the body of our brother to the deep,” the grating was -elevated, and, amid the most profound silence, the body fell heavily -into the waters. As it dropped into the deep, a sigh escaped from -many a friendly bosom, and an air of passing melancholy shrouded -many a face with sadness. Old recollections were busy there, calling -up the losses of the battle; but it was only momentary. The -men brushed away their tears, muttered “It’s no use to fret,” and -things once more wore their wonted aspect.</p> - -<p>At Newport our wounded were carried on shore. Our former -officers also left us here. When my master, Mr. Walker, took his -leave of me, he appeared deeply affected. Imprinting a kiss on -my cheek, the tears started from his eyes, and he bade me adieu. -I have not seen him since.</p> - -<p>While we lay here, a few days, several of our men contrived to -run away. I should have done so too, but for the vigilance of the -prize officers, who were ordered to keep us, that we might be exchanged -for those Americans who had fallen into British hands.</p> - -<p>After staying a short time in this port, we got under weigh and -ran into New London. Here we fired a gun as a signal; it was -answered by the <i>United States</i>, and both ships were presently sailing -in company to New York. We found the Sound plentifully -dotted with sloops, carrying passengers, for this was before the -days of modern steamboating. After we reached Hurl-gate, ves<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span>sels -here gave us plenty of employment. Most of them honored us -with three cheers, as they passed. Of course, the prize crew could -do no less than cheer again, so that we passed our time amidst continued -cheering. While here, we were favored with abundant -visitors, curious to see the captive frigate. Finding these visitors -extremely inquisitive, and being tolerably good-natured myself, I -found a profitable business in conducting them about the ship, describing -the action, and pointing out the places where particular -individuals fell. For these services, I gained some money and -more good will. The people who had been to see us, used to tell -on shore how they had been on board of us, and how the English -boy had conducted them over the ship, and told them the particulars -of the fight. It soon became quite common for those who came -to inquire “if I was the English boy that was taken in her.” This -civility on my part was not without a motive; it was productive of -profit, and I wanted money to aid me whenever I got clear, which -I was fully determined to do, the first opportunity.</p> - -<p>To this step I was encouraged by our pilot, who brought us -from New London, Mr. Tinker. He promised to take me as his -apprentice, if I ran away. Also a gentleman who visited us told -me to call at his house in Pearl street, and he would give me a dinner. -Many others advised me to get away if possible. But I was -so closely watched that my mind was haunted with fear, lest, after -all, I should be sent back to England in the Cartel, which was expected -every day for the release of the prisoners. To fail in the -attempt, exposed me to the danger of being reported to the officer -who might come for us, and thus I was liable to be flogged whenever -I arrived in a British port. Great caution was therefore necessary -in making the effort; since it was better not to try at all, than -to fail of success.</p> - -<p>Christmas was now drawing near. The day before Christmas -day, the Americans contrived to get well supplied with wine from -a barrel they found below. As they had no funds, I bought my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -messmates some apples and a turkey, so that on the morrow they -were quite taken up with feasting. We also had a great many -visitors that day; many of them were ladies, and the officers got a -chair out, which Captain Carden had rigged up, to lift ladies on -board. It was made from an old hogshead, in the following manner. -One head was knocked out and the barrel scooped out in -front; a seat was then inserted, with a flag thrown over the whole; -so that when it was lowered into a boat alongside, the lady had but -to step in and throw the flag round her feet; in a trice, the chair -was whipt upon deck by the halyards, when the lady could step out -with perfect ease. This contrivance afforded a great deal of -amusement, and kept the officers busily occupied in waiting upon -their lady visitors. Now then, thought I, is my time for escape, or -not at all. I had already made a friend of the American boatswain, -Mr. Dawson, who promised to carry my clothes to New -York, if I got clear. So, looking over the ship’s side, I saw a small -colored boy in a boat. “Can you tell me,” said I, hailing him, -“where I can get some geese and turkeys on shore for our officers?”</p> - -<p>“I guess you can at some of the houses,” responded the lad.</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” I continued, “will you set me ashore? I want -to get some for our officers.”</p> - -<p>To this he replied, “Yes, if you will go and ask my master, -who is on board your ship.”</p> - -<p>This was a damper on my young hopes, since it was not likely -that his master would give permission. I went below, somewhat -disconcerted. There I met a boy named James Day, two years -younger than myself. I told him I was going to run away, and -urged him to go with me. He declined at first, saying, “I have no -money to pay my expenses.”</p> - -<p>“But I have money,” returned I, “and as long as I have a -shilling, you shall have half of it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span></p> - -<p>“Besides,” continued he, “I am afraid we cannot get away -without being caught, and so get a thorough flogging.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that,” said I; “I have contrived that business. -The boat’s waiting to set us ashore. Come along, Jim; don’t be -frightened; ‘Nothing venture, nothing have,’ you know. Come, -come, here’s the boat alongside.” At length he consented; we returned -to the ship’s side, and told the boy his master was willing, -provided he would make haste. We jumped into the boat, and -were soon hurrying towards the shore, full of the hope of freedom.</p> - -<p>Never did my heart misgive me as it did when we were on our -way to the shore; the voice of the boy’s master came echoing along -the waves. “Where are you going with that boat?” he shouted. -Recovering myself, I persuaded the boy he was only bidding him -to make haste. So the lad replied, “I am going to get some geese, -sir!” and pulled on. A few minutes more, and, to my unspeakable -delight, I stood on American soil. Giving the boy a half dollar, -we pushed on for New York, some ten miles distant.</p> - -<p>For this act of running away, I have never blamed myself; for -the means by which it was effected, I have frequently done so. As -the reader has seen, it was done at the expense of truth. I told several -deliberate lies to the deceived boy in the boat. This is inexcusable, -and the only palliation that can be offered is, my want of -religious instruction. I was not then a Christian. Still, the act -of lying was an offence before God, and no man should purchase -his liberty at the price of a lie. He who saves his life at the cost -of offending God, pays dearly for the purchase. I am thankful -I have since learned this lesson, at the foot of the cross of Jesus -Christ.</p> - -<p>Not having our “land legs” on, we soon became excessively -fatigued. When within two or three miles of the city, we concluded -to stop all night at a tavern on the road.</p> - -<p>The inmates looked somewhat surprised to see two sailor lads<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span> -inquiring for lodgings; so I at once told them we were runaways -from the captured frigate. This made them our friends! The evening -passed quite pleasantly; we relating the particulars of the battle, -and singing sea songs, and they listening with the utmost good -humor.</p> - -<p>It seemed strange to us to find ourselves in a bed, after sleeping -two years and a half in a hammock; nevertheless, we slept -soundly, and to our inexpressible pleasure arose in the morning at -our leisure, without being driven by the swearing boatswain at our -heels. After breakfast, our generous host having refused to receive -any payment for his hospitality, we set out for the city of New -York.</p> - -<p>Here I very fortunately alighted on one of the crew of the -<i>Macedonian</i>, named Fitzgibbons, who informed me that most of -our men had been landed at New London, and confined as prisoners -in an old barn; but that, not being over closely guarded, most -of them had run away. He also introduced me to a sailors’ boarding-house, -kept by a widow named Elms, near the old Fly Market -in Front street.</p> - -<p>After spending a week in roving about the city, I heard a tremendous -roaring of cannon in the harbor; it proceeded from the -two frigates—which had dropped down from Hurl-gate and hauled -up off the navy yard. What was more to my satisfaction, however, -was the news that the Cartel had arrived and carried off the -British crew, or, rather, the fragment that remained of them. Had -I delayed my escape three days longer, instead of spending the rest -of my days in America and in the American service, I should have -been chained to the obnoxious discipline of the British navy. The -reader may be assured that the narrowness of my escape very -greatly enhanced the value I set upon my freedom.</p> - -<p>I now ventured on board the <i>Macedonian</i> again to obtain my -clothes. As I stepped on board, my mind misgave me, as Lieuten<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span>ant -Nicholson eyed me somewhat sternly; but I was reassured, -when, kindly speaking, he informed me that the Cartel was gone, -and I was safe. The sailors, also, congratulated me on my success -in getting clear.</p> - -<p>The officers and crew were about to have a public dinner, and -to visit the theatre in commemoration of their achievement. The -sailors invited me to join them. To this I agreed. But overhauling -my clothes, and contriving how I should appear as well as any -shipmates, who were all going to have new suits for the occasion, -the bright anchor buttons, which shone on my best suit, presented -an insuperable objection. For how could I appear among them -with the badge of the British service on my coat? This dilemma -was removed, however, by the skill of my landlady, the widow, who -very carefully covered the buttons with blue cloth.</p> - -<p>There was great excitement in New York, when the brave tars -of the victorious <i>United States</i>, walked in triumphant procession -through the streets, in the presence of countless citizens. First, -came Captain Carden’s band, which had now shipped with Decatur; -they were followed by the commodore and his officers, and -these by the crew. At the City Hotel, all hands partook of a -sumptuous dinner. This was followed by rather more than a usual -amount of drinking, laughing, and talking; for as liquor was furnished -in great abundance, the men could not resist the temptation -to get drunk. As they left the room to go to the theatre, the poor -plates on the sideboard proclaimed that “Jack was full three sheets -in the wind.” Almost every one, as he passed, gave them a crack, -crying out as they fell, “Save the pieces;” thus illustrating the old -proverb, “When rum is in, wit is out.”</p> - -<p>The visit to the theatre passed off very much like the dinner, -to wit, there was an abundance of shouting and cheering all the -evening. After the close of the play, all hands scattered to see -their friends, with orders to be on board next day. It was a week -before they all returned.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p> - -<p>I was much struck with the appearance of Decatur that evening, -as he sat in full uniform, his pleasant face flushed with the excitement -of the occasion. He formed a striking contrast to the -appearance he made when he visited our ship on the passage to New -York. Then, he wore an old straw hat and a plain suit of clothes, -which made him look more like a farmer than a naval commander.</p> - -<p>Never had men more friends than the crew of the <i>United -States</i> at this period. Every boarding-house was open to them; -every merchant would trust them; every one was willing to lend -them money. What was it that gained them such public favor? -“O their victory, of course,” replies the reader. Stop; I will reveal -the secret. They had some prize money coming to them in a -few weeks! That was the key that unlocked coffers; the warmth -that melted the heart; the spirit that clothed the face with smiles. -But for that—<span class="allsmcap">THE PRIZE MONEY</span>—poor Jack’s credit and favor -would, as usual, have been below <em>par</em>.</p> - -<p>Of course, this profusion, this universal popularity, almost -turned the brains of some of those old tars; and at every opportunity -they would steal ashore for a spree. This brought them -into trouble; it brought some of them to the gangway to be flogged. -These floggings, however, were not very severe; they were rather -a species of farce, enacted to preserve alive the forms of discipline. -To avoid even these forms, the men were accustomed, after staying -on a spree for several days, to visit the commodore’s lady, with some -piteous tale, begging her to intercede for them with their captain. -This she did with almost constant success. The lucky tar would -then go on board, telling his messmates that she was the sailor’s -friend, and using the usual saying in such cases, “Good luck to her—she -has a soul to be saved.”</p> - -<p>By this time, the late crew of the <i>Macedonian</i>, or those of them -who had not gone home with the Cartel, were pretty well scattered -over the country. One of the marines, named Luke Oil, went to -Springfield, Mass., where he was employed as a file-cutter by Col<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span>onel -Lee, of the U. S. armory, at the rate of $75 per month. This -prosperity, and an unfortunate marriage, led him into unsteady -habits. He enlisted into the U. S. army; but growing sick of that, -Colonel Lee procured his discharge. He afterwards enlisted -again, which is the last I ever heard of Luke Oil. Two more of -our marines, named Shipley and Taylor, also went to Springfield, -and were employed by a Mr. Ames.</p> - -<p>Several of the others enlisted to serve in the fort at New London. -One of these, whose name was Hawkins, was very highly -esteemed for his excellence as a soldier, and was soon made sergeant. -But being an inveterate drunkard, he lost his office, and -was degraded to the ranks.</p> - -<p>I have a characteristic anecdote to record of Sadler, the messmate -of Bob Hammond. He enlisted in the American army, and -was quartered at Hartford. He was so delighted with everything -American, that he had grown to be an enthusiast in his encomiums -on the government, as was exhibited one day in a somewhat peculiar -way. The company to which he belonged was marched to -church, one Sabbath, to hear (I think it was) priest Strong.<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> The -text was, “Fear God and honor the king.” This was too much for -the newly-made American; and he put the congregation into a -broad grin, by exclaiming aloud, “Don’t let us hear about the -King, but about Congress.” The good people of Hartford would -have pardoned this violation of Puritan propriety, if they had seen -that brave fellow flogged, as I had, in the king’s service.</p> - -<p>Our fifer, Charles Robinson, also enlisted in the same regiment. -Perhaps some of the inhabitants of Hartford still remember -the soldier who amused them, during his stay, by playing on the -bugle in the morning, from the top of the court-house. Robinson -was perfect master of several instruments, especially the fife and -the bugle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<p>One of our boys, named William Madden, but better known -in the <i>Macedonian</i> by the nick-name of “Billy O’Rook,” from his -practice of singing a song about that hero, enlisted in the army, and -afterwards performed a signal service for his adopted country, at -Sacket’s Harbor. The Americans were in full retreat before the -British troops, whose general,<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> mounted on a superb charger, was -at their head, shouting, “Huzza, my boys, the day is ours!” when -young Madden rendered desperate by the certainty of being shot, -if taken by his countrymen, deliberately aimed his rifle at the general. -The shot struck him, he fell, and the British retreated. This -brave lad lost his life in a subsequent action. I make this statement -on the authority of Captain Badger, of Williamstown, Mass., -confirmed by the testimony of several other persons.</p> - -<p>The reader has probably not forgotten the name of “Bloody -Dick.” He shipped on board the <i>Hornet</i>, sloop of war, and with -that vessel very narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the -English. I met him afterwards in New York. He told me how -he trembled during the chase, knowing that if captured he should -be hung for entering the American service; the British having -given express orders for a strict look-out after our crew, that they -might make examples of them.</p> - -<p>Besides the men just mentioned, others of our crew shipped -and wandered in every direction; some in men of war, some in merchant -vessels; some, fearful of the risk of being retaken, settled -ashore. In short, it is impossible to trace them, so variously did -they diverge from each other. I have been particular in mentioning -the history of a few, to gratify the parties, should they be living, -and ever see my book; to confirm the reader in the truthfulness<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -of my account, and to show some of the changes that followed in -consequence of the victory of the <i>United States</i> over the <i>Macedonian</i>. -It would be an interesting task, were it possible, to trace out -all the results of that victory. Having detained the reader thus -long in following the fate of my shipmates, I will resume the record -of my own in the following chapter.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="endchap3" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="p4 w100" src="images/endchap.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">Nearly two weeks had passed since I left the <i>Macedonian</i>. -I and my companion were living upon the sums I -had saved from the presents I received for my civilities to -her numerous visitors. One day, as I was sauntering round the -wharves, with my <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">protégé</span>, I met a number of men-of-war’s men. -Stepping up to them, I perceived some of the old <i>Macedonians</i>. -Of course, I hailed them. They were glad to see me. They had -shipped on board the <i>John Adams</i>, guard ship, to which they were -returning, having been enjoying a few days’ liberty. Nothing -would satisfy them, but for us to accompany them, and ship too. -The midshipman who was with them, joined his entreaties to theirs, -and we at last consented.</p> - -<p>To avoid being detected by the British, it was usual for our -men to assume new names, and to hail from some American port, -on shipping in an American vessel. My shipmates advised me to -do the same. To this I had some objections, because I knew that -changing my name would not make me a Yankee, while it might -bring me into as awkward a position as it did an Irishman, who was -found by an English cruiser on board an American vessel. After -he had declared himself an American, the officer asked him, “What -part of America did you come from?”</p> - -<p>“I used to belong to Philamadelph, but now I belong to Philama -York,” replied Paddy, concealing his brogue as much as possible. -“Well,” continued the officer, “can you say pease?”</p> - -<p>“Pase, sir,” said Pat in true Irish style. The officer laughed -and replied, “Mr. Pase, you will please to get into the boat.” The -poor Irishman was unsuccessful in playing the Yankee.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p> - -<p>Mentioning these fears, the midshipman said, “Call yourself -William Harper, and hail from Philadelphia;” then turning to my -companion, he added, “and call yourself James Wilson.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said I, “suppose the officer should ask any questions -about Philadelphia, what should I do?”</p> - -<p>“O say you belong to Pine street.”</p> - -<p>“But what if he asks me in what part of the city Pine street -is situated, and what streets join it?” I answered, determined -not to take a step in the dark if I could avoid it.</p> - -<p>The midshipman assured me that no such questions would be -put; and, partly confiding and partly doubting, I resolved to make -the experiment. Going on board, we were paraded before the officers. -Addressing me, one of them said, “Well, my boy, what is -your name?”</p> - -<p>Mustering all the confidence I could command, I boldly answered, -“William Harper, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What part of America do you belong to, my boy?”</p> - -<p>“Philadelphia, sir.”</p> - -<p>Here one of the officers smiled and remarked, “Ah, a townsman.” -I trembled at hearing this, inwardly hoping that they -would ask me no more questions. To my increased alarm, however, -he continued by asking, “What street in Philadelphia?”</p> - -<p>“Pine street, sir,” said I, with the air of a man who feels himself -drawn toward a crisis he cannot escape.</p> - -<p>“What street joins Pine street, my lad?” asked my tormentor, -with a knowing laugh.</p> - -<p>This was a poser; for further than this my instructions had not -proceeded. However, I rallied the little confidence which remained, -and said, “I don’t remember, sir.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p> - -<p>The officer who had claimed me as a townsman, mentioned the -next street, and my examiner went on by asking me what street -joined the one mentioned by the officer.</p> - -<p>My colors, which had fallen to half-mast before, were now -fairly struck. I had to surrender at discretion; but thinking to -get off with the honors of war, I answered, “Gentlemen, it is so -long since I was in Philadelphia, I have forgotten all about it.”</p> - -<p>This point blank shot might have saved me, when, as if Providence -had determined to make my attempt at lying a total failure, -one of them detected a glittering anchor button, which had contrived -to get rid of the covering placed over it by the fingers of the -widow. Pointing it out to the others, he said, “Where did you get -that English button? Did you pick it up in Philadelphia?”</p> - -<p>This was a shot which raked me fore and aft. I hauled down -my colors and stood silent. The officers laughed heartily as one of -them said, “Go below, my lad; you will make a pretty good Yankee.”</p> - -<p>Through all this procedure the reader will perceive how perfect -was the disregard of truth among all parties, from my humble -self to the officers, who were evidently rather pleased than otherwise -at my attempt to pass for an American. Such an absence of -moral rectitude is deplorable; it exhibits the unfitness of the parties -for a mansion in His kingdom who is a God of truth: it lays the -foundation for a mutual distrust and suspicion among men, and it -leaves the offender to meet a fearful weight of responsibility in the -day that shall try every man’s work. I am thankful that the influences -of Christianity have fallen upon me since that time, in such -abundance as to renew the spirit of my mind, and to fill me with -abhorrence towards a violation of truth.</p> - -<p>The next morning I and my companion, who had escaped -the ordeal that had proved too much for me, were summoned to go<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span> -ashore to the rendezvous, that we might sign the ship’s articles; -or, in sailor phrase, get shipped. The officer of the watch shouted, -“Boatswain’s mate!”</p> - -<p>“Sir,” answered a deep, gruff voice.</p> - -<p>“Pipe away the cutter,” said the officer.</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Pass the word for James Wilson and William Harper.”</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye, sir.”</p> - -<p>Then followed a loud, shrill whistle, accompanied with the cry -of, “Away, there, cutters, away!” We were also summoned to -appear, and told to take our seats in the cutter, which by this time -lay alongside, manned by her crew of six men, who sat each with -his oar elevated in the air, waiting the word of command. We -were soon seated, the lieutenant passed the words, “Let fall, and -give way;” the oars fell into the water with admirable precision, -and away we flew towards the shore.</p> - -<p>On our way to the rendezvous, I told my companion I should -not ship in the <i>John Adams</i>, because so many of the <i>Macedonians</i> -were already there, and it was impossible for us to pass for Americans. -After some debate, we agreed together not to sign the articles. -On entering the house where the stars and stripes were flying -over the door, in token of its being the naval rendezvous, being -anxious to have my friend Wilson pass the ordeal first, I affected -to stumble, and then continued apparently engaged in fixing my -shoe-string. “Well, my boy, what is your name? Just sign it -here, will you?” said the officer.</p> - -<p>I took no notice, but remained very busy with my shoes. My -shipmate replied in a low, bashful voice, “I don’t like to ship, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then go below,” said the officer. At this juncture, -feeling encouraged by his remark, I looked up; when, to my dis<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span>comfiture, -the officer, fixing his eyes on my retreating companion, -observed, “That fellow will certainly be hung;” meaning that he -would get caught by the English. Then, addressing me, he said, -“Now, my lad, just sign your name.”</p> - -<p>“Sir,” said I, “I had better not ship alone. The other boy -is only frightened; let me talk to him a little, and I can persuade -him to ship with me.”</p> - -<p>The shipping officer was too old a bird to be snared with such -chaff as this. So, speaking rather sharply, he said, “Let him go, -sir, and ship yourself; then he’ll come back and join you; and”—he -smiled as he spoke—“I will let you come ashore to persuade him, -in a day or two.”</p> - -<p>Still I pretended not to be convinced, and, after considerable -debate, he let me off. Once more clear, I joined my young shipmate, -and we proceeded together to our boarding-house, congratulating -ourselves on our fortunate escape, as it appeared to us.</p> - -<p>Two weeks of idleness had nearly exhausted the little stock of -funds I had picked up on board my old ship, and it was becoming -necessary for me to find some means or other of supporting myself; -for although the prim widow, with whom I boarded, was quite -obliging while her bills were paid, it was altogether probable that -she would become a little crusty if they should be neglected. At -this crisis I fortunately met with an Englishman, who had visited -our frigate at Hurl-gate. His name was Smith; he was a deserter -from the British army; but was now settled in New York, as a -boot-maker, in the employment of the firm of Benton & Co., Broadway. -He offered to take me and initiate me into the art, science -and secrets of boot-making. Seeing no better opportunity before -me, I accepted his kind offer, and at once entered on my novitiate.</p> - -<p>Behold me then, kind reader, transformed from the character -of a runaway British sailor, into that of a quiet scholar, at the feet<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> -of St. Crispin, where in the matter of awls, wax-ends, lapstones and -pegs, I soon became quite proficient.</p> - -<p>It is altogether probable that the rest of my life would have -glided away in this still and quiet manner, but for a report that -reached me, one Sabbath, as I was wasting its precious hours in -wandering about among the shipping. This was, that there was a -tall, stout seaman on board the <i>United States</i>, named George Turner. -From the name and description, I had no doubt that this was -my cousin, who (the reader has not forgotten I presume) presented -himself so unceremoniously to my aunt at Wanstead.</p> - -<p>This intelligence determined me to pay that frigate a visit. -Going on board, I found her crew living in a complete Elysium of -sensual enjoyment. They had recently received their prize money. -Salt beef and pork were now rejected with disdain: Jack’s messkids -smoked with more savory viands, such as soft tack (bread) and butter, -fried eggs, sausages, &c.; the whole well soaked with copious -streams of rum and brandy.</p> - -<p>Those of the crew who had been in the <i>Macedonian</i>, hailed me -with a hearty welcome; those for whom I had bought the turkey -and apples at Christmas repaid me fourfold, so that when I went -ashore that night my purse was as heavy as on the afternoon when -I quitted my ship. My cousin did not recognise me at first; but -by referring him to his visit to my old abode, he at last felt satisfied -that I was his cousin. He then charged me not to mention our relationship, -because he wished to pass for an American. Having -given me this charge, he surveyed me from head to foot, and then -said, “What are you doing in New York?”</p> - -<p>“I am learning to make boots and shoes.”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry you are bound to a shoemaker,” said he; “I don’t -like that business.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<p>“I am not <em>bound</em> to Mr. Smith, but can leave him when I -please.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” he remarked thoughtfully, “I don’t want you -to go to sea again. Go to Salem, in the state of Massachusetts. -I have a wife and children there, and shall be at home in a few -weeks.”</p> - -<p>This was a kind offer, and I at once agreed to take his advice. -I had already grown somewhat weary with the confinement of my -new mode of life, though, on the whole, considering my education, -and the character of the influence exerted upon me in the <i>Macedonian</i>, -I was a steady lad. Mr. Smith had left me pretty much to -my own inclinations during the two months of my residence with -him; yet my utmost misconduct had been the drinking of a little -spirit, and the violation of the Sabbath by roaming about the docks -and wharves. My Sabbath evenings I had usually spent in a more -profitable manner, it being my habit to spend them at the Methodist -chapel in Duane street.</p> - -<p>On returning to the house of my kind employer, I lost no time -in communicating to him my change of purpose. He objected, and -justly too, to be left just as the pains he had taken to instruct me -were about to be requited by my usefulness. However, as I offered -him five dollars, he consented to my departure.</p> - -<p>At that time there were no steamboats ploughing the waters of -the Sound, so I engaged a steerage passage to Providence, for five -dollars, on board a packet sloop, and, with a light heart and elastic -step, carried my clothes-bag on board. Here, however, I met with -a trifling loss. While ashore waiting for a fair wind, a negro, who -had engaged a passage in the sloop, robbed my bag of several articles -of wearing apparel, and took French leave. In consideration -of this mishap, the captain exacted only three dollars passage-money. -From Providence a stage, chartered exclusively by a party<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> -of sailors, conveyed me to Boston; from whence I soon reached the -house of my cousin in Salem.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Turner received me with great kindness; indeed, she pretended -not to be surprised at my visit, assigning as a reason the very -satisfactory fact that she had seen me with my bag on my shoulder -in the <em>grounds of a teacup</em>! She was a believer in fortune-telling -and dreams, having, for aught I know, received her convictions as -an heirloom from her witch-burning<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> ancestors. At any rate she -was strongly confirmed in her favorite theory by my timely arrival; -verifying, as it did, to the very particular of the bag on the shoulder, -the truth-telling tea-grounds.</p> - -<p>She gave me another proof, after I had been there a few weeks, -of the truthfulness and verity of dreams, by calling me up one -morning, with an injunction to make haste to the post-office, for she -had dreamed of catching fish. Sure enough, if she caught no fish -in her dreams, she caught a very fine one in the letter I brought to -her, for it contained a one hundred dollar bill from her husband, -with information that his ship was blockaded in the port of New -London by Commodore Hardy.</p> - -<p>Accident or curiosity, I forget which, led me to attend the religious -services of the Baptists in Salem. They were enjoying a -season of religious refreshing: several were baptized. The hymn -beginning with the line—</p> - -<p class="pfs80">“Oh, how happy are they who their Saviour obey,”</p> - -<p class="noindent">was sung as the converts came out of the water, and made a strong -impression on my mind. Had some devoted Christian made himself -acquainted with my feelings, and given me suitable advice, there -is no doubt but that I should have been led to embrace the Lord -Jesus Christ. How many divine impressions are destroyed, -through lack of faithfulness in Christians!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span></p> - -<p>Perhaps the great reason why these serious impressions were so -transient, was because the company I kept was so unfavorable to -their growth. Most of my time was spent about the shipping: -among these were many privateers, the profanity of whose crews -was such that it had passed into a proverb. It was usual to say to -a gross swearer, “You swear like a privateer’s-man.” Religion -could not flourish in an atmosphere tainted by their vices.</p> - -<p>Among my favorite pursuits was that of fishing. Sometimes -I went with mixed parties of males and females; at others, with a -few sailor companions. One of these excursions came very near -costing rather more than it was worth. We had been out all night; -towards morning we thought we would get a little sleep, and for -this purpose laid ourselves down under the top-gallant forecastle. -Luckily for us, we had an old sailor, named Lewis Deal, on board. -He had been quartermaster on board the <i>United States</i>. Knowing -that the coast was strictly guarded by British cruisers, he kept -awake. Just at dawn the <em>bang</em> of a single gun led him to call us, -saying, “There, I told you to look out for Johnny Bull.”</p> - -<p>Looking about us, we saw an English gun brig in chase after -a Boston sloop. This was a sight that inspired us with a very sudden -and wonderful agility, since we had a decided repugnance to a -free passage in the aforesaid brig to Halifax; especially as in my -case it might have the rather unpleasant termination of an airing -at the yard-arm; which, for very strong reasons I chose to avoid if -possible.</p> - -<p>By dint of strong arms and quick movements, we succeeded in -hauling in our anchor and getting under weigh, without attracting -the Englishman’s attention. Expecting a shot at our heels every -moment, we sat breathlessly measuring our distance from the brig. -Fortunately, we escaped notice, and reached Salem in safety.</p> - -<p>Shortly after this adventure, the good citizens of Salem were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span> -thrown into a high state of excitement by the noise of a heavy cannonading. -A general rush took place from all quarters towards -the Neck. I followed with the rest. We found it to be occasioned -by the engagement between the <i>Chesapeake</i> and <i>Shannon</i>, -in compliance with a challenge, sent by the latter, which was accepted -by Captain Lawrence, of the former. The result is well -known. After a short action, the <i>Chesapeake</i> struck to the <i>Shannon</i>, -and was carried away by the victors, in triumph, to Halifax. -One reason for the defeat of the American frigate, may perhaps be -found in the fact that her crew were newly shipped; some of them -were volunteer landsmen, while none of them had what sailors call -their sea-legs on. No ship is fit for action until she has been at sea -at least a month. In this action the captain, first lieutenant, and -several men, were killed. Mr. George Crowninshield sent a vessel -to Halifax for the bodies of those gallant officers; they were interred -in Salem with naval honors.</p> - -<p>My cousin, having now reached home, was desirous to have me -devote myself to some business. He proposed that of a sailmaker; -but by this time I had quite a desire to go to sea again.</p> - -<p>The <i>Constitution</i>, the <i>Frolic</i> sloop of war, and the gun brig -<i>Siren</i>, were all shipping hands in Boston. My feelings inclined me -towards old <i>Ironsides</i>; but my cousin, having sailed with Captain -Parker,<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> of the <i>Siren</i>, recommended that officer so strongly, that I -was induced to join his ship, in company with the quartermaster and -several of the former hands of the <i>United States</i>. My cousin also -overruled my design of shipping in a false name; so that, in defiance -of my fears, I suffered myself to be entered as Samuel Leech, -on the books of the U. S. brig <i>Siren</i>, of sixteen guns. The payment -of three months’ advance, with the sum I brought with me -from New York, enabled me honorably to discharge my board bills<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -at my cousin’s, and to purchase a little clothing necessary to fit me -for sea. I was then in the seventeenth year of my life.</p> - -<p>Once more in a man of war, my seriousness all vanished like -mist before the sun. Alas, it was poor soil to nourish the seed of -life! barren of everything that related to purity, religion, and immortality.</p> - -<p>My first impressions of the American service were very favorable. -The treatment in the <i>Siren</i> was more lenient and favorable -than in the <i>Macedonian</i>. The captain and officers were kind, while -there was a total exemption from that petty tyranny exercised by -the upstart midshipmen in the British service. As a necessary effect, -our crew were as comfortable and as happy as men ever are -in a man of war.</p> - -<p>While we lay in Boston harbor, Thanksgiving-day arrived. -Some of our Salem men inquired if I was not going home to keep -Thanksgiving, for they all supposed I belonged to Salem. What -they meant by Thanksgiving, was a mystery to me, but, dissembling -my ignorance, I obtained leave, determined to learn what it -meant. The result of my visit was the idea that Thanksgiving was -one in which the people crammed themselves with turkeys, geese, -pumpkin-pies, &c.; for, certainly, that was the chief business of the -day, so far as I could perceive. With too many people, I believe -that this is the leading idea associated with the day even now.</p> - -<p>Our brig had before this taken in her guns, consisting of two -long nine-pounders, twelve twenty-four pound carronades, and two -forty-two pounders. Our crew was composed of some one hundred -and twenty-five smart, active men. We were all supplied -with stout leather caps, something like those used by firemen. -These were crossed by two strips of iron, covered with bearskin, -and were designed to defend the head, in boarding an enemy’s ship, -from the stroke of the cutlass. Strips of bearskin were likewise -used to fasten them on, serving the purpose of false whiskers, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> -causing us to look as fierce as hungry wolves. We were also frequently -exercised in the various evolutions of a sea-fight; first using -our cannon, then seizing our cutlasses <ins class="corr" id="tn-125" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'and boarding-spikes'"> -and boarding-pikes</ins>, and cutting -to the right and left, as if in the act of boarding an enemy’s -ship. Thus we spent our time from early in the fall until after -Christmas, when we received orders to hold ourselves in readiness -for sea.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="endchap4" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="p4 w100" src="images/endchap.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1">As we lay waiting for our final orders, a report reached us -that a large English brig of war, called the <i>Nimrod</i>, lay in -a cove somewhere near Boston bay. Upon this information, -our officers planned a night expedition for the purpose of effecting -her capture. Our intended mode of attack was to run close -alongside, pour a broadside upon her, and then, without further -ceremony, board her, cutlass in hand. So we took in our powder, -ground up our cutlasses, and towards night got under weigh. A -change in the wind, however, defeated our designs, and we put into -Salem harbor, with no other result than the freezing of a man’s fingers, -which happened while we were furling our sails. Thus ended -our first warlike expedition in the <i>Siren</i>.</p> - -<p>Shortly after this affair, we received orders to start on a cruise -to the coast of Africa, and, in company with the <i>Grand Turk</i>,<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> a -privateer, set sail from Salem. Passing the fort, we received the -usual hail from the sentry, of “Brig ahoy! where are you bound -to?”</p> - -<p>To this salutation the first lieutenant jocosely answered, -“There, and back again, on a man of war’s cruise.” Such a reply -would not have satisfied a British soldier; but we shot past the fort -unmolested. After two days we parted company with the <i>Grand -Turk</i>, and by the aid of a fair wind soon found ourselves in the Gulf -Stream; where, instead of fearing frozen fingers, we could go bare-footed -and feel quite comfortable.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span></p> - -<p>We now kept a sharp look-out at the mast-head, but met with -nothing until we reached the Canary Islands, near which we saw a -boat-load of Portuguese, who, coming alongside, talked in their -native tongue with great noise and earnestness, but were no more -intelligible to us than so many blackbirds.</p> - -<p>While off the African coast, our captain died. His wasted -body was placed in a coffin, with shot to sink it. After the service -had been read, the plank on which the coffin rested was elevated, -and it slipped into the great deep. The yards were braced round, -and we were under weigh again, when, to our surprise and grief, we -saw the coffin floating on the waves. The reason was, the carpenter -had bored holes in the top and bottom; he should have made them -only in the top.</p> - -<p>After the funeral, the crew were called aft, and the first lieutenant, -Mr. Nicholson,<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> told us that it should be left to our decision -whether he should assume the command and continue the -cruise, or return home. We gave him three hearty cheers, in token -of our wish to continue the cruise. He was a noble-minded man, -very kind and civil to his crew; and the opposite, in every respect, to -the haughty, lordly captain with whom I first sailed in the <i>Macedonian</i>. -Seeing me one day with rather a poor hat on, he called me -aft and presented me with one of his own, but little worn. “Good -luck to him,” said I, in sailor phrase, as I returned to my messmates; -“he has a soul to be saved.” We also lost two of our crew, -who fell victims to the heat of the climate.</p> - -<p>One morning the cry of “Sail ho!” directed our attention to a -strange sail, which had hove to, with her courses hauled up. At -first, we took her for a British man-of-war brig. The hands were -summoned to quarters, and the ship got ready for action. A nearer -approach, however, convinced us that the supposed enemy, was no -other than our old friend, the <i>Grand Turk</i>. She did not appear to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span> -know us; for no sooner did she see that our craft was a brig of war, -than, supposing us to belong to Johnny Bull, she crowded all her -canvas, and made the best of her way off. Knowing what she -was, we permitted her to escape without further alarm.</p> - -<p>The first land we made was Cape Mount. The natives came -off to a considerable distance in their canoes, clothed in nothing but -a piece of cloth fastened round the waist, and extending downward -to the feet. As we approached the shore, we saw several fires burning; -this, we were told, in the broken English spoken by our sable -visitors, was the signal for trade. We bought a quantity of -oranges, limes, cocoanuts, tamarinds, plantains, yams and bananas. -We likewise took in a quantity of cassava, a species of ground root, -of which we made tolerable pudding and bread; also a few hogs -and some water.</p> - -<p>We lay here several days looking out for any English vessels -that might come thither for purposes of trade.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, we began to experience the inconvenience of a hot -climate. Our men were all covered with blotches or boils, probably -occasioned by so sudden a transition from extreme cold to extreme -heat. What was worse than this, was the want of a plentiful supply -of water. In the absence of this, we were placed on an allowance -of two quarts per diem, to each man. This occasioned us much -suffering; for, after mixing our Indian for puddings, our cassava -for bread, and our whisky for grog, we had but little left to assuage -our burning thirst. Some, in their distress, drank large quantities -of sea water, which only increased their thirst and made them sick; -others sought relief in chewing lead, tea-leaves, or anything which -would create moisture. Never did we feel more delighted than -when our boat’s crew announced the discovery of a pool of fine clear -water. We received it with greater satisfaction than ever prodigal -did tidings of the death of some rich old relative, to whose well-laden -purse he was undisputed heir. We could have joined in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -most enthusiastic cold-water song ever sung by either hermit or -Washingtonian.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> - -<p>While cruising along the coast, we one night perceived a large -ship lying at anchor near the shore. We could not decide whether -she was a large merchantman or a man of war; so we approached -her with the utmost caution. Our doubts were soon removed, for -she suddenly loosed all her sails and made chase after us. By the -help of their glasses, our officers ascertained her to be an English -frigate. Of course, it was folly to engage her; so we made all the -sail we could carry, beat to quarters, lighted our matches, and lay -down at our guns, expecting to be prisoners of war before morning. -During the night we hung out false lights, and altered our -course; this baffled our pursuer; in the morning she was no more to -be seen.</p> - -<p>The next sail we made was not so formidable. She was an -English vessel at anchor in the Senegal river. We approached her -and hailed. Her officer returned an insolent reply, which so exasperated -our captain that he passed the word to fire into her, but recalled -it almost immediately. The countermand was too late; for -in a moment, everything being ready for action, we poured a whole -broadside into our unfortunate foe. The current carried us away -from the stranger. We attempted to beat up again, but our guns -had roused the garrison in a fort which commanded the river; they -began to blaze away at us in so expressive a manner, that we found -it prudent to get a little beyond the reach of their shot, and patiently -wait for daylight.</p> - -<p>The next morning we saw our enemy hauled close in shore, under -the protection of the fort, and filled with soldiers. At first, -it was resolved to man the boats and cut her out; but this, after -weighing the subject maturely, was pronounced to be too hazardous -an experiment, and, notwithstanding our men begged to make the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span> -attempt, it was wisely abandoned. How many were killed by our -hasty broadside, we never learned, but doubtless several poor fellows -were hurried to a watery and unexpected grave, affording another -illustration of the <em>beauty</em> of war. This affair our men -humorously styled “the battle of Senegal.”</p> - -<p>After visiting Cape Three Points, we shaped our course for -St. Thomas. On our way, we lost a prize through a display of -Yankee cunning in her commander. We had hoisted English colors; -the officer in command of the stranger was pretty well versed -in the secrets of false colors, and in return he ran up the American -flag. The bait took: supposing her to be American, we showed the -stars and stripes. This was all the merchantman desired. It told -him what we were, and he made all possible sail for St. Thomas. -We followed, crowding every stitch of canvas our brig could carry; -we also got out our sweeps and swept her along, but in vain. The -merchantman was the better sailer, and succeeded in reaching St. -Thomas, which, being a neutral port, secured her safety. Her name -was the <i>Jane</i>, of Liverpool. The next morning, another Liverpool -merchantman got into the harbor, unseen by our look-out until she -was under the protection of the laws of neutrality.</p> - -<p>Our next business was to watch the mouth of the harbor, in the -hope of catching them as they left port. But they were too cautious -to run into danger, especially as they were expecting a convoy -for their protection, which might make us glad to trust more to -our canvas than to our cannon.</p> - -<p>Shortly after this occurrence, we made another sail standing -in towards St. Thomas. Hoisting English colors, our officers also -donning the British uniform, we soon came near enough to hail her; -for, not doubting that we were a British brig, the merchantman -made no effort to escape us. Our captain hailed her, “Ship ahoy!”</p> - -<p>“Halloa!”</p> - -<p>“What ship is that?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span></p> - -<p>“The ship <i>Barton</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Where do you belong?”</p> - -<p>“To Liverpool.”</p> - -<p>“What is your cargo?”</p> - -<p>“Red-wood, palm oil and ivory.”</p> - -<p>“Where are you bound to?”</p> - -<p>“To St. Thomas.”</p> - -<p>Just at that moment our English flag was hauled down, and, to -the inexpressible annoyance of the officers of the <i>Barton</i>, the stars -and stripes supplied its place.</p> - -<p>“Haul down your colors!” continued Captain Nicholson.</p> - -<p>The old captain, who, up to this moment, had been enjoying a -comfortable nap in his very comfortable cabin, now came upon deck -in his shirt sleeves, rubbing his eyes, and looking so exquisitely -ridiculous, it was scarcely possible to avoid laughing. So surprised -was he at the unexpected termination of his dreams, he could not -command skill enough to strike his colors; which was accordingly -done by the mate. As they had two or three guns aboard, and as -some of the men looked as if they would like to fight, our captain -told us, if they fired to not “leave enough of her to boil a tin pot -with.” After this expressive and <em>classical</em> threat, we lowered our -boats and took possession of this our first prize.</p> - -<p>After taking out as much of her cargo as we desired, just at -night we set her on fire. It was an imposing sight, to behold the -antics of the flames, leaping from rope to rope, and from spar to -spar, until she looked like a fiery cloud resting on the dark surface -of the water. Presently, her spars began to fall, her masts went by -the board, her loaded guns went off, the hull was burned to the -water’s edge, and what, a few hours before, was a fine, trim ship,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -looking like a winged creature of the deep, lay a shapeless, charred -mass, whose blackened outline, shadowed in the clear, still waves, -looked like the grim spirit of war lurking for its prey.</p> - -<p>This wanton destruction of property was in accordance with -our instructions, “to <em>sink</em>, <em>burn</em> and <em>destroy</em>” whatever we took -from the enemy. Such is the war-spirit! <span class="smcap">Sink</span>, <span class="allsmcap">BURN</span> and <span class="allsmcap">DESTROY</span>! -how it sounds! Yet such are the instructions given by -Christian (?) nations to their agents in time of war. What Christian -will not pray for the destruction of such a spirit?</p> - -<p>The crew of the <i>Barton</i> we carried into St. Thomas, and placed -them on board the <i>Jane</i>, excepting a Portuguese and two colored -men, who shipped among our crew. We also took with us a fine -black spaniel dog, whom the men called by the name of Paddy. -This done, we proceeded to watch for fresh victims, on which to -wreak the vengeance of the war-spirit.</p> - -<p>The next sail we met, was an English brig, called the <i>Adventure</i>; -which had a whole menagerie of monkeys on board. We captured -and burned her, just as we did the <i>Barton</i>. Her crew were -also disposed of in the same manner. One of them, an African -prince, who had acquired a tolerable education in England, and who -was remarkably polite and sensible, shipped in the <i>Siren</i>. His -name was Samuel Quaqua.</p> - -<p>We now remained at St. Thomas several days, carrying on a -petty trade with the natives. Our men bought all kinds of fruit, -gold dust and birds. For these things, we gave them articles of -clothing, tobacco, knives, &c. For an old vest, I obtained a large -basket of oranges; for a hand of tobacco, five large cocoanuts: a -profitable exchange on my side; since, although I drew my tobacco -of the purser, I fortunately never acquired the habit of using it; a -loss I never regretted. My cocoanuts were far more gratifying and -valuable when we got to sea, parched with thirst, and suffering for -water, than all the tobacco in the ship.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span></p> - -<p>While in this port, I had to throw myself on the protection of -the officers, to avoid the disposition to abuse which existed in one of -the petty officers. Several of these gentlemen, who messed together, -had a large boy to wait on them. He was unacquainted -with naval usages, and somewhat awkward withal. This led them -to oppress him: they frequently knocked him round, and even ventured -to flog him with a rope’s-end. The poor lad used to cry, and -fret about it, leading quite a miserable life. By some means, it -happened that I was ordered to take his place; and I determined to -resist their habit of punishing their servant; so, one day, when the -gunner came below for his share of the whisky, and found it was -gone, his messmates having drank the whole, and asked me for his -whisky, I boldly answered “I know nothing about it.”</p> - -<p>At this, he broke out into a furious passion, declaring that if I -did not find his whisky he would have my heart’s blood.</p> - -<p>To this <em>dignified</em> and <em>manly</em> threat I made no reply, but proceeded -forthwith to the first lieutenant, and laid the facts before -him. The gunner was sent for, reprimanded, and threatened with -<ins class="corr" id="tn-133" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'degredation, if ever'"> -degradation, if ever</ins> he either struck or offered to strike me again. -Of course, I had no further trouble with these would-be tyrants.</p> - -<p>The only other difficulty I ever had on board the <i>Siren</i>, was -with a young midshipman, who was on his first voyage—who was, -in sailor’s language, “a real green-horn.” He ordered me, one -day, to wash his clothes. I refused, saying it was not my duty. -Putting on the air of a pompous man, he told me it was my duty to -obey an officer, and I should do it. I persisted in resisting this -sprig of American aristocracy, and as I heard no more of it, I suppose -he learned that he was in the wrong.</p> - -<p>The effect of my conduct on the gunner was seen a short time -afterwards, in the following little incident, which will also show the -reader the nature of the pranks practised in men of war, by the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -hands. The gunner was a very selfish man, and somehow, when -we were on short allowance of water, he contrived to keep a keg -filled, which he kept in a small state-room; and a man might choke -before he would part with a drop. One night, when my throat was -parched with thirst, I met the boatswain’s mate, and said, “If I -were minded to play the rogue, I could hook some water.”</p> - -<p>The mate, who was as dry as myself, looked mightily gratified -at this piece of news, and asked, “Where?”</p> - -<p>“I have a key that will fit the lock of the room where the gunner -keeps his water keg.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said he, “give me the key. I will be the rogue, while -you keep watch for the old gunner.”</p> - -<p>After drinking all we desired, we locked the door and returned -to our posts, wondering how the gunner would feel when he found -that some one had been practising the arithmetical rule, called reduction, -on his water keg.</p> - -<p>The next day the offended gunner threw out sundry hints to -his messmates about his loss, indirectly charging them with the robbery. -This drew down their wrath upon him, and he was compelled -to be content with swallowing his choler, and getting a new lock for -his state-room. In all his rage he never uttered a word to me: he -had not forgotten my appeal to his superiors.</p> - -<p>From St. Thomas we proceeded to Angola, where we staid -long enough to clean, paint and refit our brig, from stem to stern. -This was the last port we intended to touch at on the coast of Africa. -Our next anchorage was to be in Boston harbor—at least so we -purposed; but Providence and the British ordered it otherwise.</p> - -<p>To accomplish our object, we had to run the gauntlet through -the host of English cruisers that hovered about, like birds of prey, -along both sides of the Atlantic coast. This enterprise appeared<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span> -so impossible to my mind, while we lay at Angola, and the fear of -being retaken and hung operated so strongly on my imagination, -that, more than once, I determined to run away and find a refuge -among the Africans; but my better judgment prevailed at last, and -I continued at my post.</p> - -<p>Still, I used every possible precaution to escape detection in -case of our capture. In accordance with the custom of our navy at -that period, I let my hair grow long behind. To change my looks -more effectually, instead of tying mine in a cue as the others did, I -let it hang in ringlets all round my face and neck. This, together -with the effect of time, caused me to appear quite a different lad -from what I was, when a boy, on board the <i>Macedonian</i>. I also -adopted that peculiarity of dress practised by American men-of-war’s-men, -which consisted in wearing my shirt open at the neck, -with the corners thrown back. On these corners a device was -wrought, consisting of the stars of the American flag, with the British -flag underneath. By these means I hoped to pass for a genuine -Yankee, without suspicion, in case we should fall into English -hands.</p> - -<p>Having finished our preparations, we left Angola for Boston. -We reached the island of Ascension in safety, where was a post-office -of a truly patriarchal character. A box is nailed to a post near -the shore. Ships that pass send to the box and deposit or take out -letters, as the case may be. This is probably the cheapest general -post-office establishment in the world.</p> - -<p>We had scarcely left this island before the cry of “Sail ho!” -arrested every ear. Supposing her to be a large merchantman, we -made towards her; but a nearer approach made it doubtful whether -she was an Indiaman or a man of war. The captain judged her to -be the latter, and tacked ship immediately. He was unwilling to -place himself in the situation of an American privateer, who, mistaking -a seventy-four for a merchantman, ran his ship close along<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span>side, -and boldly summoned her to haul down her colors. The captain -of the other ship coolly replied, “I am not in the habit of striking -my colors.” At the same moment the ports of his ship were -opened, and disclosed her long ranges of guns, yawning over the -decks of the privateer. Perceiving his mistake, the privateer, with -admirable tact and good humor, said, “Well, if you won’t, I will,” -and pulling down his bunting, surrendered to his more powerful -foe. To avoid such a mistake as this, our captain made all sail to -escape the coming stranger, which was now bearing down upon us -under a heavy pressure of canvas, revealing, as she gained upon -our little brig, that she bore the formidable character of a seventy-four -gun ship, under English colors.</p> - -<p>Of course, fighting was out of the question. It would be like -the assault of a dog on an elephant, or a dolphin on a whale. We -therefore crowded all possible sail, threw our guns, cables, anchors, -hatches, &c., overboard, to increase her speed. But it soon became -apparent that we could not escape. The wind blew quite fresh, -which gave our opponent the advantage: she gained on us very fast. -We shifted our course, in hopes to baffle her until night, when we -felt pretty sure of getting out of her way. It was of no use, she -still gained, until we saw ourselves almost within gun-shot of our -opponent.</p> - -<p>In this extremity, the captain ordered the quartermaster, -George Watson, to throw the private signals overboard. This was -a hard task for the bold-hearted fellow. As he pitched them into -the sea, he said, “Good-bye, brother Yankee;” an expression which, -in spite of their mortifying situation, forced a smile from the lips of -the officers.</p> - -<p>The sound of a gun now came booming through the air. It -was a signal for us to heave to, or to look out for consequences. -What might have been, we learned afterwards, for a division of the -crew of the seventy-four had orders to sink us if we made the least<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> -show of resistance. Finding it useless to prolong the chase, our -commander reluctantly ordered the flag to be struck. We then -hove to, and our foe came rolling down upon us, looking like a huge -avalanche rushing down the mountain side to crush some poor peasant’s -dwelling. Her officers stood on her quarter deck, glancing -unutterable pride, while her captain shouted, “What brig is that?”</p> - -<p>“The United States brig <i>Siren</i>,” replied Captain Nicholson.</p> - -<p>“This is his Britannic Majesty’s ship <i>Medway</i>!”<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> he answered. -“I claim you as my lawful prize.”</p> - -<p>Boats were then lowered, the little brig taken from us, and our -crew transferred to the <i>Medway</i>, stowed away in the cable tier, -and put in messes of twelve, with an allowance of only eight men’s -rations to a mess; a regulation which caused us considerable suffering -from hunger. The sight of the marines on board the <i>Medway</i> -made me tremble, for my fancy pointed out several of them as having -formerly belonged to the <i>Macedonian</i>. I really feared I was -destined to speedily swing at the yard-arm; it was, however, a -groundless alarm.</p> - -<p>This event happened July 12, 1814. Only eight days before, -we had celebrated the independence of our country, by dancing and -splicing the main-brace. Now we had a fair prospect of a rigorous -imprisonment. Such are the changes which constantly occur under -the rule of the war-spirit.</p> - -<p>The day subsequent to our capture, we were marched to the -quarter deck with our clothes-bags, where we underwent a strict -search. We were ordered to remove our outside garments for this -purpose. They expected to find us in possession of large quantities -of gold dust. What little our crew had purchased was taken -from them, with a spirit of rapacity altogether beneath the dignity -of a naval commander.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span></p> - -<p>Our short allowance was a source of much discomfort in this -our prison-ship. But, in the true spirit of sailors, we made even -this a subject of coarse jests and pleasant remark. Some would -sit and paint the luxuries of shore life until our mouths watered -at the idea of soft tack, fried eggs, sausages, and those other delicacies -which go to make up a sailor’s idea of a sensual paradise. -Others would discourse about roast beef, boiled lamb, and caper -sauce; to which some old weather-beaten tar would answer, “Give -me the lamb and a knife and fork, and I will cut capers enough.” -This would draw out peals of laughter, to be followed by various -yarns of feasts gone by, and of sprees enjoyed on liberty and paydays. -Thus we beguiled our time; though, with all our laughing, -we could not laugh away the clamors of our hungry stomachs; and -when I took my turn of a few minutes on deck, the gift of a piece of -hard, dry biscuit, afforded me more gustatory delight, than would -the taste of the richest pound-cake, now that I have an abundance -of food.</p> - -<p>Enduring this evil, we proceeded on our course. When the -<i>Medway</i> arrived at Simon’s Town, about twenty-one miles from -the Cape of Good Hope, we met the <i>Denmark</i>, seventy-four, on -her way to England, with prisoners from Cape Town. The captain -had hitherto intended to land us at the latter place, but the -presence of the <i>Denmark</i> led him to change his purpose, and land -us at Simon’s Town.</p> - -<p>The journey from this place to the Cape was one of great suffering -to our crew. We were received on the beach by a file of -Irish soldiers. Under their escort we proceeded seven miles, -through heaps of burning sand, seeing nothing worthy of notice on -the way, but a number of men busily engaged in cutting up dead -whales on the sea-shore.</p> - -<p>After resting a short time, we recommenced our march, -guarded by a new detachment of soldiers. Unused to walking as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> -we were, we began to grow excessively fatigued; and, after wading -a stream of considerable depth, we were so overcome, that it seemed -impossible to proceed any farther. We lay down, discouraged and -wretched, on the sand. The guard brought us some bread, and -gave half-a-pint of wine to each man. This revived us somewhat. -We were now placed under a guard of dragoons. They were very -kind, and urged us to attempt the remaining seven miles. To relieve -us, they carried our clothes-bags on their horses; and overtaking -some Dutch farmers, going to the Cape with broom-stuff and -brush, the officer of the dragoons made them carry the most weary -among us in their wagons. It is not common for men to desire the -inside of a prison, but I can assure my readers we did most heartily -wish ourselves there, on that tedious journey. At last, about nine -o’clock, P. M., we arrived at Cape Town, having left one of our -number at Wineburg, through exhaustion, who joined us the next -day. Stiff, sore, and weary, we hastily threw ourselves on the hard -boards of our prison, where, without needing to be soothed or -rocked, we slept profoundly until late the next morning. For a -description of our prison, with what happened to us there, the -reader is referred to the succeeding chapter.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">The next morning we took a survey of our new quarters. -We found ourselves placed in a large yard, surrounded by -high walls, and strongly guarded by soldiers. Within -this inclosure, there was a building, or shed, composed of three -rooms, neither of which had any floor. Round the sides stood three -benches or stages, one above the other, to serve for berths. On -these we spread our hammocks and <ins class="corr" id="tn-140" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'bed-clothes, makng'"> -bed-clothes, making</ins> them tolerably -comfortable places to sleep in. A few of the men preferred -to sling their hammocks, as they did at sea. Here, also, we used to -eat, unless, as was our frequent practice, we did so in the open air.</p> - -<p>Our officers had been sent thirty miles inland, so that we had -lost the natural exactors of discipline among seamen. To remedy -this deficiency, our first step was to adopt a set of regulations in respect -to order, cleanliness, &c., and to appoint certain of our number -to enforce them.</p> - -<p>We experienced some unpleasantness, at first, from the insolence -of some of the sergeants commanding the prison guard. Most -of these petty officers were very friendly and kind, but two or three -of them manifested a surly, tyrannical temper, annoying us in many -little things, enough to embitter our enjoyment, while they were on -duty. This petty despotism we soon cured, by returning their -abuse in a rather provoking kind of coin. We used to plague them -by causing a long delay when the hour arrived for them to be relieved. -They were required to muster us every morning, that we -might be counted before the new guard took us in charge. On -those occasions some would purposely absent themselves; others -were sent to find the absentees; these, in their turn, would hide -themselves, and require to be sought by others. This was excess<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span>ively -vexatious to the soldiers, and as it occurred only when a tyrannical -sergeant was on guard, they soon understood its meaning. -The plan was successful, and we thus got rid of one source of discomfort.</p> - -<p>Our next difficulty was with the old Dutchman, named Badiem, -who furnished our prison with provisions. He had already learned -the difficulty of cheating a Yankee; for the Americans who were carried -away in the <i>Denmark</i> had been in this same prison, and had -taught the old man that they were rougher customers than the -Frenchmen who had preceded them. We gave him another lesson.</p> - -<p>He undertook to wrong us and benefit himself by furnishing a -very inferior article of bread. After counselling among ourselves, -we took the following plan to bring him to his senses:</p> - -<p>We were visited every day by a superior officer, called the officer -of the day. He was a kind old man, who had seen service in the -war of the revolution, and was at the battle of Bunker Hill. He -had a profound respect for the American character, and could not -speak of that great action without tears. One day a friendly sergeant -being on duty, we gave him a piece of the old Dutchman’s -bread, complaining bitterly of its quality. When the old officer -came round as usual, on a fine, dashing charger, and asked his customary -question of “All right?” our friend the sergeant replied, -“No, sir!”</p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” asked the venerable old gentleman.</p> - -<p>“The prisoners complain of their bread, sir,” said the sergeant.</p> - -<p>“Let me see it,” answered the general. The sergeant gave him -a small piece. He examined it, wrapped it up carefully in some -paper, clapped the spurs to his horse, and rode off. The next day, -we had better bread than ever before, and an order came for a man -from each room to go with the sentry to the town every morning, to -examine our daily provision; and, if not what it should be, to reject -it. This completely upset the golden visions of the old Dutchman.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span> -With much choler he exclaimed, “I had rather have one tousand -Frenchmen, than one hundred Yankees.”</p> - -<p>We could not now complain of our fare. We had an abundance -of beef and mutton, beside a full allowance of bread, &c. The -beef, to be sure, was poor, lean stuff, but the mutton was excellent. -The sheep at the Cape have a peculiarity, which may cause the -reader to smile. They have enormously large, flat tails, weighing -from twelve to twenty pounds. These are regularly sold by the -pound for purposes of cookery. Should any one treat this statement -as a forecastle yarn, I refer him to the descriptions of these -sheep, given by travellers and naturalists.<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> - -<p>Besides our prison allowance, we had opportunity to purchase -as many little luxuries and niceties as our slender finances would -permit. These were furnished by a slave, who was the property of -the old Dutchman, and who was so far a favorite as to be indulged -with two wives, and the privilege of selling sundry small articles to -the prisoners. This sable polygamist furnished us with coffee, -made from burnt barley, for a <em>doublegee</em> (an English penny)<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> per -pint; the same sum would purchase a sausage, a piece of fish, or a -glass of rum. On equally reasonable terms, he furnished us with -blackberries, oranges, &c. Our men, who, by the way had eaten -fruit in every quarter of the globe, and were therefore competent -judges, pronounced the latter the best in the world. The berries afforded -me a rich treat at Christmas.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p> - -<p>To obtain means for the purchase of these dainties, our men -braided hats, wrought at mechanical employments, or at such pursuits -as their respective tastes and capacities suggested. These occupations -served to beguile our confinement of much of its tediousness.</p> - -<p>Still, we had many vacant, listless hours. To fill them, we resorted -to the demoralizing practice of gambling. A game with -balls, called shake-bag, loo, venture, all-fours, &c. occupied our evening -hours, and sometimes the whole night. It was not uncommon for -the game to be protracted beyond the midnight hour of Saturday, -into the sacred moments of the holy Sabbath. On one of these guilty -mornings, some of us, on retiring to a shed, found the dead body of -a black slave, hanging by the rope, with which, in a moment of unpardonable -despair, he had committed the horrid crime of suicide. -The hour, the scene, the place, our recent guilty profanation of -God’s holy day, conspired to fill many of us with profound dread. -In my own mind it led to a few transient purposes of amendment. -Alas! when the bright sun arose, these purposes had vanished. The -influence of vice triumphed. I grew more and more hardened in -wickedness.</p> - -<p>Cape Town contained a large slave population. These poor -wretches had been extremely degraded under the rule of the Dutch. -It was said that their condition had been essentially improved since -the conquest of the place by the English. Still, as the suicide just -mentioned demonstrated, slavery was a bitter draught. The British -have done wisely since then in granting freedom to the slaves in -all their colonies. May the whole world imitate the noble example!</p> - -<p>We were subjected to frequent and violent gales of wind while -here. The approach of these storms was always faithfully proclaimed -by the mountain that towered up behind us; a large white -cloud, resting on its summit, like a tablecloth, was a certain indication -of the elemental warfare. Whenever this phenomenon ap<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span>peared, -our men used to remark, “Look out for a blow, the cloth is -beginning to spread.” Very soon the vessels in the bay could be -seen striking their top-gallant masts and yards, and sometimes even -housing their top-masts. In a few minutes the ocean would give -signs of the coming commotion; the waves became crested with -clouds of foam, and the spirit of the storm was seen careering in -triumph over the liquid mountains of the angry deep.</p> - -<p>Besides Table mountain, there was another near it, called the -Lion’s Rump, from its similarity to that noble animal in a sitting -posture. On the summit of this mountain was a telegraph, which -informed us, in common with the people of the Cape, of the approach -of shipping to the harbor.</p> - -<p>At the town, the British had a hospital for the accommodation -of their army and navy. The advantages of this institution -were humanely and properly offered to us, whenever we -were sick. Happening to be quite unwell one day, my shipmates -advised me to go thither. Now, on board the <i>Siren</i>, when in -a similar state, the surgeon had administered an ounce of Glauber -salts. The dose caused such nausea, that from that time I held salts -in profound abhorrence. When the hospital was suggested to me, -I associated it with the idea of salts, and, shuddering, remarked -that “I would go if I thought they would not give me salts.” My -shipmates all said they thought I should not have salts prescribed: -so, under the guard of a sentry, I sallied forth to the hospital. -“Well, my boy,” said the doctor, “what’s the matter with you?”</p> - -<p>With many wry faces, I told him my symptoms; when, to my -inconceivable mortification and disgust, he spoke to a sort of lob-lolly -boy, who waited upon him, and said, “Doctor Jack! bring this -boy six ounces of salts.”</p> - -<p>This was intolerable. One ounce had sickened me for months -at the bare mention of salts, and now I was to swallow six! It -seemed impossible. The remedy was worse than the disease. I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span> -wished myself back at my quarters. This was, however, in vain, -unless I took a dangerous leap from the window. I must submit. -The salts were brought, but they were not so bad, either in quality -or quantity, as my dose in the <i>Siren</i>. The reason I found to consist -in the fact, that they were Epsom instead of Glauber, and that the -six ounces included the weight of the water in which they were dissolved. -So well was I pleased with my visit to the hospital, and -especially with the privilege afforded me of walking about the -streets of Cape Town, that I afterwards feigned illness to gain another -admission. I was willing to take the salts for the sake of the -liberty of jaunting about the streets. Of the sin of lying I thought -nothing. I was a sailor, caring little for aught but present gratification. -The beauty of truth I had never seen; the hatefulness of a -lie I had never learned. Most gratefully do I acknowledge that -Divine goodness, which has since effectually taught me both the one -and the other.</p> - -<p>At Cape Town there was a small prison, called the “Trunk.” -To this place those of our number, who were disorderly, were sent, -to be closely confined, on no other diet than bread and water, for as -many days as the commandant might designate. We always -quietly permitted any offender among us to be sent thither without -resistance: but when, on one occasion, an attempt was made to confine -two of our shipmates unjustly, we gave them a demonstration, -which saved us afterwards from any similar attempt.</p> - -<p>Two of our men had hung out some clothes, they had just -washed, in our yard, near their own shed. Now, it happened that -the doctor to the military stationed at the Cape, had an entrance to -his office through our yard. The clothes were undesignedly hung -across his path, compelling him either to stoop a little in passing, or -to ask their removal. He was too proud to adopt either of these -peaceful methods, but, with manifest spitefulness, he took out his -knife and cut the line, so that the clothes fell into the dirt. The -owners, seeing their wet clothing in this condition, broke out into<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> -passionate inquiries after the offender. “It was the English doctor,” -replied one of our shipmates, who had witnessed the whole affair. -This brought forth a volley of sailors’ oaths from the offended -parties. The enraged doctor overheard their wrathful ebullitions, -and, without further ceremony, ordered the two men to be -carried to the “Trunk.”</p> - -<p>Here, then, was a manifest case of injustice. We resolved not -to submit to it, let the consequences be what they might. When the -sergeant came in for the doctor’s victims, we all turned out in a -body, declaring we would all go to the “Trunk” together. The sergeant, -seeing us in this state of rebellion, called out the whole guard, -and ordered them to load and fire upon us. We were not however so -easily scared. We shouted, “Fire away! You will have but one fire, -and then it will be our turn.” At the same time we picked up all the -broken glass, sticks, stones, &c., which were within our reach, and -stood waiting for their firing as the signal for a general <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mêlée</i>. The -sergeant, seeing our resolution, and wisely considering that our superiority -in numbers, might secure us a victory over the handful -composing his guard, ordered the soldiers to retire. We never heard -any more of the little doctor’s indignation: it probably evaporated, -like the moisture from the clothes his petty indignation had thrown -to the ground. How insignificant such acts appear, in men professing -to be gentlemen!</p> - -<p>Shortly after this event, we were thrown into confusion and -temporary excitement, by the approach of a large party to our -prison, at midnight, attended by a band of music. We turned out -and rushed to the gate of our yard. The guard turned out likewise, -trembling under the impression that our countrymen had captured -the town and were coming to give us our liberty. Their fears and -our wonder were quieted, however, by a speedy discovery of the true -character of this midnight party. It was a Dutch wedding, coming -to the house of the old Dutchman, our caterer; the entrance to which -being in our yard, the party had to pass directly through our terri<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span>tories; -which they did, their band playing the tune of “A free and -accepted Mason.”</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding we were in tolerably comfortable circumstances, -our confinement soon became exceedingly irksome. We -pined for freedom; we longed to get once more where the “old -gridiron” floated in fearless triumph. A report of the burning of -Washington by the British added not a little to our desire. We began -to talk of home. This led to other suggestions; these to the -formation of plans <ins class="corr" id="tn-147" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'for our ecsape'"> -for our escape</ins>. We at length concerted a measure, -which was, to break from the prison in the night, disarm and -confine the guard, help ourselves to boats, and cut out some large -ship, in which we might make our escape to America. The success -of this plot, however, was never tested; for, reaching the ears of the -commander, the guards were strengthened; the light dragoons ordered -out to patrol the harbor; and such other preventive measures -adopted, as cut off all hope of forcible escape. Our only remedy -for this disappointment, was submission, and boasting of what we -would have done, had we got into the strife for liberty.</p> - -<p>As the period of our imprisonment drew towards a close, we -were informed that the Rev. George Thom, <ins class="corr" id="tn-147a" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'a mssionary, was'"> -a missionary, was</ins> desirous to come and preach to us. Some of our men objected, because, -they said, he would preach about his king, and they had no desire -to hear anything about kings. Others said, “Let him come; we will -hear him with attention, and if we don’t like him we can afterwards -stay away. At any rate, don’t let us abuse him; but rather show -him that Americans know what is good behavior.”</p> - -<p>This reply shows the true spirit of the mass of seamen in respect -to religion; for though they care little about personal piety, -they will not, usually, unless intoxicated, insult a minister. This -was once shown in the experience of the eccentric Rowland Hill; -when a mob threatened the old gentleman with mischief, some sailors -present rallied round him, threatening vengeance on any who -dared to insult the preacher.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span></p> - -<p>Accordingly, we sent our respects to Mr. Thom, inviting him -to favor us with a visit. We then cleaned and fitted up one room -with benches. The following Sabbath he came. His preaching -was earnest, simple and interesting. Instead of discoursing about -kings, as some had predicted, the only king about whom he -preached, was the King of heaven. We invited him to come again. -He accepted the invitation, and our meetings soon began to be -profitable and interesting. We had singing, for several of our -men were tolerable singers, and they were aided by the presence of -some pious soldiers from the garrison, and occasionally by Mrs. -Thom, the amiable lady of our excellent preacher. Our officers, -too, frequently came from their residence, and were pleased to see -the good order and happiness apparent on these occasions. I assure -my readers, that the most delightful moments of our imprisonment -were those we spent in singing some sweet hymn, in the -good old-fashioned tunes of <em>Bridgewater</em>, <em>Russia</em>, <em>Wells</em>, &c.</p> - -<p>Among the texts used by Mr. Thom, I remember the following: -“Turn ye to the strong-hold, ye prisoners of hope;” Zech. -ix. 12. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” &c.; Rev. iii. -20. “And yet there is room;” Luke xiv. 22. It was really pleasing -to hear the various remarks made by our men, after listening -to faithful discourses from these and similar texts. One would -remark, “He hit me a clew.” To this another would reply, “He -shot away my colors.” A third would add, “He shot away my -rigging;” while a fourth would say, “He gave me a shot;” and -a fifth, “He gave me a broadside.” Thus, in their rough way, -did they express the impressions made on their minds by the discourse.</p> - -<p>Mr. Thom was a faithful servant of his Master, the Lord -Jesus Christ. He did not rest satisfied with these public efforts, -but, during the week, he visited us for the purpose of serious conversation. -Several of us were really under strong conviction, and -would confess, at these inquiry meetings, and to each other as we<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> -paced the yard, how often we had sinned, even cursing our Maker -when on the yard at night, amid the roaring of the storm, the bellowing -of the thunder, and the angry flashing of the lightning. A -happy practical effect followed. Gambling ceased, cards and -shake-bag lost their charms. The time was spent in reading useful -books. Bibles and religious books were given or loaned to us. -Among these were Baxter’s <cite>Call</cite>, Doddridge’s <cite>Rise and Progress -of Religion</cite>, &c. To some extent we were altered men. Had we -remained much longer under these gracious influences, most of us, -I think, would have become experimental Christians. As it was, -the seed was not wholly wasted. Impressions were made, which, -no doubt, have, in many cases, yielded rich fruit long before this.</p> - -<p>My own mind was strongly wrought upon. A singular -dream added to my seriousness. In my dream, I saw myself -drowning, while a fierce-looking soldier was pointing his loaded -musket at my head. Thus death threatened me from two sources. -In this extremity my anguish was very great. All my gracious -opportunities passed before me, but now it seemed too late for salvation. -“Oh,” thought I in my sleep, “what would I give, if this -were only a dream! How faithfully would I serve the Lord when -I awoke.” Just at that moment I did awake, scarcely able to convince -myself that the ideal scene was not an awful reality. That -day I eagerly sought the missionary, and sat with serious delight -listening to his instructions. Still I did not give myself up to the -service of Christ. So difficult was it for me to make the requisite -sacrifice of my beloved sins.</p> - -<p>Just at this interesting crisis, a glad report of peace between -England and America reached our prison. With joyful faces we -assembled round the good man, when he came that day, to inquire -if it was really so. While he assured us of its truth, he mildly asked -“if it was peace with Heaven;” assuring us that it was a matter of -the greatest importance for us to be at peace with God.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span></p> - -<p>As a memento of our esteem for Mr. Thom, we made him several -little presents. One of them was a hat made from a <em>bullock’s -horn</em>. The horn was peeled into narrow slips, these were scraped, -split, and braided like straw, and then sewed together. We also -made him a model of a ship, fully rigged from stem to stern. The -missionary received these marks of our regard with evident pleasure; -and, no doubt, when looking upon them afterwards, offered -many a prayer for the salvation of the prisoners, who were, for -many weeks, the subjects of his anxiety and labors. Blessings rest -on him, if he yet lives! Peace to his ashes, if he slumbers among -the dead!</p> - -<p>Great was the joy of my companions, when the news reached -us that we were to embark shortly, in the <i>Cumberland</i>, seventy-four, -for England. Little was now said or done, except what related -to our departure. With strange, yet common perversity of -conduct, serious matters were laid aside for the one absorbing -thought, “We shall soon be free!” Thus, an event which should -have given birth to gratitude and religious service, only served for -an occasion of further neglect and unthankfulness. How -strangely wicked is the human heart!</p> - -<p>For myself, the tidings filled me with fear. Directly to -America I would have gladly gone; but to be carried to England, -in one of her ships of war, was like going to certain death. How -was it possible for me to escape detection? How could I avoid -meeting with some old <i>Macedonians</i>, who would, of course, recognise -and betray me? These questions had resolved me to volunteer -to remain at the Cape, a short time before, when some of our -number were sent to England. Now, they tortured me beyond endurance. -I felt like an escaped criminal with the officers of justice -at his heels. Death at the yard-arm haunted me day and night, -like the fancied ghost of a murdered man, staring ghastly at the -window of his murderer. No one can imagine my uneasiness, unless -he has been placed in a similar situation. I made many prom<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span>ises -to God that if he would carry me in safety to America, I would -cease to be a swearer, and would most punctually attend his house -every Sabbath. These things constituted my highest ideas of human -duty at that time; but even these promises, like those made -during the heat of the battle in the <i>Macedonian</i>, were made to be -broken.</p> - -<p>After a little delay, we were conveyed on board the <i>Cumberland</i>, -where we soon heard the well-known summons of “All hands -up anchor, ahoy!” A cloud of canvas dropped from her gigantic -yards; the sportive breeze came obedient to our wish; and the huge -form of the <i>Cumberland</i>, accompanied by a large convoy of merchant -vessels, was borne rapidly along upon the yielding waves. -Cape Town, Table Mountain, the Lion’s Rump, and our prison-yard, -were soon left far behind, leaving no traces of their existence -on the distant horizon; they were to be known to us hereafter only -among the images of the brain—as recollections, not as realities. -We had spent eight months in the prison of Cape Town.</p> - -<p>Our treatment in this ship was superior to what we received -in the <i>Medway</i>. Instead of the cable tier, we had berths on the -upper gun deck, and our allowance of food was sufficient for our -wants.</p> - -<p>Arriving at St. Helena, we remained a few days in port. This -rough, rock-bound island had not yet received its future prisoner, -the emperor of France. Here we were removed from the <i>Cumberland</i>. -Twenty-four of us were sent on board the <i>Grampus</i>, of fifty -guns, the rest were sent home in our old conqueror, the <i>Medway</i>; -my lot being cast among the former.</p> - -<p>This transfer to the <i>Grampus</i> greatly alarmed me; since the -more men I saw, the greater, of course, was my chance of detection. -I had already escaped being known on board of two seventy-fours; -but I could not promise myself the same impunity -much longer. However, as I saw no one whose face was familiar,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span> -when I went on board, I felt a little more easy. But that night, -I had occasion for great trepidation and alarm. About nine -o’clock, I heard the order from an officer, of “Pass the word for -the boy Leech.” This was followed by several voices hallooing, -“Boy Leech! boy Leech!” My heart beat like a trip-hammer -against my bosom, and a cold sweat crept over my whole -body. My shipmates said they meant me; but I would not -reply. After a few moments, I breathed more freely, and the fear -of death passed away. I heard some one saying, “Your master -wants you;” which convinced me that there was a “boy Leech” -among the crew of the <i>Grampus</i>, as well as another boy Leech -among the American prisoners.</p> - -<p>On our passage, we made a strange sail. Coming up to her, -to our infinite satisfaction we beheld the stars and stripes at her -mast-head. “Brother Jonathan has come to town,” said one of our -men. “He is a most welcome visitor,” the rest replied; for indeed -“the old gridiron” never looked so pleasant as it did then. This -meeting confirmed us in the report of peace between the two nations. -This was as gratifying to the crew of the <i>Grampus</i> as to -us; for they had recently heard that the war with France was -ended, and they were all hoping to get discharged. This expectation -was defeated, however, by intelligence from some passing ship, -that Napoleon was at Paris again, with a force of sixty thousand -men.</p> - -<p>Nothing could exceed the joy of the officers, and the vexation -of the crew, at this piece of information. The former dreaded a -peace, because it would place many of them on half-pay; while the -chances of war inspired them with hopes of promotion; hence they -ran alongside almost every ship in the fleet, shouting, “Have you -heard the news? Bonaparte has got to Paris with sixty thousand -men!” Really, some of them seemed crazy with joy at the idea of -protracted war. Not so, however, the seamen; they longed for -peace, since war only brought them hard usage, wounds and death.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span> -While, therefore, the officers were rejoicing, they were muttering -curses and oaths, wishing Bonaparte and his army at perdition. -Nor was it strange that they felt thus; for the discipline on board -the <i>Grampus</i> was excessively severe. They were constantly flogging -in the most harsh and cruel manner. The <i>Sirens</i> were astonished -at what they saw; for on board our brig, we seldom saw -more than a dozen lashes inflicted at one time, and that not very -often.</p> - -<p>At last we came in sight of the white cliffs of old England. -To avoid suspicion, I appeared much interested in everything I -saw on the coast, and asked the men all those questions which are -natural to a stranger, when he sees a new country for the first time. -These inquiries they answered with the utmost good humor; for an -Englishman is proud of his country, notwithstanding he may find -hard usage from her hands.</p> - -<p>My American friends have frequently asked if my language -did not excite suspicion that I was English. It never did to my -knowledge; indeed, so free was I from English provincialisms, that -it was often remarked to me, that I “needed no protection;” meaning, -that I should be taken for a Yankee, without offering proof.</p> - -<p>With all this in my favor, I could not behold myself approaching -my native soil, without many misgivings. To a man who -knows a halter is hanging over his head, everything furnishes cause -for alarm; a piercing look, a whisper, or the sudden mention of his -name, is a cause of disquietude, sufficient to stir his inmost soul. -Captain Nicholson gave me no little uneasiness, by sending for me -one day, just before we arrived in port, to make some inquiries -about Mr. Crowninshield, of Salem, Mass. Luckily, I could say -I had seen him; beyond that, I could give no further information. -He supposed me to be a native of Salem, while I was quaking, -through a fearful expectation of being found nearly as ignorant -of that city, as I had been, on another occasion, of the city of Philadelphia.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span></p> - -<p>At length we reached Spithead, and were removed to an old -prison-ship, called the <i>Puissant</i>, which had once belonged to the -French. Here we were treated with great lenity; we were even -allowed liberty to go on shore. Had I dared, I would have run -away; the dread of the halter restrained me! I did not even venture -to write, lest my mother should be tempted to visit me, or -even to write; since even a letter from any place in England, might -awaken suspicion concerning my true character.<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> - -<p>After a stay of several weeks in the old <i>Puissant</i>, orders came -for our transfer to the <i>Rover</i>, a gun-brig, which had orders to carry -us to Plymouth. Here was a double risk again before me. I had -to risk being known by the crew of the <i>Rover</i>, and by the many -persons who had known me at Plymouth. However, the good -hand of Providence was with me to preserve me. We reached our -port in safety, where, to our great delight, we heard that the <i>Woodrop -Simms</i>, of Philadelphia, was to be the Cartel to convey us to -America.</p> - -<p>Before we were allowed to tread her decks, however, we had to -spend two or three days on board the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, of one hundred<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span> -and ten guns, because the <i>Woodrop Simms</i> was not quite -ready to receive us. Here I was exposed to the gaze of eight hundred -men; but none of them knew me. Indeed, this was my most -hazardous situation; for the <i>Sovereign</i> and <i>Macedonian</i> had sailed -in company before the capture of the latter. Whenever any of her -men came near our quarters, I endeavored to look cross-eyed, or -closed one eye so as to appear partially blind; and in various other -ways altered my appearance, so that even an old shipmate would -have been puzzled to recognise me at first.</p> - -<p>At last, the grateful news reached us that the Cartel was ready. -We went on board with great gaiety, where we met our shipmates -who had left the Cape before us. They had been confined in the -celebrated Dartmoor prison, with a number of other prisoners, -where they had met with rather rough treatment and rougher fare. -They were present at what they called the Massacre. Several of -the prisoners were detected in an effort to escape. To strike terror -into the poor victims, Captain Shortland ordered his men to fire -in upon them. Quite a number were killed, and more wounded, -by this cold-blooded act; the rest sought the shelter of the prison -walls. Several Americans suffered in this wanton assault. Our -meeting at this juncture was a source of mutual gratulation.</p> - -<p>Our ship was now surrounded with boats containing provisions -of all descriptions. To our surprise, the Dartmoor men -bought freely of everything. Where they obtained their money, -we could not imagine. We learned afterwards that their stock -consisted of counterfeit coins, manufactured by the prisoners! It -was well for them that our ship put to sea before John Bull’s peace -officers received information of the fraud. What a school for every -species of vice is opened by war! The corruptions and vices occasioned -by the operation of this system, are beyond the power of the -imagination to conceive.</p> - -<p>My feelings were peculiar as I beheld my native land receding -from my vision. I was happy, and yet sad. Happy, because I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span> -was now safe; sad, because I was again leaving the soil which held -my mother and my friends. On the whole, my joyous feelings -prevailed.</p> - -<p>A few days out, we were hailed by an English frigate. She -sent a boat alongside to make some inquiries, and left us to pursue -our way in peace. We were all in good spirits; our men being -divided into watches to assist the crew of the ship; our officers all -snugly quartered in the cabin, and myself appointed to assist the -steward; an office quite agreeable to one who had lived on prisoners’ -fare more than a year,<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> because it brought me a few of the -spare luxuries from the officers’ table.</p> - -<p>One morning, shortly after the English frigate had boarded us, -Captain Nicholson asked me something about Salem. I smiled. -He inquired why I laughed. “Sir,” said I, “Salem is not my native -place by considerable.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” asked the captain, looking somewhat -puzzled at my manner of treating the subject.</p> - -<p>I then unfolded the secret of my having been one of the crew -captured in the <i>Macedonian</i>. They seemed amazed at the risks I -had encountered since the capture of the <i>Siren</i>, and congratulated -me very warmly on my really hair-breadth escape from the halter. -It was a fortunate escape indeed, for which I can never be sufficiently -thankful to that All-seeing Eye, that watched for my -safety in the moment of peril.</p> - -<p>During this voyage, a great deal was said about quitting the -seas and settling down in quietness ashore. One of our shipmates, -named William Carpenter, who belonged to Rhode Island, had a -particular enthusiasm in favor of farming. He promised to take -me with him, where I could learn the art of cultivating the soil. -Many of us made strong resolutions to embark in some such enterprise. -The pleasures of agriculture were sung and praised<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span> -among us in so ardent a manner, that he must have been incredulous -indeed, who could have doubted, for a moment, the certainty -of quite a number of our hands becoming farmers, whenever we -should gain the land.</p> - -<p>One night we lay in our hammocks, talking with great earnestness -about our favorite scheme, the wind blowing quite freshly on -deck. Said one, “If I ever get home, you won’t catch me on board -of a ship again.” “Yes,” said another; “farmers live well, at -any rate. They are not put on allowance, but have enough to eat: -if they work hard all day, they can turn in at night; and if it blows -hard, the house won’t rock much, and there’s no sails to reef.” -While this and similar conversation was going on, the wind was -blowing harder and harder: from occasional heavy puffs, it at last -grew to be a tremendous gale. Hearing so much wind, though -there were hands enough on deck to manage the ship, some of us -got up to assist if we were needed. It was now blowing most fearfully; -the wild howling and whistling among the rigging, the wilder -roar of the angry sea, the hallooing of the captain, and the impenetrable -darkness which lent its horrors to the scene, were appalling -even to a sailor’s breast. Just as I stepped upon deck she shipped -a heavy sea, which drenched me to the skin. Presently, we heard -the crash of falling timbers, and away went a top-mast, and a yard -in the slings. There were now so many men on deck that we were -in each other’s way; some of us went below and turned in, with the -full expectation that our ship would founder before morning; and -thinking it would be as well to go down in our hammocks as on -deck.</p> - -<p>While this state of gloomy foreboding continued, some of my -shipmates manifested great alarm about eternity. They prayed -aloud, in deep distress. Others only cursed, and said, as if in bravado, -“We are all going to hell together.” For my own part I -kept repeating the Lord’s prayer, and renewing those promises so -often made in the moment of apparent destruction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span></p> - -<p>At length the day dawned, revealing the sad havoc made by -the winds, of our masts and rigging. We also saw a number of -those dwellers on the ocean, called Mother Carey’s chickens. Our -shattered aspect reminded me of the <i>Macedonian</i> after the battle, -excepting that we had no wounded and dead about us now. -Captain Jones, who had not left the deck a moment during the -night, declared that, though he had been twenty-five years at sea, -he had never witnessed such a gale before. Our ship was nearly -new, and an excellent sea-boat, or she would have shared the fate -of many a ship in that terrible gale. As the wind abated with the -approach of day, we repaired our damages and proceeded on our -voyage, frequently passing vessels which had suffered as severely -as ourselves. This gale was on the 9th and 10th days of August, -1815. Probably many, both sailors and landsmen, will recollect -this and the September gale of that year, which occasioned such -destruction of life and shipping.</p> - -<p>Sailors are superstitious. Our men attributed this mishap to -the presence of some Jonah in the ship. The man they pitched -upon, as the probable offender, was an old sea-captain, who had -been cast away several times. That he had done some fearful -deed, was a matter of undoubted truth among them; but not being -so resolute as the mariners of Tarshish, they did not cast him into -the sea; neither did this liberality on their part cost us our lives, -for, after several days of pleasant weather, we one morning found -ourselves safely anchored at the quarantine ground, near the city -of New York.</p> - -<p>The crew of the <i>Siren</i> having obtained leave to go on shore, -full of my good purposes to lead a steady life on the land, I hurried -directly to Broadway, to inquire for my former employer, the -kind-hearted boot-maker. To my disappointment, he had gone -to Philadelphia; so that I returned on board, somewhat chagrined -at the failure of my plan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span></p> - -<p>The next morning we were conveyed, in a large sail-boat, on -board the <i>Tom Bowling</i>, an hermaphrodite brig. Here I was congratulated -by the old quartermaster, Lewis Deal, who was with -me when we narrowly escaped capture at the mouth of Salem harbor, -while on a fishing excursion. He said he had felt much anxiety -for my safety all the voyage, especially as it was reported that -my former captain had made strict search for the <i>Macedonians</i> -among all the American prisoners who were carried to England. -The kind-hearted old man wept tears of gladness at my safe return.</p> - -<p>While we staid in the <i>Tom Bowling</i>, the September gale, mentioned -above, took place. We were right glad, as it broke its fury -over our anchorage in vain, to think we were so safely housed in a -good harbor, instead of being exposed to its wrath on the deep. -Many a brave heart perished in that memorable storm.</p> - -<p>The two years having expired for which we shipped, we were -paid off. With the sum of one hundred dollars, I hurried on shore -and deposited my funds in the hands of my landlord, at a sailor’s -boarding-house. Now followed a life of dissipation and folly. -The grave resolutions, passed at sea, to settle down as steady -farmers, vanished into air. Drinking, swearing, gambling, going -to the theatre, and other kindred vices, took up all our time as long -as our money lasted. Our religious vows were equally slighted -and forgotten: instead of being better, we became worse than ever. -We felt as if New York belonged to us, and that we were really -the happiest, jolliest fellows in the world.</p> - -<p>For my own part, I fell deeper into wickedness than ever before: -drinking, swearing, and gambling as I had never done on -any former occasion. How could it be otherwise? Who cared -for the sailor then? Not one. He was left to his own depraved -heart’s promptings. Bethels and religious boarding-houses did -not then throw their genial influences round his path, to charm his -footsteps to the shrines of virtue and religion. Near the very spot<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> -where the Bethel church now stands in New York, I have frequently -gambled for hours, with a bottle of spirits on the table, -uncaring and uncared for by any human being. Thrice blessed -be the man who first established Bethels and temperance boarding-houses! -They are the sailor’s life-boats, which snatch him from -the gory jaws of the unprincipled landsharks who fatten on his -ruin.</p> - -<p>Sometimes, in a sober moment, I thought I would break away -from this wicked mode of life. I even engaged myself to a boot-maker, -to complete my knowledge of his business; but, the dread of -the confinement to the shoe-bench, which my riotous fancy painted -as being worse than a prison, drove me from my purpose, and left -me still among my shipmates.</p> - -<p>At last my landlord told me my money was all expended, and -that I must look out for something to do. My shipmates were in -a similar dilemma, their number decreasing every day, as one after -another shipped in the various merchant vessels preparing for sea. -Alas! for our farmers in perspective. Their dreams of ploughing -the land evaporated, leaving them what they were before, and what -most of them remained until death, the ploughmen of the ocean. -My landlord’s gentle hint put a stop to my excesses, for the very -sufficient reason that it was attended with a protest on my further -checks for funds. For a while, I found employment in loading -and unloading ships, and in assisting to fit them for sea. But this -proving an uncertain employment, I was induced to join a number -of my fellow-boarders in going to the rendezvous of the United -States brig <i>Boxer</i>. Here we shipped for two years more. I was -then eighteen years of age, and was rated as an ordinary seaman, -with ten dollars per month wages. Behold me then, dear reader, -once more on board a man of war, in spite of all the dangers I had -escaped, and the promises I had made to risk myself no more on -the ocean! The next chapter will unfold the events which transpired -while I sailed in the <i>Boxer</i>.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">On shipping in the <i>Boxer</i>, I received three months’ advance, -which, excepting a small sum expended for clothing, fell -into the hands of my rapacious landlord. How much this -gentleman contrived to filch from me, it is not in my power to say; -but that he was well paid, I have no doubt. He had my hundred -dollars, my advance, all I earned for working on the wharves, and -nine dollars beside, which I obtained from the purser. All this, -according to his account, I spent in a few weeks, with the exception -of a very small sum laid out for clothing. As I had no means -of proving his statements false, there was no alternative but submission, -and a return to a life of toil and danger, to earn a fresh -supply.</p> - -<p>As the method by which I obtained the nine dollars, above -mentioned, from the purser, will exhibit one of the modes in which -seamen are sometimes cheated, I will relate it. While in the <i>Siren</i> -I drew but half my allowance of grog. By the rules of the service, -I could claim the balance in money. This I overlooked when we -were paid off, but, when my funds got low, it came into my mind. -I proposed to some of the boys, who had a similar claim, to visit -the purser. They only laughed at me, and said it would be of no -use, for he would not pay it now we were discharged. Finding -they would not join me, I went alone to the City Hotel, where the -purser boarded, and inquired for him of the bar-tender. He came -down stairs, and I spread out my complaint before him. He blustered -and said I had no such claim allowed; I insisted, and told -him it was my right, and he must pay it. Hoping to get rid of -me, he told me to call again the next day. This I did, when he -paid me nine dollars. This will show the reader one of the ways -in which poor Jack is plundered, and that too by <span class="allsmcap">GENTLEMEN</span>!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span></p> - -<p>The <i>Boxer</i> lay at the navy yard, whither we were conducted. -The vacillation of a seaman’s character was illustrated before we -got on board, by one of our hands running away: another went a -little beyond the first. He went on board, where he pretended to -lose his hat overboard. Begging permission to recover it, he -seized the rope which fastened the boat to the shore, dropped over -the stern into the boat, and pushing up to the wharf, leaped ashore -and made off. Such fickle-mindedness is not uncommon among -sailors.</p> - -<p>We lost another of our crew in a more melancholy manner; he -was in my mess, an Englishman by birth, who had just left a British -vessel to enter the American service. He was at work on the -main yard, and by some means or other, losing his foothold, he fell. -Unfortunately, he struck a carronade screw in his descent, which -inflicted a terrible wound. The poor man suffered excruciating -agonies for a short time, and died. We buried him on shore, in a -plain coffin, without form or ceremony. Such are the contingencies -which wait to hurry seamen to the grave!</p> - -<p>We were kept busily at work upon the brig for some time; -after which our commander, Captain Porter, came on board. We -soon found him to belong rather to the race of Fitzroys and Cardens, -than to that of Decaturs, Parkers or Nicholsons. He was -inclined to tyranny and severe discipline.</p> - -<p>He soon gave us a specimen of his character in a most illegal -act of punishment. We lay alongside the <i>Hornet</i> or <i>Peacock</i>, I -forget which. It happened that her captain and most of her officers -were gone ashore one day. Our captain accidentally saw one -of her men engaged in some act of misconduct: instead of entering -a complaint against the man to his own officers, he ordered him -to be seized up and severely flogged, notwithstanding the earnest -entreaties of the offender for pardon. Why the captain of that -vessel did not call Captain Porter to an account for this manifest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span> -invasion of his prerogatives, I never knew, for we put to sea -shortly afterwards. An officer who would thus gratuitously volunteer -his services to punish a man, must be a tyrant at heart. -So at least we thought; while many misgivings, concerning the -future, troubled our minds.</p> - -<p>As I was now rated an ordinary seaman, and not a boy, as -heretofore, I had a station assigned me in the fore-top, instead of -being a servant to any of the officers. I was also appointed to be -one of the crew of the captain’s gig. This made my lot one of -more fatigue and exposure than in any former voyage; a proof of -which, I very soon experienced. It being now late in the fall, the -weather became very cold. One afternoon, the pennant having -got foul of the royal mast, an officer ordered me to go up and clear -it. I had no mittens on; it took me some time to perform my task, -and before I came down one of my fingers was frozen. Thus it -is, however, with the poor tar; and he thinks himself happy to escape -his dangers with injuries so slight as this.</p> - -<p>The disposition of our commanding officer was still further -revealed to my discomfort one day, while we were at work on the -cables. Something I did, not happening to suit him, he gave me -a severe blow on the head with his fist, not far from the place where -I had been previously injured by the malice of the Malay boy. -This unmanly blow occasioned me violent pains for several days.</p> - -<p>Since that time, I have felt a peculiar hostility to a practice, -which is lamentably common in some schools and families; I mean -that of rapping children on the head with a thimble, or with the -knuckles, or anything else. The practice is the result of irrational -passion, it is dangerous, and cannot therefore be too severely -reprobated. If it is pleaded as necessary to enforce obedience and -ensure respect, I know it will fail of such effects; it will only excite -feelings of revenge, ill-will and malice.</p> - -<p>We now received sailing orders, and were very soon under<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -weigh, bound to the Balize at the mouth of the Mississippi. On -this passage we had further opportunities of learning the character -of our officers. Although Captain Porter was stern and severe, -yet he never used bad language. He always spoke with the -utmost deliberation, but with such obvious indications of feeling, -that we often trembled to hear his voice. Most of the other officers -were by no means novitiates in the art of swearing; but our -sailing-master exceeded all the rest in this diabolical habit. Whenever -it was his watch on deck, he exercised his voice, and practised -the use of his choice and varied vocabulary of oaths, by hallooing -and threatening the men continually. Whenever we had to set on -sail, or to reef, he was especially diligent in these matters; mingling -with his curses, threats of the lash to those who were tardy, or -whose movements did not exactly suit his taste. If such officers -could only apprehend the profound contempt and bitter hatred -with which they are regarded by their maddened crew, they would -both tremble for safety, and despise their own littleness of soul. -No really great man would enact the childish vagaries of a petty -tyrant.</p> - -<p>There was one respect in which we were more annoyed in the -<i>Boxer</i> than I had been in the <i>Macedonian</i>. In this latter ship, -none but the captain could order a man to be flogged; in the -<i>Boxer</i>, the lieutenant or the officer of the watch could send a man -to the gangway, and order the boatswain to lay on with a rope’s-end. -This is a liberty which the laws of the navy should prohibit. -A man should be secured the rights of a citizen, as well on the -<em>planks</em> as on the <em>soil</em> of his country. True, it may be said, severity -of discipline is necessary to good order in a ship. Not <em>severity</em>, -but <em>strictness</em>, is what is wanted. Let a strict discipline be enforced, -with pleasant looks, and a “Hurrah my lads, bear a hand!” -and obedience will be more prompt and more perfect than when -every order is accompanied with a “Damn you,” and with an exhibition -of the rope’s-end or cat-o’-nine-tails. Common sense, as -well as experience, will sustain this opinion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span></p> - -<p>While these matters were passing on board, our little brig was -dashing through the waves in fine style. We arrived at the Balize, -from whence we dropped down to Ship Island, where we took -in water. A share of this severe task fell to my lot, for I was here -taken out of the gig, and placed in the jolly-boat, to make way for -a smaller and lighter lad in the former. We obtained our water -by digging large holes in the sand, into which we placed our casks; -the salt water, by passing through so much sand, would be so thoroughly -filtrated, that by the time it reached our casks it was fit for -use. We then emptied it into ten-gallon kegs, called breakers, -which we carried on our shoulders to the boat. This of itself was -hard work, but we had certain tormentors on this island, which -made it a task of much suffering. These were hosts of hungry, -gigantic moschetos, which assailed our persons, and especially our -naked feet, in flying squadrons, with a ferocity that indicated an -uncontrollable thirst for blood. But even these were not our worst -persecutors. They were attended by armies of large, yellow horseflies, -which our men called gallinippers. These merciless insect -savages were always sure to attack the very spot we had rubbed -sore, after the bite of a moscheto. Their bite felt like the thrust -of a small sword; I still retain scars on my feet occasioned by these -fierce gallinippers.</p> - -<p>This island bore marks of the battle of New Orleans; for we -found various articles bearing the broad arrow and stamped G. R. -We also remarked several mounds, which had the appearance of -being large graves. We afterwards learned that this was the place -where the British brought their dead, after their unsuccessful attack -on the city of New Orleans.</p> - -<p>From Ship Island, we proceeded to New Orleans. This was -a laborious passage; the current ran down the river with amazing -force, bearing huge logs on its bosom, which, if suffered to strike -either our bows or cables, were capable of doing much damage: to -avoid them required no trifling exertions. Sometimes we endeav<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span>ored -to track her, or draw her along with ropes, as canal-boats are -drawn by horses. But, as this brought us into shallow water, it -was abandoned.</p> - -<p>The banks of the river displayed large numbers of alligators, -luxuriating on the numerous logs that were fast in the mud. We -made many attempts to get near enough to these scaly monsters to -pierce them with a boat-hook; but they kept too sharp a look-out -for us; invariably diving into the stream before our boat got near -enough for us to strike them. But, if we failed in capturing alligators, -we obtained an abundance of palm-leaf, from the shore, -with which we furnished ourselves with hats.</p> - -<p>An instance of our commander’s tyranny occurred while we -were ascending the river. He had requested a seaman, named -Daily, who was somewhat acquainted with the river, to act as pilot. -By accident or negligence, he suffered the brig to strike the bottom, -though without the least injury. The captain flew into a -passion, ordered him to the gangway, and commanded the boatswain’s -mate to lay on with his rope’s-end. I did not witness this -flogging, for the hands were not called up to witness punishment, -unless administered by the cat-o’-nine-tails, but one of my messmates -said that he received at least one hundred lashes. I saw him -several days afterwards, with his back looking as if it had been -roasted, and he unable to stand upright. He wore the same shirt -in which he was flogged for some time afterwards. It was torn -to rags, and showed the state of his back beneath. His object in -wearing it was to mortify and shame the captain for his brutality.</p> - -<p>The severity of flogging with the rope’s end is <ins class="corr" id="tn-166" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'justy described'"> -justly described</ins> in Mr. Dana’s excellent book, called <cite><span class="fsnormal">“Two Years before the -Mast.”</span></cite> Though not <em>so</em> cruel as the cat, it is nevertheless a harsh, -degrading punishment. Our men used to say that “they would as -lief be cut up on the bare back with the cat, as have back and shirt -cut up together,” as was poor Daily’s. In truth, that flogging was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> -both unjust and illegal. The articles of war provide, that not -more than <em>twelve</em> lashes shall be given for a crime; but here <em>one -hundred</em> were inflicted for <em>no crime</em>—for an accident, which might -have happened to the best pilot who ever ascended the Mississippi. -But though the captain was thus rendered amenable to the law, -who would believe a poor sailor? Had he complained, it would -doubtless have been to his own injury; for law, and especially -naval law, is always on the side of the strong. This was not the -only case of illegal flogging; but the justification of these excessive -whippings, was found in the pretended existence of <em>several</em> -crimes in the helpless offenders.</p> - -<p>On one occasion we were at our quarters, exercising in the -various evolutions of war; now at our guns, and then going through -the forms of boarding an enemy; now running aloft, as if in the -act of cutting down our enemy’s rigging, and then rushing below, -as if to board her, firing our pistols, stabbing with our boarding-pikes, -and cutting on all sides with our cutlasses. In the midst of -this excitement, the movements of one of the men not happening -to please the captain, he seized a cutlass and struck him a tremendous -blow with its flat side; heated with passion, he let it glance -as he struck, and the edge, entering the man’s back, made a deep -flesh wound, which was very sore a long time. Some of our men -swore that if they had been the sufferer, they would have shot the -captain dead on the spot! Are men of such brutal tempers fit to -command a man of war? Is it not wonderful that mutiny is so -rare under such a discipline? Such an officer might do to command -a crew of pirates, but not of freemen, such as Americans feel -proud to entrust with the keeping of their national honor on the -deep.</p> - -<p>On reaching New Orleans, our ship was overhauled and repaired. -We were sent on board the <i>Louisiana</i>, an old guard-ship, -but had to cross the river every morning to assist in working on the -brig. Several of our men, and myself among them, were quite<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -sick here, owing to the free use of river water. The <i>Louisiana</i> had -a number of men confined on board, for some crime; they wore -chains round their legs, which were fastened to a large ball: the -nature of their offence I did not ascertain.</p> - -<p>The effects of Captain Porter’s severity were seen here in the -loss of two of the crew. They belonged to the gig, and ran away -while he was on shore. He made a strict, but unsuccessful, search -after them. To deter others from a like attempt, or because he -wanted an object on which to wreak his vengeance, he gave one -poor fellow a cruel flogging for what, in sober fact, was no offence -at all. The man was on shore, with some others, fixing the rigging, -and, for some purpose or other, had walked a short distance -from the rest, without the slightest intention to run away. But the -captain wanted a victim, and this served for an excuse.</p> - -<p>Our brig being finished, we returned on board, and were soon -back at our old station off Ship Island, where we found several -other small naval craft. While here I saw a man flogged through -the fleet, or, as this might more properly be called, the squadron. -His was the only instance of the kind I saw while in the American -navy, and, although his back was most brutally mangled, yet I do -not think he suffered equal to those who are flogged through an -English fleet. Still, the indignity and brutality are the same in -<em>kind</em>, though differing in degree: a <span class="allsmcap">MAN</span> should never be made to -endure it.</p> - -<p>Not far from our station, at a place called St. Lewis’ Bay, -our captain purchased some land, and actually sent some of our -men to make a clearing upon it, and to erect a log house. Whether -this was a legal employment of the strength and skill of his men -or not, I cannot decide; but it struck me as being a perversion of -the national resources to his own private benefit. Why should a -captain of a ship of war be permitted to employ the time and energies -of his men for private uses, while an officer of the government,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span> -who should employ its funds for his own advantage, would be -charged with embezzlement and fraud? The cases are precisely -alike, except that one uses the public money, the other what costs -that money. It is a fraud on the country, and an imposition on -the men.</p> - -<p>A tragic event occurred at Lewis’ Bay on the 4th of July, -which occasioned a fearful sensation throughout the ship. I was -sent thither that day in the launch. Feeling fatigued, I remained -with another in the boat, which was anchored near the shore. After -some time one of the crew, named Thomas Hill, came back for a -pistol, for there were several in the boat, and deliberately charged -it. My companion, an old <i>Macedonian</i>, named Cox, asked him -what he wanted with a pistol. Hill, who was a very desperate fellow, -told him to mind his own business, or he would shoot him. -Cox, knowing his character, thought it best to let this insult pass, -supposing he was only going off to shoot a dog or snake, as the -latter creature abounded there. Having loaded his pistol, Hill -went off, and we thought no more of the matter. Presently a man -came running down to the boat to inform us that two of our men -were quarrelling. Just at that moment, we heard the report of -a pistol: hurrying to the spot, described by our informant, we -found a shipmate, by the name of Smith, bleeding on the ground, -with a pistol-shot lodged in his breast by Hill. We gathered -round him; in his agony he begged us to shoot him dead, for his -suffering was not to be endured. Supposing he was dying, our -testimony to his statement that Hill was his murderer, was taken -on the spot. The victim was then removed to a suitable place to -be taken care of; the next day he was carried on board the brig, -and from thence to a sort of hospital on shore, where, after lingering -a few days, he died. The murderer was seized and placed -in irons on board the brig. He was afterwards removed to another -ship, but what was done with him I never heard with certainty; -it was reported that he was pardoned.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span></p> - -<p>The cause of this fatal affray was that great instigator of -crimes, <span class="smcap">Rum</span>. The men were both under its influence; fired with -its fumes, they lost all discretion, and commenced a quarrel: from -words they proceeded to blows. In this struggle Smith had the -advantage. Finding himself worsted, the other ran down to the -boat for a pistol. With this, he returned and threatened to shoot -his adversary. Smith demanded a pistol for himself, that, as he -said, he might have fair play. At that instant his cowardly opponent -shot him! Had they both been sober, this tragedy would -never have been enacted. Who can reveal the effects of alcohol?</p> - -<p>From this station we sailed to Tampico, where we lay but a -short time, meeting with nothing worthy of remark, except that -we found abundance of turtle in the river; during the day we could -see their heads peeping up from the river in all directions. At -night we used to send our men ashore to take them. This was done -by tracking them on the sand, whither they went to deposit their -eggs. We used to turn them over on to their backs, and drag -them down to the boat. When alongside they were hoisted on -board with a tackle; some of them weighing four or five hundred -weight. They were then killed, and converted into a soup for the -whole ship’s company.</p> - -<p>The day after we left Tampico on our passage to Vera Cruz, -I was looking out on the cat-head or starboard bow; seeing a sail, -I shouted, “Sail ho!” when three other vessels hove in sight. -These were all patriot privateers, so we were ordered to our quarters; -but the vessels, discovering our character, kept clear of our -guns, and we pursued our own course.</p> - -<p>About ten o’clock, A. M., we saw two more of these privateers, -crowded with men, but mounting only one long gun. Mistaking -us for a Spanish brig, with money on board, they fired most -lustily for us to heave to. We mounted short carronades, excepting -two long nines at the bows, so we bore down, all hands being<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span> -at their quarters, to bring our short guns to bear upon them. -Meanwhile we kept one of the long nines in full blast. I was stationed -at this gun; and it being my duty to sponge and load, I had -to exert every muscle and strain every nerve, as, firing only one -gun, it was necessary to discharge it as often as possible. Before, -however, we came near enough to injure them, they discovered -what we were, fired a leeward gun in token of friendship, and -hauled off. If they had not, our men very <em>elegantly</em> observed, -they would have found they had taken the wrong pig by the ear.</p> - -<p>We soon came in sight of the beautiful revolving light, which -throws its friendly beams on the port of Vera Cruz, where, as in -the former places, we lay a short time, and then, after visiting -some other ports, we returned to our former station at Ship Island. -Here, however, we remained for only a brief period, before -we were under weigh for New Orleans, from which place we -sailed to Havana. Such is the constant change kept up by men -of war on a cruise.</p> - -<p>On this passage, I was placed in a position which exposed me -to the punishment of the lash, though by a mere accident I escaped. -There was a habit indulged in among us, which is common -among all sailors at sea; I mean that of stealing a nap during -our watch at night. Seated on the carriage of a gun, or on a shot-locker, -with folded arms, we indulged in many a minute of sweet -sleep, notwithstanding it was contrary to the rules of the ship. To -prevent this as much as possible, the officer of the watch used to -give the first man he caught napping, a handspike, with which he -was compelled to walk the deck until he found another sleeper, to -whom he was allowed to transfer his burden. One night I was -caught dozing, and had to perform the consequent march with the -handspike. After walking about, without success, in search of a -sleeper, for some time, I thought it might be well to try my fortune -in the tops. Scarcely had I set foot on the top, before the -officer below cried, “Fore-top, there!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span></p> - -<p>“Sir?”</p> - -<p>“Aloft, and take in the fore-top-gallant sail!”</p> - -<p>This order caused every man to spring to his station. Supposing -no one would pass before the mast, I stood my handspike -upright against it. But there happened to be a man, by the name -of Knight, dozing there; and when he was aroused by the command -of the officer, he passed before the mast to get on to the starboard -side. As sailors usually grasp something when aloft, he missed his -hold of what he intended to catch, and seized my handspike, which -of course fell. To my consternation, he fell with it. Tumbling -out of the fore-top, he fortunately struck the foot-rope of the fore-yard, -which broke the force of his fall. When he reached the deck, -he came bouncing on a tall, stout Irishman, named Tom Smith, -who, not imagining the cause of so rough and sudden an assault, -roared out, as they both fell together on the deck, “Och! indeed -you have killed me!” Here, however, he was mistaken; he was -more frightened than hurt; and the innocent cause of his fright -was able to resume his duties, after two or three days’ respite. -Very fortunately for my back, the unlucky handspike was not suspected; -and my share in this serio-comic accident remained a secret -within my own breast.</p> - -<p>It has often been a subject of surprise to my mind, that men -so seldom fall from the tops, in the long night-watches they keep -there. Often have I stood two hours, and, sometimes, when my -shipmates have forgotten to relieve me, four long, tedious hours, -on the royal yard, or the top-gallant yard, without a man to converse -with. Here, overcome with fatigue and want of sleep, I -have fallen into a dreamy, dozy state, from which I was roused by -a lee lurch of the ship. Starting up, my hair has stood on end with -amazement at the danger I had so narrowly escaped. But, notwithstanding -this sudden fright, a few minutes had scarcely elapsed -before I would be nodding again. How wonderful that more are -not swallowed in the hungry deep!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span></p> - -<p>When the weather was rough, we were indulged with permission -to stand on the fore-top-sail yard, or on the top-gallant cross-trees; -and, if the ship rolled heavily, we lashed ourselves to the -mast, for greater safety. I can assure my readers, there is nothing -desirable in this part of a sailor’s duty. In whatever the -pleasure of a life at sea consists, it is not in keeping a look-out -from the mast-head at night.</p> - -<p>But the most disagreeable of all is, to be compelled to stand -on these crazy elevations, when half dead with sea-sickness. Some -suppose that sailors are never sea-sick after the first time they go -to sea. This is a mistake; it is very much with them as it is with -landsmen, in respect to being sick in a coach. Those who are of -bilious temperaments, are always affected, more or less, when they -ride in a stage or sleigh; while others are never sick on these occasions. -So with seamen; some are never sea-sick, others are sick -only when going out of port, while some are so in every gale of -wind. Mr. Dana mentions some of the crew in his ship, who were -sick, after being at sea two years, as they came to Boston. I was -usually sick after laying some time in port, and have often stood at -the mast-head when so sick that any landsman on shore, in a similar -state, would think it hard if he could not lie abed. For a sailor, -there is no allowance made for sea-sickness; he must remain at his -post until it is time to be relieved.</p> - -<p>When we entered Havana, we came to anchor near the Spanish -fort, and fired a salute, which was courteously returned by the -Spaniards. We had been here but a short time, before an Irishman, -named Dougherty, who had formerly deserted from the -Spanish garrison, took it into his head to run away from our brig. -This he accomplished by the assistance of some Spaniards, to whom -he made himself known. Several others also left us, in this port, -among whom was our swearing sailing-master; and a great deal was -said about running away throughout the ship. The man who was -flogged on suspicion at New Orleans, now endeavored to get off in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -reality. He strayed from the boat, but the officer, meeting him, -endeavored to force him back. He resisted; a struggle ensued; -the officer fell to the ground, and the man called to the Spaniards -to assist him. They left him, however, to fight his own battles; -and the officer, having succeeded in getting the advantage, presented -a pistol to his breast, and he surrendered. For this offence, -he was flogged most fearfully. In the British service, he would -have been hung! It is certain death with them, to strike an officer.</p> - -<p>Hearing so much said about running away, and feeling almost -as unhappy as when in the <i>Macedonian</i>, I began to think of it myself. -Sometimes I thought of trying to get into the Spanish garrison -as a soldier; at others, of joining some of the numerous slavers -that lay there, and in which our men said a good chance could -be had. Sad chances, as they now appear, especially the latter; -but I was young and ignorant. My feelings and the advice and -opinion of my shipmates influenced me more than the dictates of -an enlightened understanding. Resolving to make a trial, if opportunity -offered, I one day put on an extra shirt and drew on a -second pair of pantaloons. When thus prepared, the officer of the -deck happened to discover the two waistbands of my trousers; he -questioned me with a suspicious curiosity. I told him as specious -a tale as I could invent on the spot; which was, that I had been -mending my trousers, and, before they were finished, was called to -go ashore in the boat, and not having time to put them away, had -slipped them on. Fortunately, a needle and some thread which -I had about me, confirmed my story and saved me from difficulty. -It was pretty obvious, however, that the officer, though silenced, -was not <em>satisfied</em>; for I was so closely watched, after that day, I -gave up the idea of escape as utterly futile and hopeless.</p> - -<p>From Havana we returned to the mouth of the Mississippi, -where we captured the <i>Comet</i>, a patriot schooner, on suspicion that -the patriotism of her crew had degenerated into something less respectable. -Harsh as it must have sounded in the ears of her offi<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span>cers, -we charged them with piracy; took possession of the vessel, -and brought her hands, as prisoners, on board our brig. Her master’s -name was Mitchell; his crew were all stout, fierce-looking -blacks, having all sorts of odd names, such as Monday, Friday, &c. -She had a rich cargo, and contained large sums of money. It was -reported that they had attacked an island somewhere in the Gulf -of Mexico, and murdered its governor. We put them in irons, -with sentries over them, who were charged to cut off their heads if -they dared to lift them above the hatchway. I performed this duty -a part of the time, parading round the hatch with a drawn cutlass; -but they showed no symptoms of resistance, and were sent in their -vessel to New Orleans. Their fate I never ascertained.</p> - -<p>This adventure cost one of our own crew, an Irishman, by the -name of Tom Smith, a severe flogging. Smith was quite a moral -philosopher in his way; though it is to be regretted that his philosophy -was a little infected with lunacy. Its premises were certainly -sound, but, unfortunately, its conclusions bore but little relation -to the parent of whom they boasted. He taught that man was -born to do good; that his chief good was the promotion of his own -interests; and that, per consequence, he should help himself to -whatever he could lay his hands on, without regard to the rights of -others. With these views, Tom earnestly defended the rightfulness -of piracy, and could he have managed to get on board a pirate -vessel, or even have contrived to wrest our own ship from the hands -of her officers, and hoist the black flag, he would have cheerfully -done so. But somehow, although he had made a number of disciples -among his shipmates, our captain paid no manner of respect -to his theories; for, when Tom, in consistency with his often declared -principles, deliberately carried off a large sum of money -from our capture, to his own quarters, the captain, who perceived -the theft himself, ordered him to the gangway, and administered as -many hard lashes, as if Tom had had no philosophy at all.</p> - -<p>But, although Tom Smith’s philosophy did not save its unlucky<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -advocate from the unphilosophic punishment of the whip, it nevertheless -exerted a baneful influence on the morals of our crew. -Many of them were doubtless bad enough when they came on -board; but a more complete school for the practise of iniquity -never existed, than that on board our brig. Profanity, blasphemy, -lying, licentious conversation, and even a system of petty -stealing, <ins class="corr" id="tn-176" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'were prastised on'"> -were practised on</ins> a large scale. Many of the men were -ripe for any crime within the power of depraved humanity to commit, -and I have often thought that even the decks of a privateer or -a pirate, could not lead one faster and deeper into the extremes of -wickedness, than did the influence of our main deck.</p> - -<p>With what a voice do such pictures of sailor immorality, call -for exertion on the part of an enlightened Christian community, in -behalf of seamen? Where is the presence of the meek spirit of -Christianity more needed, than on the decks of our merchant and -naval vessels? Where would missionaries and Bibles accomplish -more than here? There is no sphere of Christian usefulness so -important, so promising as this. Every vessel in the navy should -have its chaplain. Not one of your proud, fun-loving, graceless -wine-bibbers, but a humble, devoted man, who would not think it -beneath his dignity to mingle with the common sailors, as a pastor -among the flock of his affections, moulding their rough, but susceptible -natures into the image of virtue, by the force of his pious -example, and the influence of his effectual prayers. Then, in the -merchant service, a species of itinerant missionary might be indefinitely -useful. He might be sent out by a society, pledged for his -support; and, by permission of the owners, sail in a ship on her outward -passage. Arrived at her port, he might sail to another place, -in a different ship, and then return home in a third. In this way, -a score of devoted men of the right stamp, could exert an unparalleled -influence on the character of sailors. Vice, irreligion, profanity, -and insubordination, would presently flee away before the -beautiful purity of religion, and our ships, instead of being desig<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span>nated -as floating hells, would become houses of God, arks of holiness, -consecrated Bethels! Pray, Christian, that this desirable consummation -may be speedily attained; and be not satisfied with -merely praying; add <em>action</em> to your prayers. Stir up your church -to the claims of seamen! Give your money to assist in supporting -sailors’ missionaries, Bethels, and the like. Make it the settled -purpose of your heart, not to rest until you behold the sailor elevated -to his proper position, which is that of a <span class="smcap">Christian man</span>!</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="endchap5" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="p4 w100" src="images/endchap.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy1">After a short stay at the Balize, we put to sea once more, -for the purpose, as it was understood, of touching at Havana, -and then returning to New York. This was a cheerful -voyage; the idea of a speedy return to America, spread a feeling -of exquisite delight over the whole crew, and converted the performance -of our duty into a pleasure. One effect was, to set those -hands, who were gifted with the talent, so highly prized in a man -of war, of “spinning yarns,” busily at work during every spare -moment, when a group could be gathered to listen. Foremost -among these intellectual time-killers was Richard Dickinson, a -messmate of mine, a good-natured Englishman. He called himself -the son of Old Dick, by which epithet he was usually called. -Dick’s powers were now in great demand, and he exercised them to -our universal satisfaction, but with how great regard for truth I -cannot determine. It is probable, however, that truth entered -very little into Dick’s productions. He was a sort of off-hand novelist; -all he cared for was <em>effect</em>, and where truth failed him, fiction -generously loaned her services. So bewitching were Dick’s stories, -that I used to long for the hour when we could lay in our -hammocks and listen. My first salutation, when we lay for the -last time in the port of Havana, was, “Come, Dick, tell us a yarn.”</p> - -<p>“What is the use? you will go to sleep,” he used to reply.</p> - -<p>“No I won’t, Dick; I can listen to your yarns all night,” was -my usual answer.</p> - -<p>Dick would then begin some yarn, which, if not so interesting -as the thousand-and-one stories in the Arabian Nights’ entertainments, -was at least as true to nature, and, in respect to its humor,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> -might be compared to some of the sayings of that illustrious personage, -Sancho Panza, the renowned squire of the immortal Don -Quixote; but, in spite of my promises, I usually gave notice of my -condition after a short time, by performing a concord of nasal -sounds, vulgarly called snoring, which would set Dick to swearing, -and often put an end to his performances for the night.</p> - -<p>I need scarcely say, that these “yarns” were by no means -favorable in their moral effects on the listener. They generally -consisted in fictitious adventures on the sea and on the shore, plentifully -interlarded in their recital with profane oaths and licentious -allusions. When seamen become elevated, and are properly instructed, -these filthy stories will be superseded by reading good -and useful literature, with an abundance of which every ship -should be supplied by the benevolence of the Christian public.</p> - -<p>On the passage to Havana, Dick and myself fell under the -displeasure of the captain. We were stationed one night in the -fore-top, where we were comfortably dozing away the time. The -captain was on deck. The officer of the watch hailed the fore-top. -We did not hear him until the call was repeated two or three times. -For this we were ordered below, and told by the captain that we -should be flogged the next day before the whole crew. With this -consolatory information we returned to our station, without the -least inclination to sleep again for that watch. With a sort of -philosophic desperation, I laughed and said, “Dick, which would -you rather do—have your grog stopped awhile, or take a flogging?”</p> - -<p>Dick was very fond of his grog; so he replied, “Oh, I had -rather they would stop my wind than my grog, and would sooner -be flogged by considerable than lose that.” I question, however, -if he had been left to choose between grog and whip at the gangway, -whether he would not have altered his tone in favor of his -grog. Still, his answer shows, how strongly sailors are attached<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -to their beloved rum. I am happy to know that this regard is -dying away, and that temperance is doing something among sailors. -May it go on, until cold water is as popular in a man of war, -as grog was twenty years since. We never heard, however, of -our offence again. Dick was quite a favorite with the officers, -and, except a blow in the head, given me by the captain, I had -never been punished. Perhaps these were the reasons why we escaped -the gangway.</p> - -<p>At Havana we got a large amount of Spanish dollars aboard -for some merchants in New York. These were smuggled from -the shore. Our men were sent off in the boats, with their pockets -and bosoms well stuffed with the precious metal; and in this way -we soon got it all safely lodged in our hold, except that the captain’s -servant, falling desperately in love with them, furnished -himself with all he could carry, and ran away from the ship.</p> - -<p>After adding to our freight of dollars a fine supply of -oranges, lemons, pine-apples, &c., we cheerfully weighed anchor -and set sail for New York. We reached that port after a short -and prosperous voyage; meeting with no incident, except that the -cold weather caused us a little suffering, and enabled the purser -to add a few dollars to the profits of the voyage, by supplying us -with a lot of red flannel shirts.</p> - -<p>When I was on board the <i>Siren</i>, I was contented. The officers -were kind, the crew were peaceful and well-behaved; but in -the <i>Boxer</i>, some of the officers were severe, and the crew corrupt, -and I did not enjoy myself at all. Some said that in time of war -the men were better treated than in time of peace; but though this -may be true to a limited extent, yet I think the difference in these -two brigs was owing more to the character of their respective officers -than anything else. Be this as it may, my experience in the -<i>Boxer</i> had completely sickened me of man of war life, and I determined, -if possible, to get free of it at once and forever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p> - -<p>My station, as one of the crew of the jolly-boat, gave me -frequent opportunities to accomplish my purpose. So, one day, -at the solicitation of a shipmate, I resolved to make the attempt. -Cruel treatment was my excuse; yet I have sometimes been -ashamed of my course in this instance; and would heartily advise -all boys in the naval service to stay their time out. We were successful -in escaping; and as we had but little money, I therefore -proceeded directly from the shore to a pawn shop, and there disposed -of our pea-jackets, which were new, and for which the purser -had charged us ten dollars apiece. We obtained the pitiful -sum of six dollars for the two. With this, we started in a hack, -which was to carry us outside of the city. We then travelled hard -all day, resting at night in a barn, where we suffered extremely -from the cold. The next day we pursued our way towards New -Haven. The day after, we were still on the road. This was the -Sabbath, and we felt strangely at seeing the good people of the village, -through which we passed, going to meeting. The foot-stoves, -that the grave matrons bore in their hands, were things I -had never seen before; so, to the great merriment of my companion, -I observed that they were excellent contrivances to carry -their books in to meeting! We reached New Haven on Monday -evening, where we put up at a sailors’ boarding-house for the night. -Here my shipmate left me, and I proceeded alone to Hartford, -begging my support by the way, for my money was by this time -all exhausted.</p> - -<p>At Hartford I tried to ship on board some merchant vessel. -Not succeeding, I strove to find some one to take me as an apprentice -to instruct me in the art of bootmaking, but with no better -success. These repulses discouraged me. It was Christmas day, -and the associations connected with the day—the merry-makings -of my early boyhood—were anything but pleasant to me in my -distress. The bell was tolling for the funeral of priest Strong, -and it seemed as if the melancholy of the mourners fully accorded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> -with my feelings, and was preferable in my mind to the spirit of -rejoicing that prevailed among those who were keeping merry -Christmas in merry mood. Perhaps, if they had invited me to -partake of their cheer, I should have changed my opinion. As -it was, with only five cents in my pocket, I wandered lonely and -sad through the city. With a feeling of despair I stepped into a -cellar for something to drink. They charged me five cents, and -left me at once friendless and penniless. At the bridge, the toll-keeper -demanded a cent. I looked at him fiercely, and told him I -had nothing. He let me pass over toll free. Towards night, feeling -tired and hungry, I endeavored to hire myself. But who -would employ an utter stranger? I went to a number of houses, -imploring a lodging for the night. With freezing coldness, I experienced -repulse after repulse, until my heart chilled with horror, -with the fear of spending that long, cold night out of doors. At -last I called on a kind-hearted Presbyterian, who gave me a supper, -lodging and breakfast. Their morning and evening devotions -were peculiarly interesting to me; for, excepting while a -prisoner at the Cape of Good Hope, I had never listened to an -extemporaneous prayer.</p> - -<p>The next morning I left this truly hospitable family, and pursued -my inquiries for employment. Some asked if I could chop -wood; others, if I knew anything about farming; and when I answered -“No,” they shook their heads, and I trudged on. Sometimes -I offered to work for my board, but, being a sailor, and having -no recommendations, people were afraid to take me into their -families. Still I pushed on. A man overtook me in the town of -Coventry, and began a very interesting and faithful discourse -about religion. I listened respectively; he took me home with -him, where, although he was a deacon, he gave me some cider-brandy: -but these were not the days of temperance. After this he -sent me to Pomeroy’s tavern, where he thought they would hire -me. This application failing, he advised me to apply at the glass<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span> -works which were a little distance from that place. With this advice, -I took leave of Deacon Cook, and proceeded towards the -glass-houses.</p> - -<p>Before reaching them, however, night came. A family, who -occupied a red house, received me, whose hospitality I returned by -singing a number of sea songs. Early the next morning, I tried -to get work at the glass-house, but though I was willing to stay for -my board, they would not take me. Mr. Turner, the agent, very -kindly gave me a breakfast, and then I left him, determined to -get to Boston if possible, and go to sea once more.</p> - -<p>My situation was really a trying one: my only clothing was a -blue jacket and trousers; shoes more than half worn out, and a little -tarpaulin hat stuck on the back of my head, in genuine sailor -fashion.<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> Mittens and money were alike far off from my fingers, -and friends were as scarce as money. People, too, seemed afraid -of a sailor; and this, in addition to all my other troubles, rendered -me an object of suspicion. At such times, I assure my young -reader, that the picture of a kind mother and a good home, are but -too faithfully presented to the mind, filling it with a thousand vain -and useless regrets. No young man need desire to be in the outcast -prodigal condition in which I stood, in the depth of that cold -winter.</p> - -<p>When I reached the town of Mansfield, I called at the house -of a Mr. Nathaniel Dunham; the kind manners and friendly language -of whose lady I shall never forget. She told me that if I -was honest, Providence would shortly open some way by which I -could live. Her words fell on my ear like a prophecy, and I left<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> -the house, confident of some favorable turn in my affairs before -long. At Mansfield Four Corners, I inquired of Dr. Waldo, -who, with several others, sat under a piazza, and afterwards of a -Mr. Edmund Freeman, for employ. They gave me no encouragement. -Persevering, I at last met with a Mr. Peter Cross, -who, seeing my sailor garb, asked what ships I had sailed in. Hearing -me mention the <i>Macedonian</i>, he said, “There is a man here -whose name is William Hutchinson. He was taken in her. Do -you know him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said I, after a moment’s recollection; “he was our -armorer’s mate.”</p> - -<p>Of course, I lost no time in seeking for my old shipmate. -After crossing various lots, and getting vexed and perplexed for -want of proper direction, I reached his comfortable homestead. -He did not recognise me at first, on account of the great alteration -a few years had made in my size and appearance; but, when -he did recall me to his recollection, with the generous frankness of -a sailor, he offered me all the hospitality and assistance in his -power. A good supper was speedily spread; and then, seated before -his ample fireplace, sparkling and crackling with a cheerful -blaze, we recounted our adventures. He had wandered into Connecticut, -and married a very respectable woman. They now -owned a house and some land, and were in tolerably comfortable -and thriving circumstances. With such discourse, we talked away -the better part of the night, when the old tar showed me my chamber, -archly observing that “my bed would not rock much.”</p> - -<p>The next morning, he said I should not leave him until I was -provided for in some way or other. Through his influence, a Mr. -James, his brother-in-law, employed me to work in his cloth-dressing -establishment. As I was ignorant of the business, and was -not really needed, my board was to be my only compensation.</p> - -<p>My new situation soon grew delightful to me, and I felt hap<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span>pier -than I had ever done since I left Bladen. My time passed -very pleasantly, especially my evenings, when the neighbors came -in to hear me spin sea yarns and forecastle songs. Some of the -young men of the “baser sort” judged me to be a fit instrument -to act Samson for their enjoyment, in the house of God. So -they invited me to attend the meetings of the Methodist Episcopal -church in that place. But they greatly misjudged the character -of seamen; who, as before remarked, usually pay respect to the -ordinances and ministers of religion. I attended the meeting, but -not to make sport. The result of this ill-designed invitation on -myself will appear hereafter.</p> - -<p>The winter months fled, and the spring found me unfurnished -with means co-extensive with my wants. Determined to remain -ashore, if possible, I hired myself to a farmer for my board. In -the evenings I braided straw hats, and thus obtained a scanty supply -of clothing. A little incident, illustrative of the thoughtless -playfulness of sailor character, may not be displeasing to my -young readers.</p> - -<p>Whoever has seen a perfect novice undertake to guide an ox-team, -may form some idea of the ludicrous adventures through -which I passed during my agricultural novitiate with these horned -animals. Perseverance, however, gave me some little control over -our team, when, as fate would have it, my employer “<em>swapped</em>” -them for another pair. When they came home, after some little -hallooing and whipping, I succeeded in “yoking” them; then -seizing the goad-stick, with as much dignity as ever Neptune -wielded his trident, I mounted the tongue, (which I called the bowsprit,) -and with the ladders rigged up at both ends I gave the -word of command to my team. They, however, showed signs of -mutiny, and, taking to their heels, bore me <ins class="corr" id="tn-185" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'off in trumph'"> -off in triumph</ins>. This was sport indeed; there I stood, my head and shoulders passed between -the front rigging, laughing as if my sides would burst, while -rakes, forks and boards were playing leap-frog, at the tail of my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> -cart, and my master’s boy was half frightened out of his wits. At -length the angry voice of my master roused me from my sportive -mood; he did not relish the rough usage his farming tools were receiving, -and coming up with my horned steeds, he speedily stopped -their speed and my sport. I need only add that his rebukes made -me more careful afterwards.</p> - -<p>When the haying season commenced, I left my first employer, -and obtained the sum of eight dollars per month, and board; the -wages, however, in accordance with the true Yankee method of -making money out of everything, were to be payable at the village -store. This change led me into a situation which proved another -link in the chain, which ended in my conversion to God. The son -of my employer died; he was about fourteen years of age; in company -with a pious member of the Methodist church, I sat up one -night with the corpse. With the faithfulness of a true Christian, -he improved the occasion by seriously conversing with me on the -great concerns of immortality. His discourse, together with the -funeral services, had a very softening and gracious influence on my -feelings, though the only present, practical effect was a more punctual -attendance on the services of the sanctuary.</p> - -<p>Towards winter, I went to live with Mr. Joseph Conant, to -learn the business of filing augers and steelyards. Here my acquaintance -was considerably enlarged, as several young men were -attached to the establishment. Among them was one who made a -profession of religion. As is usual among the young, we were devoted -triflers; and he, to my astonishment, was as jocose and merry -as the rest. Ignorant as I was of religion, his conduct appeared -strangely inconsistent; I wondered he did not converse with me -about my soul. One day I took him aside and faithfully expressed -my views of his conduct. He acknowledged his guilt. -Afterwards we attended meetings in company, and he was faithful -in speaking with me about the things that belonged to my salvation. -He urged upon me the importance of giving myself up<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span> -to God at once, and affectionately invited me to attend class-meeting. -My mind was seriously inclined, but I could not yet venture -upon so close an intercourse with the people of God.</p> - -<p>One Sabbath evening, my friend, Ela Dunham, who had -dealt so faithfully with me, when we watched together over the -corpse of Orson Kidder, asked me, “When do you intend to set -out and seek religion?”</p> - -<p>I replied, somewhat evasively, “Any time.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said he, “are you willing we should pray for you, and -will you go forward for prayers to-night?”</p> - -<p>To this I replied, that I would think of it. The meeting -proved to be intensely interesting. My desire to express the inward -workings of my mind, grew strong. Of the forms and practices -of Christians in revivals, I was altogether ignorant, having -never witnessed a conversion in my life; still, it seemed to me -highly proper to declare my feelings in the presence of Christians, -that they might give such instructions as were necessary to lead me -into the right way. With these views, I determined to rise and -speak, though the evil one whispered, “Not yet! not yet!” in my -ears. Just as I stood up, some one, not seeing me, began to sing; -this, I took to be a suitable excuse for further delay, and sat down, -heartily wishing that no one had seen me. Fortunately, my friend -Dunham had witnessed my movement. He requested them to -stop singing, because a young man wished to speak. Thus encouraged, -I told them I was then nineteen years of age, and it -seemed to me too much of life to spend in sin; that eternity was a -solemn idea, and I desired them to tell me how to prepare to enter -upon it with joy. They proposed to pray with me. We then all -kneeled down together. Most fervently did they pray for the -divine blessing to rest on the stranger youth, bowed in penitence -before them, and most sincerely did I join my prayers with theirs -before the throne of God. After prayer, they sung the following<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span> -familiar lines, which I insert both for their intrinsic excellence, and -for the pleasantness of the associations connected with them in -my own mind.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indentq">“Alas, and did my Saviour bleed!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And did my Sovereign die!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Would he devote that sacred head,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For such a worm as I?</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">O the Lamb! the loving Lamb!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Lamb on Calvary,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Lamb that was slain,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Yet lives again,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To bleed and die for me.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Although these words were very sweetly applied to my mind, -I did not feel any evidence of the favor of God that night. The -next day, with a strong purpose to live for eternity, I entered on -my daily tasks. Religion was the theme of my thoughts and discourse; -during the day, a sweet calm came over me; peace and joy -filled my soul. It was the pardoning love of God applied to my -guilty spirit.</p> - -<p>Ah! thought I, this must be religion; but desiring to be right, -I went to my employer and communicated my feelings to him. -His reply rather damped my joy. He was a moralist; morality, -he said, was all-sufficient to secure a man’s well being both in this -life and in that to come. This, however, did not satisfy my mind. -To me it seemed certain that genuine repentance, and a change of -heart, were all-essential to my happiness; and these, if not already -mine, I determined to possess.</p> - -<p>The remarks and experience of the Methodists, at their prayer -meetings, were greatly blessed to my comfort. Gradually the light -broke; the day-star shone. Peace, like a river, filled my breast; -joy, as from an unfailing fountain, bubbled up within me; love -animated my affections; by day and by night I sang the praises of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span> -God, and the society of Christ’s dear people seemed precious indeed -to my soul. I thought this sweet frame would last forever. -I determined it should, so far as my efforts were necessary for its -continuance. Alas! I knew not my own heart: a dreary wilderness -state was before me, and I, like many an unwary soul before -me, heedlessly stumbled into its gloomy shadows.</p> - -<p>By a sudden change in the condition of my employer, I was -led to seek employment in Ashford. Here, in the shop of Mr. -Giles Stebbins, I was surrounded by many light-minded, trifling -young men. Falling into the same snare for which I had reproved -a professor before I was converted, my peace and calm -were lost, every evidence darkened, and the wretchedness of a -backslider in heart filled my soul. This apostacy lasted several -months, when, through the love and long-suffering of a gracious -God, I was once more restored to a state of salvation. Since that -time, though I have not gained all that is desirable, and that is -offered in an abundant gospel, yet I have been trying to stem the -torrent of iniquity, which runs through the earth, and striving to -make my way to the port of Glory.</p> - -<p>The next fall I walked eighteen miles to a camp-meeting in -Thompson, Conn., the first I had ever attended. Though the -scene was novel, I soon took a deep interest in the services; especially -when informed that a sailor was going to preach one evening. -This sailor was no other than the well-known Rev. E. T. -Taylor.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> His text was in Philippians iv. 19: “But my God shall -supply all your needs;” which he handled in his usual happy and -eccentric, powerful manner. I had never before seen a religious<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span> -sailor; to hear one preach, therefore, in such forcible and effective -style, was to me a source of unutterable delight. Nor were the -listening masses before the stand, who hung with intense eagerness -on his lips, less pleased than myself. They broke out into loud -expressions of praise to God for his wonderful mercies. “This,” -said the speaker, “is but a drop from a bucket! What will it be -when we drink from the mighty ocean itself?”</p> - -<p>At this meeting I saw sinners yielding to Christ with tears of -sacred penitence, for the first time in my life. Never in all my -life had a spectacle more sublimely beautiful met my eye. I do -not believe the world affords a more grateful sight than that of a -sinner weeping and repenting before his Creator.</p> - -<p>The parting scene of that meeting left an indelible impression -on my memory. Even now I see that affectionate company -marching in regular and joyful procession before the stand, each -shaking hands, as he passed, with the preachers. Still I feel the -tears chasing each other down my cheeks, as I grasped the hand -of the sailor preacher so firmly, that it seemed I should never let it -go; while he, seeing my emotion, observed, “Never mind, brother; -we are on board of Zion’s ship now.” I had stood tearless alike -amidst the wailings of the tempest and the roar of the battle, but -here, among a few Christians at a camp-meeting, my heart was -soft as a woman’s, and my tears flowed like rain. Does the reader -inquire what made the difference? I answer, it was the love of -God.</p> - -<p>When I returned home, one of my first acts was to unite myself -with the Methodist Episcopal church: an act which has led -to the formation of many pleasant friendships, and which has -proved the source of much religious enjoyment to my soul.</p> - -<p>My mind often reverts, with a mixture of joy and sorrow, to -the fate of the three hundred men and boys who sailed with me -in the <i>Macedonian</i>, when I left England for the first time. Of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span> -these, alas! how many perished in battle! The rest were scattered -over the four quarters of the globe. Beside myself, I never -heard of but one of them who embraced religion. This was John -Wiskey, one of our quartermasters. He settled in New London, -and when he met in class, for the first time, he said he blessed God -he had got out of that floating hell, the <i>Macedonian</i>. He afterwards -removed to Catskill, on the North River, where he maintained -a good Christian reputation.</p> - -<p>My shipmate, who received me so hospitably in Mansfield, -became unfortunate, lost his property, and died, but not before I -had the satisfaction of offering a prayer at his bedside.</p> - -<p>The little fellow who escaped from the <i>Macedonian</i> with me -met with a melancholy fate. This I learned one day from the following -paragraph in a newspaper: “Drowned, out of a pilot boat, -off Charleston Bar, Mr. James Day, one of the crew of His Britannic -Majesty’s late frigate <i>Macedonian</i>.” Thus have I been -signally favored—a brand plucked from the fire. For this special -favor I hope to render my heavenly Father the eternal tribute of -a grateful heart.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">During the various scenes, dangers and wanderings of -these years of my youth, I had not forgotten the home of -my boyhood; and, now that I was becoming somewhat -settled in my prospects, I wrote an affectionate letter to my -mother. After a delay of several months, I received two letters -in reply, one from my mother, and the other from my sister. That -from my mother is inserted in this narrative, for the purpose of -exhibiting to the young reader, who may fancy that his parents feel -no very great interest in his welfare, another instance of the deep, -undying love of a mother’s heart.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Bladen</span>, December 23, 1818.</p> - -<p class="noindent">My dearly beloved Child:—</p> - -<p>I cannot describe the sensations I felt when I received -a letter from your dear hands. It was the greatest -pleasure I have enjoyed since you left me. I have -never been sorry but once since you left, and that has -been ever since; but I hope the Almighty has ordered it -all for the best. I have never forgotten to pray for you -morning, night, and many times in the day, though I -talked very little about you to any one, because I did not -wish to make any one else uncomfortable. But that -God, who knows the secrets of all hearts, sees how sincerely -thankful I am because he has been pleased to hear -my prayers that I might hear from you again; for I was -fearful I never should. But now I have great hopes that -the blessed Lord will protect you, and spare our lives to -see each other again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span></p> - -<p>My dear child, you have not stated how you came to be -separated from the crew when the ship was taken, nor -how you have been employed since. You must be the -best judge whether it will be safe for you to venture -home. It would be a great pleasure for me to see you, -but if there is danger of bad consequences, on account of -your having been in the service against your country, -and if any bad consequence should follow your coming -home, it would make me more unhappy than I have ever -been yet. If there is no danger, I should be very happy to -have you come home and learn a trade; as, thank God, I -have it in my power to do something for you; and nothing -shall be wanting to make you comfortable, that I can do. -You say it may be one or two years before you come; but -pray come the first opportunity, as you will be gladly received -by us all. If it is a want of money that prevents -you from coming, and you cannot work your passage, -perhaps you can get one by showing the captain of some -ship my letter, and he may depend on being paid as soon -as you arrive in England. If neither will do, send me -word; and if there is any place in London where your -passage money can be paid, I will pay it there for you. -You are right in supposing yourself twenty-two years of -age on the nineteenth of March (1819). Your sister -Maria is twenty. She is grown a fine young woman; I -am happy to say is very steady and thoughtful; though -not of a very strong constitution. She is at service in -London. She has written to you, and I hope you will -receive her letter with this.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I hope, my dear child, you will not fail to come home. -Send me all the particulars of your life, at the first opportunity. -I am afraid you have gone through a great deal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span> -of trouble and hardship since I saw you. But the merciful -Lord has been pleased to bring you through the -whole, and He is able to carry you through more, if you -put your trust in Him. It gave me great comfort to hear -that you are so well disposed, as I am sure you are, from -the spirit of your letter; it was more pleasure to me than -if you had gained all the riches in the world. I wish I -was as well acquainted with religion as yourself; but I -will try to make a better use of my time, and should it -please God to let you come home, I hope you will be the -means of great good to me.</p> - -<p>There are a number of Methodist meetings about us. -The people who live in our yard are very strict ones. I -never disliked the Methodists; I think they have a great -gift of religion. I sent your letter to Lady Churchill, -formerly Lady Francis Spencer. Both Lord and Lady -Churchill were glad to hear from you, and are your well-wishers. -The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough are -both dead. Blenheim is much altered for the worse, since -his son has become Duke. Lord Francis, that was, -makes a very good master; and when the Duke died, he -left Blenheim. His country house is in the forest. Your -father is his carpenter in the timber yard; he has filled -this situation six weeks. He comes home every Saturday; -and next spring they are going to place me and -the children in a lodge near him. We hope to have the -happiness of seeing you there.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It is eight years the twelfth of last July, since you left -us. <span class="nowrap">* * *</span> Your father, brothers and sisters all join -with me in hearty prayers to Almighty God, that his -blessing may be upon you; and if it is his blessed will, we -shall see you again; if it is not, we must be resigned to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span> -what is fitting for us, and pray that we may all meet in -heaven, where all tears shall be wiped away. That God -may bless you, my dear child, is the sincere prayer of</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="padr2">Your ever loving mother,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">Susan Newman</span>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>Notwithstanding the earnestness of my mother’s spirit, -breathed out so ardently for my return in this letter, I dared not -risk myself on British soil. Her expression of sorrow, if bad consequences -should ensue, had its weight in determining me to remain; -but a conversation with the celebrated Lorenzo Dow, who -had recently returned from his English tour, settled the question. -He said he had seen four men hung, who, like me, had been in the -service of some other country, after deserting from their own. -This was quite sufficient; for, much as I longed to visit the homes -of my childhood, I had no disposition to do it with a gallows suspended -over my head. I therefore wrote my mother, that, not -having a regular discharge from the navy, it would be best for me -to continue where I was; but I begged them to seriously think of -emigrating themselves; since my father-in-law, being an excellent -carpenter, could do well in New England. Alas! it was not for -him ever to consider of this proposition; for, when my letter arrived, -they were performing the sad obsequies of death over his -breathless corpse. A prevailing fever had terminated a life of -fifty-seven years, after a sickness of two weeks. My mother, now -a widow the second time, after twelve years of pleasant union with -her last husband, thought it unfitting, at her time of life, to venture -across the ocean; and therefore all my plans for collecting my -relatives on American soil, were blasted in the bud.</p> - -<p>Perhaps, after following me through the changes of my life -at sea, the reader may feel a little interest in knowing how I succeeded -as landsman. He has seen me escaping the breakers that -met me on my first approach to the shore; and now, if his patience<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> -be not entirely exhausted, he may pursue my fortunes a little further.</p> - -<p>He left me, when my episode about home led him away from -the thread of the narrative, busily at work as a filer of steel-yards, -at Mansfield, Conn. From thence, I returned to Ashford, where -I continued a year or two. At last, doubting the stability of my -employer, and fearing lest what he owed me might be lost, I took -up the whole in the shape of a wagon and a stock of steel-yards; -then, purchasing a horse, I travelled from place to place to sell -them; and in this manner got into a business which I have followed -more or less ever since. After acquiring, by economy and -diligence, a few hundred dollars, I opened a small store in Mansfield, -with the intention of leading a still more settled life; though -about that time my mind was strongly exercised with a desire to -devote myself to the religious benefit of seamen. My sense of -unfitness for so great a work, at last prevailed; and I proceeded -with my plans of worldly business.</p> - -<p>The days of which I write were those on which the bright star -of temperance had scarcely shone. Ministers, deacons, Christians, -all used the deadly drinks. Was it surprising, therefore, that I, -but so short a time before a rum-loving sailor, fell into the common -current, and became a rum-seller? No, it was not strange! -but it was a strange, a glorious display of restraining grace, that -prevented me from being drawn into the snare I was thus -thoughtlessly spreading for the poor drunkard.</p> - -<p>But even in those early days of temperance, I was not without -my trials of mind in respect to the unholy traffic. Once, when at -Hartford, making purchases for my store, of which rum formed -no inconsiderable article, I accidentally heard of a lecture on temperance, -to be delivered at Dr. Hawes’s<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> church. This was the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span> -first discourse on the subject I ever heard. The speaker excited -a deep interest in my mind, as he told of the origin of rum, its primary -costliness and rank among medicines, of the growth of distilleries, -the consequent decline in its price, and the attending -spread of drunkenness. So deadly a plot against the peace of -the world, he said, could only have been contrived in hell.</p> - -<p>This discourse fell like a light on some dark opaque; it illuminated -my understanding, disturbed my conscience. No sleep visited -my eyes that night. Duty said, “Send back your team without -rum in the morning.” Fear of men, public opinion, interest -said, “No. Every other store-keeper sells it, and so may you.” -The latter argument prevailed. Conscience was rebuked; the rum -went to my store.</p> - -<p>Shortly after this struggle, I married a member of the Methodist -church in Hartford. We removed to Somers, Connecticut, -where I continued to sell rum, though, as before, with great caution -and with much inward struggling of mind. At last I could -hold out no longer, and in spite of the example of ministers, (some -of whom often drank, though sparingly, at my house,) in spite of -the sneers of the scornful, and of the fear of loss to my trade, I -gave it up! It was for the poor, untaught sailor to set the example -of sacrifice to the store-keepers of Somers. Three others imitated -me in a short time. Not to me, but to the grace of God, be -the glory of my decision and resolution. I can assure the modern -rum-seller, whose lashed and tortured soul still cleaves to the -rum barrel and the toddy stick, for the sake of the profit, that I -have ever regarded that act as among the best of my life.</p> - -<p>Finding my present residence ill adapted to a <ins class="corr" id="tn-197" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'successful prosecuton of'"> -successful prosecution of</ins> business, I closed up my concerns, and removed to -Wilbraham, Mass., the place of my present abode; a pleasant town, -but which is rendered more so by the very superior opportunities -it affords for the education of children, in its most excellent and -flourishing academy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span></p> - -<p>Here my life glided pleasantly and quietly along, affording -no incidents worthy of special record. Happiness presided at my -domestic board, prosperity accompanied my temporal enterprises, -and religion reigned as the ruling genius over the whole. My -ways were committed unto the Lord, and he directed my steps; -for which I praise him with my whole heart.</p> - -<p>In this delightful manner several years fled away; when, my -business having led me, on one occasion, to New York, I heard -that my old ship, the <i>Macedonian</i>, was in port. Animated with -that regard for an old ship, which always inspires a genuine seaman, -I went on board. She was so altered, I scarcely recognised -her. Change, with an unsparing hand, had remodeled the decks -and cabins, so that I felt somewhat lost where once every timber -was familiar. This was rather a disappointment; however, I stood -on the spot where I had fought in the din of battle; and with many -a serious reflection recalled the horrors of that dreadful scene. -The sailors, on witnessing the care with which I examined every -thing, and supposing me to be a landsman, eyed me rather closely. -Seeing their curiosity, I said, “Shipmates, I have seen this vessel -before to-day: probably before any of you ever did.”</p> - -<p>The old tars gathered round me, eagerly listening to my tale -of the battle, and they bore patiently, and with becoming gravity, -the exhortation to lead a religious life, with which I closed my address. -They appeared to be very susceptible of religious feeling; -as, indeed, sailors are generally. Should any doubt this fact, let -them hear the Rev. Mr. Chase, in New York, or Rev. E. T. Taylor, -in Boston, in whose usually crowded houses of worship, the -face of the rough, weather-beaten son of the ocean may be seen -bedewed with penitential tears; especially at the church of the latter -gentleman—than whom none know better how to adapt discourse -to a sailor’s soul.</p> - -<p>During the flight of these years a constant correspondence<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span> -had been kept up between me and my mother. She had constantly -urged me to revisit my native land. To remove the last obstacle, -she addressed a letter to Lady Churchill, to ascertain if I might -safely return. She sent her the following note, the original of -which is still in my possession:</p> - -<div class="blockquot fs80"> - -<p class="right">Lower Brook Street, Nov. 7, 1821.</p> - -<p class="noindent smcap">Mrs Newman,—</p> - -<p>I consulted my brother William upon the subject on which you wished for advice, -as neither Lord C. nor myself could undertake to answer your inquiry; and -I am glad to hear from him the following explanation in reply: “There is nothing -to prevent Mrs. Newman’s son from coming home; for when the war was -terminated, he was safe, even if he had entered into the enemy’s service; but he -will of course forfeit the pay and any prize money due to him.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="right padr4">I am, much yours,</p> -<p class="right smcap">F. Churchill.</p> -</div> - -<p>This note relieved me of all fear, but now it had become no -small undertaking for me to go to Europe. To go alone would -be very expensive; but to take my family, consisting now of a wife -and three children, was much more so. Hence, I put it off year -after year, still writing and begging them to visit me. When the -late lamented Dr. Fisk<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> was in England, he visited my mother and -brother, and related to them some of the facts in my life, which he -had often heard me mention. She sent me two silver table spoons, -which had belonged to my father, by the Doctor’s hands. My -mother wrote about this visit of that “great, good man” with evident -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>At last, I received a letter from home, which decided me to -undertake the often postponed and long delayed voyage to my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span> -native land. This letter stated that there was a young man in Albany, -with whose friends they were all well acquainted, and that -he was about to visit his mother. I found this gentleman, whose -name was William Warrington, and agreed to join him with my -family in his intended voyage. This agreement made, we set -about making preparations for the undertaking. If the reader -desires to know the events of that visit, he must consult the ensuing -chapter.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="endchap6" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> - <img class="p4 w100" src="images/endchap.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="p4 chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-capy">Weighed down under a pressure of despondency, arising -partly from temporary illness, and partly from the -greatness of the enterprise I had undertaken, and whose -event was so uncertain, I left Wilbraham on Thursday morning, -June 3d, 1841. A pleasant passage, by the way of Springfield -and Hartford, brought us into New York early the next morning. -By the following Monday, the 7th of June, we were all -snugly stowed in a state-room of the second cabin<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> on board the -splendid packet-ship, <i>George Washington</i>, bound for Liverpool.</p> - -<p>Before we sailed, however, I was fleeced of seven dollars by -the cook of the ship. As passengers in the <em>second</em> cabin, we had the -privilege of furnishing ourselves with provisions. For the sum -just mentioned, the cook had agreed to do all our cooking at the -galley, insisting, however, on being paid in advance, because, he -averred, several passengers, on former occasions, had obtained his -services and failed to pay him; besides, he wanted to leave all the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> -money he could with his wife. These arguments were, of course, -unanswerable, and I paid him the sum demanded. Judge, then, -of my surprise, when, a few minutes before we hauled off, the captain -engaged another cook; the first having suddenly made himself -among the missing. Should the reader ever have occasion to voyage, -he may profit by the remembrance of this anecdote.</p> - -<p>We then hauled off into the stream; towed by a steamboat, -we soon cleared the harbor of New York. Sandy Hook speedily -lay behind us; the pilot wished us a pleasant voyage, and away we -dashed into the wide Atlantic, buoyed up by the confidence of the -hope that a few weeks would behold us safely landed on the shores -of dear old England.</p> - -<p>The details of a voyage across the Atlantic have been so often -laid before the public by travellers, that they have now lost most -of that interest which they would possess were they less familiar. -I shall not, therefore, detain the reader with the particulars of my -passage, except to quote the experience of one day from my journal.</p> - -<p>Saturday, June 12th. Went on deck early in the morning; -found it very warm. We passed two ships on the same course -with ourselves. I saw a rainbow on our starboard quarter, which -reminded me of the old saying among sailors, “Rainbow in the -morning, sailors take warning.” It was then blowing a stiff -breeze from the west. All the sails were up, studding sails out below -and aloft. The wind increased during the morning, with rain. -We soon had heavy thunder, with sharp lightning; the weather -growing squally, we took in our studding sails. Passed another -ship; wind increasing with violent rain.</p> - -<p>One o’clock, P. M. Sailors have plenty to do to shorten sail. -Furled top-gallant sails, reefed mizzen topsail, fore topsail, and -main topsail. We are running before the wind like a race-horse, -at the rate of twelve knots an hour.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span></p> - -<p>Two o’clock, P. M. More thunder and lightning, which -threatened vengeance on our poor ship. The lightning is very -sharp; we have no conductor up; it plays all around us, and, as it -strikes the water, it hisses like red-hot iron. Several of the sailors -felt a shock in descending the rigging, especially the first and second -mates. We expected it would strike us every moment, but a -kind Providence protected us. The sea runs very high, and the -ship flies about as if crazy. We have two men at the helm, who -can scarcely keep her right; it seems that she will pitch under every -moment.</p> - -<p>Eight and one-half o’clock, P. M. Sea still rolling heavily; -we have shipped several heavy seas.</p> - -<p>Nine o’clock, P. M. Wind has shifted, and the weather is -clearing off.</p> - -<p>During the whole of this gale, many of the passengers were -much alarmed, and some of them spent their time in praying and -crying to the Lord. How strange that men will leave their eternal -interests to an hour of danger, and forget them again the moment -it passes away!</p> - -<p>The first Sabbath of our life at sea, by permission of Captain -Barrows—who, by the way, was a very gentlemanly, kind commander—I -held a religious meeting on the quarter or poop-deck. -My audience contained all the cabin passengers, with most of those -in the steerage, the captain and his mates, together with most of -the crew. I told them I was not a parson, but I would talk to -them as well as I could. After singing and prayer, I spoke from -Jonah i. 6; alluding, among other things, to the late storm, and -exhorting them not to trust to storm religion, but to become the -followers of God from genuine principle. My audience favored -me with profound attention. Whether they were benefitted or -not, the great day must determine. It was in this same ship that -the eloquent Robert Newton returned to England. He favored<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> -her crew and passengers, every Sabbath of the voyage, with one -of his excellent and powerful discourses.</p> - -<p>The following Sabbaths, owing to the weather and adverse -circumstances, I contented myself with distributing tracts and -with discoursing personally with the passengers and crew.</p> - -<p>On the 26th of June, we saw the Irish coast on our weather-beam, -and on the evening of the 27th, we came to an anchor off -Liverpool, after a short passage of twenty days. Here, a steamboat -came alongside, bringing several custom-house officers, who -came on board, and carrying our cabin passengers ashore. The -next morning we hauled into the magnificent docks of this celebrated -city of commerce, where our baggage was landed under the -spacious sheds that surround the wharves. From thence it was -conveyed, in small carts, <ins class="corr" id="tn-204" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'drawn by donkies'"> -drawn by donkeys</ins>, to the custom-house -for inspection. This tedious process over, the passengers separated, -each bound to his respective home; for, having passed the -ordeal of the custom-house, every man is left at full liberty to go -whither he pleases. I and my family proceeded to a tavern, contrasting, -as we went along, the dark, dingy aspect of Liverpool, -everywhere discolored by the fumes of coal-smoke, with the light, -cheerful aspect of our American cities; and giving the preference -to the latter, notwithstanding my English prejudices.</p> - -<p>The next morning we all took seats in the railroad cars for -Stafford, some seventy miles distant from Liverpool. After -passing through the tunnel, under the city, of more than a mile in -length, we emerged into a beautiful country, adorned on all sides -with antique buildings and rural scenery. These passed before -us like the scenes in a panorama, and, by ten o’clock, A. M., we -reached the stopping-place, a short distance from Stafford. Here -we were literally in danger of being torn asunder by the eagerness -of two hackmen, who, as we were the only passengers left at the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dépôt</i>, were especially zealous for our patronage. A police offi<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span>cer, -one of whom is stationed at every <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dépôt</i> on the road, speedily -relieved us from their importunity. Stepping up, he asked me -which man I would employ. Pointing to one of them, the other -dropped my baggage, and in a few minutes, we were at the door -of my brother-in-law, Mr. William Tills.</p> - -<p>Although I had not seen my sister for thirty years, yet, no -sooner did she see me, than, throwing her arms around my neck, -she exclaimed, “Oh, my brother!” I need not add, that our reception -was cordial, and our stay with them characterized by every -trait of genuine hospitality.</p> - -<p>The town was alive with the bustle of an election; flags and -streamers were floating over every tavern-sign and public building. -Men, women and children crowded the streets, flushed with -the excitement of party rivalry, while the continual pealing of the -bells added a vivacity and liveliness to the scene, of which an -American, who has never heard the merry ding-dong of a full peal -of bells, can form no adequate conception. By five o’clock that -afternoon, the polls closed, and the ceremony of chairing the successful -candidates took place. First came a band of music, playing -lively airs; next followed the members elect, richly dressed, -with ribbons on their hats, and seated on chairs wreathed with -flowers and ribbons, and surrounded with banners bearing various -devices. These chairs were borne on men’s shoulders, who proceeded -through the streets, amid immense cheering from the -crowds who followed, and from the ladies and citizens, who appeared -waving their handkerchiefs from the windows; the members, -meanwhile, bowing, with their hats in their hands, until they -reached the spot where their chaises waited to convey them to their -respective homes. The sight was one of great interest to a stranger, -and I advise every American who visits England, by all -means, to witness an election day if possible.</p> - -<p>We remained with my brother-in-law about a week, visiting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span> -the various places and buildings whose antiquity or public character -clothed them with especial interest. The town itself contains -about eleven hundred inhabitants, and is the shire town of the -county of Staffordshire. Its chief business is the manufacture of -shoes. Among its ancient buildings, are the remains of a baronial -castle, whose moss-covered battlements insensibly conduct the -meditations of the beholder back to the days of feudal grandeur -and knightly chivalry. St. Mary’s Church is also a venerable -Gothic structure, of solid masonry, whose walls have withstood -the storms and changes of about ten centuries. They were about -to expend £10,000 in repairing the dilapidations of time. I heard -one discourse from the curate, and was especially delighted with -the grandeur and sublimity of the music from its magnificent -organ, as it pealed along the aisles of the time-worn building, with -an effect never witnessed in our smaller and more modern structures -in America.</p> - -<p>Here also is the county prison, modelled, in most of its arrangements, -after the state-prisons of America. It contained five -hundred prisoners. A lunatic asylum and a hospital, or infirmary, -for the poor, are found among the products of its benevolence: -the former contained three hundred unfortunate occupants.</p> - -<p>The poor-house is a large commodious building, constructed -of brick and stone, surrounded with large airy yards and gardens. -It has also yards or courts within its walls, used as play-grounds -for the children. The order within was excellent; every room -looked remarkably neat and clean; the children were comfortably -clothed, and wore an air of satisfaction and contentment. The -whole house was under the control of a governor and matron who -were subject to the inspection of the board of overseers, chosen by -the people. One excellent rule of the house struck me as being -very useful: it provided for the admission of poor travellers to a -supper and lodging; requiring them, if dirty, to undergo a thorough -ablution and to change their linen. In the morning two or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span> -three hours’ work was exacted as payment, and they were suffered -to depart. The house had its teacher and chaplain; and altogether -I thought that a great improvement had taken place in the -poor-laws of the country.</p> - -<p>Having been so long away from England, everything peculiarly -English struck me with almost as much force as it would a -native American. Hence, my feelings revolted at the sight of the -innumerable beggars and vagrants, who crowded the streets. -Italians, with their organs, white mice, or monkeys; poor barefooted -children, with their baskets of matches; and, worse than -either, houseless families imploring a crust for their half-naked -little ones, with many a tale of sorrow and woe, were sights which -greeted my eye and pained my heart every day. A sad spectacle -indeed, and one which robs the lustre of the British crown of many -a brilliant ray. The true glory of a people is their internal prosperity, -and not the extension of their territory.</p> - -<p>The fifth of July renewed the excitement of the day I arrived. -It was the time appointed for the <em>county</em> election. Similar -scenes to those before described took place, accompanied with -excessive drunkenness. Every tavern, and the number seemed -endless, was crowded, mostly with the laboring classes, who were -spending their hard-earned pence, for foaming tankards of English -ale, the favorite beverage of John Bull, and one of the greatest -hindrances to the progress of the temperance cause in that country; -though it is hoped that the triumphs of tee-totalism will ultimately -overcome this national love for John Barleycorn, as beer -is humorously called in the old song.</p> - -<p>After spending an extremely pleasant week in Stafford, we -bade adieu to my affectionate sister and her husband, and, aided by -omnipotent steam, we soon reached the great manufactory of -Britain—Birmingham. From thence we took stage for Woodstock, -subject, however, to the incessant exactions of the host of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span> -waiters, guards and coachmen, that constantly assail the traveller -in England, with a request to be “remembered” for every little -service rendered. The country through which we rode was delightful; -all nature wore her greenest, brightest garments; the -roads were level, and as smooth as the most thorough Macadamizing -could make them. Soon after seven in the evening, the stage -drew up at the Marlborough Arms, the very hotel from whence I -started thirty years since to go to sea. The first object that arrested -my eye, was the revered form of my mother, waiting on the -sidewalk, eager to embrace her much-loved, but long-absent son. -Springing to the ground, I felt myself locked in her fond embrace. -That was a moment of exquisite enjoyment, both to me and to my -mother. Though deeply moved, she maintained a calm dignity -of manner. In a few moments, she was showing the way, with -the agility of a young woman, leading a new-found grand-child -in each hand, to her residence, which was close at hand. Very -soon we were all seated round the well-loaded board, the happiest -family party in the world.</p> - -<p>Though it afforded me and my family great pleasure to visit -scenes round Woodstock and Bladen, which had been familiar to -me in my boyhood, yet, as the description would only prove tedious -to the reader, it is omitted. A brief account of our visit to Oxford, -so celebrated for its university and colleges, may not be uninteresting.</p> - -<p>Oxford contains nineteen colleges and five halls. Of these, -we visited only Christ Church and Lincoln colleges. Christ -Church is the largest college in Oxford. We were forcibly struck -with the magnificence of the octagonal tower, which is over the -principal gateway. It has a dome top, and is ornamented in the -Gothic style, from designs by that renowned architect, Sir Christopher -Wren. It is also remarkable as containing the celebrated -bell, known by the familiar name of “Great Tom,” and weighing -17,000 pounds. It is 7 feet 1 inch in diameter, 6 feet 9 inches<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span> -high, 6⅛ inches in thickness. I got under this massive piece of -metal, and found abundant room to move about; by standing on -the clapper I could reach the top over my head. This is the largest -bell in England; though Russia contains several of a much -larger size. I also gratified myself by a survey of the splendid -picture galleries and the spacious library, the former containing -some of the finest specimens of painting in the country, and the -latter a large and valuable collection of books, manuscripts, prints, -coins, &c.</p> - -<p>I made inquiries of our attendant for the room in which -Charles Wesley studied while a member of this college; but, although -quite communicative on other subjects, he manifested a peculiar -sensitiveness on this; and I declined pressing the question. -After quitting the college, happening to pass the residence of the -Wesleyan minister, Mr. Rodgers, I called upon him, and related -to him how the porter <ins class="corr" id="tn-209" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'avoided my questons'"> -avoided my questions</ins>. He smiled, and said -that they regarded the Wesleys as dissenters, and would therefore -do them no honor. Mr. Rodgers was extremely obliging; he conducted -us over his beautiful chapel, and then bore us company to -Lincoln college, where he pointed out the room in which John -Wesley studied when a member of this institution. He also -showed us the other localities of Oxford, made sacred to me by -their association with the person of Wesley’s grandfather, the -preaching of the Wesleys themselves, and the studies of Dr. Coke, -the great missionary hero of the Methodist church.</p> - -<p>He then led us into Broad street, to the consecrated spot -where Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer sealed their faith by enduring -a martyr’s death. Three stones mark the spot where their -ashes fell; and never did I feel a holier feeling than that which -thrilled my heart, while I and my family stood on those time-worn -stones: the spirits of the martyrs seemed to hover around us, -breathing the same high, religious determination into our minds<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span> -that filled their own bold and daring spirits. That moment amply -repaid us for all the toil of our journey home.</p> - -<p>The following Sabbath I attended the chapels of the Wesleyans -at Woodstock and Bladen, and in the evening had the pleasure -of saying a word to my old Bladen associates, in the prayer-meeting.</p> - -<p>After receiving the utmost kindness, hospitality and evidences -of friendship from my family and friends, I took leave of them -forever. Many of the neighbors, with my mother, accompanied -me to Woodstock. There I wished her adieu, and when the coach -whirled away, she stood following us with her eyes, the last of the -company, until a projection of the park wall hid us from each -other. Who could forbear a tear in such a moment? I could -not, and therefore suffered the big drops to roll down my cheeks -at will. There is a luxury in such grief.</p> - -<p>That evening beheld us rolling through Hyde Park into the -city of London, where I tarried a few days with my brother, by -whom I was very cordially entertained. Here also I found several -cousins, in prosperous circumstances whose kindness contributed -not a little to my enjoyment. Having visited St. Paul’s, the -Museum, Madame Tussaud’s magnificent collection of wax figures, -and other curious and remarkable places, I took a trip to -Walthamstow, the former residence of my aunt Turner. This -good lady was dead, and almost forgotten by the people; her -twenty-two children were all either dead or wandering, the neighbors -knew not whither. Alas for the mutations of time!</p> - -<p>A walk of two miles farther on, brought us to Wanstead, my -birth-place. Here everything seemed natural, though great -changes had passed over the people since I lived there, a thoughtless -child. My common school teacher and my Sunday school -teacher had gone to their spiritual destiny. My aunt was yet -alive. My brother asked her if she knew me. Peering through<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -her spectacles, and summoning up the imagery of the past, she at -length called to mind her former <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">protégé</span>, and clasped me to her -arms, with evident gratification. It occasions melancholy feeling -to see the ravages of time on the persons and places one has not -visited for years!</p> - -<p>After a hasty visit to that noble home for the worn-out sailor -at Greenwich, and a glance at the arsenal at Woolwich, I returned -to London.</p> - -<p>We next visited the City Road Chapel, built by the exertions -of the great Wesley himself. The sexton told us that when that -wonderful man held the collection plate, one Sabbath, it was thrice -filled with gold by the enthusiastic generosity of the congregation: -a striking example of his personal influence over his hearers. After -examining the chapel, I walked over the parsonage adjoining, and -while standing in the room where, with his dying lips, the immortal -founder of Methodism exclaimed, “The best of all is, God is with -us,” I felt inspired with his great spirit, and mentally resolved, like -him to laboriously live, that like him I might triumphantly die. -From this sacred chamber I visited the tombs of Wesley, Clarke, -Benson, Watson, Cooper, and other illustrious men of the departed -army of faithful warriors in the cause of Christ; and, as I stood -over their ashes, my heart said with Peter on the mount of transfiguration, -“Master, it is good for me to be here!”</p> - -<p>Crossing the road into Bunhill fields, I stood before the tombstones -of the celebrated Dr. Isaac Watts, and the less learned but -equally renowned John Bunyan. Here the wicket gate, the wanderings -of the pilgrim, the land of Beulah, and the river of death -passed vividly before my mind’s eye, until, overcome with a rush -of powerful feeling, I wept and walked away, a better man than -when I entered those solemn resting-places of the glorious dead.</p> - -<p>The time allotted for my visit having nearly expired, my mind -began to look towards the country of my adoption, filled with a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> -strong desire once more to tread its free soil. Strong as is the love -of home, it was not strong enough to induce a preference in my -mind for England. America had become the dearer of the two. -Indeed, I saw so many unpleasant things amidst the grandeur and -pageantry of the rich, that I often felt disgusted. Such hosts of -street beggars, such troops of poverty-stricken children, such a mass -of degraded laborers, such enormous taxation, made me shrink -from bearing any part of so great a burden, and desire to link my -future destiny with the rising fortunes of America. How the laborer -of England lives, with such low wages, and such high prices -for the staple commodities of life, is above my comprehension. -Meat was from twelve to twenty-four cents per pound; tea from -one to two dollars; coffee from twenty-five to forty cents, and other -things in proportion. To this add the intemperate habits of the -poor, and how they live becomes a problem I know not how to -solve. Yet, with all this poverty and woe, taxation is laid upon the -public with merciless severity, to furnish means to maintain the -splendor and fatten the minions of royalty. First, they have to -pay the annual interest of eight hundred million pounds, then -come the enormous salaries of the monarch and the satellites of the -throne. The queen, for her private purse, has £150,000; the -queen dowager, £100,000; Prince Albert, £30,000; the Lord High -Chancellor, £20,000; the Bishops, an average of £20,000 each. Besides -these, follow sinecures and pensions innumerable, until the -resources of the nation are preyed on by the throne, with the unsatisfied -appetite of the grave—taking all, and still crying, “give, -give!” I felt happy, when beholding these things, that Providence -had, after many trials in early life, cast my lot in America.</p> - -<p>On the 25th of August, we all sailed from London, in the -cabin of a fine ship, commanded by Captain Eldridge, bound for -Boston. The particulars of our stormy and tedious voyage would -neither gratify nor amuse the reader, and they are therefore omitted. -Suffice it to say, that the Atlantic passage could scarcely be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span> -more unpleasant than it was to us; but, by the care of divine Providence, -after being seventy-five days at sea, exposed to every variety -of wind and weather, deprived of religious advantages, and surrounded -only by the ungodly, we safely landed, and found comfortable -quarters at the United States Hotel, in Boston. From -<ins class="corr" id="tn-213" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'thence we proceded'"> -thence we proceeded</ins> to Worcester, and then to Wilbraham, where -we were hailed with joyful congratulations by our neighbors, who -had begun to mourn us as among the lost at sea. Most gratefully -did we all unite with the minister, the following Sabbath, in a -thank-offering to Almighty God, for his goodness in preserving -us from the dangers of the stormy sea.</p> - -<p>Thus, courteous reader, I have conducted thee through the -mazes of my changeful life. Should the facts detailed in these -pages lead thee to feel more interest hereafter in the elevation of -the sailor, my labors will not have been in vain; and should the recital -of my Christian experience induce thee to embrace the same -Saviour, who has become my redemption and sacrifice, I shall joyfully -hail thee, when we meet together in the port of eternity.</p> - -<p>To my brothers of the sea, let me add one word. Yours is a -life of danger, of toil, of suffering. Few men care for your souls; -but Jesus regards you. He watches you in all your wanderings; -he woos you to be his! Will you not be persuaded, by a fellow-sailor, -to heed his voice. O sailor, “<span class="smcap">Turn, turn, for why will -ye die!</span>” Go! rest in His bosom, who says to you, “Come unto -me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”</p> - - -<div class="p4 chapter"></div> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Footnotes">FOOTNOTES:</h2> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Near this bridge is a spring, called Rosamond’s Well, where Henry II. is -said to have contrived a labyrinth, by which his guilty fair one communicated -with the castle.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> This form of “step-father” seems not to have been unusual in England -1800-50. <em>Cf.</em> Sam Weller’s addressing his father’s second wife as -“mother-in-law.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> Reuben James. See his life by C. T. Brady.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> To prevent the recovery of these men by their consul, the press-gang usually -went ashore on the night previous to our going to sea; so that before they -were missed they were beyond his protection. Sometimes they were -cleared on our return to port.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> The crew of this vessel mutinied, killed their officers, -<ins class="corr" id="tn-f5" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'and run the ship'"> -and ran the ship</ins> into a Spanish port, where she fell into the hands of the Spaniards, then at war -with England. Large rewards were offered for these mutineers; many -were taken, and all who were taken suffered the penalty of death (1797).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> Narrative of the Life and Sufferings of William B. Lighton (an Englishman), -a private in the 60th Regiment—the Rifles.—Troy, N. Y., -1846. He enlisted at 16, in 1820.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> James Holmes, boatswain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> James, in his History of the British Navy, gives this name as Thomas James -Nankivee.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> Dennis Colwell.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> The colors of the <i>Macedonian</i> are preserved at the Naval Institute, Annapolis, -Md. A number of her cannon are placed on the green near the -Commandant’s quarters at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; and when she was -broken up, many of her timbers were taken to City Island (now part -of New York City), and used as the frame of a hotel still (1909) standing -there.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> The official report, from James’ <cite>History of the British Navy</cite>, of the <i>Macedonian’s</i> -casualties was:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>David Hope, First Lieutenant, wounded, leg and head;</p> - -<p>John Bulford, Third Lieutenant, wounded;</p> - -<p>Henry Roebuck, Master’s Mate, wounded;</p> - -<p>George Greenway, Midshipman, wounded;</p> - -<p>Francis Baker, “first-class volunteer,” wounded.</p> - -<p>Of the crew, 36 killed and 68 wounded, of whom two seamen died of wounds, -and two boys had each one leg amputated. Nine Marines also were -wounded.</p> - -<p>Aboard the <i>United States</i>:</p> - -<p>Second Lieutenant John M. Funck, mortally wounded; one seaman mortally -wounded; five seamen badly wounded.</p> - -<p>(Unless the five all died, Captain Carden’s statement in his official despatch -home, “I saw a lieutenant and six seamen thrown overboard,” was unfounded.)</p></div> - - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> John B. Nicholson.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> The word “thus” should undoubtedly be placed before “the,” so as to -make the line read: “and thus the flag of a frigate,” etc. The <i>Guerrière</i> -was the first frigate captured, the <i>Frolic</i> (taken October 18) being a -brig.—(<span class="smcap">Ed.</span>)</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> The first lieutenant of the <i>United States</i>, William H. Allen, took the <i>Macedonian</i> -to port.</p> - -<p>The list of the <i>United States’</i> officers and their subsequent records follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Captain Stephen Decatur, who was killed by Captain Barron in the historic -duel, 1820.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant John B. Nicholson, who appears afterwards in this narrative as -commander of the <i>Siren</i>, 1815, but whose name does not thus appear on the -navy records. He was captain of the <i>United States</i> in 1832, and died in -1846.</p> - -<p>This list has been compiled from various sources, but the Navy Department -records show an additional midshipman, John J. McCaw, who resigned -Feb. 23, 1818.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant William H. Allen, who became Commander of the <i>Argus</i> in 1813, -and was mortally wounded in the action with the <i>Pelican</i> in the British -Channel, August 14, 1813, and is buried at Plymouth, England.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant John M. Funck, mortally wounded, as before noted.</p> - -<p>Purser John B. Timberlake. Mr. Timberlake’s wife, who was known in -Washington as “Peggy” O’Neil, married after his death John H. Eaton, -Secretary of War, 1829-1831, and became the cause of the celebrated -“ladies’ quarrel,” as Calhoun termed it, which terminated in the disruption -of Jackson’s Cabinet in 1831.</p> - -<p>Midshipmen—</p> - -<p>Joseph Cassin, Jr., who died a Lieutenant in 1826.</p> - -<p>Philip F. Voorhees, who died a Captain in 1862.</p> - -<p>John P. Zantzinger, who appears on the Navy List as “dropped” in 1855, -but who was purser of the <i>Hornet</i> in 1815, when she narrowly escaped -capture by the British 74 <i>Cornwallis</i>. In that memorable stern-chase all -the guns but one, the cables, boats and nearly everything else movable, -were thrown overboard to lighten the vessel. From the Congressional -records we find that in 1850—<em>thirty-five</em> years after—Congress passed an -act allowing Mr. Zantzinger payment for what he had been obliged to -sacrifice under these circumstances, when even the knives and forks were -thrown overboard.</p> - -<p>Richard Delphy, who was killed in the <i>Argus</i>-<i>Pelican</i> encounter, August 14, -1813, and is buried at Plymouth, England.</p> - -<p>Dugomier Taylor, who died at sea, as a Lieutenant, October 5, 1819.</p> - -<p>Richard S. Heath, who became Lieutenant, and was killed June 2, 1817, in -a duel with Midshipman J. L. Hopkins, at New York.</p> - -<p>Edward F. Howell, who was killed in the action between the <i>President</i> and -the <i>Endymion</i>, January 15, 1815.</p> - -<p>H. Z. W. Harrington (Henry W., on navy records), resigned April 12, 1813.</p> - -<p>William Jameson, who died a Commodore April 6, 1873, his record surpassing -even that of Sloat. He was doubtless the last survivor of the famous -encounter of sixty-one years before.</p> - -<p>Archibald Hamilton, who became a Lieutenant and was killed in the action -between the <i>President</i> and the <i>Endymion</i>, January 15, 1815. He was -son of Paul Hamilton, then Secretary of the Navy.</p> - - -<table class="autotable" summary="No record for these three seamen"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">Lewis Hinchman (or Henchman).</td> -<td class="tdl">}</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">Benjamin S. Williams,</td> -<td class="tdl">}</td> -<td class="tdl">of whom no record is found.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">John N. Carr,</td> -<td class="tdl">}</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<p>John Stansbury, who was killed in Macdonough’s victory on Lake Champlain, -September 11, 1814.</p> - -<p>George C. Read, who died a Rear-Admiral in 1862.</p> - -<p>Walter Wooster, drowned June 1, 1813. (The Navy Department gives his -name as “Winter.”)</p> - -<p>John D. Sloat, who died a Rear-Admiral in 1867, having the wonderful record -of forty-four years’ active service, having entered the navy as a midshipman -in 1800—served one year until discharged by the peace-establishment. -He re-entered as sailing-master 1812. In 1847 he secured -possession of California just in time to forestall the British designs on -the Pacific Coast, and was on the active list until 1855; retired 1861, -but promoted until 1866—thus being on the navy list for fifty-seven -years.</p> - -<p>Surgeon Samuel R. Trevett, Jr. (died 1822), when surgeon on the sloop-of-war -<i>Peacock</i>.</p> - -<p>Surgeon’s Mate Samuel Vernon, who died February 5, 1814.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant of Marines William Anderson, who died a brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, -in 1830.</p> - -<p>Second Lieutenant of Marines James L. Edwards, who resigned in 1813.</p> - -<p>The complement of the two vessels, as given by James, was:</p> - -<p><i>Macedonian</i>, 262 men and 35 boys.</p> - -<p><i>United States</i>, 477 men and 1 boy.</p></div> - - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> This was the celebrated Dr. Nathan Strong (1748-1816), pastor of the -First Congregational Church.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> This was Captain Grey, the adjutant-general, son of General Sir Charles -Grey, of the Paoli massacre, September, 1777. Lossing (<cite>Field-Book War -of 1812</cite>) says a drummer-boy cried, “Perhaps not yet,” fired, and mortally -wounded him.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> Leech is not to be blamed for his belief in the burning of witches in New -England—in 1909 a New York orator repeated the same hoary blunder.—(<span class="smcap">Ed.</span>)</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> George Parker, formerly first lieutenant of the <i>Constitution</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> The <i>Grand Turk</i> was a noted privateer, commanded at that time by either -Captain Breed or Captain Green, and owned by the famous Salem merchant, -William Gray.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> James B. Nicholson, the same who was on the <i>United States</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> The Washingtonian was a temperance society of the day.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> Captain Augustus Bruce (James’ <cite>Hist. British Navy</cite>).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[23]</a> The Barbary sheep entirely resembles the tame kind, excepting in the tail, -which is very much loaded with fat, is often more than a foot broad, and -weighs upwards of twenty pounds. Among this kind of broad-tailed -sheep, there are some whose tails are so long and heavy, that the shepherds -are obliged to fasten a small board with wheels, to support them -as they walk along. This tail, which is a substance between marrow and -fat, is considered a great delicacy.—<cite>See System of Natural History. Boston: -Carter, Hendee & Co., 1834.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[24]</a> Twenty-four doublegees made a rix dollar.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[25]</a> An instance of maternal imprudence was said to have occurred in -this port on board another ship. A poor woman went on board and inquired -for her son, who had run from the British service, and was then -among the captive crew of an American prize. They told her there was -no one of that name among the crew. “He is among the Yankees,” -said she. Hearing this, the prisoners were called up, and the poor, -affectionate, but ill-judging mother, singled out her son, and embracing -him, said, “I have brought you a clean shirt!”</p> - -<p>The lieutenant, who stood by them, stepped up, remarking to the -thunder-stricken man, “It’s a clean shirt you want, is it? I will give -you a clean handkerchief”—meaning that he would be hung. The -unhappy youth was accordingly ironed, in presence of the astounded -mother, who now beheld herself the unintentional murderess of her son. -A court-martial was held, and the brutal prediction of the lieutenant -verified.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[26]</a> We were captured July 12, 1814; it was now August, 1815.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">[27]</a> If the reader wishes to know why seamen wear their hats on the back of -their heads, let him put his hat on as usual and ascend a ladder. He will -find himself unable to look up until he places it on the <em>back of his head</em> -as a sailor does. Sailors wear their hats thus, because they could not -otherwise ascend the rigging of a ship.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">[28]</a> Edward T. Taylor (1793-1871). From 1800 to 1817 he was a sailor. In -1819 he became a Methodist clergyman. In 1827 he served as chaplain -on the <i>Macedonian</i>, which took supplies to the famishing Irish people. -He was a pastor in Boston during the rest of his life, was known -as “Father Taylor,” and was a most successful worker, particularly among -seamen.—(<span class="smcap">Ed.</span>)</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">[29]</a> Rev. Joel Hawes (1789-1867), for forty-six years pastor of the First Congregational -Church.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">[30]</a> Rev. Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839), one of the greatest Methodists America -has known.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">[31]</a> It will be <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">á propos</i> to here quote a letter from Thoreau to his sister Sophia, -describing Emerson’s quarters on board the packet-ship <i>Washington -Irving</i>, on which he sailed from Boston in 1847: “I went to Boston to -see Mr. E. off. His stateroom was like a carpeted dark closet, about -six feet square, with a large key-hole for a window. The window was -about as big as a saucer, and the glass two inches thick—not to mention -another skylight overhead in the deck, of the size of an oblong doughnut -and about as opaque; of course it would be in vain to look up if -any promenader had his foot upon it. Such will be his quarters for two -or three weeks,” etc.</p> - -<p>Such were <em>first-class</em> accommodations six years after Leech made his voyage, -with a certainty of being at least twenty days cooped up thus, and possibly -<em>seventy-five</em>, as we shall see actually occurred on his return. [<span class="smcap">Ed</span>].</p> - -</div> -</div> - - -<div class="transnote pg-brk"> -<a id="TN"></a> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been -corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within -the text and consultation of external sources.</p> - -<p>Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, -and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained: for example, -top-sail, topsail; boot-making, bootmaking; fire-side, fireside; -phrensied; disparted; yclept; wofully; apostacy; whisky.</p> - -<p> -<a href="#tn-15">Pg 15:</a> ‘special attenton to’ replaced by ‘special attention to’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-31">Pg 31:</a> ‘hard and succesfully’ replaced by ‘hard and successfully’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-32">Pg 32:</a> ‘whle standing on’ replaced by ‘while standing on’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-33">Pg 33:</a> ‘I dd not learn’ replaced by ‘I did not learn’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-48">Pg 48:</a> ‘unceremonously thrown’ replaced by ‘unceremoniously thrown’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-51">Pg 51:</a> ‘being rapdly’ replaced by ‘being rapidly’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-98">Pg 98:</a> ‘We eat together’ replaced by ‘We ate together’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-125">Pg 125:</a> ‘and boarding-spikes’ replaced by ‘and boarding-pikes’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-133">Pg 133:</a> ‘degredation, if ever’ replaced by ‘degradation, if ever’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-140">Pg 140:</a> ‘bed-clothes, makng’ replaced by ‘bed-clothes, making’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-147">Pg 147:</a> ‘for our ecsape’ replaced by ‘for our escape’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-147a">Pg 147:</a> ‘a mssionary, was’ replaced by ‘a missionary, was’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-166">Pg 166:</a> ‘is justy described’ replaced by ‘is justly described’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-176">Pg 176:</a> ‘were prastised on’ replaced by ‘were practised on’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-185">Pg 185:</a> ‘off in trumph’ replaced by ‘off in triumph’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-197">Pg 197:</a> ‘successful prosecuton of’ replaced by ‘successful prosecution of’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-204">Pg 204:</a> ‘drawn by donkies’ replaced by ‘drawn by donkeys’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-209">Pg 209:</a> ‘avoided my questons’ replaced by ‘avoided my questions’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-213">Pg 213:</a> ‘thence we proceded’ replaced by ‘thence we proceeded’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-f5">Footnote 5:</a> ‘and run the ship’ replaced by ‘and ran the ship’.<br /> -</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Thirty Years from Home, by Samuel Leech - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THIRTY YEARS FROM HOME *** - -***** This file should be named 63273-h.htm or 63273-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/2/7/63273/ - -Produced by MWS, John Campbell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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