The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism Volume I Part 17

"The metamorphosis being completed to the lieutenant's satisfaction-though not at all to mine, for my neat chest had become an unshapely piece of lumber-he pointed out the 'lubberliness of sh.o.r.e-going people in not making keyholes where they could most easily be got at,' viz., at the end of a chest instead of the middle!" Lord Cochrane took it easily, and acknowledges warmly the service Jack Larmour rendered him in teaching him his profession.

Later, Lord Cochrane, when promoted to a lieutenancy, was dining with Admiral Vandepat, and being seated near him, was asked what dish was before him. "Mentioning its nature," says he, "I asked whether he would permit me to help him. The uncourteous reply was-that whenever he wished for anything he was in the habit of asking for it. Not knowing what to make of a rebuff of this nature, it was met with an inquiry if he would allow me the honour of taking wine with him. 'I never take wine with any man, my lord,' was the unexpected reply, from which it struck me that my lot was cast among Goths, if no worse." Subsequently he found that this apparently gruff old admiral a.s.sumed some of this roughness purposely, and that he was one of the kindest commanders living.

In 1798, when with the Mediterranean fleet, ludicrous examples, both of the not very occasional corruption of the period, and the rigid etiquette required by one's superior officer, occurred to Lord Cochrane, and got him into trouble. The first officer, Lieutenant Beaver, was one who carried the latter almost to the verge of despotism. He looked after all that was visible to the eye of the admiral, but permitted "an honest penny to be turned elsewhere." At Tetuan they had purchased and killed bullocks _on board the flags.h.i.+p_, for the use of the whole squadron. The reason for this was that the hides, being valuable, could be stowed away in her hold or empty beef-casks, as especial perquisites to certain persons on board.

The fleshy fragments on the hides soon decomposed, and rendered the hold of the vessel so intolerable that she acquired the name of the "Stinking Scotch s.h.i.+p." Lord Cochrane, as junior lieutenant, had much to do with these arrangements, and his unfavourable remarks on these raw-hide speculations did not render those interested very friendly towards him.

One day, when at Tetuan, he was allowed to go wild-fowl shooting ash.o.r.e, and became covered with mud. On arriving rather late at the s.h.i.+p, he thought it more respectful to don a clean uniform before reporting himself on the quarter-deck. He had scarcely made the change, when the first lieutenant came into the ward-room, and harshly demanded of Lord Cochrane the reason for not having reported himself. His reply was, that as the lieutenant had seen him come up by the side he must be aware that he was not in a fit condition to appear on the quarter-deck. The lieutenant replied so offensively before the ward-room officers, that he was respectfully reminded by Cochrane of a rule he had himself laid down, that "Matters connected with the service were not there to be spoken of."

Another retort was followed by the sensible enough reply, "Lieutenant Beaver, we will, if you please, talk of this in another place." Cochrane was immediately reported to the captain by Beaver, as having challenged him: the lieutenant actually demanded a court-martial! And the court-martial was held, the decision being that Cochrane should be admonished to be "more careful in future."

Lord Cochrane was soon after given a command. The vessel to which he was appointed was, even eighty years ago, a mere burlesque of a s.h.i.+p-of-war.

She was about the size of an average coasting brig, her burden being 158 tons. She was crowded rather than manned, with a crew of eighty-four men and six officers. Her armament consisted of fourteen _4-pounders_! a species of gun little larger than a blunderbuss, and formerly known in the service as "minion," an appellation quite appropriate. The cabin had not so much as room for a chair, the floor being entirely occupied by a small table surrounded with lockers, answering the double purpose of store-chests and seats. The difficulty was to get seated, the ceiling being only five feet high, so that the object could only be accomplished by rolling on the lockers: a movement sometimes attended with unpleasant failure. Cochrane's only practicable way of shaving consisted in removing the skylight, and putting his head through to make a toilet-table of the quarter-deck!

On this little vessel-the _Speedy_-Cochrane took a number of prizes, and having on one occasion manned a couple of them with half his crew and sent them away, was forced to tackle the _Gamo_, a Spanish frigate of thirty-two heavy guns and 319 men. The exploit has hardly been excelled in the history of heroic deeds. The commander's orders were not to fire a single gun till they were close to the frigate, and he ran the _Speedy_ under her lee, so that her yards were locked among the latter's rigging.

The shots from the Spanish guns pa.s.sed over the little vessel, only injuring the rigging, while the _Speedy's_ mere pop-guns could be elevated, and helped to blow up the main-deck of the enemy's s.h.i.+p. The Spaniards speedily found out the disadvantage under which they were fighting, and gave the orders to board the little English vessel; but it was avoided twice by sheering off sufficiently, then giving them a volley of musketry and a broadside before they could recover themselves. After the lapse of an hour, the loss to the _Speedy_ was only four men killed and two wounded, but her rigging was so cut up and the sails so riddled that Cochrane told his men they must either take the frigate or be taken themselves, in which case the Spaniards would give no quarter. The doctor, Mr. Guthrie, bravely volunteered to take the helm, and leaving him for the time both commander and crew of the s.h.i.+p, Cochrane and his men were soon on the enemy's deck, the _Speedy_ being put close alongside with admirable skill. A portion of the crew had been ordered to blacken their faces and board by the _Gamo's_ head. The greater portion of the Spanish crew were prepared to repel boarders in that direction, but stood for a few moments as it were transfixed to the deck by the apparition of so many diabolical-looking figures emerging from the white smoke of the bow guns, while the other men rushed on them from behind before they could recover from their surprise at the unexpected phenomenon. Observing the Spanish colours still flying, Lord Cochrane ordered one of his men to haul them down, and the crew, without pausing to consider by whose orders they had been struck, and naturally believing it to be the act of their own officers, gave in. The total English loss was three men killed, and one officer and seventeen men wounded. The _Gamo's_ loss was the captain, boatswain, and thirteen seamen killed, with forty-one wounded. It became a puzzle what to do with 263 unhurt prisoners, the _Speedy_ having only forty-two sound men left. Promptness was necessary; so, driving the prisoners into the hold, with their own guns pointed down the hatchway, and leaving thirty men on the prize, Cochrane shaped the vessel's course to Port Mahon, which was reached safely. Some Barcelona gun-boats, spectators of the action, did not venture to rescue the frigate.

The doctor on board a man-of-war has, perhaps, on the whole, better opportunities and, in times of peace, more leisure than the other officers for noting any circ.u.mstances of interest that may occur. Dr. Stables, in his interesting little work,(121) describes his cabin on board a small gun-boat as a miserable little box, such as at home he would have kept rabbits or guinea-pigs in, but certainly not pigeons. He says that it might do for a commodore-Commodore Nutt. It was ventilated by a small scuttle, seven inches in diameter, which could only be raised in harbour, and beneath which, when he first went to sea, he was obliged to put a leather hat-box to catch the water; unfortunately, the bottom rotted out, and he was at the mercy of the waves. This cabin was alive with scorpions, c.o.c.kroaches, and other "crawling ferlies,"

"That e'en to name would be unlawfu'."

His dispensary was off the steerage, and sister-cabin to the pantry. To it he gained access by a species of crab-walking, squeezing himself past a large bra.s.s pump, edging in sideways. The sick would come one by one to the dispensary, and there he saw and treated each case as it arrived, dressing wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores. There was no sick berth attendant, but the lieutenant told off "a little cabin-boy" for his use.

He was not a model cabin-boy, like the youngster you see in the theatres.

He certainly managed at times to wash out the dispensary, in the intervals of catching c.o.c.kroaches and making poultices, but in doing the first he broke half the bottles, and making the latter either let them burn or put salt into them. Finally, he smashed so much of the doctor's apparatus that he was kicked out. In both dispensary and what Dr. Stables calls his "burrow," it was difficult to prevent anything from going to utter destruction. The best portions of his uniform got eaten by c.o.c.kroaches or moulded by damp, while his instruments required cleaning every morning, and even this did not keep the rust at bay.

And then, those terrible c.o.c.kroaches! To find, when you awake, a couple, each two inches in length, meandering over your face, or even in bed with you!-to find one in a state of decay in the mustard-pot!-to have to remove their droppings and eggs from the edge of your plate previous to eating your soup! and so on, _ad nauseam_. But on small vessels stationed in the tropics-as described by the doctor-there were, and doubtless sometimes are now, other unpleasantnesses. For instance, you are looking for a book, and put your hand on a full-grown scaly scorpion. Nice sensation! the animal twining round your finger, or running up your sleeve! _Denoument_: cracking him under foot-joy at escaping a sting!

[Ill.u.s.tration: NAVAL OFFICERS AND SEAMEN, EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.]

"You are enjoying your dinner, but have been for some time sensible of a strange, t.i.tillating feeling about the region of your ankle; you look down at last, to find a centipede on your sock, with his fifty hind legs-you thank G.o.d not his fore-fifty!-ab.u.t.ting on your s.h.i.+n. _Tableaux_: green-to-red light from the eyes of the many-legged-horror of yourself as you wait till he thinks proper to 'move on.'

"To awake in the morning, and find a large, healthy-looking tarantula squatting on your pillow, within ten inches of your nose, with his basilisk eyes fixed on yours, and apparently saying: 'You're awake, are you? I've been sitting here all the morning, watching you.'

"You think, if you move, he'll bite you somewhere-and if he _does_ bite you, you'll go mad, and dance _ad libitum_-so you twist your mouth in the opposite direction, and e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e-'Steward!' But the steward does not come; in fact, he is forward, seeing after breakfast. Meanwhile, the gentleman on the pillow is moving his horizontal mandibles in a most threatening manner; and just as he moves for your nose, you tumble out of your bed with a shriek, and, if a very nervous person, probably run on deck in your s.h.i.+rt!"

The doctor's last description of an acc.u.mulation of these horrors is fearful to even think about. The bulkheads all around your berth are black with c.o.c.k and hen-roaches, a few of which are nipping your toe, and running off with little bits of the skin of your leg; while a troop of ants are carrying a dead one over your pillow; musquitoes and flies attacking you everywhere; rats running in and rats running out; your lamp just flickering and dying away into darkness, with the delicious certainty that an indefinite number of earwigs and scorpions, besides two centipedes and a tarantula, are hiding themselves somewhere in your cabin! All this is possible; still Dr. Stables describes life on other vessels under more favourable auspices.

The important addition of a chaplain to the establishment on board our s.h.i.+ps of war seems, from the following letter of George, Duke of Buckingham, to have been first adopted in the year 1626:-

"THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

"After my hearty commendations. His Majesty having given order for preachers to goe in every of his s.h.i.+ps to sea, choyce hath been made of one Mr. Daniel Ambrose, Master of Arts and Fellow of your College, to be one. Accordingly, upon signification to me to come hither, I thought good to intimate unto you, that His Majesty is so careful of such scholars as are willing to put themselves forward in so good actions, as that he will expect-and I doubt not but that you will accordingly take order-that the said Mr. Ambrose shall suffer noe detriment in his place with you, by this his employment; but that you will rather take care that he shall have all immunities and emoluments with advantage, which have been formerly, or may be, granted to any upon the like service. Wherein, not doubting of your affectionate care, I rest,

"Your very loving friend, "G. BUCKINGHAM.

_"York House, July 29th, 1626."_

Sailors, in spite of their outbursts of recklessness, have frequently, from the very nature of their perilous calling, an amount of seriousness underlying their character, which makes them particularly amenable to religious influences. The chaplain on a large modern ironclad or frigate has as many men in his charge, as regards spiritual matters, as the vicar of a country town or large village, whilst he has many more opportunities of reaching them directly. Many of our naval chaplains are n.o.ble fellows; and to them come the sailors in any distress of mind, for the soothing advice so readily given. He may not dare to interfere with the powers that be when they are in danger of punishment, except in very rare cases; but he can point them out their path of duty, and how to walk in it, making them better sailors and happier men. He can lend them an occasional book, or write for them an occasional letter home; induce them to refrain from dissipation when on liberty; cheer them in the hour of greatest peril, while on the watery deep, and give them an occasional reproof, but in kindness, not in anger. To his brother officers he has even better opportunities of doing good than to the men. On the smaller cla.s.ses of vessels-gun-boats and the like-the captain has to perform chaplain's duties, by reading prayers on the Sabbath. This is the case also on well-regulated steams.h.i.+ps or pa.s.senger sailing-vessels of the merchant service. The fine steamers of such lines as the Cunard, or White Star, of the Royal Mail Company, or of the P. and O., have, of course, frequently, some clergyman, minister, or missionary on board, who is willing to celebrate divine service.

A Committee of the Lower House of Convocation has recently collected an immense amount of statistics regarding the provision made by private s.h.i.+p-owners for the spiritual welfare of their men, and the result as regards England is not at all satisfactory. In point of fact, it is rarely made at all. The committee seeks to encourage the growth of religion among sailors by providing suitable and comfortable church accommodation at all ports, and urges owners to instruct their captains as to conducting divine service on Sundays, and to furnish Bibles, prayer-books, and instructive works of secular literature. Too much must not, however, be expected from Jack. The hards.h.i.+ps and perils through which he pa.s.ses excuse much of his exuberance ash.o.r.e. It is his holiday-time; and, so long as he is only gay, and not abandoned, the most rigid must admit that he has earned the right to recreation. A distinguished French naval officer used to say that the sailor fortunately had no memory. "Happy for him," said he, "that he is thus oblivious. Did he remember all the gales and tempests, the cold, the drenching rain, the misery, the privations, the peril to life and limb which he has endured, he would never, when he sets foot on sh.o.r.e, go to sea again. But he has no memory. The clouds roll away, the sea is calm, the sun s.h.i.+nes, the boat bears him to land; the wine flows; the music strikes up; pretty girls smile: he forgets all the past, and lives only in the present."

While the chaplain may, and no doubt generally does, earn the respect and esteem of the men, woe to any example of the "Chadband" order who shall be found on board. This is, in the Royal Navy, almost impossible; but it sometimes happens that, on pa.s.senger s.h.i.+ps, some sanctimonious and fanatical individual or other has had a very rough time of it. He is regarded as a kind of Jonah. In a recent number of that best of American magazines, the _Atlantic Monthly_, the woes and trials of one poor Joseph Primrose, a well-meaning minister who went out to America in 1742, are amusingly recounted. There were, aboard the _Polly_, the vessel in which he took pa.s.sage, several of the crew who viewed their religious exercises askance. "These men," says he, "had been foremost in a general indignation uprising that had ensued upon the stoppage of their daily allowance of rum; which step had been taken on my earnest recommendation. For this injurious drink we had subst.i.tuted a harmless and refres.h.i.+ng beverage concocted of mola.s.ses, vinegar, and water, from a choice receipt I had come upon in a medical book aboard the vessel. The sailors, to a man, refused to touch it, egged on by these contumacious fellows, and more especially by one Springer, a daring villain, who reviled me with bitter execrations. In fine, the captain was obliged, for our own safety, to restore the cherished dram; and I had the mortification to find myself, from that time forth, an object of dislike and suspicion to these men, who were kept within decent bounds only by respect for their master. I became convinced, on reflection, that I had gone the wrong way about this unfortunate piece of business; having, in fact, made a very serious error in the beginning, gentle argument and good example being more apt to bring about the desired end than compulsory measures, these dulling the understanding by rousing the temper, especially among persons of the meaner sort. All my efforts-and they were not few-to place myself on a friendly footing with these men were of no avail: they had conceived the notion that I was their enemy, and met all my advances with obstinate coldness. As Captain Hewlett exacted the daily attendance at prayers of every soul on board, these knaves were compelled to be on hand with their fellows; but they rarely failed to conduct themselves with such indecent levity as made me rue their presence, playing covertly at cat's-cradle, jack-straws, and what not; besides grinning familiarly in my face, whenever they could contrive to catch my eye." This unseemly behaviour was as nothing to what followed ash.o.r.e. While addressing a large a.s.semblage, he noted the advent of a number of unmannerly fellows, who, with a great deal of clatter, elbowed their way to the front. "The moment I clapped eyes upon them," says poor Primrose, "I knew them for the sailors who had so persecuted me aboard the _Polly_, and my heart sank at the bare sight of them." They sung, or rather bawled, ribald words to the music of the hymns; and one of them, when rebuked by some gentleman present, whipped out his cutla.s.s, and a general row ensued, which broke up the a.s.sembly. A little later, Primrose induced a tavern-keeper to allow him to preach on his premises. "A West Indian vessel coming into port about the middle of April, and a horde of roystering sailors gathering in the common room of the 'Sailor's Rest' to drink, I announced a discourse on the subject of 'gin-guzzling,' choosing one that I had delivered aboard the _Polly_, and which seemed to fit the occasion to a nicety. No sooner had the landlord seen the notice to this effect that I had attached to his door-cheek, than he sends for me to repair to the tavern without loss of time; and on my appearance, in great haste, comes bl.u.s.tering up to me in a most offensive manner, demanding whether I purposed the ruin of his trade, by putting forth of such a mischievous paper; adding, with astounding audacity, that he should certainly lose all the custom I had been the means of fetching to his house, did I persist in my intent. Mark the cunning of the knave!

He had encouraged my labours for none other purpose than the bringing of fresh grist to his mill; and here was I, blindly leading precious souls to destruction, the poor dupe of a specious villain-a wretch without bowels!

My agony of mind on being thus suddenly enlightened was of such a desperate sort, that, gnas.h.i.+ng my teeth, I leapt upon the miscreant, and, bearing him to the ground with an awful crash, beat him about the head and shoulders with the stout cane I carried; and with such good will, that I presently found myself lying in the town gaol, covered with the blood of my enemy, and every bone in my body aching from the unaccustomed exercise.... Truly was I as forlorn and friendless a creature as the world ever saw. My clothing had been rent beyond repair in the shameful struggle, and, yet worse, one of my shoes was gone-how and where I knew not; and although I promised the gaoler's little lad a penny in the event of his finding it, nothing was ever heard of it from that day to this. One thought alone cheered me in the dark abyss into which I was fallen. I had administered wholesome and righteous correction in proper season: hip and thigh had I hewed my enemy; and, to reflect upon that, was as a healing balm to my sore bones." Mr. Primrose was at length released, and returned to England.

Another officer of the Royal Navy-the engineer-deserves particular notice, for his position is becoming daily of more and more importance. It is not merely the care and working of the engines which propel the vessel in which he is concerned; the chief and his subordinates have charge of various hydraulic arrangements often used now-a-days on large vessels, in connection with the steering apparatus; of electrical and gas-producing apparatus; the mechanical arrangements of turrets and gun-carriages; pumping machinery; the management of steam-launches and torpedoes. Take the great ironclad _Thunderer_ (that on which the terrible boiler explosion occurred) as an example: she has _twenty-six_ engines for various purposes, apart from the engines used to propel the vessel, which have an actual power of 6,000 horses. The _Temeraire_ has _thirty-four_ engines distinct from those required for propulsion. A competent authority says that, "with the exception of the paymaster's and surgeon's stores, he is responsible for everything in and outside the s.h.i.+p (meaning the hull, apart from the navigator's duties), to say nothing of his duties while under weigh." And yet engineers of the navy do not yet either derive the status or emoluments fairly due to them, considering the great and increasing responsibilities thrown upon them of late years. Sir Walter Scott makes Rob Roy express "his contempt of weavers and spinners, and sic-like mechanical persons, and their pursuits;" and in the naval service some such feeling still lingers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ENGINE-ROOM OF H.M.S. "WARRIOR."]

The first serious introduction of steam-vessels into the Royal Navy occurred about the year 1829, the Navy List of that year showing seven, of which three only were commissioned, and these for home ports. No mention is made of engineers; they were simply taken over from the contractor with the vessel, and held no rank whatever. In 1837 an Admiralty Circular conferred warrants on engineers, _who were to rank immediately below __carpenters_; they were to be a.s.sisted by boys, trained by themselves.

Three years later, the standard was raised, and they were divided into three cla.s.ses; in 1842 a slight increase of pay was given, and they were advanced to the magnificent rank of "after captains' clerks," and were given a uniform, with b.u.t.tons having a steam-engine embossed upon them. In 1847 the Government found that the increasing demands of the merchant and pa.s.senger service took all the best men (the engineers' pay, to-day, is better on first-cla.s.s steams.h.i.+p lines than in the Navy), and they were forced to do something. The higher grades were formed into chief engineers, and they were raised to the rank of commissioned officers, taking their place after masters. The first great revolution in regard to the use of steam in the Royal Navy took place in 1849, by means of the screw-propeller. In that year Dupuy Delorme constructed the _Napoleon_, a screw-vessel carrying 100 guns, and with engines of 600 horse-power, and England had to follow. Then came the Russian War, the construction of ironclad batteries, and finally, the ironclad movement, which commenced in England in 1858, by the construction of the _Warrior_ and similar vessels.

It becomes a particularly serious question, at the present time, whether the system, as regards the rank and pay of engineers, does not deter the most competent men from entering the Royal Navy. Many very serious explosions and accidents have occurred on board ironclads, which would seem to indicate that our great commercial steams.h.i.+p lines are far better engineered. The Admiralty has organised a system for training students at the dockyard factories, followed up by a course of study at the Naval College, Greenwich; and it is to be hoped that these efforts will lead to greater efficiency in the service. A naval engineer of the present day needs to be a man of liberal education, and of considerable scientific knowledge, both theoretical and practical, and he should then receive on board that recognition which his talents would command ash.o.r.e. At present, a chief engineer, R.N., ranks with a commander, and other engineers with lieutenants. It is probable that, at some date in the not very distant future, higher ranks will be thrown open to the engineer, as his importance on board is steadily increasing.

The seamen of all nations, it has, in effect, been said, resemble each the other more than do the nations to which they belong. "As," says a well-known writer, "the sea receives and amalgamates the waters of all the rivers which pour into it, so it tends to amalgamate the men who make its waves their home.... The seaman from the United States is said to carry to the forecastle a large stock of 'equality and the rights of man,' and to be unpleasantly distinguished by the inbred disrespect for authority which cleaves, perhaps inseparably, to a democrat who believes that he has whipped mankind, and that it is his mission, at due intervals, to whip them again. But, on board, he, too, tones down to the colour of blue water, and is more a seaman than anything else." The French sailor is painted, by Landelle, as the embodiment of the same frolicsome lightheartedness, carelessness of the future, abandonment to impulse, and devotion to his captain, comrades, and s.h.i.+p, with which we are familiar in the English sailor, on the stage. But although depicted as much more polished than, it is to be feared, the average sailor could be in truth, he finishes by saying: "Il est toujours pret a ceder le haut du pave _a tout autre qu'a un soldat_." It would seem, then, that the French sailor revenges the treatment of society on the soldiers of his country. Is there not a similar feeling existing, perhaps to a more limited extent, between the sailors and soldiers of our own country? It hardly, however, extends to the officers of the "United Service."

Another trait of the British sailor's character: Jack will forgive much to the officer who is ever ready, brave, and daring, who is a true seaman in times of peace, and a sailor _militant_ in times of war. Lord Nelson, the most heroic seaman the world ever saw, it is pleasant to remember, was equally the idol of his colleagues, of his subordinate officers, _and of his men_ for these very reasons. After he had explained to his captains his proposed plan of attack, just prior to the commencement of the battle of Trafalgar, he took the men of the _Victory_ into his confidence. He walked over all the decks, speaking kindly to the different cla.s.ses of seamen, and encouraging them, with his usual affability, praising the manner in which they had barricaded certain parts of the s.h.i.+p. "All was perfect, death-like silence, till just before the action began. Three cheers were given his lords.h.i.+p as he ascended the quarter-deck ladder. He had been particular in recommending cool, steady firing, in preference to a hurrying fire, without aim or precision; and the event justified his lords.h.i.+p's advice, as the masts of his opponents came tumbling down on their decks and over their sides."(122) After the fatal bullet had done its work, and Nelson was conveyed below, the surgeon came and probed the wound. The ball was extracted; but the dying hero told the medical man how sure he was that his wound was fatal, and begged, when he had dressed it, that he would attend to the other poor fellows, equal sufferers with himself. A boatswain's mate on board the _Brilliant_ frigate, shortly afterwards, when first acquainted of the death of Nelson, paid a tribute of affection and honest feeling, which shows how clearly he had gained the hearts of all. The boatswain's mate, then doing duty as boatswain, was ordered to pipe all hands to quarters; he did not respond, and the lieutenant on duty went to inquire the cause. The man had been celebrated for his promptness, as well as bravery, but he was found utterly unnerved, and sobbing like a child. "I can't do it," said he-"poor dear fellow, that I have been in many a hard day with!-and to lose him now! I wouldn't have cared so much for my old father, mother, brothers, or sisters; but to think of parting with poor Nelson!" and he broke down utterly. The officer, honouring his feelings, let him go below. Who does not remember how, when the body of Nelson lay in state at Greenwich, a deputation of the _Victory's_ crew paid their last loving respects, tearful and silent, and could scarcely be removed from the scene? or how, when the two Union-Jacks and St. George's ensign were being lowered into the grave at St. Paul's-the colours shattered as was the body of the dead hero-the brave fellows who had borne them each tore off a part of the largest flag, to remind them ever after of England's greatest victory and England's greatest loss? Many an otherwise n.o.ble and brave officer has utterly failed in endearing himself to his men; and there can be no doubt of the value of being thoroughly _en rapport_ with them-the more as it in no way need relax discipline. It is an implied compliment to a crew from their commander, to be taken, at the proper time, into his confidence. The following anecdote will show how much an action was decided by this, and with how little loss of life.

The _Bellona_, of 74 guns and 558 men, with a most valuable freight on merchants' account, and commanded by the celebrated Captain R. Faulkner, and the _Brilliant_, a 36-gun frigate, Captain Loggie, sailed from the Tagus in August, 1761. When off Vigo, three sail were discovered approaching the land, and the strangers continued their approach, till they found out the character of the English vessels, and then crowded on all sail, in flight. Upon this, the _Bellona_ and _Brilliant_ pursued, coming up with them next morning, to find that they would have to engage one s.h.i.+p of 74 guns, the _Courageux_, with 700 men, and two frigates of 36 guns each, the _Malicieuse_ and _Ermine_. After exchanging a few broadsides, the French vessels shot ahead; when Captain Loggie, seeing that he could not expect to take either of the smaller vessels, determined to manuvre, and lead them such a wild-goose chase, that the _Bellona_ should have to engage the _Courageux_ alone. During the whole engagement, he withstood the united attacks of both the frigates, each of them with equal force to his own, and at last obliged them to sheer off, greatly damaged. Meanwhile, the _Courageux_ and _Bellona_ had approached each other very fast. The _Courageux_, when within musket-shot, fired her first broadside, and there was much impatience on the _Bellona_ to return it; but they were restrained by Faulkner, who called out to them to hold hard, and not to fire till they saw the whites of the Frenchmen's eyes, adding, "Take my word for it, they will never stand the singeing of their whiskers!" His speech to the sailors just before the action is a model of sailor-like advice. "Gentlemen, I have been bred a seaman from my youth, and, consequently, am no orator; but I promise to carry you all near enough, and then you may speak for yourselves. Nevertheless, I think it necessary to acquaint you with the plan I propose to pursue, in taking this s.h.i.+p, that you may be the better prepared.... I propose to lead you close on the enemy's larboard quarter, when we will discharge _two_ broadsides, and then back astern, and range upon the other quarter, and so tell your guns as you pa.s.s. I recommend you at all times to point chiefly at the quarters, with your guns slanting fore and aft; this is the princ.i.p.al part of a s.h.i.+p. If you kill the officers, break the rudder, and snap the braces, she is yours, of course; but, for this reason, I desire you may only fire one round of shot and grape above, and two rounds, shot only, below. Take care and send them home with exactness. This is a rich s.h.i.+p; they will render you, in return, their weight in gold." This programme was very nearly carried out; almost every shot took effect. The French still kept up a very brisk fire, and in a moment the _Bellona's_ shrouds and rigging were almost all cut to pieces, and in nine minutes her mizen-mast fell over the stern. Undaunted, Faulkner managed to wear his s.h.i.+p round; the officers and men flew to their respective opposite guns, and carried on, from the larboard side, a fire even more terrible than they had hitherto kept up from the starboard guns. "It was impossible for mortal beings to withstand a battery so incessantly repeated, and so fatally directed, and, in about twenty minutes from the first shot, the French colours were hauled down, and orders were immediately given in the _Bellona_ to cease firing, the enemy having struck. The men had left their quarters, and all the officers were on the quarter-deck, congratulating one another on their victory, when, unexpectedly, a round of shot came from the lower tier of the _Courageux_. It is impossible to describe the rage that animated the _Bellona's_ crew on this occasion. Without waiting for orders, they flew again to their guns, and in a moment poured in what they familiarly termed two 'comfortable broadsides' upon the enemy, who now called out loudly for quarter, and firing at length ceased on both sides." The _Courageux_ was a mere wreck, having nothing but her foremast and bowsprit standing, several of her ports knocked into one, and her deck rent in a hundred places. She lost 240 killed, and 110 wounded men were put ash.o.r.e at Lisbon. On board the _Bellona_ only _six_ men were killed outright, and about twenty-eight wounded; the loss of her mizen was her only serious disaster.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGHT BETWEEN THE "COURAGEUX" AND THE "BELLONA."]

One more possibility in the officer's existence, although now nearly obsolete. The ceremonies formerly attendant on "crossing the line"-_i.e._, pa.s.sing over the equator-so often described, have, of late years, been more honoured in the breach than in the observance. On merchant vessels they had become a nuisance, as the sailors often made them an opportunity for levying black mail on timid and nervous pa.s.sengers. In the Royal Navy, they afforded the one chance for "getting even" with unpopular officers; and very roughly was it sometimes accomplished. They are for this reason introduced in this chapter, as the officers had a direct interest in them.

With trifling exceptions, the programme was as follows. The men stripped to the waist, wearing only "duck" unmentionables, prepared, immediately after breakfast, for the saturnalia of the day-a day when the s.h.i.+p was _en carnival_, and discipline relaxed. Early in the day, a man at the masthead, peering through a telescope, would announce a boat on the weather-bow, and soon after, a voice from the jibboom was heard hailing the s.h.i.+p, announcing that Neptune wished to come on board. The s.h.i.+p was accordingly hove-to, when a sailor, in fas.h.i.+onable coat, knee-breeches, and powdered hair, came aft, and announced to the commander that he was _gentleman's gentleman_ to the G.o.d of the sea, who desired an interview.

This accorded, the procession of Neptune from the forecastle at once commenced. The triumphal car was a gun-carriage, drawn by half-a-dozen half-naked and grotesquely-painted sailors, their heads covered by wigs of sea-weed. Neptune was always masked, as were many of his satellites, in order that the officers should not know who enacted the leading _roles_.

The G.o.d wore a crown, and held out a trident, on which a dolphin, supposed to have been impaled that morning, was stuck. He had a flowing wig and beard of oak.u.m, and was, in all points, "made-up" for Neptune himself. His suite included a secretary of state, his head stuck all over with long quills; a surgeon, with lancet, pill-box, and medicines; his barber, with a razor cut from an iron hoop, and with an a.s.sistant, who carried a tub for a shaving-box. Mrs. Neptune was represented by the ugliest man on board, who, with sea-weed hair and a huge night-cap, carried a baby-one of the boys of the s.h.i.+p-in long clothes; the latter played with a marline-spike, given it to a.s.sist in cutting its teeth. The nurse followed, with a bucketful of _burgoo_ (thick oatmeal porridge or pudding), and fed the baby incessantly with the cook's iron ladle.

Sea-nymphs, selected from the clumsiest and fattest of the crew, helped to swell the retinue. As soon as the procession halted before the captain, behind whom the steward waited, carrying a tray with a bottle of wine and gla.s.ses, Neptune and Amphitrite paid submission to the former, as representative of Great Britain, and the G.o.d presented him the dolphin.

After the interview, in which Neptune not unfrequently poked fun and thrust home-truths at the officers, the captain offered the G.o.d and G.o.ddess a b.u.mper of wine, and then the rougher part of the ceremony commenced. Neptune would address his court somewhat as follows: "Hark ye, my Tritons, you're here to shave and duck and bleed all as needs it; but you've got to be gentle, or we'll get no more fees. The first of ye as disobeys me, I'll tie to a ten-ton gun, and sink him ten thousand fathoms below, where he shall drink nothing but salt-water and feed on seaweed for the next hundred years." The cow-pen was usually employed for the ducking-bath; it was lined with double canvas, and boarded up, so as to hold several b.u.t.ts of water. Marryat, in the first naval novel he wrote, says: "Many of the officers purchased exemption from shaving and physic by a bottle of rum; but none could escape the sprinkling of salt water, which fell about in great profusion; even the captain received his share.... It was easy to perceive, on this occasion, who were favourites with the s.h.i.+p's company, by the degree of severity with which they were treated.

The tyro was seated on the side of the cow-pen: he was asked the place of his nativity, and the moment he opened his mouth the shaving-brush of the barber-which was a very large paint-brush-was crammed in, with all the filthy lather, with which they covered his face and chin; this was roughly sc.r.a.ped off with the great razor. The doctor felt his pulse, and prescribed a pill, which was forced into his cheek; and the smelling-bottle, the cork of which was armed with sharp points of pins, was so forcibly applied to his nose as to bring blood. After this, he was thrown backward into the bath, and allowed to scramble out the best way he could." The first-lieutenant, the reader may remember, dodged out of the way for some time, but at last was surrounded, and plied so effectually with buckets of salt water, that he fled down a hatchway. The buckets were pitched after him, "and he fell, like the Roman virgin, covered with the s.h.i.+elds of the soldiers." Very unpopular men or officers were made to swallow half a pint of salt water. Those good old times!

Pleasant is it to read of life on board a modern first-cla.s.s man-of-war.

Where there are, perhaps, thirty officers in the ward-room, it would be hard indeed if one cannot find a kindred spirit, while on such a vessel the band will discourse sweet music while you dine, and soothe you over the walnuts and wine, after the toils of the day, with selections from the best operas, waltzes, and quadrilles. Then comes the coffee, and the post-prandial cigar in the smoking-room. At sea, luncheon is dispensed with, and the regular hour is half-past two; but in port both lunch and dinner are provided, and the officers on leave ash.o.r.e can return to either. Say that you have extended your ramble in the country, you will have established an appet.i.te by half-past five, the hour when the officers' boat puts off from sh.o.r.e, wharf, or pier. Perhaps the most pleasant evening is the guests' night, one of which is arranged for every week, when the officer can, by notifying the mess caterer, invite a friend or two. The mess caterer is the officer selected to superintend the victualling department, as the wine caterer does the liquid refreshments.

It is by no means an enviable position, for it is the Englishman's conceded right to growl, and sailors are equal to the occasion. Dr.

Stables remarks on the unfairness of this under-the-table stabbing, when most probably the caterer is doing his best to please. But on a well-regulated s.h.i.+p, where the officers are harmonious, and either not extravagant or with private means, the dinner-hour is the most agreeable time in the day. After the cloth has been removed, and the president, with a due preliminary tap on the table to attract attention, has given the only toast of the evening-"The Queen"-the bandmaster, who has been peering in at the door for some minutes, starts the National Anthem at the right time, and the rest of the evening is devoted to pleasant intercourse, or visits ash.o.r.e to the places of amus.e.m.e.nt or houses of hospitable residents.

Before leaving, for the nonce, the Royal Navy, its officers and men, a few facts may be permitted, particularly interesting at the present time. The navy, as now const.i.tuted, has for its main backbone fifty-four ironclads.

There are of all cla.s.ses of vessels no less than 462, but more than a fourth of these are merely hulks, doing harbour service, &c., while quite a proportion of the remainder-varying according to the exigencies of the times-are out of commission. There are seventy-eight steam gun-boats and five fine Indian troop-s.h.i.+ps. These numbers are drawn from the official Navy List of latest date.

It is said that since the ironclad movement commenced, not less than 300,000,000 has been disbursed (in about twenty years) by the different countries of the world. Even j.a.pan, Peru, Venezuela, Chili, the Argentine Confederation, possess many of this cla.s.s of vessel, of more or less power. The British fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Hornby, in the Mediterranean, &c., though numerically not counting twenty per cent. of the fleets in the days of Nelson and Collingwood, when "a hundred sail of the line" frequently a.s.sembled, has cost infinitely more. A cool half million is not an exceptional cost for an ironclad, while one of the latest of our turret-s.h.i.+ps, the _Inflexible_, has cost the nation three-quarters of a million sterling at the least. She is to carry four eighty-ton guns. A recent correspondent of a daily journal states that next to Great Britain, "the ironclad fleet of the Sultan ranks foremost among the navies of the world." Be that as it may, there can be little doubt that if Russia had succeeded in acquiring it, it would, with her own fleet, have const.i.tuted a very powerful rival.

The progressive augmentation in the size of naval vessels has been rapid in Great Britain. When Henry VIII. constructed his _Henry Grace de Dieu_, of 1,000 tons,(123) it was, indeed, a great giant among pigmies, for a vessel of two or three hundred tons was then considered large. At the death of Elizabeth she left forty-two s.h.i.+ps, of 17,000 tons in all, and 8,346 men; fifteen of her vessels being 600 tons and upwards. From this period the tonnages of the navy steadily increased. The first really scientific architect, Mr. Phineas Pett, remodelled the navy to good purpose in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. Previous to this time the vessels with their lofty p.o.o.ps and forecastles had greatly resembled Chinese junks. He launched the _Sovereign of the Seas_, a vessel 232 feet in length, and of a number of tons exactly corresponding to the date, 1637, when she left the slips. Cromwell found a navy of fourteen two-deckers, and left one of 150 vessels, of which one-third were line-of-battle s.h.i.+ps. He was the first to lay naval estimates before Parliament, and obtained 400,000 per annum for the service. James II.

left 108 s.h.i.+ps of the line, and sixty-five other vessels of 102,000 tons, with 42,000 men. William III. brought it to 272 s.h.i.+ps, of 159,020 tons.