CHAPTER EIGHT.
Since laws were made for every degree, I wonder we haven't better company on Tyburn tree. "BEGGAR'S OPERA."
While I was on board of this ship, two poor men were executed formutiny. The scene was far more solemn to me than anything I had everbeheld. Indeed, it was the first thing of the kind I had ever beenpresent at. When we hear of executions on shore, we are always preparedto read of some foul atrocious crime, some unprovoked and unmitigatedoffence against the laws of civilised society, which a just and mercifulgovernment cannot allow to pass unpunished. With us at sea there aremany shades of difference; but that which the law of our serviceconsiders a serious offence is often no more than an ebullition of localand temporary feeling, which in some cases might be curbed, and inothers totally suppressed by timely firmness and conciliation.
The ships had been a long time at sea, the enemy did not appear, andthere was no chance either of bringing him to action or of returninginto port. Indeed, nothing can be more dull and monotonous than ablockading cruise "in the team," as we call it; that is, the ships ofthe line stationed to watch an enemy. The frigates have, in thisrespect, every advantage; they are always employed on shore, often inaction, and the more men they have killed, the happier are thesurvivors. Some melancholy ferment on board of the flag-ship I was in,caused an open mutiny. Of course it was very soon quelled; and theringleaders having been tried by a court-martial, two of them werecondemned to be hanged at the yard-arm of their own ship, and wereordered for execution the following day but one.
Our courts-martial are always arrayed in the most pompous manner, andcertainly are calculated to strike the mind with awe--even of a captainhimself. A gun is fired at eight o'clock in the morning from the shipwhere it is to be held, and a union flag is displayed at the mizen peak.If the weather be fine, the ship is arranged with the greatest nicety;her decks are as white as snow--her hammocks are stowed with care--herropes are taut--her yards square--her guns run out--and a guard ofmarines, under the orders of a lieutenant, prepared to receive everymember of the court with the honour due to his rank. Before nineo'clock they are all assembled; the officers in their undress uniform,unless an admiral is to be tried. The great cabin is prepared, with along table covered with a green cloth. Pens, ink, paper, prayer-books,and the Articles of War are laid round to every member. "Open thecourt," says the president.
The court is opened, and officers and men indiscriminately stand round.The prisoners are now brought in under the charge of theprovost-marshal, a master-at-arms, with his sword drawn, and placed atthe foot of the table, on the left hand of the judge-advocate. Thecourt is sworn to do its duty impartially, and if there is any doubt, tolet it go in favour of the prisoner. Having done this, the members sitdown, covered, if they please.
The judge-advocate is then sworn, and the order for the court-martialread. The prisoner is put on his trial; if he says anything to commithimself, the court stops him, and kindly observes, "We do not want yourevidence against yourself; we want only to know what others can proveagainst you." The unfortunate man is offered any assistance he mayrequire; and when the defence is over, the court is cleared, the doorsare shut, and the minutes, which have been taken down by thejudge-advocate, are carefully read over, the credibility of thewitnesses weighed, and the president puts the question to the youngestmember first, "Proved, or not proved?"
All having given their answer, if seven are in favour of "Proved," andsix against, "Proved" is recorded. The next question--if for mutiny ordesertion, or other capital crime--"Flogging, or death?" The votes aregiven in the same way; if the majority be for death, the judge-advocatewrites the sentence, beginning with the president, and ending with thejudge-advocate. The court is now opened again, the prisoner brought in,and an awful and deep silence prevails. The members of the court allput their hats on, and are seated; every one else, except theprovost-marshal is uncovered. As soon as the judge-advocate has readthe sentence, the prisoner is delivered to the custody of theprovost-marshal, by a warrant from the president; and he has charge ofhim till the time for the execution of the sentence.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, I received a message from one ofthe prisoners, saying he wished much to speak with me. I followed themaster-at-arms down to the screened cabin, in the gun-room, where themen were confined with their legs in irons. These irons consist of onelong bar and a set of shackles. The shackles fit the small part of theleg, just above the ankle. The end of the bar is then passed through,and secured with a padlock. I found the poor fellows sitting on ashot-box. Their little meal lay before them untouched; one of themcried bitterly; the other, a man of the name of Strange, possessed agreat deal of equanimity, although evidently deeply affected. This manhad been pretty well educated in youth, but having taken a wild andindolent turn, had got into mischief, and to save himself from a severechastisement, had run away from his friends, and entered on board aman-of-war. In this situation he had found time, in the intervals ofduty, to read and to think; he became, in time, sullen, and separatedhimself from the occasional merriment of his mess-mates; and it is notimprobable that this moody temper had given rise to the mutinous actsfor which he was to suffer.
This man now apologised for the liberty he had taken, and said he wouldnot detain me long. "You see, sir," said he, "that my poor friend isquite overcome with the horror of his situation: nor do I wonder at it.He is very different from the hardened malefactors that are executed onshore: we are neither of us afraid to die; but such a death as this, MrMildmay--to be hung up like dogs, an example to the fleet, and a shameand reproach to our friends--this wrings our hearts! It is thisconsideration, and to save the feelings of my poor mother, that I havesent for you. I saw you jump overboard to save a poor fellow fromdrowning; so I thought you would not mind doing a good turn for anotherunfortunate sailor. I have made my will, and appointed you my executor;and with this power of attorney you will receive all my pay andprize-money, which I will thank you to give to my dear mother, whoseaddress you will find written here. My motive for this is, that she maynever learn the history of my death. You can tell her that I died formy country's good, which is very true, for I acknowledge the justice ofmy sentence, and own that a severe example is wanting. It is elevenyears since I was in England; I have served faithfully the whole of thattime, nor did I ever misbehave except in this one instance. I think ifour good king knew my sad story, he would be merciful; but God's will bedone! Yet, if I had a wish, it would be that the enemy's fleet wouldcome out, and that I might die, as I have lived, defending my country.But, Mr Mildmay, I have one very important question to ask you--do youbelieve that there is such a thing as a future state?"
"Most surely," said I; "though we all live as if we believed there wasno such thing. But why do you doubt it?"
"Because," said the poor fellow, "when I was an officer's servant, I wasone day tending the table in the ward-room, and I heard the commander ofa sloop of war, who was dining there with his son, say that it was allnonsense--that there was no future state, and the Bible was a heap oflies. I have never been happy since."
I told him that I was extremely sorry that any officer should have usedsuch expressions at all, particularly before him; that I was incapableof restoring his mind to its proper state; but that I should recommendhis immediately sending for the chaplain, who, I had no doubt, wouldgive him all the comfort he could desire. He thanked me for thisadvice, and profited by it, as he assured me in his last moments.
"And now, sir," said he, "let me give _you_ a piece of advice. When youare a captain, as I am very sure you will be, do not worry your men intomutiny by making what is called a smart ship. Cleanliness and goodorder are what seamen like; but niggling, polishing, scraping iron barsand ring-bolts, and the like of that, a sailor dislikes more than aflogging at the gangway. If, in reefing topsails, you happen to be aminute later than another ship, never mind it, so long as your sails arewell reefed, and fit to stand blowing weather. Many a sai
l is split bybad reefing, and many a good sailor has lost his life by that foolishhurry which has done incredible harm in the navy. What can be morecruel or unjust than to flog the last man off the yard? seeing that heis necessarily the most active, and cannot get in without the imminentdanger of breaking his neck; and, moreover, that one man _must_ be last.Depend upon it, sir, `that nothing is well done which is done in ahurry.' But I have kept you too long. God bless you, sir; remember mypoor mother, and be sure you meet me on the forecastle to-morrowmorning."
The fatal morning came. It was eight o'clock. The gun fired--thesignal for punishment flew at our mast-head. The poor men gave a deepgroan, exclaiming, "Lord have mercy upon us!--our earthly career andtroubles are nearly over!" The master-at-arms came in, unlocked thepadlock at the end of the bars, and, slipping off the shackles, desiredthe marine sentinels to conduct the prisoners to the quarter-deck.
Here was a scene of solemnity which I hardly dare attempt to describe.The day was clear and beautiful; the top-gallant yards were crossed onboard of all the ships; the colours were flying; the crews were alldressed in white trousers and blue jackets, and hung in clusters, likebees; on the side of the rigging facing our ship: a guard of marines,under arms, was placed along each gangway, but on board of our ship theywere on the quarter-deck. Two boats from each ship lay off upon theiroars alongside of us, with a lieutenant's and a corporal's guard ineach, with fixed bayonets. The hands were all turned up by theboatswain and his mates with a shrill whistle, and calling down eachhatchway, "All hands, attend punishment!"
You now heard the quick trampling of feet up the ladders, but not a wordwas spoken. The prisoners stood on the middle of the quarter-deck,while the captain read the sentence of the court-martial and the orderfrom the commander-in-chief for the execution. The appropriate prayersand psalms having been read by the chaplain with much feeling anddevotion, the poor men were asked if they were ready; they both repliedin the affirmative, but each requested to have a glass of wine, whichwas instantly brought. They drank it off, bowing most respectfully tothe captain and officers.
The admiral did not appear, it not being etiquette; but the prisonersdesired to be kindly and gratefully remembered to him; they then beggedto shake hands with the captain and all the officers, which having done,they asked permission to address the ship's company. The captainordered them all to come aft on the top and quarter-deck. The mostprofound silence reigned, and there was not an eye but had a tear in it.
William Strange, the man who had sent for me, then said, in a clear andaudible tone of voice:--"Brother sailors, attend to the last words of adying man. We are brought here at the instigation of some of you whoare now standing in safety among the crowd: you have made fools of us,and we are become the victims to the just vengeance of the laws. Hadyou succeeded in the infamous design you contemplated, what would havebeen the consequences? Ruin, eternal ruin, to yourselves and to yourfamilies; a disgrace to your country; and the scorn of those foreignersto whom you proposed delivering up the ship. Thank God! you did notsucceed. Let our fate be a warning to you, and endeavour to show byyour future acts your deep contrition for the past. Now, sir," turningto the captain, "we are ready."
This beautiful speech, from the mouth of a common sailor, must as muchastonish the reader as it then did the captain and officers of the ship.But Strange, as I have shown, was no common man; he had had theadvantage of education, and, like many of the ringleaders at the mutinyof the Nore, was led into the error of refusing to _obey_, from theconscious feeling that he was born to _command_.
The arms of the prisoners were then pinioned, and the chaplain led theway, reading the funeral service; the master-at-arms, with two marinesentinels, conducted them along the starboard gangway to the forecastle.Here a stage was erected on either side, over the cathead, with stepsto ascend to it; a tail block was attached to the boom-iron, at theouter extremity of each foreyard-arm, and through this a rope was rove,one end of which came down to the stage; the other was led along theyard into the catharpings, and thence down upon the main deck. A gunwas primed and ready to fire, on the fore part of the ship, directlybeneath the scaffold.
I attended poor Strange to the very last moment; he begged me to seethat the halter, which was a piece of line, like a clothes' line, wasproperly made fast round his neck, for he had known men sufferdreadfully from the want of this precaution. A white cap was placed onthe head of each man, and when both mounted the platform, the cap wasdrawn over their eyes. They shook hands with me, with their mess-mates,and with the chaplain, assuring him that they died happy, and confidentin the hopes of redemption. They then stood still while the yard-ropeswere fixed to the halter by a toggle in the running noose of the latter;the other end of the yard-ropes were held by some twenty or thirty menon each side of the main deck, where two lieutenants of the shipattended.
All being ready, the captain waved a white handkerchief, the gun fired,and in an instant the poor fellows were seen swinging at eitheryard-arm. They had on blue jackets and white trousers, and wereremarkably fine-looking young men. They did not appear to suffer anypain; and at the expiration of an hour, the bodies were lowered down,placed in coffins, and sent on shore for interment.
On my arrival in England, nine months after, I acquitted myself of mypromise, and paid to the mother of William Strange upwards of fiftypounds, for pay and prize-money. I told the poor woman that her son haddied a Christian, and had fallen for the good of his country; and havingsaid this, I took a hasty leave, for fear she should ask questions.
That the execution of a man on board of a ship of war does not alwaysproduce a proper effect upon the minds of the younger boys, thefollowing fact may serve to prove. There were two little fellows onboard the ship; one was the son of the carpenter, the other of theboatswain. They were both of them surprised and interested at thesight, but not proportionably shocked. The next day I was down in oneof the wings, reading by the light of a purser's dip--_vulgo_, afarthing candle; when these two boys come sliding down the main hatchwayby one of the cables. Whether they saw me, and thought I would not`peach', or whether they supposed I was asleep, I cannot tell; but theytook their seats on the cables, in the heart of the tier, and for sometime appeared to be in earnest conversation. They had some articlesfolded up in a dirty check shirt and pocket handkerchief; they looked upat the battens, to which the hammocks are suspended, and producing along rope-yarn, tried to pass it over one of them; but unable to reach,one boy climbed on the back of the other, and effected two purposes, byreeving one end of the line, and bringing it down to the cables again.They next unrolled the shirt, and, to my surprise, took out theboatswain's kitten, about three months old; its fore paws were tiedbehind its back, its hind feet were tied together, and a fishing-leadattached to them; a piece of white rag was tied over its head as a cap.
It was now pretty evident what the fate of poor puss was likely to be,and why the lead was made fast to her feet. The rope-yarn was tiedround her neck; they each shook one of her paws, and pretended to cry.One of the urchins held in his hand a fife into which he poured as muchflour as it would hold out of the handkerchief; the other held the endof the rope-yarn: every ceremony was gone through that they could thinkof.
"Are you ready?" said the executioner, or he that held the line.
"All ready," replied the boy with the fife.
"Fire the gun!" said the hangman.
The boy applied one end of the fife to his mouth, blew out all theflour, and in this humble imitation of the smoke of a gun, poor puss wasrun up to the batten, where she hung till she was dead. I am ashamed tosay I did not attempt to save the kitten's life, although I caused herfoul murder to be revenged by the _cat_. After the body had hung acertain time, they took it down, and buried it in the shot-locker; thiswas an indictable offence, as the smell would have proved, so I lodgedthe information; the body was found, and, as the facts were clear, thelaw took its course, to the great amusement of the bystanders, who sawthe brats tied u
pon a gun and well flogged.
The boatswain ate the kitten, first, he said, because he had "_larned_"to eat cats in Spain; secondly, because she had _not_ died a naturaldeath (I thought otherwise); and his last reason was more singular thaneither of the others: he had seen a picture in a church in Spain, ofPeter's vision of the animals let down in the sheet, and there was a catamong them. Observing an alarm of scepticism in my eye, he thoughtproper to confirm his assertion with an oath.
"Might it not have been a rabbit?" said I.
"Rabbit, sir! damn me, think I didn't know a cat from a rabbit? Why onehas got short ears and long tail, and t'other has got _wicce wercee_, aswe calls it."
A grand carnival masquerade was to be given at Minorca, in honour of theEnglish, and the place chosen for the exhibition was a church; all whichwas perfectly consistent with the Romish faith. I went in the characterof a fool, and met many brother officers there. It was a comical sightto see the anomalous groups stared at by the pictures of the Virgin Maryand all the saints, whose shrines were lit up for the occasion with waxtapers. The admiral, rear-admiral, and most of the captains andofficers of the fleet were present; the place was about a mile from thetown.
Having hired a fool's dress, I mounted that very appropriate animal--adonkey, and set off amidst the shouts of a thousand dirty vagabonds. Onmy arrival, I began to show off in summersaults, leaps, and all kinds ofpractical jokes. The manner in which I supported the character drew alittle crowd around me. I never spoke to an admiral or captain unlesshe addressed me first, and then I generally sold him a bargain. Beingvery well acquainted with the domestic economy of the ships on thestation, a martinet asked me if I would enter for his ship.
"No," said I, "you would give me three-dozen for not lashing up myhammock properly."
"Come with me," said another.
"No," said I; "your bell-rope is too short--you cannot reach it to orderanother bottle of wine before all the officers have left your table."
Another promised me kind treatment and plenty of wine.
"No," said I, "in your ship I should be coals at Newcastle; besides,your coffee is too weak, your steward only puts one ounce into sixcups."
These hits afforded a good deal of mirth among the crowd, and even theadmiral himself honoured me with a smile. I bowed respectfully to hislordship, who merely said--
"What do you want of me, fool?"
"Oh, nothing at all my lord," said I; "I have only a small favour to askof you."
"What is that?" said the admiral.
"Only to make me a captain, my lord."
"Oh, no," said the admiral, "we never make fools captains."
"No!" said I, clapping my arms akimbo in a very impertinent manner;"then that, I suppose is a new regulation. How long has the order incouncil been out?"
The good-humoured old chief laughed heartily at this piece ofimpertinence; but the captain whose ship I had so recently quitted wassilly enough to be offended: he found me out, and went and complained ofme to the captain the next day; but my captain only laughed at him, saidhe thought it an excellent joke, and invited me to dinner.
Our ship was ordered to Gibraltar, where we arrived soon after; and apacket coming in from England, I received letters from my father,announcing the death of my dearest mother. Oh how I then regretted allthe sorrows I had ever caused her; how incessantly did busy memory hauntme with all my misdeeds, and recall to mind the last moment I had seenher! I never supposed I could have regretted her half so much. Myfather stated that in her last moments she had expressed the greatestsolicitude for my welfare. She feared the career of life on which I hadentered would not conduce to my eternal welfare, however much it mightpromise to my temporal advantage. Her dying injunctions to me were,never to forget the moral and religious principles in which she hadbrought me up; and with her last blessing, implored me to read my Bible,and take it as my guide through life.
My father's letter was both an affecting and forcible appeal; and never,in the whole course of my subsequent life, were my feelings so workedupon as they were on that occasion. I went to my hammock with an achinghead and an almost broken heart. A retrospection of my life afforded meno comfort. The numerous acts of depravity or pride, of revenge ordeceit, of which I had been guilty, rushed through my mind, as shetempest through the rigging, and called me to the most serious andmelancholy reflections. It was some time before I could collect mythoughts and analyse my feelings; but when I recalled all my misdeeds--my departure from that path of virtue so often and so clearly laid downby my affectionate parent--I was overwhelmed with grief, shame andrepentance. I considered how often I had been on the brink of eternity;and had I been cut off in my sins, what would have been my destiny? Istarted with horror at the danger I had escaped, and looked forward withgloomy apprehension at those that still awaited me. I sought in vain,among all my actions since I left my mother's care, one single deed ofvirtue--one that sprang from a good motive. There was, it is true, anoutward gloss and polish for the world to look at; but all was darkwithin; and I felt that a keener eye than that of mortality wassearching my soul, where deception was worse than useless.
At twelve o'clock, before I had once closed my eyes, I was called torelieve the deck; having what is called the middle-watch, i.e. frommidnight till four in the morning. We had, the day before, buried aquarter-master, nick-named Quid, an old seaman who had destroyed himselfby drinking--no very uncommon case in His Majesty's service. The corpseof a man who has destroyed his inside by intemperance is generally in astate of putridity immediately after death: and the decay, particularlyin warm climates, is very rapid. A few hours after Quid's death, thebody emitted certain effluvia denoting the necessity of immediateinterment. It was accordingly sewn up in a hammock; and as the ship layin deep water, with a current sweeping round the bay, and the boatsbeing at the same time all employed in the dockyard, the firstlieutenant caused shot to be tied to the feet, and, having read thefuneral service, launched the body overboard from the gangway, as theship lay at anchor.
I was walking the deck, in no very happy state of mind, reflectingseriously on parts of that Bible which for more than two years I hadnever looked into, when my thoughts were called to the summons whichpoor Quid had received, and the beauty of the funeral service which Ihad read over him--"I am the resurrection and the life." The moon,which had been obscured, suddenly burst from a cloud, and a cry ofhorror proceeded from the look-out-man on the starboard gangway. I ranto inquire the cause, and found him in such a nervous state of agitationthat he could only say,--"Quid--Quid!" and point with his finger intothe water.
I looked over the side, and, to my amazement there was the body of Quid:
"All in dreary hammock shrouded."
perfectly upright, and floating with the head and shoulders above water.A slight undulation of the waves gave it the appearance of nodding itshead; while the rays of the moon enabled us to trace the remainder ofthe body underneath the surface. For a few moments, I felt a horrorwhich I cannot describe, and contemplated the object in awful silence;while my blood ran cold, and I felt a sensation as if my hair wasstanding on end. I was completely taken by surprise, and thought thebody had risen to warn me; but in a few seconds I regained my presenceof mind, and I soon perceived the origin of this reappearance of thecorpse. I ordered the cutter to be manned, and, in the meantime, wentdown to inform the first lieutenant of what had occurred. He laughed,and said, "I suppose the old boy finds salt water not quite so palatableas grog. Tie some more shot to his feet, and bring the old fellow tohis moorings again. Tell him the next time he trips his anchor, not torun on board of us. He had his regular allowance of prayer: I gave himthe whole service, and I shall not give him any more." So saying, hewent to sleep again.
This apparently singular circumstance is easily accounted for. Bodiesdecomposing from putridity, generate a quantity of gas, which swellsthem up to an enormous size, and renders them buoyant. The body of thisman was thrown overboard just as dec
omposition was in progress: the shotmade fast to the feet were sufficient to sink it at the time; but in afew hours after, were not competent to keep it at the bottom, and itcame up to the surface in that perpendicular position which I havedescribed. The current in the bay being at the time either slack orirregular, it floated at the spot whence it had been launched into thewater.
The cutter, being manned, was sent with more shot to attach to the body,and sink it. When they attempted to hold it with the boat-hook, iteluded the touch, turning round and round, or bobbing under the water,and coming up again, as if in sport: but accident saved them any furthertrouble; for the bowman, reproached by the boat's crew for not hookingthe body, got angry, and darting the spike of the boat-hook into theabdomen, the pent-up gas escaped with a loud whiz, and the corpseinstantly sank like a stone. Many jokes were passed on the occasion;but I was not in humour for joking on serious subjects: and before thewatch was out I had made up my mind to go home, and to quit the service,as I found I had no chance of obeying my mother's dying injunctions if Iremained where I was.
The next morning I stated my wishes to the captain, not of quitting theservice, but of going home in consequence of family arrangements. Thiswas about as necessary as that I should make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.The captain had been told of the unpleasant news I had received, andhaving listened to all I had to say, he replied, that if I could make upmy mind to remain with him it would be better for me.
"You are now," said he, "accustomed to my ways--you know your duty, anddo your work well; indeed, I have made honourable mention of you to theAdmiralty in my public letter: you know your own business best" (here hewas mistaken--he ought not to have parted with me for the reasons whichI offered); "but my advice to you is to stay."
I thanked him--but being bent and determined on going home, he accededto my request, gave me my discharge, and added a very handsomecertificate of good conduct, far beyond the usually prescribed form; healso told me that if I chose to return to him he would keep a vacancyfor me. I parted with the officers, my mess-mates, and the ship'scompany with regret. I had been more than three years with them; and mystormy commencement had settled down into a quiet and peacefulacknowledgment of my supremacy in the berth; my qualities were such asto make me a universal favourite, and I was followed down the ship'sside with the hearty good wishes of all. I was pulled in the cutter onboard of a ship of the line, in which I was ordered to take my passageto England.