Chapter LIV
In which affairs begin to wind up.
There are few people whose vindictive feelings are not satisfied withthe death of the party against whom those feelings have been excited.The eyes of all on deck (that is all except one) were at first directedto the struggling Vanslyperken, and then, as if sickened at the sight ofhis sufferings, were turned away with a feeling very near akin tocompassion.
One only looked or never thought of Vanslyperken, and that one wasSmallbones, who watched the kicking and plunging of his natural enemy,Snarleyyow. Gradually, the dog relaxed his exertions, and Smallboneswatched, somewhat doubtful, whether a dog who had defied every otherkind of death, would condescend to be hanged. At last, Snarleyyow wasquite still. He appeared nearly to have gone to--"Where the wicked ceasefrom troubling, and the weary are at rest."
"He won't a cum to life any more this time," said Smallbones; "but I'llnot let you out of my hands yet. They say a cat have nine lives, but, bygum, some dogs have ninety."
There was a dead silence on the deck of the cutter for a quarter of anhour, during which the bodies remained suspended. A breeze then camesweeping along and ruffled the surface of the water. This was of toogreat importance to allow of further delay. Sir Robert desired theseamen of the _Yungfrau_ to come aft, told them he should take theircutter to Cherbourg, to land the Women and his own people, and that thenthey would be free to return to Portsmouth; all that he requested ofthem was to be quiet and submissive during the short time that he andhis party were on board. Coble replied for the ship's company--"As forthe matter of that 'ere--there was no fear of their being quiet enoughwhen there were more than two to one against them; but that, in fact,they had no animosity: for even if they did feel a little sore at whathad happened, and their messmates being wounded, what was swinging atthe yard-arm made them all friends again. The gentleman might take thecutter where he pleased, and might use her as long as he liked, and whenhe had done with her it was quite time enough to take her back toPortsmouth."
"Well, then, as we understand one another, we had now better makesail," said Sir Robert. "Cut away that rope," continued he, pointing tothe whip by which Vanslyperken's body was suspended.
Jansen stepped forward with his snickasee, the rope was divided at once,and the body of the departed Vanslyperken plunged into the wave anddisappeared.
"They mayn't cut this tho'!" cried Smallbones. "I'll not trusthim--Jemmy, my boy, get up a pig of ballast. I'll sink him fifty fathomsdeep, and then if so be he cum up again, why then I give it up for abad job."
Jemmy brought up the pig of ballast, the body of Snarleyyow was loweredon board, and, after having been secured with divers turns of the ropeto the piece of iron, was plunged by Smallbones into the wave.
"There," said Smallbones, "I don't a think that he will ever bite me anymore, anyhow; there's no knowing though. Now I'll just go down and seeif my bag be to be found, and then I'll dress myself like a Christian."
The cutter flew before the breeze which was on her quarter, and now thatthe hanging was over the females came on deck. One of the Jesuit priestswas a good surgeon, and attended to the wounded men, who all promised todo well, and as Bill Spurey said,
"They'd all dance yet at the corporal's wedding."
"I say corporal, if we only could go to Amsterdam instead of going toPortsmouth."
"Mein Gott, yes;" replied the corporal, and acting upon this idea, hewent aft and entered into conversation with Ramsay, giving him a detailof the affair with the widow and of her having gone to the Hague toaccuse Vanslyperken, ending with expressing his wish of himself and thecrew that they might go to the Hague instead of going to Portsmouth.Nothing could please Ramsay better. He was most anxious to send a letterto Mynheer Krause to inform him of the safety of his daughter, and heimmediately answered that they might go if they pleased.
"Mein Gott--but how, mynheer--we no have the excuse."
"But I'll give you one," replied Ramsay--"you shall go to the Hague."
The corporal touched his hat with the greatest respect, and walkedforward to communicate this good news. The crew of the _Yungfrau_ andthe conspirators or smugglers were soon on the best of terms, and asthere was no one to check the wasteful expenditure of stores and no oneaccountable, the liquor was hoisted up on the forecastle, and the nightpassed in carousing.
"Well, he did love his dog after all," said Jemmy Ducks.
"And he's got his love with him," replied one of the smugglers.
"Now, Jemmy, let's have a song."
"It must be without the fiddle then," replied Jemmy, "for that's jammedup with the baggage--so here goes,"
I've often heard the chaplain say, when Davey Jones is nigh, That we must call for help in need, to Providence on high, But then he said, most plainly too, that we must do our best, Our own exertions failing, leave to Providence the rest.
I never thought of this much till one day there came on board, A chap who ventur'd to join as _seaman_ by the Lord! His hair hung down like reef points, and his phiz was very queer, For his mouth was like a shark's, and turn'd down from ear to ear.
He hadn't stow'd his hammock, not much longer than a week, When he swore he had a call, and the Lord he was to seek. Now where he went to seek the Lord, I can't at all suppose, 'Twas not on deck for there I'm sure, he never show'd his nose.
He would not read the Bible, it warn't good enough for him, The course we steered by that he said, would lead us all to sin; That we were damn'd and hell would gape, he often would us tell, I know that when I heard his jaw, it made me gape like hell.
A storm came on, we sprung a leak, and sorely were we tired, We plied the pumps, 'twas spell and spell, with lots of work beside; And what d'ye think this beggar did, the trick I do declare, He called us all to leave the pumps and join with him in prayer.
At last our boatswain Billy, who was a thund'ring Turk, Goes up to him and says, "My man, why don't you do your work?" "Avaunt you worst of sinners, I must save my soul," he cried, "Confound your soul," says Billy, "then you shall not save your hide."
Acquaintance then he made soon with the end of the fore-brace, It would have made you laugh to see his methodisty face; He grinn'd like a roast monkey, and he howl'd like a baboon, He had a dose from Billy, that he didn't forget soon.
"Take that," said Billy, when he'd done, "and now you'll please to work, I read the Bible often--but I don't my duty shirk, The pumps they are not choked yet, nor do we yet despair, When all is up or we are saved, we'll join with you in player."
"And now we'll have one from the other side of the house," said Moggy,as soon as the plaudits were over.
"Come then, Anthony, you shall speak for us, and prove that we can singa stave as well as honester men."
"With all my heart, William;--here's my very best."
The smuggler then sang as follows:
Fill, lads, fill; Fill, lads, fill. Here we have a cure For every ill. If fortune's unkind As the north-east wind, Still we must endure, Trusting to our cure, In better luck still.
Drink, boys, drink; Drink, boys, drink. The bowl let us drain With right good will. If women deceive Why should we grieve? Forgetting our pain, Love make again, With better luck still.
Sing, lads, sing; Sing, lads, sing. Our voices we'll raise; Be merry still; If dead to-morrow, We brave all sorrow. Life's a weary maze-- When we end our days, 'Tis better luck still.
As the wounded men occupied the major part of the lower deck, and therewas no accommodation for the numerous party of men and women on board,the carousing was kept up until the next morning, when, at daylight, thecutter was run into Cherbourg. The officers who came on board, went onshore with the report that the cutter belonged to the Englishgovernment, and had been occupied by S
ir Robert and his men, who werewell known. The consequence was, an order for the cutter to leave theport immediately, as receiving her would be tantamount to an aggressionon the part of France. But this order, although given, was not intendedto be rigidly enforced, and there was plenty of time allowed for SirRobert and his people to land with their specie and baggage.
Ramsay did not forget his promise to the corporal. He went to the Frenchauthorities, stated the great importance of his forwarding a letter toAmsterdam immediately, and that the way it might be effected would bevery satisfactory. That, aware that King William was at the Hague, theyshould write a letter informing him of the arrival of the cutter; andthat his Majesty might not imagine that the French government couldsanction such outrages, they had sent her immediately on to him, underthe charge of one of their officers, to wait upon his Majesty, andexpress their sentiments of regret that such a circumstance should haveoccurred. The authorities were aware that, to obey Sir Robert would notbe displeasing to the court of Versailles, and that the excuse for sodoing could only be taken as a compliment to the English court,therefore acted upon this suggestion. A French officer was sent on boardof the cutter with the despatch, and Ramsay's letter to Mynheer Krausewas committed to the charge of the corporal.
Before the sun had set, the _Yungfrau_ was again at sea, and, on thethird morning, anchored in her usual berth off the town of Amsterdam.
Chapter LV
In which we trust that everything will be arranged to the satisfactionof our readers.
The French officer who was sent to explain what had occasioned thearrival of the cutter in the port of Cherbourg, immediately set off forthe Hague, and was received by Lord Albemarle.
As soon as his credentials had been examined, he was introduced to hisMajesty, King William.
"It appears," said his Majesty to Lord Albemarle, after theintroduction, "that these Jacobite conspirators have saved us onetrouble by hanging this traitor, Vanslyperken."
"Yes, your Majesty, he has met with his deserved punishment," repliedLord Albemarle.
Then addressing himself to the officer, "We will return ouracknowledgments for this proof of good will on the part of the Frenchgovernment," said his Majesty, bowing. "My Lord Albemarle, you will seethat this gentleman is suitably entertained."
The officer bowed low and retired.
"This is an over politeness which I do not admire," observed his Majestyto Lord Albemarle. "Let that person be well watched, depend upon it theletter is all a pretext, there is more plotting going on."
"I am of your Majesty's opinion, and shall be careful that yourMajesty's commands are put in force," replied his lordship, as KingWilliam retired into his private apartments.
The cutter had not been half-an-hour at anchor, before Obadiah Coblewent on shore with the corporal. Their first object was to apply to theauthorities, that the wounded men might be sent to the hospital, whichthey were before the night; the next was to deliver the letter toMynheer Krause. They thought it advisable to go first to the widowVandersloosh, who was surprised at the sight of her dear corporal, andmuch more enraptured when she heard that Mr Vanslyperken and his cur hadbeen hanged.
"I'll keep my word, corporal," cried the widow, "I told you I would notmarry until he was hung, I don't care if I marry you to-morrow."
"Mein Gott, yes, to-day."
"No, no, not to-day, corporal, or to-morrow either, we must wait tillthe poor fellows are out of the hospital, for I must have them all tothe wedding."
"Mein Gott, yes," replied the corporal.
The widow then proceeded to state how she had been thrown into adungeon, and how she and Mynheer Krause, the syndic, had been releasedthe next day, how Mynheer Krause's house had been burnt to the ground,and all the other particulars with which the reader is alreadyacquainted.
This reminded the corporal of the letters to the Mynheer Krause, whichhe had for a time forgotten, and he inquired where he was to be found;but the widow was too prudent to allow the corporal to go himself--shesent Babette, who executed her commission without exciting anysuspicion, and made Mynheer Krause very happy. He soon made hisarrangements, and joined his daughter and Ramsay, who had not, however,awaited his arrival, but had been married the day after they landed atCherbourg. Mynheer Krause was not a little surprised to find that hisson-in-law was a Jacobite, but his incarceration and loss of hisproperty had very much cooled his loyalty. He settled at Hamburgh, andbecame perfectly indifferent whether England was ruled by King Williamor King James.
Ramsay's marriage made him also less warm in the good cause; he hadgained a pretty wife and a good fortune, and to be very loyal a personshould be very poor. The death of King James in the year following,released him from his engagements, and, as he resided at Hamburgh, hewas soon forgotten, and was never called upon to embark in thesubsequent fruitless attempts on the part of the Jacobites.
As it was necessary to write to the Admiralty in England, acquaintingthem with the fate of Mr Vanslyperken, and demanding that anotherofficer should be sent out to take the command of the _Yungfrau_, adelay of three or four weeks took place, during which the cutterremained at Amsterdam; for Dick Short and Coble were no navigators, ifthey had wished to send her back; and, moreover, she had so many of hercrew at the hospital, that she was weak-handed.
It was about a month after her arrival at Amsterdam, that every soulbelonging to the cutter had gone on shore, and she was left to swing tothe tide and foul her hawse, or go adrift if she pleased, for she had totake care of herself. This unusual disregard to naval instructions arosefrom the simple fact, that on that day was to be celebrated the marriageof widow Vandersloosh and Corporal Van Spitter.
Great, indeed, had been the preparations; all the ingenuity and talentof Jemmy Ducks, and Moggy, and Bill Spurey, for he and all the otherswere now discharged from the hospital, had been summoned to theassistance of the widow and Babette, in preparing and decorating theLust Haus for the important ceremony, which the widow declared KingWilliam himself should hear of, cost what it might. Festoons of flowers,wreaths of laurel garlands from the ceiling, extra chandeliers, extramusicians, all were dressed out and collected in honour of thisauspicious day.
The whole of the crew of the cutter were invited, not, however, to feastat the widow's expense; neither she nor the corporal would standtreat;--but to spend their money in honour of the occasion. And it mustbe observed, that since their arrival in port, the _Yungfrau_ had spenta great deal of money at the widow's; which was considered strange, asthey had not, for some time, received any pay. And it was furtherobserved, that none appeared so wealthy as Smallbones and Corporal VanSpitter. Some had asserted that it was the gold of Mr Vanslyperken,which had been appropriated by the crew to their own wants, consideringthemselves as his legitimate heirs. Whether this be true or not, it isimpossible to say; certain it is, that there was no gold found in MrVanslyperken's cabin when his successor took possession of it. Andequally certain it was, that all the _Yungfraus_ had their pockets fullof gold, and that the major part of this gold did ultimately fall intothe possession of the widow Vandersloosh, who was heard to say, that MrVanslyperken had paid the expenses of her wedding. From these factscollected, we must leave the reader to draw what inference hemay please.
The widow beautifully dressed;--a white kersey petticoat, deep bluestockings, silver buckles in her shoes, a scarlet velvet jacket, withlong flaps before and behind, a golden cross six inches long, suspendedto a velvet ribbon, to which was attached, half-way between the crossand her neck, a large gold heart, gold ear-rings, and on her head anornament, which, in Holland and Germany, is called a _zitternabel_,shook and trembled as she walked along to church, hanging on the arm ofher dear corporal. Some of the bridges were too narrow to admit thehappy pair to pass abreast. The knot was tied. The name Vandersloosh wasabandoned without regret, for the sharper one of Van Spitter; andflushed with joy, and the thermometer at ninety-six, the cavalcadereturned home, and refreshed themselves with some beer of the Frau VanSpitter's own
brewing.
Let it not, however, be supposed, that they dined _tete-a-tete_; no,no--the corporal and his wife were not so churlish as that. The dinnerparty consisted of a chosen set, the most particular friends of thecorporal. Mr Short, first officer and boatswain, Mr William Spurey, Mrand Mrs Salisbury; and last, although not the least important person inthis history, Peter Smallbones, Esquire, who having obtained moneysomehow, was now remarkable for the neatness of his apparel. The fairwidow, assisted by Moggy and Babette, cooked the dinner, and when itwas ready came in from the kitchen as red as a fury and announced it:and then it was served up, and they all sat down to table in the littleparlour. It was very close, the gentlemen took off their jackets, andthe widow and Moggy fanned themselves, and the enormous demand byevaporation was supplied with foaming beer. None could have done thehonours of the table better than the corporal and his lady who satmelting and stuck together on the little fubsy sofa, which had been thewitness of so much pretended and so much real love.
But the Lust Haus is now lighted up, the company are assembling fast;Babette is waddling and trotting like an armadillo from corner tocorner: Babette here, and Babette there, it is Babette everywhere. Theroom is full, and the musicians have commenced tuning their instruments;the party run from the table to join the rest. A general cheer greetsthe widow as she is led into the room by the corporal--for she had askedmany of her friends as well as the crew of the _Yungfrau_, and manyothers came who were not invited; so that the wedding day, instead ofdisbursement, produced one of large receipt to the happy pair.
"Now then, corporal, you must open the ball with your lady," cried BillSpurey.
"Mein Gott, yes."
"What shall it be, Madam Van Spitter?"
"A waltz, if you please."
The musicians struck up a waltz, and Corporal Van Spitter, who had nonotion of waltzing, further than having seen the dance performed byothers, seized his wife by the waist, who, with an amorous glance,dropped her fat arm upon the corporal's shoulder. This was the signalfor the rest--the corporal had made but one turn before a hundred couplemore were turning also--the whole room seemed turning. The corporalcould not waltz, but he could turn--he held on fast by the widow, andwith such a firm piece of resistance he kept a centrifugal balance, andwithout regard to time or space, he increased his velocity at aprodigious rate. Round they went, with the dangerous force of the twoiron balls suspended to the fly-wheel which regulate the power of somestupendous steam-engine.
The corporal would not, and his better half could not, stop. The firstcouple they came in contact with were hurled to the other side of theroom; a second and a third fell, and still the corporal wheeled on; twochairs and a table were swept away in a moment. Three young women, withbaskets of cakes and nuts, were thrown down together, and the contentsof all their baskets scattered on the floor; and "Bravo, corporal!"resounded from the crew of the _Yungfrau_--Babette and two bottles ofginger beer were next demolished; Jemmy Ducks received a hoist, andSmallbones was flatted to a pancake. Every one fled from the orbit ofthese revolving spheres, and they were left to wheel by themselves. Atlast, Mrs Van Spitter finding that nothing else would stop her husband,who, like all heavy bodies, once put in motion, returned it inproportion to his weight, dropped down, and left him to support herwhole weight. This was more than the corporal could stand, and itbrought him up all standing--he stopped, dropped his wife, and reeled toa chair, for he was so giddy that he could not keep his legs, and so outof breath that he had lost his wind.
"Bravo, corporal!" was shouted throughout the room, while his spousehardly knew whether she should laugh, or scold him well; but, it beingthe wedding night, she deferred the scolding for that night only, andshe gained a chair, and fanned and wiped, and fanned and wiped again.The corporal, shortly afterwards, would have danced again, but Mrs VanSpitter having had quite enough for that evening, she thanked him forthe offer, was satisfied with his prowess, but declined on the score ofthe extreme sultriness of the weather; to which observation, thecorporal replied, as usual,
"Mein Gott, yes."
The major part of the evening was passed in dancing and drinking. Thecorporal and his wife, with Babette, now attending to the wants of theircustomers, who, what with the exercise, the heat of the weather, and thefumes of tobacco, were more than usually thirsty, and as they becamesatisfied with dancing, so did they call for refreshments.
But we cannot find space to dwell upon the quantity of beer, the varietyof liquors which were consumed at this eventful wedding, with which wewind up our eventful history; nor even to pity the breathless, flushed,and overheated Babette, who was so ill the next day, as to be unable toquit her bed; nor can we detail the jokes, the merriment, and the songswhich went round, the peals of laughter, the loud choruses, the anticfeats performed by the company; still more impossible would it be togive an idea of the three tremendous cheers, which shook the Lust Hausto its foundations, when Corporal and Mistress Van Spitter, upon theirretiring, bade farewell to the company assembled.
The observation of Jemmy Salisbury, as he waddled out, was as correct asit was emphatic:
"Well, Dick, this _has been_ a spree!"
"Yes," replied Dick Short.
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