CHAPTER XXXII.
"Nay, answer me: stand and unfold yourself." _Hamlet_.
During the time occupied by the incidents that occurred after the Pilothad made his descent on the land, the Alacrity, now under the orders ofMr. Boltrope, the master of the frigate, lay off and on, in readinessto receive the successful mariners. The direction of the wind had beengradually changing from the northeast to the south, during the close ofthe day; and long before the middle watches of the night, the wary oldseaman, who, it may be remembered, had expressed, in the council of war,such a determined reluctance to trust his person within the realm ofBritain, ordered the man who steered the cutter to stand in boldly forthe land. Whenever the lead told them that it was prudent to tack,the course of the vessel was changed: and in this manner the seamencontinued to employ the hours in patient attendance on the adventurers.The sailing-master, who had spent the early years of his life as thecommander of divers vessels employed in trading, was apt, like many menof his vocation and origin, to mistake the absence of refinement forthe surest evidence of seamanship; and, consequently, he held the littlecourtesies and punctilios of a man-of-war in high disdain. His peculiarduties of superintending the expenditure of the ship's stores, in theirseveral departments; of keeping the frigate's log-book; and of makinghis daily examinations into the state of her sails and rigging--broughthim so little in collision with the gay, laughing, reckless younglieutenants, who superintended the ordinary management of the vessel,that he might be said to have formed a distinct species of the animal,though certainly of the same genus with his more polished messmates.Whenever circumstances, however, required that he should depart fromthe dull routine of his duty, he made it a rule, as far as possible, toassociate himself with such of the crew as possessed habits and opinionsthe least at variance with his own.
By a singular fatality, the chaplain of the frigate was, as respectsassociates, in a condition nearly assimilated to that of this veterantar.
An earnest desire to ameliorate the situation of those who weredoomed to meet death on the great deep had induced an experienced andsimple-hearted divine to accept this station, in the fond hope that hemight be made the favored instrument of salvation to many, who were thenexisting in a state of the most abandoned self-forgetfulness. Neitherour limits, nor our present object, will permit the relation of the manycauses that led, not only to an entire frustration of all his visionaryexpectations, but to an issue which rendered the struggle of the gooddivine with himself both arduous and ominous, in order to maintainhis own claims to the merited distinctions of his sacred office. Theconsciousness of his backsliding had so far lessened the earthly, ifnot the spiritual, pride of the chaplain, as to induce him to relish thesociety of the rude master, whose years had brought him, at times, totake certain views of futurity that were singularly affected by thepeculiar character of the individual. It might have been that both foundthemselves out of their places--but it was owing to some such secretsympathy, let its origin be what it would, that the two came to be fondof each other's company. On the night in question, Mr. Boltrope hadinvited the chaplain to accompany him in the Alacrity; adding, in hisbroad, rough language, that as there was to be fighting on shore, "hishand might come in play with some poor fellow or other." This singularinvitation had been accepted, as well from a desire to relieve themonotony of a sea-life by any change, as perhaps with a secret yearningin the breast of the troubled divine to get as nigh to terra firma aspossible. Accordingly, after the Pilot had landed with his boisterousparty, the sailing-master and the chaplain, together with a boatswain'smate and some ten or twelve seamen, were left in quiet possession of thecutter. The first few hours of this peaceable intercourse had been spentby the worthy messmates, in the little cabin of the vessel, over acan of grog; the savory relish of which was much increased by acharacteristic disquisition on polemical subjects, which our readershave great reason to regret it is not our present humor to record.When, however, the winds invited the near approach to the hostile shoresalready mentioned, the prudent sailing-master adjourned the discussionto another and more suitable time, removing himself and the can, by thesame operation, to the quarter-deck.
"There," cried the honest tar, placing the wooden vessel, with greatself-contentment, by his side on the deck, "this is ship's comfort!There is a good deal of what I call a lubber's fuss, parson, kept upon board a ship that shall be nameless, but which bears, about threeleagues distant, broad off in the ocean, and which is lying to under aclose-reefed maintopsail, a foretopmast-staysail, and foresail--Icall my hand a true one in mixing a can--take another pull at thehalyards!--'twill make your eye twinkle like a lighthouse, this darkmorning! You won't? well, we must give no offence to the Englishman'srum."--After a potent draught had succeeded this consideratedeclaration, he added: "You are a little like our first lieutenant,parson, who drinks, as I call it, nothing but the elements--which is,water stiffened with air."
"Mr. Griffith may indeed be said to set a wholesome example to thecrew," returned the chaplain, perhaps with a slight consciousness thatit had not altogether possessed its due weight with himself.
"Wholesome!" cried Boltrope; "let me tell you, my worthy leaf-turner,that if you call such a light diet wholesome, you know but little ofsalt water and sea-fogs! However, Mr. Griffith is a seaman; and if hegave his mind less to trifles and gimcracks, he would be, by the timehe got to about our years, a very rational sort of a companion.--Butyou see, parson, just now, he thinks too much of small follies; such asman-of-war discipline.--Now there is rationality in giving a fresh nipto a rope, or in looking well at your mats, or even in crowning a cable;but damme, priest, if I see the use--luff, luff, you lubber; don't yesee, sir, you are steering for Garmany!--If I see the use, as I wassaying, of making a rumpus about the time when a man changes his shirt;whether it be this week, or next week, or, for that matter, theweek after, provided it be bad weather. I sometimes am mawkish aboutattending muster (and I believe I have as little to fear on the scoreof behavior as any man), lest it should be found I carried my tobacco inthe wrong cheek!"
"I have indeed thought it somewhat troublesome to myself, at times; andit is in a striking degree vexatious to the spirit, especially when thebody has been suffering under seasickness."
"Why, yes, you were a little apt to bend your duds wrong for the firstmonth or so," said the master; "I remember you got the marine's scraperon your head, once, in your hurry to bury a dead man! Then you neverlooked as if you belonged to the ship, so long as those cursedblack knee-breeches lasted! For my part, I never saw you come up thequarter-deck ladder, but I expected to see your shins give way acrossthe combing of the hatch--a man does look like the devil, priest,scudding about a ship's decks in that fashion, under bare poles! But nowthe tailor has found out the articles ar'n't seaworthy, and we have gotyour lower stanchions cased in a pair of purser's slops, I am puzzledoften to tell your heels from those of a maintopman!"
"I have good reason to be thankful for the change," said the humbledpriest, "if the resemblance you mention existed, while I was clad in theusual garb of one of my calling."
"What signifies a calling?" returned Boltrope, catching his breath aftera most persevering draught: "a man's shins are his shins, let his upperworks belong to what sarvice they may. I took an early prejudyce againstknee-breeches, perhaps from a trick I've always had of figuring thedevil as wearing them. You know, parson, we seldom hear much said ofa man, without forming some sort of an idea concerning his rigging andfashion-pieces--and so, as I had no particular reason to believe thatSatan went naked--keep full, ye lubber; now you are running into thewind's eye, and be d----d to ye!--But as I was saying, I always took aconceit that the devil wore knee-breeches and a cock'd hat. There's someof our young lieutenants, who come to muster on Sundays in cock'd hats,just like soldier-officers; but, d'ye see, I would sooner show my noseunder a nightcap than under a scraper!"
"I hear the sound of oars!" exclaimed the chaplain, who, finding thisimage more distinct than even his own
vivid conceptions of the greatfather of evil, was quite willing to conceal his inferiority by changingthe discourse. "Is not one of our boats returning?"
"Ay, ay, 'tis likely; if it had been me, I should have been land-sickbefore this--ware round, boys, and stand by to heave to on the othertack."
The cutter, obedient to her helm, fell off before the wind; and rollingan instant in the trough of the sea, came up again easily to her obliqueposition, with her head towards the cliffs; and gradually losing herway, as her sails were brought to counteract each other, finally becamestationary. During the performance of this evolution, a boat had hoveup out of the gloom, in the direction of the land; and by the time theAlacrity was in a state of rest, it had approached so nigh as to admitof hailing.
"Boat, ahoy!" murmured Boltrope, through a trumpet, which, aided by hislungs, produced sounds not unlike the roaring of a bull.
"Ay, ay," was thrown back from a clear voice, that swept across thewater with a fullness that needed no factitious aid to render itaudible.
"Ay, there comes one of the lieutenants, with his ay, ay," saidBoltrope--"pipe the side, there, you boatswain's mate! But here'sanother fellow more on our quarter! Boat ahoy!"
"Alacrity"--returned another voice, in a direction different from theother.
"Alacrity! There goes my commission of captain of this craft, in awhiff," returned the sailing-master. "That is as much as to say, herecomes one who will command when he gets on board. Well, well, it is Mr.Griffith, and I can't say, notwithstanding his love of knee-buckles andsmall wares, but I'm glad he's out of the hands of the English! Ay, herethey all come upon us at once! here is another fellow, that pulls likethe jolly-boat, coming up on our lee-beam, within hail--let us see if heis asleep--boat ahoy!"
"Flag," answered a third voice from a small, light-rowing boat, whichhad approached very near the cutter, in a direct line from the cliffs,without being observed.
"Flag!" echoed Boltrope, dropping his trumpet in amazement--"that's abig word to come out of a jolly-boat! Jack Manly himself could not havespoken it with a fuller mouth; but I'll know who it is that carries sucha weather helm, with a Yankee man-of-war's prize! Boat ahoy! I say."
This last call was uttered in those short menacing tones, that areintended to be understood as intimating that the party hailing is inearnest; and it caused the men who were rowing, and who were now quiteclose to the cutter, to suspend their strokes, simultaneously, as ifthey dreaded that the cry would be instantly succeeded by some moreefficient means of ascertaining their character. The figure thatwas seated by itself in the stern of the boat started at this secondsummons, and then, as if with sudden recollection, a quiet voicereplied:
"No--no."
"'No--no,' and 'flag,' are very different answers," grumbled Boltrope;"what know-nothing have we here?"
He was yet muttering his dissatisfaction at the ignorance of theindividual that was approaching, whoever it might be, when thejolly-boat came slowly to their side, and the Pilot stepped from herstern-sheets on the decks of the prize.
"Is it you, Mr. Pilot?" exclaimed the sailing-master, raising abattle-lantern within a foot of the other's face, and looking with asort of stupid wonder at the proud and angry eye he encountered--"Is ityou! Well, I should have rated you for a man of more experience than tocome booming down upon a man-of-war in the dark, with such a big wordin your mouth, when every boy in the two vessels knows that we carry noswallow-tailed bunting abroad! Flag! Why you might have got a shot, hadthere been soldiers."
The Pilot threw him a still fiercer glance, and turning away with a lookof disgust, he walked along the quarterdeck towards the stern of thevessel, with an air of haughty silence, as if disdaining to answer.Boltrope kept his eyes fastened on him for a moment longer, with someappearance of scorn; but the arrival of the boat first hailed, whichproved to be the barge, immediately drew his attention to other matters.Barnstable had been rowing about in the ocean for a long time, unable tofind the cutter; and as he had been compelled to suit his own demeanorto those with whom he was associated, he reached the Alacrity in no verygood-humored mood. Colonel Howard and his niece had maintained duringthe whole period the most rigid silence, the former from pride, andthe latter touched with her uncle's evident displeasure; and Katherine,though secretly elated with the success of all her projects, wascontent to emulate their demeanor for a short time, in order to saveappearances. Barnstable had several times addressed himself to thelatter, without receiving any other answer than such as was absolutelynecessary to prevent the lover from taking direct offence, at the sametime that she intimated by her manner her willingness to remain silent.Accordingly, the lieutenant, after aiding the ladies to enter thecutter, and offering to perform the same service to Colonel Howard,which was coldly declined, turned, with that sort of irritation thatis by no means less rare in vessels of war than with poor human naturegenerally, and gave vent to his spleen where he dared.
"How's this! Mr. Boltrope!" he cried, "here are boats coming alongsidewith ladies in them, and you keep your gaft swayed up till the leachof the sail is stretched like a fiddle-string--settle away yourpeak-halyards, sir, settle away!"
"Ay, ay, sir," grumbled the master; "settle away that peak there; thoughthe craft wouldn't forge ahead a knot in a month, with all her jibshauled over!" He walked sulkily forward among the men, followed bythe meek divine; and added, "I should as soon have expected to see Mr.Barnstable come off with a live ox in his boat as a petticoat! The Lordonly knows what the ship is coming to next, parson! What between cockedhats and epaulettes, and other knee-buckle matters, she was a sort ofno-man's land before; and now, what with the women and their bandboxes,they'll make another Noah's ark of her. I wonder they didn't all comeaboard in a coach and six, or a one-horse shay!"
It was a surprising relief to Barnstable to be able to give utteranceto his humor, for a few moments, by ordering the men to make sundryalterations in every department of the vessel, in a quick, hurriedvoice, that abundantly denoted, not only the importance of hisimprovements, but the temper in which they were dictated. In his turn,however, he was soon compelled to give way, by the arrival of Griffithin the heavily rowing launch of the frigate, which was crowded with alarger body of the seamen who had been employed in the expedition. Inthis manner, boat after boat speedily arrived, and the whole party wereonce more happily embarked in safety under their national flag.
The small cabin of the Alacrity was relinquished to Colonel Howard andhis wards, with their attendants. The boats were dropped astern, eachprotected by its own keeper; and Griffith gave forth the mandate to fillthe sails and steer broad off into the ocean. For more than an hour thecutter held her course in this direction, gliding gracefully throughthe glittering waters, rising and settling heavily on the long, smoothbillows, as if conscious of the unusual burden that she was doomed tocarry; but at the end of that period her head was once more brought nearthe wind, and she was again held at rest, awaiting the appearance of thedawn, in order to discover the position of the prouder vessel on whichshe was performing the humble duty of a tender. More than a hundred andfifty living men were crowded within her narrow limits; and her deckspresented, in the gloom, as she moved along, the picture of a mass ofhuman heads.
As the freedom of a successful expedition was unavoidably permitted,loud jokes, and louder merriment, broke on the silent waters from thereckless seamen, while the exhilarating can passed from hand to hand,strange oaths and dreadful denunciations breaking forth at times fromsome of the excited crew against their enemy. At length the bustle ofre-embarking gradually subsided, and many of the crew descended to thehold of the cutter, in quest of room to stretch their limbs, when aclear, manly voice was heard rising above the deep in those strains thata seaman most loves to hear. Air succeeded air, from different voices,until even the spirit of harmony grew dull with fatigue, and versesbegan to be heard where songs were expected, and fleeting linessucceeded stanzas. The decks were soon covered with prostrate men,seeking their natural rest under the ope
n heavens, and perhaps dreaming,as they yielded heavily to the rolling of the vessel, of scenes ofother times in their own hemisphere. The dark glances of Katherine wereconcealed beneath her falling lids: and even Cecilia, with her headbowed on the shoulder of her cousin, slept sweetly in innocence andpeace. Boltrope groped his way into the hold among the seamen, where,kicking one of the most fortunate of the men from his berth, heestablished himself in his place with all that cool indifference to theother's comfort that had grown with his experience, from the time whenhe was treated thus cavalierly in his own person to the present moment.In this manner head was dropped after head on the planks, the guns, oron whatever first offered for a pillow, until Griffith and Barnstable,alone, were left pacing the different sides of the quarter-deck inhaughty silence.
Never did a morning watch appear so long to the two young sailors, whowere thus deprived, by resentment and pride, of that frank and friendlycommunion that had for so many years sweetened the tedious hours oftheir long and at times dreary service. To increase the embarrassment oftheir situation, Cecilia and Katherine, suffering from the confinementof the small and crowded cabin, sought the purer air of the deck, aboutthe time when the deepest sleep had settled on the senses of the weariedmariners. They stood, leaning against the taffrail, discoursing witheach other in low and broken sentences; but a sort of instinctiveknowledge of the embarrassment which existed between their lovers causeda guarded control over every look or gesture which might be construedinto an encouragement for one of the young men to advance at the expenseof the other. Twenty times, however, did the impatient Barnstable feeltempted to throw off the awkward restraint, and approach his mistress;but in each instance was he checked by the secret consciousness oferror, as well as by that habitual respect for superior rank that formsa part of the nature of a sea-officer. On the other hand, Griffithmanifested no intention to profit by this silent concession in hisfavor, but continued to pace the short quarter-deck, with stridesmore hurried than ever; and was seen to throw many an impatient glancetowards that quarter of the heavens where the first signs of thelingering day might be expected to appear. At length Katherine, witha ready ingenuity, and perhaps with some secret coquetry, removed theembarrassment by speaking first, taking care to address the lover of hercousin:
"How long are we condemned to these limited lodgings, Mr. Griffith?" sheasked; "truly, there is a freedom in your nautical customs, which, tosay the least, is novel to us females, who have been accustomed to thedivision of space!"
"The instant that there is light to discover the frigate, Miss Plowden,"he answered, "you shall be transferred from a vessel of an hundred toone of twelve hundred tons. If your situation there be less comfortablethan when within the walls of St. Ruth, you will not forget that theywho live on the ocean claim it as a merit to despise the luxuries of theland."
"At least, sir," returned Katherine, with a sweet grace, which she wellknew how to assume on occasion, "what we shall enjoy will be sweetenedby liberty and embellished by a sailor's hospitality. To me, Cicely, theair of this open sea is as fresh and invigorating as if it were waftedfrom our own distant America!"
"If you have not the arm of a patriot, you at least possess a most loyalimagination, Miss Plowden," said Griffith, laughing; "this soft breezeblows in the direction of the fens of Holland, instead of the broadplains of America.--Thank God, there come the signs of day, at last!unless the currents have swept the ship far to the north, we shallsurely see her with the light."
This cheering intelligence drew the eyes of the fair cousins towards theeast, where their delighted looks were long fastened, while theywatched the glories of the sun rising over the water. As the morning hadadvanced, a deeper gloom was spread across the ocean, and the stars weregleaming in the heavens like balls of twinkling fire. But now a streakof pale light showed itself along the horizon, growing brighter, andwidening at each moment, until long fleecy clouds became visible, wherenothing had been seen before but the dim base of the arch that overhungthe dark waters. This expanding light, which, in appearance, might becompared to a silvery opening in the heavens, was soon tinged witha pale flush, which quickened with sudden transitions into glows yetdeeper, until a belt of broad flame bounded the water, diffusing itselfmore faintly towards the zenith, where it melted into the pearl-coloredsky, or played on the fantastic volumes of a few light clouds withinconstant glimmering. While these beautiful transitions were stillbefore the eyes of the youthful admirers of their beauties, a voice washeard above them, crying as if from the heavens:
"Sail-ho! The frigate lies broad off to the seaward, sir!"
"Ay, ay; you have been watching with one eye asleep, fellow," returnedGriffith, "or we should have heard you before! Look a little north ofthe place where the glare of the sun is coming, Miss Plowden, and youwill be able to see our gallant vessel."
An involuntary cry of pleasure burst from the lips of Katherine, as shefollowed his directions, and first beheld the frigate through the mediumof the fluctuating colors of the morning. The undulating outline of thelazy ocean, which rose and fell heavily against the bright boundaryof the heavens, was without any relief to distract the eye as it fedeagerly on the beauties of the solitary ship. She was riding sluggishlyon the long seas, with only two of her lower and smaller sails spread,to hold her in command; but her tall masts and heavy yards were paintedagainst the fiery sky in strong lines of deep black, while even thesmallest cord in the mazes of her rigging might be distinctly traced,stretching from spar to spar, with the beautiful accuracy of a picture.At moments, when her huge hull rose on a billow and was lifted againstthe background of the sky, its shape and dimensions were brought intoview; but these transient glimpses were soon lost, as it settled intothe trough, leaving the waving spars bowing gracefully towards thewaters, as if about to follow the vessel into the bosom of the deep. Asa clearer light gradually stole on the senses, the delusion of colorsand distance vanished together, and when a flood of day preceded theimmediate appearance of the sun, the ship became plainly visible withina mile of the cutter, her black hull checkered with ports, and her high,tapering masts exhibiting their proper proportions and hues.
At the first cry of "A sail!" the crew of the Alacrity had been arousedfrom their slumbers by the shrill whistle of the boatswain, and longbefore the admiring looks of the two cousins had ceased to dwell onthe fascinating sight of morning chasing night from the hemisphere, thecutter was again in motion to join her consort. It seemed but a momentbefore their little vessel was in, what the timid females thought, adangerous proximity to the frigate, under whose lee she slowly passed,in order to admit of the following dialogue between Griffith and hisaged commander:
"I rejoice to see you, Mr. Griffith!" cried the captain, who stood inthe channel of his ship, waving his hat in the way of cordial greeting."You are welcome back, Captain Manual, welcome, welcome, all of you,my boys! as welcome as a breeze in the calm latitudes." As his eye,however, passed along the deck of the Alacrity, it encountered theshrinking figures of Cecilia and Katherine; and a dark shade ofdispleasure crossed his decent features, while he added: "How's this,gentlemen? The frigate of Congress is neither a ballroom nor a church,that is to be thronged with women!"
"Ay, ay," muttered Boltrope to his friend the chaplain, "now the old manhas hauled out his mizzen, you'll see him carry a weather-helm! He wakesup about as often as the trades shift their points, and that's once insix months. But when there has been a neap-tide in his temper for anytime, you're sure to find it followed by a flood with a vengeance. Letus hear what the first lieutenant can say in favor of his petticoatquality!"
The blushing sky had not exhibited a more fiery glow than gleamed in thefine face of Griffith for a moment; but, struggling with his disgust, heanswered with bitter emphasis:
"'Twas the pleasure of Mr. Gray, sir, to bring off the prisoners."
"Of Mr. Gray!" repeated the captain, instantly losing every trace ofdispleasure in an air of acquiescence. "Come-to, sir, on the same tackwith the ship, and I wi
ll hasten to order the accommodation-ladderrigged, to receive our guests!"
Boltrope listened to this sudden alteration in the language of hiscommander with sufficient wonder; nor was it until he had shakenhis head repeatedly, with the manner of one who saw deeper than hisneighbors into a mystery, that he found leisure to observe:
"Now, parson, I suppose if you held an almanac in your fist, you'd thinkyou could tell which way we shall have the wind to-morrow! but damnme, priest, if better calculators than you haven't failed! Becausea lubberly--no, he's a thorough seaman, I'll say that for thefellow!--because a pilot chooses to say, 'Bring me off these herewomen,' the ship is to be so cluttered with she-cattle, that a man willbe obligated to spend half his time in making his manners! Now mind whatI tell you, priest, this very frolic will cost Congress the price ofa year's wages for an able-bodied seaman in bunting and canvas forscreens; besides the wear and tear of running-gear in shortening sail,in order that the women need not be 'stericky in squalls!"
The presence of Mr. Boltrope being required to take charge of thecutter, the divine was denied an opportunity of dissenting from theopinions of his rough companion; for the loveliness of their novelshipmates had not failed to plead loudly in their favor with everyman in the cutter whose habits and ideas had not become rigidly set inobstinacy.
By the time the Alacrity was hove-to, with her head towards the frigate,the long line of boats that she had been towing during the latter partof the night were brought to her side, and filled with men. A wildscene of unbridled merriment and gayety succeeded, while the seamen wereexchanging the confinement of the prize for their accustomed lodgingsin the ship, during which the reins of discipline were slightly relaxed.Loud laughter was echoed from boat to boat, as they glided by eachother; and rude jests, interlarded with quaint humors and strangeoaths, were freely bandied from mouth to mouth. The noise, however,soon ceased, and the passage of Colonel Howard and his wards was theneffected with less precipitancy and due decorum. Captain Munson, who hadbeen holding a secret dialogue with Griffith and the Pilot, received hisunexpected guests with plain hospitality, but with an evident desireto be civil. He politely yielded to their service his two convenientstaterooms, and invited them to partake, in common with himself, of thecomforts of the great cabin.