Chapter 2: The Young Writer.
For the next four days, Charlie followed his uncle's instructions andamused himself. He visited Exeter Change, took a boat and rowed downthe river to Greenwich, and a coach and visited the palace of HamptonCourt. He went to see the coaches make their start, in the morning,for all places in England, and marvelled at the perfection of theturnouts. He went to the playhouses twice, in the evening, and saw Mr.Garrick in his performance as Richard the Third.
On the fifth day, a great surprise awaited him. His uncle, atbreakfast, had told him briefly that he did not wish him to go outbefore dinner, as someone might want to see him; and Charlie,supposing that a messenger might be coming down from the India House,waited indoors; and an hour later he was astonished, when the door ofthe room opened and his mother and sisters entered.
With a shout of gladness and surprise, Charlie rushed into their arms.
"My dear mother, my dear girls, this is an unexpected pleasure,indeed! Why, what has brought you here?"
"Didn't you know we were coming, Charlie? Didn't Uncle tell you?" theyexclaimed.
"Not a word," Charlie said. "I never dreamt of such a thing. What, hashe called you up here to stay till I go?"
"Oh, my dear, he has been so kind," his mother said; "and so funny! Hewrote me such a scolding letter, just as if I had been a very naughtylittle girl. He said he wasn't going to allow me to bring disgraceupon him, by living in wretched lodgings at Yarmouth, nor by hisgrandnieces being sent out as governesses. So he ordered me atonce--ordered me Charlie, as if I had no will of my own--to give upthe lodgings, and to take our places in the coach, yesterday morning.He said we were not to shame him by appearing here in rags, and hesent me a hundred pounds, every penny of which, he said, was to belaid out in clothes. As to the future, he said it would be his duty tosee that I brought no further disgrace upon the family."
"Yes, and he's been just as kind to me, Mother. As I told you when Iwrote, he had ordered an enormous outfit, which will, I am sure, costhundreds of pounds. He makes me go to the playhouses, and all sorts ofamusements; and all the time he has been so kind he scolds, andgrumbles, and predicts that I shall be hanged."
"I'm sure you won't," Kate, his youngest sister, said indignantly."How can he say such a thing?"
"He doesn't mean it," Charlie laughed. "It's only his way. He will goon just the same way with you, I have no doubt; but you mustn't mind,you know, and mustn't laugh, but must look quite grave and serious.
"Ah! Here he is.
"Oh, Uncle, this is kind of you!"
"Hold your tongue, sir," said his uncle, "and try and learn not tospeak to your elders, unless you are addressed.
"Niece Mary," he said, kissing her upon the forehead, "I am glad tosee you again. You are not so much changed as I expected.
"And these are my grandnieces, Elizabeth and Kate, though why Kate Idon't know. It is a fanciful name, and new to the family, and I amsurprised that you didn't call her Susanna, after your grandmother."
Kate made a little face at the thought of being called Susanna.However, a warning glance from Charlie closed her lips, just as shewas about to express her decided preference for her own name. Mr.Tufton kissed them both, muttering to himself:
"I suppose I ought to kiss them. Girls always expect to be kissed atevery opportunity.
"What are you laughing at, grandniece?"
"I don't think girls expect to be kissed, except by people they like,"Kate said; "but we do like kissing you, Uncle," throwing her armsround his neck, and kissing him heartily; "because you have been sokind to Charlie, and have brought us up to see him again."
"You have disarranged my white tie, Niece," Mr. Tufton said,extricating himself from Kate's embrace.
"Niece Mary, I fear that you have not taught your daughters torestrain their emotions, and there is nothing so dreadful as emotionalwomen."
"Perhaps I have not taken so much pains with their education, in thatway, as in some others," Mrs. Marryat said, smiling. "But of course,Uncle, if you object to be kissed, the girls will abstain from doingso."
"No," Mr. Tufton said, thoughtfully. "It is the duty of nieces to kisstheir uncles, in moderation--in moderation, mind--and it is the dutyof the uncles to receive those salutations, and I do not know that theduty is altogether an unpleasant one. I am, myself, unaccustomed to bekissed, but it is an operation to which I may accustom myself, intime."
"I never heard it called an operation, Uncle," Lizzie said demurely;"but I now understand the meaning of the phrase of a man's undergoinga painful operation. I used to think it meant cutting off a leg, orsomething of that sort, but I see it's much worse."
Her uncle looked at her steadily.
"I am afraid, Grandniece, that you intend to be sarcastic. This is ahateful habit in a man, worse in a woman. Cure yourself of it asspeedily as possible, or Heaven help the unhappy man who may some daybe your husband.
"And now," he said, "ring the bell. The housekeeper will show you toyour rooms. My nephew will tell you what are the hours for meals. Ofcourse, you will want to be gadding about with him. You willunderstand that there is no occasion to be in to meals; but if you arenot present when they are upon the table, you will have to wait forthe next. I cannot have my house turned upside down, by meals beingbrought up at all sorts of hours.
"You must not expect me, Niece, to be at your beck and call during theday, as I have my business to attend to; but of an evening I shall, ofcourse, feel it my duty to accompany you to the playhouse. It will notdo for you to be going about with only the protection of ahare-brained boy."
The remainder of Charlie's stay in London passed most pleasantly. Theyvisited all the sights of town, Mr. Tufton performing what he calledhis duty with an air of protest, but showing a general thoughtfulnessand desire to please his visitors, which was very apparent even whenhe grunted and grumbled the most.
On the evening before he started, he called Charlie down into hiscounting house.
"Tomorrow you are going to sail," he said, "and to start in life onyour own account, and I trust that you will, as far as possible, besteady, and do your duty to your employers. You will understand that,although the pay of a writer is not high, there are opportunities foradvancement. The Company have the monopoly of the trade of India, andin addition to their great factories at Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras,they have many other trading stations. Those who, by their goodconduct, attract the attention of their superiors, rise to positionsof trust and emolument. There are many who think that the Companywill, in time, enlarge its operations; and as they do so, superioropportunities will offer themselves; and since the subject of Indiahas been prominently brought before my notice, I have examined thequestion, and am determined to invest somewhat largely in the stock ofthe Company, a step which will naturally give me some influence withthe board. That influence I shall, always supposing that your conductwarrants it, exercise on your behalf.
"As we are now at war with France, and it is possible that the vesselin which you are proceeding may be attacked by the way, I have thoughtit proper that you should be armed. You will, therefore, find in yourcabin a brace of pistols, a rifle, and a double-barrel shotgun: whichlast, I am informed, is a useful weapon at close quarters. Should youravocations in India permit your doing so, you will find them useful inthe pursuit of game. I hope that you will not be extravagant; but as amatter of business I find that it is useful to be able to giveentertainments, to persons who may be in a position to benefit oradvance you. I have, therefore, arranged that you will draw from thefactor at Madras the sum of two hundred pounds, annually, in additionto your pay. It is clearly my duty to see that my nephew has everyfair opportunity for making his way.
"Now, go upstairs at once to your mother. I have letters to write, andam too busy for talking."
So saying, with a peremptory wave of his hand he dismissed his nephew.
"Well, Mother," Charlie said, after telling her of his uncle'sgenerosity, "thank goodness you will be all right now, anyho
w. Nodoubt Uncle intends to do something for you and the girls, though hehas said nothing at present, beyond the fact that you are not to be inwretched lodgings, and they are not to go out as governesses. But evenif he should change his mind, and I don't think he ever does that, Ishall be able to help you.
"Oh, he is kind, isn't he?"
The parting was far less sad than that which had taken place atYarmouth. Charlie was now assured that his mother and sisters would becomfortable, and well cared for in his absence; while his mother,happy in the lightening of her anxiety as to the future of herdaughters, and as to the prospects of her son, was able to bear withbetter heart the thought of their long separation.
Mrs. Marryat and the girls accompanied him on board ship. Mr. Tuftondeclined to join the party, under the plea that, in the first place,he was busy; and in the second, that he feared there would be anemotional display. He sent, however, his head clerk with them, toescort the ladies on their return from the docks.
The Lizzie Anderson was a fine ship, of the largest size, and she wasalmost as clean and trim as a man of war. She carried twelve cannon,two of them thirty-two pounders, which were in those days consideredlarge pieces of ordnance. All the ships of the Company, and, indeed,all ocean-going merchantmen of the day, were armed, as the sea swarmedwith privateers, and the black flag of the pirates was stilloccasionally to be seen.
The girls were delighted with all they saw, as, indeed, was Charlie;for accustomed, as they were, only to the coasting vessels whichfrequented the port of Yarmouth, this floating castle appeared to thema vessel of stupendous size and power.
This was Charlie's first visit, also, to the ship, for his uncle hadtold him that all directions had been given, that the trunks with thethings necessary for the voyage would be found in his cabin, at thetime of starting, and the rest of the luggage in the hold. Everythingwas in order, and Charlie found that his cabin companion was a doctorin the service, returning to Madras. He was a pleasant man, of somefive or six and thirty, and assured Mrs. Marryat that he would soonmake her son at home on board ship, and would, moreover, put him up tothe ways of things upon his arrival in India. There were many visitorson board, saying goodbye to their friends, and all sat down to lunch,served in the saloon.
When this was over, the bell rang for visitors to go ashore. There wasa short scene of parting, in which Charlie was not ashamed to use hishandkerchief as freely as did his mother and sisters. Five minuteslater, the great vessel passed through the dock gates. Charlie stoodat the stern, waving his handkerchief as long as he could catch aglimpse of the figures of his family; and then as, with her sailsspread and the tide gaining strength every minute beneath her, thevessel made her way down the river, he turned round to examine hisfellow passengers.
These were some twenty in number, and for the most part men. Almostall were, in some capacity or other, civil or military, in the serviceof the Company; for at that time their monopoly was a rigid one, andnone outside its boundary were allowed to trade in India. The Companywas, indeed, solely a great mercantile house of business. They hadtheir own ships, their own establishments, and bought and sold goodslike other traders. They owned a small extent of country, round theirthree great trading towns; and kept up a little army, composed of twoor three white regiments; and as many composed of natives, trained anddisciplined like Europeans, and known as Sepoys. Hence the clergyman,the doctor, a member of the council of Madras, four or five militaryofficers, twice as many civilians, and three young writers, besidesCharlie, were all in the employment of the Company.
"Well, youngster," a cheery voice said beside him, "take your lastlook at the smoke of London, for it will be a good many years beforeyou see it again, my lad. You've blue skies and clear ones whereyou're going, except when it rains, and when it does there is nomistake about it."
The speaker was the captain of the Lizzie Anderson, a fine sailor-likeman of some fifty years, of which near forty had been spent in theservice of the Company.
"I'm not a Londoner," Charlie said, smiling, "and have no regret forleaving its smoke. Do you think we shall make a quick voyage?"
"I hope so," the captain said, "but it all depends upon the wind. Afiner ship never floated than the Lizzie Anderson; but the Companydon't build their vessels for speed, and it's no use trying to run,when you meet a Frenchman. Those fellows understand how to buildships, and if they could fight them as well as they build them, weshould not long be mistress of the sea."
Most of the people on board appeared to know each other, and Charliefelt rather lonely, till the doctor came up and began to chat withhim. He told him who most of his fellow passengers were:
"That gentleman there, walking on the other side of the deck, as ifnot only the ship but the river and banks on both sides belonged tohim, is one of the council. That is his wife over there, with acompanion holding her shawl for her. That pretty little woman, next toher, is the wife of Captain Tibbets, the tall man leaning against thebulwarks. Those two sisters are going out to keep house for theiruncle, one of the leading men in Madras; and, I suppose, to gethusbands, which they will most likely do before they have been theremany weeks. They look very nice girls.
"But you soon get acquainted with them all. It is surprising how soonpeople get friendly on board ship, though, as a rule, they quarrellike cats and dogs before they get to the end of it."
"What do they quarrel about?" Charlie asked, surprised.
"Oh, about anything or nothing," the doctor said. "They all getheartily sick of each other, and of the voyage, and they quarrelbecause they have nothing else to do. You will see, we shall be ashappy a party as possible till we get about as far as the Cape. Afterthat, the rows will begin, and by the time we get to India, half thepeople won't speak to each other.
"Have you been down the river before? That's Gravesend. I see thecaptain is getting ready to anchor. So, I suppose the tide has nearlyrun out. If this wind holds, we shall be fairly out at sea when youget up tomorrow.
"You snore, I hope?"
"No, sir, I don't think so," Charlie said.
"I hoped you did," the doctor said, "because I'm told I do, sometimes.However, as I usually smoke a cigar on deck, the last thing, I hopeyou will be fairly asleep before I am. If at any time I get very bad,and keep you awake, you must shake me."
Charlie said it took a good deal to keep him awake, and that he shouldprobably get accustomed to it, ere long.
"It's better to do that," he said with a laugh, "than to keep onwaking you, for the next four or five months."
A week later, the Lizzie Anderson was running down the Spanish coast,with all sail set. She was out of sight of land, and so far had seennothing likely to cause uneasiness. They had met many vessels,homeward bound from the Mediterranean, and one or two big ships whichthe captain pronounced to be Indiamen. That morning, however, a vesselwas seen coming out from the land. She seemed, to Charlie's eyes,quite a small vessel, and he was surprised to see how often thecaptain and officers turned their glasses towards her.
"I fancy our friend over there is a French privateer," the doctorremarked to him; "and I should not be surprised if we found ourselvesexchanging shots with her, before many hours are over."
"But she's a little bit of a thing," Charlie said. "Surely she wouldnever venture to attack a ship like ours."
"It's the size of the guns, not the size of the ship, that counts, myboy. She has the advantage of being able to sail three feet to ourtwo; and probably, small as she is, she carries half as many men againas we do. However, we carry heavy metal, and can give a good accountof ourselves. Those thirty-twos will astonish our friend, if she comeswithin range."
The stranger was a large schooner, and the tautness of the spars andrigging showed that she was in beautiful order. She crossed the lineupon which the merchantman was sailing, some two miles in her rear;and then, bearing up, followed in her wake.
Charlie stood near the captain, who, instead of watching her, wassweeping the horizon with his glass. Presently he paused, and
gazedintently at a distant object.
"I thought so," he said to the first officer. "I fancied that fellowwasn't alone. He would hardly have ventured to try his strength withus, if he had been. Send a man up to the tops, and let him see what hecan make her out to be. I can only see her topmasts, but I can makeout no yards."
Presently the lookout came down, and reported that the distant vesselappeared to be a large fore-and-aft schooner, bearing down upon them.
"She will not be up for two hours, yet," the captain said. "It will begetting dark, then. It is not likely they will engage at night, butthey will keep close, and show their teeth at daybreak."
It soon became known that the belief of the captain was that thevessel in their wake, and that which could be seen approaching on thebeam, were French privateers; and soon all were preparing, in theirown way, for what might happen. The sailors cleared the decks, andloosed the guns. The gentlemen went below, and shortly returnedbringing up rifles and fowling pieces. Small arms and cutlasses werebrought up, and piled round the masts.
"Why don't you put on more sail, sir?" Mr. Ashmead, the member of thecouncil, said to the captain. "My wife, sir, objects to the sound offirearms, and I must really beg that you will increase your speed. Asit is, we are losing rather than gaining upon that vessel behind. Theduty of the ships of the Company is to try not to fight."
"If they can help it," the captain added quietly. "Not to fight, ifthey can help it, Mr. Ashmead. But unfortunately, the choice upon thepresent occasion lies with the gentlemen yonder, and not with us. Itis not of the slightest use adding to the sail we carry, for at ourvery best speed, those schooners could sail round and round us. Asnight comes on I intend to shorten sail, and put the ship intofighting trim. In the morning I shall again increase it, but I shallnot make any attempt to escape a combat which it depends entirely onthose privateers to bring on, or not, as they choose. I am sorry thatMrs. Ashmead should be exposed to the unpleasantness of listening tothe explosion of firearms, and that my other lady passengers should beexposed to the danger which cannot but arise, more or less, from anaval conflict.
"However, I hope, sir, that there need be no great anxiety as to theresult. The Company has given us a heavy armament, and you may be surethat we shall all do our best."
Seeing the gentlemen go below for their guns, Charlie asked one of theother young writers, a lad of about his own age, named Peters, withwhom he had become very friendly, to go below with him. He had not yetexamined the arms that his uncle had given him, for he had not thoughtof them since he saw the gun cases under his berth, on his firstarrival on board ship. He found the doctor already in his cabin,putting together a heavy double-barrelled gun.
"Well, youngster," he said, "so we're likely to have a brush. I seeyou have a couple of gun cases under your berth. You are a good dealbetter provided than most lads who go out as writers.
"Ah! That's a beautiful piece of yours," he said, as Charlie unlockedone of the cases and took out a rifle, "a small bore and a heavybarrel, and beautifully finished. With a greased patch and a heavycharge, that ought to carry a bullet far and true. Have you had anypractice?"
"Not with this gun, sir. I used, sometimes, to practise shooting atgulls with a musket, on board the cutter my father commanded; and Igot to be a fair shot with it."
"Then you ought to be able to do good work, with such a piece as that.What is in the other case?
"Ah! That's a beauty, too," he said, as he examined thedouble-barrelled gun. "Made extra strong and heavy, I see, so as tocarry bullets. You'll find your shoulder ache, at first; but you'llget accustomed to it, in time. I'm always in favour of heavy barrels.They shoot stronger and straighter than your light guns, are not soliable to get bent or bruised, if a stupid servant drops one across astone; and, after all, two or three pounds difference in weight doesnot make any material difference, when you're accustomed to it.Although, I grant, a heavy gun does not come quite so quickly up tothe shoulder, for a snap shot."
"Now, Peters," Charlie said, "you take the double barrel. I will usethe rifle. Mine will come into play first, but, as my uncle said whenhe gave it me, yours will do most execution at close quarters."
At dusk the schooners, having exchanged some signals by flags, took uptheir positions, one on each quarter of the ship, at a distance ofsome two miles.
"Do not you think," Charlie asked his friend the doctor, "that theyare likely to try and board us tonight?"
"No," the doctor said. "These privateers generally depend upon theirlong guns. They know that we shall be on the watch all night, andthat, in a hand-to-hand fight, they would lose a considerable numberof men; while by keeping at a distance, and maintaining a fire withtheir long guns, they rely upon crippling their opponents; and then,ranging up under their stern, pouring in a fire at close quartersuntil they surrender.
"Another thing is that they prefer daylight, as they can then seewhether any other vessel is approaching. Were one of our cruisers tohear a cannonade in the night, she would come down and take themunaware. No, I think you will see that at daylight, if the coast isclear, they will begin."
Such was evidently the captain's opinion also, as he ordered sail tobe still further shortened, and all, save the watch on deck, to turnin at once. The lights were all extinguished, not that the captain hadany idea of evading his pursuers, but that he wished to avoid offeringthem a mark for their fire, should they approach in the darkness.