The Privateersman

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER THREE.

  WE ARE SENT IN, ON BOARD THE REVENGE, AND TREATED WITH GREAT CRUELTY--ARE AFTERWARDS RECAPTURED BY THE HERO PRIVATEER, AND RETALIATE ON THEFRENCH--I AM TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AT PORT ROYAL, WHERE I MEET THEFRENCH LADY--HER SAVAGE EXULTATION AT MY CONDITION--SHE IS PUNISHED BYONE OF MY COMRADES.

  On coming to my senses, I found myself stripped naked and sufferingacute pain. I found that my right arm was broken, my shoulder severelyinjured by my fall; and, as I had received three severe cutlass-woundsduring the action, I had lost so much blood that I had not strength torise or do anything for myself. There I lay, groaning and naked, uponthe ballast of the vessel, at times ruminating upon the events of theaction, upon the death of our gallant commander, upon the loss of ourvessel, of so many of our comrades, and of our liberty. After sometime, the surgeon, by order of the French commander, came down to dressmy wounds. He treated me with the greatest barbarity. As he twistedabout my broken limb I could not help crying at the anguish which hecaused me. He compelled me to silence by blows and maledictions,wishing I had broken my rascally neck rather than he should have beenput to the trouble of coming down to dress me. However, dress me hedid, out of fear of his captain, who, he knew well, would send round tosee if he had executed his orders, and then he left me, with a kick inthe ribs by way of remembrance. Shortly afterwards the vesselsseparated. Fourteen of us, who were the most severely hurt, were leftin the Revenge, which was manned by an officer and twenty Frenchmen,with orders to take her into Port-au-Paix. The rest of our men were puton board of the French privateer, who sailed away in search of a moreprofitable adventure.

  About an hour after they had made sail on the vessel, the officer whohad charge of her, looking down the hatchway, and perceiving my nakedand forlorn condition, threw me a pair of trousers, which had beenrejected by the French seamen as not worth having; and a check shirt, inan equally ragged condition, I picked up in the hold; this, with a pieceof old rope to tie round my neck as a sling for my broken arm, was mywhole wardrobe. In the evening I gained the deck, that I might berefreshed by the breeze, which cooled my feverish body and somewhatrestored me.

  We remained in this condition for several days, tortured with pain, butmore tortured, perhaps, by the insolence and bragging of the Frenchmen,who set no bounds to their triumph and self-applause. Among those whohad charge of the prize were two, one of whom had my watch and the othermy ring; the first would hold it to me grinning and asking if Monsieurwould like to know what o'clock it was; and the other would display thering, and tell me that his sweetheart would value it when she knew itwas taken from a conquered Englishman. This was their practice everyday, and I was compelled to receive their gibes without venturing aretort.

  On the eleventh day after our capture, when close to Port-au-Paix, andexpecting we should be at anchor before nightfall, we perceived a greathurry and confusion on deck; they were evidently making all the sailthat they could upon the vessel; and then, hearing them fire off theirstern-chasers, we knew for certain that they were pursued. Overjoyed atthe prospect of being released, we gave three cheers. The French fromthe deck threatened to fire down upon us, but we knew that they darednot, for the Revenge was so crippled in the fight that they could notput sail upon her so as to escape, and their force on board was toosmall to enable them to resist if overtaken--we therefore continued ourexulting clamours. At last we heard guns fired and the shot whizzingover the vessel--a shot or two struck our bull, and soon afterwards, abroadside being poured into us, the Frenchmen struck their colours, andwe had the satisfaction of seeing all these Gasconaders driven down intothe hold to take our places. It was now their turn to be dejected anddowncast, and for us to be merry; and now also the tables had to beturned, and we took the liberty of regaining possession of our clothesand other property which they carried on their backs and in theirpockets. I must say we showed them no mercy.

  "What o'clock is it, Monsieur?" said I to the fellow who had my watch.

  "At your service, Sir," he replied, humbly taking out my watch, andpresenting it to me.

  "Thank you," said I, taking the watch, and saluting him with a kick inthe stomach, which made him double up and turn round from me, upon whichI gave him another kick in the rear to straighten him again. "Thatring, Monsieur, that your sweetheart will prize."

  "Here it is," replied the fellow, abjectly.

  "Thank you, Sir," I replied, saluting him with the double kick which Ihad given to the former. "Tell your sweetheart I sent her those," criedI, "that is, when you get back to her."

  "Hark ye, brother," cries one of our men, "I'll trouble you for thatjacket which you borrowed of me the other day, and in return here are apair of iron garters (holding out the shackles), which you must wear formy sake--I think they will fit you well."

  "Mounseer," cries another, "that wig of mine don't suit your complexion,I'll trouble you for it. It's a pity such a face as yours should bedisfigured in those curls. And while you are about it, I'll thank youto strip altogether, as I think your clothes will fit me, and are muchtoo gay for a prisoner."

  "I was left naked through your kindness the other day," said I toanother, who was well and smartly dressed, "I'll thank you to strip toyour skin, or you shall have no skin left." And I commenced with myknife cutting his ears as if I would skin them.

  It was a lucky hit of mine, for in his sash I found about twentydoubloons. He would have saved them, and held them tight, but after myknife had entered his side about half an inch he surrendered the prize.After we had plundered and stripped them of everything, we set to tokick them, and we did it for half an hour so effectually that they wereall left groaning in a heap on the ballast, and we then found our way ondeck.

  The privateer which had recaptured us proved to be the Hero, of NewProvidence; the Frenchmen were taken out, and some of her own men put into take us to Port Royal; we, being wounded, and not willing to joinher, remained on board. On our arrival at Port Royal, we obtainedpermission to go to the King's Hospital to be cured. As I wentup-stairs to the ward allotted to me, I met the French lady whosehusband had been killed, and who was still nursing her son at thehospital, his wounds not having been yet cured. Notwithstanding myaltered appearance, she knew me again immediately, and seeing me paleand emaciated, with my arm in a sling, she dropped down on her knees,and thanked God for returning upon our heads a portion of the miserieswe had brought upon her. She was delighted when she heard how many ofus had been slain in the murderous conflict, and even rejoiced at thedeath of poor Captain Weatherall, which, considering how very kind andconsiderate he had been to her, I thought to be very unchristian.

  It so happened that I was not only in the same ward, but in the cradlenext to her son; and the excitement I had been under when we wererecaptured, and my exertion in kicking the Frenchmen, had done me nogood. A fever was the consequence, and I suffered dreadfully, and shewould look at me, exulting in my agony, and mocking my groans; till atlast the surgeon told her it was by extreme favour that her son had beenadmitted into the hospital instead of being sent to prison, and that ifshe did not behave herself in a proper manner he would order her to bedenied admittance altogether; and that if she dared to torment sufferingmen in that way, on the first complaint on my part, her son should go tothe gaol and finish his cure there. This brought her to her senses, andshe begged pardon, and promised to offend no more; but she did not keepher word for more than a day or two, but laughed out loud when thesurgeon was dressing my arm, for a piece of bone had to be taken out,and I shrieked with anguish. This exasperated one of my messmates somuch that, not choosing to strike her, and knowing how to wound herstill worse, he drove his fist into the head of her son as he lay in hiscradle, and by so doing reopened the wound that had been nearly healed.

  "There's pain for you to laugh at, you French devil," he cried.

  And sure enough it cost the poor young man his life.

  The surgeon was very angry with the man, but told the French lady, asshe kne
eled sobbing by the side of her son, that she had brought it uponherself and him by her own folly and cruelty. I know not whether shefelt so, or whether she dreaded a repetition, but this is certain, shetormented me no more. On the contrary, I think she suffered veryseverely, as she perceived that I rapidly mended and that her poor songot on but slowly. At last my hurts were all healed, and I left thehospital, hoping never to see her more.