Chapter XIX
"But man, proud man, Dress'd in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he's most assured, His glassy essence, like an angry ape, Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven." SHAKESPEARE.
The reef upon which the brig had been wrecked was one of those extendingalong the southward of the Virgin Isles. Newton had intended to steerwell to the eastward, with the view of reaching one of the northernmostEnglish colonies; but not having a compass, he naturally was not veryequal in his course. The fact was that he steered well to the southwardof it; and after he fell asleep, the boat ran away still further off hercourse, for she was on the larboard tack, and having no weight in herexcept Newton, who was aft in the stern-sheets, she did not feelinclined to keep her wind. Newton's sleep was so profound, that neitherthe pulling of the main-sheet, which he held with a round turn roundhis hand, nor the dancing of the boat, which during the night had runfast before an increasing breeze, roused him from his lethargy. Onsailed the boat, left to the steerage of Providence; on slept Newton, asif putting firm reliance in the same. It was not until the break of daythat his repose was very abruptly broken by a shock, which threw himfrom the stern-sheets of the boat, right over the aftermost thwart.Newton recovered his legs, and his senses, and found himself alongsideof a vessel. He had run stem on to a small schooner, which was lying atanchor. As the boat was drifting fast by, Newton made a spring, andgained the deck of the vessel.
"Ah! mon Dieu!--les Anglais--les Anglais--nous sommes prisonniers!"cried out the only man on deck, jumping on his feet, and making aprecipitate dive below.
The vessel, of which Newton had thus taken possession, was one employedin carrying the sugars from the plantations round to Basse Terre, theport of Guadaloupe, there to be shipped for Europe,--Newton's boathaving run away so far to the southward, as to make this island. She waslying at anchor off the mouth of a small river, waiting for a cargo.
It happened that the crew of the schooner, who were all slaves, wereexactly in the same situation as Newton, when their vessels came incontact--viz., fast asleep. The shock had awakened them; but they wereall below except the one who had kept such a remarkably good watch.
Exhausted as Newton was, he could not but smile at his uninterruptedpossession of the vessel's decks. Anxious to have communication with thepeople on board, he sat down, awaiting their coming up from below. In aminute or two, a black head was seen to rise slowly and fearfully out ofthe fore-scuttle; then it disappeared. Another rose up and went downagain as before; and thus it went on until Newton reckoned ten differentfaces. Having individually ascertained that there was but one man, andthat one not provided with any weapons, the negroes assumed a degree ofcourage. The first head that had made its appearance, the woolly hair ofwhich was of a grizzly gray from age, was again popped up thefore-scuttle, with an interrogatory to Newton, in French, who he was,and what he wanted? Newton, who did not understand a word of thelanguage, shook his head, and, opening his hands and extending his arms,to show that he had no means of defence, he beckoned to them to come up.The man's head had again disappeared, and, after a little demur, nine orten negroes crawled up out of the fore-scuttle, one after another, eachwith some weapon or another by way of security. They remained on theforecastle of the vessel until the last was up; and then at a nod givenby their grizzle-headed leader, they advanced aft in a body towardsNewton. Newton rose and pointed to the boat, which had now drifted abouta quarter of a mile astern. He then made signs to give them tounderstand that he had been wrecked.
"Apparemment c'est un pauvre miserable, qui a fait naufrage," observedthe old negro, who appeared to have the charge of the vessel; "GustaveAdolphe, tu parles bien l'Anglais; demandez-lui les nouvelles,"continued the old man, folding his arms across, and looking very _big_indeed, as he reclined against the mainmast of the vessel.
Gustave Adolphe stood forward from the rest of the negroes. He was ashort, fat, shiny-faced fellow, with his hair platted into about fiftylittle tails. He first bowed to his old commander, then placing his armsakimbo, walked up to Newton, and looking him full in the face, commencedhis duty of interpreter, as follows:--
"I say--God dam--"
Newton smiled.
"Oui, monsieur, c'est un Anglais."
"Continuez, Gustave Adolphe," replied the old negro, with a majesticair.
Gustave Adolphe, with another bow, resumed:
"I say--where com?"
"Barbadoes," replied Newton.
"Monsieur, il vient de Barbadoes."
"Continuez, Gustave Adolphe," replied his superior, with a wave of hishand.
"I say--where go?"
"Where go?" replied Newton, "go to the bottom."
"Monsieur, il allait au port de Bo--tom."
"Bo--tom," repeated the old negro. "Ou diable est ca?"
Here a general consultation was held, by which it appeared that such aport had never been heard of in the West Indies.
"Gustave Adolphe, demandez-lui si c'est un port Anglais."
"I say--Bo--tom--English port?"
"No," replied Newton, amused with the mistake; "I should rather call it_neutral_."
"C'est un port neutral, monsieur."
"Gustave Adolphe, demandez-lui de quelle ile."
"I say, what isle--Bo--tom?"
Newton, who was faint with hunger and thirst, was not inclined at themoment to continue the conversation, which otherwise would have been asource of amusement. He replied by making signs that he wished to eatand drink.
"Monsieur," said Gustave Adolphe to the old negro, "le prisonnier refusede faire reponse, et demande a manger et a boire."
"Va l'en chercher, Gustave Adolphe," replied the old man. "Allons,messieurs," continued he, addressing the other negroes. "Il faut leverl'ancre de suite, et amener notre prisonnier aux autorites; CharlesPhilippe, va chercher mon porte-voix."
The negro captain walked up and down the deck of the schooner, a vesselabout thirty feet long, until Charles Philippe made his appearance withthe speaking-trumpet. He then proceeded to get the vessel under weigh,with more noise and fuss than is to be heard when the proudestthree-decker in the English navy expands her lofty canvas to the gale.
Gustave Adolphe, in obedience to the commands he had received, broughtup to Newton a bunch of bananas, a large piece of salt fish, and acalabash of water. The latter was immediately applied to his lips, andnever removed while a drop remained, much to the astonishment of thenegro, who again sported his English.
"I say--very good--ab more?"
"If you please," replied Newton.
"Monsieur," said Gustave Adolphe to his commander, "le prisonnier asoif, et demande encore de l'eau."
"Va l'en chercher donc," replied the old negro, with a wave of hisspeaking-trumpet. "Charles Philippe, attention a la barre,[1] sans venirau vent, s'il vous plait. Matelots[2] du gaillard d'avant," continuedhe, roaring through his speaking-trumpet! "bordez le grand foc."
[Footnote 1: Mind your weather-helm.][Footnote 2: Forecastlemen, haul aft the jib-sheet.]
In the space of two hours, the schooner was brought to an anchor, withas much noise and importance as she had been got under weigh. A boatcapable of holding three people--one rower and two sitters--was shovedoff the vessel's deck, and the negro captain, having first descended tohis cabin for a few minutes, returned on deck dressed in the extremityof _their_ fashion, and ordered the boat to be manned.
Gustave Adolphe accordingly manned the boat with his own person, and thenegro captain politely waved his hand for Newton to enter; and then,following himself, Gustave Adolphe rowed to a landing-place, abouttwenty yards from the schooner.
"Gustave Adolphe, suivez en arriere, et gardez bien que le prisonniern'echappe pas;" so saying, monsieur le capitaine led the way to a largewhite house and buildings, about two hundred yards from the river'sbanks. On their arrival, Newton was surrounded by twenty or thirtyslaves of both sexes, who chattered and jabbered a thousand questionsconcerning him to the negro captain
and Gustave Adolphe, neither of whomcondescended to reply.
"Monsieur de Fontanges--ou est-il?" inquired the old negro.
"Monsieur dort," replied a little female voice.
The captain was taken aback at this unfortunate circumstance; for no onedared to wake their master.
"Et Madame?" inquired he.
"Madame est dans sa chambre."
There again he was floored--he could not venture there; so he conductedNewton, who was not very sorry to escape from the burning rays of thesun, to his own habitation, where an old negress, his wife, soonobtained from the negro that information relative to the capture ofNewton which the bevy of slaves in the yard had attempted in vain--butwives have such winning ways with them!
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