CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
RHODE ISLAND.--SENT TO ASSIST SYREN AND TRANSPORT.--FRIGATE BLOWS UP.--TAKE A PRIZE.--GRAMPUS IN CHARGE.--TENDER ON HER BEAM ENDS.--JOIN SIRPETER PARKER ON BOARD BRISTOL.--MY OLD MESSMATES.--APPOINTED ASLIEUTENANT TO THE CHAMELEON AND THEN TO THE CAMEL.--SAIL FOR GULF OFFLORIDA.--FEVER.--WAR WITH FRANCE.--ONCE MORE AT JAMAICA.
I gave the land a wide berth, thereby getting fine weather, and with afair breeze had a quick run for Rhode Island. I brought up close to theflag-ship, and hurried on board to make a report of such of myproceedings as I thought it incumbent on me to inform the admiral about.He was pleased to approve of all I had done, but when I mentioned theladies, he looked hard at me as if he had read my secret.
"You'll not wish to be idle, I know. Give your vessel a refit, and Ishall have work for you before long," said he with, I thought, asignificant look.
I accordingly ran into harbour, hove the tender down, and in three dayswas ready for sea, when I received orders to accompany his Majesty'sships Flora, Lark and Lady Parker tender to the assistance of the Syrenfrigate, which with a transport had run on shore at Point Judith, thepeople being made prisoners by the rebels.
At ten o'clock at night we, with the two frigates, dropped anchor abouttwo miles off shore, having the wrecked ships just inside of us. Wewere not long allowed to remain in quietness before we were discoveredby the enemy, who commenced a hot fire on us from threeeighteen-pounders. As it was important not to allow the enemy toincrease their force, four of our boats were instantly manned ready toproceed to the attack. The first lieutenant of the Chatham was sent incommand of them, and each officer was furnished with a supply ofcombustibles, with directions to heave them on board the ships, so as toblow them up without delay. The first lieutenant of the Flora hadcharge of the second boat, the second of the Lark the third, and Icommanded the fourth. We were all ready by eleven o'clock, when wepulled away towards the Syren. There was no use to attempt concealment,for we were conscious that our motions were narrowly watched; and thiswas proved when we approached the shore, for we were welcomed with avery warm salute of big guns and small-arms, the musket-balls andround-shot rattling round us in a far from pleasant manner. To add tothe difficulties to be encountered, a heavy sea was running, whichwashed up alongside the stranded frigate, and created a considerablerisk of causing the boats to be stove in.
"Pull away, my hearties, pull away!" sang out our gallant commandingofficer. "We'll make a short business of the work in hand when we onceget alongside."
He was as good as his word. In spite of the iron and leaden showerwhich rattled around us, we dashed on. The masts had gone by the board,but had been secured, and by this means a stage had been formed leadingfrom the ship to the shore. Along this stage the enemy, till we drewnear, were busily engaged in carrying off the stores and provisions outof the ship. When they saw us coming they gave up the work and pouredinstead a number of armed men on board. The bowmen stood ready,boat-hooks in hand, to hook on as the sea sent us surging alongside.When our boats rose to the top of the waves we tumbled in on deckthrough the ports, with our cutlasses in our teeth and all sorts ofcombustibles under our arms. The enemy did not like our looks, and asretreat was open to them they could not resist the temptation of takingadvantage of it; so when we appeared through some of the headmost ports,they retired over the stern. To set fire to our grenades and otherfiery engines of destruction, and to heave them down below and toscatter them fore and aft, was the work of little more than a minute.The enemy scarcely understood what we were about, or they would havetried to interrupt our proceedings. The effect of our combustibles wasvery rapid. A number of inflammable things were scattered about; theyat once caught fire, and thick wreaths of smoke, followed by fierceflames, darted upwards on every side.
"To the boats! to the boats!" sang out our commander.
It was time indeed to be into them, for the fiery element was alreadysurrounding many of the guns, which, being shotted, were going off asthe touch-holes became heated. Almost enveloped in wreaths of smoke andfiercely crackling flames, we rushed to the ports, aware that any momentthe ship might blow up and carry us high into the air. Explosion afterexplosion followed each other in rapid succession, giving us warning ofwhat might occur. Our gallant leader got dreadfully burned. I saw himjust as he was about to fall, I feared, into the flames. I grasped hisarm, and together we leaped into the first boat we saw alongside.
"All hands quit the ship!" he shouted, before he would allow the boat toshove off.
No one, we were assured, was left behind. It was time to be free ofher. Glad enough we were to pull away, and we soon had the satisfactionof seeing the other three boats free of the ship and pulling out to sea.Several of the crew of the boat had once belonged to the Syren.
"There goes the old girl. She deserved a better fate," they exclaimed,as they watched the conflagration. "She keeps up her spirits to thelast, though," they added, as her guns were discharged one after theother in rapid succession--some of them doing, I suspect, some damage onshore, towards which their muzzles were pointed. We were saved thetrouble of destroying the transport, for by some means or other she hadcaught fire, and before the enemy could get on board to put it out or tosave any of her stores, she had burnt to the water's edge. The enemykept popping away at us while we pulled off from the shore, for thelight of the burning frigate falling on the boats' sides made ustolerably conspicuous targets. However, we kept the ship as much aspossible between us and the rebels, and as they were likewise notparticularly good shots, we escaped with a very trifling amount ofdamage. Indeed, I should, before I had had experience in the matter,have believed it scarcely possible that so much powder and shot couldhave been expended with so small a result. One man got a flesh-wound inthe right arm, and another had his head grazed, while the boats werestruck not more than half-a-dozen times in all. Suddenly the firingceased. There was a perfect silence. Then the flames from the frigateseemed to burn brighter than ever, and it appeared as if the wholeblazing mass was lifted bodily up into the air like a huge sky-rocket.Fragments of masts and spars and planks darted above the rest, and then,scattering around, very quickly again came hissing down into the water.A deep groan escaped the bosoms of many of our men. There was nocheering--no sound of exultation. An old friend had been destroyed;they mourned for her, though they themselves had assisted in herdestruction. War, and what war produces, is at the best very horridwork. I cannot, even now, think over all the havoc and destruction we,as was our duty, were the means of producing, without feelings of regretand shame.
It was nearly midnight when I got back to my craft. The signal was soonafterwards made to weigh anchor, when we made sail towards the mouth ofthe harbour. There had been a stiffish breeze all the time we had beenengaged in the destruction of the Syren, but it had not come on to blowvery hard, and the night was extremely dark. The schooner's head wasoff shore, and, overcome with fatigue, I had just thrown myself on alocker, with my clothes on, to snatch a few moments' sleep, when TomRockets roused me up with the information that a strange sail wascrossing our bows. I instantly sprang on deck, and, catching sight ofthe stranger, put up the helm in chase. Away we flew through thehissing, heaving seas after her, shrouded in a mass of foam. I askedGrampus what he thought her.
"A schooner, sir. When I first saw her there was no doubt of it," washis answer. "An enemy's coaster."
Just as he spoke, a gleam of light breaking through the clouds showed usthe chase right ahead. She had now very little chance of escaping fromus. We were coming up with her hand-over-hand. As we drew near I firedone of our bow-chasers. Still she held on, so I fired another, and thistime with some effect, for she at once put down her helm and hauled herforesail to windward. The tender had a jolly-boat belonging to her. Ijumped into it with Tom Rockets and another hand, and soon stood insafety on the deck of the prize. She had, I saw, a number of hands onboard, and I felt somewhat surprised that they did not bundle me and myt
wo hands into the boat, and tell us to go back whence we had come. Shewas, however, only a quiet honest trader, so her master affirmed, fromBedford, bound to Connecticut with fish and oil. On counting herpeople, I found that she mustered sixteen in all--stout, fierce-lookingfellows. Some two or three of them said they were landsmen, and onehailed as a Quaker and a non-combatant, but I did not like the looks ofany of them. I sent Rockets to the helm, and told him to keep the prizeunder the lee of the tender. I found that the schooner had a large boaton board. I accordingly ordered the crew to lower her into the water.
"Now, my lads," said I, "tumble into her yourselves, and make the bestof your way to the shore. It is a dark night, and not very pleasantweather, I own, but it is either that or a prison, you know."
Before I had done speaking the rebels had begun to launch the boat, tooglad of the opportunity of getting on shore to consider the danger theymust run in reaching it. The Quaker, however, did not appear at all torelish the trip, and protested vehemently against being thusunceremoniously sent adrift. He protested that he was as quiet as alamb, and, that he would obey my orders as strictly as if he had takenthe oath of allegiance to King George. I told him that might be, butthat "necessity has no law greater than itself." Then he assured methat he was a non-combatant; that to fight was against his principles,and that he would not dream of lifting a finger against any man.
"I dare say not, friend," I answered, "but you wouldn't mind boring ahole in a ship's bottom and letting her go down, or setting fire to her,and letting her blow up with all hands on board, provided you could makeyour escape unhurt, eh?"
I saw that I had by chance hit the right nail on the head, and that hehad, some time or other, done the very thing I suggested. He saidnothing further. Still he evidently did not like being turned adrift inthe boat. I, however, was inexorable. The enemy had so frequentlyretaken vessels which had been captured from them, that I was, I own,afraid to trust any of the prisoners I had just made. I accordinglybundled the Quaker in with the rest. I must own that I acted a harshpart. It turned out a terrible night. It was blowing very fresh, andthere was a heavy sea running, while it was more than usually dark. Iscarcely reflected at the time on the dreadful risk to which I wasexposing the poor fellows. In vain I afterwards endeavoured to discoverwhat became of them. They might have reached the shore in safety, orbeen picked up by some friendly vessel; but they might have been rundown, or their boat might have been swamped, and they all might haveperished miserably. I pray they might have escaped. If not, theirdeaths were at my door.
As soon as the prisoners had shoved off, I sent the boat back to thetender, and Grampus and two men returned in her.
"Grampus," said I, "I put you in charge of this craft. I hope that itis not the last of which you will get command."
He pulled the front lock of his hair when I made him this speech, andlooked round with a glance which showed that he did not over highlyappreciate the honour.
"I'll try to get her into harbour, sir, at all events," he answered, asI stepped into the boat, and not without difficulty returned to thetender, when, with my prize, I again made sail for Rhode Island. Anhour afterwards I captured a whale-boat, from Connecticut to Bedford,with four hogs-heads of salt. As I could spare no people to man her,after making the prisoners come on board, I took her in tow. I was inhopes of carrying her into harbour, but it soon came on to blow harderthan ever, and before long I had the dissatisfaction to find that I hadtowed the prize under water, and, to avoid any mishap to ourselves, Ihad quickly to cut her adrift. When the morning broke, so heavy a galewas blowing that, being unable to reach Rhode Island, I bore away forthe Seaconnet Passage, making a signal to my prize to do the same. Wereached it not without difficulty. I was well content to drop my anchornot far from his Majesty's ship Kingfisher, which I found lying there.Grampus came in soon after, and brought up near me. I asked him if hewas sure that his ground tackle was good. He answered, "Pretty well,"but he wished that it were better. An officer from the Kingfisher soonafter came on board, and advised us to look to our cables, for it wascoming on to blow harder than ever. The caution was not needed. I haddone all I could to secure the tender, and she seemed well able to rideout the gale. The prize, however, I saw was labouring heavily. Iwatched her anxiously, both on my own account and that of Grampus andthe men with him.
At noon, just as I was leaving the deck, I heard an exclamation fromRockets, which made me pop my head pretty rapidly up thecompanion-hatch, and, looking to leeward, I saw my prize, amid a mass offoam, driving away at headlong speed towards the enemy's shore. To helpher was impossible. I was more sorry at the thought of losing Grampusthan of anything else. Even should he and his companions escape withtheir lives, they would, at all events, be made prisoners by the enemy,and I might chance never to meet my old follower again. First one cableparted, then another. Grampus made sail as quickly as he could, but hecould only show a very small amount of canvas with the gale there wasthen blowing. I watched the schooner anxiously through my glass. TomRockets stood by my side, as eager about her as I was. On she drove.She appeared to be almost among the breakers.
"She's lost, sir, she's lost!" exclaimed Tom.
"No, no," said I, taking another glance. "Grampus is handling her likea good seaman, as he is. She keeps her luff, and is shooting out againinto clear water. Hurrah! Well done, Grampus! She stands up to hercanvas bravely. She is making for Fogland Ferry. If she carriesnothing away she will reach it too."
Such were the exclamations to which I gave utterance as I watched theprogress of the prize. More than once she appeared to be nearing theland, and I thought that I could make out people following her course,ready to take possession of her should she drift on shore. Then, again,she stood off clear of danger, and at length disappeared in thedistance. By daylight next morning, the weather having moderated, Ionce more made sail in quest of my prize, and as I drew near the wharfat Fogland Ferry, to my great satisfaction, I found her safely mooredalongside of it. We remained here some days, till at last, the weatherbecoming finer, on the 27th of November I sailed with my prize forNewport. I was very anxious to carry her there in safety. I had gainedher not without danger and difficulty, and she afforded a substantialevidence that I had not been idle during my cruise. Scarcely was Iclear of the land when I made out a large whale-boat, which I chased forthree hours and ultimately took. She had on board a cargo of beef,pork, cheese, and tallow. However, it came on to blow harder than ever,so, much against my will, I had to heave a cold shot into her, whichsent her to the bottom, and once more I was compelled to run for theSeaconnet Passage.
Next day, that is, on the 28th, I once more put to sea, but in a shorttime it came on to blow harder than ever. Still, in my anxiety to reachmy destination, I did not like to put back, and kept hammering away inthe hopes of making good my passage. Feeling that I must take tenminutes of sleep, I went below, but scarcely had I thrown myself on alocker when I was hove off it. I sprang on deck, and found that asquall had thrown the vessel on her beam-ends. I sang out an order tocut away topsail halyards, sheets, main and fore ties, peak halyards.It was done, not without difficulty. Still she would not right. I putthe helm up. She answered it, and away we floundered, almostwater-logged, to our former place of anchorage in the Seaconnet Passage.
On the 29th, getting all things to rights again, I once more sailed; andthis time, in spite of the gale, and not without difficulty, I reachedNewport with my prize. I got some credit for my proceedings, and I feltthat I was amply rewarded by the way the admiral spoke to me.
"I have my eye on you, Mr Hurry, and it is, I feel, my duty to mark outmerit for reward," he observed, with a pleasant smile, one day when hehad invited me to dine with him.
I got three or four days' rest, and, on the 3rd, sailed once more on acruise.
I had not been out many days when a tremendous gale sprang up whichcompelled me to lay-to. During this time the little vessel shippedseveral hea
vy seas, which I more than once thought would send her to thebottom. At last one heavier than its predecessors came rolling androaring towards us.
"Hold on, my lads!" I sang out.
There was nothing else to be done. It struck the vessel.
"She is sinking! she is sinking!" cried out several of the people, asthe sea washed over us.
She rose again; but our enemy had left us in a pretty state of wreck andconfusion. The caboose was gone, and so was everything on deck notthoroughly secured. The water, too, in torrents was rushing down below.Still our masts stood, and not a rope was carried away. I immediatelyordered the pumps to be rigged, and had to keep all hands spell andspell at work at them. The gale, which had been blowing from thenorth-east, now shifted to the north-west as hard as ever. I had nochoice but to remain hove-to, and to work away at the pumps to keep thevessel afloat. Our caboose being gone, and as we had no stove below, wewere unable to light a fire to cook anything. We were all, therefore,compelled to live on raw meat. The crew didn't seem to think thisanything of a hardship; indeed, seamen, when not hard pressed, willoften, to save themselves the trouble of cooking, or because they preferit, eat it in that state.
I have had many a hard time at sea, but that was as hard as any as longas it lasted. As soon as I could venture to make sail, I shaped acourse for Rhode Island, and, getting a better land-fall than Iexpected, I reached it on the 12th of December. When I went to reportmyself to Sir Peter, he received me very kindly.
"You have had a pretty rough time of it, Mr Hurry," he remarked.
"Yes, sir," I replied, and I told him how the tender had been knockedabout, and what a hard time we all had had of it; but I made nocomplaint, and finished by saying that I was ready to go again to sea inher as soon as she had undergone the necessary repairs.
"No, no, my lad," he answered. "I like your spirit; but she and youhave had enough of it just now. You shall lay her up for the winter,and probably before the spring we may have other work carved out foryou."
I was very glad to hear this, and very speedily got the tenderdismantled and laid up. The admiral, of course, knew more than I did asto what was going forward, and I guessed that none of us should havelong to remain idle.
On the 20th of December, 1778, the Bristol, Raisonable, Nonsuch,Somerset, and a fleet of transports arrived from the Delaware River; andon the 27th Sir Peter Parker shifted his flag to the Bristol, takingwith him the officers of the Chatham and a hundred seamen. Sir PeterParker was now only waiting the arrival of Lord Howe, to proceed to theWest Indies to take the command there. I looked forward to the timewith great satisfaction, for I had no doubt that the admiral would giveme every opportunity in his power of winning the step I so much coveted.
Two or three days after I joined, Delisle and another old shipmate,O'Brien, made their appearance on board the Bristol, to which I foundthat they had been appointed. It was a pleasure to us all; for latterlyI had been so constantly on detached duty that we had seen but little ofeach other. We were, I may truly say, like brothers, regarding eachother with the most sincere and truest affection. I doubt if anyfriendship is greater than that of people thus situated. We anticipatedall sorts of fun in the West Indies; for those were the palmy days ofthe islands, when the planters, or rather their managers and themerchants residing there, lived like princes, and treated all visitorswith unbounded hospitality. It was in too many instances with them ashort life and a merry one. Delisle had been there for a short time,and so had several of our other shipmates, and the accounts they gavewere quite sufficient to make us long to go there.
On the 4th of January Lord Howe arrived at Rhode Island, and on the 15thwe sailed thence for our destination. One thing only made me regretleaving the American shores; the certainty that I should have no furtherchance of again meeting Madeline Carlyon till the war was ended, and Imight obtain leave to go on shore to visit her no longer as theprofessed enemy of her countrymen, but, as I trusted, an accepted suitorand a friend of America and the Americans. Though I may not beconstantly mentioning her, it must not be supposed that she was ever outof my thoughts. All my hopes and wishes for the future were wrapped upin her; and often and often I had to struggle hard against the wish ofquitting the service, and of seeking her out without delay. Of course Ivery quickly saw the folly, not to say hopelessness, of such aproceeding. I had nothing but my profession to depend on; and if I wereto desert that profession, how was I to support a wife and as to joiningthe ranks of the enemy and fighting against my countrymen, that, even inmy maddest moods, never entered my imagination. However, I will not nowdwell further on the matter.
The first island we made was Antigua, where we arrived, without meetingwith any adventure worthy of note, on the 5th of February. We foundthere HMS Aurora, with Vice-Admiral Young's flag on board. We sailedagain the next day with two transports under our convoy, and arrived atPort Royal in Jamaica on the 15th. Here Sir Peter Parker supersededVice-Admiral Gayton as Commander-in-Chief. On the 18th we wentalongside the wharf at Kingston, and hove down to repair and clean theship's bottom. We had now many opportunities of seeing this, one of themost beautiful and picturesque of the West India islands, as well as ofengaging in the gaieties of the place. With regard to the scenery,others have often described it far better than I can pretend to do,while the thought of Madeline kept me from entering into the somewhatextravagant gaieties which were of daily occurrence. The repairs of theship took us till the 20th of March, when we hauled out into theharbour.
A short time after this, two ships came into port direct from England,the Ostrich and Active. Each of them had left a lieutenant behind them;and Sir Peter appointed two of ours to fill up the vacancies, and intheir steads my friends Delisle and O'Brien obtained their commissions.I was beginning to feel somewhat jealous of them, when the Chameleoncame in. Several of her officers had been disabled, having been blownup in a prize she had taken, and were now gone to the hospital. Amongthem was Lieutenant David Mackey, in whose room the admiral gave me anacting order.
I was sorry to part with my old shipmates, still it was with greatsatisfaction that I found myself raised to the rank I had longed toobtain, as I had no doubt that I should soon be confirmed in it. Myduty in the ship was, however, both disagreeable and severe. In thosedays, when the schoolmaster had made but little progress, in the Navyespecially, and not much on shore, it was difficult to obtain good andsteady warrant officers, and I was especially troubled with a drunkenboatswain, gunner, and carpenter. Drunk or sober, they were constantlyinsubordinate, setting a bad example to the crew, and quarrelling witheach other. I determined, however, to master them, and compel them todo their duty, or get them dismissed from the service. As I was theonly officer in the ship directly over them, my task was not an easyone.
Having run the ship over to water at Rockfort, I found, on my return toPort Royal, that the admiral shifted his flag from the Bristol to theChameleon. He had just been promoted from Rear of the Blue to Rear ofthe Red.
My troubles and annoyances with my subordinates continued to increase.Scarcely a day passed but what they were guilty of some neglect of duty,which more than once placed the ship in a dangerous position. I wascontinually afraid that the gunner, by some carelessness in themagazine, would blow her and all on board up into the air. I have nodoubt that most of the catastrophes of that nature, which have from timeto time occurred, have been caused by the conduct of which he wasguilty. Fortunately for me, I was thoroughly supported in my duty byCaptain Douglas of the Chameleon, who was in every respect the officerand the gentleman, and I am much indebted to him for many kind andfavourable remarks he made respecting me to the admiral. When a man isendeavouring to do his duty, it is pleasant to be spoken of as anactive, zealous, intelligent officer, as I know he did of me. Themisconduct of the gunner grew more and more unbearable, and at length Iwas compelled to bring him, as also the boatswain and carpenter, to acourt-martial. The result was that the former was broke, and renderedincapa
ble of again serving his Majesty; while the other two, who did notdeserve a less punishment, were severely reprimanded. They would havebeen broke likewise but for the difficulty which then existed of findingintelligent and educated men to fill the posts they occupied.
The Camel, Captain Bligh, having come into harbour with one of herlieutenants sick, I was appointed to her as acting-lieutenant, hercaptain having done me the favour of applying for me to the admiral. Weleft the harbour on the 10th of June, and anchored next day inBluefield's Bay, where we found lying HMS Hind, Southampton, and Stork,with a hundred sail of merchantmen.
On the 25th we proceeded with them to the Gulf of Florida. The weatherwas intensely hot, the sun struck down with unmitigated fury on ourheads, and in a few days seven cases of fever appeared on board.Scarcely was a man taken ill than he became delirious, and in a fewhours he was dead. Thus in six days we lost twenty seamen and sevenmarines, together with Lieutenant Thomas Philipsmith of the marines, andMr John Eaglestone, master's mate. It was a sad and weary time we hadof it. Captain Bligh kept up his spirits in a wonderful way. I messedwith him all the time I was on board, and he always spoke frankly andopenly to me; indeed, I should be most ungrateful did I not acknowledgethe kindness with which he treated me on all occasions.
"I hope we may do better when we get clear of the land," he remarked."This climate tries the poor fellows sadly."
It did indeed. On the 28th the master, purser and surgeon were takenill, and a few days afterwards I was myself struck down, as were thegunner, surgeon's mate, and fully sixty more men. Thus, we had notenough men to work the ship; and for some time Captain Bligh and one ofthe only officers capable of doing duty had to take charge of the shipwatch and watch. The weather also was constantly squally, with thunder,lightning, and heavy rain, and this kept us in the gulf till the 20th ofJuly.
On the 28th, in latitude 32 degrees 30 minutes North and 74 degrees 19minutes West, we parted company with the fleet, which was bound forEngland, while we made sail back to Jamaica.
I pass over this period of my adventurous existence more rapidly than Ihave described the former part of my sea-life, because it is full ofpainful recollections. I had often and often seen men struck down inbattle, without allowing my feelings in any way to be agitated; but itwent to my heart to see my brave shipmates carried off one after theother with fever, without being in any way able to relieve theirsufferings, or to devise means to save them from death. That fever,"yellow jack" as we used to call it, is truly one of the most dreadfulscourges of the West Indies. There is no avoiding him. All ranks areequally sufferers, for he picks off rich and poor alike, the strong andweak, the brave man and the coward. Still, I believe that the best wayto prevent his attacks from proving fatal is to live moderately butwell--not to be afraid, and to avoid exposure to rain and fogs. It iswiser to soak the clothes in salt water than to allow them to be wetwith fresh and to dry on the back. However, it is very certain that, ifa man does not play tricks with his constitution when he is young, as doso many young fellows in every variety of way when he is exposed tosimilar baneful influences, he will better be able to withstand them.
On the 17th of August we made the Island of Hispaniola. Two days afterthat, as I was walking the deck as officer of the watch, the look-out atthe mast-head hailed to say that a sail was in sight. We were then offCape Francois.
"Where away?" I asked.
"Right ahead to the westward!" was the answer.
"What does she look like?" inquired the captain, just then coming ondeck.
"An English frigate, sir!" replied the look-out.
She might be, or she might be an enemy's cruiser, for I was aware thatthey had already some large ships fitted out. We were, as far as I knewto the contrary, still at peace with France and Spain. Weak as I wasfrom the fever, (though I had got over it far more rapidly than I couldhave expected), I was so anxious to ascertain, as soon as possible, thecharacter of the ship in sight, that I went aloft myself to watch herwith my glass. As we drew near each other, Captain Bligh ordered thedrum to beat to quarters, and the ship to be got ready for action. Thenearer we got, the more convinced was I that the look-out was right, andthat the stranger was an English frigate. In a short time she hoistedEnglish colours, and soon afterwards made the private signal, by whichwe knew that she was his Majesty's frigate Minerva. On getting withinhail we hove-to and exchanged civilities, which, as they cost nothing,are very current coin. We found that she had been out on a cruise forsome time, but, like us, had not made any captures. Her captain wasdeploring his ill-luck.
"Better than being taken oneself," remarked Captain Bligh.
"No fear of that," was the answer; "I shall take very good care that noone--Frenchman, Spaniard or rebel--captures me. As for the two first, Idon't suppose they will ever go to war again with us."
"Don't be too sure of that," said Captain Bligh. "A pleasant cruise toyou, however, and a more fortunate one than we have had. We are boundback to Jamaica. I hope we shall make a quick passage there."
Such, as far as I can recollect them, were the parting words of the twocaptains. Scarcely had we lost sight of the Minerva than we fell inwith a fleet of merchantmen from Saint Domingo. We agreed that, ifthere was but a war, what rich prizes they would prove, and we should,without difficulty, have been able to take the greater number of them.They sailed on their way, and we continued on our course for Jamaica.We reached Port Royal without any further adventure on the 28th ofAugust. Scarcely had we dropped anchor than a boat from his Majesty'sship Niger boarded us.
"Grand news--glorious news!" cried a midshipman who came in her. We allasked him what he meant. "Why, there's war with France, and a rattlingwar it will be, too, from all accounts. All the ships here are gettingready for sea, and we shall pick up no end of prizes."
Captain Bligh stamped with his foot and turned round when he heard this.And well he might, when he recollected the rich prizes we had let slipthrough our fingers. A vessel came in directly after us, which broughtthe unwelcome intelligence that the Minerva had been taken by the Frenchfrigate Concord only nine hours after we had spoken her. Had we,therefore, only come up a little later, the tables might have beenreversed, and we might have brought in the Concord as our prize. TheMinerva was, as may be supposed, taken by surprise, her captain notbelieving that a war had broken out with France, or I am very sure thatshe would not have so easily become the prize of the enemy.
The circumstances I have mentioned were of course vexatious, but such isthe fortune of war, and I believe the knowledge that we had now aforeign nation to contend with, instead of those whom we could not butlook upon as countrymen, afforded unmitigated satisfaction throughoutevery ship in the British Navy.
Hurricane Hurry Page 13
