before, assuring him that he had heartily repentedthe follies he had committed, and that he trusted he might have themeans of clearing his character from any imputation which his suddenflight might have cast on it. It must be remembered that Harry was notaware of the accusations brought against him, and that Sleech, insteadof defending him, had done his utmost to confirm the idea of his guilt.The letter addressed to Mabel reached Lynderton, but being addressed toStanmore Park, was sent there by the postmaster, an especial ally of Mr.Sleech. That gentleman received it, and he had an idea that it mightcontain some information: at all events, it might be worth perusal. Hiscolour changed somewhat as he read on.
"The captain alive!" he exclaimed. "So ho! That may give trouble. Iwish he was fathoms deep down in the ocean. And this young fellow, thisMistress Mabel loves him! Well, if she marries him, there will be acouple of beggars wedded. And she disdains my son Silas, the creature!We will pull her proud heart down yet, in spite of her father. I don'tlike the captain coming to life again, though; I must consult Silas.Tom's a fool: there is no use talking to him. I must send for Silaspost haste. He has got more wits than all the family put together."
The result of the letter Mr. Kyffin received has already been seen atthe commencement of the narrative. Before that he had begun to fearthat his ward was really dead. The letter had reassured him, but lefthim very much in the dark as to where Harry was to be found.
Harry had another letter to write; it was, however, not on his ownaccount, but on that of his friend Jacob, who was ignorant of an art notgenerally possessed by seamen in those days. It was addressed to MaryTanner, Mabel's waiting-maid.
"Well, Jacob," said Harry, as he sat down on the maindeck alongside agun with a piece of board as table, "I will write, gladly, but you musttell me what to say."
"Tell her I love her as much as ever, and that I am glad to come to lifeagain, if it was only for the sake of seeking her. And now just writedown, `I am glad to say that fine young chap, Harry Tu (you know who Imean, Mary), saved our captain's life when the ship went down, and wewere on the raft; leaped overboard, swam ever so far, and brought himsafe to it. The captain, however, does not know to this day who he is,and thinks he's one Andrew Brown.'"
"I don't think I can say so much: it's like sounding my own praises,"observed Harry.
"No, I tell you; it isn't you sounding them; it's me writing the letter,and you just puts down what I say; so go ahead, Harry!"
Harry continued. The letter was almost as long as his own, but he didnot grudge the trouble. It was at once despatched, but instead of beingaddressed to Stanmore Park, it was directed to Widow Tuttle's cottage,where, Jacob stated, it was his belief that Mary would frequently go,and she might then give his mother the first account of his safety.
Sailors' letters in those days often went astray. This, however, afterconsiderable delay, reached its destination; and sure enough, on thatvery day, Mary was paying the widow a visit. Thus her sorrow wasquickly turned into joy; although somewhat subdued, when she found thatJacob had no chance of leaving his ship to come and see her. After shehad read the letter two or three times to the widow, she hastened backwith it to rejoice the heart of poor Mabel.
Important events were at this time taking place on board the fleet.Some time before, petitions had been sent up from all the line-of-battleships at Portsmouth to Lord Howe, making various not unreasonablerequests. It had been observed, however, by one of the red-tapeofficials, that all the petitions were written by one person, andcouched in the same language, and therefore it was believed that theywere the productions of some factious or mad-brained individual, who wasnot worthy of notice. They were accordingly thrown on one side, and noanswers were returned. After this the fleet put to sea. On its return,the seamen finding that their petitions had not been replied to, weremuch irritated, justly feeling that those who were fighting theircountry's battles were worthy of respect. Several violent anddisaffected persons were found on board every ship, and these worked onthe minds of the other seamen. A general correspondence was establishedthroughout the whole fleet, and at length it was unanimously agreed bythe respective crews, that no ship should lift an anchor till a redressof grievances was obtained.
The morning of the 13th of April arrived. Lord Bridport ordered thesignal for weighing to be thrown out on board the flag-ship. Instead ofobeying it, the seamen of the "Queen Charlotte" ran up the shrouds, andgave three cheers as the signal for mutiny. This was answered in thesame manner by every ship in the fleet. The captains and theirofficers, although taken by surprise by this sudden act of disobedience,used every means in their power to persuade the men to return to theirduty, but all their exertions were ineffectual. They were, however,treated with every respect, the seamen declaring that they were ready toobey their orders as soon as they had received ample assurance from theGovernment that their grievances would immediately be redressed.
On the following day, two delegates were appointed from each ship, torepresent the whole fleet, and the admiral's cabin on the "QueenCharlotte" was fixed as a place where they should meet to hold theirdeliberations. On the 15th every man in the fleet was sworn to supportthe cause in which he had embarked. They next proceeded to reeve ropesat the foreyard-arms, as a sign that they intended to run up any whodisobeyed them, and after this they turned all officers out of the fleetwho had by their behaviour in any way offended them. The day after thisa committee of the Board of Admiralty arrived at Portsmouth, and madeseveral propositions to the delegates, hoping to induce them to returnto their duty. Nothing, however, would satisfy the seamen, unless thearrangements were sanctioned by the King and Parliament, and a generalpardon guaranteed by proclamation. After this several admirals visitedthem with the same want of success. Lord Bridport, in consequence,struck his flag, declaring that he would not again hoist it. The shipson this loaded all their guns, kept watch as at sea, and put everythingin a state of defence, confining all the officers to their respectiveships. Happily wise counsels prevailed on shore. The King especiallyurged his Ministers to yield to the just demands of the seamen, and LordBridport was sent on board the fleet, informing the men that all theirgrievances were redressed, and that his Majesty had granted a pardon toall offenders. These events took place while the "Latona," on boardwhich Harry and Jacob then were, was at Spithead. She was soonafterwards sent round to the Thames. On her passage she encountered aheavy gale, and was run into by another ship, and reduced almost to awreck. Being afterwards driven on shore, she received so much damagethat she was towed up, not without difficulty, into Sheerness, toundergo a thorough repair. Her crew in the meantime were turned over toother ships, Harry and Jacob being sent on board the "Sandwich," thenone of the ships forming the fleet at the Nore. Several of the mostmutinously disposed of the frigate's crew were also sent on board thesame ship.
Grievously had poor Harry's expectation of rising in the service beendisappointed! Sent about from ship to ship, he had no means of becomingknown to his superior officers, nor had any opportunity been affordedhim for distinguishing himself. The romance, too, which he expected tofind in a life at sea had terribly worn off. He was among rough,uneducated men, and although many of them were kind-hearted, generous,and humane, there were not a few ruffians and villains of all sorts.
Some of these, when they discovered that he was a gentleman by birth,took especial pleasure in annoying him. He had not failed, however, inobtaining a certain amount of position among them, while he wasrespected by those who knew him best. One of the men on boardespecially took notice of him: his name was Richard Parker. He was aclever fellow; had been, Harry heard, a petty officer; but fordisrespectful conduct to his superiors had been disrated. This seemedto rankle in his heart. He possessed, too, a certain amount ofeducation, and he felt himself, and perhaps really was, equal in thatrespect to many officers.
Parker had made it his business to discover all the most mutinouslydisposed men in his own ship, as also by degrees on board the othersh
ips of the fleet--thus, in course of time, there were several hundredmen scattered about the fleet ready to obey any commands he might issue.What his ultimate aims were Harry could not discover. Parker soon sawthat he must proceed carefully with Harry, if he wished to secure hisassistance. To Harry, indeed, his plans appeared very moderate, and allcalculated really to forward the best interests of the seamen.
"I must trust to you, Brown, then to help me," said Parker. "You arejust the fellow I want for a right-hand man, on whom I may thoroughlyrely. If men like you and I, and others of sense and education, don'twatch over the welfare of our poor fellow-seamen, depend upon it theywill soon again be treated as they were before. To my mind, although wehave gained something by the little outbreak of the fleet at Spithead,we have not gained enough, and
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